Lexie does appear in this chapter, later on.

Accompanied by Josh, Jenny made her way back to Anacostia. Ignoring Jason Harding's secretary's calls for her to wait, she stormed into his office. He wasn't alone, perched on his desk, sipping at small glass of scotch, was a petite brunette in her fifties. She glanced up from her desk and shot Captain Harding -who was standing in the corner of the room - a feline like smile. "It appears we have company, darling," she drawled.

He looked over in surprise towards Jenny, as though he'd only just noticed she was there. He rubbed at the back of his head. "Ah, Agent Sheppard, we weren't expecting you. How can I be of assistance?"

Jenny raised her eyebrow in the direction of the woman, who seemed perfectly happy to stay where she was. Captain Harding followed her gaze. "Sorry," he muttered distractedly. "I should introduce you. This is my wife, Madeline."

The woman offered a small, insincere smile in return. Jenny gave a brief nod of acknowledgement towards her before turning her attention back to the Captain. "Captain Harding I'd like to talk to you about Leah Davis."

Madeline gave a small chuckle. "Oh dear, it appears they've discovered that you were sleeping with her, Jason dear."

Jenny had to patrol her expression very carefully in order not to give away her surprise. Instead, keeping her face deliberately cold, she turned to Madeline Harding. "May I ask where you were last night between seven and nine, Mrs Harding?"

"I was at home."

"Anyone who can verify that?"

The woman let out a low, brittle laugh, she shook her head in what almost resembled amusement. "I'm afraid not," she replied.

"Well in that case, I'd like both of you to accompany me back to NCIS."

Letting out a tired sigh, Madeline Harding waved her hand dismissively. "Of course." She placed her near empty glass onto the desk and reached for her jacket. Captain Harding on the other hand looked more reluctant, however he too followed the request and shuffled uneasily towards the door, his shoulders slumped.

Jenny studied Captain Harding carefully through the glass window, as he sat quietly in interrogation, his hands tapping agitatedly against the wooden table.

"Do you think he did it?" Will asked her.

Jenny shrugged. "He has a motive."

"Yeah, but," Will frowned at the man in question. "How did the wife know?"

"Maybe he told her today, he must have known we'd trace the affair eventually. They could have been planning what to do next."

"Josh said the wife was pretty blasé about the whole thing."

"She could just be very good at putting on a front." Jenny pulled at the bottom of her blouse, her actions smoothing out some of the wrinkles. "I suppose there's no sense in waiting any longer."

With that, she slipped out of the room, re-appearing in interrogation only seconds later. Flashing a polite smile at Captain Harding - to confuse him - , she sat down across from him. "So, when did your relationship with Leah Davis start."

His hands flexed awkwardly, and he swallowed heavily. "It wasn't a relationship," he choked out. "It was casual, just sex, no strings attached. She knew I would never leave Madeline and she had no intention of leaving Harry."

"How often did you meet?"

"Every Wednesday night."

"Just Wednesdays?"

"Yes, but she didn't often come to the base though."

"But she did last night?"

He nodded, clearing his throat. "Yes," he finally answered. "I wasn't sure why at first, but we got carried away and-" he stopped talking abruptly.

"Had sex?" Jenny asked.

"Yes," he confirmed. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Everything was normal apart from the location until-" he shook his head.

"Until what, Captain Harding?" Jenny prompted, a hard edge creeping into her voice.

"Until Grace walked in."

"Your secretary?"

"Yes, she turned and walked straight back out again, but I was afraid that she'd tell someone, I didn't want it all around the base."

"You didn't want your wife finding out, you mean."

"No!" he replied vehemently. "Madeline knew all about the affair right from the beginning, we have an open marriage, we both sleep with other people. It's not a big deal to us. But if it got out that I was sleeping with a sub-ordinate's wife-"

"It wouldn't be good for your career."

"Exactly," he nodded miserably. "I wanted to go after her, but Leah said she would sort it. I said that it had been far too close a call, and that we should end things."

