The new day dawned and another day of investigating began for the team, with Tony and Ziva finally arriving home from California. They found McGee sat at his desk, his head in his free hand, and the phone in the other.

'NCIS, Naval Criminal…' He began to say, clearly not the first time in the conversation, the frustration evident in his voice. He took a big sigh as the person on the other end interrupted him, and he listened to what they had to say. 'Look I spoke with you earlier. You were supposed to send me four security tapes, you only sent me three. Thank you.' He said before he hung up with a sigh. 'I hate airport security.' He added to himself.

'That makes two of us.' Tony said as he entered the bullpen and placed his side arm on his desk.

'Rough flight?' McGee asked as Ziva joined them, and he sensed the tension in the air, but he received no response. He thought he'd try again and try to break the tension with some light humour. 'I see you two went swimming.'

It was a comment that an already agitated Tony took exception to. He slammed the drawer of his desk closed and stormed over to McGee's desk.

'What are you saying McGee?' He asked calmly, although his tone conveyed a lot of the guilt he felt.

Ziva feared a confrontation between the two friends and colleagues, and knew that this would not help the situation.

'No…I err…just mean that I saw the picture of Ziva by the pool.' He replied, a concerned look on his face.

'Say it…' Tony said quietly.

'Say what?' McGee asked in confusion.

'I screwed up. You can say it Probie.' Tony pushed just as Ziva joined them.

McGee looked at the senior agent and said the one thing that he needed to hear.

'Tony it was not your fault.'

'Thank you.' Ziva replied softly as she looked at Tony just as McGee's phone rang.

'McGee?' He answered without taking his eyes from Tony's. 'Sure, be right down boss.' He said before hanging up. 'Abby's lab.' He said to them both before they all headed towards the elevator.

Down in Abby's lab she paced frantically in front of Gibbs as grief clearly got to the usually bubbly Goth.

'I've barely had a chance to begin unpacking this stuff Gibbs, let alone process it. I don't have anything for you.' She said sounding unusually subdued as she placed several items onto the counter, before turning her attentions to another box.

'You will.' Gibbs said calmly.

'I will, and it will be my best work.' She said as she placed the box on the counter.

'It always is Abs.' Gibbs said in a fatherly tone.

'It's different this time; this time it's for the director, and for Penny. I want my very best work.' She said as she lifted out Jenny's blue and white shirt, which was now covered in blood, as tears began to form in her eyes. 'Oh Gibbs.' She said as she went to him for a hug.

Gibbs didn't say anything to her, but held her tightly to him. They were both so distracted that they didn't notice Penny come in. She walked up to Jenny's box, which was full of her clothing and personal belongings. The sight of her blood covered shirt made want to hurl, yet she smiled when she saw it.

'I once borrowed this without asking her, and I went to see my friend's baby. He was only a few months old at the time, and he vomited all down my front. When Jen found out she was so mad at me that I didn't think she would ever speak to me again. The ironic thing is she was worried it was ruined, and now look at it.' Penny explained as both Gibbs and Abby looked at her with sympathy.

Abby pulled away from Gibbs and stood in front of Penny, her eyes still full of tears and her voice sounded shaky.

'She was always such a snappy dresser you know, like classy. But I never told her that. Why didn't I tell her that? She'd have liked that. She would have smiled. You can't wait with stuff like that because you never know what's going to happen.' She said as she rubbed her hands together. 'I like the way you dress Gibbs, its masculine and spruce, always with a jacket.' She said which resulted in a smile from both Gibbs and Penny. 'See even you smiled.'

Gibbs looked at Abby, who looked a little less upset than before, as she turned her attentions to Penny.

'Penny you're always really funky with how you dress; always wearing bright colours that most people wouldn't even consider, but you look so stylish and unique.' She said to her friend as she hugged her, just as Tony, Ziva and McGee joined them.

She let go of Penny and rushed up to Tony and threw her arms around his neck.

'Tony you're business, but after hours. It's nice.' She said which resulted in a slightly confused look from the agent.

'Ziva, you kick ass and you look so good doing it.' She said as she then moved over to Ziva and also gave her a bone crushing hug, before she moved on to McGee.

'McGee…' She said before pausing, dusting his shoulder lightly, but unable to come up with anything. 'Oh McGee.' She said as she hugged him.

