Twelve

Jack ran the paint roller over the wall and watched as the Cheeto dust orange disappeared beneath the muted grey. She was upset that Gibbs had benched her for the day but she understood his reasoning, he had tried to make her stay home with the kids but she had insisted on going into the Navy Yard with him. Gibbs had hand picked two agents to stay at the house with the kids while they went into the Navy Yard and Jack had Kayla doing hourly check ins with her. McGee was down in the lab with Kasie tracking Nigel Hakim's financials trying to figure out where his plane had finally landed, Nick was in the bullpen coordinating with other agencies and Ellie was sound asleep on Jack's couch. Gibbs had disappeared to meet with Grace an hour earlier.

She added more paint to the roller and glanced over at Ellie, the young agent had ear buds in and was snoring softly. The team had been running non-stop for the last forty-eight hours and Jack had finally insisted on them taking turns for rest before they all burned out. Jack had her own music playing softly in the background and her laptop was open on her desk to a slideshow of pictures, she was trying to surround herself with happy things to keep her from losing her cool again.

She knew Gibbs was exhausted and trying to hold it together for everyone, she knew he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and she wanted to at least take away a bit of stress for him. She painted in relative silence until there was a knock on her open door. She turned around and placed the roller down when she saw Nick leaning against the doorway.

"There's an Agent from the DoD here to see Gibbs, is he back yet?" He asked, "is it okay if I leave her with you for now? I have to get back to a phone call." He asked when Jack shook her head in the negative.

"No problem." Jack replied with a shrug.

She waited a moment as Nick disappeared before a blonde woman in a black pants suit and white blouse entered the room.

"Hiya." Jack greeted, "Special Agent Jack Sloane." She said, wiping her hands off before holding one out.

"Hollis Mann, DoD." The other woman replied, "I was looking for Special Agent Gibbs."

"He's just out for an appointment, he should be back in the next fifteen minutes or so." Jack replied, "Please have a seat." She offered, pulling the drop clothes off the two arm chairs, "sorry everything is such a mess but I started painting yesterday before everything happened and needed to get it done."

She watched the woman sit down and sat down beside her, she picked up the remote on the cloth covered coffee table and silenced the quiet music.

"I take it you're here about Director Vance." Jack stated.

"DoD wants to do everything they can to help." Hollis explained, "I was sent to offer any assistance I can."

"It's greatly appreciated." Jack replied, "this is our number one priority but we've been running a bit thin." She added, nodding towards Ellie who was still sleeping soundly.

Hollis nodded and smiled softly at Ellie, Jack saw her open her mouth to say something but it was cut off when there was another knock on the door. She smiled when she saw Grace standing there with two paper cups in her hand.

"Hey, how was your lunch date?" Jack asked.

"Surprisingly chatty." Grace replied with a smirk, "Although I think he might be having a bit of separation anxiety."

"The kids are at home, it's stressing him out." Jack replied, "he was the same way when we brought Elena home, he'll be paranoid for a few days but it'll wear off." She added with a sigh.

She couldn't blame him for worrying about the kids, she was feeling the exact same way.

"Grace this is Special Agent Hollis Mann, she's with the DoD, Special Agent Mann, Doctor Grace Confalone."

"Nice to meet you." Grace greeted, passing Jack a cup so she could shake the other woman's hand.

"You as well." Hollis replied.

"That's from Popeye, he wanted me to get it up to you before it got cold." Grace added, nodding to the cup in Jack's hand.

Jack nodded and took a sip fully expecting her usual sweet coffee, she was surprised instead when it was a mix of creamy chocolate and espresso that crossed her tongue. Grace laughed at the dreamy expression on her face.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it, I think he was in physical pain when he told Elaine what he wanted." Grace stated with a laugh.

"It's amazing, and just what I needed." She replied with a grin, "you know me so well Gibbs, thank you." She added when she felt his presence behind her.

"Welcome." He replied, "Hollis." He added, nodding to the woman.

"Jethro." She replied, returning the nod, "it's good to see you again, you look good."

"We'll I'll let all of you get back to work, is it okay if I swing by the house to check on the kids, Popeye?" Grace asked, hitching her bag onto her shoulder.

"That's fine." He replied, "I'll call the agents and let them know."

"Alright, it was nice meeting you Special Agent Mann."

Jack watched as Hollis nodded her goodbye before Grace left the room, she turned back to Gibbs and Hollis who were both watching each other carefully.

