A/N: Here we have the funeral and meet someone from Gibbs' past.
It didn't escape Ducky's notice, as he sat in the back of Gibbs' truck, that the man in question hadn't let go of Jenny's hand the entire time he had been driving unless it had been absolutely necessary. His eyes flickered between the two, wondering how long they would sit in silence, and when Jenny opened her mouth to speak, he frowned when she shut it again. The truck slowed as they pulled up to a small church and Gibbs released her hand as he shut off the engine. Jenny glanced back at the doctor, and he offered her a reassuring smile.
They stepped out of the truck carefully, Jenny taking care not to slip in her heels, and Gibbs placed his hand at the small of her back. Ducky was a few paces behind them, and as Gibbs stopped to shake the hand of an older man she assumed was the preacher, Jenny fell in step with the doctor.
"Ducky, I don't know if I can do this," she whispered urgently.
Her skin had paled considerably, and she felt as though her legs weren't strong enough to support her weight. Ducky took her hand, patting it gently, and he looked into her eyes seriously.
"Listen to me, Jennifer," he whispered sternly, "That man has just lost his father, you had damn well better keep it together until this affair is over. Do I make myself clear?"
She nodded, a bit shocked by his tone, but knowing he was right. She took a deep breath to steady herself and when Gibbs turned to face her, Ducky squeezed her hand gently.
"Let's get this over with," Gibbs muttered.
Jenny frowned, and as the service began, she found herself gripping Gibbs' hand tighter than she meant to. She had the distinct feeling that she was being stared at, and she didn't like it. Being brought up in a military family, she had been raised to believe that staring was inherently rude and it was beginning to get on her nerves. It was the sort of stare that one usually received when doing something scandalous, and since she had done nothing of the sort, it was pissing her off. Tearing her eyes away from the casket, Jenny swept them across the room, and when she glanced to her right, she was met with a pair of brown eyes that were looking directly at her.
She met them coolly, refusing to back down, and when they eventually looked away, she unconsciously moved closer to Gibbs. She wished that Ducky was sitting on her other side so as to block her from unwanted staring, but he had chosen to sit on the other side of Gibbs, and she brought her hand to her mouth to cover up her sigh of frustration. Gibbs glanced over in her direction, raising his eyebrow questioningly, and she shook her head minutely. She wasn't going to cause a scene by asking him about it now.
She tried to focus on the service, but her thoughts were preoccupied by trying to think of ways to help Gibbs through this, and she soon realised that it was pointless to try listening. Her eyes kept flickering up to watch him through her lashes, and she could see Ducky doing the same. Gibbs kept his eyes straight ahead, unblinking and immobile, and she wondered if he had heard a word of the service himself. She jumped when he took her hand in his, and he leaned slightly closer, his eyes still staring ahead.
"Relax, Jen," he whispered.
She forced herself to pay attention as a few of the locals stood to share their memories with Jackson, and in spite of the melancholy atmosphere, Jenny smiled. It was clear that Jackson had made a lasting impression on the small town of Stillwater, and when she glanced over at Gibbs, he was smiling too. With one final hymn, the service was over, and they all stood, preparing to leave. She'd been slightly confused at Gibbs' decision to sit in the back of the church, but it hadn't taken her long to figure out that he had wanted to avoid being seen.
He led them out the door, and just as Jenny was about to ask if he had planned on going to the burial site, a voice caused them to turn.
"Leroy. Wasn't sure you were going to come."
Jenny frowned at the man who had spoken, recognising him as the one who had been staring at her, and Gibbs shrugged.
"Couldn't exactly miss my own father's funeral, Mr. Fielding."
Fielding...the name sounded vaguely familiar, and Jenny looked over at Ducky to see if it rang any bells to him. He raised his eyebrows in confusion, and she turned her attention back to Gibbs.
"Gonna introduce me to your friends, Leroy? I know Jackson raised you better than to be rude."
Gibbs smirked, nodding at the older man.
"Yeah. This is my friend Donald Mallard, and my fiance Jenny Shepard."
Ducky held out his hand, and Jenny did the same seconds later, fighting her every instinct to ask who the hell this man was.
"Mac Fielding," he said by way of explanation.
