Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A.N.: Thank you to itzcheeseball, Twilight Trekky, Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, babyred1995, black widow mistress, alix33, MissJayne, HesMines and jstapny for reviewing! *Sap alert!* ;)
Jethro moved back to the cooker top and put the pancakes back on the heat, hoping that they weren't ruined. He wouldn't mind making another batch but it would take a while longer than he was hoping to take. He was already late for work and was surprised that no member of his team had tried to call him yet. They were probably drawing straws, or expecting him to sweep into the squad room as soon as they dialled his number. He chuckled to himself at thought of the looks on their faces whenever he did something like that. They never seemed to learn either, or at least Tony didn't.
He flipped the pancakes and shot a look over his shoulder at Jenny and Emily, relaxing slightly at the sight of Emily tucking her head under Jenny's chin, and hugging her for all she was worth. Jenny's rocking movements soothed her and her eyes drifted closed as, for the moment, she could ignore the demons that wouldn't leave her alone. Jenny's arms tightened around the little girl and her own eyes closed in contentment, her motions becoming slower and more relaxing. His heart gave a tug at the unexpected knowledge that this was how she used to calm Rosie, that if circumstances had been different, Jenny could have been holding their daughter right now. He shook his head at himself, thinking of 'what ifs' would only depress him. It was Emily in her arms, not Rosie.
Emily was a strong willed girl, she would overcome this and hopefully it would only make her stronger. He was still worried for her though; psychological damage like hers could lead to all sorts of problems later in life, the least threatening being that she would never trust anyone again, and the worst being that she would develop sociopathic tendencies. That was something no one would wish upon anyone but they couldn't make her better, only Emily could do that. The best they could hope to do was to help her deal with the trauma and make her environment as stable as possible.
He shook off images of a grown up Emily being brought into interrogation for aggravated assault or murder, the very thought making him sick to his stomach. He put the pancakes on a plate and resolutely squeezed lots of maple syrup over them, imagining the sugary delight would stave off any memories of her kidnapping and help her to feel happier.
He picked up the plate and brought it to the table, placing it next to the cup of tea, the scent drifting up to the hungry eight year old. Emily opened her eyes and turned to glance at the plate, deciding that it was worth letting go of Jenny for. Jenny released her when her small voice cut through the silence of the kitchen.
"Jenny? Could I get down? I'm hungry." She asked softly, looking up at Jenny with huge tearstained eyes. Jethro grunted in amusement; like Jenny could say no to that. He watched as a smile spread over Jenny's face as Emily spoke to her, her anxiety over the young girl's silence dispelled, and she nodded dumbly, unable to form words. She set Emily on her feet and they watched as she sat down, squeezing Jenny's hand once before letting go of it and digging into her plate of syrupy pancakes.
Jenny watched for a few more moments before turning to look at him and he smirked at her, his own happiness over his working methods showing through. She shook her head in amusement and then approached the counter next to him, pulling off a large wad of kitchen roll and then bending down and rummaging in the cupboard beneath it, withdrawing with some surface cleaner.
"I'll be in the study." She said to him wiggling the spray bottle and he nodded, pointing at Emily's back.
"I'll be watching over Emily." he said back and she smiled and then walked out of the kitchen. Jethro watched her go and then poured himself a hot cup of coffee, cradling the mug in his hands. He had thought about cleaning up the blood in the study last night, but in all fairness if he did that then it was as good as saying that her actions didn't matter, that they would disappear with the morning light just as her blood would. He wanted her to be aware that her actions have consequences for not only herself, but those around her.
Emily's reaction to seeing her blood, while shocking and worrying even him, should have highlighted the danger of Jenny's addiction in a completely new light, one that she can't ignore, in a way that her own maternal instincts won't let her forget. He hadn't planned for Emily to see her blood, he wouldn't gamble with her sanity like that, but it was going to help Jenny face this problem and hopefully Emily would face hers too. He just wished he could help them. He didn't enjoy sitting on the sidelines while those he cared for were hurt, whether they were doing it to themselves or not.
Emily put her fork down on her plate and pulled the cup of tea towards her, taking an experimental taste to gauge the temperature of the liquid. Once she was satisfied it was still hot enough to drink she took a deep, long swallow and then set it down, shuddering a little as it turned out to be colder than she had thought. She stuck her tongue out and looked around, catching sight of Gibbs. She smiled and jumped off her chair, picking up the plate and the cup and carrying it over to the sink.
"Thank you Gibbs, that was really nice." She said gesturing to the plate. He inclined his head grateful of her praise and lifted the pan slightly.
"Do you want some more?" he enquired slyly and she giggled, rubbing her stomach appreciatively.
"I'm stuffed. If I eat anymore I'll burst!" she giggled, pouring the remnants of her tea down the sink. He watched the liquid disappear and decided that since it seemed to work so well she should probably have one to carry with her for a while.
"Let me at least get you another of those." He said, pulling out another cup and making some more tea without waiting for her answer. It was very lucky Ducky had left the tea here, Jenny really only drank coffee, and Bourbon, his mind supplied. He shook his head guiltily; if he hadn't introduced her to that drink she probably wouldn't be drowning herself in it. A part of his mind laughed at him, incredulous of how large his ego seemed to be and he scowled in response.
Perhaps he was letting his feelings for her guilt him into thinking such things, perhaps he wasn't the reason she was drinking after all, but one thing was for certain; if Jenny hadn't been in a relationship with him, Rosie would never have existed. Then she would never have been able to die, which would have saved Jenny from this self-destructive path she was on. It really was his fault, at least partly. He should have fought for her initially; he should have followed her when she had left him instead of letting his pride get in the way. He should have-
"Uncle Gibbs? Are you ok?" Emily asked in concern, and Jethro looked over at her, surprised to see she was standing directly next to him, her small hands reaching out for and then grasping one of his. Great, he thought bitterly, now you are making the one that needs your help worry for you, good going Leroy. He savagely shook off his thoughts, not allowing any of the bitterness to remain when he responded to Emily, ashamed that he was letting his own guilt overwhelm him, even for a second.
