Title: Stages of Grieving
Summary: "Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance." Gibbs says he's stuck at Anger; his daughter tells him it's not true. Drabble.
Disclaimer: I only own Charlotte.
A/N: Couldn't think of a better title…
"Dad, are we ever going to get past it?" Charlotte asked.
"I don't know, Charli. Your mother and sister meant a lot to me." Gibbs replied pulling two steaks out of the fridge.
"To us. I may be well into my 30s now, but I still miss mom and Kelly like hell. I miss hearing Kelly laugh, I miss mom singing along to a song on the radio, I miss hearing Kelly telling me she loves me, I miss mom saying 'you get better, baby. Daddy will be home soon'. I miss all of it. And I know you do too. That is why you told Jimmy you were stuck at anger. But you are past it. Bargaining was killing him; depression was almost shooting yourself and leaving me behind. Acceptance – when you picked me up at hospital and told me that you loved me and would never leave me behind. Ever." Charlotte said. Like her father she wasn't much for words but when she need to say something she was clear and articulate.
"But I did. When I went to Mexico." He said. He knew that he had left her behind but he hadn't know what had happened while he was there.
Charlotte nodded, "And I stayed with Tony then. But that didn't make it any better for you – you accepted it easier the second time around. But you didn't know me, because you expected to find a little toddler sick in hospital, not an 18-year-old woman. So, Tony looked after me – even though I could have lived by myself in that house…but we agreed that I couldn't do it alone." She said. Tony had always been a great help to them. Looking after his little sister, his 'Munchkin' was an important part of his life at NCIS.
"I'm sorry." He whispered; he hadn't meant for her to feel alone.
"Sign of weakness." Charlotte grinned; he shook his head slowly.
"Not in a family. A real family." Gibbs said, making the point that his team was just place holder for the real family.
"So, Tony can apologize too?" She asked, knowing her father still thought of the Paris resident as his son.
"If he was here." Gibbs said.
"He's always here, Dad. Just like Mom and Kelly. Photos, memories. It all keeps them here." Charlotte said.
"What would I do without you, Charli? To remind me of things that this old man sometimes forgets?" He asked, she smiled and hugged him letting him know that it didn't matter what hurt him or affected him, she would always be there to pick up the pieces.
A/N: This came to me after watching the scene with Jimmy and Gibbs in Autopsy. And I thought about Gibbs missing Shannon and Kelly and I had to put Charlotte in there. Because really – she's s star in her own right.