That Friday Night

by FircatintheShadows

Gibbs, Jenny's ex-boyfriend, Jenny. NCIS Squadroom. One Friday confrontation. Oneshot.

Hello, there! It's me again! Yes, I am still alive. I am sorry that I haven't updated in a long while but life has managed to get so much more hectic and therefore get in the way. But do not worry, I plan on finishing my multi-chapter.

But enough about that because today is not about me.

Today is my good friend Tamya's birthday!

Happy birthday Tamya! I want to wish you the most magnificent birthday and as a gift I wrote this oneshot for you. I am so very sorry that this so…well, not as good as I'd like. I am not the best writer and I wish I could've done better but I wanted to make you something so here it is. I really do hope you enjoy it at the very least. Most of all I hope you have the happiest birthday!

-NCIS-

It was the worst week she had ever experienced as the Director of NCIS.

Hands down. Controversial cases, media nightmares, budget reports, headaches and sleepless nights in MTAC, not a single thing has got anything compared to the week she has had.

The worst week ever. All because of one man and that man was none other than Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the person who causes her to suffer both professionally and personally. A feat which no one else can claim title to.

But to give him credit, this time he wasn't the sole reason of her pain.

He was more like the magnet that attracted the disorder. It was actually the combination of two very heartbroken people, a tense personal situation and the bullpen that gave this week the record of "worst week ever".

The week started normally, with no impending sense of doom, she was doing her job of directing NCIS while Gibbs' team were doing their usual job of trying to solve a case and at the same time completely ignoring her and continuing their hatred of her.

It would have been a normal week but then there was the case, oh, that damn case.

As usual someone died, this time it was a US Marine who had been killed because of his fiancée's ex-boyfriend going mad and claiming her as his and killing him because he wanted to be with her. It was quite the sad case. She felt she would have sympathized more if it wasn't for the fact that the Marine's best friend/best man just happened to be Jenny's ex-boyfriend.

The ex-boyfriend she had before she had met Gibbs, before she even applied to NCIS.

Eric Rogers, the son of very prominent businessman but unlike those other poster boy spoiled rich kids that Jenny had dated once or twice, he was…well, nothing like them. He was smart, motivated, charming and Jenny fell.

He was the first guy Jenny dated that she had actually considered marrying. Who wouldn't though? He was perfect. But before any of that marriage stuff happened, her father died and perfect wasn't what she needed.

And so, she made a choice.

Facing him wasn't easy but she managed to do it. When she had explained to him why she was breaking up their relationship he protested a little but he eventually understood and they left in good terms.

Or so she thought.

It lasted three months or so before he went crazy. As in cuckoo crazy, as in the kind of crazy that made Joker look normal. Okay, maybe not that crazy but crazy enough that Jenny was glad she had gun she could use.

She soon realized that he wasn't the man she had fallen for as soon as she heard from common friends and tabloids about what he was currently doing.

He abandoned his father's business, choosing instead to go around and be the spoiled rich brat that he tried so hard not to be. He stopped finishing his Masters' and replaced it with being the guy in the party that everyone wanted to be with. The guy Jenny saw as perfect completely disappeared. It turned out Jenny had broken him.

And she felt bad, of course she did, he went insane because of her and she did love him. Although, as much as she loved him and as much as she wanted to help him, she had her priorities and he wasn't that and so she left him alone. If wanted to live his life out as a drunk, rich, playboy then he should. That was his life now and Jenny wanted to start hers.

After a few more months of partying around and making up for all the time he hadn't been "having fun", he began to feel somewhat unaccomplished and he started stalking Jenny.

He started calling her incessantly, which she answered a few times out of curiosity just to hear him babble on how she had broke his heart and how he needed her and how he wouldn't stop until they were together and all those other stuff Jenny had no time to entertain. He kept sending her gifts, kept dropping by at her house, trying to "accidently" bump into her.

To be honest, at some point Jenny got scared. But she didn't know what to do. There was no reasoning with this man, she had no idea who he had become anymore and it wasn't like she had anyone to go to. She was stuck and she was trying to force herself to go on and try to forget being scared. It was harder than Jenny thought.

Thankfully however, Noemi got ahead of her.

Noemi had called her father's Army Buddies and they came in one weekend and straightened him out. Jenny hadn't heard from him since. Well, not until now at least.

His presence was enough to have Jenny avoid the case like it was wildfire or how she usually avoids personal stuff. But the Marine was well-respected and had enough influence that SecNav wanted her to personally be involved in the case.

That order was enough to make Jenny consider quitting or at least calling in with a very infectious sickness.

Even though she felt that way, she still obeyed orders because well, she has to. As she walked back to her office grumpily cursing Gibbs' Rule #39 because coincidences do exist and if that wasn't what this was, then whoever thought this would be a funny joke would have a private demonstration of her skill in torture.

Because another bout of bad luck came her way when she tried to exclude her former boyfriend from being too involved in the case which apparently cannot be done due to the fact that he was the lead witness seeing that he found the body and that was not even counting the fact that he was also the best friend and the reasons for him to stay were stacking up on top of the other and so Jenny found herself pounding her head at her desk repeating the sentence "Why? Why? Of all the agencies, of all the best friends, of all the times….."

She stopped eventually feeling that it wasn't going to help the headache she already had. She sat for a minute in her chair, thinking, trying to make sense of the situation and to pound it into her consciousness so she would be able to act accordingly.

This did not help her headache at all. A groan escaped her throat as she tried to get comfortable in her supposedly cozy chair. This was the last thing she needed.

Jethro wasn't making it any easier either. He was enjoying this too much. Inviting her downstairs when Eric was there, asking her to look at evidence just to get a reaction from her, this time he was more than happy to obey SecNav's orders to heavily involve her.

It was times like these that Jenny was sure that Gibbs was intentionally making her life harder. And of course, how could she forget the team, who also are having a grand time trying to make her suffer as much as they can while Eric is here.

Although, nowadays Jethro was doing it more out of spite of what happened with the botched op than the Paris…thing.

And Jenny wasn't sure how she felt about that. On one hand, they might be able to finally be friends and look at each other without having to rely solely on the memories of the Probie Days. On the other, their relationship might even been worse now that he had combined the anger he held when she left in Paris with the anger he had for La Grenouille. It's a complicated situation.

Whenever she looks at him this time though, she sees the old Jethro, who did these things because he always liked her riled up. It made her smile. After all, he wasn't the only one who missed the old personalities that existed in Paris. The bliss, however, only lasted until she remembered Eric's presence.

For the first time, she wasn't worried about Jethro in this situation. She knew him better than anyone and she was prepared for his reaction in any situation.

Eric, on the other hand, is the one she doesn't know anymore and if history has taught her anything is that some things never change. He was actually a real catch before he went crazy, even though he was very…protective. Which was why Jenny was hoping that he didn't know about her and Gibbs.

Even though everyone has said that he has changed and he wasn't the insane stalker anymore, Jenny was just being careful, after all it is not every day that you see an ex-girlfriend who broke up with you so that she can start a career that will eventually avenge her dead father only to find out that she fell deeply in love with another guy and was more than willing to give up the plans she had and the reason why she broke up with you and said that she couldn't be with anybody because of which in the first place.

If there is anything Eric has always been is that he never liked knowing that there might be someone better than him.

All the while that he has been here though, he has been normal, more like the man she used to know. Which was a relief for Jenny but she is also making sure that she doesn't let her guard down after all, there is no way she is going to risk a breakdown in front of the entire agency.

