Chapter 13- The almost kiss

AN: Sorry I have been super MIA, a lot was going on in my life but I am now back in a place where I have the time, and mental energy to write again. Hope you enjoy.

Rory Shepard-Gibbs sat fidgeting in a chair. Her parents had spent the last week researching and pouring over different therapist. Well, her mom did the researching and her dad grunted in response. He nearly had a stroke when he saw the price of just one session with the chosen therapist, but her mom had just rolled her eyes and waved him off.

"So, Aurora I normally like to start my sessions by you just telling me a little about yourself and why you are here today." Alison Phillips looked a kind lady; she was in her late 40s with dark brown hair.

"Um well I prefer Rory," Alison nodded "it was just my mum and I up until I was about 7 and that when my mom met my dad, you see he was her boss, married boss, and they had an affair but that's really not that important. We basically then moved to Europe after his wife kicked him out, lived in Paris for a bit then mom left him with a dear john, took me off to London, dumped me in a boarding school there and then worked around Europe on various ops." Alison had heard a lot in her time, but this was a lot, "and yeah I then snuck out of my boarding school in London flew to DC and surprised the parents, and now I am here because I constantly feel like I am going to burst into tears, and I have to shove my fingers down my throat to make me feel okay." Rory rambled and then looked back down to her charm bracelet and started fidgeting with it.

Alison sat up a little straighter after that, "seems like you have been through a lot, we won't be able to talk about everything today, but I want to start at the beginning. Your dad he isn't your biological dad?" Rory shook her head but didn't look up, she continued to play with her charm bracelet. "So, what about your biological dad, was he in your life."

Rory gripped her bracelet tighter and shook her head "my mom likes to pretend she doesn't know who he is, but I know she knows"

"That has got to be hard." Rory shrugged.

"I have a dad, a really good one, a sperm donor just put me here."

"Does that make you feel abandoned?" Rory's head snapped up and there was fire behind her eyes.

"Nobody has abandoned me." Rory spat venomously, and Alison smirked internally, nail on the hammer. It was no wonder the young girl sat in front of her felt abandoned. Her biological dad had left before she was even born, the only stable union she had had broken up and she was stuck in boarding school.

"If you don't want to talk about that we don't have too." Rory just drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them close.

"I just want to feel normal again," she croaked out, "I was fine and then I wasn't and even though I was fine I amen't sure I even was fine, and I just can't take it." Rory started to cry and put her head into her knees.

"It will take time Rory, but in time, when we work through thing you will begin to feel 'normal' again, whatever that means." Alison paused for a moment and Rory looked up, "but Rory you need to be honest with me about things, because the only way we get through things is by being honest with each other." Rory nodded slowly, "I will be seeing you once a week on your own and I do think that it would be beneficial to have a session with your parents and you once a month, starting next week."

For the first time in the whole 50-minute session Rory cracked a smile, "can I be present when you tell my dad this?"

Rory stared out the window on the way home from her appointment, Jenny kept looking over to her to see how she was, she hadn't uttered a word since she had come out of the appointment. Jenny and Gibbs had both came along for moral support, they sat outside in the waiting room making awkward small talk about the boat and Rory while they waited. The therapist had called them in at the end to talk about the family therapy and Rory had not been disappointed by her dad's facial expression. Jenny thought she was going to have to threaten him with some form of bodily harm, or maybe destruction of his precious boat but he had grumbled something along the lines of if it's the best thing for Rory. That was something that had shocked both Jenny and Rory.

"Can you stop staring at me like I'm going to break please?" Rory asked without taking her eyes off of the road. Jenny sucked in a breath and tried not to berate her for the sass.

"I just want to know how it went today," Jenny said faltering off, "you don't have to say what you discussed, I mean you can if you want you know I am always here but," Rory turned to her mom and gave her a small smile.

"It was nice, I liked her, and I think she is going to make things better." Jenny reached over and squeezed Rory's hand and for the first time in a long time Jenny thought that maybe everything was going to be okay.


Jenny Shepard was starving; she had been working nonstop all day on a case in which SECNAV was jumping down her throat. Her head was pounding, partly because of her job but also partly because she was just so mentally exhausted. It felt as though she was constantly walking on eggshells as to not upset Rory, to ask enough questions but not too many, to make sure she was eating but not shoving food down her throat. Being a parent was so much easier when she was 19 and had a two-year-old having a meltdown in the grocery story because she wouldn't buy any chocolate milk.

Just before she could bang her head repeatedly off the table her office door swung open and she internally groaned, prepping herself for the inevitable fight she believed would be coming in due course. Right now, all they did was fight, scream, and shout. Sometimes Jenny wanted to slap him while other times she wanted him to throw her down on her desk and let him screw her brains out, wishful thinking. However, he walked right past her, brown paper bag in hand. He sat down on her couch and Jenny began to look at him sceptically as he took plates, cutlery, and glasses out of a bag.

"I don't recall ordering room service," she jests as she made her way out from behind her desk and sat on the chair beside him looking excitedly and the food he had brought. "Is that steak au poivre and Frisee salad?" She asks excitedly while taking off her ridiculously high heels. "You know the last time we had steak au poivre 6 people died."

Gibbs smirked at her while pouring them both some red wine. The last time they had this meal 6 people did infract die. They were on assignment in Paris, one of their last missions and there was a shootout. It ended with a night of sheer passion; the x rated images floating through both of their minds in sync.

"What is this meal going to cost me?" Jenny jokes raising her eyebrow at him.

"Can't a guy just sit down and have a bite with his old partner?"

"Old partner?" Jenny taunted and Gibbs rolled his eyes, "must be serious."

"This case has been eating me up, everything with Rory has been working me up. If we are going to do this family therapy crap." Jenny shot him a pointed look, "if we are going to do these sessions as a group figured it wouldn't hurt if we actually talked about Rory, yanno instead of fighting."

Jenny offered him a nice smile and they ate in a comfortable silence, "she had 5 slices of bell pepper, 3 carrot sticks and half a slice of ham for her dinner Jethro." Jenny finally blurted out, "I've had Noemi counting, and we both know that she's going to throw that up," the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"C'mere Jen," Gibbs said making room for her on the couch and Jenny curls up beside him and just cries as holds her, pressing a light kiss to her head.

"I just feel so weak, like the shittiest mom and that its all my fault and there is nothing I can do to help. You are just so much better at handling this."

"It's not your fault Jen, was speaking to duck and he says mental health is something we all have, people go through rough patches and shit, but she is going to be okay. You're the best mom Jen." Jenny looks up at him trying to blink the tears away.

"You spoke to Ducky?" She whispered unsurely.

Gibbs shrugged and looked away from her, "didn't mention Rory by name but I get the feeling he knows." Jenny nodded and lay back down "I just wanted to try understand more y'know." Jenny nodded into his side as he took a deep breath. "I feel like I am failing at being a dad so badly, the other night we had dinner late and then she went to bed, she thought I went to the basement, but I crept up the stairs and sat on the floor outside the bathroom, head in hands crying as I heard her make herself sick." Jenny looked up at him, resting her palm on his face, cupping his cheek. "I felt so useless, I can solve crimes, but I can't help my daughter, I get how you feel Jen I do and us jumping down each other's throats isn't helping anyone."

Jenny nodded her eyes glistening with tears again, "we will get through this Jethro, all 3 of us." Gibbs nodded and they just stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity before they both began to lean in. As their lips were about to touch Gibb's phone rang and Jenny practically ran to the other side of the room, her heart beating ridiculously fast at the thought of what might just have happened.