Chapter 3
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review my story! I really appreciate it =)
Gibbs and Grace were on the road by 8:00 the following morning, putting them in Stillwater close to noon. Gibbs drove straight to his dad's store when they got into town.
"Grandpa!" Grace cried as soon as they walked in the door. She raced over to Jackson and gave him a big hug.
"And how is little Miss Grace doing?" Jackson asked.
"Guess what Grandpa!" Grace said. "I living with Uncle LJ and he's my daddy now. Right?" Grace looked up at Gibbs.
"That right Sweet Pea," Gibbs said.
"I gonna go help Grandpa in the store now," Grace said as she trotted off.
"I'm glad you came Leroy," Jackson said giving his son a hug.
"How are you holding up Dad?" Gibbs asked.
"I've been better," Jackson confessed. "Did you find out what happened?"
Gibbs pulled up a chair so his dad could sit down. "Rob was driving drunk, went off the road, hit a tree. Grace was the only one wearing a seatbelt."
"Damn it! I wish your sister wasn't so stubborn!"
"This wasn't your fault Dad." Gibbs squeezed his father's shoulder. "We did everything we could to help her but Linda made her own decisions."
"I know," Jackson said. "It just didn't have to be like this."
"I know Dad. I know."
The two men were quiet for a moment before Jackson broke the silence. "Anyways, the house is open if you two want to head over there," Jackson said. "I wasn't sure if you'd come by here or go by there first."
"Ah, I think we'll hang out here with you. Gracie's straightening up shelves, hopefully not making more work for…"
"She's actually very good at straightening the shelves," Jackson interrupted.
That's because Robert demanded perfection, Gibbs thought. He'd already decided he wasn't going to share his suspicions of Grace's abuse. Robert was gone and Grace was safe, he didn't want to put any extra stress on his dad. "What do you need me to do Dad? You got stuff that needs to be marked? Sweep up the floors?"
"I just finished pricing everything yesterday," Jackson said, "but the floors haven't seen a broom in awhile."
The little church in Stillwater was full of mourners late Monday morning. The Gibbs family was well known in the small town and Linda's funeral was well attended. Gibbs and his father both looked sharp in their black suits, the only difference between them being Gibbs's black necktie and Jackson's grey one. Grace's black dress was fairly plain, with a few frills around the bottom. She sat on Gibbs' lap, playing with his fingers during the service. Despite Gibbs' best efforts to explain to her what was going on she still had a difficult time understanding. After the service at the church, close friends and family went to the graveside for a brief service and to say their final goodbyes.
"I'm sorry Linda," Gibbs said as he placed a red rose on top of her casket. He looked down at Grace, holding firmly to his pant leg. "Can you say goodbye to Momma?"
"Bye bye Mommy," Grace said waving at the casket. Gibbs lifted her up so she could put her rose on her mother's casket then held her on his side and kissed her cheek. After Jackson said his goodbyes they headed back to the church for lunch.
"Why does he do that Ducky?" Jenny asked.
"Do what my Dear?" Ducky asked as he tucked his patient away for the night.
"Close himself off? Is it that hard to have a conversation with me?" Jenny was sitting in Ducky's chair, reeling from the conversation she'd had with Gibbs in his basement.
"Jethro still loves you," Ducky confessed, slightly uncomfortable at the position he'd found himself. He leaned back against his desk facing the director.
"Well if he does he sure doesn't show it!" Jenny argued.
"Jethro is a man who loves very deeply," Ducky said, "but his loyalty also comes with a price."
"Which is?" Jenny questioned, somewhat calmer now.
"He shuts himself off to others in an attempt to protect himself from getting hurt. When one loves so powerfully and goes on to lose that love it stings far worse than someone like, well, take Anthony. He has a new girlfriend every week. He's able to let go of love and move on far easier than someone like Jethro."
"So what do I do Ducky?"
"Well, show him you're not going anywhere. Find a way to prove to him that you'll be there. How you do that is up to you my Dear," Ducky said as he stood.
"Thank you Ducky," Jenny said, obviously deep in thought.
