A/N: This might be my last chapter for a while, but I promise, I have no intention of abandoning this story. I'm going through some personal issues right now, but once things calm down, I'll be able to devote more time to this. Thank you for always being so understanding and for staying with me. I hope you enjoy this latest installment!
Gibbs
As much as he hated to admit it, it took him almost two full weeks to realise that something was wrong with his wife. In his defense, she was a master at distracting him, and when combined with the hectic work schedule they had returned to following their honeymoon, it really shouldn't have surprised him. She'd been spending all her time either in her office or MTAC, often giving him no other option than to leave without her, and when he questioned it, she merely shrugged. Jenny was no stranger to working around the clock, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
After the rest of his team had left late one Wednesday evening, Gibbs glanced at his watch, frowning at the lateness of the hour. He knew from experience that if Jenny hadn't already come down, she wasn't planning on it, and he sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. It took him a fraction of a second to decide that he wasn't going to let her stay all night again, and he quickly made his way up the stairs, figuring that her office would be the most logical place to begin his search.
His instinct proved to be correct, and she didn't so much as glance in his direction as he opened the door, frowning at the darkened room. The only light came from her computer screen, giving her a haggard appearance, and it wasn't until he walked closer than he realised it had nothing to do with the harsh lighting. Dark circles were prominent under her eyes, the paleness of her skin making them all the more noticeable, and her eyes had a hazy sheen to them that made him slightly uncomfortable.
"Jen?"
She gave no indication that she'd heard him, and he snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, hoping to get her attention. She didn't jump as he had expected, but she did blink, finally looking at him with a dazed expression.
"Jethro," she said slowly, "when did you come in?"
"Few minutes ago. You okay?"
She nodded, though he thought it looked to be more of a reflex than an actual answer. He wondered then how many pain pills she had taken that day, and reached for the bottle that sat on her desk. It was nearly full, only a few missing, and he frowned. What was going on here?
"You ready to go home?"
"I have work to do," she answered quietly.
"It can wait," he said seriously, "You need to eat and get some sleep."
The very mention of sleep made her eyes widen, her pupils dilating in fear, and she shook her head.
"No, I can't."
He frowned, walking around to the other side of her desk, holding out his hand.
"Come here."
Jenny stared at his hand as though she'd never seen one before, and when she finally reached out to take it, he noticed that her own were shaking. Violently. Gibbs pulled her to her feet, leading her over to the couch, and when they sat down, he looked at her seriously, trying to catch her eyes in the darkness.
"What's going on?"
She said nothing.
"You're staying here all hours of the day, you're not sleeping, you're shaking so badly that it's not even funny. Talk to me, Jen. Please."
Jenny closed her eyes, taking a slow breath, shaking her head.
"I can't sleep, Jethro."
"Have you tried taking a warm bath? Maybe have a glass of wine?"
She looked at him then, her eyes finding his in a way that was almost desperate.
"I don't mean that I lack the ability," she clarified, "I mean that I can't sleep if I want to keep my sanity in tact."
Okay, now he was even more confused than ever. She sighed, closing her eyes tiredly.
"Do you remember the nightmare I had two weeks ago? The day after our wedding?"
He nodded.
"I've been having nightmares like that every day. Every time I try to sleep. They're so detailed, so vivid...they feel real. I wake up shaking, crying, doing everything I can not to scream. I can feel, see, hear everything that happens. I can even smell it. Every single time I fall asleep, no matter how long."
Gibbs frowned, looking at her seriously.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
She sighed again, shaking her head.
"What was I supposed to say?" she asked, her tone defeated, "Hey, Jethro, I can't sleep because of a few bad dreams? That's pathetic."
He shook his head, willing her to understand.
"These are a little more than a few bad dreams, Jen. Did it ever occur to you that it could be a side effect of your medication? We should look at the bottles when we get home. If nightmares are listed, we should definitely discuss it with your doctor."
She met his eyes, her own so exhausted that he could almost feel it, and she finally nodded, letting her head fall onto his shoulder, closing her eyes.
"I'm so god damned tired, Jethro," she whispered.
He nodded, wrapping his arm around her as he kissed her hair.
"I know," he answered softly.
