Epilogue – Internal Affairs

AN: Sorry about the long wait, but Christmas is always a time-taker. However, here it is: the finale chapter! I can't believe I'm actually done with this story, and it only took me 2 years and 96 pages. Unfortunately the long time between writing this story made me screw up the time-line. For some reason I had gotten into my head that this was set in season 5, while there was the writer-strike. It's not a big problem, it just means that the times I mention years, they are a bit off.

Anyway, a BIG thank you to all of you who have reviewed, story-alerted and favored this story, you guys are fantastic and I wouldn't have finished it without you, so big thanks from here!

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Tony entered the bullpen, happily trying to juggle the hot cup of coffee in his hand and his phone. Things had after three months reached some kind of normalcy in the bullpen. Jenny was back as the director and doing great. He had noticed how she smiled more often these days, not just since the accident, but since ever really, and Tony had a pretty good idea why that was because she wasn't the only one. Gibbs too looked happier these days, though it was a bit harder to tell with him. Still Tony felt pretty certain that his two bosses had finally worked out their issues, or at least were having fun while working them out.

A loud stamp shocked him from his thoughts. Tony turned to glare at Ziva.

"I got a hot beverage here."

At that McGee's head piped up from behind the screen. "Keep it over there, please. I'm backing up three years of case-files. They are in these cables right now flying back and forth and zeros and ones."

"And you do understand", Tony inquired, "that I'm the ones and you're the zeros?"

Tim glared, and Ziva stapled.

Tony looked at the small circular papers, Ziva left in her wake, and his eyes lit up.

"What?" Ziva whispered. Tony merely smirked.

A few moments later he moved over to where McGee was still working on the back-ups. Armed with the cup in his hand, he began exploring the computer.

"Hey! Careful with the liquids, I told you it's very sensitive", McGee warned.

"Well, so am I, McZero", Tony replied in his usual McGee-mocking fashion. "What? You think I am a complete klutz?" He began balancing the cup in his hand, moving it over all the electronic with jerky movements to prove a point.

"No no... Tony" McGee leaped from his chair in an attempt to rescue his expensive gear. With both of them trying to grasp the cup, it tipped overflowing the computer with – paper.

Tony smirked, and grabbed Tim's shoulders. "That worked!"

"Yeah", Gibbs strode into the squad room with the usual coffee in hand. "How about the phones? They work? I've been calling"

"Actually", Ziva answered holding a phone in her hand, "they do not."

McGee's equipment began to bip along with other warning bells. "No…" McGee looked around with nothing but sheer panic in his eyes. "No… no no no-no", frantically he typed away on his computer as the screens around him blurred and then faded to black. "The units are getting power. It must be a problem with the router…"

While he rattled away, the elevator pinged. Out stepped Fornell and his team.

"It's not my fault" Tony said in defense, "I didn't do this".

"Freeze", Gibbs bellowed, banging a keyboard against his screen in a sad attempt to bring it back to life.

"No need for that", it wasn't until then that the team noticed Fornell's presence in the room.

"Tobias? What's going on?"

"It's a shut-down Gibbs" the senior agent explained, "A few months ago they pulled a body out of the bay. PD has had him on ice while they were tracking down a DNA-match."

"Yeah and?" Gibbs asked. He eyes quickly darting to the stair-case where Director Shepard was making her way down with calculated steps.

Also noticing the red-head, Fornell raised his voice a little bit to convey the gravity of the situation. "Body's been positively identified as Rene Benoit".

"La Grenouille?" Jenny inquired with mock innocence. "He's dead?"

For less than a second her eyes made contact with Gibbs'. She didn't think he would tell on her, but she wasn't completely sure. The last two months had been wonderful – fantastic even. Everything was new and exciting and at the same time old and familiar. She trusted him with her life, yet she found herself putting him in a position where he would have to comprise values for her sake. Jenny had killed Rene Benoit, they both knew it, was he willing to cover for her yet again? Especially since this time it wasn't a probie-mistake, but a calculated murder.

As if he had read her thoughts the FBI-agent added, "Murdered".

