(This story was done as a joint post for one of my NCIS role-playing games)

/Okay, the story so far:

Several years a go Agent Jessica Islington and several other Mi5 agents came to the NCIS when a British Navy general was kidnapped in America. Whilst the investigation was ongoing, Jessica and Agent Anthony DiNozzo became very close and after a few weeks, started an affair which soon developed into a fully fledged relationship. They kept it secret for several months before others learned about it. When her bosses in England learned about the relationship, they ordered Jessica to return back to England. When she refused, several agents came to America and took her to the airport. She wasn't allowed to tell Tony that she was going or even say goodbye. He thought that he had just dumped him.

Present day:

Jessica returned to the NCIS when she was transferred there permanently. Tony didn't like it, at first. When Abby's ex kidnapped Jessica and a CSI agent, Gibbs and Tony went to recover them from where they were being held. With Jessica held at Gunpoint, Gibbs offered himself up in exchange. Abby's ex decided that he wanted both Gibbs and Jessica.

Whilst they were being held, Abby's ex's goons 'assaulted' Jessica, which angered Gibbs. They managed to escape and made it back to NCIS headquarters.

It is now several weeks later. /

Jessica sat at her desk. She couldn't concentrate. Since she had been kidnapped along with Agent Gibbs as a kind of ransom for Abby, she couldn't concentrate on anything. Breathing in slightly, she put her head in her hands, resting her elbows on the desk.

Gibbs strolled in, he had spent yet another night working on his boat and yet again he had fallen asleep while doing it. He sipped at his coffee leisurely as he walked over to McGee for the morning mail.

Jessica looked up slightly as Gibbs walked to McGee. Shaking her head, she tried to concentrate on the files before her.

"Morning Boss."

"Morning McGee," Gibbs said as he picked up the letters and started flicking through them, setting the empty coffee cup on McGee's desk.

Shaking her head again, Jessica sat back. She couldn't concentrate, no matter how hard she tried. Standing up, she started to walk to the water cooler

Gibbs sat down behind his desk and began chucking letters down that he didn't deem important.

As she poured the water into the plastic cup, Jessica noticed that her hands were shaking slightly. Bringing the cup upwards, the shake was even more noticeable. Blinking several times, she started the walk back to her desk

Gibbs glanced around the office, McGee was doing something at the computer and Tony was talking on the phone to someone.

As she got closer to her desk, Jessica held onto the cup with both hands to stop herself from spilling it and hoped no one noticed

The phone started ringing; he picked it up and noticed a silence on the end of the line. Gibbs glanced to the calendar and immediately knew who it was. He groaned and slammed it back down. As he did, Jessica caught his attention.

As she placed the cup down, some of it spilt slightly on the desk. "Damn it" she cursed quietly under her breath as she started to rub her hands together to try to stop the shaking. Grabbing a cloth she started to wipe the water up.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes as the cell phone started ringing again; he fumbled with it then threw it in the top drawer.

Finishing wiping up the water Jessica sat back down at her desk, hands in her lap. She looked around the room to see if anyone had noticed and her eyes briefly caught Gibbs'

Not one to shy away, he also glanced around the room then back over to her.

Jessica looked away from him and down slightly, before picking up the files and pretending to read them. She hadn't wanted anyone to know how uncomfortable she was feeling.

Gibbs had noticed her unusual behaviour for a couple of days now and realised that she was probably suffering from a delayed reaction to what happened to her when she was taken.

Jessica started to shake again as she tried to read the files. Slamming them down, she cursed under her breath again. She looked up slightly before resting her head in one had her elbow on the desk.

He got up from behind his desk and walked over to the water cooler. Gibbs took the cup and filled it up while glancing back to her without her knowing.

Jessica rubber her hand up and down her arm. She was cold. "What the hell is wrong with me"? She said to herself quietly.

Gibbs finished filling the cup up, brought it to his lips and finally approached her desk. If one of his agents were having a problem then it was his job to ensure that they were looked after.

Jessica looked up at Gibbs and sat up slightly. "Hey Agent Gibbs...I-is there anything I can help you with"?

Gibbs regarded her with a calm expression as he lowered the cup. "I could ask you the same thing Agent Islington."

Looking down, Jessica eyes scanned over her desk. "What do you mean"?

"What do I mean?" he asked quickly while looking down to her hands, which were still shaking.

Jessica looked down at her hands and clasped them together to try to stop the shaking. "I'm fine..." she said quietly

"Really?"

Jessica sighed slightly, her shoulders drooping slightly as she hung her head. "I'm fine..." she said again, even quieter.

"Uh huh," Gibbs said with the same tone. He sipped at his water once more.

