A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all the victims of 9/11 and of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, to their families and friends.

Chapter 26: Trip Down Memory Lane

April 16, 2011 12:00 pm

Jackson Gibbs' residence, Stillwater, Pennsylvania

"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."

"I'm glad for you, son. You deserve some happiness."

Gibbs nodded at his father, a smile on his lips as he thought about the past few months with Jen.

"And the girl?" Jack asked, after a moment, watching his son's fond expression.

"Grace is Jenny's goddaughter. Her parents died when she was a baby. Jenny's been taking care of her ever since." Gibbs conveniently left out Abraham, Mikhael and Nathan; he didn't really want to go there.

Jackson cringed at what his son told him. "Poor kid, that's awful."

"It is, but she is a great kid. Very smart, a lot of character, a hell of a temper like her mom. She's been through so much in such a short time, but you can already say she is a fighter. Very protective of her mom too. I wasn't her favorite person at first," Jethro explained, smirking.

Jack laughed. "I'm loving her already," he said just as the two girls were heading towards them. "You should give them a tour of Stillwater after lunch, Leroy. There is not much to see but it's a nice little town."

"That's a great idea, Jack. I really need to stretch my legs," Jenny said, as she and Grace sat at the dining table.

"You're okay?" Gibbs asked, a flash of concern in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a long trip," Jenny reassured him.

Gibbs Senior watched this with interest, feeling he was missing something.

"So, you're really Gibbs' father?" Grace asked him, pulling him away from his contemplation of his son and Jenny. "It's really bizarre. I couldn't imagine him having parents. His team seems to believe he is some kind of superhero but the lack of manners had made me think he had been raised by wolves."

Jackson burst out laughing as his son scowled.

"From what I saw, he didn't get the lack of manners from you, Jack," Jenny said and giggled when Jethro glared at her. "Oh, Jethro, you know that never worked with me."

"I really like them," Senior told Junior as his laughter subdued.

After lunch, Jethro, Jenny and Grace accompanied Jackson back to his store and then went for a tour.

It took less than two minutes for the girls to notice and head towards 'Ellen's dress' - the town's one and only clothes' store.

Jethro let them go inside as his mind flashed back to the times he had seen Shannon working in this very boutique. For the first time, the memories weren't overwhelming. He smiled as he imagined Shannon helping Jenny and Grace pick clothes and he entered the boutique.

"Leroy, is that you?" he heard someone calling him and turned towards the source.

"Mrs. Hannigan," Gibbs greeted the old lady. He had mixed feeling about her; he knew she had helped Jack a lot but he had never really appreciated her going after his father since his mother died.

"Your father told me you were coming to visit him. I'm glad; we don't see enough of you around here."

Before Gibbs got a chance to reply, he saw Grace running towards him.

"Gibbs, Gibbs! Mommy and I found identical summer dresses. They're pretty, aren't they?" she said as she twirled to show him the light green bohemian summer dress.

Gibbs raised his head and looked at Jenny, who was joining them. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her dressed like that but he liked it - a lot.

"Yeah, very pretty," he said and the two girls beamed at him before looking curiously at the older woman he had been talking to.

"Mrs. Hannigan, here are Jenny and Grace. Mrs. Hannigan is a friend of my dad, best baker in Stillwater." He didn't give any more information about who Jenny and Grace really were; it had been complicated enough to explain it to his father. Betty Hannigan could think whatever she wanted to.

"Oh, you're exaggerating, Leroy," she replied, blushing slightly. "Pleasure to meet you. It's always good to see new faces in Stillwater and especially Leroy's friends," the older woman greeted, smiling nicely and Jenny and Grace returned it.

"You know Jethro well?" Jenny asked her, smirking slightly as she felt Gibbs tense beside her.

"Oh yeah, a real troublemaker he was. Involved in more than one fistfight," Betty said, grinning at Gibbs.

"Really? It doesn't really surprise me," Jenny said, enjoying this way too much.

