A/N: Ok, I honestly don't know why I'm writing this (how many of my stories have began with this?). It's not even really funny, or anything. It is more of a fic that establishes a connection between Gibbs/Jenny pre-Paris.
Like my first smut fic, this is my first pre-series fic. Give me a bit of leeway. This fic isn't really gonna have any depth, I'll be lucky if it gets past 2,000 words.
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NCIS.
"I swear Burley if I catch you or Decker going through my desk again. You'll be lacking some parts that I can guarantee you'll miss," she hissed.
It was a Tuesday morning, and the MCRT was totally lacking in anything to do. Having had a case this previous weekend that was relatively easy in wrapping up, and spending Monday doing the resulting paperwork. This morning the resident Probie of the team had come in, only to catch two of the men on her team going through her desk. Let's just say two staplers narrowly missing both of their heads, had sent them scurrying back.
Hence the reason she was currently standing in the middle of the bullpen with her hands on her hips, and why Stan and Will were currently trying to use each other as body shields.
She arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow in what she hoped was a menacing manner. Her efforts were rewarded with Thing 1 and Thing 2 tripping over each other, while trying to get away from her.
Internally laughing her butt off, she opened her mouth to make another threat, when-
"You disappoint me Shepard," a gruff voice barked, and she took a moment to make elevator eyes at her boss as he made his way to his desk. Barely sparing them a glance. But the appearance of Gibbs seemed to bolster Tweedle- Dee's and Tweedle-Dum's confidence considering Burley called out a cocky,"Yeah, Shepard! You disappoint the boss!"
While Burley disentangled himself from the position him and Decker had ended up sprawled out in, Jenny waited patiently for Gibbs to elaborate.
"Haven't I taught you not to hesitate?" He asked, acting as if Stan had never spoken, and sending Decker and Burley stumbling again. Jenny smirked, and chuckling softly, her eyes locked with Gibbs and he winked.
'Such a tease,' she thought.
Their intense contact was broken by the shrill ringing of his desk phone, and as he bent to answer it she turned back to the arguing twosome with considerably lot less anger.
"Grab your bags we got a case," said Gibbs a moment later. On his way past he made sure Decker and Burley each got a slap to the back of the head.
"Thank you Boss," they chimed in unison, Jenny snickered and making faces at Burley from behind Gibbs back. Decker was once again the mature one and asked Gibbs where they were going.
"Lance Corporal found dead at an illegal snake farm near the Anacostia. Animal Control and Venom One are there now," he spoke without turning around, only then noticing that the bickering from behind him had gone suspiciously quiet.
"Burley, stop making faces at Shepard," sometimes he felt like he was freaking kindergarten teacher!
As they stepped onto the elevator and Gibbs had failed to yet here Jenny's exclamation of triumph, only Burley's petulant moaning,'Why does Gibbs never get his manhood threatened?' He cut his eyes at the redhead standing beside him.
Was it just him or had she always been that pale?
That 'illegal snake farm' had been located in a densely populated forest area bordering the Anacostia, much to Burley's annoyance. On the ride to the farthest place they could drive in at (yes they could not drive the van all the way in) two murder had almost been committed by Gibbs.
The boys only defense being,"The back isn't exactly comfortable Boss," pleaded Decker, and,"Why does Shepard always get to ride in the front," whined Burley. They were annoying enough to distract her from the fact that they were going to a snake farm to send a scowl their way in her visor mirror.
Gibbs only reply had been,"She annoys me the least." Now that had made her smile.
Luckily (for them) they spent the rest of the ride pouting in silence. Only when Gibbs had pulled to the side on the primitive dirt road they were on, did they speak again.
"Um, Boss. You aren't actually going to kill us out here and dump are bodies are you? 'Cuz I'm pretty sure you could get away with it, it isn't like Shepard would actually snitch on you. But, I'm pretty sure it would be against some ancient Marine Corps morals. Not that you're ancient or anything. You're not even ten years older than m-," Decker rambled on. While Jenny and Burley were snickering Gibbs sat stone-faced. She could practically sense his patience wearing thin.