She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She breathed in deeply, trying to stop them from spilling out. As she began to shake even more she mouthed again "I'm fine..."

He looked around the room once more to see McGee looking over to him. Gibbs leaned in closely. "Walk over to the elevator and step inside..."

Jessica glanced up at the elevator and began to stand up. She was thankful that they had now been fixed after the accident. Slowly, with her hands crossed in front of her, she walked over to the elevator and stepped inside.

Gibbs walked over to his desk, drained the cup of his water then slowly made his way over to the elevator.

Jessica leant against the wall of the lift and wrapped her arms around herself. She couldn't believe that someone had noticed her shaking... and Gibbs of all people.

He walked into the elevator and hit the button without looking at it; once the doors had closed he stopped the lift so it came to a halt. Gibbs looked at Jessica while putting his hands in his pockets.

Unable to bring herself to look into his eye, Jessica let her gaze look around the floor of the elevator. "I-I'm f-fine" she said quietly, more to herself than anything.

"You don't look fine."

She began to shake even more as she screwed up her eyes, trying to stop the tears that were beginning to fall down her cheeks

"I'm fine..." she said again

Gibbs took his hands out of his pockets and took a step closer. "Stop lying to me...stop lying to yourself for that matter."

Jessica lost control of her emotions as she spoke and the tears fell freely. She brought her hands up to her face, ashamed that she was feeling this way.

"If it's time off you need..."

Jessica breathed in deeply; wiping the tears away from her face as she finally looked into his eyes. "No... No, ill be fine".

He gave her an unconvinced expression.

"It's just... I should be able to control this. I shouldn't be acting like this because of wh... of what happened"

There he had it, what he had been waiting to hear. Now that she had recognised the problem, Jessica would be able to start dealing with it. "It's understandable..."

Jessica shook her head. "No... We had training against this type of emotional response. I sho... I can't act like this" she tried to stop herself from crying again as she looked into his eyes.

"No amount of training prepares you for this Agent Islington."

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't be acting like this. I should just be getting on with my job" she started towards the console to press the button to get the lift moving again

Gibbs stepped in front of her. "I don't want you here until I know you have this thing dealt with. People make accidents and accidents cost lives."

Jessica breathed in. Now she couldn't even do her job. "I can do my job agent Gibbs... ill be fine" she told him, the tears gone from her eyes

Gibbs watched her carefully for a moment but he couldn't allow her to work in this condition, not until he was sure that she was completely over this. "It's already affecting your job."

Jessica looked around the lift. "What am I supposed to do then?! Just sit around on my ass and do nothing"?! She asked, raising her voice slightly

Gibbs raised his eyebrows at the reaction.

"I'm sorry"! She said, almost shouting, "I am not just going to sit around and do nothing"!! She then pushed past him.

Gibbs got in her way once more. "Then do something for me..."

Jessica stopped walking and calmed down. Why was she shouting at him? He was trying to help. "What"? She asked quietly, looking into his eyes.

"I won't recommend that you take some downtime if you find someone to talk to about this, it can be a friend or colleague, hell even a specialist but I want you to get this out of your system."

Jessica continued to look at him. He was right. She was behaving completely wrong and would endanger people. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have shouted at you... I-ill do something about this," she said as she looked down and away from him.

"That's all I ask." Gibbs turned around and pressed the button for the elevator.

Jessica smiled slightly. "Thank you..."

Gibbs just grunted and nodded without looking back to her.

Jessica stepped back slightly and leant against the wall. Why was he helping her? He didn't have to.

The elevator continued to its original destination, which was the lobby. He planned on nipping out for coffee.

As the lift doors opened, Jessica walked past Gibbs, keeping her head down, feeling slightly ashamed of herself.

Gibbs wondered where the hell she was going. He knew where he was going but he didn't know where she was going.

Jessica walked over to her desk and picked up her coat and bag, before heading to the stairs

Gibbs pulled his keys out of his pocket.

As she opened the stairwell door, Jessica quickly glanced back around the office before going through the door and starting her decent down the stairs.

Gibbs followed suit and also headed for the stairs, informing McGee and DiNozzo he was heading out for coffee.

Unaware that Gibbs was following her, Jessica continued down the stairs as quickly as she could.

"Agent Islington."

Jessica stopped her decent, but didn't turn around. "Can I help you agent Gibbs"?

"Depends...are you taking my advice?"

She turned around slightly, looking up at him. "I... I was just going to take some rest, then do something later on," she told him as she turned around and continued down the stairs.

"Well good." Gibbs continued.

