A/N: My sincerest apologies for a name mistake in yesterdays chapter. I've been informed by a friend of mine who grew up near there that it's actually "Silver Spring" not "Silver Springs". I should've checked before I put it down, but that's what I thought it was. So I'm sorry if anyone was offended by that. (I didn't actually know how to fix it in the chapter that I put up, so this is my next best bet.) We're down to our last few chapters here. Thank you so much for faithfully continuing to read and review this story. It means so much to me. So...today's chapter is here. Enjoy! : )
Gibbs and Jenny walked back up the stairs after dinner hand in hand. When they got back to their room, Jenny wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, her face so close to his that they were almost touching.
"Thank you for tonight," she whispered, but didn't move, wondering how long her husband's self-control would last.
He lost the battle after only a few seconds, capturing her lips with his and pulling her tight against him. When Gibbs broke the kiss, he leaned his forehead against Jenny's and looked deep into her eyes.
"The night's not over yet Jen."
A smile curved slowly over her lips. Jenny had heard that line before, it almost sounded like a promise.
Gibbs kissed her one more time before easing back from her. "I'm going for a quick shower, okay? See you in ten." He skimmed his knuckles lightly down her face. "Don't go anywhere."
Jenny shook her head. She planned on getting changed into one of the nightgowns she'd brought, but after her husband left, she just sat there on the bed, thinking. She looked down at her hands, starting a silent war with herself. Back and forth, yes and then maybe and no, as the minutes ticked by. Finally she made up her mind and shed her clothes, leaving them on the floor by the bed as she let herself into the bathroom.
Gibbs barely had time to register the cold air before suddenly Jenny was at his back, her soft, unclothed body pressed against his, wrapping her arms around his waist. That he hadn't seen coming. Hoped for yes, expected no. But he was almost finished anyway, so there was nothing to stop him from turning in his wife's embrace to kiss her.
Jenny smiled against his lips, Gibbs' mouth warm and wet on hers. She shivered and he held her closer, shuffling back a few paces to bring her under the hot water with him. Gibbs had plans for them tonight, plans to take it slow and get used to each other again. But the way Jenny's body felt against his was testing his resolve, and it was more than difficult to only kiss her, as enjoyable as that was.
Feeling the way her husband's body was reacting to her nearness, Jenny smirked and turned around to get out. Gibbs stifled a groan. Now she was just teasing him, no fair. This time he looked while she got out, but not for too long, following her lead and grabbing a towel to wrap around himself. There was an awkward moment of 'now what?', before Jenny walked out of the bathroom, her hips swaying gently, and settled on the bed, one toned leg pulled up through the slit in the towel she wore. She sat there, smiling at him expectantly.
Wondering what she was thinking, Gibbs asked. "What?"
Jenny shrugged one bare shoulder, her wet hair falling over her back like a red waterfall. "I don't know. You tell me. You're the one with all the plans."
Gibbs sat down on the bed, keeping his distance, the sight of Jenny in a towel but nothing else making it hard to keep his hands to himself.
"Let's start with the basics," he suggested, new to this whole idea of taking it slow. Even in the beginning of their relationship things had progressed so fast, there'd been no time for the awkward firsts, everything had just happened. Now it really was starting at square one, since they'd skipped it the first time around.
Jenny tipped her head to the side and looked at him. "What basics?"
Gibbs looked across the bed. "I was thinking you...me...in bed...without the towels?" He saw the involuntary shudder that passed through Jenny, and he knew it was because he was suggesting being naked. He shook his head slowly. "But I promise I won't touch you unless you want me to. And sheets for covering are allowed."
Jenny bit her lip and looked down, then nodded slightly, but didn't move.
He kept the sigh in, knowing they had lots of time to work on what still made her uncomfortable, but wishing they were already through the challenging part. "Want me to turn around?"
She nodded again and when his back was to her, Gibbs heard the towel drop and the sound of Jenny sliding under the covers. When he was facing her again, he saw Jenny sitting up in the large bed, her back resting against the fluffy pillows and the sheet pulled up to just under her collarbone.
As her husband reached to undo his own towel, Jenny wavered between keeping her eyes closed as she usually did, and actually looking at his body. She settled for a compromise, taking a quick peek before he got in bed, then opening her eyes again to find him very, very close. Hard as it had to be to sit there and do nothing, Gibbs kept his promise and didn't lift a finger towards Jenny until she nodded. And then it was only one finger, trailing down the bare skin of her side, the sensation making her shiver, but more with delight than actual cold.
