Hello lovely people! I managed to get back into this account and finally got the chance to post something I´m working on since a few months. Some of you might know this fanfiction from our German fanbase, but I need to tell you I changed the englisch version a little bit :)

Hope you like it either way.

Late in the evening, when hardly anyone was in the office, a petite young woman in a red trench coat walked down the steps to the open-plan office. Just slowly, she walked past the tables of Gibbs' team before stopping, no one sitting there - everyone was off to find Ari. Gibbs' seat was equally empty. She didn't want to think much about him, though, and the longer she stood here the more likely he was to come back, and he wasn't exactly the person she wanted to see right now.

A loud bang brought her back to reality. A thunderstorm had moved over Washington, rain pattered against the window panes and a violent storm was also going on. You could almost think this weather matched the current grief that was in the building.

Caitlyn Todd, a valuable team member of Gibbs, shot on a roof of the high-rises and by whom? Ari Haswari, Ziva's half-brother. Jennifer couldn't have dreamed up a much better start for her Israeli friend on this team. The perfect example of bad timing.

"You're still here?", she could suddenly hear his voice behind her.

Now exactly what she tried in vain to avoid had come true. She didn't want to run into him or even talk to him - it would only open old wounds that still hadn't healed. Besides, she didn't have time for him at all, even if she wanted to.

"Actually, no, I have to go.", she answered curtly and walked to the elevator.

"I'll drive you."

Wordlessly, she got into the elevator, pressing the button for the main entrance as he squeezed into the elevator with her before closing its doors.

"You don't have to.", she tried to avoid him.

"Ari is still loose on the streets, I can't risk him hurting you too."

"You don't have to, I can take care of myself.", she blocked, hoping this elevator ride would end soon.

Jennifer, however, made her reckoning without the lead investigator. Gibbs stood close to her, flipped the emergency stop switch, and when the light turned slightly bluish, he paused for a moment, examining her thoroughly. He could understand that she was pissed, hurt and disappointed, but that was still no reason for him to let her drive home alone - especially not when Ari had it in for the women he worked with.

"Can you stop being so stubborn for a moment?", he asked sternly. "I can't risk losing anyone else if I could help it."

"I'm being stubborn?", she inquired reproachfully. "Maybe you should stop lying to the people you care about.", Jen muttered, flipping the switch to finally reach the exit.

"I know I hurt you, believe me, if I could have stopped it, I would have done it right away."

"And then? Then maybe you would have lied to me for more months? That would have made it better?"

Rolling his eyes, Gibbs flipped the emergency stop switch again and the elevator came to a halt once more. She just wasn't allowed to go now, not like this and certainly not alone. Of course Gibbs knew he couldn't undo what had happened in Paris, but he wanted to try, to show her how much she still meant to him.

"I'm sorry."

She turned her head to him quickly. What had he just said? Had he just apologized? He, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, was breaking his own rules? Did she mean something to him after all? Could that be? She didn't know, there were so many questions in her mind and yet no reasonable answer.

Yes, Leroy Jethro Gibbs knew how to get her attention. Silently, he eyed her, again. Her green eyes gleamed, carried barely discernible tears in them, and her skin was pale. She looked tired and drained, but why did she want to do this job so badly? She was such a good agent, he couldn't understand the world anymore. Still, there was no more beautiful woman for him, no matter what she looked like.

"Hey.", he said softly, raising his hand as he noticed the single tear running down her cheek. "Jen...", he spoke softly, catching the tear with his finger.

Jen... He hadn't called her that in a long time, but how could he? They hadn't seen each other for a whole six years, and in that time no other man had ever called her that. That nickname just belonged to him.

"Please give me a chance to show you how much you mean to me."

Her eyes stared transfixed into his. Green met blue and then when he suddenly minimized the distance between their two bodies it was all over for the beautiful woman. Her heart cried out so much for him, but her head tried to fight against her feeling. A vicious cycle.

"Jethro...", she gasped hotter, unable to speak much louder.

One tear became more and more that gathered in her eyes. It hurt terribly to be so close to him, and to know how terribly it hurt to have left him behind them. But she had no other choice, after all he had kept something very important from her - his wife Stephanie, and this was too much for her young love.

"A chance to show you how much I love you."

The gray-haired man took her head between his hands, stroking her slightly reddish cheeks with his thumbs, but she shook her head and closed her eyes before taking a step back and flipping the switch again. She couldn't stand it in here anymore, felt like she was suffocating, and there was nothing she could do about it except finally get off the little elevator. If she didn't finally reach the bottom, she would probably suffocate here. Her heart could not stand this pain.

After what felt like an eternity, the relieving *ping* finally sounded, and she fled especially quickly into the large entrance hall. Jennifer Shepard had made her calculation without Gibbs, of course, he had run after her immediately because he knew if he would let her go now, he had lost her maybe forever, and he did not want to let that happen a second time.