"No problem," Ducky said as he exchanged his lab coat for his overcoat. "Always glad to help."
Gibbs didn't even get in the building Tuesday morning before his cell phone rang notifying him of a case. Grace was still half asleep on his shoulder as he strolled through the bullpen. "Grab your gear!" he ordered. "Gotta drop Gracie off at Abby's, I'll meet you in the truck."
While Tony, Ziva, and Tim sprang into action Gibbs took the elevator down to the lab. "Abs, I need a favor," he said.
"I would be honored to watch Grace!" Abby exclaimed without even waiting for Gibbs to ask.
"I gotta go to work now Sweet Pea," Gibbs told Grace. "You're gonna stay here with Abby."
"No! I want to come with you!" Grace pleaded. She tightened her grip around his neck. "I promise I won't get in trouble."
"I know you won't Cutie, but you have to stay here this time. I'll be back soon."
"But I will miss you Daddy." Grace's lower lip started to quiver.
Abby punched a few keys on her keyboard. "Come here Grace," Abby took Grace from Gibbs. "Look," she said pointing to a picture of Gibbs on the monitors. "Whenever you start to miss Daddy you can see him right up there."
Grace sniffed back a few tears as she looked at the monitor.
"Goodbye Gracie," Gibbs said kissing her forehead. "Thanks Abs!" he called as he hurried back to the elevator.
"I'm going to give you a very special job today Grace," Abby said. She put her down and went and got Bert. "This is Bert! Do you think you could take really good care of him for me?" Grace took Bert from Abby and smiled. "Do you know what kind of animal Bert is?"
Grace inspected the creature closely. "Bert is a rhinoceros, wait! I mean a hippopotamus."
"Very good Grace! You are one smart cookie!"
"I like cookies," Grace said.
Abby laughed. "I bet you do."
Gibbs and his team headed to Bethesda Naval Hospital to investigate the suspicious death of Petty Officer Second Class Benjamin Foster. He had been admitted three days prior for an emergency appendectomy and after a successful surgery he turned up dead early Tuesday morning. Tim took crime scene photos while Tony gathered evidence and Ziva took witness statements. After Ducky and Palmer collected the body and the team had finished their duties they headed back to NCIS headquarters.
When they returned to the Navy Yard Gibbs sent Tony and Ziva to Manassas to interview Foster's friends and neighbors and search his house while Tim dug into his past and pulled up all the records the Navy kept on him. Gibbs headed down to the lab to check on Abby and Grace.
"Daddy!" Grace yelled as she plowed into Gibbs' legs.
Abby smiled and took the Caf-Pow Gibbs was holding.
"Hi Gracie!" Gibbs said enthusiastically. He picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Did you have fun with Abby?"
"Uh-huh, and I helped her too," Grace said proudly. "I taked care of Bert all morning."
"I'm happy to hear that," Gibbs said. "Abby could use a little help down here." Gibbs smiled and winked at Abby.
"The evidence just came in from Bethesda Gibbs," Abby said. "I'll get it in the computer and I should have something for you soon."
"Thanks Abs." Gibbs leaned in and kissed her cheek in appreciation.
Abby smiled as she watched Gibbs and Grace walk out of her lab. Gibbs went back through the bullpen and grabbed Grace's jacket before going back to the elevator to leave.
"Can I push the button? Please?" Grace begged.
"Ok, only once," Gibbs said. He was surprised to find Jenny in the elevator when the doors opened.
"Director," he smiled at her, "getting off?"
"No," Jenny answered, "actually I'm headed out to grab a quick bite to eat."
"We were just going to lunch ourselves," Gibbs said. "Mind if we join you?"
"I'd like that," Jenny said twirling her finger through the back of her hair. She was thrilled at the opportunity to spend time with Gibbs and Grace.
Gibbs opened the passenger door of his car for Jenny to get in before buckling Grace into her booster seat in the back. They decided to go to the Chinese restaurant they usually ordered take-out from. Gibbs and Jenny made small talk on their way to the restaurant. Once they got there and were seated Gibbs ordered everyone's food. Jenny normally wouldn't let a man order for her but Gibbs was different, he knew what she liked and, even though she wouldn't admit it to him, she didn't mind letting him take control of certain situations.
