Sorry for the massive wait…
I kind of had it in my head that I was just gonna leave it there, but then I had a dream where (this next story point) happens, and I realised there were a lot of unanswered questions in my story… So I decided it wasn't finished and I had to write a bit more…
Updates will be few and far between- I've got two weeks of high school left ever, and I've got exams before then and now… basically my entire immediate future rests on the next couple of weeks… Anyway, enough from me…
As always read and review
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Jen had that feeling again… the one she got in the Czech Republic… the one she got the night she screwed up in Paris… the one she got before entering that diner. It was the feeling that said this day would not end well.
These days the feeling was limited to those days when she had to report to SecNav about Gibbs' antics, but it was never this bad. There was tightness to her shoulders that wouldn't go away, and butterflies rested in her stomach. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.
Surprisingly, she managed to go half the day before Gibbs noticed something was wrong. He walked into her office, unannounced as usual, and stopped.
"You okay?" he said, clearly having forgotten his real reason for waltzing into the room.
"Huh?" replied Jenny, obviously not quick enough to hide her troubled expression.
"I said" he started, slower. "Are you okay?"
Normally she would have dismissed him, but given she was busted anyway (judging by the stare he was giving her) and she really was put off by the familiar, unwelcome feeling in her gut, she decided to spill.
She sighed, and thought about how to explain to the man famous for using his gut, that she had a 'creepy feeling'. Meanwhile he had closed the door and pulled up a chair to the other side of the desk.
"I dunno…" she started. When she didn't go on he prompted her again.
"Jen? What is it?"
"It's just… I have this feeling"
He gave her a look.
"Like Czech Republic, Paris… Decker"
Realisation dawned on his face, and he shifted in his chair.
"Since when?"
"I get the feeling it's been sitting in the back of my mind for a while now, but… This morning it just hit me. I didn't say anything because I figured I just didn't get enough sleep last night…"
He smirked.
"… but it hasn't gone away"
"What's this feeling telling you?" he asked, not sure he wanted her answer.
"That something's gonna come back and bite me on the ass"
"SecNav?"
"No, Jethro, that would be your ass, not mine. No, more like…" she trailed off. "Forget it, it's stupid"
"Jen"
She sighed again. "I get the feeling my little trip to the desert is not the end of the story"
Gibbs shifted very slightly in his chair, the only sign that he really didn't want to be talking about that particular adventure.
"What else is there? You got them all, and Franks has been sitting on a beach in Baja since. You're okay… wait, you are okay, aren't you?" he asked, suddenly worried she was talking about herself.
"You really need to ask me that after last night?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, alleviating the tension for a moment.
"Jen, you're gonna have to be a little more specific here. What's coming back to bite you on the ass?"
"Natasha"
Well, she always did have a way of dropping a bomb. He shifted again, and drew in breath, not sure what to say.
"She's still out there Jethro, and I have the feeling she knows exactly what went down in that diner. It's been months, she's got dozens of contacts, she could easily get into the country, and she got to be pissed as hell that you and I are still breathing… Jethro, I have this God-awful feeling that she's here, and she'll be wanting her own"
"Jen, it's been months. She knows where you are, why wait until now?"
"Because I've been under lock and key since I got back- everyone, you included I might point out, have been paranoid that I might drop down dead any moment, or run off the reservation. She hasn't had a chance. Plus, I've been at your place while not at work, so she might not have been able to find me until recently. Whatever the reason, Jethro, it doesn't matter. Fact is, if she's in town, I am first in her sights. And I don't need to remind you who would be second" she finished, giving him a pointed look.
He sighed again, and leaded forward, rubbing his face with his hands, thinking. He was clearly worried, or never would have showed so much.
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"Me?" he asked suddenly, looking up sharply, pretending to be angry.
"Yes, Jethro, you. You stepped in front of a bullet for me once; I know you'll go all John McLain on me if you have to"
"Since when did you take over DiNozzo's trade?"
"Since he reminded me so much of you I forgot which was which" she shot back. "Jethro, don't deny it" she said softer. "I know you"
"You've said that before"
"And I'll say it again"
They stared at each other for a moment, thinking about the implications of Natasha coming back. Hell hath no fury like a hit-woman screwed over.
"You stay with me when you're not here" said Gibbs finally, breaking the silence.
"I already do"
"Then you stay out of this", he said, pointing a finger at her. "We do not need a repeat performance"
"Jethro, there is no denying that I'm the reason we're even having this conversation" she retorted, never one to be babied. "She'll be coming after me, and no amount of bubble-wrap is going to stop her"
He gave a look that asked how she could be so sure.
"I know what I'd do if I were in her position" said Jenny, softer than before, looking right into his eyes. "She won't stop"
And they both knew that was true. Her obsession with La Grenouille nearly destroyed her, her ability to obsess over something becoming quite obvious in her infrequent outbursts directed at him. There was no telling what Natasha might have up her sleave, and she'd had years to plan her revenge, with no obligation to the law to hinder her.
What scared Gibbs more was that he himself had been having a bad feeling for several days, and now that Jenny was too- a woman who thrived on logical reasoning- worried him more than he would ever admit. He had made the mistake of not being there the first and second times… he was going to stop this and keep her safe… one way or another.
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I'm writing the next chapter now… should I bother??
