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The Elements and Workings of Mother Nature	By : sissouthernink1994 Category: 1 through F > Criminal Minds Views: 1364 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Work of fiction. I don't own: Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, CSI: Miami, NCIS, NCIS: LA, CSI. Everything written is for fun; no profit gained.

Chapter List
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Summary: Jethro and Amirah get caught in the rain.
Chapter 1: Seeing clearly

“…Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger .- Saint Basil

                Every once in a while, Leroy Jethro Gibbs had a romantic thought that would cross his mind. Well, a thought that a woman would consider romantic anyway. It was a nice day and he decided that maybe he and Amirah could go on a picnic. But where to? The park was obvious. And since it was such a nice day, it would be crowded. Can’t be romantic around all those people. So he decided on the lake. Yeah, that would do it. Nice quiet lakefront, maybe a romantic boat ride.
                When he called about their date, he told her to dress comfortably and warm. She didn’t ask why and he didn’t offer. He was hoping this date would impress her a little. Sure, he could take Amirah to fancy restaurants, plays and movies but many times Jethro felt out of his elements. He liked the outdoors and although she was a city girl, he thought she might like them too. Not sure she would go camping with him, but this would be a start.
“Jethro, this is a beautiful area. Do you come here often?”
“Not as often as I’d like. It’s very peaceful.” He was taking their items out of the trunk.
“So what do you usually do when you come out here?”
“Sometimes I fish, hike. Most times, I just sit and think. I’ve had a couple of great naps out here.”
“Ha, yeah I can imagine. This would be an excellent place to read. The air is so nice and crisp.”
“Yeah, it’s the pine trees fault.” They laughed. “Come on. I thought we’d take a boat ride to the other side of the lake, hike a little then eat lunch.”
“Sounds good.” Amirah said. They started walking towards the boathouse. Without thinking, Jethro slipped his hand around hers and she didn’t resist. It made her smile, made them both smile actually. “The lake is larger than I imaged.”
“Yeah, it’s a pretty good size. Maybe we can go fishing sometime.”
“Fishing?” Amirah turned up her nose. “With worms? Ewww!”
“Well, I usually like to fish with grasshoppers but if you want to use worms we can.”
“Grasshoppers?!” She said shivering at the thought of touching either of those things. Jethro laughed at her. “You’re laughing?” She stopped walking and placed her hands on her hips. “What’s so funny?” Jethro took her hand and kissed it.
“You are; you’re such a girl.”
“Hmm, yes and we wouldn’t be going out if I wasn’t.”
                They reached the boathouse and he selected a sturdy rowboat for them. Jethro assisted Amirah with getting into the boat. She was nervous because she had never done this before. He assured her everything would be ok. He placed the basket and blanket between them then handed her an oar. After showing her how to use it, (so they wouldn’t be going in circles) they were off to the other side of the lake.
                After about twenty minutes, they reached the other side of the lake. Jethro slung the rope out, tied the boat to the dock and assisted Amirah out of the boat. Amirah shook out her arms; they hadn’t had a workout like that in a long time. Jethro shook his head and laughed.
“What’s funny now?”
“You teach a dance class but you wouldn’t last a day in boot camp.”
“It’s a different type of exercise, I grant you that. But you’re probably right; I wouldn’t last long in boot camp.”
“Let’s see how you do with a hike.”
“There’s no snakes up there, right?” She asked as she looked around to the wooded area. Jethro looked up and shrugged.
“Don’t know. Might be.”
“You don’t know? You’ve been here before and you don’t know if there are snakes?”
“I’ve never seen any. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.” Jethro headed over to a large silver bin that looked like a tall footlocker.
“Does that go for bears and everything else?” He nodded as he pulled out a lock from the picnic basket.
“Yep. That’s what these are for. I’m locking up the food while we walk so the animals don’t get it.”
“So what should we do if we see a bear?”
“Running might be a good idea.”
“Just run huh?”
“Yep. Don’t go near food or trees. They can climb those too.”
“So with all your military training, you’re telling me that you can’t kill a bear?”
“Nope, haven’t been trained to kill bears.” He said as he finished locking up the food. “Besides, it’s not even bear season.”
“Jethro!” She sighed.
“Well, it’s not. Anyway, we should be fine.” He walked up to her, placed his arm around her waist. “And you know I will always protect you, no matter what.” He leaned closer and kissed her forehead.
“I’m counting on that.”
                They started walking up the trail and Jethro was pointing out the various things about their surroundings such as trees, leaves, plants. Amirah was glad that she brought her camera along. She was able to take some pictures of the beauty of the trees and nature in general. She was able to take some pictures of some birds she’d never seen before; her nephew would like those. He’d probably be able to tell her what they were too.
