Disclaimer: No copyright infringement of any kind intended.

Rating: T

A/N: This seemed like a good concept when I was writing it in bed at 2am but now I'm not so sure. I'll put it out there though and let you guys be judge and jury since you all know best. Thank you to everyone who has sent feedback on my last few fics - and now that I've finally figured out how to review reply, I'll get back to you. Please review. Enjoy. Em x

"Since when do you bring me dinner?" Gibbs asked, not even looking up as Jenny descended the stairs into the basement.

"How did you know I brought you dinner?" she wondered, incredulously.

"I can smell it," he replied, obviously.

"Your other senses are fine, then. It's just your eyesight that's shoddy," Jen teased.

"My eyesight's good enough to see that the food came from Alessandros," he countered, reaching out to take the bag from her but Jenny moved it out of his grasp.

"Uh-uh. I am not eating standing up in your basement. You know it might be good for you to, once in a while, eat at an actual table with proper knives and forks rather than plastic cutlery or chopsticks," Jenny admonished, already heading back up the stairs. "Why don't you wash up while I get dinner set up," she called back over her shoulder.

"And then you'll tell me what this dinner's gonna cost me?" he asked.

"Maybe," she replied, disappearing through the doorway.

Gibbs wandered into his kitchen after freshening up and quickly changing his clothes. He'd opted for grey sweats and a navy blue hooded sweater and when he looked over he noticed Jen was dressed in a similarly casual way in jeans and a soft white cotton t-shirt. He stood for a moment admiring how the woman before him could look equally as sexy in what she was wearing now as she could do in an elegant evening gown.

Jenny could feel his eyes on her and she turned around quickly to face him, Gibbs catching her eye as he snapped out of his reverie.

"You didn't have to go to all this trouble, Jen," he said gesturing to the kitchen table that had been carefully set for two, the pine table covered in a light yellow table cloth, dotted with embroidered flowers. Gibbs ran his fingers over the material as he sat down and Jenny immediately noticed the look of melancholy in his eyes.

"I found it in a drawer by the stove, I hope you don't mind,"

"No…it's great. It's just…Shannon always used to insist we all sit down at the table for meals too. This was her favourite table cloth. I haven't used it in years,"

"Not even with any of your exes?" Jenny asked, sitting down opposite him.

"I guess one of the problems I've had with my last three marriages is that I've tried to avoid recreating the same kind of lifestyle with them that I shared with Shannon and Kelly. It never seemed right, even with simple things like sitting down at the table together for dinner."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have insisted. I'll take it off," Jenny began to clear things from the table in order to take off the tablecloth but Gibbs reached out a hand to still her.

"Don't," he said, simply.

"You don't mind?"

"Not with you," he said softly, clearly as surprised by his statement as Jen was. She smiled at him gently, settling herself back down at the table.

"So," Gibbs began, mad at himself for making a big deal out of something so silly, " Please tell me that's tarragon chicken," he said, pointing to one of the foil containers.

"It is," Jenny replied with a smile, opening it up and splitting the contents between both of their plates. She busied herself for a few moments, dishing up wild rice and asparagus while Gibbs opened the bottle of Pinot Grigio she'd brought with her.

When they were both ready they raised their glasses and clinked them together and while Gibbs put his back down Jenny took a small sip of the crisp wine. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Gibbs set down his knife and fork onto his plate.

"So, what is this meal going to cost me?" he asked, taking a drink from his wine glass. Jenny finished chewing and mirrored his actions.

"Absolutely nothing," she answered truthfully.

"Then why?"

Jenny looked at him thoughtfully and let out a small sigh. "Don't you ever get lonely? I know I do," she continued before he could answer, "I just thought it would be nice for us both to have some company for dinner, rather than you grabbing something you could eat quickly while working on your boat and me eating along in my study with nothing but case reports to look forward to,"

Gibbs was taken aback a little by her honesty but at the same time, she was right. He was lonely and the main reason he spent so much time down in the basement was to take his mind off of things.

"Well, thank you," he said, picking up his cutlery and resuming eating.

When they finished eating they both set about clearing up, moving around one another with a familiarity neither of them had felt in a long time.

"So, I guess I should get going," Jenny said, as she watched Gibbs place the last dish back in the cupboard.

"You don't want to stay for a while?" he asked, "DiNozzo made me buy a big screen TV to watch the football on. Want to see if there's a movie on or something?"

"That would be nice," Jenny accepted.

"I think I've got some Rocky Road in the freezer, too. Why don't you flick through the channels and see what's on and I'll bring through the ice cream?"

2 hours later, the credits rolled on the screen. They'd settled on watching The Shawshank Redemption but halfway through, Gibbs had felt Jenny's head fall onto his shoulder as she closed her eyes. In her sleep she'd rested her hand on his thigh and though he'd resisted for a while, he eventually covered her hand with his own, smiling to himself as she curled her fingers up to hold his hand. He watched her sleep, her breathing soft and steady. She looked so peaceful, not stressed and tired as she had been looking recently but more like the Jen he'd fallen in love with years ago.

He felt her move at his side and he looked down to see her eyes open, staring at their clasped hands. She turned her head and looked up at him, her eyes full of questions that neither of them could answer in the moment. He smiled at her though and gave her hand a small squeeze which she reciprocated. She leaned her head back against his shoulder and he welcomed the weight of her against him.

Maybe tonight's meal hadn't cost him anything but from where he sat right now, he just might possibly gain something from it.

Please let me know what you thought x x