Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute. Thanks to fashiongirl97 for beta-ing all the chapters :) Last song-fic for this story
Stay with me, baby stay with me,
Tonight don't leave me alone.
Walk with me, come and walk with me,
To the edge of all we've ever known.
He was surprisingly silent, his mind musing thoughtfully as they meandered around the very top of the Eiffel tower that stood tall in the middle of the picturesque and iconic city. Jenny kept pointing out different, smaller landmarks, wasting quarters on the binoculars that were bolted down into the floor. She noticed the faraway look in his eye, and asked him, slightly concerned, "What's wrong, Jethro?" Broken from his reverie, he raised his eyebrows questioningly. Jenny had been noticing him being miles away more and more frequently recently, and she didn't know what to do, which alone frustrated her. "Come on, Jethro. Don't go off into your own little world. Don't leave me alone tonight, just standing here with a functional mute," she snapped, irked at his seemingly indifferent manner. Softening her tone a little, she added, "It's a beautiful night. Come and walk with me." He stood there with her, pressed against the railing and looking deep into one another's eyes, saying the things they never could with words. The wind blew against their faces; Jenny's long red hair blew gently into her eyes, only to be brushed away by his strong, warm hands. He gave a little smirk. There they stood, looking out on the city of Paris, the city of love, the city of light, the city where they had come together, where their love had only ever known. They stood there, together, until the sun set, covering the city in a blanket of darkness.
I can see you there with the city lights,
Fourteenth floor, pale blue eyes.
I can breathe you in.
Two shadows standing by the bedroom door,
No, I could not want you more than I did right then,
As our heads leaned in.
The lampposts were lit, softly lighting the streets up with a warm glow which broke the inky darkness. She searched the balconies for him, until she spotted him. There he stood, on the fourteenth floor, looking down at her with a smirk. His pale blue eyes met her sparkling emerald ones, and she laughed when she saw him pointing to the fire escape stairs. Climbing them quickly, she reached the fourteenth floor to find no one on the balcony. Staring around in a confused manner, she twisted around, only to find him an inch away from her face. She gave a little jump of surprise, and huffed indignantly when she saw him grinning with amusement. "I bet I can wipe that smirk off your face," she challenged, and he openly laughed, a carefree happy sound that she cherished. Then, the two shadows that were on the wall leaned in forward, and kissed.
Well, I'm not sure what this is gonna be,
But with my eyes closed all I see
Is the skyline, through the window,
The moon above you and the streets below.
Hold my breath as you're moving in,
Taste your lips and feel your skin.
When the time comes, baby don't run, just kiss me slowly.
Eyes closed, his others senses were overflowing with stimulation. Through the window they could see the Parisian skyline, the bright crescent moon, and the cobblestone streets that the city showed off with pride. He slowed his breathing to match Jenny's, although he didn't fall asleep. He could feel his bitter heart open up a little, and he could feel Jenny take a place in his heart that had been vacant for too long. Leaning closer to her, he tasted her lips and ran his hands up and down her arms and legs, familiarizing himself with her. He wasn't sure what was going to happen when they returned stateside, when they had to be the people they had left in DC, but he hoped she wouldn't run. He suddenly felt a small finger poke him in his chest. "Still awake?" said the half way groggy, amused voice. "You know, if you want to wake me up all you gotta do is kiss me." She smirked wickedly, leaning forward and kissing him slowly, leisurely. All he did was smile as he wrapped his arms around the woman he loved.
Stay with me, baby stay with me,
Tonight don't leave me alone.
She shows me everything she used to know,
Picture frames and country roads,
When the days were long and the world was small.
