Author's Note:
An AU story from the keyboard of elflordsmistress - written at a time when a boat was still a regular fixture in Gibbs' basement. That should date it.
It was clear to all and sundry that the Di Nozzo radar was fully operational.
"One of these days you are going to get whiplash" Ziva hissed from her desk as Tony craned his neck to follow the pair of legs currently on their way upstairs.
"Do you think they're FBI?" McGee asked.
"Nope. Ours" Gibbs said as he walked past his desk.
"Why are they here?"
"About to find out, Di Nozzo."
"Coz you know, if there's talk of reassignment then Ziva's outnumbered three to one, and .. " Tony trailed off when Gibbs stopped on the bottom step and glared at them.
"You waitin' for an invitation?"
"No, boss" Tony said as he leapt from his chair and reached for his jacket.
Gibbs rolled his eyes and started up the stairs; his mind on what the reason behind the summons might be.
"Good, we can get started" the Director said as team Gibbs filed into his office. Apparently intent on getting down to business. "I take it you know Agent Shepard" he added with a slight incline of his head.
"Gibbs ..." he said, holding a hand out to the suit closest to him. "Agents Di Nozzo and McGee, Officer David" he indicated.
"I'm .. Agent Stevens" the man said with amusement in his tone.
"We get that a lot" another member of the team said. "Isn't that right, boss?"
"We certainly do. And it never grows old."
Gibbs followed his gaze into the far corner of the room and found himself staring into a pair of very self-assured green eyes.
"Jenny Shepard" the woman said, as she stepped closer - her eyes taking in every inch of him. "And the three musketeers" she added deadpan as she shook his hand firmly. "Agents Moretti, Stevens, and Williams."
"Also known as Minty Fresh" Moretti quipped when Williams was pointed out.
"Moose .."
"Sorry boss."
"Maybe we can get on with the briefing sometime today?" the Director said, when the team leaders tried to stare each other down for a moment too long.
"I'll take my hand back now, Agent Gibbs" Jenny said as she pulled it from his grasp and turned to look at the plasma opposite the desk.
"What've we got?" Gibbs asked as he did the same.
"A meeting between SecNav and the Commander of the Pacific Fleet in two days" the Director said as he started a slide show. "Here in DC. Agent Shepard and her team are coming to us out of Yokosuka."
"You being reassigned?" Gibbs shot over his shoulder.
Jenny looked down briefly. When she raised her head all traces of her smile were gone.
"We oversee the Admiral's protection when he attends high level meetings" she said after a moment.
"You fly out of Japan?" McGee whispered to Stevens.
"Yep."
"Every time?" Tony asked.
"Pretty much" Moretti replied – displaying none of Jenny's modesty.
"Moose .."
"Shutting up now, boss."
"Thank you."
"Intel suggesting there's anything to be concerned about ?" Gibbs asked.
"No, but last time someone tried to assassinate Admiral Willard there was zero uptick," Moretti said.
"Then how did you .. " McGee began, his brow furrowing in confusion.
Moretti smirked, and his eyes settled proudly on his team leader before he said, "lets just say there's a reason we fly out of Japan a few times a year."
"How are we going to handle this?" Jenny asked before he could say anything further.
"Our house our rules," the Director said. "You'll be working under Agent Gibbs. Is that going to be a problem?"
Jenny smiled at the choice of words.
"No problem. I'm just ..."
"Used to being on top," Moretti whispered to Tony just a little too loudly.
Gibbs couldn't resist looking over at the woman by his side. Curious about her reaction to the comment.
"I've never had any complaints, Agent Gibbs," she said in a low voice. "Believe me."
Not quite what he'd been expecting – and he found himself enjoying being in the presence of a woman who could evidently hold her own. Her eyes raked over him for a second. And when she smiled at him his insides clench just a little.
The Director picked a few papers from his desk and shuffled them. A clear indication that the audience was over.
"I'll see you both in the morning," he said to the team leaders as everyone moved towards the door. "Jethro ..."
"Sir?" he asked, hanging back.
"Got a call from Admiral Willard earlier. He wants them taken care of while they're in town. Make it happen."
Gibbs tossed his head and closed the door behind him.
"Di Nozzo," he bellowed a few moments later.
"Yeah boss?"
"Reservations. Someplace nice."
