'Damn it, DiNozzo! Where the hell are you?' Gibbs thought as he was taking the elevator on the way to his desk. He had been out buying coffee and he had tried DiNozzo's cell several times already. The doors opened and he almost ran right into Jenny Shepard, who had apparently been waiting for the elevator.
"Jeez, Jethro, where's the fire?" she joked, though her voice missed the spark it had when she usually joked. Gibbs looked at her.
"You ok, Jen?" he asked, sounding a bit worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a doctor's appointment. I can't be late, so see you, Jethro" she said, still sounding sadder than usual. She went into the elevator and Gibbs walked to his desk, still thinking about Jen's weird behaviour.
"Ziva, where the hell is DiNozzo?" he barked as he passed her desk. Ziva put down the phone.
"I don't know. I have been trying to call him all morning" she answered, noticing Gibbs was in an unusual bad mood. He gave her a stare.
"But I will continued to call until I find him" she added and picked up the phone again and dialled a number.
"McGee! Any luck finding him?" he asked a when he didn't get an answer he looked over at McGee's desk, McGee's empty desk. Gibbs cursed.
"Where the hell is everyone?" he asked Ziva angrily.
"I think he went to the men's room" she explained, praying someone would come back soon, not really wanting to be alone with a pissed of Gibbs, though she wasn't sure exactly what it was that had gotten him so pissed.
Gibbs sighed as he sat down at his desk.
"Have you seen the Director today?" Ziva suddenly asked "I thought she looked a bit…sad or something"
"Yes, I just saw her" was all he said, thinking back at the lost expression her face had worn and the strange tone in her voice.
When he didn't say anything else, Ziva gave up on trying having a conversation with him.
Some minutes later Gibbs looked up at the sound of the elevator doors opening. He saw DiNozzo coming towards his desk, singing to himself.
"Hello!" Tony said cheerfully as he took off his jacket and sat down in his chair.
"DiNozzo, where the hell have you been?" Gibbs said furiously, Tony looked up with fright in his eyes.
"Ehm…" Tony started, but Gibbs was already standing in front of Tony's desk, waiting for an explanation. Tony swallowed hard. He was in real trouble now.
Later that day, on the evening, Jen had come back from the hospital. She sat in her office, alone, scared. She didn't know how to handle this; she had been through a lot, but nothing like this. What made this even harder was the fact that she was in love, in love with a certain Jethro Gibbs. That was why she was gonna have to tell him what was happening to her, she had no choice, he deserved to know. She was gonna have to leave soon, but she was hoping he'd be there for her, 'cause she'd need him by her side. She had no one else, her parents were dead, and her sister lived in San Francisco and didn't want to see her again. No, he was the only one she could trust, the only one she had ever loved so deeply, the only one she knew she could count on.
There was a knock on the door, and before she could say 'Enter', the door had opened and Gibbs stepped in.
"Hey Jen" he greeted. He couldn't be down in the squad room any longer; he was restless and had nothing to do. Jen looked just like she had done earlier, and that concerned him. But she appeared to have no important work to do, so she probably had time for a little talk, between friends.
"Jethro, come in" she said "What can I do for you this evening?"
"Just thought you might wanna talk" he said and gestured for her to come sit in the couch with him. She rose from her chair and joined him on the black leather couch.
"I couldn't help but noticing you acting a bit weird today" he said after a few minutes of silence. He studied her with his eyes, but she looked away from him.
"What's wrong?" he pushed, wanting an answer "What were you doing at the hospital today? I've noticed you've gone there a lot"
"Jethro, I know you're curious, and I'm gonna tell you. Just, I want you to know how incredibly hard this is for me. I actually have two things to tell you, I'm not expecting anything from you on one of the points, but on the other point I need you to help me"
"What is it, Jen?" he asked, now he was really worried.
"Ever since I became Director…" she hesitated for a second, swallowed, and then she continued and said "Ever since that, I've known I'm still in love with you"
"Jen…" he sighed, this was not what he had expected, he didn't have an answer to that, he wasn't sure about his own feelings.
"I'm not asking you to answer, I just wanted to let you know" she said.
They were sitting next to each other on the couch. Gibbs didn't know what to do, how to react, but before he could think of anything to say, Jen had started talking again.
"I'm sure a new Director will take my place soon" she said in a low voice. This made Gibbs look up at her; he saw a tear run down her cheek. She looked back at him, meeting his gaze. He wiped away her tear.
"What are you talking about?" he asked in a soft voice
Jen didn't answer; instead she put her hand on top of his. Gibbs started to slowly understand what was wrong, terribly wrong.
"Are…are you sick?" he asked her in a shaking voice. Jen once again met his eyes. She prepared herself to tell him the shocking news, took a deep breath and then she opened her mouth to say it.
"Yes, Jethro, I am sick. I have cancer"
Omg…What will happen to Jen, will she survive this terrible disease? Will Gibbs realize he has feelings for her, or not? Please leave me a review!!