Disclaimer: If I owned them, Judgment Day would have just been a bad dream and Vance would be dead. But that's not the case so obviously they aren't mine.
Rating: God I have no clue...T? I guess that works...
Summary: Gibbs and Jenny have been dating for eh...about 2 years. (post judgment day. it NEVER happened in my book) when he asks her a big question...what happens when she says no?
A/N: this wont be long. just a few chapters. as you can tell, this chapter is humongous. thats cuz i was having fun :) this may be a little OOC just cuz Gibbs is a REALLY hard person to write for. i dont no how people do it! enjoy and please R&R!

She had heard the jingle his keys had made and the quiet "POW POW POWs" of the tricky door knob as he tried to get into the apartment. She had then heard his slow foot steps as he walked past the stairs, down the hallway, and into the kitchen. She had heard him "silently" approach her as if she didn't know he was there. But she let him have his fun. Besides, that's what good girlfriends did, right?

He carefully snaked his arms around her waist and gently pressed a kiss to her neck. She gasped in order to keep up the impression that she hadn't noticed him.

"Jethro?" she questioned.

She could feel his smirk as he responded. "Jen?" he mocked and continued to trail kisses over the side of her neck, brushing her soft, red curls out of the way.

"You're a little late don't you think?"

"Last time I checked I was right on time."

She shoved him back a little with her elbow and pretended to be busy preparing their dinner. "If you call being 45 minutes late, on time then yes, perfect timing Jethro." She wasn't really that mad with him. In fact she didn't really know why she was making such a big deal about it. She had just come home not 20 minutes ago.

His smirk turned into a frown. "No you said 2000, Jen, not 1900. So in fact I'm 15 minutes early for dinner."

Jen shook her head. "No I definitely said to be here at 7."

Jethro sighed and stood back a little. If he was late, which he wasn't, then it was just her fault. She was his boss. If she wanted him home for dinner on time, which he was, then all she had to do was tell him to leave work and go home. He was right and he knew it but it couldn't be helped. There was no winning with this woman. "Fine," he stated calmly and began to set the table.

"Fine?" she restated, completely startled by his calm reaction. She was so used to him fighting with her over the stupidest of things and then making up…by making out. She couldn't help but smile at that thought.

He turned and glared at her. "What?"

Quickly she shook her head. "Nothing. Jethro?"

"Hmm?" He noticed the worried look on her face and wondered what could possibly be wrong now.

"Are you okay?"

He couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "I think so, why?"

Jen shrugged. "I don't know you just seem…relaxed."

He walked back up to her and pressed his lips against her forehead. "And since when is that bad thing?"

Jen took hold of his hands and sighed. "It's not. I guess I'm just used to you being so grumpy after work. Besides, today I swamped you and your team with paperwork. I just assumed you would be upset."

He looked down at her, his bright blue eyes eating hers away. "I could go back to being grumpy if you'd like, Jenny."

She quirked her lips up into a smile and kissed him softly. As she pulled away her smile turned into a grin. The grin he loved so much that he couldn't help but smile back. "No…I like it when you're happy. It makes dinner run smoothly."

"I'll keep that in mind." He planted another kiss to her lips and was about to deepen it when suddenly the timer went off.

"Speaking of dinner!" She broke hold of his hands and skipped over to the stove where she turned it off and began to stir the spaghetti sauce. "I made ravioli. I hope that's okay." When he didn't respond she took it as a "yes".

A few minutes later, Jenny walked over to the round kitchen table which Jethro was already sitting at, waiting patiently for his food. "It's a little hot so be careful," she said as she served him some ravioli, green beans, and small fingerling potatoes. She sat down next to him and was expecting him to just dig right in and ignore her suggestion when instead, he just sat there staring down at his plate full of food. "What's wrong?"

No answer.

"Jethrooo?" she sang out his name.

Still no answer. This time he looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What Jethro?" Now she was a bit ticked off.

"Is it edible?" he asked slowly. She almost choked on her drink.

"Of course it is! Why, does it look weird?"

He shook his head. "It looks fine, I'm just curious. You've never really been that great at cooking, Jen."

Jen scoffed. "One can learn, Jethro! Go on," she prodded. "Eat it."

Reluctantly he picked up his fork, pushed the pasta around and took hold of one of the ravioli. He looked up at her and she nodded for him to continue. Huffing, he took a bite of the pasta, chewed, and swallowed.

"Well?"

