Don't mess with the damsel in distress

The sunray beamed sharply through the car window, blinding him for a split second, but that didn't bother special agent Gibbs. He was way too angry and agitated to focus on the blinding, burning sun. The gas pedal was pressed with an admirable amount of force and for a moment it felt like he is going to push it all the way through the floor of the car.

Needless to say, he hadn't calmed down during the flight. In fact, if anything, having time to process information on recent events, fuelled his anger even more.
She has been in a gunfight. She. The Director of a federal agency had run yet another mission behind his back, alone. With the retired agent as her backup nonetheless. He wasn't worried, he knew she was physically alright. No. He was pissed. Why exactly, that he did not know.

He'd been in his basement, finally getting some time with the file on La Grenouille, that Fornell had left for him earlier in the day. He'd poured himself a decent amount of bourbon, studying the bullet that belonged to her, the same type as the one that had killed the Frog. He didn't even have the time to think about Abby's and McGee's suspicious behaviour earlier, he figured it had something to do with Tony and Ziva. He was too focused on the file in front of him, his mind running a million questions that could be answered only by her. And why he had to know, that he wasn't sure of. It wasn't because she didn't tell him, it was her prerogative as the director after all. In any case, only she could answer the questions he had.

So, he called her. Not to talk about it over the phone, but for once to be polite, and announce that he would come to her as soon as she came back to DC. He wanted to clear things out. He wanted to know where he stood with her, and could he trust her, ever?

To his surprise, Mike had answered her phone. It was more of a shock than a surprise. He explained to him what had happened. He had told him that Jenny never finished her assignment in Paris, and now the assignment came to haunt her. Svetlana. So, that was one more secret she kept from him. To add salt to the wound, Tony and Ziva had told him that she had dismissed them earlier.

Jenny certainly had her own point of view. She felt like she couldn't trust him. Ever. From her perspective, he was the one who betrayed her on so many levels, so many times. And she had it with him. She had it enough. Her anger was even more dangerous than his as it was mixed with high levels of adrenaline in her blood. She watched with narrow eyes as he violently parked the car in front of the restaurant in the Mojave desert. She was being checked out by paramedics at the moment, the task they took despite her calming she was alright. After the 'incident' she notified SecNav, and he naturally had called Leon. And Leon insisted she had to be checked out.

Gibbs exited the car and turned to her, his angry, determined glare scanning over her like he was looking for the weakest spot. She returned the glare without so much as a flinch. She didn't think he had the right to be angry. But, before he rushed over to her, Leon called him from the restaurant, no doubt, to give him an update. Tony and Ziva were already collecting the evidence, though there was not much to investigate. He glanced over them, silently accepting whispered apologies. It wasn't really their fault, so apologies weren't necessary, but he didn't have time to comfort them now.

He was given an update, and he didn't like what he heard and saw. Shortly after, he stepped out and took a long look at her, determined to give her a piece of his mind.
''Probie!'' Mike's gruff voice called out to him, as he turned to see his mentor behind the cloud of smoke, the ever familiar scent of strong tobacco hitting his nostrils. ''Mike,'' he responded in the same manner. ''I'll talk to you later,'' he added, Mike's words barely reaching his ears. ''Take it easy, probie!'' Mike said, not that he would listen to him. Not now, when he was in a different state of pissed.

His eyes focused on hers as he made large, strong steps towards her. He stood in front of her, scanning her for a split second, gathering all the control he possessed, not to scream. But, he didn't possess much of a control.

''What were you thinking?'' he shouted, his eyes targeting her. She just narrowed her eyes at him, her own anger taking over her. She studied him for a few seconds, deciding whether to go into all of this with him or not. There were lots of things she wanted to tell him for a long time, but she didn't, partly out of respect and partly out of love. So, she just stood there, calculating how much will it take until he oversteps her tolerance levels and breaks her.

He glared at her, expecting an answer. Any kind of an answer. But she was silent. ''Well?'' he said loudly in a commanding manner, opening his arms in a questioning gesture.
''I don't answer to you'' she finally responded, quite irritated. She turned to the paramedic that was attending to a cut on her arm. ''It's OK, I'm fine'' she said to the man. ''Ma'am, I need to check that!'' the man protested, but she stopped his protests quickly. ''I said I'm fine!'' she answered and moved to the side of the ambulance. ''Thank you'' she added as the man moved to the front of ambulance vehicle.

''Why didn't you call backup?'' Gibbs asked her as he followed her to the side. His voice was a decibel lower but still filled with anger.
''I had a backup!'' she said strictly, avoiding to look at him. She was afraid he was reaching those tolerance levels quite fast. ''Mike?'' he hummed sarcastically, as to make a point. ''Figures'' he added. ''What were you thinking Jen?'' he yelled. ''Another secret op?'' he asked rhetorically. ''Jeez'' he turned away from her and then turned back and came in front of her as she answered.

''I don't answer to you!'' she hissed, her eyes filled with fire. ''And lower your voice, I'm your boss, not a plaything'' she hissed again, pulling her shoulders back. He flinched as she looked around to estimate how many people could hear them, He grabbed her by the elbow, forgetting it was the injured arm, and she hissed out of pain as he pulled her further away to give them more privacy.

