Closer Reality

A/N: We're starting with the events of Faith and Jackson appears from now on – so there'll be some bits from the episode and some I've changed entirely, so I hope you'll bear with my waffling. And for anyone wanting to start the betting pool for the number of chapters in total for this monster (and I have no idea of the answer to that one either!)... the intention is to cover all of Faith, continue through Christmas and end this story on New Year's Eve. Ice cream and bourbon for the closest guess!


Chapter 11 – Arrivals

Next morning Abby stood at the kitchen sink, rinsing out their coffee mugs. She jumped slightly when strong arms slid around her waist from behind.

"You nearly ready," Gibbs mumbled into her neck.

Abby smiled, turning to press a kiss against his hair. "Sure am. Have you heard from Jack yet?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nope... guess we can assume he's on a later flight."

"He would let us know if he wasn't coming, right?" Abby asked, concerned.

Gibbs squeezed her waist as she leaned back into him. "I'm sure he'll be here. He's bound to let us know coz he'll need picking up."

Despite what he'd said to Abby over the past couple of days, Gibbs wasn't completely confident Jack would be coming.

There was something about that phone call the other night that was still nagging at him, but he knew how worried and upset Abby was that it might be because she was here in the house that Jack had tried to get out of visiting them.

But if his dad didn't turn up, he was gonna get to the bottom of it.

He wouldn't let Jack upset Abby. If his old man had a problem with their relationship, he'd have to deal with Gibbs first.

They were together... end of.

Jack could either accept it or not... it certainly wasn't gonna change anything.

Abby sighed, mustering up a wan smile. "Okay then, I'll stop worrying... until I have to."

"I'll go clear the truck." He bent to nip her neck, making her giggle and squirm.

Gibbs went outside and started clearing the truck of the overnight snow so they could set off to work. In the living room where she was sorting through her bag, Abby had a good view as a minibus pulled up outside.

Her eyes widened when she saw who was getting out of the vehicle. "Well, I'll be damned..."

Gibbs turned at the sound of a familiar voice to see his father waving goodbye to the occupants of the minibus. "Merry Christmas, everybody! Loretta, thanks for the ride. Bye-bye. You drive careful now."

Gibbs shook his head as Jackson picked up his suitcase and met him at the gate. "Hey, dad. We didn't expect you till tonight."

"Well, I like my pilots caffeinated and fresh. I caught an earlier flight." Jackson sighed. "No matter. I made it."

Gibbs nodded, stepping close and eyeing Jack before pulling him into a hug. "Yeah, you did."

Jackson accepted the hug and looked over the outside of the house when they parted. "Too many years since I was here last."

Gibbs shot Jack a look. "Yeah. Whose fault is that, huh?"

"We gonna do this again, son?" retorted Jackson.

Just inside the front door, hand on the door handle, Abby fought the urge to roll her eyes as she heard the exchange.

Seriously... already?

It didn't take the two of them long to start butting heads.

Abby hastened outside before things could escalate further and the older man's attention was drawn to her appearance at the front door.

"Jack!" Abby shuffled carefully down the partly icy path and threw her arms around Jackson when she reached them, and the older man laughed and hugged her back.

"Hey there, sweetheart. You're a sight for tired eyes." Jackson held her at arm's length and looked her over, and Abby was reassured to see what looked like genuine warmth in his ready smile and twinkling blue eyes so like his son's.

Gibbs took his dad's suitcase. "Come on in."

"Old place looks pretty good..." observed Jackson, as Abby looped an arm through his and they moved up the path towards the house.

Gibbs exchanged a smile with Abby. "Yeah, well, it could use a coat of paint."

Jackson smiled as he followed Abby inside. "Couldn't we all?"

Gibbs dumped the suitcase in the hallway and moved his bike out of the way as Jackson looked around him. "Well, look at this. Hope you didn't get all decked out on my account."

Abby glanced at Jackson in surprise.

She hadn't even thought of asking Gibbs if he wanted to decorate the house, knowing he'd never done so before as long as she'd known him. So that was hardly going to change in a hurry and and she certainly didn't want to push him over something that was fairly trivial.

