"Jethro you need to deal with this" Ducky told him "You were partners and she meant a lot to you"
"I'm fine Ducky; I have already dealt with it. I've lost people before you know?"
"Yes Jethro I am well aware. But I also know that you did not deal with it then either"
"What do you want me to do Ducky break down and start sobbing? You know that has never been my thing"
"Talk to me about it, talk to Abby she is obviously hurting as well. Just talk to someone and don't shut all of us out."
"I'm fine Ducky" He said putting an end to the conversation
"I wish that were true and I wish I didn't have to resort to this" Ducky responded as he walked up the stairs and out of the basement.
After Ducky left Gibbs grabbed a mason jar and poured himself some bourbon, he then hesitated and put it down it reminded him to much of her. Everything reminded him of her. The office, MTAC, the elevator. Every time he saw a redheaded women he saw her starting back at him. He sighed and grabbed the bourbon and downed it hoping that at least if he was drunk he wouldn't have to deal with the loss that he felt so acutely.
"My dear I don't know what to do, he is not dealing with you death. He hasn't slept in day's and he has been drunk every night this week. No one can talk to him without him biting their heads off. He even yelled at Abby."
"Ducky what am I supposed to do, I am in witness protection I can't just go and tell him 'hey guess what I'm alive and oh yeah I can't see you or talk to you ever again', this is a better way and you know it" Jenny told him.
"I know I just haven't seen him this bad since…. Well in a while"
"Please don't play the guilt card Ducky you know I feel bad enough as it is."
"I know Jenny, it's just hard for me to see him like this"
"Whatever happens you have to take care of him, Ducky please will you promise me that"
"I will do my best Jenny" He said putting a hand on her arm. They were sitting in a park talking. This had been the second time Ducky had seen her since the accident. The first had been a couple of days after it had occurred. She had approached him and told him everything that had happened and made him swear not to tell Gibbs.
"I have been placed in Witness Protection because Stevalana has placed a hit on me" Jenny had told him.
"Can't you just get rid of her?" He had asked
"Unfortunately no, she asked some contacts people in high places for help and one of them decided to help her find me. Look you know I wouldn't be doing this if there wasn't another way" she had told him
"This is going to kill Jethro you know, its bad enough that he lost his wife and his daughter but now you to this is going to destroy him"
"I know Ducky, but I have to do this it is the only way to keep myself and Gibbs safe."
"How will I contact you?" Ducky asked her
"I will give you a number once I have one ok Ducky?"
"Ok Jennifer just promise me you will take care of yourself."
"I will Ducky"
"Goodbye Jenifer"
"Bye Duck"
Ducky sat back and studied her there were some noticeable changes. He face had lost some of the worry lines, she looked younger. He supposed that was from not working 24 hours a week.
"You look good Jennifer" he told her
"Thank you Ducky, I am happy that I do not have to work all the time, I also have been placed with this darling girl granted she is twenty but I feel like I know her. She is so nice and I feel sort of like a big sister to her. She told me that her mother and her father were killed when she was very young and her grandparents had placed her in witness protection. She has been placed with lots of families to try and help her but she told me that she has always felt like they were trying to take the place of her mother and father and she never felt comfortable."
"It is wonderful that you have met someone that you can relate to and also that you seem to have formed a close bond with, what is her name?"
"Well I don't know her real name but she goes by Isabelle or bells."
"That is a nice name I'm glad you have her"
"Thanks ducky. Will I see you here next week?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world Jennifer"
"Goodbye"
Back at Jenny's safe house she was thinking back to the first time she had met Isabelle.
"Ok Jennifer this is going to be where you are going to live for the next two to three years depending on what is going to happen" her case worker told her. "You will be living with one other women her name is Isabelle and she is twenty years old. She has been in witness protection since she was nine she can show you the ropes."
Just then a girl had bounded down the stairs. "Hey Stacy" she had called out to the case worker have you brought the new girl yet "Yes Isabelle, this is Jennifer she is going to be your new roommate"
"Hi I'm Belle, it's nice to meet you" she said giving Jenny a big hug
"It's nice to meet you to Belle, please call me Jenny" she told Belle returning the hug
"Ok I'm going to leave you here with Isabelle, there will be a security detail that will accompany you everywhere, so remember that. Goodbye Jennifer, Isabelle" Stacy told them.
