Within several hours, Jenny Shepard had composed herself. She had shed enough tears, and the crying wouldn't do any good. With a toss of a tissue into the garbage, she picked up the phone and went to work. The locks were changed, and she may have bleached or shrunk a few of Jethro's favorite shirts. The redhead toyed with the idea damaging his precious boat but decided that may not fit into her doctor's idea of rest.

"Don't beat up on me," she spoke softly to her kicking unborn children as she rubbed her belly. "Your father deserves it." She turned on the washing machine and walked out of the laundry room.

Madison attempted to use her key and was confused when it didn't work. Her aunt looked into the keyhole and let her inside. "Aunt Jen, did you change the locks?"

She nodded her head. "I did. Ignore the text message I just sent you. I didn't think you'd be home until later."

"The exam was cancelled, so here I am. Why did you change the locks?"

"No reason," the older woman shrugged her shoulders and walked into the den.

Madison furrowed her brows in confusion. She wasn't buying it. There was always a reason someone changed locks in a house. "Are you forgetting something?"

Jen looked up to her niece as she reclined on the sofa. "What?"

"I wasn't born yesterday. There's always a reason for someone to change locks. What happened?"

"Nothing happened, Madison. How was your day?"

"Fine," Madison replied, annoyed that her aunt wouldn't talk to her. "When's L.J. coming home?"

Jenny shrugged her shoulders and continued conversation with her niece. After a few minutes, Madison decided to leave Jenny alone. Her answers were short, and her mind was elsewhere.

At NCIS, Jethro's mind was not on work. He kept replaying the fight in his mind. He should have told Jenny the truth. Why did he think a lie would be better than the simple truth? He knew why…he had a hormonal, fiery tempered redhead to deal with at him. That's why he lied. He couldn't believe Jenny would have had a better reaction if he had confessed his plans to see Hollis. He sighed as he thought of one of his rules. Rule 51: sometimes you're wrong. Leroy Jethro Gibbs had been wrong. He had not given Jenny the chance. Hell, she may have given him a blessing to pay Hollis one last visit before she left the country. Gibbs picked up his coffee cup and sipped. Why in the hell could Jenny think that he'd slept with Hollis? He was committed to her. Didn't she know him better than that?

"Boss," Tony repeated for the fifth time and broke the older agent out of his thoughts. He waved his hand in front of Gibbs' face.

He noticed and looked at the agent. "What, DiNozzo?" he growled.

"Your phone's ringing."

"WHAT?" Gibbs answered the phone. DiNozzo noticed the pained look on his mentor's face. "Going for coffee," the silver haired agent spoke after he hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" McGee looked to Tony.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Something's wrong."

"Should we follow him?"

"I do not think that would be a good idea," Ziva chimed in.

"For once, I agree with you," Tony responded, looking at her.

The three went back to work and decided to enjoy the lack of tension in the room. Gibbs had barked orders and been in fine grouch form since he returned to the office. He went to the local coffee shop and met the retired colonel at the corner. Hollis had taken the liberty of ordering him a large coffee and handed it to him.

He took the cup without a thank you and looked at her. "Got it?"

"Right here," she answered, handing over his cell phone.

"I wasn't sure if you'd gotten the message."

Oh, he'd received the message. He shifted his stance and gave her a trademark Gibbs stare. His gut was telling him Hollis knew damn well what she'd done. "I didn't, but Jen did."

"I'm sorry."

"You aren't," he answered, taking a sip of his coffee. "Why, Hollis?"

She sighed and looked down at the sidewalk. "It was stupid. I thought since you came to me to apologize…we may have a chance."

What was going on with the females in his life? Jenny lost her mind to a degree. Now, Hollis Mann was delusional. He looked down the street and shook his head. "We don't."

The lack of a chance was clear to her. In hindsight, she shouldn't have made the call to the home he shared with his wife. Hollis didn't want to spend her retirement alone. Yet again, she was a fool to think Gibbs would abandon his life with Jenny. She touched his shoulder, and he moved away from her.

"You've done enough."

"Jethro, I…I don't know what to say to make it better."

He nodded his head. There was nothing to say. "You can't. I'll have to." He thanked her for returning his phone, wished her the best, and headed back to headquarters. Hollis watched him leave her, pushing away the jealously she felt towards Jenny Shepard.

At the end of the day, Gibbs retired to his home and to the dark basement to work on the boat. He knew his wife hadn't had enough time to cool down. He poured his strongest bourbon into an empty mason jar and drank slowly, letting it burn. His thoughts were filled with Jenny. He decided he would return home the following day.

