Title: Dopamine

Author: MyOwnWorstCritic

For: writingfreak145

Rating: K+

You wanted a Jibblet and pre-established Jibbs, as well as Abby trying to get them together, vanilla and a fireplace. I hope I did it justice. It's really different from anything I've ever written and I really hope you like it.

Without further ado, I present to you...

'Dopamine...

...There's this thing called the dopamine effect. For a woman it lasts about a year. For a man—6 months; maybe 9 months. It's the thing that in the beginning phase of a relationship, everything is perfect—it's bliss. She doesn't smell your morning breath and he doesn't care about your unshaved legs. After the dopamine has worn off, all those things you once loved—they turn out to be annoying. That's usually where a relationship goes wrong. But if there's real honest-to-God passion and love, there is no such thing as the dopamine effect. It's not an effect because it's forever." – Terence Sybesma (my oh-so-wise father)

"Daddy!" the little girl screeched as he entered the house. He barely had time to put down his bags, before the girl reached him, jumping up and attacking him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Hi Abs. Miss me?" he said, taking a deep whiff of her, before settling her down.

"Very much, daddy," the little girl responded. She smiled up at him and slipped her small hand through his.

"Have you been a good girl while I was gone?" he asks, following her into the living room. He plopped down on the couch and she instantly crawled onto his lap.

"Yes daddy! Daddy no leave no more?" she asked, looking up at him with a sad pout. It damn near broke his heart.

"Not for now, no, baby." He caressed her hair, taking the time to enjoy his little bundle of energy. "Isn't it time for your nap, young lady?" he asked, noticing her trying to suppress a yawn.

She shook her head quickly, biting her lip. He saw right through her.

"Yes it it!" he said, standing up quickly and tossing her into the air. She squealed in delight. When he brought her back to him, she was still giggling. He set her on his hip and went upstairs. Before he was even at the top, Abby had already fallen asleep.

After putting her to sleep in her bed, he closed her bedroom door quietly behind him. Just as he was going downstairs, Rosita was leaving the bathroom.

"Mister Gibbs! How are you? You came home early, no?" she said, smiling widely.

"Hi Rosita. Yeah, I finished earlier so I caught an earlier flight. Has she been good while I was gone?" he asked, leading the older woman downstairs.

"Oh, Mister Gibbs, you know Abigail is a good girl! She is the nicest three-year-old I have ever known. Maybe a little too much energy for me in my old age, but you have a very sweet daughter. I love watching her. "

"Thank you so much again for doing this, Rosita, I really appreciate it," he said, smiling at the compliment. Rosita watched Abby while he was away, and she loved Abby like her own.

"I need to give you some money back, you paid me for two weeks and it has only been ten days..." she trailed off, going in search of her purse and things.

"Oh no, Rosita, keep the money!"

"No! I cannot, Mister Gibbs."

"Yes, keep it. My Christmas gift to you," he added, teasing her lightly. Every year he gave her money, because he thought she was such a hard woman to shop for. She knew it was nonsense, but always took it in stride.

"Very well then. I will be going now. Oh, and Mister Gibbs?" she said, almost out the door.

"Hmm?" he asked, looking up from the mail that was on the coffee table.

"A miss Jenny called, she said to call her when you get back," she said, and he could sense the amusement in her tone.

"Rosita..." he warned, trying to figure out what she knew.

"Goodbye Mister Gibbs! Give Abigail a kiss for me!" she threw over her shoulder right before the front door closed behind her.

He went to grab his cellphone from his bag, and dialed in her number.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Jethro!"

"I'm back. Abby's taking a nap."

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Front door will be unlocked."

"Okay, bye!"

He disconnected the call and tossed the phone onto the couch, grinning.

Ten minutes later, he was standing in the kitchen, enjoying a cup of coffee, when he heard the familiar sound of her heels on his wooden floors.

She smiled when she found him in the kitchen. She walked over to him and took the mug out of his hands, taking a sip of it before setting it on the counter.

"Hi," he said, smirking at her.

She didn't even reply, just leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. She looped her arms around his neck to keep him close, while his hands went to her waist. He wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer, she moaned, and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue in her mouth, making the kiss impossibly deeper.

After a while they broke apart for air. She was taking deep breaths, but still managed to talk. "You need to shave."

He chuckled. "That's all you have to say to me after ten days? Didn't you miss me?"

