I have this imagines that Pp gets sick and dizzy with the cold,hot,cold,hot of the building. He almost passes out and the warm kringla pastry he ate makes an undignified re-appearance. In front of LaRoche, who is there to take care of Pp gently.
Anyway, it ends with Parker sucking on LaRoche's tic tac when he feels better. Pp puts his hands in his pockets a lot, and he finds a tin of LaRoche's mints there the next time he does.
Parker stays with Jess and Jimmy while he recuperates. They all love him so much like a close friend, a loved one, or a beloved old family guard dog terrier who got hurt.
Difficult moments for Parker;
Made better by Jess, Jimmy and Victoria.
before: Hale; Mad
after: Pale(frail); Sad
It's 2.30am. Luckily Vic doesn't have school the next day. They spread their pillows on the living room floor by where Parker sleeps and have a spontaneous slumber party.
Vic asks Parker what he wants to watch after Jimmy has settled him gently on the sofa. "The Wizard of Oz", he mumbles as he curls in a fetal position, injured leg sticking out.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
"boy, man, baby" (parker/jess + dad roman)
Parker gets seizures, not graphic. And later he tries to vomit but can't, so no puke described.
Pp is lying in a hospital bed in a fetal position, he was admitted after he got knocked out by real toxin gas. Jess escaped unscathed and has just arrived at his bedside where he's mostly conscious now.
...
"I feel weird." Parker whines twice within a few minutes.
"Weird how, cub?" Jess asks him after the second time, sounding very worried and a little exasperated. Everything looked normal on the monitors.
Parker doesn't know how to articulate what he's going through, he has never felt this way before. Grey-tinged aura, and like the room and Jess are zooming in and out. He swallows dryly against his nausea and just shakes his head defeatedly.
5-10 minutes pass. Parker closes his eyes and tries his hardest to calm down and get some rest. Jess sees the familiar "11" lines around his tightly knit eyebrows slowly relax, and her whole body starts to relax too along with his face. He must be feeling better, she thinks.
Her worry fades and it feels a lot more tranquil. She strokes his hair and shoulder to help calm him further and lull him to sleep.
Suddenly, his whole body goes limp and then he jerks uncontrollably in a seizure. His eyes roll back in his head, he's drooling, and Jess gets alarmed and terrified and yells for the nurses.
After the docs dose him with anti-seizure meds, Jess is wracked with guilt that she didn't listen to Parker or help him sooner. But all his vital signs on the monitors looked stable when she was with him before the seizure, how could she have known?
When she's allowed to see him again, he doesn't blame her at all ofc. He just wants her to hold his hand bc he's so exhausted and scared. Her fingers do the tightening around his limp ones because he's too tired to clasp back. The nurses had placed a puppy pad under his face and he can't help it as he drools intermittently. Jess cleans his face with her free hand whenever that happens.
//
The docs say Parker can be discharged the next day, but he needs someone to stay with him 24/7 for the next week. Parker calls his dad, and ofc Roman will stay with Parker at his apartment while he recuperates.
//
Maybe some others in the team were also exposed to the toxic gas, but they could be discharged the same day and were cleared to go back to work the next day. Could be because Parker got exposed to a higher dose, or because he is older and more frail. Parker spends many moments awake wondering that same thing himself.
// the theme is (which i will demonstrate below lol):
Roman is sorta comfortable with his own mortality (he lives in a senior facility, hello! He thinks to himself).
But he has never, before this, considered that his son might get deathly ill before him. He has also never considered that his (youngest?) boy is an now old man too.
Roman has to come to terms with Parker and his dangerous occupation as an NCIS detective, and it sucks to think about. (If Parker was a navyman, he would have been honorably discharged long before this age.)
// day 1:
Parker wakes up as Jess gets ready for work, and he sees her out the door as she leaves (and kisses him). Roman has prepared breakfast and Parker eats a little bit before he goes back to bed. Roman is reminded of when his son was 10 years old on school break, and his beloved bride Iris was still around.
Parker sleeps through lunch, he's really wiped out from the seizure 2 days ago. Roman watches a matinee movie on low volume and feels bored and lonely. He likes to needle Alden and it feels like he's alone in Alden's apartment again. He checks on his boy, still sound asleep.
Jess gets home, Alden wakes an hour later. The 3 of them eat a simple dinner. They watch some TV after cleaning up, but Parker falls asleep halfway through a show.
The anti-seizure meds that Parker has to take for the next few weeks make him lethargic and docile. It's kinda cute, like a dopey puppy, but Jess is glad it won't be forever. She misses Alden with his assertiveness, pep and vigor. As her eyes meet Roman's over Parker's slumbering form between them, she can tell he feels the same way, in his own way.
// day 2:
Roman and Alden take a little late morning walk. Roman can see Alden's energy is flagging, so he pretends he wants to sit and then turn back. Alden agrees to it, he knows what his dad is doing.
Later in the day, the two Parkers bake a tasty old-fashioned cake! They have quite a nice time together, and Parker is pleased to surprise Jess when she gets back. They even bake enough for her to take to work the next day!
Jess is the one who ends up doing the surprising. She texted him a few times throughout the day and since she knows he's more alert today, she brings home his favorite neapolitan pizza for them all to share and a six-pack of no-alcohol beer.
