Discussions and Dinners

"You needed to see me?" Gibbs leaned against the wall in her office, ignoring the chair she offered.

"Well…in a sense, yes. I was going to ask if you thought you needed more time off from work." Jenny leaned back against her desk, staring at him. "And…I was wondering how you're doing."

Jethro shrugged. "I'm fine. And I figure I need maybe a few days more, J.J.'s been doing much better, and he'll be here in childcare anyway, until he starts school, so it's not like he can't come and see me if need be."

Jenny nodded, frowning at the avoidance of her second question. "Jethro, honestly, I know you aren't fine." Her brow furrowed. "And since when did you speak Czech?"

He sighed. "Learnt it three years ago, when Sarah's…boyfriend tried to fight her for custody with members of a Czechian crime syndicate. And I am fine, Jen." He held up his hands as her eyes narrowed. "Seriously."

"Jethro, stop lying. You're sitting there playing off things with jokes, but I'm not an idiot. Every time you think J.J. isn't looking, you slip back into some melancholy look. You can't keep this up." Jenny walked over, grabbing his shoulder and pushing him towards the couch. "Sit down, and at least try to talk about this, for once. I know talking isn't a strong suit of yours, but you need to try, for that little boy sitting downstairs. He knows you're hurting, and he thinks it's his fault."

Gibbs sighed again, twining his fingers together, his thumbs tapping against each other in his lap. "I just…it hurts, sometimes, how much he reminds me of Kel, and Shannon, and Sarah. He's got some of the same personality quirks they had that I never really noticed, till they were gone." He managed a halfhearted laugh, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Hell, he's even got Kelly's laugh." He swallowed, hard, and then continued. "I just, I know J.J.'s his own person, and I love him for that, but he reminds me of them so much it hurts, and sometimes it's too much to handle."

Jenny blinked, leaning against the edge of the couch and placing her hand on his shoulder again, lending a quiet form of support. "Jethro, you can't…it shouldn't matter that J.J. reminds you of them. It's a good thing, Jethro, they're living on in him, and in you. And it's okay for you to show a little…weakness, for lack of a better term, every once in a while. We are here to help, your team, Ducky, Abby, and me."

He managed a half smile, bringing the hand on his neck back down into his lap, looking up at her. "I… I—I never thought of it that way, really." He swallowed again, dropping his gaze back to his lap. "I thought I'd be okay, I've always done alright watching J.J. for Sarah when she was off on business, but I just, I didn't realize how…different this was. He didn't sleep, really sleep, at all that first week, just sat up screaming every hour with the same nightmare, wouldn't even let me out of the room. He stayed awake for a day and a half after the funeral, wouldn't let either of us leave the basement. I mean, now he's sleeping, and he can handle being away from me for longer than half an hour, but…I just, I don't know if I'm cut out for this, Jen."

"Don't say that. You're one of the best people I've ever seen around children, especially on cases here. You can't say you're not up for this. That boy, down there with your team, he's…at the least, he's your nephew, but you know he's more than that, Jethro. He looks up to you as his father, biological or no. You're the only person he's had for a father figure. You were there for his mother when he was born, you fought off a whole Czechian crime syndicate to make sure he stayed with his mother, and now that she's gone, you're the one Sarah chose to take care of him. She believed you could do it, she wouldn't have gotten that will written with those stipulations otherwise, Jethro."

Gibbs looked up after a long moment, blinking rapidly. "I…thanks. I—I needed that, I should have said something earlier, thank you, Jen."

"So, you're alright, then?" Jenny's voice was skeptical, her head tilted inquiringly.

Jethro gave her a crooked grin, shrugging one shoulder. "Yeah, I'm better, and I'm not going to be stupid again and assume that I have to go this alone." He tilted his head, apparently figuring something out. "Hey…wait, you visiting all the time these past few weeks…that was you checking up on me."

She nodded, her mouth twisting into a wry grin. "Guilty."

He stared at her for a moment, finally letting out a short laugh. "Well, I guess I should have seen that one."