"Was she upset?"

"No, she said that she'd come to break it off anyway. Then she told me that she was pregnant, she told me that she didn't know for sure if I was the father or if it was Harry's, said she didn't care either. She was staying with her husband and he'd never have to know."

"How did that make you feel?"

He shrugged. "I was relieved at first, then I was worried in case she changed her mind later on. I ended up going to a bar and getting drunk."

"And Leah?"

"Went to find Grace."

"What time was that?"

"I'm not sure, although I know that it was after eight. That was the last time I saw Leah. I didn't hurt her, I swear to God."

Jenny ignored the last part of that statement, she'd heard it too many times. "I'll need the name of the bar you went to."

"Of course."

Josh was waiting outside interrogation when Jenny stepped out into the corridor. She handed him a slip of paper. "Take Agent Lee and find out when Captain Harding arrived at the bar, and when he left. Also, tell Will that I want him to go and bring in Grace Dillon, I want to talk to her."

"Will do." He motioned towards the room where Captain Harding still sat. "You think he did it?"

Jenny pursed her lips together for a moment, thinking. "No," she finally replied. "Although until I find out who did do it, he remains our prime suspect."

Josh gave a nod. "Oh, and Chief Petty Officer Davis is in interrogation room four."

"Right, well I think I'll talk to Madeline Harding first."

With that, Jenny turned and slipped into another interrogation room. Her eyes locked onto Madeline's brown ones, and she slid gracefully into her seat across from her. "How well did you know Leah Davis?"

"Not as well as my husband," she replied dryly. "Then shaking her head slightly, she amended herself. "I knew her to speak to. She occasionally attended my coffee mornings or the social occasions I run for the base wives. Although," she gave a humourless smile. "She stopped attending once started screwing my husband. I suppose that was the guilt."

"How long did you know about them sleeping together?"

"From the beginning. Jason told me the day after they first started sleeping together. I insist on total honesty."

"And you're fine with the fact that your husband sleeps with other women?" Jenny asked, her eyebrow raised.

Madeline Harding, fidgeted slightly on her seat. "I suppose that there's no chance of a cigarette in here?"

"No," Jenny confirmed.

"Thought not." She let out a large sigh, before continuing, "I don't like having an open marriage, I never have. But even though I know that Jason loves me, I also know that he can't keep it in his pants." She shrugged. "Therefore, I make the best out of a bad situation. By making our marriage open, I can control the situation, put rules in place. One of those rules is honesty."

"Why not just divorce him?"

"I didn't want our children to grow up in a broken home, or one where Mommy sat at home crying, wondering what or who their Daddy was doing now. That and I took vows, in a church, for better or worse. Well this is the worse part."

"And the forsaking all others?" Jenny asked wryly.

Madeline gave a small, inelegant snort. "I won't be counting my chickens on that bit. Look," she stated seriously. "Jason and I are happy, and if looking the other way a couple of time keeps us that way then surely it's worth it."

"So this affair didn't bother you?"

She shrugged. "Yes and no. I didn't like the fact that I knew her, but I also knew that she wouldn't risk her own marriage and try to tear ours apart."

"Did you know she was pregnant?"

Madeline's face fell, her eyes widening with shock, before they turned to steel. "Was it Jason's?"

"Yes."

"Did he know?"

"That she was pregnant? Or that it was his?"

"Both."

"I believe she told him last night."

"Well that explains why he came home smelling like a brewery."

"What time did he come home at?"

"About twelve." Madeline met Jenny's gaze. "I know that you think Jason did this, but he would never hurt anyone. And as for his affair with Leah Davis, she got around. This wasn't the first time she'd screwed around on base, and I can tell you for definite that it wasn't the last."

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked, her eyes narrowing.

"She was caught with another supply clerk in the toilets at the Christmas party, everyone knew about it, including her husband."

"And that it wasn't her last?"

