Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A.N.: Thank you to MatteaAM, LadyJibbs, black widow mistress, alix33, Twilight Trekky, itzcheeseball, MissJayne, Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs and babyred1995 for reviewing!
A.N.2: I think I'm going to have to move the update date of this story to Saturday. I just can't get near the internet on Friday anymore and my boyfriend and I are trying to sort out the essential bills first, so Internet and Sky have taken a back seat. Sorry for the inconvenience. ;)
Jenny watched as Jethro's purposeful stride carried him out of her house, her lips tingling from the feel of his mouth on hers, her body warmed from where his hands had run across her clothed skin, and she longed to drag him back inside, to have him touch her more fully with no barriers between them, but she held her ground. She realised she should be angry with herself for giving in, for ignoring her intentions of holding off, of turning him away to preserve their relationship in case her addiction made her hostile, but she wasn't. All such thoughts had disappeared the moment he had kissed her, leaving behind only the hunger for his body to intertwine with hers, and the longing, the need, for him to feel for her what she feels for him; love.
He looked back as he closed the door, and she could see in his eyes the promise behind the words he had said to her, the words that still resounded in her ears. You are not alone anymore, Jen. Happiness, so intense that she lost control of herself, washed over her and tears leaked from her eyes to trickle down her cheeks. She smiled at him, a truly heartfelt gesture, and the grin she received from him in response made her heart soar. He really did love her. The door closed and Jethro disappeared from sight, leaving Jenny in a state of bliss so powerful that she was unable to stop smiling. She wiped away her tears as best as she could but more kept coming. She couldn't seem to get irritated with them though, so she merely sat down in one of the chairs and waited for them to stop.
She couldn't believe the turns this day had taken, and it had barely begun. It had started off promisingly enough, with her in bed and Jethro in her bedroom, but then Emily's distress had frightened everyone. Getting her to settle down and talk again had been difficult, as everything inside her had fought with her immobility when she had been made to stand back and do nothing, waiting for Emily to relax and call out to her. Finally taking Emily into her arms had been a balm on her soul, and since then everything had gotten better. The pessimistic side of her said that she was due a setback, but the rest of her said that her life had just taken a step towards perfection.
Now all she had to do was kick this addiction, and then her and Jethro could finally put their heads together and locate La Grenouille, and then make him pay for the innocent lives he has taken. Jenny glanced up and over to her drinks cabinet, deciding that now was as good a time as any to start. She stood and walked over to it, lifting the decanter, pulling out the stopper and placing it to one side and then she carried it with her as she crossed the study and entered the kitchen.
Emily was silently watching the doorway to the kitchen, and as soon as she saw Jenny, she pushed away from a counter top and put a cup on the side, clearly having been waiting for her to appear. Jenny smiled at her as the little girl approached and then pulled her into a one-armed hug, carefully keeping the decanter away from her and upright, so that its contents didn't spill.
"Jenny, you've been crying again." Emily said softly as she withdrew from her embrace, unsure about what was going on, about what could be making her cry so often. Jenny nodded contentedly and let go of the young girl, who followed behind her.
"Happy tears Emily, only happy ones." She replied, walking over to the sink and upending the decanter over it. The dark amber liquid splashed in to the sink, draining away to a place where she couldn't get to it, where she wouldn't want it. Emily covered her nose and made a disgusted noise when the scent of the strong liquid carried over to her, and Jenny couldn't help but laugh a little. It was strong, and that had been a good thing to her when she had needed to feel, it had meant less to consume, not that that had stopped her. Now though, she could feel without the aid of the Bourbon, and she felt so good!
She knew that she had a long way to go until she was better, that she would begin to crave the alcohol again when this good feeling left her, but she didn't care. She would face what was coming and she would succeed in throwing off the claws of this addiction. She smiled wider, she had another addiction to take its place, and this one was so much more fulfilling. It was everything to her, but it had the power to break her completely, and yet the rewards were so much more real and satisfying. The risks were higher too, and the danger stronger but it was worth it, he was worth it. Her new addiction was Jethro, of course, though 'new' was probably the wrong word. He was a recurring addiction, one that she couldn't shake and didn't really want to.
