A/N: So I came up with this as I was watching the finale and seeing Gibbs kinda having to deal with things all alone and I decided that I needed to write something where Sammy is there to help him throw something big. This is similar to the other one I've written but that one was kinda earlier in their relationship and this is maybe the second time she's helped him through this, which would be the anniversary of Shannon and Kelly's death. I hope Gibbs is still in character. Enjoy!

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Soothing the Pain

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Sammy sat on the couch with Gibbs, his head in her lap and his arms around her waist. Today had been rough on him, not because of the case or because of the general events of the day but the anniversary the day represented. Today was the anniversary of Shannon and Kelly's death. She could tell that he hurt more than he let on but that he didn't want the attention from everyone and so she let him keep it to himself like she had the last time when a case had hit close to home and stirred all the pain up again. One thing that was different from the last time though was when they got home and instead of Sammy having to remind Gibbs that she was there for him he sat down on the couch and allowed her to pulled him close and comfort him. Sammy let him use her as his shoulder to cry on and he leaned on her. So how they eventually ended up in the position they were in now and Sammy started running her fingers soothingly through Gibbs' hair.

"Do you want to head up stairs and try to get some sleep?" Sammy asked softly after glancing at her watch a while later and noticing it was starting to get a little on the late side.

Gibbs didn't do more than mumble something into Sammy's lap but when he didn't sit up she took that as a no and continued running her fingers through his hair before starting to run them down his back.

After a little while Sammy switched from just rubbing his back to starting to focus more on his shoulders being firm enough to work out any tension building up there and working her way slowly up his neck until she was massaging his scalp.

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When midnight hit Sammy decided it was time for bed. She gently stroked Gibbs' cheek before she spoke.

"It's getting late," She said softly, "I'm not going to force you to go to sleep but I think we should at least head up and crawl into bed. I'll keep doing what I'm doing once we get up there if you want."

Sammy was half surprised to get a response to Gibbs but she was glad when he did.

"Alright," Gibbs said, sitting up.

Sammy stood up and held a hand out to him, waiting for him to take it before pulling him to his feet and leading the way up the stairs. She was glad that they had already changed into their pj's earlier making it one less thing they had to do now. Lead Gibbs to his side of the bed and pulled back the covers for him before moving to turn off the light and crawling in on her side. As soon as she had stopped moving Gibbs was close to her side and laying his head on her chest so his ear was over her heart while his arm snaked around her waist.

"Are you ok like this?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"Mhm, I'm fine," Sammy said softly, kissing the top of his head before starting to run her fingers through his hair again.

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Sammy was surprised when 20 minutes later Gibbs' breathing evened out signalling that he had actually fallen asleep. She keep running her fingers through his hair for a little while longer before allowing herself to drift off as well. Her last thought before she fell asleep was that she was glad that Gibbs was allowing her to comfort him instead of turning to a bottle of bourbon and a night with his boat.

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The End