DISCLAIMER: Same as usual, you know the deal...
A/N: This is a part of my NCIS series called River's Chronicle. The beginning story of the series is called "Like Father, Like Son" and is is currently still in progress. Some of these stories will be seen once again in later stories of the series. Any questions, just send me a message! Enjoy! Feedback is welcomed!
Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins
This is for my peoples who lost their grandmothers
Lift your head to the sky 'cause
We will never say Bye
River watched as the funeral proceedings continued on. And as Grandpa Ducky made his way to the podium to give the eulogy, River's eyes landed on the others sitting around him.
His Gramps looked blank, but River always knew how to read the stern older man. He could see the pain he was keeping at bay. Leroy Jethro Gibbs once again, trying to be strong for the people around him. But River knew better, he knew just how close Gramps and Aunt Jenny had been. He'd seen the glances they gave to each other when they thought no one was looking. He'd seen how well they work together, always seem to read each other's mind. Her death weighed heavily on Gramps, he was a protector by nature, and in his mind, he had failed to protect a friend.
And his father? Well, Anthony DiNozzo was doing no better. Gone were the smiles and goofiness that his father had always exhibited. Gone were the restlessness and enthusiasm that was a trademark to the one and only Tony DiNozzo. Instead they were replaced by grief and sadness. River wasn't blind to the guilt his father carried. The guilt that he had left Aunt Jenny unprotected. The guilt that he had abandoned his duty and let her died alone. He wanted to save her, and River knew that if his father could go back and change things, he would have gladly traded his life to save Aunt Jen's.
Ziva David knew Aunt Jenny better than anyone, except maybe Gramps. They had worked together back in Israel, and over the years at NCIS, the friendship only grew stronger. Others would have said that Mossad Officer David feels no emotions, but River knew the truth. The years spent with the team had softened the defenses Aunt Ziva had erected around her heart. She had begun to care, to express her emotions more. And Aunt Jenny's death hit her hard. She too wished she had disobeyed orders and stayed to protect Aunt Jenny.
Timothy McGee, resident tech genius, sat stoically, his gaze never wavering from the casket. River knew this was hardly his first funeral for a fallen agent, but even all that could not erase the sadness lurking behind Uncle Tim's eyes. Those eyes just as haunted as ones River had seen at the funeral for Paula Cassidy and her team, maybe even at the funeral of Caitlyn Todd. But through it all, Uncle Tim had tried his best to console everyone around him despite his own grief. Perhaps among the team, Uncle Tim was taking this better than anyone.
If people wanted more proof of just how much sadness surrounded Aunt Jenny's death, then they need not to look any further than Abby Sciuto. Aunt Abby was always the most bubbly and energetic person in the room, armed with about 15 Caf-Pows a day. She was always smiling and ready to give you a hug. She was always one to cheer you up and make you laugh, even sometimes poking you until you stop feeling sorry for yourself. But right now, the happy Abby was no where in sight, and in her place was a person whose tears had not stopped flowing since the funeral had started. Aunt Abby was always the most sensitive one of us all, and death of a loved one always hit her the hardest.
A few seats down sat Jimmy Palmer with his head bowed. Jimmy wasn't a field agent, he didn't interact with Aunt Jen as much as everyone else did, but he is a part of the family and shares in the common loss of a loved one. River saw Jimmy's sadness as clear as day, so what if he wasn't always reporting to Aunt Jen? You could not spend nearly three years knowing someone and not feel pain and emptiness at their sudden passing.
Finally, River's gaze landed on the elderly gentleman standing on the podium. You would have thought his job as a medical examiner had prepared Ducky Mallard for all the horrors and sadness of death. But then again, whoever said losing someone you love was easy? River knew it was Grandpa Ducky who performed Aunt Jen's autopsy just as he had done Caitlyn Todd's years back. He would not trust anyone to treat Aunt Jen with the respect he knew she deserved. And as River looked into the light blue eyes of the most gentle and kind person on the face of the planet, he caught the pain behind those once-sparkling eyes. Grandpa Ducky would try to help the others move on, but there was no doubt in River's mind that Aunt Jen's death plagued him just as much as it did with the rest of our tight-knit family.
We all wanted to believe that life could continue on forever, but as a family of Federal Agents who knew better than anyone else just how much violence and danger surround our way of life, we should have known better.
But sometimes, we can't help but dream of a perfect world. It may be the only way we get through the darkness in our lives.
