"Are you even listening to me, Special Agent Gibbs?!"
Piercing blue eyes did an irreverent three sixty turn as Gibbs let out a small, bored sigh. Standing in front of the Director's desk for a chewing out used to be one of the few things capable of making his icy exterior fade and extracting a small bout of humility from the battle-hardened Agent. But that was back in the days of Director Morrow. These were the days of Director Sheppard and rightly or wrongly, Gibbs frankly couldn't give a damn for her high-pitched reprimand.
"Of course, Director."
His response was perfectly polite and perfectly respectful. He knew she couldn't say otherwise but he also knew that she knew he was being nothing more than a sarcastic ass. Her glare bounced off him like sunbeams on a mirror as he audaciously took a long sip of molten hot coffee to the backdrop of stony silence. When that silence spiralled on for more than could be considered normal, he raised a brow with a small smirk.
"Is that all, Director?"
"No, that is not all," Jenny snapped, her neck beginning to turn the same colour as her fiery head of hair. "Do you realise the reputational damage that your circus of a team has caused this Agency? Do you realise the wasted manhours, resources and time that were poured into this case which could have been more appropriately expended elsewhere? Do you even know what your team are up to you when you're off doing god knows what with god knows who?!"
Gibbs started at his old protégé steadily.
"My team is not a circus, Jen," he responded, emphasising the usage of her first name sarcastically. "I have dealt with the matter and there will not be a repeat performance, so what exactly do you want from me here?"
"It is Director, Director Sheppard or Ma'am, Special Agent Gibbs," Jenny bit back sharply. "If you continue to find yourself incapable of remembering the proper terminology for this Agency's Chain of Command, I will have absolutely no hesitation in enrolling you on the mandatory three-day seminar for this year's rookie intake that covers the basics. Is that clear?"
Gibbs gritted his teeth but silently acceded the point.
"Yes, Director."
Jenny allowed herself a self-satisfied smirk as she glared at her old Boss and mentor.
"Good. Now, you say you have dealt with the matter and that there will not be a repeat performance but how I am supposed to put faith in that statement when this is not the first time your team has run riot and flouted every single rule and regulation that this Agency possesses?"
Gibbs remained silent for a moment before quirking a quizzical brow.
"Oh, Director" he murmured silkily. "I think if you cast your mind back to your Probie days on my team and how I dealt with your… indiscretions, you will know exactly how you can put faith in that statement. Indeed, if you wanted to cast your mind back to how I dealt with your indiscretions both on and off the job, I think you will find you can sleep safely tonight in the knowledge that I have my team in hand."
Smugness blanketed him as a small flush crept across Jenny's cheeks.
"Be that as it may, Special Agent Gibbs," she snapped in a haughty but futile attempt to regain the upper ground "this is not the first time we have had to have this conversation and-"
"I can remember having many repeated conversations with you as a Probie, Director."
"And" Jenny doggedly carried on as if she hadn't been interrupted "as Director, I need to ensure that an example is set to both your team and every other MCRT in this Agency that this sort of conduct will not be tolerated. As such, your team is benched for the next two weeks and will work cold cases only. You, as Team Lead, may liaise with other teams in the field should they require your assistance but Agents DiNozzo, McGee and David are chained to their desks with no exceptions for the next two weeks. Is that clear?"
Gibbs considered this for the briefest of brief moments.
"No."
Jenny's jaw slackened somewhat.
"No?"
"No," Gibbs repeated calmly. "You do not discipline my team, Director. I do. That is the essence of that Chain of Command you were talking about a few seconds ago, is it not? Both I and my team understand the Chain of Command without question or hesitation and so all matters related to discipline have already been attended to."
Jenny looked at him incredulously before a sly smile spread across her face.
"By that logic, Special Agent Gibbs, one who understands the Chain of Command and their place therein would submit to the discipline of their Superior Officer without… how did you put it… question or hesitation. Is that correct?"
Gibbs nodded without a second thought.
"Of course. It's pretty basic."
Jenny smiled a wide and borderline toad-like smile causing Gibbs to feel the first strains of unease dog him.
"Ok then. Good. I am so glad we're on the same page because it will make what's going to happen next so much easier, don't you think?"
Gibbs' eyes narrowed and a sharp glare was offered in response.
"Why don't you go ahead and spit out what you're chewing? Save the soap opera for your own time, Director. I'm pretty busy actually working cases… you remember what being an active Field Agent is like, right?"
Jenny smiled sweetly.
"Oh, I sure do. It's not an easy gig. All that running and shooting… it's exhausting. It's pretty much a young guy or gal's game now that I think of it which is why this works out so well. See, you are quite correct Special Agent Gibbs. You do get to discipline your team however you deem fit. I will take your word that this has been suitably attended to… which just leaves the matter of your discipline unattended to."
Gibbs blinked.
"My discipline?"
"Oh yes," Jenny confirmed cheerfully. "It would be entirely wrong of me to punish your team when they have already been punished. It would also be entirely wrong of me to continue to allow that team to be led by an Agent who so clearly requires a refresher on the responsibilities of a Team Lead without providing that reminder. So… lets swap this around… your team will continue to work cases in the field for the next two weeks while you are chained to your desk working cold cases."
She sat down in her large swivel chair behind her desk as Gibbs' jaw dropped open.
"Is that clear, Special Agent Gibbs?"
"The hell it is," Gibbs barked angrily. "You must be out of your mind if you think-"
Jenny held up a silencing hand.
