Let The Future Live
Author: A'serene
Category: General; Episode tag
Rating: PG
Spoiler: 5x07 Requiem; mention of Hiatus 1 & 2
Contents: Tag to Requiem. Someone decides to help Tony down at the docks.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of the affiliated characters.
Standing in the lab Jennifer Shepard knew she should be following Tony DiNozzo. She turned to go after him when she sensed Abby move closer to her. Never having been particularly close to the Goth she turned toward her.
"Abby?" The girl seemed hesitant.
"Gibbs is going to be okay right? Cause he always answers but he hasn't and..."
"Good work Abby," Jenny praised trying to reassure and knowing it was what Gibbs always told her. Leory Jethro Gibbs what have you done now? Jenny hurried out of the lab so she could act as backup. She took the stairs figuring it would be safer, her high heels suddenly becoming torture to her feet. Note to self, the next time Jethro gets ones of these ideas, wear flats!
Most of the NCIS agents were surprised to see their director rush up the stairs to her office only to appear moments later with her purse and keys. No one said a word as she ran to the elevator and left. Not one word was spoken but the thoughts were all the same. What had happened to Gibbs' team now?
Jenny pressed the speed limit as she maneuvered the roads. She should have followed him the first time he'd left, but no she had actually done what he'd said. The day could not get worse. When she had spotted him this morning she could not control the immediate jealous reaction she'd experienced when seeing the girl, it had faded upon finding that the girl was in need of help. She had kept him somewhat in line with the stalking guy and barley managed to keep him for doing serious harm to the Security Agency and the Colonel that had showed up. Jenny knew she had pushed to far as the memory from earlier came back to her.
"She's a friend of the family."
"How long ago?"
"Long time."
"Five years? Ten?"
"Fifteen!"
She'd frozen when she heard the number, fifteen years would have made her Kelley's age, and suddenly everything had made sense. He was trying to save his daughter through her friend.
After that realization Jenny knew she shouldn't get in his way. Now she knew she had to help him. She pulled her gun from the glove box and slipped out of her heels as she pulled up behind Tony's car. She saw the younger agent standing near the gate and she heard the screeching tires and the splash of water. When she saw Tony run into the building she knew she had to follow. She quickly got out, running slightly behind him barefoot and watched as he shot the bastards. She noticed he hadn't stopped and she watched as he dove head first into the water.
"Oh god." Her speed picked up and she ran to the edge of the dock and knelt looking for some sign of them. She saw Tony surface pulling the girl along with him. She helped him get the girl on the dock and looked around. "Where's Gibbs?"
"Coming right up Director." He dove back in. Please God let him be all right. Jen turned to the girl to search for life.
"Oh come on Maddie!" She pleaded and began to administer CPR. Gibbs would never forgive her if this girl died. "Come on Maddie breath!" Muttering from behind her broke her own mantra.
"Come on Boss! Boos don't do this to me! Don't make me kiss you!" Tony's begging would have been amusing had it not been for the context in which Jenny had heard it.
"Tony spare yourself. I'll get Gibbs, you save Maddie," She ordered. Tony gave a weak smile as they traded places quickly. "And Tony, you kiss her only to save her."
"Yes Director," He answered somewhat glad that someone had retained their sense of humor. He leaned down to give more CPR as Jenny began on Gibbs.
"Come on Jethro, don't do this to me. Abby will not be happy if you don't come back!" She kept up the compressions and the breathing hoping it wasn't in vain. She could see Maddie stirring.
"Kelley," came the brief whisper from her. Tony looked up in surprise.
"Don't you stop, wake her up DiNozzo!" The Director's command was heard loud and clear even as she leaned closer to Gibbs. "Jethro don't you dare leave us, please stay with us."
---
Leory Jethro Gibbs was freezing cold. He could see the light and the two figures waiting for him.
"Daddy, go back Daddy." It was his Kelley, the precious daughter he so wished to see again.
"Jethro." The weak feminine voice sparked something inside him but he turned back to Kelley.
"It's okay Daddy, go back Daddy!"
"Jethro,"
"Jethro!" The feminine voice came again and he didn't know which to choose, his first family, or the woman begging for him to come back.
"Go back Daddy! Tell Maddie I said hi!" Kelley giggled and turned away towards her mother. "Go back Daddy, we love you," was the last whisper he heard. He felt a pounding on his chest and water dripping onto him. A warm soft mouth covered his and forced air into him, an almost a kiss, almost reminding him of others.
"Jethro, wake up!" The mournful voice was failing. He could feel his hands being grasped, one light and soft, the other gripping, begging.
"Boss?" a young man, Tony's voice cut in sounding as scared as a little boy. He began to breathe again, felt his heart accelerate to a decent pace and the warm mouth recoiled away. His eyes opened and he could see the shiny red hair freed from its clip and eyes that were more than a little misty.
