Long Time, No See

Ding-dong.

Was it too much to ask to be left alone... thought Jethro Gibbs as his doorbell rang for the third time. The one night the entire week he'd made it home before dark, and someone was at his door. He was never going to get his boat finished at this rate.

"What!" he snapped as he threw open the door, planning to give the caller the full force of his irritation.

The first thing he noticed was the wide, startled eyes, in a shade of green that was vaguely familiar.

"Um, hi." said a young, female voice; hesitant as she obviously struggled to speak, in the face of his annoyance. "I...ah..."

There was something very familiar about her, and it wasn't just the hair. Hair which was almost an identical shade to his first wife, Shannon's. The thought of her still brought a tight ache to his chest, and this visitor was almost too much.

"Willow?" he asked, wonder and disbelief colouring his voice as he placed the face of his visitor with that of the eight year old he remembered.

A weak smile started to curve her lips at the recognition.

"Hi, Uncle Jethro."

"Get in here." he told her, his own smile sliding across his face as his earlier irritation was forgotten. It had been close to fifteen years since he'd seen her, the last time at the memorial service for his wife and daughter. Even then, she'd reminded him so much of the wife and daughter he'd lost, that it was almost too much for him to bear. When he'd found her hiding in the back closet, he'd felt his heart begin to beat again. She was the same age as Kelly. The two of them could have been sisters the way they acted around each other. In fact, when they were together, he'd felt like he had two daughters.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, guiding her to his semi-functional living room.

"Well, since it's Spring Break and all, I decided to actually take a break and go somewhere different, and then I thought of you because for years ..a-after..I ...um...I kept bugging Mom and Dad to come see you again, but they never wanted too - always had an excuse - but I didn't have one, so I booked a ticket out to Washington and grabbed a cab here all the while hoping you hadn't moved or anything and I....." At this she finally paused, and Jethro was amazed to see this habit carried over into adulthood. As a child, Willow had been constantly talking, questioning and describing everything that came into her mind or field of vision. It had not been normal behaviour for the inquisitive child, who he was told rarely spoke more than five words at a time, so he was extra proud when he managed to turn his niece into a babbling machine.

He also noticed she was biting her lip in anxiety, another trait carried over from childhood. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just good to see you again." he told her, pleased when he saw a wide smile break across her face. His arms were suddenly filled as she threw herself into a spontaneous hug, squeezing him hard. Reflexively, his own arms wrapped themselves around her body, pulling her tight into his embrace.

They stayed in that position for some time, the only sound the whispered words of Special Agent Gibbs.

"I missed you, too."

END

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