It took several minutes of arguing and an hour-long soak in a warm bath to finally convince Jenny to attempt sleep that night, and when he pulled her into his arms, Gibbs wasn't in the least bit surprised to feel her shaking. He'd already promised her that he would stay with her until the morning, something he would have done regardless now that his boat was finished, but she still looked absolutely terrified as he turned out the light on the bedside table.
She had curled her body so close to his that he could feel her heart beat, and though he would never tell her, seeing her so vulnerable made him slightly sad. He wasn't used to seeing her so unnerved and he ran his fingers slowly through her hair. The shaking in her body had finally stopped, and he knew that she had fallen asleep, proving just how exhausted she'd truly been.
"I love you, Jenny," he whispered.
He had no way of knowing whether or not she'd heard him, but it really didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were in this together.
Though he hadn't even really noticed it happening, Gibbs knew he must have fallen asleep a few hours after Jenny. The strongest evidence of this was the way he was jolted awake by the sound of Jenny's screaming, and when he realised that she was in the middle of another nightmare, he carefully reached out to wake her.
"Jenny, wake up."
Her eyes opened, bright in the darkness, and she pulled away from him, still lingering in limbo between sleep and wakefulness. When she finally realised what was happening, she moved closer, her body falling weakly into his arms.
"Shh...it's okay," he said softly, "You're safe now. It was just a nightmare."
She shook her head, her breath faster than he would have liked.
"This was so much worse," she said weakly, "It was...it was Carly."
He frowned, unsure of exactly what she meant.
"She was in your dream?"
Jenny took a deep breath, gripping his shirt tightly in an attempt to keep them from trembling.
"I went to see her, but when I opened her front door, she wasn't there. I called her name over and over again, but there was no answer. When I finally found her, she was in the bathtub. Her body was decaying, she'd obviously been there for a long time, and when I reached out to touch her, her skin peeled away in my hand. I started screaming, and she sat up in the water...her eyes were so empty, hollow, and she asked me why I hadn't saved her. I could hear the water in her lungs as she spoke, and...I just...I couldn't..."
She stopped speaking, sobbing so hard that he could do nothing more than hold her, whispering soft words of comfort, though he had no idea if she was even aware of them. He ran his fingers through her hair, feeling the fabric of his shirt becoming more damp as her tears soaked through it.
"Breathe, Jen...it's okay. It was just a dream. Carly's safe, you have nothing to worry about."
A thought occurred to him and he frowned, looking at her seriously.
"Do you have that bottle of sleeping pills nearby?"
She didn't speak, but her shaking finger pointed to the bedside table, and he reached for it, holding it closer to his face.
"Nightmares are one of the side effects of this medication," he told her softly, placing the bottle back down, "Maybe you should discuss it with your doctor before you take any more of them."
Jenny raised her eyes to his, bright with fear and tears.
"A side effect?" she paused, then shook her head, letting it fall back onto his chest, "What kind of fucked up shit is that?"
He laughed quietly, kissing her hair. Leave it to Jenny to make a joke about something like this.
"You're missing the point," he said jokingly, "you're not crazy."
Jenny laughed, wiping under her eyes with a still-shaking hand.
"Oh no, I'm definitely crazy," she said giving him a smile, "Make no mistake about that, Leroy Jethro."
Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not a stupid man, and so he wisely said nothing, merely kissing his wife again.
Shepard
When Jenny opened her eyes, she was more than a little exhausted from her terrible attempt at sleeping the night before. Still, the world didn't stop turning simply because she was tired, and she begrudgingly pulled herself up from the bed. Her head felt foggy, slightly dizzy, but she ignored it as she stood up to make her way to the closet. She had just reached the door when the dizziness became unbearable, and she slowly sank to her knees, doing her best not to panic.
"Coffee's in the kitchen when you want it."
Though she clearly heard Gibbs' words, they made little sense to her, and she focused on pulling air into her lungs. She closed her eyes, balancing her weight on her hands, hoping they didn't slide on the floor. Okay, maybe this was more than a little dizziness.
"Did you hear—Jen, what's wrong?"
She had no idea how long Gibbs had been standing there, she hadn't even heard him come up the stairs, and she slowly shook her head.
"Just got a bit dizzy."
He reached out to help her up, pulling her carefully to her feet, and when she met his eyes, there was no mistaking the worry in them.
"You need to sit down."
Knowing it would be pointless to argue, Jenny allowed him to help her to the bed, her steps more than a little shaky.
