DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!
DEAD DOESN'T MEAN FOREVER
Ch 11
Gibbs stopped at the sound of the phone ringing. Instinctively he pulled it from his hip, but froze before flipping it open. Fear gripped him at what the caller might have to say.
His vision blurred as he tried to focus on the target who was still oblivious to his suspicions. He ached to take the steps forward, but found he couldn't move. The phone kept ringing and the vibration in his hand demanded that he answer.
The caller ID let him know it was Fornell. He'd only be calling if he had found something. Gibbs' gut burned, feeling that only the worst of news was to come from the voice on the other end.
Knowing he could no longer put off the inevitable he flipped the phone open, his heart pounding, his breathing labored, and sweat pouring down his back and his brows pinched with worry. "Gibbs," he worked out around the lump now lodged in his throat.
"Jethro," Fornell's voice told him the news before he said the words. "I'm sorry…"
Visions of Shannon's and Kelly's dead bodies appeared in his mind. Too many crime scenes. Too many ways people had been murdered. Too many bodies found bloodied and mangled. Gibbs dropped the phone, bent over at his waist and held his head in his hands. After a few breaths he stood and an ear shattering, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" escaped, echoing throughout the lab. Then everything was gone.
Darkness surrounded him. His breaths were still fast and his heart still raced. 'I'm alive,' he thought. He was lying on a bed, coolness wafted over his sweat soaked body. He laid on his back, putting his arm over his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. Tears were lingering at the edge of his eyes.
Before he could completely comport himself he felt movement on the bed next to him and a soft warm arm landed on his chest, the hand splayed open with the fingers caressing his chest over his heart.
"Another nightmare?" her soft voice asked.
"Yeah," he answered. Despite the horrors he recently witnessed, he found a smile work its way onto his face, as he put his hand over hers. "Just another nightmare."
She snuggled closer to comfort him. "It's okay Gibbs. I'm here and I'll take care of you," she lightly kissed his jaw as her head rested on his shoulder.
He turned and kissed her lips, letting them linger and relish in their softness. "I know Shannon. I know you'll always be with me."