Luckily, this time she knew that Jethro was on her side, seeing as he hates making scenes and he read Eric's file. Hopefully, knowing the things he does about him, he wouldn't do anything to ignite anything in Eric. Jenny was fairly confident, one of the advantages of having Jethro hate her is that he avoids admitting that he knows anything about her.

It hurt her a bit when he first started doing it but now it seems like the perfect thing to happen.

Jenny sighed. Why is it that her personal life somehow always finds a way to her professional life? Or was this really just karma for all the crap she had done with damned op? Because if so, isn't losing her best friend, her partner enough of a punishment for her?

Another sigh.

'If this is what karma feels like, headaches, heartaches, backaches and then I'll never do anything against anyone ever again.' She tried to relax in her fancy leather chair but it was no use, the thoughts of her impending personal doom was too much for her mind.

But she kept trying though. Her eyes closed tight, her body reclined in such a way that made it look like she was slacking off.

She tried to think of anything else that doesn't involve NCIS and after a few minutes of a blank mind she reprimanded herself for having no life outside of the agency. A few deep breaths later she found herself drifting off and she let out a relaxed sigh that she was holding.

It wasn't often anymore that she had times like this, peacefully drifting off; she had just been too caught up with work. Or at least overworking herself.

She pushed those thoughts away, these moments of relaxation were already getting more far apart from each other already, she did not want to ruin the moment again by thinking about work.

The thought came too late however, the intercom buzzed loudly, startling Jenny out of her moment. Shaking the memory of comfort from her mind, she pressed the button for the com.

"Yes, Cynthia?" She asked with the most professional voice she can muster, hiding the slight annoyance from her voice.

'The world better have reached peace.' Jenny thought as she waited for the answer.

"Sorry for the disturbance, Director. I just thought you had wanted to know that Agent Gibbs' team has officially closed their current case." You can hear the smile through Cynthia's voice. She had known how much this case was bothering her boss and why, well the entire agency knew why, but she was just glad to be able to give her good news and for that stupid pool to close.

In the Director's office, Jenny was frozen. Millions of thoughts running through her head but she was pulled from her reverie when Cynthia called her name through the com. She thanked her lovely secretary and she stood up …..

….And started cheering like crazy.

Cynthia jumped at her seat when she heard the shout of delight coming from the Director's office. Realizing that this may have meant more to the Director than she had expected. She didn't mind though and after a few moments of shaking her head and smiling so big, she went back to her work in such a bubbly way that it would make Ms. Scuito proud.

Inside the Director's office, Jenny was dancing around the room like she had won the lottery or at least getting what she wanted, which in this case was never seeing Mr. Eric Rogers again.

To others, she may have looked like a crazy person pretending to be the Director of an armed federal agency, but she didn't care. Because one, there were no cameras in the office to prove anything and second, she knew that those same people would be happy as her if they had gotten something as huge as having to make sure to not make a scene with a lunatic out of their shoulders.

Jenny was dancing her way to her chair and when she arrived, she fell into the chair, slumping down and sighing contently. She had forgotten how good being relieved feels and she was planning to soak in as much as she can before something happens again.

-NCIS-

NCIS Squadroom

"Can't believe the case is already over." Tony said disappointed, although he was wearing a huge smile.

McGee and Ziva stopped in their tracks and turned to look at Tony. They understand the fact that he tends to joke around as a coping mechanism, but this sounded too insensitive, even for Tony.

The case had been hard to deal with, it was tragic. Their victim had been killed brutally, a month before his wedding. It turns out the only thing that the Marine did wrong was falling deeply in love with his fiancée who had a psychotic ex-boyfriend.

Add in the fact that the Director's ex-boyfriend had been their star witness….the case was a mess.

Not a big enough mess apparently, the entire agency had practically stopped their lives to simply watch how their case goes. It was unnerving to see so much people so engrossed in case that they would usually avoid.

Now that McGee and Ziva had thought about it though, it might have been the fact that people stopped listening as soon as you said "Director's ex-boyfriend" that created the mass insensitivity which bore the "how-long-until-a-confrontation-happens" pool.

It was highly inappropriate and very disrespectful, at some point someone had put a security camera at one of the slabs in autopsy when they heard that Gibbs and the Director were going down, but there was no stopping it. It just kept going on and on and practically everyone in the agency joined in the sacrilege that is the pool.

The entire team all had 50 dollars each in the pool.

In their defense, they were pretty confident that they would actually get a confrontation, I mean, they always get something. They were never lucky when it came to avoiding drama, everything that could happen will happen when it came to them so how could have they known that this would be the exception?

They were still shocked that nothing happened. For crying out loud, it was a gold mine! It was supposed to be easy money for everyone. But it seems like fate was against them.

There were so many moments that were perfect for confrontations, so perfect that when they happened, the team just stood aside and waited and eventually got disappointed. I mean, you'd think that with the amount of time the Director was forced to spend on this case and the fact that Gibbs was clearly in an inviting mood that something would arise from the combination of everything.

But nope, nothing happened. Now, the case is over and the entire agency is left disheartened, except for those who said that there would no confrontation. Like Cynthia.

It still surprised them. The Director was more involved in the case than the others and so was her ex-boyfriend, they were both running errands around the building at the same time and they never crossed paths. It had people all around the Navy Yard slapping their heads and slamming them into the wall saying, "What are the odds?" Fate was in the Director's side this week.

Which was probably why this case was easy to solve. It took them two days to go through the standard procedures and the usual suspects and three days to find the disgruntled ex-SEAL, ex-boyfriend who killed the decorated Marine. After they had took him out of his vacation house, which wasn't even a hiding place because he went there every week to go fishing or something, he confessed and with that the case was over.

Man, it was quite the week though. One for the books. Although, the team still believes that it would have been loads better if there was some confrontation, even if they just said "Hi", as long as there was something.

Anything.

The agents just wanted to let loose for a while and the Director's personal life seemed to be the thing that provided that, especially since Agent Gibbs was involved.

The agents in Gibbs' team were different. Especially DiNozzo.

Tony DiNozzo was still heartbroken. This was a way to release some of the ill feelings he and the rest of the team had accumulated against the Director.

Which was probably why the two probationary agents gave him a lot of leeway regarding this. Even though they were craving for the same thing he was, seeing sparks fly between the exes, but there was a line and they were starting to feel that he would cross it any minute now.

"Tony…."McGee started as his fingers dropped dead at the keyboard. Tony interrupted him as he straightened up in his chair, raising his hand to stop him.

"I know, I know. Highly insensitive. But you have to give me a break. All I am saying that winning the pool would have made this week a lot better. "He picked out a few files from the side of his desk and started flipping through them. "Just so I can feel like I haven't lost anything."

Ziva and McGee looked up again at this. Tony looked tired and beat up and he felt like it. From their perspective he didn't have the usual charm and charisma of the Special Agent they knew, he just looked, well, let us just say that it was making them want to give him the money themselves so he could at least have enough in him to fake some happiness.

At this point, McGee had decided to look away. He had been on the worst side of Anthony DiNozzo Jr. and he had been through a lot because of Tony but he just couldn't stand seeing him so vulnerable. He just couldn't.

Ziva could. Unlike McGee, she had guts. She didn't have the guts to speak to him like she usually would in situations like these but she the guts to show some emotion.

Because this team needed at least one person who could show emotion intentionally.

She looked at him with such a pained look, it wasn't necessarily pity but she was sad for him, and she couldn't help it. She was there with him when he found out that he had been left behind. She felt his incredible pain, she had no idea how but she did and man, did she hate feeling it.

Her current musings where interrupted when the elevator dinged and the noise in the bullpen dropped until all that was heard were the telephones ringing and the sound of the air conditioning.

