Lightning tendrils streaked across the darkened sky, striking trees and downing power lines. Jenny was a shivering mess by the time she got home. The thunder seemed to surround her, rumbling with an intensity that made her insides quake. She was barely holding it together by the time she reached her door, drenched from the torrential rain, she dropped her keys twice before she finally made it inside.
God, she hated when it stormed!
The house was dimly light, courtesy of Naomi, no doubt. She'd phone the woman earlier and made sure she left before the storm came on.
Naomi had protested naturally, wanting to at least get dinner done for Jenny before leaving, but in the end, Jenny had convinced her to go. She'd also sent away her security, something she knew Agent Gibbs would not be happy about, but she didn't see the point of them being out in this. Not to mention she didn't need any more witnesses to her insane fear of thunderstorms-two was two too many by her estimation.
Another flash of lightning followed by a loud bang had her heart hammering hard in her chest. She looked around; searching for the source of the noise, rolling her eyes when she realized her briefcase had just fallen off the table. Shivering in her wet clothing, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself enough to make it up the stairs.
It was foolish of her not to let Jethro bring her home. He would have insisted on staying, as usual, and, as usual, she would have let him. He definitely would have provided the necessary distraction she needed to get through this storm. Jenny sighed, flinching as another clap of thunder made the house shake. She could handle this on her own, she knew that, but his company would have made it a lot more bearable. Pushing all thoughts of Jethro from her mind, determined to face her ridiculous fears head-on, she started up the stairs. Jenny was halfway up when the lights went out. A sense of dread ran through her as she felt the first signs of panic. Thundered roared around her, crackling like a whip; rattling the windows and sending vibrations racing through the walls. Jenny let out an anguished cry as fear gripped her, immobilizing her. She covered her ears with her hands and sank to the steps.
"No…no…"
Eyes closed, she tried to fight off the inevitable; tried to remember the techniques she'd learned so long ago to evade the terror that wanted to overtake her, drown her in its power.
Another clap of thunder shattered her control and she was back there, in that moment.
Jenny was strapped in the backseat of the car, her mother's stern instructions not to move paralyzing her almost as much as the storm. She could hear her mother muttering to herself while trying to maneuver the car through the rainstorm. The rain was loud as it hit the windshield with blinding intensity, making visibility impossible. She knew her mother was scared; saw her flinch every time lightning lit up the sky. Jenny was scared too. She clutched her worn teddy bear in her arms as tight as she could; glad she remembered to bring it despite her father's teasing words that at seven, she was getting too big to carry around teddy bears. She heard her mother's whispered prayer, something about making it home. She heard the thunder again, louder this time, as lightning flashed bright and hot, right in front of them. She heard the scream first. It was her mother. Jenny closed her eyes hard and squeezed Teddy as tight as she could as the tires screeched; then the car jerked as it hit something hard. The loud noise frightened her; she heard herself scream.
Then there was nothing.