A/N: Hope this was worth the buildup. And I made a Sunday deadline two weeks in a row. Wow. Thanks for the reviews and continuing to read this – you guys are the best! And special thanks to OrtonsMistress for stepping in with beta duties!
***JIBBS***JIBBS***JIBBS***
Once she and Sam were cleaned up, Jenny grabbed Julia and the threesome headed downstairs to join Gibbs in the kitchen.
When he saw them, he immediately began the pancakes – the bacon was already done. He looked at them and could tell something was different. For one thing, Sam was holding onto Jenny's hand tightly.
"Do you want to stay in here with us while we have breakfast, or do you want to take Simon into the other room to watch cartoons?" she asked quietly.
"Can I watch TV?" He looked a bit nervous. When she smiled reassuringly at him and nodded, he took off.
Gibbs smiled to himself. It wasn't too long ago that Jenny would have looked to him for an answer, feeling these were his decisions to be making. But that seemed like a lifetime ago now.
The redhead turned her attention to the baby, showering her face with kisses before she carefully placed her in the swing.
Gibbs watched as she smiled at the baby. But that smile disappeared when she turned around to face his direction. She placed her hands on the island and let her head drop.
He narrowed his eyes at her before his attention shifted to flipping the pancakes. "You okay?"
She raised her head, her eyes locking with his. "No."
Something about her tone and the look she shot him made him freeze on the spot. He waited, assuming she'd explain.
She didn't disappoint. "When were you going to tell me?"
Gibbs swallowed carefully. "Tell you…" he asked in a leading manner. He didn't want to assume.
"About what happened at school? Did his class really laugh at him?" She quickly turned around to make sure he wasn't listening, realizing her anger was making her voice carry. After seeing her husband nod, she whispered viciously, "What the hell is wrong with that school - the teacher? Why didn't someone protect him?"
He put up his finger, asking her to wait while he removed the pancakes. This action only served to anger her more. When he was done, he turned off the stove and walked towards her. "My fault. I should have warned his teacher that we were calling it Gummy's Day."
Jenny could tell he was beating himself up, and it deflated her anger – but only a little bit. "You tried. But why didn't you tell me?! This happened on Friday! Why am I just now hearing about it – and not from you?!"
He saw the pain in her eyes, but he felt he did the right thing. "When, Jen? When you were in MTAC? You didn't even come home Friday."
"Jethro," she whispered in a deadly tone, obviously not accepting his reasons.
Gibbs shook his head. "No! It was a judgment call. Besides, he wasn't ready to accept comfort from you. Remember his attitude in your office?"
Her eyes flared at him. "You mean when I asked you what was going on with him?" She saw his irritation. "And if our roles were reversed, and I kept this from you?"
He set his jaw as he looked harshly at her, not wanting to acknowledge the truth in her words. "I handled it. Let it go," he said as he turned to plate the bacon with the pancakes and hand it to her along with a fork. "Eat."
She took it from him, but she no longer had much of an appetite. "How?"
He grabbed his coffee and backed away from her, leaning against the counter. "How… what?"
"How did you handle it? What'd you do?" she asked pointedly.
Now she was really beginning to piss him off. "You don't trust me?"
She shook her head, annoyed. "Of course I trust you. I'm curious. What's the big deal with my asking?"
"I yelled at the principal and asked how they could be so insensitive when they knew he just lost his mother."
She nodded. "Did you deal with the teacher?"
Gibbs mistook her thoroughness for disapproval. "No," he bit back angrily. He looked at his watch. "Sam, go get dressed," he yelled, wanting to be heard over the TV. "It's almost time to go."
Jenny looked at him with confusion. "Where are you taking him today?"
The implication that she was displeased to not be spending the whole day with both her kids wasn't lost on him. "To see Vivienne." He tossed his mug haphazardly into the sink before he headed off to collect Sam and get ready, leaving Jenny alone with Julia.
"That's just great," she muttered under her breath as she shook her head. She rescued her daughter from the swing and lifted her onto her hip. "Come on, Julia. Let's go outside for some fresh air and sit on the swing together," she said softly, trying to keep her voice steady. Once they were settled, Julia was getting antsy and a frustrated Jenny was trying to not get emotional. Here it was, her first Mother's Day and it was not turning out at all like she thought. She looked at her daughter and realized maybe the baby was acting like this because she was hungry. She attempted to feed her, and that seemed to do the trick. Jenny leaned her head back and tried not to cry.
Several minutes later, Gibbs walked back into the kitchen and noticed that the plate of food was untouched. It made him cringe with discomfort, knowing he had upset her on today of all days. He looked around and saw that both she and Julia were nowhere to be found. "Jen?" With no answer, he looked out front, relieved to see her car was still there. He then went to the backdoor and saw them sitting on the swing. "Sam, I'll be in the backyard. Come get me when you're ready."
