Flames Burn Out
- Chapter 8: Eternal Flame -
Gibbs knew the second she'd fallen asleep. He tilted her head to rest on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around her to keep her from sliding all over the place. They stopped at her house and Gibbs slid out and reached in to pick Jenny up. The housekeeper already had the front door open and led Gibbs to Jenny's room. He lay her down on the bed and removed the belt from the dress and her shoes before tucking her in. Gibbs thanked Naomi and gave her the rest of the day and night off, which she was hesitant to take but did so. Gibbs wandered downstairs and into the kitchen to look for some food. He could've heated the peppercorn steak, her favorite meal, but decided that her stomach needed something simple. He found a can of chicken noodle soup and set it out. He cleaned up some extra dishes and took out everything he would need. He then returned upstairs to see if she was still sleeping. He could sense her fear almost the second he'd entered the room.
"Jen?" He called out. She sat up looking relieved.
"Jethro...I didn't think I walked in my sleep."
"You don't," he said simply and she knew he wouldn't say anything else.
"Did Naomi go home?"
"Gave her the rest of the day off."
"Excellent, I can certainly manage." She stood up slowly and moved toward her dresser looking for sweats to put on. She entered the bathroom to change and he remained frozen in place. Manage with what? She suddenly reappeared in front of him. "You think you could help me with this?"
He gulped, nodded, and carefully unzipped the dress. She was holding it up otherwise he was positive it would have pooled at her feet. She stepped away and he sighed quietly at the lost contact. This whole tap dancing around each other was starting to tug on his sanity. It was very mature of them, but really, he'd rather be immature then tortured.
"You staying?" She asked from the bathroom and he refocused his thoughts.
"Promised the Doctor I would," he responded.
"You promised the Doctor an agent would stay with me, you could get Ziva to do it," Jenny pointed out.
"Would you prefer Ziva?" He inquired not wanting her to have the last word. Please say no, please say no.
"Wasn't aware I had a choice." She bit her tongue at that. Nice choice of words, there, Jen, she scolded herself.
"You've always had a choice." His tone was softer and she knew the words pertained to more than just this particular instance. She came out of the bathroom in a camisole and yoga pants.
"Have I?" She asked. He did not respond, to focused on the way her hair fell above her shoulders and... and he knew she was smirking. It wasn't like she didn't know she was attractive, but he was convinced she had no idea of the effect she had on him. He had tried to see the Director instead of the woman, but it was not an easy task, and more often than not he saw the woman first.
"Um... you want something to eat?" He asked realizing he'd been silent too long. Coward, he yelled at himself.
"Not really that hungry." It was too hard to think when he was in her room starring at her like that.
"I could put in a movie?" he suggested.
"Yea I have the second Pirates movie on my laptop."
"Laptop?"
"Jethro I really don't think you should try carrying me upstairs again," she warned.
"You're impossible to wake up," he mumbled.
"Well, now if I fall asleep just move the computer," she said. "And honestly its not like I take up that much space."
"Fine, fine, no kicking though."
"Who, me?" She quipped plugging in the computer. He went downstairs, found his sea bag that Ducky had dropped off and grabbed some water bottles. He changed into a pair of sweats and a tee shirt and went back to her room.
"You ever think about getting a dog?" He asked. He hadn't realized just how lonely the house could be.
"When would I have the time to care for it?"
"You need some sort of defense," Gibbs informed.
"The alarms you made me put in aren't working?"
"They work fine, I just think..."
"Jethro, stop thinking. Watch the movie," She ordered. She felt him sit down on the other side, the laptop ending up between them. She watched the movie quietly and he watched her. Sure he was listening to the movie but she was so much more fascinating. He did turn to see one sword fight and then became entranced till the end. He looked back over at Jenny. She was asleep again. Jethro put the laptop away and watched her sleep for a minute. She seemed all right and as much as he wanted to lie down beside her he knew she would kill him. He went back downstairs and checked his phone for messages.
Tony had called to say everything had been taken care of and Gibbs was glad to learn that Ziva had not killed Aurrilla. He checked Jenny's phone and saw a message from Ziva. He assumed it said the same as Tony's. He'd tell her about it tomorrow. He was just about to go to the living room when he heard her scream. Panic set in, but he grabbed his gun and ran up the stairs. She was sitting stalk straight and hyperventilating. He knew her well enough to know that her nightmares were always of the worst kind and more often than not she would chose insomnia over them.
"Jen," he whispered softly placing his gun down on the dresser. She was looking straight ahead, her eyes hollow and unseeing. He sat down next to her. "Jen?" This time he gently cupped her cheek. She turned toward him and he found her green eyes wide in fear and her skin pale. Without thinking he pulled her close and held her. He felt her grip his shirt as if it were a lifeline, the only thing keeping her afloat in her sea of terror.
"It was my fault," she whispered. "Everyone was dead" And by everyone he knew that included him.