"You know, this could be the perfect time to test out your new laptop," Gibbs told her.
Damn. She'd completely forgotten about it. He made a very good point.
"You do have your moments of brilliance, Jethro," she said softly, "Not many, but you do have them."
He smirked at the Star Wars reference, kissing her cheek before disappearing to locate her computer. Jenny used the moment alone to allow a few frustrated tears fall from her eyes, and by the time he had returned, she looked more or less like the badass Director she knew she was deep down.
"Have I mentioned that I love you?" she asked him as he handed her the computer.
He laughed, plugging the device into the wall outlet.
"If you have any trouble, McGee and Carly should be able to help."
She smiled, reaching out to touch his cheek gently.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, "but all I need help with is getting dressed from the waist up."
"Now, that I can do."
Gibbs moved to her closet, grabbing a deep Navy blue silk shirt and as she fastened her bra into place, he whistled appreciatively.
"See something you like, Agent Gibbs?"
He nodded, handing her the shirt.
"Damn right I do."
Jenny laughed.
"Well, that's too bad. You'd better get to work before your boss fires you."
He shook his head.
"Nah. I'm sleeping with her. She'll let it slide."
Raising her eyebrow in question, Jenny began the tedious task of buttoning the shirt.
"You seem incredibly sure of yourself."
"Well, yeah," he replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, "She's in love with me."
Jenny pulled him closer, kissing him deeply, her tongue dancing over his as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"You're damn right she is."
It took a surprisingly short amount of time for Jenny to figure out how to work the laptop webcam, and as she took a break from working at lunch time, she was struck with a sudden idea. Entering Carly's information, she pressed the dial button, waiting to see if she would answer. When her daughter's face filled her screen moments later, she smiled, almost laughing at the expression on the younger girl's face.
"Mom, why aren't you at work?"
"I am," Jenny said with a smile, "I'm taking a lunch break right now and just wanted to see how you were doing."
Carly smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear.
"Things are good. What about you? You've never used the laptop before."
Jenny sighed.
"Had a bit of a rough morning, so your dad suggested that I give it a try. It's working better than I thought it would. How's Marnie?"
Carly whistled and before Jenny knew what had happened, she was suddenly looking at the adorable face of a puppy. She smiled at the way Carly's face lit up as she held the puppy, and when Marnie had jumped from her lap, she laughed, reaching for her coffee.
"She's getting big."
"No kidding," Carly laughed, "She knocks everything off the coffee table with her tail. Evan calls it her "Weapon of Ass Destruction". Adorable, but dangerous."
Jenny smiled.
"So, things are going good for you? I haven't seen you since the wedding, so we should have a movie night or something."
"Yeah, things are great," another hair tuck, "I have to work this weekend, but what about next weekend? I'm off every other one, so we could spend the day in our pajamas watching Disney movies."
"Sure. Sounds like a plan."
"Awesome. I've got to go right now, but I can call you when I get back from class if you want."
Jenny forced herself to smile and nodded.
"Whatever works best for you, Little One. Give Marnie a kiss from me."
"I will. Love you!"
"Love you, too."
After disconnecting the call, Jenny sat in silence for a long moment, trying to sort out her thoughts. Carly had been lying to her every time she asked if things were going well. Jenny had discovered long ago that she always tucked her hair behind her ear when she lied, something that she didn't seem to be aware of. There was no question that she was lying. The only thing still left a mystery was what, exactly, she was lying about. Her instincts told her that she could probably guess, but Jenny hoped, with everything she possessed, that she was wrong.
By the time her last meeting had ended, Jenny had decided that she actually quite liked working from the comfort of her own home, and she found that there were several benefits that she hadn't anticipated. As much as she loved him, he had proven on more than one occasion just how much of a distraction he could be. Still, she couldn't deny that she had missed him, and she found herself glancing at the clock more than a few times.
The ringing of her phone startled her, but the sight of Tony DiNozzo's name on her screen made her instantly on high alert, making it difficult to breathe as she reached for it with shaking hands.
"Shepard."
"Hey, fearless leader, how are you feeling? Your hubby told us that you decided to take the day off."
She immediately relaxed, his light tone making her laugh.
"Believe me, I haven't taken the day off. I've been working from home. All damn day."
