A/N: A little warning to those who care that the rating is a little higher in the beginning of this chapter. Thanks for still reading and have a great weekend!
***JIBBS***JIBBS***JIBBS***
Jenny woke up before her alarm. She groaned when she saw the time – 0458 – and figured she might as well get an early jump on her day. She sat up on her elbows, trying to get her bearings, and looked over at her husband. Sam had taken over more of his side of the bed, his arm flailed across Jethro with Simon sitting on his face. She tried not to laugh, finding it rather adorable.
Gibbs must have felt her eyes on him because he then opened his quickly. He was a bit startled to find a teddy bear on him. He gently gave his son back his arm and sighed, unsure if he wanted to wake up or not. He glanced in his wife's direction and noticed she was staring at him, amused by his situation. "Morning," he whispered.
"Good morning, yourself. I'm going to the bathroom. Be right back."
He realized he had to go too, so he quickly went down the hall to use the other bathroom. After, he went to their master bathroom and tapped quietly on the door. Jenny let him in and smiled as he closed and locked the door behind him.
"So are we hiding from the kids?" she asked, allowing him to wrap his arms around her waist. He nodded and kissed her temple. "Kids," she repeated, finding it surreal. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around this."
He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers. "Tell me about it." She put her arms around his neck, and it felt so good to him to be held by her. "Were you able to sleep?" She nodded and lowered her head down against his shoulder. "So you're not exhausted anymore?" he asked.
She felt his smile against her neck, understanding his meaning. "Is that your not-so-subtle way of asking for a quickie in here?"
He kissed her behind her ear as his hands caressed her back. "Well, I'd rather it not be quick or in here but I'm not sure how else we can do it."
Her fingers made their way through his chest hair as she leaned her face up to kiss him. "Gotta do what we gotta do."
Gibbs kissed her deeply as he maneuvered her to the counter, easily lifting her up on it. He broke away from the kiss to pull her shirt over her head. "Keep quiet."
Jenny wiggled out of her shorts, dropping them to the floor. "You too," she said pointedly as she untied his sweats and shoved them downward with her feet. "The counter's cold," she commented while wrapping her legs around his waist, digging her feet into his hips.
"Give me a few seconds to warm you up." He kissed her hungrily as his hands sought to possess every inch of her.
She needed him so much, letting her hands get lost in his hair as he had his way with her. Their bodies moved as one, with Jenny holding on tightly to him, her head thrown back as their passion increased. It took every ounce of her control to keep her mouth shut, biting her lip to the point of almost drawing blood. She needed this just as much as he did. She had to feel his commitment to her, to their life together. It wasn't enough to just be parents – she had to have her husband, her partner, her lover. Making love to him always made her feel that as long as they were together, they could handle anything.
Gibbs grunted when they eventually finished, a satisfied smirk crossing his lips. "Not as bad as I thought in here." He saw her disbelief. "Lots of mirrors," he whispered into her ear, making her smile. "God I love you." She said the same thing back before their lips crashed together one more time. They were soon interrupted by Julia's cries, breaking them apart.
Jenny laughed. "Her timing's getting a tiny bit better." He chuckled as he watched her put her shorts and shirt back on.
Before she made it out the door, they heard Sam yelling. "Stop crying, baby!"
They looked at each other, trying not to laugh. Jenny shook her head, "Oh boy. You get him, I'll get her."
Gibbs smiled as he quickly put his sweats back on. "And so it begins."
A few hours later, Jenny and Sam were sitting in chairs, waiting to see Vivienne. He held on tightly to Simon for comfort. She wasn't sure, but she thought he looked even smaller and a bit scared. She put her arm around him reassuringly. "You'll get to see Mommy soon. The doctor will tell us as soon as he's done examining her."
He nodded. "When can I see Gaddy? I miss him too."
She took her fingers and smoothed out his hair. "I know you do. Let's ask the doctor when we see him, okay?" He sighed, letting Jenny know he was getting frustrated with his situation. Just then, her phone began to vibrate, and she cursed the fact that she couldn't be unreachable. "Sorry, Sam. I have to take a call." She pressed a button and put the phone to her ear. "Shepard," she announced, obviously annoyed.
Cynthia sighed. She hated her job sometimes. "Sorry to disturb you, Director, but SecNav has requested that you join him for lunch at 1300, his usual place. I checked the calendar and you are free, but I didn't want to assume that you'd be back by then."
"Please tell him I'll be there. Thank you, Cynthia. Anything else?"
"I take it things aren't going well on your end?"
Jenny shook her head. "Lots of waiting. And I don't think either of us like it," she said, glancing at Sam.
