Chapter 5

After Ellie went back down stairs I move across the hall to make the bed in the guest room. Oh silly me, I should have remembered that Jay was a Marine first of all. The bed was already made and you could have bounced a quarter on it and got change back. His night clothes were neatly folded and placed on the chair for further use. There was no need for me to be in there so I turned, grabbed the bundle of laundry I'd left in the hallway and went down stairs.

The conference in the living room had quieted down and all the members seemed to be playing well together. Oh every once in a while a voice was raised in a matter of difference but it usually didn't get heated and calmed down pretty fast.

I suddenly realized it was after noon and began to wonder what to do for lunch when Nick came into the kitchen to get more coffee for Gibbs. "Where is the best pizza place in town?" I gave him the number of the pizza place I used and he took care of the rest. "I'm also picking up beer and soda if that's okay with you."

"That's perfectly fine. Can I throw some cash in to help?" I reached for my purse.

He put his hand on mine to stop me. "No, you've done enough. We'll take care of you this time."

I thanked him and gave him directions and he left to get lunch. I took Jay the coffee that Nick had forgotten.

The buzzer on the dryer went off and I moved towards it.

Ellie came over. "Can I help? I feel like I've watched you clean up after us since last night."

"No, I'm going to take it upstairs and put it away and that won't take long. If you want to help go into the pantry and get paper plates, cups and napkins to use for lunch. Just put them on the table for when Nick gets back.

Jeff and Jay went out to the porch to continue their discussion. It felt good to see them finally be friendly with each other. I'd been afraid that they'd bump head for a long while. They are both alpha male types after all.

I took my laundry basket under my arm and went upstairs to fold it and put it away. When I came back down the table was ready for lunch. I grabbed the coffee pot to clean it. It had been kept pretty busy over the last few hours.

Jay flew through the door and was headed upstairs. His coffee had finally caught up with him. He stopped in the kitchen doorway long enough to eye the pot I washed. "When you're done will you make more?" He raced up the stairs. When he came down he stopped again but there wasn'tt the urgency.

I gave him a quick glance. "Will a half a pot do? Everyone else is done."

He gave me one of those adorable smiles of his and chuckled. "That should do. I think I heard Nick say beer." Then he headed to the door to let Nick and Ellie in with the food. Jeff followed at a more respectable rate.

Lunch was full of chatter, light conversation and laughter. This new family of Gibbs was very different from the one I knew. Oh Tony and Ziva were fun but there were more serious undertones between them. I'll have to ask about them later. I might see Tim tomorrow when I'm at work but we'll see.

When lunch was over Nick and Ellie cleaned up and I went upstairs to my book and some quiet.

About an hour and a half later Jay stuck his head into my room. "Jeff's leaving and he didn't want to go without saying good bye.

I closed my book and put it on the nightstand. "Thanks. I go down and see him off."

Jeff was sitting on the front porch waiting for me. "I wanted to talk with you and apologize for biting your head off this morning. I should have known there'd be a reason for you not to call there was. Jethro explained it to me."

I sat next to him. "I should have called you anyways. By the time I'd gotten myself back together it was very late, too late to call. However, it's all taken care of and you two seem to have hit it off. We can stop worrying about it."

Jeff apparently was not done. He moved his hat from hand to hand and you could see the 'get on with' it look on his face. "I'm concerned about the two of you. His being at your house is dangerous. You're now a target just as he is and I'm deeply worried for you. I also wonder if you know what else is going on here. You seem to have some very deep feelings for Jethro and because of those feelings you didn't call me. I want you to be very careful with the danger and with Jethro."

I looked off across the road to the woods. How did I answer him? All of those things had occurred to me as well. "I know Jeff and I know that Jethro is worried about the danger as well. The danger was the primary concern as to his being here and I don't like it. Listen I'll be careful with the danger and with Jethro as well. Okay?" I smiled at the notion that I had anything that could control my emotions as far as Jay was concerned.

Jeff nodded and rose to leave. He walked out to his car, climbed in, turned around and drove away.

I gave a wave and turned to go inside but I kicked myself for my forgetfulness. Yesterday I'd told Margo Fontaine I'd call her and as of now I still hadn't. I sat back down and let myself get lost in my thoughts. I wondered how this all would turn out. Would Jay get hurt again by that evil man who was practically in my back yard? Would Nick or Ellie be injured trying to take this group out? I definitely didn't want Jeff or any of his people hurts either but yet it had to be done.

I thought about the conversation Jeff and I had. While there were moments of warning it didn't seem like he was warning me about Jay. It was more the situation we found ourselves in. Was he pushing me to Jay? Did he think I needed the nudging or did Jay say something to him about us? I realized that my head had begun to pound. I'd not had a headache like this in years. I closed my eyes to clear my mind and to ease the pain and must have fallen asleep. When I awoke Ellie was sitting in the chair where Jeff had been.

