Gibbs had been in his basement, shutting himself out of the outside world, keeping to himself as he had his usual drinks of whiskey and focused on his next boat project. While being in his basement, it helped ease his mind from his own internal struggles, ones he did not share at all—but ones everyone could guess he was having; loneliness, sadness, pain. Working long hours did help, too. Most of these feelings came from losing his first wife and only child some years back. Sure, he had tried to remarry again.. three different times, but it never worked. Great track record for him—four marriages, three failed ones.

There was one other person he had talked to outside of work, or perhaps even during work hours because of the type of work he did. You. You were a fellow agent, but worked in Quantico for the FBI. Gibbs saw you occasionally, usually when Fornell surely did not feel like driving to Washington, d.c., so he sent you instead. Some could say you were like Gibbs—stubborn, bossy, focused. Gibbs admired you, liked the way you operated. Even Gibbs’ own team realized this, noticing the similarities you and Gibbs shared. They thought you two would be absolutely perfect together, finally getting rid of Gibbs’ loneliness.

But for Gibbs, he was not looking to ever be with someone again. When someone has been married the amount of times he has, there was no point anymore. Plus, he was getting too old for this.

However, it is not like he never thought about you when down in his basement sometimes, or maybe a lot of the time. You were someone he did not just tolerate, but someone who he had grown a liking towards. Gibbs knew he could never find someone like Shannon again, someone who he could absolutely love to the fullest. But as his mind filled with what he never experienced much anymore, emotion, it was possible you could be that person.

But given his stubborn and stoic demeanor, he would turn down these emotions, try to ignore them, but it was incredibly difficult, but that did not mean he would not try. Even if part of him really did want to try something more intimate with you. As he sipped on his whiskey, the sound of heels clicking against the floor could be heard from upstairs. His gaze shifted to the stairs, seeing your familiar figure.