A/N: Hello everyone, so I know that by all rights I should not be starting a new story while I have one unfinished but this wouldn't stop bugging me. First off, this is a Jeanne fic who I know if not a terribly popular character particularly in the fanfiction world. This story will feature all the other regular characters from the show but will center around Tony and Jeanne.
I came up with this idea after hearing that Jeanne would be returning to NCIS this season. Ever since my little mind has been running rampant with potential plots/reasons and since I never really minded her character and actually enjoyed when Tony was with her (side from the whole lying/undercover business which kinda doomed their relationship from the start) this story seemed destined to be written.
In All the World
Jeanne walked towards the NCIS visitors' desk, her steps faltering as she remembered the last time she entered this building. Eight years ago when her anger was interspersed with great waves of sadness, when she was still grieving for her father and she wanted to make the man she loved hurt just as much as she did.
She sucked in a breath to temper the sudden onslaught of feelings. It was just a building, bricks and glass, that could not hurt her and this time she was hear of her own accord. She had control on her side and no matter what happened, even if it turned out that Tony no longer worked here or she was escorted from the building by armed guards, she was in control.
With that thought in mind, Jeanne straightened her shoulders and calmly approached the guard who spared her a weary if not completely bored glance. Apparently standing watch for a federal building wasn't a riveting business. She'd already been scanned with one of those wand things and thoroughly checked for weapons at the door so perhaps he viewed her as a minimal threat. The guard at the front desk, Officer Simms she noted as she stopped before him, didn't offer a greeting, simply raising an eyebrow and asking in a terse voice.
"Name?" Jeanne smiled pleasantly into Officer Simms's dull brown eyes.
"Jeanne Benoit." She stated firmly while her stomach dipped and she watched him tap something into the computer in front of him. He glanced up after a few seconds and Jeanne suddenly wondered if there was a picture of her plastered somewhere with a red mark through it like she'd seen on the walls of the floor Tony worked on. Jean Benoit: liar, scorned woman, not to be trusted by men with the initials T.D–
"ID?" Jeanne jumped slightly as she was jolted from her mental tirade and slowly reached into her purse for her wallet as she processed the guard's terse question. Officer Simms stared at her picture for several moments, glancing between it and the information listed on the side and then scanned it through a device that looked somewhat like a credit card machine.
"Alright Ms. Benoit, what is the nature of your business?"
"I need to speak with Agent DiNozzo." Jeanne didn't allow her voice to waver. She was reasonably pleased with how calm she sounded despite her pounding heart. It seemed far too easy, surely someone would recognize her soon. The guard glanced at her again at the mention of Tony and raised an eyebrow as though he was reassessing her.
"Huh? Figures." He muttered, handing back her driver's license. Picking up the phone by his arm, he punched in a number and waited a few moments with the same uninterested expression.
"Yeah, Simms. Got someone who wants to talk with you." Jeanne could hear the faint murmur of someone's voice but Simms let the phone fall back on the receiver without answering. He glanced up again, seemingly surprised to see Jeanne still there.
"Somebody will bring you up in a minute." He said eventually and tossed something onto the top of the desk before returning his attention to the computer monitor. "Make sure you wear that visitor's badge unless you wanna get arrested." Jeanne picked up the laminated tag and clipped it to her blouse, thinking that Simms didn't sound terribly unhappy with idea of her hypothetical arrest.
"Thank you." Jeanne said in a polite tone that she often used when speaking with inexperienced nurses but Simms barely lifted his head.
A minute in Officer Simms's world apparently equaled half an hour in the world of someone who wasn't a surly, security guard. Eventually she was met by an overly eager man who was dressed in a slightly too large brown suit and looked as though he was due to graduate high school at any moment.
"Ma'am." He greeted her happily. "I'm Agent Benson, I'll escort you to Agent DiNozzo." Jeanne gave a brief nod which he apparently took as consent to continue speaking. What commenced was one of the longest elevator rides of Jeanne's life not solely due to Benson's incessant prattling. She was just now realizing what a foolish venture she was embarking on, particularly since she had yet to decide what she wanted to say to Tony. Jeanne's breath hitched loudly but fortunately Benson's excitement adequately covered her nervousness.
"Ma'am. Ma'am?" Jeanne jerked again and found Agent Benson's smiling face peering at her, his features quickly morphing into a concerned expression as she remained frozen in the corner of the elevator. She stumbled out, her gaze unfocused and she barely registered the sound of the elevator door closing.
"Tony, have you seen my adapter?" Filtered over from just a few feet away. Jeanne took a step closer and watched as a tall, thin man rooted through the bottom drawer of a desk but her attention quickly focused on the man to his side.
"Why on earth would I take your adapter? Especially since I don't even know what the hell–Jeanne." His words broke off, her name barely more than a whisper as he finely saw her.
"Oh I don't know, maybe because you have the sense of humor of a…oh." The thin agent had looked up as well it seemed and Jeanne spared a brief glance to see that he was staring unabashedly, his head swiveling back and forth between them. She returned her attention to Tony who was staring at her in complete shock, all traces of humor and cockiness wiped from his face.
