:A/n: J.J. one-shot. Set some time before Chapter 8, but other than that, it doesn't really continue with anything in the storyline. Just a funny, slightly smutty one-shot.
Enjoy!
"Smile For The Paparazzi"
J.J. Gibbs was not pleased. He scowled at the stiff suit shirt and bowtie before glancing up at his father. "Do we have to wear this?"
"Apparently." Jethro Gibbs sighed, glaring at the bowtie he was attempting to fix. "Why the hell…these things never make any damn sense."
"That's because you didn't have a woman to do it for you." Slim, manicured hands slipped over his shoulders, the front of her body pressed against his back as she leaned up on tiptoes to fix the tie, smirking at him in the mirror.
"Jenny, do I have to go?" Jake frowned distastefully, reaching up to mess with the bowtie again.
"Well…I need a date, and Jet is part of my security detail. I thought it would be fun." Jenny patted Jet on the shoulder patronizingly, shoving him away before she knelt in front of J.J., straightening his jacket.
"What's a date?"
She smiled, adjusting the bowtie so it sat more comfortably under his collar. "Kind of like…well, a dance partner."
"But you're taller than I am."
Jenny laughed softly, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "I don't much like dancing anyways."
J.J. frowned, conflicted. He really, really didn't like this suit, but Jenny had asked if he would go along with her to the party. Jet had to protect her, so he couldn't really go with her, and J.J. knew his dad wouldn't like it at all if Jenny asked someone else along. "Well…I guess I can go, just this once."
The redhead grinned, fixing his suit one last time before standing up. "Wonderful. You and your dad go wait downstairs, I have to get dressed."
She made her way downstairs half an hour later; in a stunning, backless black dress that was not helping Jet's blood pressure at all.
"Wow…you look really pretty, Jenny." J.J. smiled, leaning up on tiptoe to press a kiss to her cheek when she crouched by his side.
"Thank you, Jake. You look very handsome."
"What's handsome?"
"Think James Bond."
"Oh, okay."
Jet muttered under his breath briefly, still extremely dissatisfied with the current arrangements. "I still don't see why we have to go."
"Jethro, nearly every high ranking official in the government will be there tonight. The budget is up for review next month."
"And you're not opposed to using my son as a cute-sey way to shake the money tree."
"Well…when you put it like that, it sounds bad. But, NCIS needs money, badly. Unless you'd like to go back to when we had to pay for ammo out of pocket?"
He mumbled under his breath and disappeared to the kitchen to grab his gun and badge, still displeased with the situation.
J.J. trailed along obediently behind Jenny as she made the rounds of the ballroom, smiling politely and shaking hands when she introduced him.
"Jake, this is Tom Morrow. He's an old friend of mine."
He stared up at the tall older man standing in front of him, vaguely recognizing the face. "Hi, Mr. Morrow. My name's Jake."
"Nice to meet you, son." Morrow took his offered hand, shaking a few times.
Jenny had already turned to talk to someone else, engrossed in the conversation for now, so J.J. felt it was safe to ask Mr. Morrow a few more questions. "Hey, mister…Did you work at NCIS?"
Tom raised his eyebrows, impressed. "I was director of NCIS before Jenny. Why do you ask, Jake?"
"I just 'member you from somewhere. I think you worked with my dad."
"Did I?" Morrow glanced between the young blue eyed boy in front of him and Jenny, his brows contracting. "Who exactly is your father?"
Jake shrugged enigmatically. He'd spent enough time around his dad to know you never came right out and said what you were asked. "Jet."
The Deputy Director's eyes narrowed further. There was only one man who worked at NCIS with him who would even consider letting a young man like Jake wander about with Jenny Shepard so freely. And his name happened to be a longer variant of Jet. "Jethro Gibbs?"
"Uh huh."
"Right." Morrow turned, seeing Jenny a few feet away, chatting politely with a young DEA Agent. "Jennifer…a word, if you don't mind?"
Jenny turned, giving her former boss and odd look. "Certainly." She and Jake followed him to a secluded corner of the ballroom. "Is there something wrong?"
Tom ensured that his voice was low enough not to reach Jake, who leaned against the wall, watching people dancing silently. "Who exactly is Jake? You never mentioned a last name."
She glanced sideways, giving him another odd look. "I don't really see why this is relevant."
"I hear that a certain Agent Gibbs is his father."
Her jaw tightened briefly. "He's not mine, if that's what you're indirectly asking, Tom."
"And yet Jethro trusts you enough to walk around in a ballroom with his son."