"Well she'd quite obviously decided to make her mark as base bike, that's all." Madeline shrugged easily.

Jenny's eyes narrowed, sure that she wasn't being told the full story, but unable to figure out just what Mrs Harding was hiding. "I'll need the name of the other supply clerk."

"Brian Farley."

Rubbing tiredly at her temples, Jenny entered an interrogation room for the third time in only a few hours, this time coming face to face with a drawn looking Harry Davis. He nodded a greeting. "You wanted to talk to me Ma'am."

"I did." Jenny waved towards one of the plastic chairs. "If you'd like to sit down."

"Of course," he murmured. Once they were both seated, he asked, "What was it you wanted to ask me?"

"I wanted you to tell me about your wife and Brian Farley."

His face darkened. "That was a one off mistake."

"Maybe, but I still need to know about it."

"You don't think that Brian had something to do with this?"

"I need to look into all possibilities."

Harry stayed silent for a few moments before replying, "On the night of the Christmas Party, Leah was upset, we'd just had some bad news."

"What kind of news?"

"We'd been trying for a baby for nearly a year, and decided to get some test done." He swallowed heavily before continuing. "That day we'd found out that I had a low sperm count. Leah was desperate for a baby and wanted to dive straight into IVF, I wanted us to keep trying, I didn't want us to immediately plunge all our savings into something that wasn't guaranteed. I thought we should keep trying. We argued about it, and so at the party Leah got drunk, very drunk."

"And had sex with Petty Officer Farley."

"They didn't have sex, I walked in on them before that happened. Like I said, Leah was drunk and so was Brian. Brian and I look similar, she said she thought it was me, that she'd been trying to make up with me for the row."

Jenny only just managed to keep a straight face, she'd heard some excuses in her time but that one was really something else. "So you forgave her?"

"Of course."

Deciding to push ahead, she asked, "I also wanted to know what nights your wife went out on?"

"Oh," he looked thoughtful for a second. "Um, well, she always went out on a Wednesday and a Thursday and on occasion she'd go out during the day on Saturday."

"And where did she go?"

"Out with the women from her book club."

Jenny bit down on her lip awkwardly, the man seemed to be utterly clueless. "Chief Petty Officer Davis, we checked with the book club, and they've never heard of your wife. We also discovered that your wife was pregnant with another man's child when she died and that she had sex with him shortly before her death."

Harry Davis paled further. "No," he whispered. "That's not possible, Leah wouldn't do that to me."

"I'm afraid that it is true."

His face twisted in anger. "Was it Farley?"

"No. We have the man in question in custody, but he insists that he only met with your wife once a week. So we need to know where she was on the other days."

"I don't know." He slumped back into his chair. "It seems like I didn't really know my wife at all." He looked up at Jenny. "Can I go now?"

Jenny nodded, knowing that his alibi for the night before had cleared. "I'll have someone escort you home."

"I want to be alone."

"In all honesty, I wouldn't feel comfortable just letting you walk out of here after everything you've just heard."

The man gave a weary sigh. "Fine," he agreed.

Jenny tapped her pen against her mouth, staring at the large screen in front of her. She jumped slightly as she felt a hand pass over her shoulder, spinning round, she grabbed said hand, only letting it go when she saw it was just Jethro. "Don't do that," she grumbled.

"You love it really."

"I really don't."

"So…..what's the problem?"

"Who says I have a problem."

"If you stare any harder at that screen it's going to burst into flames," he joked.

"Hmmm," Jenny rubbed at her forehead and pointed at the screen. "I need a second opinion and none of my team are back yet."

"Well I'm here."

Jenny nodded and gestured at the screen with her pen. "What do you think about these three men, notice anything about them?"

Gibbs stared at the screen for a moment, and then shrugged. "They look similar."

"Same height, build, hair colour, slight variation in eye colour but overall they look alike."

"Yes," Gibbs nodded, frowning at her in confusion. "Why?"