'Boss I…' Tony began to say before Gibbs cut him off.

'It's not your fault.' Gibbs replied, which finally offered Tony some of the comfort he needed.

Tony was surprised not to receive another outburst of anger from Penny, especially since Gibbs just said those words in front of her, but instead she chose to say nothing.

'There's only one thing we need to be concerned about.' Gibbs said to his team once they were all gathered.

'Finding the director's killer.' Ziva said.

'Shall I call Vance?' Abby said, which resulted in silence amongst the team as they all looked at her. 'A unanimous no.' She added when she caught their small glares.

'Was this a hit?' McGee asked.

'Well it was personal, had to be, why else would she have brought along Franks?' Tony replied.

'She died trying to end something.' Gibbs added cryptically, and his team looked at him with confusion.

'Does that mean the "something" is still happening?' Ziva asked, but before Gibbs could reply, a voice at the door made them all jump and look up.

'That's a good question David.' Vance said as he looked at the team gathered in the lab.

Vance looked at Gibbs and inclined his head slightly, indicating he wanted him to follow him outside. Gibbs nodded and followed him out of the lab to the elevator.

'Why wasn't I invited to the party?' Vance asked as the elevator doors opened.

'The team lost a member Leon, hardly a party.' Gibbs said calmly, but the annoyance was evident in his voice. 'They're also trying to help one team member with the loss of her mother, may I remind you of that.' He added.

The rest of their conversation was lost to the team as the doors closed behind them, which sent a shiver up Penny's spine. She could feel that there was something that both Mike and Gibbs knew that clearly Vance didn't, but she could tell that he suspected something wasn't right. She left the team in the lab and walked into the ballistics half, grabbing hold of Bert on her way passed. He often held some form of comfort for Abby in her times of need, and she hoped that maybe he would give her the same comfort. She watched as the rest of the team dispersed one by one, and she continued to rack her brains over the last conversation she had with Jenny. She was trying to remember any details in the background that may have given her any indication as to what Gibbs was not telling her.

'Pen are you OK?' Abby asked as she perched herself on the side of the desk and looked at her friend.

'I don't know Abs. I can't shake the feeling that there's a much bigger picture to all of this, something that I'm not seeing but my gut is telling me there's more.' She explained.

'Do you want to talk abou…' Abby began to say before Penny shot up from her seat and began walking towards the door.

'I should go up and see if they need any help.' She said as she turned to face her friend.

'Yeah I guess I should get to work on the forensics.' Abby replied as she turned round to face the boxes and their contents.

The team were already gathered round the TV screen when Penny arrived and stood next to Gibbs, just as she saw a woman getting into a cab.

'Viggo wasn't travelling alone.' McGee said as they watched the woman get into the same cab as Viggo Drantyev.

'Run it back.' Vance said sharply as McGee pressed a few buttons on his keyboard.

The video on display ran back until Vance told him to stop. Penny glared at the photograph of the woman now displayed on the screen, and was about to say something when she felt a tug on her hand. She looked up to see Gibbs subtly move his head towards the elevator and she followed him away from the group.

He led her down into the evidence garage without saying anything more to her, until he handed her the keys to his car.

'I want you to go to my car and get in, wait for me there. I'll be back in a minute.' He said before the doors opened and he disappeared, not giving her the chance to question him.

She huffed with impatience, fed up with being kept in the dark, but she did as she was told and pressed the button on the elevator for the lower floor to the parking garage.

A few minutes later Gibbs joined her in the car, a clear plastic bag sticking out slightly from his jacket pocket. He started the engine and pulled his seatbelt around him before setting off.

'Gibbs where are we going?' Penny asked him with confusion, still very much unsure of what was going on.

'Yours. There's something there that we have to do.' He replied before silence descended between them once more.

The journey took them approximately thirty minutes and for the first time in her life Penny was not happy to be home. Without her mom there the Georgetown home looked barren, and the idea of it being empty tortured her. She hated the idea that from now on this was what her life was going to be like, returning home to an empty house. The thought brought tears to her eyes once again, but she pushed them back as she exited the car.

