A/N: Like I said, this is a bit different in tone, as is the next. There will be four more "chapters" in total after this, including some smut and fluff to top it off. I really hope you'll like it and appreciate every review! :)
Penelope Shepard was absently looking out of the window of the NCIS bullpen, her eyes heavy with fatigue and her muscles sore from chasing a suspect earlier in the day. It was already very late, and she could only see her own reflection in the glass staring back at her, the night sky pitch black in the background. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head, so ready to finally go home, if it wasn't for the almost-finished case report open on her desktop.
She averted her eyes from the window and let them wander around the office. Ziva was diligently typing up her report over at her own desk, not even slightly bothered by the fact that DiNozzo was trying to flip a bunch of paperclips at her head. Occasionally, she would catch one flying in mid-air and shoot it back at him, her eyes never leaving her screen for even one second. Tony seemed like he had given up on his report hours ago. Maybe he hadn't even started yet, she wasn't sure. He was half-lying on his desk, his arms crossed under his head and his attention focused solely on annoying Ziva.
Penny hadn't seen McGee in what felt like hours and she assumed he was still down in the lab with Abby, always the first of them to finish up on his report. Gibbs had also vanished from the bullpen roughly an hour ago and she wasn't entirely sure where he had gone off to. She knew that Jenny was still in her office and Penny assumed that he had gone up to harass her into signing off on a jurisdiction transfer, she wouldn't agree to.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and swiped it open, checking to see if her sister had texted her to go home together. From time to time, Jenny would send her driver home early and join Penny on her way back to their brownstone. Most of the time, they were on different schedules, but Penny really enjoyed the extra time they would get riding home together. Sometimes, they would even stop for some late-night take-out food and spend the night watching true crime documentaries while Penny begged her sister to access the files of some of those cases with her security clearance.
"Shepard!" She snapped her head up in surprise, when Gibbs' angry voice called her last name. That was rare. He slapped a file onto her desk, before stomping off to his own. He must have entered from the side of the office her head was turned away from because she was completely caught off guard by his sudden arrival. She could hear DiNozzo hurriedly shuffle back to an upright position and open a new document on his desktop, obviously very relieved that Gibbs' anger wasn't directed at him. Penny wasn't quite sure what she had done to be on the receiving end either, but she decided to not ask that question. She lifted the cover of the file and peeked inside. It was the transfer document. Without a signature. She sighed; so that was the reason for Gibbs' bad mood.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Penny asked, lifting the file from her desk and waving it at him.
"Needs a signature," he stated, his eyes glaring at her from behind his glasses.
"I'm not the director of NCIS," she responded and closed the cover again, rising from her chair to hand it back to him.
"Then get the director of NCIS to sign it," he growled at her and stood up again, his hands braced on his desk, his eyes glaring dangerously. He was making it very clear to everyone in the room that he didn't care about how she did that.
"She doesn't want to sign it, though," Penny mumbled, annoyed to be caught in the middle of this.
"I don't care! Get it done!" Gibbs barked at her and pointed to the catwalk with his outstretched hand.
"Fine. God," she whispered under her breath and walked around her desk and towards the catwalk stairs. Tony shot her an apologetic look as she passed him, and she could feel Gibbs' eyes on her as she took two steps at a time to the top.
When she reached the director's office, she noticed that her assistant had already gone home but the light on her desk was still on, casting shadows in the dark outer office. She approached Jenny's door, sticking the file under her arm and knocking softly out of courtesy. Penny didn't wait for an answer and carefully pushed the door open, sticking her head into the office first, unsure of the state Jenny would be in. She sat behind her desk, her head in her hands, her elbows popped up on a huge opened case file, her glasses clutched in one hand. She looked very exhausted.
"Hey," Penny said and closed the door behind her. Jenny looked up, her eyes tired and defeated. Penny approached her and leaned against the edge of the desk next to her, the file dangling in her lap.
"You ok?" the younger Shepard asked, concern on her face. She reached out and stroked a hand over Jenny's head affectionately, letting strands of her thick red hair slide through her fingers.
"I just spend an hour in a screaming match with Jethro," she answered, her voice hoarse.
"Yeah, I figured," Penny said, "he sent me back up here with this," she lifted the file and placed it in front of Jenny hesitantly. She looked as if she was about to wail in despair.
"I'm so sick of this," she declared, "why is everything a goddamn fight with him?"
Penny shrugged, unsure of what to tell her.
"It's not like I tell him 'No' for fun. I can't just kick Metro off this case because I feel like it. There are rules to this. Rules, he damn well knows. Rules, I have bent for him a million times already. I can't just continue to piss off every other law enforcement institution just because he refuses to play nice with others," Jenny moaned, looking up at her sister, before leaning her head against her side in exhaustion.
