A/N: You get a treat: another chapter only two days after the last one.

Thanks for reading, alerting, favoriting and a Big hug to left my heart in paris, Miss Jayne, jstapny, JibbsGal1 and Tempe4Booth for their reviews, you rock guys ;-)

Spoiler for 5x14 "Internal Affairs" and season 5 (dreaded) finale "Judgment Day". You may not believe it but the inspiration for this story came from Jenny's call in the flashback!

Have a good reading.

Chapter 21: Vision from hell

February 8th, 2011 10 am

Congressman Bob Sommers Office, United States Capitol, Washington D.C.

Two weeks ago when the FBI had accused Jenny of René Benoit's murder, we had barely enough time to clear the house and leave before the federal agents came to search the place.

Luckily, we had anticipated this could happen and had agreed on a course of action: we were to take the first plane out of the country to Europe, join a chalet in Switzerland and wait there for Jenny, never trying to contact her.

When Nathan had killed our old enemy, he didn't leave any trace behind. The gun he had used was Jenny's and she had been convincing enough to make everyone believe that she wanted the man dead and had acted alone to get him. The FBI had damning evidence against her, we all knew that and, since her diagnosis, Jenny had stopped caring about it.

I had observed Jenny and Nathan closely for the past year. I noticed they seemed to have a tacit agreement to never mention what happened at the marina and the consequences it could have for us all. I couldn't get out of my head what Jenny told me that night, as I asked why she was letting Nathan go after Benoit, when a few hours earlier she was still trying to find a way to put him behind bars.

"We can't keep going on like this. I tried, I did everything I could to arrest him legally but he is protected. We will never get to him like this. It's only going to end up destroying us. I refuse to let him take anything more from us. No matter the consequences, it has to stop. Yes, I would have loved to see him spend the rest of his life in jail but I know it's not going to happen. And unfortunately, this is the only alternative," she had said.

I had no doubt she knew exactly what it meant for her; the fact that she was ready to face an accusation of murder for us, without blinking, left me breathless.

In our chalet, in Switzerland, we were waiting for her and, as each hour passed, we were losing hope we would ever see her again. A 29-month-old Grace had been restless, searching, looking everywhere and asking for her mommy; Nathan had spent those days sulking, a guilty expression on his face, wincing every time Grace called for Jenny; my father and I had made a list of the various persons owing us favors that could help us get Jenny out of this mess.

When she had finally knocked on the door, the relief filling us had been intense, inexpressible, and, at that moment, we made a silent pact to be those protecting her from now on, not those whom she was protecting.

For the next two weeks, we tried to convince her to go to the clinic we had selected, where promising clinical trials were underway, but she hadn't wanted to hear any of what we had to say.

The day of our return came too fast. We agreed she would leave first and we would follow later.

Her plane took off at 12:00 pm from Geneva Cointrin International Airport, arriving at 7:05 pm in Washington Dulles International Airport with a change at 1:10 pm in Paris Charles de Gaulle.

We were leaving at 3:25 pm to arrive at 7:30 am in Washington with two changes in Paris and New-York.

So, here we were, back at home. The first thing we noticed was the nice smell of one of Noemi's breakfasts. Probably the only thing we had missed when we were away.

"I'm so happy to see all of you again, especially you, little Miss," she greeted as she took Grace from her infant seat.

"We're glad to see you too, Noemi," Abraham said. "Is Jenny already up?" he asked.

"Yes, of course, her plane was leaving an hour ago," Noemi answered, confused.

"Her plane? What are you talking about?" Nathan demanded.

"Her plane for Los Angeles," she explained and continued when we remained confused. "When she got home, she went in her study and, a few minutes later, she got a phone call; a friend of hers, who lived in Los Angeles, died and she wanted to attend the funeral. She said she let you know."

"Well, obviously she lied. Why would she have left without telling us?" Abba wondered out loud. "Noemi, did she tell you the name of this friend?" he asked.

"A William Decker, I think," she answered, uncertainly.

The look of horror on my father and Nathan's faces probably reflected mine. We knew Jenny's NCIS file by heart: all her operations, missions, everywhere she went, everyone she worked with, put in jail, killed. We always knew this knowledge could come in handy one day, and, apparently, this was the day.

William Decker was one of the agents working with Jenny in Europe, specifically in Paris, where one of Jenny's assignments had gone wrong. I learnt that particular detail one night, when Jenny had drunk too much and let slip one or two things she would have never admitted to otherwise. I repeated to the others only what could be relevant to our safety, I valued my life too much to even think about revealing the rest.

"Find us a plane for L.A., Mikhael," my father said.

It didn't take long. "We better hurry, the plane takes off at 9:30 am," I announced, after hanging up.

Leaving Grace and a bewildered Noemi behind, we rushed off to the airport.

When we arrived a few hours later, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the ceremony was already over. There was no trace of Jenny.

"She checked in her hotel but left soon after," I said after ending one of the numerous phone call of the day. I could never thank Bob enough for giving me this job; the number of people owing me a favor was impressive.

"Can't we trace her phone?" Nathan asked, a slight edge of desperation in his tone.

"I already tried that, it's off. She is not stupid; she doesn't want to be found. My guy will call me when she turns it on again or if she makes a call," I answered.

"So what do we do?" Abraham asked. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Nathan and I nodded; we felt it too.

"We need a just-in-case plan," I said at last.

Hours later, after searching about every hospital in Los Angeles, we finally got some news.

"Mojave Desert? Can't you be more precise, we can't exactly search the whole place!" I said at my contact, who, of course, couldn't help me more than he already had. "Thanks anyway."

