A/N: It took me a while to make it work and it isn't exactly what I had planned but I hope you enjoy it.

I will never say it enough, thanks to all who read, alert, favorite this story and THANK YOU so much to She-Demon Sparacino, JibbsGal1, left my heart in paris, Tempe4Booth and Miss Jayne for their amazing reviews.

Slight spoilers for the end of 7x20 "Two-Faced" and 7x21 "Dead Reflection"

For Grace's conversation with Gibbs, you can imagine Zachary from 3x07 "Honor Code" or James Lucas Scott from One Tree Hill.

So here it is :-D

Chapter 25: The Talk

Jenny laughed. "I don't think you earned the right to know that yet," she replied and then whispered wickedly in his ear. "Try to earn it."

Jenny was playful when she said it but Gibbs didn't want playful. He wanted to prove to her that her trust was important to him and that it was what he really wanted to earn. He gave her free reign over him, letting her do whatever she wanted to him.

She was so surprised and moved that tears fell before she could stop them. It was the last thing he expected and he was afraid he had finally blown it but, after a moment, she smiled through her tears.

"You should give me a signal, when you're about to do something like that," she said as he wiped her tears. She clarified when he looked at her questioningly. "Something sweet and tender."

"I feel like a caveman when I hear you say that," Gibbs grumbled.

Jenny laughed. "Well, you kind of are."

Gibbs glared at her.

"For God's sake, Jethro, for years you were spending nights on your own, building boats in your basement, sleeping underneath them, while downing gallons of bourbon. Most of the time, you grunt more than you talk. If that doesn't sound like a caveman, I don't know what does," Jenny said, still shaking with laughter.

"Well, you should have told me that before and save me the trouble," Gibbs replied, feigning hurt and shock but really enjoying her laugh and the easy banter.

"No, no, no, I don't want you to ever feel like you shouldn't be sweet if you feel like it. I'm sorry, you're a caveman but you're my caveman," she said, seeing right through his act.

She seized his face in her hands and fixed her gaze to his. "I trust you, more than anyone in the world, I trust you. For a long time, my life depended on that trust and you never let me down. No matter what people may think, you're human - you make mistakes, you screw up sometimes. Yesterday, you did screw up and it hurt me, but that doesn't change how I feel. That doesn't change the fact that I trust you with my life, with my heart, with everything I have, including Grace."

He was stunned by her speech. Since they had been reunited, they had avoided every kind of declaration about their feelings. They had preferred showing them instead of talking about them. Words were dangerous, words could be twisted, words could lie, actions rarely did; that was a sort of motto for him and, until now, it had worked for them.

However, this declaration didn't feel wrong. It felt like the pure truth coming from a woman he loved more and more every day, if that was possible. He hadn't said those three little words to her yet. Sometimes he still felt like he was living in another world but tonight it was different. Tonight he wanted to say those words. Not because he had screwed up and was trying to redeem himself but because he sincerely wanted her to know. Remembering she had asked for a signal, he said, "Don't faint but I have something to tell you."

She watched him expectantly and he took a deep breath.

"I love you. With all I have, with all I am, no matter if I seem to be a bastard at times. I love you, and you can't know how relieved and happy I am since I got you back." When the tears started flowing again, he added, "I warned you this time."

Jenny laughed. "I think I'm gonna need a while to get used to it. You, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, are the most incredible man I have ever known and I wouldn't want you any other way, even the bastard part of you."

Those admissions added a new dimension to their lovemaking that night, an intensity that could have been overwhelming to anyone else but was what really defined Jenny Shepard and Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

For once it wasn't Jethro who woke up first and watched his lover sleep. Instead, he was awakened by the feel of a slow caress on his back. Blinking a little to get rid of the sleepiness, he looked at Jenny who was on her side, supporting her head with one bent arm and seeming to be captivated by the muscles of his back.

"My blood work, the tests they did, everything says that the treatment worked. It doesn't mean I'm cured; there is always the risk of a relapse and I will have to continue the physiotherapy, but I'm as alright as I can be, given my condition," she said, not sugar-coating it and he, internally, sighed in relief.

In a move that surprised her, he rolled on his back and hugged her against him, pressing his face against her hair and breathing in deeply.

"I was scared," he admitted and finally, saying it out loud made him realize just how much he had been lying to himself. "I was scared but I didn't want to face it. If I had been there with you and they had given you bad news, I don't know what I would have done. I lost Shannon and Kelly. I wasn't there and I couldn't stop it. The same happened with you in L.A. This disease is not a bad guy you can stop by arresting it or putting a bullet through its head. No one has any control over it and, because of it, you could be taken away from me again. I couldn't face it and I couldn't tell you that either. Believe me, it's not something I'm proud of." It felt strange to say so many words, so fast, so early and without any coffee in his system, but if the sensation of a weight being lifted from his shoulder was anything to go by, it also felt damn good.

Jenny stayed silent for a while and slowly raised her head to look at him. There were no tears this time but she was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Wow, you don't say much but when you do… I'm not going anywhere, Jethro, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. I was scared too. It was easier when I didn't want to fight."

They fell silent after that, glad to just enjoy the other's presence. And, as always, Gibbs' ringing phone disrupted their plan.

"A case?" Jenny inquired, looking defeated, after Gibbs hung up.

He shook his head. "Just DiNozzo telling me he found an eyeball in his drink when he and Ziva went at a bar last night."

Jenny raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Oh, if it's just that," she said and he grinned, shaking his head again. "Something to do with your serial-killer case?" she asked.

