"A coworker's hand 'accidentally' brushes up against your body."
Jenny winced, wishing that Jethro hadn't planted himself beside her during the mandatory Sexual Harassment course. All she could think about was how they'd spent the entire weekend together doing it in about every room of her house. Then she'd think about the couple of places they'd done it in this very building when they were working between their Europe ops.
"Physical contact can be divided into three categories. Green light includes normal behavior."
She couldn't help but glance awkwardly at Jethro. He made eye contact but looked away quickly, clearly feeling as awkward as she was. She watched him take a breath and try to focus, making her smirk. She guaranteed his mind was on the same things as hers. If knocking up your coworker was in any way green light behavior, they were right on track.
She was damn glad that the team was making sure to keep things interesting in the meeting.
"I'm hugging you all in my mind right now," Abby Sciuto declared after arguing with the instructor about hugging.
She looked over to Jethro again, beaming at his amused smile that he couldn't hold back at Abby's remark. His smile was such a stimulant. She looked away again, willing away the urge to have some fun yellow light behavior with him in the nearest empty room.
"And finally there's red light behavior," the instructor began, making Jenny sure to have her eyes glued to her knees while she sat, "such as deliberate, unwelcomed touching."
At that moment Tony yelped and leapt out of his chair, which Jenny was positive was Ziva's doing—and then she felt Jethro's fingers brush hers fleetingly while everyone was distracted, and he leaned in close and whispered, barely audible—
"Come over tonight and we can test out the whole damn rainbow."
Like that he was back to where he was, watching the whole scene as if nothing had happened, leaving her to try and keep from blushing guiltily. She was pretty sure she was going to drag Jethro into her office pretty soon if he wasn't careful, and then she was going to blame him for breaking her "no sex at work" policy that they'd agreed to over the weekend. It was highly unprofessional and she didn't approve of such behavior. Unfortunately, this man had a history when it came to making her forget her common sense.
"Yeah, what if you slap someone in the back of the head like this?" Tony asked, giving McGee a good slap on the back of the head which McGee responded to by hitting him in the groin. Jenny shook her head at the antics. "Would that be considered inappropriate behavior?" Tony gasped.
"Absolutely," the instructor answered. "Are you saying that this has actually happened?"
Jenny looked up at Jethro again, smiling mischievously, wondering what he was going to do if Tony outed him. Served him right for being an ass to all of them. She watched Jethro give Tony a solid glare, clearly challenging him and letting the senior field agent know that his days were numbered.
"No, I was just wondering, that's all." Tony sat back down.
Jimmy Palmer raised his hand, and in that instant Jethro's phone rang and he flipped it open. "Gibbs."
She glanced at him and then looked back to Jimmy, trying to hide her disappointment that Jethro was probably getting called away. She'd thought maybe they could have lunch together, but that clearly wasn't going to be an option now.
"…what if part of your job includes…touching naked people and…" Palmer's words caught her attention and she paid attention to the oncoming collision.
"That's inappropriate at any time," the instructor immediately answered Palmer.
"Even if they're dead?"
Jenny had to hold in a snort, trying her best to not laugh at the face the instructor made at poor Jimmy. This guy was toast. She couldn't believe these kids sometimes. God bless them for making this meeting ten times more bearable than it usually was.
Technically she should be chewing them all out and telling them to behave since she was their Director…but what was the fun in that?
"Why are you touching dead, naked people?"
"You see, I work in autopsy…"
Jenny shook her head again. This poor instructor. She knew exactly how Ms. Taylor felt. She glanced over to Jethro, noticing he was farther from her as he tried to listen to the phone. It was too bad he was missing such great entertainment.
"Can we try to keep this discussion focused on the topic…"
She heard Jethro flip his phone shut and looked back over at him.
"Gear up." His team got up with no hesitation and then she felt him step closer into her personal space. "Navy Lieutenant's been found dead in an R&D facility in Fairfax," he whispered to her. The instructor spoke up again, drawing their attention away from each other.
"Wait, I can't mark you as attending"—Jenny noticed his team was already almost out the room, and she fought back the ridiculous urge to pull him forward and kiss him goodbye when he gave her a grin and turned to follow them—"unless you're here for all of it."
"Uh, Ms. Taylor," Jenny called, distracting the instructor from the team's disappearance, "I will take excellent notes for them." With that, Jethro led them out of the room and the frazzled instructor sighed and continued on.
She had no intention of taking notes, of course. Unless those notes included positions she wanted to try out in bed with Jethro before she was too big to do them anymore.
The case of the damn robotic car had taken two days, but he was glad to have it over and done with. It was late and he was still in the building, making his way from Abby's lab to the bullpen. He'd needed to check on his favorite scientist and make sure she was okay. She'd nearly died the other day. He'd had to break into that damn vehicle and pull her out to safety—she nearly died. He was glad to note that she was her normal self, but it didn't take away the fact that if he'd been ten seconds later down there he wouldn't have been able to save her. He'd lost too many people to afford losing any more.
He noted the brown head of curly hair still sitting at her desk as he approached, and wondered why the hell she was still here. His whole team should be home resting. Just about everyone else in the building was gone. He knew even Jen had left a while ago. He leaned against the border of Ziva's desk.
"Hey. It's late, go home."
She held up her finger at him. "Just uh, doing a little research."
"On what?" he asked, peering at her computer.
"Y. pestis."
His stomach clenched, bad memories hitting him.
"A very nasty illness," she continued. "It can cause permanent damage to the heart, lungs and kidneys, and in some cases, patients can relapse months or even years later."
He clenched his jaw and removed himself from the partition, going into the bullpen. He knew what it was. He knew what it did. He didn't want to think about it, if he was being honest.
"Tony had it," she said as he headed to his desk.
"I know, Ziva, I was there," he said tiredly, going to grab his coat behind his desk.
"Did you know that he had some tests done recently? And he's been wearing a hospital bracelet on his wrist."
He took a breath, pausing as he pulled his coat on. "Nope." Images of Tony, so sick under that blue light wafted into his head. He felt concern pulsing through him against his will. He shoved away the knowledge that there had been someone else in that room with Tony.
"I asked him why but he won't tell me," she said, still pressing for answers as he headed out of the bullpen.