Parker is thrilled! He's been going a little stir-crazy with domestic life, and Jess knows his fave foods and how he kinda misses a cold beer now that he can't have any with his anti-seizure meds for now.
Parker chows down one and a half slices, which is less than his usual but Jess is happy to see him like this. He looks so content, like a stuffed cat who swallowed the canary. Roman looks content in a different way too, she catches him beaming at his son.
"You gonna finish that?" Jess jokes lightly. Parker shakes his head as he grins at her, so she swipes his half-slice off his plate and eats it.
They decide to play Uno tonight. Parker is pretty happy and rambunctious as he sips his no-alcohol beer. (He told them not to hold back on his account, so Jess has some wine and Roman a thimble of whiskey.)
A few games in, Parker gets quiet. Jess notices that, then checks on the wall clock that it's 9:20pm. Around the same time that Parker unceremoniously fell asleep in front of the TV the night before.
"Park, you tired?" She asks.
Parker shakes his head and slurs "n-no..." as he tries to stand. He stumbles and drops his hand of cards which spill on the small table and floor. Jess rushes up to catch him by his armpits so he doesn't fall or hurt himself.
Parker's fist tightens around the back of her pyjamas shirt as he clutches on. "I... bathroom..." He struggles to keep his feet under him, and the two of them awkwardly shuffle to the bathroom. (More like she drags him as he drags his feet.) From the way he's trembling against her, Jess has a pretty good idea that he needs to drool or vomit.
When they make it to the bathroom, Parker flops on all fours in front of the toilet and leans heavily against it. It's scary to see him look like a very drunk person and lose coordination of his limbs. Roman follows closely behind them, and Jess sees her own fears reflected in the elder Parker's face as they take in the sight of Alden now.
They decide quickly that Roman will stay with Alden while Jess calls the doc and asks whether he needs another dose of meds or to go back to the hospital, bc she knows his doc.
Parker is drained from kneeling over the toilet and drooling and panting and after a few long minutes, he stumbles back gracelessly, landing on his butt to sit and catch his breath.
Roman is beside his son, and he rushes to cup the back Alden's head just before it slams into the lip of the clawfoot tub. He still has paternal instincts towards his youngest boy-- and he always will.
Alden cracks his eyes open in gratitude and he sees his father's concerned face. "Mm okay," he tries to reassure his dad. Roman's face furrows even more with worry, maybe his muttering didn't come out as Parker intended.
It's not comfortable for Roman to crouch over like that for too long, so after checking that Alden doesn't get any paler or worse, the older Parker kinda contorts himself so he sits on the edge of the bathtub, all the while still keeping his hand as a shield on the back of Alden's head.
Sitting on the thin, curved lip of the bathtub is far from comfortable too, but it has to do. He's not leaving his son in this state for even a sec. Roman very gently positions Alden so that his boy is leaning his back against Roman's shins and his tired head is cradled in Roman's lap.
When Alden was a boy learning to walk, he and Iris babyproofed the home (again) and made sure there were no sharp edges at Alden's height. Now, six decades later, Roman is doing the same thing for different reasons.
"Doc says to keep an eye out. We only have to go to the hospital if there's a seizure." Jess conveys solemnly, but she's relieved.
"Musta been th' beer." Parker jokes weakly, some of his strength coming back.
Roman swats his shoulder lightly. Jess fixes him with a mock-stern look then chuckles at his confused face.
(they both love their old cub/ young bub so much)
A long while later, they get Parker settled in bed in the recovery position. All of them are exhausted and still on edge. They know there's still a possibility that Parker could have a seizure later in the night.
Jess walks out of their bedroom to head to the kitchen one last time and she almost runs into Roman in the hallway headed for his room.
"We'll leave the bedroom door open tonight okay?"Â
Just in case. So you'll know if something happens.
Roman nods in agreement and he steps towards Jess to give her a tight hug. "Thank you." In spite (Because) of all the stress tonight, it feels like they've grown closer, bonded over their love for Alden.
In the kitchen, Jess sees the bundt cake that Parker had proudly and carefully wrapped up after dinner. Oh yeah, she was supposed to take that into work tomorrow, but not if something bad happens to Parker tonight.
She returns to the bedroom and put a glass of water at each of their bedsides. Jess thinks quickly, and then she also discreetly pulls the trashcan close to his side of the bed. Parker doesn't see her doing it because he's curled up facing her side of the bed: still boneless in the recovery position, and also like he's waiting anxiously for her to come to bed too.
"Sorry I ruined our night," Alden mumbles after she has laid down in bed facing him.
"Hey Park, you didn't ruin anything. Except for maybe my winning streak." She soothes, then switches to joking. A surprised chuckle bubbles up in his chest against her palm, and it's the best thing she's heard and felt all night. (The hug with Roman felt pretty nice too. In a different, mutually comforting way!)
ncis is in the unique position to do an episode loosely and tastefully inspired by the Titanic submersible.
Maybe an Unidentified Floating Object is found, and turns out there's a mystery item or 1-2 dead bodies inside. Also, the team discovers Lead Agent Parker is claustrophobic bc of his past. *whump whump*
Any plot ideas?