"Our victim was linked to all three. She was also, according to her husband, desperate for a baby. She pointed at them in turn, "Husband, lover and attempted one night stand. Her husband has a low sperm count, so-"

"You're thinking that she choose men with similar characteristics so that when she got pregnant she could pass the baby off as her husband's."

"Exactly. The lover has two kids in college, so she knows that he's fertile, it makes sense."

"It does, but how does it tie into her death?"

"I don't know yet. It's a bit of a tangle to be honest," Jenny sighed. Turning to face him she asked, "Are you needing anything?"

Gibbs shuffled on his feet, pulling a slight face. "Yeah," he replied. "Lexie's day-care phoned earlier."

"Why?" Jenny frowned.

"She pushed another little girl over, they'd had an argument about something, Lexie refused to say what about."

Jenny let out a low groan, running a stray hand through her hair. "We'll need to talk to her. Again," she concluded heavily.

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"She still can't just go around and push other children when they disagree with her."

"I didn't say that," Gibbs replied evenly.

"I know." She looked up at him. "Can you pick Lexie up from Hannah's at today?"

"I phoned earlier, we're both swamped here so I've arranged for her to be dropped off here at about six."

"How's your case going?"

"Not great," Gibbs admitted. "In fact I think I'll be here late tonight."

"Again!"

Jenny let out an aggrieved sigh. "I'm not sure how long I'll be here for. What are we going to do with Lexie?"

"Cross that bride when we come to it," Gibbs suggested. "One of us might end up getting away."

"Fingers crossed," Jenny replied, just as her team re-appeared out of the elevator. "I need to go," she told him. "See if we're any closer to solving this."

Gibbs nodded. "I need to go see Abby, so I'll see you later," he told her.

Jenny nodded absentmindedly, turning her attention to her team. "What did you find out?"

Will started, "Grace Dillon is in interrogation room. I also spoke to Brian Farley, he says he hasn't spoken to Leah Davis since December and that he was too drunk to really know what he was doing. Regardless I checked out his alibi and it's watertight. There's CCTV to back it up."

"Fine," Jenny nodded, turning to Josh and Michelle. "What about Captain Harding's alibi?"

"The bar's a fifteen minute drive from the base, and Captain Harding didn't arrive until almost quarter to ten."

"Which leaves him unaccounted for at the time of the murder."

"Exactly."

"Ok," Jenny rubbed at her forehead. "Will, you are going to talk to Miss Dillon. Meanwhile Josh and Michelle I want you two to get a warrant for Captain Harding's car and take some sample from it, see if you can find any blood on it. I'm going to talk to security and find out what time Jason Harding left the base."

Will watched as Grace Dillon nervously chewed at the edge of one perfectly manicured nail. "Nervous?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't you be?" The woman asked. "I've been hauled into the middle of a murder investigation."

"At the moment all I want you to do is answer a couple of simple questions."

"Ok then."

"What happened last night?"

Grace let out a long sigh. "I walked in on Leah and my boss having sex on his desk," she finally replied.

"Then what?"

"I left. Obviously."

"Did Leah Davis chase after you?"

"Yes, she wanted to ask if I planned to tell Harry."

"What did you tell her?" Will questioned.

"That it was none of my business. I had no intention of destroying two marriages. I told her it was her mess and she could fix it on her own."

"And then," Will prompted.

"She headed back to the office, and I went home."

"Was Captain Harding still there?"

"Yes, as far as I know he hadn't even left his office."

"What time was this?"

"About half eight."

Will nodded, and then standing up informed her, "I think we're done here."

"Mommy!"

Jenny whirled around, smiling when she caught sight of Lexie running towards her. She caught her in her arms, hugging her tightly. "Did you have fun?"

"Uh huh," Lexie nodded frantically. Her head swivelled and she caught sight of Gibbs walking towards them. "Daddy!" she squealed, racing to him.