''Why didn't you tell me?'' his voice was lower, but he was all into her face.
''Because, I don't answer to you!'' she responded through her teeth.
''Then'' he said, ''Why didn't you tell me then?'' he was obviously referring to her not telling him she didn't eliminate Svetlana. Jenny got anxious, not really in the best mood to explain herself to him. There was a long story behind it. ''I don't wanna talk about it,'' she said softly, her voice pleading for him to stop pushing her. But, he wouldn't. He never would.

''Well, you will now,'' he ordered. ''What has gone into you?'' he asked, not giving her a chance to answer. ''Calling Mike?'' he narrowed eyes at her and grabbed her arm again, shaking her, as a symbolic wake-up call. She hissed as the pain reached her core, and he pulled away, noting it was her injured arm. He stared at her, worried, but that did not stop him to continue. ''La Grenouille?'' he said as she grabbed her arm with her other hand, her head lowered as she concentrated on the pain. ''And now this?'' he indicated with his hand around them. ''I was supposed to trust you and you LIED'' he yelled at her.

She turned her back to him, pressing onto her arm, tears of pain streaming down her face. Her breathing became heavy and she started to sob as the blood from the cut started to pour out. She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering herself, and as soon as she had the chance to process his words, she turned back to him. The colour of his face faded as he saw her blood soaking the fabric of her shirt. She swallowed the sharp pain and stepped to him. He had officially reached her tolerance levels.

''You asking me?'' she pointed her index finger at herself aggressively. ''You can't trust me?'' she yelled. ''Ha!'' she lowered her hand and came close to him. ''I can't trust YOU!'' she shouted, making her point. ''And I never could,'' she added. He narrowed his eyes at her as if he was unsure what she was talking about. ''You judging me when you are million times worse.'' she narrowed her eyes back at him, and he inclined his head, still unsure what she was talking about.

''Ziva killed Ari because of you.'' his eyes widened. ''Yes, I know.'' she continued. ''Her own brother,'' she added to emphasizes her point. ''And Pedro Hernandez,'' she said. He clenched his jaw at the mention of his name and fisted his fingers until his knuckles were white. ''I know that, too,'' she added.

She lowered her head and exhaled, but she wasn't nearly finished. ''I never said a word to you. And I knew,'' she said through the whisper almost. ''I just always had your back.'' she looked at him again, but he was quiet. He had no defence. He was plainly caught off guard. ''And you judging me?'' she asked sarcastically.

I took him a few moments to process and gather his thoughts for the response. Why he had to respond, he did not know. It was a fight, and that's what they do. They fight. That's the second best thing they do together. He studied her eyes and then lifted his index finger at her as to make some kind of a point. ''You damn straight I am.'' that was his first response, and she inclined her head and narrowed her eyes at him. ''Different circumstances.'' he elaborated.

''Why?'' she asked glaring at him. ''La Grenouille killed my father/'' she said matter of factly. ''How is it different?'' she asked pointedly. ''Oh, yeah, I don't go collecting secret files on you just so I can investigate you,'' she added, her voice full of sarcasm.

''You are THE DIRECTOR,'' he yelled at her, hoping his loud voice will make a point enough for him. ''I AM A DAUGHTER'' she yelled back, memories flooding her mind. ''You have no idea what he did to me.'' she almost whispered, her head lowered.

''That's your fault. You never told me,'' he said, his voice sounding somewhat normal. But, she looked up back at him and shrugged her shoulders, tired of fighting with him. ''Nor did you.'' she simply added, and he didn't need to be a genius to know she was referring to Shannon and Kelly. He moved his eyes of her own. ''Now I see it was a good choice'' he responded. He really had no idea why he said that. But, she felt burned. Her arm was still bleeding, but it wasn't nearly as painful as his words.

''SCREW YOU.'' she lost a little control she had left and any sense of decency and yelled at him, stepping back. ''You hypocritical liar.'' she hissed through her teeth.
''You screwed DiNozzo over'' he yelled back.
''I gave him multiple chances to back out. He wanted to stay in. For the same reason, I did not tell you about Svetlana.'' she lifted her hands. ''Because he was afraid of disappointing you'' she added.
''Ha!'' he yelled pointing at her. ''You were afraid of disappointing me?'' he asked sarcastically.
''Well, it happens when someone puts himself on a position of a saint, standing on the imaginary moral high ground and judging everyone.'' she pointed.
''I would never judge you,'' he grunted, looking at her as she was a fool. ''Right, because when I shot that guy in Paris...you were all peaches to me,'' she responded ironically.

''I would help you,'' he whispered as if he was convincing himself that that is exactly what he would do.
''You never did,'' she whispered back. ''I was always the one running to you, you certainly never let me in on your plans.'' she narrowed her eyes, allowing few tears of anger escape her as she clenched her jaw. ''WE WERE PARTNERS,'' she yelled.

''I always had your back,'' he responded after few moments, stepping closer to her. But, she wouldn't have it. He opened the whole can of worms she had inside, and now, she couldn't control herself any more, at all.