Alarmed, the team immediately looked to see who or what had caused the sudden silence. They let out a breath when they realized that it was only Gibbs, sipping as from his usual coffee cup, the team soon noticed that that was not all he was doing. He was reading out of a card.

They soon found themselves stunned into silence because of the mystery of the card. It could be the something dramatic they have been waiting for all week.

When Gibbs turned the corner where their desk where located, they stood up simultaneously and stretched their neck to try and take a peek at the card, with no success. As Gibbs took off his jacket, they all exchanged glances and grunts to convey some sort of messages and when they were done they slowly headed towards the boss's desk.

Knowing what they wanted, Gibbs put up the card he was reading and stated simply after a sip of coffee, "Thank you note from the widow.".

Tony raised his eyebrows and said curiously, "She didn't come in and thank you personally, Boss?"

For the –umpteenth time this week his colleagues' eyes went wide. Apparently, having his heart broken gave DiNozzo a lot of guts.

Gibbs merely shrugged it off, paying more attention to the work he had on his desk than on the situation, "Couldn't. Too much emotions she was sure she couldn't handle. Afraid she wouldn't have gotten anything done. Would've if she could've." He raised the note again as he glared at the three of them, "All in the note."

Tony let out a "Huh" while McGee and Ziva simply nodded vigorously and they all headed back to their desks as Gibbs put the note down somewhere in his drawers and then he started up his work again.

The entire bullpen settled back into their jobs, content now the pool has closed and there was nothing to look out for now that the case is over and they started moving on to the next thing that might catch their attention.

And that was the end of it.

Until a couple of minutes later, a man properly groomed and dressed to his nines entered the bullpen with the ding of the elevator.

He entered gracefully and his entrance made everyone in the squadroom stop in their tracks, look up and pay attention again.

Eric Rogers was back.

He walked slowly but confidently through the bullpen with a grin plastered in his face. As he neared the corner where Gibbs's desk was located, he stopped to greet the gawking agents with a nod as well as announce his presence to the most Senior Agent who was engulfed by the paperwork.

His voice had echoed through the room and Gibbs took off his glasses. To say Gibbs was shocked at Mr. Roger's presence was belittling how much he hated the queasy feeling that now settled on his stomach.

Gibbs groaned internally, he didn't want to deal with this anymore, he thought he didn't have to anymore. The damn case was already over, what the hell was this guy still doing here! He already went through hell this week to make sure this guy didn't go ballistics and he was already tired.

Taking a subtle deep breath, calming himself down and moving those thoughts away for now, Gibbs sent a grin and nod of acknowledgement to the unexpected visitor. And Eric started walking towards him.

The only thing Gibbs was hoping was that Mr. Rogers wouldn't feel the need to make a scene. That was the last thing he needed. Yes, Gibbs had been teasing Jenny all week about this but that doesn't mean he wants anything to happen, it was quite the opposite. This was his nightmare.

But he was getting ahead of himself.

Mr. Rogers was probably just here to thank him for catching his best friend's killer and nothing more. He repeated the thought in his head to comfort himself.

'We'll know soon enough.' Gibbs thought. He felt he was squirming in his seat as he watched and waited the man of the hour to get whatever he needed to do over with. 'What is taking him so long to walk?'

By this time the entire squadroom had silenced, everyone watching eagerly at the two.

At the catwalk, the sudden opening of a door startled those who were within an earshot, someone shushed Jenny and this shocked her and made her lower her head as she wondered what got them into such a mood.

Quietly, she closed her door and walked cautiously through the band of people gathered at the railing. She stopped in the middle of a group of people who looked as if they were afraid to blink, she peeked at what they were looking at and she saw the two people she did not want in the same room together stand within a few feet of each other.

With that, Jenny's mood was back in the dumps. An internal alarm was going off inside her head but she could not move. She was frozen. So she simply stared.

Meanwhile in the bullpen, Eric Rogers was finally face-to-face with Gibbs, his face was mimicking Tony's signature smile. Gibbs bolted out of his chair and greeted Eric with a shake of the hand, still looking cautiously, and he asked Mr. Rogers what he needed. The entire room held their breath.

"Agent Gibbs, I am sorry for dropping by so suddenly. I just wanted to thank you personally. You don't know how much what you did for me. I honestly can't thank you enough, Agent Gibbs." Gibbs kept nodding, hoping that was all that needed to be said.

Eric raised his hand while the other stuck firmly in his pocket, for a moment he seemed to be lost in his emotions but overcame it as soon as they came, he stretched his hands to Gibbs. Who in turn, accepted it wholeheartedly, seeing it as the end of his torment.

"So, thank you." Eric smirked at Gibbs, the emotions seeming to shake him a bit. Gibbs returned the smirk and both shook hands. Mr. Rogers nodded to Gibbs who returned it and then he withdrew his hand and put it in his pocket as he started to head out.

Stumbling a bit, he looked around the bullpen and put his head down in silence as he headed out. Gibbs sat down in his chair, warily watching the other man exit but was at the same time relieved it was over. While the rest of the bullpen released their breath and a bit mad to find themselves disappointed yet again. Jenny, on the other hand, didn't move. She didn't want to in fear that her moving might accidently trigger something.

Seeing Eric leave though made her feel relieved again. It was in this moment that Jenny realized that she was still a bit scared of him, when this realization sank in her eyes immediately went to Gibbs who was still paying very close attention to Eric.

Neither knew that she was here and watching them both intently, she didn't know if she should be relieved because the chances of a dramatic scene happening was small or a bit afraid because Gibbs can't protect her. Shaking her head, Jenny tried to get a grip of her emotions, and she sent a silent prayer that this would be over already.

It seems her prayers were being answered. Eric was already out of the part that held Gibbs's team and was halfway through the elevator.

Everyone was already getting ready to get back to their work after another disappointment and Jenny was already starting to breathe normally as she started to move away from the railings and headed to the staircase. It was over. It was finally over.

"I do hope though, Agent Gibbs, that you will extend my gratitude to your dear Director."Eric suddenly jumps back into Gibbs's line of sight. He subtly emphasizes the word "your". Everyone is shocked by the sudden happenings and are all frozen in place with their eyes wide open and also why Gibbs's filter has gone away.

"Why don't you tell her yourself Mr. Rogers. I am sure she'll have time for you." Jenny cowers back into the crowd, hoping neither sees her. At this retort Mr. Rogers smirks and starts to head back to Gibbs' desk and Gibbs takes his hands off of his desk, readying himself for whatever might come.

"Oh, I wish I could. But she's somehow found a way to avoid me."Eric stood there, smirk still firmly in place on his face and accusation clear in his voice, Gibbs clenched his fists. This man was testing his patience.

"Are you implying something Mr. Rogers?" Gibbs was pulling every piece of control he had. At this moment, Abby, Palmer, Ducky and a handful of other agents rush into the bullpen and stood near the elevator, watching the scene closely.

Eric clenched his teeth for a quick moment, smile still in place. Gibbs wanted to stop this right now, but somehow his instincts were going haywire, he had enough of this guy and now he could do something about it.

Tilting his head, Eric looked at Agent Gibbs intently. To a normal viewer, his gaze would seem non-threatening, almost like he was just caught in a misunderstanding, but Gibbs knew better.

Eric was preparing for battle.

"Implying? I'm not implying anything. It's more like…saying." He was now walking closer to Gibbs, who was at the edge and just waiting for the push. When he finally was in front of Gibbs desk a silence fell.

"What is your relationship with Jenny?"

His eyes had an inquisitive gaze but if you looked close enough you could see the jealously deep in his eyes. He knew.