As she unlocked the front door, the house conveyed much of what she was feeling, dark and empty. She turned on the light to the hallway, and it cast an eerie glow into the open study. Gibbs walked straight into the study, switching on a couple of the lamps as he walked passed. Penny stood at the doorway trying to build up the courage to enter.

Ever since she was eleven years old she'd been terrified to enter that room. It had been the room in which her father had shot himself in, the room where she had found his lifeless body, and ever since that fateful night she'd been too afraid to go inside. But this time was different; this time she had to go inside for her mom.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she took the first step in. As she took a few more steps in she tried to remember some of her happier times in the room. She remembered how her father would often sit behind his desk, and Jenny would sit with her beside the fireplace drinking hot chocolate. The memory made her smile slightly, but under the circumstances it did not make her feel any better.

She sat in the chair in the corner by the fire facing Gibbs, and he made himself comfortable behind her desk. Neither had said anything to the other since leaving the naval base, and the silence was beginning to really get to her.

'You know something Gibbs, Jen tried for years to get me over my fear of this room, but no matter how she tried it never worked. Guess she got her way in the end though huh?' She said as she held her hands up to show she was there.

Gibbs smirked at her but didn't reply. He was hoping that she might start opening up more, but he was concerned that Penny was trying to distance herself from her grief, noticing that she had started referring to her mom as Jen.

'Gibbs…I don't know how to do this.' She said to him quietly after several minutes of silence.

'Do what?' He asked.

'Say goodbye. I don't even know what to do next. I know I'm going to have to arrange her funeral, but how do I do that? How do I even begin to comprehend any of this?' She said as a couple of tears traced their way down her cheeks.

'I know Penny, but you've got all of us to help you. And I know that right now you need someone to blame, but it really isn't Tony and Ziva's fault.' Gibbs replied with a fatherly tone.

'I know that Gibbs. I know what Jen is like…was like. She wouldn't have given them much choice in the matter.' She replied as she wiped her face free of tears. 'I remember when she used to go away on her undercover ops with you, I used to pray every night that she'd be safe, but in my heart I always knew you'd protect her.' She added.

'No matter where we were or what we were doing, she always had to make sure that you were safe, and that she would always return to you. In fact, she gave me this to give to you in the event that one day she might not return to you.' He said as he pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her.

Penny took it from him and glanced at it with confusion as she turned it over in her own hands. She took note of her name on the front, carefully written in Jenny's handwriting. She carefully prised open the top, and pulled out a letter.

Dear Penny

If you're reading this then, I'm afraid to say, it means that I'm no longer with you; but I want you to be brave and try to move on the best way you know how.

I need you to know that I will always love you, and that I'm sorry that I won't get to see you grow up to become the beautiful, smart young woman that I know you'll become. So work hard at whatever you do and make me prouder than I already am.

I've already given Jethro strict instructions that if you ever need anything that you've to go to him, and I want you to promise me that you'll stick to that. I know he'll always keep you safe.

Until we meet again

All my Love

Jen xxx

Penny read the words over and over, the first half making her sob, and the second half making her laugh. She traced her mom's handwriting with her finger, picturing her writing it.

'She still loved you, you know?' Penny said to him without taking her eyes off the letter in her hands, and Gibbs didn't reply. His silence made her look at him after a couple of moments. 'After she left you in Paris she was sent to Spain, but just before that she came home and was so distant in those couple of weeks that I was beginning to think she'd left her head in Paris; but it was her who said a few weeks after that, when I joined her in Spain, that it wasn't her head she'd left in Paris but her heart.'

Gibbs continued to look at her in silence, but sensed that he was going to have to formulate a reply shortly.

'If I ask you a question will you answer it honestly?' She asked him.

Gibbs thought for a moment, not entirely sure where she was going with this.

'I'll do my best.' He replied.

'Do you still love her?' She asked him bluntly as she folded her letter back up.

It was a question he'd asked himself almost every day he spent in Jenny's company since she arrived as director three years ago. He knew the answer, but had always been too afraid to voice it.

'Yeah, yeah I do and I always will. I wish things had worked out differently between us after Paris, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.' He answered her truthfully.

She was about to quiz him more when the bloodied cell phone in front of him began to ring, the caller display saying "caller ID blocked". Gibbs smiled slightly before answering.

'Yeah?' He answered as he flicked it open.

