Author's Note: The end of this chapter is m rated, so feel free to skip it if you want. After this there is only the epilogue left and then this story shall be at its end.
Lexie hummed softly to herself as she laid out the bracelets on the table, still firmly seated on her Dad's knee. Her head snapped up as she heard the front door click open, she bounced onto the floor. "It's Mommy!" She started to head towards the door, when she doubled back, and grabbing the red bracelet, she pressed it into Gibbs hand, she grinned up at him. "You give it to Mommy," she whispered. Then without waiting for a reply, she whirled round and thundered towards the door.
For a moment Gibbs just stood, staring at the red beads in his upturned palm, before slowly slipping the bracelet into one of the front pockets of his jeans. He knew he should feel better now that he'd made the decision to go with them when they returned to LA, but he still had no idea that even if he did move if Jenny would even want to continue their relationship. He would still have Lexie, but he wanted them both, wanted what he'd had in abundance over the last month, the love and laughter of his family.
Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the door, stopping at the top of the hallway, and just watched as Jenny and Lexie laughed together. Lexie carefully balanced on her Mom's hip, her tiny hands fluttering excitedly in the air, gesticulating wildly as she spoke.
Gibbs swallowed heavily as he saw Jenny laugh, her eyes sparkling, looking more relaxed than she'd been for days. Unthinkingly he took a step forward, the floor creaking and giving his position away, catching Jenny's attention. She looked over at him and her smile faltered ever so slightly, in fact she looked almost nervous for a moment. A brief second later and she was composed again, her smile firmly back in place, her eyes drifting away from his and back to the still chattering Lexie.
The little girl bounced excitedly in her Mom's arms. "Can we have pizza now? Pretty please?"
Jenny pretended to look thoughtful for a moment, before replying, "I suppose that would be Ok."
"Can we watch a film after? And have popcorn?"
Laughing, Jenny told her daughter teasingly, "You're getting very demanding."
"No I'm not!" Lexie shook her head at the accusation, folding her arms indignantly she missed the teasing tone in Jenny's voice and continued, her voice rising an octave. "You're all better so we have to do something special. We have to," she implored.
Jenny stroked a finger down Lexie's cheek. "What we have to do is teach you when you're being teased."
Lexie frowned. "Does that mean we can watch a film and have popcorn?"
"Of course we can." Jenny set her on the floor, and tapped her shoulder. "You go and get the pizza menu out of the drawer, your Dad and I will be through in a minute."
Without even taking the time to reply, Lexie turned and ran past Gibbs into the kitchen, where she could be heard noisily opening different drawers in pursuit of said menu.
Taking advantage of the few moments they had before Lexie demanded their appearance, Gibbs asked quietly, "How did it go with Morrow?"
Jenny's smile deepened. "It went well." She moved towards, her eyes meeting his as she brushed her hand against his arm. "We really do need to talk, Jethro."
He nodded. "Yeah, we do."
"After we've put Lexie to bed?" Jenny suggested, her eyes hopeful.
Gibbs looked into her wide green eyes, confused by the expression in them. He didn't understand her behaviour, it didn't even remotely tie in with the way she'd acted before leaving him in Paris. She'd been distant then, he'd caught her on numerous occasions staring into space, but whenever he'd asked her if she was ok, she'd brushed him off. This time however the only noticeable oddity in her behaviour was that she hadn't once mentioned leaving, in fact she hadn't mentioned the future at all. And now she was looking at him as though she were expecting him to crush her, right now he was more confused than he'd ever been. Tearing his eyes from hers, he gave a brief nod as his reply.
His confusion ratcheted up a notch as he saw a flash of relief cross her face, she looked as though she was about to speak again, when Lexie's sing song voice carried through from the kitchen. "I found it! Come on hurry up!"
As the film credits rolled, Lexie huddled down between her parents, trying to sink into the sofa cushions, sensing that her bedtime was imminent. As her Dad hit the off switch on the TV, Lexie asked brightly, "What will we watch now?"
"Now it's bedtime," her Mom replied, standing up and giving a slight stretch.
