Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Gregory and Fiona.
"You been practicing sneaking up, Abs?" Her bright sunrise smile was all the answer Gibbs needed.
"McGee said you had disappeared. So when you didn't come to see me, I figured you'd be down here with Ducky, so I decided to come see you and head you off at the Caf-Pow machine." She looked at him critically and then pouted. "You're not carrying a Caf-Pow. The machine's not broken, is it?"
"No Abs I'm sure it's not. Here, take this and get yourself one. I'll come up soon." Gibbs took some notes out of his wallet and passed them to Abby, who was out of the door the second her fingers clutched the paper. He was glad she hadn't recognised the test as the one she had suspected Ducky to be running on himself. Once she was on the lift, he turned back to Ducky, who had stood rooted to the spot since Abby's revelation.
"I gave her the wrong information. Abby is right. These clearly show that she had been taking them a lot…" he traced some of the smaller spikes as he said it. "These levels show long-term build up. Months or more."
"No you didn't. She asked for a confirmation of the symptoms and that is what you gave her. I wonder why Abby didn't see what she just pointed out to us, the first time she saw it."
"She thought it was mine, Jethro. She was upset and worried, and more than likely only gave it a cursory glance."
"Then what I really want to know is this; how was someone drugging Jenny for that long without her knowing?"
"Simple, by spiking something she was guaranteed to have. Coffee, a sandwich from a certain shop-" as Ducky listed things she had brought in to work a lot, it suddenly clicked in Jethro's mind.
"Bourbon. She had some at home and work." Ducky nodded excitedly.
"We'll need a sample." Gibbs shoulders lowered a little as he realised he had destroyed her house.
"Her house was burned down, Duck, so there won't be anything we can get from there." Ducky nodded but then brightened, he wasn't to be dissuaded.
"Her office then. Leon enjoys a tipple now and again. It's only been three weeks; he may still have her Bourbon up there."
Gibbs nodded, trying not to think of the eight bottles he had managed to get through over the last three weeks, and they both turned to leave autopsy and caught the lift up to Leon's office. They said nothing on the journey up, just content to be figuring out what had happened to one that they had loved, each in their own way. The doors opened and they walked as fast as they dared, without attracting attention. They reached Cynthia's office and walked over to her. She knew everything about the Director's office. She looked up in surprise as they approached her and moved to hit the intercom to tell Leon he had visitors. Gibbs grabbed her hand just in time.
----
"We aren't here to see Leon. We want to see you." Cynthia glanced nervously between the two men in front of her, her confusion evident on her face. She couldn't think of anything that she had done, to warrant them coming to speak to her. Was Vance upset with her work? She pushed her concerns out of her mind.
"Ok, what can I do for you?" Jethro looked at Ducky, who closed the outer door and stood by it.
"I need to know if you can get me some of Jenny's Bourbon, from in there." He pointed roughly to the office. She was shocked to hear that particular request. Couldn't he buy his own?
"I'm sorry Agent Gibbs, I can't-" he cut her off, aggravated by her reticence to help him.
"Yes you can! Just make something up to get him out of his office for a few moments-"
"I said 'can't' Agent Gibbs, not 'won't'. Director Vance poured it all down the sink when he took over her office. He even threw out the decanter she used." Gibbs and Ducky exchanged significant glances and Cynthia realised she was missing something important. "What is this about?"
"It's nothing Cynthia." Both he and Ducky moved towards the door, Gibbs opening it. They weren't going to tell her! She felt her irritation take over her and she called out after him, effectively stopping him from opening the door further.
"I managed to get a hold of the glass she drank it from, before Vance took over her office. I sealed it in an evidence bag; it's in the condition she left it in." Gibbs closed the door and turned back to her, looking at her like she was offering him the Holy Grail. She felt the need to explain when Dr. Mallard raised an eyebrow at her. "Since her house was burned down, I knew I wouldn't get any other kind of keepsake. If you want it, you'll have to tell me what's going on." He gave her an annoyed look, but she didn't back down. Not this time. "And you have to keep me in the loop."
"Where is it?"
"Do we have a deal?"
"Yes. Now where is it?"
Cynthia nodded and then moved her chair back, pulling out her keys and opening her bottom drawer. Then she withdrew a little strong box. She unlocked it carefully and reached inside, taking out the promised glass inside an evidence bag. She took a deep breath and held it out to Gibbs. He snatched it from her and took off towards the elevators.
"I'll get it back, right?" she called after him. Ducky gave her a reassuring wink and then took off after Gibbs.
