(Untitled)

[centerishome]

[[ Follows this. They stood together like that for a long time. At one point, Clarke was fairly certain Jen had actually fallen asleep in his arms. That was fine with him, he would have been happy to hold her all night if she wanted. He was glad she could let herself rest like that. It had to be better than coffee and stubbornness, which he was

Comments

[dc_knight]

Tired, bone tired, he stopped and turned to look at Clarke. Clarke. It was only fair to start thinking of the kid by his name and not his preferred nickname for him. "One." He said, shortly, having a feeling what this was really about. Abby would never let anyone but her deliver news on a case to him.

[centerishome]

It's true, Abby wouldn't. Especially not the guy she affectionately called Squirt sometimes.

Clarke was so relieved when Gibbs responded. He half expected the man to pretend not to hear him or to just say no. Gibbs had no duty to Clarke, no reason he had to talk to him. God knows this week had to have been hard for Gibbs too.

"Thank you. I think we're alone down here but if you want to go back to my office area to ensure privacy that's okay too."

[dc_knight]

He shifts a bit, staring at the kid. He's still a kid. He may have the stones to stand up to Jenny Shepard, but he's still a kid. He doesn't say anything, just tilts his head and waits for the guy to talk.

[centerishome]

He'll turn 26 on New Years Day. He pays his bills. He has a job. He's totally self-sufficient. Even so, he's still a kid and the way Gibbs is regarding him right now says that he's thinking that right now but Clarke doesn't care. He presses on