A/N:- Apologies t those who've already glanced at this. It had been posted as HTML format rather than standard. This has now been fixed. Hope you enjoy!

Another Fine Mess!

Leon Vance, the brand new director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, sits at his desk sorting through the mess of paperwork that was left behind after Jenny Shepard's death. In the house fire, of course as according to the official report. He sighs looking through the scattered paperwork. 'Can't you have organised this properly Ms Shepard?' He mutters glancing over it all wondering where, exactly, to start.

'It is organised.' A voice protests quietly. Leon's head shoots up and stares around the room but doesn't see anything. The voice laughs gently. 'Don't search for me but relax and look.'

'Relax and look.' Leon mutters to himself. 'What a lovely piece of advice that means absolutely nothing.' Laughter fills the room and again Leon looks around but this time, sees a faint silhouette of a woman with a pixie cut hairstyle. He squints trying to look closer at the figure. 'Jennifer?' The figure nods 'But you died.'

'In a fire apparently.' Her voice drawls seemingly coming from everywhere yet nowhere at the same time. 'I'm in the ether, Leon. I am everywhere yet nowhere.'

'That doesn't even make sense.' Leon pauses. 'How the hell did you know what I was thinking?'

'Your mouth moved.' Leon's mouth forms a soundless oh.

'Anyway, how is this organised?' the figure moves closer to the desk. He can see her slightly more clearly now.

'Team leads.' Some papers seem to distort as Jenny's ghost moves her hand over them. 'SFA's. MTAC. Personal. AA. Personnel. Operations not needed MTAC. FLETC. Finally, the new intakes, both graduates of FLETC and applications to join NCIS.'

'AA?'

'Agents Afloat.' Pause. 'I didn't and never did have a drinking problem. I think you're confusing me with Gibbs and coffee.'

'No.' Leon huffs amused. 'Everyone who has some sort of power has a kind of drinking problem. Some more than others.'

'Are you admitting to a drinking problem.'

'I drink more than I should but a hell of a lot less than others.' Leon speaks really slowly reluctant to admit even that.

'Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.' Glee clearly evident in her voice.

'Better not.' He mumbles.

'Who am I going to tell?' She points out.

'True.' He admits.

'So why does the report say I died in a fire?'

'A NCIS director going on a suicide mission with a retired drunk as her only backup?' The ghost in front winces from the retort.

'When you put it like that. But I died my way instead of wasting away from this... this disease.'

'Dying quietly in your own bed. What's so bad about that?'

'After lying for the previous twelve months or so having to rely on other people for everything? And I mean everything!' Leon concedes point.

'So you got the directorship?'

'After you got it first.' Even though he can't see it, Leon knows she's smirking about being the first women director of a federal agency before the first black man. 'It's a fine mess you left this place in.' The room chills as the displeasure is felt from the spectre.

'We've got who knows how many moles just giving information away. Gibbs' team.'

'How are they a problem?'

'DiNozzo's being cut up about you dying maybe?'

'Huh?'

'Not having your back or something like that. Which he should have had.'

'He would have if I'd let him. Don't forget Leon, I ordered him away and remember the frog!'

'What about La Grenouille?'

'Tony got sucked into that op. He didn't want to risk being pulled into another. If you had been involved in that kind of operation, would you want to be pulled into another one?'

'Well… no. No I wouldn't.'

'So don't punish him for doing what you would do.'

'How many times? I did not send him afloat to punish him.'

'Then why?' Leon screws his face up slightly, thankful that only a ghost can see him.

'What's his worst fear in the entire universe?' The ghost of Jenny shrugs, now slightly more opaque.

'How am I supposed to know that?'

'Did you even listen to them? During your tenure here?'

'Of course I did.'

'When I interviewed you all about Benoit's death, they talked about his father for a few minutes.'

'And?'

'He basically said straight out that Senior was an alcoholic neglectful bastard.'

'So?'

'And you might pick up that he doesn't talk about his mother.'

'Meaning?' Jenny prompts

'Dig into the more classified areas in his file and you will find out how his mother died. Read his file.' Leon grumbles to himself.

'I can't.'

'Why?' The ghost attempts to lean her hands on the desk. But she falls straight through. He smirks as she picks herself up and dusts off her clothes.

'I wouldn't have thought ghosts got dusty.' He attempts, and fails, to hide the budding smirk.'But that answers why you can't. And I wouldn't be able aid you.'

'Why can't I read Tony's file?'

'Gibbshasit.' He mumbles.

'You're mumbling.'

'Gibbs has it on lockdown.' The ghost in front of his bursts out laughing.

'Gibbs' what?'

'He said he wanted to check it for something, he didn't specify.' He adds on holding up a finger prempting Jenny's question.

'Order him to give it back to you.'

'Do you really think he would just give it back?'

'Nope. But it won't do any harm to try.' Leon glares at the ghost. Or at he tries to. It's not that easy to glare at someone who isn't entirely there, or who could be a figment of your imagination.

'Did you even know Gibbs?' Jenny shrugs and smiles nonchalantly.

'So how did she die?'

'Suicide, but could have been murder.' Leon states calmly. Jenny would have choked if she was able to eat or drink.

'What?'

'Apparently, the overdose was unlikely to be administered by her. Far too high to be incidental, and unlikely to be self inflicted.' He pauses and looks over at his predecessor. 'The Investigators wanted to arrest Anthony DiNozzo Senior for Murder, First Degree.'

'But he bought them off.'

'Nope. He bought off the judge and higher authorities. The investigators were ordered to drop it.' Leon states.

'What happened to them?'

'Transferred and promoted. But they never forgot.'

'Tom Morrow received a file when he hired Tony.' Jenny reminisces.

'The murder investigation.' Leon confirmed

'How detailed?'

'Everything plus more.'

'But? The Statute of Limitations doesn't apply to murder.'

'They couldn't and still can't prove that it's first degree. After all, it was ruled incidental suicide.' Leon spreads his hands wide.

'What was the overdose of?'

'Sleeping pills, alcohol and antidepressants.'

'Christ.'

'So Tony's nightmare is?'

'Alcoholism.'

'Addiction.' Leon corrects. 'His mother was addicted to the antidepressants along with the alcohol.'

'So why did you send him afloat?' Jenny asks turning the conversation back to the original point.

'Limited access to alcohol. Stop him drinking too much.'

'Clever.'

'And it forces him to think, to work out all the solutions. The most likely of which, is if they'd followed you, they would be dead as well.'

'Or you wouldn't be here because I would still be alive?'

'You really think that?' Leon counters.

'Who think what Leon?' Gibbs asks as he walks into the office.

'Don't you even knock?' Gibbs tosses Tony's file onto the desk muddling the piles of papers covering the desk. 'Gibbs! Be careful.'

'Why? You wouldn't have been able to sort through it all anyway. Jenny had her own sort of filing system.'

'And I had just worked it out Jethro.' Gibbs just smirks and stalks out.

'Bring him back Leon.' He throws over his shoulder leaving the door wide open.

'Leave another fine mess in your wake why don't you Gibbs?' Laughter fills the room, but only for Leon's ears

A/N:- Written for the prompt 'Jenny Sheppard/Leon Vance/Another fine mess' from the NCIS prompt generator