Both heads snapped up and in an instant they were running up the stairs to Lauren's room. They opened the door and saw Lauren huddled in her bed shaking and crying. Rain was washing in through the broken window and a branch was swaying in and out of the jagged glass. Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. She had feared the worst. Gibbs was frightened too, surprising himself. Jenny walked over to Lauren, picked her up and carried her out of the room. They three of them stood in the doorway watching the rain come down in sheets through the window and the branch sway dangerously close. Jenny and Lauren's hearts were beating out of their chests. Gibbs, always the practical one, turned to Jenny who was clinging onto Lauren. "You have any duct tape?" He asked and she nodded walking to the closet and pulling it out.
"What are you going to do with that? Tape the window up?" She asked annoyingly. He rolled his eyes.
"Yes Jenny what else would I do? You don't want the rain getting in her room all night!" He exclaimed and Jenny sighed.
"Fine but don't step on any of that glass in the carpet. If you cut yourself I am not driving you to the hospital." She said accusingly. In response Gibbs just yanked a long strip of grey duct tape out and walked in the room. Jenny turned her attention to her trembling daughter in her arms. "Are you okay sweetheart? No cuts?" She asked brushing Lauren's hair back.
"That was scary." She said quietly and Jenny held her closer.
"I know Lauren but you're okay now." She said stroking her hair and rocking side to side watching him patch up the window. "Jethro that tape better not strip the paint from the walls when we take it off." She warned him and he turned around briefly.
"Okay fine you choose: water damage or a little chipped paint?" He didn't wait for a response because he knew what it would be. He just continued to tape the window. Jenny couldn't help but image them as a family. It was too good not to. But she shook the thought from her head as Gibbs exited her room. They made their way into Jenny's room to put Laruen down. Gibbs looked at Jenny's room. It was tasteful. Jenny set Lauren down in her queen bed and tucked Lauren in. By that time it had already reached 2430 and everybody was tired.
"Mommy, can you lay with me?" Lauren asked obviously still frightened that Jenny's window would break too. One lone candle was standing on Jenny's night stand illuminating half the room and casting eerie shadows. Jenny sat next to her daughter and rubbed her back soothingly. Gibbs was starting to walk out of the room to give them their privacy when Lauren called out. "No wait Gibbs you have to stay too!" She exclaimed and he glanced at Jenny as if asking if it was alright. She gave him one curt nod and together they sat on the bed waiting for Lauren to fall asleep. They sat in silence as Lauren's breathing just started to even out. Gibbs had been watching Jenny watch Lauren. He examined every part of her face. The warm candle light illuminated all the best parts of her in all the right ways and she looked absolutely stunning. It was getting harder and harder to resist running his hand down her back or up her thigh or in her hair or maybe even across her face gently. Jenny opted to not looking at him. She knew he was looking at her. Maybe she could address her feelings later but now was not the time. Gibbs couldn't resist anymore. He took his hand and slowly placed it on top of hers. She inhaled sharply surprised at his touch but didn't pull away. Instead she turned her hand and intertwined their fingers. She met his eyes briefly. Neither knew exactly what the gesture meant but they knew it was something else they weren't exactly ready to face just yet and didn't know how to deal with. Gibbs stroked her hand with his thumb savoring the feel of her soft hands. Jenny tried to pay no mind to his touch but her heart was beating a thousand miles per hour. He leaned in close to her his head coming to rest just behind hers. She tried to keep her breathing normal as his caressed her neck gently. Then he whispered in her ear just after a loud crack of thunder sounded. "Go to sleep. You're tired and we have work tomorrow. I'll take the couch." He whispered and she turned to face him, their faces just inches apart.
"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly, trying her hardest to focus on his eyes and not his lips. He nodded and got up quietly, breaking their touch. "Good night Jethro." She whispered a warm smile forming on her face.
"'Night Jen." He said before disappearing down the hallway. She sighed softly and lay down next to Lauren. The whole time Gibbs has been here Jenny has barely paid any attention to the storm. He comforted her whether he knew it or not but now that he was gone the storm was even more prevalent to her and she was shaken with every crack of thunder and whistle of the wind. But soon she fell asleep exhausted.