"So, Jenny is Jenny your real name because my name is a fake name but since I have lived with it basically my whole life it is sort of like my real name" she rambled
"Breathe Belle" Jenny commanded with a laugh "Yes Jenny is my real name"
"Ok, so what did you do that got you placed in witness protection?"
"I failed to shoot a pregnant women and now she has put a hit out on me with the Russian Mob" Jenny told her
"Is that all?" Belle teased "You would think not shooting her would have been a good thing"
"Yeah well, my partner shoot her husband, so.. I can see why she would still be mad" Jenny explained feeling a pang of guilt and sadness talking about Jethro. This did not go unnoticed by Belle who choose not to comment on it. They had moved to the couch in the living room now and were sitting talking.
"So why go after you and not your partner" Belle asked, she remembered Jenny's reaction and understanding dawned on her "You were involved with your partner," she said emphasizing involved.
"Yes, so she decided that if he killed her husband she was going to kill me as revenge"
"That make sense, I am here because my parents were killed after testifying against a drug dealer and they thought the dealer might come after me so here I am" Belle offered.
"Oh I'm sorry about your parents" Jenny told her.
"Well it was a long time ago but I still miss them" she told her "Okay time for a lighter subject"
"How about…."
"Why don't you tell me about the men you have in your life, I could use some gossip. I've never had someone to tell these things to or someone to tell things about guys to me either."
"Okay well there is this guy that works at my office and well he…" she struggled to describe Jethro
"Your partner" Belle guessed
"Yeah, see we were working together in Paris, when we were together and I was focused on my career and he didn't really fit into my plan. Don't get me wrong I loved him but I decided that I was going to leave and work on my career. So I wrote him a Dear John letter and left it in my coat pocket. We were on our way back to D.C. when I decided that I was going to leave my coat on the plane for him to read the letter. I left for New York on a different connecting flight and he got my coat and the letter." She told Belle sadly.
"Oh, but you saw him again didn't you?"
"Yes, because of my career advances I finally met him again as his boss six years later"
"That must have been slightly awkward"
"A little, he always was trying to undermine my authority and never had respect for my job always said I should have remained a field agent".
"Field Agent? Where did you work?"
"Oh I was the director of NCIS"
"You forgot that little detail" Belle told her laughing
"I'm no longer Director, so I didn't see a reason to bring it up"
"Ok, so what about this Agent you were telling me about" She said suggestively
"Shut up, we are just friends, I guess that's were now" Jenny told her sounding slightly depressed.
"You didn't tell him? Did they let you tell anyone?"
"My boss knows and the medical examiner who had to fake my death knows. His name is Ducky and he is a good friend of mine and Jethro's"
"Jethro"
"He's the one that was my partner/employee"
"Slash lover" Belle teased
"At one point I suppose" she laughed "Now he doesn't know that I am alive, I'm meeting with Ducky next week to see how Jethro's holding up"
"Why don't you just tell him?"
"Because if he knew he would go after the mob and then search relentlessly for me and he would get hurt"
"Sounds like he loves you Jenny"
"I guess in his own way he does, either way he is hurt. He lost his daughter and wife in a car accident and he will see losing me as another way he failed to protect the women in his life."Belle remained silent.
"Tell me about the boys that you have in your life missy" Jenny told Belle
"Well I have this boyfriend, his name is Max. He is really cute and funny he's a math major, I spend a lot of time with him"
"He sounds nice, when do I get to meet him?"
"Do you want to meet him" she asked sounding excited
"I would love to meet him, just think of me as you big sister"
"I will"
At NCIS everyone was trying to avoid Gibbs
"Is he coming down here anytime soon Abby" McGee whispered through the darkness
"No he hasn't been down in a while and I don't have any evidence to process"
"Thank God he is scaring me"
"It's getting really bad, he hasn't brought me a calf-pow in a week and he yelled at me yesterday" Abby told McGee sounding like a hurt child
"I know Abby; he's not dealing with the Director's death, everyone is afraid of him, and he is taking dangerous risks"
"What do you mean McGee Gibbs always takes risks"
"Yeah calculated ones, these are just plain reckless"
"What are we going to do? I think Gibbs has even becoming unbearable to Ducky" Abby told him sounding scared
"I don't know Abs, I just don't know"