"This entire unit is under investigation". Fornell bellowed.

"This is ridiculous", Abby commented, leaning heavily against the table, where Ducky was going through some papers. "We are prisoners in our own evidence locker".

"We are not prisoners", Ziva said.

"We are evidence", Tony supplied grimly, staring at the FBI-agent who was sent to supervise them. "So we're locked up".

"Why are we being guarded then?" Abby argued. "I mean we are being guarded right?" She made a sharp turn and pointed at the man standing in front of the elevator. "You are being very guarded on whether or not we are being guarded!"

"Abby relax" McGee said softly. "I'm sure you're not a suspect"

"Well who is their suspect?"

"The FBI is not ready to walk anyone out in hand-cuffs", the old doctor explained.

"They are trying to keep it quiet", Ziva added.

"They don't even know what they are looking for", Tony said a little louder, trying to goat their guard who wasn't a guard.

"So what, we're supposed to just hand them their first clue?" Abby asked.

"No us – Gibbs", Ducky replied.

Meanwhile the agent in question was talking to an old friend.

"Evidence let to someone in this building", Fornell revealed as Gibbs took his usual seat in the interrogation-room.

"What evidence?"

They locked eyes, both willing the other to give in. "Other side", Fornell finally said.

Reluctantly Gibbs got out of the chair and moved to the other side of the table. When he was once again seated, the FBI agent put a picture on the table. Gibbs immediately recognized the French arms dealer though he had no eyes. A bullet-hole in his forehead gave away the cause of death, and he remembered the spot Jenny had shown him while sitting in the bullpen on a cold winter day.

"Don't seem too shocked" Fornell commented, "that La Grenouille is dead". Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "We have determined that you and your team had significant contact with La Grenouille on the day he died. That morning there was an earlier attempt on his life."

"He wasn't the target", Gibbs explained recalling the events. "His daughter was."

"Somebody was taking things personally. You ever figured out whom that somebody was?"

"Nope"

Fornell rustled with some papers and found another document. "The official report has you, McGee and David visiting a yacht where La Grenouille was thought to be staying."

Gibbs nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, we just missed him".

"Did you?" Tobias' words were quick. "Cause the time of death roughly coincides with your visit."

"Ziva, McGee and I were here all night securing a warrant".

"I'm sure their reports will verify the timeline"

"Is it my alibi you're after Tobias? Before that, I was at the Directors house", he elaborated. He might as well say it now so the FBI wouldn't accuse him of withholding information should they find out.

"With Jenny Shepard?" Gibbs nodded. "And the deceased?" Fornell asked. "Her phone-records put them in contact the night he died. Were you part of their little chat?"

"He left. I left." Gibbs said unceremoniously.

"Come on, Jethro. Can't be that simple. What the hell were you all doing there?"

"He wanted protection"

"Maybe you should have provided it?"

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds, before Fornell asked the question that Gibbs knew was coming.

"Are you protecting anybody now?"

He knew they suspected Jenny, how could they not with her rather irrational behavior last year? "It's not my alibi you're after."

"Can you account for the Director's whereabouts and actions after you left her residence that night?" Fornell was back in full interrogation-mode.

The only way to not answer the question, merely was to change the subject. He loved Jenny, and the last few months had been great, better than great. And one should always protect one's owns. Except Jenny wasn't part of his team, and she made a choice back then. What she had done was neither a mistake nor an error, and protecting her would legally make him her accomplice. But he loved her, and he knew without doubt that if anybody found out she would be prosecuted with murder-charges. So Gibbs just hoped that he could get through this whole ordeal without neither confirming nor denying any of their suspicions.

"You're gonna accuse the Director of NCIS of murder that evidence better be damn good". Gibbs said.

"You think I'll be here if it weren't? We both know that her connections to La Grenouille had nothing to do with the job – never did. This might have been her mess to begin with, but she spread it all over this place."

"When this is done, and she is cleared, I wanna see that file."

"When his is done, if she is cleared, I just might let you," with that Fornell left the room.

