Chapter 21 - Gibbs Pops the Question
Trisha looked up at Gibbs and nodded. She scooted over and allowed him room to sit down next to her. She kept staring at the fire and avoided looking at Gibbs.
He noticed and frowned. "Hey, what's the matter?" he asked, putting an arm around her.
She still wouldn't look at him. "Nothing, Gibbs. Don't worry about it." Trisha felt her throat begin to tighten as tears formed in her eyes.
Gibbs reclined his side of the sofa. "Trisha," he said with a little more force. She looked at him. "Come here," he commanded as he pulled her to his chest.
Trisha rested her head on Gibbs' chest and listened to his heartbeat. She felt his hand slowly running up and down her back as she let out a deep sigh. She closed her eyes.
Gibbs reached over with his other hand and ran his fingers through Trisha's bangs. He eventually ran his hand to Trisha's shoulder and let it rest there. "Hey, you're not asleep, are you?" he asked.
Her eyes opened. "No," she answered simply. She started playing with one of the buttons on Gibbs' polo.
Gibbs nodded, "Ok. Now tell me what's wrong, kid." Trisha was quiet for a moment. He could tell she was internally debating if she really wanted to open up to him. "Come on," he urged her. "You can tell me anything." He started moving his thumb in little circles on her shoulder.
She picked her head up a little off of Gibbs' chest. "You really want to know what's bugging me, Gibbs?" she asked. "Your team found you." She fell silent again and let her words hang in the air.
Gibbs contemplated what Trisha said before he spoke. "Trisha, why does that upset you? Kate, Abby, McGee, Ducky… even Tony; they're all good people. You've got nothing to worry about."
She sighed, "No Gibbs, I know they're good people. What I mean is… well, what I said. They found you, and that's it," she paused. "Now they'll take you back to DC, and you'll get back to your job, back to your life. You'll forget all about me, even if you don't mean to," Trisha said as she sat up.
Gibbs sat up also. "Trisha--"
She cut him off, "Don't Gibbs. I'm used to it by now. It's ok." She turned and smiled at him to reassure him, but she wasn't doing such a good job.
As his eyes met the little girl's before him, his heart constricted. Her blue eyes held a world of hurt. He wouldn't have that. As Trisha moved to stand up, Gibbs gently grasped her arm and pulled her back down next to him. He put a hand on either side of her face and looked straight into her eyes. "Remember that conversation we were having in your room before Chelle came in?" Trisha nodded. "What I was going to say… I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me." Gibbs continued, "But only if you want to."
Trisha stared back at Gibbs in disbelief. She blinked hard a few times. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that she could muster was, "Wha…what?"
He smiled, "Come with me back to Washington. You said you need someone to love you, right? Let me do it. I promise, Trisha, that I won't hurt you like all the others, ok? I'll take good care of you," Gibbs rambled on.
Trisha started shaking her head up and down. "Yes," she said simply.
A giant smile ran across Gibbs' face. "Yea?" he asked.
"Well Hell yes Gibbs!" she exclaimed as Gibbs wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. In return, Trisha wrapped her arms around Gibbs the best she could. She put her chin on Gibbs' shoulder. Tears started streaming down her face as she let out a shaky breath.
Gibbs felt her slightly shaking against him. He pulled back to look at her. "What's wrong?" he asked, wiping the tears off her face with his hand.
She smiled through her tears. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. In fact, everything's right. Do you have any idea how happy you've just made me?" she asked Gibbs.
He smiled and leaned his forehead against hers. "You've made me just as happy, kiddo."
After a few minutes, Gibbs let Trisha go. She went over to the fireplace and put three more logs on the fire. After the fire grew, she went to the kitchen and got a drink of water. When she came back into the living room, she saw that Gibbs had laid down on the love seat. His head rested on one arm rest and his feet hung over the other. She was about to look for a spot to sleep when Gibbs spoke up.
"Come on, there's enough room on here for you, too," he told her.
Trisha wrinkled her nose, "Gibbs, you don't even fit on that thing. Where am I supposed to go?" She walked closer to him.
Gibbs scooted to the edge of the sofa. "Here," he said, "wedge yourself between me and the cushions. Just lay on your side."
She carefully climbed over Gibbs, being cautious to avoid his ribs. Trisha stopped and looked at him.
He sensed her apprehension and smiled. "You're ok, lay down." Gibbs wrapped his left arm around her as she snuggled into him. Her head rested on his chest again. He reached down and took the blanket that was sitting on the floor and covered them both.
"Night, Gibbs," Trisha mumbled as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.
He glanced down at the little girl who had fallen asleep. "Night, kiddo," he whispered. Gibbs kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes. Soon he too was fast asleep.