Sunday was a much more subdued day. After breakfast at the diner, Kelly pottered around the house, helping her Dad tidy up a bit. Before her Dad finally went upstairs, in to the room he shared with Rebecca. He sat on the end of the bed, on her side of the bed and looked up at the pillows. He closed his eyes and remembered everything about her, the good, the bad and the ugly and their time together.
He set about getting his black suit out of the closet, taking it across the hall to the guest bedroom Ducky had slept in the other night. When all this was over and he'd began to heal from this, he'd probably claim this room as his bedroom again and make that room the guest room.
When Shannon had died, he'd given Kelly the master bedroom and ensuite. He found it bought him a sense of peace and it helped her not miss her mum so much by sleeping in her mum's old room. It allowed her to be close to her. This decision rewarded him in the long run, especially in her teen years. Stephanie had tried to get him to kick Kelly out of her room, but Gibbs wouldn't have a bar of it. Whereas, Rebecca bypassed Gibbs completely. Attempting to just move the rooms herself only to be caught by Kelly and her father when they had come home unexpectedly. Gibbs had them told her again in no uncertain terms that it was Kelly's room, not theirs. She'd grumbled and moaned about it and that was the beginning of the downright bitchiness and argumentative side of Rebecca that he'd seen constantly in the last eleven months.
Kelly called Tim, but her call had rang out to voicemail. She'd left a voicemail and a text message. When he finally called her back an hour later, he'd explained and apologised that he missed her call. He and Tony had met up for an early morning workout in the gym at the navy yard. She invited him over for an afternoon movie and he'd happily agreed. He just had one stop to make first, he explained that he and Ziva had this thing where if one of them were out of town, they'd leave fresh groceries for the other one. "Ziva's due back very late tonight. Gotta go to the market." Tim had explained.
"I'm so bored, swing by and grab me. We can go to yours, let you shower, head to the market and go to Ziva's then catch that movie." Kelly begged passionately.
"That's doable." He agreed as he left the gym, walking towards his Porsche in the navy yard parking lot. "I'll see you in fifteen."
"See you soon." Kelly said smiling.
"Was that Tim?" Gibbs asked, entering the living room with his ever present coffee mug in hand.
"Yeah, he's been at the navy yard. He's on his way to get me. We're going to catch a movie." Kelly told him. Gibbs nodded in agreement that it was a good plan.
"Navy yard?" Gibbs asked, "We're not on call this weekend." Gibbs was worried, worried that Tim was putting in time on his own time, again. He knew Tim did that from time to time, especially when something was bothering him. Tim was like him in that regard.
"Gym, I think. He said they were working out." Kelly repeated and Gibbs raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Hey McGee," Gibbs called out from the porch, where he was drinking his coffee and reading the paper, as Tim exited his car in his gym clothes. "Gym?"
"Yeah, Tony's been filling in for Ziva with the workouts. We were sparring today." He explained. "Managed to best Tony twice." Tim said smugly, making Gibbs chuckle.
"Well done, Tony's not a lightweight." Gibbs patted him on his back. "Good initiative with the workouts, I was worried you were upstairs, working again."
"Nah, not this weekend. Besides, we're off!" Tim stated lightly and Gibbs smirked at him.
"See ya later, McGee." Gibbs said as Kelly came out and they headed straight for his car.
The duo wasted no time at all making their way to Tim's apartment. He quickly showed Kelly around before making tracks to the bathroom, taking the quickest shower on record and they were on their way to the market before they knew it.
At the market, Tim grabbed a small cart and Kelly surprised him, grabbing one for herself. Tim made quick work of grabbing the food for Ziva, along with a hot, freshly cooked roast chicken from the deli, some bread rolls and freshly made mayonnaise for Ziva to make herself a quick chicken salad for dinner. Or to make herself a chicken salad roll.