Abby sat on the top if Gibbs' desk, her platform clad feet swinging below her. "So, J.J., how's life living with the silver-haired fox?"

J.J., who sat in Jethro's desk chair, tilted his head confusedly. "Huh?"

"You know, Gibbs! I call him the silver-haired fox 'cause he's…well, he's just Gibbs, and that's the way to describe him, and well, he's just, the silver-haired fox." Abby rambled happily as she continued swinging her feet.

"It's okay. We have fun, play games, and he reads me stories sometimes to help me sleep at night, like Mum used to." J.J. shrugged. "It's kinda like when he visits, just, for a long time, 'stead of a few days."

Ducky pulled the extra office chair around and took a seat in front of Jethro's desk, smiling kindly at the little boy. "And you are sleeping better now, right?"

J.J. inclined his head in a vague nod. "Yeah, I'm sleepin' alright." He gave a crooked grin, faintly reminiscent of Jethro's, his blue eyes brightening. "An' Jet made me this cool bed, it's kinda like a pirate ship, we finished it last weekend."

Ducky smiled wider, leaning forward on his knees. "Oh, so you've got your own bed now, that's wonderful, Jacob." He noticed J.J.'s slight grimace. "I'm sorry, my dear boy, did I say something to offend you?"

"No, I jus' don't like bein' called Jacob, the only person who did that was Mum's boss, Mister Holden. I don' like him much." J.J. shrugged. "If you don' wanna call me J.J., you can call me Jay, or Jake, that's what Unca Jack calls me sometimes."

"Jake, right." Ducky nodded, giving him a gentle smile. "So, Jake, you said your uncle Jethro has been reading you stories?"

"He's not my uncle."

"I…he isn't? Then, what is he?" Ducky looked slightly confused, mirroring the expressions of the team.

J.J. shrugged. "Mum always said he was my dad, tol' me that he couldn't live with us 'cause of work, but that he loved me very much. He never liked me callin' him Dad, so I started callin' him Jet."

"But…you know he's technically your uncle, right?" Tony had pulled his desk chair up, sitting in it backwards, his arms folded across the backrest.

J.J. sighed, turning to Abby. "Can you look somethin' up on the 'puter for me?"

"Yeah, of course, little man. Whatcha need?" Abby hopped off her perch, moving over to kneel in front of Gibbs' computer.

"Find that paper thing they give ya in the hos…hospital when a baby's born, for me." J.J. sat back in the chair, his arms folded across his chest.

Abby entered a search into the computer, scanning through the files until she came up with the correct one. "Here we are: Jacob Christopher Jethro Collins, born January 24, 2000, to…Leroy J. M. Gibbs and Sarah Kelly Collins."

J.J. sighed, shaking his head. "No, no, that's the new one. There sposta be an old one, look again."

Abby gave him an odd look, but did as requested, searching again. "Alright…here we go…Jacob Jethro Collins, born January 24, 2000, to…Bartholomew James Fischer and Sarah Kelly Collins."

J.J. nodded. "That's it. That guy, Fischer, he's my…well, blood dad, but I've never met him. I think I saw him, once, he got in a fight with Jet. That was the time we had to take Jet to the hospital, his arm got cut real bad. Then Jet started learnin' Czech, and teachin' Mum and me, and then suddenly that Fischer guy wasn't my dad anymore. We went to this guy in a big flowy black robe, in the courthouse, and he wrote out a new paper thing for me, sayin' Jet was my dad, 'stead of the Fisher guy. 'An Jet had my name changed a little bit, named me Chris after a good friend of his that died, jus' like Unca Jack named him after a friend that died."

Tony blinked, swiveling his chair side to side. "What's the M stand for?"

"What M?"

"The one in Gibbs' name, J.J." Tony leaned forward, grinning.

"Oh. Um…Matthew, maybe? I never really asked." J.J. shrugged. "Why?"

"We never knew he had a second middle name, just curious."

