Chapter 11 - Burning the Past
The early morning sunlight filtered through the gap in the drapes, falling gently on the back of Jenny's head and highlighting the golden tips dispersed through her hair. As Gibbs watched the dancing light, he was reminded again of how precious she was to him and reinforced his determination to resolve this issue once and for all. He wasn't prepared to watch her repeat another night like the last.
The degree of distress and violence she had displayed had shocked him, leaving him restless and unable to sleep for a couple of hours. So when two little heads had appeared once again at the bedroom door an hour after Jenny had fallen asleep, he had opened his arms, inviting them to join him in the bed.
Now as he lay sandwiched between Jenny on his right and Tony and Ziva on his left, he was struck with the thought that a king sized bed was going to become a priority purchase if anyone was planning on actually sleeping anytime in the near future. Gently lifting his head he looked at the bedside clock on Jenny's side. 6.47am. Putting his head back on the pillow he was contemplating how to extract himself from his current predicament, when a little voice whispered, "Morning Daddy."
Turning his head, he was greeted by the beautiful smile of his daughter. Her chocolate brown eyes danced in the sunlight, twinkling with mischief.
"Good morning pumpkin," he said smiling.
She rolled herself up and climbed onto his chest, sitting straddled on his stomach. Puckering her lips, she leaned forward and, saying "cheek," she planted a sloppy kiss on his left cheek.
Continuing their morning ritual, she followed this with a second "cheek," kissing the other side, "head," kissing his forehead, "nose," a peck on the tip and finally "lips" ending with a loud 'smack' on his lips. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled in for a snuggle.
Having been distracted by Ziva's morning ministrations, Gibbs hadn't seen Jenny turn and watch the morning greeting.
"That has to be videoed as soon as possible," she said grinning. "What a precious start to the morning."
"Hi Jenny," greeted Ziva smiling. "I can do it to you too," she offered.
"That sounds just perfect," answered Jenny.
Ziva crawled across to Jenny and repeated the ritual leaning in for a cuddle when she had finished.
"Hey Ziva," said Gibbs suddenly. "You forgot the last bit."
Seeing Ziva's confused looked, he said, "The tickle," and immediately began to tickle Jenny's side, occasionally adding Ziva into the mix. As both Jenny and Ziva giggled and writhed, it wasn't long before Tony was joining in and suddenly no one knew who was tickling who but everyone was laughing.
As everyone began to tire and the tickling stopped, Gibbs smiled to himself. He really was the luckiest man in the world.
"Hey Mom," said Tony panting slightly from all the giggling. "How about we have some bacon and eggs this morning?"
"Mom?" questioned Ziva.
"Yep," said Tony confidently. "I've decided to call Jenny, Mom. She's like a mom to us and I want to call her that. Plus, when people see us out, they will know that we are a family."
Not really knowing how to react or what to say, Ziva just nodded and chose not to respond immediately. Jenny watched her face and knew that she was processing what Tony had said.
"I don't expect you to call me Mom," she said to Ziva. "I think of you as my daughter regardless of whether you want to call me Mom or Jenny. Names don't matter sweetie, it's the fact that I love you that's important."
Ziva nodded then asked, "Can I think about it?"
"Of course honey," replied Jenny. "It's completely up to you, no pressure OK?"
"What's to think about Zi?" asked Tony. "I thought you'd want to call Jenny Mom?"
"I do Tony, but I still have a Mother," said Ziva carefully. "What will she think if I call someone else that name?"
"But you don't call her Mom, you call her Ima," argued Tony. "So it's different. She can be your Ima and Jenny can be your Mommy."
Ziva listened carefully to Tony's reasoning. "You're right," she said slowly. "It is different."
Turning to Jenny she said, "Could I call you Mom as well? I won't call you Ima because I don't want to hurt Ima's feelings, but it would be ok to call you Mommy or Mom. Would that be OK?"
"Honey, that would be just wonderful," answered Jenny, tears forming again in her eyes. "I'm the luckiest lady in the world," she added.
"Bring it in," she said, holding out her arms and inviting Tony and Ziva to fall into them. As both children fell on top of her, a loud 'oomph' could be heard from the bottom of the scrum.
"Agh," she squeaked as she was crushed under the weight. "Save me Jethro."
"Nah uh," he said. "You invited them."
Suddenly he heard a muffled, "Attack Daddy!" and with the speed of lightening, he rolled out of bed and was standing free before Ziva and Tony had a chance to turn on him.
"OK," he said, "Who wants pancakes lovingly cook by Daddy or who wants boring bacon and eggs?"
