Hey everyone! I've finally had a chance to update – thanks so much to you all for waiting so patiently! Real life (and work) got in the way… but I assure you I'll have the final chapter (the next one) posted before the end of the week.

Chapter 7:

"Tell me what you know about my father." After an awkward silence, Jeanne didn't waste any further time getting straight to the point with Ziva.

Reaching for her bag, Ziva quietly pushed her way past Jeanne for the door. It was time to leave the hospital, Tony or no Tony, and no-one, especially Jeanne, was going to delay her any longer.

Jeanne however, moved to cut her off at the door. "I don't want to stop you from leaving, but I need to know one thing," she said. Looking directly at Ziva she continued, "Is it true, what Tony said about my father…"

"Depends what Tony said about your father," Ziva replied curtly.

"Please, I need to know," Jeanne was not giving up. The look on her face spoke volumes.

Ziva ran a hand through her hair, careful not to bump the cut on her forehead. She didn't know if it had begun to throb as a result of the accident or Jeanne's persistence. Either way, she wanted this over with. Keeping it short, she told Jeanne what she knew about Rene Benoit. She concluded by saying that Tony had kept the whole mission a secret until the Director had made it common knowledge.

Jeanne shifted uncomfortably. "So what you're saying is that everyone has been lying to me, including my own father."

Ziva felt a pang of sympathy for the young doctor. Clearing her throat, she added: "For what its worth, you may have started out as part of an undercover mission for Tony, but I do believe you meant more to him than that..."

Jeanne sniffed as she wiped at her damp eyes. She looked up at Ziva with a pained expression on her face. "But it is you he really loves," she said.

"Excuse me?" Ziva asked, trying to feign shock while hiding her true feelings. No use in causing the poor woman any more suffering.

"You know what I mean. Tony, he's in love with you – not me." Jeanne's voice cracked as she spoke. "And now I find out I was only a part of a plot to get to my father who also isn't who I thought he was. Ironic, isn't it? How every man in my life has betrayed me somehow." She looked as if she might laugh. Instead she took control and motioned for Ziva to leave. "If what you and Tony have said is true, then we have to get to the Hay-Adams right away. My father may be holding your Mr. Gibbs and Director hostage."

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"So, this was my competition," Rene Benoit sipped his cognac as he walked towards Gibbs, who sat next to Director Sheppard on the sofa.

Tony watched carefully. He knew Gibbs was relying on him to make a move when the time was right. Gibb's gun sat tantalizingly close on the coffee table. La Grenouille had not confiscated it when he had asked they all place their weapons down. It was probably part of his game, thought Tony, whose own weapon tempted him from where it lay on the serving tray.

Jen Sheppard shifted uncomfortably within her restraints. "That was 10 years ago Rene," she responded. "There was no competition. You knew my situation."

"Yes, I suppose I did. And it would appear that Mr. DiNozzo here is also familiar with a situation such as this." He carefully placed his cognac on the coffee table, eyeing Gibbs as he did so. "You have much in common, you and he."

Tony continued to watch and listen. He knew Gibbs well enough to know the sign. His ears warmed as he heard the comparison between himself and Gibbs. He had figured out during the course of the mission that Jenny had gotten close to La Grenouille as part of her own secret mission 10 years ago in Paris. All the while she had to hide her growing attraction for her partner at the time, one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Had she grown as fond of Rene as he had of Jeanne? Fondness is one thing, but falling in love is another. Had Jenny fallen in love with the Frog? Or Gibbs? He had discovered the difference after spending the night with Ziva. It can be easy to confuse one with the other if you have never really felt love before. That still didn't help his feelings of guilt over lying to Jeanne. She deserved more than that, and more than he was willing to give her.

"Tell me, Anthony, was it worth it? Using my daughter as you did to get close to me?"

"I was trying to protect her, not hurt her," Tony replied as he clenched his jaw. How could this man even pretend to care about the affect this had had on his daughter?