"DECKER! Shut up, before I slap you so hard you'll grandchildren will feel it," Gibbs growled, making both men jump, and Jenny giggle. When Gibbs turned and glared at her she immediately rearranged her facial features into a mock solemn expression. Earning her an eye roll in response.
'Awwww, Gibbs you're just a big teddy bear,' she thought fondly.
As if he could read her thoughts (which sometimes she secretly thought he could), he threw open the driver side door and bailed out of the van, she quickly followed suit. After jumping over a mud puddle Gibbs had so kindly parked her in, she walked around to the back double doors where he was already getting their supplies together.
"Steve, Decker, get your asses out here. We have to hike the rest of the way in," barked Gibbs, taking his frustrations out on one of their backpacks that wouldn't fit another roll of evidence bags. When he started shaking the backpack violently, Jenny reached up and placed both hands soothingly on his arm, stopping him. Their eyes locked once more, she felt the muscles rippling on his bicep, and wanted to moan (that would be embarrassing). Still holding his gaze, she ran her hands up over his forearm until her tiny hands covered his large ones, and gently she took the pack from his grip. Deftly she slipped the roll into the pack, and still locked in the moment with him, she zipped it up also.
"Are...we interrupting something?" Decker asked, while Burley simply ran a calculating gaze over the scene. Both, Gibbs and Jenny had jumped apart each trying desperately to act like that little 'episode' had meant nothing. It didn't help that the both of them looked as guilty as if they had been caught having a quickie against the tailgate.
"No. Here take your packs," Gibbs recovered first and started handing out task while she concentrated on the pack she was holding. When she looked back up she realized that Stan and Decker had already gone on ahead with their gear, and it was just her and Gibbs again. She tossed the pack she was holding over one shoulder and stepped back so Gibbs could close the double doors. When he turned back around and realized that she was still there he cocked an eyebrow in question.
Surely he'd realized that while him and the others were carrying two or three, she was still only carrying the one. When she gestured to the three cases he was carrying and the one she was carrying, he shrugged in what she was sure he thought was in an innocent way. But, she was adept enough to notice the teasing glint in his eye.
"Chauvinist," she accused in a whisper, mocking him gently.
Again he just shrugged as if to say, 'Who? Me?'.
With a bark of laughter she took off, Gibbs staying behind her. You know, in case she tripped.
With a wicked smirk that he couldn't see, she made sure to add an extra sway to her hips.
It was only fair that he had a reward. After all, he was only looking out for her safety?!
After a few minutes walking down the trail, they came to a fork in the road. Burley and Decker who were ahead of them stopped and looked to Gibbs for guidance. Jenny stared straight ahead, trying to fight the smile on her lip as he managed to pry his gaze away from her butt, and answer the question.
"Yea, right," Gibbs said gruffly emphasizing the direction with a nod of his head.
They started moving again, Decker and Burley murmuring to themselves, while Jenny and Gibbs followed behind silently. The trail they were on now was rougher with steep inclines, and narrow to the point that it was like the trail didn't even exsist at all.
It also didn't help that due to the latest storm there were large logs and fallen trees blocking their path.
The first impediment she cleared with ease, dropping down behind Stan and Will who had apparently waited to help the poor female Probie.
Granted all three of them looked and sounded like a heard of stampeding elephants compared to Gibbs. Whom they watched clear the log with only one foot hold them drop to the ground silently.
Boy was she glad Gibbs was playing on their side against the metaphorical war on evil.
Without further ado they continued on their merry little way. Crossing a few more limbs that went in about the same way as the first; Decker and Burley stumbling over them in the lead, then waiting on her, and lastly with Gibbs showing them all up with his marine skill awesomeness.
So no broken bones yet, Jenny considered that a good sign.
As clichéd as it felt, they were approaching the light in the end of the tunnel. About twenty yards ahead of them the dank little trail ended, and opened on to what from their limited perspective to be a very big clearing. In the clearing, around thirty yards from where the trail opened into it, sat a dank little house. It was a low building, and either it had been made to look it or it was quite old considering it had one of those old-fashioned dog run's going straight through the middle.
She could see Animal Control and Venom One vans scattered all around it. And she made a vague note to ask one of the drivers later, on how they'd managed to drive in.