"Then he's probably got a pretty good reason," he said with resign as he passed by her. He couldn't look at her, couldn't look at her desk, couldn't bring himself to comfort her. There had been someone else sitting at that desk back then, someone else who had experienced that trauma with them, and he couldn't find the energy to help Ziva when she was bringing up memories that he really didn't want to dwell on.
He went into the elevator and pulled his scarf on, taking a deep breath as the doors closed, trying to ignore the pang in his heart.
Abby had nearly died. Tony had nearly died. Kate…
He'd barely managed to save Abby earlier. He'd done his best to help Tony when he'd had the plague. But Kate…he hadn't been able to save her. She'd saved him. She took a bullet leaping in front of him, and then when he'd pulled her back up and they were having a laugh and trying to diffuse the tension another bullet went through her head. He could still remember how her face had gone from bright and laughing to pale and lifeless within seconds. The blood seeping around her…
The ding sounded and he took another steadying breath. He made his way home quickly, trying not to focus on the haunting memories. Trying not to think about how any day could be the last for any one of his team members. Trying not to think about all the people he hadn't been able to save.
He wished he could go back in time and take that letter from Tony's hands before he'd opened it. He wished he could have prevented Abby getting locked in that vehicle. He wished he hadn't pulled Kate up off the ground and right into the crosshairs. He wished he'd helped Chris Pacci on that case when he asked him to and not blown him off. He wished he hadn't let Shannon testify.
He got home and he went straight to the basement, grabbing the bottle on the counter. He opened it up, about to pour a fine amount into his mason jar when he stopped…this was the whiskey Jen had left weeks ago. He remembered how drunk he'd gotten…how he wished she hadn't seen him like that. He didn't want to be like that.
He poured just a tiny amount and closed the bottle up, pushing it away. He lifted the jar up to his mouth, smelling the alcohol before he tipped it back and let it burn in his throat.
What if Tony was sick? What was he supposed to do?
He shook his head, annoyed by everything. Was it possible to live a life in which everyone you knew wasn't always dying around you?
"Hello, Jethro."
He looked up, amazed that he hadn't heard her come in. Jenny was standing on his basement steps.
Hello, Jethro.
He was reminded of when he'd seen her in MTAC for the first time again in years. It hit him—she was a big reason he'd been able to carry on after he'd gotten Kate killed. She'd been a ray of hope and a welcome distraction without even meaning to be.
He'd had close calls with her too. Everything could've gone so much more wrong when she'd been taken hostage. She could've been killed. He was worried he wouldn't save her in time. Or when they were undercover and had multiple close calls…the bullet in her thigh being the most painful memory. She'd been in so much pain, bled so much.
But she was here now. She was safe. She was fine.
He abandoned where he was and made his way to her on the stairs. He put his hand on her cheek, looking into her eyes for a moment before he kissed her. He lowered his hand to her abdomen, pressing it against the evidence that she was having their child. He was going to protect them, at whatever cost. He was going to keep her safe.
"Jethro, what's wrong?" she asked, clearly concerned by his behavior.
He shook his head, smiling. "Nothing." How could it be when she was here with him?
"It's been years since I've been in here."
"Yeah," he acknowledged, letting his eyes wander around the room for a second, feeling her hand wander across his bare chest as her head rested on his shoulder, both of them relaxing in the post-coital haze.
He'd somewhat forgotten that she'd stayed in this room with him before. So many people had used this guest room. It was the room he'd shared with his ex-wives. DiNozzo had stayed a couple of times when he'd had apartment issues. Fornell had crashed here before. It always had clean sheets and basics, for anyone who needed to stay over.
His and Shannon's room had been his "storage room" during his marriages. It had boxes of personal items of hers, Kelly's, and his in it. Kelly's room had been the guest room during his marriages, and he still used it as one on occasion. Zach was the last person he remembered being in there. It still had her large, handmade wooden bed, and a couple framed kids decoration pictures and knick-knacks that he'd kept as part of the room. All the rest of her things had been donated, thrown away, or stored. He couldn't bring himself to be around much of any of their stuff left behind, and he had gotten rid of a lot of it pretty quickly. That first year without them was nothing but a haze. He wasn't sure he'd really existed during that period.
"Jethro?" He blinked, looking over at Jenny and seeing a confused expression on her face. "I asked if you were okay."
"Yeah," he grunted.
"No, you're not. You've been off all night. What's wrong?"
"Don't wanna talk about it."
"I know the incident with Abby must have shaken you up. It's okay. It would shake anyone up. I'd be more concerned if you didn't care."
"I'm fine."
"You saved her."
"Barely," he growled. He removed his arm from around her and shifted away, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing his hands across his face. She said his name and he felt her hands on his back and shoulders, rubbing comfortingly. "Please, Jen. I don't wanna talk about this stuff. Not tonight."
She was silent for a minute. "Okay," she accepted gently, kissing his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him.
He was surprised she let it go as easily as she did. Her warm, naked body was pressing up into his, and he couldn't deny he enjoyed the comfort. He put his hand over hers leaning back into the embrace.
"People are going to be asking soon, you know."
He furrowed his eyebrows, confused by what she was talking about. "Hm?"
"About me…you know, my figure. I've had some people glancing lately, clearly wondering."
"Tell 'em it's none o' their business."
"I just hate that I can't hide it anymore."
The waver in her voice had him turn a little and look at her. "Jen?" She looked so anxious.
"How am I supposed to tell SecNav that I got impregnated by my agent? This could ruin me, Jethro. I can deal with everyone else staring and gossiping, but I…I can't deal with it ruining my reputation. I've worked for so long to get where I am. I've worked so hard to get respect. This," she gestured to her stomach, "is not going to earn me any respect. It's going to make everyone question my judgment. If I were married to some respected lawyer or something it would be fine. But I'm not married, and this is a result of me sleeping with one of my employees. An employee who used to be my boss."
The long rant had him looking at her in surprise. He didn't know what to say. He hadn't even thought about all of those things. To be honest, he wondered why women over-complicated everything and thought about everything at once, as opposed to focusing on one thing at a time. She was having a baby, seemed perfectly normal to him. He really doubted anyone cared all that much about the circumstances.
"Well?" she demanded, and he cringed, trying to think of what to say. She moved to sit beside him on the edge of the bed.
