Yet another week passed and Jenny still refused to let Gibbs anywhere near her. For the first few days he continued to remain at the hospital, on the third day however Thomas once again sat down next to him,

'You're not doing yourself any favours hanging around here'

Gibbs shrugged, 'I can't leave, not before I get to see her'

'I think we both know that Jennifer is stubborn and by hanging around you're just adding fuel to the fire. She needs to calm down, needs to get her head together'

The obstinate side of Gibbs wanted to dig his heels in and refuse to go but that approach didn't seem to be working, so he figured that maybe it was time for a new approach. He nodded slightly, 'I suppose so but will you tell Jen that the minute she wants to talk to me I'll be there'

Thomas gave him a small smile, 'I'll do that. Believe me she'll come round'

Unfortunately both men had underestimated just how angry and hurt Jenny was feeling and so the rest of the week past and still Gibbs got nowhere near her hospital bed.

Jenny looked up as the door to her private room opened and smiled warmly at the man who entered, 'I'm glad you could make it'

Sec Nav leaned forward and kissed her cheek in greeting before sitting down on the chair next to her, 'Well I have to admit that I was surprised when you phoned but how could I turn you down. You're looking well Jennifer, I hear they'll be discharging you soon'

'Yes that's right, they're letting me home tomorrow'

'That's fantastic news, I'll be glad when you come back to work, don't get me wrong Vance is doing an adequate job but he doesn't quite have your flair'

Jenny's head dipped slightly, 'Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about, I want to hand in my resignation, effective immediately'

Se Nav looked shocked, he hadn't known what he had expected from this meeting but that certainly wasn't it. Being a politician he recovered his composure pretty quickly as he asked, 'Are you sure about this? You've been through a lot recently, perhaps it would be better if you took some extended leave'

'No', Jenny shook her head, 'To be honest I thought you would jump at the chance to get rid of me, after all my behaviour hasn't been very professional of late, getting involved with a married subordinate and having his baby'

'This is D.C. far worse has been swept under the carpet'

'I know but my priorities have changed lately. I don't want to work eighteen hour days and never see my child, I don't want to them to be raised by a nanny and that's what would happen if I stayed. Not to mention the added complication of Agent Gibbs. I'm sorry but I'm not going to change my mind'

'I'm sorry to hear that but I suppose I have to respect your decision, I will make the announcement today once I have spoken to Vance'

'I was wondering if I could ask you to delay the public announcement for a few days, I have a couple of things to sort and it won't affect the agency so…..'

Se Nav smiled, 'That I can do for you, I will publicly announce your intention to step down in three days time, will that be ok?'

'Perfect', Jenny smiled and shook his hand, 'Thank you Sir'

He nodded, 'It has been a pleasure working with you Jennifer and believe me you will be sorely missed', with that he left the room. Jenny fell back onto the pillows, she knew that she was making the right choice, she had to move on, had to do what was best for her and her baby.

The next day Gibbs sat at his desk, listening to the mindless chatter of his team, they had all cheered up quite considerably in the past few days, ever since they had heard that Jenny would be making a full recovery. He was well aware that all of them had been in to see her and they had all assured him that she was fine and that her recovery had been quicker than the doctors had expected. It didn't help him though, didn't make him feel any better, he had to see her, see for himself that she was ok. Not only that but they needed to talk about what they were going to do about moving forward, whether Jenny liked it or not they were a family.

Gibbs frowned as he looked up at the catwalk. Rebecca was walking along it carrying a box. He got to his feet and met her at the bottom of the stairs, 'What are you doing here?'

She gave him a quick one over before brushing past him, 'I'm collecting some of Jennifer's things'

His heart sank slightly as he asked, 'Why?'

'She asked me to', Becca walked past the teams area, noticing the fact they had all stopped working and were now watching the conversation between her and Gibbs.

'Why did she ask you to collect her things'

Becca sighed and finally turned to face Gibbs, she took a moment to examine him, she could see why her niece had fallen hard and fast for him and it wasn't just the looks either. Becca knew deep down that he was a good man who had just made a catastrophic mistake but he wasn't her priority, Jennifer was and she was going to do what her niece had asked her to do although she knew full well that sooner or later they were both going to have to sit down and talk. At first she had been unbelievably angry with the man and on some level she still was but in all honesty her niece had also made mistakes. She sighed slightly and prepared herself for his reaction, 'Jennifer resigned as the Director of NCIS yesterday, therefore her things have to be removed from her office and since she is to take things easy she asked me to pick them up'

Gibbs shook his head, 'Jenny wouldn't resign'

'Well she has'

'I need to see her'

'I'm afraid that isn't going to be possible'

'Why not? Because believe me I can get past the hospital staff'

'That isn't the issue, Jennifer was discharged from the hospital early this morning and before you go rushing round to her house you should know that she isn't there. She's put it up for sale and has left D.C. she's staying with family for the time being'

'Where?'

'I'm sorry but she's asked me not to say, she has however asked that you don't attempt to find her and that she intends to raise this baby by herself'

His voice hoarse Gibbs replied, 'She can't do this'

'Well she is', Rebecca went to walk away before remembering something, 'She did however say that if you want she'll get in touch after the birth, let you know how things went'

Gibbs nodded, unable to find the words to answer her, he saw her give him a small sympathetic smile before heading towards the elevator. Out of the corner of his eye he could make out his team, they weren't even pretending not to watch anymore. For once Gibbs didn't tell them to get back to work, he didn't say anything, he just couldn't, he felt numb.

xxxxx