A/N: Well, ladies and gentlemen, here we are: the final chapter in "Shattered". It's been a wonderful journey, and I am somewhat saddened to see it end. You've all been absolutely lovely, and I want to thank you for sticking with me. Your loyalty kept me going even on the days that I didn't particularly feel like writing, and I hope you realise how much you mean to me. Hope you enjoy.

February 22nd, 2007
Four months later

Jennifer Gibbs rolled her eyes as she tried, yet again, to wake her husband from his deep sleep. She reached out to shake his shoulder, and he merely moved farther away from her, causing her to sigh.

"Jethro."

"M'sleeping, Jen."

"Jethro, wake up."

He ignored her, turning over again, and she leaned closer, her hair brushing his face as she brought her lips to his ear.

"Your boat's on fire," she said casually.

He bolted upright, glaring at her as he realised that she was joking.

"Not funny, Jen."

"How else was I supposed to wake you up?"

Glancing at the clock, his angry look only intensified as he read the numbers blinking up at him

"It's 3 in the morning. What is so damned important that you couldn't wait until at least 7?"

Jenny held up her phone, smiling at him.

"David just called me. We're about to be god parents again."

"Heather's in labour?"

She nodded. He swung his feet over the side of the bed, reaching for a clean shirt, and she laughed as he began pulling on his shoes.

"The way you're acting, you'd think I was the one having a baby, Jethro."

"Hurry up," he said shortly.

Pulling on her jacket, Jenny reached for her purse and followed him as he walked quickly down the stairs. She couldn't believe that in a short amount of time, she would be looking at her newest family member, and she smiled as they carefully walked through the snow. Provided that Gibbs didn't drive them into a snow bank first.

"Aunt Jenny! Uncle Jethro! Mommy's having the baby!"

Jenny smiled as Tori hugged her excitedly, and glanced at Gibbs. He knelt down to be level with her and looked at her seriously.

"Are you going to help your mother take care of her?"

Tori nodded, her eyes bright even in spite of the late hour. David sighed as he walked closer, and nodded by way of a greeting.

"Jenny. Jethro. Sorry about her, she's been like this all night."

Jenny laughed, waving his apology away.

"She's excited, David. After all, it's not every day that you become a big sister."

Gibbs frowned, looking at the younger man curiously.

"Why aren't you with Heather?"

David sighed.

"She kicked me out," he admitted.

"Mommy said a bunch of bad words," Tori added with a laugh.

Jenny nodded.

"Yes, I imagine she did."

They all turned at the sound of a doctor calling David's name, and he looked to his daughter seriously.

"Tori, stay here with Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jethro."

She nodded, and Jenny led her over to the plastic chairs in the waiting room. The little girl was practically buzzing with excitement, and Gibbs smiled at his wife as she pulled her into her lap. There was a strange thoughtful look on the older redhead's face, and he frowned as he looked at her. This was a happy moment, so why did she look so upset?

As Jenny held Tori on her lap, she couldn't help but wonder what was happening in the delivery room. The thought of childbirth was absolutely terrifying to her, and she felt an almost overwhelming sense of admiration for her younger sister. Her eyes misted over as she realised that she had missed this the first time around with Tori, and she felt an intense feeling of shame wash over her.

She could feel her husband watching her, and she met his concerned eyes slowly. He raised his eyebrow in question, and she shook her head. This was a conversation better left for another time. The doors that led to the maternity ward suddenly opened, and David walked out, smiling broadly.

"Tori, do you want to meet your baby sister?"

Tori jumped down from Jenny's lap, running to her father, and she grabbed his hand, dragging him down the hall. Gibbs laughed, shifting his chair to be closer to Jenny, and he reached for her hand.

"What is it, Jen?"

Shaking her head, she sighed, raising her emerald eyes to his.

"I just...I missed out on so much of Heather's life. And Tori's. All because I was so wrapped up in my own pain that I pushed her away. I feel so stupid."

Gibbs kissed her hand, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"You're here now. That's all that matters."

He leaned closer, kissing her softly, and she smiled as their lips met.

"Sorry to interrupt, but do you want to see the baby?"

Jenny glanced at David, surprised that she hadn't noticed him return, and she nodded. She couldn't wait to meet her newest goddaughter.

Heather gave them a weak smile as they entered the room quietly, and Jenny gasped softly at the tiny baby resting on her chest.

"Are you okay?" Jenny asked.

Her sister nodded, kissing the top of her newborn daughter's head.

"Perfectly fine. Do you want to hold her, Jenny?"

Jenny nodded, unable to speak and as the tiny bundle of blankets was passed to her, she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face.

"She's so beautiful," she whispered.

"What's her name?" Gibbs asked.

"Lana," Heather replied, "Lana Grace."

Jenny smiled, still staring at the baby, and she pulled the blanket back to get a better look at her face. Lana slowly opened her eyes, locking onto Jenny's as she watched, and she laughed softly.

"Hi, Lana Banana. I'm your Aunt Jenny. I hope you realise how many people love you."

She kissed her forehead, unable to stop smiling, and she reached out to touch the baby's cheek gently.

"You're such a beautiful little girl," she murmured, "and I can't wait to spoil you to death."