Suddenly, it hit Jenny why the name sounded so familiar and she bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from speaking. Fielding nodded, looking at Jenny seriously, and when he spoke, there was an almost accusatory tone underneath the sadness.
"From a certain angle, thought you were someone else."
Jenny stayed silent, unsure of what to say, and he nodded at Gibbs again.
"Real sorry about Jackson, Leroy."
He walked away, leaving Ducky and Jenny in stunned silence, Gibbs in something akin to anger.
"He shouldn't have said that to you, Jen."
She frowned, looking at him in confusion, and he jerked his head in the direction Fielding had retreated.
"Never quite forgave me for taking her to Camp Pendleton."
Ducky suddenly seemed to understand, and drew in a sharp breath.
"That was—"
"Shannon's father," Jenny answered softly.
Gibbs reached for her hand and she allowed him to lead her back to the truck, glancing over her shoulder as she walked. Shannon's father was still watching them from a distance, and Jenny sighed as she climbed up into the vehicle. This wasn't how she'd expected things to go at all.
Though she'd only been in this house once before, Jenny could still feel Jackson's presence as she wandered through the kitchen, searching for coffee. Gibbs was searching the house for the deed to his store, muttering curses about Jackson's disorganization as he worked, and Ducky was watching her from where he sat at the table.
"You did well, my dear."
She turned, finally having located the coffee, and gave him a small smile.
"I tried. Not sure how much help I was."
The doctor shook his head.
"Simply having you near was enough, I think."
Jenny busied herself with preparing the coffee, and as it began brewing, she sat down across from him, her eyes betraying the depth of her worry.
"Seeing her father...I can't even imagine."
"Yes, I would say that was quite difficult."
She reached for Ducky's hand, wondering at Gibbs' sudden lack of complaining, and when she stood, he nodded at her.
"Go. I'm sure I'm quite capable of pouring my own coffee, Jennifer."
Taking a deep breath, Jenny walked into the living room, her footsteps deliberately quiet, and when she saw Gibbs standing in front of Jackson's old trunk, she frowned. She didn't need to look to see what he held in his hands, and she made her way slowly over to him.
"Jethro?"
He didn't turn, but she knew there was no way he hadn't heard her. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and he finally brought his eyes to hers.
"He kept this...all these years."
He held out the tiny pink dress that Jackson had shown Jenny and she nodded.
"I know," she said softly, "he told me that it had accidentally been left here one weekend that Kelly came to stay with him. He was going to give it back to you the next time he saw her."
Gibbs nodded, and she placed her hand over his, taking the fabric between her fingers.
"It's time to let them go, Jethro. Don't forget them, never forget them, but...let them be at peace. They're gone. Holding on to them like this won't bring them back."
He looked at her then, and she sighed, touching his cheek gently.
"I know how hard it is to let someone go...believe me, I do. But you only end up causing yourself more pain the longer you cling to them. They know that you'll always love them, and that you would never forget them in a million years, but they wouldn't want you to suffer like this."
Jenny carefully pulled the dress from his hands and folded it, placing it back in the trunk. She reached for his hand, leading him back into the kitchen, and when Ducky noticed them, he offered them a smile.
"Did you find what you were looking for, Jethro?"
He shrugged.
"Not exactly. I'll work something out later. Let's get out of here."
Jenny frowned.
"Are you sure?"
Gibbs nodded, reaching for her hand.
"Yeah. Long drive. I don't particularly want to spend the night here."
Ducky poured a bit more coffee into his travel mug, and Gibbs filled his own, offering it to Jenny. She shook her head, and he frowned at her refusal.
"Everything okay?"
She nodded.
"Everything is fine, Jethro."
He wasn't quite sure that he believed her, but he decided not to press the issue. Ducky met her eyes as they walked to the truck and when he climbed in the back, he gave her a gentle hug.
"Don't worry, my dear. You did fine."
She offered him a wan smile, and climbed up next to Gibbs. Her head rested on the window, and before she knew what had happened, she had fallen asleep.
"You can always stay here for the night, Ducky. You don't have to drive home."
Ducky shook his head.
"No, thank you. I don't want to leave Mother alone any longer than necessary. Besides, I don't want to disturb your time with Jennifer."