He had heard…things about the two and he didn't like it one bit. When the news that Jenny had gotten engaged had come to him around 8 years ago, he had fallen apart and he wanted to find her and win her back. But of course, thing didn't go as he had planned and next thing he knew she was the Director of NCIS.

When he heard that she was coming back to DC, single, he found himself…getting his life back together.

Two years later, here he was, so close. If only he could find a way to get Agent Gibbs out of the competition. If someone had told him that they were working so…intimately, then he probably would've reacted differently.

And maybe, if someone had told him that Agent Gibbs still had feelings for Jenny…it would've been different.

But no, he had found out for himself. And now he has to figure out for himself how this would end. He respected Agent Gibbs, the man was a stellar Agent and if it would've been any other woman then he wouldn't react this way.

But it was Jenny. Jenny…the love of his life, he would do anything for her. All he wanted was the chance to do that. To have another chance to be with her, to love her.

His heart was breaking now because he couldn't believe that there was actually someone in this world who might love her just as much and even more than he does. The man currently in front of him. Agent Gibbs might have looked like he hated the Director as the rest of the agency thinks but he saw the look he had. He knew that look.

Slowly but abruptly, Gibbs rose from his seat, the sudden movement made everyone jump and Eric took an unconscious step backwards. "My relationship with her is none of your business."

"Like La Grenouille was none of yours."

Shots fired.

At the sound of that name, the entire squadroom perked up. They all knew how tense the team's relationship with the Director became because of that man. And they also knew how Gibbs was pissed off at being kept of the loop. It seems like Eric also knew that.

After all, it was starting to look like he was there when it happened. This was making everyone more interested than before.

Gibbs clenched all over. The willpower he had to keep himself from punching Eric's smirking little face was disappearing. He tried to steady his voice as much as he could, as well as take a few breaths so he wouldn't fully lose control. Yet.

"Eric, back off right now before…."Gibbs started but was quickly interrupted by the equally hot-headed Eric.

"Before what? Huh?" Eyes all around the room were getting bigger and bigger as this went on. Nobody, nobody, challenges Gibbs. "Before you do to me what you did to Jenny? Get mad and walk away? Ruin my life and that jazz? Well, guess what Gibbs. I am not afraid of you. And I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Jenny."

At this, Gibbs scoffed. He flung his arms in the air and with an exasperated voice asked "Did what?"

"Don't pretend that you're some sort of innocent Gibbs. You hide your secrets from her. She helps you out and doesn't give you crap about it. She hides a secret that has been eating her away and you make it worse." When he took a breath, Gibbs decided it was time to cut in.

"That was different. My secret didn't put innocent lives in danger and broke people's hearts."

"Well, except hers."

Gibbs froze.

Jaws started dropping around the room while Gibbs was stuck speechless and wearing an expression that no one expected to see on him, he looked…well, he looked like he didn't know what to do anymore. He looked like he was caught.

He was trying to avoid Eric's eyes while at the same time trying to gather his thoughts.

This wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to get this personal, it wasn't supposed to be this hard. He was supposed to be the one in the right here, he was supposed to be winning this fight! How come Jenny's psycho ex-boyfriend was making him feel so lost and guilty? How could he, the stalker, have more reason to be with Jenny that him. How could he…..

Gibbs stopped his train of thought. Eric hasn't won yet.

For a moment, they both stopped. They stared at each other with different expressions, but neither had any intentions to stop, just the opposite. They were just getting started.

The huge crowd didn't bother them either, in fact, they didn't even see them. It was just the two of them and the huge hurt they had in between them. And the woman who had both their hearts was still watching intently holding her breath in disbelief. She still couldn't believe this was actually happening.

"Why do you care?" Gibbs' voice though quiet was heard in the entire bullpen. His voice was laced with emotion that he was trying to hide. Although any other person wouldn't hear it, Jenny could. She knew him so well that she could hear that emotion even if she was oceans away, in other situations it would sometimes comfort to know that but and right now all it was doing was breaking her heart.

The smirk from Eric's face disappeared. He looked at Gibbs straight in the eye and said in an equally silent but emotional voice, "The reason same you do."

Another Gibbs stare.

He would not believe that this man would know a single thing about what he felt. But Eric straightened up and a thought entered Gibbs' mind in Eric's voice and he could hear loud and clear what the man said.

'Because I love her'

Silence.

Eric finally broke eye contact with Gibbs, but not with defeat, his head bowed down with all the emotion that was visible in his eyes.

"You think just because you gave her a ring that it means that you deserve her? I may have been a bit crazy at her but I never made her feel like I didn't love her. Like she didn't matter. I never…." This time he didn't feel the need to hide his emotions, Gibbs needed to see and he did, the emotion Eric showed hit Gibbs like a ton of bricks and he would've fallen down to his seat because of the intensity of it but instead he lost his breath and stumbled to keep his balance.

"I never did what you did."

Gibbs eyes flared.

"Maybe I wasn't so obvious with what I felt about her, but she knew…." Eric interrupted before Gibbs could start.

"Did she?" Eric dared him again. Gibbs opened his mouth to speak but Eric cut ahead before he could. "Really? Are you 100% confident that if I asked her that she would answer what you're expecting her to?"

Again, he felt cornered, and the gears in his head started turning to try and find an escape. Because Eric was right. He wasn't sure. Jenny wouldn't, no, she would. She knew him and would have known how he felt…right?

Doubt started rising in Gibbs' mind and Eric knew it. Gibbs' nose flared, he wasn't done yet.

"You don't deserve her either."

It was Eric's turn this time to flare up. Gibbs straightened up, it was his turn to fight back.

"You think just because you have a fancy argument that you've won? You may talk fancy, and in your head you may think that stalking her and scaring is some show of love, but let me be the one to burst your bubble by saying it's not. She never felt safe with you. You wonder why she's avoiding you? With what you've done? You're lucky she didn't hide in bunker to stay away from you. So, maybe before you go on thinking and doing crazy things, you should take a good look at yourself and see what she does. I never told her to stay away from you, she made choice all by herself."

Everyone was awestruck by the punches Gibbs threw, well, everyone except Eric who kept an angry face on him. In any other situation he felt that he would have threw a real punch right now, but this wasn't any other situation.

So, Eric clenched his fists, his nails digging into his skin and he smirked.

"You're right. You're just perfect. And I'm this mess she could never possibly love again because why would she when she has someone like you, right?" Everyone was looking at him curiously now, seeing as they had no idea where he was going with this. Gibbs however looked at him cautiously he had a strong feeling that this was a trap.

Eric leaned in closer. "Then why isn't she with you?"

Suddenly, flashes of Paris and the eventual "Dear John" passed through his mind and he swallowed. Gibbs looked at Eric straight in the eye with the heartbroken look that those memories always brings him. When Eric saw the look in the eyes, he felt that he remembered himself and realized that he had gotten too far.

With a voice laced with heartbreak, Gibbs said with hoarse voice. "You know why."

Feeling chastised, Eric put his head down. But the damage was done and Gibbs was suddenly fueled by the bitterness that came along with the heartache.

"Or did you forget? Do you want to remind you? How she left? How she never even said goodbye? How she left the ring in an envelope for me to find? Do you want me to tell you that she left me because of that damn arms dealer? Do you want me to tell you that she left me because she thought I wouldn't help her because you never did? You wanna know why she isn't with me, huh, is that it? Well, let me spell it out for you Rogers, La Grenouille. You knew she was having problems with him and you didn't help her, you just expected her to move on and now she thinks every guy is that way. So, she runs. And she ran from me."