"Jenny!", he called her name and held her by the arm before she could run out of the building.

"Please...", she whispered more hotly, looking pleadingly into his eyes. "Let me go.", she complemented, barely audible, and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I love you, I never stopped loving you, and I'm asking you for just one chance.", Gibbs began to speak, already minimizing the distance between them again. "I'll tell you every day until you understand how much you mean to me."

"That's six years too late, Gibbs.", Jen muttered, managing to break free of his grip.

With her car keys firmly in hand, she ran outside to the parking lots. She just wanted to get out of here and go straight home to finally escape this emotional mess, but Gibbs had completely different plans for her. Quickly and carelessly he held her by the arm, pulled her to him and finally reduced the distance between their lips. It was a stormy, unplanned kiss, but it was the only way he could keep her from just driving off, leaving him standing there, and to his great surprise she didn't even push him away. No. She returned that kiss without much hesitation, holding onto his collar as she could feel him put his hands on her waist.

"Stop it...", she gasped breathlessly as she could feel his hands going under her coat.

The rain had stopped as quickly as it had come. The ground was wet and there were large puddles of water everywhere. The temperatures had also gone down with the storm, and there was currently no sign of a warm summer night.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

Hastily, she separated from him and walked towards her car, leaving it in the parking lot. Her whole emotional world was in chaos. She no longer knew where front and back were. She didn't even know what to feel anymore. Anger and despair ravaged her inner world like a whirlwind.

It was over, for good. His chance to make amends was gone, and it seemed like there would be no happy ending. Why did everything have to end like this? It could have been so beautiful. They could have had a happy relationship, become a family, but he ruined everything. Shaking his head, he walked to his car, not understanding the redhead. He loved her, had never stopped - why couldn't she see that?

Silently, Jen watched him go. It hurt, but she had to stay strong. It was hard, and it would get harder, but she was counting on that when Morrow asked her about this post. She was aware of it, and she took it in stride. This job was everything she had worked towards for so long. It was the perfect ladder to success, nothing else she wanted to achieve. But was she happy? Was she satisfied?

"Ma'am?", a deep male voice asked from behind her.

Jen sighed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. What was wrong now? All she wanted was to go home and finally find some peace, forget about this day. Slowly Jennifer turned around, trying to remain professional, and before the director even looked her counterpart in the eye, she found herself on the wet stone floor. A powerful blow to her head immobilized her.

The blow had immobilized her, blurring her vision and making her head throb violently. It all felt so heavy and the pain that jolted through her body was unbearable. She drew in her breath sharply and grabbed her temple. It hurt terribly! The pain was driving her crazy. Jenny couldn't make out much, only outlines, and that included those of her attacker. The tightly built man bent over her body. The redhead could feel him tying her hands, gagging her and loading her into a trunk. It all happened so fast, she was too weak to react, and her world sank into darkness.

Thoughtfully, he stood in his basement. It was well past midnight, and he could not sleep. The dim light of the old desk lamp illuminated the room. On the old workbench stood a half-empty bottle of bourbon.

She was back! His Jenny.

Would he ever be able to work with the redhead without arguing? Would their then-affair interfere with their work? Would the team notice anything?

So many questions. He racked his brain over things the redhead had long since checked off. Things Jenny was trying to forget, but he could see she wasn't able to.

Why was he still so attached to it? Was it really still love? Was it perhaps the anger at not knowing why she had left him then? Was it anger at himself for just letting her go?

He could have followed her, should have. He should have pulled her into his arms, kissed her all over again. He should have told her how he felt about her!

Should have...

It was too late, and she didn't want to know anything about him anymore. His chance had vanished into thin air. That kiss in the parking lot could have changed so much, but she remained firm. But while their lips touched, he could feel that she loved him too, but she didn't admit it. Why?

With a small smirk on his lips, he thought about how happy he was when she stood in front of him in MTAC. How proud he was, how far she had made it. She had a great opportunity, was the first woman to head an agency. A great career ahead of her.

A woman as director of a federal agency? This had never happened before in the history of NCIS and its Jenny who had been assigned this honor. Her eyes spoke volumes, she was happy and proud at the same time. Those beautiful green eyes sparkled like a thousand diamonds.

But he also knew that she had a hard road ahead of her. The other directors, who were actually only men, would definitely not make her life easy. They would test her, wanted to see if she could withstand the enormous pressure. They would put her nerves to the test.

"Director Jennifer Shepard.", he muttered quietly to himself, continuing to sand the wood of his boat.

Yes! It was going to get pretty interesting yet. Of course, he didn't want to put any obstacles in her way, after all, he knew how she ticked - he had trained her himself, after all. But he would have to protect her from the other directors, if he wanted to prevent that the pressure and the load did not kill her.

Like it? Hate it? Please let me know ^^