"Yeah, I figured," his voice dropped to a lower pitch, "So, how is your health? I know you don't want people to know, but you might want to think about it."
Jenny sighed. She didn't want to admit it, but she'd been turning the idea over in her head for the entire day. Maybe it was time to make an official announcement. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but...
"I'll give it some thought," she told him, "How are things going today? Is Gibbs driving you insane yet?"
DiNozzo laughed.
"Not really. Believe it or not, I actually really like working with him. He's damn good at what he does."
Jenny smiled, trying to shift her body to a more comfortable position. Blinding pain shot through her lower body and she sucked in a deep breath to keep herself from making any noise.
"Well, I appreciate the call, DiNozzo, but I have another meeting to get to in about ten minutes. Let me know if anything major happens."
"Will do, Red. Call if you need us."
She felt somewhat guilty for lying to him, but when she moved again, her body protested, making her close her eyes tightly in pain.
"Fuck," she whispered.
The pain was severe enough now that she was beginning to feel nauseous, and it took every ounce of strength she possessed to pull her body from the bed. She managed to force her feet forward, making her way slowly to the bathroom, and she fell to her knees, gripping the porcelain bowl. Her stomach heaved, bile rising up her throat, and she coughed painfully. Tears fell from her eyes as she retched over and over again, her hands shaking as she struggled to stay upright.
There had been no solid food in her stomach, but Jenny was still surprised by how much better she immediately felt after vomiting, and she frowned. Surely that wasn't normal..was it? She sighed, laying her head wearily on her knees, trying to breathe through the dizziness that had taken up residence in her head.
"Come on, Jenny," she whispered to herself, "Don't be such a little bitch."
Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself up from the floor, gripping the edge of the sink so tightly that it hurt, and she slowly took a step forward. It took several minutes for her eyes to focus, and as she carefully made her way back into the bedroom, she cursed herself for being so pathetic.
By the time Gibbs had returned home, Jenny had completely made up her mind to ignore the events that had taken place after her phone call with DiNozzo. She did want to speak with him about Carly, however, and when he walked through the front door, she slowly put her book down, giving him a tired smile.
"How was work?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Would have rather been here with you."
Jenny laughed.
"Believe me, I would have welcomed the distraction," she paused, "Actually, no. I take that back. I got my work finished so much faster without you distracting me all day. I even had time to have a video call with Little One."
Gibbs smiled, walking into the kitchen. He returned moments later with a full glass of bourbon, and when he sat next to her, he pulled her legs into his lap.
"How's our girl doing?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I asked her how things were and she lied to me. More than once."
He frowned, running his free hand over her legs.
"Hm...did she look okay?"
Jenny nodded.
"Same as always. She didn't look like she'd lost any weight or anything, but...Jethro, I just know something is wrong. I don't know how I know that, but I do."
"Well, we could always drop in for a surprise visit. See if we notice anything out of the ordinary. Use Marnie as the reason why. She'd believe that."
Sighing, Jenny ran her hand through her hair, leaning back on the couch.
"I don't know," she said quietly, "I feel terrible lying to her like that."
Gibbs reached for her hand, running his fingers over her skin lightly.
"Better to lie now than run the risk of losing her forever."
As usual, Gibbs was right, and Jenny gave him a smile that she knew looked even worse than she felt.
Gibbs
To say that Carly had been surprised by their visit the following afternoon would have been the understatement of a century, but to her credit, she attempted to hide it very well. He knew, just by the way Jenny's hand had tightened in his, that she had noticed their daughter's unease as quickly as he had, and he gave her a reassuring smile as they walked into Jenny's old house. They hadn't done much decorating in the living room yet, though Carly assured both of them that they were working on it, and as Marnie ran up to Jenny, a genuine smile came across the redhead's face.
"She's getting bigger every time I see her," Jenny said, kneeling down to pet the excited puppy.
Carly nodded.
"Yeah, but hopefully she'll be finished growing soon. I can't keep replacing shoes every time she chews them up."
Jenny laughed, burying her face in Marnie's soft fur, kissing the top of her head gently.
"True. Is Evan here? I wanted to thank her for the song she played at the wedding."
Carly jumped slightly at the mention of Evan's name, though he didn't think she even realised it, and shook her head.
"No, she had a recording session this morning. She probably won't be home until after her shift tonight."