"But you have just so kindly informed me that you understand the Chain of Command in this Agency and would therefore submit to the discipline of your Superior Officer without question or hesitation. I am your Superior Officer, Special Agent Gibbs. So, the question then becomes, do you not understand the Chain of Command? Because if that is the case, I can only assume that neither does your team and I will have no choice but to revert to my original plan of benching them for a two-week cold case holiday."
She gazed innocently up a now snarling, snorting Leroy.
"Which is it, Special Agent Gibbs? Do you and your team understand the Chain of Command or do you not? Because either your team or you will be working cold cases for the next fortnight and it's entirely up to you who it is. So, what's it to be? You or them?"
Gibbs felt an eruption of conflicting emotions. He was, contrary to popular belief, self-aware enough to realise he had been thoroughly outsmarted by his former protégé. The easiest way out would be to condemn his people to the cold case hiatus but his sense of right and wrong prevented this. He had tanned their butts; they had paid the price and the only way out of this mess it seemed was for him to pay too. His voice, when he spoke, was nothing more than a low growl.
"Me."
Jenny popped a sarcastic hand behind her left ear.
"Sorry, didn't quite catch that. Say again?"
Gibbs very vaguely contemplated shooting her where she sat.
"I said," he repeated gutturally, "me."
She shook her head slowly and leaned back in her comfortable chair.
"Try again, Special Agent Gibbs and perhaps remember your Chain of Command."
"Me, Director," Gibbs practically spat realising he was well and truly beat. He couldn't remember the last time he had been junior enough to be landed with desk duty and the fact that such a sentence was being handed to him at SSA level by his own former rookie made him feel more than a little nauseous.
Jenny grinned like the morbidly obese cat who got the heavy whip cream.
"Well, well, well," she murmured dryly. "I better mark this date down in my calendar. It isn't every day that Leroy Jethro Gibbs kisses the ring. I guess wonders will never cease, huh? Perhaps now you will learn to treat both me and my position with the deserved respect."
"Respect is earned," Gibbs shot back hotly. "Let me give you a little management tip from someone who's actually been a Boss since before you left High School… you should never, ever revel in your subordinates screw ups or resulting punishment. It is, if nothing else, in bad taste."
Jenny raised a brow.
"Oh… I think I can recall more than one occasion where you thoroughly revelled in my screw ups and resulting punishment, Jethro."
Gibbs looked at her in genuine bewilderment.
"That's not true. I never once-"
"Paris, Jethro? You remember Paris, right?"
Gibbs stared for another long second before a small, satisfied smirk that he couldn't quite conceal crossed his face.
"That was more of a personal than professional matter if I remember correctly?"
Jenny shrugged without the faintest hint of chagrin.
"Semantics. The point is your little management tip is neither needed nor appreciated. I am theDirector of this Agency and as such, you will take management tips from me and not the other way around. Understood?"
Gibbs considered her deeply for a moment.
"You, Jen, are getting a little too big for your boots. You think because you are in a superior position to me now that you can speak to me however the hell you damn please? Don't answer that because I know that's exactly what you think because I thought the same thing when I eventually outranked Mike Franks and let me tell you something… he eventually took me shoe shopping for boots that actually were my size and it was not a pleasant trip."
Some of Jenny's outward bravado faded as Gibbs moved stealthily towards her desk.
"And what," she questioned with a defiant raising of her jaw, "is your point?"
Coming to a stop with his hips now brushing off her desk, Gibbs placed his palms downwards on the shiny surface and leaned over so that their faces were mere inches apart.
"My point, Jen, is that if you keep this attitude up in your dealings with me I'm going to go ahead and assume you need a little shoe shopping in your life too and contrary to popular belief… I am more than happy to engage in a little retail therapy when the need arises."
Jenny turned a rather worrying shade of puce.
"You can't mean-"
"Oh, I can," Gibbs murmured silkily, his breath washing over his face "and I do."
She opened her mouth in protest but Gibbs held up an authoritative hand.
"I think I've made my point and so I take it I am dismissed?"
Swallowing, Jenny weighed up the relative pros and cons of manipulating international law and relations and having Gibbs shipped off to some black hole in some far-flung nation.
"Yes," she eventually managed to bite out. "You are dismissed… Special Agent Gibbs."
Nodding curtly, Gibbs spun on his heel and made it as far as the door before her voice rang out behind him once more.
"I hope Mike Franks bought you more than one pair of new shoes… just so you know."
Chuckling, Gibbs felt his ire with his protégé slide away somewhat at the resurgence of the fiery wit that had been her trademark as a Field Agent. Turning around, he raised a silver brow at her faintly scowling, sulking face.
"Don't be bitter, Director, it's unbecoming. Bad for your mental health too, I believe. I think I saw a book on that subject in that store downtown – I'll get you a copy when I'm passing tomorrow."
Jenny scowled before brightening somewhat.
"Sounds very interesting but I'm afraid you can't get me a copy of that book or any book tomorrow."
Gibbs cocked his head.
"And why is that?"
Turning back to her computer screen with a flourish, Jenny tapped the keys loudly.
"Because you just bought yourself two weeks' desk duty, remember? The only place you're going to be passing is the water cooler."
She chuckled at the sound of Gibbs' answering snarl and the opening and slamming shut of her door. Hearing the mans footsteps pounding down the staircase to the bullpen, she dropped her head into her hands in sudden weariness from their long-winded verbal spat. After a few moments, she shook her head in delayed astonishment at Gibbs' cryptic threat to take her shoe shopping.
He could never do that now….
He would never do that now….
Would he?
…
Random One-Shot – I love the Jen/Gibbs dynamic and their power struggle.
Inks x
…..