"Can't you stay the night?" Jenny pleaded to the ever stoic Gibbs. "Please? We don't have work tomorrow, and I'm tired of sleeping in a cold bed." Her whining made him smile with a tinge of sadness; she reminded him so much of Kelly and Shannon. But in so many other ways, she was their complete opposite. "We can look through the scrapbook," she suggested, dragging him over to the warm couch, and pulling an old binder out of the bookshelf. Sitting next to Jethro on the couch, she opened to the first page, which contained a sepia picture of an old, country ranch style home. She recounted her days in that very first house she had ever lived in, when her father had been deployed for two years. She was five, and the land had been ten acres big. She had owned her own horse, a beautiful, strong palomino mare that she had raised since she was a little filly. She used to ride along the country road, racing the rare cars that seldom traveled down that path. As she smiled wistfully and got lost in the past, Jethro just looked at her, and observed her actions. He knew her better than almost anyone else, and he could see the nostalgia that came upon her. "That was when the days were longer and the world was smaller," she said, smiling contentedly, leaning her head against Jethro's chest simply to listen to his heartbeat. He didn't say anything; he just rubbed her back with his fingers in soothing circles. Then, lying there together, they both fell asleep in each other's embrace.
She stood by as it fell apart,
To separate rooms and broken hearts,
But I won't be the one to let you go.
Who let's go first? Jenny thought sadly, as she thought back on the previous nights, alone and broken-hearted. He had been through a horrible case, and that pushed him to his limit. He had stormed out, angry for no apparent reason besides the case. She just wanted to help, but couldn't when she didn't know what was wrong. I'm not gonna let you go, she promised, determined, although she wasn't sure if it was him or herself she was promising to. We've been through too much to just let it end now.
Oh, I'm not sure what this is gonna be,
But with my eyes closed all I see
Is the skyline, through the window,
The moon above you and the streets below.
Finally. She did it, she was finally able to help him. With him resting on the pillow beside her, she looked out the window, viewing the late sunset, the hazy moon, and the paved cement roads that winded on outwards to other towns with other people living different lives. Not anything too impressive, but it was something. The blood-red sunset colored the sky a dark scarlet, and the half moon looked pure white high in the sky. It was rather pretty. But it was better with the man she loved in the center of her eyes, the centerpiece to all the natural work.
Hold my breath as you're moving in,
Taste your lips and feel your skin.
When the time comes, baby don't run, just kiss me slowly.
"Don't' run," he whispered roughly with emotion, into her hair, muffling the request. "Don't run, Jenny. Not again."
Don't run away...
And it's hard to love again,
When the only way it's been,
When the only love you knew,
Just walked away...
If it's something that you want,
Darling you don't have to run,
You don't have to go...
"You don't have to go," he said, tightening his grip on her hand. "Don't walk away."
She shook her head, torn between heart and head in her internal battle, but the decision was made. It was hard to love when you had to keep walking away, but that was the only kind of love she had ever known. She had to go. She turned away. She had to right a wrong before she could open her heart up again.
Just stay with me, baby stay with me,
"Stay," he half-heartedly commanded.
"It is better to seek forgiveness than ask permission," she quoted, shouldering her gear and taking one last longing, bittersweet look at Jethro. "Goodbye. I promise I'll come back." He took one last hopeless look at her as she walked into the elevator, and out of his life.
Well, I'm not sure what this is gonna be,
But with my eyes closed all I see
Is the skyline, through the window,
The moon above you and the streets below. (Don't let go)
Hold my breath as you're moving in,
Taste your lips and feel your skin.
When the time comes, baby don't run, just kiss me slowly.
The future was uncertain for both of them; neither knew anything for certain about what was going to happen. But Jenny was confident that they could finally be there for each other without one of them running away. She leaned in to kiss him, eyes closed, grabbing his muscular biceps. Opening her eyes, she could see the clear, blue eyes staring deeply straight into hers. Those were the blue eyes that she had spent many a night gazing into in one of their silent conversations. They reminded her of the ocean: free, rough, and deep but clear. She wrapped her arms around him, breathing in the distinct smell of him, and thought, we finally don't have to run anymore. She grinned, as if the knowledge was worth pure gold. And to her, it was.
Oh, I'm not sure where this is gonna go,
But in this moment all I know
Is the skyline, through the window,
The moon above you and the streets below. (Baby, don't let go)
Hold my breath as you're moving in,
Taste your lips and feel your skin.
When the time comes, baby don't run, just kiss me slowly.
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