---

The case took longer than expected and by 7 pm Gibbs started to notice exhaustion on Alex's face. "Go home, we can finish it from here"

Alex didn't look up from her computer screen "I don't want to go home, Gibbs"

Gibbs got up and walked around to her desk and perched on the edge "What are you going to do?"

"I only have to give four weeks' notice on my lease. Gibbs, I don't think I can't stay there. There are several buildings in the area that are leasing. It shouldn't be an issue to find a new place."

"I don't blame you for not wanting to stay there. You'll stay with me."

"Gibbs. I'm not going to put you out. I thank you for letting me stay last night. I really appreciate it"

"You aren't putting me out. It will be nice to have the company. At least stay until your other lease is finished, you don't need to double your rent for nothing. Then, when the time comes I'll help you find a place that's good for you. Go home, pack some clothes and then go back to my place" Gibbs pressed his house key into her hand"

The rest of the team pretended not to listen to their conversation.

"Gibbs…"

"It wasn't a discussion."

Alex shut down her computer and headed for the elevator. She walked the few blocks back to pick up her car and drove to her house for the second time that day. She hurriedly tossed the things she would need for the next week into a suitcase. She rolled the suitcase to her car and returned to the house once more. There was one thing that wouldn't fit into her suitcase. She emptied half the water from her small fish tank and carried it out to her car, "C'mon bruiser, c'mon bubbles. We don't live here anymore" she said softly to the small goldfish.

Gibbs didn't get home until nearly midnight. Locking the door behind him he listened for any sound suggesting that Alex was still awake. He knew she was there, her car was out front. A quick trip down to the basement confirmed that she wasn't passed out drunk under his boat. He was grateful for that. Upstairs he peeked into the guest room and found her fast asleep. He was about to close the door when something caught his eye. He smiled as he realized what he saw was two goldfish.

Gibbs woke the next morning to the smell of freshly brewing coffee.

"Morning Gibbs. Coffee is fresh and there are some pancakes in the oven keeping warm"

He passed by her and placed a light kiss on the top of her head "You know, if you keep this up, I might not let you move out"

Alex smiled "Thanks for letting me stay, bruiser and bubbles thank you as well"

"The fish?"

"You saw?"

"You don't strike me as a fish person"

"I wasn't. Chris got them for me before he left for Afghanistan, so I wouldn't be lonely. But I can't get rid of them because of his mistake. It isn't their fault he's an ass. They deserve to be loved" There was sadness in her voice.

Gibbs squeezed her shoulder as he passed with a plate of pancakes in his hand "So do you".

When Alex's lease was up she decided that it was time to start looking at apartments. Gibbs had promised to help her find the perfect place, and somewhat reluctantly he agreed to accompany her on her search. Work was keeping them busy during the week so their search was limited to the weekends, that is, when he didn't have her working the weekend as well.

The first building they pulled up too Gibbs had vetoed at the sight of the people hanging around the building entrance. Not even Abby would feel comfortable here, and she hung out at some pretty hinky places, he thought to himself.

Pulling up to the second place he thought it was alright, it wasn't perfect, but at least she would have to go further than the front door of the building to find a crime scene. The building manager let them inside and left them to tour the place alone.

"No. Look at this place. It's tiny. You call this a kitchen?"

"It's just me Gibbs, it only has to be big enough for me and having the occasional friend come visit"

"There isn't even room for your goldfish. No, come on. We'll look somewhere else"

Apartment after apartment had been toured and each time it had ended in a similar way. The conversation was short and the complaint changed from place to place; too old, too small, too smelly, too dangerous, and too far from work.

"What's the hurry to move? We'll find you the perfect place. We'll know it when we see it. And this isn't it"

"Gibbs, I've been staying with you for three months now. I'm sure you'd love your privacy back. I was only going to stay until I was done with the lease on my old place."

"I'm in no hurry for you to leave and I'm certainly not going to let you move into the first available cardboard box because you think I need privacy. In case you haven't noticed, the relationship I have with my boat hasn't suffered at all." In truth, Gibbs would miss her if she left. He knew he'd still see her five to six days a week because of work. But he enjoyed the fact that their Monday night dinners had turned into an every night affair. Moving on from their basic recipes that they had become familiar with, they moved on to more complicated dishes, experimenting with new flavors and new recipes, most of which turned out to be delicious, only occasionally leaving them in a fit of laughter as one of them reached for the take-out menu stash.

