A/N: So, I wasn't able to update as fast as I wanted to (I've spent the last few days in the Netherlands and haven't had a chance to post anything) but I've been busy writing so here is the new chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter sixteen: Mother, Mommy, Mama

"I just can't believe it! You knew it all along, the whole time, all of you" her green eyes sparked "and neither one of you said a damn word to me!" The raven-haired woman accused them as she knocked back the sixth shot of the evening. Damn good thing for the three agents surrounding her that the had at least the good grace of looking sheepishly.

"Timmy" she whined "you was there when I asked him, why didn't you give me a hint?"

"Look Abby" he said, pleading her to understand, "I just assumed you knew. I mean who didn't? Even the LA Field Office knew. I spoke to Callan around noon and he'd already heard it!" McGee defended himself.

"You know what, maybe we should just stop discussing the subject. I've known Jenny for a long time and I know for sure she doesn't appreciate anybody gossiping about her private life."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Zee, but she can hardly expect us to not gossip about it after her lead agent announced for the whole squad room to hear that they were having dinner with her parents tonight! That practically screams long term-relationship." Tony remarked as he indicated to the bartender to bring them another round of beer. "Almost all agents stationed at the Navy Yard and even some from Norfolk wanted to make abet on them after that, and they were willing to bet on nearly everything: date and place of a possible marriage; name, sex and date of birth of their first child, although some said they already have a child; since when they have been together, if they were romantically involved before she became director et cetera. You could buy a house and a car with the money staked on them."

"Don't let them hear that DiNozzo, or there won't be any money for you at all."

"What, you're afraid of them McGoo?"

"You'd better be Tony." Ziva advised. "I think neither Jenny nor Gibbs would take it kindly if they knew about your pools."

"Come on Zee-vah, don't be a party pooper! Don't you wanna place a bet on them? Or anyone else for that matter? Yeah Abby?"

"That's so cute. They are perfect for one another. I bet you $200 they are married before October." The Goth bounced happily as she handed the agent four bills. "How are my chances Tony?"

"Good as always for you Abbs" he said as he took her money and gave her his trademark lady-killer grin.

She sat up in her bed, startled, though she couldn't exactly pinpoint what had woken her up. Her mind was still numb, but she figured that wasn't unusual after almost three hours of mind-blowing sex with Jethro. It was a quarter to four in the morning so she had another two hours of sleep ahead of her before she had to get up.

She looked at Jethro who was still sleeping soundly so she concluded he hadn't woken her up. In this moment she heard a piercing scream coming from her spare bedroom down the hall - the spare bedroom where Manolo was. She grabbed her panties and slipped them on, together with Jethro's shirt. Suddenly her mind was blank but Manolo's scream, he had sounded so scared, frightened. Jenny bolted down the hall, standing in his bedroom in a matter of seconds. He sat on his bed, as far away from the door as possible, his face pressed against the wall. He had his knees drawn to his chest and his whole body trembled from the force of his approached him slowly, not knowing how frightened and disoriented he was.

"Manolo?" she asked as she extended an arm carefully to rub his back. "Manolo?" She whispered again. He turned his head to her, facing her, his eyes red from crying. She pulled him on her lap, hugging him to her, and rocked them back and forth soothingly.

"Mama?" he asked quietly, uncertainly and without even thinking about it she answered "I'm here honey, it's okay."

She waited until he had calmed down, but as she proceed to tuck him in again, he started to cry once more. "Don't leave." He begged, again and again, so she picked him up to take him with her to her bedroom. She met Jethro outside the spare room, he was leaning against the wall of her hallway.

"How long have you been standing here?" She asked, balancing Manolo's weight on her hip.

"Long enough." He replied, pressing a kiss to each's, hers and the boy's, temple. "Don't get too attached Jen" he said, but he didn't have to look at her to know she already was. Instead he put his hand on her lower back, supporting her as she carried the boy to their room. They settled back on the bed, Manolo sandwiched in-between them, his head on her chest, his hand on Jethro's torso. She snuggled up against the agent, her head resting on his shoulder as he embraced her and Manolo with his arms.