"Bacon and eggs!" yelled Tony.
"Pancakes," yelled Ziva.
"Well I see we are a house divided," said Gibbs. "I guess I'll have to share the stove then."
"Yep," said Jenny getting out of bed. "I'm going to have pancakes and bacon and eggs."
"Hey, that's a plan," said Tony.
"Right then," said Gibbs looking at Tony and Ziva. "You two go and get dressed and I'll meet you in the kitchen."
As both children scrambled off the bed and out the door, he turned to Jenny and asked, "How are you feeling this morning?"
"OK," she answered avoiding his eyes and grabbing some clothes from the floor. "I'll just jump in the shower and meet you downstairs in a minute."
As she turned to head into the bathroom, he gently took hold of her arm.
"I mean it Jen," he said softly. "We're going to talk today."
When she looked down and didn't respond, he lifted her chin and spoke again, "Jen?"
She sighed deeply and nodded. "I know. Later, OK?"
"I'll be holding you to it," he said leaning in and gently kissing her.
"I know you will," she said rolling her eyes.
Wrapping his arms around her, he rubbed her back and said, "It's only because I care Jen. I can't bear to see you go through another night like last night. Do you have any idea how frightening it was to watch you scream and fight like a caged animal?"
"I'm OK." she argued. "It was just a dream."
Shaking his head in frustration he replied, "Only a dream? What dream does this?"
He held up his arm where she had bitten into the flesh. It was swollen and red.
"God Jethro," she exclaimed. "Did I do that?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "Not only that, but you had your fingers around my throat ready to kill the tormentor in your terror. That's not normal Jen, and today, we figure out what to do next."
"But-" she began.
"No buts!" he answered firmly. "I either hear it from you, or Fornell, and I know who I'd prefer."
He watched her shoulders slump in defeat, knowing she realised he was right. She nodded, still not looking him in the eye.
"I love you Jen, and I won't watch you destroy yourself over this," he whispered softly as he held her close. "You mean far too much to me."
They stood there for a couple of minutes, wrapped in each other's arms, each enjoying the comfortable silence.
"OK," said Gibbs pulling away from her and looking her in the eyes. "You go and have a shower and I'll make a start on the pancakes. If I don't hurry up, Tony will begin eating the raw ingredients."
She smiled at his attempt at humour and nodded.
"Good girl," he said kissing her on forehead and then laughed as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm not five Jethro," she said grumpily as she turned and stomped to the bathroom.
"No, you're right," he called after her. "That walk was definitely more like a three year old."
Turning she poked out her tongue then, as he made to advance on her, she giggled and slammed the door shut. Smirking to himself, he pulled on some sweatpants and headed out the room.
With breakfast over and Tony and Ziva playing in the back yard, Gibbs headed upstairs for a quick shower. Finding Jenny sitting on the bed, he asked, "You OK?"
"Yeah," she said, "You rung Fornell?"
"Not yet, I'll do it after my shower," replied Gibbs heading into the bathroom. "It's only nine o'clock and this is his weekend without Emily."
She nodded, then realising he wouldn't have seen her, called "OK" and laid on the bed.
Although she knew Gibbs was right, she still wasn't looking forward to their little chat later. For the past twelve years, she had managed to keep her secret bottled tightly, the only outward sign that something was bothering her were the traitorous night terrors. She banged her fist on the bed. "Damn dreams," she mumbled aloud.
She thought about how she could explain things to Gibbs without necessarily telling him the whole story. Maybe she could leave out the worst part, telling him only of her hate of La Grenouille and what he had done to her Father.
'Don't be an idiot Jen,' she reprimanded herself. 'He'll know. Gibbs always knows!'
"What do I always know?"
Gasping she sat up. She hadn't even heard him turn off the taps, let alone start the shaver. She also hadn't realised she'd spoken the last sentence out loud.
Coming up to her and sitting on the edge of the bed, Gibbs repeated, "What do I always know?"
"Everything," she replied.
"Not thinking of only tell me half the story are ya Jen?" he asked.
Damn his uncanny knack of reading people's minds, she thought to herself.
"Who me?" she asked innocently. "Never."
"You know Jen," he said pointing to her right eye. "When you lie, your right eye twitches. Always has."
Surprised at this revelation, she resolved to train herself to stop that tell-tale sign as soon as possible.
"And there's no point training yourself to stop it happening because you'll only develop another tell," he responded.
"How...?" she began incredulously. Then shaking her head, she said, "Never mind."
