She walked up the stairs and spotted Jethro saying an intimate goodbye with another red-haired lady. Instantly a little flash of jealousy ran through her. Although she had no claim to him, she couldn't deny that she was hurt and felt betrayed. Noticing Ziva glancing at her, she hurried up the steps before she could see the hurt reflected deeply in her eyes. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough and before she could close the door, Ziva slipped inside.
"So?" Ziva asked, seating herself in the chair opposite from my desk.
"So what?" Jenny asked in return, not willing to have Ziva interrogate her.
"Why were you hurt, Jenny? Everything's been over for years, so why are you hurt?"
"Even if it finished years ago, that never stopped me from caring. I still care for him, Ziva. I just don't want to see him get hurt again."
"Is that all?" Ziva questioned, aware that there was more.
"Yes, there's no more."
"Then why are you hurt?" she repeated.
"I care about him."
"You love him?"
She hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I do, I still love him, and I never stopped."
"Then tell him, I'm sure he still loves you too," Ziva said, truly wanting one of her closest friends to get everything she deserved in life.
"Ziva, he doesn't love me. He never has," Jenny stated sadly.
"How do you know that?"
"We got held hostage right after we made love, the gunman asked Jethro what I was worth to him, Jethro said I wasn't worth anything, I was unimportant."
"You know that he just said that so that the gunman didn't hurt you, don't you?" she asked, trying to convince her friends of the truth.
"I used to think that, but then when I looked in his eyes as he said that, they were cold. There was no emotion in his eyes when he looked at me. I thought that he would have cared for me by now, but he didn't. He still doesn't."
"Then Jenny, explain why every time you go out dressed up and you have company, Gibbs gets jealous. Explain why he looks at you when he thinks no one else is watching. And then explain why he comes into your office late in the evening for dinner," Noting her shocked expression, she quickly stated, "Yes I know about that."
"Maybe, but who is that woman?"
"I'll find out," Ziva said quickly before exiting the room.
"Thank you," Jenny said quietly to the empty room.
As soon as Ziva exited the room, she got on the telephone, contacting her informant.
"Joseph, I need you to find out who the woman with Gibbs is," She said hastily.
"Why?"
"Do I ever give you a reason?" she asked rhetorically.
"Okay, um, wait a second. The woman is Gibbs' first wife's sister, Laura."
"Thanks, Joseph," she stated before closing the phone.
Almost the moment that she hung up the phone Gibbs called from the other end of the room, "Abby got something."
Immediately Tony, McGee and Ziva followed Gibbs down to Abby's lab. And for the moment, the conversation between Director and Officer was forgotten.
Later that evening, Ziva was fooling around with Tony and McGee while Gibbs spoke with Jenny.
"She has no experience for investigating a crime scene," Gibbs stated talking about Ziva.
"Neither did I when I started," Jenny replied, taking in his expression as he glanced at me, trying to find if what Ziva said was true.
"But you were always a fast learner," he replied, and for a moment I saw the love and honesty reflected in his eyes as he looked at me. By the expression I could tell that he was remembering one of our stake-outs. One of the many where we had kissed and based our relationship.
Gently she smiled at him, and tentatively he returned the smile. Both of us remembering Paris and the wonderful times we had together. Why did it have to end? They both thought, neither knowing what the other was thinking.
Following the closure of the case, Gibbs walked up the stairs to Jenny's office.
"Jethro," she said as soon as he walked in the door, "What are you doing here this late?"
"I came to see you. Want to grab a bite to eat?"
Jenny sighed, "I'd love to, but I've got to brief the Chief on the Ramirez case and I've got enough paperwork to bury me for a year."
"Just let me buy you dinner. I really want to talk to you about something,"
"Oh, what? Something about the case," she asked.
"Um, no. About us, but before we get into that, what do you want for dinner?"
"I want to know what you want to talk about us," Jenny said nervously.
Gibbs, not expecting this to be discussed first was caught off guard. Not knowing what he should say as of yet, he leant forward and place a gentle kiss on her lips. Instantly, she responded, deepening the kiss as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer.
She moaned as the kiss deepened, and after some time pulled back to attempt to control her breathing.
"Jethro," she mumbled, breathless, "Jethro, I love you."
"Jen, I've loved you for so long. Before Paris, before the gunman and after. Always."
Gently she leant forward and just before her lips touched his, she whispered, "I love you."