He did admit to himself that it was hard to know she was sleeping right next door. The sight of her wearing one of his old shirts remained at the front of his mind. At night he clutched onto the second pillow on his bed and tangled his legs in the sheets, remembering what it had felt like to wrap his body around hers.

He would toss and turn at night, his nightmares that once centered on the death of his wife and child, were now focused on the unnecessary pain this woman felt and how he was powerless to prevent it. He would wake, tired and anxious only to find comfort in that she was already awake, waiting at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a mug of his favorite strong brew while she skimmed over the local news paper. Every morning was the same. She would say 'good morning' as he passed by and silently pressed his lips to the top of her head. He would pour a cup of coffee and press down on the toaster which would already contain two slices of bread, waiting to be toasted. If it was the weekend he would find either pancakes or waffles being kept warm in the oven. With breakfast in hand he would sit down across from her and wordlessly she would pass him the front page of the paper as she found what she was truly looking for, the comics.

As time progressed Alex slowly forgot about her search for a new place, not until she saw an ad in the newspaper one Monday morning for a new building that was about to open. She had to admit, it wasn't top of her priorities to move out. At Gibbs place she felt safe and content and wanted. None of those things she had felt for quite some time.

Gibbs nodded with a sigh, agreeing to check it out the following weekend. Tony and Ziva were in Los Angeles with the director and things at work had been slow. He was certain that they'd have the weekend free to go look. He was wrong.

The office was quiet. McGee was busy on the phone trying to track down the last known whereabouts of their latest victim and Alex was typing up a storm on her computer, occasionally pausing to reread what she had written before returning to the keyboard and picking up the pace again. Gibbs gazed around. Without Tony in the office, everyone seemed subdued. He knew he would miss Tony if he ever left permanently, but a week without DiNozzo in the office was a nice little break. Tony always had Alex talking about some movie or celebrity. She was the only one who willing fed his movie addiction by agreeing to compare their cases to movies. If he wasn't engaging Alex in a movie-related conversation, or trying to beat her top score in Tetris he was sending flirtatious looks at Ziva. No one in the office was blind, they were trying to hide their obvious affection for each other, but it was useless. Of course, they thought they were getting away with it, but it had turned into a little reality TV for everyone else. Gibbs wasn't sure that sending Tony and Ziva was the best choice for protection detail on the director, he would've rather sent McGee in one of their places, but he knew they would enjoy the down time that the director would give them. He owed them that much.

He couldn't be bothered to look up when the elevator dinged but his head snapped up when McGee started to choke on the coffee he had taken a sip of. He followed McGee's gaze towards the elevator and heard a small gasp from Alex desk, but didn't turn to look at her. He was on his feet and around his desk in one fluid movement. He had the man slammed up against the wall in a second.

"You are not welcome here" He forced out between his teeth, his jaw clenched tight.

"I.. I.." Chris stammered.

Gibbs had his arm across his neck and pressed tighter to keep Chris from talking. "You are not welcome here or anywhere near her. Do you understand" Gibbs startled slightly when he saw Alex's hand reach out and her fingers wrap around his wrist and pull his hand away from Chris' throat.

"Don't do something you'll regret" Alex had meant to sound strong, but it came out as a whisper. Gibbs lowered his arm, but held his place. McGee walked up and placed his hands on Alex's shoulders and turned her to direct her towards the back stairs to Abby's lab.

Alex shook his hands off and walked back to her desk. She didn't sit down, but instead opened the bottom drawer and dug around until she found what she was looking for. Without any show of emotion she walked back towards Gibbs and her ex-fiancé. Both men watched her, curious as to what she was doing. She pulled on Gibbs arm to make him step back. Reluctantly he did so, but only a few steps. Alex held out her fist towards Chris and turned her hand, uncurling her fingers to reveal her engagement ring.

"I don't know you anymore" she said simply "and I don't want to know you"

Chris shook his head "No… we can work this out. I know we can"

Alex thought it would be harder than it was "No"

"Please?"