Jen. It was becoming a habit to wake up from Death with her there, leaning over him, gripping his hand and with tear stained cheeks. Looking away from her he saw Maddie, his link to Kelley, smiling sweetly back. Tony was kneeling next to Maddie looking relieved and a little surprised at the Director.
"Did you see her?" Maddie asked. He could hear the screeching of breaks and the sirens.
"I saw her," Gibbs answered. He felt Jen squeeze his hand. He heard footsteps and felt Jen tense and Tony stand, Jen stood as well drawing her gun. She lowered it a moment later as Ziva and McGee came running toward them.
"Ziva, order a crane, we need to fish a car out of the river. McGee, call Duck two dead."
"Not…" McGee faded off.
"Don't make me smack you McGee," Gibbs snapped.
"Right, sorry Boss," came the response. Tony helped him stand up, Jen steadying him.
"Tony take Maddie to the car. They're both going to the hospital to be checked out," Jen stated. She heard Gibbs mutter a curse. "Ziva, McGee, join us when you're done."
"Yes Director," Ziva responded. Tony helped Maddie back to the car and smiled as the Director and Gibbs stood starring each other down.
"I'll make it an order Agent Gibbs."
"Director," he answered sarcastically and followed her back to the car. He slid in to the passenger seat and for the first time noticed her bare feet and red lacquered toenails. "Nice color for toes, Jen."
"Jethro." A warning.
"What happened to your heels?"
"They're not my agent shoes," she retorted and he silenced. He was a little surprised to see her being almost positive he had managed to get her off his tail but as it was he had trained her too well.
"We don't have to go to the hospital."
"You're going, this is not open for debate." He pouted and she sighed, the rest of the trip was completed in silence. She escorted him into the hospital where Tony assured her that he'd take Gibbs home so she could return to headquarters. Upon her return she immediately went to the lab.
"Director!" came the surprised gasp.
"Abby I..."
"It's Gibbs isn't it? He's not...
"No, he's fine. Tony gave him CPR."
"CPR?" Okay maybe not the best thing to say Jenny.
"He's fine Abby, refusing medical care as we speak. Maddie is fine too."
"That's good. Gibbs said...do you...ah never mind."
"I know she was Kelley's best friend. The picture you took was very important. Good job Abby." Abby's eyes widened a little more, two compliments from the director in one day.
"Thank you Director."
"Goodnight Abby." Abby nodded and Jen left the lab and retreated back to her car. She drove home and changed into jeans and a shirt. She dug out a worn NCIS sweatshirt that had not always been hers and tried to decide what to do next.
Clearly Gibbs needed some space. Kelley and Shannon were not something he ever spoke about and she understood why. Yet now all these years later she knew when not to push and after all she'd heard what happened when Colonel Mann had found out about them. It only made her want to dislike the Colonel more. Perhaps though she could help without prying. She could go over and make sure he was all right; after all it would be returning the favor. He'd stopped her from doing stupid things and always helped her find her balance; maybe she could do the same for him.
Before she knew it, she was driving down a familiar street and pulling into a familiar driveway. She entered the house, unlocked as always, and made her way to the basement. To her utter astonishment he wasn't there. Well this is odd. She looked around and ran her hand fondly over the boat. She neared the worktable and saw dirt all over it. As she moved to brush the dirt away she noticed the two pictures. The first had two little girls and Jenny could easily identify them, the second was the picture Abby had taken earlier that day. When put together as she'd found them, it was like Kelley was really there with them. The dirt she found a little odd as it was planting soil and she decided to follow it hoping it would lead her to Gibbs.
The dirt trail led outside and off the back porch towards the hedge growing along the property line. She easily recognized the area from the photograph of the two little girls and wondered if it was significant. In the dim light she could make out Gibbs' shape as he buried something. She approached quietly not really sure how to explain her presence and stopped behind him trying to see over his shoulder into the ground.
"Hello Jen."
"Jethro."
"I never knew it was there," He said quietly. She put her hand on his shoulder.
"What was it?"
"Maddie called it a Time Capsule."
"The two must have been the best friends to do that, what's inside?"
"I didn't...couldn't look."
"I don't think Kelley or Maddie would mind." Gibbs shook his head no. It was worth a try, she thought. "I made one once, when I was about Kelley's age. It had my favorite doll, a letter from my father, a picture of my mother, some other trinkets."
He knew what she was trying to do, and it brought a slight smile to his face. Besides Ducky she was the only one who could get him to listen or open up at least partway. He turned to study her as her eyes focused past him to the disturbed ground. It was the look she always got when she thought about something happy.
"Did you ever dig it up?" He inquired playing along.
"No, though I so wanted my doll."
"Maddie wants to be a horse vet, they always loved horses," he said. It was her turn to study him and she found his barley visible emotions were changing rapidly.