Laughing, Jenny turned to the Hannah's mom, Helen. "Did she behave?"

"Impeccably," she replied. "I just wish Hannah was that polite."

"I wish Lexie showed that side at home," Jenny replied dryly. "We'll need to have Hannah round at some point in return."

"We'll arrange something," Helen nodded.

Lexie who'd been listening in from her spot balanced on her Dad's hip, took advantage of the gap in the conversation to ask her parents, "Are you and Daddy going to hell?"

Jenny and Gibbs both stared at her wordlessly, aware that both their teams were now watching with great interest. Helen meanwhile, cleared her throat awkwardly. "I think that's my cue to leave," she joked weakly.

"You lot, go find something to do," Gibbs barked at both teams."

It was Tony who attempted a protest, "But Boss, we have work to do here…."

"Dinozzo," he growled warningly.

"Fine," he let out a weary sigh. "I'm going."

Waiting until the area was slightly quieter, Gibbs placed Lexie on the edge of Jenny's desk. He looked at her seriously "Why would you think that?"

"Because Lauren said that she heard her Mommy say that because you two lived together and you weren't married you live in sin and you have to go to hell." Her blue eyes filled with tears. "I don't want you to go to hell."

Jenny rubbed her hand over Lexie's shoulder comfortingly. "Oh sweetheart, is that why you pushed her?"

"Uh huh," Lexie nodded. "She wouldn't take it back."

Jenny looked over at Jethro, to find his blue eyes dark and angry, his lips drawn tight together. Sensing that he was too angry to be too much use, she turned back to her daughter. "Lex, we are not going to go to hell, and if anyone says that to you then you should ignore them. You should never push someone."

"She deserved it!" Lexie insisted.

"It doesn't matter, you shouldn't do it."

Lexie nodded miserably. "But you promise that it won't happen."

"Promise," Jenny answered, brushing a kiss to the tip of her daughter's nose.

"Maybe," Lexie added thoughtfully, "That you and Daddy should get married, just in case."

That sentence appeared to snap Jethro out of silent seething, while it had the opposite effect on Jenny, leaving her rendered speechless. Gibbs looked at his daughter warily. "That's not a reason to get married, Lex."

"But you love each other! So why not?"

"It's not always as simple as that."

"Why not? Daddy you should ask Mommy, she'd have to say yes." Lexie beamed at the pair of them, apparently more than happy with her solution.

Jenny finally regained use of her tongue. "Your Dad and I are not going to get married, and that's the end of it, Ok?"

Lexie gave a small nod. "I suppose."

"Good. Now I have to go and do some work, so stay here with your Dad for just now."

Waiting until her Mom was out of sight, Lexie turned back to Gibbs., "You should still ask her. She'll say yes," she announced confidently.

"Get anything off the car?" Jenny asked Josh.

"Nothing."

"Did you question him?"

Josh nodded. "He insists that he didn't see her after he left the office. Says he sat there for a while, thinking."

"Convenient that he can't back that up though." Jenny gave a low sigh. "Keep him here overnight, we still have no idea what Leah Davis was doing on the nights she didn't meet him but something about this isn't adding up. I need to take Lexie home. We'll start digging around again in the morning. Tell the other to go home and get some sleep."

"Will do."

Jenny jumped awake as Gibbs slid into the bed next to her, his hand running over her stomach. "Your hands are freezing, Jethro," Jenny protested.

"Mmmm," he mumbled into the back of her neck, kissing the soft skin their.

Smiling, Jenny wriggled onto her back. "How's the case?"

"Don't ask, ended up surrounded by crying teenage girls." He moved on top of her. "How's Lexie?"

"Completely over her little bit from earlier," Jenny replied, brushing a kiss across his mouth.

"Good," he mumbled, deepening the kiss.

He was just divesting Jenny of her top when her cell phone interrupted the proceedings. Groaning, she answered it, listening for a few seconds before hanging up. "I need to go, we have a new victim."