"No!" Lexie shook her head and wriggled her bottom further still into the cushions. "I'm not tired," she declared stubbornly.
"Tough." Leaning forward, Jenny hauled the squirming four year old forward and lifted her into her arms. "Bath and then bed," she told her firmly.
"No!"
"Yes. Now how about I wash your hair and get you ready for bed, and your Dad can read you your story."
"No bath and no bed," Lexie pouted.
"Keep this up and you'll go straight to bed without a story and you'll need to get up early for your bath tomorrow."
"Want to stay up!"
"No, Lex. Now which one do you want."
Lexie let out a large huff, before finally announcing sulkily, "The first one."
"Good choice. Come on then."
As they headed towards the door, Lexie tipped her head backwards over her Mom's shoulder so she could see her Dad. "Daddy remember to come up and read me my story."
Gibbs grinned at her. "As if I could forget."
"You need to promise not to forget."
"I promise I won't forget," Gibbs repeated dutifully, his mouth twitching with barely suppressed amusement.
******************
Slamming the dishwasher door shut, Jenny hit the start button and stared mutinously around the sparkling kitchen. She'd been hoping to pass the time waiting for Jethro by cleaning up the evenings mess, but Jethro had obviously done it while she'd got Lexie ready for bed.
Sighing, she jumped up onto one of the kitchen stools, her fingers knotting together. She was nervous, which in itself wasn't like her. She'd been so sure that Jethro would be happy to here she'd decided to stay, but his behaviour today had been strange and had put her decidedly on edge. For once she'd actually began to consider the possibility that he might not want their relationship to continue, a fact that wouldn't change her decision to stay, but it very definitely wasn't the outcome she truly wanted.
Her eyes glanced upwards as she heard his familiar heavy footfall on the stairs, and she took a deep breath, steeling herself for his reaction, whatever it might be.
The next few seconds seemed to drag on forever as she stood up from the chair, waiting. Then finally he appeared in the doorway, his face set in an expressionless mask, he asked, "So we're finally going to talk then?"
Jenny nodded, replying wryly, "Let's be honest, Jethro, we probably should have talked long before this." He gave a small grumble that seemed to signify his agreement, and with nothing else forthcoming, Jenny decided to just continue. "So I spoke to Morrow today, and it's all arranged, I-"
Gibbs stomach sank as she began to talk, and finally he couldn't take it anymore and interrupted her. "Wait." He held up his hand to silence her. "I need to say something first."
"Oh," Jenny looked at him in surprise, he'd seemed anxious to know how she'd got on and now he was cutting her off, it was no wonder she was so confused. She sat back down on the stool and waved her hand to indicate that he should continue.
"I've been thinking and I've decided to move to LA."
Jenny just blinked at him, for once words were failing her and she was having to fight down the bizarre compulsion to laugh. Eventually she managed to choke out, "You're moving to LA?"
"Yeah. Look I know how important your career is to you and that LA is where you need to be right now, but I don't want to just see you or Lexie every month or so. Because let's face it, with both of us working flat out, if you go then that's exactly what's going to happen."
"I realized that," Jenny replied, still trying to get her head around the fact that just as she'd decided to stay here, he'd decided to fly across the country. "Have you spoken to Morrow yet?"
He shook his head. "Thought I'd tell you first."
Jenny gave a small nod, beginning to wish that she'd done the same. "Good. Don't."
Gibbs fists clenched in frustration and he ground out, "Jen, you're not going to stop me. Even if you've decided you don't want us, I'm still moving, I'm not going to be a part time father."
"I didn't expect you to be," Jenny frowned.
"Then it's settled," Gibbs declared firmly.
"No," Jenny replied slowly, getting to her feet and walking closer to him, a smile pulling at the sides of her mouth. "It's not."
Gibbs face fell into a dark frown. "Jen-"
She pressed her hand against his mouth to keep him quiet, as she told him, "Moving to LA will be a complete waste of your time, Jethro. Because Lexie and I won't be there. We'll be here; in DC." His eyes widened at her news, and her eyes twinkled as she continued, "You know you really need to learn not to interrupt people when they're talking to you. And finally she let her hand slip from his mouth, allowing him to speak.
