Chapter 6: The mysterious daughter

Jenny was sat in her office admiring her view across the navy yard, some days she still couldn't quite imagine the fact that she was here, she had it all. Except, she didn't really have it all, she had the job and the child, but in every other sense she was alone. She still kept in touch with some of her old school and college friends, but they were spread out over the country now, starting their own families.

Jenny was brought out of her thoughts by someone knocking on her door, "come in," she said as she turned around and saw her daughter walk into her office and plop herself down on the couch. Jenny looked at her sceptically, Rory had been at her new school for about a month now and had been having a good time. "What you doing here kid?" Jenny asked as she sat down beside her daughter, she never came to NCIS after school, normally Rory would go back to whatever parents' house she was staying at that day and do her homework and by the time that was done her parent would be home.

Rory played with her necklace for a moment, "I've just had a bad day that's all." Rory said avoiding all eye contact with her mother.

Jenny pulled her daughter into a side hug, "do you want to talk about it?" Jenny asked and Rory shook her head and got her books out of her bag.

"I just didn't want to be at your house with Noemi," Jenny looked at her sceptically, "she would make me talk about it and I don't want to cry." Jenny gave her daughter a kiss on the head.

"Well I will be at my desk reading over some reports, when Cynthia gets back from legal I will send her out to get us some hot chocolates." Jenny said and Rory nodded and began to get on with her work. Jenny kept a close eye on Rory while she worked, her little girl was holding something back, whatever had happened to her today had really upset her.

Jenny's office door opened, and Cynthia walked into her office, "Ma'am here are the files you asked for."

"Thank you Cynthia," Jenny said as Cynthia turned to walk away and stopped dead at the sight of the young head she had only seen once before.

"I am so sorry Director had I known you had a visitor I would have knocked." Cynthia apologises and Jenny smiles at her.

"Not a problem Cynthia, this is Rory my daughter." Cynthia's jaw almost hit the floor and Rory dropped her textbook at her mother so flippantly introducing her as her daughter. Rory stood up and walked towards the assistant and shook her hand.

"Hi I'm Rory."

"Cynthia," she said shaking Rory's hand.

"Cynthia would you mind heading across to Starbucks to get us both a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows?" Jenny asks handing her trusted assistant her bank card.

"No problem ma'am." Cynthia said leaving the office and Rory burst into tears.

Jenny got up and held her daughter close and began to stroke her hair, "you're okay mommy has you, you're okay." Jenny and Rory sat down on the couch and Jenny held Rory close until she stopped crying, "you want to tell me what happened baby?"

Rory nodded and sat up, "just this bitchy girl in school," Rory paused when Cynthia brought in the hot chocolates. "We were in civics and the teacher was talking about the first female director of an armed federal agency, you and then this bitch Sophie started making comments about you and it pissed me off." Rory grumbled and Jenny sat up straight.

"What did she say babe?"

Rory huffed, "just stupid things like it was easy for you to get to the top when you sleep your way to the top, she's a bitch mom." Jenny pursed her lips.

"Well you and I both know that isn't how I got the job, but Rory what else did she say?"

Rory looked at the floor "she said 'Rory's mom was a slutty bitch who got herself knocked up at 16 so she had Rory shipped off to boarding school which meant that she could sleep her way to the top and didn't have to deal with her bastard child because she was ashamed'." Jenny saw red, how dare anyone say anything like that to her child.

"What the hell did your teacher say!" Jenny roared.

"She sent her to the principal but by this point it was out there so yeah I was upset." Jenny held her daughter close and kissed her head.

"I've got two phone calls to make baby girl." Jenny said walking over to her desk, Rory watched her mom very confused. "Cynthia, can you please inform Agent Gibbs that I want his team, as well as yourself, Dr Mallard, Palmer and Miss Sciuto up in my office at 1800, tell him Rory is wanting a visit, and after that can you please patch me through to the head teacher at Quantico high." Jenny smiled at her daughter, "go wash your face Aurora, you're going to be meeting your dads team in about 40 minutes." Rory smiled at her mom and practically skipped into the bathroom in her mom's office, excited to meet her dads team.


It was 1755 when team Gibbs and Abby, Palmer and Ducky congregated in the bullpen, anxiously waiting for why they were being summoned to the Director's office. Tony had been throwing out conspiracy theories for about 20 minutes and Gibbs had enough of all of the gossiping and speculation.

"Move let's go see the director." Gibbs barked and made his way up the stairs.

Tony turned to McGee, "I bet this is about the mysterious red headed little girl that has shown up twice!"

"Today DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked.

