Mike: "You were gonna go for that (gun) weren't you Probie?"
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Gibbs clenched his pistol in his hand and removed and inserted the clip so many times he'd lost count. His mind flashed to the sound of the bullet firing and his body jolted a bit as he slammed the clip into its chamber a final time.
You were gonna go for that weren't you?
Could he of silently hoped to join the rest of his team in their final resting place? Why was he the only one who survived? Why was he always the one who survived?
Shannon…Kelly…
Lt. Cameron…
Kate….
Jenny…
"No." He shook his head and set his pistol aside. Grabbing a hold of a close picture frame and holding it tight to his chest. He clung to it for dear life as he fought back the tears fighting their way through. "Marines don't cry." He glanced at the picture of his Father and swallowed hard. "I'm not gonna cry pops…wont change a thing right?" He set the frame aside and picked up his pistol once more. The same barrel that had stared up at him years before. The last time he'd felt cheated out of saying goodbye…cheated out of happiness…cheated out of love. He stared down the barrel as if it was an abyss of sorrow…his sorrow.
He flipped the safety and watched a wet tear drop fall into the barrel. He almost smiled. "Marines don't cry pops…but they don't give up either." He tossed the gun aside and took in a long labored breath before standing up and saluting no one. "Semper Fi…"