A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry for the slow-ish update; I have this ear thing going on, and I've seen lots of doctors and slept my life away. Hopefully, it'll go away soon, and I'll be able to look at a computer screen without feeling quite so dizzy. This chapter is from HesMinex's review. Hope this satisfies for possessive Jenny vs. Hollis :) And eh, it's kind of fluffy, but blame it on my need for some cutesy-ness with all the crap I've had to put up with these past few days :)
Jethro had been back to work for a week, and Tony had seemed more than glad to give him his desk back. Ziva's glares and threats may have been the cause, but either way Jethro had regained his control over his team, and all was well. It was Friday, and Jethro was in Jenny's office, listening to her as she talked on the phone, discussing the rising of the threat level. His hands massaging her shoulders was quite distracting, and after she had hung up she turned and tried to glare, but his hands on her muscles had felt heavenly. He smirked, ever proud of himself, and she stood, handing him the case file.
"Go catch me a murderer and I'll reward you later." Jenny said, her eyebrow raised.
"Well, there's some incentive." Jethro said, his smirk widening. He kissed her quickly, leaving her looking out the window, hoping he caught the killer soon.
-NCISNCISNCISNCIS-
"Looks like we're late to the party." Tony observed, noting the Army CID officers milling around.
"Assume a hundred meter blast radius from the sand trap." Jethro said, ignoring his comment.
"It's called a bunker boss, not a sand trap." Tony corrected. Jethro turned a stared at him, remaining silent. "Hundred meter blast radius. On it boss! Probie, you got the woods, I got the far side."
"Uhh…" McGee said, stopping in place.
"What, McGee?" Jethro asked, going back to the tape.
"Poison ivy, boss, I just, I look at the stuff and I break out." McGee said, his nose crinkling in disgust.
"Don't look." Jethro returned, shrugging his shoulders before turning and continuing in the direction of the bunker.
"The Zaka will be busy today." Ziva commented as they walked.
"Zaka?" Jethro asked, confused.
"Orthodox Jews that volunteer to collect body parts from terror attacks." Ziva answered. Jethro knelt, examining the burnt bunker.
"Agent Gibbs?" a feminine voice said his name, and he stood, turning. A blonde woman in an army uniform walked up to him, offering her hand. "Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mann. Army CID. I believe your Director called."
"She did." Jethro said, remembering the annoyance in Jen's voice. "Officer Ziva David."
"Officer Ziva David, I know." Mann said, nodding to Ziva. "Army Criminal Investigative Division had excellent detail."
"Good, you can use it to support our investigation." Jethro said as he started to walk away, already slightly annoyed with the woman.
"Our joint investigation." Mann corrected. "With Army in the lead. This isn't the Navy-Army Club, it's the Army-Navy Club."
"Yeah," Jethro said before pointing to the body. "But that is a dead Marine, at the Army-Navy Club."
"I had EOD sweep the rest of the sand traps." Mann said as they stood over the crime scene.
"Bunkers." Jethro corrected.
"Excuse me?" Mann said, confused.
"They're called bunkers, not sand traps." Jethro explained, slightly enjoying the embarrassed flush that spread over the woman's cheeks.
"The Colonel's son said he saw something resembling a spider web in the bunker." Mann said, ignoring his comment but correcting herself nonetheless.
"Trip wire?" Ziva asked from her kneeling position.
"Possibly. There's not much to go on with this one." Mann said, nodding to the burnt sand. "Course we've got a lot of ground to cover."
"Eighteen holes on a golf course." Jethro said, pacing slightly.
"Yup." Mann said before turning to him. "Wanna divide them up?"
"Sure." Jethro said, meeting her gaze. "We'll take the crime scene, and your people can take the other seventeen holes."
"You're not taking away my crime scene." Mann said, her hands going to her hips. "End of story. But if you ask nicely, I might just give you the body."
"Well, I don't really have to ask, seeing as how my ME got here first."
Ziva watched the blonde Army Lieutenant Colonel practically throw herself at Gibbs, and had to stifle her laughter. Gibbs was watching the woman in contempt, and Ziva knew that Jenny would not like this. Jenny would not like this one bit.
"Good news boss!" Tony said, but stopped when he saw Gibbs with that blonde chick. "I miss something?"