Laughing at the look on her face, Gibbs changed the subject saying, "OK, I'm going to see if I can impose on Abby one more time this weekend and see if she wants to take Tony and Ziva to the movies this afternoon. Then I'll call Fornell."
Getting up from the bed, Gibbs grabbed a clean t-shirt and a pair of jeans and quickly dressed.
"I think I might go and sit outside for a bit. See what Tony and Ziva are up to," said Jenny also getting up from the bed. "Come and meet me outside when you're done?" she asked wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging tightly.
"Yep," he replied returning the hug and resting his chin on her head.
She pulled away and he watched as she left the room. He had to smile. She looked like a prisoner on death row who had just been told this was her final day. Shoulders slumped, head bowed, he knew she was dreading this afternoon. But remembering the events of last night helped Gibbs to steel himself against her misery and push on with his plan. Surely she would feel better after telling him. And, just maybe, he might even be able to help.
As Gibbs strolled out onto the patio, he could see the backyard was deserted. Assuming everyone was in the tree house, he headed in that direction. Reaching the ladder, he could hear muffled voices coming from above and quickly climbed the rungs until he was level with the door. Sitting on the floor facing away from him, with Tony and Ziva either side of her was Jenny. One arm was wrapped around Tony's shoulder and the other played with Ziva's hair as the child's head rested in her lap. She was telling them a story, one she'd obviously remembered from childhood.
"...And as she struck the third match, the face of her grandmother suddenly appeared. The Little Match Girl was so filled with joy to see her grandmother again, she lit every match in her box not wanting the image to fade. When the last match had been lit, she desperately reached out her arms not wanting her grandmother to disappear like all the other images. But to her delight she was swept into a loving hug as her grandmother gathered her up and took her to heaven. And, as the cold dawn finally drifted over the alleyway, passersby were saddened to the see the body of the little girl, huddled in the corner. Around her were scattered the many matches she had lit to try and keep warm. But when they looked at her pale, lifeless face and saw the radiant smile, they were surprised. For they didn't know the miracle that had taken place that night. How a poor little match girl had been reunited with her loving grandmother and taken away from the cold, dark world to live with her in paradise."
"That's such a sad story," said Ziva, sighing deeply after Jenny had finished telling the story. "But happy too, because she got to be with her grandmother again."
"Yes," said Jenny. "That was my favourite story as a little girl."
"Do you think that could really happen?" asked Tony. "If I lit a match, do you think I would see my mom again?"
Jenny hugged him tighter and replied, "I think the little match girl was able to see her grandmother because her life on earth was so miserable. I think she was dying that night and her grandmother came to take her to heaven."
"I feel so sad for her," said Ziva. "She had no-one to love her anymore."
"Yeah," added Tony. "I felt like that when I lost my Mom. I felt alone and frightened."
He thought for a minute then added, "I guess I kind of got my match wish too. Now I've got a Dad and a Mom." He looked up at Jenny and smiled. "And an annoying little sister," he said flicking Ziva's pony tail.
"Hey!" said Ziva, looking up at him. "I'm not as annoying as a stinky big brother."
"I'm not stinky!" argued Tony. "Well maybe when I do this." And, lifting up on one hip he lead rip with a loud fart.
"Oh Tony!" exclaimed Jenny. "That is truly disgusting!"
"Tony!" yelled Ziva. "My head it right down here!"
As the smell drifted towards them, Ziva and Jenny rose suddenly.
"Oh that stinks!" complained Ziva, fanning her hand over her nose.
Tony sniffed the air appreciatively. "Ah, good brew that one!" he said proudly.
"I'm leaving!" said Ziva.
"Right behind ya," added Jenny.
As they both turned to the little doorway, they saw Gibbs standing there, his head resting on the frame.
"Daddy," whined Ziva. "Can you tell Tony to stop farting on purpose?"
"Sorry Zi," said Gibbs laughing. "That is the right of every boy. It's his only defense against a household of women."
He looked over at Tony who grinned at him and gave him the thumbs up signal.
"Don't worry Honey," said Jenny as she moved behind Ziva and towards the exit. "Well think of something to get revenge."
"Yeah," said Ziva, grinning mischievously. "I have lots of things I could do that don't even leave a mark."
Seeing Tony pale at Ziva's words, Gibbs took hold of Ziva and lifted her out of the tree house. When he deposited her on the ground he said sternly, "No torture tactics! Otherwise I'll be adding something that does leave a mark!"
He watched her frown and cross her arms.
"No fair Daddy," she complained.