"Jen it was a nightmare, that's it," he coaxed. "No one is dead."
"Those women are," She reminded.
"And you got their killer, he's going to rot for the rest of his miserable life, however short that may be."
"Did Ziva call?"
"She left you a message, but DiNozzo said she left him breathing on his own."
"Good for her," Jenny said, her voice betraying her emotions. She pulled away wiping the tears from her eyes. "God you would think I'd run out of tears." She was not usually so emotional, and yet Gibbs was glad she was showing some emotion, he was always worried that one day she would just crack under the stress she carried.
"It's okay to cry, Jen."
"You never do." He certainly hoped she hadn't learned that from him.
"Maybe I should," he answered quietly still holding her.
"I think I'll do some work or something," she said ending the conversation. Gibbs sighed, typical Jen.
"You're going back to sleep, Jenny," he told her.
"I'm not a child."
"No, you're not, but you need sleep," he argued and while he knew perfectly well she wasn't a child, sometimes she did need to be looked after.
"I don't want to close my eyes," she confessed. Why was it that when he looked at her like that, things just spilled out? He pulled back to meet her eyes again and wiped another tear away.
"You're safe now," his voice was soothing. "I'll make sure of it."
"I know," she responded. He smirked at that.
"Just close your eyes," he coaxed. She did and tensed immediately. He ran his hand up and down her arm trying to sooth her.
"Jethro," she said quietly.
"Jen?"
"Stay till I fall asleep," she pleaded and he tightened his hold on her. She knew she shouldn't have said that but she needed him.
"Okay," he conceded. It wasn't like he wanted to be anywhere else. Feelings he thought deeply buried were quickly coming to the surface. "It'll be okay," he reassured this time giving in to those feelings and pressing a kiss to her cheek. She felt the warmth of his lips and pulled back slightly to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. It was an invitation and he took it as such, kissing her lips softly on the next one. It started innocently enough but the explosion that always seemed to occur came quicker then usual. It broke only when air became a necessity and they barley separated. "Jen?"
"I'm not sorry," she said, she prayed he didn't regret it either.
"Good," he replied stroking her cheek. She smiled slightly letting him enfold her in his arms again. "Neither am I."
"Are we ignoring it?"
"That might but the mature thing to do, but we were never very mature."
"This is going to get complicated," she sighed.
"Complicated isn't so bad, makes life interesting."
"And we're still going to fight..."
"Work stays at work, we'll make up at home," he promised.
"What happens when you meet another red head?"
"I don't like every red head I meet you know," he protested tapping her nose. Ridiculous notion as it is, the question is what do I do when all the other men are looking at you? She let it go.
"You planning on kissing me again?"
"Thinking about it," he responded. She raised an eyebrow.
"Well let me know when you're doing thinking about..."
His kiss cut her off. He pressed her closer to his body, her curves conforming as the kiss deepened and his tongue met hers. It was a kiss he only ever gave to her, and it was supposed to make her forget everything, it worked of course, but she had her own tricks. She responded to the kiss, her hands encircling his neck and pulling him closer. Her kisses would cause him to stop thinking altogether. His hands traced her curves as she pulled him down beside her. He spread kisses all over her face and she returned them. He rolled them over so she was lying on top of him and he held her tightly.
"Don't suppose we can call in sick tomorrow," he teased.
"I don't think so, but tomorrow's Friday, we can leave early," She assured kissing him again. "And have the whole weekend..."
"You always did have such good ideas." He rewarded that particular one with another kiss as his hands slid under her top and caressed her bare back. She laughed softly as they moved again spooning up to another, his arm wrapping around her and his hand resting on her stomach. She tilted her head to receive another kiss and let her one hand fall over his.
"De ja vu," She whispered. He nuzzled her neck affectionately.
"So you did wake up," he concluded. So much for Marine stealth.
"Thought I was dreaming."
"Never again, its real." She tiled her again to meet his eyes and rolled to face him, snuggling into his chest. "I won't let you go this time."
"Good, not planning on going anywhere," she replied leaning in to kiss him. She stopped just as her lips were about to touch his. "I love you Jethro." Her voice was a breeze on his lips and his lips bridged the centimeter gap kissing her with a passionate force that would have set the room on fire. She responded with equal passion and force. She didn't need to hear the words, he had told her in his own way. The last coherent thing she could think was how this was true, she knew some flames could go dark or dwindle to a bare glow, her flame or his could burn out at any moment but their love, that was eternal, that would never burn out, no matter what dried to suffocate it.
THE END
Author's Note: Thank you all for your amazing reviews and love for this story. I'm glad you all enjoyed it. Next up is going to be Jackie's Secret, I promise its coming and I will type it next. I have some other potential little one shots that you'll see between now and then, but I promise more JIBBS is on the way.
For those of you who love JIBBS you should check out the Forums, we're having a JIBBS Fic fest and I think all of you should participate, even if you don't usually write, this would be a fun way to try your hand.