A/N: I really wanted to say thank you again for the great responses I got for A Christmas Story, I hope you'll like this one just as much. The title 'Jibblet' is just a working title till I come up with something good. Same for the chapter titles, but you'll get that. The chapter themselves will be a bit shorter than usual cause I haven't that much time at the moment, but want to update this story regularly. Enough said, enjoy your read.
Chapter one: A tall man stepping out of the elevator.
October 2005
He looked up, sighed, and looked down again. The constant bickering was getting on his nerves, and on top of that, Jenny was angry at him for something he had done but couldn't remember, so there was no way he could go up and hide in her office for the next two hours.
During the last weeks since she'd come back as director they'd learned how to be friends again, and he was surprised at how easily they had succeed. Late night dinners in her office as well as a few drinks after hours in his basement weren't rare anymore, and Gibbs found it almost scary how effortlessly they had etablished those routines again.
He picked of his cup of coffee again, jolting it violently. It didn't make a damn sound. He sighed again, rather angrily now, crumpled it and tossed it at the garbage bin. He cleared his throat, effectively shutting up the bickering of his team around him.
Grabbing his badge and jacket, he shouted a grumpy 'Going for coffee' over his shoulder before he hit the button for the elevator.
The doors opened, revealing his redheaded ex-partner and an intimidated looking probie. He grinned at the young man's facial expression. It was hard to believe that a federal agent could be so afraid of a petite woman like Jenny.
"Jen." He greeted pleasantly, coming to stand next to her as he blatantly ignored the curious stares of the scared probie. "You wanna grab some coffee?"
She nodded, her features a bit softer than they had been just moments before. "Don't think you're forgiven just yet though."
He shrugged, smirking smugly. They both knew he wouldn't apologize, firstly because it was against his rules, and she didn't expect him to, and secondly, if she was honest, she couldn't remember the cause of their little disput herself. He put his hand on the small of her back, softly leading her out of the building.
They talked about anything and everything on their way to the little coffee shop around the corner, just like they'd done when she'd been his partner. It had an air of nostalgia over it all, but neither of them minded. Jenny laughed a lot during this short time, the guarded expression he saw so often nowadays leaving her eyes.
"You wouldn't think that DiNozzo is so stupid. I don't know why he could come up with somehing as idiotic as that, but really, who would want to get pregnant just because it'd be his kid? I still can't believe that he actually asked her that. No wonder she broke it off."
She laughed again, she did know about this story already, just not in so many details. Probably everybody in the building had heard DiNozzo's now ex-girlfriend screaming at him, and almost everybody was making fun of him because he'd offered her he could get her knocked up if she wanted a child provided he didn't have to change his lifestyle.
"You ever thought about having kids Jen? I mean really, not just for fun?"
She stopped dead in her tracks, looking at him with guarded eyes, unseeingly, for a moment. Her voice was husky, unsteadily, and as she finally answered, her right eye twitched. "No."
Jethro watched her warily, as far as he knew she had no reason to lie, so why would she? He nodded nonetheless, storing her reaction away for further use.
As they stepped out of the elevator, they were joking and laughing again. They stood in front of his desk, still talking and occasionally taking a sip of their coffees, mostly ignoring the bickering and betting behind them.
"Who's coming out of the elevator next guys? Abby, Ducky, Palmer?" Tony asked spinning around in his chair.
Jenny raised an eyebrow at him, fixing him with an icy glare. "I don't think I pay you for making bets Special Agent DiNozzo."
"Let 'im be Jen, they ain't got nothing to do." She sighed, making a waving motion with her hand as to say 'go ahead then'.
DiNozzo gave her one of his famous flirtatious smiles, having the good grace to at least look sheepishly at the angry stare Gibbs gave him. "Thank you ma'am. So probie, what do you say? Our mistress of the dark, the doctor who knows all the stories a human being can possibly know or the weird autopsy gremlin?" He announced like the quiz master in some talking show.
"I'd take a tall man in black suit with a" he paused curiously, waiting for the man to step completely out of the elevator so he could see whoever was behind him, "little redheaded girl."
At this the whole team, including Jenny and Gibbs looked over to the elevator.
"Oh my god." The director said, almost running towards the pair.
"I'm looking for a Jennifer Shepard." The man announced.
"That's me." She said, extending her hand as she made eye contact with the girl.
"Ms Shepard, my name is John Roberts, I'm with Social Services, this is Hannah Carter."
"I know who she is." She replied, crouching down in front of the little girl, brushing a few strands of her out of her face. It was a dark red, a shade darker than hers maybe. "Hannah, honey, what's up?"
Suddenly the girl looked at her, really looked at her, and it was like some kind of change went through her. She started to shake and sob uncontrollably, crashing into Jenny's arms. She held her to her, letting the child's tears stain her shirt as she mumbled incoherent words to her, stroking her back in a soothing motion.
"What happened to her Mr Roberts? Where are Susan and Thomas?" He shook his head, looking at the girl in her arms with pity.
"Mr and Mrs Carter died in the early hours of the morning. They were in a car crash. Fortunately Hannah wasn't in the car. I'm sorry for your loss Ms Shepard."
"What will happen with her?"
"She didn't say a word since we picked her up and told her about her parents, but Mr and Mrs Carter named you as her legal guardian in case something should happen to them, so I'd say she stays with you for the moment, provided you want to take her in of course."
"Of course. Does she have anything with her?" Jenny asked, still with the little girl in her arms.
"She has a bag with a few clothes and toys in the car."
"Jethro, could you..." She began, but was soon to be interrupted.
"Course Jen. Shall I get her a coke or so while I'm at it?" He asked.
