Disclaimer NCIS is not mine

Authors Note Sorry for the delay, my life is manic right now. I hope this is okay. Enjoy. And keep those super awesome reviews coming please.

Picture Perfect Memories

'Looking back,
endless memories in a photograph,
come back,
wishing for another day with you.'
-Julia Sheer, The Photograph

The circumstances in which Mark had died meant that it would be two weeks from his death when he finally could be laid to rest. Apparently they had to increase security on the ship, and all flights out bound were being cancelled for the next two weeks until the situation was under control and the threat was suitable neutralised. For Jenny, Marie and Ben who were waiting in the States, this was the worst news they could have been given. They wanted to lay the man they loved to rest, because it was what he deserved. He deserved to finally be at peace, to be honoured for his courage and bravery. Not to be left waiting on some ship in the middle of nowhere.

When they had gotten the news Mark's parents had told Jenny that they would move out because it was too long of a period of time to impose on her, but she had told them not to be silly, and that they could stay. In truth it was on a selfish note in the sense that she felt like as long as they were staying in the same house as her, then she still had a piece of Mark living just meters away. So they stayed, and Jenny let them do their thing, not interfering in their grieving just as they did not interfere in hers. Jenny went to her doctor's appointment, a week after she had found out that her and Mark had made a miracle, and it was the first time she had worn clothes that were not her fiancés.

Jenny had sat in that hospital waiting room, dressed in leggings and a baggy teal blouse, the one with the black leather collar that she always loved. Whilst she waited for her name to be called she looked around, and her heart nearly broke. Each and every other person in there was not alone; they had either a friend, a relative or the baby's father there with them. Then there was Jenny, alone. She was simply supported by the range of literature on the table beside her and the posters pinned up on the walls around her.

When Marie had found out that she was going to be a grandmother she had cried in a bitter sweet manner and hugged Jenny. The red head knew that if she asked then they would have accompanied her to the appointment. But she also knew that she could not spend the rest of her life relying on the support of others. So that was why she sat there alone, on a hard plastic chair with a book on her lap. The book was entitle 'what to expect when you're expecting', but the only thing that Jenny could think about was how the baby's father would never get to see their child growing inside of his fiancé – or wife as she would have been.

Jenny's appointment didn't last long, it was confirmed that she was pregnant, and she was told that she was about 8 weeks along. Jenny was thrilled, but at the same time she wanted to cry because now there was no avoiding the fact that she would have to raise this child alone as a single mother who had not blood relatives. When the appointment was over, she booked her next one, and then she left the sterile corridors and walked out onto the pavement outside. Jenny walked a little, before she leant back against the hard red brick of the hospital building. Her breath caught in her throat as she thought about the child that was growing inside of her. The one she and Mark had created.

Without even a second thought she pulled out her phone from her pocket and pressed speed dial to Gibbs' phone. Looking at the smashed up screen she was reminded she still needed to buy a replacement. She hadn't spoken to Jethro since the day on the rooftop nearly a week ago, and she wasn't feeling much more together than she had been then. But she needed a friend, she needed someone who was not wrap her in a blanket and treat her like she was some sick woman who needed looking after around the clock.

"Yeah, Gibbs." He answered, in his usual gruff tone. As Jenny closed her eyes, for a moment at least, it felt like everything was normal again, like she was ringing him to tell him she had a lead on a case. For a moment her brain flicked back to a week and a half ago, before her world had crashed down around her feet. When every one of the hopes and dreams she finally allowing herself to have had been dropped off of the top of a building and splattered all over the ground below.

"It's me." She said, her voice soft and calm, but laced with emotion and tears she wanted to shed. Jenny heard him breath in, and the sound of his feet moving as he no doubt moved away from prying ears who were wondering why Jenny had not been at work all week.

"Hey, how are you?" His voice was softer and more tentative than it usually was. Jenny's heart swelled once more, if she had not put on a mask and was not refusing to shed another tear that day, then it would easily have been enough to make her break.