"Mama" the little boy yawned. "I'm tired."

"Go back to sleep honey" she murmured, pressing a loving kiss to the crown of his head.

He didn't like the feeling of being stared at. Scratch that, he hated the feeling of being stared at. He could almost relate to the suspects he was used to breaking with the silent treatment in interrogation. The director had a conference with a few senators later that day to which she was going to take Manolo with her, but right now she was in MTAC where the boy wasn't allowed in because of obvious reasons. To sum it up, he was stuck as babysitter.

"Eh boss?" The youngest member of his team began hesitantly.

"Today McGee." Gibbs bellowed impatiently.

"Okay, look we were wondering why Manolo called the director-"

"Then stop wondering McGee!"

When Jenny had told the little boy he would have to spend a little time with Gibbs while she would be overseeing an op in MTAC, he had been on the edge of crying. Uncertainty obvious in his eyes he had asked with a shaky voice "Are you coming back Mama?", and ever the red-head had taken him in her arms and replied without hesitation "Yeah sweetie, of course Mama's coming back" the three of them had been locked at funny.

He fixed his team with a good glare. "Going down to Abby's he growled, even grufflier than usual. He really couldn't bear their curious stares any longer.

"What about Mama?" Manolo wanted to know.

"She's coming to get you on time. Let's go now bud." Gibbs answered as he took his hand.

When they arrived at Abby's there wasn't any trace of the gothic lab rat, even her music was turned down.

"Abby?" Gibbs called. "Where are you?"

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs" the bubbly goth came out of her back office. "You brought Manolo too!" She shrieked as she enveloped them in a bone-chrushing hug.

"Are you alright Abbs? That stuff you claim is music is unusually low."

"Gibbs! That's the new album BrainMatter released just five days ago!" She exclaimed, her green eyes wide. "Timmy called, he told me you were coming that's why I turned it down so you couldn't sneak up on me. Abby spun around, ran to her mass spectrometre before she came back to them. Standing in front of Gibbs, she bounced on her feet, her pig tails flying around her head. "So what are you doing here?"

"We were bored out of our mind, right buddy?" Manolo nodded although it was clearly visible that he had no clue what they were talking about, he was way too much mesmerized by the equipment in Abby's lab. Last time he had been there he had been to scared to really pay attention to his surroundings. Behind them the bing of the elevator announced the arrival of another person.

"Jethro? Manolo? Where are you?"

"In here Jen" Gibbs called back.

"Mama!" She had barely enough time to prepare herself for the force with which Manolo slammed into her, hugging her legs tightly. "You came back. Gibbs you were right." He shouted, overjoyed.

"Of course I came back." Jenny stated, scooping him up. Sometimes it scared her just how clingy he was and she wondered what had happened to him.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Abby squealed with delight. "He calls you Mama Director. That's like ... the most amazing thing ever! You are his mommy now but he remains his heritage by calling you Mama!"

Jenny looked at her for a few seconds, her expression blank but at the same time eerily dumbfounded. "I really haven't put too much thought in it yet Abby."

"That's okay Director, that's why I do it for you. This is a moment for the books!" Jenny just nodded, bot quite knowing what to say and turned to Jethro.

"I'm sorry to spoil your fun, but Manolo and I have to get going now."

"I'll walk you to your car." He said, kissing Abby's cheek before he went to the elevator with them, his hand supporting her lower back while Abby was already on the phone talking to his team about certain developments.

Gibbs sat at his desk being half way through his paperwork as his phone started to ring.

"Gibbs" he barked, no doubt scaring the hell out of the person on the other end on the line.

"Special Agent Gibbs? This is Officer Railey, I'm with Metro PD. We have found a body at the bank of Potomac River. The victim matches the description of Márisa Sanchez."

"We're on our way" he said, slamming the receiver down. "Gear up, Metro's found the body of Márisa Sanchez. McGee call Palmer and Ducky, DiNozzo, gas the truck!"

