Chapter 6

Jenny was very happy, today was Sunday which meant she didn't have to spend the day trying to avoid Gibbs or have an awkward convocation with him while he tried to talk about why he never turned up for the date while she kept on the director mask and only talked business.

The redhead lay in her bed in her old room, it was the same room that had been hers when she was growing up but in so many ways it wasn't the same, gone was the floral wallpaper, fuzzy stuffed animals and pictures of her friends on the walls. It was now replaced by a simple cream, case files and paintings she had found on her travels.

She wouldn't dare use the master bedroom as hers, it had been her father's but now was just the guest room.

Jenny turned and looked to the window where the sun was seeping through the curtains, all she could think was about Jethro, she seemed to find herself looking out the window every time she heard a tap hoping that it would be him again, hoping that time could go back twenty years and she could be her sixteen year old self again so she could try as hard as she could not to leave, maybe if she'd stayed things would be different.

The cry of her phone ringing brought the redhead from her thoughts, Jenny looked over to her clock and realised that it was almost half past ten in the morning, the lack of sleep must have caught up with her she thought before answering it "Shepard" she said stifling a yawn.

"Good morning, did I wake you?" the cheery voice sounded down the phone.

"No Abby's it's fine, how can I help you?" she asked running a hand through her still messy hair.

"Well you see me Kate and Ziva were going to go shopping for the baby and we thought you might want to come" the bubble Goth replied.

"Really" Jenny said touched that they would want her to come.

"Yeah, it will give us some time to catch up and you know we never got to go shopping when we were younger"

"Aww Abs I would love to" Jenny said excitement evident in her voice.
"Ooo yay, Ok I'll swing by with girls in an hour"

"Ok see you later" Jenny said before hanging up the phone. She felt the smile on her face and it was a nice change. She then looked at the clock again; she only had an hour to get ready.

She quickly had a shower and then changed into casual jeans and a t-shirt. Jenny was drinking her coffee when her doorbell rang.

Quickly she made her way to the door she had always liked since she was a girl before opening it to reveal the bubbly Goth, brunet and Israeli whom used to be her friends.

"Jennnnny!" Abby squealed attacking the other woman in a hug.

"Hey Abs, Kate Ziva" she said nodding to the other two woman the other side of Abby.

"Good morning Jenny" Ziva greeted with a smile

"Hi Jenny" Kate said once Abby had let go giving the redhead a short hug.

"You ready to go?" Abby asked with an excited giggle.

"Yeah just let me grab my bag" Jenny said before turning and grabbing her hand bag before stepping out and following the other woman out of the door.

An hour later and the four woman were standing in one of the baby stores "So do you know what you're having?" Jenny asked Abby as they looked at some baby toys.

"Timmy and I decided we would wait until the baby was born, we wanted the surprise" Abby said putting a hand on her stomach, she was now entering the sixth month mark.

"How's Tim dealing with everything?" she asked with a smile, sometimes she couldn't believe that Tim was the same shy boy he had been all those years ago.

"Oh he's great, I couldn't ask for a better partner, he's so excited for the baby and treats me like a queen, I really can't wait to marry him" she said looking at her engagement ring.

"It's beautiful" Jenny said noticing the ring on her finger just as Ziva and Kate coming over.

"You have to get this it's so cute" Kate said holding up a onesie that had a hood that would make the child look like a teddy bear.

"Ooh it's perfect" Abby said with a smile.

"What about this one?" Ziva asked holding up one that said 'HUMAN level 1' as if from a game "It will be McGee's child" the Israeli added with a smile.

After trying to decide which onesie she preferred Abby ended up buying both. "I don't know about you but I need a drink" the pregnant woman said leading the others to a coffee shop.

Once they made their orders Kate and Abby went to grab a table while Jenny and Ziva waited for the drink. Moments later they walked over with a ginger tea, berry mango madness and two coffees.

"So Jenny how have you been? Anyone special in your life?" Kate began to prod her old best friends.

"I've been good, busy but good and no, no theirs no one special" she said before coming increasingly interested in her coffee.

"What about Jethro?" Abby asked.

"I dunno Abby it was so long ago, we've changed, I gave him the chance he didn't take it" she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Just give it time" Abby said drinking her tea, she knew Jenny and Gibbs would have to face their feelings for one another eventually.

"What else do you still need to get before tiny arrives" Kate asked leaning towards her friend.

"Timmy and I need to decide on the colour of the nursery but other than that everything is in order" she said with a smile. "Jethro's making me a rocking chair" she said with a smile.

"He's making you a rocking chair" Jenny repeated in surprise.

"Uhuh" Abby said with a nod. "He's really skilled, he's building a boat in his basement, it's a mystery as to how he gets it out though" she continued.

"He made Tony and I a changing table when I was pregnant with Logan" Ziva said thinking of the table that still sat in the spare bedroom.

"He made the girls a chest for their first birthday to put their toys in" Kate said remembering the chests at the end of her twin daughters beds.

"Jethro was always good with wood" Jenny said her finger's absently tracing the love heart with the JxJ in the middle that had been on the science desk. "Sorry" she said coming back to reality.

"He ever make anything for you?" Abby asked.

"No, he carved something into the science desk we sat at" she said with a faraway look in her eye.

Hours later Jenny was at her front door and waved goodbye to Abby as the rain began to fall "So much for the nice day the weatherman forecasted" she mumbled fumbling with her keys.

By the time she got into the house she was already soaked by the rain and freezing, so she decided to take another shower.

She sat on her bed wrapped in her dressing gown, her hair still wet as she began to comb out the tangles when she noticed the edge of a shoe box under her bed. She knew what that box held, she put them in there, she'd placed the box under her bed.

Carefully the redhead pulled it out and put the box on her bed before taking off the lid and tipping the contense onto her bed.

Pictures of her and her friends tumbled out along with mementoes of passed memory's such as the orchid he had left on her desk in French on her birthday and the bottle cap from the first cherryaid she'd bought from Jack's shop. She began to look through the photos and stopped at the picture of Jethro and her sitting on the bleachers after a football game and he'd given her his football jacket, they were so young, happy carefree, both laughing and smiling she then found the strip of pictures that they had taken in the photo booth, all with different facial expressions, when she got to the last one she let out a tear, she and Jethro kissing.

She then heard a tapping at the window, at first she thought she was imagining it, being so lost in the past it was becoming present but then she heard it again and then the tap again. Maybe it was just the rain she thought until and even louder tap caught her attention.

Jenny slipped off the bed and made her way over to the window, pulling back to certain ever slow slightly, and there he stood, just like twenty years ago, only this time older, still soaking wet he smiled and waved his free hand at her before raising his other hand to show her a bottle of bourbon, his blue eyes asking for the forgiveness he would never ask for.

He watched as she moved from the window and the bedroom light went out, he was about to walk away thinking how stupid he would to think she would let him in.

Until he heard the front door open, he half expected to see Naomi standing there like last time, but instead it was the redhead and she had a big smile on her face "Come in you look like a drowned rat" she said letting him in.

TBC…

Are Jibbs finally together?

Suggestions for the McAbby baby please, names and whether it should be boy or girl. Please review.