The First Redhead
Author's Note: Thank you all for your comments! I want to apologize for the lack of an update recently, but I was busy with work and getting ready for college. I have one week left before I move in and I can barely believe it. Hopefully I will have more time to write once I am settled. I hope you all continue to read. Sorry for the grammar mistakes, I had to write this one on my tablet instead of my laptop for the most part. Please let me know what you think. Enjoy J
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or Major Crimes or any of the ideas and characters associated with either show.
Facing the Past
Once they were all settled in a booth at Gibbs' favorite diner, Rusty looked at the expectantly.
"Can you please tell me why you two broke up?" he practically begged.
"Let's figure out what we want to eat first," Sharon chuckled, "then we can tell you a bit about what happened."
Gibbs smiled as Rusty eagerly searched the menu for his dinner and Sharon did the same.
His usual waitress came up to their table, already bringing him a cup of coffee, "It's good to see you again Mr. Gibbs! It's nice to see you with some other people other than Mr. Fornell, too."
"We're all a little hungry and I thought this would be a nice place to bring them," he said simply as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Who is Fornell?" Rusty asked, without looking up from his menu.
"He's an old friend of mine who works for the FBI," Gibbs said while pulling Sharon in close to his side.
"Well, it's nice to see you again," their waitress said, "especially with such a beautiful woman and handsome young man."
Sharon blushed a bit and Rusty bowed his head at the comments. Gibbs watched them and realized that neither of them were used to receiving compliments and it made him think about what must have happened to them.
"I'm lucky they decided to put up with me for another minute," Gibbs said simply, trying to take the attention away from Rusty and Sharon.
She shook her head while pulling out her note pad, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit," she chuckles, "But it looks like you are all hungry, so why don't we get your orders. I am assuming you want your usual, Mr. Gibbs?"
Gibbs gave a short nod, and she turned to Sharon for her order.
"I would like the turkey sandwich on rye and an iced tea, please," she said politely, handing over her menu.
"Okay," the waitress smiled and turned to Rusty, "and for you young man?"
"Can I have the simple cheese burger and a Coke?" he asked as Sharon rolled her eyes at his choice.
"Of course. How would you like it cooked?"
"Well done," he said while giving her his menu.
She assured them that their meals would be out soon, and was back within a few minutes with their drinks. Rusty looked at the two adults across from him and waited for them to begin their story, and Gibbs couldn't help but smirk at the look that Sharon gave her son.
"Fine," Sharon practically huffed before turning to Gibbs, "Do you want to tell it or should I?"
Gibbs tilted his head to the side before looking at Rusty, "I'll tell you what I can and if you want to know anything else, Sharon can talk for a bit."
Rusty nodded and Gibbs felt Sharon squeeze his hand as a signal to continue.
One Month Before Graduation…
Sharon had fallen asleep in the truck at the drive-in, and Jethro tried to move her into the front seat as softly as possible. When she didn't stir once he settled her in, he moved to the driver's seat and gently placed her head on his thigh. Once he made it out of the drive-in parking lot, he took his time heading towards her house. They still had an hour left on the curfew, so he wasn't worried about not making it on time.
As he pulled into the driveway, he saw her mother come out to greet him, "Hello, Leroy," she smiled and gave him a hug as he got out of the truck.
"Hi, Mrs. O'Dwyer," he said back, pointing towards Sharon, "She fell asleep towards the end of the second movie. I didn't want to wake her until I had to."
Her mom smiled and peered in through the window at her daughter, "That was very nice of you. Why don't you grab her and tuck her in upstairs?"
"Okay," he said while gently picking Sharon up in his arms and carrying her into the house and up the stairs to her room.
He placed her in her bed and looked down at her for a moment. She looked so beautiful, and he couldn't believe that she was his. In a few months they would be graduating and maybe even going to California together. She had applied to a few colleges there, and he planned on following her to open his own shop. He could see himself spending the rest of his life with her, and it was hard to believe that she was letting him get this close. As he tucked her in, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and whispered a quick 'goodnight.'
He quietly left the room and walked down the stairs, only to be stopped by her father, "Leroy, come in to my study please."
Jethro followed the older man into his office and took the seat that was offered to him. Mr. O'Dwyer sat across for Jethro and watched him for a while before he straightened up in his seat.
"I understand that you and my daughter have become very close in the past few years. You have proven to be capable of defending yourself in certain situations, but I do not feel that you are the best choice for my daughter."
Jethro was about to interrupt him when her father held up a hand to silence him.
"She is a smart young lady who is on the track to become an amazing lawyer or judge, and you are not an essential part of that plan. You are only good for bringing trouble into her life and putting her into situations where she has to push the boundaries. The people that hurt you will hurt her to get to you, and I don't want that for my daughter."
