Title: Strawberry ER

Author: Fashiongirl97

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: NCIS is not mine

Strawberry ER

It was the perfect day. The warm summer sun was shining down, there was just the odd fluffy cloud floating across the bright blue sky. The night's dew had long dried up and children were playing happily on the streets. Jenny thought the day was absolutely perfect. Or at least it was to begin with, that was until she had ended up in Washington DC ER whilst her long time Agent and boyfriend had stitches put above his eye. Well, she thought to herself, it had started out well at least…

Earlier that day

Jenny Shepard stood in the master bedroom of his house looking in the full length mirror she had found in his attic. The room had rarely been used up until a year ago when she had returned into his life – for good. After Paris they had remained together, steeling every moment together they could yet they barely seeing one another, and it had ended up being a strained relationship that was on the verge of collapse. Then she'd been offered the job as Director of NCIS and now she was back in Washington DC where she had began all those years ago. Living in his house, sleeping in his bed . . . and he was a lot happier than he had been in a very long time.

It was Independence Day: July 4th, and for once this pair was not working. NCIS had been reduced to minimal skeleton staff for the special day, and Jenny was not one of those who was required to be in. Yet they weren't spending the day at home as he would have preferred, it was never that easy. Today she and Jethro would be going to a big field outside of the city and where there was to be a big Armed forces family picnic day. It was set on a hill, you brought you own food and a picnic blanket, played games and then there was a Semaphore flag performance to watch.

When Jenny had told Jethro that she had been ordered to attend, even just for a couple of hours, to show that NCIS was in support of the armed forces - he had not been impressed. Recently they had both been worked off of their feet and so barely been home at the same time, so them being out on the one day they were both home was not ideal. But with it being for the Armed forces he had not sulked for too long, with the additional assistance of bribery from Jenny. After all he was still a Marine through and through.

She looked in the mirror and smiled at her outfit. It was warm outside, so she had on a lemon dress with a matching lemon lace top layer. Around her waist was a skinny tan belt, she also had tan wedge heeled sandals on, and wooden jewellery. Her hair was down and loose and there was a denim jacket over the back of the chair for her. Smiling she checked the clock beside the bed and realised it was time that they left. So picking up her jacket she made her way downstairs to find her partner. Yet finding the downstairs empty made she decided to make her way down into the basement.

"Jethro!" she stated, glaring at the fact he was down working in the basement on the one day she had asked him ever so nicely not to be covered in sawdust. Jenny made her way down the rickety wooden steps which she had nearly broken her neck on hundreds of times over the years. "Have you seen the time?" she asked. As he stood there measuring pieces of wood on the floor of his basement, surrounded by sawdust. The sight made her internally groan, even if she did find him working with his hands a massive turn on.

"Yeah Jen, I was waiting for you," he stated before standing up and brushing the sawdust off of his jeans before looking at her. His eyebrows rose as he took in the way she was dressed for the outing. "You're wearing that?" he asked, astonished.

"What is wrong with what I'm wearing?" Jenny questioned, eying him carefully as to figure out his motive on the situation.

"Well Jen, it's only a picnic," he stated.

"I am aware Jethro!"

"Well I'm not sure I should be letting you out Jen," the former Marine stated, with a wicked smirk and she just rolled her eyes before walking back up the stairs. Running up behind her he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back so she was flush against him and he could begin attacking her neck with his lips.

"Hey! I don't want to wear a scarf you know!" she warned him, in between laughing her head off as he continued his attack.

"Hmm . . . you sure we actually have to go?"

"Yes! Now put your tape measure away and get your ass up these stairs now." And with that she somehow managed to tear herself away from him and walk up the stairs, both of them smiling like two love struck teenagers. And whilst she went, his eyes remained firmly on her, watching her slender figure go and remembering just how lucky he was to have her in his messed up, mad and busy life. She was almost the umbrella in a rain storm.

Once she had disappeared from view he smiled to himself and set his tape measure down before following in her footsteps. At the top of the stairs he looked around the basement to make sure he hadn't left anything before turning the light out and doing as she told him to do. "I'm here," he shouted through the house.