Instead, expect more of the same lame and lightweight ncis schlock: stagnant sets, pastries, 2005 rom-com vibes and uninspired dialog. (Salty they barely did anything with Agent Parker this past season.)
He feels little better after Jimmy patches him up. He feels somewhat lighter after Jeremy insists he reads that old, unopened letter from years ago.
But Parker still feels awful when he sees his old partner out and then drags his feet on returning to the bullpen, knowing Knight, McGee, and Torres have stayed behind to work on the forms for this case.
He lingers on their periphery, not sure if he has the right to interrupt, wondering if they'll even acknowledge his presence after the way he's behaved the last couple days during the Wills' case. A time or two, McGee glances in Parker's general direction. Torres makes a show of pointedly ignoring him while the Latino man saunters around their shared space and passes papers between himself and the other two. But Knight—Knight doesn't even lift her head from her keyboard.
Yeah. He's messed up beyond measure.
Parker glances between the bullpen and the exit, debating heading home without saying a word to his team. But he takes one step when Torres clears his throat.
The next thing they all know, Torres drops a stack of files down on his desk and heads Parker's way. "Parker. We ordered pizza a bit ago, so it'll be here soon. Why don't you come with me to the break room to grab plates and stuff?" He asks this, but it's not a question, and he steers Parker in the direction of the break room and ushers him from the bullpen.
In the break room, Torres makes a show of locating paper plates and napkins—even utensils, for McGee, who hates greasy fingerprints on forms and keyboards alike—and then he tosses everything in the middle of the small table and faces Parker with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Parker waits for the inevitable.
But Torres doesn't yell at him. He's pointed out throughout this case, about Parker being awful towards them. So Parker's stunned when Torres sighs and says, "I get it."
Parker blinks.
"I do. I get your stress and your reasons. I've seen you looking sorry, and I consider you and me square, Parker. McGee's the same, too, y'know. We've seen crap, done crap. We're cool, Parker."
His shoulders slacken. And yet… "But?"
"But…" Torres glares at the team leader. "It's not the same with Knight. She's always on your side, no matter what, Parker. She sees the good in you even when McGee and I haven't."
He hesitates. He doesn't need Torres telling him this, because he knows it well and knows why.
"…Parker. Take it from me. When you have someone special in your life who's placed their unswerving faith in you and you treat them like shit? Apologize ten times over. Because one day, that person might not be around for you to apologize or tell her how much you love her."
…it hits a little different, this scolding-turned-advice, with how tired Torres looks as he delivers it, and suddenly Parker feels the weight of his actions and words more, hearing an experienced observer's opinion. So he nods his thanks, but he saves his sorry for the one who deserves to hear it first from his mouth, who waits patiently in the other room for him and hopefully will tear her eyes from her work—
—(and hopefully still has that faith in him, just enough to give him another chance).
Omg Mew, i dig this one! Nice setup that Parkie goes back to the squad room to join them after seeing Brighton out. And your opening lines of him feeling little better & miserable & still awful got me so excited to write my take on what happens after. (Parker vomits, in past tense, not graphically!) //
"Jessica, I'm so sorry." Parker says as he looks her in the eye. "Sorry..." he mumbles again as his eyes turn downcast. Jess knows he can't say much else with the other two agents in close proximity.
He shuffles to his desk to start on his share of the case reports, and Jess doesn't feel any better about the apology. Well, she feels unsettled in a different way. Much of her anger towards Parker has already dissipated, but now she feels mostly unease for him: he looked really miserable and sick.
The pizzas arrive, and he only quietly takes one slice even though there's plenty to go around. She knows her guy, and usually he debates a third slice and more than half the time polishes that off. But those times happened at home and/or in happier settings. Maybe he was atoning to them in weird ways, or maybe other things on his preoccupied mind robbed him of his appetite.
The whole squad room is quiet, save for their typing, or shuffling papers, or the other two guys still munching occasionally. But every once in a while, she looks over at Alden and he is not Parker. He has these rare moments at work where he doesn't carry himself as Parker, like now when he has one hand gripping his desk tightly and the other cupping his belly as he stares down at his lap. His pinched face utters quiet groans and that worries Jess.
She has been in-tuned to Alden Parker's frequency for some time now; she doesn't remember when it started. Jess thinks about going to his desk on the pretext of dropping off a report to check on him, but pride or indignation or something keeps her rooted in her own chair. He didn't want to be coddled or to let anyone, even her, in for the last 48 hours, right?
Jess hesitates, and then she hesitates again a few more times she notices him stop typing and slumping over until maybe it's too late, because Parker bolts up from his desk. His uneven, wobbly gait as he stumbles away sets off alarm bells in her head even as Torres and McGee don't look up.
When he rounds the corner behind Torres' desk and breaks out into a run as his head dips, the alarm bells turn into full klaxon sirens.
The time on her computer reads 11:37 PM. Maybe she should give him until 11:45 PM before hunting him down? It only takes until the display turns to 11:40 PM for Jess to discreetly slip away too.
She knows where to look, and she isn't wrong. He is the only occupant inside the men's restroom, one stall's door ajar, slumped panting on the tile floor.
Parker's hoodie is marred with some stains that weren't there before, but she doesn't mention it as his face cringes then relaxes when he notices her. Jess can tell easily, the way his eyes soften.