She began to move away from him quicker. Jessica just wanted to get away from everything; she had no intention of talking to anyone. She felt too ashamed of how she was acting.

Gibbs frowned slightly when he noticed her pace.

Jessica reached the bottom of the stairs, breaking out into a run as she moved to her rented car.

Still strolling, Gibbs watched her reaction carefully. Perhaps it was a good thing she was going home.

Jessica sat in her car and put her head against the steering wheel, breaking down in tears.

Gibbs headed over to his own car, unlocked it and got inside.

Lifting her head up, Jessica continued to cry. She couldn't get over what the men had done to her during the capture and shook as she started the car. The pain and grief was becoming unbearable and she just wanted it all to end.

He inserted the keys into the ignition and looked over to where Jessica was still parked.

Pulling away slowly, Jessica shook as she looked out of the windscreen. She just wanted it all to end. Then, she knew what she was going to do. She moved the car to the entrance and opened the gate.

Gibbs watched the car roll past him then started his own engine before pulling up behind her.

Pulling forward slightly, Jessica looked either way to see when the next car would be coming past, intending to pull out as quick as she could at the same time.

Gibbs tapped on the radio.

Seeing a car moving quickly down the road, Jessica began to pull out into the street.

As he reached over to change the station, Gibbs saw the car coming down and Jessica pulling out. What the hell was she doing? He immediately got out of his car, vaulted over the bonnet and got in the path of the other car. He held up his hands and the car screeched to a halt as Jessica pulled out. If Gibbs hadn't have stopped it, there would have been a collision.

Jessica stopped the car moving and just carried on looking forward, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, tears streaming down her face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Jerk?"

"Stay out of this," Gibbs shouted at the driver flashing his badge then knocked on Jessica's window.

Jessica didn't react. It was like she was in a world of her own, the emotions overwhelming her and she was unable to move.

Gibbs looked back to the other car then opened the door, reaching across her and snatching her keys out of the ignition.

Jessica glanced down at his hand as he removed the keys, but she couldn't take her hands from the wheel.

He looked at her. "Come one… time to get out now".

Jessica looked out of the windscreen, glancing at him slightly. "I-I-I cant..."

"Sure you can..." Gibbs reached across her and unclipped the seat belt. "Don't make me drag your ass out."

Biting her lip, Jessica looked down at his hand, before trying to move out of the car, shaking uncontrollably.

Gibbs helped her out while motioning for the guard. "Here's the keys to both cars...get someone to park them up again."

"Yes sir."

Gibbs frowned at him and closed the door before looking back down to Jessica.

Jessica put her hand on the door frame, her eyes looking at the floor. She tried to stand up.

He quickly thought of somewhere he could take her so that she could have some time alone without putting herself in any immediate danger. "Come on," Gibbs said reclaiming his keys and waiting for the guard to move Jessica's car. He walked her over to the passenger's side and opened the door for her. "Get in."

Jessica nodded and slowly got into his car. She wrapped her arms around herself and breathed in deeply.

Gibbs gently closed the door and walked around to the driver's side. He started the engine once more and pulled out of the parking lot. They had been driving for a full 60 seconds before either one of them spoke. "That was a close call back there," he finally said alternating his look between her and the road.

She didn't answer. What was she supposed to say? Oh sorry... just tried to kill myself, thanx for stopping me!! Instead, she looked out of the passenger window, watching everything move past.

Gibbs' jaw set and he carried on paying attention to the road.

Jessica glanced back at Gibbs slightly. "W-where are we going"? She asked quietly.

"Thought you could use a cup of coffee..."

Jessica smiled slightly. She felt numb. Why had she tried to kill herself? What was she supposed to do now? If Gibbs hadn't been there, she would have been dead.

His phone started ringing, why did he even bother to pick it up when he knew who it was. Gibbs answered it. "Quit bugging me..." He paused. "DiNozzo what do you want?" He listened in. "I'll be back soon so stall the director until I get back." Gibbs hung up.

Jessica looked down to her lap. "I..." she didn't know what to say to him, she was just thankful that he had stopped her.

Gibbs threw his phone down in the side compartment and looked to Jessica as she started speaking.

Jessica shook her head slightly. She couldn't bring herself to say anything. Everything she thought of sounded wrong.

"You're welcome," Gibbs said looking back ahead.

Jessica smiled slightly as she looked out of the window, seeing the coffee shop ahead of them. She began to think of how she would act around Gibbs now. What was supposed to do? She had tried to kill herself in front of him... it changed everything.

He pulled up, killed the engine and got out. Gibbs walked around to her side of the car and opened the door for her.

Jessica stepped out of the car and held her hands in front of herself. "Thank you"