"Gibbs just met his wanna-be fourth ex-wife." Ziva answered. Tony gave her a look, and she frowned. "What, did I say something wrong?"
"No, no, you got it right. It's just…Jenny is not going to like this at all." Tony said, shaking his head.
"You read my mind." Ziva agreed.
"What have ya got, DiNozzo?" Jethro asked, eager to shut Mann up.
"Found this at the next tee, boss." Tony said, leaving Ziva and walking up to Gibbs. "It was outside the blast radius, wind must have carried it off, looks like part of a detonator."
"I checked the neighboring tees myself." Mann said, hands once again on her hips.
"Well then maybe you should have checked the trashcans." Tony said smartly, a grin on his face. "Looks like a hole in one boss."
"Nice work." Jethro said, nodding to Tony.
-NCISNCISNCISNCIS-
Jethro led Mann to Autopsy, smiling to himself when he heard Ducky talking. A weird look crossed Mann's face, and Jethro had to stop himself from laughing aloud.
"Is he talking to himself?"
"To the body."
"Ah, Colonel, your CO just called, requesting copies off all my findings." Ducky said, looking at Mann. Turning to Jethro, he nodded. "Jethro."
"The report, Duck?" Jethro asked.
"Yes, well, uh…the cause of death appears to be just what you see here." Ducky said, gesturing to the burned corpse on the table and picking up a severed foot. "Explosive dismemberment."
"Yeah, got that part." Jethro said, nodding.
"What we don't have are any traceable fragments from that explosion." Mann said.
"Yes, Abby was complaining about the dearth of physical evidence from the crime scene." Ducky said, nodding. "Present company excepted, of course."
"Bomb shell was plastic." Jethro said, folding his arms.
"Which means the fragments disintegrated." Mann added.
"Yes, but luckily for you, not all of them." Ducky said, looking at the two. "As the ancient Sun discovered, fire and water don't mix. The human body is made up of two thirds water. Some of the burning fragments were caught and cooled by the interstitial liquid in the Colonel's tissue before they could disintegrate."
"Get that to Abby." Jethro said simply, nodding to Ducky before walking out of Autopsy. Mann looked at Ducky, looking a little lost, before turning and following him.
-NCISNCISNCISNCIS-
"Is it just me, or did the SecDef seem nervous?" Jenny asked as she walked out of MTAC with Jethro close behind.
"He probably had a tee time tomorrow." Jethro replied as Jenny leaned against the railing of the catwalk, looking down at the bullpen.
"What's she like?" Jenny asked, nodding curtly at Mann. Jethro looked at Jenny, noting the hard jaw line, and he couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face.
"You jealous, Jen?"
"No, why would you think that?" Jenny said, avoiding his gaze. "I just meant is she up to the job."
"Sure Jen, sure you did. But you see, I'm currently taken, so no matter how much that poor woman throws herself at me, it will not matter in the slightest. And besides," Jethro said, coming closer to Jenny and sliding a hand across her lower back, his hot breath washing over her neck. "You know blondes aren't my thing. I'm more a redhead kind of a guy."
His phone rang at that moment, and Jethro pressed his fingers into her back for a moment before flipping open the phone and moving away slightly.
"Yeah, Gibbs."
"Hey boss, DiNozzo."
Pulling his phone away from his ear, Jethro shot a glare in Tony's direction.
"Hey, DiNozzo!" Jethro yelled, shaking his head. Jenny shot him a look at she held in her laughter, her green eyes slightly darker than before, most likely from his hand on her back. She always was sensitive to his touch. Tony looked around slowly, finally finding Jethro and Jenny on the catwalk.
"Hey, that's weird, cause I though…" Tony laughed nervously, his grin fading slightly. "I thought you were still in MTAC."
"What do you want?" Jethro asked, slightly pissed that DiNozzo had been the call to dissolve his moment with Jen.
"Um…we…" Tony fumbled for words, but Mann picked up where he left off.
"We just found an unaccounted for vehicle from the Army-Navy Club."
Jethro looked at Jenny once more, watching the way her green eyes flashed, her red lips curving up into a smirk.
"Incentive."
-NCISNCISNCISNCIS-
Jethro barged into Jenny's office that evening, noting how her eyes flared when the door slammed behind him. She had a case file in front of her, and she had her glasses on, perched on the end of her nose.
