Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of NCIS. Wish it did then I could meet them in person.
Hope you have not given up on me. I plan to put some action in this story. I just needed to get some introductions done.
After Samantha opened the door, Gibbs admired this beautiful lady he and chosen to have dinner with this evening. She was smiling and her eyes had a sparkle in them he really found fascinating. "Here is the ice cream I promised and these flowers are for you," he said smiling at her.
" Thank you so much Jethro," she smiled and winked. "You really did not have to bring me flowers too. But they are beautiful." She took the ice cream and flowers into the kitchen. " Did you get that case solved that you were having trouble with this morning?"
He followed her into the kitchen. " Yes, I guess meeting you and Kelly was good luck. The case was almost solved by the time I got back to the office.
" That is wonderful. If you would like a beer, there is one in the refrigerator."
"Sounds good. Can I get you one?"
" No thanks not tonight. I have a rule against drinking on a school night. I have to be fresh and ready to teach my kids in the morning," she smiled. She had a tray with chips on the counter and headed for the refrigerator for the dip. Gibbs did not see her coming as he reached for his beer and she ran right into his arms. Her hair smelled like strawberries and she felt comfortable in his arms. He could have held her like that for a while. "Sorry" she said a little embarrassed. She looked down and the floor to avoid looking in his eyes. "Why in heavens did you not tell me I forgot my shoes?" She looked up at him with a look of horror on her face. That was a little too comfortable for her taste.
" Didn't see it as a problem," he chuckled. " Figured that your feet needed a break after teaching all day."
"Well your right. Can't figure why my feet hurt after eight hours on them." Sam pulled away and quickly found her silver tennis shoes on the floor by the pantry. " You would think twenty years as a Marine I could stand for seven or eight hours without having sore feet."
She then moved past Gibbs and got the dip. " You are a Marine," he replied.
"Yes sir. You are looking at Drill Sergeant Samantha Waverly at your service. Retired," she replied coming to attention with the tray of chips and dip in her hands.
" Don't call me sir. I work for a living." Gibbs smiled at her. All this beauty and a Marine too. He had a feeling that she got that strict voice from somewhere.
" You are a Marine too. Only a Marine noncommissioned officer would say something like that." She smiled and continued, "My gut told me there was a reason I liked you. Let me guess a Gunny. Right" She set the tray down on the coffee table and grabbed a big glass of iced tea from the mantle and sat down. She motioned for him to join her on the couch and he gladly obliged.
" Your good. How did you know that?"
" Don't know just had a gut feeling. Here try this dip. It is my favorite from a restaurant back home. Hope it is not too spicy."
Gibbs tried the dip and smiled. It was very good but a little spicy and it was met to be. " This is great. You said it was from a restaurant. Do you send to Texas for it?"
"No. I found the recipe on the internet." She smiled at him.
" So I take it you are a Dallas Cowboy fan." He looked at one wall that was covered with autographed pictures of Cowboy legends even one from Tom Landry, the Cowboy's legendary coach.
She looked at him with a smile. " Well yes. I would say if you drew my blood it would be blue and silver instead of red. My dad was a big fan. We made a father/daughter trip each year to training camp and one home game at Texas Stadium."
"Training camp is where you got all the autographs." Gibbs was enjoying the dip but the company was even better.
" Daddy always managed to get one I did not have." She smiled remembering her father.
" Do you still go?" Gibbs asked taking a sip of his beer.
"Not anymore. My parents were killed when I was 15 along with my baby sister Katy." she said looking at the floor.
" I am so sorry. Care to talk about it." He instinctively put his had on hers seeing the pain in her face.
" It was nothing spectacular or anything. I was in a band competition in Midland and they were driving to see me perform. It just happened that we had a good old Texas dust storm blowing in with gusts to seventy miles an hour and a Semi-truck did not see them and drove over the top of their car. They were killed instantly." He saw her wipe away a couple of tears.
" I sorry that came up." He wanted to take her in his arms and just hold her and take her pain away. He really knew that was to soon in their friendship. " Did you have to go into foster care?'
" No thank God. I have an aunt and uncle still alive. My dad's father was still living at that time. After, some fighting with my mother's sister I moved in with my grandfather." She pointed over to another part of the room with a picture of an older man. He assumed he was her grandfather. Next to the picture was a man in an old Marine uniform surrounded by medals from a war.
" I take it your grandfather was a Marine too." He also noticed she had not moved her hand away from his.
" Yes. He was in Europe during WW1." She got up and walked toward the picture. Gibbs grabbed his beer and followed her. He looked at the pictures and then glanced at the medals.
" Is that the Medal of Honor?"
"Yes. Not really sure how he won it. He told me never to ask because I was to much of a lady to hear such things." She smiled and looked at Gibbs in the eyes. " Then he was not happy when I joined the core. Proper young ladies did not do such things."
Gibbs chuckled and thought of how he would feel if Kelly Gibbs had wanted to join. He would have been both proud and worried. "Did he ever come around?"
" Yes I came home from boot camp in uniform and told him I was going into training to be a drill sergeant and he said he was proud of me."
Then her face fell and another tear escaped her eye. "He passed away that night. He got up and walked to the living room and died before he hit the floor."
" Glad he was able to tell you he was proud of you." Gibbs carefully put his arm around her shoulder and he was thankful she did not pull away.
" Maybe we need to get off this serious stuff and go get something to eat." She looked up at him and smiled. He looked into her eyes and realized that this was not all the pain she was carrying inside those pretty eyes but she was not read to tell him yet. After all they just met.
They went into a little room that contained a small dinning table that was set for two. "I'll get the chili. You can have a seat." She came out of the kitchen and put a large bowl in front of him and then went back into the living room for the chips. " I did not realize the music was still playing. Do you mind?"