"Don't tell 'im."
"I have to inform him I'll be going on maternity leave."
"Yeah, Jen. I mean, don't tell 'im who got ya pregnant."
"Well, I thought of that, obviously. There isn't any way people aren't going to pick up on it though. You can't hide a relationship for long."
"We did before."
She laughed, loud, and he looked at her in confusion. "What?"
"They all knew back then. We didn't manage to hide a damn thing. Stan knew, Pacci knew, Decker knew, Leon knew, Morrow knew."
He scoffed.
"I'm serious, Jethro. When I took on this position, Morrow and SecNav asked me if working with you was going to be a problem. They made it clear that if there were still…unresolved feelings…then it wasn't going to work."
"How did they—"
"Oh, please," she brushed off. "We weren't subtle. We thought we were, but we weren't. We were so high on each other that we didn't realize how obvious we were being."
He winced at the knowledge that his bosses had known he was sleeping with his probie. He thought he'd always been professional in the office and kept his personal life out of it. He didn't want to believe that he was actually that distracted and stupid when a woman was in his life. But considering he'd managed to so stupidly get married on a whim to some pretty crazy women…
"They shoulda fired me," he commented. He knew if he were in Morrow's position back then, he definitely would have fired a lead agent for sleeping around with his young probie. Or he would have at least separated them and put them on different teams.
"They didn't have solid proof or evidence. You'd be surprised the things you turn a blind eye to as a boss in order to keep your good people on the job. It's not easy to replace a good agent—and you were, and still are, one of the best."
He smiled at her and she kissed him, tugging him back on the bed again and pulling him on top of her. He certainly didn't protest, kissing her back—when a thought occurred to him and he pulled back. She was the boss, she might know if DiNozzo…
"Jethro?"
"Is DiNozzo sick?"
"Do you normally think of Tony when you're in bed with me?"
"I'm serious."
"So am I," she said with a laugh, raising an eyebrow at him that he glared at. "What brought this on?"
He sighed, rolling off of her again and onto his back. "Ziver was worried tonight. Said he was wearin' a hospital bracelet." He felt her roll onto her side as she looked at him.
"So that's part of the reason why you were so upset tonight. Not just Abby. You're worried about Tony too."
"'m not worried," he growled, glaring at her.
"You are. It's sweet."
She pecked him on the lips and then shifted on top of him, straddling him, and he found himself very distracted all of a sudden by the view. She entwined both of her hands with his and he felt her push them back behind him. Somehow her breasts were ten times more distracting now, and he found himself not able to tear his eyes off of them.
"He's not sick."
Her words barely registered and he blinked, looking back at her. "Hm?"
She laughed, shaking her head. "Tony. He's not sick. He's dating a nurse."
"He's…a nurse?" He didn't see that coming. Here he was thinking the kid was sick, but he was just dating some chick? He was just doing the usual?
"She's apparently quite pretty, and smart."
He laughed. Really laughed. "Smart, yeah, sure. Not likely if she's goin' after DiNozzo. Ya sure she's actually a nurse?"
She smacked his shoulder. "You don't give him enough credit. Tony is quite smart himself, when he wants to be."
He felt jealousy flare inside of him. She kept calling him Tony in such a familiar way…it reminded him of when DiNozzo had been calling her Jenny in a familiar way when he'd gotten back from Mexico. When he'd had to ask the punk kid just how close they had gotten while he was away.
"Why do you know about his datin' life?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes.
"Believe it or not, he actually tells me things." She tapped his chest mockingly with her finger. "That's what happens when you're nice to your employees and willing to listen and not giving them head trauma."
"How close did you two get while I was away?"
She looked surprised. "You're jealous." A grin grew on her face, and he didn't like it.
He glared in response. He just wanted to make sure that womanizing little twerp didn't touch her.
"If it helps soothe your ego, he never even scratched the surface compared to you."
He found himself more confused and jealous than he had been before. Scratched the surface? Compared to him? Was she saying…did she mean that little bastard had actually gotten somewhere with her?
"You sayin' you an' him actually—"
"I'm just teasing you," she chuckled. "No," she said seriously. "Of course not. I mean, how could you think…? Gross. No, absolutely not." She sighed and got off of him, laying on her back again beside him. "He never got anywhere with me, ever."
"Did he try?"
"He tries with anything wearing a skirt," she scoffed, looking away from him. "You know how he is. But he never really tried. He knows I wouldn't ever give him the time of day. He probably noticed my eye was always on you." He smiled, rather proud of himself while she rolled her eyes at his reaction.
"When you left…" she continued seriously, "he was stressed with you leaving and him taking over. We did get closer, he was my new lead agent, and he still needed training and guidance and I had to keep my eyes on him. We had a lot of one-on-ones, training and talking. I think he picked up how upset I was over you leaving. He was always trying to crack jokes and be helpful. We did develop a working friendship of sorts, but nothing beyond that. It was like he was trying to help me through to help get him through."
He felt guilt flooding through him. Apparently he should be thanking the kid for being there for her when he wasn't. He'd been so focused on his own issues during that time that he'd been selfish. He knew the way he had abandoned his team and her was unforgivable. He turned on his side and grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand until he got her attention. She turned her head to look at him, and he didn't miss the frustration in her eyes over the bad memories.
He put his hand on her cheek, stroking his thumb across the soft skin. "I'm sorry."
She tore her eyes off of him and looked around the room in confusion before looking at him again. She pinched herself, and he could see some smart-ass comment on the way.
"Did I hear you correctly, or am I dreaming? Did you just break one of your most coveted rules, for little old me?"
He rolled his eyes. "I'm serious. An' I already did it for ya, before."
"I can count on one hand how many times you've broken that specific rule for me."
"Enjoy it then. Not gonna happen again."
That comment earned him a slap to the chest and a very Director glare.
Tony watched Jenny walk past the Christmas tree by the bullpen and go to the elevator, observing for the millionth time how her figure had changed. It hadn't escaped his notice weeks before that her breasts had gotten larger, and in his fantasy he'd wondered if she'd gotten a little work done. But he knew his eyes weren't lying now that her middle was growing too, and what he tried to brush off as extra weight was definitely more than that.