"Oh. I think it's a family thing, with Gibbs, anyways. Unca Jack's great-great granddad started it."J.J. shrugged again, his interest turning to the desk drawers in front of him. He rooted about for a moment, coming up with a photo album. He frowned interestedly, setting it on the desk and beginning to flip through it. Ducky moved around the desk to stand behind the boy, looking at the pictures with him.

"Ah, is that your mother, Jake?" Ducky's hand reached down, his index finger tapping on the younger redhead who sat smiling at the camera, her arm draped around Kelly Gibbs, who grinned toothily out of the picture.

J.J.'s mouth quirked in a half smile, his eyes flickering with an emotion that was quickly hidden. "Yeah, that's Mum. She was…the prettiest lady in the world. Well…'cept for Jenny." He grinned bashfully and ducked his head. "Mum was…great. She knew exactly how to make me laugh if I was sad, and she told the best bedtime stories."

"She sounds like a wonderful person, J.J." Ziva turned her chair to face the boy, propping her feet up against the filing cabinet.

J.J. smiled briefly. "Thanks, Zee." He returned his gaze to the photos, flipping through until he found one that made him smile. Ducky leaned a little farther over the back of the chair, smiling when he saw the picture. "I didn't know Jethro played soccer." The picture showed a laughing Gibbs balancing a soccer ball on his foot, his arm thrown out to protect it from Sarah, who stood poised to tackle him.

J.J. grinned. "He taught me how to play. I'm gonna be on a team this fall, Jet signed me up at the Y."

He continued flipping through the album, stopping at the last picture in the book with a soft sigh. Jethro sat, leaning against the front steps of a house, a small half grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. J.J.'s head showed just over his left shoulder, a wide grin crossing the boy's face. "Mum took this a few weeks before she…left. Jet came to visit for the weekend, said he needed a few days to clear his head. He was real upset about losin' a good friend…I think her name was Kate. That was the only time he smiled the whole weekend, Mum made him laugh with some old joke."

"No, she didn't, you tried to tickle me." J.J.'s head snapped up as Gibbs' voice rang out from across the bullpen as he walked in behind Jenny.

"Did no-ot." A smirk faintly reminiscent of Gibbs' tugged at the corner of the boy's mouth as he argued with his godfather.

"Yeah, you did! You're the only person I know who's figured out that I'm –aaah….stoppit, Jen, that tickles!" Jenny had rolled her eyes, reaching over to dig her nails into Jethro's right side, just below his ribs, effectively stopping his sentence. Gibbs shied away from her fingers, unsuccessfully trying to stop a bout of laughter.

"Looks like Jenny knows you're ticklish too, Jet." J.J. grinned mischievously, hopping off of the desk chair and approaching Gibbs, giving Jenny a high-five.

Gibbs dodged another attempt at tickling, giving Jenny a glare. "I am not ticklish, J."

Jenny let out a half hidden snort of laughter. "Oh, please, Jethro, we all know you're ticklish." She stopped, clearing her throat awkwardly as the team and Abby stared unabashedly. "Or, erm…maybe just me. But, that's irrelevant."

The team all exchanged glances, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of Abby's lips. "How exactly did you know Gibbs was ticklish, Director?"

"I—um…I hit him in the ribs once, when we were sparring, and he…he uh, he started laughing." Jenny's face reddened as she mumbled her answer. "It's not what you think. Seriously."

J.J. grinned, glancing over at Tony as he began singing. "I can see what's happening…"

"What?" Tony tilted his head to the side, looking confused.

"And they don't have a clue…" J.J.'s grin grew wider as he gestured to Gibbs and Jenny.

"Who?"

"They'll fall in lov—." The rest of his song was cut off as Gibbs swooped down, clapping a hand over his mouth and picking him up.

"Alright, J, that's enough out of you. No more singing Lion King, please, it's bad enough having you walk around the house yelling Hakuna-whatever-it-is at the top of your lungs."

"The Lion King! Can You Feel the Love Tonight, by…Ernie Sabella and Joseph Weaver, voices of Timon and Pumbaa. I knew I'd heard that somewhere before!...Wait, why were you singing that to…Oh. OH." Tony grinned, giving thumbs up to J.J., who wriggled furiously in Gibbs' grip. "Nice connection, little man! We'll make an investigator outta you yet, kid."