"We're good friends, always have been."
Morrow laughed shortly at that, giving her a significant look. "You two couldn't pull the wool over my eyes then, I can't fathom why you think you can now."
"Tom…we're taking this slow right now."
"As opposed to last time?"
"How did you…?"
He smiled slightly. "You two really ought to have been more careful that time in the second floor conference room."
Jenny blanched. "You saw…"
"Heard. That door never did shut well." Morrow chuckled, shaking his head. "I wish the two of you luck. It was nice seeing you again. You might want to try being a bit more discreet in the future, my dear." He patted her shoulder lightly and moved away, stopping only long enough to shake Jake's hand again.
"Jenny?" Jake gave her a quizzical look. "Are you okay?"
"Why don't we go sit down? The dinner will be starting soon."
He shrugged. "Okay."
He stared at the array of silverware in front of him, bewildered. Why in the world did he have so many forks? And the weird cracker things and the black dots didn't look too good, either. "Uh…Jenny?"
Jenny looked up from her serious contemplation of her champagne glass. "What's wrong, Jake?"
"What is this stuff?"
"Caviar." She laughed, leaning over and switching his plate out with hers. "Here, have a salad instead."
They were seated at a small table with Tobias Fornell and his date, along with another DEA Agent she vaguely remembered meeting.
"Couldn't find a date, Director Shepard?" Tobias spoke up from her side, a tone of dry amusement in his voice.
Jenny raised her eyebrows significantly, flicking her gaze to the side of the room, where a silver head of hair was visible.
"Ah." He grinned, shaking his head. "So you brought the kid, instead."
"I'm not a kid, Uncle Toby."
"Of course you aren't." Tobias smiled at him, taking a bite of salad. "What did she bribe you with to get you to come?"
Jake glanced to the side shiftily, a smirk like his father's on his face. "Ice cream, and I get to go on the go karts with Zach twice this weekend."
"Did I say twice?" Jenny sounded amused.
Jake stared her solidly in the eyes, nodding once. "Uh huh."
"Of course, how could I forget?"
Fornell laughed out loud. "Damn, Jenny, he's almost as good at politics as you are."
"I'm going to take that as a compliment."
Gibbs grumbled irritably under his breath for what felt like the hundredth time that night. It just wasn't fair. He was stuck on guard duty, and she was waltzing around in that dress. His only consolation was that Jake seemed to be doing an admirable job of scaring off any potential suitors.
She threw her head back as she laughed at something Tobias said, her long red hair tumbling over the edge of the chair, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of her bare back again.
He grit his teeth, returning to sweeping his gaze across the room to ensure there were no immediate threats to her life. His eyes narrowed sharply as they landed back on Jenny's table.
She flicked her gaze over to him, taking a bite of the cheesecake sitting on the table between her and J.J. Tease.
That was it. He slipped his cell out of his pocket, hitting speed dial one and holding the phone to his ear.
"Yes?"
"Balcony. Five minutes."
"I really can't talk ri-."
He cut her amused voice off sharply, lowering his own into a low growl. "Balcony, or the table. Your choice."
He could see across the room as she swallowed heavily, hand faltering as she reached for her drink. "I'll be there."
"Something come up, Jenny?"
Jenny set her phone down on the table, not really noticing Tobias had spoken until he waved a hand in her face.
"Jenny…"
"Sorry, what?"
"I asked if there was anything wrong."
She shook her head. "Oh, no, nothing wrong, I just need to go take care of something. Do you mind…?"
"Keeping an eye on Jake? Not a problem. Go ahead."
"Thank you." Jenny stood, making her way to a secluded balcony near the back corner of the room.
Tobias glanced down at the kid he was now tasked with watching. "You know what's going on?"
J.J.'s eyes swept the room once, a slight smile on his face. He jerked his head to the side, indicating the spot formerly occupied by one Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Fornell's eyes widened. No…there was no way he would…would he? He laughed, shaking his head. Jethro definitely owed him a drink and a long story after this.
Leon Vance was not pleased. He had to fly all the way to D.C. for this ridiculous benefit, all because the almighty Director Jennifer Shepard seemed to think two sets of NCIS hands shaking the money tree were better than just one. So now he was sitting in this gala, in a tux he hated to wear, rather than taking a weekend vacation with his lovely wife and children.
He pasted a false smile on his face and made polite conversation with his fellow guests, hard brown eyes surveying the room during a lull in the conversation.
