Author's note:

This is the sequel to Politics (wherein Ducky pushed a flic off a cliff and Jenny commandeered a boat). We have some OCs putting in an appearacne in this chapter as well - most notably Calhoun, an agent at the Field Office in Naples.

Naples Field Office

January 7th, 1999

1400

"Will ya hurry up, Chuck!" Calhoun snapped before throwing the receiver back onto the cradle. "Sheesh," he said to a group of agents hanging up a banner in the middle of the room, "how long does it take to buy a few drinks?"

"He's probably sampling the stuff," someone replied.

Everyone laughed except Calhoun.

"I'm gonna kick his ass to Timbuctoo," he said darkly. "And that thing ain't straight," he added critically as he observed the handiwork. "Up a little on the le .. too high. Just .. yeah .. you got it."

"What time are they landing again?" another agent asked as he eyed the box of decorations Calhoun had shown up with that morning.

"Coupla hours."

"Mr. Calhoun," a voice to his left said.

"Didja get 'em?" The agent's eyes lit up as soon as he realized it was Ducky.

"I did."

"You didn't eat any on the way, right?" Calhoun asked, as he lifted the lid on the box of pastries Ducky was holding and did a headcount.

"No. But I was sorely tempted. Where do you want them?"

"Table for food's somewhere down there," Calhoun gestured. "Are you staying?"

"If you'll have me," Ducky said with an indulgent smile as he put the pastries down. "How can I help?"

"Bunch of stuff in there that needs to come out of its packaging," the agent said as he indicated the box on his desk.

"Noisemakers?" Ducky began as he started to unwrap them.

"You sound as though you disapprove, Doctor."

"Disapproval would be too strong a word for-"

"She did good," Calhoun interrupted, his tone a combination of defensiveness and frustration. "No matter what Gibbs and Decker think. She deserves a loud homecoming. Before the shit hits the fan."

His voice took on more of an edge as he muttered the words under his breath - reminding Ducky all over again how unsettled things had been since their return.

Decker seemed to be in perpetual meeting mode, but he and Jethro circled each other with barely-concealed hostility when their paths crossed. He wasn't sure what had transpired with Pacci, but it was clear to everyone that that relationship, too, was on shaky ground.

"So Doc .." someone called from across the room, breaking his train of thought,"give us all the juicy details."

Ducky chuckled, but as he opened his mouth to speak a voice from the doorway had them all turning around.

"If you want juicy details, the best place to get them is the horse's mouth."

"There's my girl!" Calhoun was at her side in two steps. "You're early! Party doesn't start till Chuck gets here with the booze."

"Whoa, cowboy," she said with a laugh as he hugged her tight and lifted her off her feet.

"You did good, Jen," he whispered into her ear as he lowered her to the ground. "Don't let any of these assholes tell you different. You did good." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Welcome home!"

"Alright alright, move over already," another agent said as he pushed him out of the way and hugged her. "Welcome back, darlin'."

"Hey, I was there too you know," a voice behind them said.

"Yeah yeah," Calhoun punched Callen good-naturedly in the shoulder. "Welcome back to you too."

1530

Sounds of laughter drifted down the hallway as Pacci pushed the office building door open.

"Thought they weren't landing till four .."

Pacci shrugged. More concerned about the way Gibbs was going to react than about what Vance was saying.

To say that the man had been tense since he'd come back from England would have been an understatement. Chris recognized the frustration, but it was the anger waiting for the opportunity to boil over which worried him.

There had been little to no communication with Jenny, as far as he knew.

Decker had called dibs on handling the matter. Fielding all phone calls at the office – where they'd all pretty much spent their days and nights waiting for news.

Nerves had frayed over the course of the past few days, and the fact that Jenny had succeeded in getting the charges dropped had not seemed to make one whit of difference to Gibbs.

There was a spike in volume as the door to their offices was pushed open - and then complete silence as the happy voices died down.

The atmosphere in the room turned positively frigid, and Calhoun felt a spate of anger in Gibbs' regard as the joy drained from Jenny's face. Instinctively he drew himself up to his full height. Even though he was nowhere near her, he'd determined a few days ago that nobody – especially not her team leader - was going to put her down.

But Gibbs merely tossed his gun and badge into his drawer, grabbed a beer, and walked up to her.

Jenny searched his face. Irked by the way she found herself hoping for his approval. Some small indication that he was as proud of what she'd done as Ducky was. But his eyes were flat in a way she'd forgotten they could be, and when he raised his bottle at her and said "good job, Shepard," his smile didn't quite reach them.

However, the words had been spoken, and that's all the other people in the room seemed to care about.