She had to laugh at the puppy dog face he was sporting. "Of course I missed you, Jethro." She leaned in and gave him a chaste kiss. "I missed your lips." One of her hands moved down his chest and under his shirt to run flighty fingers over his abs. "I missed your abs." Her other hand moved to scrape the back of his neck. "I missed your hair," she whispered in his ear. Her hand moved down his back and rested on his butt. "I missed your lovely ass," she breathily whispered in his ear.

He moved his hands over her body as well, just as she suspected he'd do. "And most importantly, I missed your hands on my body."

She abruptly pulled away and started slowly walking away from him.

"Jen..." he groaned, missing her already.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I think we should move this to your room." She grinned and bit her lip, starting to walk away again.

He looked up and sent a small prayer to God, before following her.

He was lying on his bed, with her draped over him. They were both still trying to catch their breaths.

"I should go," she whispered, her breath on his chest sending a shiver down his spine. Her words were completely counter-acted when she started to trace patterns on his chest.

"No, stay..." He ran his hand through her hair.

"Abby is going to be up soon."

"Oh. Yeah..."

"You going Fornell's thing tomorrow?" she asked, trying to put off leaving.

"Yeah, Abby really wanted to see Emily. You going?"

"I think I am. Might be the only thing I'm doing for Christmas too..." she said sadly.

He caught her tone and nudged her, causing her to look up at him. "You should spend Christmas with us."

"What?" she asked, surprised to hear his invitation.

"Yeah. We usually just sleep in and have dinner with my dad. You should join us." He saw her hesitation. "I know Abby would love to have you."

She smiled softly. He got her with that. "Okay. I'll spend Christmas with you."

"Great..." He ran his fingertips down her spine, making her tingle all over.

She could feel herself getting hot again, but she knew they couldn't go another round. She slipped away from him and got out of bed.

He followed her with his eyes while she searched for her clothes and got dressed. He decided to take her example and got out of bed, pulling on his boxer shorts.

In a matter of minutes she was fully dressed. She came to stand in front of him.

"Bye Jethro." She leaned up and brushed her lips against his.

"I'll give you a call, Jen," he said when they pulled apart.

"You do that." She walked away and let her fingertips brush against his arm.

She made sure she was quiet while going down the stairs, knowing Abby was very close to waking up from her nap. Only when she was safely seated in her car, did she take a deep breath.

Things were getting so complicated.

Stepping out onto the back porch of the Fornell house, Jethro cast a glance over the place. There were people milling around in small groups, kids running around, there was some background music playing and the dog was sleeping under a tree.

Abby was waiting impatiently until she got permission from her father to go play.

She tugged on his hand, making sure he didn't forget about her.

He smiled down at his daughter. "Go say hi to uncle Tobias and aunt Diane and then you can go play, okay?"

"Thank you, daddy!" She skipped away, to the host and hostess of the afternoon party.

"Hello stranger," she purred into his ear. He turned around and grinned at her.

"Hey." He noticed she was holding a glass of water in her hand. "What, is there no alcohol?"

"No need to panic, Jethro, there's alcohol. Even bourbon," she said to him, a teasing lilt to her voice.

He raised an eyebrow, motioning at her glass of water.

"I'm waiting a bit before getting some alcohol." She laughed when he snorted.

He was just about to reply, when they were interrupted.

"JENNY!" She felt herself getting attacked, crushed in a hug. Gibbs winced at the loud shriek.

"Hi Abby," She said, squatting down to be level with the girl and be hugged properly.

"Missed you!"

"Aww, I missed you too honey. Guess what?"

"What?" the little girl asked, eyes going wide.

"We're spending Christmas tomorrow together."

"YIPPEEE!" the girl squealed. Jenny smiled affectionately at the girl.

Jenny noticed that her glass had become empty, so she stood back up and announced, "I'm going to get something else to drink. You guys want anything?"

"No thank you," Abby answered politely, making her father proud.

"Jethro?"

"Bourbon." She had to work hard to suppress her smile.

When Jenny was walking away, Abby turned her attention on Jethro. "Daddy, don't you think Jenny would make a great mommy?"

He never knew what it was like to choke on air, until that moment.

"Great mommy to who?"

"To me, silly!" Abby said, as if it was the most logical thing in the world. She giggled and decided to go back to playing.

A few minutes later, Jenny came back with his drink. She took a sip, before handing it over to him.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing."

She arched an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything else.