"And you never ran after her. I'm not the only one with fancy talk Gibbs. You say you love her so much and yet you never ran after her, you just let her walk away. Yes, she said goodbye but that doesn't mean it was over. If she loved you so much maybe she didn't really mean it, maybe she was expecting you to run after her. She may have ran Gibbs but you didn't have to stay away." Gibbs hands were slowly closing into a fist. Eric raised his finger and pointed at Gibbs, and the next words he said hit Gibbs like a knockout punch.

"You never fought for her because you never really loved her."

The jaws dropped once more, and everyone in the room gasped, to them this was way better than a soap opera. In their heads the next thing they thought was going to happen, judging by the angry look on Gibbs' face, was a actual fight. In a split second before throwing a punch though, the loud noise of the door to the Director's office opening and an oblivious Cynthia calling out for the Director.

Then, everyone suddenly noticed the Director, everyone including the two they were previously focusing their attention on. The realization that she and the entire NCIS had saw the entire argument sank on both Gibbs and Rogers and they were suddenly numb. The entire bullpen was at a standstill as the situation started sinking in at them.

Cynthia on the other hand still had no idea what was happening and simply went and informed the Director that she was needed in MTAC.

Jenny, who now had the full attention of everyone, simply nodded as she locked eyes with her ex-boyfriends with a look that she knew they could decipher before heading quickly to MTAC, looking embarrassingly around her as she passed.

As soon as the doors of MTAC locked, the agents had gotten their bearings back. Several agents looked at the Team with wide-eyed smiles on their faces; the Team however did not share the sentiment.

Their eyes were stuck on Gibbs and Rogers who were staring at the MTAC with troubled faces, the last couple minutes finally sank into them and they knew they were in big trouble. They needed to remedy this fast while their minds were thinking of a solution the Team were looking out into space.

This entire confrontation had not turned out the way they had wanted to, or at least, not the way Tony had expected to. He had thought they would just get into a little disagreement, maybe a little yelling, he didn't expect….he didn't know how much hurt there was. How much La Grenouille ruined their lives. Jenny was right about him. Maybe she did know more about his feelings that he had originally thought.

Although Ziva had known more about Jenny and Gibbs' relationship, she was still just as surprised as the rest of them. It was true that Jenny had shared some personal details about their….partnership but none so intimate as the one Gibbs had revealed.

Guilt started making itself known to Ziva, she didn't help Jenny, she could've helped her with La Grenouille when she saw how it was consuming her. There was so much she could've done that could've prevented all this.

Could've. Should've. Didn't.

Ziva sighed. She looked at the grief-stricken faces of Gibbs and Eric, their conversation was very enlightening, not just because of the things they had revealed which certainly made many things clearer for everyone but because they started to understand their fearless Director.

They started to see that maybe she wasn't completely an ice cold bitch, that she may have been someone else. Who knows. The agents in the squadroom were still holding out the hope that someday they would be able to uncover the highly eventful and colorful life that the Director and Agent Gibbs had lived.

Ziva shook her head out of her thoughts. There was nothing any of them can do now.

After a few more moments, Gibbs finally shook out of his shock and he started heading out of his desk, walking past Eric.

"Someone please escort Mr. Rogers out." Gibbs gave him an evil glare. This was his fault. He was sure that if Eric wouldn't leave any time soon that he would get really hurt. Tony and McGee moved immediately as Gibbs started for the stairs.

"Gibbs." Eric called one last time. Gibbs stopped and stared at him. "Tell her I'm sorry." Gibbs softened his gaze and he nodded walking away again.

"Help her, Gibbs." Eric said as he headed out. Gibbs was taking the steps two at a time and ignored the gazes that were given to him, he didn't give a damn about what they thought or what the eventual whispers would say. Right now all that mattered to him was Jenny.

When he reached the top of the staircase, the people parted like the Red Sea and stepped aside to make a way for him and looked at him in anticipation as he positioned his eye to the scanner.

Gibbs tried to calm himself down as the infrared light pierced through his iris, millions of situations went through his head, some of them good and others not so good but not a single one of them helped Gibbs to figure out what he was going to do once he got in.

Help her. Eric said. Like that was so easy. Jenny never asked for any help before because she never wanted it. She wanted to prove that she could be independent, that she didn't need Daddy's help or anyone else's. It was one of the things he liked about her as a field agent. Now that he thought about it though, it was also one of the things she had in common with Eric. The need to prove to everyone that she wasn't just a rich pretty face.

His musings were interrupted as the retinal scan finished and he lifted his head to prepare for entry. His hand was on the door knob when he heard a loud BEEP and a red light flashing in the scanner. He was denied entry.

The people who saw gasped their breath. Gibbs stared at the door and scanner with a shocked look on his face. 'It couldn't be. She couldn't have…'Gibbs thought helplessly.

With a hand still on the knob, Gibbs tried again, hoping that he had just placed his head wrong or something. But the beep and the red light appeared again. So he tried again. And again. And again. And again.

The red light and the beep still appeared.

Frustrated, Gibbs slammed his hand between the scanner and the door. Agents near him started going away one by one, not wanting to be the victim of Gibbs' anger. His team however was looking from him to each other with sad faces. This was not a good day.

Gibbs punched at the wall a couple more times before slumping down at the door in defeat. The entire catwalk was vacated and the squadroom had gone back to its normal tune of telephone rings and chatter. Ducky, Abby and Jimmy had gone back to their respective floors and the team had gone back to their paperwork. No one wanted to see Gibbs like this.

He sighed sadly. He covered his face with his hands. There was a heavy weight in his chest and it was making him want to scream or cry or something. To say he was overwhelmed was an understatement. He was….mad.

Mad that he lost control and revealed some very personal details in front of everyone. Mad that Eric had made sense. Why wasn't he himself? When he thought back to the moment all he could remember was how blinded he was by everything Eric was saying. He honestly lost it. It doesn't make sense. He didn't know how….it just happened. He couldn't understand it. Why couldn't he get himself back together then? Why didn't he stop? Why didn't he notice everyone? Why doesn't any of this make sense? Why?

Why didn't he run after Jenny?

Eric was wrong. He loved Jenny. The only reason he didn't run after her was….

Gibbs leaned his head at the door, trying to think back to that time and make sense of this but found himself at a loss. He didn't remember why. He didn't come after her because well, he just didn't.

He closed his eyes. This was becoming way more than he asked for. When he signed up for NCIS there was nothing about falling in love with his partner and years later have to fight said partner's ex-boyfriend and create a huge mess that was impossible to clean up.

Jenny. The reason for all of this. She always made him think, she always made him feel. He used to love it but now he just hates it. All this "feelings" thing is going to get him into more trouble once the gossip spread.

'I wonder what Jenny thinks about this.' He opened his eyes and took out his phone. He dialed her number and waited. Gibbs wasn't surprised when she didn't answer, still disappointed but not surprised. A heavy sigh escaped him as he put his phone back in his pocket. He looked at the rustle and bustle of the squadroom and realized there was nothing he could do here right now.

If there was one thing he knew about Jenny is that she stood her ground. No matter how flawed it was. If she didn't want to see him, then there was nothing he could do. All he could hope for now was that she knew what she needed to from him, that their mind connection wouldn't falter now.

Gibbs pushed himself of the MTAC doors and headed for the stairs to start his work again but still hoping there was still a chance he could fix this.

-NCIS-

MTAC

She was all alone now.

All the personnel that occupied MTAC had all just left. Leaving Jenny all alone in the cold, dark room that is MTAC.

She sighed, putting her head in her hands. She felt so pathetic and embarrassed right now.

It was so close. So close. The damn case was closed with absolutely no problems and no confrontations, it was all perfect. Then…she wasn't even sure what happened. She remembered her all blood going to her toes, she remembered…she remembered them arguing about her.