"Not to worry, sweetie," added Jenny as she too was helped down from the tree house. "Between the two of us, we'll be able to think of something that Daddy won't find out about." She grinned cheekily at him.
"Don't encourage her!" Gibbs added in mock sternness, landing a playful swat to her jean clad backside as he set her on the ground.
"You coming down too?" he asked Tony, looking into the tree house as Jenny and Ziva headed back to the kitchen.
"Yep," said Tony decisively. "It stinks in here!"
It was just after 1.30 when Abby came bounding through the front door.
"Hey there, Gibblettes! You ready for a fun filled afternoon of movie madness?" she said grinning as both Tony and Ziva ran up to her.
"You bet!" answered Tony. "The new Cars movie has just been released. Can we go and see that, pleeeeease!" he begged.
"That was the plan," she added. "That and an extra large coke and a bucket of popcorn!"
"Ah, Abs," interjected Gibbs. "Popcorn yes, Coke, no! Let's not repeat yesterday. Either water or natural juice."
"Got it Papa Gibbs," said Abby saluting him.
"Other hand Abs," he said automatically.
She immediately swapped.
Handing her some money, Gibbs didn't let her argue saying that she had paid for yesterday and today was his treat for all of them. Abby flung her hands around his neck and hugged tightly.
"Now, be good," he said in true parent fashion. "Ziva, no throwing popcorn, ice or anything else you may get your hands on. Tony, no fooling around in the theatre, stay with Abby and do as you're told. Abby, no sugar and if there's anything politically incorrect in the movie, no protesting!"
He smiled at his three kids as they looked up at him.
"Wow," said Tony. "Even Abby gets a warning and she's a grown up!"
"You bet," said Gibbs. "Once a kid, always a kid." He smiled at Abby who returned the grin.
"Ok," he said shuffling them out. "Have fun and I'll see you later on."
Closing the door, Gibbs sighed. Now for the hard part of the afternoon.
As he carried the two cups of coffee into the living room, he passed one to Jen and took a seat next to her on the sofa. They both took a sip, each avoiding being the first to speak.
"So," said Gibbs eventually, looking towards Jenny expectantly.
"So," she replied, taking another sip of her coffee and avoiding eye contact.
"Come on Jen," he said encouragingly. "You need to talk about this."
For a while she said nothing but stared into her mug contemplatively. Her hair, which Gibbs had been pleased to see had began to grow again, fell slightly over her face, covering her eyes from his view.
"Well, I guess it all begins twelve years ago," began Jenny.
Gibbs gave a soft sigh of relief and sat back into the sofa but kept his body turned and facing Jenny.
"When my father died," she said.
Gibbs nodded. "Suicide." He said.
"No!" she replied angrily. "It wasn't suicide, he was... wait a minute," she said as she looked at him curiously. "I've never told you about my father. Why would you say suicide?"
"When I rang Fornell earlier, he had already started some research," Gibbs answered.
"Oh yes," she said sarcastically. "And what gems of information did Tobias Fornell find?"
Gibbs sighed.
"There was an old CIA file linking La Grenouille with Jasper Shepard saying that your Father had taken a bribe from The Frog to falsely verify that weapons sold to Russia were destroyed whereas they had, in fact, been sold on the black market by La Grenouille himself. Fornell said that it was during investigations by the CIA that the Colonel committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. His body was found in his...your study."
He looked at Jenny and saw the hardness cross her face. A cold, remoteness he rarely saw.
"That's all Fornell was able to get," Gibbs finished.
"Well that might be the 'official'," she drew imaginary quotation marks in the air with her left hand, "statement, but it's certainly not the truth," she spat glaring at Gibbs.
"Ok, you tell me the truth then," he replied quietly.
"My father did not commit suicide Jethro, he was murdered. I bet the file made no mention of the pressure point mark they found on his hand. That little trick of Ziva's she likes to show people? Well, it was used on my father Jethro, to force him to shoot himself, to make it look like a suicide."
"And you believe La Grenouille forced your father?" asked Gibbs.
"I don't just believe it, I know it to be true," she said coldly.
"How?" Gibbs asked.
"He was the last person to see my father alive. He was in our house. Made some excuse to see my father. I didn't know who he was then, I thought he was someone from work. I was upstairs when I heard a gunshot. When," she faltered, her voice cracking slightly. "When I got to the study, my father was dead and that monster was gone."
"So, how do you know it was him who shot your Father?" Although wanting to believe her, Gibbs could see a major flaw in this story. From what he'd heard so far, there was no definite proof.
