Chapter 16 - Big Tough Marine

Rochelle helped Gibbs get out of the tub. She left the bathroom as Gibbs changed back into his warm pants that were fresh out of the dryer.

'Ok,' Gibbs thought to himself, 'let's see if I can get my shirt on by myself.' He took his white T-shirt in his hands, then tried slowly raising his arms above his head. He stopped suddenly when he began to feel a dull ache in his ribs - he knew that it was a prerequisite to a much worse kind of hurt. "Hey Chelle?" Gibbs called.

Rochelle poked her head in the bathroom with her eyes closed. "What now, Gibbs? I'm not pulling up your zipper for you!"

"No, I could handle that," Gibbs said with a smirk. "But I do need help with my shirts."

Rochelle rolled her eyes at Gibbs. She went over and helped him get his T-shirt and navy blue polo over his head, then stepped back and looked up at him. "So really, what did you do that made Trisha go off like that?"

Gibbs raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "I honestly don't know. I mean, she was getting the blood off my face and some soap got into this cut," Gibbs said as he pointed to the laceration above his eyebrow. "Then I must have made a face or something because she… uh," Gibbs stopped talking and sighed. "This is too embarrassing."

"She what, Gibbs?" Chelle asked. She cocked her head to the side as a giant smile crept across her face. "Awwwww! I know what your problem is, you were a big tough Marine, so you don't think you can show your feelings! Gibbs, you're as bad as my dad! And before you ask, yes, he was a Marine."

Gibbs smiled, "Well, then you know how it is." He slowly walked past Rochelle and out of the bathroom. "Ok, so which door's Trisha's?" he asked.

"Third door on the right. Gibbs, wait!" she said as she came up next to him. She took his arm and looked up into his eyes. "Try to remember what she's been through and what I said about her. I trust you, Gibbs, but just for a couple minutes, pretend you're not that big tough Marine, ok?" Chelle smirked, "You still remember how to pretend?"

Gibbs smiled at Rochelle. "You can never get too old to pretend, kid," he said, giving her hair a quick ruffle. He turned to leave, but Chelle pulled on his hand.

"Gibbs, I..." Rochelle stopped and thought for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "Are you thinking of… adopting her?"

He didn't know what to say. Gibbs couldn't say no, but on the other hand, he didn't want to say yes right away. He needed time to think this over. How would he be able to handle his job and make time for Trisha? He needed to talk to Kate. At that point Gibbs silently cursed himself; he had completely forgotten about calling Kate and the team to let them know that he was still very much alive.

"Gibbs?" Chelle asked, bringing him back to reality.

He smiled at the little girl before him. "Which door did you say again?" Gibbs followed Rochelle's outstretched arm. He paused at Trisha's door and looked back for Rochelle, but she had gone off to do something else. 'Well Gibbs,' he thought as he brought his hand up to knock on the door, 'try not to be such a bastard this time'.

A/N: Yea, I know this one's short. I felt the need to write, but time constraints are a killer! I'm going home tomorrow to visit the family, so I won't be able to update for a couple of days. Until then, loyal readers and reviewers!