Key Knowledge
Don't wait for special invitations – that's all nonsense among friends. Just come when ever you can, and come as often as you can – the oftener the better. – Mark Twain, The Gilded Age
Jennifer Shepard groaned as someone continued to bang on her front door. She wasn't in the mood to deal with this. It was almost midnight, she had a very small pile of paperwork to finish and then she could crawl into bed and repeat the whole day tomorrow.
Sighing as the knocking continued, she rose from her chair and headed towards the door. Careful to pick up her gun before she reached her destination, she pulled the door open slightly and glared at the person who was disturbing her work.
Jethro.
She should have guessed.
"Go home," she ordered.
She wasn't surprised when he ignored her and made his way into her house.
"It's midnight," she warned.
"You should be in bed," he told her.
She shut the front door, leant back on it and glared at him. It wasn't her best glare; she was too tired for that.
He waved the bottle in his hand to get her attention. "Nightcap?"
She smiled at the sight of bourbon. "I have work to do…" But the protest sounded feeble even to her ears.
Yet again he ignored her, making his way into her study and hunting for the glasses.
"Okay," she acquiesced, pushing off the door and following him. "Nightcap. But I need to finish that paperwork tomorrow so don't annoy any sister agencies."
He gave her his most innocent look; it made her giggle. She decided she really needed the sleep.
She took her glass from his hands and swallowed the small mouthful. "I've really got to give you a key," she muttered under her breath.
And groaned when he pulled a key out of his pocket.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not surprised to find Jenny awake. It may have been midnight, but his former partner had a habit of burning the midnight oil. Especially with her job.
On the one hand, he admired her determination, stubbornness and desire to be the best. It had given her a lofty position and she was a good boss. He knew how to wrap her around his little finger when he needed something or did something Morrow would have fired him over. Even if she knew exactly how to get him back for it. They had always known how to hit each other where it hurt.
Yet it still stung that she had left everything behind to get where she was. She had been an excellent field agent, something he never failed to remind her of whenever she decided to go back into the field. He thought she was better suited to being on the street, not sucking up to politicians.
Deep down, it wasn't the everything part that bothered him. It was that she had left him behind. She had chosen her precious ambition over him. He could not forgive her that.
One thing was for sure; the day she stood up in MTAC and walked back into his life, the cracks in his heart had started to heal. It seemed as though the years apart hadn't changed them; they had easily fallen back into their friendship. Their banter, teasing and flirting was something he had missed and he had promised himself he would never take it for granted again.
He sipped his bourbon and considered why he had chosen to visit her tonight. He might have claimed it was just to give her a nightcap, but he had wanted to make sure she made it to her bed. Although she never said a word, he knew she had a habit of falling asleep in either her office or her study. It couldn't be good for her back and she needed a better night's sleep somehow. The nightcap was an excuse to make sure that happened.
"How do you have my key?" Jenny demanded out of nowhere.
Jennifer Shepard was bored of standing in silence with Gibbs. While she had no problem with their comfortable silences or communicating without words, she had expected him to say something. He hadn't even seemed to notice when she had topped up her glass.
He might have barged in, but now he didn't even seem to be in the same room as her. And she was more than a little curious about her key being in his possession.
"You gave it to me," he finally answered.
She cast her mind back. "No I didn't…" She trailed off as she thought back. She had given him a key. Before Paris. Before Europe. Back when they were 'boss' and 'probie' and she was still green around the ears and more than a little attracted to her handsome boss.
She even remembered why she had given him the dang key. After her cell phone had died one evening, he had attempted to contact her and panicked when he failed. Luckily for her door, she had just been returning from the store when she found him about to kick it in. They had ended up having a screaming argument on her doorstep. He had told her if she was so concerned about the door, she could give him a key so he wouldn't damage it the next time she decided to break Rule Three. She had responded by slamming her spare key in his hand and the door in his face.
Narrowing her eyes and glaring at him, she began to speak again. "And you never thought to give it back?"
He looked all innocent again. "You never asked for it back."
"That doesn't give you the right to keep it," she pointed out. "And I forgot all about it."
"Not my fault," he protested.
She glared at him for a little while longer, determined to make him squirm. "Fine. Keep the key. But now I know you have it, I don't want you banging on my door in the middle of the night."
"What's the problem?" he defended. "You were awake anyway."
"I might have been asleep," she answered.
"You work too hard, Jen," he noted. "You weren't going to be asleep."
She inwardly groaned. She had been hoping he wouldn't figure that out. Who was she kidding – it was Jethro; he was going to work it out sooner or later.
He noticed her hesitation to reply and stepped closer. Gently taking the almost empty glass from her hands, he looked her in the eye. "Go to sleep, Jen," he whispered.
She nodded dumbly, unsure when this moment had become so charged. He was right; she was exhausted and would function better after a long sleep.
He continued to look her in the eye.
"Stay?" she found herself whispering, not wanting to break the atmosphere between then.
He smiled softly. "As long as you go to sleep," he promised.