"Hello again, Leon." Jenny greeted from behind her desk. "This is our second meeting within a few months; one might think that you taking over my job were becoming a habit".

The man simply shrugged. "SecNav felt this warranted a plane-ticket."

"You're interrogating my agents. I assume you have a suspect?" They stared at one another, both of them smiling that over-politely smile. "And you have been brought in to over-see. Well, Assistant Director Vance you're gonna ask for them?"

He raised an eyebrow and Jenny merely opened one of her drawers and took them out – her keys, her gun and her badge. She knew why he was there, and Jenny saw no reason to prolong his visit.

"Under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy as acting Director of NCIS I hereby release you of your duties. I'm sorry Jenny, you're suspended."

"Well we've been here before, haven't we Toby." Tony said as he – finally – entered the interrogation room. Everybody, Gibbs, McGee, Ziva, Ducky and Abby had been there and now it was his turn. "You were saying some pretty bad stuff about me back then. I hope you've learned a few things since then, I know I have."

"Yup", Fornell agreed as he closed the door and sat opposite Tony, "you have done some growing, DiNozzo. Your Director thought enough of you to personally select you for an extended undercover assignment."

"Yep, she played matchmaker" Tony replied trying not to lose any of the chips he had stuffed into his mouth.

"How did you get so close to La Grenouille's daughter?"

"I see where you're going with this. You'd like to know a few pick-up tricks, huh? I wish I could tell you, but it's kinda of a family secret and I took an oath. Sorry". Tony said with a smile. "Chip?" he offered.

Fornell shook his head with an almost disbelieving smile. "So you reported back to the Director about the girl?"

"Jeanne. Yes well her father was an international arms dealer, a threat to the country, the world really. So yeah, I did what I was told."

"The Director ordered you to sleep with her?"

"Wouldn't call it an order."

"So you didn't have any problem developing that kind of relationship?"

"No. Not at all"

"But you develop feelings for her", Fornell continued. "That wasn't very professional of you Tony. How did that happen?"

"Gradually… And then all of a sudden…"

"The Director tells you to break the girl's heart. What did that feel like?"

"This is more like a therapy session than an interrogation", Tony commented. "Why are you so interested in my feelings?" He asked.

"Because you had them", Fornell informed him with an expression resembling quite a masochistic smile.

Had this been right after Jeanne left, Tony would have lost his temper during their exchange. However, months had passed since then and he was moving on. He had talked about it with Gibbs and Jenny, and that was enough. He had processed the data, forgiven Jenny and he was ready to put it behind him. What was done was done. He couldn't undo it. The only way for him to move forward was to accept that it had happened, otherwise he'd let guilt lead the rest of his life.

Fornell rose from his chair, walked a few steps and finally continued. "Jeanne must be going through hell."

"I didn't mean to hurt her" Tony answered honestly.

"What other option was there? She was an obligation too, right?"

"I don't know", Tony replied honestly.

"Come on Tony, you are a better liar than that"

Some clicked. "Well, you are right agent Fornell, I'm lying." He crossed his arms. "Everything I did with her was a lie. Just for calling those lies, I believe that I am lying now. It's a cacophony of lies really. Are you getting all this?" Tony yelled at the mirror. "'Cause it's good stuff."

Tony took a deep breath. "Yeah, she was in love with me. We were in love. What else do you wanna know?"

"How was it supposed to end Tony? I mean there was never gonna be a happily-ever-after… Earlier that morning, the day her father died Jeanne was almost killed twice. You barely managed to safe her from a drug-dealer when somebody tried to blow her up."

"Yeah I know… Somebody should figure that out." Tony mumbled.

"Likely one of his enemies", Fornell continued.

"Likely. He had a lot of enemies. Any one of them could have caught up with him at that yacht."

"Through the girl. Jeanne was the key to her father. No one knew that better than you. So let's talk about that night. David said she left you alone in Jeanne's apartment. She tried calling you on the phone next morning, but nobody answered. Your partner did not know where you were."

"I went out for a drive" Tony practically whispered in disbelief. Was Fornell really going where he thought he was going? This couldn't be happening.

"Your car was blown up that morning."

