Note: I forgot to write in the first chapter, even though this story is not going to be plot-wise related to the show I will put it somewhere in the future (after season 17 ending) in the summer of 2020. (in a world without corona – I think we can all use an escape to summer 2020 without corona) – that was the reason why I came of with the fluff part in the first place – to escape the quarantine and corona.

The cabin

It is almost 9 pm when they arrive at the cabin. They stopped at a gas station earlier to get some coffee, but after the gas station, Jack fell asleep. Gibbs parks the truck and looks over at Jack. She is peacefully asleep. He grabs a blanket from the back of the truck and pulls it over her before he jumps out. He puts on a headlamp and walks over and gather some wood for the fire. Even though it is summer, and the sun hasn't settled entirely yet, it is starting to get a little chilly, and Gibbs knows that Jack is used to the California heat, and she hasn't quite gotten used to the east coast summer nights yet. So, Gibbs is getting a fire started in the fireplace in the cabin before he is waking up Jack. He hears footsteps walking up the few steps to the cabin, and Jack comes in. Gibbs looks back at her. She has the blanket wrapped around her like a cape. She looks around the cabin amazing about the handy work.

"so, this is your secret mancave hideout?" she asks and walks further into the cabin. Gibbs just smiles amused at her and then return to getting the fire started. Jack walks over to stand beside him.

"you build this cabin yourself?" she asks, amazed, and look around.

"hmmm…" he says and blows a bit on the fire to get the flames going. Jack sits down next to him once he has the fire going nicely.

"you are cold?" he asks and pulls the blanket further up around her shoulder, where it had slipped down a bit. It is such a small but very caring act. And it is so Gibbs caring so much for her.

"no, I'm fine." She says and looks into his deep blue eyes. They are so filled with so much care for her. He reaches up and gently removes a strain of her blonde her that is fallen over her eye. It makes her smile when his fingertips gently brush over her skin. His fingers trace a line down her face, and he gently cups her face with his hand, and she leans into his touch. The evening's last faint red and purple rays of sunlight are falling through the window while the light from the fire is lighting up his face, and his blue eyes are shining even more then she usually notices when they spend time together. Her soft brown eyes that are lit up by the fire is shining so softly at him, and he slowly leans forward and gently places a kiss just on the corner of her lips. He then slowly pulls back just enough to see her reaction. The soft smile on her face gives him the approval to continue, and he moves in and gently kisses her, and she kisses him back. His hands find their way to in her long blonde hair. He can feel how she gently parents her lips to deepen the kiss. He is just about to do so when she abruptly pulls away from him and look towards the door.

"what was that?" she asks, and Gibbs starts laughing.

"Relax, Jack." He says, laughing and gets up and walks towards the door. He opens the door and outside, right where the small clearing where the cabin is located, ends and the forest begins again are two deer is standing. Jack walks over to stand next to Gibbs. The 2 deer seem to just be looking at them. "it is a mother and her calf. It is probably no more than a few days old," Gibbs whispers to her. They are standing in the doorway and observes the two animals. They just seem to be unbothered by the two human guesses. As they are standing there, Jack feels his hand gently resting on her lower back. She looks over at him, but he isn't saying anything. She rests her head on his shoulder and slowly moves her head a bit backward juts to check if he is okay with it. his hand on her lower back squeezing her a bit closer to him, tells her the answer. After a while, the two deer make their way back into the woods. Jack feels his lips, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Are you asleep?" he asks. Jack lifts her head and smiles at him.

"nope. That was so sweet." She says, excited. He just casually shrugs and closes the door.

"you must think I am such a city-girl right now. Being spooked by sound sin, the wood and thinking deer are super cute."

"Nah… maybe a little." He says, amused. "just one thing." He says, and she looks at him with anticipation.

"Please don't scream if you see a spider." He says, and she hits him playfully on his arm.

"I don't scream over spiders. I'm not that much of a city-girl."

"I am not getting up in the middle of the night to remove a spider for you. just saying." He just receives a smile from her as she shakes her head in disbelieve over his idea of women in the woods.

"What a gentleman, you are Gibbs." She jokes. He walks over and ads another piece of wood to the fire.