Shepard wasn't even at her table. His eyebrows contracted in a deep frown. What the hell? He scanned the room again, noting the conspicuous absence of one other NCIS agent. Gibbs wasn't at his post as detail for Shepard. Where the hell was he?
Vance stood, murmuring an excuse about the restroom to his tablemates before stalking off. A flash of red hair and pale skin caught the corner of his eye as he made his way to the back of the ballroom.
There. Shepard slipped out onto the balcony, joined seconds later by a distinctive head of silver hair.
Leon Vance grinned rather evilly, his hand going into his pocket and withdrawing one of his trademark toothpicks.
He just had to tell SecNav. The Director of an armed Federal agency, dallying around with one of her agents? The pinnacle of unprofessional, it was. It was his right…no, his duty to inform SecNav of this egregious lack of professionalism.
Edward Davenport sat a few tables back from Shepard, deeply engrossed in a conversation with the SecDef.
Vance approached the table quietly, politely waiting for a break in the conversation before he spoke. "Mr. Secretary, sir."
"Ah, Leon. Good to see you. What brings you over this way?"
"I wondered if we might talk in private, sir."
"Certainly. John, Callie, would you mind?" Davenport glanced at the other occupants of the table. SecDef and his wife nodded, standing and making their way around to another table. "What seems to be the problem, Leon?"
"What is your policy on employer/employee relationships?"
"I don't quite follow you, Leon. What are you talking about?"
"Jennifer Shepard and her supervisory Special Agent Gibbs. I think they're in a relationship, which would be a violation of employer/employee relations, if I'm not mistaken."
"That's a very serious accusation, Leon. You have any proof to back your story?"
Vance jerked his head sideways, nodding towards Jenny's empty seat. "Shepard isn't at her table, and Gibbs isn't at his post."
"Well…I'm sure there's a completely valid reason…" Davenport stood, looking a little irritated. "Why don't we go ask Jennifer's table mates? I'm sure she just slipped out to go to the restroom."
Leon bit back a smirk, trailing obediently behind SecNav as he made his way to Jenny's table. Let the man think his precious Shepard was in fact, not screwing one of her employees. He'd always suspected that Gibbs and Shepard had something back in the day. Clearly, whatever it was, it hadn't stopped when Shepard transferred to Cairo.
Davenport cleared his throat, catching the attention of the occupants of the table. "Tobias. Nice to see you. You wouldn't happen to know where Jennifer is, would you?"
"She had to go make a phone call." Jake spoke up from his seat, turning to stare at the old grey haired man, noting the glare from the shorter black man behind him.
"A phone call to who, son?" Leon pasted on a false smile, kneeling near the little boy, who he hadn't noticed previously. Dark brown hair, blue eyes, thin tanned face. The boy had the same wary look on his face Gibbs always wore. A love child?
"That's not any of your business, sir."
"We need to find Director Shepard, so I think it is our business, son."
"Leon…she's stepped out to take a phone call." Davenport leaned in, catching the edge of Vance's jacket in his hands. "And the next time you decide to accuse Jennifer Shepard of anything, you damn well better have some proof. Am I clear?"
His jaw clenched in anger, Vance nodded once shortly. "Almost crystal, sir."
"Good, then." Davenport turned on his heel, intent on leaving, when Leon latched onto his arm tightly. "Assistant Director Vance, I'd advise you to drop it."
"Why don't we ask Gibbs and Shepard themselves?"
SecNav turned, ready to berate the man standing in front of him, when his gaze fell on Jenny Shepard and Jethro Gibbs, standing a few yards away.
"Secretary Davenport, sir. Good to see you." Jenny covered her surprise admirably, stepping forward to shake his hand.
"Yes…we were just looking for you, this young man said you'd stepped out to take a phone call."
"Yes, I stepped out onto the balcony to get some quiet."
"Likely story." Vance glared at her, his arms folded across his chest. "Your phone is still sitting on the table, Director."
"No, that's mine, Leon." Fornell leaned over, grabbing the phone. "I was letting Jake play a few games, he was bored." He made a show of pocketing the phone.
"Shepard and Gibbs slipped out to have some secret rendezvous!"
"It was a phone call, Leon! Agent Gibbs came along as security!"
"Oh, I'm sure, a likely story." Vance thrust his arm out, pointing directly at J.J. "Here's all the evidence you need that Shepard slept her way to the top, sir."
"What in the world are you talking about?"
"That boy! He's your evidence! Shepard and Gibbs have been sleeping together since Tom Morrow sent them to Europe! Their little 'unfortunate accident' made Shepard split off for a while, to keep up the pretense that they weren't in a rel—" Vance was cut off as Gibbs' fist impacted his face.
