Chapter 16: D-D-Diane?
AN: So, I have had this idea for a chapter for a while now and I think that it fits in perfectly here!
Rory sat in her therapist's office twiddling her thumbs, with everything that had happened at her school her mom and dad had practically forced her into her therapist's office the next afternoon. Rory liked her therapist, she was helping her working her way through her issues with food and Rory had been eating better, but her parents were convinced this was going to send her down a deep dark whole that in all honesty she knew her parents wouldn't be able to cope with. Her mom had been overly overbearing since the moment she had made it out of the classroom and her dad hadn't gone home.
"So, Rory why don't we talk about why your parents made this emergency session?" Rory was snapped out of her thoughts by her therapist.
"There was a hostage situation at my school yesterday that I was involved in, and my parents are scared its gonna fuck me up more lol" Rory said with smirk that didn't quite meet her eyes.
"That must've been a really difficult situation for you Rory, do you want to talk about it?"
"It made me realise that I really don't want to be an NCIS agent," Rory joked, "my dad saved the day, he saved me, he always did and honestly I wasn't as terrified as I thought I would be, I knew he was there and so was his team. Tony, McGee, Ziva and Abby are like the siblings I always wanted, I knew they would come through for me, suppose it just got me thinking about things." Rory trailed off.
"What things Rory?" Her therapist probed, it wasn't easy to get Rory to open up but when there was an opening and Rory got started, she really stopped.
What did it make her think of? Regrets, fears, guilt. "I suppose I feel guilty," Rory trailed off and her therapist encouraged her to continue, "my parents had an affair, I think I told you that before, and well my dad basically had a wife, she was his second wife and my dad cheated on her with my mom." Her therapist nodded reassuringly, and Rory took a deep breath. "There was one day where we went to my dad and his wife's house for some barbecue, it might have been for the 4th or labour day I really can't remember, but Diane, that's her name, she had suspicions about my mom and dad, and she asked me about It, and I lied basically saying they weren't seeing each other, and I guess I felt guilty. And then she found out about it because my dad lied about working so she drove to my mom's house and my mom and dad were wrapped in each other's arms watching me dance. She said some really mean things about my mom, but she was so broken." Rory said with the tears burning in her eyes.
"That must have been a tough situation for you Rory, you were just a child, what is it you feel guilty about?"
Rory took a deep breath and tried to stop the tears, "I feel guilty that I was so happy that her marriage was over, because I got my dad, and I got a family and being happy and having that family meant someone else's life had been destroyed and I suppose I feel guilty for being part of the reason her life was ruined." The tears were streaming down her face at this point, and she couldn't stop the sobs that escaped her body. She had never really thought about It before, but it had been something that had subconsciously been weighing her down for a long time.
"Rory, you were a child when this happened, you are now a teenager, it's only natural to be happy that you have a family, and I am sure if you ever spoke to Diane, she would be happy you got to be happy too."
Rory had spent the whole afternoon thinking about what her therapists had said and that's how at 3.30pm in the afternoon she was standing outside a house she had never been to before. Rory really did not know how she got here, well she knew that she went a walk and ended up here but what she didn't know was what she was going to do now, does she knock? That's what most people do when they turn up at someone's house Rory God, maybe she should have called first, its rude to just show up at someone's house. Get it together Rory, she tells herself as she moves slowly up the steps, wiping the palms of her hands before knocking lightly on the door. Here goes nothing.
She sees a shadow coming to the door before it opens wide, the woman looking not much different than she did all of those year ago, maybe just a little bit older. "Rory?" She just questioned; the shock evident on her face.
"I was just-" before Rory could finish her sentence the tears began again.
Not really knowing what to do Dianne opened the door wider, "in you come sweetheart let's get you a cup of tea." Rory came into the house looking around at the toys on the floor before Diane showed her to the couch, "ignore the mess Emily has made a real mess in here, would you like sugar in your tea sweetheart? She asked
Rory shook her head "just, just milk please" Rory hiccupped. Diane brought out two mugs of tea and some biscuits. Rory calmed herself down and began to slowly sip her tea.
"Do your parents know you're here?" Diane asked sceptically. When she took the afternoon off to clean the house, she did not imagine this. She hadn't seen Rory in God almost 7 years after Leroy left her and the little girl is stood on her doorstep an emotional wreck.
