Disclaimer: Don't own NCIS. If I did, Jenny would be alive, Vance would be in San Diego, and the team wouldn't have been broken up.
This is a bit of a depressing chapter. My best friend passed away almost a year ago, and yeah this is for him. For the upcoming chapter, if anyone wants to Beta, it would be geatly appreciated, since I think my writting sucks. Anyway Enjoy.
Friends are needed at all sorts of times. Friends should be there for the times when a shoulder is needed to cry on or a person to vent to. Then there are the friends who know that something is wrong without asking and knows what to do to help.
Jenny stared outside the window in her office, looking over the Navy Yard. Her head was pounding with a headache, and it wasn't something a couple of Tylenol and a glass of water could fix either. "Director, there is someone here to see you."
"Let them in Cynthia." She said turn herself around. She massaged her temples and looked up at the door, watching a familiar face coming in.
"Good Evening Director," The visitor said with a smile. Jenny got to her feet and made her way around the desk to greet this man. She placed a kiss to his cheek, and took a step backwards.
"Mr. Thomson, it's been a while." He nodded and took a seat opposite her seat. Jenny slowly took a seat behind her desk, watching this man.
"I hear congratulations are in order. A few actually." He said with a smile. "I saw you and your family on the news a couple weeks ago."
Jenny sighed and her small smile fell. "I looked horrible that day."
"You looked like a worry wife, who didn't want her children to worry." He told her. "You're very persistent with the press and your kids."
"Jethro doesn't like the press. I had gotten used to them. But with the kids, I have to keep them away and I have to keep Jethro from going after them."
"He doesn't like too many people does he Jen?" The man asked. She forced a smile.
"He picks who he likes John, it depends on what his gut is telling him." She told him. "He doesn't like you, because of our past."
Jenny watched this man across from her. He looked smug, which reminded her of Jethro. John, or Jonathan Thomson, was a lot like Gibbs. He had a set look and didn't break it, unless necessary. Unlike Jethro, he slept on a schedule and he didn't drink coffee. Besides Jethro, John knew her well or so he thought.
Jenny watched the small lake house come into view. It was surrounded by a forest and off a lake farther behind it. It had been her escape after her mother died, and her escape when her father died. She spent most of her summers there getting to know the people around in the town, which were a few blocks away.
Jethro pulled onto the dirt road and watched Jenny's face light up. She was going to her Lake House, a house that she mentioned once when they were in Paris. Their safe house had reminded her of this place, he didn't know why until that moment. It was large and white. It had beautiful columns, making it look like a castle. It was a beautiful house, and he could see why she wanted him to be seeing it.
Jenny had wanted to come for a while, but the news of Jenny being pregnant, the visit seemed more appropriate. Jenny had explained to Jethro that these people were the only sense of family that she had after her mother died, and they were there with her after Paris, but when she became NCIS Director, Jethro and his team had became her family. Now it was Jethro and their baby.
Jenny had seen a woman in a vintage dress coming out onto the porch, wearing a big red sun hat matching the red of her dress. The car barely came to a stop, before Jenny got out of the car, running up to the woman. Jethro parked the car, and got out watching Jenny and this woman.
"Christina, this is Jethro." She said as he came up to her side. "Jethro, this is Christina."
Christina had a smile across her face. "So this is the Marine you'd always been talking about." Jenny smiled and blushed. Gibbs just nodded and placed a hand on the small of Jenny's back. "I know more about you Jethro, than I know about my own husband." Jenny laughed lightly. "I don't mind since I don't like my husband."
Jenny had intertwined her arm with Christina's and her hand was in Jethro's. The look of happiness and joy was easily noticed. Christina led them into the backyard, where there was a group of people talking amongst themselves. At the sight of the people Jenny loosened her grip of Jethro's hand and went to greet the people.
"You know about any of these yahoos Jethro?" She asked, not moving from her spot.
"Jen told me about John," Christina nodded in the direction of a man who was standing with his hands in his pocket. "They had a past,"
"Yeah they did and a not very pleasant one." She said eyeing Jenny, who was kissing John on the cheek. "She fell in love with him and when her mom passed away she turned to him. A couple months later they were having an argument about something. He got mad and pushed her down the stairs. She lost her baby." He watched Jenny as she smiled and talked to the people, filling them in on any news.
"Would explain it." Christina raised an eyebrow. "We were in Paris and met a little boy. I had asked her if she wanted any. She said no."
"She didn't tell you about her miscarriage?" Gibbs shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets, smiling at Jenny as she pointed to him. "Don't feel left out. She wouldn't have even told me, but I went with her. She made me swear not to tell anyone."
"She trusts you." He said. "She doesn't trust a lot of people."