"Jethro, I don't believe we have a murderer in custody yet." Jenny said as she took her glasses off.
"Ah, but it's a Friday night Jen." Jethro said, coming over to her side of the desk, closing the file and pulling her into a standing position. "Fiona is spending the night at Lauren's, and we haven't worked on the boat in months."
"Is that supposed to be your idea of an invitation, Jethro?" Jenny asked, relaxing into his hold as he guided her to the door.
"Is that your an idea of saying yes?" Jethro retorted, leading her into the elevator and pressing her gently against the wall after flipping the emergency switch. He lowered his mouth to hers; kissing her like he'd wanted to on the catwalk. Her arms wound around his neck, bringing his head closer to hers, her lips demanding and possessive against his. After a few long moments, Jenny pulled away, her breathing heavier and her eyes darkened to a forest green.
"That, Jethro, was my idea of a yes. We just have to stop home so that I can change out of these clothes."
"What, you don't want to sand in a suit?" Jethro quipped, putting his face close to hers once again, so that they were breathing the same air. Jenny merely rolled her eyes at him before shoving him away and flicking the emergency switch.
An hour later, Jenny had changed out of her business suit and was in a pair of shorts and one of Jethro's t-shirts, Jethro standing behind her as they sanded, his breath on her neck. He pressed his body up against hers, and kissed along her shoulder languidly; reaching the place where her shoulder met her neck and brushing her hair back, pressing his lips to her pulse point. Her motions with the sander stopped, and Jethro watched her eyes flutter as she tried to regain control. Determined to undermine her strength, he kissed higher on her neck as he ran his hands from her hips up to her breasts, and he felt her breathing stop completely.
Jenny felt his lips on her neck, and she had to close her eyes to muster up some form of control. Taking a deep breath, she was fine, until he moved his hands up to her chest, and he started to move his fingers, and Jenny gave up the fight. Turning in his arms, Jenny slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Jethro took the opportunity and pinned her body between his and the boat, capturing her lips in a hot, wet kiss that made Jenny's head spin and a low moan emit from her throat. They exchanged a few deep, explorative kisses, and Jethro's hands were creeping up under her shirt when they heard a throat being cleared on the top of his basement stairs.
Looking up, Jethro watched as Mann shifted uneasily from foot to foot, wringing her hands. He could feel Jenny starting to tense up underneath him, and his ran his hands up and down her sides, trying to calm her down.
"I knocked." Mann offered as she looked at the two of them, taking in their proximity and Jethro's hands on Jenny's sides. "And I've been ringing your bell for five minutes."
"Yeah, I've been meaning to get that fixed." Jethro said easily, nodding to Mann as he attempted to disperse some of the awkwardness of the situation. "There a particular reason you decided to break into my house, Colonel Mann?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it breaking in if your door is unlocked, Agent Gibbs." Mann countered, walking down the stair slowly. Jenny kept her gaze on the other woman, her grip tightening on Jethro as the blonde Colonel came closer. Jethro gently kissed her forehead, rubbing her back to remind her who was in his arms and who wasn't.
"So now it's trespassing." Jethro said, turning slightly to look at Mann.
"Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it." Mann said as she reached the basement floor, holding her purse in her hands. "Director."
"You may as well call me Jenny." Jenny replied as she disentangled herself from Jethro slightly. "This isn't a professional atmosphere in the slightest."
"Hollis." Mann said, nodding slightly at Jenny. Turning to Jethro, she answered his previous question. "This is a joint investigation, and I thought that we could share some information. I didn't realize that I would be…interrupting something."
There a moment of awkward silence as everyone looked in different directions before Jethro broke the moment.
"You said something about information?"
"Ah, yes. I got the results on the swabs from the Toyota." Mann said, leaning gently against the counter. "Traces of diesel fuel and ah, fertilizer. Same thing that McVeigh used on the Federal building in Oklahoma."
"Yeah. The guy driving the Toyota was a greens keeper." Jethro said, nodding as his hand absently drew circles on Jenny's lower back, causing her breathing to falter and her grip to tighten on his shoulders.
"I know, he's around diesel fuel and fertilizer all day." Mann said, crossing her arms. "It was a bad lead. Anything you'd like to share?"
"My people are still searching for connections. I'll let you know when they find anything." Jethro said with an air of finality. Mann seemed to sense this, and she raised her hands in defeat.