                Jethro laughed at himself for the history lessons he was telling Amirah. That was usually Ducky’s department. Although, she looked like she was enjoying it. Maybe she just liked the sound of his voice. Maybe it was just in her nature to be inquisitive. She was a teacher after all; imparting and importing knowledge was her passion. Jethro liked that about her. She was intelligent, funny, and beautiful. Amirah was willing to be patient with someone like Jethro and he was grateful for that because he wasn’t the easiest person to get to know.
                After coming back down the trail, they stopped at the restrooms before heading back to their locker. The air had taken on a slight chill and Amirah was glad that she took Jethro’s suggestion to heart, dressing warmly. Neither of them noticed that the reason for the chill was the cloud cover. They couldn’t exactly see it for the trees but it was there.
“Where do you want to sit?” Jethro asked after retrieving the basket from the locker. Amirah looked around and seeing the all the available tables had be taken by families, she suggested the quiet space they had just passed. Jethro spread out the blanket he’d brought and Amirah sat down. They still had an excellent view of the lake, the rest of the trails and trees in the background. There was an area for a fire pit next to them so Jethro started fire to chase away the chill and cook part of their lunch.
“Forever a boy scout huh?” She teased. He smiled at the compliment. At least he hoped it was a compliment.
“Got it more from just plain old camping. But yea. Kinda hard to get rid of. Every once in a while I get to use it while working. Not often but it’s great information to have in my back pocket. It always impresses my team too.” Jethro looked up at Amirah as she was looking out towards the lake. She was leaning back on her hands with her legs stretched out and crossed at her ankles. He admired the curves of her body. The ethnicity of her hips and long hair framing her face excited him, making his heart skip a few beats. He didn’t think that was still possible. Jethro quickly looked away so it wouldn’t seem like he was staring. Although he really was.
“Do you need any help with anything?”
“Nope. I’ve got it.” The fire was going at a great rate so he put on the hot dogs he’d brought. From the few conversations they’d had, Jethro knew some of the foods in Amirah’s heritage that she liked such as hummus with pita chips and fresh fruit. “For you because you suggested it.” He brought out the items and waited for her approval.
“This hummus is really good. I’ve never heard of this brand, but I will have to try this. Have some.” Jethro looked at it and shook his head.
“Nah, I’m good. I’m more of a true camping food kinda guy.”
“Jethro, I can’t eat all this hummus by myself.” She took a chip, got a generous scoop, and headed towards his mouth. “Come on, one bite. For me?” One look into her sweet hazel eyes and he knew he wouldn’t be able to deny her anything. He opened his mouth and let her place the chip in. She waited as she watched him chew. “Well?” Jethro shrugged his shoulders.
“I guess it’s alright.”
“Just alright?” He shrugged again.
“Yep.”
“Do you ever eat much Indian cuisine?”
“Every once in a while. Mostly when we’re working late and Abby orders dinner for us before we all voice what we want. She’s big on eating…healthy stuff.”
“Healthy stuff, like veggies?”
“Yeah, something with lentils and eggplant. And I can’t remember the other dish…Tandoori something or other.” He shook his head showing his distaste for Abby’s food selection. Amirah laughed.
“If you didn’t like it, why did you eat it?”
“It was late and the vending machines hadn’t been filled yet. They only had chocolate and gummy bears.” Amirah really laughed.
“Oh, poor Jethro. Well, I can fix your distaste for it.”
“Yeah, not gonna happen.”
“Come on now! Give me a chance. One meal and I will have you convinced that you like Indian food.”
“I like meat and potatoes. Mostly steak and I hear that’s a holy animal in Indian cuisine.” Jethro was turning over the hot dogs, as they were almost ready.
“I like steak.” He looked up.
“Come again?”
“I like steak.”
“We’re talking real steak. Beef, porterhouses, t-bones, flank, New York Strip. None of that tofu-whatever Abby tries to pull on me.”
“Yes, real steak. Well done with a little bleu cheese crumbled on top.”
“You’re not making sense.”
“I became a Christian when I turned sixteen. When I left my father’s Hinduism and my mother’s Buddhism, I left some of the food traditions behind.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I wanted a real hamburger. Bacon cheeseburger to be exact.” Jethro laughed at this new revelation from his date.
“Not that. Why did you leave the religions?”
“I needed a change. Nothing was working for me. I watched a televangelist one day, starting asking friends at school about it, got invited to some churches. Eventually I found my way.”
“And your parents didn’t protest?”