Rory's shook her head, "thought my dad would have a heart attack if I said I was coming round." Diane laughed at that, the mental picture in her head with steam coming out of Leroy's head blowing a gasket at the mere thought of Rory coming around to see her. God Leroy as a dad, she had found out via Tobias that he had legally adopted Rory, part of it broke her heart as he kept saying he never wanted to have children, but a part of her, the part that is now a mother, is happy that Rory has a dad in her life. Diane had always thought he would make a great dad.
"What are you doing here Rory?" Diane asked after a while of silence, "it is really nice to see you and all, but I feel like you didn't come here to catch up. What's on your mind?"
Rory found a spot on the carpet and fixated her eyes on it, "I, I have been having some issues when I came home so my parents made me go speak to someone and it brought out a lot of feelings." Rory took a deep breath, "I suppose I just wanted to say I am sorry for ruing your life."
Diane sucked in a breath, "hey Rory look at me," Rory looked up at Diane tears in her eyes, Diane moved closer to take her hand. "You did not ruin my life okay; you were a child, and my husband had an affair with your mom that is not on you." Diane took a deep breath reliving the pain of her failed marriage was not on her itinerary today. "It hurt when I found out what was going on, but I was hurt because you were put in the middle too," Rory's head snapped up again to look at her, "you were a little girl who was put in a situation that wasn't fair, it must have been confusing and hard for you, no one is blaming you for anything." Rory nodded her head and wiped the tears from her eyes, "plus maybe it all worked out for the better, I wouldn't have Emily if this all wouldn't have happened."
Rory had never really thought about it like that before, if her dad hadn't left Diane for her mom Diane would never have married Tobias and had baby Emily, "thanks Diane, I, I guess I really needed to hear you didn't hate me."
Diane gave Rory a sweet smile, "oh sweet girl I could never hate you, I don't think anyone could hate you. Part of me wishes I had married your dad after he got to be your dad just so I could've spent more time with you." Rory smiled at that.
"Well, I am happy to babysit Emily anytime I love little kids." Rory said with a shy smile.
"I will definitely be taking you up on that," Diane stood up and grabbed her keys off the sideboard, "now where am I dropping you home, at your dad or your moms?" Diane asked with a smirk.
Rory shot Diane a quick smirk, "my dad's." On the drive over to her dad's house Rory and Diane quickly caught up on everything that had been going over the years, when the car came to a stop Rory jumped out and hoped Diane wasn't following her, but she heard the car door shut behind her. "You don't" Rory started when her dad opened the front door, his face recovering quickly from the shock of seeing his ex-wife with his daughter. Her dad gave her a look that suggested she go inside, and Rory nodded turning to Diane and giving her a shy smile, "thanks for today."
"No problem sweetheart, I will see you soon." Rory smiled and closed the door behind her as her dad walked out onto the front porch.
"Want to explain why my kid was with you?" Gibbs barked at his ex-wife; Rory had texted saying she had gone to meet friends at the mall after her counselling session.
Diane cocked an eyebrow at him, "she came to me Leroy" Diane retorted back sassily, and Gibbs shoulders fell a bit and Diane gimmicked. "Look she was talking through some things from the past at therapy and wanted to talk to me."
Gibbs swallowed the lump that came up from his throat, "what happened in her session is she okay?" Gibbs asked hurriedly and Diane internally smiled, he really was a good dad.
"It's up to her to tell you Leroy," Gibbs shot her his famous gear, yup he was back to being a bastard. "She wanted to make sure I didn't hate her."
Gibbs gave Diane a bewildered look, "why would you hate her?"
"Because Leroy that little girl of yours has a heart of gold and was so worried that I would blame her for your affair with her mother." Gibbs rubbed his hand over his jaw and nodded, "anyway Leroy I better be off the sitter will be back with Emily soon." Diane turned and walked down the path that used to be hers.
"Diane," Gibbs called, and she turned around to look at him, "I'm sorry, for the way it all happened."
"Breaking your famous rule Leroy," Diane said with a tone before softening, "although it hurt at the time, it ruined me, you got a daughter, the sweetest girl on the planet and I got one two, so maybe it all worked out the way it was supposed to." With that Diane walked away from the house and the husband that was once hers with the closure she didn't realise she needed.
AN: hehe so what do you guys think? I honestly really like Diane!
