Leroy Jethro Gibbs stalked through his home after returning from being out of the house for hours. His prized boat had taken the brunt of his frustrations, but the usually calming work hadn't eased him. A tree in his backyard received more of his anger yet he was still brewing and simmering underneath. The meter of his temper began to rise as soon as he set foot in his home. He dropped the bag of firewood he had chopped in the doorway of the study, narrowing his eyes in a glare at the empty desk. Of course, she would not be occupying the study.

His redheaded source of frustration was enjoying a cup of chai tea in the den. She had heard him enter the house and the thunderous noise of whatever he'd dropped to make his entrance known to her. She had heard his vehicle pull up and park, so the entrance was unnecessary in her opinion. With a raised eyebrow, she smirked and sipped her tea. As she flipped through her issue of Time and calculated his arrival by the heavy footsteps, she prepared herself for the inevitable next round.

Jethro leaned against the entryway and observed his wife. Her silence was fueling his temper. She hadn't glanced at him or made any other move to acknowledge his presence. He rolled his head to the side and chose a corner of the ceiling to focus his glare on.

"Jethro," she finally spoke. "You're sulking."

"I do not sulk."

"Oh, yes you do sulk," she returned coolly as she flipped a page.

"Jen," he began.

She turned her head towards him. Her green eyes letting him know it was useless to start. Still, he continued his fight.

"I should be the one to go."

"No."

"I knew him as well as you did."

She nodded her head. "Yes, you did, and I will be paying your respects for you."

"Jenny."

"Don't Jenny me, Jethro. I've made my decision. You are staying behind."

"I'm better at protecting you than Tony and Ziva."

"True."

"Then let me go."

"No."

He rolled his eyes and silently cursed her obstinacy. He knew her better than Tony and Ziva. He could anticipate her every move and read her mind. He should be the agent accompanying her on the damned trip.

"Jen, I'm going with you."

"No, Jethro."

"Are you forgetting what happened last time Tony and Ziva were your protection detail?"

"Yes, I remember. I do recall Ziva getting me out of harm's way."

Jethro heaved a sigh and regained his focus on the ceiling. He didn't look at her until she cleared her throat. She had moved to stand inches away from him.

"Anything more to say?"

"Me and Ziva should be your detail."

"Jethro, I can take care of myself."

He snickered. "Right."

Jenny cocked her hip to the side, folded her arms over her chest, and locked her eyes into his with a smoldering glare. As a probie, she had found herself in plenty of situations she shouldn't have because of her brash and bold ways. She was no longer Gibbs' probie and no longer as reckless as she'd once been. She was the Director of NCIS, and her husband's boss even though he favored to trash the fact from his steel-trap mind. "We are finished with this discussion. Ziva and Tony will be my protection detail in California. You will be staying here. That's an order, Jethro. By the way, you should get cleaned up. Lizzie and Tony are coming over."

"We aren't done!"

"Yes, Jethro...we are."

As she exited the den, he kicked the doorframe and cursed under his breath. He shook his head and watched her walking away from him. As much as he thought about rebelling, he followed his wife's advice of taking a shower however. He grumbled throughout the shower and slammed the door as he exited, roughly drying his body moments later. Cooper trotted into the master bedroom and flopped onto the floor. He watched as his owner began shaving. The German Shepherd put his paws over his dark brown eyes as if he knew what was about to happen. Jethro cursed and threw his razor into the sink. "Dammit," he mumbled, ripping off a sheet of toilet paper and putting it to his jaw line. He hated when he cut himself shaving. He turned to his side, staring at the large dog. He smirked. Cooper was on his hind legs, and his front paws were placed on the counter. "Don't give me that look, Coop," Gibbs said to his bathroom companion. He was answered with a lick to the side of the face. Cooper let his paws slide off the bathroom countertop and trotted out of the bathroom. "You better not take sides with her," he called to the dog on his way out the door.

