There's a nervousness in the pit of her stomach that could rival the anxiety she felt her first day as director.
She would be lying is she said she slept well the night before; a the worry of what was to come the following morning plagued her mind most of the night.
Memories of being a probie on his team swim around in her head. The sneaking around they had to do, the looming fear of being caught by their team or, god forbid, Director Morrow. The stakes were high then, but they've reach catastrophic heights this time.
Most of the remainder of the weekend had been spent either in bed or lounging somewhere around his house. The casualness of their time together was something entirely foreign to her. It had been years since she had simply enjoyed another persons company.
She had arrived at the building a little past 5am, a good two hours before he would make his appearance. Her best tactic was to carry on like they hadn't rekindled whatever flame was between them, and that meant feigning a cold shoulder towards him as a result of their argument the previous week.
She nearly screamed when she opened the door to her office to find him sitting at her desk, casually leaning back in her chair as if it was the most natural place for him to be.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She chastises, peeling her coat off.
"Don't like surprises, Jen?" He teases, flipping through one of the files on her desk.
She shakes her head, "There a reason you're reading a file labeled 'confidential'?"
He smirks, "Aint that confidential if it's sitting out on your desk."
"You're incorrigible."
"Incorrigible?" He says, "That like doppelgänger?"
"You're a smart man, use context clues." She comes to stand in front of her desk, arms crossed, "Why, pray tell, are you in my office at 5:15 in the morning?"
"Just came to say hi."
She rolls her eyes, "You sneak in here at god knows what hour, almost give me a heart attack and don't even show up with coffee? I expect more from you."
He gives her a wicked grin, and reaches underneath her desk, producing a untouched cup of coffee.
She doesn't want to give him the satisfaction of swooning (because good god this man makes her swoon) over his effortless surprised, so she merely glares at him instead. Still, she can't help the smile that plays at her lips.
"I'm still angry at you, Agent Gibbs, for your blatant disregard for our sister agencies jurisdictions when it comes to your case."
His eyebrow quirks up and he offers her a bemused smile, "All work and no play, Director? This office does something to you."
Despite herself, she smiles. "Work and personal life are separate, remember?"
"It's just you and I in here, Jen."
"Cynthia will be here in," she glances at her watch, "14 minutes, and she's never late."
He finally stands and makes his way around the desk until he's standing in front of her, "Lot of things can be done in 14 minutes."
It takes all of her self control to maintain a poker face in front of him, "We're at work, Jethro."
"Never stopped you before."
"I wasn't a director of a federal agency before, and it was reckless back then too." She counters.
She watches as he shakes his head, bemused smile still on his lips and she can't help but thank whatever high power was up there for leading her back to him; choices and five point plans aside.
"Got plans for today, Director?"
She snorts, "Not at all, I was just going to sit back with my feet up and let the agency run itself."
"Think you can make time for coffee in that busy schedule?"
She gives him an intentionally pensive look, "I have a meeting with SecNav at 0800, though I suppose I can have Cynthia pencil in a coffee break between that and my next meeting."
"Bureaucracy," he snorts, "All these meetings and everything stays as is."
She swats at his shoulder playfully, her agony expression cracking and a smile finally gracing her features, "I'll leave at 1200 sharp, follow me 15 later? The scuttlebutt would be atrocious if we left together."
There's a playful look in his eye that she can't quite place as he take another step closer to her. The space between them has dwindled into nothing and she's contemplating if she should make the first move when he beats her to the punch, planting a chaste but firm kiss to her lips.
She smiles against his, trying her best not to become fully lost in him.
"Cynthia will be here in two minutes." She whispers, pulling just far enough away from him to say it.
"Don't care."
She laughs, leaning forward to peck his lips one last time before creating a bit of distance between them much to the look of dismay he wore.
"I will see you at 12:30, Agent Gibbs. Don't be late, you know how I feel about punctuality."
She sends him out the door, smiling widely as she does. That man was going to be the death of her.
And she just might be okay with that.
———
Despite popular belief, Tony DiNozzo was much more observant than people tended to give him credit for.
There were certain patterns people followed and he had a knack for memorizing them, which made it all the more obvious when they deviated from them, even slightly.
Ziva was absentmindedly opening and closing her pocket knife, a habit she did when she was bored. Typical.
McGee, ever the good boy, was typing his case report at his computer, chewing at the end of his pen like he often did when he was deep in thought. Standard.
Gibbs had finished off his coffee and announced in very few words he was going to get more. Predictable.
When the elevator dinged, he presumed it would be the man in question stepping off, only find Jenny instead, cup of coffee in her hand a smile on her face.
Wait.
That wasn't normal.
He tries to recall the last time - if ever - he's seen the director look so relaxed and gleeful, but his memory comes up short.
He decides to test the waters.
"Good Afternoon, Director."
She had stepped in her tracks, turning to face him, smile still on her face. "Good to see you Tony," she says, "No case today?"
"Not today, don't jinx it for us."
She lets out a laugh. A honest to god giggle, if he's being truthful and it throws him for a loop.
"I'll try not to, DiNozzo."
He watches as she makes her way back up the steps towards her office, coat draped over one arm while she held her coffee cup, smile still on her face. Definitely not typical.
He doesn't think much of it though.
That is, not until Gibbs comes back from his coffee run, the slightest smear of maroon lipstick poking out from beneath the collar of his shirt. Jenny's lipstick, to be more specific.
He could not wait to tell Abby.