May 31
Your descendants shall gather your fruits.
Virgil (70 BC - 19 BC)

Leroy Jethro Gibbs stared at the photo with a soft smile on his lips.

It was rare that he was able to look at a photo of Kelly without feeling the deep ache of her loss. He missed her every day; he missed her jumping on his bed to wake him up, her giggles as she moved around the house, and tucking her into bed at night and telling her a story.

In the last few years, his memories of her had slowly but surely become less painful. He could remember her without wanting to cry. The smile she gave him in his mind's eye made him smile too. Her laughter cheered him. The memories were not fading but perhaps he had accepted she was at peace.

He knew it would never be easy. No parent was supposed to outlive their child. Sometimes he had wondered what his life would have been like if only Kelly had died, if he had not lost Shannon at the same time and they had mourned together. Would it have drawn them even closer together? Would it have torn them apart?

In the photo, Kelly's wide grin began to match his own. His little girl would always have his heart.