Meet the Teams
A/N: This is the Two Teams AU Timeline. Canon Divergence from S2, Major Canon Divergence from S5 onward. Jen's POV, contains a scene from Moments, chapter 6. (Or how a few of my fics will work)
MCRT 1
Leader: Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Agents: Anthony DiNozzo Jr, Caitlin Todd, Timothy McGee, Ziva David
Status: Active
2005
She'd had Ziva transferred from Mossad to help improve relations between the two agencies after Ari Haswari went rogue. She and Ziva knew each other, quite well in fact. There had been times, after Jethro, where she and Ziva had engaged in a lot of the same activities, but they both knew they weren't right for each other. But still, seeing her again after was refreshing. She was sure Jethro knew, even if he didn't mention anything. In the 3 years she'd been Director, it was a move that went over quite well with the SecNav.
The other three agents, she got to know overtime. Agent DiNozzo was somewhat of a womanizer and fiercely loyal to Gibbs and the others. Agent Todd was analytical and an amazing artist. Agent McGee was a published author and a gamer, still a bit insecure but dedicated to his work. The three enjoyed downtime at a local bar, and after Ziva was added to the team, she often joined them. She remembers the texts Ziva had sent the first night, inviting her to join. She hadn't seen them until hours after, too preoccupied with the present she'd been given.
Jethro was never one to share. Stories of his second ex-wife cheating on him floated around the agency since the day after it had happened. Walked in on her in bed with another man. She could imagine not only his anger but also his pain. So, no, the man wasn't keen on sharing. When she'd walked into the lab to meet her Forensics specialist, she didn't know what to expect. She'd been told Abby was a bit odd. Tom hadn't said it in a bad way, just that she loved her music loud and dressed a bit differently. She most definitely wasn't expecting Jethro to already been in the lab, or Abby to be pressed against him, kissing him while one of his hands traveled under her skirt. A surge of jealousy and arousal shot through her because this was still the workplace, damn it.
She cleared her throat roughly, enough to get Abby's attention, who was suddenly very much conscious of just where she was. Jethro didn't seem to care, but the Goth buried her face in his chest, and he looked over at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes, pulling his hands from Abby's body. Abby's shy demeanor changed once she got over her embarrassment, and the sparks between her Abby were instantaneous, even without Jethro's nudging; the embers with her and Jethro never faded, not really, so when he invited her to join them for a drink at his place, she agreed without much resistance. And when Ziva texted her later that same night to invite her for drinks, she was too busy discovering Abby's tattoos to notice.
(It was the dishonesty, Jethro revealed later, that caused his marriage between Rebecca to fail. He really didn't mind sharing so long as the parties agreed to it.)
2008
Two bullets tore through her shoulder and side. She fired off a few more rounds. Two bodies dropped. One left. Her vision was starting to get blurry. She was losing too much blood. She could feel her shirt try to soak it up. The smell of the diner was making her even more nauseous.
Was this how it ended: a gunfight because she failed in Paris? A third round went through her stomach, dropping her to her knees. Damn it. It was really going to end like this. Jethro. She fired off two more rounds. Abby. She heard the body drop.
The gun dropped from her hand, and she coughed, blood slipping from her mouth. She looked up as a shadow stood over her. Missed one. She heard the gun cock as she shut her eyes. Darkness overtook her. I'm sorry.
If asked about it later, Jennifer Shepard would say it was the second-best decision she'd ever made. She'd worked her entire career, gave up so much, only to resign her Directorship to Leon Vance. If her father had been alive, he would've said it was her entire 5-step plan blown up in smoke. But this was the best thing for her to do. Her recovery from the shootout at the diner in LA had taken longer than she'd assumed; no doubt because her doctor had found a benign tumor in her brain, pressing on her frontal lobe, resulting in surgery to get it out.
It was best that she stepped down; even though she only had three years, she was proud of her accomplishments. But she couldn't just quit, not when she knew she was still useful to the agency. And it was an odd feeling, stepping down in rank, but she would do it if it meant still being able to work. She requested a job at headquarters; it didn't take very long before the SecNav and Vance had agreed to it. She was going to get her own team.
"You're sure about this?" Leon asked, looking up at her from her former desk, a toothpick sticking from between his lips. "If you still need time to rest…" he let the sentence hang.
