The Next Day

Jenny exited her office and walked to the café. On the way there, she saw Abby who waved excitedly and smiled. Jen waved back and rounded the corner.

With a sigh, Jen pushed open the door with her good hand and stepped into the café. She made her way over to the coffee maker and poured herself the ritual third coffee of the day.

She smiled at the thought of being back where she belonged. She never really knew how much it meant to her. Sure she didn't like working with the politics part of her job, but she was good at it. She enjoyed having the friends she did, the family as they were referred to as.

She sat down at the long dark wood table in the center of the room and took a sip of her coffee. She put her mug down on the table and ran a tired hand over her face. She had a lot of work to catch up on waiting for her in her office. She could almost hear it calling her name. The downside of being the boss, there was a lot of work that needed to be done and only so much time to do it.

She heard the door open but she didn't turn to see who it was, she already knew. She could practically feel his eyes burning a whole in the back of her head.

Jethro sat down next to her quietly. He took a sip of his coffee before speaking. "Hey…"

He said it so quietly she wasn't sure she had heard him correctly.

"Hi," she said and he turned to face her.

Her heart almost skipped a beat as his eyes found hers. She didn't think it was possible to have eyes that blue. He smiled his Gibbs smile and asked, "How'ya feelin?"

She shrugged, "Better than I did…"she trailed off.

She didn't really know why but she touched his arm with her fingertips and added, "Thank you Jethro. I would've died if you didn't do what you did."

He smiled sincerely and his eyes glided over her face memorizing every feature. He wanted to remember this moment. She looked so beautiful. She was exposing herself to him, a certain vulnerability he hadn't seen since… Paris. This was a moment he would never forget.

"I'd do it again," he said in a low whisper, and he noted how her eyes became a little watery as if she were trying to hold back a tear or two.

Jethro leaned in closer to her, as he did so he was overcome by her perfume. He couldn't help but smile, French lavender fragrance.

He reached up and pushed a red stray hair out of her face and behind her ear. He lightly grazed her ear accidentally and she smiled softly.

He couldn't believe what he was doing; he had stopped himself from doing this since he had begun working with her again. Now, her barrier was down and his had almost automatically fallen. Why this sudden change, they both thought.

"Jen," he began in a soft voice and his hand moved from her cheek to her warm arm.

He was stopped when the door opened and a suave Tony walked in and over to the fridge. By the time he noticed Jen and Jethro, Jethro had put his arm down and Jen's hand was now fumbling with her mug handle. Jethro was studying the label on his Starbuck's coffee.

Tony grabbed his cold vitamin water and before walking out he turned to Jenny and said, "It's good to have you back Jen," He smiled brightly at her before opening the door and striding out. Before the door closed they both heard Ziva say, "Tony! McGee's is bigger than yours, is it not?"

Jen smirked and watched as Jethro lightly laughed, "What a pair…"

"Well," she started after a moment passed and a silence settled between them, "I have work I have to get done."

She pushed her chair back and got her feet.

Yet she couldn't help but think, Jen why are you getting up and leaving? He loves you and he was gonna tell you. That was your chance. She mentally kicked herself.

As she got to the door she winced in pain at the sudden movement of reaching for the doorknob.

In a jiffy Jethro had his hand on her arm. "I'm okay Jethro, thank you."

The expression on his face made her heart melt. His expression was filled with concern, worry, care, and even maybe, just maybe some love.

He opened the door for her, "Its good to have you back Jenny."

She turned to face him. "It's nice to… be back."

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Theres one last chapter to go up. I actually like this story. lol. Good reviews? if u dnt like it keep it to urself. So what do u think is gonna happen next chapter?