Closer Reality

A/N: Final chapter... yes, really! Thanks very much for all the alerts and reviews; really appreciate every one. Big hugs and thanks to Gibbsredhoodie and Kesterpan, who helped enormously with support, encouragement, head slaps, cookies and a mass production of bunnies that I'm still trying to corral! And spookily, they both guessed the closest for the number of chapters this monster finally became... though I think their bunnies got together and conspired against me.

Also hugs to Bamacrush and Peanut84 for all their help and cheerleading and to EJack23 and ncislove for getting me into Cornell trouble.


Chapter 54 – Reflections and Renewal

Huddled in her cloak, Abby leaned against Jackson as they stood at the boat deck railing, watching the lighted waterfront glide by. She glanced over her shoulder, smiling as she caught Gibbs' eye from where he was standing at the wheel of the motorised Coaster he and Fornell had rented from a Marine buddy of Gibbs.

This boat, The Peanut, was bigger than The Kelly with more inside cabin space so they could get out of the cold night air if they wanted to.

Although no one was using it at the moment.

Everyone was lined up along the deck railings either side of Abby, taking in the passing scene on the Potomac and onshore. Although given most boats weren't designed for someone of Carol's height, Fornell had fussed until she'd rolled her eyes and agreed to sit by him on part of the cabin housing, set back from the railing and out of the wind. Fisher and Emily joined them, the young boy curling up next to Carol and Emily leaning back against her dad.

Excusing herself with a kiss to Jackson's cheek, Abby made her way down the boat to join Gibbs at the wheel. His boyish grin and the way his blue eyes sparkled told her how much he was enjoying being out on the water again. She'd never been on a boat that was actually on the water with him before, but it was no surprise that he looked relaxed, as if he was in his natural element... a basement afloat.

She had a sudden flash of wondering what it might be like one day to be on board their boat and the thought filled her with anticipation.

Gibbs was wearing a couple of sweatshirts and his green Carharrt jacket. Abby was muffled up in as many layers as she could find, as was everyone else, against the chill of the night, and the breeze off the water generated by the movement of the boat.

"Howdy Cap'n." She threw him a sloppy salute but at least with the right hand this time.

He chuckled at her mix of a Wild West hello with a naval greeting. "Think you got that mixed up there, Abbs."

"Nope, I'm inventing my own... smooshing them together." Abby slid her arm round his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Of course you are."

"You sure you're not having palpitations?" she teased.

He shot her a look. "Not yet... though you usually manage to give me a few of those most days."

Abby giggled. "No... I mean coz this is a boat with an engine. Doesn't that constitute a power tool?"

Gibbs titled his head as if considering for a moment. "It might."

Abby laughed, smoothing a hand over his back and looked ahead at what lay downriver. "How much further? It's hard to recognize the place from the water... not seen it from this angle before."

"Not far." He raised his voice. "Hey, Fisher, Emily... wanna come up here and steer for a bit?" Both kids leapt up at the suggestion and started to scramble over Fornell's legs.

"Be careful coming down here, you two." Abby called out. "Your moms would never forgive us if you went overboard."

Fornell slid off the housing and shepherded them both back along the boat, ignoring Emily's protests that she wasn't a baby and could walk down a boat just fine.

Abby pressed a quick kiss to Gibbs' lips before moving back to sit with her mom, where they watched Gibbs let Fisher and Emily take turns at the wheel, Fisher sitting on his lap so he could reach.

Her heart tugged in her chest as she saw his natural way with kids displayed again. How he made sure they each had an equal go, and how captivated the young boy was and how fiercely he concentrated on what Gibbs was telling him to do, and how much Emily smiled, clearly having fun.

Abby felt her mom's hand on her arm and turned to see Gloria's smile as she signed. "He's great with kids."

"He is. Always has been."

Inevitably, her mom had asked her the other day if they intended having kids of their own.

Abby had admitted they'd discussed it and that yes, they did want kids but it was something for the future and something neither of them wanted to rush. Thankfully, Gloria hadn't pushed it since, but Abby doubted she'd heard the last of it. Her mom loved her granddaughter, Luca's daughter, and spoiled her rotten.

Her mom squeezing her hand drew her back from her thoughts.

"You look so happy. Can see how much you love him."

Abby squeezed her mom's hand. "He's my world."