"I . . . Do you want to get coffee? Or tea for me, if you're not busy-"

She was cut off by his gruff reply telling her he'd be at his favourite shop in twenty minutes. Jenny couldn't mask the small smile that spread across her face as she hung up and headed in the direction of the small back street coffee shop that Gibbs had taught her to favour when she got the chance.

Jenny sat in a booth by the window as she waited. The booths were typical of the cliché American diner, red leather and glass covered tables with stainless steel legs on them. But the rest of the shop was a lot more classical, with small wooden tables. The two styles clashed fabulously, and it almost looked like the booths had been left in from a previous owner. The windows were large and covered practically the entire of the shop frontage. They themselves were covered with wording telling the passing world about the new coffees that were 'now in' but had in fact been sold there for as long as Jenny had known the shop existed. All the wording was done in white, and the door was covered in chalk marker telling everyone about the new breakfast deal which would only be around for a short while.

The street outside was small, and mainly filled with charity shops and small non-chain home accessory shops. The kind that sold those wooden plaques with phrases on and mugs that someone had painted so that they were 'one of a kind'. It was street though, that was busy because of its location. It linked two of the main streets in the centre of DC and so many people used it. But very few ever actually stopped and looked. Just as she never hadn't until Jethro had brought her here.

The red head reminded herself of the day that she had introduced Mark to it. On their first date. When she had met him on the main high street he had just frowned, furrowing his brow in confusion when she passed Starbucks and took his down the small street. He'd smiled though, when he had walked in and the smell of coffee had reached his senses. She'd ordered her usual Jamaican blend, added sugar and cream. He however had chosen a simple black filter coffee, and both had had a piece of the home made pie. Mark had chosen Pumpkin, simply because it reminded him of his family Thanks Giving's.

As Jenny sat there she looked over at it, and found herself craving a piece of the cherry pie which she could see was sat on the counter. Deciding that she was eating for two, and that was the ebst excuse she would ever have, she gave in and ordered some. Telling herself that she had read somewhere that you should give into the cravings, no matter how odd they were. Her eyes looked out the window, and she saw Gibbs approaching, his face set in a look which was almost pouting. She'd never tell him that though, he'd only deny it and take the remark as an insult to his gruff façade which was so very precious to him.

The silver haired agent went over to the counter and ordered his coffee before scanning the room for her red hair which was unmistakable wherever she went and went to join her. "Hey." Jenny said softly as he slid into the booth and joined her. She watched as Gibbs' features softened and he took in her appearance.

"How are you?" Straight to the point, it was typical Gibbs. She couldn't help but smirk a little at the question, before she began to think how to answer. There was no need to lie to him, or put on a brave face. She knew that he too had lost the love of his life, and knew exactly what she was going through. Unlike all the other people that told her they understood when in actual fact they had no clue. In all honestly, she didn't even believe that Ben and Marie understood, they had one another for support, but she felt like she didn't have anyone. Also, there was no point in lying because he had always been able to read her like an open book.

Jenny had taken Marie and Ben to Mark's apartment the other day, telling them that he hadn't really lived there much since the engagement, but that they could go and look and do whatever they wanted. That evening they'd ridden up to her house in a taxi, sad looks on their faces and carrying boxes, which were still in her study unopened. Those sad looks were ones which seamed ever engraved into their faces since the moment Jenny had met them. But then again who could blame them, you're never meant to outlive your children.

"I don't know. I guess the fact I'm not crying is something but, hell I miss him so much Jethro. I loved him so much more than I ever thought that I would." She looked down at her cup of tea, the taste was subtler than coffee, but she couldn't drink that anymore – or at least her doctor had advised her not to. "I want him to be here you know? I mean his parents are so lovely, and they're so much like him. I just wish he could have at least had us all in the same room once, I wish he could-" A tear ran down her face and she quickly wiped it away, stopping mid sentence and not continuing simply because she didn't know quite how she was meant to.

"I get it Jen." He said, and she smiled at the affectionate nickname. They remained silent whilst the waitress brought over Gibbs' coffee and Jenny's pie which was topped with extra ice cream. Jenny dug in as soon as it arrived, and Jethro just smirked at her.