"Agent Gibbs!" SecNav stared, astounded, as Vance sank to the floor, out cold.
"I'm sorry sir, I do hate it when people get the wrong impression. My son is in no way an unfortunate accident, and I won't stand by and watch him called so."
"Agent Gibbs?" Davenport was pale, staring between Jake and Gibbs.
"Er…maybe you should go, Agent Gibbs." Tobias leaned forward, drawing their attention to the fact that more than half of the stares in the room seemed to be directed their way. "You too, Director Shepard."
Jenny nodded jerkily, her face white. "If you'll excuse us, Mr. Secretary, sir."
"Cer—certainly." SecNav offered Jake a polite smile as he stood from his chair, walking over. He frowned in confusion when Jake beckoned to him, leaning down to listen to the boy.
"Don't be angry with Jenny, sir."
Davenport smiled, patting J.J.'s shoulders. "Jake, is it, son?" He smiled wider as the boy nodded. "Between you and I, son, I've known about your father and Ms. Shepard for some time. She made sure I was aware when she came to tell me she was planning on adopting you. She's not in any trouble."
"Well…okay, then." Jake turned around, walking over to Jenny and Gibbs. "Bye, Uncle Toby."
"Bye, Jake."
"The nerve of him! Standing there in the middle of a governmental ball, accusing us of having an affair!"
Jet laid on the bed, his hands behind his head as he watched Jenny pace back and forth, furious.
"And then insinuating that I slept my way to the top! I didn't get where I am because of my looks!"
"He insinuated that Jake was our Paris love child, too."
Jenny stopped in her rant as he spoke for the first time in half an hour, glancing over to the bed. "After all of this that's happened, that's all you can say?"
Jet grinned. "We both know, as does SecNav and anyone with half a brain in this city that you didn't sleep your way to the top. We also know Jake isn't our Paris love child. SecNav knows about our current relationship, and that you plan to adopt Jake. I don't really see what the big deal is."
"It's just the principle of the whole thing! He…he sat there, in front of everybody, and accused me of having an affair with one of my agents."
"Who cares?" He shrugged, fixing her with a searching look. "You seem more pissed that he insinuated that you had an affair with me more than anything. You havin' second thoughts or something?"
"I—wha…no! How could you think that?"
"What else am I supposed to think? SecNav is fine with our relationship and Jake, you already said that. Who the hell cares what everyone else thinks? The people who matter know and support us. Who gives a crap about what all of those other pigheaded idiots up on Capitol Hill think of us?"
Jenny stared, staggered. "When the hell did you get so good at politics?"
Jet smirked. "I've always been relatively good at politics, I just don't particularly like the people who practice them."
"So you've been holding out on us."
"Eh…somethin' like that." He sat up, eyeing her dress speculatively. "You feel better now?"
"A litt—why are you looking at me like that?"
"Can't expect me not to look when you're wearing that." Jet stood, sauntering over to her side. "And, you promised me I could help take it off if I was good."
"Luring me out to the balcony for a make-out session is not good, Jethro."
He traced a finger across her bare shoulder lightly, smirking as her breath hitched. "It isn't?
Jenny sucked in another breath as he leaned down, letting his lips follow the path his finger had taken. "N—no…"
"Oh, really?" He brushed her hair away from her neck, leading a line of light kisses up the side. "You sure?"
"Ye—no." She swallowed sharply, turning around to meet his kiss squarely. "Maybe it is."
"Uh huh."
"PROBIE!" Tony's gleeful shout assaulted Tim McGee's ears when the tech agent made his way into the squad room in the morning. "Have I got a story for you!"
"I don't want to hear about your date, Tony." Tim let out a tired sigh, shuffling over to his desk.
"I'm wounded, McSleepy." Tony shook out the pages of his newspaper loudly, grinning almost obscenely. "But this is in the paper."
Ziva raised a quizzical eyebrow at the newspaper in the Italian's hands. "You know how to read, Tony? I am surprised."
"What is this, everybody rag on Tony day?" The senior agent pouted, recovering his good mood quickly. "ANYways, I have NEWS. And it is big, big news. Involving our oh-so-lovely Director Shepard and a certain bad-ass growly Marine boss of ours."
"Tony…" McGee glanced furtively over at Gibbs empty desk. "Gibbs could be here any second."
"Oh, but you'll want to hear this, Probie Wan Kenobi." Tony cleared his throat dramatically, ruffling the paper once more for effect.