"Think so, but it's not urgent. It's not our case anyway," he said, slightly bitter.

"Breakfast?" Jenny proposed, ignoring his remark, knowing there was nothing she could do anyway.

They were the last ones to join the breakfast table and they both could feel the tension radiating from the others, even from Grace. Jenny tried to strike up a conversation and encountered mild success. When she went to answer the phone, the others seemed to close in on Jethro. He tried to ignore them but the staring was unnerving. After a moment, the three men got up and left, glaring at him one last time.

Gibbs was left face-to-face with Grace. He didn't dare tell her that her serious expression had less effect when she had a chocolate mustache.

"We are a family, you know. We don't let people in easily. We let you because we thought you could be good for my mom. Yesterday we got angry, really angry. I guess what you told mom was enough to convince her but it will never be enough to convince my grandfather and my uncles," Grace started, looking him straight in the eyes and he was really impressed with the girl. "I like you, I think you're a good guy but we let you in and we still don't know anything about you. They read every file they could find on you, they talked to a lot of people but that doesn't tell us who you really are. I guess you could say the same thing about Abba, Mikhael and Nathan but you're the intruder here," she said, the last part with an apologetic smile, probably to soften the blow.

Jenny came back in the room before Gibbs could reply and neither of them mentioned the conversation that had just taken place.

April 16, 2011 11:00 am

Jackson Gibbs' store, Stillwater, Pennsylvania

All week, Grace's words had replayed in his head and, after they had finally solved their case, he had decided he deserved a break, even if it was just a weekend away.

Friday night, he went to Jen's place and told her to pack a bag for her and Grace so they could get away for the weekend. He dodged the two girls' questions, not wanting to spoil the surprise, and had to face the men's inquiry about security measures. He wasn't really sure how he convinced the boys to let them leave but Nathan's menacing expression told him that if anything happened he wouldn't live much longer.

They hit the road on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. Grace was back in the arms of Morpheus in less than half an hour, and Jenny followed an hour later when she got tired of getting no answers at her questions about their destination.

Gibbs had called his father to tell him he was coming but he didn't say he wouldn't be alone. So when he parked in front of the store, Jackson Gibbs was more than a little surprised to see two redheads in his son's car.

Jenny woke up when the car stopped moving, and she turned to look at Gibbs.

"We're in Stillwater, Pennsylvania," he announced, and she seemed thoughtful for a moment.

"It's your hometown," she said as it dawned on her.

"Yep and I'm sure you really want to meet that man over there," he replied, pointing towards Jack, who was observing them.

"Does Leroy Jethro Gibbs really have a father?" Jenny asked, amazed as she looked at the older man, noting the similarities.

"Where did you think I came from?"

"I thought you had been raised by wolves," Jenny grinned at him.

"Like Mowgli," Grace interjected, having woken up too.

Jenny laughed. "Yeah, like Mowgli."

"Well, when you two are done making fun of me, maybe we will be able to get out of the car," Gibbs said, looking annoyed but hiding a smile.

"Oh, are you pouting?" Jenny asked him, not fooled.

"Come on," he said and he opened the doors for them. He approached his father and hugged him.

"Leroy, who are those two beauties and where have you been hiding them?" Jack asked as he let go of his son.

"Dad, here is Jenny Shepard and her daughter Grace. Jen, Gracie, Jackson Gibbs, my father."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gibbs," Jenny said as she shook his hand.

"Don't call me Mister, it makes me feel old. Call me Jack and the pleasure is all mine. I'm always happy to meet beautiful women like you," Jack replied as he kissed her hand.

Gibbs rolled his eyes at his father as Jenny blushed slightly.

"Then call me Jenny."

As the girls were setting up in Jethro's old room and in the guest room, Jack was talking to his son.

"She is not yours. Grace, I mean, she is not yours, is she?"

"No, Dad, she's not mine and she's not exactly Jen's either. It's a long, complicated and painful story," Gibbs answered.

"Well, you can give me a résumé. It's strange, I feel like I have seen Jenny before," Jack mused.

"You probably did; lately her face has been plastered in every media there is in this country."

"Yeah, I remember now. The Director of a federal agency who came back from the dead after almost three years. Wasn't it your agency by the way?"

"Yes, it was. She was the first woman at the head of an armed federal agency, one of the youngest too," there was a hint of pride as he said it and Jackson noticed it.

"You knew her before she became your boss, didn't you?"

"We were partners. Actually, I was her boss before she was mine."

"That's a pretty interesting story."

Gibbs Junior smiled at that. "Oh, yeah, it is."

"So you two worked together."

Jethro nodded. "One of the best partners I ever had."

"In every sense of the word, I presume."

The special agent smirked. "Yeah, we can say that."

"What happened?"

Jethro tensed a little at that. "Let's just say that I wasn't exactly part of her plan. She left me when we were supposed to come back to the States. Came back six years later as my boss. It wasn't easy at first and we both said and did things we shouldn't have. Almost three years ago, an old op came back to bite us in the ass and I thought she had been killed. In January, I learned she had survived and was living in Arlington. We've been rekindling our relationship ever since."

"She must be pretty important to you if you gave her a second chance after all that," Jack remarked as he saw the way his son's eyes lit up as he talked about Jen.

"You have no idea."

A/N: I'm stopping here because I think a trip to Stillwater deserves its own chapter.

So what did you think? I love to hear your thoughts.

"You're the most incredible man I have ever know." Bonus point to those who tell me what show I shamelessly stole this line from :-D