Rene Benoit laughed. He reached for his near empty glass of cognac and walked slowly towards the bottle of liquor on the serving tray, nudging Tony's discarded gun as he did so. Carefully he filled his glass before responding. "Everything I do, I do for her. She is my life."

"So you lie to her, oh I get it," Tony played along. "I did not set out to lie to her, - my," he nodded in the direction of the Director, "our intention was to ultimately protect her – from you. You used her for your own gain."

"As did you." He took a long sip, draining his glass before placing it purposefully back on the silver tray.

Tony reached into his jacket and pulled out the envelope of photographs. "What purpose did these serve?" He could feel anger burning his cheeks. Those images were a violation of his privacy.

"Proof, my dear man, proof."

"Proof?" Tony was growing more aggravated by the second. "Why do you need proof of me spending time with your daughter? Don't you trust her?"

Rene Benoit's stony eyes bore into Tony. "It is you I do not trust." He was standing so close to Tony by this stage that he was able to snatch the envelope from his grasp. Removing several photographs from the envelope, he found what he was looking for and dropped the rest on the floor. Waving these photos in the air, he smiled slyly as he walked towards Gibbs and the Director. "Imagine my surprise when I not only find pictures of Mr DiNardo – oh, excuse me – Mr DiNozzo here engaging in, shall we say – intimate - situations with my daughter, but also with the lovely Miss David." He dropped the graphic pictures of Tony and Ziva on the coffee table in front of the Director and Gibbs.

Gibbs' eyes shifted to the pictures then back up to Tony. He had suspected as much, but now was not the time for reprimands. Tony understood and silently gave the man a thank you with his eyes. He wished he could storm over there and flip the photos over. Having pictures of himself and Ziva in flagrante delicto was not something he wanted advertised, least of all in front of his boss and the Director. Gibbs sensed this and reached to turn the photos over when Rene instantly reached for his gun. "Do not touch anything!" he warned.

Tony could literally see the red in his eyes. Gibbs had almost been able to get his own weapon by turning the photos, but La Grenouille was one step ahead of him. In his anger, he focused all his energy on Gibbs. Tony was able to take another step closer to the serving tray where his own weapon lay. Rene turned sharply at the movement, his attention momentarily diverted from Gibbs.

Gibbs used the opportunity to make direct eye contact with Tony and looked towards the door. Tony understood. He thought he heard it too. Almost as soon as he focused on the door it flew open, Jeanne and Ziva bursting into the room. Ziva immediately had her gun drawn and aimed directly at Rene Benoit, who now had his own weapon aimed directly at Tony.

"Drop it or I shoot him dead right now." Rene was no longer playing a game; he meant business.

"Do it and your next," Gibbs breathed into Rene Benoit's neck. He had crept up behind him and pressed his own weapon into the man's spine.

"Stop it!" Jeanne cried out. "All of you, just stop it!" Her eyes searched the room frantically for some form of reasoning. How could all of this be happening? In her panic, she spied Tony's gun on the serving tray. In a second she had it in her hands, shakily she pointed it at her father. "I should just shoot you myself," she sobbed. "How could you have lied to me all these years? I trusted you. Why?" Her hands were sweating as she held the gun, her grasp faltering slightly. Still, she managed to keep the weapon aimed loosely at her father. "You owe me some answers."

Tony made eye contact with Ziva who still had her weapon directed at La Grenouille. Gibbs nudged him with the nuzzle of his own gun which was still pressed into his spine. "It would appear you are outnumbered," he spoke. "I suggest you do as your daughter says and we'll all put our weapons down."

During that brief moment Jeanne caught Tony and Ziva share a fleeting glance. That was all it took. She pivoted where she stood and took aim at Tony. "Perhaps I'll just shoot you instead and save my father the trouble."

Two gunshots, mili-seconds apart, were fired. Silence immediately filled the air followed by the sound of a body dropping solidly to the ground.

TBC…