Carol and Fornell watched the kids too, and Carol smiled as she leaned back against Fornell's shoulder and he wrapped an arm round her.

"They're gonna be exhausted later."

"With any luck they might sleep in." Carol agreed. "Hell, with any luck, I might sleep in."

Fornell smiled down at her. "You planning on getting some sleep?"

"Ooh... that sounds promising."

"Well, I gotta claim me that reward." Fornell reminded her.

"You do." Carol smiled, her eyes sparkling. "This was the best idea... for the kids too, as well as getting on my good side."

"Always a good place to be." Fornell pressed a kiss to her hair. "Glad you're here, Caz."

"Me too... this is scarily okay, isn't it?" Carol gestured between them.

"Yeah... very scarily okay." Fornell agreed.

"Too scary?" she asked and he could see the flash of vulnerability in her eyes.

Fornell shook his head, feeling fairly vulnerable himself. "Nope... good scary. If you think it's good scary?"

Carol nodded. "I do... just a bit worried you thought this was moving too fast and that you wanna slow it down."

"Do you?" Fornell countered, nervously.

"I asked first."

"You did... you gonna answer first?"

Carol swatted his arm, rolling her eyes at his smile. She sobered abruptly, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "My head's scared it might be too fast." Carol shrugged. "I dunno. But the rest of me doesn't think it is. The rest of me thinks it's just right. How 'bout you?"

"Just about sums it up." He hugged her to him, feeling a surge of relief. "I know one thing."

"What's that?"

"Don't wanna slow down," Fornell admitted.

The smile he got made her eyes sparkle. "Neither do I, Special Agent Meatballs."


It seemed they weren't the only ones with the idea of arriving by boat to the fireworks and as they neared Old Town and the river traffic increased, Gibbs took back the wheel and the kids rejoined Carol and Fornell. It took a while before they motored to just off the waterfront of Old Town, Alexandria, so there were only a couple of hours to go till the midnight fireworks by the time Gibbs dropped anchor.

They couldn't see or hear too clearly the various music events taking place on land in and around the historic buildings in Alexandria but the excitement of the kids, and the conversation and relaxed atmosphere between all the adults, more than made up for it.

They'd brought plenty of blankets to keep everyone warm and they were passed around as everyone settled down, along with the food Fornell had organized and the thermoses of soup and coffee.

Abby leaned her head on Jackson's shoulder as he sat next to her, pulling the blanket up over them both and tucking it round his waist. When Jackson raised an eyebrow at her, trying to hold back his own grin, Abby nudged his shoulder with a soft giggle.

"What?"

"You're a fusspot, you know that." He wrapped an arm round her, squeezing affectionately.

"I never denied it, Jack. So suck it up."

"Yes, ma'am." His boyish grin once again reminded her so much of his son and she wondered how much Gibbs would look like this nearly thirty years on, and it was a fairly mind boggling thought that she hoped to be around to see it.

"I shall miss you when you go back," Abby admitted softly.

Jackson blinked slowly, smiling. "I'll miss you too, Abby. You've made this week really special."

"Oh, I think Jethro did that," she shrugged, picking at the material of the blanket.

Jackson nodded. "Yeah... yeah, he did. But I think we might have argued a lot more like the two stubborn fools we are if you hadn't been there to referee."

Abby bit her lip. "Don't know about that. I think you'd have figured it out just fine." It meant a lot that Jackson thought that, that she could and had helped in some way, but she hoped Jackson recognized how much effort his son had put into everything this week.

Jackson shrugged. "Maybe... maybe not, and maybe not so quickly."


Later, Gibbs turned from where he was talking to Ducky in the seats on the other side of the deck, and caught her eye. He held out his hand and she extracted herself from the shared blanket with Jackson and followed Gibbs to the railing further down the boat, slightly separate from everyone.

Gibbs stood behind Abby, wrapping a blanket round her, his hands on the railing either side of her body as she leaned back into him.

"Warm enough?"

"I will be." She grabbed his wrist and turned it to look at his watch. "Nearly time. I just love fireworks."

Gibbs chuckled, kissing her temple. "No one woulda guessed."

Abby grinned, waving her hands and fidgeting on the spot, and Gibbs had to grab the blanket as it began slipping off her shoulders. He listened to her ramble with a fond smile as he tucked it back round her, anchoring it and her in place in his arms.