"Dinner reservations?" Tony asked, his eyes widening as he moved closer to make sure he'd understood correctly.
"Do I stutter or something?"
"Um .. Valentino's?"
"Some place that serves rubber chicken dinners and has pretty pictures on the wall," Gibbs growled at him sotto voce, as he thrust the landline phone into his hands.
Tony had just started to punch in numbers when Jenny's voice to his left made him practically jump out of his skin.
"Is Palena still open? I had dinner there the last time I was in DC. God, I can't believe it's been three years."
"It's still open," McGee confirmed as he rattled off the number.
"Do it," Gibbs said, tapping the receiver.
"Boss you know you can't … come dressed like that. Right? Just checking coz .. um .. they have a pretty strict dress code, and - "
"Just make the damn call Di Nozzo. We can talk in the car," he said to Jen.
"Where are we going?" Jen asked as she watched him pull his badge and weapon from his desk drawer.
"Gotta change my clothes" he said, clearly unhappy with the situation. "Or did you miss that part?"
"And you need help undressing?" she said as she followed him.
"Call me about the time, Di Nozzo," was the only thing he said as he strode towards the elevator.
"You three," Jen said with a sweeping gesture at her agents, "behave. If they give you any trouble you have my permission to hurt them," she said to Ziva.
McGee choked on his own saliva.
As the elevator doors closed Ziva sidled up to Tony.
"I think I like this business of being outnumbered," she said as she surveyed the three new men in the bullpen. "I think I like it very much."
"I thought you were going to get changed" Jenny said as she walked around the boat in the basement.
"Reservation isn't for another hour and a half."
"I've been in this suit for over twenty – oh, you missed a spot here," she said, peering closely at the wood.
Gibbs smiled and moved in to inspect the area she was tapping, planer in tow. Jenny's eyes grew fractionally larger as she took it from him and turned it over in her hands.
"Not familiar with this new advance in technology called power tools I take it?"
"Close your eyes."
"What?"
"Close your eyes," he repeated, putting his hand over hers and guiding it. Breathing in her scent as she settled into the rhythm and into him. "Do you feel the wood? You don't get a sensation like that from a power tool."
Jenny smiled and turned her face slightly towards him.
"You know, if you wanted a reason to touch me you could have just asked. Nicely" she said.
"Not known for my manners" he said with a smile of his own as he dropped his arms and headed for the steps. "I'll be ready to go in ten. Help yourself to a drink."
Jenny wandered over to the workbench and identified the bourbon.
"What am I supposed to drink out of? A mason jar?" she called after him. Shaking her head when there was no response.
Gibbs walked around the hotel suite.
"NCIS Yokosuka must have a bigger budget than we do. We get fleabag motels. And I have to bring my own coffee."
Jenny's laughter echoed around the room, and he took a moment to admire the way she looked all over again as she stood by the bed considering her dress options as she emptied her suitcase.
"The green one?" he suggested helpfully, imagining the way it would stretch in the right places.
"Not if you want Agent Di Nozzo to run afoul of my boys," Jenny said as she picked it up and put it into the closet. "I'm surrounded by testosterone all day, Agent Gibbs, and I know how far I ca-"
"Jethro."
"I know how far I can take things. Jethro. So I'll wear this," she said, holding up a black number. "It's a little more .. conservative, and will be a lot better for everyone's blood pressure. Including yours."
Gibbs smiled to himself as she walked into the bathroom, and went back to looking round the room. He heard her call his name a few minutes later, just as the water began to run.
"Yeah?" he answered as he stepped up to the door.
"Can you look in my suitcase? There should be a small pink vanity case. Pull my shower gel from it, please?"
"On it," he replied as he ambled over to the bed and rummaged around in her luggage. When he found the case he opened it and tipped it over. Smiling when dolphin-shaped tube fell out.
Who knew that adult women carried child-like tubes of shower gel these days?
So much for the tough agent image, he thought as a smirk formed on his mouth. He picked up the other items that had fallen out of the bag and looked at them.
"Want your back scratcher?" he called as he turned the purple object round and round – deciding it must have been designed for that awkward spot beneath the shoulder blades.
"What?"
"I said do you want your back scratcher?" he called back as he picked up the third item.
A sleek pencil-like object with a lanyard attached to it that he thought might be some high tech computer gadget.
Until he set it off.
