Gibbs put his arm around Jenny's shoulders after Abby left. "Let's do something today."
"What did you have in mind?" she asked with a smile.
"You'll see," was all he would say.
They drove home and changed into jeans and t-shirts, Jenny following her husband's lead for what to wear. She pulled her hair back in a braid and slipped on running shoes. They got back in the car and headed out, Gibbs holding her hand gently the whole time. Not too much later they pulled into the BCC Baseball batting cages. Jenny aimed a surprised look at her husband.
"Jethro?" she questioned. "You do remember that I am sports challenged?"
He grinned. "Your job is to spectate," he told her. "And my job is to impress."
They appropriated one of the cages and Gibbs stepped in confidently while Jenny stood behind the fence to watch. He fed some money into the machine, grabbed a bat and took up his position. As the first ball came hurtling out, Gibbs took aim. WHACK! He knocked it almost out of sight. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned smugly at his wife.
"Show off," she said in a gentle voice.
"That?" he shook his head. "That was just the warm up. Watch this."
The next few balls came whipping out at breakneck speed and Gibb's bat connected solidly with each of them. He gave the machine more money and upped the speed. This time he missed a couple but refused to back down. What he knew but couldn't tell Jenny was that he wasn't just trying to earn her admiration for his sport's skills. It had been five days since he'd last worked on his boat and there'd been a lot of emotional ups and downs. He needed this release badly, to let some of the tension drain away that had been building up inside him again.
After ripping through about fifteen pitches, he turned back to his wife. "Wanna learn?"
Jenny shook her head, eyes wide. "That would not be a good idea. Just another easy way to get a concussion."
"Oh, come on," he coaxed, "you know I wouldn't let you hurt yourself. It's fun. You're missing out."
Jenny, still looking reluctant, opened the cage door and joined her husband inside. He showed her how to hold the bat, then stood behind her with his arms around her and hands over hers to help her with her swing. Jenny smiled as the real reason for this "lesson" dawned on her. Jethro just didn't want her four feet away watching, not when he could have her this close. Her husband fed a few more coins into the machine and turned the speed down slow enough that she hopefully wouldn't be intimidated.
She jerked backwards and missed the first one, not entirely keen on having a baseball flying at her head no matter what the speed. But Gibbs solid body behind her was a comfort and she knew he knew what he was doing, so she proved her trust and held steady for the next shot. This one was also a miss but at least she didn't move. For the third pitch Gibbs helped her line it up and when the ball came whizzing out at her, Jenny swung the bat as hard as she could, pleasantly surprised to hear a satisfying CRACK! as the ball soared off into the near distance.
Turning around, she smiled big at her husband.
"Felt good, didn't it?"
"Intimidating, but good," Jenny agreed. "Still, I don't think I'll try out for the All-Stars anytime soon."
Gibbs chuckled and slung his arm around her neck, guiding her out of the cage. "Game for more or should we try for something else?"
"I'll watch you knock a few more out of the park," Jenny said, pleased to be able to watch him.
"As you wish," Gibbs smiled, remembering the line from The Princess Bride. Last Valentine's Day Abby had made them all sit down and watch it with her in the squadroom, even Jenny, declaring it one of the best love story movies ever. It certainly wasn't Gibbs' thing to watch a chick flick but who could say no to Abby? Plus he had the added bonus of sitting in the last row of chairs with Jenny and holding her hand in the dark. Tony, of course, annoyed them with an endless supply of trivia about the movie until Ziva punched him in the arm and threatened worse if he didn't shut his yap. They had tried not to laugh. The way she twisted American idioms was just part of who she was, the Ziva they knew and loved.
This time Jenny wasn't so much focused on her husband hitting the ball, but how he looked as he did it. She admired his muscled physique, how his tan arms tensed as he swung the bat, and the motion of his legs - his body all in perfect sync. She sighed. She certainly had married one handsome man. Add to his great body those ice blue eyes and that dashing silver hair...it was no wonder he turned heads. Looking down at her hand, Jenny twisted her rings so that they were facing the proper way, so glad that wearing those meant Jethro was hers and no one else's. Now if I can just put everything behind me and get back to us, she thought wistfully.
When Gibbs breathing sounded laboured and his muscles began to quiver from exertion, he decided it was time to do something else. Jenny was happy to oblige, pleased that today she was happy as long as she was with her husband. May no bad thoughts intrude, she hoped, though it might've been a prayer.
"What next?" she asked, wrapping an arm around Gibbs' waist and matching his steps.
"Hmm..." Gibbs pondered the question. It was mid-afternoon, too soon to think about dinner. The he smiled. "Why don't we play tourist for a couple hours?"
Jenny looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"What? The word tourist get a new definition? I'm serious! Let's play Paris. Us, wandering the streets, seeing the city through the eyes of young lovers, enjoying the sights as if we've never seen them before."