"Chris if you don't leave, I'll get Abby. I think she's the one person who hates you more than him" She nodded towards Gibbs. Chris held his hand out and Alex dropped the ring into his palm before she turned on her heel she hesitated and placed a hand on Gibbs arm before walking back to her desk and returning her attention to her computer. He could tell that she was void of emotion for him and he realized while looking at the ring, it was over for them. He felt Gibbs presence growing stronger, so he moved back to the elevator.

Alex heard the elevator door close and before Gibbs could question she looked up and said "I'm fine".

---

Gibbs stepped out of the car and saw Tony and Ziva walk out of the abandoned building. He paused as a warm breeze blew through his hair. "I said to wait"

When he was greeted by Vance in the doorway, claiming it as his own crime scene Gibbs cringed. He had loved Jenny, still did. Not the same way as he had when they were undercover in Paris, but he would always care about her.

Abby and Alex paced the floor in front of McGee's desk. Alex was normally calm, but Gibbs sudden flight to LA combined with Abby's worries that something was wrong had taken its toll on Alex as well. McGee struggled to concentrate on his computer screen, but the dialing and re-dialing of phones to call Tony, Ziva and every now and again Gibbs was getting on his nerves.

"Look. Ladies…" McGee placed a hand on the back of each of the women "I'm sure they are fine, likely involved in some case. Why don't you to head down to the lab, or get coffee or something" He had them all the way over by the elevator when his computer alerted him to an e-mail. Alex and Abby were back at his desk faster than he was. He opened the e-mail to find that Tony needed some tire tracks identified.

"See, it's a case"

"I don't know, something still doesn't feel right." Abby looked at the print on the screen.

"What doesn't feel right, my dears?"

Abby and Alex turned to see Ducky standing behind them.

"They are worried something has happened. Gibbs suddenly took off to LA and we haven't heard anything from Tony or Ziva until just now, Tony asked me to identify a tire track"

"Ah, it must be a, oh, my phone… I'll just get this" Ducky fished his phone out of his pocket and answered. He put a few steps distance between him and said "Jethro"

"Ducky"

"I know I typically dominate the conversation, but since you called me..."

"Jenny's dead… yesterday"

"Oh dear. I can't believe it happened so…"

"She was murdered. Fire-fight."

"Tony and Ziva?"

"Not involved"

"What can I do?"

"Five bodies, on their way"

"I assume one of them is…"

"Yeah. Tell McGee, tell Abby, tell Alex. I'll need them"

"Jethro?"

"Yeah. I know, Duck"

Ducky snapped his phone shut and turned to face the agents. Silently he walked forward until McGee asked "Who?"

"Jenny"

Alex and Abby both gasped. McGee put an arm around each of them and closed his eyes. How could this be happening?

They moved about the building on auto pilot, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive painful. Instead of their usual lunch time gossip, Alex and Abby sat silently and picked over their lunch before it eventually ended up in the garbage.

Palmer was uneasy at Ducky's abnormal silence.

When Gibbs returned, the first person he found was Ducky. He had wanted to see Jenny's body one last time, but as he approached the body bag he decided against it. He wanted to remember her as she was, and not as a cold body on the table.

Next he walked into Abby's lab. She had just received all the evidence. "I'll do my best work, Gibbs"

"You always do"

"But this will be the best of the best. This is for the director"

Tony followed by Ziva who was then followed by McGee made their way into the lab. They compared their information and Gibbs left the others with Abby. When the elevator started to lift he flicked the emergency stop button. He ran his fingers through his hair before slamming his hand against the elevator wall. The team had been through enough the past year, why couldn't they just catch a break? He flipped the switch to start the elevator moving again. He pressed the thumb of his right hand into his left to try and alleviate the pain from when he had slammed the elevator. He didn't need to lose his cool, not now.

As he stepped out of the elevator he spotted Alex at her desk, her head in her hands, an all too familiar sight. He stood in front of her and cleared his throat. She raised her eyes to meet his "Here we go again"

That evening he sent his agents home, he was meeting Franks and wanted his agents to leave before him. Otherwise he knew they would be in the office all night, and he needed them to get their rest, otherwise they would be no use to him the next day.