Gibbs laughed, looking over at Jenny's sleeping form.
"I think she'd understand."
Ducky leaned over, kissing her gently on the forehead and smiled as he carefully climbed out of the truck.
"Perhaps she would, but I think you need to spend time with her. This has been a difficult day for you both, and you need each other."
Gibbs nodded, lifting the redhead into his arms and locking the truck. Ducky nodded at him as he made his way to his Morgan, and Gibbs' voice caused him to turn.
"Thanks again, Duck. Really appreciate it."
"Of course, Jethro. Good night."
"Good night."
Jenny stirred in his arms and he made his way to the porch, opening the door carefully.
"Jethro?"
He glanced down at the sound of her voice, quiet and thick with sleep, and he smiled.
"Shh. Go back to sleep, Jen."
She murmured something unintelligible, and he carried her up to the bedroom, placing her gently on the bed. As he turned to walk away, Jenny's hand caught his, and he turned.
"Jen?"
"Don't leave," she whispered.
He nodded, walking around to the other side and slipping into the bed beside her. He hooked his arm around her waist, pulling her close, and as she began to fall back asleep, he kissed her temple softly.
"Good night, Jenny."
She hummed in response, turning in his arms, and he smiled as he realised she probably wouldn't remember anything after leaving Stillwater. In that respect, he envied her.
Slipping carefully out of his embrace, Jenny made her way silently down to the living room, wondering if there was any possible way she could find the liquor Gibbs had hidden in the basement. Shaking her head, she chastised herself, forcing herself to sit down on the couch, and she curled her feet under her. She couldn't forget the image of Gibbs holding Kelly's old dress, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop the tears from filling her eyes.
Sighing, she stood and began walking back up the stairs, slowly pushing open the door to Kelly's room. After searching for a few minutes, Jenny smiled as she found the old photo album on the bookshelf. It was filled with pictures of Shannon, Kelly, and even a few of Gibbs with Jackson as a child. The slight noise behind her caused her to turn, and she smiled as he walked into the room.
"I tried not to wake you."
"What are you doing in here?"
"Looking at your old photo album. How old were you in this picture?"
She pointed to one where he was holding a fishing pole and smiling with Jackson, and he laughed.
"About seven," he answered, kissing her cheek, "You didn't wake me, by the way. Phone did. Got a call. Couple of marines causing trouble at a bar, one of them lost his temper and shot the other."
"We're on bereavement leave," Jenny reminded him.
He nodded.
"I know, but I can't just ignore it."
"Fine, then I'm coming with you."
He smirked as she set the album down, and they began walking down the stairs.
"Careful, Jen. People might start confusing you with a field agent again."
She smacked his arm lightly, grabbing an elastic to tie her hair back, and he laughed.
"Hurry up, Gibbs. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get back here."
He had to admit, her logic was more than a little convincing.
Tony DiNozzo frowned at the sight of their team leader and agency director, and walked slowly up to them.
"Boss. Fearless Leader. What are you doing here?"
Jenny rolled her eyes.
"DiNozzo, what have I told you?"
"Not to call you our fearless leader. Gotta admit though, it's fitting."
Gibbs smirked, and Tony looked between them.
"Seriously, though. I didn't call you. Who did?"
"Fornell," Gibbs answered, jerking his head to the right.
"Fornell? What's he doing here?"
"We've been staking out this location for awhile. Arms dealing and such. Didn't know you guys were going to be here, or I wouldn't have called Gibbs and woken him up. Since when do you go to sleep at 23:00, by the way?" Fornell asked as he made his way closer.
Gibbs frowned, looking over at his friend and shook his head.
"Long day," was all he said.
Fornell nodded.
"What we've gathered is they served together before, last round of deployments, one was sent out, one wasn't. The one left State-side started sleeping with the wife of the one deployed."
"Some friend," DiNozzo muttered.
Gibbs glared at him and he snapped his mouth shut.
"Bar's been cleared of everyone except Corporal Rabe. He's our trigger-happy marine."
Gibbs laughed suddenly, and Jenny glanced at him, wondering what was so amusing.
"And you called me because..."
Fornell shrugged.
"You've been married four times. Figured you would know how to talk to him."
"That's what I thought."