Jenny groaned. She didn't even know what to think, they were fighting about her, how was she supposed to feel about that? Was she supposed to be flattered or impressed or something? Because she didn't feel a single one of those things. What did she feel however was, well, she felt guilty.

After all, this was all because of her. For the most of the time she had spent here in MTAC today that, guilt, was all she could think about. If she knew them as well as she thought then they felt just as bad she did and if Jenny hadn't made the choices she did then none of them would be feeling this way.

'But they are Jenny.' She thought sadly and she shook her head. What was she supposed to do? She wasn't even sure what the two of them were fighting about. She has already apologized a million times to the both of them and she didn't know what to do anymore and she was tired of feeling this way.

'Because you're not supposed to do anything anymore Jennifer.' She looked around shocked that she had called herself "Jennifer". But the thought continued. 'It's their turn now. Just let them be.' Jenny paused and thought about what she had just discovered. It did have a point. Jenny leaned in deeper in the chair she currently occupied. There was nothing more she could do, she did everything she could've done and now it was done, now she just had to wait what they were going to do.

Not that she had to wait very long.

Jenny had locked herself at MTAC since Cynthia called her. She made sure that absolutely no one came in or out without making sure Gibbs was out of running distance because she knew that he would want to talk if he managed to come inside MTAC and that was the last thing she wanted.

And so she locked herself inside like a fugitive would in a safe house. That was the pathetic part.

She had been inside her for God-knows how long. Instead of being in her house enjoying a nice, relaxing bath on a Friday, she instead was caged inside a mini-theater avoiding her ex-boyfriends while her other employees get to go around and enjoy their Friday night while gossiping about everything that has happened here today.

'Isn't life grand?' Jenny thought to herself sarcastically. There wasn't even anything she could do in MTAC anymore. After the mission that prompted her to be here in the first place ended, she was just left sitting here, doing nothing. It annoyed her. It continues to.

She would have moved to her office hours ago if it wasn't for the phone calls she was getting from them.

Gibbs was the first one to crack, calling her only a couple minutes after the encounter which surprised her because she was expecting that Eric would be the one who would cave first. But Eric made up by leaving her billions of messages and she listened to the first few but stopped as they progressed.

From all the messages she got from him, she was worried that she would have any more space left in her phone for the important ones. He only stopped calling an hour ago.

Gibbs left a message too. This surprised her as well. Gibbs was never the message type. But he did leave a message and it was short and sweet. He just said that he was going back to his house and apologized or at least tried to. It was all very un-Gibbs, if Jenny didn't value her life she would say that it was awfully sweet.

The threat was already gone but here she was, still sitting in MTAC. She had run out of coffee hours ago, her phone was dying and all she really wanted to do was go back to her house and forget this all happened.

But there was no telling that there wasn't anyone in her house. She felt safer here. Where she could control who came in.

Another groan escaped her throat. She was really starting to hate her taste in men.

A small beep interrupted her reverie. She stood up and headed to where it originated and found that it was a notification that a file transfer that was ongoing with a field office was now completed. She absentmindedly closed it.

When it closed Jenny managed to find out what time it was. Another sigh escaped her, it was already so late, she looked from the clock on the computer and the chair she previously occupied and decided that she needed to go. No matter if there was a crazy ex-boyfriend waiting for her somewhere.

Typing a few commands into the computer to change the security settings to what it was before, she went out and headed to her office. When she exited MTAC, she looked around and saw that absolutely no one was there anymore, not even the night crew.

She sighed for the –umpteenth time that day and she closed the door to her office, fully intending to grab a couple glasses of Bourbon. Finding that she none anymore from drinking it all up this past week, she packed up her things and headed for the bar, there was no way she was ending this night sober.

-NCIS-

Tonight was supposed to be a fun and happy night for Jenny Shepard, considering the fact that she was celebrating the closing of a very personal case on such a mess-free note but no, something had to have gone wrong and it just had to happen in such a grandiose way.

That damn, cursed, last minute ego boost or confrontation or whatever it was for them is currently the reason why Jenny is sitting in a beat-up barstool under darkened fluorescent lights drinking what it seems to be her 20th glass of Bourbon.

Just as she downed another drink and signaled a very worried bartender for another drink, the very upbeat, beautiful first few notes of "As Time Goes By" started playing.

Her eyes went wide as the bartender handed her new drink. Jenny almost dropped her head into the counter as the memories started and synchronized itself with the music. Instead she settled for holding her drink tightly before drinking it all up. Rolling his eyes, the bartender refilled it automatically, whilst trying not to disturb Jenny.

'Of course it would play.' Jenny thoughtsnidely. A tight smirk emerged on her face. 'Someone up there must really hate me.' The thought continued.

After all what are the chances that the exact song that reminded her of the two ex-boyfriends she was trying really, really hard to forget right now would play? She shook her head angrily. Eric was the one she watched this movie with first but it was with Jethro that it came to life, bitter laugh escaped her throat as she remembered those happy times she had with them and thought sadly of how small the world is that these impossible coincidences happen.

'This is the worst day ever.' She rubbed her head to calm the headache that she felt was about to start. 'Well, maybe not the worst…' Flashes of her Father's death, 9/11, La Grenouille and more came to her mind. '…but close.' A sigh.

That sigh however was quickly replaced by a genuine laugh when Jenny realized that back in her Probie days after a really hard day at work how he used to bring her here.

He used to tell her that this bar was not an ordinary bar because this was the place where they honored the agents that had sacrificed their lives to save others and that the people who came here were not allowed to be sad, the people who came here were supposed to honor those agents by forgetting whatever wrong thing happened and just live life, let go and be happy. He said that whoever didn't do it was dishonoring those who gave their lives to make this world better and they would get a pretty bad curse.

Gibbs said it in such a straight face that Jenny believed every word he said. She was such a probie then, believing everything her boss said and doing everything to make him notice her. Such a probie.

Jenny smiled as she recalled the memory. Those were some of the best nights she had ever had.

A bell pulled Jenny from her memories and she looked at the direction of the door where the bell resided. The smile immediately disappeared as she saw who it was. She straightened up as Eric made his way through the crowd to her.

He stayed behind Jenny looking at her guiltily. She took another drink and tried not to acknowledge his presence. But he took a deep breath, he didn't come all this way just to stare at her.

"Jenny…" Eric started, moving to her side so he could be in her line of vision, Jenny turned her head away.

"Go away, Eric. I don't want to talk to you." This hurt Eric. But he wasn't stopping, after all the damage was already done. He moved closer.

"Jenny, please."

"No." Jenny said forcefully. Eric however has already lost his patience and took hold Jenny's shoulder and turned her towards him, this shocks Jenny and she holds the bar table tighter.

"Please." This was his last chance. And Jenny looked into his eyes and saw the earnest sincerity in them, she loosened her grip on the table and nodded to him. He sighed in relief and let go of her shoulder and sat down on an empty barstool next to her.

He took a moment to take a deep breath and to gather his thoughts. Jenny on the other hand, studied him, she wasn't exactly sure what to expect or if she should be calling someone right now. She thought for sure that he had said all the things he wanted to in those voicemails but here he is now, in her favorite bar.

And so, like she had decided in MTAC, she was going to let them do whatever it was they were going to do.

"I don't even know where to start." Eric was looking at his hands. Jenny rolled her eyes and a small laugh was heard. Eric looked up at her smiling figure and found himself smiling as well.

"What?" The smile was still on his face. Jenny shrugged his question off and looked at him. But he continued to look at her with question in his eyes.

"I just found it…funny that you probably spent the entire day thinking about this moment and you, the man who deals with media like they were ABCs, still hasn't figured out what to say to an ex-girlfriend."