Gibbs leveled a glare at Tony. "I blame you for his sudden interest in movies. He was just a normal kid with a relatively healthy respect for TV. Then, he meets you, and all of a sudden, it's movie one-liners all over the place. Sheesh."

J.J. had managed to wrestle himself out of Jethro's hold, straightening his t-shirt with a grumble. "S'not my fault you never bought a TV 'fore now, Jet. Mum kept sayin' you should. I mean, c'mon, even Unca Jack had one 'fore you did."

Gibbs let out a muffled groan, walking back over to his desk, narrowing his eyes at the computer screen. "J…what's this doing on here?"

J.J. had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed, ducking his head. "I…um…well, it was the only way I could think of to 'splain how you're kinda my dad, but kinda aren't."

Jethro let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "Well…can't say you shouldn't have done it, it's your birth certificate. Just, ah, next time, let's leave it at saying that I'm your dad, okay?"

J.J. shrugged. "Okay." He glanced around, his gaze stopping on an empty pizza box in Tony's trashcan. "Can we still have everyone over for dinner?"

Gibbs shrugged one shoulder slightly. "Eh, I suppose that's alright."He glanced around the bullpen, leaning against his desk. "You all wanna come over for dinner?"

"Well, boss, that depends. Are you cooking? 'Cause last time I was over at your place, there wasn't anything edible there, just a few bottles of bour—ouch. Shutting up now, boss." Tony's rambling was cut off as Gibbs nodded to Jenny, who leaned over and slapped the back of his head.

"I for one would be delighted to join you two for dinner this evening, Jethro. Is there anything I should bring?" Ducky spoke up from his position near McGee's desk.

"Nah. I've got it covered." Gibbs shrugged off the offers from the team as they each accepted the invitations. "Just bring yourselves, and whatever alcohol you prefer, if it's not bourbon or beer."

"Sounds good, Jethro." Ducky was already turned to head back to Autopsy, pausing for a moment as a thought struck him. "Ah, Jethro? I can't help but think that Mr. Palmer might feel a bit left out. Would it be alright if he tagged along?"

"Yeah, sure, the more the merrier or something like that." Gibbs gave a wry grin, nodding to Ducky. "Go ahead and invite him."


Jenny tilted her head as she approached Jethro's home for the second time that day, hearing the faint strains of music issuing out of it. She walked to the front door, trying the knob and finding it unlocked, shaking her head. The music grew louder as she moved through the front hallway to put her bag in the kitchen, tilting her head towards the basement door, where a hoarse voice could be heard singing, somewhat off key.

I say my hell is the closet I'm stuck inside…Can't see the light

And my heaven is a nice house in the sky, got central heating, and I'm alright…

"I didn't know you listened to Dave Matthews Band, Jethro." Jenny's amused comment cut across his slightly flat singing. Gibbs whirled around, staring up to the top of the basement stairs.

"It's Sarah's music, off of her pod-thing. You know, that thing Zach had? I've kind of gotten used to having music playing down here." He shrugged, picking the sander back up and sweeping it across the boat in even strokes, while he reached over with his free hand to turn the music down.

Jenny walked down the stairs carefully, looking around the basement for the boy who seemed to be permanently attached to Jethro's side. "Where's J?"

"Asleep." Gibbs nodded his head towards a small TV monitor sitting within his sight-line. "I told him if he wanted to stay up late tonight with you guys, he needed to get some sleep now. He'll wake up in a bit; he's got some sort of sixth sense when it comes to all of you."

Jenny looked over at the TV for a moment, seeing J.J. sound asleep in his bed. She smiled, walking over to the boat next to Gibbs. "He's doing better, about being separated from you. Two weeks ago, you couldn't even get him to sleep in his own bed."

Gibbs smiled slightly and nodded, walking over to the workbench to empty two of the mason jars, pouring a measure of bourbon in each, holding one out for Jenny. "Yeah. Only problem is, I've never been much of a storyteller, so, I've had to sing him to sleep, which is…interesting."