Jenny stood slowly, closing her eyes tightly for a moment. Gibbs watched her in concern for a moment, but when she shook her head, he knew the pain had passed. Still, she looked pale, and he glanced at Carly.
"Do you have any ibuprofen?"
Carly nodded.
"Yeah, in the cabinet in the bathroom."
Without wasting another second, Gibbs made his way down the hall, hoping that Carly had been the one to stock the medicine cabinet. She was more organised, and that would make his search much easier now. He located the bottle quickly, but not before his eyes registered a multitude of orange pill bottles, making him frown. A quick glance showed that they belonged to Evan rather than Carly, and he shrugged. Evan's health wasn't something he had any interest in prying into unless she chose to confide in him.
He was just about to close the cabinet door when he realised that he recognised the name of one of the medications and he pulled the others from the shelf, looking at them curiously. They were all variations of the same medication, and he frowned as he placed them back where he'd found them. It was none of his business. Taking the ibuprofen with him, he returned to the living room, opening the bottle before handing it to Jenny.
"Took me a minute. Lots of bottles in there."
He hoped Jenny would notice the hint and when her eyes met his, he knew she'd understood.
"Lots of bottles?" she repeated, "Little One, are you sick?"
Carly shook her head.
"No, I'm fine. They aren't my bottles."
Jenny frowned.
"Is Evan sick? Does she need any help paying for anything? We'd be happy to—"
"Mom, no," Carly's voice was harsh, making Gibbs narrow his eyes, "Everything is fine."
He knew Jenny didn't believe her for an instant, and she shook her head, looking at their daughter closely.
"Carly," her voice was gentle, the lack of usual nickname grabbing Carly's attention, "if something is wrong, if Evan's sick, we want to help. She's your best friend, she loves you, and I know how much you care about her—"
"She's not sick," Carly snapped, "She's a fucking addict!"
Jenny froze, her wide eyes locking on his, and when he finally looked away, his eyes landing on Carly, he moved closer, reaching for her hand.
"What do you mean?"
Carly shook her head, her bright blue eyes filling with tears.
"Ever since she started working on her album, she's been staying out all night, popping pills every chance she gets, and I—I don't know what to do! I can't make her stop and...Evan's always been the one who sees reason, the one who kicked my ass when I needed it. I can't even get her to listen to me!"
Tears spilled from her eyes, dripping down onto her hands, and she threw her arms around Jenny, her head buried in the redhead's shoulder.
"What do I do, Mom?" she sobbed.
It wasn't often that Jenny was at a loss for words, but Gibbs knew she felt just as hopeless as he did when her eyes found his.
"Shh..." she whispered, stroking Carly's hair softly, "We'll figure something out. Do her parents know?"
Carly's head shook, her tears falling faster.
"No. They cut her off when she decided not to go to college. They told her that they refused to support a career that was mediocre at best."
Jenny frowned, her hand still continuing its path over Carly's long hair.
"Where is she getting the pills?"
"I don't know," Carly said softly, "Probably her stupid boyfriend. He turned out to be a real dick."
Gibbs moved closer, placing his hand on Carly's shoulder, and when she looked at him, he gave her a smile.
"Don't worry, kid. We'll figure it out. We're not going to give up on her. She'd do the same for you."
Carly pulled away from Jenny, collapsing in his arms, her tears staining his shirt, and she shook her head.
"What if we're too late?"
"We'll keep trying. No matter what," Jenny said quietly.
"She's my best friend in the world," Carly sobbed, "I can't lose her."
Gibbs kissed her hair, tightening his hold on her thin frame.
"You won't, honey," he whispered.
His eyes met Jenny's and he knew she was thinking the same exact thing: where did they go from here?
After Carly had finally calmed down, Jenny had stayed upstairs with her until she fell into an exhausted sleep, and when the sound of quiet footsteps on the stairs reached his ears, he glanced up at his wife, not surprised to see that she looked just as worried as he felt. Though they both knew that it wasn't likely to end well, they had decided to wait for Evan, hoping that they might be able to talk to her rationally. It was getting late, and as they sat on the couch, Jenny laid her head on his shoulder.
"You know this won't work, don't you?"
Gibbs nodded, reaching for her hand.
"Yeah."
"She'll deny it, probably get really angry..." she sighed, "Maybe we should wait until we come up with a better idea."