"So that's why you don't like people calling you Leroy. It reminds you of your hometown," Jenny said as they left the boutique, holding their purchases and Jethro nodded.

"Are you okay, Gibbs?" Grace asked him as he looked one last time at the store's window.

He turned back towards them and saw they wore the identical slightly worried expression.

"I'm fine, now I'm fine," he told them but they didn't seem to buy it. "Shannon was working here when we were in high school; one of the first times I really saw her I was standing right here."

Jenny drew in a shaky breath at the unexpected confession and looked at him uncertainly. Jethro looped an arm around her waist and smiled at her.

"You being here helps more than you will ever know," he said and she searched his face a little before nodding at him and putting her head on his shoulder. Grace grabbed his free hand and joined the group hug.

Gibbs then brought them to Stillwater High School and told them some of his best memories. There wasn't much but it was important for him to share them with Jenny and Grace.

They finally walked slowly back to Jackson's store and when they entered it, they found Chuck Winslow, his daughter Emily and his grandson Chris, at the counter talking to Jack.

"Ah, here he is. Leroy, I was just telling Chuck that you were visiting."

Gibbs and Winslow sized each other up before shaking hands, not exchanging a word. The NCIS Special Agent greeted Emily and her son more warmly and introduced them to Jen and Grace.

"Emily and Chris came for the weekend. They live in Philadelphia now, right?" Jackson said, turning towards Emily for confirmation.

She nodded. "Yes, it's been a little difficult at first but I really like the city and Chris has plenty of friends at his new school."

They talked for a moment and Gibbs was really amused as he watched 7-year-old Chris fascinated by Grace.

"Is she flirting?" he murmured in Jenny's ear.

"I think so. What?" she asked as Gibbs smirked.

"Nothing, just - like mother, like daughter," he replied.

"I don't flirt with seven year olds," Jenny countered playfully.

"I hope not," Gibbs said, horrified at the thought and Jenny laughed at his expression before becoming serious again.

"What's your story with him?" she whispered, nodding towards Chuck.

Gibbs sighed. "Let's just say we weren't best buddies."

"Is he one of those you got in a fistfight with?"

Once more, Gibbs marveled at Jenny's ability to read him and he nodded simply. "He and Ed, who is the sheriff now. Two against one, they never really played fair."

Jenny observed him. "I really can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to attack you like that."

"I wasn't the same at the time," he answered somberly.

"You mean I wouldn't have liked Leroy?" she teased him and he smirked.

"My dad would have never let me approach a girl like you."

"I don't think my dad would have appreciated it either," she grinned. "He probably wouldn't have liked Leroy but I'm sure he would have loved Jethro."

He was a little stunned at the confession but he kept forgetting Jenny had always been able to surprise him. He squeezed her against him lightly and pressed his lips against her forehead.

When the Winslow/Kingston clan finally decided to leave, Gibbs accompanied them outside.

"You got a lovely family here, Leroy," Chuck said and he seemed sincere. "Look, Leroy, I know we have had our disagreements." Gibbs almost snorted at that but he managed not to and kept listening. "But we were kids; young, foolish kids and we went too far. At that age, everyone think they're invincible…"

"It never stopped for you, Chuck. Even now, you still think you're invincible, just because you're the head honcho of a mining company and you're best buddies with the sheriff so everyone around here respects you," Gibbs interrupted him. "Where I live, they are a dime a dozen - rich businessmen like you - and they know that everything can disappear in a snap, no matter how hard they worked for it. Here, you're the big Boss; in D.C, you would be just another one of them. Even your daughter understood it. You have no idea what the real world is about and you're lucky you don't, because I don't think you would have been able to stand what I saw." He didn't wait for Chuck Winslow to reply and he went back inside.

That night, as Jenny was sleeping, he stood at the window in his old room and thought back to what his life was when he lived here. At some point, he felt Jenny's soft arms encircle his waist from behind.

"I'm glad you shared all of this with us, it means a lot to Grace and I," she said, her voice still laced with sleep.

"You knew about her little speech?" Gibbs asked her, turning around in her arms.

