Note: This story is inspired by the episode where both Gibbs and Sloane confide in dr Grace Confalone(16x23), but my inspiration also came as I have rewatched all of Ziva's episodes (season 4-11). Ziva and Tony got stuck in the elevator doing the navy yards bombing, and it seemed like they got a lot closer after that. We never knew what they talked about while in the elevator, but it got me the idea that maybe being stuck in an elevator is the perfect time to come true with someone. This story will probably be about 4 chapters. Enjoy, and; please leave a comment on your thoughts.

It had been a quiet week. Only one case had come up. It was a case with a dead Marine petty officer had been found shot dead, in his car parked in his driveway. It appeared to be suicide, and there were no witnesses. The gun was found in the hand of the victim, and the wound was consistent with suicide. The only pressing matter regarding the case was getting in touch with the petty officers' commanding officer, but at 7 pm on a Thursday night wasn't possible until tomorrow morning. So, nothing exciting and nothing that couldn't wait until tomorrow. Gibbs turned off his computer and grabbed his jacket and headed to the elevator to leave the office for the night. As Gibbs is standing, waiting for the elevator door, he sees a big lightning strike and, almost at the same time, a loud sound of thunder. The weather forecast has been talking about the big thunderstorm that should be rolling in over the DC area all day. Gibbs just wants to go home, spend some quiet time in his basement, working on his boat, and drink some bourbon.

Last week the team had worked a case with the CID, which had brought Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mann and Gibbs back to work together. It had been great for Gibbs to see her again. It had been a long time. On Friday night, when the cased had been wrapped, Gibbs was in his basement. As usual, working on his boat and Hollis had come down to talk with him. It had been great seeing her again. They had enjoyed some time and a nice glass of bourbon before she had left again. But since they wrapped that case, Jack had been acting strangely. It was like she was avoiding him. It was probably nothing, and Gibbs tried not to think much of it. She was probably just busy. She had spent a lot of time with director Vance lately. Which wasn't unusual… she did report to Vance and not to Gibbs after all. But what did bother Gibbs a bit was that she seemed upset with him whenever they were in the same room. He wasn't sure what he could possibly have done to piss her off or if she even was mad at him. It just felt like it to Gibbs lately, but he had told himself it was probably nothing.

The elevator bell alerts Gibbs that the elevator has arrived, and he steps in when the doors open. He presses the button, and just as the elevator door is about to close, someone blocks them with her hand. The doors reopen, and Jack walks in. At first, she has a smile on her face until she sees Gibbs is standing in the elevator. It doesn't go unnoticed by Gibbs how dramatic her facial expression changes. She doesn't even look into his eyes like she usually does. She just looks over at the panel. He has already pressed the button for the lobby. She turns to face the doors as they are closing. She is just standing in silence next to him. The unusually large distance between them doesn't go unnoticed by Gibbs either. He is now convinced she is pissed at him, he just can't wrap his head around to what the reason might be.

"going home for the night?" He asks, never looking at her. There is an awkward silence between them, which is unusual. "yep. You?"

"yeah." He says.

Gibbs has had enough of her being strange around him. He presses the emergency button, and the elevator stops moving, and the light goes out. She looks over at him, shocked. He turns to face her. He has had enough of this. His body language tells her he is irritated.

"what is going on, Jack?" he asks, unable to contain his irritation with her behavior any more. She looks at him, bewildered like she has no clue what he is talking about. "what did I do to piss you off?" She looks down at the ground. When she isn't speaking, he continues. "you have been pissed at me for nearly a week now. What did I do to you?"

"nothing." She says with a casual shrug with her shoulder.

"nothing? You are just pissed at me for no reason?" he asks, even more irritated.

"I'm not pissed at you," she says defensively.

"you are just avoiding me?" he asks.

"I've been busy." She knows that it is a lame excuse, and she immediately knows that he knows it is bullshit.

"come on, Jack." He says with a little irritating smile on his face, but in a more calm voice.

"What happened last week?" he asks. His body language seems calmer now. "you have had a lot of meeting with dr. Grace."

"what are you spying on me now?" Jack asks.

"no. I am… concerned." He says. The pause in his sentence doesn't go unnoticed by Jack. And a little smile comes up, on her face when Gibbs looks away from her after he said it.

"I am fine, Gibbs." She says, taking a step closer to him. "I have been busy, and yeah, I have had a few chats with dr. Grace. Nothing to be… concerned about." The way she uses the same choice of words as him makes them both chuckle, and the mood between them is lightened a bit.

"anything you want to talk about?" he asks. His voice and his eyes so filled with concern for Jack.

"no… not with you," she says. Gibbs looks confused at her.

"why not with me?" he asks. Jack notice he almost sound hurt by that, "I thought I was your friend. I thought we told each other pretty much everything." Gibbs says.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Gibbs looks confused at her. It has been a long time since he has had a close friend like Jack, but right now, she is confusing him.

"Jack, you have told me about Afghanistan and about your daughter. Whatever it is…"

"I can't tell you, Gibbs." She says, cutting him off. He just looks puzzled, but the slight hint of hurt and rejection in his eyes doesn't go unnoticed by Jack, and she feels terrible that she cut him off like that.

"Gibbs…" she says and steps closer and takes his hand in hers. "a girl got to have some secrets." She says, and it makes them both chuckles.

"okay. Fair enough." He says. Not totally convinced. He still has a nagging feeling that something is changed between them.

"how about we go to the diner for dinner? My treat?" she offers.

"diner sounds great." He says and switches the elevator back on. "but my treat…" he doesn't finish the sentence because the elevator makes a strange sound and stops and immediately after they hear a loud sound of thunder. It is louder then the thunder Gibbs heard earlier in the evening. Gibbs presses different elevator buttons and tries to switch it off and then on again, but it doesn't move or turns the lights on.

"the lightning most have turned of the power in the building," Gibbs says, looking round in the elevator.

"yeah, but the entire building has a backup generator," Jack says.

"yeah, for MTAC and Autopsy. Not the elevator." Gibbs says while searching for a solution.

"So, how are we going to get out?" Jack asks. She sounds a bit more concerned now.

"well…" Gibbs says and takes out his knife. He starts to try and force the elevator doors apart. After a few attempts, he finally manages to get the doors open a few inches to get a look at where the elevator is. It seems like it is stuck right in-between two floors.

"well, we are not going out this way," Gibbs says, and let's go of the doors. He sits down against the side of the elevator. Jack is sitting across from him. She is starting to not look so well.

"you are okay, Jack?" he asks.

She has her head buried in her hands. She looks up at him, with worry all over her face.

"I really don't like cages, Gibbs." It isn't something Gibbs has thought much about until now. She was held captive in a cage for 9 months in Afghanistan. Of course, she doesn't like being trapped. Gibbs moves over and sits down next to her. He wraps his arms around her, and she leans her head against his chest. He gently places a kiss on the top of her head. Gibbs takes out his cellphone, but there is no reception. Efter the navy yard bombing almost 10 years ago, there was a new protocol instated where all cell connection is jammed when the power goes down, to prevent cellphones used as trickers. So they are not going to be able to call anyone for help. All they can do is wait for the power to get back on.

This is going to be a long evening… Not only are they trapped in an elevator that is stuck between two floors, but this could very well bring up some awful memories for Jack. This situation just got a lot worse for Gibbs and Jack.