A/N: Well, I'm back! I'm so sorry for the long delay, RL has been so crazy that hoping to find spare time to write was as realistic as finding water in the middle of the Sahara!
If there is anyone still interested in this story here is the epilogue, I hope it's as satisfying for you as it is for me.
Thank you to everyone who read, favorited or reviewed this story and a big shoutout to JibbsGal1 for her help and support.
Epilogue
In just a few moments, the first notes of the wedding march were going to be heard and she would slowly make her way towards her groom. But for now, for just a few seconds, she was happy to stand there unnoticed, observing her family and friends gathered here for one of the most important days of her life. She smiled, hearing her daughter's giggles all the way from the front row.
Sometimes she still couldn't believe the unexpected turn her life had taken, but she didn't regret anything. To many, her choices would - and did- appear reckless, thoughtless and could have ruined her ambitions but she had proved all of them wrong. A few days ago, she had given the valedictory address after having obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Government, with summa cum laude, from Georgetown College of Arts and Science. Against all odds, she had ended up at the top of her class, and in a few weeks she was going to return to Georgetown to study for a Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution, with an important position in the UN at stake. All of that while raising a child and preparing a wedding; the past two years had flown by.
She had a thought for her five-year-old self, this wary girl whose biological parents had been taken from her way too soon and who had to see what was left of her family go through all sorts of ordeals before finally finding some peace and happiness. Her adoptive mother, especially. It didn't take a genius to see how unhappy, sad and lonely Jenny had been even before they went into hiding, and Grace was anything but stupid.
Jenny's reunion with Gibbs had put a smile on her face and the light back in her eyes. She had taken Jarvis' offer to become the liaison between NCIS and the Congress and had been quite successful at it. It seemed that, after everything, she hadn't lost her touch. She kept the job for a few years, until Grace graduated from high school and, then, to the utter surprise and shock of their family and the NCIS team, Jenny and Gibbs announced that they were retiring and would sail off to go around the world on Gibbs' latest boat. For about a year, they travelled, sending postcards from the various places they visited and making contact about every week or so, to make sure everyone was doing okay. That is, until Grace called them to announce that she was pregnant.
When Jenny had started her new job, she was granted a protection detail again, and one of her bodyguards had a son about Grace's age, Julian Baxter. They went to the same schools and became an item during their junior year in high school. They both were admitted by Georgetown and during their second year, after a drunken party, they had sex and forgot what a condom was. Grace panicked when she found out she was pregnant and didn't tell Julian, thinking that he wouldn't want to have anything to do with her after that. She called her parents, who came back as fast as they could.
Grace had expected them to be disappointed with her but they hugged her and asked two questions: Do you want to keep the baby, and do you think you can raise him/her while studying?
She took a while to give an answer but, in the end, it was a resounding yes to both questions. With that, Jenny and Gibbs kicked her butt for not telling Julian and her boyfriend's reaction to the news blew her away. Of course, he wasn't ecstatic at the prospect at first, and he was angry with her for keeping it from him but he respected her decision, stood by her and when she gave birth to their daughter, Julian looked like he had been given the most precious package. He asked her to marry him there and then, but Grace passed out from exhaustion.
They named their daughter Elizabeth Kelly Baxter, and Grace would always remember Gibbs and Jenny's tears at hearing it for the first time.
The two years that followed were a rollercoaster, and everyone from Grace's grandfather and uncles to the team was involved. They stood by her side to help with the baby and with her schooling. She owned them so much; she didn't know how she would ever be able to repay them, even if they never asked for anything in return. Her graduation day was as much about her as it was about making them all proud and giving back a bit of what she received.
"Are you ready?" Gibbs asked her, making her jump. She hadn't heard him approach but then who ever did?
About a year after Gibbs gave the engagement ring to Jenny, he asked Grace if she would be okay with him adopting her. She studied him long and hard and asked him bluntly if she would be some sort of replacement. Gibbs replied just as bluntly that his daughter was irreplaceable, just as Grace's parents were and that the adoption was to be sure they would always have a place in each other's life.
Gibbs became her father just as Jenny was her mom, and it was only natural that he was the one giving her away.
As they made their way down the aisle in the Meridian House's garden, Grace saw the faces turning towards her. NCIS chief medical examiner Jimmy Palmer, his wife Breena and their son were there. Jimmy had asked that a chair be left empty beside him in remembrance of his mentor. Grace had fond feelings for Ducky, who had passed away a few years ago and who had been like a second grandfather to her.
NCIS Director Timothy McGee and Abby were there too. It had taken a long while for these two to finally take the plunge and admit their feelings to one another and even longer to act on it. Gibbs had had to give his blessing and declare Rule 12 null and void for them to get together once and for all.
After Gibbs retirement, McGee revealed that he was thinking about the Director's chair for a while now and since Leon Vance was thinking about retiring too, he took McGee under his wing and taught him everything he knew. McGee was a fast learner and, after only a few months, he was nominated by SecNav to replace Vance.
Tony was now the Special Agent in Charge of the Major Case Response Team and finally felt ready for it. He and Ziva had given a try to a relationship a few years back but it didn't work out as they felt it was messing up their work relationship and they would rather stay partners than have nothing at all. Grace had noticed lately a certain rapprochement between Nathan and Ziva and wondered what would become of it.
They were in the front row now, and she saw Mikhael and his flavor of the week, even if this one seemed to stick around longer than the others had; and Abraham who was discussing with Jackson, who was well on his way to become a centenarian as he was always claiming lately. Leyla was there too, with an empty chair on each side, one for Amira, Grace's matron of honor and her best friend ever since she and her mother moved to Washington, following Mike's death. The other empty chair was for him and again Grace remembered warmly the gruff, irreverent former Special Agent who, in the few months she had known him, had taught her the essentials of his rules.
She exchanged a thousand-watt smile with Jenny, her mom, the one who had always been there and who loved her no matter what. They weren't related by blood but their bond was stronger than any biological one. Jenny was holding Elizabeth, who was squirming to get down and join her mother. Seeing Jenny struggle, Julian indicated to Amira to bring him Elizabeth and the girl settled in her father's arms, triggering a series of "Oohhhh" and "Aahhhh"s from the guests.
At last, Grace was next to her groom and Gibbs joined their hands, saying a few words to the young man that Grace wasn't able to hear but that Julian understood loud and clear.
"I hope that you remember what I told you when you announced that you and Grace were going to get married because I do."
Julian gulped, nodded and Gibbs kissed Grace's cheek and went back to his seat, satisfied.
Grace had chosen the Meridian House for a lot of reasons but the primary one was the Latin inscription that greeted the guests at the entrance "Quo habitat felicitas nil intret mali," which means, "Where happiness dwells, evil will not enter." She had no doubt that on this day, with all the people she loved and the memories of the ones she had lost, no evil could enter.
There was one thing Mike told her that would always stay with her: "I don't care if you don't remember every rule I teach you because you already know the most important one: you do what you have to for family, it's the implicit rule."
THE END
A/N: This is it! What did you think? Please leave a review and let me know.