The door was open to the Director's office, so everyone slowly walked in to see Jenny sitting at the on the couch with Rory and Cynthia. Once they were all in the office Jenny got up and closed the door behind them. "Obviously you are wondering why I asked to see you all here this evening," there was some nodding of heads, "now some of you are aware of this while others are not aware. This will be making its way into the media soon enough, so we thought it is best we tell you all before you find out from someone else."

"We?" Tony questioned and Gibbs glared, "shutting up now boss, continue Director, sorry." He stumbled and Rory laughed.

"Well I think I will let you do the introduction, Rory." Jenny said indicting for her daughter to step forward and introduce herself.

"Hi, my names Rory, well technically Aurora Joy Shepard-Gibbs." Tony, Palmer and McGee's mouths hit the floor while Cynthia was stunned to learn of who Rory father was. "Yeah Jenny is my mom and Gibbs is my dad."

"Boss you and the Director, kid, I , huh." McGee said

Gibbs rolled his eyes, "I will introduce you to the team Ror, this is Tim, Tony and Palmer." She offered them all a wave which they retuned.

"What about the rest boss?" Tony said confused as to why Gibbs hadn't introduced Ziva, Abby or Ducky.

"I got this one daddy," Rory said chuckling and Tony couldn't get over Gibbs being called 'daddy'. "Grandpa Ducky has known me since I was like 7, I spent some summers with Ziva when mom was stationed in Europe and I met Abby over the phone when dad got shot a while back and we kept in touch."

Abby ran up and squeezed her to death, "I'm so glad everyone knows it was such a hard secret to keep!" the goth explained eventually letting her go.

Rory walked over and gave Ziva a tight hug, everyone was so surprised with the Mossad agent returned the hug and there was some hushed whispers in Hebrew before Rory went over and gave her surrogate grandpa a hug. "I missed you Grandpa Ducky."

"I missed you as well Princess Aurora."

McGee and Palmer stood in shock whereas Tony stood there hurt, he had known Gibbs so long, and he was hurt that Gibbs didn't feel like he could be trusted with this information. Gibbs noticed that Tony looked hurt and indicated for him to leave the office. No one bar Jenny noticed the pair leave as they were all so busy trying to find out more about the mysterious daughter of both their bosses.

"What's up DiNozzo? Gibbs asked as they sat in Cynthia's outer office.

Tony shifted in his feet, "just thought you trusted me and thought more of me than you do." Gibbs glared at him, "boss you kept your kid from me." He said in a hurt tone and Gibbs gave him a small head slap.

"Tony there isn't anyone more who I would trust with Rory, if she had been 4 years older and 18 hell no," Tony laughed at that. "The reason no one was told about Rory was for her protection DiNozzo, Ducky new about her because we had her with us in Europe, Ziva because she spent some time in Israel on her summers with Jenny and Abby, well that was an accident, but Abby didn't know who Rory's mom was until a month ago." Tony nodded, "DiNozzo if I could have got away with it I would have put you on Rory's protection detail, that's how much I trust you with her."

Tony puffed his chest out a little at that, "how come you decided against it." Gibbs went to walk back into Jenny's office, "because you would spend the whole time flirting with her teachers."

"True," Tony said joining the others in the office when it hit him. "Wait if Rory is 14 doesn't that mean Jenny was 17 when she was born, you would've still been in the marines so not at NCIS yet." Tony sniggered while everyone slowly began to do the maths and raised an eyebrow at the situation.

Before Jenny or Gibbs had the chance to answer her phone rang, "hell sir, oh really, yes I will send DiNozzo and David undercover." The whole rooms eyes were on Jenny, "John Paul and Sophie Rene? Were killed in a car crash, there is a credible threat they are going to target the marine corps birthday ball. Tony and Ziva will be going undercover as Jean Paul and Sophie, the rest of you I will brief individually on your roles, but right now Gibbs, DiNozzo and David, you're with me, we are meeting with SecNav in MTAC." They all nodded and began to disperse.

"Don't worry mom I'll order myself a pizza." Rory shouted and Jenny ran back and gave a daughter a kiss on the cheek.


"I love you." Jenny said before running to catch up with the others.

Rory had eaten her pizza, got ahead on some reading for her English class and had done her translation work for her French class. Rory had been placed in an advanced French class and would be sitting her AP French exam next year because of how fluent she was in the subject. It was now going 2200 hours and her mom and dad had not made a reappearance in her office, Grandpa Ducky was doing the autopsies while Tony and Ziva had checked into the hotel pretending to be John Paul and Sophie.