There was a sudden breeze and a scent trickled his nostrils. He sniffed a few times, and concluded it was the woman standing next to him.

"Is that... coconut?" he asked her, trying to get another whiff of her. She playfully bat him away.

"Yes it is, it's a new body wash I'm trying out. Like it?"

His scrunched up face was anything but acquiescence.

"I prefer your usual vanilla scent..." he said quietly, and she almost missed it.

If asked, she would deny that she went back to her vanilla scent for him.

"I need your help."

She laughed, looking at her watch. "You called sooner than I thought."

"What?"

"What do you need my help with, Jethro?"

"Abby's birthday party."

"You have no idea what you're doing?"

"Yeah..."

"I'll be right over."

"Thank you, Jen."

"Good morning," Jenny said, walking into the kitchen. She covered her mouth, yawning, before making her way next to him. She leaned against the kitchen counter next to him.

"Morning." He handed her a steaming mug of coffee.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and sighed. "God, I love you," she said softly. He turned and looked at her, surprised. It was precisely that minute that she realized she had said it out loud.

She was just about to say something, when they heard fast footsteps bounding down the stairs.

Abby stood at the kitchen entrance. Jenny smiled at the clothes of the girl; she was clad in black and pink pattern pajamas.

The little girl smiled widely, but didn't say anything. Jethro set down his coffee cup and watched the girl wordlessly. She padded over to the refrigerator. There was a piece of paper hanging on it, eyelevel with the girl. She tore the paper away and there was just one piece of left. In big block letters was written 'ABBY'S 5th BIRTHDAY'.

As if only then it hit her full force, she let out a loud squeal and launched herself at Jethro.

"Daddy it's my birthday!" He groaned when she attacked the lower half of his body. Lifting her onto his hip, he fake groaned.

"Baby, you're getting bigger."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Daddy is getting old." The little girl giggled. She then caught sight of Jenny. "Jenny!" She tried to wriggle over and jump into the woman's arms, but Jethro held onto her.

"Abs, you're heavy, you might hurt her."

"Oh..." she said dejectedly.

Jenny glared at him over the girl's shoulder. "C'mere, Abby." She reached out and the girl happily traded arms. "Happy birthday honey." She pressed a kiss to the girl's forehead.

"Thank you Jenny." The girl only then noticed that both Jenny and Jethro were in pajamas.

"Did you sleep over?" she inquired.

"Yes I did, honey."

"Huh... but you weren't here when I went to sleep."

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Did you sleep in daddy's bed?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Because it'd be so cool if you did. You and daddy could get married and you'd be my mommy. That would be nice." She wriggled and Jenny set her down. "Daddy, what's for breakfast?" Abby asked, seemingly pushing aside her last comment.

'We need to talk,' Jethro mouthed to Jenny.

They were seated at a table on the terrace of a small café.

"Jethro, is this a date?" Jenny asked, with an amused lilt to her voice.

"Maybe," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"We have a lot to talk about, Jethro."

He nodded slowly.

"I love you too." "I'm pregnant."

"What?" he snapped at her.

"What do you mean 'what'? We have been dancing around this for almost six years."

"Shhh Jen, Abby's downstairs."

"Ugh!" she said in frustration. She lowered her voice, and hissed at him, "Jethro, I know you were hurt, but I am not like Abby's mother."

He flinched, like she had physically hurt him. "I know," he said quietly.

"My dad once told me something about a chemical your brain makes that makes you really happy with someone and do things you'd never do. He said it usually lasts a year." She was flinging her arms around trying to get her point across better. "It's not fair to you, it's not fair to me and it sure as hell isn't fair to Abby," she said softly, leaning closer and resting her forehead against his.

"I know, but I love you Jen," he said tenderly, resting a hand on her hip, drawing her closer.

"I love you too, Jethro, and I love that seven-year-old daughter of yours like my own. You have to realize that I'm not going to leave you. Ever."

"Well then what do you call what happened last year, the summer after Abby's birthday?"

This time it was her who recoiled. She pulled away from him and wrapped her arms around herself. Tears pooled in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall.

"I had a miscarriage, Jethro," she spat. "I was hurt, I was down. It damn near broke me and you know it." Her eyes were blazing with anger. "I needed some me time, some time alone. It wasn't because of you or anything you did. Jethro I needed time to heal and I'm sorry if you didn't realize that." A single tear ran down her cheek.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She tried to fight him at first, but then she started crying. She buried her face in his chest and just let all her tears out.

