Title: A Little Fall of Rain
Rating: K
Disclaimer: I don't own it. It's from Les Miserables
Spoilers: Nothing really,
Summary: And rain will make the flowers grow…
In Memory of Scott...
Warning: Character deaths…remember lynching is illegal.
In hindsight he should have seen it coming, wished he had. He should never have let her leave her office. Never should have agreed to this. She wasn't the type to sit on the sidelines, she wanted in the action and so he shouldn't have been surprised to see her follow Ziva into the building. They were trying to rescue a child, a case that had already had him to hell and back, and then they rushed in to find a gun at the little blonde girl's head. There was more then one baddie, he'd only taken out the one with the child, and managed to get her out of the way. He covered the child as more shots were fired and knew they'd just walked in to a trap. He had thought they had gotten everyone till he heard the one shot extra shot followed by another.
"Jenny!" Ziva's harsh scream had cut through his adrenaline and forced him to turn around. She hadn't been shot, the one he had thought was dead, had had a knife. That knife was now embedded in his one time partner's abdomen. She had doubled over with the pain and he could see her legs were failing.
"Jen," his voice was choked whisper. DiNozzo and McGee were beside him grabbing the child, leaving him free to catch her falling form. He got to her just in time and held her. "Jen."
"I…didn't see it."
"Shh, no talking," he ordered his voice strangely soft and gruff. "Jen…"
"I don't think there's a way out of this one Jethro," she whispered as the rain began to fall from the darkened clouds.
Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any
pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
He covered her body with his jacket, still holding her tightly, applying pressure to the wound, but the blood kept spilling. He knew if he removed the knife she would bleed out faster and yet the knife could be further damaging her organs.
"DiNozzo!"
"Bus is on its way Boss!"
"It's not going to get here in time," Jenny coughed. She wasn't a total idiot, and she couldn't help the feeling that everything was fading.
"You'll be fine, okay, a few stitches and a couple glasses of bourbon you'll be fine," he tried to joke.
"Jethro, don't," she warned softly, she wrapped her hand around his wrist.
You're here, that's all I need to know
And you
will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
And rain will make
the flowers grow.
The rain surrounded them, encasing them, the team stood off to the side. They were silent and watched the people they loved as parents say the final goodbye. Each knew and were slowly accepting what was happening. The Director of NCIS would be gone within the night.
"Jen come on, you've been hurt worse," he reminded trying to get her to hold on.
"Jethro, you weren't very good at this comforting thing the last time I was shot," Jenny tried to tease.
"Hey, we got out of that one just fine too," he reminded. "You walked out of that one just fine." She coughed again and he could still feel the blood spilling under his hands.
But you will live, 'Ponine - dear God above,
If
I could heal your wounds with words of love.
He felt her tighten her grip on his hand as a spasm racked her body. He held her tighter, pressing harder on the wound trying to get her life to stay. He couldn't go through this again, couldn't say goodbye to her. He wouldn't say goodbye, she'd be fine after the doctors got her.
"Jethro…" Her voice was fading, and he leaned closer to hear it over the rain.
"It's going to be okay."
"You know this isn't exactly what I pictured…"
"Don't be ridiculous, you're not going to die, you hear me?" She let her free hand touch his cheek. "You're not going to die."
Just hold me now, and let it be.
Shelter me,
comfort me
Ziva wrapped her coat around Jenny and backed away slowly. She didn't want to intrude on the goodbye; she knew would have to be said. She could feel her heart tightening as she watched the one person she had always admired fade. A faint smile crossed her face though as she watched Jenny rest her head on Gibbs' shoulder.
"Gibbs is going to raise this guy from the dead and kill them again," Tony whispered. Ziva placed her hand on his shoulder. McGee stepped forward and away from them, Tony held him back.
"Its not our place," Ziva said.
"You're her friend."
"Trust me, she's where she wants to be," Ziva answered. She pulled a letter from inside her shirt pocket.
"What's that?"
"Something she gave me in Cairo, to give
to her partner if she didn't make it."
"But she did make it, so she's going to make it now," Tony protested. Ziva turned her gaze to him, and shook her head. Tony put his arm around her shoulders and the three watched. "I feel like I'm saying goodbye to my mother."
You would live a
hundred years
If I could show you how
I won't desert you now...
"Guess I'm not going to make fifty," Jenny sighed trying to hide her pain.
"You're going to make one hundred and two," Gibbs tried to reassure.
"In this job?" She questioned. "You have to learn to say goodbye Jethro."