Jess slips her hand under his hoodie to gain access his soft undershirt (she has lots of practice doing that), and she starts rubbing his belly for him while his arms droop limply by his side, spent of energy. She had done this once for him too, when he wasn't feeling good at home. [She had patted his worn, rumpled cheeks then as he wheezed tiredly at her.] She only needs a few seconds, and she's prepared to do the same motions of intimacy for him now.
Being this close to him (finally, again), she gets a close-up look at the ugly gash on his handsome face. It's deeper than she thought, and his pallor looks much worse too. How much sleep did he get last night when he went MIA? Did he remember to eat much since the flakey pastries he brought in before this case befell them? And had he been CRYING?
Any remaining traces of anger (disappointment?) she feels toward Parker disappears. His health (physical and mental) comes first to her. Always. And seeing him in such bad shape both ways drives home for her that life is short. His remaining life, especially.
Then his belly flinches under her fingertips, and Parker moans painfully and lurches forward as he tries to sit up straighter, so Jess slips her hand deftly out from under his hoodie and moves it his back to help him.
One creation sparks inspiration that sparks inspiration and so on and so forth…! So, have a chibi Parknight piece that harks back to the winter moodboard from the @parknights sideblog. | Done in Clip Studio Paint.
tagging @iamc & @justtopostmyfic-blog bc both of you are to blame for this art X’D
***No reposting allowed; no re-uploading allowed–please reblog this link instead***
Mew i screamed then burst out laffing! Aww his stiff icicled frosted hair tips, his stiff bristly mustache, stiff upper lip (complete with big-eyed -_- face), his stiff locked knees and stiff spiffy skates. And jess looks so carefree & playful & blissful pushing his kinda stiff spine. Aww!
their faces are so realistic tt ppl might think this was a real photo put through a chibi-fying filter! And all ur little details: his awkward body posture & fist (& quivering leg lines), her relaxed one-footed one, their dress styles and colors and in-character with bonus seasonal scarves!)
Parker's stiff face and stiffy for jess (u know wat i mean). His face here is an homage to ur art!
When Jess first sees Parker on the big projector screen, she's thrilled (of course), but she's also a little confused. Is she talking to Alden, or to Agent Parker? They look the same and are the same person, but Alden behaves a little differently. Around her at least.
It seems like it's Agent Parker because Director Vance is right there, and they both have their federal agent badges on full display. But it feels more like Alden because their backdrop is a cozy hotel bed, and he's pacing anxiously and rubbing his neck tensely.
Parker doesn't always open up about his human-ness with the rest of the team, and definitely not beside Vance. Heck, until recently, he used to always keep his jacket (spiffy suit or winter or NCIS windbreaker) on around the other guys, and only maybe took it off if it was just her he was working with. It makes her happy that he's getting more casual around all of them. It also makes her happy when he's wearing fewer articles of clothes, hehehe.
Even now, he still tries to keep his secrets, and vulnerabilities, and secret vulnerabilities for when it's the two of them only. This is a stressful situation on their hands though, since their beloved Director was targeted (as Parker first said while wearing his gender-neutral grey hoodie that she has definitely stolen a few times).
She hopes Alden is okay. Seeing him tense and stressed always worries her a little too. It sometimes makes him sick and dizzy because he has lingering blood pressure issues that resulted from a serious injury. Jess knows that intimately because they were together for the bomb blast... and a few of the debilitating aftereffects.
But when he asks for the closest beauty supply store, then replies with his signature coy, adorably dopey, deadpan face (with deep whisker dimples on full display!), Jess knows that Alden will be fine. And Agent Parker can more than take care of himself, and so can Vance. So she relaxes and smiles beatifically at the two of them before the connection closes.
Shortly after their video call, she bandiums him the address of their closest WahlGrund's chemist.
And then she texts him privately "enjoy, sweetie 💅"
Alden's reply? "😒" That was pretty much as good as getting a snapchat from her guy.
(Imagined this when i saw the darling "Guardian" ep but was lazy to write. But after your saddd Halloween fic, I needed to cheer us both up!)
@parknights Mew! I have a headcanon imagine for why parker is so traumatized on boats, and maybe why he and Viv divorced is tied up in that reason. Poor parker vomits from seasickness in this, heavy whump but no description of the puke.
Jess notices that parker has been subdued/down/ depressed? the last few days at work and in their personal time. She asks him what's up a few times, but he just tries to act normal for the rest of that day and brushes it off. Typical.
So jess plans a weekend date. Walking along the riverfront, then a ferry across to the natural history museum (this prob doesn't exist in DC). It was unseasonably warm for early October, and the leaves had just started changing. Everything was going so well at first, they ate and shared and fed each other nachos, a hot dog, and a sweet treat.
Parker was in a relaxed and carefree mood. He's never excessive on PDA, but he hugged her and held her in his arms as they watched the audacious seagulls. She loves his lean, solid body and being wrapped in his long ropey arms. Pity he never shows his bare arms at work like he does in his t-shirt now, unlike *coughcough* Torres.
Then they take a seat on the ferry. Sign said it was a 15 minute ride. Parker is quiet but she doesn't think much of it, just holds his hand and enjoys the sea salted breeze.