He looked around making sure he didn't see a sign of his silver boss anywhere nearby. He did another glance, making sure the redhead really had disappeared in that elevator.
"Ziva."
She ignored his whisper, trying to concentrate on the paperwork in front of her.
"Psst! Ziva. Ziva!"
"What?" she snapped, about ready to throw a knife at him. He'd been bothering her all day, as usual. She watched him look around quickly, feeling the little patience she had left disappearing quickly. He mouthed something and made some gesture and she rolled her eyes and went back to her work.
He glared as her head looked down again. He looked over at the Probie for a second, considering asking him, but knew that would be boring and lead no where. He muttered to himself and got up from his desk, wandering over to Ziva's desk. "Ziva."
"Tony, I swear I am going to kill you with this pen."
"It's the Director." Her head shot up and he did his best not to smile. He knew that would get her attention. She was closer to Jenny than he ever had been, and he knew she was protective of her.
"What about her?"
"Does she look, you know, bigger?" he whispered, making a gesture with his palm over his stomach.
She gave him a wary look. Of course she noticed, and she knew exactly where he was going with this. She had her own suspicions. But she did not discuss the Director and her personal life with anyone. "I have work to do. I do not have time to dump the beans with you."
"It's spill the beans."
"Whatever. I do not have time for the beans."
He just stared, thrown completely off track for a second. He shook his head a little, getting back to his point. "Come on. You must have noticed that she looks, you know…"
"Looks what?" Ziva challenged as she looked up again—and then she saw their boss coming out of the corner of her eye. She looked back down, wincing, knowing how Agent Gibbs got when they were talking about the Director. She knew there had been quite the history there, some of it still a bit bitter.
"Ziva, the Director looks fat, like preg—"
Gibbs smacked DiNozzo hard, perhaps a little too hard judging from the sound. He didn't approve of DiNozzo gossiping like some girl about Jenny. "Work," he growled, pointing to the agent's desk, glaring viciously. He felt such a protective instinct flaring through him, for Jenny and the baby, and he realized he needed to sit at his desk before he really hurt the agent. Jenny was right, everyone was going to be talking.
He sat down and looked straight, seeing McGee's eyes dart away from him and down to his desk. He'd always appreciated the silence of that kid and him staying out of everything—even if his techy babble could get annoying. He could feel eyes on him and saw the blabbermouth idiot looking at him.
"You need somethin'?" he demanded.
DiNozzo opened his mouth and then closed it, struggling on whether to talk or not. But he was too curious, and he really wanted to know, and gauge his boss's reaction. "I was just wondering, you know, if you think the Director looks"—he realized the murderous glare he was getting had probably killed a man before—"stressed. Overworked, you know, and—"
McGee and Ziva both audibly sighed, while Gibbs felt his eye twitch with annoyance. Even if the kid had been there for Jenny when he had failed to be, her pregnancy was none of the kid's business.
Tony shut his mouth and stood up, pointing toward the elevator. "You know, Abby said she had an update, and I'm just going to go down there and, yeah." He made his way to the elevator hastily, feeling the burn of his boss's eyes on him. He jumped when the elevator opened to reveal the woman he'd been asking about, and he couldn't help but glance down at her stomach.
"Special Agent DiNozzo. Can I help you?"
He looked up at the Director, seeing her raised eyebrow, and then looked to the big man beside her who looked like some important Fed. "No. I, um, I was just, going to talk to Abby, uh, about the case."
"I got an update a little while ago. She is helping Agent Balboa with his case and doesn't have any updates on yours yet."
He winced, realizing his escape from Gibbs was now in vain, and with the Director effectively blocking him he had no choice but to go back. "Thanks, Director." He swore he saw her smirk and he turned around grudgingly, walking back into the bullpen.
Ziva watched Tony skulk back in and then noticed the Director and a man walk past the bullpen. She watched as the Director's eyes landed in the bullpen as she passed, and she glanced to her side at the cause of the woman's gaze, not missing the subtle smiles exchanged between Gibbs and the Director.
"Federal Agents! Drop your weapons!" Gibbs screamed as he and McGee stormed in the room.
Similar shouts echoed across the room as more people including the rest of his team popped up and they all held their guns up and pointed at each other. He felt so confused—
"How about we all drop our weapons?"
The familiar voice that shouted emerged from the room in front of him, and he found himself staring at a very familiar blonde.
"Since clearly we're all on the same team," Colonel Hollis Mann said.
He lowered his weapon as everyone else did, beyond confused by the turn of events. He'd thought the dead body in autopsy who'd torn his own eye out was disturbing, or even the fact that Abby had been asking him for tattoo advice—but this took the cake today.
Lieutenant Colonel Mann wouldn't discuss what was going on until she'd sent her people off and she met up with him and his team back at the office. They were dealing with Sharif again, and BZ gas was involved. She'd given him little smiles and seemed to attempt to flirt, and he'd realized their last flirty encounters had not been forgotten by her. What she didn't realize was he didn't feel the same way. The most important person in his life right now was currently sitting upstairs. He was polite back, but he contained any flirting and was trying to keep a purely professional manner.
It was when he and her needed to go up to Jenny's office to brief her on the new situation that he felt suddenly anxious about everything. The last time they'd all been together, Hollis had left his basement in confusion and Jenny dropped the pregnancy bombshell on him. The entire exchange had been more than awkward. It had been a strange and tense night, and the weeks after followed in a similar manner. But now, things were great.
He opened the Director's door and walked in with Colonel Mann behind him.
Jenny looked up, grateful that he had updated her briefly earlier so that she wasn't blindsided by the sudden return of the blonde bimbo. She didn't know why she still felt any resentment or jealousy, after all, Jethro had ended up with her—still, she didn't like that things could have been different, that he had actually liked this woman and she liked him back. She couldn't help but feel territorial.
"Special Agent Gibbs, Colonel Mann," she greeted, standing up and smiling. "It seems our agencies have been crossed in a case."
"That's right," the blonde replied. "Agent Gibbs has an interesting way of crossing paths."
She swore she could vomit over the sickly sweet smirk the other woman gave Gibbs, but she felt amused by the pain that crossed his face when he looked from that smirk over to her. She was glad he felt awkward. This could actually be quite fun.
"He certainly does," Jenny replied.