He stared at her and slowly smiled. "You're a good learner."

Jen laughed, looking proud. "Thank you!"

They ate their dinner while talking mostly about work. Conversations about old cases, Tony and Ziva's love life (that of which Jethro completely protested against), and problems that Jenny was experiencing with the SecNav could go on for hours. However, Jenny cut dinner short, telling Jethro that she had bought a special treat for dessert.

"What is it?"

"You'll see," she sang as she collected two spoons from the silverware drawer before striding over to the freezer. She took out a small 1 pint container and held it behind her back as she returned to the table. "Ready?"

He nodded and licked his lips, a million guesses as to what kind of dessert he would be treated to tonight.

Jenny smiled as she pulled the carton out from behind her back and set it on the table. "Voila!"

Jethro widened his eyes. Sitting in front of him was a pint of his favorite chocolate gelato. He looked up and quickly spat out the words, "I love you."

Jen sat down next to him and handed him a spoon. "I hope you love me for reasons other than my amazing choice in dessert."

"Mmhm," he said as he stuck his spoon into the carton and then into his mouth. He swallowed and continued. "Apparently you also know how to make really good ravioli, so I love you for that too."

Jenny glared and he couldn't help but laugh. "Not funny, Jethro!"

"It was a little funny."

She continued to glare at him as she stuck her spoon into the carton and took a huge bite of it.

"You know I love you for a lot more reasons, Jen."

She slowly removed the spoon from her mouth and licked her lips. "Oh yeah like what?"

Jethro smirked. "Well for one, the way you eat gelato is a total turn on."

Jenny let out a booming laugh, trying hard to control herself. "What else?"

"Hmm…your laugh, I love it." He smiled at her and she smiled back. "And I love your smile too."

"Yours isn't that bad either." She placed her hand under her chin and stared at him with lust in her eyes. What she had said had been a complete understatement. His smile made Jenny melt every time. Even now, when she had seen it more than most people.

"Wanna know what else I love about you?"

"Hmm…" she asked as she took another bite of the ice cream.

"The way your right eye twitches when you're lying."

She raised a well manicured brow. "Who said I was lying?"

He shrugged, knowing that her comment about his smile was a lie and an understatement. But he was okay with it.

"You know Jethro," she waved her spoon in front of him; "you seem to love a lot about me."

He quickly took the spoon in his mouth and smiled. "I do," he said after swallowing.

"Well that's good because I love you too." She expertly placed a kiss on his forehead before getting up from the table and turning to walk away.

"Hey, where are you going?" he quickly grabbed her hand.

She turned around and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, upstairs? I figured you could clean up since I made dinner."

Jethro sat her back down and scooted himself closer to her. "I've been meaning to ask you something," he said.

She looked at him intently to let him know she was listening.

"We've been living together for a while now and I was thinking that we ought to move on to the next level…" he trailed off.

"Which is?" She could guess where this was going and almost laughed out loud that it was really happening.

"Jen, Director," he said a little too sarcastically. "Will you marry me?"

Even though she figured it was coming, Jennifer Shepard was still stunned speechless. A shiver ran down her spine and she didn't even notice that he had pulled out a small, black velvet box and was holding it in front of her.

"Jen?" he asked and was about to open the box until he felt her hands clasp over his, shutting it closed.

"No," she barely made out. In the back of her head the words, 'What on Earth are you doing?!' screamed at her.

Jethro looked up at her, his eyes a shade darker and filled with dismay. "No?" he reiterated, making sure he heard her right.

"No," she whispered, this time realizing what she was doing. Now just wasn't the time for her. And besides, she thought his proposal was kind of lousy.

Jethro sighed and stared her down. "No," he stated, getting it across his head that she wasn't about to change her mind, even if he did try to persuade her.

Jenny smiled uneasily and held his hands tighter. "I'll think about it, Jethro." She placed a kiss to his cheek and stood up. She left him sitting there, walking as far as the bottom of the stairs until he spoke up.

"Where are you going now?" he called after her, remaining in his seat.

She smiled at him and called back. "Upstairs to think about it."

Jethro sighed as he watched the love of his life shuffle up the stairs of her…no, their apartment. He wondered what the hell he did wrong. Was it the way he asked her? Was he supposed to get down on one knee? He had proposed many times before with much success. How could it be so different now? How could she say no?

"Damn she's complicated."

A/N continued: Poor Gibbies :( I'll update ASAP :D