He continued applying pressure; he could hear her breath shortening as she fought away the pain. His hand that was not applying the pressure, tried to sooth the aching pain in her. He had always loved the color red, especially on her, but now he decided he hated it. He pulled her impossibly closer vowing never to let her go again. Their past flashed before him and he would give anything to have had any one of those moments last forever. Anything to stop this, anything to keep her here with him…
"Jenny?" She'd fallen to silent for his liking.
"Hm?" Her breath was failing. He could feel her skin dampening and becoming colder by the second.
"We're going to have to get you a new coat, you always get so cold."
"It's raining, Jethro," she pointed out.
"Yea, you always liked the rain, like that park in Positano…" His mind drifting to a time they fell asleep in the sun filled park only to wake up to pouring rain.
"Good times," she replied smiling faintly. "I've missed those times."
"Me too," he responded.
The rain can't hurt me now
This rain will wash
away what's past
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me
close
I'll sleep in your embrace at last.
The rain was starting to ease up and Jenny knew she would give anything to see one more sunset. It was funny how the little things you took for grant till you knew you would never see another one. She knew she wouldn't see the sun shine again, or set, or rise. Starring at his ice blue eyes though, she decided she didn't need anything else.
"Jethro…"
"Jen, I…" She placed her fingers to his lips. She tilted her head up and met his eyes with her fading green ones. She pressed her lips lightly to his, tasting his breath one last time. She felt the tears on her cheeks as he kissed her back softly. He pulled back slightly to meet her eyes again and found the tears spilling from them slowly.
"I should have done that years ago," she whispered sadly.
"We still have years left," he promised, knowing that it was becoming a false one. He could feel her pulse slowing, but could also hear the sirens in the distance. Help was on its way, he prayed and called upon every spirit he knew to not let it be to late.
The rain that brings you here
Is
Heaven-blessed!
The skies begin to clear
And I'm at rest
A
breath away from where you are
I've come home from so far
So
don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can
hardly hurt me now
Her hand cupped his cheek, her skin soft as he remembered it. He wanted her to look at him that way for the rest of his life, because he knew he wouldn't let her go now. Not after they finally found their way back to each other. He wouldn't let Death take her. His thoughts must have been on his face because she smiled as best she could as her body racked itself in more spasms.
"I never wanted to say goodbye," she told him. "I couldn't ever say goodbye."
"You won't have to."
"Don't be to hard on your team,"
she warned.
"I'm not hard on them," he denied trying to get her smile back. He would bottle that look and store it on the shelf in his mind.
"Promise me something," she said hesitantly.
"Anything."
"Try not to get yourself in a life or death situation for awhile," she said.
"In this job?" He tried to joke using her own words, but he could see the fear she had within her green eyes. "Okay, not for a while anyway."
"Good," she responded. She felt his hand brush through her hair and relaxed into his touch.
Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine,
You won't feel any
pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt you now
"I'm here," he promised.
"That's all I need to know," she smiled. The rain had turned into a soft misting that covered them in droplets.
I will stay with you
Till you are sleeping
He held her closely, trying to engrave her in his mind forever and ever. He should never had let her come, never had let her leave her office. And yet he knew she wouldn't have stayed put, it's what he loved about her. Love…
And rain...
Will Make the flowers…
She met his eyes one last time knowing she couldn't watch them cloud over in any more pain as she slipped away. She kissed him again, and he responded, desperate to make the kiss last eternity. He felt her hand slip away from his face and her kiss fade away. Her head slipped to his shoulder, her eyes closed as if she was sleeping, and he knew…she was gone.
"Jenny? No, come on Jenny, please don't die, please don't…Jen…" His voice was barley above a whisper and the team tried to stay away. Ziva's eyes filling with tears, knowing her friend was gone, that this time, she couldn't save her. The ambulance pulled up and Tony and Ziva moved closer to separate Gibbs from Jenny. What they heard fall from his lips; they knew they would never forget. "I'm sorry Jen, I'm so sorry."
Grow
"It's been ten years," Tony said to Ziva as they stood outside the hospital room watching their one time boss. McGee and Abby stepped out followed by Jimmy Palmer, NCIS's new medical examiner as Ducky had finally retired back to Scotland.
"They said his heart just gave out," Jimmy repeated.
"There wasn't any indication of it," McGee added trying to sooth his friends' guilt of having not noticed.
"He died of a broken heart," Ziva concluded. Tony had finally learned not to question his partner's conclusions and so let it be. "Did he say anything?" Abby smiled a little through her tears and running makeup.
"Yea…he said Jen," She told them. The team smiled, everything wasn't going to be okay, but they had feeling it was going to get a little better.