He looked at Jenny, surprised by the friendly banter and suggestive smile. It was then he caught the mischievous gleam in her eye, and he started to feel a little wary.
"So, Mamoun Sharif?" Jenny questioned, getting down to business.
"CID traced an old lead from where he was working as a paid informant for the CIA. The trail led to an alias, then to a credit card, then to the bowling alley, which is where Agent Gibbs' team stormed in on my investigation."
"And the cases connect?" Jenny questioned further.
"DiNozzo found a connection with prints between our dead guy and Sharif," Jethro responded. "He an' Ziva are runnin' down a list of the Major's deliveries to—"
"To see if any were BZ gas," Jenny finished for him. He gave a nod and they both gave each other a little smile. She took pride in the little curious look the other woman had.
"We are now realizing that Sharif was most likely testing the gas and that is why the Major is dead," the Colonel supplied.
"Testing it for what?" Jenny asked.
"It's a chemical weapon." Jethro shrugged.
"Do you have anything specific, like a date, or a target?"
"No. Nothing yet."
Jenny had to keep herself from rolling her eyes at the blonde's comment and looked back at her. She was approaching her desk in a rather superior way. Jenny looked back to Jethro, much preferring that view.
"Is there any intel suggesting that Sharif is planning an attack?"
"Body in the morgue is a good start," he said, and she gave a nod.
"I wouldn't be worried about the lack of chatter," the blonde chipped in. "The last time Sharif planned an attack, there was zero uptick."
Jenny considered her for a moment. He had flown under their radar last time.
"Even if he doesn't use the gas himself," the other woman continued, "he could sell it to someone who will."
Jenny looked to Jethro to gauge his reaction. She was willing to trust his gut on this. She couldn't help the dig at the Colonel's position that came to her tongue though. "Homeland Security certainly loves non-specific threats."
He rolled his eyes at the dig, wishing he wasn't caught between the two of them. He didn't get women and their fights.
"So, how are we going to handle this?" the Colonel asked. "Our investigations have merged. Who's gonna take the lead?"
She smirked, glad that they had gotten to that point. She had won in the conversation with the Colonel's boss, and she had gotten Jethro to be the lead.
"Agent Gibbs will be leading the investigation and you will work for him. Your boss and I flipped a coin for it." She noted a hint of pride on his face, but she could tell he wasn't thrilled at the aspect of having to work with another team, even if he was in charge. She saw hesitation on the other woman's face. "Is that a problem?"
"No problem," the woman replied. "I'm just used to being in command."
"Agent Gibbs rather likes taking command as well," she replied with a smirk, raising an eyebrow at him and seeing a blush creep across his face.
They both failed to notice the uncomfortable look Hollis gave at the reply. "I've worked with Agent Gibbs before and I'm happy to again," she responded professionally.
"Wonderful," she retorted, putting her glasses back on and peering at the file on her desk. "I know from firsthand experience that he is an impressionable teacher."
He stared at her, amazed by the amount of suggestive remarks and looks she'd so casually thrown out during their meeting. She seemed to be trying to mark her territory with Hollis, which he didn't understand. All she'd really done was make him a little aroused with her looks and comments. As if it hadn't already been a struggle with the way her buttons seemed unusually tight across her—
"You are dismissed. Agent Gibbs, before you go, I'd like a private word about a report I received related to another case."
He looked over to Hollis, who cleared her throat and looked anxiously between him and Jenny. "I'll wait for you out there. Director." With the nod to Jenny she headed out the door and it closed behind her.
"Impressionable teacher?" he scoffed.
"Repeatedly," she remarked, raising a suggestive eyebrow.
She was making dirty thoughts swim through his mind. Was she punishing him? He was becoming very aware of the fact that it had been days since he'd properly touched her.
"You're gonna have to play nice if she's workin' with us," he pointed out.
She shrugged, not really caring about being nice to that woman at the moment. "I really do need to talk with you though. I didn't keep you in here as some prop."
"Ya sure about that?"
"Jethro, I talked SecNav this morning on the phone."
He studied her for a second. "About..." he gestured vaguely to her stomach.
"Yes," she confirmed, staring at the evidence.
"How did it go?"
She swallowed, taking off her glasses and putting them down. "I don't know. He wasn't…pleased."
"You're the one havin' the baby, not him."
"Exactly. I'm having a baby. I'm the first female Director, and now I'm also the first Director to get knocked up and completely inconvenience the entire system."
"Jen…"
"When I told him I was pregnant, he asked when I was handing in my resignation. As if that was the next logical step. He didn't understand that I may actually want to still work and keep my job. He thought I'd want to be home taking care of a baby rather than do the job I've worked years for. Damn chauvinistic men littering these agencies."
He remained silent on this issue. It was one they hadn't really talked much about, and he didn't want to start an argument and have her call him out on belonging with the chauvinistic men right now. He didn't like the idea of her working when they had a baby. It seemed only natural to him for the woman to stay home with the kid. But then again, it was just another instance in which he realized how vastly different his situation with Jenny was compared to his experience with Shannon.
"You know, if I was a man, they wouldn't question me taking paternity leave and coming back. Just because I don't have a pair of balls swinging—"
"So what happened?" he cut in, not really wanting to imagine her with a pair of balls.
"I explained I just wanted maternity leave and that I would be coming back. He wanted me to think about it. I told him I'd already thought about it and I didn't need more time to think. I told him I was perfectly capable of having a family and doing my job, just like the rest of them."
"Did he take that well?"
"He put up with it, I suppose. He gave me a lecture for not telling him sooner, and he made it clear that he would make sure Leon Vance would be ready to step in permanently if I got all womanly and too attached to my baby by the end of my leave." She scoffed, shaking her head.
And now he was having another instance in which he was realizing how non-maternal Jenny was, based on the way she scoffed at the idea of getting "too attached" to the baby. He didn't doubt she would get attached…and at the same time he had moments where he questioned.
"Leon, huh? Been ages."
"I wasn't a huge supporter of him being my Deputy Director. Not like it was up to me, but still. He always pissed me off when we dealt with him on that one op in Europe."
"It's 'cause you both like rules and get competitive."
"You didn't get along with him either," she pointed out.
"Yeah, 'cause he got into it with you."
