Jenny was not in the mood to deal with Gibbs at the moment. She hadn't stepped a foot into the bullpen since he'd arrived at work. Instead she'd confined herself from flitting back and forth between MTAC and her office just on the fact she really didn't want to relive the heartbreak of last night.
Cynthia figured out that there was a method or rather quite good reasoning behind her boss's madness and knew that Director Shepard wished for Agent Gibbs to stay away.
Actually, pretty much everyone got that hint except for the man himself, a fact that had been proven when once again when he burst into the Director's office unannounced and, as usual, unwanted.
"Special Agent Gibbs, please not now." The look in her eyes was not fiery as Gibbs had expected it to be but it was pained and heartbroken. If the second B in his name hadn't of stood for bastard at the precise moment then perhaps he would have given a damn but as it was he didn't.
"Not now what Director? You were in my house last night. Do you know what Hollis said as soon as she saw you? She asked me why I'd cheat on her? She told me it was over for good and walked out but not before delivering a slap to the face."
Privately though Jenny felt a little horrible about being the cause, she was quite pleased that Colonel Flirt was out of the picture. She also thought that he entirely deserved the slap in the face and wished she herself could have been the one to deliver it.
"I'd stopped by last night to make sure you'd wrapped up the Jefferson case because SecNav was expecting it first thing this morning but when I saw you were er…busy I left."
"You're a bad liar, Jen; your eye is twitching again. But it doesn't matter because I worked things out with Hollis and explained nothing was going on between us. If anything your unexpected visit made us stronger." Damn, that was a low blow but he was angry and he wanted her to hurt.
Jenny felt moisture springing to her eyes and she willed herself not to cry in front of him. "Get out, Jethro! Get out you, bastard!" So much for maintaining her cool. She gritted her teeth and repeated it louder, her voice growing shrill. He dodged the vase of flowers, that she'd gotten as a present, which was aimed for his head and left the room.
The sound he heard as he clicked the door shut stuck with him thought because he realized her words were right. She was right and yeah maybe he'd baited her hoping for a fight or to make her tear up but whatever his intention it had not been to make her sob like that.
The bullpen was empty of his team, save McGee, and Gibbs wondered where on Earth they'd gone.
The two missing members of said team were in the lab with Abby, watching everything that had just happened. Tony had come downstairs to be filled in on last night's events and Abby had been using the security feed to monitor the Director and make sure she was alright when a sudden commotion in the Director's office caught their eyes.
"Oh my God! He's…I mean how could he…why would…Gibbs you truly are a …a…a.." Abby tried to find the right word and simply couldn't.
"A bastard?" Tony suppled, watching as even his hardened playboy heart broke as they watched their favorite redhead break down sobbing.
Abby swallowed hard and nodded. "I think I might actually hate him. At the very least I definitely no longer respect him."
Ziva nodded in agreement with Abby's words. "Love comes to those who still hope even though they have been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they have been betrayed, to those who still love even though they have been hurt before. Let us hope that whoever said this was right and that love will come to Jenny in return because she deserves it."
There was mutual agreement with Ziva's words and a few moments of silence as they tried to figure out what to do.
"A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down. I think it's time we got in Jenny's way." Abby spoke the words of Arnold Glasow with a grimness that brought the realization that if they didn't step in Jenny's way there was only going to be a downward spiral for their mother figure.
The three cast looks onto the screen where Jenny could be seen, collapsed in a heap on the floor, sobbing, a vase laying shattered by the door.
"Well we better get to blocking." With that, the girls left the lab together for Jenny's office and Tony continued to monitor the situation from the lab.
**Author's Note**
The previous chapter was important because it explained why they were monitoring the Director.
-C.E.S.