Gibbs, followed by Stan Burley, Ziva David and Tim McGee, strode into Jenny's office. Jenny leaned forward in her chair, their files stacked up in front of her, her hands clasped on the desk in front of her, resting on top of the files.

"Take a seat," she instructed, taking her time to observe them. Gibbs looked pissed, and Jenny knew that at one point they were going to have to talk about their past, although she was really not looking forward to that situation.

"My goal isn't to change the way you all do things," Jenny began, "This team has the highest case closure rate of NCIS. I want to make sure that it stays that way. I know you are still grieving Special Agent Todd's death, and I am not going to get in the way of that. Your main objective at the present time is to continue to build yourselves up as a team, continuing to solve cases as assigned to you, and to locate and catch Ari." Jenny risked a sideways glance at Ziva at that moment and the Israeli inclined her head slightly in response. Jenny inwardly relaxed a little. She trusted Ziva to have Jethro's six. Ari seemed to want Gibbs dead, and with the Mossad agent watching her former partner's back, Jenny was much more confident about Gibbs not being killed.

"You all have your own talents, your own skills that you utilise at NCIS. I want you all to make use of every skill you have at your disposal to bring this man down." Jenny forced sternness into her voice, letting the team know that she meant business. McGee and Burley both nodded.

"Alright, you're dismissed. You stay here Jethro."

Gibbs looked at her and then at the door, which his agents were exiting through.

"What do you want, Jen?" he asked.

"We need to have a talk, Jethro," she said, leaning forwards. Gibbs leaned back in his chair comfortably.

"I'm listening," he said with a smirk on his face.

NCIS

Jenny groaned and flopped her head back in her seat as she finally left the Navy yard. It had been a long first day, but it had actually been relatively painless, with the exception of her talk with Gibbs.

For a man who was reputed to be not much of a talker, Gibbs had done a lot of talking up in her office. A lot of yelling, if she was honest with herself. Jenny got the feeling that he'd never forgiven her for not coming back to the U.S. with him after their case together for Europe, choosing her career instead of him. Of course, that choice had landed her right where she wanted to be, in the director's chair. Sure, Tony had been an unexpected bonus along the way, but looking back, Jenny couldn't think of any better way that her life could have turned out. She was happy.

Jenny hadn't brought up the subject of Tony. Her little boy didn't deserve to be brought into the squabbles of his parents, and besides, she had not intention of ever telling Gibbs the truth, unless something happened to her. Then, she wanted Gibbs to take care of the little by. She knew he was great with kids, and she would definitely introduce them at one point, but Jethro wouldn't know the truth about Tony's parentage.

Gibbs was already pissed enough at her without Jenny dropping the bombshell on him that he fathered a child with her and then she didn't tell him about it.

Jenny thought about Jethro the whole way home, until the moment her car pulled up outside her home. She'd been kept at NCIS longer than she had anticipated, so Tony had been collected from school by Mrs. Walters, the kind, elderly housekeeper of Jenny's home, and Tony's usual babysitter when they were in Washington D.C. Jenny trusted the woman with her life, especially since Jenny knew that Mrs. Walters had helped her father raise her after her own mother had passed away.

Jenny got out of the car just as the front door burst open, and Tony came bolting outside, jumping up into her arms. Jenny braced herself at the last minute, catching Tony as he flung himself up into her arms.

"Hi Mom," he cheerfully greeted. Jenny smiled.

"Hi Tony," she replied, letting Tony slide down gently. He was getting to be a bit heavy, although he definitely didn't look it. Tony had always been small for his age, the result of his premature birth and Jenny's lack of prenatal care. Tony was also very prone to catching colds, and Jenny was dreading the winter time, knowing that Tony would want to play int the snow as much as possible, but would be limited for fear he would get a chest infection. Tony's doctor had reassured her that given time and Tony growing, his immune system would strengthen. Still, Jenny was tormented by the memory of one fateful winter, when they were in Switzerland during winter, and Tony had fallen seriously ill. She'd been terrified that she would loose her little boy, and she very nearly had, but Tony had pulled through, bouncing back just like he always did.