"Why's Ellie sleeping?" He asked, nodding to his youngest agent.

"They've been going for forty-eight hours, they're going to burn out if they don't sleep." Jack replied, "she's only been asleep for an hour, give her another hour before you wake her up."

N*C*I*S

Hollis watched the interaction in front of her with a slightly raised eyebrow, she was waiting for Gibbs to snap at the other agent, to tell her not to order him around when it came to his team. He had never let anyone tell him what to do when it came to his agents. She watched Gibbs look back and forth between Agent Sloane and Bishop sound asleep on the couch. She held her breath as he stepped towards the couch and raised her eyebrow further when he reached into a box and pulled out a throw blanket, he laid it over Ellie and brushed a hand over her pulled back hair.

"Five more minutes." Ellie muttered, rolling her cheek into Gibbs' hand.

"Okay." Gibbs whispered with a small smirk.

N*C*I*S

Jack watched as Gibbs straightened out and turned back to Hollis who was watching him with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look.

"What're you doing here, Hollis?" He asked, never one to beat around the bush.

"Business and personal." She replied, glancing over at Jack, "DoD wanted someone to come and offer you any assistance you may need."

"And you volunteered." Gibbs deduced.

"I did." Hollis replied with a nod, "Plus your reputation precedes you and volunteers to come work with you were few and far between."

Jack couldn't help but chuckle when Gibbs nodded his expression almost proud, his reputation was well known all over DC.

"That's business, what was personal?" He asked, studying her carefully, "she can stay." He stated when he saw Hollis looking over at Jack.

"I got a package from Abby a week ago." Hollis stated pulling out a large manilla envelope.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow, Abby had never liked Hollis and he had absolutely no idea why the scientist would send anything to the woman.

"Yeah I know, I thought the same thing." Hollis stated when she saw the surprised look on Gibbs' face, "but anyway I got this a week ago along with a letter."

"What is it?" Gibbs asked.

"I have no idea, I didn't open it." Hollis replied, "in the letter Abby said that Tony found it in some of Ziva's things two years ago but forgot about it until last month, there was a letter with it addressed to Ziva…" She handed him the package.

He looked down at the envelope and held it out in front of him, he couldn't read the thin pencil marks on it. He nodded gratefully when Jack handed him her glasses and brought the envelope closer again. There was no address on it only one word, Gibbs. The handwriting was obviously Abby's and it gave him no hint as to what was in the envelope.

"The letter basically said that she was to give this to you when she thought the time was right." Hollis said quietly, "which obviously she never did, Abby said she debated sending it at all but decided that you deserved to see it."

"Why you?" Gibbs asked without looking up.

"She knew I'd make sure it would get to you and that I wouldn't look at it, she also said that judging by what the letter to Ziva said you'd probably burn it without looking at it." Hollis replied, "She also knew that I wouldn't push you about it."

That piqued his curiosity, he opened the envelope and looked inside, there were two other envelopes, one clearly full of photos and the other a simple white envelope. He pulled out the thin envelope and looked at the writing on the front, again no address just a name. Jethro, it had been years since he had seen that handwriting be he recognized it in a heartbeat. He put the white envelope back and looked up at Hollis shaking his head.

"No." He stated, putting the envelope down on Jack's desk.

He felt her eyes on him as he placed the envelope down but refused to acknowledge her presence as a million thoughts raced through his mind.

"Not doing this now." He repeated.

"Just read this." Hollis said, pulling out another small envelope, "this was the letter to Ziva, it'll explain it better than I did."

He grabbed the envelope from her hand and turned on his heel, leaving the manilla envelope on Jack's desk and both women behind him. He needed space, he needed to clear his head but he had no where to go. His house was full, Leon's office was filled with too many ghosts, Kasie was in the lab, Ducky would want to know what was going on if he went to autopsy and he didn't want to go outside and be surrounded by people. He veered through a few different hallways, with no destination in mind, eventually he found himself standing in front of the wall of fallen agents.

His eyes wandered over the agents, the friends and family he had lost. They finally locked on the fiery green eyes he had fallen in love with almost twenty years ago, the corners of her mouth turned up in a barely there smile. It had been ten years to the day since she had been killed, it had been in the back of his mind since the day before but it had been pushed away by the events unfolding around him. The month of May was always brutal for him and his team, Shannon's birthday for him, Kate's death, Jenny's death and Ziva's death all landed within days of each other. He knew Abby had gone to Paris to spend the last week of May with Tony and he was willing to bet that was the reason for the letter in his hand.

