Epilogue

Jimmy sat on the beach, watching his son play in the water. He glanced over at the covered car seat, where his infant daughter, Michaela Nicole, lay slumbering peacefully in the shade provided by the blanket that canopied her portable bed.

He thought back to the day of Nicole's funeral, a little more than a year and a half prior.

The service itself had been bearable, thanks to his friends from NCIS. Nobody - Dr. Mallard, Tim, Tony, Gibbs, Abby, or Ziva - had hesitated for even a moment to say yes, when he'd approached them to act as pallbearers. "Absolutely," they'd all responded without even blinking, and each and every one of them - to his surprise, Tony and Gibbs included – offering a sad smile and a hug. Dr. Mallard had been especially supportive, something that Jimmy would be grateful for until his dying day.

Afterwards, another sad goodbye, but this one, thankfully, would not be permanent.

"Oh, James… I wish we could have met again under different circumstances."

Jimmy gazed sadly down at Nicole's mother, and nodded, then opened his arms in a welcoming strong embrace. "I wish it could have been different too, Mrs. McRae." The older woman buried her face briefly in her grandson's father's shoulder, and Jimmy brought his hand up to rest between her shoulder blades, nestling his cheek against the top of her head. "It's been wonderful to see you again. My, how you've blossomed, James." Jimmy smiled briefly again. "Thank you, Ma'am," he responded quietly. "It's been wonderful to see you again, too. But I hope you'll be back soon. Christopher needs you too."

Mrs. McRae released him from the tight embrace, and stood back, smiling up at him. She brought her hand up to rest on his cheek. "Of course. Wild horses won't keep us away, James. You and Jasmine and Chris will all be positively sick of seeing us, we'll be around so often. In fact, if we didn't live so far away, you'd probably think we've moved in." Jimmy grinned at this, and brought his hand up to touch her cheek as well. "You're always welcome to stay as long as you want to." He reached down and softly kissed her forehead.

Nicole's father stood silently, watching the exchange. Mr. McRae had always been a man of few words, so when he did speak, it bore listening to.

"James, I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for our Nicki. It's been such a comfort knowing she was content and taken care of," the older man added. Jimmy shrugged. "Thank you Sir, but it was mostly Jasmine. She took leave from EMS so she could stay home and care for Nicki. I honestly don't know how we could have managed without her. They got to be so close, and she absolutely adores Christopher. They get along marvellously."

"Once again, you've chosen well a woman with incredible strength, and tremendous heart," Mr. McRae said, smiling slightly. He reached out and rested a hand on Jimmy's shoulder, and nodded with approval and satisfaction. Jimmy nodded at this in return, and said, "Mr. and Mrs. McRae, I want to make it absolutely clear that Jasmine is not trying to, nor will she ever attempt to replace Nicole. Christopher is old enough to remember her, and I swear to you on her grave that we will always ensure that he remembers who his mother is. He might have my dimples, but he's got her unforgettable smile. He'll remind us of her every time he laughs or grins, in just the way we all want to remember her."

Jimmy was brought back to the present when Jasmine approached. "Rocky Road for you, Tiger Tiger for me, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough for Chris. Where is he anyway? His ice cream is melting," Jasmine remarked, as she settled down on the blanket next to her husband.

"Over there," Jimmy said, as he took the offered cup, gesturing towards the water, where Christopher had found a group of children his own age to play with. Jasmine smiled. "I guess he isn't interested in ice cream right now," she said, handing hers over to Jimmy to hold while she peeked under the blanket to check on Michaela. "Sleeping like a baby. I wish she'd do that at night, when the rest of us are trying to," she remarked, with an ironic smile.

Jasmine reached into the bag to grab a towel as she saw Christopher barrelling over towards them, dripping wet and laughing with carefree youthful delight. Jimmy shook his head and smiled, seeing the sand flying out in every direction from underneath Christopher's feet, as the young boy dug his toes and the balls of his feet into the sand for traction. "Halt!" Jimmy said loudly, holding out his hand, palm pointed towards his son. "You know better than that," he said, motioning with his head towards the young boy's baby sister. But, in spite of the stern tone of voice, Christopher could clearly see the hint of a grin on his father's face.

Christopher skidded to a stop in the sand, several feet away, and then approached calmly, to avoid spraying sand everywhere. He got a glint in his eye, one that was clearly reminiscent of Nicole, and Jimmy raised a stern eyebrow. "Christopher James Palmer, don't even think about it," he said, pointing a warning finger at him. Christopher grinned, waggled his eyebrows a single time with pure mischief, and then shook his head hard, showering his protesting parents with the water that had formerly soaked his dark hair. Freed from the excess water that had been plastering them to his head, his wild untamed curls stood out every which way as he held out his hand to accept the offered cone.

"Now I know you didn't learn that from me," Jimmy remarked, as he scrunched his face and wiped water from his eyes. "Who did you learn that from, anyway?"

Christopher stood firm, crossed his goose-bumped arms, smiled warmly and said, "Mom."

Jimmy cocked a questioning head at his laughing boy. "Which one?" he asked, turning a mischievous look at Jasmine.

Christopher wrinkled his nose and laughed, his dimples accentuating his youthful charm. "Both of them," he said, in as cheeky a tone as he dared. Jimmy was sure that his boy was about to stick his tongue out at him, but then his better judgement had wisely intervened. There was a fine line between fun and disrespect, and Christopher always seemed to know not only where that line was, but knew better than to cross it, as well.

"I see your ice cream radar is online and operational," Jasmine remarked, as she handed him first the towel, and then the frozen treat.

"Very funny, Mom," he said with Nicole's cheeky smile, as he plunked himself down between his parents and happily dug in.