“Oh they did but they let me go thinking it was just a phase, until I joined my friend’s church. And they saw how happy I was, how things were changing for me.”
“Wow.” Jethro replied as he took the hot dogs off, placing them in buns before offering them to Amirah.
“I felt so much better about life and the way things were going to work out. Oh, ketchup please. They let me be. I was able to go get a few scholarships the church offered for school.”
“You still there?”
“Every Sunday. You’re more than welcome to come with me.” She suggested. Jethro just shook his head.
“I’m not there yet. Maybe one day I will be.”
“At least that’s not a ‘no’. I can live with that.” She took a bite of her hot dog. “Hmmm, beef hot dogs. I like these.” Jethro sat back down on the blanket and took a bite of his.
“So what did you substitute for beef? Nothing tastes or cooks like it.”
“Mostly lamb. Lamb can be lean and you can pretty much treat it like beef. It can be roasted, you know like rack of lamb. The rack can be grilled. There’s leg of lamb, lamb tenderloin, lamb chops-”
“You’re starting to sound like that scene in ‘Forest Gump’.”
“Well, my favorite way to have lamb is ground, like ground beef. Then you can make meatloaf, burgers and brown it for spaghetti.”
“Hmmm, lamb burger.”Amirah nodded.
“Yep, with bacon and Colby cheese. Lamb sausage is great too. My uncle makes the best. It tastes just like a Polish sausage and when you put grilled peppers and onions on top, wow it’s just the best.”
“I’ll have to try that.”
“I love to take you by Uncle Rajesh’s restaurant. You could come for belly dancing and then we just go across the street for lunch.”
“We’ll see.”

Jethro and Amirah continued their conversation and in between words ate lunch. The sound of nature and families enjoying themselves was their soundtrack. They were done eating but Jethro let the fire keep going to provide warmth as it had gotten a little chillier. Jethro sat closer to her because he like being near her. He was getting used to the idea of being close to a woman again. Amirah really was beautiful and he liked looking into her eyes. Ok, so it was an interrogation tactic he liked to use, but it was one that worked no matter the situation. The old adage was so true; the eyes are the windows to the soul.
While sharing a particular juicy piece of fruit, the juice dribble down Amirah’s chin. She reached for a napkin but Jethro kissed the nectar before the droplets got too far. She smiled as he smiled, then he leaned in to kiss her. It was a gentle capturing of the lips, innocent and sweet made sweeter by the fruit. Amirah’s hand came up to cradle the side of Jethro’s face as his came to rest on her waist. He was completely overtaken by the kiss. It deepened as her lips parted to let his tongue know that it was very welcome to be there. He almost pulled back in disbelief; he couldn’t believe his life was turning around like this. He went from marriage to marriage to no one being in this life, nearly pushing away every single woman who could have been interested. What made her so different? Amirah pulled away and his blue eyes again met her hazel ones.
“Why’d you stop?” He asked.
“To breathe.” They both chuckled and smiled. “I take it you like kissing me?” The crow’s feet on his face wrinkled as he smiled.
“I think like is an understatement.” Amirah moved closer to him, nearly sitting in his lap.
“So don’t stop.” This time she placed both her hands around his waist as their lips joined again. They were so into themselves and their kisses that neither of them heard the far off but not too far rumblings of thunder. Jethro only heard the pounding of his own heart, feeling excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Amirah felt something wet in the top of her head but she dismissed it as sap from one of the trees. Jethro jumped a little at the feeling on her warm hand easing up his shirt. He didn’t expect that. Soft rumblings seemed to float from inside his heart and play in his throat. He didn’t expect that either.
“My god…kissing you is gonna get me in trouble.” He said as his lips travelled to her cheek. She laughed.
“A little trouble is ok every once in a while, yes?” She asked winking. He pulled her closer to him.
“Yeah.” This time as he leaned in to kiss her he felt a few drops on the top of his head. He looked up, ready to dismiss it as tree sap until he saw the dark clouds quickly rolling in. “I think it’s going to rain.”
“What? Rain? Its not supposed to rain today.” And before they could even get up from the blanket, the downpour started. The rain immediately put out the fire. “Ahhhh, what now?” Jethro handed her the basket as he started placing the items back in.
“There’s no way we can boat across in this. We’ll just have to wait it out.” Amirah looked around at the other visitors scrambling for shelter.
“Wait where?” Jethro had finished and grabbed the blanket. He looked around and saw a small shelter space that had a map of the area around the lake. There were several benches where they could sit.
“The map over there.” She saw it and they ran over. They weren’t in the rain for very long but they were completely drenched.
