A/N: 100 chapters! Isn't that wild? When I started writing APTP I was thinking it might get to forty chapters, lol :P Thanks for sticking with the story so long guys, I really appreciate it! We're down to the last week in our story timeline, only 6 days left after Sunday is done. I'm anticipating no more than 20 more chapters after these next two. So please keep reading and thanks again for all the reviews and encouragement - you guys are what has gotten me this far. Love you all!

After a quick stop at home to change, Gibbs and Jenny tied on running shoes and hit the sidewalk to jog to the park. The day was a pleasant temperature for the end of October and both enjoyed the chance to stretch their legs and be active. Gibbs had been on desk duty most of the week and Jenny hadn't been to the gym since the day she used it to fight he memories. She was feeling lazy and put her focus on her breathing and the rhythm their feet were beating out on the street.

They rounded the corner where the sidewalk joined the paved path that led around the park. Of course, it being Sunday afternoon, many people were taking advantage of the sunshine and mild temperatures to take their kids to the park or just spend some time together outside.

After doing a leisurely circuit of the park, they slowed to a walk and Gibbs reached for Jenny's hand, returning her smile.

"That was nice," Jenny commented after awhile.

Gibbs just rubbed his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand.

Eventually their walk took them back to where they started, and without a word they agreed to head for home. Once inside, Jenny walked over to the storage closet under the stairs and opened the door, sighing. Gibbs came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

"What ya thinking Jen?"

"That this closet needs to be cleaned out. I haven't gone through it in years."

If Gibbs thought Jenny's idea was kind of out of the blue, he had the good sense not to mention it. He'd learned the hard way that nothing wives did had to make sense to him.

"I can drag boxes out if you want to go through them," he offered.

Jenny looked at him in surprise. "You don't have to help Jethro." She smiled. "I'm sure there's other things you'd rather be doing."

"I'd rather be spending time with you Jen," her husband insisted. "It doesn't matter what we're doing."

"Okay," Jenny's eyes twinkled, "but just remember you volunteered."

She helped Gibbs with the first two rows of boxes, piling them in the hallway until she saw a label on one.

"Oh my," she said softly, sitting down on the floor and opening the box.

"What is it Jen?" Gibbs asked.

"Jethro," she looked up at him wide eyed, "these are my mother's things."

Gibbs crouched down beside her. "You didn't know they were here?"

Jenny shook her head. "One day about three months after she died, I got home from school and everything was gone. My father had packed it all up. I never heard her name spoken again." She shrugged. "I thought maybe he just couldn't live with any reminders of her around anymore. Except I was still there, every day for years."

Gibbs didn't know what to say. He leaned over and kissed Jen on the head, leaving her to her memories.

Slowly Jenny began to pull things from the box. Half a dozen pictures frames were first. Jenny and her parents after one of her dance recitals, a picture from the day her parents were married, the three of them when Jenny was born, a day at the park, her first day of Kindergarten where her father took the morning off work and they both walked her to school.

The last picture was one Jenny had missed deeply since the last day she'd seen it, nearly twenty-five years ago. It was Jenny and her mom out in the garden. They weren't even looking right at the camera. Instead Jenny was smiling and Olivia was laughing at something her daughter had just said. They knelt on the ground together, pressing dirt around new plants.

"Jethro," Jenny turned to him, holding up the frame, "this is my mother."

Gibbs put his hand on the picture frame. "She was beautiful Jen," he said after a moment.

"She was," Jenny replied softly.

"You have her eyes," he noticed, then smiled. "But where did you get the red hair?"

Jenny laughed. It had been a lifelong question. "That always was a mystery. Neither of my grandparents had red hair and my parents were only children, so I have no idea."

"Do you still miss her Jen?" Gibbs asked. The answer seemed obvious, but she hadn't spoken of her mother since that night in Paris so long ago.

"Every day," Jenny smiled sadly, "there are so many moments I have wished she could be here for."

Gibbs leaned down and put his arm around her. "I know honey."

Jenny's eyes came back to meet his. "But you know what that feels like, don't you Jethro?" she asked. "How old were you?"

He sighed. "Seven." And the memory of black clothes all around him, the dull thud of dirt on a closed coffin, still haunted his heart some days.

There was really nothing else to say. They both understood the loss of one so dear. And words would just cheapen the moment.

Jenny went back to the box. Inside were several of Olivia's gardening books, an old scarf she'd never finished knitting and two old journals Jenny had forgotten about. Those would be such a treasure, her mother's thoughts. It had been so long since she'd been able to remember Olivia's voice. Maybe in those pages she would be able to hear it again.

When the closet was free of boxes, Gibbs joined his wife on the floor to look through what the boxes contained.

"Who's Garret Reese Jenny?" he asked several minutes later.

Jenny turned sharply. "Garret Reese?"

"Yes. Apparently you thought he was, and I quote, 'totally cute'."

"Jethro!" she cried, grabbing the hardcovered, pink flowered book away from him. "That's my journal!"

He grinned at her. "Keeping secrets from me Jen?"