The hum of conversation started up again – only to be dimmed immediately by Decker's arrival.

"My office, Shepard," was all he said as he passed by her.

Gibbs watched Jenny turn on her heel and follow him dutifully, and all of a sudden the bubble of anger which had been growing exponentially for the past few days felt as though it were trying to cut loose from his chest.

"Jethro .." He only half heard the warning in Ducky's tone as he placed his bottle firmly on the closest surface and stalked off after them.

Calhoun let out a deep breath as he exchanged an uneasy look with Pacci.

"Battle stations," he said edgily.

Decker slammed the door to his office shut, his frustration level off the charts.

Caught between wanting to let her have it and not wanting to ruin any chances he might have of getting into her bed.

She, however, anticipated what he was struggling to say.

"You don't have to tell me," she began. "It's written all over your face. And it's fine."

"He had already started filing the paperwork," he said as he shook his head at her. "Called me this morning to say that he couldn't afford a loose canon on his team."

"I did what I needed to do," she began defensively.

"And was it worth it?" he spat nastily. "Was it worth throwing your career away over Gibbs? Because that's the bottom line here, Jenny. And if you think that he in any way appreciates what you've done, I've got news for you. He's - "

"I did what I needed to do, Will," she reiterated slowly as she placed her hand on the door knob. "And I would do it all over again if it meant helping him or any other age-"

The handle slipped from her grasp as the door was wrenched open.

Jethro's eyes were far from flat now, and she recognized this side of him with a flare of unease. She hovered indecisively for a moment, and then slipped past him out of the office with the slightest of nods.

The part of her which felt she'd been right to follow her instincts absolutely refused to stand there and become part of what was surely going to become a pissing contest.

They could duke it out on their own, she thought as she made her way back to the others.

Kill each other too, for all she cared at the moment.

Jerks!

"What's going on?" Gibbs demanded back in the office.

Decker looked at him through narrowed eyes, and the animosity which had been brewing for weeks came to a head in a sudden rush of anger.

"Fuck you, Gibbs. It's none of your goddamn business."

The derisive sound from the back of Decker's throat made the heat rise under his collar, and he was at the desk's edge in a heartbeat; his hands pushing firmly against its surface as his voice rose. "You've been putting your nose into what my team, and especially what Jenny is doing, for too long. Now explain yourself, you son of bitch, and back off."

"Which part of it's none of your goddamn business didn't you get?" Decker snarled.

Never breaking eye contact as he came round his desk.

"She's on my team, and that makes it my goddamn business."

Down the hall, Calhoun did his best to keep people's attention away from the raging argument, but everyone shifted uncomfortably as the voices got louder and louder until suddenly Gibbs' shifted from aggressive to deadly calm.

"You tell me what the hell is going on or I'm taking this up the chain of command. We'll find out whether a control agent can manipulate a field agent's team when they're not in the field."

"Manipulate? You have it ass backwards. I tried to stop her. Told her it was a bad idea. I told her she was going to screw her chances at promotion if she did this. And I was right. She did!"

"What promotion?"

So much for keeping that under wraps, Jenny thought to herself as Decker spilled the beans.

She could feel all the eyes in the room focus on her – but there was no time to wonder about what she could say because Gibbs' next words ripped her to the core.

"She's not ready for any kind of promotion. She put Callen in danger, Will. She could have cost him his life."

"Like you didn't do the same in the Czech Republic?" Decker said provocatively.

"She doesn't assess situations well tactically, can't follow directions, can't follow a straight line."

The door to Decker's office suddenly slammed shut, and although the argument raged on, the sounds were muffled by the barrier.

She doesn't assess situations well tactically, can't follow directions, can't even follow a straight line.

In her mind's eye she could see him ticking her faults off on his fingers.

The image played and replayed itself in her head in quick such succession, making her feel like throwing up at the humiliation of everyone hearing it.

Especially when she didn't think it was a fair assessment.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, but when she looked up Pacci was standing at her elbow.

The look in his eyes told her he was feeling sorry for her, but there something else too.

Something which made her wonder how bad things had become between him and Jethro.

Because of something she had put into play.

She promised herself that she would never involve anyone in something personal like this again.

When she needed something done she'd do it herself.

"Hey .." he began gently as he handed her coat over. "How about we get out of here? Get a drink. Then I'll drive you home."

Jenny nodded with a wan smile.

"That'd be good," she said quietly.

As they left, Calhoun shook his head angrily.

He reached into the box on his desk and pulled out one of the noisemakers.

The sound was harsh and forced as it reverberated round the room – but it seemed to encapsulate what they were all feeling.

"Oorah!" he said dejectedly.

Author's note:

Next up, the reconciliation.