The next morning Jenny woke up to grey skies which immediately dampened her mood. She heard the patter of rain on the roof and sighed. A distant rumble of thunder could be heard as she got up trying not to wake Lauren. Sighing, she carefully walked downstairs and tried to flick on the light switch but it wouldn't work. Grumbling she realized the power was still out. The candles had been blown out last night thankfully by Gibbs. The man in question was up and stretching when she walked into the living room. He had slept in his clothes. They were wrinkled and his hair was a mess. His eyes were droopy with sleep and he looked adorable. But she would never tell him that, maybe in Paris. But now wasn't Paris. "Power still out?" He asked groggily as he stood up. She nodded. "Have you looked outside yet? What time is it?" He asked and she smiled.
"Slow down. Let's look outside now." She suggested and he nodded walking to the door with him. They unlocked and opened the door to find what looked like a war scene outside. Trees were down everywhere you looked. Most of the lampposts were down in the street crushing a few cars including the bed on Gibbs's truck. He cursed and she chuckled. "I hope you have insurance on that thing." She said as she looked around. Then she realized it was flooded and her heart sank to her feet. There were steps to get to her house so when they opened the door it was okay. But looking down she saw there was at least four inches of water down there where things were floating. Both their mouths hung open in shock.
"Christ." Gibbs muttered running a hand through his hair. Jenny turned away from the scene a little frightened because it was still raining.
"Hey maybe your boat will come in handy." She suggested half smiling and Gibbs chuckled.
"If we could get to it."
"Maybe it'll float to us. After all, my house is higher elevation than yours. The water will be higher at your place." She pointed out and he nodded sighing. He was obviously pissed. Jenny would be too if her house was most likely flooded. "Shut the door Jethro we're letting water in." She said and he shut the door. "I have to call the SecNav." She said walking to her phone. She grabbed it and called him.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Hello Mr. Secretary. I was wondering what you were going to do about NCIS and the flooding?" She asked looking at Gibbs who was running his hands down his face.
"I don't think we should go into work today. From what I've heard, Georgetown has the lowest flooding levels. And with all the trees down and debris I think the safest option would be to advice everyone to stay in their homes." He said and Jenny furrowed her brow. It never rained this much in DC. This must be some kind of record.
"How are we going to inform everybody?" She asked.
"I've already sent a notice out to everybody's email. But nobody has power so I'm hoping they just have the sense to stay in their homes. I hope your house hasn't flooded." He said.
"No it hasn't thank goodness. Hopefully yours hasn't either?"
"No. Well I hope you have a nice day off. Goodbye Director." He said and the line went dead. She closed her phone and Gibbs looked at her raising his eyebrows asking for an explanation.
"Good news. Work's cancelled." She said throwing her phone down on the couch. This would be a long day. Then she realized without power all her food would spoil. She cursed under her breath and confused Gibbs followed her to the kitchen. Then he too realized and laughed. Jenny also began to laugh at their ridiculous situation.
"How about eggs, milk and lunch meat for breakfast?" He asked knowing those would go first. She chuckled and nodded.
"That sounds good. I'm going to go take a shower." She said but stopped in her tracks from the look on Gibbs's face. An eyebrow was raised at her and he had a skeptical look on his face. Then she too realized how ridiculous that sounded with the power out. "Right well I'm going to get dressed then." She said and walked upstairs. Gibbs in turn decided to make omelets with the food that would soon spoil. Jenny changed into some jeans, a tan belt and a navy blue tee shirt tucked into her pants. She combed through her hair and left it down in curls then went to see if Lauren was up yet. She was stirring but not fully awake yet. Jenny let her sleep then wandered back downstairs to be met by the smell of cooking eggs. She smiled but then walked into the kitchen confused. "How did you turn the stove on?" She asked and he turned to look at her. She looked beautiful.
"Matches." He said simply and she nodded then walked up to him. They both knew how weird this situation was. It was like they were a family. "Jen about last night, I shouldn't have pushed you like that I'm sorry." He said not looking at her but at the omelet. Jenny was shocked.
"Stop the presses. Leroy Jethro Gibbs just apologized. This is going down in the history books!" She joked laughing and hit him lightly. He couldn't help but smile back. Her laugh was so contagious. "It's okay Jethro. You didn't know. I should have told you earlier." She said seriously as they heard the patter of little feet on the floor. Suddenly Gibbs had a flashback to Kelly and her little feet on the floor. He froze and didn't turn around. He wanted to keep the fantasy alive that it was Kelly standing behind him. Jenny turned around to see Lauren rubbing her eyes and holding her bear under her arm. "Good morning sleepyhead." Jenny said bending down to look at Lauren face to face.
