Three Times Gibbs Cried (And Someone Comforted Him)
This time, the whole team helps comfort a broken Gibbs. Other characters that couldn't be listed include the always caring Abby and the incredible Ziva David. It's always great when the whole team comes together.
2. The second time it happened was after the team came back from catching the suspect too late.
When they arrived at his hideout, he immediately took out his gun and shot the daughter of a Marine he kidnapped multiple times in her head.
He tried to run off, but Tony and Ziva were faster than he was.
Gibbs had called an ambulance, but the little girl had died quickly. When the Paramedics arrived, Gibbs told them that he had to take her back to NCIS, where her mother was. Understanding, they left.
Eventually, Ducky arrived to take the young girl back. On the way back, he sighed sadly, thinking about how she was the fifth child the team had failed to rescue in only two months. She was only four years old.
Naturally, when the mother was told what happened to her daughter, she was heart-broken and devastated. She couldn't stop crying and screaming. Even worse, she blamed Gibbs, who was the one to tell her the news.
"It's your fault!" she screamed. "It's your fault! You were supposed to save her! You bastard! You said you and your team would do your best to bring her back!" she cried, pushing Gibbs until eventually his back hit the wall.
"We tried to—" Gibbs replied before being harshly cut off.
"You tried? You tried?" the mother shouted, tears rolling down her face. "Well, you didn't try hard enough! Your best wasn't enough! It wasn't enough! And now my little girl is gone!" That was when she started to sob uncontrollably.
Eventually, the mother left the room.
Gibbs slid down to the floor, trying hard to fight back tears that were threatening to fall. He immediately wiped his eyes.
About seven or eight minutes later, he finally walked out and slowly headed back to his desk. Once he was standing in front of his desk, he turned around to look at his tired team. They were all at their desks.
"Hey, boss," McGee said, looking up from his desk. He wondered how telling the mother about her daughter went. Personally, it was a task he could never get used to. Telling families about the death of a loved one was always one of the hardest parts of the job.
Only a few seconds later, Ducky walked in from the elevator.
"Oh," he said, surprised to see everyone. "You're all still here. It's past midnight. You must be exhausted and ready to go home by now."
"Oh, yeah," Tony said, yawning loudly. "I am bushed. Wait, does this mean I really am getting older?"
"Well, yes and no," Ducky said, chuckling. "While it is true that people can get more tired with age, I'm pretty sure one of the reasons you're so tired is because it's late. You're not the only one here who wants to go to bed, you know."
"Right," said Tony, nodding his head. "You're right. So, what's up?"
"Oh, I was just coming up here to tell Jethro I was leaving since I have released the body to the mother," Ducky explained. "The poor woman was so distraught when she saw her daughter."
Gibbs couldn't help but remember what the mother had said, or more accurately, screamed. "You were supposed to save her!" kept on repeating over and over inside his head.
Then he started to think of the other four children he had failed to save. First, it was a Navy Lieutenant's eight-year-old daughter and her six-year-old son. Both of them were abused and stabbed to death. Then there was the seven-year-old son of a Marine who was suffocated by his uncle. Most recently, a Petty Officer's nine-year-old daughter was reported missing and was eventually found drowned in a lake.
It was all just too much. Frustrated and unable to take it anymore, Gibbs started throwing everything on and around his desk, including his chair and even his computer.
"Jethro!" Ducky shouted, running toward his friend. "Jethro, please calm down!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around him.
Gibbs struggled in Ducky's arms for a while.
Tony, Ziva, and McGee were all watching, too scared to leave their desks.
"Let me help you, Jethro!" Ducky yelled. "Please!"
Eventually, Gibbs stopped struggling and wrapped his arms around Ducky.
"It's not fair!" he shouted. "It's not fair!"
"I know," Ducky said softly. "I know."
"I- I couldn't save her!" Gibbs cried, feeling the tears returning. "I couldn't save any of them!" By this point, he didn't care anymore. If he felt like crying, then he was going to cry. What the hell was wrong with that?