"Good, because it is about time!" And with that she winked at him and walked out, making him roll his eyes and wish that for once they could do something that SecNav hadn't forced them to do. But that was her job, and their relationship had very nearly been lost to it, and he wasn't about to make it a rift once more. So instead he followed her out the door, not locking it behind him. Because even though Jenny was there it was still a place that was always open for his team.

When he sat in the car she was on the phone to SecNav, and he just rolled his eyes and set off. Outside was bright and sunny, Gibbs decided he couldn't really moan, it was only a picnic anyway, and it was all for a good cause. Then, when it was over he would get Jenny all to himself once more. So instead of winging and wining and annoying the hell out of her he just shut up and left her to her phone call as he drove along the familiar streets.

Everything had perfect up to and past that point, they'd arrived there, set up, and sat on the picnic blanket listening to the music. Jenny had done her job and walked around, talking to the families as SecNav expected. She'd even spoken to all the high ranking men with wandering hands. Gibbs on the other hand had simply glared at anyone and everyone who decided to lay their eyes on Jenny.

It was in fact later on, when they were sat watching the cadets do Semaphore that things started to take a turn for the worst.

Jenny had finally returned to him, after her wander around, and was sat on the rug beside him, or more like laid on top of him. They were both watching the young cadets, and eating strawberries and cream from the stand. Jethro had at first being telling Jenny each letter and word that was spelt out. That was, until, she hit him and told him to stop patronising her as she was a grown woman, also that she had been brought up on bases around the country so knew how to understand Semaphore. Gibbs had just laughed, which had earned him another smack.

It was once he'd sat up, searching for something that it happened. It had been hilarious until Jenny had seen the blood. A child had thrown a Frisbee, which instead of flying to his waiting mother, had hit Jethro. The thing was it had been a plastic one, with unusually sharp corners. "Dammit!" Jethro had sworn when it hit him.

"Sorry mister," the child had said when he went to get his Frisbee back. Jethro had brushed it off, but then Jenny had seen the blood.

"Jethro that is deep!"

"I'm fine."

"You need stitches."

"Ducky will do them," he said.

"No, Ducky is busy with his mother, you're going to have to go to ER."

"Jen-"

"No, swallow your pride for once and come on."

"Is everything alright? I'm really sorry," said the child's mother walking over.

"It's fine just needs a band aid. Kids will be kids," said Gibbs, or more like grumbled as he felt a headache come on.

"My gosh! Is all that blood from the Frisbee?"

"Yeah," said Jenny who had passed Gibbs a cloth napkin to press to his forehead.

"Can I do anything?"

"No, just enjoy your day," Jenny replied honestly, before the two left. The drive over to the hospital was full of the pair bickering about whether he needed stitches. An hour later Jenny was proved to be right; the stitches were applied and she sat there glaring at him.

Present

The doctor left the room, he was a tall dark haired man who had Jenny not been with the love of her life would have seemed attractive to her. Only now she barely gave him a second glance. Instead she was too bothered about glaring at her special agent who was sat on the edge of a hospital bed waiting to be given some cream to apply daily to the wound. He looked at her and rolled his eyes. The glare on her face was one which if directed at someone else would have made him proud. "What!?" he questioned defensively.

"It was not nothing!" she stated, calmly with an edge of annoyance.

"It was fine Jen. Ducky could have done it on Monday."

"Jethro, three stitches would not wait until Monday."

"Would."

"Stop being petulant! If you hadn't just had your head sewn up I'd headslap you into tomorrow!"

"Really Jen?"

"So much for a peaceful day out!" She mumbled under her breath as she took the prescription from the doctor and grabbed her jacket.

"Could still be perfect," the silver haired former Marine stated, giving her a smirk which only meant on thing.

"You need to take it easy. No fast movements, lots of fluids," she stated, knowing whatever she said would only get a smart reply back.

"Never said it had to be fast Jen," the redhead rolled her eyes and walked out. She knew him all too well, and that by the end of the evening he would have gotten what he wanted, and that she wouldn't have done too badly either.

"You're relentless!"