"Whatever. It's old water under the bridge at this point. We're all older, not to mention back then I was beneath both of you in this agency and now I have the most authority."
"You're turnin' this into a measurin' contest now?"
"Yes. It makes me feel better about this whole thing. I don't like the idea of Leon thinking he's going to take my place just because I'm a woman and I'm going to have a baby."
"Wait till he finds out you're havin' my baby."
"Don't remind me," she sighed, putting her head in her hands. "SecNav will probably fire me when he finds out it was you."
"Not gonna find out."
"If you request paternity leave, I'm pretty sure it'll be glaringly obvious to everyone."
"I'll just use regular leave."
"You used it all up on your margarita safari."
"Oh." Okay, so maybe it was going to be pretty obvious. "If he has an issue, I'll talk to him. I'll take the blame, tell 'im I seduced you. Can't easily lose both of us."
She stared up at him, realizing he was serious. She was touched that he was actually trying to come up with a solution and not just avoiding the issue. "You'd really do that?"
"Jen, I'd do anything for you."
She swore he took her breath away with that statement, until he followed it up—
"Plus, gonna need you to keep your job if I decide to be a stay-at-home dad. Gives me time with the boat, and someone has to be bringin' in the money."
She closed her eyes, shaking her head. The thought of him as a stay-at-home dad…heavens. "Get out of my office and solve your case," she dismissed. He gave her a smirk and headed out.
He'd surely go insane if he actually had to stay home all day with a baby. The very idea was hilariously outrageous. She checked her watch, realizing she was going to be late for a meeting in MTAC if she didn't go now.
Hollis was waiting by MTAC for him when he walked out of Cynthia's office and onto the catwalk.
"Are you in trouble?" she asked as he walked up, smirking at him.
"Always," he replied.
"You two have worked together a while, huh?"
"Mm-hmm."
"How long?" she questioned as they got to the stairs.
He paused, staring at the back of her head as she made it past him. "The reason you're asking?
She paused too and looked up at him, her mouth hanging open for a second. "Just curious."
He raised an eyebrow, knowing she was digging to see what kind of history he had with Jenny and if there was anything there. She had a right to wonder, after the little basement incident. Should he let her down now, or…?
"Forget it," she dismissed, turning and heading down the stairs again.
He heard a door and saw Jenny emerge onto the catwalk, shooting a venomous glare at Hollis, and he turned to see Hollis looking right back at her. He couldn't help the smirk plastered on his face. This little jealousy war was ridiculous. Women were weird. And then his smirk quickly disappeared when Jenny glared at him. He swallowed and looked back down, assessing that Hollis had safely reached the end of the stairs and was headed into the bullpen, before he looked back to Jenny. She raised a superior eyebrow before she disappeared into MTAC.
Women. He just didn't get it.
He was starting to hate his self from a few months ago for trying to start something with Hollis. If only he'd been smarter, then none of this would even be a problem. He didn't like awkward personal things interfering with work.
He had been hoping when he heard his door open that it was the redhead he'd been thinking about—but then he realized those footfalls weren't hers, and then he heard the voice of the woman he really didn't want to deal with right now.
"I thought you'd like to know that Sharif made it to the top of every agency's Most Wanted list. Homeland Security's all over it," Hollis Mann announced.
He stayed silent for a moment, concentrating on the manual hand drill he was using. "They're coverin' their asses," he finally said, squinting a little more as he turned the handle of the drill. "Gonna take 'em days to do anything."
"Well, they want a briefing. Chemical weapons are notoriously difficult to deal with, and ten kilograms is a large amount. It could be a land-based attack."
"Or worse, somethin' else we haven't thought of yet."
"Well, that's what I'm here for."
He stopped his drilling and looked up at her. He knew damn well that wasn't why she was here. "Is it?" he scoffed.
"You say that like you were expecting something else," she remarked. He blew off the end of the drill and avoided eye contact. "Or is it hoping?" she added, clearly feeling out if he was as hopeful as she was.
"I'm seein' somebody," he blurted, finally looking at her.
"Oh."
He could see the disappointment in her face and the mood in the room shifted uncomfortably.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."
He shrugged. "Didn't tell anyone. No reason you would."
"Well, I guess that makes me being here a little awkward. I should probably take this back home." She lifted up the arm carrying a bag of takeout.
He shrugged again. "You're not the first person to come here to discuss a case." He could feel her studying him for a bit as he moved around, pretending to do something with his tools to alleviate the weird tension in the air.
"So, is it serious?" she asked quietly.
He turned to look at her again as he gave a solid nod. "Yeah."
He could see her resign herself as she processed it and gave a nod back. "Well, good for you, finding someone. It's not easy these days."
He nodded, glad himself. It had been a long time in the making.
"Anyone I know?"
He saw that flash in her eyes, and he knew she was thinking of the Director. He considered her for a moment.
"Nope." After all, she knew the Director. She didn't know Jenny.
The doubt in her eyes told him that she was a good investigator in her own right. "Hm. Well, whoever she is, I hope she realizes she caught a good one."
"Tell that to all my ex-wives," he chuckled. "I'm the lucky one. Not her."
His cell phone rang right then, much to his relief because he felt embarrassed at how much he'd shared without thinking. He turned away from the sad look in her eyes to find the damn thing. He fished it out of a jar he'd tossed it in earlier and flipped it open. "Yeah. Gibbs."
"Hello, Agent Gibbs."
He stiffened, looking at Hollis in warning. "What do you want, Sharif?" He watched her go into her alert posture and get her phone out.
"No pleasantries? That's not very friendly, Agent Gibbs."
"You want friendly?" he replied, turning away from Hollis and beginning to pace around the boat. He couldn't communicate with her and this guy at the same time, and he had no idea how to use the speaker on this thing. "Front door's open. Bring coffee."
"I did, but you weren't in. Nice place." Jethro's face darkened and he paused by his boat, thinking about how he'd really like to shoot this guy. "Got some decorating tips, but first things first. I know you are aware I have almost ten kilograms of BZ gas in my possession."
He rubbed his boat, staying silent as he contemplated the situation and tried to calm himself.
"I wasn't expecting applause, but I was hoping for a little bit more."
"What do you want?" he demanded.
