Family Ties

Part Two

Gibbs' POV: 

I stood in the center of the living room dumbstruck as Mia entered the bathroom. As soon as I heard the shower turn on, I made my way upstairs to get myself ready. With no idea which restaurant I was being dragged to, I opted to dress up fully. black slacks, An aqua button up shirt and a black suit jacket. I was walking into our upstairs bathroom barefoot since my dress shoes were uncomfortable.

After getting freshened up, I decided to wait for Mia in the dining rom. As the clock ticked closer to the twenty minute mark, I was beginning to wonder if she would be done soon. At exactly nine-twenty, she emerged completely ready. She was a vision in her sparkly, black dress. Her hair was done up in some type of braid. The style reminded me of how she wore her hair on our wedding day. Her black strappy sandals were fastened into a bow halfway up her calf.

"Are you gonna put on your shoes, Marine?" she asked teasingly. " Or shall we go barefoot?" I shoot her a 'I think we should just stay right here' look, which she seems to recognize. A deep red color creeps its way up her neck from behind her carefully applied makeup. After I stop to admire how easy it is to make my wife blush, I sit down only long enough to fasten my shoes tightly. Mia leads us out the front door. As I reach a hand behind me to pull the door shut, she tosses me the keys to her SUV. With only the tiniest display of effort, I catch the keyring one-handed. Before she can make it to the passenger side, I speed past her to open the door for her. A bright smile breaks from her lips. "Thank you. Such a gentleman." she says as she lowers herself softly into the seat. "Shhhh." I smirk. "Tell no one". With that I get into the car and begin to drive. It takes only five minutes and a handful of directions to realize why we had to leave forty minutes before our reservation. If my suspicions about our destination were correct. We were about to be severely overdressed.

--------TIME JUMP (SMALL ONE)----------

Amelia's POV

As Jay pulled the car into the parking lot, I instinctively clutched my handbag. My excitement for sharing this news was about to boil over. It was all I could think about the entire ride. Rendering me almost as quiet as I had been when we first met. As soon as the car was parked, I looked over at Jay and fought the urge to blab right there. Instead, I bolted out of the car and began a brisk jog towards the restaurant. Looking back, I playfully gestured for Jay to follow. He smirked at me through the windshield before shaking his head playfully and walking calmly towards me. Most likely assuming my 'child-like excitement' as he called it had gotten the better of me

The atmosphere inside of 'Frankie'z Sea Fair' was obviously quite nautical. This was where we had first met. No it wasn't a first date. Three years ago. then I was but a nineteen year old culinary grad, I was offered to work here by the owner himself. I turned down every offer he gave. Until he offered me head chef. I worked here up until I opened my own place about nine months ago. I met Jay when he asked to speak directly to the chef. I assumed it would be another person looking to have their meal comped. But, he wanted to complement the meal. That was until I arrived at the table. The the conversation went on about how I couldn't be the chef. And please get him/ her. It was an awful first meeting to say the least.

As Jethro finally caught up, we went inside the second set of doors leading to the reception area of the simple seafood eatery. Why Frank decided to make such a tacky restaurant but such high-end dishes, I will never know. I was pulled from my thoughts when a heard someone clear their throat. I look up to see the hostess, a leggy blonde who was wearing about six layers of makeup, chewing on a wad of gum. I shake my head to refocus. I put on my trained customer service fake smile. "Hello, reservation for Amelia Gibbs." I say clear and calmly. the girl quits chewing and looks at the list. " Ah, yes. Miss Gibbs. Frankie has you in the event room. Right this way." she says and begins to lead us off before I can correct her. As we walked, she kept looking back at us. When we finally got to the event room, it was decorated just as instructed. golds and silvers everywhere and not a boat or anchor in sight. As we took our pick of the many tables in the large room, the hostess finally decided to stop staring and ask. "Excuse me. um... aren't you the old head chef here? the one Franky was sweet on?" And there it was. The second the words left her mouth, Jay was gone and now, in his place was SSA Leroy Jethro Gibbs. jealousy set him off and turned him into a snarky, silent professional. I could see the light leave his eyes. I don't even know where that came from. I guess rumors. That is what happens when a nineteen year old becomes head chef over the worker who were there first. Everyone always looks for foul play. Even when the only reason the others weren't promoted was laziness. "I am unsure how that is any of your business. I have rented out a very expensive event room to try and enjoy my ANNIVERARY dinner with my husband. If I am to expect being accosted by the staff, I shall seek out a better eating establishment. AND its MRS. GIBBS" I spit at her in a low, but spiteful voice. Her eyes go wide before offering a hushed 'sorry' and leaving as quickly as her undernourished legs could carry her.

"L.J., are you okay?" I ask him. I never call him LJ unless I'm worried. It is either Jethro, Jay or a pet name. I don't want the opinion of some barely-working-age girl to ruin of first wedding anniversary. But, as I grab at his hand, he lifts his head to show a smirk. "Wow. looks like my own wife could give me a run for my money" he says thought a giant smile. "Oh. pah-lease, I have a long way to go for that." We sat and talked for a long while about anything and everything. It was at times like this that I was happy that this place was open 24 hours.

as the food I had preordered for up arrived, Jay's eyes lit up. "I guess this is why we weren't offered a menu" Our own table and a whole other one was filled with delectable dishes, some of which I had fought frank to even add to the menu in the first place. A waiter entered after the others had left. He was carrying the wine I had pick for Jay. He poured Jay's without incident then moved to mine. Jay put is hand over the rim of the wine glass. "She is allergic to alcohol, she cant drink that" he said without breaking my gaze. In my life, this was the first time I was thankful for my severe allergy. Because of it, the wine wasn't able to give away my surprise.

After dinner and a lovely dessert, Jay stood from his chair. "I wasn't sure if we were doing gifts so I made you something." He said as he reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a small wooden box. He handed it to me and I examined it. It was mahogany. And it was obviously made using his well- practiced hands. All around it was Celtic knotwork widdled into the wood itself. On top Are my initials 'AJG'. I opened it and it had a small cylinder on the inside. " It is for your ring when you are at work. I know you worry about losing it. This way you can take it off and store it in here." Jay interjects. "And it can fit in the breast pocket of your chef jackets" He beams with pride. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his midsection. " I love it" I mumble into his chest. I feel a soft kiss on the top of my head. It was now or never

"I wanted to make you an anniversary present, too" I start. I pull just far enough away to look him in the eyes. I see nothing but love and trust as he looks at me. This fact alone makes it impossible to think of him being anything but ecstatic about the news. " But, sadly, your gift wont be here for a few more months" I finish. He raises an eyebrow in a silent question. I put my hand on his chest and push off. walking over to my bag, I pull out the small ultrasound photo I had been carrying everywhere since I first got it printed from my doctor a few weeks ago. With my head still down, I walk over to him and hold out the photo, blank side up. " But I figured I'd at least show you what you will be getting" I say as I look in his eyes and slowly turn the photo over. His eyes remain on mine for just a second before settling on the photo in my hand. He gently takes it from me and looks at it. It took him a moment to realize it was a print-out of a 3D ultrasound.

I hazard a look in his eyes to see a tear threatening to break free. "I know we mess with each other. But if this is a joke, I think ill die" he says with a shaky voice. I don't know if the statement should make me laugh or feel offended. I settle on a bit of both. " I figured there would be a moment of shock" I said as I returned to my bag and fished out four different pregnancy tests, which I only took a few days ago for affect in case this exact scenario played out, and threw then over to my left blindly. As always, he catches everything without fail. I didn't even have enough time to stand fully up before I am lifted up off my feet in a bear hug and spun around. a large smile on both of our faces.