"Mom, come on…Mrs. Walters is making Spaghetti for dinner."

Jenny laughed, "Do you miss Italy, Tony?" she playfully asked. Tony giggled. Jenny knew how much her son loved Italian food.

"Not all the ladies pinching my cheeks, but the food was yummy, Mom," he replied, grasping her hands and pulling her into the house.

Jenny put her bag away, slipping her gun into a safe that was kept in a high cupboard. She'd lectured Tony on how it was important he never touched her gun, and she was sure Tony understood, but it was best to play it safe after all. Tony bounced off to the kitchen, where a delicious scent of tomatoes, and garlic as originating from. Jenny hurried upstairs and got changed into some more comfortable clothes, before she followed her son into the kitchen.

"Ah, Jenny, how was your first day at the office." Mrs. Walters asked from where she stood at the stove, stirring a pot of sauce. Tony was sitting on a stool at the bench, carefully grating some cheese.

"It was fine, thanks Mrs. Walters."

"Jenny, how many times must I ask you to call me Sophie?"

Jenny ducked her head, "A few more at least."

Sophie laughed, and went back to stirring the sauce, keeping a very watchful eye on Tony as she stirred.

Jenny sat down beside her son, watching as he set down the grater.

"Did you have a good day mom? He asked.

'Yes, did you?"

Tony nodded rapidly, "We had PE, and I kicked heaps of goals in soccer. At lunchtime I played on the slide with Jason and Michael. It was really fun. Did you get busy at work today, because that's what Mrs. Walters said when she had to come and get me?"

"Yes Tony. I'm sorry. How about after dinner we watch a movie together before your bath and bed time, okay?'

Tony nodded, "Okay Mom," He smiled. Jenny smiled. Tony was so accepting of the demands of her job. His upbringing sure had been dysfunctional, but Tony had just seemed to adapt to everything life had thrown his way with a joke and a cheerful smile.

Sometimes, Jenny found herself amending; Tony wasn't very much like Jethro at all.

NCIS

Jenny sat quietly on the couch in the living room, watching the movie that was flickering across the screen. Tony had chosen The Lion King to watch, but he'd fallen asleep an hour into it, his head resting in Jenny's lap. Jenny ran her fingers through Tony's soft hair thoughtfully.

She hoped she'd made the right decision in terms of accepting the director's position. She knew Leon Vance had been interested in the job and Jenny had trust in the fact that he would make a fine director of NCIS at some point. She knew, especially at first, she and Tony wouldn't get much time together, but Jenny hoped that after the initial settling in period everything would settle down and she would be able to have more time to spend time with her little boy. So far Tony seemed happy, and he was generally a pretty happy boy, but Jenny knew he was a bit prone to getting clingy, or sullen, if they didn't spend much time together. Tony had a fear of being abandoned and left by her and of being forgotten, so when he thought she was moving away from him, Tony got extra clingy and attached to her.

Sophie had told Jenny that she had been like that when she was Tony's age towards her father, but she'd grown out of it. Jenny hoped Tony would too. She couldn't help but suspect that part of the reason behind both herself and Tony being so clingy towards their parent was because the other parent was gone. Jenny's mother had died when Jenny had been one year old, and Jenny had no memories of her. Tony had never had a father figure in his life, and the only man that Jenny could even think of that could fill the role was Gibbs.

Gibbs was good with children, or at least he always had been when Jenny had worked with him, and if Gibbs showed even half the kindness to Tony than he did to other children she had seen with, Jenny knew that Tony would make the grouchy former Marine his male role model, without either of them being aware of the biological bond they shared as father and son.

Jenny sighed when the end credits began to roll up the screen. She used the remote to switch off the TV and DVD player, before contemplating if she could just lie on the couch with Tony and go to sleep, just like she had done when he was younger. Unfortunately, Jenny reasoned that neither of them would be very comfortable. So she moved slightly.

"Mmm, Mom?" Tony groaned sleepily.