Cynthia sighed and locked her box, putting it back in the drawer and locking it too. She wouldn't let Gibbs keep it that was all she had of Jenny, her only reminder of her boss and friend and she needed it back. She had just got back to work when Leon poked his head out of Jenny's office. It would always be Jenny's office to her. Vance wasn't a bad employer, but he was just… cold. Jenny had always been so warm and kind.
"Ms Sumner, call Agent McGee up to my office."
"Yes Director." He gave a curt nod and disappeared back in the office. She shuddered, he was so annoying sometimes. He wouldn't leave until she called him Director. Jenny hadn't cared if she called her Director or Jenny, unless someone from outside NCIS was waiting to see her. She placed the call to Agent McGee and showed him in when he nervously appeared moments later. She really missed Jenny; she wished she would just turn up and tell her Leon's appointment had been a huge administrative mistake, that she was still Director and would be coming back to work with her. She felt a stray tear fall down her cheek and wiped it away angrily. No matter how much she hoped, she knew that Jenny wasn't coming back. If she really did turn up at work like she hoped, she would be a rotting corpse. Not a happy thought, but then the reality was that life isn't fair. She turned back to her computer. She would go find out what Gibbs and Dr. Mallard were up to as soon as Leon left for lunch.
----
Jenny dodged Gregory again and almost laughed at his exhausted face. She was just as tired if not more so, but she wasn't going to show it. She knocked his arms away and danced further away from him, walking the edge of the mats. She had had fun today. Her time at the shooting range had been short because she had aced every test they had thought of for her. It felt so natural to be holding a gun that she figured she must've been born holding one. Trent had been very supportive of her, even going so far as to tell her she would be trying knife throwing next. She wasn't sure about that activity, it seemed too alien to her. She would probably fail that one. Gregory took another swing while she was distracted, narrowly missing her nose and suddenly she was in a darkened city.
A faceless man was by her side and they were creeping down an alleyway. It smelt of stale garbage, the humid air making it cling to their skin and clothes. It was a silent night and they moved like ghosts, quickly and quietly, the only sound whatsoever being the faceless mans' heavy breathing. They walked further along the alley and came to a corner, coming face to face with a couple of astonished guards who were holding guns. They took their guns out and pointed them at them. The faceless man next to her reacted like lightning, kicking the gun from one guards' hand and then knocking him over on to his back. She copied his movements exactly without hesitation, kicking the gun away from the other guard and then kicking him on to his back. She kneeled on his chest and caught the faceless man's eyes, his blue connecting with her green as they simultaneously wrapped their arms around their victims' heads and twisted them, snapping their necks and quieting them forever. Suddenly, she felt something hit her and she slipped into blackness.
----
Trent watched Jennifer grappling; once again she was paired with Gregory, who was putting up a decent fight but still being creamed. Her muscles were getting stronger already. The physio he had made Gregory give her during the previous two weeks had paid off. She was responding to the exertion well and her body was getting stronger. He had let her shoot again that morning and she had aced it once again. She hadn't even hesitated this time, causing him some reason to be concerned. In the next few days he would reveal the rest of his plan and put it in motion, he couldn't wait any longer. She was giving him odd looks which told him she was remembering things that didn't add up with what he had told her.
He watched her now as she spun on the spot and roundhouse kicked Gregory to the ground, kneeling on his chest when he fell and then she grasped his head. Her eyes were blank and staring, like she was lost in a memory and Trent recognised the execution technique used on enemy sentries. He was about to go help Gregory when one of the other people who had been sparing near her, Fiona, kicked her off of Gregory and pinned her to the ground. Jenny went completely limp and Trent walked over as Fiona called out to her partner.
"She's lost consciousness. Get a medic!"
Fiona's sparring partner ran towards the medics' room and Trent reached out to help Gregory up.
"What the hell happened?" Trent was very annoyed. If she had suddenly regained all her memories he would have to get rid of her, destroying the last three weeks of hard work. Gregory took a deep ragged breath, the fear only now receding from his eyes.
"The suppressants you give her have caused unexpected problems. The suppressant actively tries to prevent a memory from resurfacing but, like the one she just had, it can be too strong to stop. This causes her brain to focus itself on the memory, trapping her in it until it is over. I can only guess that once it is over, she loses consciousness because of the strain it has put on her brain." *1* Trent nodded and decided to re-evaluate his plans.
"If she is still under the impression I am her brother, I will take her back to DC tomorrow. It's time to put my plan into action."
"If she isn't?" Trent shrugged slightly, a smirk crossing his features.
"If the memory suppressant doesn't work, I'll take care of her. She doesn't need to be alive to draw them to us."
*1* = I'm not a doctor or a neurologist so I don't actually know if this is true, or if it can in fact, happen at all.
