Chapter Three

"Jethro?"

Gibbs' head snapped up at the sound of his name. It was too dark to see her face, but there was something familiar in her movements as she made her way down the stairs. Once her feet hit the basement floor she stopped. "I should have known you'd be down here. Some things never change."

Now that she was down under the light he could see her. His heart stopped beating for a brief moment and he froze. It was Shannon – he had no doubt.

She looked older and there were lines around her eyes, the past 18 years having taken its toll on her, as they had him. But she was still beautiful. Her hair was still a lustrous red, likely with a little help from a bottle.

His mouth hung open a little as he looked her over – his heart deciding it was really her long before his mind caught up. "Shan- Shannon?" His voice caught in his throat, her name coming out in a choked sob.

She nodded and moved forward. She had appeared calm and collected when she made her way down the stairs, but as she moved across the basement, he could see her lower lip trembling and he saw a large tear well up and spill over to roll down her cheek.

As soon as she was within reach he brought his fingers to her cheeks, catching the tears before they got far. He traced her features, felt the familiar slope of her cheek bones, and ran his fingers through her hair. "You're real?"

She didn't answer, instead closing the gap between them, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face to his chest. The moment she heard the ragged breath accompanying his tears, she knew there was no point in holding back her own.

They stood together for nearly ten minutes as they worked through the tears that spilled.

Gibbs ran his hands along her back, up and down her arms, still afraid he was just moments from waking up from this near-perfect dream. "Where…?"

"Portland." Her answer was muffled against his chest.

"Why? Why didn't you… you could have called… written… something to let me know." His voice was strained as he struggled through, desperate to understand why they'd been torn apart for so long.

Shannon pulled back. "After the crash it took three weeks for Kelly to wake up again. It took me two. If they… if Pedro Hernandez found out we were still alive…? I couldn't do that to our baby."

"I killed him!"

"I know," she nodded. "I recently found out." She hadn't been surprised to find out that he had killed the person he had thought killer her and their child.

He cupped her face in his hands. "I could have disappeared with you. I would have given up everything to be with you."

"Jethro, you were in an explosion just the day before we were in the crash. With you in a coma and then us, the FBI made the decision for us. Said it was easier that way, that if you suddenly disappeared, they would know we were still alive and come looking for us. I couldn't… Jethro, I couldn't risk her life like that."

Suddenly it dawned on him that Kelly hadn't come down to the basement and he paled. "Kelly. Where is she?" My baby, my little girl. Gibbs felt as though a hand was squeezing his heart in his chest. He stumbled over his next words. "Does she want to see me?" Does she blame me for not being around, for not saving you?

"Oh yes, she's not far. I told her I was going to talk to you first and then, when you were up to seeing her, I would call her and she would get a cab here." Shannon grabbed his hands. "And before you ask, of course she remembers you. She remembers having the best daddy in the world. She remembers being your little princess. Growing up, she was very good about keeping quiet about you and our life before, but when it was just the two of us, we spoke of you often."

Gibbs' jaw tensed as he fought the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks once more. His baby, his little girl... "Call her. Please."

"Okay, but let's go upstairs. You know I never liked it down here. I never understood how you and Kelly could spend so much time down here with all the dust." She took his hand again and let him toward the stairs. "She's a lot like you. You should know that."

Upstairs, Shannon picked up her purse where she'd left it on the table and dug for her cell phone.

Gibbs watched as she made the call, memorizing the way her lips moved as she spoke. He tried to listen to hear Kelly's voice, but the call was over before he could make out the sound.

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes." She slipped her phone back in her purse and then followed Gibbs to the living room where they sat together on the couch. They sat close, holding hands as they chatted, talking about simple things, not wanting to say too much before Kelly arrived. Shannon was mid-sentence when Gibbs leaned forward to kiss her softly, murmuring how much he missed her before pulling back.

Before either of them could say anything, they heard the sound of a car pull up, idle as a door opened and then closed, and then pull away.

"That's probably her." Shannon stood and walked to the door.

Gibbs hung back as she opened the door and stepped out. Kelly had been only eight the last time he'd seen her. He'd often wondered what she would have looked like as an adult, if she would have gone through an awkward phase like he had, or if she'd grown up gracefully like Shannon.

He wondered if she was nervous about seeing him again. Shannon had said they talked about him, but 18 years was a long time and he wasn't so sure that she would remember him.

Kelly paused when she shut the car door and turned to face the house. It looked the same as it did in her dreams. There were just a few extra weeds in the flowerbeds, and it could definitely use a fresh coat of paint.

Just as she reached the front step, the door opened and her mom stepped out.

"Sweetheart…" Shannon gave her a reassuring smile and reached out her hand.

Kelly ignored the outstretched hand. "Where's dad?" She'd waited 18 years for this moment, she wasn't about to waste an extra minute or let it be some long, drawn out affair. She'd told the tattooed woman at the coffee shop that she didn't need him to protect her, but she did need him.

"Inside. He's waiting for you."

"Is he… mad?" Her hands clenched into fists at her side. Eighteen years was a long time to stay away, and it wouldn't have been difficult for her to send some sort of message to her father. She'd dreamt of it often.

"No. No, he isn't mad."

Kelly didn't need to hear anything else. She took a deep breath and walked past her mom.