Jenny stiffened when she heard the door open. She concentrated on the baby in her arms - not wanting to let whatever he had to say upset her more. She tensed even more when she felt his hands massaging her shoulders.
Gibbs felt horrible. She never tensed up when he kneaded her muscles. "Do you want me to stop? I don't want to make things worse."
She relaxed a bit and shook her head. "No, it feels good, thank you. I was just taken by surprise is all." She let her head fall forward to give him more access. Her hair was already up in a ponytail – a necessity around her daughter since yanking it seemed to be her favorite activity.
"Aw, Jenny, I didn't mean to upset you. I really was trying to handle things so you could concentrate on your job."
She closed her eyes and sighed. "I know. But I told you these kids come first. You come first. Please – don't do that again."
He stopped the massage and walked in front of her and crouched down, resting his hands on her knees. "No matter what?"
She nodded. "So what's the plan? Want me to take something out for dinner while you two are gone?"
He looked at her with a bit of trepidation. "Actually, I've invited the team, along with Ducky and Abby, for a barbecue tonight. They wanted to help you celebrate."
Jenny tried to not look disappointed, but she wasn't exactly in the mood to play hostess.
As if reading her mind, Gibbs held up his hands. "It's all handled – you don't have to lift a finger. It's your day. Why not take a relaxing bath after you put Jules down for a nap?"
She handed him Julia while she put herself back together. "Maybe I will."
He immediately stood up to burp her and saw Sam staring at them through the screen door. He motioned for the boy to come out. "We won't be too long," he said as he kissed his daughter's head and handed her back to her mother. "I really am sorry. I wanted this day to be perfect for you, and it's been horrible."
Without answering, Jenny bent down on one knee to get eye level with Sam. "Can I see the picture you made for your mommy?" He showed it off proudly. "You are such a good artist, monkey." She drew him into a hug and kissed the side of his head. "See you soon. I love you."
The boy nodded. "Love you too, Gummy. Bye Yulie," he added, patting her on the head.
"That was very nice of you, Sam," Jenny boasted proudly. She stood up and snaked her free arm around her husband's waist. "The day is looking up," she whispered before adding, "I love you." She kissed him gently on the lips.
A couple of hours later, Jenny had taken her husband's advice and was enjoying relaxing in the tub. She had soft music playing and a few aromatherapy candles lit. It wasn't long before she heard a soft knock on the door. "Can I come in?"
"Sure," she allowed, keeping her eyes closed. "How'd it go with Sam?"
He moved the stool so he could sit next to her. "I'm not sure he fully understands, but I think it helped. He went down for his nap pretty easy. I think he was wiped out."
"They're napping at the same time?" she smiled. Without even opening her eyes, she could feel his raking over her. "Like what you see?"
He grunted. "Ya think? I've barely seen you the last couple of days."
Finally she opened her eyes and smiled to see him shifting around uncomfortably. She sat up and moved closer to him. "Hi."
He leaned towards her. "Hi yourself." He watched as she sat up on her knees, the water dripping down her body. Gibbs swallowed heavily before he took off his two shirts. He held his breath as she ran her fingers through his chest hair. He returned the favor, his hands caressing her breasts before he allowed his mouth to follow suit.
Her fingers threaded into his hair as she eagerly watched him. "Your pants look like they must be causing you pain," she teased, her eyes focused on his excitement.
"Your fault," he managed to say as he jumped from one breast to the other.
Jenny maneuvered him so she could unbuckle his jeans and reach her hand down inside. She was rewarded for her effort when she heard him moan.
"God Jen." He quickly removed her hand - afraid he was wound too tight to take much more. "Bed or right here?"
She contemplated the interesting position doing it there would provide but she then considered his knees. "Bed," she said throatily as she grabbed a towel and quickly dried herself off.
He removed his jeans and went to lock their bedroom door. When he turned around, she was kneeling on the bed waiting for him. "This is makeup sex, right?"
She tried not to laugh. "Just shut up and get over here."
A few hours later, their company started to arrive. Jenny was wearing tan pants and a green frilly blouse, while Gibbs was in jeans and a Marines T-shirt since he knew it'd be hot manning the grill. Julia was in a little red sundress, and Sam had on his jeans and insisted on wearing his new NCIS T-shirt for the gathered group. He was off in a corner telling Tony all about his day while Abby and Ziva took over setting up the table in the backyard. McGee dropped off all kinds of drinks in the cooler, and Ducky brought a wonderful apple pie he was able to secure from everyone's favorite bakery.