She checked the date on the entry. "Good grief Jethro, I was thirteen years old!" She laughed. "I'm pretty sure you don't have to worry about any competition from him."

Gibbs pulled out a handful of old drawings. "You never told me you could draw."

Jenny glanced at the sketches, mostly horses and houses. "High school art class does not require a great amount of talent Jethro."

"These are really good Jen," he insisted.

"If you say so."

Gibbs pushed the box over to her. "This is all yours Jenny, old school stuff etc."

"Well, these five are all old clothes, mostly Mother's. They can go to goodwill."

"Do you want to keep anything?" Gibbs asked.

Jenny appreciated his thoughtfulness. "I have what I need. That old gray wrap I like to wear when I'm reading in bed?" He nodded. "That was hers. It was in my room the day everything got packed away. A few of the fancy scarves I wear are hers too. I found them in one of her drawers when I was looking for something to play dress up with one time. I never did give them back."

They moved those boxes closer to the door and Gibbs gestured to the ones holding Jenny's and her mother's personal things.

"What about these?" he asked.

Jenny's expression softened. "Let's put them back for now."

The other boxes that lay scattered in the foyer held everything from old shoes to baby clothes to some of Jenny's things from college, and other miscellaneous items. Jenny shook her head.

"I don't know why I'm keeping half this stuff. I didn't even know it was here."

Gibbs glanced at her. "Have you seen my basement lately Jen? Some things never get gone through."

After some discussion, the more personal stuff went back in the closet and all the clothes were added to the growing donation pile. For some reason though, Jenny couldn't bring herself to give up the box of her old baby clothes. Whether it was because her mom had kept them or stemming from a private hope she still harboured, Jenny wasn't sure. But they went back in the closet too.

Finally the couple collapsed on the livingroom sofa, tired from the effort of going through things, and ready just to sit for awhile.

NCIS

Abby and McGee were standing in the dog park, watching as Jethro fetched the ball Tim had just thrown.

"Come on Jethro, come here boy, bring me the ball," Abby called.

Jethro ran back to her at full speed, sitting when she pointed to the ground and said the word, willingly surrendering the bright red, slobbery ball to her.

"Good boy Jethro!" she praised him, picking it up and petting him. "Go long boy." She drew her arm back and tossed the ball as far as she could. McGee put his arm around her waist and she snuggled against him.

"It was nice to have everyone there this morning, don't you think Timmy?" Abby asked.

Jethro came galloping back and jumped into Tim's legs. "Hey boy," he smiled, petting his dog before he threw the ball towards the far end of the dog park. McGee took Abby's hand and they followed the excited pooch.

"Never a dull moment, that's for sure," he said after awhile. McGee loved hanging out with the whole gang, but after spending the whole weekend together, all he'd really wanted was a quiet afternoon with the woman he loved.

"Does it feel like more than two weeks to you?" Tim asked as they caught up with Jethro and clipped the leash back onto his collar.

Abby fingered the dog's soft ears and kissed his head. Jethro walked between them, his tongue hanging out contentedly, enjoying the attention. Finally she smiled.

"Definitely. But it makes sense, right? It's taken us four years to get here." She grinned at him. "Not many couples go from lovers to best friends to boyfriend and girlfriend," she giggled. "We totally did this whole together thing in an upside down, backwards, inside out kind of order."

McGee took a moment to absorb her answer. "Would you change it Abby?"

Abby nudged Jethro to Tim's other side so she could walk beside McGee again. She slid her fingers between his. "You know, I don't think so. I mean, yeah, if we'd worked the first time, maybe we'd be married and have a kid by now," she shot him a sideways look to see how he handled that, but his expression only softened a little. That surprised her. The idea of that kind of life still made her a little twitchy. It was a lot of growing up. "But I wasn't ready then. If I was," she kissed Tim's cheek, "I wouldn't have said no."

McGee wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "What do you think it's going to be like?"

"What?" Abby asked, enjoying the warmth of his body so close to hers.

Tim kissed her hair. "Forever. Us together. More than just best friends, more intense than dating. Married with a kid. It's the rest of our lives Abbs."

Abby squeezed his hand and then let go and skipped backwards in front of him and Jethro. "I don't know," she grinned, "why don't you ask me and we can find out?"

McGee's eyes widened and he opened his mouth only to find himself speechless. "How about tomorrow?" he croaked finally, trying to joke.

Abby shook her head, completely serious. "No way McGee. Not like that. When you decide to ask me, you better do it right. Ring, down on one knee, something special - the whole nine yards." She counted the criteria off on her fingers and glared at him. "I'm only going to get engaged once and I want to remember every minute."

"You got it Abbs," McGee smiled weakly, trying to calm his heart. He knew now was too soon but he wanted to ask her so badly.

"But don't worry McGee," Abby reassured her boyfriend, "I'll love you always."

McGee caught her around the waist and kissed her lips. "I love you Abby."

"Good," she smiled, falling into step beside him.

Tim grinned. He couldn't think of one way to make this moment any better.