Alex went home to Gibbs place alone. She couldn't believe that Jenny was dead. Jenny had been there for her through the 'death' of Chris and of Kate. They had laughed over personal jokes about Hollis and Jenny had given her a little insight to the world of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Alex wasn't sure what she would do without her. She paced the house. First she took a hot shower. It relaxed her, but it also brought tears to her eyes. She went to the basement to sit with the boat. She didn't want to drink, not alone. Not that night. She knew Gibbs would need her whenever it was that he got home. She needed to be sober for him. She moved back up to the sofa and flipped on the TV she had bought him. She flipped channels until sometime after 11 pm. She flipped off the TV and went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was nothing she wanted. She settled for a glass of water and a couple of Tylenol to help numb the pounding headache she'd had all day.

She sat on the kitchen counter and waited, though she didn't have to wait long. Gibbs entered his house slowly. Mike Franks had filled him in on all the details, and the fact that Jenny had died to save him, hung heavily on his heart. The only light on was in the kitchen, so he followed it. He saw Alex sitting on the counter and he walked towards her. She hopped down as he got closer and when he was right in front of her she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck "I'll miss her"

"I know. Me too" They were silent until he stepped backwards "It's late"

Alex watched as he turned and went upstairs. She heard him move around in the bathroom upstairs and when she heard the door to his room close she made her way to the stairs. Her first stop was the guestroom, her room now, where she changed into a t-shirt and a pair of boxers. She then went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She flipped off the light to the bathroom and stood silently in the hallway. Part of her was pulled to open the door to Gibbs bedroom, she thought she heard crying. However, another part of her thought that maybe he needed to be alone and she should just go to bed.

She placed her hand on the door knob and took a deep breath before pushing the door open. With the moonlight that shone into his room she could see that his eyes were open and he was staring up at the ceiling. She could also see that his cheeks were wet with tears. As quietly as possible she shut the door behind her before stepping towards the bed. She figured that if he had truly wanted to be alone, he would've said so by now.

Alex pulled back the sheets and slid her legs under. Just as she was lying down Gibbs rolled on his side to face her. With his back to the window, the moonlight no long reached his face and she was unable to read his expression. He reached out with his hand and wove his fingers into the hair at the base of her neck and pulled her forward. For a moment she thought he was going to press his lips to hers, but instead his lips touched her forehead. He pulled away slightly and pushed his forehead down against hers.

"Can we put the whole apartment search on hold? For awhile? I don't want to be alone"

"Okay" Alex meant for it to come out as a whisper, but it ended up more as a sob. He pressed his lips to her forehead again and pulled her close to his body. That night they fell asleep tangled in each other's arms and legs; he couldn't deny the comfort he felt.

---

Jenny's case hadn't taken long for them to solve. Just when they thought they could afford to take a sigh of relief, the new director, Director Vance, had called everyone but Abby, Alex and Ducky up to his office. He called to split them up. Alex would remain on Gibbs team, to help train the new one. Abby would stay in the lab and Ducky in autopsy. McGee would stay local, but move to cyber crimes. Ziva was to return to Israel, and Tony would be sent to sea.

It hadn't taken long for the news to spread. While the rest of the team sat around speechless, Alex marched her way up to the director's office and stepped inside. The director had expected Gibbs to be the first one to bust through his doors, but from what he had learned about special agent Alexis Evans, he wasn't shocked. She placed both hands on the desk and leaned forward "Leon"

"It's Director Vance"

"Leon, you want my respect? Earn it"

"Special agent Evans, I will ignore that comment. I know you've just returned from Miss. Shepard's funeral, you are emotional. But I warn you…"

"What else can you do? You've split up my team! They are my family!"

"I have my reasons for what I did. It wasn't out of spite"

"Then for what? What are your reasons?"

"I can't share that with you at this moment. Just know that there is a very good reason. I haven't done all this to tear apart your family, Alex"

"Its special agent Evans" Alex spat before she slammed the door behind her.

That had been four months ago. Their time apart had been excruciating. Abby kept track of their days apart in her lab, and Alex was in charge of correspondence. She kept a weekly newsletter of the happening in the office. None of it was really work related. It was more filled with the little things; she beat her Tetris high score, Abby went an entire day without CafPow, that agent Lee was a health freak. It entertained both Abby and Alex to bring sugary desserts every Friday and watch agent Lee cringe as they licked frosting off their fingers, or fought over who got the last cookie. When either Alex or Abby made one of the new agents uncomfortable, they saw it as a small victory in getting their old team back.

