“You know that your team has been trying to figure out you and me?”
“You mean DiNozzo, Abby, Ziva and McGee?”
“Of course them, Palmer too. Ducky has been trying to get them to lay off but he’s not having any luck, Jethro. We have to do something.” Jenny said as they stepped into the elevator at the end of the work day.
“Well I was just checking, Jen.”
“Why would J try to figure us out? We basically raised her since she was fifteen, she doesn’t need to figure us out when she was there.”
“Jen, you raised her longer than I have, I only came into the picture completely after Marseilles. She’s been your handful since 1992.”
“That was a hard year for both of us. At least you had more time to recoup from losing Shannon and Kelly. J and I weren’t as fortunate.”
“I know barely a full three years later and you two were burying your dad.”
“Okay enough of this conversation.” Jenny said.
It was quite clear that the conversation they were having was getting to her.
“So what are we doing about the gossipers?”
“Don’t know.”
“Well you should, Madame Director. You are their boss and their Mother as Abby says.” Jethro said.
“So when their gossiping about us they are my kids and they’re yours when they’re actually behaving. What am I gonna do with you Jethro?”
“Oh I have a few ideas.” Jethro said.
“Jethro get your mind out of the bedroom; today isn’t the day for that, maybe tomorrow.”
“Is it that time of the? If so I don’t think I can deal with a moody wife and a moody boss on top of the girls being moody.”
“No Jethro, it isn’t that time of the month. It’s something else.”
“Are you, are we pregnant? Cause if you are acting a lot calmer about it than you did the last time.”
“No Jethro, I’m not pregnant. My tubes are tied, remember? It’s something else besides that time of the month and pregnancy. I’m wearing black from head to toe or did you not see that?”
“Damn Jen, I’m sorry; I didn’t realize that was today. You sure you’re okay to go in today, cause if you’re not; I’m sure Jarvis would understand.”
“I’ll be fine Jethro, if anything it’s probably better for me to go in. It will get my mind off of today.”
“Is Jaylyn going in or is she taking the day?”
“She’s going in, she’ll be fine.”
“You sure that you two will be fine?”
“Yes Jethro I am sure, we are Shepards after all.”
About an hour or so later Jenny and Jethro were walking past the squad room. Tony, Ziva, McGee and Jaylyn were at their respective desks. Abby was in her lab while Ducky and Palmer were in Autopsy. Tony had spent the morning trying to find out why Jaylyn was dressed in black from head to toe like Jenny was even though Ziva had told him to lay off. Ziva was the only person who really understood how hard this day was for her friends since she had gone through the same thing herself. Jethro understood too, but he just didn’t have the same sort of firsthand experience that his wife, sister-in-law and surrogate daughter had.
Now Tony had eventually stopped pushing when it came to getting an answer from his teammate about her chosen attire until his bosses came in and he saw that Jenny was dressed just like her sister; that had sparked the inquiry all over again. Ziva; once again went to protection side and told him to lay off.
Jenny ignored Tony’s questions just as Jaylyn had been doing since 0500 that morning and went over to her sister’s desk.
“You didn’t have to come in today, he understands.” Jenny quietly said to sister.
“You didn’t have come in either, Jarvis would have understand. You should be with the girls, especially today.”
With that Jenny and Jaylyn hugged before Jenny went up to her office.
“What’s going on with them? They aren’t like this normally.” Tony commented once Jenny was in her office and Jaylyn was focusing on her computer in front of her.
“Leave it alone Tony.”
“Tony, its need to know and you don’t.” Jaylyn said as she turned to look at the picture on her desk.
“But I want to know.”
“DiNozzo, drop it.” Jethro said as gave Tony the stare.
“Dropping it boss.”
Meanwhile up in her office, Jenny was looking at the same picture that Jaylyn was looking at downstairs.
“J is right, I shouldn’t be here today. I should be spending the day with your granddaughters. September will be here soon once again and they’ll be off at college. I should be spending as much time with them as I can.”
Back downstairs at Jaylyn’s desk.
“Why did you have to leave us so soon? I was barely eight and Jen wasn’t even twenty-three yet. Why did you have to die so young?” Jaylyn asked the picture she was looking at.
Jethro had gone for coffee once he gathered that Tony was going to keep his mouth shut. While he was out he was on his phone with Jenny who was still up in her office.
“So we have to fill in the blanks for your team.” Jenny said.
“I know but how and when?”
“How about dinner tonight?
“After work?”
“Nice answer my question with another question why don’t you.”
“Well if we go out then the team will finally shut up when it comes to us, then Jen.”
“I know that. Then maybe we can have a bit of normalcy in our lives for once.” Jenny said.
“But if we do dinner there’s the chance that DiNozzo will start to pry into your past like before.”
“I can handle Tony, I learned from the best on how to deal with him years ago. Or did you forget that and the fact that I had to deal with him when you were in Baja with Franks on that four month retirement of yours that Ziva and Fornell had to pull you back from.”
Jethro could tell that his supposed retirement was still a sore subject for Jenny even though it had be a decade since then. He knew that on some level it hurt Jenny that she wasn’t able to convince him to come back State side all those years ago. Even the fact that he had a wife and daughters at home had done nothing to bring him back home back then.
Over the phone Jenny heard the bell that hung in the coffee shop doorway ring.
“You want anything while I’m here?” Jethro asked.
“Yes, you know what I like.”
“I know a few things you like.”
“Jethro.” Jenny said just as modest as she had eleven years ago inside of MTAC just after it had been revealed to Jethro that she was his new boss.
“What can I do for you, sir?” the barista asked.
“Coffee black and a large Caffé Macchiato to go.”
“Jethro say please.” Jenny said over the phone.
“Please.” Jethro said to the barista before she went to get the coffees Jethro had ordered.
“I swear it’s like I have five kids sometimes.”
“Ten Jen.”
The barista came back with the coffees and handed them to Jethro.
“Say thank-you, Jethro.”
“Thanks.”
Once Jethro got back into his ‘71 Dodge Challenger RT Hemi the conversation between him and Jenny resumed.
“So dinner tonight with DiNozzo, Abby, Ziva and McGee?”
“I am thinking we should just get a pizza delivered, it would make Tony’s night.”
“Sounds good, I’ll be up in your office in 10 with your coffee.”
Later that night around dinner time the pizza that Jenny ordered had arrived which made Tony’s night.
“Share Tony.” Jethro said.
After that Jethro and Jenny filled in the blanks for the team before heading home for the day.
Jenny wanted it to be a quick dinner so that she could get home to her girls. By 1700; Jenny, Jethro, Jaylyn and Ziva were the only ones at the office besides the cleaning crew. Jethro and Ziva waited for Jenny and Jaylyn near the elevator. Right after everyone else had left and it was just the four of them, Jaylyn put up the Marine Corps dependent picture NCIS had on their mom up on the plasma in the middle of the squad room.
“Happy Birthday Mom.” Jenny and Jaylyn said in unison to their mother’s picture.
Jethro told his wife, sister-in-law and surrogate daughter to go ahead of him.
“They turned out quite well, ma’am. You’d be proud of both of them. Jenny is wonderful mom and a great wife. Thank-you for that, ma’am.” Jethro said before he turned off the plasma and the last of the desk lights before joining his wife, sister-in-law and Ziva down in the parking lot.
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