"I knew that she felt like confidences were one-sided and it would either be her or the boys who would confront you about this. They don't know you like I do; I knew you would talk to us when you were ready for it. I know how much your memories with Shannon and Kelly mean to you and how difficult it still is to talk about them."

"I don't have memories of Kelly here. I left Stillwater in 1976 and went back for the first time two years ago. Shannon brought Kelly here when I was overseas but I never went back with them, when they were alive," he whispered, forcing the words out.

"Do you regret it?" Jenny asked him.

"I don't know. It's already difficult to be here with just the memories of Shannon; I'm not sure I would be able to handle it the same way if I remembered Kelly here too," he answered, almost afraid to look at Jenny. It felt almost unreal to talk about his deceased family with his new one. He had never been able to with his ex-wives and he knew it had taken Jenny a while to accept the fact that he probably would never be able to let go of Shannon and Kelly but that he still had a place for her and Grace.

"Well now, when it becomes too much, you can think about Grace and I here," Jenny said, pinning him under her gaze to ensure that he knew she was okay with the way he felt.

They spent the next day in the store where Jackson taught Grace how to run the store.

"I'm telling you, I'm leaving the store to Grace in my will. In no time, she will be better at this than I am," Jackson stated proudly.

As Jack worked on dinner, Jenny entered the kitchen.

"It must be a little strange to see your son turning up with a woman and a child in tow that you never heard about," Jenny said, leaning against the counter, trying to stay out of Jack's way.

"For a long time, my boy and I weren't talking. What I knew about him, I read it in the papers. I kept all the articles in a box. I'm sure there are a few things about you too," he said, sending her a slight smile.

"Probably," Jenny agreed, returning the smile. "I'm glad things are better between you and Jethro. My own father meant so much to me; when he died, it brought me to dark places. I don't wish it on anyone and I know Jethro lost his mother when he was young."

Jack nodded. "It wasn't easy. His mother's death changed him."

"It's understandable. I just want you to know that I'm aware of what your son went through. I know him, his qualities, his faults, his demons. I have my own and Jethro understands them. It took us time to come to our senses but I have no intention of leaving him or letting him go anytime soon," Jenny stated and Jackson looked at her intently.

"My boy is a very lucky man. I see the way you two look at each other, the way you feel the other's presence in a room. Those kind of connections are rare. I haven't seen my son so happy since …" Jackson hesitated slightly.

"Since Shannon?" Jenny completed for him and Jack nodded. "It's the best complement you could have made, Jack."

As they got ready to leave, Jackson asked his son the billion-dollar question. "Are you going to marry this one, Leroy?"

Gibbs was speechless for a moment and then he smirked. "I'm working on it, Dad."

"Will I be invited, if she is crazy enough to accept your proposal?" Jack was trying to stay lighthearted but Jethro saw right through it and he felt a slight pang of guilt.

"Of course, Dad. I wouldn't have brought them here if I wanted to cut every contact once we left."

"Don't screw this up, Leroy. This woman and her little girl are keepers," Jackson warned his son and Gibbs smiled at how fast Jenny and Grace has won his dad over.

"I know, Dad, I know."

Gibbs had decided to show the girls one last place as they left. Stopping at the grade crossing, he showed them the train station.

"I knew that when I would take this train, it would be a turning point in my life but I hadn't known how right I was. I had just enlisted, it was the first time I was wearing my uniform and I sat on a bench, waiting for the train. Shannon was there and it was the first time we talked to each other. She had a rule that you should remember all your life, Grace," he said.

"What is it?" Grace asked.

"'Never date a lumberjack;' she was working on having a rule for everything but don't tell that to DiNozzo," he answered.

"We wouldn't dare," Jenny said, taking his hand in hers, as they left Stillwater.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read, alert, favorite this story and a special thanks to JibbsGal1, She-Demon Sparacino, jstapny, left my heart in paris, tataalicat (bonus point for the right guess), Tempe4Booth and Miss Jayne for their amazing reviews :-D.