She shook her head, "I've had a lot of time to think. I've made up my mind."
"And no one made the decision for you?"
"No one, Director Vance."
He smirked, "It's Leon, Jenny."
"It's a step back," she confessed, "but I know that I'm doing the right thing by getting back in the field. Too much paperwork otherwise."
"And you're sure you're ready? You had surgery a month ago." And a month recuperating from gunshot wounds before that.
She smiled slightly, "I'm ready, Leon."
"Okay. This will be finalized, and you can start Monday. You'll stick with Gibbs and his team until you can go through the files to pick your own; nothing too extreme. You're fine working under him again, right?"
"Of course."
"And there are no other issues I should be aware of? Another set of rules I need to know?" She smirked at the joke.
"I learned all my rules from Gibbs."
"I'll take that as a no then." He continued to chew on the toothpick, and she headed for the door, "When you're ready to disclose your relationship to the agency, it'll need to go in your file."
She barely paused. That was something she didn't want the agency to know. What she had together with her two lovers was no one's business but theirs. "The only relationship Special Agent Gibbs and I have is a professional one."
He studied her for a moment, "Very well, Special Agent Shepard. I'll see you Monday morning, 0800 hours. Enjoy your weekend."
Special Agent Shepard. It had been far too long since those words had been spoken.
Alexandra Quinn
Eleanor Bishop
Nicholas Torres
Clayton Reeves
She'd poured over countless recruits, but these four stood out. Alex Quinn was a FLETC instructor, Ellie Bishop was former-NSA, Nick Torres was an undercover NCIS agent, and Clay Reeves was an MI6 operative. They were each looking for something new. Just like she was. It was perfect. She closed their files and put them away, taking off her glasses as she made her way to the bedroom.
She stood in the doorway, watching her lovers. Jethro slept on the right, closest to the nightstand where his gun and shield were tucked away. Soon they'd have to get one for the opposite side. He was on his side, facing away from the nightstand dressed in an old NIS shirt and boxers. Abby was on her back in the middle of the bed, her night shirt riding up to expose her black panties. After placing her own equipment in the nightstand, she quickly changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed beside the younger woman, re-adjusting the covers.
Abby sought her out immediately, craving her body heat. She knew that the scientist would be back on Jethro's side at some point, as he was the warmer one between them, but for now she'd enjoy the warmth Abby brought. She sighed softly, closing her eyes. Tomorrow would be a new day.
Eleanor Bishop was one to overanalyze things. It was in her job description when she'd worked at the NSA. There were a lot of things in her job description there, and not a lot had changed when she'd made the switch over to NCIS. Well, ok, so she had assumed she'd be working under Gibbs and as it turned out she wasn't. But the woman who led the entire agency for three years? Well that was the next best thing.
Nicholas Torres hated the idea of being chained to a desk. He preferred field work and undercover ops to desk duty any day. But he knew he couldn't live his life being other people or he'd lose himself. So, he'd applied to be sent back to HQ. What he hadn't expected was to be accepted. He was one of the agency's best undercover ops, had been given metals for such, and they were letting him come back? Sure, it was fishy, but he needed a change. He just hoped his team leader appreciated his sense of humor.
Alexandra Quinn had trained a lot of agents over the years while working at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. She'd helped with everyone on Gibbs' team except DiNozzo, who'd applied the same time she did, and Ziva, who'd had training from Mossad. She thought that field work wasn't something she wanted to do, but given this opportunity to work under Jennifer Shepard? She would've traded anything for the opportunity. And to be hand-picked by the woman too. It was a dream come true.
Clayton Reeves spent the majority of his life going from foster home to foster home. He'd joined MI6 to help deal with the loneliness that came with holidays, to help others. Now MI6 wanted a liaison between them and NCIS, and he was all too happy to oblige. He could deal with a few years away from Britain. From what he knew, his friend Ellie would also be on the team. He hoped his team wouldn't ask too many personal questions.
MCRT 2
Leader: Jennifer Shepard
Agents: Eleanor Bishop, Alexandra Quinn, Nicholas Torres, Clayton Reeves
Status: Active
A/N: So, consider that the second MCRT being placed on the opposite side of Team Gibbs, like on the side where Reeves used to sit. Kasie and Sloane will also be in the fics.