Parker's pov: he remembered telling the (his) team during the helicopter ride to the wretched Stargazer ship that it's not the motion, it's the memories that make him feel sick. But he didn't realize the motion would lead to the memories. Like the particular rocking conditions of the ferry now.
He starts to feel worse and worse until he can't take it and he has to tell her. "Jess, I'm seasick. Real bad." He lets go of her hand and stumbles to the back of the ferry where there's some open air space (ofc parker would have observed that beforehand). And ofc jess follows him out.
She stands beside him as he leans against the side of the boat panting anxiously. He is the one who grabs her hand. The mood has completely flipped compared to when they were happily on the riverfront before.
"Try looking far out at the horizon, Park. That could help," she tells him as her thumb strokes his hand.
"It's too late for that," he groans thickly. Parker spits his involuntary drool into the churning Potomac river. He can only look at her for a second or two, but his expression seems to say so much: I'm sorry / This is gross, I know / guilt that she has to see him like this / abject misery / and then like he's asking for her permission for something he can't control that's only seconds away.
And then he has to break eye contact with her and stare back down at the dirty river, dirtied by him.
He is shaking so hard, clammy, weak and she has to guide them to take their seats again for the last few minutes.
They disembark, he still needs to lean on her for support, without prompting she guides them to the nearest bench she can find. He keeps apologizing that he's not up for exploring the museum. She stops counting after the first three times she tells him not to worry about it.
As they sit together, he's clutching at the bench seat with a white knuckle grip.
"Jess I should tell you. I was on a cruise ship with Viv... In '04. And I lost our -"
"Wait Parker, please don't feel you have to tell me now. And please try not to think about that," Jess cannot believe she's saying these two things to Parker, she's always trying to get him to open up to her.
And then she continues, "we need to focus on getting back to the other side when you're up for it." She sees his face, drinking in her every word, blanch and grow paler. "Later. And we will get back safely."
She holds him in her arms to ground him as they wait out his nausea, and for poor Parker to brace himself for the return ferry ride. Jess tells him funny stories from her gal time with Kasie, like how they slapped each other with tortillas while holding water and laughter in their mouths last week. Parker looks up at her in queasy, puzzled concern (tiktok challenges are unheard of to him), then he chuckles when he gets it. It's a weak, watery chuckle, but Jess loves the sound of that. Especially now.
Parker tells her when he's ready for the next scheduled ferry. She doesn't ask him if he's sure. Jess trusts Parker's judgement in the field, in bed, and everywhere else they are together. She can see he's steeling himself.
On the ferry, he holds on to her hand tightly and he's pressed close against her. That's odd. She thought he would like a bit more space and some fresh air with how seasick he's feeling. Knowing Parker, and dating Parker, is full of surprises.
The nice older lady sitting across from them asks, "Is your dad... Is he okay?"
Parker is too out of it to notice. Small favors? Jess thinks. His face is in his hand as he still holds on to Jess beside him.
"Uh, he suddenly got motion sickness," Jess flusters and smiles awkwardly. She's not exactly lying.
The nice lady gives Jess a plastic bag and a half-open pack of wet wipes from her purse, which Jess thanks her gratefully for but really hopes Parker wouldn't end up needing.
They make it back to land on the other side, just barely.
(omg this is too long and dialog writing isn't my bag, so here's my headcanon finally)
- parker seems insistent to tell her now. Like word vomit, Jess thinks sympathetically
- in 2004 (one year before he and Vivian divorced), Parker and Viv and their 7yo son went on a cruise vacation. It was parker's turn to look after their son, he didn't pay attention for a few minutes, and their son went missing.
- (s19 finale said they were married from 1997-2005)
- Parker and Vivian searched the ship high and low, Parker even used his FBI training to crawl through vents (in the "All Hands" episode, parker told knight and torres he has crawled through ships' vents before)
- parker is sure their son was kidnapped, but the FBI doesn't investigate crimes on ships bc it happens on international waters, so after a shoddy investigation the son was presumed dead.
- their son's "death" was what pulled their happy marriage apart. Parker told knight that he has his share of cumulative grief in "Starting Over".
- the month of October is difficult for him, bc that's the anniversary of the cruise disappearance. But last year he didn't have much time to dwell on it bc he was chasing Gibbs to Alaska then starting at ncis.
- i'm quite pleased with myself on this hc lool!
Gibbs= dead little girl due to bad guy, poor Parker = kidnapped little boy due to bad guy. A bad guy must be involved bc this is a crime show and they are agents.
(last bit, back to story mode)
Jess realizes that Parker clutched on to her hand the whole time on the ferry ever since he felt seasick, even when he had to vomit, because he was afraid that she would disappear if he couldn't pay attention to her on the boat. It is heartbreaking to hear and feel his trauma in his past life.
(She doesn't mind that he needed to hold on to her when he threw up. Jess has stayed by Parker's side before when he got sick from dizziness after the Norfolk base home explosion too.)
Jess has been holding Parker's elbow supportively as they sit while he tells her all of this. She strokes his hair now as she asks, "What was... is your son's name, Alden?"
"Aldrich," he says as he looks at her, the smallest wry smile on his face. "We called him Richie. My dad... He likes these sorts of names. Viv went along with it for our first."Â And our only. Parker never says that last part, but Jess hears those unspoken words too loudly.