"The company car", DiNozzo elaborated.

"Where?"

"I needed to clear my head. I wasn't plotting a course, I was upset."

Fornell's pace speeded up, the words flowing quickly from his mouth. "Of course you were. The woman you love is in danger, she is running from her life, and you can't protect her. She'd never be safe, not with her father alive, she knew it, you knew it, there was only one way to save her. You killed La Grenouille!" Tobias concluded with a hand hitting the table.

"I did what?" Tony asked flabbergast.

"Don't get to comfortable", Jenny said as she opened the door to her office – well technically his office. "You already scratched my Sati".

Leon looked around a bit confused, she elaborated. "Your agents have been tearing apart my house all afternoon, and they wouldn't even tell me what they were looking for."

"La Grenouille was killed with a 9mm Glock." Fornell informed.

"You have a second weapon", Leon chimed in. "A 9mm Glock. Registered for personal use". He held up the paper to verify his statement. "Yet we can't find it"

"You could have asked me", Jenny replied informingly.

"Where is your gun?"

"I gave it to La Grenouille." It wasn't really a lie. She did give it to him- he just gave it back.

"Anybody witness that?" Fornell asked.

"Gibbs".

There, she said it. Now all she had to do was wait and see if he'd back her up. If she was lucky they might not even ask him, otherwise it'd be a choice between her and his moral and legal duties – and she really hoped it wouldn't come down to that, because she had no idea what he would choose.

"Works for me", Leon nodded in agreement. "La Grenouille took the gun, DiNozzo took it from him."

"DiNozzo?" Jenny asked, not understanding what was going on. They couldn't possibly be saying what she thought.

"He is in custody." Vance explained. "An eye-witness at the marine saw Agent DiNozzo commit the murder."

"You have a positive ID", Jenny said incredulously. "At night, in the dark, from a distance." This was beyond ridicules, and even if such a witness existed why on earth would they point at Tony? They wouldn't have been able to see more than a mere silhouette and Jenny was pretty sure hers and Tony's were nothing alike.

"I think she'd recognize her boyfriend". Fornell replied smartly.

"Jeanne Benoit is your witness? You turn my entire department upside down based on her testimony? I wanna talk to her."

"Absolutely not"

"Okay", Leon gave a short nod. "Okay".

Jenny entered the interrogation room and sat down in front of the younger woman. "My name is Jenny Shepard. I'm the Director of NCIS." She held a slight pause. "I'm the one responsible for your pain. I ordered Tony to involve you romantically, involve you in something you'd nothing to do with. I'm sorry. I crossed the line." She spoke slowly and simple. Jenny needed for Jeanne to understand every word, so there wouldn't be any misunderstandings later on. Not that Jeanne was stupid, but the woman was obviously in emotional distress. Jenny felt another deep pang of regret, looking at the broken woman in front of her – she could blame no one but herself for the woman's condition.

"He felt horrible for what he put you through when he told you the truth."

"I think it's a first sign you're doing something wrong, if you feel bad about telling the truth." Jeanne spoke for the first time.

"You think Tony is a bad person?"

"He killed my father". Jenny marveled at the determination and finality in the woman's voice. How could someone sound so sure of something they knew was so wrong?

"That must have been the worst day of your life."

"Of anybody's life", Jeanne added sounding defeated.

"And know you can't stop reliving it", Jenny said knowingly. God knew, she'd felt like that, "the way you were feeling, you probably just wanted to run away from it all. Brought a plane-ticket, packed a bag, maybe you were tempted to leave a note, some last words before…"

"I knew what Tony was capable of." Jeanne injected.

Jenny continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Next thing you know, you're in the car on the way to the airport, praying that any minute you'd wake up and find that none of it never happened."

"I trusted him", Jeanne exclaimed in a whisper, "and he lied to me".

"Even after all the deception do you just go? Or do you stop and see him one last time? That's the moment, right? You've been taking body-blows all day, and finally that's the moment. You actually have to make a choice. Forget the airport. You go to the marina, pull the car over…"

"Yeah that's when I saw him."

"You dad?"