"Because, my Father wouldn't kill himself Jethro," she replied angrily. "I knew him. I knew who he was and the last thing he would ever do would be to take a bribe, betray his country, then take the coward's way out. I don't care what their file says, my Father didn't kill himself!"
"OK," said Gibbs calmly. "But unless you have proof-"
"I do have proof," she said quietly.
"The 'thumb tap'?" asked Gibbs. "Did they find evidence to support that La Grenouille had administered it?"
"No," she replied. "It wasn't the thumb tap. Although, that in itself should have been enough proof to show that my Father was forced. But no, that was conveniently left out of the report. It was only mentioned on the autopsy details which I obtained later on."
"Did you take the information to them?" asked Gibbs.
When she nodded, he continued. "So what happened? Was the case re-opened?"
"Yes," she replied. Her voice was almost a whisper. Looking at her, Gibbs could see that her eyes had filled with tears again, tears of both sorrow and anger. No longer pale, her face was now flushed with rage and yet repulsed at the same time.
"And?" he prompted.
A sudden shift fell across her face. Regaining her composure she looked up.
"And nothing," she said coldly. "I guess La Grenouille was worth more to the CIA than my Father's reputation. They dismissed it, saying it was an older injury, inflicted at least three days before his death. In short Jethro, they lied. They lied in order to keep their precious arms dealer."
Gibbs looked carefully at her. Two minutes ago she had looked vulnerable, hurt and scared. Then, within a blink of the eye, her demeanour had changed. Her shoulders had stiffened, her head raised. He hadn't missed the cold, emotionless look that flickered across her face. There was something she wasn't telling him.
"So, what happened next Jen?" he asked. "I know you. You wouldn't have let this go."
"No, I didn't." she said with determination. "That's when I decided to bring this man to justice. I knew I couldn't rely on anyone else to help me, so I made the decision that I would do it myself. That Jethro, is when I decided to join NCIS."
Her gaze fell on him. Green meeting blue. She knew it would only take seconds for him to figure the rest out and, as she watched understanding dawn upon face, she nodded.
"Yes," she affirmed. "I joined NCIS to get revenge. Right from the start I planned to work my way through the ranks, to get as high as I could so that I could bring this monster down. I knew I couldn't do it on my own. He was too clever at hiding. I would need information that would only be supplied in the highest of positions. So I went all the way."
"All the way to Director," he added simply.
"Yes, as far as I could go." Her coldness shocked him. There was no apology for her reasoning, no sign of remorse for the way she had used the agency to enact her plan of revenge.
"And what exactly did this plan of revenge entail?" He wasn't sure he really wanted to know.
"What do you think Jethro?" she said. "I wanted to do to him, what he did to my Father."
"You were willing to murder a man for something you believe he did?" Gibbs shook his head. "Jen, you had no proof!" he exclaimed.
"I had proof," she snarled.
"What, a thumb tap that no-one could verify? A theory based upon your knowledge of your Father's character?" Gibbs was angry. Angry that she could throw away her life like that. Spend years hunting down a man she thought to be guilty. "God Jen, you were considering murder. What proof did you have? What proof was there that would stand up in court and avoid you getting a life sentence or worse?"
"He confessed Jethro!" she yelled. "Is that good enough for you? He damn well confessed. He told me what he had done and he laughed in my face. I don't give a damn what the courts would think, I didn't plan on being captured afterwards."
"When did he confess? Do you have witnesses to that?" Gibbs asked, shocked at this new information.
"Of course not," she snarled again. "He wasn't that stupid. I didn't need witnesses. I just needed him dead."
"When did he confess?" Gibbs asked again.
"Two months after the case was re-opened. He came back to the house to 'have a chat'. That was what he called it." Her eyes had become vulnerable again, hiding a hurt that betrayed her anger.
"What happened Jen?" Gibbs softened his tone, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
"I told you." She pulled away. "He confessed. He told me what he'd done and then he turned and walked out my front door and I never saw him again."
"What are you not telling me Jen?" asked Gibbs quietly.
"Nothing," she snapped.
"Your right eye is telling me different," said Gibbs. He knew there was more to this story than she was telling.
"Damn it Jethro! Can't you just leave it at that? This man killed my father, tried to cover it up by making it look like a suicide and got away with it. Isn't that enough?" She put her cold cup of coffee on the side table and stood up.
"I've told you what you need to know. I've told you what my plans were. Now do you understand why I couldn't come back with you after our mission? I had to follow through with my own plans. This man destroyed everything I loved, he took away everything I valued and I wasn't going to let him walk free."