The frown on his face had disappeared and he gave her one of his rare smiles. "You're staying?"
Jenny nodded. "Jethro, I always knew that if I asked you, you'd move to LA to be with us, but that wasn't the solution and I knew it. If I picked LA I was picking my career again, and we'd end up moving for it, again and again, and you would end up resenting me." When he made a sound of protest she held a finger against his mouth and continued, "You would. You'd hate me for making you walk away from your team, from Ducky, and from your home. I had to make a choice, and I have spent five years regretting my decision to walk away from you, I wasn't about to repeat that mistake again. As much as I want to succeed, I want you and Lexie more, and wherever I end up career wise I'll still know that I made the right choice, and I won't regret that."
Still smiling, Gibbs slid his hand up her arm, his fingers curling around her wrist and gently pulled the finger she'd pushed against his mouth away and pressed a chaste kiss to her opened palm.
Jenny gave a small sigh at the action and leaned closer to him. Tilting her head upwards she told him, "All that remains is to decide where I'm going to stay."
He met her gaze. "Here," he told her firmly. "You're both staying here."
"That was exactly the answer I was hoping for." Jenny grinned up at him, and standing on her tiptoes she brushed her lips against his. His arm looped around her waist and tugged her into him so that they were chest to chest, and deepened the kiss.
Groaning, Jenny's fingers dipped into the pockets of his jeans, the plan being to tug him closer, instead her left hand brushed against something inside. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she broke the kiss and looked up at him, her finger curving around the item and dragging it out. She held it between them, and her eyebrow arched as she examined the red beaded bracelet. "Something you want to tell me?" she asked, her voice lilting slightly in amusement.
Gibbs stared at the bracelet. "Um, Lexie roped me into making bracelets with her, she wanted me to give you that one as a present."
"You agreed to give me this as a present because our four year old asked you to?"
He merely gave a slight shrug in lieu of a reply.
Jenny's grin widened, her tone becoming even more teasing, as she asked, "Should I be concerned by how difficult you find it to say no to her."
"I'm sure by the time she's a teenager, I'll find it a lot easier," Gibbs replied dryly, the light in his blue eyes giving away his true amusement.
"I would hope so." She looked back down at the bracelet. "I'll need to remember to put this on before breakfast tomorrow. I think it'll be nice to wear it when we tell her that we're staying."
"You think she'll be happy," Gibbs queried, he knew Lexie had told him she wanted to stay, but that didn't mean she'd react differently when she was given the news.
"She'll be ecstatic," Jenny reassured him. Placing the bracelet on the kitchen counter, Jenny wrapped her arms around his neck again. "Now where were we?"
He smirked at her as he lowered his mouth back down to hers again, resuming the earlier kiss. As the kiss grew more heated, he felt her nimble fingers go to work on his shirt buttons, her hips grinding urgently into his. He broke away, grounding out, "Not here, upstairs." He wanted this to last, wanted to have her squirm under him, hear her voice crack and still draw the experience out, and he knew that wouldn't happen down here.
She gave a short nod, her mouth catching his again, and her hands curling into his collar she pulled him in the direction of the doorway, stumbling slightly as she did so.
In response he began tugging at the hem of her top, only for her to whisper, "I'm not explaining the clothing trail to Lexie, so you'll be the one getting up early to pick them up."
Laughing deeply, he contented himself with running his hands under her fine jumper and across her smooth bare abdomen, fingers dipping to stroke at the delicate skin that covered her hip bones. Twirling out of his grasp, Jenny moved swiftly in the direction of the stairs and darted up them, not needing to look back to know that he was following her. She only turned when she reached the bedroom, and a smirk played across her mouth as he appeared in the doorway, kicking the door shut behind him, drinking in the sight of her with darkened eyes.