Cynthia popped her head into her mom's office, "hey Rory, your mom is going to be stuck in MTAC all night and doesn't want you to go home alone so she said can you go see her in MTAC and then you can sleep in the pull out couch in here, I will set it all up for you coming back." Rory nodded and Cynthia let her into MTAC.

"Hey mom," Rory said as she sat down beside her mom, "so this is MTAC huh."

Jenny smiled at the excitement in the young girls eyes when she looked around the room she had dreamed of being allowed to enter. When she was little and running around the halls of NCIS on the odd Saturday her mom had to work Rory had said that she would become an agent one day to see the inside of the mysterious MTAC.

"I'm sorry you're stuck here, but with it being an assassination attempt, don't want to leave you home alone." Rory looked at her mom with fear evident in her eyes.

"Are you the target?" Jenny shook her head.

"Doubt it Aurora but I just like to keep you safe." Rory nodded and tried to stifle a yawn. "Go to bed baby girl, there is some sweats and a top in the bathroom in my office, text me what you want to wear tomorrow, and I'll have Hannah and Fiona bring it in for you before they take you to school."

Rory got up and gave her mom a kiss goodnight, "kick ass mom." Jenny laughed and Rory walked over to her dad who gave her a hug goodnight, "I'm sleeping here tonight, look after firefly for me daddy." Rory whispered into her here.

Gibbs signed 'always' to his daughter and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, "sleep tight Ror." Rory walked out of MTAC, watching her parents sit beside each other before she left to go to bed in her mom's office, maybe there was hope for them after all.

"So, it's one of these men," Jenny said as she flipped through the photos Abby sent.

"The caller referred to the target as a male." Jenny snapped her head to him

"Did you trace the call?" Jenny asked hurriedly

"Gee... why didn't I think of that?" Gibbs retorted sarcastically.

"Sorry Jethro. I'm a little tired." Jenny apologised

" Yeah well you never could pace yourself very well." Gibbs joked

" I have one word for you Jethro." Jenny flirted

" Hmm?"

" Positano." She said and Gibbs made a face

" Come on. That was a week after I took a bullet." He exclaimed, that night they were having make up sex and he hadn't quite been able to pace himself.

"Uh huh." Jenny teased.

" Hey. Nothing is gonna happen tonight. Tony and Ziva are hitting the rack, all the backup teams are in place around the hotel. Why don't you go grab an hour on the pull out with Rory?" Gibbs suggested

"No. I just need a little coffee." Jenny said looking down at the file on her lap trying to stifle a yawn

" Yeah? When the caffeine jolt ends?" he asked out of concern for her.

" I'll do what you do. Get a refill." Jenny smartly retorted

"You're not me." Gibbs said mockingly

"Chauvinist." Jenny jarred back

"Yeah, yeah. I guess. I am going to tuck Rory in, Goodnight Jen." Gibbs said getting up to go check his daughter had settled okay for the night.


They had wrapped up the case and Tony was being tended to in the bullpen as he had been hurt. Rory was standing around waiting for her dad, it was technically her mom's night, but it was the Marine Corps Birthday and Rory wanted to spend the night with her dad, plus her mom was going to the ball.

"Thought doctors weren't supposed to prescribe alcohol anymore duck" Gibbs said walking into the bullpen and seeing the mess that was his senior field agents face.

"Well it always seems to work for you." Ducky retorted and Rory glared at her dad.

"Daddy bourbon doesn't fix everything." Everyone watched for Gibbs response, but he just gave his daughter a cheeky school boy smile before turning back to Ducky.

"You get tickets for the Gazelle thing again?" Gibbs asked and both Ducky and Rory rolled their eyes at his lack of cultural awareness.

"It's Giselle, Jethro and no, that's not tonight." Gibbs paused for a moment and looked down at Ducky's tux, he was wearing his medals. "Marine Corps birthday ball, she didn't tell you." Gibbs looks and Rory who just smiles at her dad before indicating to the stairs her mother was descending.

Hubba Hubba Gibbs thought, Jenny looked beautiful in a long black sparkly paired with a matching shawl, she looked beautiful. He would have given anything to be the one escorting her, in his dress blues. "our lovely director has asked me to escort her." Ducky says whilst walking over to Jenny to take her elbow.

They stop at the bullpen and Rory gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, "You look beautiful mom." Rory said.

"You sure you are okay staying at your dads tonight." Rory nodded and gave her dad a hug,

"no other marine I would want to spend tonight with." Rory said. Jenny and Gibbs eyes locked for a moment, giving each other a knowing smile, before Jenny walked away with Ducky and Gibbs got ready to spend his night watching a movie and eating Chinese and drinking fizzy juice with his little girl, the way it should be.