It took him a good few seconds to realise what he'd stumbled across – and in a blistering moment of edification the smiling dolphin on the coverlet lost its innocence. It took him a further few seconds to register a presence behind him.
"I hope your hands are clean," she said, raising her eyebrows at him as she replaced the items in their bag; pulling another pink case from the suitcase and slapping it against his chest. "This is the small pink vanity case, Jethro."
Gibbs felt his mouth turn dry as he took in the form of Jenny Shepard in a towel.
"Nothing you haven't seen before. I hope," she said when he didn't avert his gaze. And for a moment he wasn't sure what she talking about.
When he remained silent she smiled.
"As flattering as it is to stand here having eye sex with you, Jethro, I think I'll go have my shower now. And you might .. um … want to get yourself under control by the time I get out, because I've been in very restricted company for the past three years, and you aren't doing my blood pressure any good right about now."
Gibbs exhaled sharply after she'd walked away - all sorts of x-rated visuals racing through his head as turned and headed straight for the mini bar.
The subdued lighting was creating all sorts of interesting effects; enticing Gibbs to discover what would happen if he plucked one of the pins from her chignon.
"Jethro ..."
"Hmmmm ..." he replied, distracted.
"Do you think it's possible they were separated at birth?"
"Who?" he asked, just about controlling the itch in his fingers.
"Our senior field agents" she said, drawing his attention away from her and onto Di Nozzo and Moretti.
"Sake bombs?" Tony was asking.
"Drink of choice," Moretti replied.
"I guess you must drink a lot of those in Japan," McGee surmised.
"We sure do. Don't we, Williams?"
"Standard."
"And you don't get hungover?" Tony asked, wincing slightly.
"Nah. Do you?"
"We love sake bombs. Don't we McGee?"
"Yes .. yes we do," Tim said reluctantly.
"Great," Moretti said as he signalled the waitress.
"You do realise that mine are going to drink yours under the table .." Jenny whispered.
"Not all of them."
"Di Nozzo?"
"Ziva."
"Uh-huh. And she can take care of herself when the hands start wandering, right?"
"Mossad," Gibbs confided. Smiling when Jenny's eyes lit up in appreciation.
"Then we're outta here" she said, laying a hand on his thigh and using it as leverage as she rose from her seat.
"Boss?" It was almost a whine.
"Play nice, Moretti."
"Where are you going?"
"To see the sights" she said – daring him to contradict her.
"McGee! Designated driver," was the only thing Gibbs said. Nodding sharply when he caught the grateful look in the young agent's eye.
Moretti's eyes followed Jenny's retreating form - and when he was sure she was out of earshot leaned over to Tony and said, "bet the sights he shows her aren't on any map."
"What's it like working for a female boss?" McGee asked when they were gone.
"Careful what you say to him" Tony said snidely. "You might find yourself in his next novel."
"Huh?"
"Tony ..." McGee protested.
"Can't you just see a novel about Tibbs and the sexy overseas operative?" Tony asked Ziva.
"Tibbs?" Stevens' head snapped up. "LJ Tibbs? Of Deep Six?"
Tony groaned as McGee flushed bright red.
"But that would make you Agent Tommy. And you … Officer Lisa" Williams said, his voice turning reverential as he turned to look at Ziva.
"Ah screw the designated driver shit," Moretti said, clapping McGee on the back enthusiastically as he called the waitress over again. "We'll get a taxi back. Stevens is a huge fan. Hell, we're all fans."
"You chicken, probie?" Tony asked – seeing the great payback opportunity for what it was.
"Erm … no."
Several drinks later, it was Tony who repeated the question.
"So … working for a female boss?"
"Frustrating as hell," Moretti answered.
"Really? You guys seem to have a good vibe going."
"You try being round a woman who looks and moves like Jenny."
"Is that why she walks behind you and not in front of you?" Ziva asked, with a smile on her face. "Because you are looking at her legs?"
"She says a team leader always watches her team's six," Williams said.
"Perhaps she means it literally. Perhaps she enjoys it. It is a nice collective six," Ziva added, her eyes dropping as she looked around the back of the chairs.
"In Moretti's dreams," Stevens said with a grin.
"Hey!"
"You have wet dreams about Jenny," Williams said, his slur a lot more pronounced than Moretti's.
"Says the man who got drunk and wrote haiku about her in permanent marker in the men's toilets," Moretti shot back.