"It's my fault," he said as he began to sob, tears streaming down his face. "It's my fault."
"No, Jethro," Ducky said, stroking the back of his friend's head. "It's not your fault. The only ones to blame for their deaths are their killers."
"But I didn't do enough!" Gibbs exclaimed.
Ducky looked at him sadly, wishing he could take his guilt and pain away.
"You didn't see her face when I told her," Gibbs continued. "You didn't hear the things she was screaming at me. She blames me, you know? All the parents blamed me. And with good reason. I let them down. I let them all down. Especially their children."
"Oh, Jethro," said Ducky, pained to see his dear friend so broken. He could feel tear drops falling onto his neck.
Deciding he couldn't just watch his boss break down like that, Tony started to walk toward Gibbs and Ducky.
"Boss?" Tony asked. Gibbs looked up at him. "Is there anything that I can—" Before Tony could finish his sentence, Gibbs grabbed him, pulling him into a hug. Apparently, Ducky had been forgotten. Not that Ducky seemed to mind too much. He figured it was a good thing for Gibbs to seek comfort from his team.
"Okay," Tony said, a bit surprised. "I- I can do that. I can hug. I know how to do that."
As he hugged his boss back, he could feel a few tears welling up in his eyes. He had felt like crying ever since he got back. He tried to be strong in front of the team, but now that Gibbs was crying, he felt safe letting his own tears out.
While Gibbs continued to sob, Tony turned to Ziva and McGee, trying to signal them to come over.
Ziva came over right away, joining in the hug. Gibbs was like a father to her, so she didn't hesitate to join in. He was always there for her, so she would be there for him.
McGee gestured to Tony to wait, then picked up the phone to call Abby. He hoped she hadn't left yet. Luckily, she picked up after three rings.
"Hey Abby, could you please come up here before you leave?" McGee asked in a somewhat panicky voice.
"Of course," Abby replied. "What's wrong? You sound really nervous."
"It's Gibbs," McGee answered. "He's crying. He needs" —Abby hung up— "you."
Assuming that she was coming, McGee put the phone down, got up, and joined in the group hug. Although he thought it was kind of strange to be in a group hug with Gibbs, he was actually beginning to feel quite comfortable. Tony and Ziva were feeling the same way as well.
Gibbs was now aware that his whole team was hugging him, but he still couldn't stop crying yet. His feelings of guilt still hadn't gone away.
"It's not your fault," Tony said, rubbing the back of Gibbs' neck. "You did all you could to save them, boss."
"No!" Gibbs cried back. "I didn't! I didn't do enough! I should have done more!" He had never felt like such a disappointment before. It was one of the worst feelings in the world. "I let everyone down. Everyone. The parents, the children, I even let you guys down."
"What?" McGee exclaimed, completely floored by that last sentence. "That is impossible! You could never let us down, boss!"
"McGee is right," said Ziva. "We all know that you always do your best to protect others."
"We're proud to have you as our boss," Tony said, hugging Gibbs tightly.
Still, Gibbs continued to cry. However, he was now crying partly because of his team's kind words and support.
About a minute later, Abby came bursting in from the elevator.
"Gibbs!" she yelled. "Where is he? Where's my Gibbs?"
Tony, Ziva, and McGee all turned around to look at her.
"Abby," Gibbs whispered when he saw her. "Abby!"
As soon as Tony and the rest of the team broke off their hugs, Gibbs immediately ran into her open arms. Abby was the one person who could always make anyone feel better. Her hugs were the best and she always knew just what to say to comfort people.
"I heard what happened to the little girl," Abby said as she gently rubbed Gibbs' back.
"That's five of them now, Abs," Gibbs said tearfully. "Five kids. And I couldn't save even one of them."
Suddenly, his legs started to buckle.
"Abs, I think I need to sit down," he admitted. Abby helped lower him to the floor, sitting down next to him once he seemed comfortable.
"So, do you want to keep talking about it?" she asked. Since Gibbs was usually a man of few words, she thought maybe he was done talking, but he continued.