Jenny smirked slightly, taking a drink of the bourbon before she walked over to the boat, circling it carefully. "You want some help?"

He tilted his head in a nod, walking over to hand her a sander as he wet his fingertip, brushing it against the boat. "With the grain, Jen."

She laughed softly, rolling her eyes at him as she settled into a calming rhythm, sanding the boat methodically next to him. They worked in silence for a while, each of them content to work with their own thoughts.

------------

Jenny jumped slightly, startled, as Jethro's hand slid over top of hers, stopping her sanding. He smiled at her, taking the tool from her hands and replacing it with a planer, walking her over to one of the less finished beams on the opposite end of the boat. "Here, look. You see that section there? It's a little rough still, we need to plane a few strips of wood off."

He stood behind her, his larger hands covering her small ones on the tool, setting it carefully against the beam. Jenny leaned back into his embrace with a small smile, following the directions he murmured in her ear. They worked comfortably together for a few more minutes, before a quiet cough from the top of the stairs sent them scrambling apart. J.J. stood at the top of the stairs, distinctly amused as he stared at a mortified looking Jenny and an embarrassed Gibbs.

"Heya, Jenny. Whatcha guys doin'?" J.J. padded down the stairs as he spoke, running a hand through his sleep mussed hair in an attempt to get it to lie flat.

"We were…ah, just working on the boat." Jethro didn't quite meet J.J.'s eyes as he mumbled an excuse, turning to head back over to the workbench.

"Why were ya hugging Jenny then?" J.J. scowled as his hair flopped back to the sleep mussed look, running his fingers through it.

"I—um, we…I mean…that wasn't a hug, Jay, Jet was just helping me." Jenny walked over to grab her mason jar of bourbon, taking a long sip.

"Hm." J.J. seemed unconvinced, but shrugged it off, moving over to hoist himself up on the workbench between Jet and Jenny. "What's for dinner?"

Jethro smirked. "Eh…we already ate, you slept through it."

"Huh?" J.J. leaned over, grabbing Jenny's wrist to glare at her watch, then his godfather. "Liar! It's not even 1800!"

Gibbs laughed, reaching over to ruffle J.J.'s hair. "Okay…kidding, sorry. Whatever you want for dinner, as long as it's reasonably quick, everyone will be over here by 1930."

J.J. frowned, contemplating. "Can't we just order take-out? I don't wanna have anything we've got here."

"Hm. That's fine. Less work for me." Jethro smirked, taking a long drink of his bourbon. "C'mon. Enough of being down here, you were down here all last night. Let's go find something to do." He turned and lifted the boy down from the workbench, starting for the stairs.

"Jet? Can you teach me how to fight again?" J.J. followed Jenny and Jet up the stairs obediently, leaning against the doorframe at the top as he stared at his godfather.

Gibbs frowned slightly. "J…I only taught you that when your…when that guy kept hanging around and harassing your mum, I wasn't intending to teach you to fight, just how to get away."

"But I hafta know how to fight, Jet. All your other people do!" J.J. scowled briefly, folding his arms across his chest.

"No, J, I'm at least three times your size, bub, I'd kill you." He shook his head, glancing over at Jenny for help.

"J, Jet's right, buddy, there's no way he can teach you to fight now, you'd get hurt. Besides, you've got all of us on the team to help you out if you get into a tight spot." Jenny crouched in front of the boy, placing her hand on his shoulder. She hid a smile at his forlorn look. "Tell you what, J. When you're tall enough to where you reach Jet's ribs, we'll have you come to NCIS with us, and we'll all give you a special lesson to show you how to fight, okay?"

J.J. finally gave a grudging nod, pushing off of the doorframe and heading into the living room. "What are we gonna do 'til everyone gets here, then?"

Gibbs shrugged, glancing around until a soccer ball sitting near the back door caught his eye. "C'mon, we'll go practice your soccer. Think you can actually score on me this time?"