"Did you get too much sun?" Jenny asked, a little surprised. This man did not sound like her husband. He sounded like the love struck agent that had wandered around Paris with her for months, absorbed solely in his mission and her.
Gibbs leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Just because it's been almost eight years doesn't mean I forgot. Come on Jen," he sweet-talked her, "play Paris with me."
Jenny shook her head but couldn't resist the eagerness on her husband's face. "Okay," she agreed. "Show me DC."
That was all the invitation Gibbs needed. He escorted her to the car, opening her door like a perfect gentleman. Jenny played along.
"Why thank you sir."
Gibbs headed for the White House first. He parked a couple blocks away, offered his elbow to Jenny and strutted off like a proud peacock. When they first approached the building, it was too familiar, there was no sense of awe one might feel upon seeing it for the first time. So they stood on the sidewalk in the exact middle of their view of the landmark and Gibbs stood behind Jenny, putting his hands over her eyes.
"Close your eyes Jen. Remember the history that goes with this place. The President lives here, his decisions effect our nation. It was burned down once but remains standing today, a symbol of America. Imagine the lives lived here - George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy. Now, open your eyes and tell me what you see."
Jenny loved listening to her husband's voice, loved what he was trying to do, to make this exciting for her. Everything he spoke she pictured in her mind. When he removed his hands, she opened her eyes. "Oh," she breathed, taking it all in, the same scene she'd seen a minute before but with so much more meaning, "I see something amazing."
"So do I," Gibbs whispered into her hair.
Next stop was the Capitol, where they admired the beautiful architecture, thinking about how the principles their nation lived by were decided here. Of course playing tourists, they had to go to the National Mall. They rode the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument and Jenny leaned forward, looking at the view of her city in all it's glory. They climbed the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where a huge statue of the beloved former president sat watch over the city he'd loved. They wandered silently around the room, reading the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's second Inaugural Address, feeling the words with new strength, reading them as they were spoken and not as dry dust from a history book.
When they passed by the Zoological Park, Jenny insisted they go inside, just for a little while. Gibbs protested the whole way but loved how her face lit up when she saw her favourite animals. She especially loved the panda bears, which were a big draw for people and talked about them all the way out. Apparently she'd done a presentation on pandas for a class in college and now knew all sorts of interesting facts about them. Gibbs was so amused by the whole thing that he stopped at the gift shop by the exit and bought Jenny a stuffed panda.
At first she laughed and then she looked at him with shining eyes. "Thank you Jethro."
"Sure Jen," he smiled. "So, what are you going to call it?" He didn't get it but Jenny loved to collect stuffed animals from their special memories and she put a great deal of thought into each name.
Jenny sent him a teasing glare. "First of all, it's a he, not an it. And I think I will call him..." she considered for a moment, "LJ."
"What? Jen!" Gibbs protested.
"What's wrong?" Jenny asked. "It's a compliment."
"Not so sure," Gibbs grumbled. "First Abby names a dog after me and then a stuffed panda?" He crossed his arms. "I think my manliness is being challenged."
Jenny leaned close and whispered in his ear. "Not a chance. Now don't pout and spoil our fun. What else can you show me?"
Gibbs took her hand and led her back to the car. This time their stop was the International Spy Museum. It was more of a joke really, going back to their undercover days when they fancied themselves spies after the greats. There was a crazy amount of exhibits, a spy game one could play by adopting a spy identity and learning the game of spying. It seemed more geared to children although the real history inside the stories was fascinating. Gibbs and Jenny wandered along the walls looking at all the spy gadgets like umbrellas that were pistols and dead rats that actually had been used as microphones. It was silly and a little crazy and completely wonderful to be wandering through the eclectic building, holding hands like they were teenagers on a date again.
They were a bit quieter as they saw again the Arlington National Cemetery. They walked the rows upon rows of names, stood by the eternal flame lit at the grave of John F. Kennedy and held a moment of silence beside the tomb of the unknown solider. Jenny felt a particular kinship with the man who had fought a war, fallen in battle and been buried as a tribute to the faceless fighters that believed in freedom and honour and bravery.
"I wish somebody had known his name," she whispered sadly.
Gibbs understood. No one should die unrecognized and have no loved ones to mourn him. "He was fighting for what he believed Jen. His reward is the tribute from a grateful nation, however little that seems when one feels forgotten."
Jenny nodded. "I wonder if that's why soldiers wear dog tags now, so they will never be unremembered."
"I'm sure that's as good a reason as any Jenny," he responded, not wanting to make light of her sadness but not wanting it to ruin their evening either. "Hey, we still have one more place to go and then we should find a place to eat."
Jenny looked up, the moment broken. "Okay. Where to next?"