[Oneshot] A Special Night
TITLE: A Special Night
AUTHOR: nicis_anatomy
CHARACTER: Jenny Shepard/Jethro Gibbs
GENRE: Romance, slightly Angst
RATING: PG-13
WORD COUNT: 1000
SUMMARY: Jenny's plan was to spend Christmas Eve alone. As usual … But there are forces that have other plans - Written for prompt #04 "Lyric Challenge - What happens tomorrow" for ncis1000words, prompt #08 "Time stops" for 24_times and the special challenge at madame_director
NOTES: Not beta'd and written (under local anaesthetic) because marciafan asked for it ;)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters (although I'd love to own Action Figure Gibbs), nor am I making any money from them. If I would Season 5 would have ended different.
But nobody knows what's gonna happen tomorrow
We try not to show how frightened we are
If you let me - I'll protect you - however I can
You've got to believe it'll be alright in the end
You've got to believe it'll be alright again
~*~*~*~*~
Her plan was to spend Christmas Eve at home; working, maybe watching a movie and - although she didn't intend to - thinking about her life, her past, about what could've been ... Things she could be proud of, stuff she would change in an instance, if only she had the change to turn back time.
She had done this before - spending Christmas alone - but this year it was different. It felt different, because she was back home, in her parent's house with all its memories packed in every room. Since she was back in Washington, she hadn't changed much to make it her house. She liked it the way it was, and although most of these memories were painful she also needed these constant reminders.
Tonight, however, on Christmas Eve things were different.
By the time it was getting dark and Jenny had to turn on some lights, the nightmare started. Suddenly, Jenny felt the world crushing down on her. The silence in the house was unbearable, the overwhelming memories took all the oxygen in the air and she could hardly breathe.
She'd had flashbacks before, some of them had been good, some had caused pain, but none of them had stayed that long, ambitious trying to drive her crazy.
It was as if the house had suddenly decided it was time to get her out. Like in these horror movies she never watched, because they frightened her too much. She knew none of them were real, but still … there was something, a force, trying to get her out, and before Jenny had even realized what she was doing, she was already in her car, the boxes with Noemi's Christmas dinner and a bottle of bourbon on the passenger seat.
Twenty minutes later she parked her car in front of the only place she knew she would feel safe tonight.
Without hesitation she made her way to the kitchen and opened the basement door. She had no doubt that Jethro would be down there, and she should be right.
"What are you doing here, Jen?" She heard his familiar voice before she'd even set foot on the first step.
"Once an agent, always an agent?" She asked, walking down. "How did you know it was me and not someone else?"
"No one would visit me on Christmas Eve and wear heels. Santa has boots."
"Are you sure?" Jenny asked, walking over to him. She smiled, but the thought of Jethro spending Christmas alone and no one cared hurt her almost as much as the memories that had chased her out of her house.
"Ducky came by a few times," Jethro answered. "But after I'd told him I was fine, he gave up, eventually. What's this?"
"Noemi's dinner. You know … meat, vegetables ... the usual stuff people eat on Christmas Eve."
"And why aren't you eating it, instead of taking it on a walk around Washington?" Jethro asked, smirking. He'd spotted the bottle of bourbon and was already looking around for glasses.
"I don't know," Jenny said, taking an old jam jar he offered her. "I wasn't in the mood to spend Christmas alone and -"
"So you decided to come here? Why?"
"I don't know, Jethro. Because. I … I don't know. I thought you could use some company. But I can leave, if that's what you want ..." Handing him the glass back, she turned around, ready to leave.
She didn't make it far. Suddenly, Jethro grabbed her arm, firmly and soft at the same time, forcing her to stop.
"Stay."
Jenny wasn't sure, if her mind was playing tricks on her. His voice had been nothing more than a whisper, but when she turned around, meeting his blue eyes, she knew she'd been right. There was pain in his eyes and something she'd last seen years ago, when they'd been more than just partners. Passion. Desire … maybe love?
"Don't go," he said, stepping forward until he was standing right in front of her. "You were right," he whispered.
"Right? With what?"
"Everything …" Jethro smiled and his eyes wandered from hers down to her mouth and up again.
Jenny had no idea what 'everything' meant, and if it included also all these times they'd fought about things they'd disagreed on, but she was too distracted to ask. She was having a hard time focusing on simple things like breathing and keeping her balance. Jethro's gaze had always had this effect on her, but she'd learned to deal with it. With him. Tonight, this was different, too, and before she even knew it, she'd wrapped her arms around his neck, moving closer until their lips touched.
This kiss, their first kiss in what felt like a lifetime, was sweet, passionate, and everything she'd secretly dreamed of all these years. She'd known that she had no right to ever be kissed by him again, and she'd thought of this as a good thing to avoid making things more complicated than they already were. But when their lips touched, all these reservations were gone and with them all her fears and worries.
Jethro always had this special skill to turn her world into paradise; if only for a moment. She'd missed that, but it wasn't until later, when she was lying in his arms, that she realized what she'd really missed all these years, and how stupid she'd been to give all this up for a career and a revenge she wasn't even sure she would get.
She knew that there was a morning after tonight, when they might regret what had just happened. But that was something she could deal with then. Not tonight. Tonight, she was allowed to be happy, and nothing was going to change this.
It was Christmas night; a special night for special miracles to happen …
"Jen?" Jethro asked, his voice sleepy, but Jenny could still sense the same happiness in it she was feeling.
"Hm?"
"What are you doing New Year's Eve?"