"MO-OOOM! Chris and Nick are annoying me again!"

Jenny laughed from where she sat. "Nicholas and Christopher, leave your sister alone!"

They were sitting on the couch in front of the large fireplace in the living room. She was sat in Jethro's lap, and she quickly stopped the glass in his hand from touching his lips. With a sickly sweet smile she led the glass over to her own lips and took a greedy gulp.

Suddenly, upstairs there was a loud shriek, a lot of giggling, two thumps and then deadly silence.

"Think she killed them?" Jenny said to Jethro, nudging him.

"Probably."

"I thought she would at least let them see the new year," she mused.

"They're terrible." He sent her a pointed look.

"And that's my fault? You're the bastard," she exclaimed.

"And you're the bitch," he said simply. She gaped at him. He smirked at her expression.

"No..." she said, dragging the word out.

The both turned around when they heard a grunt from the stairs. Abby was descending the stairs with one boy over her shoulder and the other under her arm.

"Whatcha doin' Abs?" Jethro asked, trying to hide his amusement.

"I didn't kill them, if that's what you mean. I did however knock them out, with a technique I learned online. Knocked 'em out cold. It's awesome really, man, they are heavy. Figures that if you two had children they'd be little devil spawns."

Jenny giggled while Jethro glared at her.

With a huff, she dropped the two boys on the rug in the foyer. She then happily skipped over to the couple on the couch.

"Honey, am I a bitch?" Jenny asked.

Abby giggled, but then shook her head. "Of course not, mom. You're awesome." Abby hugged Jenny tightly.

Jenny stuck her tongue out at Jethro.

"Why?" Abby asked.

"Oh, no reason." She looked over at the two boys still on the floor. "Are they going to be okay?"

"Unfortunately, they'll be up in a few minutes."

"What did they do this time?"

"Can you believe it, mom? I was just about to hack Facebook, because I think it's pathetic that if you're younger than fourteen you can't open an account. I mean I'm thirteen and still in middle school, sure, but there's no need to discriminate. I'm not one of those tweens who go all crazy n social networking sites and—."

"Abs, breathe," Jenny interrupted her.

"And get to the point," Jethro said.

"Fine. I was just about to hack into Facebook, when Tweedledee, also known as Nick, unplugs the modem. No problem, it's not like I lose much time, just a small setback. I get up to go plug it back in when Tweedledumb, Chris, goes and unplugs the computer. He unplugged the computer. I think I might kill him first."

"They were just messing around, Abs," Jethro said, pulling the girl onto his lap. She seemed really upset.

"As soon as the stores are open we'll go get the thing that protects the cable, so the boys won't get to it, okay?"

"Thanks mom," Abby said, leaning her head on Jenny's shoulder.

Suddenly the baby monitor crackled and there was a small gurgle, before sounds of cooing could be heard.

"I'll go," Jethro offered, and Jenny smiled gratefully at him.

He bounded up the stairs and when he reached her room, he slowly pushed the door open.

The little girl was standing up in her crib, holding the top to keep her balance.

Her eyes sparkled and her smile got wide when she got sight of Jethro. He lifted her out of the crib and held her against his chest.

"Hi baby girl."

He went downstairs with the baby, and noticed that the boys were up and back to being bundles of energy.

When the baby saw Abby reaching for her, she giggled. "Bibi!"

"Sammie!" Abby said back, bouncing the girl in her arms.

Jethro rejoined Jenny on the couch. She snuggled up to him and felt his lips against her temple.

"I love you," she whispered to him.

"I love you too, Jen."

"Hey guys, look what time it is," Abby said, hearing the clock chiming in the background.

"CHRISTMAAAS!" the two boys yelled at the same time.

"Merry Christmas!" Abby said, bouncing Samantha while the baby clapped in glee.

"Merry Christmas everybody!" Jenny said, smiling widely.

"Merry Christmas," Jethro whispered in Jenny's ear. She turned her head and caught his lips in a kiss.

The next day, Abby was walking through the house one early morning, heading for the study. She grabbed a picture album off one of the shelves and opened it up. Thumbing through the pages, she got to one picture of her mom and dad, laughing and obviously in their own little world, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Beneath it was scrawled 'DOPAMINE.'

There was a line through it, as if to erase it, and beneath it were the words 'love' in her mom's familiar script.

"What's dopamine?"

~FIN~