Glancing at Jenny, Fornell nodded.
"Speaking of, didn't know you were gonna bring the wife when I called."
Jenny rolled her eyes, smacking him lightly on the arm.
"Not his wife yet, Tobias."
Gibbs frowned as he surveyed his team, suddenly aware that they were two bodies short.
"Where's McGee and Ziva?"
"McGee's with the bar owner getting security tapes, Ziva's taking statements," DiNozzo answered.
Pointing to the entrance, Gibbs ushered them in, Jenny following close behind. Fornell guarded the door, keeping everyone away, and when they entered the building, it took Jenny's eyes a few moments to adjust to the sudden darkness.
"Corporal Rabe? Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. Why don't you put the gun down and talk to us. No one else has to get hurt."
"That bastard slept with my wife, sir. I can't let that go."
"Corporal, you don't want to make that mistake. You're looking at jail time."
The man shook his head, and Jenny could just make out the glint of metal in his hand. Gibbs was closest to him, DiNozzo off to his right, and Jenny just behind the Senior Field Agent. The silver-haired team leader was slowly making his way closer and when Rabe raised his gun, Gibbs stopped immediately.
"Corporal, put the gun down."
"I had to do it. His actions had consequences. I couldn't just let him get away with it."
"Your actions will have consequences. More so if you don't put the weapon down now."
The safety clicked off on the gun, and Gibbs locked his eyes on it. The second the man's finger pulled the trigger, he had to be ready. Rather than aim it at the team leader as they had expected, Rabe swung the weapon around to aim at DiNozzo, and Gibbs frowned.
"Put it down."
The sound of the weapon firing was deafening, and Gibbs launched his body at the marine, throwing his full weight into the man's waist. Jenny didn't think before she moved, and she ran to DiNozzo, putting herself between the bullet and the agent.
"DiNozzo!"
The shot was wide and low, but when Jenny landed on the floor of the bar, she fought to catch her breath. Tony pulled himself up from where he had landed when Jenny had moved him out of the way, and he went to the redhead. She shook her head, and nodded in the opposite direction.
"Help Gibbs."
Looking at her once more, he nodded and she pulled herself up from the ground slowly. Her leg was throbbing from hitting the ground, and when Gibbs glanced over at her, she gave him a small smile. Tony yanked the marine to his feet, and Gibbs glared at him.
"Now you're definitely going to jail," Tony said dryly.
"You don't understand. I had to. I couldn't let him get away with it! Haven't you ever been in that situation?"
"Yeah," Gibbs said sarcastically, "but I didn't shoot at innocent people."
He shoved the man away from him and forced him to walk to the door. Tony glanced at Jenny, running his hand through his hair, somewhat embarrassed.
"Thanks, Director. You really saved my ass."
"Don't get used to it, Tony."
They walked out of the bar, and Jenny smiled when she saw Gibbs talking to Fornell. She was feeling slightly dizzy from hitting the hardwood floor so forcefully and when Gibbs walked back to her side, he frowned.
"You okay?"
She nodded.
"Yeah. I think that floor had it out for me. Harder than DiNozzo's head."
He laughed, but frowned again when he saw how pale she had become. She took a step forward, and when she stumbled, he reached out to catch her, his expression serious.
"Jen?"
"I'm okay. Just a little shaky."
Fornell walked closer, giving her a smile.
"You got some kind of death wish, Jenny? If you don't want to marry Gibbs, just tell him."
She laughed, shaking her head.
"He's not getting rid of me that easily."
Glancing upward, Jenny frowned as her eyes scanned the sky, and she looked at Gibbs, confused.
"Is it raining?"
He looked at her, more than a little confused.
"Raining? No, it's not raining. Why?"
"Gibbs..."
Fornell's voice was low and serious, and Gibbs looked at him.
"What?"
He followed the other man's gaze and when his eyes landed on Jenny's thigh, they widened. The black denim of her jeans had become impossibly darker, and he reached out to touch it gently. He held his fingers up to the light of the bar's overhead bulb and frowned at the sticky red liquid coating them. Swearing softly, he threw her arm over his shoulder and Fornell did the same on her other side.
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked, his voice loud and authoritative, "get Ducky out here now!"
"Gibbs, we could call an ambulance," Fornell suggested.
