Redefining The Future

Making Amends

Chapter 14 - Making Amends

"Hey handsome, what ya doin'?"

Gibbs smiled as he heard her greeting through his cell phone. He could tell by the tone in her voice she was smiling too. It felt so good to hear her again. Despite having called each night, this call was one of need and comfort. Having sent Tony to his room, Gibbs had been at a complete loss as to what to do. Deciding to take a walk to the lake, he had called Jenny, more out of a need to hear her voice rather than a desire for advice.

She listened quietly while he debriefed, adding the expected 'hmmms' and 'yeahs' at the appropriate times. When he finally finished, he waited for her to say something, surprised at how much better he already felt having just chronicled the previous twenty four hours.

"Well," she said, giving a small chuckle. "I guess we now know Ziva wasn't looking at the stars."

Gibbs snorted. "Yeah," he acknowledged.

"Go easy on her," Jenny said softly. "She meant well."

"I've already punished her for that," replied Gibbs. "I mean I'm not thrilled she lied to me about what she was doing, but I can understand her motive. Would've done the same thing."

"So then, what are we going to do about the son and heir?" asked Jenny. "I guess you need to take into account he wasn't going to go to the mines and, he actually didn't end up going anywhere."

"But his intent was to take off, Jen," argued Gibbs. "If it wasn't for Ziva looking out for him, that's exactly what he would have done."

"Ok," agreed Jenny. "So he needs to be punished. You've never had a problem with that before, why the hesitancy now?"

"It's not the punishment I'm worried about," said Gibbs, rubbing his forehead. "It's the rebellion that's got me stumped. He's just so argumentative these days and moody. I know it's hormones," Gibbs added quickly when he heard Jenny's intake of breath indicating she was about to speak. "But I just don't know what I should let go and what I should pull him up for."

"Yes you do Jethro," said Jenny softly. "You were the one who told me when I was ready to throttle him a couple of weeks ago. Remember?"

When Gibbs didn't respond, she continued.

"If his attitude is in anyway disrespectful to others, or it hurts them in some way, then we pull him up for it. If it's just a mood or a means of expressing how he's feeling, we let it go."

She waited for Gibbs to speak.

"Yeah I know," he said sighing. "It's just so damn frustrating. He pushes my buttons and I have to try so hard sometimes to stay calm."

"He's eleven, Hon," said Jenny simply. "He a pre-teen who's stretching his wings and figuring out his place in the world. And he's doing it because he feels safe. Be thankful he's testing the boundaries now and learning from his mistakes while he's still young. He never had that chance before. He only really became accountable for his actions once he was an adult. This is part of that second chance."

Gibbs nodded. Then, realizing Jenny couldn't see him, said softly, "Yeah, you're right."

"Sorry Hon, what was that?" asked Jenny, an edge of mischief in her tone.

"You heard," replied Gibbs gruffly but she had made him smile.

So, how's things your end?" he asked, genuinely interested in what was going on. He knew she had already informed Eli and Senior about their missing children and was now just waiting for the next stage of their plan to be implemented.