Downstairs, Cooper greeted his guests with a bark and several licks to their hands. DiNozzo thanked the heavens that the animal hadn't decided to greet him in the usual manner. The usual manner consisted of Tony sporting paw prints on his shirt and having to wash his face afterwards.

Jenny came out of the kitchen and into the foyer, greeting her daughter and future son-in-law. "Jethro's upstairs. He should be down in a few minutes. Until then, tea or coffee?"

Tony shook his head. "No, thanks."

Lizzie asked for a cup of tea, and her mother disappeared to make her the tea. She grabbed her fiancé's hand and pulled him into the den. Tony sat down at the end of the couch and smiled as Lizzie plopped down, snuggling herself into his side. He placed a kiss to the top of her head before slipping an arm around her.

Jenny caught them kissing as she entered the room. She hated to inform Tony of his next assignment considering he was newly engaged. She handed Elizabeth the cup of tea, smiling at her and taking a spot in a nearby chair. "How's the engaged life?"

"It's great," Tony answered.

Small talk was made until Jethro came into the den. Tony noticed the toilet paper with the large red dot and grinned. "Cut yourself shaving, boss?"

In typical Jethro Gibbs fashion, his response was a glare that clearly told Tony to shut it. Tony glanced at Lizzie, and she merely shrugged her shoulders. She didn't want to guess why her father was in a foul mood.

Jenny smirked and walked over to her husband, removing the makeshift bandage. "Do I need to kiss it and make it better?" she teased in a singsong voice.

"No," Gibbs replied brusquely and sat down.

The tension combined with hostility between the married couple answered the engaged couple's questions. Tony cleared his throat. He found it to be insufferable when his two bosses had issues in the office, but it was much worse on the home front.

"You gonna tell 'em, Jenny?"

"I was warming up, Jethro."

"Tell us what?" Lizzie questioned with a troubled look.

Jenny looked at her daughter and Tony. "I hate to do this since you've only been engaged for a few days, but you'll have to be separated for two days at the most."

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Tony, you'll be my protection detail along with Ziva. A former agent and friend of ours passed away yesterday."

He offered his condolences and remained quiet as she further explained.

"We'll leave in two days for California."

"What agent, mom?"

"William Decker."

"What happened? He wasn't too much older than you and daddy." Lizzie had met Decker a few times during her childhood. He had a good heart and told great jokes. At her age, the jokes didn't seem all that funny now.

"Heart attack."

She nodded her head and looked at her father. "Why aren't you going with her?"

"See!" Gibbs exclaimed and pointed at his daughter. At least, someone shared his point of view.

Jenny rolled her eyes at her husband before looking to her child. "Thank you, Elizabeth," she said, voice laced with potent sarcasm. "Your father isn't going because someone needs to make sure the agency remains intact while I'm away. Tony and Ziva are more than capable of being my protection detail."

Lizzie nodded her head. She knew her mother had assigned Tony to be her protection several times before. She didn't bother asking if she could go on the trip since it was business. She would miss him, but his work was important especially when protecting her mother.

"Are you pleased with your assignment, Agent DiNozzo?" Jenny asked in her Director tone. The look on her face and in her eyes was telling him he damn well better be pleased with it.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Lizzie and I will get started on dinner. Katie should be on her way. Jethro, Cooper probably needs to go for a walk."

He answered with a noncommittal nod of his head and stared at DiNozzo as the women left the room. The younger man cleared his throat and followed Gibbs into the study for a bourbon. Gibbs slowly sipped the alcohol. His gut was starting to bother him over his wife's California trip. He would not say one word to Jenny. She would dismiss his instinct as silly. To him, he was wondering if his gut was failing him. There was no reason for it to be acting up yet the infamous Gibbs' gut had never been wrong before. He shrugged his shoulders and drained his tumbler of bourbon. He momentarily forgot who lived in California. His gut always gave him problems at the thought of Helen Shepard. Maybe that was the reason yet the voice telling him it was something more drummed in his ears.