Any doubts on whether or not she was really his daughter flew out the window the moment she stepped inside.

He was standing a few feet back from the door and her first thought was that although he looked older, he was exactly the same as she remembered. The one family photo Shannon had kept in her purse had finally fallen apart after years of carrying it. She had a brief moment of déjà vu, only their roles were reversed. She remembered waiting for him in the exactly spot where he stood when he returned from training camp. Her mom had made her wait until he was in the house before she could attack him with hugs and kisses.

Snapping out of her memories, Kelly watched as a range of emotions played across his face before she heard her name in a soft whisper.

"Daddy." She stepped forward, slowly at first, but then she was on auto-pilot and the next thing she knew, she was tucked safely in his arms. After 18 years, all was right with the world again.

Once the tears stopped – his and hers – Gibbs pulled back to get a better look at his daughter. Although slightly red from crying, her eyes were a vibrant blue like his and her hair matched his in his younger days. But the rest of her appearance was all Shannon. It had been hard to tell who she would take after when she was younger, and he thought she looked more like mixture of both of their moms.

Gibbs glanced over at Shannon as she waited just off to the side, a wide smile on her face. He waved her over, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into the hug. He watched as she pressed her lips to their daughter's temple and then turned to him and kissed him softly.

He was first to pull out of the embrace, his focus returning to his daughter. He tilted Kelly's face so she was looking at him. "Look at you. You're so beautiful."

"Thanks… Dad." Kelly grinned at him before burrowing back into his arms.

Gibbs' eyes welled up at being called dad, but this time he was able to blink them away before the tears could fall.

"Jethro, let's sit. You must have so many questions…"

Gibbs led them both by the hand over to the couch so they could sit. "I… I don't understand why…"

"I'm not sure I even understand. Let's save those questions for Tom."

"Tom?"

"Thomas King, our contact in the FBI. He had a few things to wrap up, but he'll be flying out in a day or two."

"You could have come to me." He would have given up everything to disappear with his family.

"I used to dream that you would come and rescue us." Kelly went and grabbed her purse from where she had dropped it just inside the door. She pulled out a small Strawberry Shortcake doll. "I carried this with me everywhere I went until I was thirteen. Do you remember it? You gave it to me before you left for your deployment. I dreamed that you would come and get mom and I. We would run into the woods and you would build us a house and we'd be together forever."

Gibbs took the small doll in his shaking hands.

"I got this for you, babygirl. Whenever you miss me, you give her a hug, like this." He hugged the small doll to his chest. "And then you'll remember how much I love you and want to hug you." He handed the doll to Kelly and then pulled her into a tight hug. "Daddy loves you."

"I love you too daddy. Come home soon."

"I would have come for you, I swear. If I had known…"

"I know. I don't blame you, I never did." There was no point in mentioning the phase in her early teens where she blamed her mother for everything they'd been through. But they had worked through that long ago.

"How did you get this?" Gibbs hugged the old doll and then handed it back.

"The EMTs said it was in my hands, so they brought it with to the hospital."

It was nearly midnight before their conversation began to lull. They had ordered a pizza and sat around the table talking, telling stories from the past 18 years.

"We should get going." Shannon stood after noting the time.

"No! This is your house. Kelly's room is…" He was almost embarrassed to say it. "It's the same. I will put clean sheets on. I will change the sheets on my bed too. You can sleep there," he directed at Shannon. "I will take the couch."

"Jethro…"

"No, mom, it's okay. I'll take the rental back to the hotel and get our stuff. I want to stay."

Gibbs stood on the front step and watched as his daughter pulled away, disappearing down the street.

"She'll come back."

"I just don't want to take my eyes off her." Gibbs stepped back inside.

"I understand."

They headed upstairs together and Shannon felt a pang of guilt when they went into Kelly's childhood room and she realized nothing had changed. "You didn't remarry?"

"I did, a few times." Suddenly Gibbs felt a wave a guilt wash over him. "They were cheap replacements."

"After all these years, you never fell in love with anyone else?" She efficiently stripped the bed and began tucking the clean sheets in place.

At first his thoughts went to Jenny, the first time he'd truly fallen in love with someone after Shannon had died. He had loved her, but she chose the job over him. And then there was Abby. He knew he loved her, didn't he?

"You're in love with someone now, aren't you?"

"I… think… I don't know." He couldn't tell what he felt about anyone at the moment.

"Don't worry." She gave him a soft smile and reached out to run a finger along his cheek. "It's okay."

Gibbs hung around downstairs, giving them their privacy as they got ready for bed. He waited until he was certain Kelly was asleep before heading up. He pushed on the door, opening it slowly until he could see her curled in her bed.

"Come to bed, Jethro. She'll be there in the morning."

"I recall telling you the same thing many years ago." Gibbs pulled the door shut and moved over toward Shannon, following her to the bedroom.

"You did," she smiled. "Several times. She was our miracle baby."

"God, I've missed you." The more they talked about the past, the closer he felt to crying. "Missed you so much."

"I'm here now," she murmured against his lips. "I'm here."

Gibbs was still unsure if everything was real or if it was the cruelest dream. If it was a dream, he was determined to make the best of his before he woke up and drank himself into oblivion under the boat.

TBC…

Aww, Gibbs… got his girls back.