I've been rewatching NCIS and getting hung up on Jenny and Gibbs again. There was so much potential, argggh! I'm never going to get over them. Anyway, I came across Set Fire To The Rain by Adele, and it screamed Jibbs. So, inspiration struck.

These are various moments from Jenny's life following the end of her relationship with Gibbs somewhat relating to the lyrics. I hope you enjoy!!

Paris 1999

Jenny Shepard smoothed invisible wrinkles out of her dress as she admired the sparkling river. It was the day before they started the final part of their mission. They had been here a week, scouting out locations and making dozens of exit plans, contingency plans.

They even had a code word in case they thought they were compromised. They needed to be prepared, it was dangerous, the most dangerous part of all their ops. She had been going over every bit of information, memorizing the exit plans. Failure was not an option.

Gibbs had finally convinced her to take a break from planning. Not that it had taken much, she had always wanted to explore Paris ever since she was a little kid. So they had spent the day wandering around, visiting the sites, and picking up souvenirs.

They had just come from a nearby street lined with shops. She had stood in front of a small boutique, admiring the tan coat on display for way too long. She had sensed Gibbs's exasperation and after casting one more longing look at the beautiful coat, tugged him down the street.

An elderly woman offered to take their picture in front of the Eiffel Tower, which was tucked safely in Jenny's purse. It was a perfect day, the sun was shining and she could just feel herself falling even deeper in love with the man next to her. Her shoulder brushed Gibbs's, causing her to look over at him, instantly meeting his piercing gaze.

"Isn't the river beautiful?"

He shrugged, his eyes dancing playfully, "I find better things to look at."

She smiled, "You do know I could ruin your reputation as a gruff Marine-turned-Agent. You, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, are a romantic."

"Ah, Jen, that's if they believe you."

She arched an eyebrow, a smirk on her face, "I can be convincing."

"Really," His voice was low, "Care to demonstrate?" Her eyes glimmered with the challenge as he leaned closer and she caught his lips with hers. She melted against him instantly, his soft lips drawing out every spark of passion, each flutter of love that she had ever felt for him.

She could feel the familiar intensity rise up and come crashing over her, sweeping her away to the place made just for them. Nothing else in the world would ever compare to this feeling. This utter comfort, the feeling that she would just explode with love. He was burning himself into her skin, etching himself on her heart as if he hadn't already been there.

His hands tangled in her hair, somehow bringing them even closer. There was no way that she had ever lived before she met him. He made her feel so alive. He pulled away and drew a calloused hand softly down her cheek before leaning in and pressing another kiss to her lips. As he drew back, his eyes meeting hers, she felt the warmth fill her, running into her bloodstream and flooded her body.

"I love you." She said, giving him a tender smile, reeling from the wonderful high he had her on.

"That'll be the day." He returned, not even missing a beat before turning away from her.

She blinked.

Had he just- her mind was reeling, trying to catch up with the words he had just said. He had tossed her feelings for him, her love, back in her face, like it meant nothing? As if it was a silly schoolgirl crush that didn't matter.

She swallowed heavily, turning to face the river again, barely feeling his arm wrap around her shoulder, pulling her against him. Her eyes stared unseeingly across the Seine. She didn't know when it had hit her, in the time that they had stood there, but she had realized something and it changed everything.

There was no future for them. There never would be.

She had noticed the haunted look he got sometimes. She could accept the moments where he would swallow deeply, as if trying to wash away a memory that should never exist. Accept the nights that he would wake up sweating, his eyes filled with so much pain that she desperately tried to take away, her fingers running through his hair.

She had noticed the pauses, the times he would retreat so far into himself that she knew to give him space, just wait for him to come back. Noticed the wall that stood up between them, a closed off part of his heart that she would never get past.

She hadn't tried either, not when she had a similar barrier on her own, suppressing memories of an eerily silent house, the foreboding creak of the study door, too much blood and a scream that echoed in her dreams, constantly reminding her of what she had lost.

Accusations, injustice, and the mark on a hand that countered every word out of the official report. She understood that there were some things that were just too painful and she didn't care about the ghosts in his past.

But she could not ignore the fact that he seemed so determined not to love her. As if the thought could not even be in his mind. The idea of the two of them being in love was so fantastical, utterly impossible that it was laughable.

She didn't think she could ignore this, but she wanted to.

God, she wanted to.