A/N: Wow, I have actually managed to finish this. Thank you for your lovely reviews and thank you to all the "silent" readers that showed interest in this story. I very much appreciate that!

This will not be the last you will hear from those three, as I am currently in the planning stages for a multi-chapter fic, as well as a few upcoming one shots.

Please, feel free to let me know if you have any suggestions and tell me what you think! :)

It was a lazy Sunday morning in November, when Penny Shepard was comfortably slouching on her living room couch, a forgotten cup of cold coffee sitting next to her on the side table. Her eyes were fixed on her phone and she was scrolling through her social media, chuckling every now and then at a silly Instagram video. The logs in the fireplace were crackling silently in the background and the flames spread enough warmth to keep her comfortable in the sweatpants and plain shirt that she was wearing. Her long red curls were falling messily all over her back and shoulders and she kept blowing strands out of her face in annoyance, the sling around her arm making it impossible for her to tie it up into a ponytail by herself.

The gunshot injury was healing well and wasn't hurting too much anymore but she still had to keep her arm immobilized for another two weeks. The most frustrating thing about it was that she was tied to a desk on limited duty and was slowly starting to feel more like an office clerk than a federal agent. One upside, however, was that she was done with all her paperwork and got to enjoy at least one weekend day off.

She connected her phone to the Bluetooth speakers and scrolled through her music, a little indecisive about what to put on.

"Smooth jazz or Folklore?" she asked out loud, turning her head on the armrest towards the bureau by the window where her sister was working in concentration. The sun was shining brightly through the glass and lit up her hair in a way that it almost matched the color of the flames in the fireplace.

Jenny stopped typing on her laptop and looked over, pursing her lips thinking about the choices.

"Smooth jazz," she said eventually, "I don't think I can suffer through you singing along to 'exile' ever again."

"Rude!" Penny laughed and started humming the song. She still selected her favorite jazz playlist instead and put her phone down just as the first notes came through the speakers.

She pushed herself off the couch with some difficulties and grabbed the mug with the cold coffee from the side table, taking a sip. With a few lazy steps on the thick carpet, she approached Jenny at her desk and came up behind her.

"What are you working on?" she asked and put her mug down next to Jenny's laptop.

"Expense reports," she answered, looking bored out of her mind. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, leaning back in her desk chair.

"That sounds unappealing," Penny yawned and reached out to scroll through the opened document on her sister's laptop. "Wow, does this guy really think, he can write a 2,000$ suit off as 'necessary work equipment'?"

"Apparently," Jenny sighed and spun around in her chair slowly to face her sister, "and that's not even remotely the dumbest thing I've read today."

Jenny chuckled to herself, shaking her head and grabbed Penny's mug from the table. She took a sip and winced when she realized that the coffee wasn't hot, making a face of utter disgust.

"That's cold," she complained and handed Penny the mug back, who simply shrugged and downed the remaining coffee in one big gulp.

"So? You drink iced coffee all the time, it's basically the same," Penny laughed and started to slowly spin Jenny back and forth in her chair with her foot, a bit restless and in the mood to annoy her just for the heck of it.

"It's definitely not the same," Jenny replied and kicked at her naked foot under the table, the movement giving her motion sickness.

Penny awkwardly lifted herself onto the desk with one arm and let her feet dangle, her body turned half away from Jenny as she started rummaging through the stacks of paper that where neatly piled up and sorted. She lifted some of the case files and flipped through the pages lazily, not really reading the contents until her sister snatched them from her hand and put everything back in its correct order.

"Could you maybe find something else to do that doesn't include messing up my work files?" she asked sweetly and swatted Penny's hand away from her stationery.

"Jen, I'm bored," her sister whined and started playing with the letter opener, twisting it on her thigh with her good hand.

"Yeah, I've noticed. Can you be bored over there?" Jenny asked and pointed back to the couch.

"Tried it. Didn't like it," she stated and closed Jenny's laptop, adding, "come on, it's Sunday, you're allowed a break. At least come to the kitchen with me and tell me every dirty detail of your relationship with Gibbs while I make us fresh coffee."

