AN: I'm sorry, I know it has been forever, but I was dealing with my exams, then I was on a field trip for most of the June and now finally things have settled down enough for me to get back to writing. Beside a guest left me a nice review saying to finish the story... I am finishing this story, but since for a moment I am recovering from a mayor writer's block, it's gonna take time to come up with a storyline from now on. Anyway, enjoy the story, if you are still with me :) .

L.

They were at the airport. Gibbs was holding Catherine while Jenny pulled her suitcase after her. They walked in silence. Catherine was calm, since she had travelled a lot and airplanes didn't scare her just like airports full of strangers.

Gibbs reached for her hand and took it in his. He pulled her closer, so he could feel her body by her side, because she was leaving and for awhile he'll have to be on his own. A few months ago, before Moscow he would have been okay on his own, but now it seems impossible, because he got her back, but now she is leaving. This mission will be over soon, but still it's hard to be apart, specially when he has to let go of Catherine – the miracle he and Jenny created.

As they walked in airport hand in hand they looked like a happy family going on a trip, but it was not that simple, because they were far from normal family. They were agents, who fell in love in Paris, but then their paths went in different ways until few years later they had to work together in the Frozen City of Moscow. Here again their paths will separate, because she's going back to home and he stays here. Except this time it's their daughter the most important factor in their decisions.

„I'll call you every day," he said.

„You can't, it might blow your cover," she said simply.

„I care about you more," he said roughly.

„You might send the russians to my doorstep if you contact me. We'll see, when you get home," she said.

„Jen, you act like you don't care at all," he accused.

„I love you marine, but you have a job to do and I have a child to take care of," she reasoned.

„We have a child to take care of," he snapped.

She stayed silent. They reached the gate.

„Do you think she'll remember me?" he asked with fear in his voice.

„She will. You're her dad," she said simply and offered a smile.

„I hope so," he said and played with the locks of Catherine.

„Jethro, I have to go," she said quietly.

Gibbs sent her a glare and turned his full attention back to Catherine. He was not ready to let go of his little girl, he just found out that he has another daughter, who is alive and now she is taken away from him. This time it's not permanent, but it felt like that, specially, when he was not sure, where he and Jenny stood.

„Are we okay?" he asked and turned to Jenny instead of Catherine.

Jenny sent him a smile and looked at Catherine, who talked to herself in her own language.

„Seriously Jen. Tell me now, so I know what to expect, when I get back. I don't want it to come as a surprise when you're in bed with some other man," he said in low voice.

„I promise I won't sleep with another man, but I don't know where we stand. I don't know if I can trust you and compete with a ghost. I don't know if I can do it," she gave him an honest answer.

„Jen, I love you. You know that," he said quick.

„I know. I love you too. I am just not sure if that's enough," she said and turned her attention to Catherine.

Jenny held her arms out for Catherine, who happily turned to her mother and laughed. Jenny took her from Jethro, who seemed to be distant.

„I'll talk to Morrow about contacting you, but it would be the best, if we didn't for awhile," Jenny said to him and walked towards the gate.

He made a few fast movements and caught her arm. She turned, so they were face to face with each other. He put his arms around her hugged her as tightly as he could with Catherine between them. His arms were around her shoulders and he tried to lock this feeling in his mind, so he could remember holding his two favorite persons in his arms, His eyes were closed and he breathed in her scent. Her free arm was around his waist and her head pressed to his shoulder.

„I don't ever want to let you go. Promise you won't give up on us," he whispered.

„I promise," she replied softly.

He pulled away and faced her. He leaned in for her lips. She accepted the kiss invitingly granting him access to her mouth. It was the force of love that controlled the kiss they shared. Catherine quietly played with the edge of Gibbs's coat while her parents said their goodbye.

Jenny's flight was called out again and then she pulled away. It was also because she needed air. They separated, but neither took a step apart from each other.

"I have to go," she said to assure that she has to go.

"I know. Go," he said and took a deep breath.