Jenny closed her eyes when Gibbs put his hand on her neck and her head tilted to the side as his hand traveled down her neck, across her shoulder, and down the length of her arm, right to her fingertips, which he then brought to his mouth, kissing them one by one. Jenny was enjoying her husband's touch so much that she forgot about holding the sheet up. Suddenly she noticed it was pooled around her waist and her eyes snapped open as she grabbed for the sheet, pulling it back up to cover her. Jenny could feel her husband's eyes on her and dared a glance up at him when his hands came to rest on hers. He tugged gently at the material she was clutching.
"Will you let me look at you Jenny?" he asked.
She froze for a moment and then slowly released her grip on the sheet, taking a deep breath and holding it as the material slid down to sit around her hips. Jenny's eyes stayed glued to the fingers twisted together in her lap. Gibbs savoured for a minute the sight of his wife's naked body, but he didn't like the stiffness in her posture and prayed that when she looked at him he wouldn't see fear in her eyes. It was the worst feeling ever for a man who loved his wife. She was never supposed to be afraid of him.
Jenny was struggling with the feeling of being exposed, of having nothing to cover her, nothing to protect her from...what? Not her husband, he had done nothing she needed protecting from. Her fingers traced over the bracelet on her left wrist and she smiled slightly. His heart. She lifted to eyes to Gibbs', hoping he could see her heart there, because she'd given it to him freely long ago.
Gibbs shifted a little to get closer to his wife. His face hovered right in front of her lips until Jenny wondered if he was ever going to kiss her. Then he did, the caress soft and full of yearning. He pulled away before they got too involved and moved his lips to her jaw. A tender kiss by her ear and a row of small, soft kisses down the side of her neck. By the time Gibbs finally got back to her lips, he was grinning and Jenny was almost desperate for him to kiss her again. She put her hands on his face and drew his mouth to hers. Building anticipation was one thing, anymore would've driven her crazy.
When they pulled apart to breathe, dizzy from the intensity of the kiss, Gibbs whispered in Jenny's ear.
"I have an idea."
She quirked one eyebrow at him, curious when he slipped out of bed and went for her toiletries bag in the bathroom, returning with her favourite milk and honey body lotion. Gibbs got back into bed and shook the bottle lightly, smiling. Jenny took it from him and set it on the nightstand beside the bed. She got out and reached for the shiny, pale purple, silky dressing gown in her bag. She pulled her hair out and let it hang down her back, securing the tie loosely at her waist.
Climbing back on the bed, Jenny reached for the lotion and rested on her knees. "My turn," she told him and Gibbs eyed her for a moment before obligingly rolling over and laying on his stomach, the sheet still covering from his lower back down. That was where Jenny positioned herself, her knees on either side of Gibbs' hips. Gibbs closed his eyes. He knew Jenny was just trying to be nice, but there was so little keeping her from being in direct contact with his skin and he wasn't sure if he would be able to hold still with her right there.
Jenny leaned over and rested her weight lightly on Gibbs' back, running her fingers through his hair and teasing the skin on the back of his neck. Then she kissed his ear and he heard the 'pop' of the lid on the lotion bottle opening. Jenny squeezed the thick, white cream onto her palm and rubbed her hands together a little, bringing them to her nose to smell the fragrance. She put her slick hands on Gibbs' shoulders and began kneading her thumbs into the muscles.
With Gibbs focused on every move she made, Jenny worked her way down her husband's back, fingers tracing the defined muscles appreciatively, using more lotion whenever her hands got dry. When she finished with his back, she rubbed her hands down his arms, working the lotion into his skin.
As soon as she stopped, Gibbs grabbed her arm and pulled her off of him, rolling Jenny back onto the bed. Her eyes danced and he had to resist the urge to kiss her senseless where she lay. He picked up the lotion bottle from the bed and nodded at her. After a moment's hesitation, Jenny quickly discarded her robe and slipped under the sheet again, laying on her stomach with her head resting on her arms.
Gibbs took a second to think about the best way to give Jenny a massage. She'd wanted covering while she worked on his back, which probably meant she'd prefer it for him too. He didn't want to get his boxers on, that would be a step back. But his towel still lay beside the bed. That'll do, Gibbs decided, reaching for it and tucking it around his waist. He leaned over Jenny, brushing her hair aside and kissing the back of her neck. Before he started Gibbs asked permission, remembering a different time weeks ago.
"Jen, will it bother you if I do this like I used to?"
She turned her head, her eyes thanking him for remembering. "Go ahead," Jenny agreed. "I'll let you know if it's making me nervous."
Being that close to her, he'd notice anyways, but Gibbs straddled her body with his knees, the towel spread around him like a Roman toga. Jenny closed her eyes and relaxed her body, the feel of Gibbs' hands on her back warm, comfortable, and oh so familiar.