When he made no attempt to move and just continued to watch her, she ran her hands teasingly up her sides, fingers gripping the hem of her top and pulling it over her head. Running her hands back down her sides, and round to her back, she slowly unzipped her skirt and let it fall in a puddle of material to the floor. Stepping out of it, she walked towards him, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. Reaching for him, she deftly undid the rest of his shirt buttons and asked, "You just going to stand there?"
"I was just enjoying the show," he replied hoarsely, waiting until both his shirt and t-shirt had hit the floor before trailing a hand up her side and round to her front, cupping one of her lace clad breasts, his thumb rubbing across one of her tightened nipples, hearing her give a barely suppressed moan.
She pushed herself into him, her legs curling around his calf as her fingers fumbled with his belt buckle. Leaning back against the wall for a moment, he lifted her up and let her legs wrap around his waist, he carried her towards the bed, dropping her onto it and covering her body with his own.
His mouth traced the contours of her skin as they shed the rest of their clothing. Loving her quick inhaled gasps whenever he came into contact with a particularly sensitive spot. Her hands tried to move downwards, to tease him in return, but he caught both her wrists easily with one hand and held them above her head. Lowering his mouth to her neck, his free hand traced lazy circles on the damp skin of her inner thigh. When he was confident enough that she wasn't going to try and turn the tables, he released her wrists, and teased one stiff nipple with his mouth while mimicking the movements on the other one with his hand.
She arched her hips in a silent plea to get him to move his fingers upwards. His mouth moved up, catching hers as he thrust his two fingers into her, swallowing her harsh cry. The pad of his thumb rubbed insistently against her bundle of oversensitive nerves, as his fingers curved inside of her.
Her fingers of one hand gripped the back of his neck, while the other twisted into the sheets, her wild eyes met his and she gasped harshly for breath, her eyes fluttering shut again. His mouth dropped to the hollow of her neck and he laved at it with his tongue, tasting the salty sweetness of her skin, feeling her hectic pulse beat under her flushed skin. He felt her muscles tighten around his fingers and pressed deep one last time, feeling her contract around him, a low moan tearing loose from her throat. He waited until her eyes opened again and her breathing slowed before withdrawing from her, feeling the residual shudder it drew from her.
Reaching up, she pulled his mouth to hers again for a long kiss, whispering to him, "You always were good with your hands."
He easily flipped her languid form onto her front, and leaning over her replied, "I'm not done yet."
"Trying to teach me how to pace myself," she laughed.
She felt his chest move with silent laughter. "I think that's a lost cause." He trailed a hand up her side and under her stomach prompting her to move onto her knees. "Not," he whispered, "that I really mind."
Pushing her hair off her shoulder, he pressed a kiss to the skin he'd bared and pressed the tip of his erection against her entrance, rocking back and forward entering her an inch or so and then withdrawing.
"Jethro, enough teasing," she moaned, pushing her hips backwards.
Gripping her hips, he complied and thrust hard into her, right up to the hilt, letting out a choked groan as she squeezed her muscles around him.
He hooked his elbows under her arms and pulled her backwards, so she was upright her back pressed against his chest, making the squeeze of her flesh around him even more intense. Her hips met his on every thrust, her head tipping backwards to catch his mouth again, their moans mingling. He was close, on the edge, and he knew that from the sounds she was making that she was too. He kept one hand steady on her hip and used the other to cup her breast, increasing the pace of his thrusts. Finally his name tumbled from her lips and her back arched, her tightness reaching unbearable levels, he snapped and thrust mindlessly once more before spilling into her.
She fell back against his chest, feeling his heart thudding against her back. The next few moments passed in near silence as they shared a long drawn out kiss, one more of tenderness than passion. He fell to the side, taking her with him, he drew the sheets over their rapidly cooling bodies and placed an idle kiss to her cheek. She curled her fingers into his and brought his knuckles to her mouth, kissing them gently
They lay like that for what felt like an eternity, both content in each others company enough not to say a word. Until eventually Jenny broke the silence. "I really can't wait to see Lexie's face when we tell her the news."
Well just the epilogue to go
xxx
