The plan had already been put in motion long before Penny had even found out about it, but she liked it. It was quick and simple and meant she'd get her mom back to herself shortly; she just had to keep the news to herself for a bit longer.
Gibbs took Penny into work as normal, leaving Jenny at home to work from there, but the silence in the car was beginning to deafen him. Although he usually liked silence, this silence was awkward and that he didn't like. He could tell that his and Jenny's betrayal had hurt her a lot, regardless of their reasons. He knew that she understood their reasons, but it didn't stop it from hurting her any less.
'Is everything alright Penny?' He asked once he couldn't take it anymore.
'Yeah everything is fine.' She replied tonelessly.
He understood why she felt more upset with him than with Jen, he should have expected it, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. In his usual quick manner, he suddenly pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to face Penny.
'Let's have it.' He said to her, resulting in a confused look from Penny.
'Have what?' She replied innocently with a look she'd inherited from Jenny. In return he gave her the famous Gibbs look, making it clear he wasn't in the mood to play games. 'Fine! Why didn't you tell me she was alive? Why did you allow me to go through such hell when you knew she was out there somewhere? And why were you so eager to help me through my grief?' She spat angrily.
'Because Penny I made Jen a promise to look after you and keep you safe, and to keep you safe meant keeping her safe too. Believe it or not lying to you has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, and it's not something I'm proud of.' He explained.
She felt guilty for feeling angry with him after seeing the sorrow in his eyes. She did understand how difficult it must have been for him, almost as if he had to lead a double life; this did help her feel less betrayed, but it was going to take time before her trust was completely repaired.
'The night I shot Svetlana, I asked you if you still loved my mom. Was your answer true?' She asked, which, under the circumstances, took Gibbs by surprise.
'Yes I did answer that truthfully.' He replied and noticed a small flicker of a smile form on Penny's lips.
'Good, because when all of this is over you should really take her out to dinner or something.' She said.
Gibbs laughed as he pulled the car back onto the road, he'd missed her subtle hints about a reunion between them, but he had to agree that maybe, this time, she was right.
The rest of the journey to NCIS was silent, but not awkward like it had been before, and both were glad of that. When they finally arrived at NCIS, the team were bustling in action.
The team were joined by two Mossad agents, one of whom Penny recognised as Malachi Ben-Gidon, but the female officer she did not recognise. They'd been brought in by Tony, McGee and Ziva on suspicion of acts of terrorism, and were now awaiting interrogation from Gibbs.
'What's going on?' Gibbs asked grumpily. 'What are you doing here?' He said as he turned to Malachi.
'Oh, hey boss. We were just having a pretty good time lying to each other, and I think that was about to boil off actually.' Tony explained.
Malachi inhaled deeply as he received a sharp glance from his female companion, clearly she didn't want him informing the team as to their purposes.
'We're tracking three members of a Palestinian terrorist network.' He explained.
Gibbs realised how this linked to a case they'd been investigating from the early hours of the morning, after the coastguard had shot several people in a fire fight as they were throwing crates overboard. The team had also received information of terrorist activity in the area. Mossad's involvement now made sense.
'Did you follow them from Cuba?' He asked, and received a small nod from Malachi.
'So why are you searching for them in DC?' Ziva asked.
'They're not; they're one step ahead of the assassins already. They're an advance team.' Gibbs said in realisation.
'You're right, they are assassins, and this is where their target will be.' The female officer said.
'Who's their target?' Penny asked, still a little unsure of what was going on.
'Your father is coming; he'll be here in two days.' Malachi explained to Ziva, much to her astonishment.
'My father has not left Israeli soil in twelve years.' Ziva said angrily.
'We're not lying…' The female officer began to say before Gibbs cut them all off.
'Enough! We've got three killers to find.' Gibbs said angrily as he ended any further bickering, before walking off.
'Where's he going?' Malachi asked.
'Coffee!' All four NCIS agents replied as they watched after him.
Gibbs was glad to be away from the building, allowed to be left alone with his thoughts. He should have known that Eli David would pull a stunt like this, especially since he was part of the review conference, arranged by Leon Vance, to go over old cases; in particular the operation started by Vance in '91 and then continued by Jenny and Gibbs in '99.
He was walking back to NCIS, coffees in hand, when a dark vehicle pulled up beside him.
'Officer Hadar, you almost made me spill my coffee.' Gibbs joked dryly as he took a step back.
'Americans, you can never just say hello.' Officer Hadar replied.
'How about Shalom? Hello and goodbye.' Gibbs said as he began walking passed the Mossad officer.