"I just feel so pathetic right now, you know? Sometimes, this job really sucks. You want to save everyone, but you can't. And when it's children, it feels even worse."
"I know," Abby said sympathetically. "I can't even begin to tell you how many days I've felt the same."
"If only I was—"
"No!" Abby shouted, cutting Gibbs off. "You can't blame yourself for their deaths. You did everything you could, Gibbs. You have to believe me. I mean, you worked so hard to find them."
Touching his tear-stricken face, she said, "You care so much about helping others. That's one of the reasons why I love you so much." Then she gave him a kiss on his forehead.
That's when Ducky and the rest of the team came over.
"Miss Sciuto is certainly right about that, Jethro," said Ducky. "The fact that you try so hard to help is what's most important."
"And you never give up," Tony chimed in.
"You always do what is right," Ziva added.
"You're one of the most decent men I have ever met," said McGee. "We're all so lucky to have met you. We really enjoy working with you."
"Don't you see?" Abby asked. "No matter what happens, we're always going to love and respect you. If you can't save someone, then we're here for you. That's what it means to be a team and a family. Going through everything together. All the happy good times and the sucky bad times."
"Thank you," Gibbs said quietly. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys."
"Are you starting to feel better, Jethro?" Ducky asked, putting his hand on Gibbs' shoulder.
"Yeah," Gibbs answered, his voice breaking a little. "A lot better, actually. You all really know how to make me feel better about myself."
Ducky smiled, relieved that Gibbs wasn't so upset anymore. Looking at the younger agents, he could tell that they were relieved as well.
"I guess I just needed to let it all out for a while," Gibbs said as he wiped his tear stained face.
"Well, of course," said Ducky. "It's always healthier to let your emotions out instead of hiding them. You shouldn't be afraid to show them in front of us. After all, like Abby says, we're family. And besides, you of all people deserve to be human sometimes."
Hearing this, Gibbs smiled slightly. This was why he considered Ducky to be one of his best friends.
Reaching his hand out, he asked, "Can somebody please help me up? My legs might still be kind of weak."
"You sure about that, Jethro?" Ducky asked. "If you think your legs are weak, maybe you should get some more rest."
"No, it's okay," Gibbs said, shaking his head. "I'll be fine." Before Ducky could protest anymore, Tony took his boss's hand and helped pull him off the floor.
Still a tiny bit wobbly, Gibbs held on to Tony's arms for support.
"You okay?" Tony asked. "You're not going to fall down, are you?"
"No, I'm okay," Gibbs replied, trying to steady himself.
"Well, is there anything you need?" Ducky asked, still concerned for his friend.
"I'd like to do something together," said Gibbs. "With everyone."
After thinking about it for only a couple of seconds, the first thing out of Tony's mouth was, "How about drinks?"
"Why is that the first thing you can think of, Tony?" asked McGee.
"No, I don't want to drink," Gibbs answered. "I want to eat and just hang out." Realizing how hungry he was, he held his growling stomach.
"I could make something at my place," Tony offered.
"Really?" exclaimed Abby. "I am starving. I haven't eaten anything since— I can't even remember the last time I ate today."
"Yep," Tony responded. "Apparently, everyone is invited. So, do you like Italian?"
McGee and Ducky both rolled their eyes while Ziva groaned.
"I'm kidding!" Tony laughed. "I can make you some meat and potatoes, if that's what you want, boss."
"No," said Gibbs. "I mean, I like meat and potatoes, but I do like Italian."
Hearing that, Tony smiled. "Would you be okay with pasta?" he asked. Admittedly, he knew that pasta was one of the easiest things he could cook. "I'll make enough for everyone, including seconds."
"With a lot of meatballs?" Gibbs asked, almost sounding like a child.
"Of course," Tony chuckled. "You can't have pasta without meatballs." It was good to see his boss perking up a bit.
With their plans for a late-night dinner all set up, everyone started to head out, including a slightly more relaxed Gibbs.
Although he wouldn't be able to forget the children he had failed to save, Gibbs felt much better. Now, he was ready to have dinner and spend some time with his family.