(i'm newly inspired to write an extra bit on my ao3. Parker, Jess and his dad Roman are playing Risk together on the trauma anniversary date, when Roman notices his son really not feeling good and having an anxiety attack. Roman can be loving and caring to his son, even if he usually doesn't show parker that side of himself)
Imagine if parker was de-aged to a 4yo cute little boy, that you are jess knight carrying him on your hip, and he's so pleased with himself for telling you a joke. You don't have to imagine for much longer.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Jess and Jimmy go on a date at the summer fair. Along with a de-aged four year old Parker.
Adult Agent Parker could be loving and adorable. Little kid Parker (definitely, always) even more so.
After they ate, they go look at the animals. Parker seemed to gravitate to the tall llamas the most, while he was a bit hesitant about the baby goats, even hiding behind Jimmy's leg when the two adults stopped in front of the baby goats' pen.
"This child is weird in an adorable way," Jess whispers good-naturedly to Jimmy as Parker is enraptured with reaching his hands up to pet a patient llamas' chest. "Reminds you of the grown version huh?" Jimmy cheerfully whispers back.
It's business as usual, Knight thinks. A body turns up twenty miles away, local LEOs are fighting them over jurisdiction the whole way, the MCRT will work to solve this murder mystery no matter how it unravels or who tries to insert themselves into the investigation. They've been here before. Lather, rinse, repeat.
But at least the team's back together again.
That thought crops up a lot for Knight these days, ever since they got Parker back and put that Raven business to bed. Usually, the thought intrudes, whether it's convenient or not, and her eyes flicker over to Parker—at his desk, beside her in the car, to wherever he stands out in the field. There's a subconscious part of her that needs to be reassured that, yeah, he's here. He's back. That nastiness is behind them.
…well, that particular nastiness. It doesn't help that their current case drags on, threatening to push into everyone's weekend plans. And it shows: McGee hasn't cracked a smile in two days, Torres hasn't cracked a joke just the same, and even Knight herself has been snacking on her lower lip with it practically caught between her teeth nearly the whole week. And Parker? He doesn't even ask the others for aspirin anymore; he keeps a bottle beside his keyboard now.
Thankfully, the team nabs their perp early Saturday evening with a little too much gunfire and without much paperwork. They make it back to NCIS safe and sound, Vance ushers his agents home to salvage what precious little remains of their weekend, and Knight heads out last with Parker, who dawdles in the bullpen with one hand rubbing his brow and the other resting on that bottle of aspirin.
She nudges his shoulder, coaxes him to meet her eyes. Knight offers him her soft smile, the one that assures him, "Hey, the headaches are behind us now, Parker."
He holds her gaze for an extra beat (he's done that a lot these last several weeks as they make up for lost time). Then Parker nods, and they leave in her car for his place for some well-deserved rest.
But sleep…or sleeping in close to noon…is for the dead, and Parker grumbles under his breath late Sunday morning when his phone won't stop blowing up with calls and various messages. So, with a kiss pressed to Knight's shoulder, he rolls over to face the world.
The next second, they're both up and wide awake, catching up on every last desperate call and text from Parker's sister and brothers, because of course Roman went wandering without a word to his children and without his phone today of all days.
Knight checks her phone; even she has a few missed calls from the eldest Parker child, his sister, since Knight kept an eye on Roman while Parker was on the lam. It's no secret that Knight and Roman grew close, although she wonders what she's to make of being included in this Parker family crisis.
But back to the matter at hand— Knight leans in to Parker, hard, until he drags his attention from his phone. She runs a hand through his hair, smiles even as he frowns. She wants to tell him not to worry, to remind him just how fiery and capable Roman is—
The past exciting twenty minutes abruptly halt with the silence in Parker's apartment. Parker's back to rubbing his brow even though his stressors have vanished, but Knight encourages him to eat something and hydrate before that tension turns real…
…and yet some things can't be avoided. He gets some food down, but that's to cushion the aspirin that follow. The pinched brow, the eyes shut tight, the pale sheen to his face—
Stress manages to trigger a severe headache for Parker, as it's done a few times before.
He grimaces and encourages Knight to go home, that he's not good company right now. Neither of them states there's nothing she can do to help, nor is he able to bring himself to say he doesn't want her around at the moment (he's not a great liar, least of all when he looks Knight in the eye). But he does retreat to the quiet darkness of his bedroom, and Knight has free reign of the rest of the place but relegates herself to the bright warmth of the greenhouse.
She checks on Parker a few times, but the hours of the day tick away as his headache (migraine?) exacts its toll. The day fades to evening and Knight drowses while thumbing through one of his horticultural books. But she snaps to attention when Parker emerges from his hideaway and finally shuffles out to join her.
They're in the process of missing Sunday Family Game Night…which is probably a good thing, considering today's events, Knight muses as Parker joins her on his armchair.
But it's a relief to touch him again, to be close to him again (because of headaches, yes, but especially after all that time apart this summer).
Dear @parknights, i love your whumpy headache imagines sm mew, so i wrote an extra snippet! H/c but no vomiting, very in the vein of the parker you like to imagine:
One of the times Jess goes to check on Parker in his room, she finds him sitting up in bed, his knees drawn up to his chest and the heels of his hands pressing against his eyes.