Kelly grabbed some chicken thighs, and the fixings for some delicious tacos, minus avocados, knowing they were both allergic to avocados. "I'm going to cook dinner tonight for us, at your apartment." She had promised. She also stocked up on some basic staples for her home that she'd noted they'd ran out of including eggs, bacon, tomatoes, onion, spinach, bread and cheese.
By the time it was time to leave to see the movie, Kelly had begged off, stating it'd be much more fun to just relax, cook, eat and watch a DVD instead. She'd sent her father a text message, explaining that she wouldn't be home for dinner and to feel free to eat without her. That'd piqued his curiosity a little.
They scanned through the cable channels he had looking for a movie to watch before deciding to stream a movie off Netflix. Kelly chose an Arthouse film in French with subtitles and they settled in to watch the movie. Halfway through the movie, Kelly curled into him further before reaching up to kiss him. "The last time we watched this movie, you had me naked already. Do you need an invitation?" She purred in his ear, as she subtly shifted caressing him through his denim.
"We're not going to sleep together." Tim explained, shifting to increase the contact. "Not because I don't want to, but because I want to. We can't just slip back into where we we're five years ago."
"So we're dating again? I still live in New York." Kelly asked, noting the distance, which was the original dilemma.
"I know and I'm still working in DC. It the long distance thing all over again." Tim stated, exasperated at the situation.
"It sucks, but with everything my Dad's going through, I've been thinking about moving back home." Kelly argued. "Added bonus is I'll be having you in my life, again."
"Don't do it for me, do it because you want to." Tim advised her. "Don't let me factor into your decision. Maybe we need to decide if we're going to make a go of a relationship, or if this is casual?"
"I want you," Kelly whispered. "I've never stopped wanting you. I actually never wanted us to split up but life was taking us in different directions. I didn't want us to implode, or worse, explode."
"I want you too, Kell." Tim admitted and he bent down to kiss her lips softly. "But we need to become reacquainted slowly. It's been five years. Let's deal with this week first."
"Agreed." she resigned sadly. Kelly understood where Tim was coming from, but it didn't help that she felt as if no time at all had passed. She still felt the same as her feelings from five years ago.
Tim drove her back to Gibbs' place by 2000 hours and Kelly invited him in for coffee. Gibbs wasn't home, 'no doubt at the diner,' Kelly thought, as they entered her family home. She poured the coffee, handing Tim a mug and they settled in together on the sofa, watching a special news report on the new age space race.
/FLASHBACK/
"I'm changing majors next term!" Kelly declared, kissing her boyfriend on the lips as she joined him on the sofa in his apartment. "Astronomy is kicking my arse and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna flunk the final I just took. I love the practical stuff, but the theory is mind-numbingly boring."
"What are you thinking?" Tim asked, nibbling along her cheekbone and down her neck, finding her sweet spot at the juncture of her neck and shoulder.
"Biology. I was undecided before I chose Astronomy, should have followed my gut feeling and chosen biology in the first place." Kelly explained as her hands began to wander and her mouth let off little moans of pleasure.
It had been almost a week since they'd been intimate last. They'd been running on a crazy schedule and little sleep. It was finals week and Kelly had just taken her last exam. "Hmm, a week away from one another." Kelly sighed. "Can't you just come to Alexandria with me?"
"Penny's only in Norfolk for a week. I haven't seen her in seven months. I miss her." Tim sighed. "You could come with me?"
"I can't. Dad's getting married, I kind of have to be there." Kelly replied sadly, as Tim removed her plain tee.
"Sounds like we need to make the most of this, then." Tim flirted, as he shifted down further, taking her breast in his mouth, his tongue swirling around her hard nipple. His hands, playing with the lacey trim of her cotton panties.
"Or we can sneak away for the night in DC, together. Get a hotel room." She panted, as Tim stroked her hot, wet centre. "For fuck's sake, Tim." She screamed, as he swiped her clit and pinched her nipples in his teeth simultaneously. He loved her potty mouth when he got her really revved up, like she was now.