"Well, all scientists are pyromaniacs at heart. We just totally love seeing things blown up, and in this case, there's no death and destruction at the heart of it... or there shouldn't be if it's doesn't get outta hand. So that means I can enjoy these fireworks, unlike when I'm usually investigating what made things blow up and hurt people."

"We oughta make this a regular thing then... give you all the fun without the mess."

"I like how you think." She leaned back into his solid warmth, enjoying the feel of his arms virtually cradling her and the slight rasp of his stubble against her cheek. "Back to work Monday."

"Uh-huh... back to work for a rest."

Abby chuckled. "You say that like I've exhausted you."

Gibbs snorted, murmuring into her ear. "If the shoe fits."

"Oh, you love it and you know it."

He nibbled on her earlobe, smiling at her gasp. "I do."

Abby reached up to his cup his cheek. "I'm gonna miss Jack. I'll come with you to the airport tomorrow, see him off."

"Sounds good. He's gonna miss you too." Gibbs turned his head and pressed his nose into her hair, breathing in her perfume. "We can make a start on your bat cave next weekend, if we don't get a call out."

She grinned. "Sounds good."

They watched the fireworks for a while, enjoying observing the kids as much as they did the show, looking along the boat to where Fisher was bouncing with excitement on the cabin housing, Fornell sitting with his arms loosely wrapped round the young boy.

Gibbs spent equal time watching Abby, seeing her own excitement and simple joy at the fireworks, amazed all over again how happy she looked and that it was partly down to him. She'd been through a lot this week, dealing with some of his baggage and he was grateful again how she hadn't given up on him yet.

He vowed then that he'd never take that for granted.

In a lull in the fireworks, Gibbs glanced sideways at Abby's profile, seeing her gazing off into space, seemingly lost in thought. After a few moments, Abby sighed and leaned her head back against his, resting her hands on his arms.

"Where d'ya go?" he asked quietly.

Abby turned her head slightly, pressing a kiss to his jawline. "Nowhere far. Just thinking."

"Uh-oh."

"No, nothing bad. Just, thank you... for this week," she murmured softly. "I've never been happier. Thank you for letting me in so much... sharing such a lot with me, especially this week of all weeks. I know it hasn't been easy. I know it never will be."

There'd been times over the past weeks when she wondered if she'd ever be able to live in Shannon's footsteps.

But once she realized she was looking at things the wrong way... that it was not about trying to fill Shannon's footsteps but walking alongside her memory, accepting it... and filling whatever space in his heart and life Gibbs could find for her.

Gibbs had gone a long way this week to share... showing that vulnerable side of himself she was certain had been hidden away for years.

It was like getting glimpses of the Jethro inside of the Gibbs.

His throat tightened and he had to clear it to get his voice working again. "You make me whole again, Abbs. Didn't think I'd ever have that again."

This past month had seen a closing of the gap between his past and future that he never thought would happen again. Even simple things like starting on a garden project together and his plans to build Abby a boat felt like a merging of their two lives in a positive way.

Abby half turned into him, gazing at him with shining eyes. "Love you so much, Jethro." She brushed her fingers lightly along his jaw. "You're everything to me... you know that, right?"

"Getting there."

Her mouth curved in a teasing smile. "Is that the next level up from working on it?"

"Guess it is."

She leaned her forehead against his cheek. "Good." She heard the countdown start from the crowds on shore and faced front again, smiling and bouncing on the spot with excitement as the clock struck midnight.

Gibbs slid a hand to her neck, turning her into his kiss and she wrapped her arms round his neck, eagerly returning it.

When they broke for air, Abby murmured against his mouth. "Our first New Year."

Gibbs smiled. "First of many."

Although New Year was a day like any other and had been for some time as he tried to ignore the pain that went with it, this was the first time in a long time where it actually felt like a new beginning.

Not just the renewal of a year but the renewal of his life in a major way, and a confirmation that their future was together.

Abby framed his face in her hands. "First of forever."

Gibbs bent to kiss her softly. "Oorah."

The end.


A/N: There will be another sequel to continue this 'verse, called Here and Now (hugs to Bamacrush for the title), which is set at the end of Season 7 around that lawyer and the Reynosa cartel, which will be more angsty than this one. Not sure when I'll get round to that but it is on the loony list, so that's a start! Got lots more stuff I want to do first, inc several Gabby stories and a Tibbs.