Chapter 3: If you can't make love make war

The ride back from the Navy Yard had been a tense one, Jenny hadn't uttered a word to Rory and Rory was sulking. Yes, she understood she did wrong, but she hadn't been able to explain yet, not properly anyway. Her dad had a case and her mom was busy. Rory spent the whole ride thinking about how she may be made a mistake, maybe coming home wasn't going to be a good thing after all.

They exited the car and Melvin swept the house before exiting and Jenny turned to Rory. "You can go wait in your room or sit in the living room but no watching TV. I will be in my study reading reports until your dad comes over, then we will discuss this properly." She said sharply and Rory let her eyes wander to the floor and nodded.

She walked up the stairs and into the bedroom on the left side, it was just the same as she had left it before they left for Europe, the tears sprung to her eyes. She climbed into the small bed, that really didn't fit her anymore, and cuddled up with a pillow, it smelt of her mother. The image of her mom curled up on her bed brought a small smile to her face. Rory lay there for a few moments before drifting off to sleep. It had been a long day and she had barely slept in 24 hours.

At 6pm Gibbs knocked on the door to the brownstone, he was nervous, it had been a while since he'd been in this position and if he was honest he didn't know how to feel about it. Rory was back, for how long he wasn't sure, but it was nice for her to be here, in D.C. with him. Jenny opened the door in a pair of jeans and a sweater, Gibbs silently groaned seeing her looking like that. It had been too long. "Come in," she said stepping inside.

"Nothing's changed Jen," he noted, and she nodded.

"I'll go get Rory, she's in her room." Gibbs nodded and watched as she walked up the stairs. Jenny grinner to herself, he was checking out her ass. She pushed opened the door and saw Rory asleep on her bed. Jenny's breath was caught in her throat as she had many flashbacks to all the time she tucked Rory in to the little bed, that was now too small for her. She pressed a kiss to her forehead and gently shook her awake. "Get up Princess Aurora your dad is here."

Rory followed her mom down the stairs and into the living room where her dad was sat on the couch. Rory plopped herself down on the single chair by the fire forcing Jenny to have to sit beside Gibbs. "So, I phoned the school, explained where you were, they were very apologetic about the whole thing." Gibbs nodded and Rory's eyes scanned the room. Jenny glared at Gibbs, begging him to say something, she was sick of speaking.

"Well Rory," Gibbs said running a hand over his face, "I haven't had time to talk to your mom, but I suppose the main question is why? Why did you decided to sneak out of boarding school and fly across the country?" Rory shrugged her shoulders.

"Shrugging your shoulders is not an appropriate answer young lady you are better than that!" Jenny yelled.

"What the hell would you know it's not exactly like you bothered to raise me for the last six years!" Rory screamed, Jenny felt as though someone had slapped her across the face and tears sprang to her eyes.

"Do not speak to your mother like that." Gibbs growled.

"Mom," Rory scoffed. "Some mom she is telling CBS that she doesn't have any kids, a single woman with nothing holding her back. I am so sorry that being born has been such an inconvenience to you that you had to send me off to boarding school across the world and pretend like I didn't exist!" Rory screamed as she cried and stormed away. Jenny sat with her head in her hands sobbing, how had she done so wrong.

Gibbs rubbed Jenny's back, "you should go check on her." Jenny sobbed as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"She's in her room, heard her stomping about and slamming doors, she gets that from me." Jenny looked up at him and let a small smile grace her face. He pulled her into a hug, and she cried into his chest. "It will be okay Jen," he whispered as he smoothed out her hair, "she is going to be oaky."

After about 10 minutes of being held tight in the love of her life's arm Jenny sat up and wiped her eyes and nodded at Jethro, they walked up the stairs and into Rory's room who was cuddles up in her bed in tears. Jenny stroked her daughters hair. "Is that why you came over here, because of that article." Rory nodded and Jenny joined her daughter in the tiny bed, holding her tight. "I promise you I never said those things Rory, they didn't know I had a child, so when they said all of that about me, it was about them not me." Jenny squeezed Rory, trying to get her to untense.

