Jethro was having lunch in the bullpen with Hollis for the third time this week. He knew that Jenny didn't like watching them all the time, and he was trying to limit the amount of affection they displayed for each other in public, but Hollis was making it hard for him, showing up unexpectedly with takeout and leaning in for kisses all the time. He tried to distract her with something else, like a case – but Hollis wasn't the type to talk about work for long.
He was thankful that Jenny was in her office this time, because she'd already bumped into them having lunch four out of the five days of the week that had passed. They ate their burgers in a comfortable silence, enjoying their food when they heard someone clear their throat.
They whirled around and saw a redheaded woman who resembled Jenny – there was an incredible likeness among them. She was dressed very stylishly, with a figure hugging black dress that reached her knees, a white blazer on top and a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant. Her look was completed with a pair of red stilettos Jethro swore had been taken from Jenny's closet, and sunglasses that were perched on top of her head. Her wavy, auburn hair reached her hips and Jethro noticed that it shined exactly like Jenny's did.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," she said, noticing the burgers in their hands, "but I have a meeting with the Director. Do you know where to find her?"
"Um… yeah, sure." Said Gibbs, and he put down his burger. "Up the stairs, right, through the door and ask for Director Shepard."
"Thank you." She said, smiling slightly at both of them. "Have a nice day."
The couple watched as the mysterious woman followed the directions given to her and disappeared as the door closed behind her.
"She looked just like Director Shepard." Said Hollis, still staring at the door which the woman went through. "They could be twins! I didn't know she had a sister, or any family, for that matter."
"Neither did I." said Gibbs, wondering how Jenny had failed to mention that specific detail about her life.
~NCISJIBBS~NCISJIBBS~NCISJIBBS~
"You're here!" exclaimed Jenny in delight and going in to hug her sister. "I missed you, Heather."
"I missed you too, Little Jay." said the redheaded woman, reciprocating the hug wholeheartedly. "We need to visit each other more often."
"Agreed. Right, let me just do one more thing before I leave." Said Jenny, taking out a tube of red lipstick and applying it to her lips expertly. "Here – yours is fading. Long flight?"
"You have no idea." Heather said, taking the tube and reapplying her lipstick. "Honestly, I appreciate the first class ticket, sis, but next time I think I'll take a cruise back here from London."
Jenny laughed and grabbed her purse. Heather grabbed a pair of sunglasses sitting by the desk and handed them to her sister, who sighed.
"Do we really have to do this every time we go out together?"
"You're a Shepard, Jay – look like one." Said Heather, indicating her own hairstyle.
Jenny pulled the hair tie off her ponytail and let her auburn tresses hang freely. She perched the sunglasses on the top of her head, just like her sister and ran a hand through her hair to comb out the tangles before pulling all of it over one shoulder. Heather watched, satisfied. Then, she linked her arm with Jenny's and they walked out together, chatting happily after not meeting in almost four years.
This little scene did not go unnoticed by Gibbs, who watched curiously from the bullpen as the two redheads disappeared into the lift.
~NCISJIBBS~NCISJIBBS~NCISJIBBS~
"Don't make me," laughed Jenny, "Please, I haven't done this in so long, I don't want to."
"The song's starting, Little J." said Heather, laughing even harder. "Come on, don't disappoint."
They were back in their childhood home together, for the first time in almost a decade. Heather's response was to immediately bring out the old karaoke machine they'd had and turn it on to sing their all-time favourite song – Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon.
They were just starting to get drunk and have fun. Jenny hadn't felt this free in such a long time. She was with someone she loved and missed, and she didn't want to waste that. So she took the microphone from her sister and started to sing properly for the first time since she became Director.
"Wowza!" exclaimed Heather, who was almost definitely drunk, or at least extremely tipsy. "You still got it, Little Jay."
She'd gone through about half of the song and the second chorus was just beginning when the doorbell rang.
"Alright, gotta get that. Cover for me." Said Jenny, throwing the mic to Heather, who caught by the tips of her fingers and began to sing loudly.
Jenny half-walked, half-laughed her way to the front door, silently thanking the heavens that Heather was here, because she wasn't sure that she'd be able to handle things without her. Heather was her one source of happiness these days, and she found herself craving the company of her big sister more and more since the Jethro incident.
She smiled, the biggest smile in the world as she opened the door…
And found that Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the source of her misery, was standing at her porch.
"Ew." She said when she saw him, which made him smile, slightly amused. "Why're you here, Jethro?"
"Came to meet your sister," he said.
"Jenny, who is it?" said Heather, who didn't sound quite as tipsy as she did a second before.
Heather appeared beside Jenny and saw the bottle of wine that Jethro was holding. He saw her looking at the wine and offered it to her.
"Brought it for you." He said. "I'm Jethro Gibbs."
"Right. Thanks." Said Heather, no longer slurring her words. "Heather Shepard. Don't make him wait at the front door, Jay, invite him in."
"Since you're already doing it…" Jenny's voice trailed away. She didn't want this to happen – not now, when she finally having some fun after God knows how long.
"Strange that Jenny never mentioned she had a sister before." Said Gibbs casually to Heather. "We've known each other for almost nine years and she hasn't told me a thing about her family."
"Nine years?" said Heather, and realisation dawned on her. "Hey, you're the guy that Jay – "
"He isn't." said Jenny coldly from the doorway of the living room. "Not anymore."
She turned to leave. The silence was killing her, but she couldn't stand to hear the words come out of Heather's mouth.
"Maybe it's a bad idea to be here," said Gibbs suddenly.
"Don't leave yet. I have something to say to you." Said Heather, and suddenly she wasn't drunk at all. "No matter what Jenny says, I know for a fact that she still has some feelings left for you, and it's been eating at her heart alive. She's spiralling, Gibbs. I need to know that she's safe when she's with you. I need to know that you'll protect her."
"Protect her from what?"
"Herself." Said Heather. "She's going through a lot, and with the added stress of – well, you know, you and Hollis – she's been calling me a lot and I can't stand to see her like this, Gibbs. You need to help her."
"She can take care of herself." Said Gibbs.
"This is different." Sighed Heather. "I – I think she's in depression, Gibbs. Her mental state, and her need to govern a federal agency isn't an ideal situation. Please, don't make me beg."
Gibbs was torn between helping Jenny and giving her space – he wanted her to be okay, but what if she wasn't? But even so, if he'd helped, she would just push him further away, and he would lose her friendship, too.
"I can't." he said firmly. "I can't meddle in her private business. I'll just hurt her even more."
He left, but oh, how he wished he hadn't.
