TITLE: Once a hero
AUTHOR: nicis_anatomy
CHARACTER: Jenny Shepard
GENRE: Gen, Drama, pre-series
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 1000
SUMMARY: When Jenny learned that her father had killed himself, she knew something was wrong and that his death was only another part of a game that had started a long time ago ... Written for prompt #03 "The worst time" for lj's 24_times
WARNINGS: slightly spoilerish for 5.01. English still isn't my native language (although I wish) and the story is not beta'd.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters (although I'd love to own Action Figure Gibbs), nor am I making any money from them. If I would Season 5 would have ended different. Violet Shepard is mine, though.
NOTE: I know that the dream sequence in 5.01 suggested another scenario but I can't see Jenny still living with her parents when her father died. So I changed it ;)

" You believe the story that my father took a
bribe while overseeing an arms reduction treaty?"
(Jenny in 5.01 "Bury your dead")

~*~*~*~*

"Jennifer? Here's your mother." Violet's voice was steady and her tone professional as always, but Jenny knew that something was terribly wrong. The call itself at that late hour was evidence enough for that; besides that her mother hardly ever called - especially since their last argument.
"What's wrong?" Jenny asked, although she knew she probably wouldn't want to hear the answer. Somehow, she'd known all day that something would happen, she wasn't going to like.
"It's your father ... He shot himself," Violet answered and before she had the chance to give her more information, Jenny had already ended the call and was on her way to her car.
When Jenny pulled the car over, only ten minutes later, parking it right behind one of the police cars, she could still hear her mother's words in her head.
He shot himself ...

There was so much wrong with these three words that Jenny had no idea where to start to proof it.
Her father didn't shot himself. He would never do that. Why would he? He'd been fine when they'd met earlier for lunch. He'd told her about the investigation caused by a bribe he'd been accused of having taken. But this wasn't something that was new. This investigation had started weeks ago and although it was nerve-wracking, he'd been fine.
Everyone made mistakes, and whoever had started this investigation had made a big one. They would unearth the truth, eventually. And until then they just had to hang in there for a while ... That's what her father had told her, and Jenny had believed him. She knew he was innocent and hadn't done anything wrong. That wasn't his style. He would never betray his country and he hadn't taken money to cover up something illegal.
That didn't make any sense ...
Whatever had happened tonight wasn't her father's fault or caused by him. Why would he have acted like he used to then, when they met for their weekly lunch, smiling and cracking jokes?

Her father wasn't suicidal or depressed as Violet was telling a man that had 'Army CID' written all over his uniform, when Jenny entered the house, heading directly to the study, where her father was.
"What are you doing, Miss?" A young officer stepped into her way. "You can't go in there."
"I'm his daughter," Jenny said, trying to shake off his hand. "I need to ..."
"Jennifer?" Her mother's voice was still cool when she reached for Jenny's arm to pull her away from the door. Any outsider would've assumed Violet Shepard was in shock, but Jenny knew better. Her mother was the best actress in the world when it came to hiding real emotions. She would even smile, when something horrible had happened. And that she was smiling now, while her husband's body was in the room next door was proof enough of how good she was.
Jenny, however, was devastated, crying silent tears, caused by anger, by grief, and by desperation that no one would allow her to see her father.

Without giving Jenny the slightest chance to escape, Violet led her in the kitchen, where she sat down at the table, looking daggers at the cop who dared to sit down on her father's chair. No one was ever allowed to sit there, and Jenny wasn't going to let that change just because her father was dead.
She knew she was too emotional and acting like a child, but someone had to show some signs of desperation or consternation, and if her mother wasn't the one, she had to do it.
"This wasn't a suicide," Jenny stated after a short moment of awkward silence, only interrupted by the sound of people leaving and entering the house and someone laughing inappropriate. It took Jenny all her strength – and a warning look from her mother - to remain on her chair.
"He would never kill himself. It was murder and you know it, mother. Why would he do this?" she asked. Her dad loved her. He adored her. She was his little girl. He would never leave her alone.
"You haven't seen him, Jennifer," Violet's voice was calm. "He was depressed. He wasn't himself lately. He -"
"Someone killed him," Jenny repeated, giving her mother a desperate look. "This whole investigation was a farce. Why can't you see it? Are you that blind? Why can't -"
"Jennifer! Watch your tongue!" Her mother interrupted her. "Your father wasn't the hero you wanted him to be. He took that money and he felt guilty about it. That's why he did it. He was a coward and he left us. Deal with it!"
"You're wrong. He didn't -"
"Yes, he did; if you like it or not ... that's the truth."

Jenny shook her head. She couldn't believe what her mother was saying, what she obviously believed. How could she think that her husband would be corrupt? How could she put her husband, her dead husband, in a bad light? Why couldn't she see the truth?
"You have no idea what that is, do you?" she asked. "This is all part of a game. Someone was trying to destroy dad and when that didn't work he killed him. He'd played everyone and he's still doing it."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Jennifer," Violet interrupted her, sharply.
"You are the one who don't know anything, mother. But I will proof that you're wrong." Pushing back the chair, Jenny stormed out of the house, knowing that she would be alone in this, without help, without her mother's support. But she was ready, and the knowledge that this day wasn't just a bad day, but most likely the beginning of the worst time of her life, was only an additional incentive to find whoever killed her father, the only role model she'd ever had in her life.
She wouldn't stop until she'd found proof that her father was innocent; whatever the cost ... no matter how long it would take ...
And no one was going to stop her.

- The End -