Rory sat up and looked at her parents. Her dads top had tear patches on it, her mom's eyes red from crying, she also looked exhausted and hurt. "I had wanted to come home for a while, and when I saw that, I felt unloved." Jenny choked on a sob. "So, I figured that even if you didn't want me around dad would." Jenny couldn't speak for the tears rolling down her face.

Gibbs sat at the bottom of the bed and took Rory's hand, "Ror your mom and I love you more than anything else in this world and we want you here, more than anything."

"We want you home." Jenny said as she pressed a kiss to the side of her daughters head.

"So, I don't have to go back to boarding school?" Rory asked looking between her parent.

Jenny and Gibbs made eye contact, and they both made an agreement. It amazed Jenny, that after everything they had been through after 6 years, they were still able to communicate just by looking at each other, they could feel what the other was feeling, it was like magic "No you don't Ror." Gibbs said and Jenny nodded.

"How does it work?" Rory asked sheepishly, "do I get to live with both of you?"

Before Gibbs had the chance to say anything Jenny stepped in, "why don't you go get washed up and I will call us some pizza, your father and I need to discuss this." Rory held their gaze for a moment before heading off to her bathroom.

Jenny and Gibbs made their way to Jenny's study and she pours them both a large glass of bourbon. "We need to work this out Jen." Gibbs said sitting down staring into his glass of bourbon.

"I assume you wish to split custody," Jenny states and Gibbs glares at her. "Do not glare at me Gibbs.' Jenny snips. She wasn't in the mood to be snipped at, she had the migraine from hell and her body hurt from stress. "We can discuss the way in which Rory wishes to split time with her when she comes down." Gibbs nodded.

Unbeknown to them Rory was hovering outside the door listening to everything that was being said. "Anything else you want to go over Jen?" He asks snidely.

Jenny pinched the bridge of her nose, "yes, when it comes to co-parenting and disciplining we need to be on the same page, it is important that we back each other up on these things."

Gibbs nodded, "I will always have your six Jen, always." Jenny's breath hitched, she was ready to jump his bones then and there when Rory came barging in to the room and sat down beside her dad on the couch.

"So, when's pizza going to be here." Jenny and Gibbs gave their daughter a look.

"We are going to have a talk first Rory, about how you want custody to be split."

Rory felt awkward, it wasn't as though she hadn't thought about this but being forced to choose, it wasn't exactly fun. "Figured I would just go 50/50," Gibbs and Jenny nodded. "So like Monday Tuesday with Mom, Wednesday Thursday with Dad then one week I'm with mom Friday through Sunday and the next week I'm with dad, does that make sense?" Rory asked. She knew that her dad would have to work some weekends, her mom only worked weekends if there was an emergency in MTAC.

"Sounds good to me," Gibbs said, and Jenny joined in with a me to.

"I have cleared it with SecNav, and we will be taking a flight out on Friday to get your stuff packed up and anything shipped home, so I suppose I'll take this weekend, you are off next weekend Jethro anyway. Unless you want to come with us to help pack?" Gibbs made a face and both the girls laughed; it was like they were back to normal. "Oh, and Jethro?"

"Yeah Jen?" He asked suspiciously

"SecNav wants a meeting with us Wednesday."

Gibbs growled, "no!"

"Jethro it's not a-" Gibbs cut her off

"Jen I don't give a damn if you are the Director, our daughter has nothing to do with him," he barks."

"Enough!" Rory shouts a them and her parents snap their heads around to her. "There will be no Director and Agent Gibbs when it comes to me, It's Jenny and Jethro." Rory narrows her eyes at them. "I know that fighting is your way of flirting, but can we tone it down a bit."

Before either parent could respond the doorbell went signalling that the pizza had arrived. Gibbs took out money and handed it to her, "go get the pizza Rory." He laughed and Rory walked away.

Before she was out of ear shot she shouted back to them, "if you can't make love make war!" She shouted at them.