'And peace Agent Gibbs.' Hadar replied, making Gibbs turn. 'Do you have a minute to meet with my director? He's waiting for you.'
Reluctantly Gibbs followed Officer Hadar to a nearby bar, not exactly what he expected but good enough for now. Eli was sat at one of the tables waiting patiently for him as Gibbs sat and joined him.
'Shalom my friend.' He said in greeting.
'Shalom.' Gibbs said in return, although not quite as friendly.
He still blamed Eli for Kate's death. Although he'd not been directly involved, Gibbs blamed Eli for grooming Ari to become a mole within the Hamas terrorist group; had he not done that, then Ari may not have become a terrorist himself and in turn Kate wouldn't have lost her life.
'What brings you to town, Eli?' He asked.
'Loyalty. I was summoned for Vance's review of the international case files, and his request for contributions from every NCIS director. Sadly, not all Leon's predecessors will be present.' Eli explained with a genuinely saddened expression. 'I was very saddened by Jenny Shepard's death. She was truly responsible for bringing our two organisations together, and for bringing my daughter into your life.'
'Director Vance has a suite at the Freemont, he's got a system where he can video conference anyone who could not attend in person; you didn't have to make the trip.' Gibbs replied irritably.
'There is a case…' Eli began to say.
'Amsterdam.'
'Then you do know.'
'Just bits and pieces.'
'For the first time all parties involved will peel back the veil.' Eli replied cryptically. 'It may be necessary for me to defend myself.'
'You should have told us you were coming. Like it or not it's my responsibility to ensure your safety.' Gibbs replied.
'A joint effort I think.' Eli said before nodding acknowledgement to Hadar.
Back at NCIS the team and two Mossad Officers were investigating the three assassins after Eli. Tensions were still high between all concerned, neither party yet trusting the other.
Malachi had just finished explaining about each of the three assassins, the skills of which didn't impress Tony.
'I don't care how many degrees he has, if this guy wants to assassinate Eli he's going to need more than a pistol.'
'Tony it's not the size of the gun…' Ziva began to say before she was cut off by, who Penny now knew to be, Liat.
'…it is the willingness of the shooter.' She said rather smugly.
'Exactly Tony, just look at Sirhan Sirhan. He shot Bobby Kennedy in a very crowded kitchen pantry, surrounded by guards and armed agents, and supposedly alone.' Penny stated.
'Wait, you don't think Sirhan was alone?' McGee asked as he turned to face his friend.
'Definitely not McGee; I mean all the evidence…' Penny began to reply before Gibbs returned and interrupted her.
'If that evidence doesn't relate to this case Penny then I don't want to hear it.' He scorned, although not as harsh as he usually was.
'Right boss.' She replied almost apologetically before turning to McGee 'We shall continue this discussion later.' She whispered to him with a small wink.
'So where we at?' Gibbs asked as he turned to the agents in front of him.
'Well I have a question actually; why isn't the CIA or Secret Service assigned to protect Director David? I mean, wouldn't they be better equipped.' McGee asked.
'Director David doesn't want anyone to know he's here.' Malachi replied.
'And a bang up job you're doing too.' Tony said sarcastically.
'Well how did they find out?' Ziva asked as she pointed at the screen.
Silence then descended around the bullpen as Malachi and Liat looked awkwardly at each other.
'What? No big fat lie already in place?' Penny said with a small smirk before Tony replied.
'You guys really don't know do you?' He said with surprise.
'Well however they found out we're not going to find the answer tonight. Eli is in a safe house; I suggest you all go home, get some rest. We'll reconvene at zero seven hundred tomorrow.' Gibbs said as he sent the agents home.
One by one they all left for the night and Penny couldn't hide how happy she was about the fact. She'd been desperate to get home all day so that she could go home to her mom. She also wanted to get the day over with as quickly as possible, so that the next day could begin.
The next day symbolized the start of Jenny and Gibbs' operation to catch the agent who had betrayed them, and once that was complete, if they caught who they were after, Jenny could finally come home for good and life could resume normality.
She was grateful to Gibbs for giving her a lift home, especially since it had started to rain.
'Are you coming in Gibbs?' She asked as he pulled up outside her house.
'Yeah I am actually; I need to speak to your mom.' He replied as he followed her out of the vehicle and up to the front door.
Penny turned her key in the lock and opened the front door, overwhelmed by the sense of joy she got from seeing the study door open, the lights on and Jenny sat behind the desk. As soon as she saw her daughter's return she went immediately to her and held her tightly.
'How was today?' She asked them both.
'Eli David has rather complicated matters; he arrived in DC today to take part in the review in person.' Gibbs informed her.