"I'll make a reservation." Tim promised, as he set himself the task of removing her pants and making love to her.
"What's got you grinning like that?" Kelly asked coyly. She had a pretty good idea what that smirk was all about.
"Remember the winter break, we met up at the continental hotel on J street? After your Dad's wedding to Stephanie?" Kelly immediately blushed in a full red hue. She definitely remembered. She remembered that she was supposed to be staying with Ducky after the wedding, but she had begged off. Telling him she was meeting a friend and going clubbing, that she'd meet him for breakfast at his home. "I remember the next day, when I finally got back to Ducky's he took one look at me and made me tell him everything. He said he had suspected I was seeing someone, but he said one look confirmed it for him. Before he took me to his friend Dr Jordon Hampton and made me tell her everything."
"That's when you got the hormone implant thing in your arm." Tim reminded her, staring at her arm.
"Still have one too. It's not the same one, obviously, but still have one." Kelly admitted. "They help with the horrendous pain I used to have."
"I remember that it's endometriosis and I remember all the times I've sat beside you in the emergency room." Tim said. He was glad that Kelly hadn't been suffering as much as she had, when they were at MIT. They'd even fought about it once or twice, Tim had always thought she needed to see a specialist and have it managed, instead of relying on the clinic or emergency room doctors.
"Yeah, Dad was pretty relieved that the implant eased the symptoms slightly. Don't think he ever knew the reason why Ducky took me to see Jordan." Kelly surmised. "Pretty sure, Stephanie knew though and never told him. I know she had one too, we spoke about the benefits of the implant once."
"If he did, he'd have killed me by now." Tim joked.
/FLASHBACK/
"Good morning Kelly." Ducky greeted her as she let herself into his home, with her key. It was 0800, the morning after her Dad's wedding.
"Morning." Kelly greeted in return, cheerfully. Tim had just dropped her off at his home in Reston. Ducky took in her appearance, with cheeks that were flushed and her lips were bruised and swollen. Still wearing last night's make up and dress. Her face and neck were red with whisker burn, she had a small hickey forming on the juncture of her neck and shoulder and he spied some black lace hanging out of the edge of her overstuffed clutch bag.
"Have a seat, my dear." Ducky instructed, handing her a cup of coffee, prepared just the way she like it. "I'd like you to tell me everything." he said calmly.
"Everything?" She asked, feigning confusion. 'Ducky couldn't possibly know' she had thought. Her heart began to race, she had began to panic, maybe Ducky might tell her Dad what he suspected. Her Dad would kill Tim. She knew her Dad was very overprotective of her. It stemmed from her losing her mother at a young age and her father wanting to protect her, so he didn't lose her the same way.
"Everything you got up to last night." Ducky clarified, firmly. "Before you give me the line you gave me last night, I want to remind you I work with investigators and am somewhat of a sleuth myself. The evidence is clear, my dear."
"Uncle Duck!" she exclaimed. She hadn't figured on her Uncle Ducky working out what she had really gotten up to, nor had she taken into account his love of a good mystery and his investigative skills. 'Lucky he doesn't have Dad's interrogation skills.' Kelly thought.
"I'm not judging you, you're an adult now. But please promise me you used protection, my dear. Not just to avoid pregnancy, but to protect yourself from STI's." He begged, "Again, no judgment. I was young once, too."
"We always use protection. He is pedantic about wearing a condom and I am on the pill. I met up with my boyfriend last night. He's visiting with his grandmother in Norfolk."
"Boyfriend?" Ducky asked. "The same one you had last year?" He asked.
"Yes, my Tim." She gushed and Ducky noticed all the earmarks of a young woman in love.
"Kelly, you shouldn't have hidden it from me. I would have been honoured to meet the young man that has captured your heart." Ducky chastised her lightly. "But, I want you talk with my friend, Doctor Hampton. Jordan Hampton. I think you need a contraceptive that you can't forget to take. There's a few different options out there, but the good news is that two of them will help with your Endometriosis pain."