Christmas must still be one of the hardest times of the year for Gibbs, coming as it did with reminders of his lost girls.

So Abby was more than a bit surprised that Jackson didn't realize that and should find the need to comment on it... and even more at the sarcasm in his tone.

Gibbs' abrupt response indicated he'd picked up on it too. "Plenty of comfortable hotels nearby."

Jackson sighed, shaking his head. "I'll be fine just as long as I have a working clicker."

Gibbs pointed to the coffee table. "There's the clicker."

"No cable?"

"There is now, Jack." Abby put in cheerfully, trying to read Jackson's mood and failing.

He seemed... distracted almost and tired, but the latter she at least could put down to the early start he must have made to get here.

Gibbs grinned at her comment. "Abby brought it with her."

She returned his smile. "I think that's really why he asked me to move in... the sports channels."

Gibbs tilted his head. "Busted."

When Jackson smiled dutifully at the comment but remained silent as he continued to look around him, Abby rambled on, feeling increasingly uncomfortable and unable to say why. "We got your room ready, Jack. I hope it's okay. It's a bit crowded coz we've still got some of my stuff to unpack, so just say the word if there's not enough space and I'll shift some more things."

"Guest room?" Jackson asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Yup... I'll take your case up." He watched Jackson wander into the kitchen. "The cupboard's not totally empty... not now Abby's here."

"Maybe I'll cook us something. Save you both doing anything later... seein' as you're working," Jackson offered.

Gibbs glanced at Abby to judge her reaction but she was just looking steadily at Jackson. "As long as it's not your Stroganoff, knock yourself out."

"What's wrong with my Stroganoff?" asked Jackson, surprised.

Abby met Gibbs' eyes and shrugged briefly. She wasn't particularly territorial in any kitchen and this one didn't yet feel enough like hers but even so, Jackson heading straight for the kitchen at this time of the morning to cook something after only just arriving was a trifle... hinky.

Gibbs chose not to answer but merely commented. "I'm still surprised you came, Dad."

Jackson turned to look at them both, gifting them with a soft smile and Abby could see the visible effort it took the older man to relax. "It's good to be with family at Christmas."

Gibbs hesitated before asking quietly, "You gonna be okay here alone?"

"I'll be fine, yeah. You two go to work." Jackson waved them off. "Death doesn't take a holiday."

Gibbs grabbed the notepad by the phone and scribbled a number down. "Leave my number right here by the phone. You need anything, Ericson family two doors down same side of the street, they're always home."

Gibbs walked towards the door, ushering Abby ahead of him and they both turned at the sound of Jackson's voice, to see his dad's more genuine smile break out.

"Leroy, Abby... I'm glad to be here."

The day was spent dealing with their new case and the workload meant that the planned self-defence class was postponed, much to Abby's disappointment. So it was well into the evening before they both got home, Gibbs having rung Jackson to warn him they'd be late back for dinner and not to wait for them.

However, when they arrived home, it was to find Jackson finishing off dinner for the three of them, having waited after all.

As they ate together, the atmosphere was relaxed enough and Jackson chatted happily with Abby about all her news, and it wasn't long before he got around to what they suspected he wanted to ask all along.

"So, how long you two been together then?"

Abby answered. "It's not been long, Jack. We've only been together a few weeks since... I got back from a trip to LA."

Abby hadn't wanted to tell Jackson what had happened to her in LA and Gibbs was happy to support her in that. As sympathetic as Jackson undoubtedly would be, it would just mean she'd have to rehash the whole thing when all she wanted to do was forget about it and move on.

Jackson looked between them. "Wow, that was fast... I mean, quick moving in together."

Gibbs shrugged. "No sense in waiting."

Jackson glanced down at Abby's hand. "That an engagement ring then? Can we expect wedding bells?"

Abby fiddled with her ring somewhat self consciously and removed it to show Jack the engraving of their initials on the back. "Er, it's a promise ring, Jack. To me it's just the same but we're not... we don't..." She looked to Gibbs for help explaining and he responded to the plea in her eyes.

"Not planning on getting hitched, Jack. Done that enough times... last three didn't work."

Jackson stared at his son. "Doesn't mean marriage isn't good... Shannon shoulda shown you that."

