Family Poker Night
She stands at the door nervously. Jack had given her the address the day she had learned about her father saying, "If you ever need anything or want to stop by and talk." Now, Faith is standing with a card in her hands that says everything that needs to be said. She knows she could have mailed it, but she wants to see Jack. They have only been able to have coffee a few times since she met her father, and it has been a while. Thinking of what she will say when Jack answers the door, she stands there for a few more moments before knocking.
The first knock goes unanswered, but she can see the lights on through the windows and laughter. She considers walking away because she appears to have company, but, as she opens her purse to slide the envelope into it, the door opens to a blonde woman around her own age. The woman has a bright smile on her face. "Hey!" is all she says, clearly distracted by whatever is happening within the apartment.
"Is Jack Sloane here?" Faith asks cautiously, but with a smile of her own, worried that she typed the address into her phone incorrectly. But this worry vanishes when she sees the white-haired man she had met once before and that Jack had talked about.
He crosses the room to the door in easy but long strides and says, "Picking up dinner. Be back soon."
"Oh," Faith says shortly, not sure what to do with that.
"Come in, Faith," he says in a knowing and welcoming tone that appears to surprise the other woman. The people in the room look up as she walks in, cutting off of their conversation on why the diner should start doing delivery as people place and people throw old cards into a messy stack. Gesturing around the room, Special Agent Gibbs says, "Faith Tolliver, this is the team." Faith nods slowly as she looks around the room. Due to a glare from Gibbs that does not go unnoticed to Faith, each person introduces themselves as Tim McGee, Nick Torres, Ellie Bishop, Kasie Hines, Jimmy Palmer, Leon Vance, and Donald "Ducky" Mallard. Aside from the last two men, who looks warmly at her with the same recognition as Gibbs, the group is not doing well to hide the questions in their eyes.
As Gibbs pulls a chair to the coffee table and lets her sit in a small two person sofa that he had been in alone, the man she now knows as Nick says, "Boss, you bring a date? I don't think Jack would like that." Gibbs shoots him a glare that instantly as Nick retreating and saying, "So, not a date."
Tim says as he shuffles the cards, "So you know Jack?"
Gibbs shoots him a glare then, but Faith waves him off in a way that makes every member of the team think of Jack. "Yes, we're, uh, related."
"Wait a minute!" Kasie exclaims, and Faith recognizes her from when she was a witness for the hospital shooting. "You were a witness at the naval hospital shooting, right? Nurse Faith!"
Faith smiles. "Yes. You and I went through the computer program to draw up the guy's face. It took me hours, sorry about that."
"Oh, I remember! Your computer makeup got us an ID almost immediately. You were a great witness! But I don't remember Jack saying you were family?" Ellie asks sweetly and leaves the last statement for a question.
Before Faith can think of what to say, Leon clears his throat and says, "Faith, wanna play a hand of poker with us?" Faith immediately takes the out and agrees with a smile of thanks to him.
"What about you, Gibbs? I know you've been sitting out the past few rounds to let some of us win, but come on," he says. Gibbs nods and everyone joins aside from Ellie who says she is no good at poker. Faith is thankful to learn that they are playing for bragging rights and not money because she did not have any on her.
With a really good hand, Faith stays in the game as one after another of the others fold. When the front door opens, the game is down to Faith and Gibbs since Leon had just folded. "Jack!" Jimmy exclaims. "You're just in time!"
Leon looks up to her softly and says, "I haven't seen Gibbs with such a hard fight since you beat him last."
Jack looks over to them and sees Faith smiling at her, and before Jack can say anything, Faith says in an apologetic tone, "Hi, Jack. I just stopped by and…"
Jack interrupts before her daughter can apologize, still recuperating from the stunning scene before her. "It's fine, Faith. I'm glad you came by. And I always love to see Gibbs with a run for his money!" She adds the final sentence quickly in an attempt to hide the emotion in the first. Gibbs grunts as he looks at his cards and goes all in.
Returning to the game, Faith calls him and Jack steps closer to see what happens as they turn over their cards. With a royal flush to Gibbs's straight flush, Faith wins and everyone exclaims their amazement at someone beating Gibbs. Gibbs extends his hand with a grunt, and they shake while Faith maintains a calm smile on her face that almost exactly mimics the one on Jack's face in that moment.
Turning to look at Jack, Faith is caught off guard by a question from Nick with suspicion in his voice, "So did Jack teach you poker? Since you're related?"