He unclenched his fist and straightened out the envelope he had subconsciously squished, Ziva's name was neatly printed on the envelope and from the lack of address on it he knew it had been hand delivered. He pulled out a slightly crumpled and obviously frequently looked at piece of paper. He took a deep breath as he looked down at the flowing handwriting covering the page, small watermarks here and there from where the reader or writer had been crying.

Ziva,

I know you have honoured my request to only open this in the event of my death which means that if you are reading this I am gone. If I am gone it is likely Leon Vance is sitting in my chair and I can only hope that you are still on Gibbs' team.

I have known you since you were eighteen years old, I have watched you grow into an amazing young woman and an even better agent. I watched how you loved and lost Tali, I held your hand through the funeral and wiped your tears after, I saw everything your father put you through and I saw how strong you were through it all. I am so proud of you. That all being said I want you to remember that your family is not just those related to you by blood, I was thirty four when I met you and you were both my best friend and like a daughter to me. When I brought you back to the States with me I said that it was because I wanted to let you learn to be an agent, that was true but I also wanted you to know and see what being a part of a real family is like.

I watched you grow from a loner into a team player who would do anything for her team and her family and I'm not sure that I ever told you how proud of you I was for that. I want you to know how important you are both to me and to the team, he will probably never tell you but I can see how much Gibbs loves you. With that in mind I want you to know that you are a part of a family now and that family will stand by you no matter what, no matter how many mistakes you have made, no matter what you do Gibbs will be there for you because that is what a father does for his child.

I tell you all of this because I know that you have a hard time letting people in, that you have a hard time asking for help and I want you to know that it is okay to ask for help, Rule 28. I also tell you this because I know you didn't have the easiest childhood and I see how much you've grown from that. Just know at the end of the day you are so loved, you are cherished by the family around you.

I know you know a bit about some of the choices that I made in my life and I hope that you learn from them. Let the people around you help you and love you, don't run like I did because you will never find a better family than the one you have here. Don't shut people out because you're afraid to open your heart. Let them love you Ziva David because you deserve to be loved more than anyone I know.

I know I have no right to ask you favours but I do need one thing from you, there is another envelope with Jethro's name on it, please give it to him when you feel the time is right, I know you will understand what I mean by this and I trust you with this.

Thank you for being my friend, for saving my life and for being a part of my family.

With Love,

~ Jenny Shepard

By the time he was through reading he had to take of Jack's glasses so he could blink away the tears clouding his eyes. He had known how close Ziva and Jenny had been, he had seen it in the way the had acted around each other but he hadn't realized just how much Jenny had loved the young woman, how much she had appreciated Gibbs accepting her into his family.

He glanced back up to the case in front of him, there was a picture missing in that case and it always made him sad to think that Ziva would never have the spot she had earned on that wall. He wasn't surprised when he felt a hand come to rest between his shoulder blades, he had sense her presence a minute earlier, could imagine the debate she'd had with herself about approaching him.

"Hey." She whispered, stepping up beside him, "What do you need?"

He was glad that she didn't ask what was in the envelope, was grateful that she didn't push but rather just asked him what he needed from her in that moment.

"To get back to work." He replied, swallowing around the lump in his throat.

"Alright." Jack replied, "Ellie woke up five minutes ago, she and Special Agent Mann are coordinating with NSA, they think they have a lead on the plane. Nick is going to finish what he's doing then he's going to take a quick break."

"Gonna put in a few more hours and head home to check on the kids." He stated, "unless we come up with something useful, team is gonna need a break too."

"As much as I want to say work until we find him I don't know how much longer we can keep going." Jack replied, "it's been a really long forty-eight hours."

"Yeah it has." Gibbs agreed.

And judging by the letter in his hands and the one sitting on Jack's desk it was about to get longer.

So I seriously debated making Jenny a part of this story… I went back and forth on this chapter for a good week but finally decided to publish it mostly because I think Gibbs needs to face this part of his past and I feel like it would change the dynamic between Jack and Gibbs… Plus lately Hollis has been on my mind and from what I've seen on my Tumblr she's been on some other people's minds as well so here she is! I make no promises on how long I'll dwell on the Jenny thing but I thought we needed a bit of extra drama… Remember I own nothing but I absolutely love to hear from you guys!

~Katie

P.S That promo though!