He had just opened his mouth to answer when the front door opened, and Evan jumped as she realised she wasn't alone in the house.
"Fuck! Mr. Gibbs, Jenny...what are you doing here?"
"We came to visit Carly and Marnie."
Evan frowned, looking around the room.
"And where are they?"
"Sleeping upstairs. Carly's pretty upset," Gibbs said carefully, watching her to see how she would react.
"Upset about what?" Evan asked.
"Well, it would seem that she's extremely worried. About you," Jenny answered, her tone deliberately leading.
Evan shook her head, slipping off her shoes.
"Why? I'm perfectly fine. Just been busy."
"Well, sit down, then. Let's talk," Jenny's tone was so perfectly crafted that Gibbs couldn't help but be impressed.
Evan gave her a strange look, but nodded regardless, heading towards the bathroom.
"Sure. I'll be right back."
Gibbs said nothing as she disappeared into the room, and he felt Jenny reach for his hand as she heard the sound of the cabinet opening. There was a long silence before Evan came back into the room, her eyes landing on them, her anger barely concealed.
"Did you take anything from the cabinet in there?"
Gibbs shook his head, and Jenny met Evan's eyes easily.
"No, why?"
"I just...I'm...I'm not, um, I don't feel too great, and I was going to take some of my medication. Maybe Carly knows where it is."
"She's sleeping," Jenny said, "She had a hard day and—"
"I don't give a fuck!" Evan shouted, "She can't just take my shit without asking and—"
"Keep your voice down," Jenny said coolly, "You—"
"Don't tell me what to do, Jenny! You're not my mother, you're not even really Carly's mother, and you have no right to—"
"Stop right there," Jenny stood up, her voice low and dangerous, "I might not be your mother, but this is my god damned house."
"You gave it to Carly!"
"Not yet I haven't," she replied smoothly, "Legally, this is still my house, and if I have to, I will have you arrested for trespassing and for possession of narcotics. So you listen to me, little girl, and you listen well: the only reason we're even having this conversation is because you're Carly's best friend. You're a smart girl with incredible talent. I don't know how you got mixed up in all of this and right now, I don't particularly care. What I do care about is making sure that you and Carly are both safe, that you aren't hurting anyone, and that you don't throw your life away over a handful of fucking pills!"
"I don't know who you think you are, but—"
"I think I'm the best chance you've got to get your life back on track," Jenny snapped, "Don't even bother looking for the pills, Evan. They're gone. I don't know what you're trying to run from, or if it's just because you like the way they make you feel, but you have to believe me: this isn't the answer. Let me ask you something: what if Carly were doing the things you're doing? Wouldn't you try to help her?"
Jenny had reached out to touch Evan's shoulder, but before she came close, the younger girl slapped her hand away, backing up to put as much distance between them as possible.
"No, I wouldn't," Evan spat, "I'm too busy trying to keep Carly from starving herself to death."
"Maybe you haven't noticed, but Carly hasn't relapsed in quite a long time, Evan," Jenny reminded her softly, "It's time to focus on you. Help yourself, honey. Before it's too late."
Evan merely glared at her for a long moment before turning on her heel and storming up the stairs, the slamming of the bedroom door so forceful that it rattled the pictures on the walls. Jenny sank onto the couch, her head falling into her hands, and he wasn't surprised to see her body shaking as she cried. Carly came down the steps seconds later, immediately sitting next to her, and she hugged the redhead hard, her eyes filled with tears.
"You know it's not true, right? What Evan said? You are my mom. No matter what happens, you'll always be my mom," Carly said softly.
Jenny raised her head to look at her, pulling her close in a fierce hug, and kissed her cheek.
"I love you, Little One."
"I love you, too."
Hours after Jenny and Carly had retreated to the upstairs bedroom, Gibbs found himself deep in thought as he sat on the couch. What had caused Evan to fall into such a dark place? Had she needed the drugs to deal with her parents' rejection? To deal with being Carly's de-facto protector? The pressure of trying to make a name for herself in a largely male-dominated industry? He kept turning the questions over in his mind, trying to place himself in her shoes, and he sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.
He could hear the faint sounds of a guitar from behind her closed door, and before he even realised he had done it, he had stood from his place on the couch, making his way up the stairs. He bypassed Carly's room, not wanting to disturb them, and he knocked lightly on Evan's door, hoping she would answer.