"I'm fine Em, just a little distracted." He said gently, hoping she wouldn't press the issue. Thankfully she was well past the 'why?' stage and she took him at his word. He squeezed her hands and then let go of them, finishing up making the tea for her and then taking a long swig of his coffee, wincing at the burn as it scalded its way down his throat. That's what you get for not paying attention, the nasty part of his mind said smugly.
"Where did Jenny go?" Emily asked innocently, looking around the kitchen for any evidence of where she may have gone, but saw none. She turned her gaze back to Jethro and he waved off her concern, letting her know not to worry.
"She's just cleaning up in the study." He said nonchalantly, hoping that he was making it sound boring, so that she wouldn't go and check on her before she finished.
"Cleaning up what?" Emily asked slightly confused and Gibbs mentally kicked himself. He should be more careful of what he said, or at least how he phrased it. It never ceased to amaze him how observant Emily was, though with Diane and Tobias as parents she would have picked up something from them.
"She was up working late last night; she has to sort out her paperwork." He lied smoothly, and Emily nodded thoughtfully before taking a sip of her tea. Her eyes flickered to him and then to the door and he realised she was considering going to see Jenny anyway. Rather than risk her walking in on Jenny and seeing the blood, Jethro placed his cup on the counter top and then moved to the door.
"Some of what she is reviewing is top secret, so I'll just check she's done and then you can come see her." Jethro said, watching as Emily's face brightened considerably.
"Ok!" Emily said happily, settling back against the counter to wait patiently for what she obviously assumed would be only a few seconds. Gibbs sighed internally and then walked quickly to the study, opening the door to see Jenny disposing of the last of the sodden, red kitchen paper in an opaque plastic bag. She looked up sharply and then let out a breath when she saw it was just him and she stood up, carrying the bag over to him.
"Emily wants to see you, I said you were cleaning up top secret paperwork." He said, giving her the correct excuse to tell the young girl. Jenny nodded and then held out the bag to him.
"Ok. Could you take this and put it in the bin outside please? I don't want to risk her seeing it by accident." She explained while looking over his shoulder to make sure Emily wasn't sneaking up on them. The coast was clear so she quickly handed it to him.
"Sure, I have to go to work now anyway. Will you be in?" he enquired, jerking his head in the direction of the kitchen, clearly meaning her and Emily.
"I don't think Emily is ready for that, but once Noemi has arrived I'll come in, so we can hopefully sort out Tobias' position in the FBI. I just called her to ask her to pick up some things for Emily, that's why she's late if you were wondering." She told him, glancing at him a little apprehensively and he knew there was more to come. "Jethro… I was thinking about going to… see Rosie later today. Would you like to…?" she hesitated, as if deciding that finishing the whole sentence would be a bad idea, so he jumped in before she could retract her invitation.
"Yes, I would like to come and see our daughter, Jenny." he said softly and she nodded, a large smile washing over her face as a weight seemed to be physically lifted from her mind. Before he could think twice about it and before circumstances could throw another stumbling block in his way, he quickly leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, not quite a real kiss, but far too intimate to be mistaken as a friendly gesture.
Her eyes widened a little in shock and he contented himself with the fact she hadn't slapped him yet. In the bedroom earlier he had sensed that something was holding her back, that kissing her would have been a mistake, but he got no such feeling now. All he could see in her eyes was a tiny sliver of indecision which was rapidly being overcome by his proximity to her. Emboldened by this knowledge, he carefully ran his fingers over her cheek as he had wanted to do back then, the sensations forcing her eyes to close in pleasure and he took the opportunity to kiss the other side of her mouth.
She reached her arms up to grasp him and pull him closer to her, and for a second he thought about avoiding them, about moving away and leaving before changing what they had, but that wouldn't be fair. Apparently Jenny thought so too, because when he shifted his weight on his feet, he realised she had already prevented his escape by wrapping one of her legs around one of his. If he tried to step back they would both fall over.
He looked back at her, her eyes open now, the wide sultry grin on her face telling him he had nowhere to run. He smiled in response and allowed her hands to rake through his hair, grasp his head and draw him down, even as he wrapped his around her waist and pulled her flush against his chest. The moment they had been waiting for was here, and it didn't disappoint.
Moving swiftly Jethro captured her lips with his own, caressing and nipping while his hands roved over clothed skin that had once been his, and would be again. Her fingers lodged in his hair, holding him to her, preventing him from withdrawing from the kiss, but that was the furthest thing from his mind. When the simple pleasure of lip to lip contact became insufficient he gently nipped with his teeth at her bottom lip, seeking entrance for his tongue in to her mouth and she responded without hesitation.
She moaned as he slid into her wet heat, his tongue duelling with her own as the kiss deepened to the point intoxication. The moment was perfect; they teased and responded to the game that no one else could play with them, unable to take it further with Emily just one room away, and unable to stop. Finally the need for air broke them apart, panting, heads resting together, a familiar satisfaction settling over them, their excitement tempered by the knowledge they wouldn't be taking it any further today.
"You are not alone anymore, Jen." He whispered to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead and then swiftly walking out of the study and through the front door, knowing that if he didn't leave now, he would have her right there, and that could permanently damage Emily if she heard anything or went to investigate. He looked back as he closed the front door, seeing that she was watching him leave, her eyes filling with happy tears and his favourite smile shining back at him. He grinned back, closed the door and then set off for work and a new day.