Sixty-four days had passed since the storm. Jenny stopped by the hospital on her way to work; it had been Gibbs' turn to stay the night with Abby.

When she walked in, she found that they were talking. She went to greet Abby as she always did, with a hug and a kiss. "Good morning, Abby."

Jethro said, "Jen, wait -"

Simultaneously, Abby said, "Good morning, Di- Director?" She pulled away in surprise when Jenny started to kiss her.

Reflexively, Jenny pulled back as well and stepped away. Her gut was turning over and she could feel her cheeks turning red. "Um - Jethro - Abby -"

"I know you need to get to work," he said quickly. "I'll explain to Abby before I come in."

"All right. I'll see you later, Abby." She got out of the room as fast as she could and left the hospital, ignoring the questions her driver asked. She was still stunned when they arrived at NCIS, so she went immediately to her office, telling Cynthia to hold her calls.

She knew this would happen. She had expected Abby to remember eventually. But not today. She had stopped asking herself every morning if today would be the day. She had begun to take it for granted that she and Abby had a special relationship.

Did it become too real? No, she was not in love with Abby. She liked Abby; she even loved her in the sense of friendship. But she did not love Abby in the romantic sense.

So what was bothering her?

She sat and thought, oblivious to the passage of time, trying to understand the emptiness she felt, the abrupt loss of a reason for her days. Suddenly her work did not seem to be enough anymore.

"I miss it," she said aloud.

"I could tell," a quiet voice answered her.

Her face flushed for the second time that day. "Jethro, how did you get in here? How long have you been sitting there?"

"About ten minutes. You appeared to be deep in thought. Didn't want to disturb you."

"Fair enough." She found that she couldn't look him in the eye. "Um... how did it go?"

"Fine. Abby was mortified, had to reassure her that it was okay and you understood."

"She was mortified?"

"Yeah."

"I was so embarrassed, Jethro. I couldn't believe - how could I forget - I should have remembered it wasn't real."

"It was very real - for awhile. Probably why it bothers you now."

"I guess so. I was thinking - well, you seem to know already." She sighed heavily. "The idea of having that kind of relationship was very appealing. Someone to come home to. Someone that would always be there. Someone -" She looked up suddenly and realized who she was talking to. "I shouldn't be telling you this, Jethro."

"Why not?"

"You know why not."

"Afraid you'll say something you'll regret?"

"It's just not fair."

He looked confused. "What's not fair? That the thing with Abby is over?"

"No, Jethro. It's not fair to you."

He shook his head and looked a question.

"I mean, it's not fair for me to complain that I don't have a long term relationship. Not to you, anyway. I was the one who left; I don't have the right to complain."

He smiled at her and stood up. "Anyone can make a mistake, Jen."

Before she could recover enough to answer him, he had left her office.