"Yes"

"One last time before he is gone"

"Yes"

Jenny shook her head. "No… You're lying. What really happened Jeanne?"

"It's my fault", Jeanne finally said, and Jenny's heart broke for the young woman. "I did it. I killed him."

"It feels that way doesn't it?" Jenny tried to keep her voice smooth, not wanting to show anybody how hard this was affecting her – because it was. She knew exactly what Jeanne was going through. "But it's not true". She had repeated that to herself several times the past decade. "Believe me, I know".

"You blame Tony, now you're blaming yourself. What really happened that night?"

"I made the wrong choice. I wanted to see him, he was waiting for me at the yacht, but I just couldn't. I kept driving."

"You never went to the marina".

"I figured he'd come and find me. No matter what dad always found me, and when he didn't I just knew."

Jenny felt like she was going to be physically ill. Listening to Jeanne's obvious regret and sorrow, seeing her so devastated made the guilt inside her unbearable. Jenny was the sole cause of all this. Had she not hunted Rene Benoit, had she not been so blinded by revenge, this would never have happened. Jeanne would not have lost her father, and she never would have met Tony.

Every war had is casualties and every murder affected someone, but never before had Jenny been sitting in front of them trying to minimize the pain she alone had inflicted upon them.

Jenny felt like crying. Yes, she had hated Rene Benoit like no other person in her life, she was sure he was involved in her father's murder, she knew he'd used contacts to arrest Gibbs, and she knew he would've made her life a living hell if she'd kept digging in her father's past – but did that make it okay? Who was she to decide whether people lived or died?

Yes she hated the man more than anything, but did that really give her the right to take his life? No. She could've looked harder for evidence to lock him up, but the risk would always be there; that he'd escape. He was charming after all, and he had contacts. Yes, she could have tried to take him down by other means, but she hadn't. And Jenny knew the guilt would never truly go away.

Gathering herself as much as she could, Jenny spoke in even voice,

"You must be angry that you can't have that one moment to live over and over again. I don't know if you could have changed it, I don't know if you could have saved him. He loved you of that I am sure".

Jenny held the eye-contact for a few moments before she broke away and turned to look at Leon. Though she should be satisfied that she'd cleared Tony, she couldn't forget Jeanne's eyes, and she instantly knew. They would haunt her forever.

Tony spotted her out of the corner of his eyes. His hand hurt from punching Kort, but he didn't care. Jeanne had broken the eye-contact between them before it had even been established, and he found that he didn't really care about that either.

"Be a man Tony", he heard Ziva's voice beside him.

"She accused me of murder", he halfway whispered in anger. After everything, the woman had accused him. He knew he had nothing to be angry about, it was after all him who had lied to and deceived said woman, and yet he felt betrayed.

"Who is the bad guy? Be a man. Go tell her what she needs to hear."

Their eyes connected and he took in Ziva's broken appearance. The Israeli was tough, but he knew her better than most and knew where to look. He felt a sudden urge to reassure her, to tell her that she was his best friend, and any relationship he'd ever have with a woman would never jeopardized them, because Ziva's presence in his life was nonnegotiable. And then he thought of the fact that she might date someone, and not just date but seriously commit like he had to Jeanne. David didn't seem like the type to settle down, but then again neither did he. He suddenly felt an irrational jealously towards a nameless man Ziva would date in the future. Then he thought of his reaction, and realized that maybe… and then staring into her eyes pondering whatever he was feeling, became too much.

Tony turned and left in an attempt to catch Jeanne.

"Hey, can you give us second please, thank you". He asked the man who was escorting her out.

"No problem."

Tony finally looked at the woman he had been mourning for the better part of 8 months. "Hey…" Taking a deep breath he began his explanation. "I'm sorry you got caught up in the middle of all this." Before he could complete it, Jeanne interrupted.

"Was any of it real, Tony?"