“Wow, that’s some downpour. I’m soaked!” She looked at Jethro and laughed a little as he was shaking off the excess water.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just that…I got this funny image of you as a cute little boy going fishing or something.”He had to laugh at that one himself.
“Well, thanks to my dad we didn’t have too many times that we got wet. Rainstorms caught us, but we didn’t get drenched much.” Amirah turned to look out at the rain. The clouds were so dark and menacing but she saw no lightening. She hoped that was a good sign.
“Do you think we’ll have to spend the night out here?” He looked out as well.
“I don’t think so. Feels just like a rain shower, I don’t hear much thunder. We’ll definitely have to empty out the boat but it’s not hard to do.” The temperature had already dropped with the falling rain, now chilly winds were blowing and despite her warm clothes, Amirah started to shiver. “Come here.” Jethro straddled one of the benches that was there and motioned for her to join him. She followed suit. He wrapped his arms around her waist then surrounded them with the blanket. She instantly felt warmer, even if the blanket was a little wet.
“Better?”
“Yes, much. Thank you.”
“Thank you for joining me today. Sorry about the rain.”
“Like you had any control over that. And you’re welcome. I had a great time, getting to know more about the camping Boy Scout.”
“Ah, I didn’t talk that much.”
“But I know you don’t share a lot but you did share.”
“Let me guess Abby and Ziva?”
“Yes, they did tell me that. But I’m grateful for what you do share with me about yourself.” She pulled his arms closer about her, leaned back and laid her head on his shoulder. “I just don’t want you to stop sharing with me. I like getting to know you for you, not just what Abby, Ziva and Jimmy told me.”
“It’s hard for me to share and open up. I’m just not that type of person, just not wired that way.”
Amirah looked down at Jethro’s hands. They were broad and strong, calloused from his woodworking. She rubbed her fingers over them, an act he didn’t quite understand. She came across the blue/black fingernail that he obviously became the target when he missed what he was supposed to hit. Then she brought the rough hands to her lips, kissed them then held them close to her heart.
“You know, you don’t have to go through the rest of your life alone.” A sudden clap of thunder made them huddle closer together. Amirah turned to look at him. “I don’t know much about those other women but I do know that if you gave us a chance you wouldn’t regret it.”
“Love is complicated.” Jethro replied.
“Yeah it is. But if it were easy everybody would be doing it and doing it the right way.” He thought about what Amirah said.
“True. That’s very true.” He was silent. In the distance he could see lights of some kind that would probably be making their way to them in a little bit. Jethro thought about his life and where he was. The possibility of love was always lurking, but he never let go enough to let it in.
“Don’t you ever get tired of being lonely? Don’t you want someone to share your life with? I know I do.”
“You lonely? As beautiful as you are, there should be guys running each other over just to be in your presence.”
“I wish. That’s my sister’s life, not mine.”
“yes, I do get lonely. Yes, I would love to share my life with someone.”
“Why don’t you?”
“That’s a good question. Why don’t I?” A quote came to his head from Marty, a friend of his dad’s that would help at the store from time to time.
“…Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger .- Saint Basil
Deep down Jethro always wanted love after Shannon died. And he tried, three times. Love was always potentially around him but he never took the time to let himself be open to it because none of them were Shannon. He was suffering because of it. Amirah, something about her made him think of Shannon. It was as if he could hear Shannon’s voice in his heart, egging him on. But why would she do that? Maybe he should take a chance and find out.
“Earth to Jethro.” Amirah said.
“Do you want to help me?”
“Help you with what?”
“Learn to share my life with someone again. I’m not an easy person to get along with, but you already know that.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m not saying, I’m asking if you will be in my life, be my lady and help me to learn how to share my life again.” Amirah smiled.
“I would love to!”
“You’re gonna need patience.”
“Jethro, I teach college students for a living; I got patience figured out.” She placed her hand on the side of his face and kissed him. The lights of jeeps belonging to park rangers interrupted their kiss.
“You folks alright?” They called out.
“Yeah, we’re fine. Just waiting until we can boat back across the lake.” One ranger got out of the jeep and walked over to them as a few other drove on ahead to where the other visitors were.
“I’m Ranger Frye. The flash of rain has flooded the river and is heading this way with more rain. It won’t be safe to boat back. We’re driving people back to the other side. If you folks are ready to go, we can take you now.”
“Works for me.” Amirah said as she stood. Jethro helped her into the jeep as two others joined them.
Once back on the other side, Jethro was able to get Amirah home. She invited him in for coffee, to warm up and to talk about the decision they’d made at the lake.
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The Elements and Workings of Mother Nature