"The United States government is holding six alleged members of a Chechen separatist group in a secret prison in Afghanistan. I want them released within the next 24 hours."
"Not gonna happen," he responded automatically.
"Because the United States does not negotiate with terrorists. But you misunderstand. We are not negotiating. Either you release those men or I will release more of the BZ gas."
"More?" He felt panic kick in, wondering where exactly this creep had been.
"It's hard to say how many have been exposed. Airborne weaponry is a tricky business, but…I'm sure the 11:00 news will have a pretty good figure by now."
He turned to the old box tv in the wall and flipped it on to the news, and Hollis came to stand next to him and watch.
"Authorities are not certain what is causing the illness. There are no fatalities as of yet, but at least six people have fallen sick."
He clenched his jaw.
"Actually, counting you, Agent Gibbs," the voice on the phone to his ear said, "that makes seven." The dial tone sounded and he looked to the woman beside him, realizing it meant eight. Thank heavens it hadn't been Jenny who had dropped by, especially in her condition.
Jenny thought she may be leaving the confines of MTAC, and when she'd gotten a call from Jethro she had hoped it meant she'd be going over to his place for a way to unwind—but then it turned out to be a very professional call updating her on Sharif and a call he had gotten from him. Apparently BZ gas had possibly been released in his house, and he and Colonel Mann were on their way to autopsy to be quarantined and checked out.
She had since stayed in MTAC, making numerous calls and trying to get more intel on Sharif and the gas that had been stolen. She had a hard time ignoring the panic that she felt at the idea of Jethro being exposed, and had an even harder time not marching down to autopsy to go check on him. She didn't know why the hell the Colonel had been at his place and had to bat down the weird jealousy and protectiveness she felt. She couldn't focus on any of these things. She had to be the Director for now.
Some time later she'd finally gotten a text from Ziva, informing her that Gibbs and the Colonel had been cleared by Ducky and it was a false alarm. At least she could breathe a sigh of relief that Jethro wasn't on deaths door. She was back to making calls and watching surveillance, frustrated with the entire situation. Lives were in danger and her agency was responsible for saving them. She didn't know if they could do it in time.
"The pest control firm didn't realize that one of their commercial sprayers was missing until I sent two of my agents to question them." She felt a headache blooming as she listened to the person on the other line. "We've ID'd Sharif as one of their employees."
"Former employee."
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand and she turned around, facing Jethro. "Call you back," she said in the phone, hanging up immediately. She was about to ask him if he was alright when the blonde who had walked in with him spoke up.
"Sharif hasn't shown for work since the attack."
"Probably because he's too busy preparing for his next one," she replied, ignoring the irrational urge to snap at the woman and question why the hell she was in Jethro's house. "The missing sprayer is truck-mounted," she informed both of them. "But it could easily be adapted for a small aircraft. I'm having mobile sensors deployed at every Marine and Naval base on the East Coast."
"FAA finish grounding all small aircraft?" the blonde questioned.
"In the works."
"Ducky says there's an antitoxin," Jethro spoke up.
"Needs to be delivered to all Trauma Ones and base hospitals," the blonde chipped in.
"In the works," she repeated tersely. Her headache was getting worse every second this other woman was in the room.
"I hope 'in the works' means something different here than it does where I come from."
She looked at the other woman in shock, debating just how violently she was about to murder her—
"Keep hoping," Jethro said softly.
She looked over to him, her thoughts going from violent to concerned when she took in his face. Something was off with him. Really off. He looked out of it and his eyes were moving as if he couldn't really focus on anything. He was staring at the MTAC screen in a lost daze.
"Jethro?" She felt the concern increase more when he still didn't seem to acknowledge her. "Are you okay?"
He finally looked at her and then his eyes darted around more in uncertainty as he swallowed, like he was trying to ground himself in reality again. He didn't seem steady. She watched his eyes land on her stomach before they darted back up to hers and he shrugged. "Yeah," he nodded. "Fine."
His lip quirked up just slightly, giving her the barest fake smile as he turned around and marched out of MTAC. She resisted the urge to go after him and just watched, feeling worry pulse through her veins. Whatever was wrong with him, there was nothing she could do. She needed to sort things out here. The whole situation was serious and they all had a lot of pressure on them. The blonde began to follow him and Jenny spoke up.
"Colonel Mann."
The woman turned around to face her, looking haughty as always. "Yes, Director?"
"He's not fine," she stated, hoping the woman was picking up on that.
"We're all under a lot of stress."
No kidding. "A word of advice. Agent Gibbs is one of the best agents around, but when it comes to dealing with bureaucracy, it's not one of his stronger points." She thought of when he'd come back from the coma and walked out of MTAC in a rage and quit.
"And your point?"
"My point" she snapped back, "is that I almost lost him six months ago, and I don't want a repeat." Especially not now, she thought. Not now that they had a baby on the way and they'd rekindled their romance. She couldn't afford a breakdown from him when she was trying her best every day to not have one herself.
"Well, with all due respect, ma'am, I think Agent Gibbs can take care of himself. And I think you know that."
This headache was pounding and the violent thoughts were increasing substantially. This woman knew nothing about Jethro. She was a lost cause in Jenny's eyes. If anything happened to him on this woman's watch…there would be real hell to pay.
"I know more than you can possibly imagine," she snapped back. "Keep an eye on him. You'll all need to watch each others backs."
He hadn't been feeling good, and it had been getting progressively worse. He was having a hard time thinking, his head was killing him. He couldn't fully concentrate with the way his head pounded. He knew he was exhausted, he hadn't gotten any sleep. None of them had.
It was when they tracked down Sharif in that Amtrak station and he started chasing the bastard that he realized he was more than just tired. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong. He kept banging into the walls and it was taking all of his concentration and strength to keep standing. He wasn't sure he could control his own body. By the time he'd made it to the bathroom, cornering Sharif, his legs gave out and he collapsed backwards onto the floor. What was happening? Why couldn't he breathe or move? Things were spinning, Sharif was talking and he couldn't even understand it all.
"Do you know what it's like to lose your family?" he heard faintly, the words echoing in his head.
Shannon. Kelly.
His girls whirled through his exhausted head, and he felt so out of reality that he wondered if he was dreaming. The man pointed his gun at him and he was so out of breath and energy he couldn't even scream. Was this it? Was he about to be reunited with his girls? He would have welcomed that thought months ago, but now it terrified him.
