A/N: shit its been forEVER. well, this is a one shot. it contains some cursing but nothing major. and then some lovin' but nothing major either. and...oh so it's really cute in the beginning but then just turns into sap. like...it's not bad but i didn't know how to end it so i kinda just spun some crap together. OH WELL. read and enjoy and REVIEW


Jennifer Shepard sighed and looked at the clock. 9:30 already? This whole staying late at work thing was getting a bit out of hand, but she would never admit to it. She looked out the window momentarily and was disappointed to find the same rainy night staring back in. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was thunderstorms. Everything about it gave her the creeps. The loud noises, the sudden strike of lightning, and of course, knowing that the next day she would have to attempt to walk in heels through the puddles left behind.

She turned her head to stare down at the paper work sprawled across her desk, in hopes it would distract her from the weather, and just about passed out. She'd never get it done, especially at a time like this. She shook her head. Negative thoughts would get her nowhere. She pierced her lips and clicked her pen before continuing her work. If Jenny was one thing, she was determined.

Unfortunately for her, she was also exhausted, and while staring blankly at the same black letters inscribed on the same white paper, she briefly closed her eyes. As if on cue, a frightening clash of thunder rang through her office.

Jenny's eyes opened wide at the sudden surprise, as her heart raced with each inconsistent breath she then took. "Jesus Christ," she cursed.

Another roll of thunder boomed.

This time Jenny winced, biting her lip. "It's just thunder, it's just thunder, it's just thunder…" she repeated to herself. She braced herself for another round of the deathly noise, but it never came.

Instead, a strike of lightning lit up her office and the next thing she knew, the lights were flickering. She looked up, frightened as ever.

"No, no, no!" she whispered to the flickers above. "Stay on, god dammit!"

The lights didn't listen, and they soon went out, leaving Jenny sitting horrified in her pitch black office alone.

She folded her arms onto her desk and laid her head down upon them, eyes closed tight. She whimpered, but it was barely even heard by her. Then, head still down, she reached over to pick up her phone. She picked it up and placed it near her ear.

No dial tone. Just as she expected.

Jenny slumped up in her seat and whipped out her cell phone. She flicked it open and began to punch in Cynthia's numbers as her eyes adjusted to the dimmest of light.

And then it hit her.

Cynthia had left more than an hour ago.

"Great," mumbled Jenny. "I'm all alone in a federal building with no power!" She glanced up and squinted into the darkness. "When do those back up generators kick in?"

She sat there like that for a few more seconds until sighing heavily and slouching back down in her seat. She opened her phone back up and shined it over her desk. Then, with her free hand she opened up the top side drawer and fumbled around for a flashlight.

"Aha! There you are!" she exclaimed once she found one. With one hand, she clicked the on button.

Nothing happened.

"What the –?"

She clicked it again. And then once more. And then it was as though her finger had gone on a rampage and she clicked it again and again and again and again.

Still, nothing happened.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She screwed off the top of the flashlight and turned it upside down into her hand.

Nothing came out.

"Of course! First the power goes out, then I realize I'm probably the only one here, then the backup generator won't kick in, and now there are no batteries to my fucking flashlight! Could this night get any worse?"

Another crack of thunder rang through her office. Jenny cringed.

And when she thought things couldn't get any worse, she heard a noise. She instantly looked up at the window and heard the noise again. It was kind of like a clank and it was definitely not coming from outside. She turned and looked at her office door, her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness.

Was there someone in Cynthia's office perhaps? But who? Who on earth was still here?

"Agent Gibbs?" she asked in a quiet whisper. Gibbs would be the only one besides her that was still at work at such a late hour. How come she hadn't thought of that before? She could have just called Gibbs once the power went out.

Jen let out a puff of air, obviously frustrated. She heard what sounded like footsteps and reached for her gun in her desk drawer. There was always the chance that it wasn't Gibbs. She carefully and quietly stood up from her chair and walked swiftly over to the door. She leaned up against the wall so that if and when the door opened, she would be in the perfect position to potentially shoot the wandering culprit.

She breathed steadily, though a little tense about the whole situation.

She heard the door knob click. Another clash of thunder rang. Her hands shivered. The door opened dreadfully slow and the arm of a black figure appeared. Then, a small light shined in through the door. The dark figure began to walk in. Jenny raised her gun.

"Don't move," she commanded.

A light shined in her face. She squinted and held up a hand to block the light from her eyes. "Jen?" called an all too familiar voice.

"Jethro?" The light moved off of her face onto the floor. It was only then when the smell of coffee, sawdust and a mix of bourbon reached her nose. Oh, it was Jethro all right. She lowered her gun and starred at what she assumed were his eyes. "What are you doing here so late?" she inquired.

"I should be asking you the same question."

She scoffed, not answering the question, and continued on. "Why were you snooping around?"

"Wasn't snooping, just finding out if anyone else was here."

"Oh please, you know I've been working late for the past week!"

He lifted his left shoulder in a shrug. Jenny rolled her eyes and lightly sighed. "It was sweet of you to check up on me Jethro, but I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

Jethro shook his head and smirked. "I already told you, Jen, I just came up to see who else was here."

"Riiiight."

Jethro ignored her and walked over to the liquor cabinet. He easily poured two drinks before taking a seat on the black leather couch.

Damn him and his night vision.

For a moment, Jenny just stared at him as he sipped his bourbon. Then, he patted the seat next to him and reluctantly, she followed suit. Once seated, she took her drink in her hand and held it to her lips. "Thanks," she said before taking a sip, loving the way the hard liquor burned her throat.

Jethro grunted and lazily rested his arm across the back of the couch, closer to Jenny.