"Go away, Carly."
He knocked again.
"Jenny, I don't want to talk to you, either, so fuck off."
He pushed open the door, giving her a stern look.
"Wrong on both counts, but don't ever direct that kind of language towards my wife again."
She glared at him as he walked into the room, turning her attention back to the guitar in her hands, and he closed the door behind him. She outwardly ignored him as he watched her play, though he knew she was acutely aware of his presence, and he leaned against the door frame, waiting to see how long it would be before she spoke.
"Are you just going to stand there and watch me?" she snapped.
Not long at all, apparently.
"You're good," he said simply, "We wanted to thank you for the song you played at the wedding. It was beautiful."
Evan frowned, still refusing to look at him.
"Oh?"
He nodded.
"Yep. Jenny really loved it," he paused, hoping to catch her off guard, "She loves you, too, you know."
Evan rolled her eyes, scoffing.
"Could've fooled me," she said bitterly, "She's got a funny way of showing it."
"Does she?" he asked, leading her, "Sounded to me like she just wants to help you. You might not believe it could happen to you, but people die from overdoses all the time, kid. You're young. You think you're invincible."
He reached out, placing his hand over the fret board of her guitar, effectively removing all attempts to ignore him.
"You're not. And eventually, if you don't stop, you will die. And then what? You threw away your life for a few hours of being high. I know your parents might not believe in you, but Carly does, Jenny does, and guess what? I do, too. So what if your family can't see how talented and beautiful you are...we're your family now."
He released his hold on the guitar, his eyes finding hers seriously.
"We're all behind you, Evan. You just have to ask."
It took longer than he would have thought to convince Jenny that Carly and Evan would be alright without them, but as they finally pulled up to their house, Gibbs glanced at her from the corner of his eye, trying to gauge her mood. She had been quiet and withdrawn the entire drive home, and showed no sign of changing her demeanour any time soon, which concerned him more than he would ever admit. He hadn't told her of his talk with Evan, though he was sure that she suspected something, and as they walked into the house, he could sense that something was wrong.
Her steps were slightly hesitant as she made her way into the kitchen, no doubt in desperate need of a drink, and as he poured them both a generous amount of bourbon, he gave her a small smile. She didn't return it, merely downing all of the liquid in one attempt, and when she suddenly slammed the empty glass on the table, he frowned.
"Jen?"
"I knew something was wrong," she whispered, shaking her head, "I fucking knew it. But I never thought it would be something like this."
"It's not too late to help her."
Jenny shook her head.
"She doesn't want our help. Didn't you hear her? All she wants to do is sing and get high, apparently!"
"Seems a little oversimplified, don't you think?"
He knew he was baiting her, but he also knew that if she didn't work through her emotions they would drive her insane.
"Really? And what would you call it?"
He moved closer, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"You know how you turned to your eating disorder when life felt like it was too far out of your control? Was that really just about food? Or were you using it to cope with bigger issues? It's the same for Evan. I don't know what she's running from, but she needs support. From us, from Carly...she's a good kid. We can't give up on her like everyone else."
"I don't have any experience with this," she shook her head, "I could help Carly, I knew what she was going through, but this..."
"Is exactly the same," he reminded her, "The end result is the same: an addiction used as a coping mechanism. The only difference is the tools."
Gibbs pulled her into his arms, running his fingers through her long red hair.
"Give her time. Give Carly some time to reach her. We'll figure this out, one way or another."
Jenny was silent for a long moment, her breathing slightly shaky.
"Can we just forget about it for tonight?" she finally whispered, looking up at him almost desperately, "Please, Jethro...I don't think I can handle another crisis right now."
His sapphire eyes found her emerald, exhaustion so strong that he could practically touch it, and nodded. She moved closer, gripping his shirt tightly between her fingers, and kissed him hard, her need palpable.
"Jethro?"
"Hm?"
"Please..." she said quietly, "Kiss me until I can't remember my own name."
His mouth found hers without hesitation, holding her as close to his body as was physically possible, and as his fingers wound into her hair, he knew that he had needed the distraction just as much as she had, if not more. Tomorrow, they would work on some sort of plan. Tonight, the rest of the world could go to hell.
A/N: Damn it, Evan...