He shook his head.
"Ducky's closer. We don't have time to wait."
He led Jenny over to the van that his team had driven, and set her gently on the edge. She frowned, looking over at him with glazed eyes.
"What's going on?"
"Took a round to the thigh. Same one as last time, ironically enough."
She reached for his hand.
"Are you okay?"
He frowned.
"Wasn't me that was hit, Jen."
"Was it Tony?"
He shook his head, reaching for a blanket in the back of the van and wrapping it around her shoulders.
"No," he said gently, "Tony's fine."
Tony walked up, putting his phone in his pocket.
"Ducky will be here in five. She okay?"
Gibbs frowned, looking to the younger man.
"Take off your jacket."
Tony did as he was asked, and Gibbs folded it carefully. He gently laid Jenny down in the back of the van and put the jacket beneath her head to serve as a pillow. He jerked his head at McGee, who had just walked up behind the Senior Field Agent, and moved out of the way.
"McGee, put pressure on this. Now."
The younger man nodded, and placed his hands on the wound in Jenny's leg. She smiled at him weakly and he returned it, in spite of the nervousness he felt.
"McGee, don't look so scared. I don't bite."
Tony laughed and McGee turned to glare at him. Jenny's eyes shifted to a point just behind Gibbs' left shoulder and she smiled again. Gibbs noticed her far-off gaze and turned, wondering what she was seeing, and frowned when he saw nothing. He leaned closer to her, shining his flashlight on the wound under McGee's hands. Blood was still pouring from the wound, he noticed that her body had begun to shake, and he swore softly.
"Boss?"
"She's losing too much blood. She's going into shock. Where the hell is Ducky?!"
"I'm right here, Jethro. Please step aside."
Gibbs glared at him and Ducky gently moved him away and he bent to examine the wound. McGee moved to the side, not wanting to be in the way, and Ziva handed him a towel as she walked around the van.
"Is it Tony?" she asked.
"Why does everyone assume it was me?" Tony asked as he walked up behind the Israeli.
"Because it usually is."
"Plague, framed for murder, locked in a storage container," McGee said, ticking them off on his fingers.
"All of you, shut up!" Gibbs snapped.
"She's lost a lot of blood, but I think I can stop it. Bring me my medical bag."
Ziva handed it to him, and he pulled out a pair of scissors.
"Ziva, would you shine that light over here, my dear? Your hands are likely the steadiest."
She did so, and he began cutting the fabric of Jenny's jeans. She was still looking at whatever she'd seen in the distance, but she frowned at the pressure of Ducky's hands, glancing down.
"Ducky? What are you doing here?"
"Cutting this bullet out of your leg, Jennifer. You do seem to have a knack for getting into these situations."
"Bullet?" she asked slowly.
He nodded.
"Yes. Do you remember what happened?"
She frowned, thinking.
"I pushed DiNozzo out of the way. I didn't think he hit anyone. I never felt the bullet."
He nodded.
"High adrenaline caused your body to block out the pain of being shot. You're actually quite lucky. This would be unbearable otherwise."
"How bad is it?"
"You're gonna be fine, Jen," Gibbs answered, his eyes locking on hers.
She rolled her eyes, wincing as Ducky began probing her skin, feeling for the bullet.
"Ducky?"
He nodded, finally having located the slug, and gave her an encouraging smile.
"You'll be fine. This is going to hurt, my dear. I suggest you take a deep breath."
Doing as he instructed, Jenny inhaled deeply, and when she nodded, he slowly out his gloved fingers inside the hole in her leg. Her eyes shut tightly, and her hand closed around the blanket as she tried not to scream. She'd been through this years ago in Europe and hadn't screamed, she wasn't going to do so now. The small knife opened the wound farther and Gibbs reached for his belt, pulling it off. Tony frowned, but when he handed it to Jenny, he understood.
Clenching it between her teeth, Jenny bit down on the leather so hard that it left small indentations, and she was breathing heavily. Ducky frowned as his hand found the bullet and slipped off of the blood-slicked metal. He tried again, gasping in relief as he found a better grip on the small bullet and when he removed his fingers from the wound, he held it up triumphantly.
"Got it. Let me clean this and get you stitched up, Jennifer."