He squished lotion onto his hands and began rubbing his palms in large circles on her back, stopping to work on any knots or tight muscles he found. It was hard for Gibbs to stop when he got to the bottom of Jenny's back, he wanted to keep touching her all over, to feel every inch of her skin under his hands. But that was for another time. Tonight was just about getting their comfort level with each other back, and Gibbs was going to stick to the plan if it killed him. And looking at Jenny's bare back and imagining everything still covered by sheet just might.
Gibbs took the towel off again when he was done and settled back in beside his wife. Her eyes were closed and Gibbs knew she was probably close to sleep. He propped his head up on his hand and let his fingers draw slow, lazy circles up her arm and across her back.
Jenny's mouth twitched and she opened one eye to look at him. "That tickles," she murmured.
He ignored her and kept drawing circles on every spot of bare skin he could find, tucking Jenny's hair behind her ear and kissing her earlobe when he got to her face.
"Okay, fine," she smiled, swatting his hand away, "I'm awake."
"Jen," Gibbs asked after a moment. She'd snuggled closer to his side and he was having a hard time keeping to his plan of working on things when all he wanted to do was hold her and see if she would let him do more. Jenny's fingers were skimming over his bare chest, her long nails scraping softly over the hair and skin. Gibbs caught her hand, fighting the temptation she was and the desire her touch sparked in him.
"Yes Jethro?" she prompted when he was silent for several moments.
He swallowed. She could still say no and they could enjoy each other, but the only way they were going to get past the things that made her uncomfortable was by doing them again and again until they were less of a big deal.
"What about laying here for awhile...without the sheet?" Gibbs held his breath, waiting.
Jenny ran her fingers slowly over Gibbs' hand, across his palm, up and down his fingers, following the veins on the back. "I don't know," she said after a bit, shrugging half-heartedly.
Gibbs thought about it. "Okay to try?" he asked again.
Biting her lip, Jenny took two deep breaths and nodded.
He sat up slightly and slowly pushed the sheet down past their ankles. Jenny was laying on her side, one leg crossed slightly over the other, one arm resting under her head and the other tucked close beside her face. Gibbs met her gaze and held it, wanting to encourage her. Then he went back to how he'd been laying before and drew his eyes slowly down Jenny's body, touching her with only a look, and enjoying the sight of skin he hadn't been allowed to see or touch in a month. He could see out of the corner of his eye Jenny's eyes flickering to him, back and forth like she wasn't sure.
Gibbs reached over and put his palm over the circular scar on Jenny's left thigh, remembering when he'd done that nine years ago, trying to keep her from losing too much blood, his heart still racing from the panic of hearing her cry and seeing her fall. Jenny knew what her husband was thinking and put her hand over his.
"We both have our scars Jethro," she said softly, looking pointedly at his shoulder, the bruise from Monday finally fading.
Gibbs moved his hand to her stomach, where a thin white line ran from her ribcage across to her navel, his thumb trying to sooth the mark that was already eight years old.
Jenny chuckled. "Hurt like heck then. I learned to move faster after Cairo."
His hand stilled. "I should've been there Jen, I should've had your back that day."
She shook her head. "Ziva was the one who pulled me back so it wasn't deeper. And even if you were right there I still might've gotten a taste of that Egyptian dagger."
An agent, a Mossad assassin, and native street fighters had been a bad combination when they went to check out the tip about an Al-Qaeda safehouse that turned out to be bogus.
Jenny looked down her husband's body, her eyes finding each scar, because she knew them by heart. The jagged shrapnel wound he'd gotten in Desert Storm in '91, from the same explosion that put him in a coma for nineteen days. His crooked baby finger from a break so bad the bone had been sticking out of the skin. Tight, shiny skin where bullet wounds had healed, the occasional knife slash from bar brawls, and fights with suspects gone wrong. Even the pinkish, oval mark on his bicep where he'd burned himself as a child.
She'd memorized each scar and the story that went with them, and Jethro knew her battle marks just as well. His index finger went around her wrist again, following the path of the ropes that had bound her. Gibbs kissed each one again, the gold hearts on her new bracelet cool against his lips, wanting to remove the pain behind that memory.
"It's okay Jethro," Jenny tried again to convince him. "You got me back, we have another chance."
Gibbs kept her hand close to his face. "We might be running out of them Jen. What one are we one?"
Jenny framed his face with her hands. "Silly man, we're on the only one that matters - today's. Us, here, together - this whole weekend is another chance."
He kissed her then, keeping his eyes wide open, not wanting to miss a thing. Gibbs gave himself permission to let his hands wander down Jenny's sides, over her bare back. She only moved closer, wanting her husband to keep kissing her, to keep reminding her that this was real, and for tonight everything really was okay.
Jenny fell asleep like that, with nothing but the air and a single sheet between them. Gibbs stayed awake though, tracing his wife's face with the lightest of touches, so she didn't even stir, and remembering all the things he loved about her. All in all, it had been a very good day.