"I know," Penny confirmed, continuing to stroke her hair to comfort her.
"I can't do this anymore, Nelly," Jenny mumbled into her sister's thigh and it really pulled at Penny's heart to see her this crushed. She gritted her teeth, angry at Gibbs for being this difficult. It was like he was doing this on purpose; to punish her.
"I know," Penny repeated.
"Let's face it," Jenny said, lifting her head again and leaning against the back of her leather chair, "he's just never gonna respect me. I'm just always gonna be the Probie that was dumb enough to get into bed with him." She raised her eyes to the ceiling and sighed heavily.
"Maybe that's the problem," Penny started carefully, very aware that this was a difficult subject. Jenny looked at her with her head tilted, a frown on her face.
"I mean, I'm not judging or anything, but you're still getting into bed with him," she continued, "It's always like this. You yell at each other at work, or in his goddamn basement, he treats you like you're too dumb to do your job right and at the end of the day he still shows up at our place in the middle of the night. And you let him in. I honestly don't get it. You're so incredibly smart, it's scary, you've come so far without anyone's help and you're fucking amazing at your job but the second he looks at you with those blue eyes, you melt like a piece of butter in the sun. I'm gonna say it Jen, he's not that great."
"He can be, if he wants to be," Jenny said quietly, her glance fixed at the painting behind Penny's head.
"Yeah? And when is that? When he gets to see you naked?"
"For someone that said she wouldn't judge, you're particularly judgy," Jenny complained. A small smile appeared on her face and she reached out to close the case file on her desk, apparently deciding to be done with work for the day.
"Listen, I know he's not always an ass. I mean, I also live in that house and I see the way he treats you when you're alone, but I don't think it's enough. Yeah, he cares about you, a blind person can see that, but it's worth nothing, if he doesn't also respect you."
Penny watched how the smile faded from Jenny's face again and was replaced with a frown. She blew out air through her lips and her piercing green eyes met her sister's when she raised her head, drawing a hand through her own hair.
"You think I don't know that?" she asked, accusingly.
"I never said that," Penny defended herself, "All I'm saying is that I get why you're frustrated. I'm on your side, Jen. I'm always on your side." She pushed herself off the edge of the desk and held out a hand,
"Come on, it's late. Let's go home. We'll figure it out tomorrow." Jenny took her hand and let her pull her up from the chair. She then took the file with the transfer document and put it in her briefcase with some of the other files on her desk, before shutting off her computer and desk lamp.
Penny had grabbed Jenny's coat and scarf and held them out for her, opening the door with her free hand. She waited for Jenny to put it on and slide the strap of her briefcase over her shoulder, meanwhile checking the time on her phone. It was almost ten; late enough to go home and finish her case report there, or even tomorrow.
When they walked down the catwalk stairs together, Penny noticed that while she was gone, Ziva had apparently also called it a night because her desk was now vacant. Only Gibbs and Tony were still there, working in silence.
Penny walked over to her desk, Jenny at her heels, and started to pack up her things, when Gibbs raised his head and glared at her, obviously unsure about whether he wanted to continue their fight in front of an audience. However, he decided to get up and approach them anyways, holding out his hand expectantly and staring at Jenny.
"Can I help you, Agent Gibbs?" she asked, looking up at him, unintimidated.
"Metro off the case?" he asked gruffly, nodding towards the briefcase on her shoulder.
"I will think about it," she stated firmly and held his gaze, her eyes daring him.
"Ah, c'mon Jen, that's not good enough. Stop the bullshit and sign the damn paper"
"If you want to throw another tantrum, be my guest, Jethro, but I just told you, I'll think about it. That's all you're gonna get tonight. Take it or leave it."
She turned on her heels and walked off towards the elevator, leaving him standing in the middle of the bullpen, his fist clutched at his side. He turned towards Penny, instead, who was about to hurry after her sister and stepped in her way. Gibbs opened his mouth to say something, maybe even yell at her in his frustration, but she didn't give him the chance. Penny raised her hand and pointed her index finger in his face.
"No. Leave me out of this. Whatever 'this' is." She wildly gestured with her hands and then pushed past him, slightly knocking against him in her rush to catch the elevator before the doors would close.
She never even saw how Tony stared at Gibbs with his mouth open, scratching his head nervously and looking after her and Jenny leaving. She also didn't hear how Gibbs kicked against his desk in anger before grabbing is coat off his chair and also disappearing from the bullpen without another word, leaving Tony in a state of utter confusion but also a little bit of excitement. This entire spectacle was definitely something he could gossip to Palmer about in the morning.