When it finally had happened, Alex had spent the night before Tony's arrival at Abby's. With the amount of sugar the two had been consuming the day before his arrival, Gibbs was glad that Alex would be out of the house. Others wise she would've either kept him up all night chattering away about how much she had to tell Tony, even though he had received the newsletters she'd sent out, or he would've had to witness the blood sugar drop, and although he had survived the wrath of many women, he wasn't sure he'd make it out of this one alive. So as he watched Alex follow Abby to the elevator, turn and wave with a huge smile, he knew he'd be better off spending the evening alone with his boat.

With no breakfast waiting for him the following morning, he ended up at work a full hour earlier than he usually intended to me. He assumed that he would be the first person, but he was wrong. When the elevator doors open he heard someone shout "TONY!" as both Alex and Abby rushed towards him. Gibbs just smiled and set his stuff down by his desk before leaving in search of a hot cup of coffee. When they realized it wasn't Tony, they resumed their pacing.

"You better not wear down the carpet" a voice drifted down from above.

Alex looked up and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she dragged her feet a little harder along the floor "Leon"

"Evans" Leon nodded down at her. With the return of her team he had moved up a notch in her book. She wouldn't call him a friend, but there were the beginnings of a mutual respect at work. The return of her team was something she saw as a victory in their power struggle within the office. They mostly stayed out of each other's way, and he had eventually given up on her calling him Director Vance. Alex considered that a small victory as well.

Four very long hours later, with Ziva and McGee settled back at their desks and Alex and Abby passed out on the floor behind Alex's desk, the elevator dinged and Tony stepped out. Ziva was in his arms before he knew what was happening. He had seen her the week before, on the boat, but now that they were back for good, it added to the emotion. McGee stood back and waited for Ziva to collect herself and step away. Tony tousled his hair and made a 'Mc-joke' before stepped forward and shaking his boss' hand. "Whatever happened to my big welcome party? Alex and Abby have been telling me since the day after I left that when I got back they'd be on me like…"

Tony trailed off when Ziva, McGee and Gibbs all pointed at Alex's desk. His smile grew as he peeked over Alex's desk to see the two next to each other with their backs against the cubicle wall. Alex's head rested on Abby's shoulder and Abby's cheek rested on Alex's head. Tony reached out to wake them but stopped at the sharp whisper of his name behind him.

"What? I haven't seen them for months!"

"Trust me, Tony. Give them a little longer. For your own sanity" Gibbs voice was a whisper. McGee and Ziva nodded in agreement. Tony started to question why, but his gaze fell on the trash can by Alex's desk. Six empty CafPows, four empty coffee cups and various candy wrappers nearly toppled out of the can.

"but I thought Alex doesn't drink CafPows? At least not more than a few sips of Abby's…"

"No, she doesn't, but today…" McGee groaned "they've been here longer than anyone. I don't think they slept last night; they've just been downing sugar and caffeine, all morning."

"Oh" Tony wrinkled his brow "Better to let them sleep"

Abby stirred and raised her head to look at what was causing the noise. When she saw Tony was back she elbowed Alex, jumped up and crushed Tony in a hug "Tony. You're back!"

"In the flesh"

"For real? Like total real? Like pinky promise permanent real?"

"Reassigned to DC, effective immediately."

Alex and Abby jumped for joy.

"Never thought I'd say this Tony, but it's nice to have you back." McGee reached out to shake Tony's hand.

"Nice? It's like spectacular. I kept every one of your postcards and I have a whole DiNozzo wall." Abby rambled

"It was a long four months and it's great to be back, not that I didn't think I wasn't coming back…"

"So anyway sister Rosita bowled a 260. And I watched Titanic finally and it sinks in the end, very weird…"

---

The call that came in about a dead sailor found behind a club send the team into action. The agents were busy snapping photos, questioning witnesses and picking up evidence for Abby, when Ducky strolled up, humming a tune to himself, "Mozart" he commented.