At NCIS, Gibbs was in Jenny's office, needing privacy to make a couple of phone calls as he waited for a warrant to come through on the case. He dialed a number and waited until the person finally answered. "Dad, it's me."
"Leroy! How was the honeymoon? Your girls love it?"
Gibbs scrubbed his hand down his face. "It already feels like that was a hundred years ago. Yeah, great time."
"Son, what's wrong?"
Gibbs leaned back in his wife's chair, his eyes focused on the framed picture of Julia on her desk. "Got a surprise yesterday."
"What?"
"Turns out I have a son. He's 4-years-old and named Sam." He listened. "Dad, are you okay?"
Jack's eyes widened as he looked at his phone in shock. "Leroy, let me turn my hearing aid up. I couldn't have heard you right."
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's a shock for me too."
"Who's his mother?"
"I'll fill you in later. Want to schedule a weekend to meet him?"
Jack couldn't stop smiling.
Jenny and Sam were about to enter Vivienne's room. She looked down at him. "You sure you're ready for this?" When he nodded, she guided him inside. She took a seat in the chair next to the woman's bed, lifting Sam up on her lap so he'd be closer to her. "Remember, the doctor said not to touch her."
"I know," he answered, his voice cracking with emotion. "Mommy, wake up."
Vivienne's eyes were heavy but she managed to open them. "Hey there, Sammy. How's my big boy?"
"I miss you," he said, trying not to cry. "When can you and Gaddy take me home?"
Jenny could see that Vivienne was struggling, trying not to cry. She hated to interrupt, but she got the feeling that the woman had no idea how to answer her son. "Sam, she's going to take you home as soon as she can, but she has to get all better first."
"That's right, Sam," she said, shooting Jenny a grateful look. "Who's your new friend?"
"I'm Jenny Shepard, Vivienne. I'm the director of NCIS," she said smiling, trying to put the other woman at ease.
She sighed. "Gibbs' boss."
"And his wife." She saw the woman seemed mildly surprised. Not that it was easy to tell. She was obviously in a lot of pain. She'd been told the burns on her arms and body were extensive. Her face seemed to have deep cuts and bruises, but Jenny had expected her to look much worse. "You have a pretty amazing son in this one," she said, rubbing his shoulder.
Sam immediately tensed up, worried his mommy might not like the other woman taking care of him.
"Yes, I do. Hope he hasn't been too much trouble." Talking was a little easier for Vivienne today, but she was still struggling a bit.
"I don't want to tire you out. I thought it important that we meet – mother to mother – so I could tell you Sam is in good hands and hopefully put your mind at ease," she said gently. "He misses you terribly and asks about you and your husband all the time, but we love him already and we'll take precious care of him until you're able to do it yourself. You have my word."
Vivienne's eyes began to tear again. "Thank you," she said hoarsely, obviously moved by her words.
Sam became visibly upset. He turned around to face Jenny, his lower lip quivering as he did his best to hold back the tears. "Stop making my mommy cry."
Jenny's heart melted, seeing his pain. She reached out to comfort him. "But Sam…"
He pulled away from her, crawled down off her lap and ran around to the other side of Vivienne's bed. When Jenny followed him, he pointed at the door. "You go now. We gon't neeg you," he cried out, sniffling as he tried to hold it together.
"Enough Sammy," admonished Vivienne, as loud as she could manage. She saw she had his attention. "Honey, don't blame her. She was trying to make me happy."
He calmed down a little, but he still looked warily at Jenny, not sure if he completely believed.
"Please, be my brave, big boy for Jenny and Gibbs and a good big brother. Do you like the baby?"
He frowned. "She cries a lot. She grools too."
"Teething," Jenny said quietly.
Vivienne looked to be fading. "I remember those days. Sammy, I'm getting tired. I love you."
"I love you too, Mommy! I want to stay with you. Gon't make me go," he cried.
Jenny looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes, his words breaking her heart. She couldn't imagine how Vivienne was handling it. "Sam, we'll come back but we have to let your mommy get her rest so she can heal."
"No!" he stomped his foot. "It's not fair! I want to stay with Mommy. Gon't you love me still?"
Vivienne saw the tears streaming down his face, and they mirrored her own. "You know I love you!"
Jenny was beside herself watching it all play out in front of her. She had her own tears falling and made a move towards Sam. He saw her coming and freaked out, instead running past her out the door crying. Jenny turned to Vivienne, her hand over her mouth in shock.
Vivienne also looked traumatized, her eyes begging Jenny. "He can't be allowed to run all over. Please stop him."
"I'll go to him. And don't worry - one of my bodyguards stopped him, I'm sure." She saw the other woman completely shaken. "I'm so sorry. We had such a good night and morning. I just…" she broke off, not even knowing what to say.