"I'm going, I'm going. I guess I'll see both of you tomorrow…" Mann said, looking between the two. Both Jenny and Jethro nodded, and Mann started back towards the stairs.
"And, Hollis?" Jenny called, speaking for one of the first times that night. Mann turned back, her gaze expectant. "If you could…not say anything about this, it would be great."
"No problem, Jenny." Mann said, nodding to her. She looked at them one last time before turning and heading back up the stairs. A few moments later, they heard the faint slam of the front door, and Jenny dropped her head onto Jethro's chest, groaning.
"Jethro, this is all your fault."
"Jen, how is this my fault?" Jethro asked, rubbing up and down her back.
"If you hadn't suggested we work on your damn boat, then Mann would not have found us here. We would have been at home, most likely in bed. So this, Jethro, is all your fault." Jenny said, looking up and glaring at him. Jethro put his hands up in defense, trying not to smile.
"This does not mean we won't wind up in bed, Jenny, if that's what you're so upset about. So Mann knows, who cares? I'm relieved, because now I don't have to pretend to like her." Jethro explained, shrugging his shoulders. He dropped his hands to Jenny's waist, tugging her closer to his body. Sighing, Jenny allowed herself to relax against him, her arms wrapping around his neck.
"Jethro, it's not that she knows, it's just…this is something that makes me happy. You make me happy. I don't like having to share that with anyone. I'm not the kind of person that shares everything with everyone. I'm not Abby." Jenny said, looking up into Jethro's eyes. "I don't let the entire world know exactly when and why and how I'm happy. I don't go around hugging people and smiling and being all…bubbly. That isn't me. I keep my happiness to myself and those who are close to me. I don't…I don't even know what I'm trying to say any more." Jenny said, shaking her head at herself. Jethro stayed silent, and brought a hand up to her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"Jen. I know you aren't like Abby. No one is like Abby. I know you're happy, Jenny. I know you, Jenny. I know that you don't want the entire world knowing about us yet, and its fine with me. As long as we're happy with each other, I don't care if the President of the United States knows." Jethro said, pressing his forehead against Jenny's. "I love you Jenny."
"Jethro, I love you too." Jenny said, reaching up and kissing him firmly. "Why am I so lucky that I have you?"
"Because you're you." Jethro said simply, kissing her. "Can we take this upstairs now?"
Laughing, Jenny grabbed his hand and dragged him up the stairs to his bed, pulling him on top her as he pulled her closer, letting her scent surround him and remind him just how much he loved her.
-NCISNCISNCISNCIS-
Jethro was glad the case was over; he was sick of Colonel Mann and her uptight, authoritative voice, and he was just glad that Jenny was back to being herself. Mann had really gotten to her, and Jethro was glad Jenny was calm again.
He watched her as she slept in his arms, something he loved to do. Her red hair curled around her ears, and spilled out over the pillow. Her lips were parted slightly, her breathing slow and even. Her eyes danced beneath her lids, and he hoped her dream was happy.
He knew she was upset about the baby situation, and he didn't blame her. It had been four months of trying, and he knew that each failure was hitting her harder and harder. But he knew that they'd get the baby, no matter how long it might take. He knew that Jenny would be an amazing mom; she was doing a great job with Fiona, and he knew that she couldn't love her own child more than she did Fiona.
He wondered how being a dad again would feel. With a baby, not just Fiona. It was easy to be a dad to Fiona, because she was an easy kid. A baby though…a baby was different. A baby required much more than fatherly advice and a hug. A baby needed…a baby needed everything, and Jethro knew that any child of Jenny and himself would receive more love than any child could ever need.
He knew that Jenny wanted a baby. He wanted a baby. In that instant, looking at Jenny, Jethro prayed to whatever super-being that was out there that this time, there wouldn't be a failure. This time, they'd get their baby. He wanted Jenny to know the happiness of motherhood. Shannon had been ecstatic about finding out they were pregnant, and Jethro knew that Jenny wanted that kind of happiness. He wanted to give her that, so badly.
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Jethro pulled his lover closer to his body, smiling to himself when she snuggled closer. He knew they'd get their baby. Their miracle.
A/N: Yes, I promise, the Gibblet is coming. Give it time, my friends :)