"On it Boss!" He heard behind him, already being on his way to the elevator.

Márisa Sanchez' body didn't look like it had been in the water for a long time. She looked peaceful, something Gibbs had learnt to appreciate after having worked on homicide cases for almost fifteen years.

"What have you got for me Duck?" He asked as he kneeled down next to the elderly ME. He looked around him, he had the distinct, uneasy feeling in his gut that somebody was observing his every movement.

"Estimated time of death was about twenty-four to thirty-six hours ago and I think the gunshot wound on her back" he turned the corpse carefully around "was most likely the cause of death. Although like always I cannot give you a precise answer before I have her on my table- Are you alright Jethro?"

"I think someone's observing us. Don't-" he grabbed Ducky's arm "-turn around. It'll look suspicious." The Scot nodded and got back to examining the body again.

"DiNozzo" Gibbs barked. "Come over here and take the camera with you!"

"What's up Boss?"

"Take photos of the spectators. Inconspicuous DiNozzo!"

"What for Boss?"

*whack*

"Ah, alright Boss, I get it. No reasons I need to know. Getting back to work now."

It was frustrating. Frustrating as hell. He knew who the murderer was, or at least he knew who had given the order to execute Márisa Sanchez and yet there he sat at his desk with no leads. They didn't have any damn idea where Doyle, or his dummies for that matter, was. He'd gone for coffee for often than he wanted to care for the last few hours so when he'd gone to buy his new "usual" once again, his team hadn't even looked up anymore. After having bought two cups of Jamaican blend and one of hot chocolate, he was now on his up to the director's office to tell a little boy his mother was dead.

He didn't know how they should break the news to Manolo; he figured his usual, slightly brutal, "band-aid-method" was out of question. Sure, he called Jenny "Mama" but Gibbs was sure that Manolo was, at least subconsciously, missing his real mother. He entered the corner office and found his red-head sitting on her couch reading case files while simultaneously drawing and talking with the boy in question next to her.

He closed the door softly, just watching them for a minute or two until Jenny felt his stare on her back. "Jethro? Are you alright?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure what's going on?" She asked standing up from the couch.

"Mama?" Manolo called, his eyes wide.

"Mama's just going over there to talk to Jethro. I'll be right back, okay honey?" She made sure to wait for the little boy to nod before she made her way over to her desk. "Jethro?"

"The body of Márisa Sanchez was found this morning. Gunshot wound to the back. Ducky says she didn't suffer."

She paled, just a little and gripped the edge of her desk with one hand, while the other flew to her mouth. "Oh my god. How do we tell Manolo?"

He shrugged, being none the wiser than she. "I honestly have no idea" he said lowly. "Maybe we should just break it to him, without any details of course."

Their eyes met before she turned around and looked at the little boy. He seemed to be so strong, happy; and yet a part of his world was about to be violently ripped away from him. He was just so small, so vulnerable and fragile. She took Jethro's hand, only for a second, to borrow a little of his strength, but then refused to let go again as she went back to Manolo.

"Mama, Mama, I made a picture for you!" Jenny looked at it, it was better than the picture of an average four-year-old. Or maybe she just thought it was. She tended to be in awe over everything he did nowadays.

"It's really good. It deserves a special place, don't you think? What about the spot behind my desk, right next to the window so everyone can see it?" The boy nodded, clearly pleased that she liked his picture so much that she was gonna pin it on the wall. "Do you want to help me?" He beamed so enthusiastically that she let him pin it on all by himself, with just a little help from Jethro. It was a bit askew but she couldn't help to admire his handiwork.

"Good job honey, I'm proud of you." She definitely was, she may not be able to pin point where it came from, that was just the way it was. Jenny gave him a peck on the forehead while she sat him down on her desk, then she took a seat on the chair in front of him. Jethro stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders.

