The holidays had passed. Jenny moved her niece into the guest room of the townhouse. Much to her surprise, Laura and Jethro had become more civil to one another by the end of the visit. McKenzie had not wanted to leave the puppy or her sister and aunt. She had gone slightly overboard with shopping for Madison. The room had been painted and redecorated. She'd surprised Madison with a new laptop also. Jenny wasn't too thrilled with having to add maternity additions to her wardrobe. Thankfully, the meeting with SecNav hadn't been a complete disaster. She'd been prepared and given a tentative plan regarding her maternity leave. It probably helped she informed SecNav that Special Agent Gibbs wouldn't serve as acting director in her absence. There hadn't been a formal announcement of her pregnancy made. She didn't think that was anything to drop in a memo or mass department email. Anyone with eyes could see she was expecting.
She walked out of her closet, holding a pair of black slacks and slipped into them. "No…no…" She huffed in frustration and glanced in the mirror. "I bought these last week. Now, they don't fit. I swear if this is any indication of how…" she stopped, realizing she was talking to herself.
Madison knocked on the door and entered without saying a word. She walked into her aunt's closet, dug around, and came out with another pair of black slacks. "Just give into the secret fit belly pants, Aunt Jen."
Her aunt made a face. "These still fit."
"You cannot zip or button them." She shoved the pants at her.
With a heavy sigh, she snatched the pants from her and watched Madison leave. She muttered under her breath and dressed for work, hoping the morning would turn around.
It didn't. Traffic was unbearable. She arrived to the office ten minutes late. Cynthia met her at the outer door to the office with too many messages. She had less than ten minutes to prepare to go into MTAC. There was only one small bright side. She hadn't run into Jethro. He had two weeks remaining of the month ultimatum to tell Hollis, and he hadn't. She hadn't seen much of him in the last week and a half. As she walked to MTAC with her notes, glasses, and tea in hand, she couldn't help smiling. She was thinking of how he was certainly scared as hell of her and the consequences of not breaking the news to Hollis.
As he sat back down in his desk chair, he noticed her walking out of her office. Damn, she looked beautiful today. Pregnancy agreed with her. He had been avoiding her like the plague. Honestly, he didn't want to face her temper or the temper of Hollis Mann although Hollis couldn't hold a flame to a redheaded temper. He continued his conversation with Abby. She'd purchased the team iPods with her tax return. She was offering to download some of her music for him when the phone began ringing.
"Dead marine," he announced to the team. Why did a marine have to die on an army base? He knew who he'd be seeing. He prayed like hell Jenny wouldn't have to get involved.
At the crime scene, Hollis watched Gibbs approach her. "Good morning, Jethro." She couldn't help herself from looking him up and down. She had put her brain through hell over the last weeks of trying to figure out what happened between them.
McGee watched the two closely. "Dead marine," he chimed.
"Army base," Ziva said as she leaned away from the van to look at them on the porch.
Tony walked to his partners. "Her rock smashes his scissors which puts the Colonel on top."
Hollis made the quick decision to exert her authority. She knew how he could be during investigations. "You work for me on this one, Jethro. It's my army base…my crime scene."
"And my people…my office," he replied. He needed to not be territorial. If he pushed, Jenny would definitely be sorting out the jurisdiction matter.
The three agents still watched the couple or former couple. They weren't sure. They all knew of Director Shepard's condition and had theories if Gibbs was the father.
Hollis stepped closer to Gibbs. "They know we're still…what are we?"
He looked down to the planks of the porch and smirked. He wasn't willing to define his relationship with Hollis to Hollis. Hell, he didn't know what his relationship was to Jenny at the moment. He hadn't been seeing either woman. He was going to have to have a long talk with the females in his life. The females were doing too much of the decision making lately, and he didn't care for it.
McGee squinted into the sunlight. "She…"
Ziva interrupted him. "Still on top?"
He gave her a look. "Seeing Gibbs?"
DiNozzo closed the door of the evidence van. "Same thing…but an excellent queston nonetheless, Probie."
The teams entered the home to investigate the crime scene. The victim had been murdered with a spear gun. Jethro took a call while Hollis directed his team. Great…he'd be in Jenny's office with Hollis.
In Director Shepard's office, he quietly listened to her explain who the two men, Army Major Eric Sweigart and Army Lieutenant Joseph Marsden, in her office were. He could tell she was going to love every minute of this visit. He smirked at her choice of black and to keep her hands over her growing belly.
"Major Sweigart was Captain Reynolds' superior at Defense Intelligence. He understands that Army CID and NCIS will be working hand in hand on this case," she paused with those green eyes widening. "I mean…side by side," she looked to Gibbs and Hollis, "…cooperatively." She loved seeing the smirk on Jethro's face and him squirming in his spot.
"You've taken Captain Reynolds' laptop. I want it back," Major Sweigart spoke harshly.
"That's evidence, Major," Hollis informed him.
"DIA deals with highly classified materials, ma'am."
"And we have top secret clearance."
"I'm talking about special access programs which go well beyond your clearance."
"Black ops," Jethro finally spoke.
"Major Sweigart," Jenny spoke in Director tone. "These are your options. Either read in our forensic scientist to your special access programs or send someone who can oversee her work."
He was not happy and told the lieutenant to send someone over to oversee the work. Hollis and Gibbs took the opportunity to question the two men. As they were leaving, Jenny waited until Jethro was nearly out of her office to call him back in.
Gibbs turned and looked at her, closing the door. "Yeah, Jen?"
"I know you've been avoiding me. I strongly consider you telling Hollis today or tomorrow...before this case is closed." She turned to her computer to read an email. "You can go."
He shook his head and left her office, allowing the door to close loudly. Could the day get any better for him?
After getting a hit on the prints found on Reynolds' back door, he and Hollis took a trip to Eric Sweigart's office. Jethro sat back and let Colonel Mann do the questioning. He listened to the major explain why his fingerprints were on the victim's back door. Gibbs noticed a photo of him with a spear gun. He picked it up and examined it. "Means you saw what was hanging in his office."
"Sorry?"
"Know how to use it. You look pretty handy with that spear gun."
"Wow, pictures worth a thousand words to a jury," Hollis said, getting up and picking up the framed photo.
"Yeah or just one…guilty."
"Lotsa guys dive. Look, Colonel, I was with someone last night…a date."
"She got a name?" Gibbs asked, growing impatient.
"We went to dinner."
"Name."
"Stephanie Flynn."
He had to have heard the major wrong. His eyesight was on the decline, so his hearing might have all of a sudden took a turn for the worse. He did not hear that name.
Hollis put the photo back in its place. "The woman who was with Mrs. Reynolds when she found him dead?"
"That's right," Sweigart answered.
Gibbs moved closer to the major's desk. "Stephanie Bronwyn Flynn?"
"Yeah."
Hollis looked at Jethro. His eyes were nothing short of panicked, and he looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Do you know her?"
"Uh huh." He turned his back to the major. "I was married to her."
This was a day from hell, and he felt it could only continue to go downhill.