Tony smiled as his eyes met with Alex "I'd say Ducky got lucky"

"Have you never heard of a night at the opera, dear boy?"

McGee made his way to Gibbs "Boss, the security cameras were cut, according to the time stamp, about 30 minutes before the fight"

"This wasn't a bar brawl, McGee. This was an ambush"

Tony, McGee and Alex watched as Abby wiped down the counter they were about to set the evidence boxes on.

"That was pristine!"

"Would you like us to put them on floor?" McGee questioned as Tony rolled his eyes.

"Oh no no no. That's what it's for; swabbing the deck, clearing the runway, ready for takeoff. Garbage in, garbage out. Tidy on the inside, makes tidy on the outside"

"Feng shui of the grey matter" Tony cut in.

"And now, to make sense of the chaos…" Abby dug into the evidence box to see what she could find. She pulled out a class ring. "I guess I should start with LeCombe, at least he's still alive. Oh look, a class ring."

Tony peered down at the ring inside the evidence bag in Abby's hands. His eye brows raised with curiosity "Stillwater high school!"

"I haven't heard of that movie, Tony" Alex said, giving Tony a questioning look.

"No. Stillwater. High school. You know, for all the hours we slave away for that man, you've never peeked into his personal file?"

"Who's file?" McGee, Alex and Abby asked in unison.

Tony shook his head in disappointment, "Stillwater is very small town in Pennsylvania. Coal country, primarily known for its coal mines and only slightly lesser-known as the birth place of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. This guy…" Tony held up the bag containing the ring "Is from Gibbs home town".

Down in autopsy Ducky finished giving Gibbs the details on the dead Marine. As Gibbs turned to leave, Ducky started "I've heard whispers that this case may bring you to Stillwater, Pennsylvania"

Gibbs paused and turned around, "Uh huh, it may"

Up in the bullpen the team could hardly wait for Gibbs to make a move signaling they would be headed to Stillwater. As Gibbs moved towards the elevator Alex and Tony we're right behind him, with Ziva and McGee only a few steps back.

"Alex. DiNozzo"

"We're on your six, boss"

"DiNozzo follow up with the Taylor family. Alex, help Abby move through the evidence"

Ziva and McGee pushed past them into the elevator with Gibbs as Tony and Alex stood silently and watched the doors close.

"Well that hurt"

Alex nodded in agreement "Although, the boss said we'd get an extra 30 minutes for lunch. Wanna grab pizza?"

"He said that?"

"Maybe he thought it? I don't know. I'm just sure I heard it somewhere"

Tony smiled, "Do you think he said something about putting it on the expense account?"

"Of course"

After lunch, things had slowed down. Alex was down in Abby's lab and they were waiting for Tony to fill him in on the blood samples. Alex sat back on the counter as Abby explained the blood samples she retrieved from the ring. During their conversation Alex noticed as McGee's face popped up on the screen.

"McGee!"

Abby looked up, "Hey Luke, how's Uncle Jesse?" she purred in her best southern accent.

"Gibbs has a father" McGee and Ziva shouted simultaneously.

Alex was off the counter and pushed between Abby and Tony in a flash "Tell me everything!" The three agents absorbed the information from McGee silently before adding "We're on our way"

Reluctantly they agreed that it would be bad for them to show up until after they had covered all their basics back in the office and the evidence had been tested.

Early the next morning, in Stillwater, Gibbs sat silently with his father and waited until a cup of coffee and a section of news paper was moved towards him. It didn't take long for Ziva and McGee to come walking in.

"Morning Gibbs. Gibbs's?" When McGee didn't get a response, Ziva broke in and started with the details she had learned from her latest phone call from Tony. McGee cut Ziva off and finished "Tony is securing a court order for DNA samples and Abby is getting stuff for the blood tests"

"And Alex?" Gibbs didn't look up.

"Um, actually I don't know what she's doing. Tony didn't say. Maybe she's bested her Tetris score" McGee tried to make a joke.

Gibbs looked up at McGee.

"It was a joke boss. I mean, I don't know what she's doing, but I'm sure she's not playing Tetris. I mean, maybe on her lunch break, but I wouldn't know…"

"Who are these people?" Jackson Gibbs asked.

"You will meet them later, they will be driving up this afternoon" Ziva answered.