"How's she settling in?" Jenny asked while they waited for their food.
Gibbs looked over at Grace who was coloring away on her children's menu. "She seems to be doing ok. We're having a little trouble with nightmares but nothing I can't handle."
Jenny smiled. "How was the funeral?"
"It was a nice service," Gibbs answered. "A lot of people showed up, the church provided a nice lunch, it was a nice day."
"Has she said anything about her M-O-M?" Jenny spelled, carefully avoiding saying the word in front of Grace.
Gibbs ran his hand down the side of Grace's face, letting his fingers run through her hair. Grace looked up and smiled at him. "Linda wasn't really… she had some problems," Gibbs said. "The guy she married was an angry drunk and he took it out on her. She had some emotional problems after going through that for so many years and when Gracie came along, you know, she did the best she could but emotionally I don't think Linda was there very much."
"She wouldn't leave him?" Jenny asked cautiously. She knew better than to pry too much with Gibbs.
Gibbs shook his head. "I went to Texas and got her when I got back from Desert Storm, took her back to Stillwater but she didn't stay long before going back. Dad and I tried everything we could but in the end she made her own decision."
"I'm sorry Jethro," Jenny said. She reached over and gently squeezed his hand. He let his thumb wander over her knuckles briefly before pulling away and taking a drink of his water.
"You've just gotta move on. What's done is done and now I've got Gracie and we're just going to move forward. Right Sweet Pea?"
"Right!" Grace said, not looking up from her coloring.
Jenny looked adoringly at Grace. "She's a cutie Jethro."
Gibbs smiled. "She sure is. She's my precious little angel."
"Daddy, we gonna eat soon?" Grace asked. "I'm hungry."
"I think I see our food coming right now," Gibbs answered.
The waiter served their food and refilled their drinks before disappearing to let them eat. Jenny took some of the vegetables off Gibbs plate, while Gibbs took her egg roll. Once they were done trading food they started eating.
"Jethro," Jenny said. She skillfully scooped up some of her cashew chicken with her chopsticks. "Do you think it could ever, you know, work between us again?" her voice trailed off as her nerves kicked in.
Gibbs let out an uneasy laugh. "Jen, I've kind of got a lot going on. Any particular reason you're bringing this up right now?"
Jenny responded with regained confidence. "I'd planned on having this conversation days ago but you were called to Texas…"
"I lived in Texas!" Grace interrupted.
"I know Sweetheart!" Jenny cooed at her.
Gibbs put Grace on his lap and twirled some of his lo mein on his chopsticks to feed to her.
"Working with you again brings back so many memories," Jenny continued. "Six years ago we weren't ready to…"
"We?" this time it was Gibbs who interrupted.
"Me. I," Jenny corrected herself. "I wasn't ready for anything permanent. I had other priorities, but things are different now, for both of us. Besides, watching you with Grace," Jenny smiled, "you're so good with kids Jethro."
Gibbs kissed the top of Grace's head. She was now using her fingers to wrap the Chinese noodles around a chop stick so she could feed it to Gibbs. "I'm not really sure what to say Jen," Gibbs said. He opened his mouth and let Grace feed him the single noodle she had worked so hard on before reclaiming his chopsticks from her.
"You don't have to answer right now," Jenny said. As much of a relief as it was for Gibbs, it was also a relief to her. She hadn't quite prepared herself for a no. "Just think about it and let me know later."
Gibbs nodded his head at Jenny and fed the last little bit of lo mein to Grace.
By the time they got back to NCIS Grace was sound asleep in the back of the car. She barely woke when Gibbs got her out. She snuggled into his shoulder while he carried her into the building. Jenny offered the couch in her office for the little girls nap. She brought the quilt Ziva had given Grace and Gibbs grabbed the pillow pet Abby had thoughtfully given to her. After he tucked her in on the couch and kissed her forehead Gibbs headed back downstairs to check on the progress of the case.