"Do you really think so?" She asked, she had assumed they were doing enough. "I thought we were both protected enough."
"Kelly, I am afraid, I insist. Some young men, don't always use condoms, even when they say they do. Your young man seems to be responsible enough, but it can't hurt to have that added layer of protection. Condoms aren't that effective as people think. They're only rated at 95 percent effective. If you even forget one pill, or take it later than normal. You're at risk of pregnancy." Ducky explained. "I think I shall phone her and we will go today."
"Thank you, Uncle Ducky." Kelly gushed. She could see the merits of what Ducky was pointing out to her.
"You're welcome, my dear." Ducky said, as he put his arm around her in a half hug. "I do hope Jethro doesn't mind me overstepping my mark, a bit. But I gather he isn't aware of how serious it is between you and your young man, Tim."
"Dad's crazily overprotective. He would never understand." Kelly sighed sadly.
"You don't give him enough credit, Kelly. He may be overprotective, but he is only that way because he loves you so much."
Gibbs returned from dinner at Fornell's to find Tim and Kelly entwined with one another on the sofa. He studied them through the window for a moment, he watched as Tim brushed a stray hair out of Kelly's face and she kissed him chastely on the lips. 'Oh Kell' he thought, his heart ached. He turned his back to them and sat on the porch swing as he saw Tim deepen the kiss. It was times like this he missed Shannon more. He felt a stab of guilt, that he's first thought hadn't been Rebecca. But Shannon was Kelly's mother.
"Good night, McGee." He announced as he let himself inside, closing the door loudly. "You have work in the morning, those cold cases aren't going to review themselves." He watched the two of them spring apart and it looked comical to him. Neither of them could meet his eye or each other's eyes.
"Right, got to go. Lots to do tomorrow." Tim said, blushing. Not meeting anyone's eye. His hand had been kneading Kelly's breast and her hand had been inside his pants. Exactly what he'd promised her they wouldn't be doing.
"Right, I have a video conference to prepare for, for work tomorrow morning too." Kelly said. "Let me walk you out." She ushered him through the door, closing it behind her. Laughter could be heard, coming loudly from with in the house.
"I'm going to tell him we're back together." Kelly announced, as they arrived on the sidewalk by Tim's car.
"I'm pretty sure he's worked that out for himself." Tim laughed at her.
"If you don't catch a case tomorrow night, can you come over for dinner?" She asked him, batting her eyelashes at me.
"Absolutely. Provided your dad doesn't kill me." Tim said, half serious.
"Nah, he'll let you eat dinner first." Kelly jested, as Tim pulled her closer and leaned her against his car, kissing her passionately and thoroughly.
"Good night, Kell." He whispered, kissing her a final time as he watched her head inside before driving off.
Gibbs watched his daughter come back inside. She was dazed and had that loopy, happy smile on her face again. It made him smile too. He liked seeing Kelly happy like this, but worried what would happen when it was time for Kelly to return to New York.
"Kell?" Gibbs called out to her, patting the seat beside him on the sofa that her and Tim had just vacated. "Talk to me." He asked, as she took a seat. "I like seeing you happy."
"I like being happy." She beamed at him. "Tim and I decided to get back together tonight." She told him, just as she promised Tim. "We've decided to try the long distance thing."
"Good for you." Gibbs encouraged her. "You know I like him, right? He's a good, honest, hard working man."
"Really?!" She asked, genuinely surprised. "You don't normally like my boyfriends."
"I didn't like Mike. I didn't know Tim when you were together the first time, but I liked how happy he makes you." Gibbs told his daughter. "I know I was in Russia for the bulk of it, but I liked what I saw. He'll treat you right."
"I have no doubt." Kelly confirmed, yawning. "I'm going to bed, I have an early meeting in the morning."
"Good night, baby." He hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead.
"Night Dad, love you." She hugged him back and retreated upstairs.