"I'm eating for two Gibbs! Don't you dare give me that look!" She exclaimed, in mock outrage as she pointed her fork at him and gave a glare which would compete with his own infamous one.

"How is the urm-"

"The baby?" Jenny asked, with a smirk at her partner's slight discomfort. In truth Gibbs had forgotten she was pregnant, and it would take a while for him to actually realise that she was going to be a mother, for it to settle in. It was something he'd never thought of Jenny as being. He'd imagined her being the head of her own team, imagined her jet setting around the world and even being the next Director or next SecNav, but never had he imagined her as a mother. He didn't know why he hadn't, but he just hadn't.

"Yeah." He grumbled, taking a sip of the strong black coffee. Since last week when he had watched her leave headquarters with tears streaming down her face he hadn't stopped worrying, but Ducky had told him to leave her be, and that she would reach out to him in her own time, when she was ready. And she had. As he looked at her now, hair lose and grazing the top of her shoulders, a few layers softly taken back, and face pretty much free of makeup, she looked amazing. There was the pregnancy glow to her. But she still wasn't the same Jenny that Mark had started to turn her back into; the sparkle in her eye was so dulled so much now that it was barely there.

"Okay, I think. I had my first appointment today, I'm about eight weeks along, and I'm due December 23rd." Jenny said, taking the final bite of her pie, and then once she was done she pushed her plate to one side, before taking a deep breath and looking at him. "I know it's early, but after Mark's… well I'm scared about everything. I mean if I get shot and die then this child will have no one. Will you be their God Father Jethro? It'd mean a lot."

Gibbs smiled, a big and real smile that she had only seen a handful of times in all the years that she had known him and worked with him. "Course I will be." He took her hand and squeezed it. The pair finished their drinks, and made small talk about the case he was currently working on before they got up and left. Gibbs went back to headquarters and Jenny made the walk back to her house. It wasn't a long walk, but it would be long enough for her to begin to sort through her thoughts.

A half hour or so later, after making a detour for an ice cream – as it seemed that the amount on top of her pie had not been enough to satisfy her craving – she returned to the grand Georgetown House that had been passed down in her family for many years. Part of her wondered if the child growing inside of her would one day inherit it, and love it as much as she did. If they would then pass it on down to their children or whether they'd just sell it as so many other houses had experienced down her street as of late.

Jenny walked into the house and was greeted by the sound of voices. She smiled; simply because they were not sad or crying voices, but smiling ones. The red head placed her house keys in the bowl which was on top of the sideboard before following the sound into her study. When she entered she was a little confused, as sat on the rug in the middle of the room was Ben and Marie, both surrounded by a tonne of different pictures, and a box that she contained all of her own photos. A box which she was sure had been in her room.

"Hello Jenny." Ben greeted her, and the red head instantly smiled. There was something about the elder man which was comforting, the same thing that had probably made her relax so much and open up when Mark was around.

"Hello sweetheart." Marie welcomed warmly. Jenny couldn't help but smile even broader. Marie looked a lot better, there was still a small shadow in her eyes as she smiled, but her skin had more colour to it and more than anything else she wasn't crying. "You look a lot happier today."

"Thanks." Jenny said, thinking how much good it had done her getting out of the house and seeing Jethro. In the back of her mind it struck her that she would have to go into HQ pretty soon and sort things out. There was only so much compassionate leave that one person could take, especially when Gibbs would be losing Decker anyway in a few weeks. Then it struck her she still had to talk to Marrow about the pregnancy. Momentarily it was all too much and she perched on the edge of the chair, making herself breath in and out. "I had my first doctor's appointment, it turns out I'm eight weeks along." Jenny said softly, when she had composed herself. She watched as Marie smiled even more.

"Oh how wonderful!" Marie said, and Ben took her hand for a moment, squeezing it softly. Jenny watched the pair; she'd never truly believed that there was such a thing as a soul mate. After all her parents had died when she was young, and she couldn't really remember how they had acted around each other. As she looked at Ben and Marie now, she was beginning to believe that it did exist. They'd spent so many years together, raised an amazing son, and yet they were still obviously head over heels in love with one another.