Penny flashed her a toothy smile and batted her lashes, her head tilted to the side. Jenny snorted but got up, nevertheless. Her little sister was right, it was the weekend, she deserved some time off, after all. She nudged her off the table with her hip and stretched her arms over her head as she walked towards the hall and the kitchen. Surprised but happy, Penny followed suit, her naked soles smacking on the stone tiles.

In the kitchen, Jenny gabbed a piece of the banana bread Penelope had baked the night before and let herself fall onto a kitchen chair, pulling another one close to her with her foot and resting her legs on it. She watched Penny fill up the kettle and grab the coffee from the cupboard, a bit impressed by how well she seemed to manage all of that with only one arm.

"So, how's that 'illicit affair' working out so far?" the younger Shepard asked as she leaned against the counter and waited for the water to boil.

"Did you seriously just quote Taylor Swift at me?" Jenny asked, still chewing on her bite.

"Are you seriously avoiding my question?" Penny retorted with a chuckle and raised her eyebrow.

"No. I am not. There isn't much too tell. It's working out fine, if that's what you're asking. It's not like we get a lot of time to spend together outside of the office," Jenny said, blushing a little.

"I'm curious, though," Penny said and took the whistling kettle off the stove to pour the boiling water into the French Press, "what exactly do you do together, if you get some time off?"

Jenny choked on her banana bread and coughed, her cheeks turning even redder.

"Do you really need me to get into detail, here?" she forced out, clearing her throat.

"Oh my God, Jen! I didn't mean – I've been an involuntary witness to that activity long enough to know way too many details, thank you," she shuddered theatrically and opened a drawer to grab a spoon to stir the coffee with," I meant apart from screwing each other, what do you do?"

"You're asking weird questions," Jenny got up and stood next to Penny when she saw her struggling with the lid of the coffee maker, afraid she would spill the liquid everywhere and burn herself, "Give me that."

"My questions aren't weird. But you have to admit, you're not exactly sharing a lot of interests, so…," she trailed off, carefully watching Jenny press down the coffee.

"My relationship with Jethro was never about sharing interest, Nelly. It's more about a silent –"

"Understanding," Penny finished for her, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've met both of you. Not even I get you the way he does. Which, to be honest, is a bit offensive."

"You know what, Jen," she added and reached up over her sister's head to grab two mugs from the cupboard, "You don't have to tell me. As long as he treats you right, I don't care if you watch him sand that goddamn boat for endless hours or eat burnt steak from his chimney like a cavewoman."

Jenny laughed out loud, the smile on her face reaching up to her eyes and Penny couldn't help but grin back at her. It was good to see her genuinely happy.

They sat down again, Jenny resuming her place by the window while Penny pulled out the opposite chair and crossed her legs, her steaming mug resting on one knee. They looked at each other for a moment, then Jenny said,

"Sometimes, I do watch him work on his boat. Other times, I bring a book. It's very calming. We talk about work, or we don't talk at all. Whenever he's here, he would just look at me while I work or fix things around the house. Recently, he's started building a little birdhouse for our backyard. It's nice. Being around him, I mean. It's really nice."

"That sounds disgustingly romantic," Penny stated with a chuckle, "the whole staring at each other thing – that's just, I mean – wow."

"You asked!" Jenny defended herself and flicked some cake crumbs at her sister, who then fumbled them out of her hair and licked them off her fingers.

"I know, I know," she replied and held up her hand, "I guess, I'm still a bit surprised that you actually figured this out."

"Tell me about it," Jenny said in a tone that suggested that she herself couldn't really believe it, "this is uncharted waters for me, too. I don't even know how to be in a committed relationship, let alone with Jethro."

"Did you tell him that?" Penny asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"No."

"Well," she concluded, "maybe start there? I mean, I'm not an expert or anything, but 'not-talking' about the things that mattered was what got you into this mess in the first place, right? Apart from, you know, you leaving him in an airport, of course." Jenny shot her a glare and bit her lip.

"I'm not gonna pretend like that wasn't a dick move," Penny admitted and then added, "but that's ancient history. The way I see it, you got a real shot here. And after everything that you've been through, I'm pretty sure, you can make it work."

She smiled at her and took another drink from her mug, enjoying the cozy and light atmosphere. Jenny stared into her own cup, a shy smile playing around her lips as she thought about what Penny had said.