"What would she do in the Mojave Desert?" Nathan asked, in disbelief.

Shrugging, I turned towards my father, who seemed far away. "Abba? You alright?"

"Yes, just thinking about something. Nathan, do you remember when Mikhael told us about this Decker?" Nathan nodded and my father continued. "We checked him out, he bought a place in the Mojave Desert; a diner I think."

"Yeah, you're right," Nathan said. "37th Street SW, Mojave California. What?" He asked when he noticed our surprise.

"Nothing," we both said. "Let's go."

The drive seemed endless, the road was identical all along and I was dozing off when my phone went off for the hundredth time of the day.

"Hello?" I answered, sleepily.

"Mikhael?"

"Jenny? Jenny, where are you?" I was suddenly alert and Nathan, who was driving, slammed the brakes.

"Look, I don't have much time. Listen to me without interrupting. All of you - take the first plane back to Europe, go where you know and stay there until everything winds down. If I'm lucky, I might be able to join you," she said.

"Jenny…" I tried but she cut me off before I could continue.

"No, just do as I say, please. And tell Grace that I love her and I'm sorry," With that she hung up.

Less than a minute later, I got a text confirming Jenny's location.

"Get a move on, now!" I told Nathan, who stepped on the gas.

Hell, yes, that's probably what I imagine hell to look like. The scene in the diner reminded me so much of my sister and her husband's murders that I was frozen for a moment.

"She is alive!" Abba announced. "We need to act fast."

"Damian? Damian! Damian Simmons, I'm talking to you!" He felt someone shaking him, bringing him back from the memories of one of the most awful days of his life.

"Sorry Bob, I was far away," Mikhael said, focusing on his boss/friend's face.

"Yeah, I could see that. Is something wrong?" Bob asked, concerned.

"No, not at all, just lost in memories, that's all," the campaign manager reassured his candidate.

"Alright, if you say so," Sommers said, not really convinced but having other things to discuss. "Did you get the chance to look at the latest opinion poll before you got lost in your memories?"

"Yeah, I did, and, despite the FBI investigation and its media coverage, you're still in the lead," Mikhael assured.

"Well, at least one piece of good news in all this mess," Bob said just as the phone was ringing.

"Yes, Laura?" he answered.

"Sir, an agent Fornell, from the FBI, wishes to talk to you but he doesn't have an appointment…" the secretary explained.

Bob exchanged a look with Mikhael before cutting his secretary off. "Let him through, Laura, and hold my calls for now," he waited for her agreement before hanging up.

A second later, Tobias Fornell was opening the door and slowly making his way into the office.

"Agent Fornell, I hope you have some good news for us," Bob greeted the man and shook his hand.

"Congressman Sommers," Fornell answered and, glancing at Mikhael, approached him. "Mr. Simmons," he said, shaking Mikhael's hand as well.

"Agent Fornell," Mikhael nodded at him.

Fornell had met every member of the Simmons family, plus Bob Sommers, a few days before, with a representative from the Israeli Embassy, SecNav and the U.S. Attorney General. Israel had confirmed the boys' former 'employment' by Mossad and the family had given some explanations for their sudden disappearance in 1999, why they entered the U.S. in 2006, why they left in 2008 … and, of course, Congressman Sommers' role in all this.

Everyone had carefully avoided to mention the can of worms that was René Benoit's murder, no one was particularly interested in making an arrest anymore.

The interview had been long, painful and tiresome, especially for Jenny, but it had insured them the Department of Justice's full support. Even more so when the Attorney General had wanted to meet M. Allison Hart's client and the lawyer had refused, claiming she had given them all the evidence her client possessed. They had come to the logical conclusion that there was no client; M. Allison Hart had simply used the information gathered by James Drenton before his death.

"I do have some good news. The case has been dropped, the Attorney General convinced Miss Hart that it was in her best interest to end her vendetta since her so-called evidence had no chance in court," Fornell announced and his two interlocutors breathed sighs of relief.

Mikhael immediately opened his phone to call the family.

"However," Fornell wasn't finished. "The Attorney General and SecNav agreed that an explanation to the Congress would be the best thing to do. You all have to come clean, even Jenny; I should say especially Jenny. The faster, the better."

Mikhael and Bob exchanged another look, and the former left the room to place his call.

"Thank you for everything, Agent Fornell. I don't know what would have happened without your help," Bob said, shaking the agent's hand once again.

"You're welcome. I must say I was more than a little surprised that Gibbs agreed to help a politician, no offense," Fornell replied, still amazed at this particular twist.

"None taken. We both know that Agent Gibbs didn't do it for me," the Congressman countered with a knowing look.

"You don't have to answer me but I'm surprised you risked so much for this 'family,' if I can call them that," Fornell started.

"Is there a question in there somewhere?" Bob asked, tensing up slightly.

"Well, I guess I'm just curious about your relationship with Jenny Shepard," Fornell clarified.

Bob sighed. "Jenny and I have known each other for a long time; we met in college, we have been friends ever since. She was there for me when my parents and my sister were killed in a car accident. I was there for her when her father died. When she needs me, all she has to do is call me, the same if I need something. It's as simple as that."

Fornell was certain there was more to it but he wasn't sure he wanted to know that kind of detail about Jenny.

If you think it's the last you'e seen or heard of M. Allison Heart, you're wrong ;-)

No Jibbs in this one but don't worry the next one will be full of it.

Reviews are my drugs, it's less dangerous for my health :-D