"Well, to be fair, you are pretty hard to deal with." Jenny nodded her head at that. His smile dimmed. "I'm sorry, Jenny." She looked up at this. She knew that he might apologize and she didn't know why she was caught so off-guard.

"I shouldn't have…." He started his speech but was interrupted when Jenny put her hand on his shoulder.

"No." She said softly. "You did what you felt was right." What was she doing? She didn't even know, she just acted on impulse and it felt odd. It seemed that Eric had the same thoughts because he was looking at her as if she had two heads.

"Jenny. He was right." Eric continued on. He didn't know what she was doing but he needed to do this. Jenny took her hand off his shoulder and settled them on her lap, listening intently.

"You're right. I've thought about this all day and I have realized that he was right. I didn't help you. I should've, I was an idiot to think that everything would be fine after your father died and I was an idiot to think that you would stay." Jenny opened her mouth to say something but before she could, he continued his speech.

"I was a wreck when you left. It was fine the first couple months but then I was at my Dad's office and it all came crashing down to me and I lost it. So, I tried to get better. When that didn't work, I looked for where you were and when I found you, I..uh, I sent an anonymous message to the man in charge about some suspicious behavior…" Jenny looked at him enraged.

"That was you?" She was fuming and he tried to contain the situation. "That almost got me expelled." Now she was mad again.

Eric looked down at his hands and sighed heavily, Jenny waited impatiently.

"Jenny, I was in love with you." He looked up at her eyes, losing himself in them. "I still do."

Then it seemed that for the two of them, the bar silenced.

"I came here because I realized that you don't love me anymore…." A breath. "And that there might be someone in this world who loves you more than me." Jenny shook her head not understand what he was saying.

He had thought about it a lot. Arguing with himself and it wasn't until he found out where she went that it made sense. Everything fell into place.

Gibbs was a quiet person, his profile said that he was the non-public confrontation type, but today he threw that all away for her. He….fought for her.

Eric wasn't fond of giving up, but he knows when he has lost. The moment he saw Jenny look at Gibbs with the expression she did before she went away, he knew, he had no chance. But he didn't want to admit yet. On the car ride here though, the answer was becoming clearer and clearer and when he got here, he knew what he had to do.

He had to let her go.

Man, was it the hardest thing he's ever had to do. Looking at her now though, it's clear that he is making the right choice.

"I…I don't understand."Jenny stammered, a truly confused look in her face. And Eric smiled sadly. He focus his eyes intently to her, memorizing every last detail.

"Jenny. You're here. Here." He emphasized. Jenny continued to look at him confusingly and he laughed, putting his arms out in the air and gesturing the room around them. "This bar. Navy bar. You used to hang out here with Gibbs, right?" Jenny nodded.

"You love him, Jenny." Her eyes went wide and she stared at him. "And I'm fine with that. I honestly am. Because all I ever wanted was for you to be happy and he does that. Maybe you don't see it now, but eventually you will." He stood up slowly. Jenny tried to make sense of things. "Thank you. You are one of the best things that have ever happened to me and I just hope that getting you together with him, will somehow make up for all the wrong I've done. Goodbye, Jenny." He squeezed Jenny's hands and started walking away. Jenny tries to stop him but fails.

"Don't screw it up." Eric says before leaving.

Jenny stares at the door, eyes and mouth wide open with shock and she tries to gather her thoughts but fails.

'What the hell was that?' Jenny thought as she laid her head in her hands. She could honestly say that she did not expect Eric, out of all people, to tell her that she was supposed to be with Jethro Gibbs. Her mind was blown. Not because of the idea but because Eric should know more than anyone that she and Gibbs were never ever going to be together again, even if he was the person she was meant to be with.

Jenny was sure that after everything that happened between her and Gibbs that reconciliation in that level was impossible and Eric should've known that considering how much research he had done into her and Gibbs' relationship.

She shook her head. It was starting to hurt again. This was too much.

For the last time tonight, she called for one last shot of Bourbon, paid her bill and headed home. It was time for this day, this week to end. 'By Monday this will all be forgotten.' She assured herself as she drove her car through the streets of DC.

All she wanted was for everything to go back to the way it was. Gibbs' team hating and blaming her for everything that has gone wrong and Gibbs looking at her with so much disappointment that it hurt. She didn't want to think about feelings and future and whatever it was Eric had said. She just wanted to forget.

-NCIS-

She let out a sigh of relief when she parked her car outside her Georgetown house.

All the lights were off, so she was sure that no one was waiting for her inside, she turned off her car and she stretched as she went out.

'Ah, this is nothing a bath and some music won't fix.' She opened the door to her house and she yawned. She was absolutely exhausted, physically and emotionally, that made her look forward to the weekend even more.

Leaving her stuff on the floor, she went upstairs to her bedroom to start a bath and went back down to her kitchen to get something to eat. All the drama had made her hungry.

She opened her refrigerator and found the usual salad and healthy food that she eats and grabbed a salad. She doubled-back on the refrigerator however and put the salad back, opting instead for a Brownie Temptations Ice Cream and some marshmallows. Satisfied, she went to her study, started some fire and put on some of her favorite music and sat down and finally relax.

Right now all she wanted was to enjoy her weekend without even thinking about what had happened this week, but she knew that she wouldn't be so lucky, she never was but that doesn't mean she wasn't going to try.

The bliss lasted for 30 minutes.

As she took a scoop of the ice cream, she heard the door open and knew instantly who it was. After all, who else would have a key to her house not to mention a reason to be here in such an early hour as this.

She licked off the remaining ice cream in her spoon and put it and the ice cream down to her desk. When she saw his figure emerge, she lowered her feet from their position on top of her desk, she stared at his silhouette.

"Jethro…." The annoyance was clear in her voice, but he raised a hand to stop her and she did. He stepped closer and she saw that like her, he was still in her office attire.

When she raised her eyes to look at his, she saw the weariness in them, and she groaned internally. 'Great. Another one to deal with.' Gibbs sat down at the chair in front of her, leaning on his hands and trying to avoid eye contact with her.

Then there was silence.

There was nothing to be heard in the room but the silent crackle of fire and the soft scratches of the record player. Jenny tolerated this only for a few minutes.

"Jethro, please say something." She said, exasperated. His head was still looking down and she tried to get him to look at her by staring at him, knowing that he would feel it. She was tired of this.

"I'm sorry, Jen."

Her eyes went wide. He just whispered it, but she heard. This time she didn't need to ask what he was sorry about.

"Jethro…." She started again, but Gibbs put his head up and interrupted her.

"I was a jerk. It was stupid to do that fight. And I should've done it. I don't know how it happened but…" For some reason Jenny found herself disappointed, Eric was wrong about what Gibbs felt, she guarded her eyes.

"So, you regretted it?" She crossed her arms and tried to hide the sadness from her voice. But Gibbs still caught it and he looked up at her with a curious face.

"Why?" Jenny raised her brows. "Why do you want to know?" She rolled her eyes and put her hands down on the desk.

"Never mind." She stood up and started to leave but Gibbs blocked her path. He needed to know.

"Jethro…."

"Jen…"

She looked up at him, letting the emotions leak. Her eyes told him all he needed to know but she didn't feel the same way about his.

"No."She cocked her head. "I never said I regretted it."

"You never said that you didn't" She retorted. He would smile if it was any other situation but now was not the time. There was something he wanted answers to.

"Jen….what's wrong?" She took a deep breath. It wasn't that she believed what Eric had said but at the same time…she looked up to his eyes again. Maybe.