"Tony, it's time for bed, up you get." Jenny coaxed. Tony opened his green eyes wearily and he rolled off the couch, landing on his feet. Jenny got up, and followed Tony as he sleepily headed upstairs to his bathroom.

They both went through their nightly routines, before Jenny wandered into Tony's bedroom. Tony had crawled under the covers, and was waiting for her.

"Can I have a story please Mom?" he asked. Jenny nodded, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Which one would you like?"

"The one about the two NCIS agents." Tony replied with a grin.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Of course," she laughed. It was Tony's favourite story. Tony simply shot her his best puppy dog eyes, and Jenny smoothed his hair.

"Alright, once upon a time, in Paris, France, their were two, very cool, people,"

"And they were NCIS agents, weren't they?" Tony piped in. Jenny laughed.

"Yes, they were NCIS agents. They were in Paris because they had a special mission."

"To catch the bad guy." Tony replied

Jenny nodded, "That's right Tony. You see, the bad guy had done something very naughty, and the SECNAV and the director of NCIS weren't very happy with him, so they spent their very best NCIS agents after him to catch him."

"Did he kill someone?" Tony asked. Jenny smiled and shook her head. It was a game that they played every time she told this story, the crime changed. Tony loved trying to guess what the bad guy had done.

"Did he sink a ship?"

"No,"

"Did he steal?"

"Not this time"

"Beat someone up?"

"Nope,"

"Blow something up?"

"Try again,"

"Draw on the walls?"

Jenny laughed, "Not quite"

Tony had a thoughtful look upon his face, "Tell other bad guys about secret missions he's been on, like a double agent," he asked.

Jenny shook her head, "No, but that was a really good one, Tony. Maybe that might happen next time I tell the story. Do you want to know what was so bad that the SECNAV and the Director of NCIS sent their two best Agents?"

Tony nodded eagerly. Jenny smiled and leaned forward.

"I'll tell you," she whispered. Tony leaned forward, and Jenny began to whisper in his ear.

"He put itching powder in their underwear and mashed banana in their shoes."

Tony dissolved into giggles, "That…that was very naughty of him, Mom. I hope no one does that to you."

"I hope so too Tony."

"What happened next? Did the two agents catch the bad guy with the itching powder and the mashed Banana?"

Jenny smiled, leaning back a bit, "Well, this bad guy was very good at hiding, so it took the NCIS agents a long, long time to track him down, but eventually, they found him, hiding out in a warehouse in Paris. The two Agents had spent such a long time working together that they'd become best friends, so they trusted the other agent to have their six. They got their guns out, and one of them kicked open the door. They went into the warehouse, and found the bad guy curled up in a ball, shaking like a little mouse because he was so scared of the NCIS agents. The put handcuffs on him, and took him back to America, and put him in jail, and the two agents lived happily ever after."

"Only NCIS agents are allowed to kick in doors, aren't they." Tony asked. Jenny nodded

"And the bad guy was allowed to be scared, wasn't he, because NCIS agents can be scary if you're the bad guy," Tony confirmed. Jenny nodded again.

"He wasn't in jail for long," Jenny told him, "because he knew that he'd done the wrong thing, and he said he was sorry, and even good guys can get scared. I'll bet James Bond gets scared sometimes when he's in trouble, and NCIS agents are especially allowed to get scared."

"Really?"

"Oh yes," Jenny nodded, "Even NCIS directors get scared sometimes."

"What are NCIS directors scared of, Mom?" Tony asked. Jenny shifted closer to Tony, so he could snuggle down in his bed.

"NCIS directors are the most scared when something happens to the most wonderful little boy in the world, who just happens to be her son."

Tony giggled, cuddling his teddy tightly. Jenny kissed him on the forehead.

"Good night Tony, I love you."

"Night mom, I love you too"

Jenny got up and secured Tony's blankets, tucking him in before she headed for the door, leaving it ajar and heading to her own bedroom for the night.

Tomorrow was promising to be another busy day.

of talking up in her office. A lot of yelling, actually. Jenny got thee feeling that he'e exception of her talk with Gibbs.