" No, it is kind of nice. At least it is not that hard rock music my forensic scientist plays." He laughed thinking about all the times Abby had teased him about his taste or lack of in music.
" Country Music speaks to me," she told him. " I have lots of songs that fit my mood or remind me of a person I have met."
" I know we just met but do you have a song for me yet?"
" Working on it." She smiled at him and sat down.
They started eating in silence with only the pleasantries passing between them. After a little while she looked at him and realized that some of their talk earlier had brought back some memories for him too. She wondered what secrets he had and if he would ever tell her. She had one big one he needed to hear but this was their first dare she say date.
They finished up their chili and got up from the table. He helped her take the dishes to the sink. " You need some help cleaning up. You wash and I will dry." He reached for a dishtowel.
Thinking that would be fun she started running the water in the sink. Usually she just put things in the dishwasher but she was looking for an excuse to spend more time with him. Maybe he was too. She hoped. " Sure thanks for the help. We can finish this up quickly and have our ice cream in the living room."
She started washing dishes and handing them to him. He took them with a smile. " I have some old television shows on DVD if you would like to watch one with me," she inquired.
" Not much into television but what have you got?"
" Well I loved Wagon Train, Bonanza, and Combat when I was younger. I have all three of those."
" How about Wagon Train? I have not seen Ward Bond in ages." He thought about Tony and how he would have joked about his taste in old westerns.
" Fine" she said handing him the last dish. She walked to the cabinet and got out two bowls and got the ice cream.
" Let me carry those in for you." They walked into the living room and he sat the ice cream down in front of the TV. She went to turn off the music when Toby Keith's song You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like That came on. Samantha stopped and started listening. Gibbs walked over to her. "Would you like to dance?" he whispered.
She smiled and nodded yes. He took her in his arms and slowly led her around the room in beat to the music. Her hair smelled so good and she felt so good in his arms that he could have danced like that forever. She had laid her head on his chest and sighed like she was enjoying being in his arms. Then he noticed that she as crying. When the song ended he looked down into her eyes and kissed away a tear from her cheek. "What is wrong?" he whispered. " Did I overstep your boundaries?"
"No" she said looking up into his eyes. " It has just been a long time since I danced with a man, you know close like that."
" You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to but I am good listener."
"I know you are. Let's sit down." She gave him a half smile and taking his had led him to the couch. They sat down and he instinctively put his arm around her. She did not pull away so he hoped it was not what was going through his mind. He tended to think the worst.
" Well I was engaged about 15 years ago. In fact it was our wedding day." She really was not sure she should tell him this now. He just had such warm eyes and an understanding face that she just kept talking. " I was at the church waiting for him. We waited for three hours and he did not show up. I could not believe that he would just leave but my Aunt sure was. She was furious."
Gibbs saw tears in her eyes and held her closer and she laid her head on his shoulder. " She dragged me out the church and back to my apartment where we met the police." She took a deep breath looked up at Gibbs and then the tears began to flow. " Had been found dead in his apartment."
" Was it murder?" Jethro said softly.
" No he had gone out with his friends for the bachelor party and drank to much. He died of alcohol poising." She sat up and wiped her eyes. "Just never really tried to find anybody else."
" Hope I am not pushing you by holding you." Jethro replied. " I know how losing someone you love can mess with your head"
" No " she smiled "I kind of like it. I have been alone for a long time."
She got up and walked over the TV and pulled down the DVD for Wagon Train. "Still want to watch?"
"Sure unless you want me to go. I am really enjoying being here"
" Really having dinner with a basket case. I usually don't burden my friends with my history on the first visit. You just brought up a lot of memories and you are really easy to talk to."
" I don't see a basket case. Just a strong beautiful woman who has seen a lot a tragedy in her life."
" You could say that." She turned on the DVD and sat down next to him on the couch. He looked at her with a questioning look. She grabbed his arm and put it around her shoulder. He smiled at her as they started watching the show. They watch two episodes in silence just enjoying being there. He noticed that she was starting to yawn and he looked at the clock. She probably had a long day and needed to get some rest. He did not want to leave but he knew he should at this point. "Guess I had better leave now and let you get some rest." He stood up and winked at her. "After all it is a school night."
" I hate to see it end but you are right. 5am comes pretty early doesn't it."
He walked to the door holding her hand. "Can I see you again sometime?"
She smiled and the sparkle was back in her eyes. She did not what him to go now. " Absolutely call me later"
" I will," he whispered. He opened the door and stood there looking at her. He really wanted to kiss her goodnight but he was not sure he should. She smiled and looked up at him. "Good night." He took her in his arms and kissed her gently on her lips and she returned the kiss putting her arms around his neck. " Thanks for the chili. Oh and don't feel like you unloaded on me. We are kindred spirits. I will tell you about my tragedies another time if you want to hear them."
" I will listen anytime you are ready to tell me." He kissed her again and then walked out the door. "Good night Jethro" He waved as he walked down the hall.
Samantha Waverly carefully closed the door and locked it. She had not been so happy in a long time. Just then her phone rang. She picked it up an answered it. "Hello"
" Well Sam it is later" a familiar voice answered. He must have just gotten into his car.
" Would love to take you out on Friday to a restaurant? After all it is not a school night."
" I would love to," she laughed. "What time?"
" I will be by about 7:30. I will call you later and tell you where."
" Talk to you any time Jethro. I really enjoyed our evening together."
" Me too. See you on Friday." He hung up the phone, started his truck and headed home.
As she turned off the TV, DVD player and turned back on the country music while she got ready for bed. Pandora was playing Toby Keith's Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. She smiled and looked up toward heaven. "Well Granddad you will just have to share your song now with Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Good night. He so reminds me of you." She went into her room and turned out the light.