Disclaimer: Same as before, i do not own NCIS, etc, etc.
Short chapter, i know, but i thought it needed to go up :)
By the time he pulled up outside her house the poker face was back, perfectly intact.
As she reached for the door handle he put a tentative hand to her arm, stopping her and she turned to face him.
Without skipping a beat, ignoring his worried expression, she responded in her typical fashion, no evidence of emotion in her voice.
"Thank you for driving me home. I'll see you tomorrow morning; remember we have to be at work by eight."
He had forgotten that in driving her home he had left his own car in the car park, he would have to take hers and pick her up in the morning.
Watching as she climbed out of the car he couldn't help but be a little happy about that fact.
It was so quiet he almost didn't hear it as he turned to drive away, "Really, thank you."
His eyes flicked to her face. There it was again, that tiny flash of vulnerability behind her eyes before the walls went back up and she turned and walked towards the house.
The first tear came as she slid the door shut behind her, and the rest as she lifted a shaking hand to wipe it away.
Grateful that she was finally alone, she let them fall, soaking her face and staining her shirt.
They were silent tears, there was no sobbing, no sound, as they rolled over her cheeks and dripped off her chin. It had been years since she last cried like this, she didn't cry anymore. Not since her brother.
Usually she could control herself pretty well, ignore the lump that formed in her throat every now and then, contain her emotions when the ache in her chest threatened to push her over the edge. But recently it had been harder, and today that ache was too strong. The pain of it filled her and she couldn't fight it anymore.
So she cried. She cried the tears that had been waiting just below the surface ever since she got back. The tears that had been building up inside her for so long.
The tears that had almost spilled out less than an hour ago, that he had almost witnessed
But that could never happen, she would never let it.
Thoughts? opinions? let me know.