"Jenny, I can't begin to thank you for all you're doing and for bringing him here. Please don't let him go through this alone."
"He'll never be alone. Know that."
Vivienne saw the other woman's determination and believed her. "Thank you."
Jenny wiped the tears from her face and nodded tightly, trying to keep it together. "One of us will keep bringing him back to visit. Get better, Vivienne. He needs you."
"I know," she managed. "I'm trying."
Back at NCIS, Gibbs received the call he'd been waiting for. "Hey Mike, thanks for calling me back." He quickly returned to Jenny's office so they could speak privately.
"This better be good, Probie. You interrupted my morning siesta."
"Siesta? Shouldn't you just be waking up?"
"I don't judge you, do I?"
Gibbs laughed. "Yeah, well, thought you'd want to know some news."
"You didn't knock her up again, did you?"
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Nooooo, but you're not too far off."
Mike groaned. "It's too early for riddles. Spit it out."
Gibbs looked out the window. "Found out yesterday that a woman I was seeing casually several years ago… had a baby. I have a 4-year-old son, if you can believe it."
"Jesus, Jethro," he said, quickly finding a chair to sit in. "I guess congrats are in order. Tell me, how's Slugger dealing with it?"
"She and Sam are bonding a lot faster than he and I are," he admitted, a bit resentful.
"That's not what I meant. I'm sure she's a great mom to him. But that's a lot to digest."
Gibbs was suddenly feeling inadequate. "I think she's okay. We haven't really had a chance to talk."
"Find the time. Those still waters of hers run awfully deep. Tread carefully."
"Yeah. I will." Gibbs sighed, now a little worried.
Outside Vivienne's room, Jenny spotted Melvin trying to calm Sam down. She walked towards them. "We have to go." She reached her hand out for Sam to take, but he refused. "We'll talk about this in the car, but we need to get on the road. If you don't want my hand, will you at least follow?"
He planted his feet firmly on the ground, shaking his head furiously. "I want to stay with Mommy."
"I know you do, and I promise we'll bring you back here but I have to hurry back to the office, drop you off and go to my meeting with my boss. Please?" she pleaded.
He shook his head no, just as determined.
"I'm sorry to do this to you, Sam." Jenny sighed, looking from one bodyguard to the other before deciding. "Melvin, can you?" she motioned towards Sam with a nod of her head.
He instantly grabbed Sam around his legs, tossed him over his shoulder and stood up fluidly. The young boy began screaming as they headed down the hallway. Jenny ignored the stares they were getting, silently cursing the way her day had turned out.
Jenny was almost grateful to be given the silent treatment all the way back so that she could try to get the feelings that were threatening to overwhelm her under control. When they arrived back at NCIS, he tried to run away from her in the garage but she grabbed a hold of his shirt collar from behind. "Not so fast, young man."
"You're being mean again," he spit out, the worst insult he had in his still growing vocabulary.
"That may be but I'm still the grown up here, and you have to listen to what I say." All four stepped into the elevator. Jenny pressed the bullpen's floor but as it started to go up, she flipped the switch, kneeling down next to him. "I know you're angry. But I still love you, and Daddy Gibbs loves you. OK?" She realized he wasn't budging. She stood back up and flipped the switch again to restart the elevator. "Bet I know whose side you take after in the stubborn department."
Henry snorted despite himself and quickly turned serious when Jenny raised an eyebrow his direction. "Sorry, Ma'am."
"It's all right," she said, managing a small smile. "OK, young man, when this elevator comes to a stop, there will be no running in the office. We will walk to see Gibbs. Am I understood?" He didn't say anything. "Am I understood?"
Taken aback by the sternness in her tone, he nodded.
"That's more like it." The doors opened and he ran out, bee-lining it for Tony's desk. She sighed, watching him go. "Great," she said, shaking her head. "I will see you both in 10 minutes, when I hope to be back in charge of some people who may actually listen to me."
She passed Tony. "Please take care and comfort him for a few minutes." She then walked over to her husband, ignored the look he was giving Tony, grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the elevator. Once they were between floors, she flipped the switch. "First, are Julia and Mildred doing all right in my office?" He nodded. "Good," she said, nodding her head. Many times.
"Are you okay?" She stopped nodding her head and slowly shook it instead, trying not to cry. "Honey, what's wrong?" He held her as her breathing increased, worrying him that she might be in the midst of a panic attack. "You're not going to zone out on me are you?"
"It was unbelievably horrible, Jethro. I… I don't even know how it all went so wrong." She looked around, trying to catch her breath until she fell into his arms and burst into tears. He held her, trying not to freak out about what could have happened to make his wife, normally made of steel, crumble like a house of cards before his eyes.