"Manolo" she said, her voice serious. "We have to tell you something." She paused, brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. Jethro squeezed her shoulders briefly. She gave him a grateful smile. "Manolo sweetie, your mommy is in heaven now. She isn't going to come back."

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, instead he took a hold of her right hand and began to play with her fingers. "Are you coming home Mama?"

"Yeah, yeah of course. I was talking about you other Mama." He liked sad for a moment, the movements of his fingers stilling.

"I miss her." He looked down at her hand in his. "She wasn't there so much but I think I'm sad. But I have you now. You and Gibbs." He said, picking her hand up again.

"Manolo, it is very important that you understand what I'm going to tell you now, okay?" Jenny remained silent until he looked up at her. "You are allowed to miss you mother, don't ever think something else. Jethro and I, we will always be there for you, but I know how it is to lose a parent and I know how important it is to grieve. Come here." She took him in his arms and let him cry, for a mother he missed and she wasn't sure he'd ever had.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was furious, angry at the bastard who was responsible for him having to tell a little boy that his mother was never coming home again. He stormed into the bull pen after he had been up in the director's office, his teeth clenched.

"What have you got?" He barked at his team as he came to an abrupt stop in front of his desk.

Stony silence.

"DiNozzo!"

"Er, so far nothing Boss. We've been trying to link Doyle to the murder of Márisa Sanchez but she wasn't shot with the same weapon as the other victims, so our murderer is probably one of his henchmen."

"Did you have a look at the crime scene photos of the spectators?"

"Not yet Boss, we are working on that."

"McGee!" Gibbs fixed the younger man with a good glare.

"Yes Boss?"

"Make your facial recognition thingy. I want to know if somebody we know was there."

"Well actually Boss it's a..."

"I don't care McGee." Gibbs said dangerously lowly. "Jen and I have just told a little boy that his mother is dead. Do you think I'm interested in what you have to do to find Doyle?"

"N-no Boss" McGee stuttered. "I'll start right away."

"Jen and I Boss?" Tony asked, grinning. "Is there anything we..."

"You wanna finish that sentence DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked menacingly.

"Er no Boss, I don't think so." He responded hastily.

*whack*

"That's exactly what I thought DiNozzo. I'm going for coffee. You three find me Doyle!"

"Oh my god, he's right! Tony, he's right!" McGee shouted as he jumped out of his chair. "Damn it DiNozzo, do you hear me? Call Gibbs!"

"Why the hell would I do that Probitinous?" Tony yelled back. "He's already pissed of so I certainly won't be the one to interrupt his coffee run."

"Why would you do that DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked from behind them, making Tony jump.

"Boss you were right" McGee repeated as he put a few pictures on the plasma screen in the middle of the bull pen. "There's Doyle. He's taking photos along with the other journalists that's why we didn't pay attention to him. I used CCTV of the area to follow his movements, I got an address!"

"Grab your gear. McGee, gas the truck; DiNozzo, David, I want Cassidy and Yates' teams as back-up, NOW!"

They had taken the back door in, like they had been told, and were now standing in the living room, searching the house for Doyle's back-up. Behind him were Cassidy and two of Yates' agents. He found himself grateful for Paula's presence although he'd prefer Ziva. Gibbs was talking to Doyle in the kitchen, in the room next to him he could hear McGee shouting clear.

Silence again.

Then in the kitchen the sound of a gun being fired leaving Tony DiNozzo paralyzed in the living room, fearing for his boss's life.

A/N: Maybe I should explain a few things.

Manolo does many things I did as a four-year-old (I think you see I was already crazy back then) as well as he sais things my mother told me I said. For example the Jenny-Manolo-Dialogue when she tells him his mother was dead is more or less the same I had with my mother when my great-grandmother died (I made sure that my grandmothers were still alive though).

I asked a Spanish friend of mine how she calls her mother and she said at least in Spain they use "Mama". She couldn't tell me anything about Latin America though. Beside that she told me I made a few mistakes concerning diacritical marks but I'm not sure if I should change that as I spelled Marisa Márisa and Sánchez Sanchez the whole time.