Jenny didn't sleep well without her husband in her bed. She was restless the whole night. She wondered if he fell asleep in the hull of the boat or if he had fallen asleep with Hollis Mann. Around three in the morning, she gave up on sleeping and watched the boring infomercials on the television. During breakfast, she dodged Madison's questions on why her uncle hadn't come home. The young adult safely assumed her aunt and uncle had a fight.

Before she left, Madison entered the master bedroom and sat down on the bed. Her aunt looked at her over her glasses. She was on the computer.

"Yes?"

"Will you be okay?"

Jenny sighed heavily and closed the computer, setting it aside. "I'll be fine."

Madison stared at her thoughtfully before hugging her gently. "If you need me, I'll stay with you."

She swallowed hard, touched at the concern. If she broke down into tears, Madison would not leave the house. "Go on. I'll be fine, Maddy."

Madison kissed her cheek and gave her aunt's hand a squeeze. "Okay but…"

"Go, sweetie. I promise I'll be okay."

She nodded and left the bedroom. Ten minutes later, Madison left the house for school and work later. Jenny slept off and on throughout the day and didn't leave the master bedroom. She ignored the few calls from Jethro. Why was he even bothering? She did not want to speak to him yet.

Around 1800, the house phone ringing woke her up. She groaned as she sat up and rolled her eyes when she saw the number on the caller ID. She decided to answer.

"What is it, Jethro?"

He was shocked she answered the phone. "Jen," he spoke softly, relieved to hear her voice.

"What do you want?"

"To talk."

"I don't want to talk," she answered, sliding out of bed and grimacing when her back popped.

"We're going to talk. I'm coming over."

"Fine, Jethro." She hung up on him and walked downstairs with the cordless phone in her hand. She knew he'd be calling back.

Gibbs parked on the street and ran across the street to the townhouse. He went to open the door. Locked. He removed his keys and discovered it no longer worked. "Dammit, Jenny." He banged on the door. No answer. He rolled his eyes, taking out his phone and calling.

In the kitchen, she threw a treat to Chase and put the cap back on her bottle of water before answering the phone. "Problem, Jethro?"

"You changed the locks."

"Uh huh."

"Jen, let me in."

"No."

"Jenny, I'm your husband. Let me in the house."

"My husband that lied to me."

He grumbled when he heard the dial tone in his ear. He banged on the door for over twenty minutes before finally giving up. Before getting into the car, he stopped and looked up to the bedroom window. Jenny quickly let go of the drapes and sat down on the bed. A defeated Gibbs got into the car and drove to his house. He'd let her win this round. For a week, he continued to call the house and her cell phone. She ignored all of his calls.

Jenny looked at the clock and sighed. She took the phone off the hook and turned off her cell phone, needing peace and quiet. A warm, relaxing bubble bath seemed like a fabulous idea. She waddled into the bathroom and turned on the water. She slowly straightened back up. Something wasn't right. She felt a trickle between her legs. Her breath caught suddenly. Maybe it wasn't what she was thinking. Slowly, she walked into the bedroom and eased herself down on the bed. She reached in below the hem of her nightgown, shakily pulling her hand back with closed eyes. When she opened her eyes, she saw red. Blood.

"No…no," she whispered, fighting tears. She couldn't go through this a second time. "Maddy," she yelled out. "Madison!"

Madison had never heard her aunt yell her name like that in her whole life. She darted into the bedroom. "I'm here. What's…oh God..." Madison saw her aunt's bloody hand. Without delay, she picked up the phone and called Jen's doctor, explaining what was happening. Jenny calmed herself enough to change clothes and ready herself for a visit to the hospital.

Moments later, the pair were traveling to Medstar Georgetown University Hospital. Thankfully, it was a quick drive depending on traffic. Madison looked over at her aunt. She had her eyes closed and was rubbing her stomach in circles. She was having slight contractions.

"Do you want me to call L.J.?"

Jenny didn't open her eyes. She shook her head no.

Madison nodded her head. She would disobey her aunt. As soon as she wasn't driving, she was calling her uncle. He needed to be with her in the hospital. She turned her attention back to driving.

Jenny prayed the whole way to the hospital. She couldn't lose these babies. She wanted to be a mother. Once upon a time, she thought being the director of a federal agency was her dream. Now, all she wanted was to be a mother to a boy and a girl.