"You're on, Gunny." J.J. grabbed Jenny's hand, pulling her towards the back door. "C'mon, Jenny, you can be on my team!"


"Boss? Director? J.J.?" Tony poked his head out the back door of the house, looking around for them. A shriek from the back corner of the yard gave away their location.

"Jethro! Agh! Put me down!" Jenny struggled in Jethro's arms, as he had wrapped her in a bear hug, lifting her off the ground as he skillfully kicked the soccer ball ahead of him, heading for the goalposts J.J. defended. "J! Help!"

J.J. charged his godfather with a yell, tackling him just above the knees, sending all three tumbling to the ground in a heap. Tony chuckled as he made his way out into the yard, standing over the sprawled heap that was Gibbs, Jenny, and J.J. "Well, looks like you three are having fun. Ah…what exactly are you doing?" He grinned cheekily, raising his eyebrow at Gibbs' arms, which were still tightly wrapped around Jenny's waist, holding her against his chest.

"Soccer." Gibbs carefully disentangled himself from the pile, vaulting to his feet, leveling a glare at his senior agent.

"Ah, right, boss, soccer. That's totally what it looked like. Shutting up now." Tony cringed, taking the requisite head slap. He leaned over to help J.J. up as Gibbs pulled Jenny back to her feet. "What's for dinner, boss?"

"Take out. J.J. didn't feel like having anything we've got here." Jethro shrugged as he turned, heading back towards the house.

They took seats in the living room, relaxing back to wait for the rest of the team. Ducky arrived first, greeting all of them with a smile, allowing Gibbs to take his hat and jacket. Abby arrived next, clomping about the house in her platforms as she rambled happily, talking to J.J. excitedly. Ziva pulled up with much squealing of tires, with McGee and Palmer following a few moments later.

---------------

"Alright! Everyone shut up for a minute, I can't hear myself think!" Gibbs stood in the doorway to his kitchen, raising his voice over the chatter that permeated the room. "Now. Where are we ordering from?"

"I want Chinese!" J.J. tugged on the side of his jeans, staring up at the menus Jet held in his hand.

"We had Chinese yesterday, J."

"So?"

"So you can't have the same thing two days in a row, bud."

"Why?"

"'Cause you can't!" He leveled a glare down at J.J., who scowled and folded his arms across his small chest stubbornly. Jenny's mouth quirked into a small smile as she watched their antics.

"Why?"

"Because I said so, Jake." His voice was fast approaching the dangerous tone that showed most when someone had angered him. Jenny tried to catch his eye, attempting to get Gibbs to calm down.

"That's not a reason." J.J. mirrored Gibbs' scowl, poking him sharply in the leg to emphasize his point.

"Says who?"

"Mum."

"Well, Jake, your—" Gibbs cut himself off, letting out a muffled curse, though the look on the boy's face showed he knew exactly what Jethro hadn't said.

"Yeah, I know, Mum's not here." J.J. mumbled the last part as he let go of Jet's pant leg, disappearing into the kitchen. "Just, get whatever. I don't care. 'M not hungry no more."

"Dammit." Gibbs tossed the menus into the living room, muttering something about 'pick yourselves' before he turned to go into the kitchen. Jenny's hand on his arm stayed him.

"Let me talk to him." She watched as the muscles in his jaw worked, almost able to visualize the gears turning in his head as he struggled with the decision, finally conceding with a nod.

"Fine. I'll…I'll take care of dinner orders, then."

Jenny nodded, walking into the kitchen, searching for J.J. She found him sitting with his arms tucked around his knees, his back resting against the island, hiding him from view. She sighed, leaning down to sit next to him, tucking her feet under her legs Indian-style.

"Hey, bud, you okay?"

J.J. gave a quiet sniffle, staring at his knees pointedly. "I didn't mean to make Jet mad, I jus' really wanted Chinese." He glanced over at her, blinking a few times. "It's Mum's fav'rite."