"Why did you fight him?" Gibbs stepped back and started walking around the room. Trying to gain some confidence.

He had a lot of time to think about what happened. A lot. In that time which he spent in his couch talking to Ducky, yes, talking, because he just felt so lost and guilty about what had happened and he needed someone who could help him clear out the cobwebs. Luckily, Ducky was more than happy to help.

They had talked for hours and hours and came on the inescapable solution that he needed to talk to Jenny because apparently, they needed to find closure. And they needed to find it before everything unravels and causes more trouble than they can fix.

So, here they were now.

He could feel her gaze and he knew that she wanted to have the answers already. He took a deep breath.

"Because it was you." Again, Jenny raised her brows. "I don't know what came over me Jen, but when he was talking about you the way he was…it just, it was an impulse and automatic response. I had to…."

"Defend me?" Jenny interrupted and Gibbs nodded, he knew how much she hated it when he did that. "So, you're definition of defending me was embarrassing me in front of the entire agency?" Gibbs rolled his eyes in anger.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who started it! It was your boyfriend who did." He spit out spitefully. Jenny scoffed.

"Ex-boyfriend. And I don't you recall you stopping."

Gibbs laughed venomously. "Yeah, I'm sure that would have handled it."

"Well, it not like you tried."

"Oh, you sound just like him." Gibbs flung his hands in the air.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means." He pointed a finger at her. "Making an argument out of nothing. When you could just say what you really want to."

"I have! You're the one not answering." Jenny matched his tone.

"Not answering? I've answered your question."

"No, you haven't. Don't you think I know that you were fighting about me? That's not what I asked. I asked why?" Gibbs started pacing around the room.

"You know why."

"I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No. Why?"

"Because."

"Because what?" Jenny pushed. She needed to hear and he needed to say it.

"You know…."

"No." He stayed quiet this time.

"Jethro, why?"

"For you!" He screamed, stopping to look her directly in the eye. "I did it for you." He said it more calmly this time. Jenny's hands dropped to her side and she looked at him more softly this time.

"But, why? You didn't have to." Gibbs was speechless. Jenny came closer to him.

They stood there for a few moments until Gibbs looked up to her, his eyes full of the emotion he didn't know how to express.

"Yes, I did." Neither of them broke eye-contact. "It's you. I'll always fight for you, Jenny. Despite everything. Always." He started to walk away, brushing Jenny's arm as he passed. She looked down, not wanting to watch him leave again.

"Thank you, Jethro." She said it softly but she knew that he heard her. He turned around again to meet her eyes. "For fighting for me. I know haven't made it easy for you, but thank you. I don't know where this will leave us but I just want you to know…you mean a lot to me."Gibbs smiled and he gestured with his arm.

"Eric's a good guy. You two will be good together. I'm pretty sure that you'll be happy with him."

"That's funny. He seems to think that you're the one who will make me happy." Gibbs raised his brow. "I met him a while ago. He's pretty convinced that you and I are, uh, the ones who are supposed to be together. He's let me go because of it."

Gibbs turned, now again, fully facing Jenny and he smirked. "Is that so?" Jenny nodded and he walked closer to her. "What do you think?"

A short laugh escaped. "Me? I'm the one who left you…."

"You're also the one who came back." He was getting closer and closer to her by each step. Gibbs didn't care about the past anymore. If there was anything he learned this past week was how much he had missed her. He doesn't even remember when he forgave her, but it turns out he did.

"I don't know, Jethro." She said to him honestly. Jenny couldn't believe what she was doing. Here he was again, offering them another chance, offering her another chance and she was just…doing this again.

But it had to be done. It would hurt less. Right?

She smiled sadly at him and he nodded. He turned around and sent her a sad smile as well and he started heading for the door.

Whatever smile was left dropped from her face and she felt that she was about to cry. Gibbs strode through her hallway slowly, his head dropping with every step.

Jenny turned away from him and headed to her study. Just as she thought she was about to lose it, Gibbs' voice surprised her. She turned to find him leaning on her doorframe.

"You know, I was thinking a lot today and I, uh, reminisced a lot about the past and I…remembered something that might be of interested to you." He walked closer to her as she sent him a questioning look.

"It turns out. You owe me a dance." A smirk was emerging from his face while Jenny's eyes opened in shock.

"Me? Owe you? A dance?" She said in disbelief. "Really?" Gibbs nodded.

"Before you left in Paris, right around the time our mission was ending, you told me that you were going to dance with me when we came back to DC. As a celebration." Gibbs was now in front of her and he saw that she remembered the moment that he was talking about. A small victory smile emerged from his face and a smirk was present in hers.

"Well, a deal's a deal." They tried to stop their smiles. Gibbs awkwardly stretched out his hand to her and she just as awkwardly reached out to it.

Their breaths started becoming more rapid because the both of them realized that this would be the first time in a long while that they've done this. They stared at their hands, almost touching, and looked into each other's eyes.

"May I have this dance?" Gibbs bowed his head down. Jenny smiled and nodded. And slowly, very slowly, as if some sort of cinematic music was playing reached her hand closer and closer to his.

Their breaths started getting faster and deeper. Their hearts racing against their chests. Pupils dilating. The moment was getting closer.

And then.

Finally.

They touched.

Like electricity coursed through them, they let out their breath, and looked into each other's eyes. Saying all they needed to say through them because words could never describe what they wanted to say at this moment and neither of them wanted to ruin it.

Gibbs straightened up and pulled her to his chest. He placed his hands on her hip and she did the same for his shoulder.

Then slowly. Automatically. They started swaying to an imaginary song in their head, ignoring the one playing in the background.

Their eyes were locked to each other's. Both slightly surprised how new this felt, both afraid to miss the moment. Their breaths in sync and their hearts beating as one. They were dancing like that for a while. After rediscovering each other, they both smiled, Jenny leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes. Gibbs sighed in happiness before doing the same.

They danced in each other's arms for the longest time. Just swaying back and forth, ignoring space, time and just shutting out the world.

For the first time in a long time, she felt right. They felt right. It was in this moment right now that both felt like they belonged, they felt like they were…home.

You could hear the world going on outside, cars zooming past, birds and crickets chirping through the night, people just living. People with problems and they knew that they would have to deal with those problems very soon. But right now, at this moment, in their sanctuary none of those existed.

It was just Gibbs and Jenny swaying in the glow of the fireplace. Dancing to the music in their head, their minds so interconnected that there was no way you could separate one soul from the other. Inside those minds they were playing the same tune. The tune they knew so well, the tune that broke their hearts with the emotion it carried. Their tune. Their love.

And for the first time those same minds that carried so much memories, weren't thinking about the past or the future, it was just thinking about now. It was just them inhaling the scent that brought them memories and comfort, holding the hand they had thought they would never hold again. Dancing with the one they had thought they'd never dance with again.

They both knew that in no time they would be dealing with all the complications and chaos in the world and in their lives but for now, even just for this moment in time it was just them again. It was just perfect again. Even if it was just for a while.

Opening his eyes, Gibbs held Jenny closer and tighter to him, he kissed the top of her head and he whispered with all the emotion he could possibly have:

"I miss you, Jen."

Silence.

"I miss you too, Jethro."

Her eyes wide open, she lifted her head to look into his eyes and found herself closing more of the space between them. Centimeters apart, their eyes met and they knew.

Maybe for a longer while.

FIN

-NCIS-

So, that was it. Please tell me what you think and I will try my very best to post the next chapter of the multi-chapter very soon. Please forgive me for the enormous delay. I hope you all enjoyed this and I hope you have a great day!

And for you, Tamya. I hope that this made you smile because you deserve that much on your birthday.

Have a good one and many more!