AUTHOR'S NOTE - As promised, the first drabble comes your way. Not beta'd; English not my mother tongue; and so on...
DISCLAIMER - Never have, never will.
ALWAYS
- December 1994
It was the sound of the door slamming that woke him up with a start.
He jerked and his arm went on its own accord towards the other side of the bed.
Except, the other side of the bed was empty.
He opened his eyes and looked around. Nothing. And then a sound came from the bathroom. A sound of someone throwing their guts up.
Before he could even process it, he was on his feet and reaching for the bathroom door. Upon opening it, he found her crouched next to the toilet, her head so low, it was barely visible; one of her hands gripping the sink next to her so hard her knuckles turned white. The other one was holding her hair back, semi-successfully.
Her short, ragged breaths filled the room.
He filled the glass on the sink with cold water as she lifted her head up to meet his eyes. Her attempt at a smile only sprung him into action more and the next second he was crouching next to her, taking her hair in his hand. Hers went immediately to the toilet, grabbing firm hold of it as her stomach contracted again. For a second she couldn't catch her breath and he closed his eyes, wishing she didn't have to go through this. But he knew from the experience that it will all be worth it in the end. He was, however, smart enough not to try and say that to her in that very moment; he had a hunch she would not appreciate it and he would end up being the guilty one – one way or another.
Instead, he put his hand over the one she had on the sink, pulling it away gently and entwining their fingers, bringing them to his lips and planting a soft kiss on her palm.
It was several minutes later that Jenny finally felt it was safe enough to move away from the toilet. She turned minutely and Gibbs immediately sat back against the wall, bringing her into his lap and offering the cold liquid. She gulped greedily, eager to wash out the horrible taste in her mouth.
He cupped her face with both of his hands when she set the glass aside, tilting it up enough to be able to look at her.
Her forehead was covered in sweat; eyes rimmed red and wet; hair all over the place. He smoothed it back, bringing her face closer and kissing her forehead.
Jenny buried her face into his chest, her breath still not even. One of Gibbs's hands ran soothingly up and down her back, calming her down, while the other rested over her now slightly rounded abdomen.
"Thank you," – she whispered into his T-shirt sometime later.
"Always," – he whispered back, kissing the top of her head.