But, for now, there was another obstacle in their little 'yellow brick' road to the snake farm. Damn Jenny thought she'd never been happier to see a humongous oak tree before.
Ahead of her, Stan and Will paused, looking around to see if there were ways to go around it. To the left of the trail where the dead branches of the tree lay, was just more densely packed trees, and with their luck if they tried to go that way they'd probably end up lost in the middle of the woods.
Well, not Gibbs of course, and she pretty much had it made because she was fairly confident Gibbs would take her with him.
But, her conscious wouldn't feel right leaving Decker and Burley to the wolves.
Apparently Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum had been thinking along the same lines considering they started inspecting the right side. Yet just when Jenny was about to tell them there was no way in hell they were going to get her to walk through what looked to be a murky little stream, where the...snakes probably hid out. Her knight in a polo and a Glock butted in-
"Just scale the damn thing," he ordered from behind her, and Jenny couldn't help but smirk and add a little movement to her hips...
because she could practically feel his eyes glued to her butt.
While her and Gibbs were playing a mental, silent, dancing around the topic version of grab-ass. Stan and Decker had managed to make their way on top of the tree, and with arms outstretched for balance they jumped off the other side. Bending their knees just right to absorb the impact without sending them sprawling in the mud.
Now it was her turn, slipping her little pack fully onto her back, she braced her hands on the side of the tree. Getting ready to hoist herself up, she felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. Turning to glance over her shoulder, she asked with her eyes what the hell was wrong now, because she was trying to get to a snake farm. Instead of an explanation, in typical Jethro fashion he muttered out a gruff, "Let me go first..."
Next thing she knows she's being gently pushed back, and watching as Jethro doesn't even use his arms. No, basically 'Mr. Superman' just ran up one side and down the other. Coming to a quiet landing beside his two other male agents who were wearing matching expressions of confusion.
With a simple roll of her eyes to express her displeasure with him, she went back to bracing her hands on the trunk. She was secretly just a little relieved when Decker and Burley quickly got bored and turned their backs on her-examining the scene from what they could see, and waiting for their Boss to give them the say so to go.
Gibbs turned around with them, but she could tell from the way he kept his body slightly angled towards her. That he was preparing himself to catch her if she fell.
It was the most likely reason on why he wanted to go first.
Showing off just the tiniest bit, she proudly displayed how she hoisted herself up with ease. Catching her balance on top of the trunk, she stood all the way up, resting her hands on her hips, and taking in their preliminary glimpses of the scene.
The body wasn't outside from what she could tell, and she realized it was in the little old building when she vaguely heard Decker asking Gibbs how Ducky was going to get the van back here. And Gibbs's short reply that, a coroner was on the scene already arranging transportation back to the Navy Yard so Ducky didn't have too.
She couldn't help the slight outtake of breath at that, if Ducky was driving out here they would probably find the van sinking in the river five days later.
Chuckling a bit, she saw out of the corner of her eye as Gibbs released his two male minions, and they made their way to the house. Their tasks apparently already delegated, and yet Jenny stayed on the trunk surveying the scene and Gibbs made no move to make her leave.
They stayed right there, watching as men and women from apparently Venom One came out of the building carry tanks and sacks.
That contained snakes.
So very many snakes that just continued coming in the line of Venom One people and Animal Control.
She could literally feel her knees going weak, and the blood draining out of her face. For a moment it felt like she was about to faint, but she sure as hell was going to give the boys the joy of seeing her as a weak woman.
No, instead as the line coming out of the building was ending, she looked down at the bottom of the tree trunk and prepared to jump.
Only to see a curled up object twining up the tree...
...and think it was a snake.
Without further ado she basically made to launch herself off the trunk with the intent of grabbing Jethro's SIG out of his holster and shooting at it until she got the thing. But she'd never claimed to be graceful or a kung-fu ninja adept at flying, so with an undignified squeak her foot slipped out from under her and she went flying in what she was sure was going to be an epic face-plant. Bracing herself for what she was sure going to be a broken arm, and a slimy crawly creature on her...she closed her eyes.
And suddenly she did stop, but not on the ground unlike what she'd expected.