They shared a look of sadness, before he said his goodbye to Cahterine, who replied with "bye daddy" without really understanding the meaning of goodbye, because people were constantly coming and going from her life, so it was nothing special to the toddler, but it was heartbreaking to Jethro. He kissed Jenny's and Catherine's forehead before Jenny walked away towards her plane that will take her home, but away from Jethro.

***NCIS***

Jenny walked with suitcase on her left hand while she held Catherine on her hip with her right hand and tickets on her hand safely against her little girl. Catherine gripped her shirt under the gray coat which she was wearing with the buttons undone. She glanced back to see Jethro, but he was already out of sight.

Catherine was still in her happy mumble and didn't pay much attention to Jethro's leaving, but she was still too little to understand everything. For that Jenny was grateful, because leaving a parent is always hard for kids, specially when they are younger.

Jenny got her suitcase checked and then went to sit down with Catherine and wait for their plane to be called. She was deep in her thoughts about Jethro and their family together, if you'd call having a baby, but living in different places a family, plus the tension between them.

She was woken from her thoughts, when someone approached her. It was Petrov – another agent working in Russia undercover.

"Shepard," he said and sat down beside her.

"Petrov," she said.

"Will Gibbs be okay and ready to finish this operation?" he asked getting to the point.

"Gibbs is a good agent, he'll be fine," she said simply.

"I know about your relationship and little girl. I'm asking is Gibbs okay with you gone," he crlarified.

"He'll be fine, eager to finish this mission," she said coolly.

"That's good. Have a safe ride home," Petrov said and left her.

"Sweetie, we will have a safe ride home, right? We will get home and daddy will come after," Jenny said to Catherine and took a deep breath.

***NCIS***

Jenny arrived home hours later with already asleep Catherine in her arms. She flicked on the lights and left her suitcase in the hallway, quietly she removed her heels and placed Catherine safely on the couch and went to the kitchen to get some water. She drank slowly and thought about calling Jethro, but then she remembered, that she couldn't. He was in deep undercover mission and she was at home for the first time since 1999., when she first went undercover with Gibbs and then came Israel and Cairo... and then came Moscow, but now it's home, it's DC.

The moment she saw the armchair in the living room she felt the urge to fall asleep, but she didn't, because her daughter was there sleeping and you don't let your baby sleep on a couch where she could easily fall off. That's when she remembered that she has no crib or any baby furniture here, everything is in Moscow or Tel Aviv...

She sighed.

This is not as easy as she expected. Today Catherine could sleep in her bed, tomorrow she'll figure out how to get the crib and other furniture from Moscow and to get a babysitter. Probably some shopping wouldn't hurt since she will need more clothes and toys for Catherine anyway. Hopefully now they are done travelling and Catherine could go to school right here just like Jenny did herself years ago.

She looked at her sleeping daughter and smile came across her face. She has had doubts about having a baby since the stick gave positive result, but after giving birth those doubts were washed away.. She was a mother – something that never was included in her five-point-plan, but then again falling in love wasn't either.

Jenny carefully picked up Catherine and waited for a moment to see if she wakes up, which she didn't and then carried her upstairs to the master bedroom and placed her on the bed. She put pillows around her daughter to protect her from rolling over and falling to the floor, then picked out Jethro's t-shirt and pajama pants for sleeping and went to the bathroom.

Shower did good to her, she felt much more relaxed than before and of course she felt clean again after a long plane ride from Moscow to DC. Jenny looked at herself from the mirror and noticed how terrible she really looked. She was beyond exhausted, but traveling with a toddler does that.

Jenny changed and brushed her teeth. Her wet hair fell to Jethro's shirt and made soaked it, but she didn't care. She'd deal with her messy hair in the morning, right now she only wanted to fall to the bed and never get up again.

So she did. She flicked off the bathroom light and went on the other side of her bed and fell on it. She pulled blankets up to her chest, watched Catherine's chest rise and fall peacefully for awhile before sleep claimed her.