"Tony." Jeanne wasn't certain if it was a greeting or simply a way to gain his attention, but he sucked in a short breath and quickly blew it out.
"Jeanne…" He shook his head a few times, perhaps thinking that she might disappear in the brief moments when his eyes were turned away. "Jeanne, what are you doing here?" Her name tripped off his tongue as though he had never stopped saying it and Jeanne briefly wondered if he had reason to use it in the past eight years. Jeanne cleared her throat, looking into his green eyes long enough to see the vulnerability he couldn't quite hide before she quickly averted her gaze to the space above his shoulder.
"Um, I'd like to talk." She said in a low voice, conscious of the other agent who was still watching them with a raptness usually reserved for derailing trains.
"Ah, I…Jeanne…" Tony shoved a hand through his hair in lieu of finishing his sentence.
"Would someone like to tell me what's going on?" Tony was rescued from his stammering by the intrusion of a third voice, this one female. Three pairs of eyes turned towards the owner, a young blonde woman, standing behind a desk opposite from Tony's with her hands on her hips, her confused expression forming a wrinkle between her brows.
The agent beside Tony looked as though he'd forgotten anyone else was in the office and stared at the blonde agent for several moments and then began stuttering incoherently. Meanwhile Tony had schooled his expression into something more controlled, although Jeanne noted that his jaw was tightly set as though he was keeping something from bursting through.
"Ah, Ellie…um, how about a coffee break?" The thin agent squeaked out, apparently hoping to sound suitably offhand as he all but ran towards the blonde. He grabbed for her arm, but she pulled back with a frustrated expression.
"McGee, what is-"
"I'm sure Gibbs ran out like half an hour ago." McGee continued in a loud voice that completely over road Ellie's mild tone while he placed a hand at her back and began shepherding them both towards the elevator.
"And I don't think anybody got Abby any Caf-Pow today…" McGee's voice was taking on a definite hysterical tone the more he talked, his need to escape apparent. Jeanne would have laughed if she wasn't certain that she was reason for the other agents' hasty departure and the overwhelming tension in the room. Throwing a final look over his shoulder, McGee shoved a still protesting Bishop into the elevator and stabbed the down button.
Jeanne glanced at Tony who was now staring blankly at the top of his desk, one of his hands clenched into a tight fist atop a now scattered stack of papers.
"Well, I guess that means you told them about me." Jeanne said, not quite able to inject the humor she'd been trying for into her tone. Tony shook his head again.
"Jeanne…" It sounded like a plea, although for what Jeanne wasn't certain. Was he asking forgiveness, praying that she would simply disappear?
"So, you never answered me, would you like to get some coffee?" Tony let out a sharp sound that couldn't quite be considered a laugh for its pained, humorless quality.
"Oh, that sounds awesome." He responded bitterly, the sarcasm a welcome sign to Jeanne who didn't know what to do with this emotionless Tony. "Then maybe we can share pictures from the last eight years and have a really good time."
"Tony." Jeanne admonished quietly and he closed eyes, looking contrite as he took a deep breath.
"Fine, let's get coffee." He allowed eventually, his demeanor calm now but also resigned. Jeanne watched as he shut down his computer and then with long-practiced efficiency gathered a badge and gun from his desk drawer and secured them at his waist beneath his suit jacket.
It reminded her so strongly of the night that they were held hostage, before everything imploded that she had to fight the urge to gasp. She could see the moment when he reached for his gun outside the morgue, something that she had no time to fully analyze at that time, as though it had just happened. He'd shot someone then. Her crazy, movie-loving, sweet Tony had used a gun as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Jeanne?" She jerked back instinctively as Tony reached for her arm. He was watching her with concern and Jeanne realized he must have been speaking to her for several moments. "Are you alright?" Tony asked hesitantly, his arm still extended, hanging somewhat awkwardly mid-air. He seemed to consider touching her again but instead shoved his fingers through his short hair in an anxious gesture and glanced over his shoulder at the mezzanine that overlooked the office.
"Come on, we'd better go before–"
"Before what?" Jeanne interrupting, thinking that Tony sounded rather like someone who was facing a nasty but inevitable root canal in their near future. Tony didn't answer immediately, choosing to look above them one more time. At last he turned back to Jeanne with his jaw set again and made an ushering gesture towards the elevator, this time without actually making contact with Jeanne's arm.
"Let's just say that certain members of this agency would be less than pleased to see you here." Tony answered finally. Jeanne didn't bother to ask if he included himself in that group of people. With a sigh she headed back for the elevator where Tony was waiting, his rigid spine and tapping fingers the only signs that he was feeling anything more than displeasure at her presence.
A/N: So, for those who have decided to give this a try I'd like to say thank you and point out that I have no real knowledge of Federal building security, if it wasn't obvious, but I assume it would be much more stringent than what I describe given that they don't even allow tours in the real NCIS building. That said, I needed a way of getting Jeanne in the building, so voila.