… and who said there could only be one special night?
- The End -
AUTHOR: nicis_anatomy
CHARACTER: Jenny Shepard/Jethro Gibbs
GENRE: Romance, slightly Angst
RATING: PG-13
WORD COUNT: 1000
SUMMARY: Jenny's plan was to spend Christmas Eve alone. As usual … But there are forces that have other plans - Written for prompt #04 "Lyric Challenge - What happens tomorrow" for ncis1000words, prompt #08 "Time stops" for 24_times and the special challenge at madame_director
NOTES: Not beta'd and written (under local anaesthetic) because marciafan asked for it ;)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters (although I'd love to own Action Figure Gibbs), nor am I making any money from them. If I would Season 5 would have ended different.
But nobody knows what's gonna happen tomorrow
We try not to show how frightened we are
If you let me - I'll protect you - however I can
You've got to believe it'll be alright in the end
You've got to believe it'll be alright again
~*~*~*~*~
Her plan was to spend Christmas Eve at home; working, maybe watching a movie and - although she didn't intend to - thinking about her life, her past, about what could've been ... Things she could be proud of, stuff she would change in an instance, if only she had the change to turn back time.
She had done this before - spending Christmas alone - but this year it was different. It felt different, because she was back home, in her parent's house with all its memories packed in every room. Since she was back in Washington, she hadn't changed much to make it her house. She liked it the way it was, and although most of these memories were painful she also needed these constant reminders.
Tonight, however, on Christmas Eve things were different.
By the time it was getting dark and Jenny had to turn on some lights, the nightmare started. Suddenly, Jenny felt the world crushing down on her. The silence in the house was unbearable, the overwhelming memories took all the oxygen in the air and she could hardly breathe.
She'd had flashbacks before, some of them had been good, some had caused pain, but none of them had stayed that long, ambitious trying to drive her crazy.
It was as if the house had suddenly decided it was time to get her out. Like in these horror movies she never watched, because they frightened her too much. She knew none of them were real, but still … there was something, a force, trying to get her out, and before Jenny had even realized what she was doing, she was already in her car, the boxes with Noemi's Christmas dinner and a bottle of bourbon on the passenger seat.
Twenty minutes later she parked her car in front of the only place she knew she would feel safe tonight.
Without hesitation she made her way to the kitchen and opened the basement door. She had no doubt that Jethro would be down there, and she should be right.
"What are you doing here, Jen?" She heard his familiar voice before she'd even set foot on the first step.
"Once an agent, always an agent?" She asked, walking down. "How did you know it was me and not someone else?"
"No one would visit me on Christmas Eve and wear heels. Santa has boots."
"Are you sure?" Jenny asked, walking over to him. She smiled, but the thought of Jethro spending Christmas alone and no one cared hurt her almost as much as the memories that had chased her out of her house.
"Ducky came by a few times," Jethro answered. "But after I'd told him I was fine, he gave up, eventually. What's this?"
"Noemi's dinner. You know … meat, vegetables ... the usual stuff people eat on Christmas Eve."
"And why aren't you eating it, instead of taking it on a walk around Washington?" Jethro asked, smirking. He'd spotted the bottle of bourbon and was already looking around for glasses.
"I don't know," Jenny said, taking an old jam jar he offered her. "I wasn't in the mood to spend Christmas alone and -"
"So you decided to come here? Why?"
"I don't know, Jethro. Because. I … I don't know. I thought you could use some company. But I can leave, if that's what you want ..." Handing him the glass back, she turned around, ready to leave.
She didn't make it far. Suddenly, Jethro grabbed her arm, firmly and soft at the same time, forcing her to stop.
"Stay."
Jenny wasn't sure, if her mind was playing tricks on her. His voice had been nothing more than a whisper, but when she turned around, meeting his blue eyes, she knew she'd been right. There was pain in his eyes and something she'd last seen years ago, when they'd been more than just partners. Passion. Desire … maybe love?
"Don't go," he said, stepping forward until he was standing right in front of her. "You were right," he whispered.
"Right? With what?"
"Everything …" Jethro smiled and his eyes wandered from hers down to her mouth and up again.
Jenny had no idea what 'everything' meant, and if it included also all these times they'd fought about things they'd disagreed on, but she was too distracted to ask. She was having a hard time focusing on simple things like breathing and keeping her balance. Jethro's gaze had always had this effect on her, but she'd learned to deal with it. With him. Tonight, this was different, too, and before she even knew it, she'd wrapped her arms around his neck, moving closer until their lips touched.
This kiss, their first kiss in what felt like a lifetime, was sweet, passionate, and everything she'd secretly dreamed of all these years. She'd known that she had no right to ever be kissed by him again, and she'd thought of this as a good thing to avoid making things more complicated than they already were. But when their lips touched, all these reservations were gone and with them all her fears and worries.
Jethro always had this special skill to turn her world into paradise; if only for a moment. She'd missed that, but it wasn't until later, when she was lying in his arms, that she realized what she'd really missed all these years, and how stupid she'd been to give all this up for a career and a revenge she wasn't even sure she would get.
She knew that there was a morning after tonight, when they might regret what had just happened. But that was something she could deal with then. Not tonight. Tonight, she was allowed to be happy, and nothing was going to change this.
It was Christmas night; a special night for special miracles to happen …
"Jen?" Jethro asked, his voice sleepy, but Jenny could still sense the same happiness in it she was feeling.
"Hm?"
"What are you doing New Year's Eve?"
… and who said there could only be one special night?
- The End -