March 26
"Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon.
Jenny Shepard loved coffee shops.
The constant bustle of people, all going about their daily routines. Businessmen in suits. Students in jeans and hoodies. Mothers and babies.
The latter due to the dry weather bringing them outside and it seemed as though they were everywhere Jenny went too.
With her protection detail sat nearby, even a visit to the local Starbucks resulted in the need for the necessary security measures. The aroma of coffee soothed her, if a little distracting...
Sometimes, getting away from the office and the usual routine worked wonders. Like today for example. It started with a bang, that was for sure. Somehow, a reporter had released a video of a certain agent threatening another reporter. Cue the chaos.
Between that and giving a final warning to the agent in question, Jenny later opened a card from an old friend from college, showing the perfect family smiling back at her. A husband. Children. And, according to the letter attached, a successful career. A life.
Jenny swallowed past the lump in her throat and the tears threatening to fall. She was stronger than this. Hell, she'd worked hard enough to feel damn proud of her position right now. The agency ran, most of the time, without any complaints. Gibbs and his team challenged the solve rate of any others in the state.
With such a booming career, the one thing she always fought for, why did her heart ache when she saw a mother tickling her baby and cooing away lovingly?
And why did it feel like she was missing out on something that had literally passed her by without any realisation?