Note: this is two little scenes I thought about post 1509 (ready or not) – Sloane reflecting on her day.

Sloanes office

Sloane went back to her office at NCIS headquarters to finish up the paperwork on the case. It had been a long and emotional day… both good and bad emotions and she needed to finish up this case before she could sleep. As she is sitting in her office her head keeps wandering back to the events in the emergency room. She enjoyed a little too much, inflicting pain on that Son of a b… Andre Yorka and it hunts her now. She should be the good guy, not enjoying inflicting pain on others… not even on scumbags like Yorka.

Sloane is interrupted by the sudden sound on a knock on her door.

"come in," Sloane calls and the door is slowly opened and dr. Jimmy Palmer pokes his head in.

"good evening Dr. Sloane. I didn't know if you were still here so I took a chance."

"come on in Dr. Palmer," Sloane says and puts on her polite smile, to try and get the thoughts of Yorka out of her head.

Jimmy closes the door behind him and walks over and takes a seat across from agent Sloane. Sloane just waits for him to start explaining his late visit to her office. He doesn't say anything. He seems nervous.

"what can I do for you, Dr. Palmer?" Sloane asks to try and get him to explain his visit.

"Hmm…" he seems nervous. "I would just like to apologies to you, Agent Sloane. I didn't mean to be out of line today. I am truly sorry."

Sloane looks confused at him.

"what do you mean Jimmy? When do you think you were out of line to me?"

Jimmy looks just as confused as Sloane does.

"in the autopsy." Jimmy explains. "you were paying respect to your deceased friend and I was being completely disrespectful by asking to the nature of your friendship. It was out of line." Jimmy get out from his seat like he is trying to escape before she freaks out on him. Jack stands up and walks over to him.

"Jimmy no." Jimmy look confused at Jack. She doesn't sound angry. "I really appreciate what you said to me and did for me in autopsy today." Jimmy has a look on his face that is a mix of confusion and pride.

"your questions made me realize how much I cared about him and that I never actually got to tell him that. So thank you." She says and gives him a hug.

"oh hmm… you're welcome." Jimmy says a bit surprised and it takes him a second to recover from the shock before he reciprocates the hug. As they break the hug Jimmy gets a text from his wife.

"I… I should get home," he explains.

"of cause. Thank you, Jimmy, for stopping by and have a good night." Jack says with a sweet general smile. It makes Jimmy feel a lot better. He has been feeling bad all day about how he thought he was being disrespectful to her in a really emotional situation. He wasn't expecting her to actually appreciate what he had said. He has a good feeling as he leaves her office and responds to his wife. Sloane decides to call it a day and close up for the night.

Gibbs house

Gibbs and the team had stayed for a while at the hospital with McGee and Delilah. It was around 10 pm when Gibbs finally got down to his basement. He found an empty glass and poured a glass. It had been one heck of a day. Sloane had lost a clearly very close friend and she had overreacted doing the arrest. Not that Gibbs couldn't relate that she wanted to punch Yorka, but he had to step in and stop her… he could feel that. once he had held her back to stop her he could feel how she relaxed against him. She wanted him to stop her but she couldn't stop her self. She was too worked up. That is what teammates do. They help each other when they aren't able to help themselves. Sloane had proven quite an asset to the team since she joined, and… not that Gibbs would ever admit it, but quite a good friend to him too.

Now Gibbs is in his basement getting ready to work on his little basement project when he hears the front door opens and footsteps approaching the door at the top of the basement staircase. He recognizes the sound of the high heeled boots. It is the sound of an approaching Special Agent Sloane. Sloane hasn't been in his house since the night they first meet. It makes him smile remembering that night. He figured out the second she "flashed" her licenses that she wasn't just a random doctor from California. Thinking of the night they meet makes a smile on his face.

Sloane enters the basement but stops at the top of the stairs.

"permission to come on board?" she says with a familiar smile on her face.

"come on down," Gibbs says as he takes a sip of his drink. He finds another glass and pours her a glass too. She steps down the stairs and now gets a clear view of the boat.

"wow, I thought they were kidding when they told me you were building a boat in your basement." She says and looks impressed at his little project. He hands her the glass he poured for her.

"Thanks." She takes a sip.

"what can I do for you, special agent Sloane?" Gibbs says. it amuses Sloane when he is using her title.

"I…" she looks down at the glass. Now the smile on her face has disappeared. "I just wanted to thank you." She says and looks up to meet his eyes.

"for what?" he asks as he has absolutely no clue of what she is talking about.

"for stopping me today from beating the crab out of Andre. I was out of line and you asked me if I could control my anger and I couldn't."

"no need to apologies Jack."

She didn't expect Gibbs to be this forgiven. She had prepared this long apology speech in her head all the way from the office to his house and all he says is no need.

"Gibbs. You were right. I couldn't control my self. I was angry."

"I get ya, Jack. No need for an explanation. He murdered a friend of yours." Gibbs takes a sip of his drink before he adds in a lower voice. "I would have done the same."

Jack is surprised about hearing that. She never took Gibbs for a revenge-type of person. She has heard, most from Vance, that Gibbs does tend to go rougue from time to time, but she never expected for him to admit it to her. He just looks at her with his understanding smile and she doesn't know what to do other than smile back. All the way to his house she was expecting him to give her a hard time about lying to him and being out of control with Yorka or reprimanding her.

"Gibbs…" Sloane says and leans against the table behind her. "I didn't tell you the whole truth about how I knew Nigel."

"you don't have to Jack." He says and leans against his boat across from her. she has been looking down on the glass in her hands. Not really want to see his reaction in case all she would she was disappointment. Gibbs comes across as a highly respected former marine special agent who respects the oath he took and the badge more than anything… but over the past few weeks of working more closely with him LSoane has learned that there is one thing that Gibbs puts above anything else… the trust among his team members. That is why, not telling Gibbs the truth about how close she actually where with Nigel, has been tieing her stomach up like a nut since she left the hospital and went back to her office, to finish up the case. She knew she needed to clear the air and get it over with before she would be able to get a good night sleep.

She finally looks up from her glass and all she sees in his eyes is understanding and empathy.

"thank you, Gibbs." Jack simply says and finishes her drink.

"you enjoyed it… didn't you?" Gibbs finally asks after a few minutes of pleasant silence. Sloane looks up a bit confused about the nature of his question. "pulling that bullet out of Yorkas leg."

Sloane doesn't like to admit it, but… she can't hide the little devilish smile on her face and it makes Gibbs smile too.

"maybe a little." Sloane admits. "he got what he deserved." Gibbs silently agrees with her. Gibbs silent approval of her little devilish revenge on Yorka makes the nut of guilt that has been forming in her stomach all evening go away.

"I'll see ya tomorrow." She says and places the glass on the table and walks towards the stairs.

"Have a good night Jack." He calls after her as she walks up the stairs. She looks back at him with a smile. As she walks to the car she thinks about the events of the day. Despite losing someone that has been a close friend for years she realizes that she has gotten a new friend in Gibbs. Not as close a friend as Nigel were but definitely a really good friend.

note: thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed. feel free to leave a comment on your thoughts.