He couldn't accept that this was the end. It couldn't be. He couldn't do that to Jenny and the baby. He promised himself he would be there for them, protect them at any cost. He couldn't protect them if he was in the ground.
And yet it didn't matter. He could think it, but it wasn't stopping Sharif from pulling the trigger. He didn't have a choice. He was going to fail the ones he loved, yet again.
Multiple loud shots sounded right as Sharif about pulled the trigger, and he watched the man fall to the ground. His head was so dizzy, everything was spinning all over the place. Was he dreaming? He was so confused. Nothing made sense. Nothing felt real. He turned his head, barely registering the body on the floor and tried to breathe.
DiNozzo's head popped in front of his face telling him to hold on and something about an antidote, and then McGee was saying something, and then he felt someone pull up his hand and felt a sharp prick. A face looked into his and his vision swam—all he could see was Jenny's face. He tried to call out to her but everything went dark—
She knew he hadn't been all right. She just knew it. Why hadn't anyone else caught on? Why hadn't that damn Colonel noticed any of the signs? Why hadn't he mentioned anything to anyone?
Because he was Gibbs. He was always stubborn, always insistent on being fine when he wasn't.
Men.
He'd nearly been killed. Sharif had laced those boat hand tools of his with that poison and it hadn't been detectable when he'd gotten checked out earlier. If Sharif hadn't been shot, she sure as hell would make sure he was dead now. She was pissed off that the Colonel hadn't listened to her and that Jethro had come so close to death. The woman was saved from her fury since she had at least taken the shots that saved Jethro in the end.
The elevator to the floor of the hospital he was on opened and she stepped out, glancing around at numbers to figure out where she was at. She hurried down the hall counting down the numbers and stopped when she reached the room.
She sighed in relief, seeing him sitting up and looking okay. Ducky was talking to him and Jethro looked bored out of his skull. She didn't know why she expected him to look worse. Perhaps it was because the last time he'd been in the hospital he was bloodied, burned, and in a coma. That was a time she never wanted to relive.
"Jethro," she said in relief as she walked in, still trying to calm the nerves she'd felt ever since the call. She walked up and took his hand. "Are you okay?"
"Course I am," he grunted, squeezing her hand as his lip quirked up.
"Are you sure?" She put her hand on his head, looking into his eyes and trying to see if there was any evidence of him being off.
"Jen, c'mon," he muttered, batting the hand on his face away. "Don't fuss, 'm fine."
"That's what you said earlier. Look where you are now."
He shrugged. "Well, 'm fine now. Doctors poked me enough to prove it. Right, Duck?"
The doctor who had been watching them with interest, reminded of their closeness in Europe, looked at Jethro and put up his hands up in mock surrender. "I know better than to get between the two of you."
Ducky watched them more as Jennifer reprimanded Jethro again and the man responded in his gruff manner—but it wasn't as gruff or dismissive as he would act with anyone else. It wasn't as gruff or dismissive as he usually acted with her either. The way Jenny kept touching him. He knew this behavior with them. He'd lived with it for months in Europe. There was no denying they were back together. He glanced down at the Director's abdomen, thinking that those pregnancy rumors were looking much less like rumors.
"How many times I gotta tell ya 'm fine?"
"Until you stop lying to me in the first place by telling me you are fine when you clearly aren't."
"Thought I was just tired. Didn't know the bastard touched my tools."
"Amazing, considering if I so much as touch one and don't put it back in the exact right spot you—"
Ducky chuckled and shook his head lightly, leaving them be and heading back to the office. Jethro was clearly taken care of and didn't require his assistance anymore. He collided into a person right as he turned the corner from the door.
"Oh, I'm sorry, my dear" the doctor apologized, looking up at Colonel Mann.
"Not at all, Ducky. I wasn't paying attention."
Ducky watched as the woman's face fell when she looked past his shoulder. He looked behind him to see a view of Jethro kissing Jennifer's hand and smiling up at her.
"Well, looks like he's doing just fine," she commented grimly. "I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised."
Ducky chuckled, thinking the same thing. It was always going to be them in the end. It was inevitable the second she'd come back as Director.
He held out his arm. "Why don't you escort me to my car, my dear. Not as young as I used to be, you know."
She smiled, taking his arm, grateful for the distraction and excuse to leave. "If only the men my age were as charming as you, Doctor."
"They'll get there, don't you worry. Unfortunately the male species requires more time than the females in order to mature. You know, that reminds me of an incident when I was a young lad…"
"Jethro, you just got out of the hospital."
"Don't care."
"Jethro," she laughed, trying to shove him off of to no avail. He stayed insistently on top of her, sinking them into the mattress as his lips roamed her skin. She should have known when she brought him home and he asked her to stay the night that he had an ulterior motive. Here she was thinking his near death experience had just made him clingy and want company. "You could have died. The doctor told you to take it easy."
"Fine," he sighed, pulling back from kissing her neck and looking her in the face very seriously. "You can be on top then."
Her mouth opened, scandalized, while he merely smirked back.
"What? Ya like bein' in control."
She tapped the tip of his nose with her finger. "If anyone is the control freak, it's you. You and your fifty billion rules."
"Nah, you're the one with Director on your door." He slid his hand under her hip and pulled one of her thighs up around his hip, pressing closer to her, growling in her ear, "Come on, boss, direct me."
She couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous he was being. What a line. She enjoyed when he was in a goofy kind of flirty mood.
"I'm serious," she laughed, helpless against his grin. She tried to put on a serious tone, but he really was making it complicated. "I don't want your body to get too stressed."
"Sex relieves stress, Jen."
She couldn't argue with that one. Goodness knows he had been a really good source of relieving stress for her. She felt his hand sneak into her pants, and any argument she could have come up with was lost the minute his fingers found her. The bastard knew her too well.
"Been a good week since I made love to you," he muttered into her ear, scraping his teeth gently against her earlobe.
She moaned, pulling her other leg up and giving him more room. "Fine. But if you feel even the slightest bit dizzy, you need to make sure we stop."
He pressed even closer to her, running his other hand along her cheek as he breathed her name reverently.
