Disclaimer – I don't own ncis

Authors note – this is a tag to 'under covers' which I watched last night for what I realised was the first time ever!

I hope you enjoy this, please excuse any grammar and spelling wrong bits.

She walked down the old rickety wooden steps to his basement that held so many memories. Jenny was still dressed in her long black ball gown with crystals embedded in it. Her shoes were in one hand as her stocking clad feat went down the steps hesitantly checking the way for loose screws or nails, whilst her other grabbed onto the piece of wood he named a 'handrail' . He looked up at her, surprised by her presence and in awe of her beauty. Her hair was long and straight, her dress fit perfectly, and the way she walked made him smile. She'd taken off her heels every time she came into his basement after the time she twisted her ankle while wearing them and fell down the stairs – he'd forced her to stay on desk duty for a week and so she'd never made the same mistake again.

Jenny reached the bottom and inwardly sighed a sigh of relief. She had gotten down without falling. The red head gazed at Jethro as he returned to work on his boat pretending he hadn't noticed her presence but she knew he had. She watched his methodical and rhythmic pace as he sanded away, the way that with every stretch of his arm his muscles moved under his top. She smiled and slowly leaned back against the cool brisk wall content to observe and enjoy the view she currently had. After a few minutes he placed down the sander and turned to her. "Thought that you were at the Marine Corps ball?" He said as he rummaged for some rougher sandpaper.

"Not my kind of tea party really. Anyway, I knew it was someone else's birthday too."

"I don't celebrate Birthdays Jen."

"I know, I remember." She said with a smirk. Then she walked over to him and handed him a bottle of bourbon – good quality stuff too! "I also remember that we had a tradition, no presents just bourbon, even if you broke it ever year."

"Something always stood out as a better present." He said smirking. She smiled back before walking up the stairs. "You not staying to drink it like in the old days, Madame Director? "

"I am, changing first though Jethro. I'm not wrecking this dress in your basement considering the price it cost!" he smirked. She had always made herself at home in his house, when she was a probie, to director. That had been what had made him see the difference between her and other probies he had had – confidence. It was only later he found out she had so little of it in other areas and it was mostly an act. But as she re emerged not five minutes later with a pair of his joggers and his old NIS tee shirt on her smiled. She looked as good as ever in his cloths.

He stood staring at her attire before she broke the silence. "You gonna open that bourbon or spend the evening staring at me." They both just smirked; it didn't matter at that moment that they weren't together, because it felt like old times. They were just themselves, nothing more or less than friends. He was attracted to her as she was to him, but at least until they had a few drinks inside them they would wait to invade the others thoughts – more so that they already did.

He opened the bottle and sat down inside the wooden frame. She joined him on the opposite side, and they caught one another's eye, sparks lighting up ever so faintly inside both of them. But they avoided it for the moment. The bottle was opened and each took turns drinking from the bottle.

"Tony and Ziva did well." Jenny commented.

"Yeah, reminds me of us, that first assignment: under cover as two people having an affair."

"We went in blind – barely any Intel what so ever. Back in the old days now I suppose, no coms, no bugs."

"That was a true art." Replied Gibbs and they both laughed.

"Do you…do you ever wonder what would have happened if we'd been honest with people about us?" asked Jenny after a few minutes with a distant look in her eye.

"Yeah, sometimes. But it wouldn't have made any difference Marrow knew, ducky did. They all knew before we did probably."

"I suppose."

"What's on your mind Jenny?" he questioned and she looked at him. She saw for the first time the raw emotions in his eyes. She didn't know if it was the drink, the sleep deprivation or just the time alone that was making her currently want to jump in his arms and kiss him.

"In Paris, when I left…it was the biggest mistake of my life. That mission, it had swallowed me up, I couldn't remember who I was anymore. The only thing I could remember was my stupid five point plan and avenging my father's death." She looked at the ceiling, blinking away the tears that were threatening to come falling before looking at him. He hadn't said a word, it was like he was playing what she'd said over and over again in his mind as he tried to absorb it. Taking another slug of the bourbon she stepped forward, he was still in his thoughts. Softly she kissed his hair and murmured "I'm sorry." in a soft voice. With that she left his basement.

As soon as she'd said those words he began to think straight again. He saw her walking up the stairs, her dress slung over her arm and shoes in one hand. He watched as she left. As soon as he heard the signature creak of the floorboard near the door and the opening of the front door his senses awakened and he went running out of his basement. She stood there on the dew covered grass out front and he went running up to her. She gave him a shocked look that he'd followed her.

"I should never have forced you to kill Svetlana, I knew you wouldn't manage. I should have helped you find yourself again. I was a lover and not a man, I forgot to look out for you, forgot you were barely more than a scared probie no matter how good of one you were. I'm sorry jenny, to hell with my rules, I'm sorry, and I love you. I didn't say it back then but I'm saying it now."

She looked up at him through glazed over eyes. Now she could give into her desire and she did so. She placed her hands on his cheeks cupping his face and kissed him softly. He responded and his arms went around her waist. They remained like that, caught up in one another in the dead of night, in a sleeping city. The cool breeze ran over their exposed skin, the dew grass moist against her bare feet.

The pair only broke apart when their lungs were screaming for Oxygen. As they did they rested their foreheads again one another and smiled. "I love you too Jethro – I never stopped doing so." with that they kissed again. He picked her up bridal style and carried her inside. Her foot kicked the door closed as the Leroy Jethro Gibbs finally ended his stream of lonely birthdays…

-jibbs-

The next year they were wed, nothing big, not white wedding. Just Jenny, Jethro, a vicar, two witnesses, a long white sandy beach and the sound of the waves crashing softly in the background. It was perfect, no one knew it was going to happen, neither did they for that matter of fact, he proposed the night before and they married the next. It was spontaneous, it was romantic, it was perfect. They were on holiday at the time; it had been for Jethro's birthday so they could spend time together and alone, and it had evolved into something much more.

He avoided a party the next year, yet only just. He took Jenny to meet his father in the town he grew up in. They got on well and for Jethro it was good to be home. They walked around the small town hand in hand; he shows her the sights and relived memories, the good, bad and ugly. When It was difficult and his past plagued him, she squeezed his had just enough to let him know she was there for him when he needed her.

It was two years later when Jethro's birthday wasn't a happy one so to speak. The day before Jenny had been told she wouldn't be able to have children after they'd spent nearly 2 years trying. It shook them both, but he didn't spend it alone. Instead they spent it curled up in bed together. The occasional tear falling from both of them.

The next year however was one which they both would never ever forget. Jenny's present to Jethro (along with the bourbon) was an envelope containing the adoption papers for Lucy. Lucy had been whiteness on one of their cases and after staying with the pair for the duration they had all taken a liking to the 15 year old. She was unique, quiet and yet lively. Although she wasn't blood related she showed aspects of them all and slotted into their family as if she'd been born to do so.

A decade later, they spent Jethro's birthday as a family. On the island they married, just Jenny, Jethro and a now nearly 21 year old Lucy. She went flirting whilst Jethro glared daggers into every lad and Jenny attempted to calm him down. It was perfect, just like every birthday for the last ten years had been perfect. That night, a simple continuation of tradition sparked something that transformed both of their lives, something that both were ever so glad had happened – a birthday transformation of events.

Hope you enjoy,

Please review!

xxx