I am sorry it has taken me SO long to finally finish this story – but life happens sometimes. BUT here it is. The final chapter and I already have at least 2 new stories in progress. So, stay tuned. As always, please leave a comment on your thoughts, and thanks so much for reading my story.
Cabin
Jack is seated in the front passenger seat as she is watching Gibbs packing up the last few things in the back of the truck before he jumps into the driver's seat.
"are you ready to go back to reality?"
"Nah, not really. I could stay here forever."
"Yeah, me too," Gibbs says and looks at the cabin one last time before he starts the engine, and they drive off to get back to Washington DC.
"what am I going to say to the team? They probably know I quit. McGee took it pretty hard." Jack says as she accepts the cup of coffee Gibbs just brought her from the gas station they stopped at.
"The truth," Gibbs suggests and takes a sip of his own cup. It amuses Jack to see how the beverage clearly doesn't live up to his usual diner standard coffee.
"that I quit because I got angry with you? They are also going to gossip about us and why I was at your cabin. Nick has been driving me crazy since Christmas last year. Now I am never going to hear the end of it."
"I just ignore Torres. He is just messing with you."
"Yeah, I guess you are right." Jack adjust herself in her seat and takes off her shoes and tug her legs under her. Before they pull back on to the road, Gibbs reaches to the back seat and grabs a blanket and hands it to her.
"I'm not cold," Jack says as she accepts the blanket.
"no, but you do when you sleep, and you are probably falling asleep, so might as well get comfortable."
"are you watching me when I sleep?" she asks, pretending to be offended.
"Hard not to when you are sitting in my passenger seat. And you have been hugging the covers from me for the past few nights, so it is hard not to notice." He comments and then looks over at her with a quick, teasing smile before he turns his focus back to the road.
Once Gibbs and Jack arrived back in DC, Gibbs drove Jack to her apartment before he headed home to his house and unloaded the truck before he took a shower and a nice long nap.
Morning
When Jack arrives at her office, she has an uneasy feeling. She technically quit her job a couple of days ago, and she knows she needs to deal with that, which is probably the explanation for the unease of her stomach. She enters her office and immediately looks over at the elephant painting hanging on her wall. It isn't exactly pretty, but it is unique and a gift from Gibbs, so it means something special to her. It always gives her a warm feeling looking at it whenever she has a hard day. She closes the door behind her and starts her usual routine. She places her coffee cup on her desk before she takes off her jacket and drops her bag on her couch. She sits down behind her desk and turns on her computer to check for any emails. Then it knocks on her door. She knows it is the inevitable conversation she is forced to have with Vance. She straightens up and takes her off her black-framed glasses before she gives the come into her visitor. To her big surprise, it is Gibbs. He usually never waits for her to give the come in. He has a smile on his face when he places a fresh cup of coffee on her desk.
"Thanks," she says with a smile and takes a sip of the brew.
"you added sugar in it?" she asks, surprised he usually leaves the sugar to her. "Nah…" he says and sits down across from her. "I emptied a bowl of sugar into the cup and poured a hint of coffee on top." He jokes. It makes them both laugh.
"very funny." She says and a look into his steel-blue eyes that she has really come to enjoy. She then leaves back, relaxed in her chair.
"talked to Vance yet?" he asks, and the mood between them suddenly shift from flirty to serious.
"Nope." She says and takes a deep breath. "I guess I have to if I want to keep my job."
Gibbs just shrugs with a smile and then stands up.
"enjoy." He says with a smile and then walks towards the door.
"wait a second." She says and looks at the cup and then at Gibbs. "this is a bribe. To get me to talk to Vance and get my badge back?" she says, surprised. He is trying his best to keep a straight face, but it isn't really working for him today.
"This is your way of telling me that you actually want me to stay."
"I didn't say that." He says casually with a shrug.
"you have an absolutely terrible poker face right now." She says with a smile, and it makes him smile too. Once again, their eyes lock in a sweet tender moment where it is just the two of them, and everything around them seems to disappear. Until it knocks on the door, and the moment is broken. Gibbs opens the door, and to both Jack and Gibbs's big surprise, it is McGee followed by Torres, Bishop, Jimmy, and Kasie. They enter the office. They are all standing in a line in front of Jack's desk and staring at Jack.
"are you going to say something or just starring at me?" Jack asks.
"We need an answer," McGee says determinedly. He clearly doesn't seem to mind for a moment that Gibbs is standing there and most likely is on Jack's side no matter what.
"answer for what McGee?" Jack asks and stands up and walks around her desk. She leans against her counter as she is facing the group in front of her.
"Are you a part of this family or not?" McGee asks.
"We need to know if you have our back or not?" Torres adds in.
"We are a family, Jack. A family doesn't quit on each other." Ellie adds in.
Jack looks over at Gibbs for an answer. To her big surprise, he walks over and stands next to his team. Before Jack can answer, another one knocks on the door, and director Vance comes in. He looks at Jack and then at the team.
"am I interrupting something?" Vance asks as he looks from Jack to the team and back to Jack. "this looks like a western shoot-off."
"We just want to know if Jack is an NCIS-agent or not," McGee says in a determined voice while he continues to look straight at Jack.
"well, it seems like perfect timing because I would actually like to know that too," Vance says and joins the rest of the group in front of Jack.
"do I have much of choice?" Jack jokes to try and lighten the mood, but clearly, the rest of the group are not up for jokes. "hell, yes, I'm in." Jack says and turns her head down in defeat. Then she looks slightly up to look over at Gibbs, who is just standing next to the group with a big smile.
"oh my gosh, I thought you were going to say no for a moment," Kasie exclaims, and it makes everyone laugh.
"well, I believe this is yours," Vance says and hands Jack her credential and her badge along with her service weapon.
"the next time you forget these in my office. You better be prepared to lose them for good." He says with a determined voice, but the smile on his face betrays her as he hands it over to her. Vance leaves the office the moment he has handed the badge over to Jack. Then chatter and laugher break out in the office Gibbs walks over to Jack and leans against her desk next to her.
"your team is crazy." She whispers to him.
"yeah, but they are family. Your family too." He whispers back. She turns her head, and it cut off guard of how close he is to her. She stops herself from kissing him when she remembers they are not alone. Instead, she just looks into his soft blue eyes. He wraps an arm around her and places a kiss on her head. She then leans her head against his shoulder. The team stops chattering when Kasie exclaims. "oh… you two are dating now?" Kasie is looking at them with pure joy while McGee, Torres, and Bishop seem a bit weirded out by the thought.
There is dead silence in the office, and everyone is just frozen to the spot and starring and Sloane and Gibbs. They look at each other with a smile but without answering the question.
"I'm going to need some time to get used to that," Torres says.
"get over yourself, Torres," Kasie says to Torres like it was her big brother she was talking to, and it makes everyone laugh, and the chatter continues. Jack leans closer to Gibbs and he pulls his arm around her closer. Jack has a great feeling about this.