'Think of a reason why I should personally throw the book at you for hindering a federal enquiry.' Vance said on the other end of the phone, resulting in a smirk from Gibbs.

'Because you want this to go away.' He replied.

'Where the hell are you?' Vance said impatiently.

'Not far.' Penny heard Gibbs reply cryptically and it was then that she realised who it was he was speaking to.

'Franks with you?' Leon asked.

'Should he be?' Gibbs replied, a small smirk playing on his lips.

'If he's not then he's on his way to Mexico with Decker's insurance policy.' Leon replied, which resulted in the smirk that had previously been faltering on Gibbs's lips to appear. 'Don't smile.' He added forcefully.

Penny sat and listened to Gibbs as he spoke to Vance before he pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the caller ID, which now flashed Svetlana's alias's name Natasha.

'I'm going to have to put you on hold.' He said to Vance before pressing a button and cut him off.

Penny sat and listened to Gibbs's new conversation, and felt frustrated that out of the two additional languages she spoke one of those was not Russian.

'What's going on?' She asked him when he hung up.

'Svetlana's on her way over. So I need you to be ready in that corner with your side arm.' Gibbs instructed her as he placed his own firearm on the desk, and approached Jenny's bourbon collection.

He poured himself a small glass, and sat facing the front door in quiet anticipation. Neither of them said anything for the next twenty minutes, until the front door creaked open. Gibbs poured himself another glass of bourbon, distracting Svetlana from Penny's presence in the darkened corner.

'Hello Natasha, or do you prefer Svetlana?' He asked as she held a gun in his direction. 'This is not business, this is personal.' He added when he turned to face her.

'It was you who killed Anatoli?' She asked him, the emotion, anger and hurt evident in her body language and voice.

'What was he to you?' Gibbs asked her quietly as Penny listened carefully.

'Everything.' Svetlana replied, her strong Russian accent evident in her voice.

Penny stood up and raised her own gun at the older woman standing in front of her.

'And the woman you had killed two days ago was everything to me.' She said as Svetlana turned to face her. 'Why did you have to kill her?' She added as she tried desperately to control her emotions.

'Because I was desperate to get the bastard who took Anatoli from me.' Svetlana replied more calmly.

'Why now?' Gibbs asked, forcing Svetlana to face him again.

'It's taken me until now to find you.' She said shakily, the anger she felt evident.

'The night he died a woman came to kill you, what happened?' He asked her calmly, and Svetlana gave a very small laugh.

'She couldn't do it.' She replied rather smugly, and she noticed Gibbs glance at his weapon on the desk.

'Can you?' He asked her as a brief standoff occurred between the two, before two loud shots were heard.

Svetlana gave a small scream as she was shot, before falling forward onto the coffee table in front of her, shattering it under her weight. Penny shook as she lowered her freshly fired weapon, and glanced from Gibbs to Mike who now stood in the doorway. Mike had been the one who fired the second shot at the same time as Penny.

'I don't understand Gibbs. She said that Jen couldn't go through with it, but she was a natural with a gun, taught me everything I know.' Penny said as she re-holstered her gun.

'Not back then.' Gibbs replied simply as he checked Svetlana for a pulse.

'What changed?' Mike asked gruffly.

'Me.' Gibbs replied irritably. 'One thing I had to accept, none of that came natural to her.' He added.

After a few minutes silence Penny finally spoke, offering the first bit of humour they'd heard in the last three days.

'That was my mom's coffee table; she spent a fortune on that thing.' She said with a small smile, and both Gibbs and Mike laughed. 'What are we going to do about her?'

'That's a good question Special Agent Shepard.' Leon said as he entered the Georgetown house.

'It was sanctioned.' Mike offered in way of explanation.

'Nine years ago.' Leon replied, irritating Penny with his tooth pick.

'Yeah well she was about to shoot Gibbs, it was self-protection.' She explained defensively.

Vance didn't say any more, but he took out his phone and made a couple of calls.

After a few hours Svetlana's body was collected discreetly by Ducky. Gibbs collected the pieces of the table and assured Penny he could fix it. They had all agreed on their stories involving Jenny's death, insuring it went down on her death certificate as an "accident at home". Now all Penny had to do was worry about giving her mom a fitting memorial and beautiful funeral.