She nodded as he threaded the needle and Tony looked at her with something akin to admiration. He'd never really seen Jenny in a situation like this, and he had to admit that he was impressed. McGee was looking at anything but what was taking place, and Ziva had walked back to the front of the van to be more comfortable. Gibbs' eyes were glued to Jenny, and he didn't even seem to notice the way Fornell was watching him. Right now, nothing mattered except for the redhead in the back of the van.
Fornell had seen Gibbs when he'd been married to Stephanie and Rebecca. He'd heard stories from Diane about their brief marriage, and he'd seen the pain in his friend's eyes when he'd spoken of Shannon. He had never, in all the years of knowing him, seen the look of pure love in his eyes quite like he did when the former marine looked at the redhead being stitched up in the back of his team's van. If he'd ever doubted the sincerity of their relationship before, those doubts vanished as he noticed the way his eyes never wavered from the woman in front of him.
He'd seen that look in Jenny's eyes often enough when she hadn't known he was looking, but this was the first time he'd truly looked at Gibbs. When Ducky had finally finished stitching up the wound and Jenny had sat up slowly, Gibbs was by her side in an instant, helping her carefully to her feet.
"You okay, Jenny?" Fornell asked.
She nodded.
"Yeah. Lot of help you turned out to be."
Laughing lightly, Fornell held out his hand, and the redhead stared at it before placing her own into it slowly.
"Told Gibbs months ago that I wanted to shake your hand for being such a badass. Means more now. Hell of a job, Jenny."
She laughed and leaned heavily into Gibbs' arm as he steadied her. Fornell looked between the two, noting how comfortable they were with each other, and smiled.
"Go home, you two. We'll file the incident report and get Jenny's statement in the morning."
Gibbs nodded, leading Jenny back to his truck and when he shut the door, he sighed.
"Jen...you've got to stop putting yourself in danger."
She shook her head.
"Jethro, I wasn't about to let that man shoot Tony."
"You...you have to be more careful, Jen. I don't want to lose you."
"I didn't even feel the bullet."
He looked at her slowly, reaching for her hand.
"You scared me. You asked me if it was raining."
She nodded, glancing down at the bandage wrapped around her thigh.
"I didn't realise it was blood."
He raised her hand to his lips, and he put the truck in gear. It didn't take long for them to reach his house again, and by the time he had pulled into the drive, Jenny was trying desperately to ignore the shaking in her hands.
Against her protests, Gibbs carried Jenny up to the bedroom, and when he set her down, she reached up to run her fingers through his hair.
"Jethro?"
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry. I'll let you handle your own cases. I won't interfere."
He smirked.
"Just stop doing stupid things like that."
She sighed.
"It's not that, Jethro. I just...they're so young. They have lives to enjoy and live, and I would rather risk my own than theirs."
He nodded, kissing her as he sat down next to her.
"I understand that, but...you're young too, Jen. You're thirty-seven. You still have a long life ahead of you, and I don't want to lose my wife before I even have a chance to marry her."
She looked up sharply, and he frowned.
"What?"
"I didn't...oh fuck, Jethro. I didn't even think. I'm so sorry."
He shook his head, and he pulled her into his arms, shifting so that they were laying back, and she rested her head on his chest.
"Jen...losing my dad...it's made me think. Life is unpredictable, and when you think about our place in the vast scheme of the universe, we're so small. I've realised that I can't do this alone, and I don't want to. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and the way I love you...it's bigger than us."
She smiled, raising up carefully to kiss him, and she tried to ignore the wave of exhaustion that washed over her.
"You're starting to sound like me."
He smiled, running his fingers through her hair, and kissed her temple as he felt her falling asleep.
"Guess that means you're a good influence on me."
"Never thought you'd say that," she murmured.
"Yeah, yeah. Get some sleep, Jen. I love you."
"I love you too, Jethro."
Her breathing was becoming slow and even, and as he tightened his arms around her, he kissed her gently. Her fingers curled around his shirt, and she buried her head in his chest, a soft gasp falling from her lips. He knew, as sure as he knew she would fight him on needing his help in the morning, that they would be able to make it through whatever obstacles they came across, and he couldn't wait to make her his wife.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!