Disclaimer: nope, don't own anything
A/N: What i think should have happened in the time between when Jenny left Gibbs' basement and when the team walk into the bullpen and see Gibbs sitting at his desk with that god forsaken mustache.
Differences
She was in her office, buried under a pile of paperwork that dealt with Ziva's mishap with the Israelis. And she wasn't even close to being done for the night.
She had decided to go see Gibbs at his house before he left for Mexico again and it had cut into her paperwork time. Damn him.
She grabbed her coffee cup, and realized with distain that it was empty. She ran her hand through her hair, willing her tiredness away- it was just plain stupid at how much paper could accumulate on her desk in one day. In her mind, she could hear Jethro's voice telling her she should have stayed a field agent.
Moments like these made her seriously consider her climb to the top.
With a heavy sigh, she brought her mind back to the work in front of her, shuffling through the papers she had just signed- and then someone knocked on her door.
"Come in", she called out, not looking up from the papers.
She heard whoever it was come in and raised her head just in time to see Jethro shut the door behind him as he came in- 'Speak of the devil', she thought.
She straightened the papers into a neat pile before folding her hands and leaning forward onto her desk, "What can I do for you Mr. Gibbs?", she asked with a slight smirk.
He just quirked an eyebrow at her before sitting down on the chair in front of her desk. He leaned back slightly, lifting a leg to rest his right foot across his left knee, "Special Agent", he said gruffly.
She slowly sat up straight, she hadn't expected him to actually take up her offer to come back to the agency. Not to say she wasn't somewhat glad he would be back; it just kind of surprised her. Whether she liked to admit it or not, he was probably her best friend- for better or worse. It was just... Complicated.
"You're coming out of retirement?", she asked, careful not to let any emotions be conveyed in her question.
He nodded his head slowly, pressing his hand to his mouth."Yeah, might as well", he said with a shrug. But she could tell he was holding something back- almost hesitant.
"You think you're ready to come back?", she asked.
His eyes shot up to her, his steely blues boring into hers, "You doubt I'm ready?", he questioned.
She sighed heavily, "I just want to make sure your head is all there before I let you out in the field.", she said matter-of-factly.
"I'm ready", he told her, scratching at his beard for a moment. When his eyes met hers again and he saw her smile, he chuckled knowingly, "Don't worry, I know the beard has to go".
"It reminds me of Serbia", she said, smiling at the memory. She remembered the way his facial hair had brushed against her as he kissed her neck, rubbing it against the crook of her neck until she was weak in the knees.
"You gonna get out of here anytime soon madam director?", he asked as he got up from the chair. She looked at the massive amounts of paperwork on her desk, "Papers will still be here in the morning Jen", he said.
Nodding her head, she decided he was right. It was getting late and she really was tired. So she gathered up a few things before putting her purse over her shoulder and then walked to the door where Jethro was already opening the door for her, "You gonna walk me to my car?", she asked with a raised eyebrow.
He just smirked, "Figure nobody will mess with you if a guy with a beard is with you", and then he looked pleased with himself when she laughed.
"Chauvinist", she hissed playfully.
They walked to the elevator together and Gibbs hit the down button.
"Hey Jenny?", he asked suddenly, as if he had just decided to ask her something. She looked up at him expectantly as they waited for the elevator to get to the top level.
"Were... Are we, together?", he asked bluntly and her heart skipped a beat.
"No", she said automatically, instantly regretting her tone.
He nodded his head sharply and she could tell that it had stung him, if not just plain disappointed him. Was he really disappointed? She could feel how uncomfortable he was now.
"How is your memory?", she asked, quickly changing the subject, thankful when the doors opened and they both walked into onto the elevator.
"Comes and goes.", he said gruffly, turning his head away from her.
But she could tell he there was something bothering him.
Summoning up her courage, she stepped forward and flipped the emergency stop switch, "What is it Jethro?".
He leaned back against the wall, resting his hands on the handrails on either side of him. He looked her up and down with his intense gaze, as if he were sizing her up. She licked her lips self consciously. Finally he let out a slow breath.
"I just have some problems distinguishing you from someone else.", he said quietly, and she was surprised he actually told her what was bothering him.
She decided to push her luck just a bit more, "With who?".
He stared at her and for a second, she thought he wasn't going to answer. She stared right back at him, willing him to open up to her.
"Shannon", he said softly, finally, averting his eyes from hers and her breath hitched. She hadn't quite known who he was mixing her up with, but she sure as hell didn't expect him to reveal such an intimate detail of his still fragile mind.
But he wasn't done.
"I just can't, I can't separate the two of you. I loved Shannon. I loved you.", he said, not looking at her. He let out a shaky breath before turning to look at her and tapping his head, "Up here, you both sound the same, feel the same... Taste the same.", he sighed, clearly frustrated with his own memories and let his head fall back against the wall until he looked up at the dark ceiling.
Her heart instantly ached for him.
She couldn't even begin to imagine his frustration. She wasn't even sure what she could say to ease the emotional pain he was so obviously in.
He looked down at her once more and then pushed himself off the wall, taking a step toward her.
"Jenny", he said in almost a questioning tone.
"Yeah?".
"Can I- can I kiss you.?", he asked so quietly that if she weren't so focused on him right now, she would have missed it. And as soon as the words came out of his mouth, she suddenly wished she would have missed it.
Kiss her?
She understood the reasoning behind his request; understood where he was coming from. He needed to be able to separate herself from his first wife, if only for his sanities' sake or maybe to show Shannon the respect she deserved by doing justice to her memory.
But she also knew that it would be dangerous. Letting him have control of her just like that- it just might snap her self control, and that was something she had worked very hard at maintaing.
She vaguely wondered if he remembered her telling him there would be no 'off the job'.
But in the end, she knew that if he, a man who rarely asked anyone for anything, was willingly asking her something of this magnitude, then it was obviously warranted and needed.
She could give him this closure.
And it was his whispered, "Please", that sealed the deal.
She nodded her head wordlessly, watching as his eyes travelled to her lips and then back to her eyes as he took a step forward until they were practically touching, he stared at her, silently asking one last time to make sure he still had her blessing. She smiled at him and then her her eyes fluttered shut as he leaned down toward her and she felt his lips softly brush against hers, as if he were still hesitant.
Her instincts were screaming at her to just crush her lips to his, but she fought against it, knowing this was about him and letting him go as far as he needed to to separate her from Shannon.
When she didn't pull away from him, he pressed his lips to hers, moving them against her, his tongue moving lightly across her bottom lip and coaxing her lips to part. And when she did part them, he slipped his tongue in, caressing her own, united in an age old battle for dominance.
She felt an arm slip around her waist and he pulled her to him, his other hand sliding up her back until it tangled into her short red hair, gripping it tightly.
She responded by deepening the kiss and fisting her hands into the front of his jacket. God, he felt so good!
He backed her up until her back hit the wall and he pressed her against it with his muscular body, all the while devouring her mouth with a passion she had almost forgotten he possessed.
She missed this.
The closeness, the familiarity, the passion.
Him.
He pulled back sooner than she would have liked, and she couldn't help the disappointed feeling that took over her.
But instead of releasing her, he pulled her closer and wrapped both arms around her, holding her securely to him. She let out a sigh, resting her head against his shoulder- she really missed this.
The way he could make her feel so very safe just by holding her.
The way she fit perfectly against him- even after all these years.
"Thank you", he whispered into her hair.
She just nodded and smiled into his shirt, willing him to hold onto her just a little longer.
Because tomorrow, things would go back to normal.
And she still had a frog to catch.
A/N: Reviews are appreciated (;
3 Lenea