"so, where do you usually sleep?" Jack asks and looks around the very minimalist furnished cabin.

"on the floor." He says. "or outside."

"outside?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. You know cowboy camping? You have never done that doing training exercises?"

"yes. But not since I retired the Army." He gets up and walks outside. He stops in the door as he was expecting her to follow him.

"you are coming?" he asks.

"you seriously want us to sleep outside? You know there are black bears in the state of Virginia, right?"

"yes. Just don't attack the bear and don't run away. Unless you think you can outrun a bear." He says with a smile and walks outside. Jack decides to follow him. She is not going to let him win that argument that easily.

"I don't have to outrun them, Gibbs." She says, and she walks over to him while he is collecting chunks of wood for the fireplace. He looks at her, confused. She can't actually see him, but she can feel how he is looking at her with his disbelieved and amused Gibbs-stare. "I just have to outrun you." she can hear how he chuckles at her statement in the darkness.

"nice, Jack."

"you need me to do something?"

"grab some chunks of wood and bring it into the fireplace." she can faintly see the outline of the pile of wood from the moonlight. She starts picking up some chunks.

"careful with the splinters, Jack. He jokes when she carefully picks up one piece at the time. She can hear him chuckle as he walks back into the cabin. She picks up pieces and then walks back inside. To her big surprise, Gibbs is starting to unfold a big air mattress in the middle of the room. He looks up at her when she just stays in her spot in the doorway and looks at him.

"It is an air mattress Jack." he jokes, and it makes her chuckle.

"hilarious Gibbs." She walks around the mattress and drops the wood she is carrying on top of the wood Gibbs brought in.

"don't worry, we are not sleeping outside. I got this mattress out here since Phil, and Tobias shows up last year unexpected." Gibbs looks up from his work with pumping up the mattress with an old handpump. He sees how Jack is trying to find something to wipe her hands clean in. He grabs an old towel and throws it to her.

"There is water in the truck. I am going to get more tomorrow morning down at the stream. "Jack is about to walk outside.

"Jack." she stops in the doorway and looks back at him.

"flashlight." He says and nods towards the flashlight that is lying on the floor near the fireplace.

"right."

She grabs the flashlight and walks outside. It amuses Gibbs, how this is clearly way out of her comfort zone, yet she seems quick happy and seems to enjoy herself. To Gibbs's big surprise, this feels very comfortable to him too. Having her around in his cabin. He usually never brings anyone out here. When the mattress is done, he grabs some blankets and pillows out of a box. He makes the mattress ready for Jack and then throws a few blankets and a sheet on the floor along with a pillow. Jack comes back in with a few things in her hands and walks over to the fireplace.

"you got a put, or is that too modern for you, cowboy?" she asks with a smile and receives a chuckle from his as he finds an old dented pot and a homemade spoon. He hands her the put and the spoon.

"What is that?" She asks, pointing with the spoon, towards the pile of blankets on the floor next to the mattress.

"my bed. I know it isn't made. I wasn't expecting bunk expectation until the morning." He says and receives a chuckle from Jack.

"very funny. Why is it on the floor?"

"because I am going to sleep there," he explains a little uncertain on whether he has offended her by not just naturally assuming they were going to share the mattress.

"Are you afraid to sleep next to me?" she asks with an almost daring look, but the smile on her face from when he looks away from her almost embarrassed betrays her, and she can't hide it.

"no, I am not." He says and grabs the pile of beddings and throws them on the mattress. Then he walks closer to her and places a gentle kiss on her cheek. "never of you." he says, almost whispering, and then he starts to grab some stuff to make their steaks. Jack can't keep a smile off her face as she sits down in front of the fireplace. She can feel how Gibbs is just looking at her when she takes out her knife and starts opening the tin cans with beans for their dinner. He has sat down right in front of her as Jack is sitting with her side to the fireplace and prepares their dinner. She looks up to see Gibbs is looking at her with a shy smile on his face.

"what you don't think I know how to use a knife? How do you think I survived 2 tours in a sandbox?" it makes him just chuckle and focus on the making of their steaks. She knows he has a deep respect for her, and he knows how capable she is, but still, she has a more feminine appearance that makes him sometimes forget for a short moment that she is also a highly trained and capable solider and agent.

