Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"And the jester has been kicked out of the court." I said with a sly smile.
"Long live the queen." Jethro replied bitterly as he exited my office, slamming the door.
The sound reverberated through my office, and I should have been used to it but it cut me to the quick. For once he hadn't pried, and to say that it upset me was an understatement.
The Frog was finally dead, and for that I was eternally grateful.
It haunted me all day. Not his lack of words, I was used to that. But his probing quiet way had ceased. It was almost as if Jethro wasn't interested and it made me jealous. It was petty I know, but that's how I really felt.
My heels clacked down the rickety wooden stairs of his basement. He was sanding that damn boat.
"Come here to punish me?" Jethro asked slyly.
"You wish." I retorted, folding my arms and staring at him.
"You asked once...what he did to me, why I hated him so much. But you didn't ask me tonight." I said quickly, wanting to get the awkwardness over with.
"It doesn't matter, he's dead now." Jethro muttered.
"It matters!" I screamed. I needed to know that all of my effort hadn't been in vain.
"Jen...what's gotten into you?" Jethro asked as he set down a piece of sandpaper.
"For years, you stayed silent. Keeping the past to yourself. Your secret would have been safe with me. All the time that we were partners. You never said one word about Shannon and Kelly. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mad about that. I was mad for a long time. I never understood it until today. Sometimes the past, the truth is too hard to speak. I get it. I understand." I said in a shaky voice as I repressed my tears.
"Is that why you're here?" Jethro asked. Now he would press me for the truth.
I nodded.
"After what happened...what you did for me. I owe you this." I said as I reached into my purse and slowly retrieved a yellowed piece of paper. I handed it to Jethro.
Gingerly, he unfolded the document and read it. His eyes grew wide, and he stared at me, then back at the paper, then at me again.
"Oh Jenny." Jethro whispered as he closed the space between us and wrapped me in his arms.
I sobbed and sobbed. I sank down onto the cold hard floor of the basement, wanting to feel something. Some sort of emotion. Jethro held me for the longest time, patiently waiting for me to regain my composure.
"You're right. Sometimes the past is so awful...so dark that it isn't worth mentioning." Jethro said as he handed the paper back to me.
"I found it shortly after my dad died.....it made me sick. Literally. Poor Noemi had to clean it up. I committed myself to bed for days. I lived on Scotch and Godiva Chocolates for weeks. I never wanted to believe it, but it is true. I checked the hall of records when I was in Paris." I choked out the last part.
"Dying men have nothing to lose." Jethro said as he helped me stand up.
"It confused me then. I thought he was trying to mess with my mind. When he told me my father had visited him three days before I never thought of it like that..." I choked back a cry as I looked up at Jethro.
"Jenny...I'd do it all over again just for you." Jethro said as I could see pain flash in his eyes. He was recalling what we had done, as a team a few nights prior.
"That means the world to me." I confessed.
Jethro wrapped me in a tight hug. I decided to lighten the mood.
"I could have never made that shot." I teased as I ran a gentle hand down his back.
"That's for damn sure." Jethro replied.