Gibbs wasn't good at small talk. He didn't see the need to fill the air with words when silence was fine with him. Jenny preferred conversation but she understood and knew him so well that they often let their eyes or their physical proximity do all the talking for them. Still, once in awhile it was nice to say something. He didn't like how she was just sitting there, using the silence as a shield instead of being comfortable in it.

"I got in trouble with Abby today," he began.

Jenny looked up from the food she was poking with her fork. Interest flickered in her tired eyes. "Uh oh. What happened this time?"

He chuckled. "I got accused of not loving her anymore."

Jenny's eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. "Was she serious?"

"Oh, very," Gibbs assured her. "She was 'not speaking to me' before she handed me all the evidence that supposedly had convinced her she'd lost her place at the favourite."

"Like what?" Jenny asked. "I'm sure it would take a lot to get to that point."

Gibbs nodded knowingly. "You'd be surprised Jen. This time it was that I had been distracted, only came down to see her once, forgot her Caf-Pow! yesterday, no kiss or good job Abby, and didn't appear in the lab the second she called for me this morning." He shook his head. "She was kind of like the energizer bunny."

Jenny finished it for him. "She just kept going and going and going." She laughed. "I do remember hearing that some of the people in building referred to her as 'Energizer Abby'. So," she looked back at him, ready for the rest of the story, "did you make it all better?"

Gibbs hummed and hawed about that one a minute. "Well, she knows I still love her but there's more to it than that." He rubbed the back of his neck, his signature tell that whatever came next wouldn't necessarily be good.

"What is it?" Jenny wasn't sure if she was supposed to be worried or not.

Gibbs finally just decided to spit it out. "Abby has come to the conclusion that my distraction lately is all about you."

Her eyes widened. "What did you say?" Suddenly their secret didn't seem as safe anymore. Once Abby suspected something, she didn't give up until she found the answer she was looking for. She was very determined.

His facial expression was hovering between pained and amused as he tried to explain. "That's where things get sticky. I gave her two questions."

Jenny dropped her head into her hand. "Jethro, you didn't."

"I had to do something Jen," he protested. "I didn't want to leave her mad. A mad Abby makes life just a little too stressful for the team and for me. And it gets in the way of investigations."

"And?"

"Well, apparently when I knew something was wrong because you car was still there on Thursday night, and I was, according to Abby, 'a wreck', the whole time you were missing, and because I left early two days in a row..."

"Dead giveaway," Jenny muttered.

"...Abby wanted to know if something was going on between us."

Now Jenny really wished she'd been around for that conversation. She almost winced. "Your answer?"

He grinned. "Didn't exactly answer. Kind of walked around the question and left without telling her much. But it really isn't fair to be so cagey with her and she still has one question left. She asked if she could save it."

"And you said yes?" Jenny looked distressed, knowing the amount of trouble Abby could get into when left with time to think about how to do it.

"What else was I supposed to do Jen?" Gibbs was trying to keep his frustration reigned in but it snuck into his tone.

Jenny looked up and sighed. "I guess there wasn't anything else you could've done. The whole conversation was doomed from the moment you walked into the lab."

"So," he said, interested in her reaction, "what are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Jenny shook her head. "I guess it was inevitable, that we would eventually have to tell them."

"They'll be happy for us Jen."

"Your Rule 12 will be so out the window when they find out we're married."

"That doesn't mean I still can't headslap them if I catch them doing something stupid."

She grinned, thinking about their reactions. "Can you imagine the looks on their faces?"

"We should bring a camera."

"A camera? This is practically worthy of reality TV Jethro."

"How should we do it?" he asked, wondering if she'd been thinking about it.

In reality, Jenny hadn't given it much thought, but every once in awhile it popped up on her radar. "We could just start wearing our wedding rings and see how long it takes them to notice."

Gibbs leaned back into his chair, a scheming look on his face. "Oh Jen, that is mean. But we could definitely have some fun with it. It would be more interesting than just blurting it out in an announcement. And," he said thoughtfully, "it would be a good test of their observation and investigative skills." He nodded at her. "How long do you think it would take?"

Jenny shook her head. "It all depends on the day. How much time you sit at your desk where they might notice the ring as opposed to being out at a crime scene when you're wearing gloves the whole time. It depends on how much time I'm around them, on whether Abby is consumed by the evidence or feeling playful enough to tease you about things."

"I give them two days," he crossed his arms, "after that I'll headslap the lot of them for not noticing."

"Even Abby?" Jenny grinned.

Gibbs conceded the point. "Well, maybe not Abby. I'll just cut off her Caf-Pow! supply for the day."

"A day for me," Jen said. "Ziva will notice within minutes of you arriving in the bullpen."

"I guess we'll see," Gibbs said, reaching for her half-full plate when he was sure she wasn't eating anymore. "When do we start this experiment?"

Jenny felt tired. There was too much going on right now and she wasn't sure she could keep up with everything. "Can it wait until next week? I can't even think about it right now."

Gibbs turned from the counter to face her. "Tough day?"

She sighed. "Figured out that I couldn't hide from the shrink anymore," she admitted. "Kristyn showed up in my office and practically refused to leave until she'd boxed me into several appointments in the next couple of months." She held off on mentioning the joint appointments for now. Maybe this weekend she'd be brave enough to broach the subject and see what he thought.

"I see," Gibbs said evenly, not wanting to touch that topic right now. She had not been okay after the last session. "Let me guess, not your favourite thing on the schedule?"

"Hardly." Jenny finished the rest of the milk and brought their empty glasses over to add to the sink of dirty dishes. "I should probably go get some paperwork done," she mentioned, without actually making a move to go anywhere.

"Leave it for tonight Jenny," Gibbs said, knowing it wouldn't be hard to talk her out of it.

"Tomorrow is going to be busy."

"That's what you get for disappearing for a day and a half. The world doesn't know what to do without Jenny Sheppard, NCIS director," he said sympathetically.

"Just Jenny Gibbs tonight, I think," she said softly.

"I like the sound of that," he said, his voice low. If only he could hold her, touch her, make some of the stress and fear go away. It was a heavy burden to carry and she was faltering under it's weight. "Maybe a kiss would help?"

Jenny tried to smile at the pleading note in his voice. She could not kiss him now the way she wanted to, or even the way she had earlier. She leaned up and kissed his lightly, keeping space between them. "I think sleep will help, if I can just keep from dreaming."

Gibbs held out his hand, "Maybe they'll stay away if I'm right beside you."

Jenny studied his hand and then his eyes. "Maybe you could just hold my hand while I fall asleep?"

Wishing he could hold her, Gibbs focused instead on what she needed. "Yeah Jen, I can do that."

He followed her up the stairs and watched as she took off her robe and lifted the covers, sliding between them. He lay on his side of the bed, on top of the blankets and waited until she settled in. Then he moved a little closer and she reached for his hand. Gibbs held her small, soft hand in his, rubbing his thumb very gently back and forth across the back of it. It didn't take long for Jenny to slip into unconsciousness but Gibbs lay there a little longer, still holding her hand. When he was very sure she was asleep, he lifted her hand and kissed it, then slowly moved off the bed. Closing the door tightly, he left her there.

Back downstairs in the hall he reached for coat. He didn't have anything here to work on and he desperately needed the release of spending a few hours working on his boat. Gibbs locked the door, set the alarm and nodded to her security detail sitting across the street. It was Special Agent Jason O'Leary tonight and he knew the man would watch over his wife. He looked up at her bedroom window before getting in his car.

"Good night Jenny," he whispered. Then he headed for his house.