He knew it too. She suspected that he had felt the same in Paris, which was why they hadn't seemed to be able to get enough of one another, though that was purely speculation. Now however, she knew him, she could read him better than she ever could before, experience being the better teacher, and she knew how he felt for her. Every action spoke volumes that she only now recognised and interpreted.
He had been there for her both professionally and personally for years, though her desertion of him had caused him to resent her. They had worked through that now though, and they had been drawn close once more by Emily, and then closer still by Rosie, and finally Jenny's alcohol abuse had paved the way for today, the best day of her life.
Was there a reason for everything? Was her weakness for Bourbon something that had been destined to bring them together? Or was it inconsequential in the grand scheme of things? Had she been damaging her health for no reason? She couldn't answer those questions, no matter how hard she tried, so she decided to forget about it. She didn't need the alcohol now; she had Jethro and Emily to fill her heart with joy. Jenny set the decanter on the draining board and turned to Emily once more, hugging her again and then holding her at arm's length.
"So, what do you want to do today?" she asked her, watching Emily as she crossed her arms and thought carefully about what she wanted.
"I want to see my daddy." She said at last, a huge grin breaking out on her face, and Jenny's chest tightened. Her good mood started to dissipate slightly, but she bolstered it with a big smile.
"Alright. We can go and see how your father is doing now, if you'd like?" Jenny offered, hoping to get it over and done with. She had known that Emily wasn't staying with her indefinitely, but the absence of Emily's parents and how close they were becoming had helped to push thoughts of her leaving to the back of her mind. Now it all came back with a vengeance and she felt some of the emptiness that had consumed her since Rosie's death return.
It wasn't fair that she had lost Rosie, and to now have Emily given to her, only to be taken away later, was torture. She so desperately wanted a child to love; a large family was one thing that she had dreamed of as a young girl, but her every effort to accomplish that was being thwarted. You are not alone anymore, Jen. Jethro's words from earlier echoed in her mind and now she grasped them and their meaning like a lifeline. She wasn't alone; she had Jethro and that was all that really mattered. If there was another child in their future they would find out later, and she would do everything in her power to bring that eventuality closer.
"Yes please!" Emily said excitedly, and Jenny smiled back, her equilibrium rebalanced.
"Alright then, put your coat on and we can go." Jenny said, watching as Emily happily skipped out of the kitchen to search for her jacket. She could do this; she should just look at it like a prelude to the main event, when Emily would leave her for good. She followed Emily at a more sedate pace and donned her coat. Once Emily was ready Jenny closed up the house, called Noemi to let her know where they were going, and then they left for the hospital.
Tobias Fornell was bored out of his mind from the lack of stimuli in the small, white hospital room he was in. His leg was still causing him pain from the bullet wound and subsequent surgery, and the only reason he hadn't discharged himself already was that he wanted the pain medication to work on the worst of the pain, which was at the beginning. Once that subsided, and he could control the pain with over the counter pills, he was out of here and going home with Emily. It wasn't that he didn't trust Jenny or Jethro; it was just that he desperately wanted to know that his daughter was safe, and he could only do that if she was in his sight for most, if not all, of the day.
He let out a harsh breath in the silent room; he had so much to do still. The funeral for Diane hadn't been arranged yet, though he knew that the FBI coroner was holding the body for as long as he needed to sort that out. The Will had to be read, though it was a safe bet that Diane would have left her things to Emily, which would hopefully sort out that college fund that he had wanted to put money away for, only to find he was practically a pauper after the divorce. That would be a huge weight off his mind, to know that Emily's future was safe and provided for.
He gingerly sat up and reached over the side of his bed for the crutches that were standing beside it. He really needed the loo. It took him ten minutes to hop his way down the hall to the men's room, and that was aided by the crutches, so his return trip after doing his business and thoroughly disinfecting his hands, not wanting to catch any of those hospital super bugs, rounded off his half an hour journey. As he carefully edged his cast under the covers he spared an envious thought for the lucky people that get en suite bathrooms in their hospital rooms. As soon as he felt comfortable under the covers, the door opened and a very familiar person stepped in, followed by her red headed guardian.