Gibbs nodded briefly, pushing down his irritation. "Course she did... but that doesn't mean we need to get married."

"I, er... I've never wanted to get married, Jack," Abby explained.

Jackson frowned. "What's wrong with marriage?"

Abby hesitated. "Nothing. I, er... Seen too many go wrong I guess. It's just a piece of paper to me."

Gibbs broke in before Jackson could comment further, covering her hand and entwining their fingers, feeling her squeeze his hand tightly. "Just don't need to, dad."

"Doesn't mean we're not committed to each other, Jack," Abby clarified, somewhat nervously, seeing Jackson's puzzlement and not sure what he wanted from them.

Jackson sighed, reaching across to pat her arm. "Yeah... yeah, I can see that, Abby... Sorry, guess I'm just old fashioned... me and Leroy's mom got married the first opportunity we could."

As the evening wore on, Abby could see Gibbs looking curiously at his dad and although she didn't know Jackson that well, he did seem subdued from what she remembered.

She couldn't put her finger on why she felt that, given she'd only spent a short time with him the previous year in Stillwater, but there was definitely something different about Jackson this time.

Later that night, as they lay cuddled together in bed, Abby could sense Gibbs' preoccupation and let him work it through in his own head before he was ready to share it, if he was.

Gibbs eventually broke the silence and it wasn't quite what she expected. "Did ya mind Jack cookin' dinner?"

Abby shook her head. "Not really... just took me by surprise, I guess. It's your... I mean, our kitchen."

Gibbs smiled at her correction, pressing a kiss to her hair. "Attagirl."

"Is Jack okay?" Abby asked quietly. "He seems... distracted."

"I'm sure he's fine," Gibbs replied automatically before acknowledging with a sigh. "He seemed a bit subdued."

Abby traced random patterns on his T-shirt covered chest, hesitating about voicing her worry again. "I'm wondering if it's me?"

Gibbs sighed. "Abbs, we've gone over this already."

"No, hear me out, Jethro..." She snuggled closer, gathering her thoughts as she tried to explain, propping her chin on his chest to look up at his face. "If you're sure it's not us as in our relationship that's causing Jackson to be worried about something, the only other thing I can think of is that he would rather be here alone with you for the holidays. After all, it'd be your first Christmas together in... how long is it now?"

"Fifteen years... just about," Gibbs admitted, after a moment's thought.

"There you go then... perhaps thinking he'd be okay with me here is easier than the reality of it for Jack," Abby suggested, gnawing at her lip.

Gibbs shifted onto his side, cupping her face in his hand, not liking the uncertainty he could see and hear. "I'm sure that's not it, Abbs." He went on quickly to forestall any protest. "And even if it were, it doesn't matter... he's gotta deal with it. Not gonna do anything differently."

"I know, but I just don't wanna make things more difficult for either of you, that's all," Abby explained.

Gibbs leaned in to kiss her gently, trying to reassure her with his actions, unsure what he could say to remove that worry from her eyes. "It's our first Christmas together too, Abbs... want ya here. That's more important, to me anyway."

"And that was another thing I noticed earlier... Jack doesn't seem to understand why you don't decorate for Christmas either, does he? I thought he would."

Gibbs shrugged. "Fifteen years is a long time, Abbs. Guess we gotta re-learn one another a bit."

Sometimes he thought Jackson still expected him to be the same Marine that was married to Shannon all those years ago. But then he was still learning how his dad had changed too, so there was work to do on both sides.

He'd told his dad about his other wives since visiting Stillwater last year, so maybe Jackson thought that his son had moved on in his life more than he had... and didn't fully realize how difficult Christmas could be still for him.

But in thinking about it now, Gibbs also realized it was something he hadn't really discussed with Abby either.

"D'ya want some decorations up?"

Abby glanced up at him, startled at the apparent change of subject. "No, not here. Going through work like a Christmas elf on speed is enough for me. I... I, er, don't wanna do anything you're uncomfortable with at home."

And she'd never really decorated her apartment much either as it merely reminded her in recent years that she was still alone. It was partly why she went overboard at work because that's where she spent the majority of her time and where she felt most at home.

TBC...