''I always had yours. The difference is, I never judged you. I never made you feel worthless.'' she added, her voice full of pain.

''We were friends, you should have come to me,'' he said.
''We were never friends,'' she yelled. ''You screwed me and then you kicked me.''
''I asked you to come. YOU LEFT!'' he yelled back, making a point.
''Because you laughed.'' she fired back.
''What?'' he asked narrowing his eyes at her.
''Forget it.'' she turned to walk away and cool off, but he pulled her back by her hand and spun her to look at him.

She looked at him, her lips pressed tight together. ''When I told you I loved you, you laughed,'' she whispered. ''I didn't expect you to say it back, or try to push you.'' she lowered her head. ''But, you laughed,'' she added.

''Jen...'' he started, still holding her hand, trying to find the right words, but they just wouldn't come to him.
''We are done.'' her voice was clear and strict as she yanked her out of his grip. She stepped back, biting her lower lip. This was it. This was the moment. This is where their story will truly end.
''I will call SecNav and let him know that you are conducting an investigation into me,'' she added, her voice official. And he just stared at her. ''You know, to make it official,'' she added and turned back towards the ambulance.
''Jen...'' he called after her. She stopped for a moment and turned around. She lifted her hands gesturing for him to stop.

''You don't talk to me. Ever. Unless the job absolutely requires it.'' she walked away, allowing all of her tears of anger and pain and heartbreak to pour out of her eyes. No one could see her now. And she needed it.

He watched her walking away, glancing over her bleeding arm, the feeling of finality washing over him. He didn't really feel guilty, somewhere deep down he knew they needed this fight, but he was afraid that that was it with her. If there ever was a chance, now, he feared it was gone. There was a lot he had to figure out, a lot he had to deal with, feelings he had to acknowledge and accept, not avoid any more.

''Boss?'' DiNozzo's voice came from behind, shaking him out of this emotional shock he had been through.
''What is it?'' his voice revealed nothing, still sounding composed and confident. But, that wasn't true of course.
''SecNav,'' DiNozzo answered simply, holding the phone out. For once, he bit the urge to talk and make jokes. Gibbs stretched his arm to grab the phone.
''Mmm...it's for the Director,'' he said and looked towards the Jenny who now stood back by the ambulance. Gibbs nodded his head and turned to his car. Tony slowly walked towards Jenny, noting the redness in her eyes, but she wouldn't show him much of emotion. He held the phone to her, not saying a word, and she was thankful for it.

She pressed the phone to her ear, turning around and making two steps away from DiNozzo.
''Yes?'' she answered the phone and waited for a few minutes until SecNav said whatever he had to say. ''Yes, sir. I'm on my way,'' she answered before hanging up and turning back to DiNozzo.
''I'm heading back to DC'' she informed him. ''Deputy Director Vance will lead the investigation,'' she added before turning away.

The night came fast and he was back in his basement, drinking. His mind drifted back to the fight and everything she had said to him. In some ways, he thought, she was right, but in others, she was so wrong. Svetlana was arrested and all of that mess was cleaned up by some miracle. He thought of her ever since she turned away from him. Ever since he chased her away since he broke her. He heard steps above him, and suddenly hope had awakened. He had hoped she came over, he had hoped he would have the chance to explain some things.

''Jethro?'' soft male voice called to him. Dr Mallarad had heard from the team that there was a fight. Not that they knew more than that. They heard shouting and that was about it.
''Yeah?'' he softly responded to his friend, not turning to look at him, but instead bringing the mason jar filled with bourbon to his lips and swallowing the liquid hard.

''What happened?'' Ducky asked as he descended the stairs, making his way to Gibbs.
''Duck'' Gibbs lowered his head down and gritted his teeth. ''What always happens with us'' he simply explained. There was no point in lying to Ducky and no point in hiding. He was probably the only person in the building that knew about them two. Others speculate, of course, but Ducky knew.

''Duck?'' he lifted his head up to his friend and looked at him.
''Yes?''
''Is she sick?'' he finally had asked. That was yet another thing that bothered him, This time, he knew why.
''I really shouldn't...'' Ducky started but Gibbs cut him off.
''Don't give me that crap. She took two weeks off!'' he fired, not meaning to sound harsh.
Ducky lowered his head deciding for a moment wheater or not to divulge private information. But, Jethro was his friend, and he hated seeing him worried. ''No,'' he stated. ''Her sister is. She went back to California, she was informed today her sister had passed away,'' he informed. Gibbs looked at him with awe. ''She has a sister?'' he asked surprised.
''Two, actually'' Ducky responded. ''Well, she had two.'' he corrected himself.

Gibbs was about to say something but he was interrupted by his phone. ''Gibbs'' he answered.
Ducky looked at him and stepped back. ''Yes, sir,'' he answered again, before hanging up and throwing the phone onto his work counter.
''SecNav'' he informed Ducky. Ducky smiled at him softly, gently licking his lip, before disappearing back up the stairs. When he reached the top, he turned looked down at his friend. ''You alright?'' he asked, worry written all over his face. Gibbs smiled at him. ''Good night Duck'' he responded.