"Hi mommy." She said yawning. Those words pulled Gibbs out of his fantasy and made him realize he should be thankful for what he has not dwelling on what isn't coming back. And right now he was thankful that Jenny was opening up to him and that he knew this adorable little girl. "Mommy why is your forehead purple?" She asked curiously and Gibbs snickered. Jenny stood up and glared at him.
"Last night in the dark I ran into the stairs." She explained and Lauren nodded.
"Aren't you going to go to work?" Lauren asked sleepily.
"No honey no work today. They closed NCIS because of the storm." She said and Lauren smiled.
"Good because otherwise all your friends would laugh at you. Mommy your face is really purple and bumpy." She said concerned and Gibbs couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.
"Jethro, would you shut up already!" She exclaimed annoyed.
"You really might want to put some ice on your head before it melts." He suggested as coolly as possible and she sighed but did it anyway.
"Why is the ice going to melt?" Lauren asked walking up to Gibbs. He turned to her.
"Because the power is still out and the fridge isn't keeping the ice cold anymore." He said and she nodded then her stomach growled.
"I'm hungry." She stated bluntly.
"I know so are we. We're making omelets." She said and Lauren nodded. "Why don't you go get dressed?" Jenny suggested and Lauren bounded up the stairs.
"She's a good kid." Gibbs said after she was gone. Jenny just nodded and got out some spices from the cabinet. "What are you doing?"
"Getting some spices. Eggs are too plain." She said in disgust.
"Oh come on you can't rag on eggs! Their delicious! You're going to taint them!" He said shielding his eggs from Jenny. She scoffed.
"Well nobody's going to have eggs if their burned!" She exclaimed and quickly he took the omelet off and set it on a plate then cracked another two eggs in the pan.
"What do you want on your omelet?" He asked pointing the various vegetables he had out: half a tomato, a green pepper, canned olives and mushrooms.
"Everything." She said sweetly and he glared at her.
"You want me to cut up everything?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yes everything! Well not the whole thing of everything… You know what I mean!" She said stumbling on her words slightly. He smiled but was still confused.
"Jen you hate tomatoes. They make you gag." He said and it was her turn to raise an eyebrow.
"That was before I had Lauren. Pregnancy does funny things to you I swear." She said wagging a finger at him accusingly. "Probie Jen hated tomatoes, mom Jen loves them. Probie Jen loved artichoke, mom Jen hates it. I throw up every time I eat it, it's horrible." She stated making some comparisons for him. He chuckled and shook his head looking back at the vegetables. "What?" She asked confused.
"I cannot imagine you pregnant." He said smoothly. "Why don't you chop the vegetables?" He suggested and she did getting a large knife out.
"What do you mean you cannot imagine me pregnant? I looked good pregnant! You know what's funny is that when I was pregnant I always had this craving for peanut butter. Lauren absolutely loves peanut butter." Jenny said nonchalantly as she waved the knife at him. Gently he pushed it away and flipped the egg. Gibbs did not need this; too much information.
"Thanks for sharing Jenny. Is this what all you pregnant women talk about? What foods you crave?" He asked confused and horrified. He could just image them sitting there eating their favorite food and talking about how much they like it.
"Jesus Jethro you know absolutely nothing about women. No wonder you've had three wives." She said as she finished cutting and tossed the vegetables in the omelet. He glared at her but at the same time waited for an answer. Now he was curious. She saw his stare and sighed. "No, that is not all we talk about. We talk about normal things Jethro. It's not like everything we do centers on our child at that point." She said accusingly.
"When does it then?" He asked.
"Oh from about the second their born to probably nineteen." She said and turned away from him as Lauren came back in a pink skirt and a white shirt. Once Lauren left to go play he asked another question.
"So what's it like?" He asked casually. She put her hands on her hips casually and walked over to him.
"What's what like?" She asked.
"Being pregnant." He clarified and she laughed as her eyes glazed over obviously remembering something.
"It's interesting Jethro. That would be the best word to describe it. Mood swings, food cravings, cold sweats, hot sweats, morning sickness. But it's more like every day all the time sickness which was..." She shuttered then continued. "It was a roller coaster." She said looking at him curiously. "What brought on the sudden interest in my pregnancy?" She asked. He shrugged but she knew he was holding something back.
This chapter didn't really move the story along that much I know but I write long chapters so next one will be a direct continuation of this one (and probably a really short chapter too).