"Emily!" he said ecstatically. He opened his arms to receive her as she darted forwards, giggling happily with her own arms outstretched. He lifted her as best he could so she could crawl onto the bed and snuggle with him. He kissed her forehead and hugged her tighter, so thankful to have her back in his arms that for a moment, Jenny went unnoticed. When he finally opened his eyes and lifted them from his daughter, he caught Jenny's eyes and grinned at her.
"Thanks again, for looking after this little angel." He said the last part into Emily's hair, his fingers quickly tickling her sides and making her laugh uncontrollably. When he next lifted his eyes from Emily to look at Jenny, he saw her looking longingly at both him and Emily. Now, he knew that she didn't want him, so that left only one other option in his parental mind; Jenny longed for a family. He unconsciously drew his arms tighter around Emily, unable to tell if his daughter was part of the longing or just the reason for it. Jenny realised what he was doing and smiled sadly at him.
"You don't know how lucky you are to have her back." she said, her eyes once again landing on Emily, and for a moment Tobias was sure that she meant she hadn't wanted to bring her, but then the look in her gloomy eyes registered, and he knew what she had really meant. He was lucky that Emily had been brought back to him alive. That shocked him into silence, the angry words he had been prepared to say to her dying on his lips, and he simply stared at her in silence.
"Daddy, Uncle Gibbs made me pancakes!" Emily said, breaking the silence. She recounted every detail of her time spent with Jenny, including her observation that 'Uncle Jethro hadn't been there when she had gone to bed, but he had been in Jenny's bedroom when she had gotten up this morning'. Tobias turned his very amused eyes to Jenny, who refused to squirm under his gaze. The colouring of her cheeks when Emily told him about 'Uncle Jethro returning to Jenny's bedroom later while she was in the shower' told him as much as he needed to know.
"So, when are you having your own?" Tobias asked curiously, gesturing to Emily so Jenny knew what he was talking about. He was unprepared for the pain in her eyes though, and he bit his tongue in reprimand. That was something new he had learned. He and Jethro were going to have a talk later. He may just have found out why Jenny had left him. Useful information for if the guy was still interested in her.
"That depends on Jethro, and La Grenouille." she said quietly, her expression determined. Tobias' eyebrows rose and he amended his earlier thought; he and Jethro were going to have a long talk later. The only thing he didn't understand was the last thing she had said. It had been French, and he didn't really know that much French. 'La' means 'the', but the 'Grenouille' part was a mystery to him. Hopefully, since he had spent so much time in Paris, Jethro would be able to tell him.
"Alright. Well since you are here, would you mind giving me a lift home? I'm getting out of here." He said, gently settling Emily on her feet on the floor and swinging his legs over the side, his mind made up. He looked around for the bag that had his clothes in, but Jenny blocked his line of sight, concern radiating from her.
"Your leg still hasn't healed Tobias; it's not even close. You could seriously injure yourself if you fall at home." Jenny said sternly, but he waved off her concern. He looked up at her and pointed helplessly at his surroundings.
"Jenny, my baby girl was abducted, mentally tortured and then taken from me when I had just gotten her back. After all of the time I spent looking for her, scouring the FBI and NCIS databases on those monsters, I end up in here while someone else looks after her, while someone else chases away the demons and kisses the hurts better. Would you stay laid up in hospital when you could be at home, making sure that she is ok?" He asked, knowing that she wouldn't say 'yes', no one would say 'yes'. "Please, just take me and Emily home."
Jenny looked away and then nodded her assent. She disappeared through the door to track down a nurse while Tobias happily hugged Emily close. He wasn't going to be an absent father any longer; he was going to be there for his daughter when she needed him.
A.N.: This part of the story is coming to a close with the departure of Emily and Tobias Fornell, but it will continue in a sequel with the arrival of information about everybody's favourite French gentleman/ businessman/ arms dealer! Just one more chapter to go, the goodbye chapter for Emily, in which i will tell you the sequel title. Thank you for your patience and interest!