She glanced over at him and only then did she realize how close together they were sitting. She sighed, uncomfortable with the close proximity and yet loving it at the same time. It had been awhile since they had been this close together.

Immediately, Jenny thought of Paris. Images of her nights with a certain silver-haired male flew through her mind, and she had to shake her head just to get the thought of her and Jethro sleeping together out.

"It's been awhile since we last did this," she finally commented after a few minutes in silence.

Jethro looked at her but didn't say anything.

"I missed this," she continued.

He continued to stare at her, but said nothing.

She hated when he did this: didn't respond while she talked about personal things.

"I wonder why the backup generator hasn't kicked in yet."

He shrugged.

She sighed and finished off her drink in one quick swig. There was no use talking to him if he wasn't going to contribute to the conversation. She stood up with her empty glass and walked back to the bourbon to refill it. As she was walking back towards the couch, another crack of thunder rang through the office, shortly followed by flashes of lightning. This time, the thunder was louder. Much louder.

Jenny stopped dead in her tracks, almost dropping her drink.

"Jen?"

She couldn't move. She had gotten so used to no more thunder that hearing it again just freaked the shit out of her.

"Jen, are you alright?" Jethro shifted in his seat and stared at her, confused out of his mind.

He was finally talking to her but she just couldn't seem to speak. She blinked a few times and bit her lip. It's just thunder, it's just thunder..., she repeated in her head.

Jethro stood up from the couch before another roll of thunder boomed, just as loud as before.

Jenny couldn't take it anymore. She dropped her glass and collapsed on the ground onto her knees. Bourbon spilled everywhere and the glass shattered into tiny rigid pieces.

Shit.

"JEN!" Jethro hollered. He ran up and kneeled down in front of her. "Christ, Jen, what was that?"

Jenny didn't say a word, just sat there with her head down, gripping her arms tightly.

Jethro looked at the shattered glass and then back at her. "Are you hurt?" he growled.

Jenny shook her head.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered her name for reassurance that she was okay. Slowly, she looked up at him. Tears glossed her eyes and she prayed that he couldn't see them.

He could.

"Jen, what's wrong?" he asked sincerely, wiping away a tear.

She mumbled something before rubbing the tears away from her eyes.

Jethro sighed and took Jenny gently by the wrist. "Come on."

Jenny complied and let him help her up, feeling more vulnerable than ever. Truthfully, she didn't want his help, she wanted him to leave. But like hell he was going anywhere after seeing her cry. It had been years since he had. She felt embarrassed to say the least.

"Thanks," she murmured. He led her over to couch, his hand on the small of her back. For some odd reason, she felt like hugging him. Jenny reasoned it was just her nerves talking and not the fact that she missed him and his warmth.

Just as she was about to take a seat, thunder filled the office once more. Jenny cringed and stopped moving, causing Jethro to bump into her.

"Jen?"

She turned to him and couldn't fight it anymore. She wrapped her arms around him and fell into his embrace.

Jethro was shocked but stayed calm and still. He wound his arms around her back and gently stroked her hair to calm her down. "Shh, it's okay. You're okay," he cooed.

Jenny felt like such a child wrapped in his arms but she didn't pull away. She felt him kiss the top of her head, prompting her to smile.

"You're afraid of thunder and lightning," he stated bluntly.

"No shit, Sherlock," she mumbled.

"I didn't know."

"I know. I kind of hoped to keep it that way."

He pulled away slightly to look down at her. "There were thunderstorms when we were in Europe together," he stated, wondering how he never found out about her irrational fear back when they were partners.

"We weren't always together in Europe. I don't know if you've forgotten, but we used to fight a lot."

"Oh trust me, I remember."

Jenny rolled her eyes, still holding onto him. After a moment of silence she piped up and said, "Thank you."

He nodded but wouldn't let her go, even when she shifted in his arms.

"What are you doing?" she asked, struggling to get free.

"Nothing."

"Well then why are you—"

Quickly and carefully, Jethro brushed his lips against hers to silence her. It was when he was kissing her that he realized what he was doing and how utterly insane it was. He broke the kiss and stared at her, prepared for Jenny to get upset over the foolishness of his actions. Instead, she surprised him by kissing him right back.

It wasn't hot, but sweet and passionate. Jenny looked up and smiled. She had almost forgotten how good he tasted. Like a mix of coffee and bourbon.

"I missed you, Jen," he said softly, running a hand through her red curls and kissing her again.

Jen smiled into his kiss. "I missed you too, Jethro."

They stood there for awhile; his arms wrapped around her slim waist and hers clasped around his neck, playing with the tiny gray hairs on the nape of his neck. It was only then that she didn't care that it was pouring outside, or that the power was out, or even that there were still short lapses of thunder and lightning. Right now none of that bothered her because she was currently wrapped up in a man's arms: in Jethro's arms. That was all the reassurance she needed to know that she was safe from any fear that she had.

She rested her head on his shoulder and as though it were a sign from up above, the lights flickered back on and the rain slowly died down, along with the thunder.

"The generator is working again," Jethro hummed.

Jenny lifted her head off of his shoulder to look up at him.

"It's not raining anymore either."

Jenny sighed. "I guess you can go now that I have nothing to worry about."

"Nah, you still have that mess to clean up," he stated, refereeing to the shattered glass and bourbon that still lay across the floor.

Jenny smiled as she took in his words. He's not going to leave, she thought.

And she was perfectly fine with that.


ahahhaa that was bloody AWFUL. sry guys. im low on ideas and just like...can't write anymore. sorry people! love u guys tho and PLEASE review