"What are you doing anyway?" She questioned, looking at the mass of photos spewed all over the floor, some of which she had never even seen, others she was in and a few she had taken.

"We're looking for a picture of Mark to put on top of his coffin. We asked your housekeeper where you kept your photos; she got them out for us. We didn't mean to intrude-" Ben stated.

"No, its fine I don't mind. May I help?" Jenny questioned hesitantly. Secretly she hoped that one of his parents would be able to tell her a little more about the man she had loved so much. When she thought about it she only knew very little. She kept her past under lock and key, so they'd never shared childhood stories. He'd told her about his antics on the ships when he was deployed, but that was all.

"Of course you can, maybe you can tell us what he was like with you. We didn't see him that often." Marie said. "And we never saw you together." Jenny instantly felt bad, they'd been planning on visiting Ben and Marie in Ireland, but with his latest deployment it had been pushed on.

"We were planning a visit, I don't know if you knew. After he proposed, we wanted to come and see you, wanted to talk to you about the wedding." Jenny said, smiling softly at the thought of how different this first meating could have been.

"What had you planned for the wedding?"

"We'd erm, we'd decided that because I don't have any blood family, my mother died when I was very young and father died when I was in my late teens. I said I didn't want a big charade, it would have been too empty, so we agreed to have something like forty or fifty guests and that would be it. I wanted the team there, my team from work, and that was about it for me. He said he wanted his crew, and a few close family. It would have been . . ."

"Perfect." Ben said, looking at her and smiling softly. "Were you going to be given away?"

"Yes, I was going to ask Ducky. He's the ME, he's been like a father to me over the years."

"What a strange name." Marie observed.

"Doctor Donald Mallard." Jenny stated, leaning forward when she saw the picture of them all on new year's eve, Mark was the one who had taken the picture. "Here, that's him." She said, pointing out the doctor from the picture. He was stood between Jenny and Jethro – no doubt to try and prevent them from arguing as much as was possible - bow tie in place and looking as smart as ever. That charming grin on his face as he looked at the camera.

"Is this your team?" Marie asked, and Jenny nodded in response.

"Yeah, Mark took the picture. I was on New Year 's Eve. Jethro – my partner – his wife had organised the party." Jenny stated, pointing to Gibbs. "We were all there, Stan and Will who are on my team, the Director; Tom Marrow, then there was Tobias Fornell who is FBI too." Jenny pointed to each of them individually. It was a lovely picture, and she'd always meant to frame it simply because it summed them up. Gibbs was looking his usual gruff self; Ducky was smiling, just as Jenny was. Then Will and Stan were messing around and Fornell was laughing whilst looking a little out of place in the whole ordeal.

"You all look very close." Ben said, as he looked at the picture.

"We are, they saved my life when I thought I was going to die and no one was looking for me. They-"She cut herself off, trying to push her emotions away. "They're all the family I have now."

"That's not true, you have us now. That's our grandchild in there, and we want to be a part of the little ones life." Marie said, and Jenny just smiled, realising that she had another family as well now. Marie took Jenny's hand and squeezed it softly; they were all silent for a minute before Jenny reached across for a picture of Mark. It looked like he was only in his late teens. He was stood on the bed of a pickup with two friends all of them pulled a James Bond slash Charlie's Angels pose. Jenny couldn't help but smirk as she looked at him.

Ben looked at the picture and chuckled at the sight of it. "That was taken on their last day of high school. We all went down to the river near where we lived and had a barbeque. Marie wanted to a take a picture of them all, the next thing I knew they were stood like that!"

Marie smirked. "You missed out the part where two minutes later all of the dads were doing the same thing…"

The night went on like that, sharing stories and looking at photos. Jenny couldn't help but find the irony in feeling like she really met Mark that evening, like she actually began to learn who the man behind the uniform was. By the time they all fell asleep they still had to decide on a photo to use, but not one of them actually wanted to make that decision. Because how could you sum up a person's life in one photo?