He watched them from the corner of the room, his team, his family, his children, the only things in his life that had kept him going after she had left him. He turned to examine his shell of a body, he was glad that the afterlife gave him back his younger looks. It turns out he wasn't the only one who got their young looks back either. Jennifer Shepard stood in front of him looking not a day older then she had in Paris wearing a very familiar lilac sweater.
"Hello Jethro," she greeted very similar to the manner when she'd walked back into his life the second time.
"Jen…so this is what death feels like?"
"Yea you get used to it," she replied laughingly. "Come on." She held out her hand from him to take but he was hesitant. "You can't go back this time Jethro."
"I don't want to go back, I just…"
"Come on, there's someone who wants to see you," She coaxed leading him through a bluish whirlpool of lights. They stepped out reappearing in what he swore was NCIS Headquarters.
"I'm
spending eternity at work?"
"Hardly, this is just a stopping
point," she assured leading him down the stairs toward his desk
where his first surprise sat on looking the same as she had when he'd
last saw her.
"Hi Gibbs."
"Kate?"
"Hello Gibbs," a male voice greeted, Jenny quickly restrained him as he tried to lunge for the man responsible for his one agent's death.
"Ari you
son of a…"
"Jethro, Kate has something she wants to tell
you," Jenny snapped his voice brining him back to the fact that
Kate was standing with her arm around Ari.
"I'm happy Gibbs, please say you're happy for me," The young brunette pleaded. Gibbs was a little stunned by the whole thing and simply nodded letting Jenny lead him toward the elevators. He looked back at Kate as the doors closed and she waved happily.
"So Kate…and Ari?"
"Kind of a surprise to me too," she assured. "Kate was my guide."
"Guide?"
"Angel of Death, something like that, its my job here, to lead you through to you eternity or eternity till your reborn depending on someone higher up," Jenny explained. Gibbs paused at this, happy to find that being in heaven…or wherever they were did not affect the emergency stop on the NCIS elevator. He had never given much thought except for the fact that he would be back with Kelly…and Shannon. He always thought Jen would outlive him, not the he would leave her…again.
"So this eternity place…where's yours?"
"Paris," she answered. "Sometimes I see my father, mostly I stay in Paris."
"But…"
"It'll all be explained Jethro, just relax." She let the elevator start again and when he stepped off he was on a beach next to the shore with Jenny standing beside him.
"Mexico."
"A nice place to start retirement," she teased before her smile fell away and a serious expression took hold. He didn't think you were supposed to be serious in heaven.
"Jen?"
"Jethro, I want to tell you a story." He nodded for her to continue. "Many eons ago, after humans evolved and such, we were given souls, the souls were split in half and placed with individuals. Humans love companionship, so the Gods thought it would be ideal. We would find the other half of our souls and never be alone for as long as humanity existed. We would always be reborn to find our soul mate. Somewhere early on, a woman found the other half of her soul…they got together, had a child, and then he was killed in a war between clans. She had her child, but she was so alone, it wasn't fair that she should be separated from him and so she couldn't imagine him ever having to be separated from her, so she split her half in halves, one binding to look after her child and one to fade away to the eternal lands to be with her mate.
The gods…they didn't like this too much and so they vowed that every other time the souls were reborn only one of the woman's half would find the mate. And so it went until a time not so long. The woman found her mate, they had a child, she and the child were both killed leaving her mate all alone. The child's soul had aged enough to finally understand the sadness and pain that both her parents went through. So she found the Book of Souls and stole it from the Gods. She found the other half of the woman's soul and ensured that her father would meet her, and they did meet and they were together for a while, until she too died. The Gods were very angry with the child but she was defended by both halves of the woman's soul, and rather then combine them into one half of a soul again, they were still split. The would not be able to exist in the same places within heaven, but the child could move between the planes and the man could as well, but you see he had to make a choice, one that you now have to make Jethro."
"A choice."
"This story is about you, essentially."
"So…you…and Shannon…"
"We share parts of the same half soul, the half the belongs makes yours whole."
"And Kelly?"
"Is very much like you, always looking for answers, not resting till everything is solved," Jenny laughed.
"So I have to chose between…"
"Well yes…sort of."
"Sort of?"
"There is another choice, something that the Gods themselves used once. You would spend half a mortal year with each of us."
"And Kelly?"
"Kelly can travel between the worlds and she and I can exist in the same plane," Jenny said.
"So
that's the choice I have to make and you can't tell me which one
to chose."
"Free will Jethro, I've overstayed my visit as
it is," she sighed glancing at the far horizon. "There's really
only one thing I have left to do."