As Lana's tiny hand wrapped around Jenny's finger, she couldn't stop the tears from filling her eyes. Not that she'd really even tried.

Gibbs had never seen Jenny look both simultaneously overjoyed and terrified, but that was exactly how he would have described her as she held her newest niece in her arms. Her green eyes were bright with tears, and as she kissed the tiny baby, he found that his own smile refused to leave his face. He took a step closer, placing his hand at the small of her back and leaned close, lips brushing her ear as he spoke.

"You know, Jen...there's still time for you to change your mind."

She laughed, shaking her head and turned to face him.

"No, thank you. Want to hold her?"

He hesitated as he considered her question. He hadn't held a baby in over twenty years, but he found himself nodding without even realising it. Jenny placed Lana into his arms, and he smiled as he looked into her large eyes.

"Hi there, princess. I'm your Uncle Jethro. You're such a precious little girl, and your Aunt

Jenny is right: we're going to spoil you to death. Just don't tell your mommy," he said conspiratorially.

"You know I can still hear you, right?" Heather laughed.

He shrugged, lightly bouncing Lana in his arms.

"You really think you can stop Jenny when she sets her mind on something?"

"Good point," Heather agreed.

"Excuse me...standing right here," Jenny said, rolling her eyes.

Jenny couldn't tear her eyes away from Gibbs as he held Lana, realising that this was how he would have looked as he'd held Kelly when she'd been born. He handed her back to her mother after a few moments, and Jenny walked closer, leaning over to her her sister carefully.

"We'll give you three time alone," she said quietly, "but you'd better bring her by as soon as you can."

Heather nodded, her eyes only for the infant in her arms.

"We will. Thank you for being here, Jenny."

She knew, even as she hugged her sister again, that Heather wasn't simply referring to Lana's birth. She was thanking her for being there for all the moments she had missed out on. For giving her another chance to be a part of her life, and Jenny nodded.

"Always."

She kissed Lana's head one last time before she straightened up, and smiled as she looked into the baby's bright eyes.

"Bye, Lana Banana. I'll see you soon."

"Oh, god...that's going to end up sticking, Jenny."

The older redhead nodded.

"You know it."

Giving both Tori and David a hug as she left the room, Jenny found herself reaching for Gibbs' hand as they walked back down the hallway. Just before they made it to the waiting room, Jenny stopped, and he glanced down at her curiously.

"Jen?"

"She's so beautiful."

He was surprised to see tears shining in her green eyes, and he frowned.

"She is," he agreed.

Jenny was silent for a long moment, and just as he was about to ask her what was wrong, she took a deep breath.

"How could you stand it? Holding her?"

He took her hand, leading her through the waiting room, and as they waited in front of the elevator, he gave her a smile.

"Running away from it doesn't make the pain go away. It took me a long time to figure that out, but I finally realised that I had to face it in order to move on."

She nodded, stepping onto the lift as the doors opened.

"Besides, how could I not hold her? She's perfect."

Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, Gibbs kissed her hair gently, and she smiled.

"I love you."

"I love you more."

Jenny glanced up at him, frowning.

"I feel like we've had this conversation before."

He nodded, kissing her again.

"We have. And we're going to keep having it for the rest of our lives."

"I can't wait."

Walking down into the basement four hours later, Jenny smiled as she watched her husband sort through the wood he had accumulated for his newest aquatic endeavour. He returned her smile as he straightened up and he dusted the sawdust from his jeans slowly. She reached across the work table, pulling the bottle of bourbon towards her, and as she took a slow drink, he frowned. He was still a bit wary of her drinking, but he knew that he needed to show her that he trusted her.

He walked closer, leaning against the table, and she smiled as he took a drink from the bottle.

"Making any progress?" she asked conversationally.

He nodded, and gestured to the pile of lumber.

"Slowly."

Jenny laughed, walking over to examine the wood, and as she sifted through it, he found himself mesmerised by the sight of her. It was still hard to believe, even after all this time, that she was really his wife, and he smiled. The image of her holding Lana at the hospital was burned into his memory, and he wanted nothing more than to remind her just how beautiful she really was.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to refuse him, he whistled sharply, causing her to look up, and he smirked.

"Come here," he murmured huskily, beckoning her closer.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled, walking slowly over to him. Her eyes roamed over his body as he leaned against the table and she hooked her fingers into the belt loops of his jeans, pulling him to her.

"Yes?" she whispered.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?"

"Remind me."

His hand went to the small of her back, holding her to him firmly, and he brought his lips to hers in a deep kiss that left her breathless. As her fingers threaded into his hair, she moaned, his tongue sweeping into her mouth urgently.

"Jethro?"

"Hm?"

"Take me to bed," she said, her voice low.

Her eyes were dark with desire, and he nodded, not trusting himself to speak. They all but ran to the steps, removing clothing as they went, and when they tumbled into the bed less than a minute later, Gibbs knew that there was no other place he would rather be. Though they still had a long way to go with many aspects of their lives, they were going to conquer it the same way they had everything else: together, or not at all.

A/N: While this story is finished, I'm not leaving this universe behind. I plan on writing a few one-shots set within the "Shattered" realm, so this isn't the last you've seen of these two.