Disclaimer – NCIS is not mine
Kelly Gibbs sat on the hard stairs silently. She'd been listening intently to her father, listening to how he'd been as a younger man, intrigued by the red head who had stolen his heart and wanting to know more. Now though she looked up at the man who was always strong, never had she seen him cry or been fazed by something. But as she looked at him, in a world of his own staring at the door, she wondered if he was hoping that she'd walk back through the door. "She just left?" Kelly asked, confused by the live her father had lived.
"Yeah Kel', just like that." he said, trying to remain in his strong suit as he sat with his daughter. He didn't want her to see he was upset.
"But she said she loved you. Was it because you never said it daddy?"
"Yeah it was. See, I never said it because I didn't . . . I don't know I suppose that I didn't want her to leave. See I'd told Sha-Cheryl that I loved her." He said, correcting himself as he went along – after all she didn't know the real names yet. "Then she left, I didn't want to lose Jenny." It was the first time he had admitted it – ever. He looked down to see Kelly.
"You loved her didn't you?" She said looking up with her big inquisitive eyes. She was young, but in that moment she seemed as wise as Ducky.
"Yeah Kelly, yeah I did." He said pulling her into a hug and burying his head in her hair. He felt Kelly relax in his embrace, and for a slip second let himself wonder where Jenny was now. Had she climbed up the ladder? Was she next in line for the director? He'd checked where she was, how she was constantly for the months after she'd left, now though, now he realised it had been years since he checked. He wondered if she was hurt. Was she even dead? No, he decided, Morrow would have told him if she was dead, he'd have heard it through agency scuttlebutt. Was she still at NCIS? He wondered, or maybe she had left, married and had a family? He was ashamed to think that he had never asked her if she wanted children, if she wanted to get married. In all that time together they had never spoken of the future, yet neither had they spoken of the past. Instead they had just kept things as they were. Never thinking that things could change, or at least he hadn't.
"Daddy?" She asked, looking up, he smiled and looked down at her with a smile.
"Yeah darling." He said with a smile.
"What did happen next?"
Gibbs sighed and ran a hand through his hair, thinking back to those weeks and months that had followed the case. "We went back to Dc Kel', and after a few weeks Stan was offered to be agent afloat. You know on a big boat. Well that meant that within a few years he'd have his own team so he took the job and left. I remember Jenny sent him a card saying congratulations. I found it on his desk, her neat swirling writing." He remembered it well; there had been a picture of some grumpy dog on the front which had made him smirk.
"So it was just you and Uncle Mike?" Kelly asked.
"Yeah it was."
"So is that the end? Who is my mummy?"
"No Kel', that's not quite the end. Remember I said there were three women, you've only heard about two."
"Who was the third?"
"Hayley." Gibbs said, and then he began, remembering the woman whom he had met, remembering just how she had been a replacement for Jenny, something of course that he would never tell his daughter, something that would forever be his own silent secret.
It had been nearly two months since Jenny had left, two months and now look at where he was. Sat at his desk in NCIS, late . . . really late. Everyone had gone home, everyone apart from him, Mike and the director. But he was alone in the bullpen. His desk light the only light breaking the darkness. He sat there as he had many nights since Paris. Wishing that things had been different. Wishing that maybe he had told Jenny how he felt. It was him and mike now, Stan and Jen had gone. Yet still he was Probie, and he was pretty sure that he always would be in the eyes of his boss. This case was long, three marine couples killed, and yet there were still no leads.
"Stop moping around!" shouted Mike in his gruff way as he walked down the stairs.
"I ain't moping Mike!" He fired back.
"An' I'm the bloody president of the USA!" HE retorted sarcastically. "My god! You really fell for 'er didn't ya probie!?"
"Guess I did mike." He retorted with sigh.
"You know your problem gunny?"
"What's that mike?" He questioned, knowing he was gonna regret that as soon as he asked it.
"You need a woman."
"Yeah? And you're the president." He retorted back. Even in the dark late nights, there was still banter, and that was the only thing that kept them both sane on the long cases.
"Well, never speak too soon." Said Mike before he walked off. "You wantin' coffee or not?" He shouted back over his shoulder making Jethro shake his head and grab his jacket before following his boss. Just as the doors managed to close, Gibbs snuck in and stood there in silence. "You're payin'." His boss stated.
Gibbs looked at him. "How'd you figure that one out boss?"
"Well I just saved your ass from misery wi' my words of wisdom."
They walked along the pavement to the coffee shop. It was small but served a decent coffee to go, the fact that it was the only one open at this time of night also may be the reason it was the only one they went to. The streets of the city were damp after the downpour, but thankfully it had stopped now. The streetlights let off their mellow yellow glow over the paved streets. They finally arrived at the shop and Mike pulled out a cigarette, signalling Gibbs really was paying. "Those things will kill you one day." Said Gibbs glaring at the smoking object between his boss's fingers.
"Yeah, so will a bullet and we're both still doing this job." Shaking his head at his boss's denial Gibbs walked in to get the coffee.
It was warm inside so he unzipped the thick NCIS jacket. Looking around he saw a figure at the counter. Her hair was blonde and down in a French plait down her back. "Two black coffees to go." He said gruffly, usually they knew his order off by heart but he didn't recognise her so he was not going to take any chances. She turned and looked at him. The muscular body, bright blue eyes, soon she found herself smirking at him. Pink lip-gloss coated lips, full make up. Jethro couldn't help but think how she was the complete opposite of Jen, maybe that's what I need he thought to himself.
"You want sugar with that?" She asked.
"No, thanks." He said smiling as he watched her go about making the coffee. The jeans she was wearing fit her ass perfectly, meaning he was so distracted he didn't notice her place the coffee on the table.
"That'll be $3." She said as he quickly put a few notes down, trying to cover his track. But it hadn't worked. "You like what ya see?" She asked, smirking. Reserved he just gave her his signature smirk and walked off. Outside Mike stood waiting, the rain had started again so he was stood under the canopy, another cigarette dangling from his mouth. Gibbs handed him a coffee blindly and was about to drink his when his boss spoke.
"Who the hell is Haley and why does she want me to ring her?" He questioned. Confused Gibbs turned to see in large round writing the words: If ya liked what ya saw then call me-Hayley written on the polystyrene cup followed by her number. Smirking Mike handed Gibbs the cup and took the other one. "Get back in the saddle probie." He said before walking off. Gibbs looked in the coffee shop and saw her cleaning up, smirking to herself. And as much as it hurt, maybe it was what he needed. So he took a sip of his coffee before going back into the shop and inviting her out for dinner.
"I don't like her." Kelly said bluntly. He looked down at her and held back a laugh. She had a look as though if it was happening now she would make his life a living hell.
"Why?" She looked in deep thought for a moment.
"She's like the evil step mum in Cinderella." She said it was thought it was the biggest secret ever, or the meaning of life. But she was right; Haley had not been liked, and even after a few weeks even Mike had decided no woman was better than Haley. But for now he looked at Kelly who was running up the stairs to get her book and smirked, he decided that if he ever bumped into the blonde again he would keep Kelly well away, otherwise the little girl might get in her first cat fight before she had even hit double digits.