Ziva rolled her eyes and ignored him, returning to checking her emails.
"Ahem…the headline reads: 'Director Shepard's Secret Love Affair—Scandal at the President's Ball." Tony cackled with glee, waggling his eyebrows over at Tim. "AND, there's a kinda shoddy picture of her and Jake. With Gibbs in the background."
"Tony…you're reading the National Enquirer, for one thing. It's a tabloid. They made it up."
"Ah ah ah, Probie, no interrupting." He held up a finger, folding the paper so he could read the story aloud. "Evidence that NCIS Director Jennifer E. Shepard is having an affair with Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs of NCIS' Major Crimes Response Team surfaced last night at the President's Ball. This young boy, of no more than six or seven, was seen following Director Shepard around the ball. Sources have found that his name is Jacob Gibbs, son of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs."
"Tony…you really ought to stop."
The Italian continued on as if he hadn't heard. "This is irrefutable evidence of an on-going affair between Director Shepard and her agent. Another source stated that Director Shepard and Agent Gibbs were seen slipping away from the Ball for a while, out to a secluded balcony. When they returned, Secretary of the Navy Edward Davenport and NCIS Assistant Director Leon Vance were seen at Director Shepard's table, before Agent Gibbs attacked Assistant Director Vance seemingly without provocation. NCIS is declining to comment, as is Secretary Davenport's off-." Tony stopped abruptly, his eyes widening at the appearance of Jenny and Gibbs, standing in front of his desk with arms folded. "Hi Boss, Director Shepard."
A vein in Jenny's temple pulsed as she held out a manicured hand, her eyes narrowed in a glare. Tony swallowed heavily, handing over the paper without comment.
WHACK. WHACK.
"Sorry, Boss! Won't happen again Boss!"
WHACK.
"Why…what was that for, Gibbs?" Ziva looked vaguely irritated.
"You didn't stop him."
WHACK.
Tim merely winced, rubbing the back of his head reflexively. "Won't happen again, Boss."
"It better not." Gibbs returned to Jenny's side, fixing Tony with his most formidable glare.
"Eeep."
"Get to work, DiNozzo, before I find some for you."
"Yes Boss. On it, Boss."
"I'm going to kill him."
"Messy. And it sort of sets a bad precedent, doncha think?"
Jenny glared. "I'm so glad you find this so amusing."
"Jen, it's the National Enquirer. You made the front page next to a photo of Bigfoot."
"I made the front page? WE made the front page, Jethro."
Gibbs rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone, dialing a number from memory. He held up a hand when Jenny opened her mouth to speak, shushing her. "Harry? It's Jethro."
He grinned faintly, laughing at whatever was said on the other end. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Listen…I need a favor."
"Uh huh."
"No, the Enquirer. Writer's name is Everhart. Christine Everhart."
"Uh huh. All the pictures, and she needs to issue a retraction in public."
Gibbs snorted with laugher again, shaking his head. "Well, no…that would be a little overkill, wouldn't it?"
"Uh huh." He grinned wider. "Thanks, Harry. We're even now. Semper Fi, bonehead."
He snapped the phone shut, removing his hand from her mouth. "It's all taken care of, Jen."
Jenny stared at him, astounded. "You just talked to a member of the press without threatening someone?"
"Hey!" Jet pouted, managing an impressive wounded look. "I just called in a very important favor to save your ass."
She had to grin at that, moving over to straddle him on the couch. "Well…I suppose you did do a good job. And I probably still owe you for being so good at the Ball last night." Her fingers were at his belt, unlatching it and popping the button and zipper of his trousers.
Jet grit his teeth, his hips bucking upwards. "Uh huh…" His breath hitched slightly as she began undoing the buttons of his shirt, tracing her nails down his chest.
"Plus, I don't have any meetings this morning…" She trailed off as she leaned down, kissing up his neck slowly.
"Jenny…" Jet's voice became almost a whine.
"And you've been so good this morning, scaring Tony for me…"
He groaned loudly as she shifted, moving away. "Jen…" He moaned louder as she began kissing down his torso, his hands going up to clutch at her hair.
"And I should definitely thank you for defending my honor to Vance." Jenny stopped, grinning up at him. "See what happens when you're good, Jethro?"
Her low voice hit him right in the gut, his hips bucking up again as she resumed her kisses. His last thought before she continued past his hips was that he should really consider being good more.
A/n: Aaaaaand, there you go.
I thought it was a funny idea, anyways.
Reviews are nice :P
-meg