"Hannah? Sweetie, you wanna have something to drink?" The little girl just shrugged, looking at Jenny with a hollow expression in her eyes. "Get her some juice and a cheese sandwich." He nodded and went over to the elevator while the redhead picked up the girl and carried her up to her office, Roberts trailing closely behind.
Gibbs entered her office, like always without knocking before, a child's backpack pending over his shoulder, a bag with food in his hand. Jenny and Hannah were sitting on the couch, the girl on her lap, Roberts opposite to them in one of the comfortable leather seats. He stood up, bending over the table to shake her hand.
"I will call you myself concerning the papers. I think Hannah will be in good hands."
Jenny smiled softly at the child, then she turned to Roberts again. "Thank you." She said sincerely. The man just nodded before he exited the office, shaking Gibbs' free hand in passing.
The Special Agent nodded at him, then he went to the two females in the room, taking the food out of the bag.
"Juice and a cheese sandwich for you, young lady, Ceasar's salad and a coke for Jen." He said before he pulled a sandwich and a coke for himself out of the bag.
"So Hannah, how old are you?" He asked, eyeing the little girl up and down. She didn't acknowledge him or his question, just buried her face in Jenny's neck, abandoning her food for the time-being, so he looked questioningly at Jenny instead.
"She is five, her birthday was a month ago."
Gibbs nodded, chewing for a moment, then asked his next question. "You knew her parents well?"
Suddenly she had a lump in her throat. She swallowed heavily, memories showering on her. A Parisian hospital, the couple she'd come to know so well. She was in unbelievable pain, worse than she'd ever thought it'd be, almost begging for a c-section. Then nothing, maybe she'd passed out, she wouldn't know. And suddenly, a cry, a tiny baby's cry, her baby's cry. They'd wrapped her in a yellow blanket, putting her into her waiting arms. She' caressed her cheek, counted all of her little fingers and toes, showering her in kisses.
"Jen? You okay?"
She gulped again, collecting her thoughts. "I met them in March 2000. We've been in contact ever since."
He nodded, feeling that there was something else, something she wasn't telling him. "So you've been just friends?"
Jenny nodded, casting her gaze downwards to the little girl on her lap again. "We were good friends. Stayed in contact no matter where I was. I didn't want to miss one second of her life." Her voice got lower towards the end, almost descended to a whisper. She stared unseeingly ahead again.
They'd come to an agreement. Carters had wanted kids but hadn't been able to conceive and she had gotten pregnant by a married man. She'd wanted to see her child, no matter she wouldn't raise her, and they had been willing to provide that for her. So she had given her little baby girl to another woman. She'd seen her as often as she wanted and could, cheerishing every moment she got with her. Hannah had sometimes called her Mom, sometimes Aunty Jenny, as if she wasn't sure who she was to her. She'd wanted to change that, wanted to be there for her period, but they'd kept sending her to places all over the world. Then she came back to DC as the director, and suddenly everything was so much easier.
"She's a lucky little girl then." Jethro said, and she smiled. It somehow made her happy to know that he considered her good enough to have such an impact on a child's life.
"You think?" She asked smilingly.
"Got you in her life. Why wouldn't she be." Jenny laughed, clutching the small redhead a little tighter to her chest.
"What a charmer, isn't he Hannah." The girl looked up and nodded, her lips turned upwards a bit at the corners of her mouth at the adults' antics. "Don't you ever get involved with a sweet-talker like him." She looked at the older redhead with wide eyes, then over to him, and he was shocked for a moment, at the intensy of her stare and the blue of her eyes. Hannah yawned loudly, pressing herself further into Jenny's chest.
"You wanna go home honey?" She asked, and the girl nodded, yawning again. "You'll have to stand up to do this Hannah, I can't possibly carry you to the parking garage."
She shook her head.
"Hannah-" Jenny tried again.
"It's okay Jen, if it's alright with Hannah, I can carry her down to the parking garage." Gibbs suggested.
"Jethro, your back-"
"I wouldn't have suggested it if I hadn't meant it Jen. Shall I carry you Hannah and Jenny'll take your backpack and your other stuff?" The girl eyed him warily, then she nodded, still hesitant.
"Okay then." Gibbs said, picking her up from Jenny's lap. The redhead took the girl's stuff and opened the door for Gibbs, leading them through Cynthia's outer office.
"Can you cancel or postpone all my appointments for the afternoon please Cynthia?" The afro American woman nodded, already picking up her phone. "Have a nice day Director. You too Agent Gibbs."
They went down to the parking garage in silence, neither of them feeling the need to end the quiet with words.
"I don't have a booster seat for her Jethro." She announced suddenly, not really sure if she had said it out loud.
"Take one of the seats in the evidence garage." He replied. Apparantly she had then. Jenny jumped out of the elevator at the level of the evidence garage. She wasn't really comfortable with leaving Hannah with Jethro, he might notice something. Booster seat in hand she was back not even two minutes after she left them in the elevator.
After Hannah was securely seated in the car, Jethro opened her door for her.
"Can we talk for a minute Jethro?" She asked, closing it again.
"Sure, what about?"
Jenny sighed, brushing a hand through her hair. "Hannah's father" she swallowed nervously, her eyes twitching a bit, "Hannah's father, Thomas, he was a Marine, Staff Sergeant, that makes this case NCIS' jurisdiction. I'd like you and your team to look into their deaths please?"
He stared at her, nodding almost unnoticeable. There was something she wasn't telling him.
This was his chance to find out what.
So what do you think? I'm trying not to write the usual 'Jenny's got knocked up in Paris - Jethro meets his daughter/son - miraculously everything's forgiven' type of story [although I always enjoy to read those], but something at least slightly different. If you have anything you don't want to have in this storyat all, feel free to tell me, I'll try to take that into regard. Thanks for reading.
Please leave a review!