Abby tried to appear casual as she walked over to see Gibbs while she carried Julia. She admired the burgers on the grill before turning her full attention to the chef. "Where's the gift, Gibbs? Can we give it to her now? Cause I don't know how long I can wait and you know I've been dying to give it to her and it will really surprise her, don't you think?"
He laughed. "Slow down, Abs. It's your gift – you can do it when you want. You sure you don't want to wait until dessert though?" She gave him an eager look, and it made him laugh again. "I moved it to the hall closet."
"Yay! Your daddy is the greatest, Miss Julia," she said, showering the baby with so many kisses it made her squeal.
"Abs," he shouted, making her stop and turn around. "You may want to hand off the princess before you…"
She smiled broadly and nodded. "Good thinking, el Jefe." Ducky perked up when he heard that and immediately offered his services.
"Ah, Princess Julia. You come here to Sir Ducky right this second," he said, smiling.
Gibbs shook his head, amused, as he took another sip of his beer.
Abby looked around for Jenny and not seeing her, she ran inside and retrieved the gift. She brought it outside and hid it behind the shed, out of sight. She then looked at Sam who was walking by. "Hey buddy, do you know where Jenny went?"
He shrugged. "I can get her." When Abby smiled at him, he puffed out his chest proudly. He walked inside and immediately headed towards their bedroom. "Gummy!" The bathroom light was on, so he headed that direction.
"I'll be out in a minute – oh, hi Sam," she said, trying not to sound or look upset that her privacy had been breached. She saw the boy looking down at her, his mouth hanging open.
He looked at her, his eyes wide. "Where's your ungerwear?"
Now it was Jenny's turn to have her mouth hanging open. "Uh…"
Outside, everyone was seated at the table, the food now ready. Sam came walking out.
Abby perked up. "Did you find Jenny?"
He nodded and looked at her earnestly before he revealed, "Gummy wears ungerwear… sometimes."
Gibbs closed his eyes and sighed, scrubbing his hand down his face. Abby's eyes bugged out. She tried to keep a smile from breaking out on her face when she exchanged a knowing look with Ziva. Ducky was the first to release a quiet chuckle while McGee did his best to not look at anyone for fear of laughing. Tony looked at Sam, his grin uncontrollable as he said, "I bet she does, buddy. Thanks for the intel."
"So, what'd I miss?" Jenny noticed everyone's eyes turn to look at her – and then burst out laughing. She looked questioningly at her husband.
He turned his back to everyone and held her arm. "Apparently, you wear underwear… sometimes."
She looked at him and sighed, resigned to her fate. "Remind me to lock the bathroom door next time."
"Ya think?" he said smiling as she took a seat at the table. "OK, let's eat." Gibbs noticed Abby's pointed look. "Wait – someone wants to say something."
The Goth stood up and looked right at Jenny. "Well, we wanted to do something really special for you for Mother's Day. I mean, I know you're too young to be our mom but…"
"Much too young," Jenny interjected, smiling at her friend.
"Well yeah, duh," laughed Abby. "But we all know what you guys have been through, and we just want you to know how much you mean to all of us."
"Thank you, that is very sweet," offered Jenny, truly touched.
"No, wait! My speech isn't your gift! This is," she said as she walked over to the shed to retrieve the rather large giftwrapped picture frame. "Happy Mother's Day!"
Jenny's eyes widened. "Wow. Guys, you didn't have to do anything."
"Can I help you open it, Gummy?"
The redhead smiled. "I would love it if you would, Sam." She watched proudly as he ripped the paper off to reveal the artwork. She balanced it on her lap so she could get a good look. It said, "We love you, Mommy!" painted across the top and below that the space was divided in two. On one side was a drawing of Sam and on the other side one of Julia. Underneath his picture, Sam had blue handprints and footprints while Julia's were under her picture in pink. Then each one was made into an animal. "It's just like how we decorated your room, monkey!" she said, kissing him on his head. Jenny looked from Abby to each person sitting there, completely overwhelmed. "So this was the secret project?"
Gibbs nodded. "And you had to try and ruin it."
Sam pulled on Jenny's blouse. "It's for your office, so we are always with you."
Abby was beaming with pride when she saw that Jenny had tears forming. "If you want it there."
Jenny tried to find her voice. "Oh I want," she said softly, obviously deeply moved.
"And everyone here played a part," added Abby. "Whether it was Tony drawing their pictures, the others decorating a hand each… a project filled with love."
"I really can't believe you all did this for me." Jenny tried to wipe her eyes as she looked at Jethro. "This turned out to be an amazing Mother's Day."