"Jethro, you saved that girl's life."
"Not Kelley's," was the mumbled answer. Jen chose to ignore it, there was not a whole lot she could to give him what he wanted.
"Jethro, you did good today. Maddie has peace of mind and she got to see her best friend."
"She wasn't hurt to badly?" It was more of a question that a statement.
"No Jethro, she was slightly unconscious from the water. Tony and I gave her CPR."
"You let Tony kiss her?" He teased, standing up.
"It was either kiss Maddie or kiss you," Jen smirked back. Gibbs led them back to the house with a slight smile on his face, till the words fully dawned.
"I needed CPR?"
"Well yes, didn't the hospital tell you?" She inquired.
"After Abby crying, Ducky's lecture, and you dropping me off there, I didn't get the full details."
"I told Abby you were fine."
"Yea, she mentioned you being nice, but you forgot her calf-pow."
"I'll remember to buy her one," she laughed as they walked down the stairs into the basement. They fell into a comfortable silence as he began to sand the wood.
"The doctor said Tony was the one giving CPR."
"To Maddie, yes."
"So you're the one who saved my life," he concluded half teasing, half serious and she looked away.
"We couldn't let you both die, but Tony pulled you both out of the water. I hadn't gotten there in time to see everything."
"You followed Tony."
"I provided backup," She insisted. "I knew McGee and Ziva were to far away and I felt bad enough about putting him in danger again."
"So you weren't the least bit worried about me needing more than Tony for backup?" She knew he was doing this to get a rise out of her, baiting her, and she knew shouldn't give in.
"I should have left with you, when I knew you were still a step ahead of me." She ran her hand over the boat's name. The silence came back and she watched him sand enjoying the half smile that graced his face. "You ever going to finish this?"
"Eventually." Well that was one answer. She suspected he had his own reasons, but perhaps it was time to get back the trust they had had.
"You don't want to finish it, do you?" He didn't respond, and she didn't expect him to. "I get it Jethro, I do. It's how I felt about La Grenouille." She moved to sit in the chair beside the worktable. "I can't kill him because I need him alive to prove my father's innocence. You were right last year; I couldn't take the shot I needed to hate him. After what happened though, I can safely say I won't hesitate; I'll shoot him on sight next time."
"I know." She rolled her eyes, so much for a somewhat similar bonding issue.Perhaps the best attack is offense.
"Jethro, you can't do this reckless behavior anymore. These risks are getting higher and you have to use more caution."
"Jen..."
"I wasn't done," She responded meeting his stare with one of her own. "You're going to run out of luck one day Jethro. I've seen you at Death's door too many times. I won't tell you how to do your job, you are the best, and I'm just asking for a little more caution." He had been somewhat expecting that from her, especially from the Director aspect of her, but her voice had seemed tired with a hint of sadness. He was fully aware that she didn't know he'd recovered all his memories from their past, and so it seemed her voice was always sad when she talked to him.
Determined to erase that sadness and perhaps whatever ridiculous barriers they had placed between them he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Gibbs placed a sander in her hands and walked her over to the boat. He stood behind her, his arms encircling her and helped her sand. He knew she was tense and slightly confused, but finally she relaxed and let his hands guide hers.
"I do know how to sand Jethro, you...ah never mind." She faded off and fell silent again. She'd forgotten not to mention anything he hadn't remembered.
"I know you do Jen, I taught you." He could feel her smile slightly and leaned in slightly to place the barest kiss on her temple. Jen was certainly surprised but tried to act as normal as possible, for she so desperately wanted it to happen again.
"Yes you did," she agreed and turned in his arms to face him. She'd been in this position before, she just wasn't sure he remembered how it ended.
"You know Maddie thought it was cool to meet someone she learned about in school."
"Oh and that would be?"
"The first female director of a federal agency. She said you were much better in person than on TV." She arched her eyebrow slightly at this.
"I made history books?" Sure she knew her job was a big deal, she just wasn't sure she was ready to be in books.
"Eh, you're not that old," Gibbs responded his hands holding her arms. She laughed.
"Well I'm glad I surpassed her expectations."
"You always do." She smiled serenely at this; well aware it was something they had talked about years ago. He could've sworn he saw a flicker of passion in her eyes. He'd tried to separate his partner from his boss, but they just wouldn't stay divided. He couldn't look at her without seeing the woman he'd loved.
"Do I Jethro?" Her tone had changed and he gave her the what-do-you-think look. "Well I would hate to disappoint." She leaned forward and kissed him softly. She pulled back just as quickly only to have him chase her and thread his fingers through her locks.
"We've been here before," he said breathlessly.
"It was the past."
"This is the future." He kissed her again and she responded just as passionately. The past would only help to pave the way for the future to live.
--The End--