"Who's so in love with her that he refused reassignment as a team leader a few months ago?" Stevens teased.
"Not that again."
"We're never going to let you live that down, Moose. You know that."
"I stayed because I needed to keep you guys in line," Moretti said as he downed the rest of his drink.
"Sure ya did."
"What do you think they're doing?" McGee asked happily after a few seconds of silence.
"Who? The bosses?" Morettti asked.
"Yeah."
"Bossing each other around?" suggested Williams, laughing loudly.
"Gibbs wouldn't take that lying down" McGee announced.
"The way he was looking at her I doubt there'll be any lying down involved," Moretti said.
"The way he was looking at her?" Tony said indignantly. "She was practically undressing him with her eyes."
"Maybe he'll take her to his house and show her the boat," McGee said.
"Is that a euphemism? Or do I mean metaphor?" Stevens asked, his eyes full of admiration.
"He really builds boats. In his basement."
"Perhaps he'll show her his tools," Williams snickered.
"I think he already has," McGee said with what sounded suspiciously like a tipsy giggle.
"Hey! Probie! A bit of loyalty here!" Tony snapped.
"I'm just saying …"
"Don't."
But a heartbeat later he was slapping a bill on the table.
"Hundred says he takes her to his basement."
Moretti's eyes sparkled as he slapped a hundred dollar bill of his own onto the table.
"She takes him back to the hotel."
"Basement," McGee said.
"Hotel," Stevens and Williams said in unison as their money hit the table.
"Ziva?"
They all turned to look at the Israeli – who licked her lips and eyed all the money on the table.
"My money is on Agent Shepard" she said – eliciting groans from her colleagues. "But" she qualified, "I do not believe they will make it to the hotel or Gibbs' basement."
"How are we going to verify this?" Williams asked suddenly.
"We'll give them half an hour and then we'll triangulate her cell phone" McGee announced. "My laptop's in the car."
"Why hers?" Moretti wanted to know.
"I'm not triangulating his."
"Why not? You're the ones who came up with this."
"Forget it. He's gonna know.
"How would he?"
"Because he knows everything."
"Of course we could call in a favour," Tony said with a smile.
"So which one of them do you think will start it?" Jenny asked as she pressed him up against the door of her hotel room; undoing his tie slowly and deliberately.
"My loyal St. Bernard," Gibbs replied.
"How much?"
"A hundred."
"Defending your honour or your virility?"
"Maybe both."
"Will they get it right?"
"That depends."
"On?"
"Do yours know what you carry in your pink vanity case?"
"Do yours know you've never seen one up close and personal?"
When Gibbs didn't answer she sighed and dropped her head against his shoulder.
"You're not serious?" she said. "Where did you grow up? Dorkville?"
"Grew up just west of there."
"You do know you need to get out of your basement more often, don't you Jethro?" she asked as she reached up on tiptoes and nipped his earlobe.
"Uh-huh," he said as his arms tightened around her. "And you do know you need to educate me?"
"You do know what you're asking ..."
"Yeah," he replied.
"And you are aware that I don't know you well enough to give you the kind of demonstration you want .."
"Mmhmmm," he said as he succumbed to temptation and pulled a pin from her hair.
"But you're asking anyway ..."
"Want me to say please?"
"That won't be necessary. I much prefer men of action to men of words."
"Good."
Gibbs watched as she disengaged herself and walked over to the closet.
"Got a preference?" she asked as she pulled the vanity case out of her suitcase.
He shook his head fractionally as she pulled one he hadn't seen out of the bag and laid it on the bed.
"His name's Moth. Short for Behemoth" she stated conversationally, "and he ... this is where you stop staring and take off your clothes, Jethro" she prompted when his eyes remained glued to the vibrator on the bed.
"You first."
"You aren't nervous, are you?" she ribbed gently. "It doesn't bite you know" she said, picking it up as she walked back past him; depositing it into his hands before she plunged the room into darkness. "But it does light up."
Watching her outline in the semi-darkness as her dress puddled at her feet was almost more arousing than seeing her in a towel, and he reached for her as soon as she reached behind her and started to unclasp her bra.
"Leave it," he growled, tossing the vibrator back onto the bed.