"And what's that?" She
stepped closer to him, kissing him softly. She pulled away before he
could deepen the kiss and slipped away towards another portal of
lights where he could tell she was starring at something intensely.
She held out a hand and he watched a smaller one accept and leap
through the portal landing softly on her feet. He would recognize
that little face anywhere. "Kelly?"
"Daddy!" The little girl bolted from Jenny's side into his waiting arms. He held her tightly finally able to hold her as he had wished to for years. He looked over her head and watched Jenny for a moment. She gave a smile wave and blew a kiss, before she turned and stepped through another portal. In her place Shannon appeared.
"Shannon," his voice was hoarse as he saw her for the first time in so long. He didn't know how to explain it; he had never felt so completely and yet still a part of him felt like it was missing. He wondered if that was what Jenny meant. Shannon came closer kissing him above Kelly's head.
"Hello Jethro," she greeted.
"Shannon I…"
"You have to make your choice Jethro," Shannon said.
"But…" How could he stay with his wife and still make sure Jenny was all right?
"She won't know for at least another mortal year."
"But she said it was half a year."
"If you chose that, she has to forfeit her first turn, she interfered in a mortal life without the okay."
"She saved Ziva's life," Kelly spoke up. "Said it was to pay a debt." And Gibbs knew what they were talking about. Nearly two years after Jenny had been killed they were in a firefight, Ziva had been wounded fatally but had survived by a miracle. He knew now, Jenny was that miracle. Kelly ran off to play in the waves as Shannon shooed her on her way. Jethro finally got to hold her as he'd dreamed off.
"I know what you'll chose," she told him.
"You…" his voice was hoarse again for an entire different reason. He had only ever truly loved two women, Shannon and Jen. Why couldn't he just combine them?
"…and Jen. It's not a betrayal Jethro. She's a part of me as I'm a part of her. You can't feel guilty for loving her."
"But…"
"No buts Jethro, you'll see her in a year, we've discussed it."
"She said she wasn't allowed to make the choice."
"We both aren't, but we were allowed to meet once, and we talked."
"Do I even want to know?"
"Hm…no."
"And she won't tell me either?"
"Probably not, but you can try," Shannon told him wrapping her arms around him.
"You both always seemed so jealous…"
"Oh don't think we aren't going to talk about those ex-wives. Honestly, it was about time Kelly interfered. I was getting ready to."
"So you didn't like the ex-wives but…"
"I told you Jethro, we're apart of each other," Shannon reminded leading him down toward the shore. He let the conversation filter to his mind, instead enjoying his family.
"A whole year," Ziva sighed dramatically.
"New rule, no one is allowed to die for a while," Tony issued.
"Tony I outrank you," McGee reminded.
"Probie, Gibbs called Jenny Junior Director, don't think you're getting out of the Probie…or would you rather me call you elflord?"
"You two," Abby scolded. The four glanced around the room. "Do you think he really saw Gibbs?"
"Oh yes, most defiantly," Ziva assured.
She was waiting for him. Sitting in her one time office chair pretending to flip through papers simply waiting for the door to be thrown open. It was Kelly who had told her what was going to happen, she had never been more thankful for the child then that moment. She could hear the footsteps, almost could hear Cynthia's expected shouting, and the door blew open and in he walked.
"Just as I was starting to think of my door as a door again," she sighed dramatically.
"Got anyone to call back this time?"
"Nope, why?" He walked over leaned down and kissed her. She certainly wasn't going to let a kiss like that go to waste. Except the world suddenly shifted and they could hear a voice behind them.
"Eh hem, I do believe you two have been caught twice now."
"Ducky!" They both broke apart quickly turning to face the older man. Jenny looked around to find them in a hospital room.
"Ducky did you…"
"Apparently so…terribly tragedy I'm sure. And how are you two?"
"Fine, Duck thanks for asking," Gibbs answered.
"So where we off to?" Ducky asked.
"Well you see I got this boat…" Jenny began leading through the whirlpool to a street in France that led to the docks.
"You know this reminds me of a time…" Ducky continued in his usual fashion. Jenny and Jethro walked behind, their hands intertwining.
"Do you
think we should remind him we were there?"
"Let him talk,"
Gibbs responded leaning down to kiss her again.
Ducky glanced behind him to see his two friends lip locked again and sighed dramatically. Sure it may have been years but he had always known this moment would come. About damn time too, he thought stopping and picking a flower from a vendor and then an umbrella as rain started to fall.
Author's Note: I promise something fluff next time, but this just needed to be written. Now just remember it is illegal to lynch and that I usually write you all fluff.