After they ate their dinner, beans, and some steak made over the fire, they are just sitting in front of the fire and enjoying the quietness. They can only hear a few sounds coming from outside the cabin occasionally. Mostly the only sound they can hear is the crackling sound from the fire. Jack is sitting in front of Gibbs. She is leaning against his chest, and his arms are securely holding her close to him.

"I understand now why you come here to get some peace and quiet Gibbs."

"hmmm…" He mumbles into her hair and places a kiss in her hair.

"I guess it isn't as quiet when I am here." she jokes and is expecting him to crack some wit about her getting spooked by the deer earlier, but he doesn't. instead, he says, "no, but it is still great." He says, almost whispering. His voice sounds so soft and emotional, and it makes Jack's heart beat faster. She thought she had gotten that teenage lovesickness-feeling out of her head. She used to feel it whenever she was around Gibbs. It mostly happened when they were spending time in her office together. They would have theses little personal moments, and their eyes would meet, and they would keep the eye contact just a bit longer. He would gently brush up against her. But since their argument months ago over Faith's father. When Gibbs looked at her like she was a victim after she told him what happened to her in college. They haven't really spent that much personal time together or had little private talks in her office. So, she wasn't expecting to feel this way just by hearing him say that, but… The kiss earlier and the moment when they were watching the deer and now this. It is like her feelings for him that she has been putting away for months because she has been telling herself she was mad at him is coming back.

"you want to get some sleep, Jack?" he asks when he sees her eyes a slowly falling shot, and her body is starting to feel heavier against his.

"Yeah, I guess." She says and sits up, and he lets go of her. He gets up and helps her to her feet.

"you are still sure you want me to sleep on the mattress too. I am fine with sleeping on the floor."

"But I'm not. You sleep on the mattress with me. Man up, Gibbs. You have slept next to a fellow servicemember before." she walks over and kneels down in front of her go-bag that are left on the floor next to the door. She can feel how his eyes are resting on her as she is kneeling. It creates a smile on her face. She quickly turns her and smiles.

"have you done that to you fellow servicemembers before?" she asks when she catches him in checking her out. And he quickly looks away like a boy who has been cut with his fingers in the cookie jaw. She stands up and walks over to him.

"Not that I mind." She says and runs her hand down his chest as she passes by him to get some water to brush her teeth and get ready for bed.

Jack is lying on the side of the mattress, closes to the fireplace to stay warm. She is lying on her side with her back to Gibbs and is staring into the fire. Gibbs leans over and places a kiss on her cheek.

"good night, Jack," he whispers and then lays down on his own say. He is a little bit uncomfortable with the situation. It isn't the first time he has slept next to a woman, and it isn't the first time he has slept next to Jack either, but. Over the past few months, things have been a bit icy between them, and he isn't sure where they are right now. When he asked Jack if she wanted to come to the cabin, he didn't think of how their relationship has been lately. He just thought it would be nice to invite her into the most sacred place in his life. A place he usually never invites people to come, because he needs it to be his personal pace, but it felt right to invite her, but as they were sitting in the car, on their way out here, he suddenly realized that it might not be such a good idea if she was still angry with him. Now he is lying on the same mattress as her in his cabin, but he is keeping a safe distance to her not to risk anything. Their relationship is too important to him to mess up like he clearly did months ago. Their little banter between them tonight has been a nice change back to how they used to be until a few months ago. Gibbs then feels Jack moving closer to him, and she places her hand on his chest and snuggles her head into her crook of his neck. He can smell the natural scent of her as he can feel her breathing against his neck when she is quickly drifting off to good night sleep. He soon falls asleep too while the moonlight is coming in through the window of the cabin, and the fire is slowly dying out.

Note: I know this is just one BIG chunk of fluff. Don't worry, there will be more mystery in chapters to come.

Note: the reference to the argument between Gibbs and Sloane over Faith's father wasn't originally in my plan, but I kind of like to incorporate it, since I don't feel we ever got closure on that storyline and their argument in the show. Maybe we will get it in 17x20. Let me know what you think of it and stay tuned.

definition: Cowboy camping is sleeping outside without a shelter(tent, tarp or anything - just your sleeping bag) it is wonderful to do