Gibbs stood up next to her and gripped her shoulders.
"Jen, I of all people understand missions of revenge," he began slowly. "But surely you didn't think you would get away with this. What was your plan as Director? To sanction this kill? On what grounds?"
"Like I said Jethro, I didn't plan on being captured," she said again looking into his face.
Comprehension dawned on him.
"You planned a murder/suicide."
It wasn't a question.
"Yes," she answered.
Gibbs was stunned. He couldn't believe that she was so full of hate for this man, that she would willingly end her own life after taking his. There was definitely more to this.
"I don't buy it," he said suddenly.
"What?" Her voice expressed her confusion.
"I said, I don't buy it," he repeated. "You're too strong for that. The Jennifer Shepard I know would not kill herself in order to enact revenge. There's more to it."
"Stop fishing Jethro," she said angrily twisting away from him. "I've told you what you wanted to know. The rest doesn't matter."
She turned to leave the room but her arms were gripped in a vice-like hold, preventing her from going any further and turning her back to face him.
"Like hell it doesn't!" he growled. Gibbs was angry. Angry that she put such a small value on her life, angry that she would let a man get the better of her.
"Let me go Jethro!" she yelled. "What does it matter? The bastard is dead. Dead at someone else's hand!" She was crying now, her angry words spilling forth with tears of rage and frustration.
"Thank God!" Gibbs yelled back at her. "Otherwise you'd still be hell bent on destroying your own life."
"Who gives a damn!" she screamed. "It was my right to kill the bastard! My right to get revenge! My right to make him pay for what he did to me and my Father!"
In her anger she was no longer guarded with her words. All the pain and suffering of the last twelve years spilled forth as the dam broke.
Gibbs gripped her shoulders and, in his frustration, shook her. "Exactly Jen!" He was yelling as well. "What he did to you? Yet you won't tell me what he did. You say he killed your Father, you say he confessed. Why the hell would he confess?"
"Because he was an arrogant bastard who thought he could take what he wanted from me without any retribution." Her anger was so intense Gibbs feared that she would tip over into insanity.
"He laughed!" she yelled. "He stood over me and laughed. He said I was like my Father, too concerned with ethics and moral goodness to be broken. He told me how he threatened my Father when he wouldn't take the bribe. Told me how he used the pressure point to immobilise his hand. Explained how he forced my father to hold the gun to his head and, how using gloves, he pressed my Father's finger to pull the trigger."
She was shaking now, tears streaming down her face. She had never told this to anyone and now, she couldn't stop the story spilling forth.
"He laughed then. Said it was the perfect plan until I started probing about. He told me if I knew what was good for me I would stop the investigation. I spat in his face and he slapped me hard, calling me an interfering little bitch who needed to be put in her place. I screamed at him, asking if he was going to kill me as well. No, he said, there are better ways to silence a woman. And then," she began to hyperventilate. "And then...then, he raped me."
Her knees crumpled and she began to fall to the floor. If Gibbs hadn't been gripping her shoulders, she would have fallen hard. But, held in his arms, he allowed her to collapse against him, sobbing uncontrollably as the memory of her past surfaced like a tidal wave consuming both her and Gibbs as, together, they crumpled to the floor, holding each other as if their lives depended on it.
Gripping her tightly, Gibbs focused on his breathing, while the woman he loved cried out her past before him. Every memory of what this monster had done to her was laid bare for him to see. The agony, the anger, the shame, the betrayal, it was all exposed and lay naked before them.
Gibbs finally understood now, could comprehend why she had been so determined to end this man's life, why she had sacrificed her own to destroy his. Taking her Father's life was one thing. But not satisfied with that, he had returned to take what little Jenny had left. He had stolen her dignity, her security and her ability to trust. In one heinous act he had destroyed her sense of self and taken a part of her soul. For the first time since hearing about this monster, Gibbs was pleased he was dead. It saved him having to do it.
Rocking on the floor with Jenny in his arms, Gibbs listened to her sob as she grieved for what she had lost. Although it had been hard, Gibbs knew that the only direction from here was forward. She would move on from this, she was strong and determined.
"Jen," he whispered as he stroked her hair from her eyes. "I promise you that whatever hurdles we have to jump, we will do so together. I will never leave you. Your home is right here in my arms and together, we can conquer anything life throws at us."
He didn't know if she'd heard him or not. It really didn't matter. He had made her a promise and, from that moment on, it was a promise Leroy Jethro Gibbs intended to keep.