Strong hands were clutching her hips tightly, and in a motion that felt so natural, she realized her arms were holding the shoulders of...Jethro. Cracking her eyes open she came to the sudden realization that their faces were only inches apart, and he was holding her, and damn if it didn't feel right.
Yet this wasn't a movie, so there were no passionate kisses, or declarations of love. Only a bastard with bright blue eyes and an insufferably sexy grin, who just had to open his mouth and goad her, "If you wanted to throw yourself at me, Jen. All you had to do was say so."
Ignoring him for the moment, she risked a glance back behind her-fully prepared to climb on Jethro's back if it was indeed a snake-only to catch sight of a vine.
Right where her 'snake' had been. Oh there was no way in hell she was telling him this.
He started to set her down, and she didn't miss the way her body slid down his, very deliberately if she had to guess. Though it wasn't like she minded, or didn't reciprocate. It also gave her some sudden inspiration.
Leaning up on tiptoes, she buried a hand in the short hair at the back of his neck, and pressed her body against his. She put her lips to his ear, and whispered, hot breath blowing over him, "If I was going to throw myself at you. It certainly wouldn't involve...clothing."
And just because she could do it and get away with it...
...she sucked lightly on his earlobe.
She pulled away quickly after that, giving him no time to grab her and push her against a tree. Even though she knew she wouldn't mind it one little bit, that was an urge they'd been fighting for a while now. Pushing it every now and again, but always toeing the line before it came into sight.
Though she swore to herself, the day his divorce with Diane was final, and she wasn't in the chain of command under him...
That line wouldn't just be crossed, it would be obliterated.
Pulling her mind out of the bedroom was no easy task, and she took the responsibility heavily on her shoulders alone. Because let's face it-when the end of the day came and went, Jethro was still just a poor guy.
Looking him in the eyes, "Photos Boss," she informed him of what she would be doing. And with those final words she sucked in a great deep breath, patted his cheek fondly, and took off towards the snake...barn? The camera magically appearing in her hands.
He watched her go with a slightly dazed expression.
But he shook it off when she and her butt were out of sight. Though far from out of mind, he made his way to Animal Control, Venom One, and a local little police officer who clearly had a suspect in custody.
All the while trying to put Jenny out of his mind, and the fact that she had looked pale.
He was in the middle of talking to a Venom One employee, and an Animal Control one. They were telling him about the snakes they had already...commandeered.
After a quick interview with the suspect the police officer had. He learned that; one, he owned this little...entourage, and two, that the man was clearly a little more than insane.
Though the coroner had already taken the body, from what he'd heard there was a gunshot wound. And he was almost one hundred percent sure that the gun used would have the snake's so...loving owner's prints.
It was an open-and-shut case if he ever saw one.
Now he was just getting a estimate to if they got all of the snakes from the building. They didn't need a snake from this collection to slip out into the general public or the wooded area, especially not since they'd learned of the more exotic species the man owned.
Well, they were doing fairly okay. After he'd managed to extract the number of snakes he owned from the suspect; Venom One and Animal Control had counted up.
Every venomous snake was accounted for, thank god.
But apparently there was one python missing.
Yes, a bloody python!
"Do you have any idea where it might be?" He growled at the two knobby kneed men in front of him. They cowered under his glare, and the Animal Control guy started babbling while the Venom One guy just started nodding along like a bobble-head.
"Since we extracted all the tanking, and heat lamps. He's gonna wanna find someplace warm. So we can assum-"
The man that Gibbs really thought could use a pocket protector to prefect his image, was cut-off. By an ear-piercing scream coming from the building, and before anyone else could move let alone react. Gibbs was sprinting as fast as he could the thirty yards between him and the house, his gun already cocked and in his hand. His heart pounded unmercifully in his chest the longer it took him to get there, because he knew that scream...
it was Jenny.
"JETHRO!"
He picked up the pace.
Sprinting down the dog run, he found the room where the noise had come from.
The first room to his right, the door was opened and for a moment he was utterly baffled at what he saw.
It was a fairly large room, with an open concept, and it might've been the nut-jobs living room. It had a ratty sofa against the far left wall, a run down armchair with a lamp on the right side, and in the middle a large wooden table with two chairs.