He paused and stood up to stand in front of Jethro. He seemed to debate his next few words carefully before taking a deep breath.
"Do you love my daughter?"
Without hesitation, Jethro found himself saying 'yes,' and he realized for the first time that this is what love felt like, and he would never feel this again.
Sharon's father looked at him and nodded, "Then you should be willing to let her go. If you stay with her, you will only hurt her chances at becoming who she wants to become."
Jethro looked down at his hands and took in each word. He thought about everything that Sharon would have to give up if she settled for him. She would not get the kind of man she deserved, and if he didn't find a way to support her, he would only hinder her more.
"I understand, sir," Jethro said quietly, "Can I have just a little more time with her?"
Her father nodded, "You have until graduation."
Three weeks was all he had, and now he had to think of something else to do that wouldn't involve California or anything close to it.
"Thank you, sir," Jethro stood up and began to make his way out of the study, but he stopped when something came to him, "May I ask you a question, sir?"
"Go ahead," the older man said somberly.
"Is there anything I could do that would make me worthy of your daughter in the future?" he asked, hoping for an answer he could follow.
Her father thought long and hard before he spoke, "The day that you can look at yourself in the mirror and be proud of who you are and what you have done, is the day you can think of my daughter. The day that you do something to help others and it is a completely selfless act, you can start looking for her. The day that you know that you would do anything to protect her, even give your own life to save her, you can see her. The day that you know that you can protect her and will not stop at anything to do so, you can talk to her, but between you and me…you will never be worthy of her."
Jethro turned around and left the office, thinking about what he had to do to prove to Sharon and her father that he was there for her. That night, he looked into how to join the military. Two days later, he talked to a recruiter and signed up for the Marine Corps. He never told Sharon or her father, because he didn't want them to think that he couldn't do it. He had to just jump in before Sharon's big green eyes stopped him for good.
Present…
"So her dad stopped you from dating her?" Rusty looked between the two, his fries and half of a burger forgotten.
Gibbs nodded and turned to see Sharon looking at him with wonder in her eyes.
"He never told me about you asking what you could do?" she whispered, "He only said that you loved me enough to let me go when he asked."
Shrugging, Gibbs took a drink of his coffee before responding, "I wanted to know that I would have a chance later on."
Placing her hand on his cheek, Sharon turned his face towards her, "You always had a chance with me."
She placed a soft kiss on his lips and pulled away to rest her head on his shoulder. He placed his arm around her waist and held her to him as she took in all of this information.
"But I don't understand," Rusty interrupted, "if you loved her then why didn't you, I don't know…fight for her?"
"Because I knew her father would not approve, and her father means the world to her. I could be the reason the two of them were at odds for the rest of their lives," Gibbs said as he reflected on his own relationship with his father, "Plus, he was right. I would have ruined her life had I followed her to California."
"We would have made it work," she responded without picking her head up off his shoulder.
"But neither of us would be where we are today."
"So how long were you two together afterwards?" Rusty asked quietly.
"We were together up until three days before graduation," Sharon supplied as she lifted her head up and turned to look at Rusty.
She scooted closer to Gibbs and leaned back against his chest, his arm still firmly wrapped around her.
"Why did you wait so long?" Rusty turned to Gibbs.
Gibbs looked out the window to his right and shook his head slightly, "I was being selfish. I wanted it to last as long as it could and make sure that there wasn't too much time between her finding out and me leaving."
Rusty nodded as he thought about the whole situation before he turned back towards his mother, "And your father told you this, but you never tried to fix it?"
Sharon shook her head, "My father didn't tell me until years later, after I had Emily and Ricky and I was starting to separate from Jack. He only told me that he had asked Jethro to break it off, but nothing else. I thought about trying to find him, but with two young children and a job that doesn't stop, I never found the time."
"Do Emily and Ricky know about your past?" he asked hesitantly.
Sharon smiled as she thought back to her children, "I used to tell them bed time stories about Jethro and me. Of course they didn't know it was me, but they loved it. I told them about a handsome young man who was reckless and hotheaded, but also sweat and loving…So they know about him and me, but they just don't know it."
Rusty smiled at her as she looked at Gibbs and kissed him lightly on the cheek. They both seemed happy with the fact that they had found each other and now he was sure that he wasn't going to have to worry about much with Gibbs around. He already proved that he could protect both of them and was more than happy to include him in things.
"So you think we could head back to your place now to work on the boat, Gibbs?" Rusty asked excitedly.
Chuckling, Gibbs placed money on the table and helped Sharon up and into her coat. He said goodbye to the waitress as Sharon took his hand and led him out to the car. Once they were in the car and on their way back to his house, Rusty continued to ask them about their relationship. They took turns answering questions, with Sharon answering more than Gibbs, and soon they were walking through the front door and changing into clothes that they could wear while working on the boat.