"And I thought I was desperate" she breathed into his ear as his hands ran all over her. Gasping when moist pliant lips landed in places she wasn't expecting them to – but stunned into silence when he gathered her to him, wrapped his hand in her hair, and kissed her face slowly. His mouth travelled languidly, and he tempered the urgency with a gentleness she hadn't experienced in far too long. She could feel her awareness of everything but him recede as he relieved her of her underwear - but it wasn't until he murmured her name and rubbed himself against her that she realised she was being passive.
"I really need to get you out of these clothes," she whispered hoarsely.
"Mmhmm," he replied. Standing stock still as she reached for his belt, and sucking in a breath as she caressed him. Over the fabric of his pants first, and then over his boxers.
"It usually works better on the bed," she said when she had him stripped down to nothing and he had reached for her again. She could hear the smugness in his "uh-huh" as she pulled him gently towards the bed, and she smiled as the tactical part of her brain started to work its way around divesting him of it.
She crawled onto the bed and propped herself up on her elbow. Grinning when he mimicked her posture. Jen reached between them, picked up the vibrator, and activated the light.
"Now what?"
"Now you choose your speed, Jethro," she said as she held it out.
She suppressed laughter with difficulty as she caught the look on his face. Even in the dim light the vibrator afforded, the expression on his face was priceless. He held it gingerly for a moment before turning the control carefully. A small smile appeared across his face as a low hum echoed round the room – and grew exponentially with the rise and fall in pitch as he experimented.
"Middle of the road," he announced.
"You're … sure?" Jen said as she took it back.
"Yep."
"That's pretty confident for a novice."
"You're not a novice."
"I wasn't talking about me," she said – and his eyes snapped to hers as he heard the implication in her voice. But her legs had him pinned to the bed on his back and the smile on her face could only be described as wicked. "I wasn't joking when I said I don't know you well enough for a demonstration Jethro."
He was about to push up when he felt it.
Slow vibration against the planes of his stomach. Moving slowly downwards in a way that had his mouth falling open in anticipation. She eased the vibrator onto one of his thighs in a merciless tease.
"God, Jen," he said as she moved without warning. Running the vibrator up and down his length. Keeping him on high alert. Occasionally caressing the underside of the head in ways that made him strain his legs hard and arch his back.
He cracked an eye open to find hers twinkling in amusement. And immediately his hand snaked out and grabbed hers by the wrist.
"Not enjoying yourself?"
"Not quite what I had in mind."
"No?" she purred.
"Nope" he said as he flipped her over.
"Spoilsport."
"Been called worse," Gibbs said as he spread her legs slightly and raised the speed level back to where he'd had it originally.
Jen moaned as he ran the end of the vibrator over the sensitive skin of her thighs.
"Tease!" she said as he moved it slowly in concentric circles.
"Been called worse than that too."
Whatever she'd been about to say next died on her lips the moment he dragged the vibrator upwards in one fluid motion.
"Je -"
"Yeah?" he asked, nuzzling her gently as he alternated between circling and tapping her clit. Enjoying the spectacle of her squirming in his grasp.
"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"
"Nope."
"Ditch the goddamn power tool."
"Thought you'd never ask," he said with a grin as he moved down her body and flicked at her with his tongue.
Her moaning was infinitely more satisfying knowing that he was completely responsible, and it wasn't long before the throb got the better of him. He positioned himself between her legs and leaned forward. Pressing his hardness against her and enjoying the friction of a gentle rub until she became impatient and rocked her hips – her message clear.
As their bodies morphed into one lustful swell he moved in and out with practiced ease. Pulling far out as far as he could before easing back in; pressing hard against her at the end of each plunge. Working himself in as deeply as he could. When she started to become incoherent he hooked an elbow under her knee and tugged it upwards. Her eyes flew open at the change in angle, but she didn't resist. He brought his mouth to hers as she pivoted her hips slightly to accommodate him - and the kiss was all passion and hunger.
"Jenny .." he murmured against her skin the moment he felt his control being threatened.
The only answer he got was her teeth biting into his skin as she fell apart for him, and he spiralled over the edge without so much as a moment's thought.
They were immersed in post-coital haze when Jenny's cell phone went off.
"This better be world war three, Moretti" she said threateningly. She looked at the phone in confusion for a moment, and then turned her eyes on Gibbs. "It's for you. Someone called .. Abby?"
He was just about to take the phone from her when they heard a loud thwack in the background.
"You didn't tell me he was with a woman!"