'Ah I see. Does Ziva know?'
'Yeah she does. We have to investigate three assassins sent to kill him, meaning that we have to carry out a joint investigation with Mossad.' He advised further.
'Well not to worry Jethro, we'll continue as planned. Although I'm not too sure how we can avoid getting distracted by this threat against Eli.' Jenny replied with concern.
'Whilst you two figure it out, I'm just going to grab a quick shower.' Penny said as she disappeared upstairs.
She felt drained, physically and emotionally. Within a year she'd been put through every emotion imaginable and it still wasn't quite over yet. She prayed that it would all be over soon; she just wanted things to go back to normal, but then she asked herself if that was ever going to be possible.
She wasn't too sure that she could get used to having her mom around again; she'd become so used to her own space and the idea that Jenny was dead. She guessed it was just going to take time for them both to get used to something new.
She felt a lot better after her shower, fresher and more alert, which she figured was going to be necessary. She was just about to head downstairs when she saw Jenny and Gibbs together in the hall. Deciding not to interrupt their moment, she hovered on the landing, watching them through the balusters, unseen and undetected.
'You know once upon a time I'd have asked you to stay and I wouldn't have taken no for an answer.' Jenny said as she looked up at him.
Gibbs looked back at her and considered his options, but realised that now wasn't the right time to be doing this.
'No.' He replied simply.
'What happened Jethro?' She said with a small shrug.
'You made a choice.'
'I had to do what was best for me, still do.' She added with a small smile, hope in her eyes.
As much as he wanted reconciliation with the woman he'd been in love with for over nine years, Jenny needed to be with Penny and to work on their relationship. They'd been apart for so long and Penny had been hurt so much by their actions, it didn't seem right for him to impede on their moment.
He couldn't bear the thought of not giving her a proper answer just now, he wanted to tell her everything, but he had to keep reminding himself that now just wasn't the right time. Instead of replying he just turned and left.
'Why the hell did you let him leave?!' Penny asked as she shot up from her hiding place and ran down the stairs towards Jenny.
'What do you mean?' Jenny asked with a confused laugh.
'We spent three years watching you two tiptoeing round each other, putting up with all the UST and listening to you both argue all the time…'
'Wait what's UST?'
'Unresolved Sexual Tension, UST. And when you "died" I asked him if he still loved you and he said that he did. You should totally be together, because now that you're back I'm not putting up with you not.' Penny ranted with a small smile before an awkward silence descended.
Jenny reached her hand forward and stroked Penny's long hair. She'd missed being able to touch her daughter, even just looking at her. Even though she'd been away less than a year it had felt longer, much, much longer. She could feel tears spring to her eyes and noted that Penny's did too. She pulled her close and held her tightly, wishing that she could dissolve both their pain.
'I really missed you, I hope you know that.' She whispered and felt Penny nod her head. 'I'm so glad to be home, but I know that things aren't going to go back to normal between us over night. That's why I want you, well the both of us, to put in for some leave once everything has been concluded. I want us to go away together for a while. I want to try and put things right between us, because I know that although you're putting on a brave face, you're hurting so much and that's all my fault.' She said still not letting her go.
Penny smiled when she realised that she could smell the sweet scent of her mom's perfume, something that she'd really missed around the house. She couldn't summon the energy to speak, as it was taking her all her time not to cry. She didn't want to open the floodgates, frightened that she'd never stop once they were.
They both stood in the hall and held onto each other tightly for what felt like an age, but neither wanted to let go; Penny was afraid that if she did, she'd wake up to discover it had been a dream and that Jenny would be gone again. Jenny wanted to hold her daughter forever, having missed her more than words could describe. Her body had ached all the time she'd been away just to see Penny's smile, her sparkling green eyes and to hold her safely in her arms.
'Come on, let's get you something to eat; you must be starving by now.' Jenny said as she pulled away from her daughter and led her into the kitchen.
That night Jenny struggled to get to sleep, she felt so restless and plagued by nerves about the upcoming mission, knowing that it would mark the end to her undercover operation. In the next room Penny was also tossing and turning, unsure why she couldn't settle. Realising that she wasn't going to get any sleep soon, she decided to do the one thing that had always helped her as a child.
She climbed out of bed, slipping on her slippers and made for the door in one fluid movement. She lightly knocked on Jenny's door before sneaking in and climbing into the bed beside her mom.
'Can't sleep huh?' Jenny whispered as her daughter settled.
'Nope. Did I disturb you?'
'No I couldn't sleep either.'
After their last exchange of words they both finally drifted off to sleep, comforted by the other's presence and as of they'd never been apart.