"I was there for her." Christina said smiling. "When her mom died we talked for hours. The same when her dad passed away. When she got the job at NCIS she'd call me every day telling me about her boss who was a Marine. He buy her coffee be all sweet and then yell at her for being incompetent. She called me once in Paris telling me how she fell in love with someone. It wasn't until six years later, that she filled me in on what happened afterwards." She said nudging Gibbs. "When she became the Marine's boss, she had the same tone of happiness she did when she called me from Paris. This Marine was the love of her life. I can see why." She said smiling. Jenny had been talking about Jethro, signaling for him to come over, which he did gladly.
Jenny pulled Gibbs away from the crowd, taking his hand in hers, getting him to walk around the garden with her. "You seemed to be having a good time with Christina."
"She was just filling me in on some things." He said. "People I should look out for." Jenny nodded. "I guess I need to watch out for stairs, huh." Jenny stopped, with Gibbs hands still in hers, her eyes were beginning to water. "She thought I knew." He said. He wiped the tear that fell onto her cheek. He placed a kiss to her forehead.
"She wanted to kill him." Jenny said, continuing her walk. "I was in bed for nearly two weeks. I didn't want to what to do. I never saw her angry. She'd get mad but never angry. I thought she was going to kill him when he came to see me. I don't know what I'd do without her." She said. Gibbs smiled. He took his hand out of her grip and wrapped it around her shoulders pulling her into his side.
The rest of the weekends went by with ease. Jenny spent most of the weekend with Jethro and Christina, not too far from her reach. Jenny had informed the people that she was pregnant which everyone was happy about yet worried all the same. When they were leaving Christina had pulled Jenny away, not of out Gibbs eye sight, but enough to be alone. Jethro was being told by a woman he had gotten to know as Aunt Margret, how great it was that Jenny found someone, but Gibbs attention was on Jenny and Christina. By their closeness Gibbs could tell Christina was whispering to her. He saw the tears being whipped away, and her being pulled into a hug. They made their way back over to the car. Jenny went to Gibbs and wrapped her arms around his waist. He kissed the top of her head, and then kissed her temple. "Hey,"
"I'm going to miss her." She said quietly. "I don't know what I'm going to do without her." Gibbs gently rubbed her back, knowing Christina was watching them. He looked up at her and watched her mouth 'Cancer'. He nodded his head and hugged Jenny. "It'll be okay. Come on, let's get you home."
He got Jenny into the car and made his way over to the driver's side. He turned to find Christina still watching. He smiled and mouthed, 'Thank you.' She nodded and made her way into the house.
An hour after John's departure from her office, Jenny had made her way home. She left her purse and briefcase in the entry way. She quickly made her way up into her children's bedroom. She first saw her five year old son sound asleep. She then turned to the crib, and saw her daughter who was asleep also. She traced her finger along her baby's cheek, watching her stir at the touch. "She would have loved you," Jenny whispered.
"Yeah she would." Gibbs said coming into the room. He wrapped an arm around Jenny's waist pulling her into his side.
"I can't believe it's been a year." She told him. He nodded and kissed her cheek. "I miss her."
"I know," He said leaning his cheek on her head, not taking his eyes off of his sleeping daughter. "I know."
Jenny watched her daughter stir, and her eyes flicker open. Before she could cry, Jenny lifted her. She soothingly whispered to her, attempting to lull her back to sleep. "The uh, picture you found in my drawer, I sent it to Chris."
"I know." He said. She turned around and looked at him with a bit of question in her eyes. "She called me and thanked me for the picture." She nodded her head and continued to rock the baby. Jethro didn't allow Jenny to stay in bed for weeks. He didn't allow her to drown herself in alcohol. He was under strict orders not to allow her to watch a photo slide show in the dark. When Jenny wouldn't open up to Jethro, Christina would call him; fill him in on things the she thought he should know. In a way, Christina trained Jethro how to be Jenny's rock. They both knew her well. Christina had five years of happiness. She met Jackson and was named god mother, and there was no other person they'd wish to have.
"We were the talk of the press for a couple weeks." Jenny said placing the baby back in her crib.
"It's what happens when you're the Director." He said taking Jenny in his arms, with her back to his chest.
"I just wanted to visit," She said quietly. "Show Christina why she's so important."
"You have all the time in the world." He said, before kissing her cheek. "Come on Jen. You need some sleep."
His arms dropped, taking Jenny's hand in his. She took one more glance at her children before leaving the room with Gibbs. She changed out of her work clothes and into a large NCIS t-shirt and grey sweats that didn't belong to her.
That night, she fell asleep from crying. She fell asleep in a pair of arms that was her protection. She didn't cry because she was in mourning. She fell asleep because she had begun to accept the fact that her best friend was gone. Jenny had fallen asleep with the image of Christina, her and Jethro smiling. This was what she wanted to remember. Not the sick. The woman with a smile.