Faith looks to Jack apologetically and then back to Nick as she says, "Um, no, my dad did. But after I learned the rules, I beat him every time so…" Faith turns back to Jack and says, "Maybe it's the genetics." Jack smiles softly at her statement, and they share a look filled with emotion that makes the others that are unaware of the relationship look uncomfortable.
To break the tension that had filled the room as the team appears curious and confused, Gibbs says, "Um, Jack, the food?"
"Oh, yeah, here." Shaking her head to bring her to the present, Jack extends the hand with the sack of food. "Dining room is through there," she says, and they all quickly take the hint to leave her and Faith.
Faith moves to stand, but Jack stops her with a gesture of her hand, and then sits next to her on the small sofa she had been sitting on next to Gibbs before she left. "How are you, Faith? What can I do for you?"
"I'm good," she says as she reaches into her bag and takes out the envelope and hands it to Jack. "I wanted to give this to you."
Jack shakes her head in confusion, and when Faith stands and moves to the door, she follows her. "Faith, please stay, there's enough food. I would love to spend more time with you."
Faith smiles but shakes her head no. "I have an early shift tomorrow. Read that and call me sometime, no matter what you decide. I would love to have dinner or something," Faith says, already pulling open the door.
Jack does not even fully say, "Goodbye," before the door closes. Suddenly exhausted by the joy of seeing her, the sadness of her leaving so quickly, and the curiosity and worry over whatever is in this envelope, she moves to her couch and runs her hand through her hair as she holds the envelope with a death grip in her hand.
Knowing she would not be able to pay any attention to her team in the other room, she rips open the envelope and pulls out the card that simply says Thank you on the front. Opening it, three things fall into her lap: a handwritten letter and two pictures. She sees the sonogram photos first and already has tears in her eyes before she reaches for her glasses to read the letter.
Tears are running down her face at full speed as she reaches the end of the letter when his voice causes her to look up, "Jack. What's wrong?" She pats next to her on the couch and passes Gibbs the photos and her glasses to him so he can look at them better.
Her voice is soft and weak and she doesn't even try to clear it as she says, "Faith's pregnant and she thanks me in the letter for, well, she wrote, 'Going back through hell for me.' And she wants me to be in the child's life." Bringing the letter closer so he can see, Gibbs holds her hand steady as she points to the place that brought her the greatest joy and the most tears. "She wants her baby to have as much love in its life as possible. She wants me to be a grandmother to the child. She actually wrote grandmother, Gibbs!" She exclaims excitedly, jumping on the couch slightly, as more tears slide down her face.
His voice is the soft tone he only ever uses with her. "Jack, that's great!" Gibbs says as he pulls her into a hug that she immediately reciprocates. She buries her face into his shoulder and wipes the tears on his U.S.M.C. hoodie. His hand is rubbing her back softly, and his face is buried into her neck as she whispers, "Oh, Gibbs, I never thought this would happen. She doesn't just want me in her life, but in her child's life too. Gibbs, this is more than I could have ever dreamed of."
He hums his joy for her into her neck that turns to an annoyed grunt when Torres says in an awkward tone, "Um, your food is getting cold…" Jack looks up to Torres with a brighter smile than he has ever seen from her that is accompanied by bright eyes glistening with joyful tears that removes his worry as he returns to the dining room.
"You ready to come eat, Grandma?" Gibbs says softly and she nods as she laughs fully and loud enough for those at the table in the other room to hear. She opens her phones as he stands and she types: I would want for nothing more in my life. Thank you, Faith, and congratulations! Goodnight. She takes Gibbs' hand and hugs against his arms as they walk together into the dining room and everyone looks up to them and their intertwined hands, but neither moves, and instead takes the two open seats next to each other at the table.
As they are handed their food, Leon asks cautiously, "Everything okay, Jack?"
She smiles brightly and squeezes Gibbs's hand beneath the table as she says, "Much more than okay. Looks like I'm going to be a grandmother." The confused glances and the unasked questions are silenced by a single glance from Gibbs to everyone around the table and they all congratulate her instead. The conversation moves happily onto other things as a smile remains wide on Jack's face and her hand stays in Gibbs. She does not need his support, but she wants to share in this moment of pure joy with him, and he is happy to oblige. That night, they sit together with their family around the table and look forward to what lays in the future for them all.
THE END