Jenny smiled at him, shifting to wrap an arm around his small shoulders. "J, your…well, listen. Jet isn't angry with you. He just…he doesn't like it when people argue with him. And he didn't mean what he said. I know you miss your mother, Jake, but, well, Jet misses her too. Arguing with him over a dinner order's not going to get you anywhere, and I'm pretty sure you know that."

J.J. frowned slightly and conceded her point with a small nod, shifting to rest his head against her shoulder. "I—I know, I jus'…I wanted…if we keep doin' stuff Mum liked, then it's like she's not really gone, is she?"

Jenny sighed, hugging him just the slightest bit closer. "J…you want to know a secret?" She met his clear blue gaze as he looked up, nodding slowly. "My mom…she, passed away, when I was around 10. For a while, I used to get in trouble all the time with my dad, arguing with him because he wouldn't do things the way Mom used to. I thought just about the same thing you did, that if we kept doing things Mom's way, and if we kept doing the things she liked, that she wasn't really gone, then. But one day, Dad, he sat down with me, and told me this one thing: The people who really love you, like your mom, they never, ever leave you. There's always going to be those things your mum liked, and you know that. But, you can't…you and Jet need to have your own special things. Just because you don't eat Chinese food every night doesn't mean your mom's gone away for good. She'll always be there, as a part of you." Her thin finger tapped on his nose as she offered him another smile.

"But she's not here." J.J. frowned in protest, his eyes confused.

"Ah, but she is." Jenny took his small hand, splaying out the slightly crooked fingers of the boy's hand over her own palm. "Remember how Jet always says you have her hands?" J.J. nodded slowly, and Jenny went on, pointing a finger at his face. "You've got her nose, too, and her eyes." His face creased in a bashful smile, the bridge of his nose crinkling slightly. "And there, you do that nose crinkle thing she did, Jet's got a picture of the two of you, she's doing the same thing."

"But you guys always say I'm like Jet."

"You are, in a way, you act like him, and you seem to have picked up on quite a few of his looks, but, you're still your mother's child, J.J., and that's how she lives on." Jenny smiled at him again, noting his own smile in reply. "You like The Lion King, right?"

"Yeah, it's my fav'rite." J.J. grinned.

"Remember the Circle of Life, and all that stuff Mufasa told Simba? About how all of their ancestors, all the ones they loved that passed away, all those long dead guys up in the stars? They're always there, just like your mum is always there for you." Jenny rubbed his shoulder soothingly.

J.J. blinked and nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I…I get it now. I guess…I never thinked of it like that, I 'spose." He offered her a sheepish grin, lolling his head back against her shoulder again, his arms unwrapping from his knees and surrounding her waist in a short hug instead. "Thanks, Jenny."

She merely laughed in response, settling her chin on the top of his head briefly. "Not a problem, J. I know it doesn't sound like much, but, if you ever need a friend to talk to, about, you know, stuff about your mom, I'm here, okay?" She felt him nod against her chin, his arms tightening their hug for a moment, before he pulled away.

"I'm gonna…go back 'an say sorry to Jet."

Jethro cleared his throat, walking into the kitchen holding a take-out menu in his hand. "You don't need to, J." He knelt carefully, staring at J.J. calmly. "And you don't ever need to say sorry to me, buddy. I was out of line. If you want Chinese, we'll get Chinese, ok?" J.J. gave him a crooked grin, stepping forward to wrap his arms around Jethro's neck in a hug. Jenny smiled, raising her shoulder in a shrug to Jethro's questioning look, mouthing 'It's between him and me' in answer.


A/n: And, so, there you go, Chapter 3! ...I hate odd numbers.

but, anyways, I digress. apologies for the long wait, I had a little more trouble with this chapter than I thought. It's also considerably longer than I thought it would be, but, beggars can't be choosers, so...

As you can probably see, I also started another story this week, Speculations on Melted Wax, mostly because I was up at oh-dark-thirty with a box of crayons. Thus, my updates will be a little more spaced out as we move on, I'm working on both stories at the same time.

Apologies, again, I know I said I'd have the new chapter up earlier than this.

Reviews make me very happy, and help with the writer's block. :)

-meg