Jess pads into the room, making sure to step just heavily enough on the squeaky plank at the foot of Parker's bed to alert him of her presence.
He looks up and tries to smile, but it comes out more as a grimace. Jess sits on the edge of his bed and hesitantly rubs his back. It seems to soothe Parker some, because she can feel some of the tension in his back loosen and he starts leaning against her more and more.
"Why didn't you call me, Parker?" She asks him in a quiet, neutral voice.
"Guess I got used to being alone." Parker murmurs back without hesitation.
Jess is so stunned that her hand stills on his back. He lifts his head from his knees and looks up at her. He realizes that he said something to upset her.
The most heartbreaking thing, Jess realizes, is that Parker never intended to say that in any revealing or dramatic sort of way. It was the headache and fatigue that made him drop his guard too much.
So Jess just smiles back awkwardly and casts for a different topic. "Um hey, do you want to change your shirt?" She can feel the fabric that's damp with clamminess.
Parker stares at her, he is well-versed in changing the subject because that's his M.O, but he just nods.
Jess goes to Parker's oak dresser and pulls out a new t-shirt that he wears for sleeping. Parker is trying to struggle out of his sweaty shirt but between the nausea and weariness, he seems to have lost his coordination. It looks slightly adorable, Jess thinks, though it shouldn't be.
She helps him out of his shirt, uses the old one to wipe his clammy forehead, then pulls the fresh, dry shirt over his arms and torso with some assistance from him.
He grabs her wrist desperately but gently just before they break contact.
"Jess, wait. I appreciate that you're here now," he gestures vaguely around his room, "and I'll... I'll work to be better at letting you in, okay?"
Jess beams at him, she knows how hard that is for lone wolf Parker to say out loud, and the first response that springs to her mind is to kiss him. Very briefly and lightly, since he is still very sick and needs rest.
Parker prolongs the kiss a few seconds more than Jess had intended. One of her favorite body parts of his, is his squishy little cherry mouth.
He has just told her something difficult for him to admit, and when he gets better, she will return the sentiment. Although what she has felt for a long time but never told him is a lot easier for her to say.
idk what jess wants to tell parkie either, but she doesn't want to say it while he's ill and looking like a hurt puppy
this ncis' parknight imagines is for you @le-amewzing. Thank you for all your gorgeous pk and parkery content! Now it's just 1 more month++ before we see our babes again.
this is an imagine where Parker gets nightmares sometimes, and sometimes Knight is there for him (when she sleeps over). She makes those (k)nightmares almost bearable.
Kasie: And that... Is three days in a row where I've beaten you on sleep score(TM). Bow down before your Highness!
Kasie gloats cheerfully.
Knight: I sure will, m'lady!
Knight takes Kasie's hand daintily and kisses the back of it, deliberately kissing right where Kasie's halo activity watch sits on her slim wrist.
Jess never likes to bring a cheerful mood down, so she doesn't. If only you knew why my sleep score was 30%ish the past few nights though, she thinks.
The night before, and the night before that, Parker had bad nightmares that she was in bed with him for. Knight remembers them too vividly. Both nights, both nightmares were almost identical. On the second night though, she thinks she had a better plan on how she handled it.
Parker jolted awake harshly. So harshly in fact, that he rocked the bed, and her on the other side of it.
She pretended to still be asleep and kept her eyes mostly shut. In the darkness, she could see the silhouette of his head and chest looming over her, as though to check that he didn't wake her. Since she was pseudo-sleeping, she couldn't tell him how creepy that was (but it was Parker, and she has always felt safe with him), nor could she pet his disheveled hair or face to calm him down.
When he was satisfied in thinking he didn't disturb her, Parker rolled over and curled up facing his side of the bed. He panted in short, wheezing gasps. An unknown length of time passed and he still wasn't asleep yet.
His breaths came out too quickly to belong someone who was sleeping, while she was holding herself still with bated breath so he would think she was asleep. That was her reaction the first night.
The second night, during that point in his traumatic nightmare aftermath, she had to try something different.
------
He was tethered right to the edge of the bed, like he was holding on to something solid for dear life.
Parker's warm, furnace-like body goes ramrod stiff when Jess casually rolled over to his side of the bed and Big-Spooned him while she pretended to still be asleep.
After a few moments' hesitation, he clutched tightly at her hand that has snaked comfortingly around his belly. Like an anchor. With her face pressed against his back, she could feel him take a few deep (sniffling?) breaths, then he quieted and settled himself and the tension in his body loosened fractionally.
Parker sobbed a pitiful moan and in that moment, Jess wanted so badly to drop her sleeping pretense and wake up to rub his back and mutter soothing words to him, or at least try to comfort him in some fashion. But she couldn't do that. She knew Parker well enough to know what vulnerabilities he would tolerate being fussed over, but not well enough just yet that he would let her in. And this was as deeply private as all gets.
Parker had bad memories on ships right? Maybe that was what those nightmares...(were about). She almost completed the thought before she fell asleep spooning his long, lanky body.
~~~~~~
A few months later:
"The day afters" are days where he definitely won't (or can't) bring in breakfast pastries.