All three pieces of furniture who currently housed all three of his agents. Decker on the chair to the right, Burley the left, and Jenny on the table.
Oh, don't forget the large python that was slithering lazily towards them on the floor.
Now the scene, at any other time would've been laughable, and it still was to an extent. It looked like one of his agent's had interrupted the poor snake's naptime in the couch, if the fact that he was still slithering out of the bottom of it was anything to go by.
Dang the thing was huge.
Still it was kind of funny seeing the way Decker and Burley each jumped as the thing slunk nearer. Both of them looked like they were about to wet their pants at any given moment, but each of them were kind of busy trying to get Jenny off the table. And getting fought violently for their manhandling efforts.
Jenny, she was what made this completely not funny.
She was on top of the table, her hands clutched to her middle, and she looked like she was having trouble breathing. On her face, there was this look of complete terror each time the snake came nearer. Her eyes were screwed almost completely shut...
...and she looked about this close to tears.
Hell, who was he kidding? She was hysterical. Folding in on herself, she screeched his name while he just stood there frozen, and Decker and Burley tried to get her down with voices that were bordering on hysteria themselves.
"Hey, Shepard it's okay."
"Jenny! Hey, Red it's not gonna hurt us."
They made the mistake once again of trying to manhandle her off the table. Again she fought them viciously, and-not noticing he was frozen in the doorway like an idiot-she screamed his name again.
The panic in her voice jolted him into motion.
Without thinking about it, he fired a warning shot near the snakes' head. Enough to get the thing to back off and stop advancing, but not to hurt it. While he ran across the room in rapid strides, he passed by the reptile without a second thought- much to Decker and Burley's scared shock.
He'd been in enough jungles, doing enough unspeakable things. To not be afraid of the snakes that wouldn't hurt him anymore.
He didn't give them a second thought either though, Jenny's eyes had flown completely open at the sound of the gunshot. And when he reached the table, still folded in on herself and breathing like she'd just run a marathon, and despite the fact that both Decker and Burley were reaching for her. She lifted her arms out to him.
He gathered her to him quickly, an arm under her legs, and one behind her shoulders. Trembling violently, her arms grasped tightly in a deadlock around his neck, she curled up closer into his chest, and her face in the crook of his neck.
Looking at Decker and Burley he said in his most threatening voice, "I never hear another word about this, ever. You got that?"
They nodded, their faces ashen just as much from the snake as from the certain death implied in his statement.
For the moment happy with their consent, he swept out of the room. Dodging Animal Control and Venom One who had finally shown up to wrangle the snake into a container.
But he paid no attention to that. His focus was entirely on the now sobbing redhead in his arms. Her breathing was still much to fast and he was half convinced to hop a ride to the hospital, and get her treated for a panic attack.
Her next move destroyed any of those thoughts. Grip on him tighter than ever, and bunching up to him even closer, she sobbed into his shirt, "Jethro."
So they didn't end up going to the hospital that day, because she'd called his name when she was terrified. It was him she was clutching so desperately to, and it was him who had managed to get her off the table in the first place.
...
...
It only made sense that it was him that carried her all the way back to the van (making Burley and Decker hitch a ride). It only made sense that it was him that would get her blind drunk tonight, so she'd forget about it. It only made sense that it was him who was currently stroking her hair and making soft shushing sounds along quiet murmurings of, "It's okay, Jen. It's okay. Everything's okay."
Therefore it only made sense that later on it would only be him that teased her unconditionally.
Because the great Jennifer Shepard was scared of snakes.
A/N: Sorry about this I know it's not even really that interesting. And it's pretty AU considering I can't see Jenny ever reacting like this. Granted Jenny never shows fear on the show, so...take it how you will.
I've decided I'm going to make this into a little each chapter's a one-shot of something she's scared of (.i.e. Jenny).
By the way on the grammar and spelling mistakes. I know there's a lot of them and I'm sorry about that, but I wanted to get this posted to see how y'all are gonna react to it. See if you like the idea or not? And right now I'm exhausted and rambling so I'll come back tomorrow to fix all those mistakes.
DOn't like. Don't review.