Bishop looked at me with concern. "When you didn't come back in after Sheriff Colton left I thought you'd had enough of us and had run off with him." She gave a little laugh and then took a good hard look at me. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged because I really didn't know how to answer her. "Having Jay here is confusing me at best. I'm not usually like this. I feel like I'm in the middle of something and don't know how to get out. Emotions that I thought I'd put to rest years ago are all in play again and I'm lost. I want to do what's right for Jay and Jeff but mostly me. I don't want that hurt again."

Ellie reached across and took my hand. "I'm sure you'll know what to do when the time comes and I'm sure that Gibbs will help you with it."

I sighed and looked at my watch. "Oh, look at the time. I need to find dinner. You and Nick will stay won't you?"

Ellie sat back in her chair. "That was the initial reason for me to come out here. Nick and I saw a cute roadside stand that serves burgers, hotdogs, fries and fried chicken. It's not far and it smelled heavenly. We want to try it. Say you'll come. Gibbs is in. No cooking tonight?"

"Well if Jay is in, I'm in. Give me some time to clean up and call Margo."

Ellie grinned and jumped up. "Let's do it then." The she stopped. "Who's Margo?"

I needed to explain. "Margo is a friend who I left at a meeting yesterday when I didn't feel well. I need to call her and tell her I'm fine and find out what I missed after I left. We're planning for a Fourth of July Festival at Lake Sabrina. I need the new notes."

Ellie nodded. "I need you to understand that no one can know we're here."

I hated to break it to her but with Tim in the hospital and Jeff being in Bishop two days in a row the town already knew. Who was I to burst her bubble? I headed for the door. "Who or what is NCIS?" I threw a huge wink in her direction. "Let's go get ready for dinner."

We entered the house laughing with each other. The men were seated in the living room having a beer and talking. Both men's eyes met ours and again I wondered about their relationship. It seemed like so much more than partners. I left them where they were and went upstairs to call Margo and get ready. The call to Margo ended with me not missing much yesterday. My work consisted of a few phone calls and not much else. That would change as we got closer to fair time but for now there just wasn't much for me to do. I fixed my hair, put a little make up on and grabbed a sweater. Getting out of the house always feels good and going out with friends was even better.

I came down the stairs and Jay turned to look at me and I thought that I saw that old twinkle of his. I probably only saw what I wanted to see. I think that he will be Jethro from now on because he's grown into that name. He's shown me that he's matured and even mellowed a bit. If I had to say it, I like the new him. He stood and gave me his arm and we went out to Nick's car.

The road side diner was on the far side of town heading down towards Nevada and Las Vegas. It took about forty-five minutes to get there but the ride was worth it. Early summer is beautiful in the Sierra Nevadas and this ride was gorgeous. When we arrived at the diner I was truly impressed. Fresh coats of paint and newly pruned and shaped greenery gave the place a real shine. Hopefully the food would be as nice. We all went up to the window and made out choices and Ellie and I took the drinks and napkins to a table a little out of the way.

My curiosity had been nagging at me all day and I just couldn't contain it. "I hope you don't mind my asking but…what is your relationship with Nick? It seems like, oh I don't know, more than friendship."

Ellie actually blushed. "I don't really know. Some days it just the two of us and other times I'm just one of the guys. When he got seriously hurt I was beside myself, not just with worry, but with anger. I wanted that person to pay and they eventually did, but the anguish of seeing him almost die did awful things to me. It wasn't about justice. It was about revenge and that is an ugly emotion. So your question has me asking some questions of myself. I'll have to get back to you on that."

Nick and Gibbs brought the food over to the table and we dug right in to some of the best roadside food I'd ever eaten. The fries were perfectly browned and the chicken wasn't over breaded. Everything was delicious. Even the camaraderie was at its finest. Nick and Ellie joked around and Gibbs laughed with them. Yep, his new 'family' gave him a new perspective and that gave me hope for him.

Nick had gotten up to throw away our trash when something odd occurred. An ancient Jeep Wrangler rolled past the diner and screeched to a sudden stop. Nick dropped the trash and his gun was in his hand. Ellie's was too. Jethro pushed me behind him and a small handgun was in his other hand. The Jeep picked up speed and raced off. We cleaned up and made our apologies to the other diners and left.

All three agents in the car were alert to the road. We drove just fast enough to check out the cross roads and just slow enough not to catch up to the Jeep. Jethro knew who was in that vehicle as he'd seen it up at the cave where he'd been held.

Jethro pulled me to his side. "We'll call Jeff when we get you home. I'm asking for a security detail for you." I heard him sigh. "I want you safe."