It was a miracle that they even made it to this point and neither of them thought it would be easy, but the lingering feeling of insecurity Jenny felt was new to her. She had gotten so used to regretting her decision to leave that she had never expected there to be a second chance. It had caught her off guard when Gibbs had let his guard down in the hospital and shown a tiny glimpse of that same insecurity – the closest he would probably come to admitting any of his feelings.

A few moments passed where neither of the sisters said anything. The music from the study was just loud enough to barely reach the kitchen but did nothing to cover up the faint sound of a key turning in the hall. They moved their heads and listened as the door was opened and then shut again, followed by heavy footsteps on the marble tiles.

"Speak of the devil," Penny announced when Leroy Jethro Gibbs entered the kitchen. He was dressed in heavy boots, a pair of casual jeans and a thick outdoor jacket over his dark Marine Corps jumper. He looked like he came straight from out of the woods.

"You callin' me names, Nel?" he asked smugly and walked over to where Jenny was sitting. He leaned down to greet her with a soft kiss on the lips, one hand sliding into her hair. She smiled at him.

"Among other things," Penny retorted feistily and got up to grab him a mug from the cupboard.

Gibbs grinned and gently lifted Jenny's legs from the second chair to sit down. He placed them back in his lap and began to absently rub her knee with one hand while his eyes followed Penny.

"Will you ever get a decent coffee maker?" he asked, making a face at the French Press but accepting the mug she offered nevertheless.

"Will you ever use the doorbell?" Penny shot back, before resuming her place at the table.

"Why? Got a key." He grabbed the key from his pocket and jiggled it at her.

Penny rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath, that sounded suspiciously like 'unbelievable' and shook her head at him.

"Jethro, what are you doing here?" Jenny asked this time, her voice curious.

"Want me to leave again Jen?" he retorted, mocking her with a grin.

"No. That's not what I said," she laughed and lightly kicked him in the abdomen with her foot. He grabbed her ankle and held it to his thigh.

"We're going hiking," he explained and gestured at his attire.

"And here I was, thinking you just came by to stare at her for a bit," Penny joked, earning herself a nasty glare from her sister.

He furrowed his brow in confusion but decided to not engage with her comment. Instead, he gently nudged Jenny's thigh with his outstretched hand, urging her on to get up.

"Oh, you're being serious?" she asked, staring at him in disbelief.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, confused at how she could've thought he was joking.

"Well, that sounds great. You guys have fun," Penny commented and got up, ready to leave the kitchen and return to her comfortable position on her couch in front of the fireplace.

"You're coming, too," Gibbs said and reached out with his arm to keep her from leaving the kitchen.

"Uhm, thanks for inviting me to third wheel, but I think I'm gonna pass," she smiled sweetly and tried to duck past his arm; he wouldn't budge.

"You've been complaining about not leaving the office for the past two weeks now," he said and pointed a finger at her, "and you," he turned to Jenny, who raised her eyebrows at him, "will spend the entire weekend behind your desk, if I don't drag you away from it." She shrugged. He wasn't wrong.

Penny let her head fall back in annoyance and sighed heavily, accepting her fate. She indicated her head at her sister and then gestured at herself.

"Can I at least leave the kitchen to get dressed?" she asked and pushed against his arm with her hip.

Gibbs nodded, letting her pass. He watched as Jenny also got up with a groan. She shook out her legs and yawned, wiggling her nose at him. He grinned at her over the rim of his coffee mug, amused by both of their reluctance to leave the house.

She slid past him and caught up with her sister, who waited for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"I didn't sign up for this," she complained and hooked her arm into Jenny's, dragging her upstairs with her.

"I guess, I did," Jenny said with a smile, her head still turned towards the kitchen. They were just at the beginning of their journey - a second chance that could have easily ended in a bittersweet "what if" – but maybe, it wouldn't bee so difficult after all. Maybe, it didn't have to end in disaster.

THE END

*Since I hate inconsistency: Penny used a kitchen aid to bake the banana bread. You can do that with one arm! (Also, if you'd like the recipe, hit me up!)

Reference: "Folklore" by Taylor Swift (arguably the best album of the year)