Gibbs and Rusty were the first ones down there and Sharon joined them shortly afterwards wearing a pair of yoga pants and a sweater. Rusty was already working on the siding as Gibbs was checking his work and sanding the pieces he added. Sharon picked up one of the sanding blocks and joined Gibbs, occasionally bumping into his side to tease him. At first he didn't react, but after the fifth time, Gibbs spun around and picked her up. Sharon squealed as he hoisted her in the air and walked her over to a saw horse in the corner, which he set her down on.
"You stay right there," he said seriously.
"And if I don't?" she shot back.
Gibbs smirked and turned back to the boat to help Rusty. They continued to work together for a while until he realized Rusty was throwing looks over his shoulder towards Sharon. They were up to something and he was going to let it play out before he reacted. They continued to look at each other for another few minutes before Rusty stopped looking all together. Before Gibbs could turn around, Sharon jump onto his back and placed an old work rag over his eyes. He instantly reached behind him to grab her, but he heard her yell 'NOW' to Rusty and he was soon let go only to be drenched in water.
"I think this would be the perfect time to run, Rusty," Sharon said as she backed up towards the staircase.
"Way ahead of you," he called behind him while taking the stairs two at a time.
"Is that why you took so long to get ready?" Gibbs asked as he turned to Sharon, "You were getting that bucket of water ready?"
"Maybe," she smirked.
"I should tell you that I am really good at getting the truth out of people," Gibbs teased as he took another step towards her.
"And I should tell you that I am a hard person to trick or manipulate," she countered as she continued up the stairs.
"Are you sure about that?" he smiled, "Because I remember a certain spot on your neck that would have you singing like a canary."
Sharon hummed as she thought about all of the times he used to hit that spot, "Well, I guess you will just have to catch me if you want to know if that spot still works."
With that she took off running up the stairs and down into the kitchen. She grabbed the water gun that Rusty had procured for her and hid in the living room behind the couch. Her and Rusty had decided to have a little fun, and decided to borrow three water guns from a friend of his from school for tonight. Rusty was hiding up the stairs pressed against the wall, waiting for her to give him the signal that Gibbs was in his sights. What they hadn't counted on was the back door opening and closing, signaling that Gibbs had gone outside.
"What do we do now?" Rusty came down the stairs and looked to his mother for advice.
"I'm going to have you go out the front door and sneak around back. I'll go out the back and hopefully make him focus on me so you can hit him," she said as she headed towards the kitchen.
"You're really taking this seriously," he laughed as he watched his mother crouched down to avoid the window looking out back.
"He is about to learn not to mess with the LAPD," she chuckled before she headed out to the back yard and listened for any sounds that would lead her to Gibbs.
Rusty circled around the front and heard something in front of him. He got low to the ground and started slowly and quietly making his way towards the sound of the noise. Sharon also heard a noise in front of her and did the same. When she sensed that the source of the noise was close enough, she took aim and got a little closer before pulling the trigger. As she pulled the trigger, she felt water hit her and she realized that Gibbs was firing back and had heard her. She decided to get closer to him, but when she did, she saw not Gibbs but Rusty.
"Rusty?" she asked lowering her water gun.
"Sharon? I thought you were Gibbs," he said, looking around the yard confused.
"I thought the same about you," she huffed, "Did you see anything when you made your way this way?"
"No," he shook his head, "I heard you and assumed it was him."
"I didn't see him either, so where did he go?" she whispered.
"I'm right here," Gibbs called from their left as he stepped out of the bushes and pointed a hose at them.
Soon, they were both drenched as Gibbs soaked them thoroughly with the hose. All three of them were laughing as Rusty and Sharon took turns trying to get the hose away from him. When it got too dark for them to see even the brightly colored water guns, Sharon called it quits and ushered everyone inside. Rusty disappeared to dry off and told them he would be down in the basement setting everything up.
Gibbs turned to Sharon and smiled as some of her hair fell into her face, "Remember when we got caught in the rain the day after exams?"
Sharon smiled back and pulled him to her, "I think I need your help in refreshing my memory."
Gibbs leaned down and placed a soft but passionate kiss on her lips, and soon they were lost to the world. Rusty came out of the basement to see what was taking them so long, only to find both of them making out on the couch again.
"Is this seriously going to happen every time I walk into a room?" he complained.
Sharon was instantly off of Gibbs and heading up stairs, mumbling something about having to change. Gibbs laughed along with Rusty and they headed down into the basement to continue working on the boat. Tomorrow was the day that Gibbs father was coming to town and Gibbs knew that Sharon would be happy to see him again.
TBC…