Parker stares stonily, or worse blankly, at the team when they make non-case-related chatter. Like he doesn't follow, like he is too exhausted to. For everything case related, he is his usual sharp as a tack, on the ball self. Funny and fascinating how Agent Parker separates himself from Alden.
When Jess was being honest with herself, she almost preferred the slightly abrasive FBI Agent Parker who she first met over this post-nightmare-days version of Parker. He looks like he barely has any energy. At least FBI Parker was doggedly pursuing serial killer Paul LeMere.
She fears thinking of Alden being as lifeless as his weary, vacant face looks now. At least he lets her wake up and comfort him during those bad nights now, after she told Parker to stop feeling bad about his unconscious thoughts he can't control and she showed him that she meant it.
And then on those days after, she steps up her banter smoothly to divert attention so the guys and Kasie don't notice a sullen Parker that much.
That's okay. She has enough joie de vivre to cover the both of them on the days he can't muster enough for himself because his nights have drained him.
Mew, i wrote this imagines before i read your Spabby their dog fic, so this last part doesn't really fit in, but: every time Parker gets nightmares nowadays, he taps his chest and their dog (a light sleeper, always perceptive) jumps onto the bed and curls up against Parker. As Jess spoons him, Parker runs his fingers through the dog's grey, coarse, dense fur. He's starting to see why Jess likes petting her (their?) dog so much, it's comforting. And Spabby definitely enjoys it all the time too.
It's one of the rare times things go over Parker's head. That Jess loves stroking Parker's hair the same reason she enjoys petting Spabby. (But you the reader deffo saw the connection right?)
Parker had said (begrudgingly), when he first found them in Naktok Bay, "Lets make one thing clear. As soon as Everhart is in custody, your ass belongs to me. Got it?" Gibbs hadn't said anything then, just shot one of his sly smiles McGee's way.
Gibbs makes sure now though, that it ends up the opposite way.
Gibbs grunts out rhythmically in time with his aggressive thrusts. He doesn't hold back on his words and his actions, never does.
Parker's face is pressed against the thin bed, but Gibbs has granted him the courtesy of letting him turn to his side so it is his bearded cheek that meets the mattress. Mostly so they could talk and fuck at the same time. They don't say much, being men of a few and fewer words.
He is sorry that Parker got fired from the bureau. On his account. Twenty-two years, the other man had told him as Gibbs was preparing his asshole for entry. He doesn't say it; too many words to someone he has just met under these difficult conditions. But pending the final paperwork, his old job as Supervisory Special Agent at NCIS is Parker's if he accepts. And Gibbs hopes he does, Parker is a good agent and a good man. He won't say that directly either.
So he tell Parker, in the secrecy of this room, "Act like you're a visitor the first day. Say you have to split for a made-up concert or something. You look like a U2 kinda guy. Are ya?" Parker merely scoffs coyly into the mattress. And that's the most they have talked.
Gibbs is firmly in charge. It is his cabin, and Parker is merely over as a guest. He has one hand pinning Parker's shoulder to the bed, the other gripping the back of Parker's head as his fingers thread the dense hair.
Kneeling on the cold, wood floor has Parker's knees screaming loudly in despair. He is no spring chicken. But it is what he deserves, he thinks to himself, for manhandling Gibbs into and out of handcuffs. And then doing that again.
Being men of a certain age, they have an unspoken empathy for what isn't comfortable anymore. Despite the ache in his knees and bent back, the rest of Parker's body feels... fulfilled under Gibbs. Especially his stretched anus and his hair being solidly fisted.
Parker mutters something in reply, but those words are for Gibbs' hearing only.
Through the thin walls in the adjoining cabin, McGee wonders why Gibbs is talking to himself and what his boss is pounding away at.
I have this idea that they have an accident, and parker gets injured, so gibbs has no choice but to yell out "McGee!", and mcgee comes running over… (to see gibbs' dick sliding out an unconscious parker's ass, with parker cradled in his arms. maybe poor parker winched his knee and passed out from the pain)
(bc everyone says gibbs and parker sound alike. Their voices are in a similar range. this is part 10 of my parkie parker stories on ao3)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Her first instinct, always, is to protect him first. They both try not to dwell on Parker's moments of frailty.
-—Or, every time they emerge alive from danger by the skin of their teeth, Knight is reminded of not only the reality of their job but of how much she cares for the life of the man who walks beside her. So when Parker has an extra cough or wheeze and needs a spare rest on days they come close to being shot or blown up, she worries over the hits he's taken...both the hits she's been present for and all the ones he's suffered before they met.
Parker might need a literal shoulder to lean on, but he never fails to offer her a small (if bedraggled) smile when he has one of his dizzy spells.
"But those have only happened on the rare occasion, right?" Knight reasons to herself, returning his smile timidly and not letting her worries pile up...
Mew i love this so much! The stunning visuals! The title! The hurt/heavy c (c for comfort and concern hehe) text! Omg so it's canon that parker gets headaches, and fanon (as i insist) that he's sometimes plagued by dizziness.
He is older and sometimes weaker/ more frail, and she (young, fit, mostly feeling invincible) now has to accept that this is the man she chose to love!
I have yet another prompt if it fits in your masterplan ok! One day, they're enjoying a nice date. Then parker gently grabs her hand/wrist/bicep. "Jess, I want to go home." (bc whump reasons) So they head home. Together.
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