He though back to the past few months, where Ziva had been a constant in his life, and while they had always been close professionally speaking, their personal lives were now also entwined. It had started simple with her movie- and American culture education with Tony DiNozzo as her teacher. They would watch a movie, go to a certain restaurant, bowl, play laser-tag, go sight-seeing in Washington, because while Ziva may have lived in the city for years, she'd never bothered to play tourist. All things that were simple and innocent when they stood alone, but they didn't. Tony saw Ziva practically every day these days. It wasn't like any of them currently had other obligations. So they ate together, they saw movies together, they laughed, spared and discussed together. All the things – except the sparring and the sex– that he and Jeanne did, he now did with Ziva.

The elevator arrived just as a realization hit Tony.

"No"

And that was a lie. He had touched it, tasted it and most importantly felt it, and to him that had made it real. He had mulled over Jenny's words many times in the past, and he knew that some of them were right. He probably wouldn't have fallen so hard for Jeanne, if he wasn't forced to do so by the operation. But he had been, so he had fallen even if out of necessity, and it had been real to a certain extent. However, Jeanne deserved better. They would never be able to move past it, and if he had said exactly what he felt for her and confessed what a mess he had been after her leaving, she would always think 'what if' or 'if only', and Tony knew he couldn't do that to her. It wouldn't be fair.

She stepped in.

"I wish I'd never met you."

And that hurt.

Jenny entered her office as Vance was packing his bag.

"I hope you had a pleasant stay", she offered politely.

He shrugged as he stuffed in the last papers.

Jenny continued, "It was never my intention to burden you with this responsibility. It's a long flight for just one day of work".

"I don't mind. My wife, however, is not so forgiving".

She felt a small sympathy for the man in front her. This job was time-consuming and the hours could be horrible, Jenny knew from firsthand experience how difficult it was to have a personal life when you had a job like this – and Leon had a family. It was amazing that he hadn't succumbed to stress.

He must have noticed her odd look she was giving him, because he added. "But she is also very understanding".

Jenny gave a small smile, before she spotted a little wood stick on her desk.

"This yours Leon?" Jenny pointed at tooth-pick.

"Keep it", he retorted with a smirk.

With a raised eyebrow she simply brushed it off the desk and took a seat behind her table.

Gibbs entered just as Vance grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

"Fairytale-ending", Gibbs commented after Leon had closed the door behind him.

Jenny smiled. "The frog is dead, and the jesters have been kick out of the kingdom".

"The queen is back on her throne".

Jenny rose from her seat, though she had just sat down, and moved around her desk to lean against it. In her own way she was trying to create less distance between them, because in this moment she didn't want to be his superior. "If you're expecting some sort of knighthood, I'm sorry to say I've misplaced my sword."

"Maybe it's with your gun", he offered mockingly.

Of course he remembered Mr. Benoit leaving the gun. And yet he was still here, standing in her office with a soft smile playing on his lips – the one he reserved for when they were alone. He could have turned her in, but he hadn't.

"Maybe", she retorted.

"Funny quirk about the frog – arms dealer, never carried a gun." Gibbs said as he moved closer to where she was leaning against the table.

"Except that night"

"That what happen?" He asked, still moving closer to her, but the small smile was still on his lips, and Jenny knew he wasn't going to say anything. For a moment she had been worried, yes she trusted him, but she had committed murder and he knew it, and not turning her in had technically made him her partner in crime. She sent him a smile.

"That's how I remember it, but then again some of my memories have been a little clouded since the accident."

Gibbs simple stared at her, and Jenny knew time was up. "Thank you", she said in a half whisper casting her eyes down. "I know you don't approve of what I did, but…" Her voice halted, and her eyes became glassy as she looked up into his eyes. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me, Jethro. I…It… Thank you."

He was as close to her as he could get without touching her, placing his hands on the table he physically trapped her. She looked at him with a sad smile as a feeling of extreme gratitude for having him with her washed over her. He knew her, knew everything about her, and yet he was still there. He was still here, in front of her, despite everything. Jenny ran her hand down his cheek, lightly tracing his features with her fingers. God she loved this man. His hand shot up and grabbed hers, moving it to his lips he placed a soft, gentle kiss on the inside of her wrist. Gibbs tugged her closer, pushing her hand around his neck, and just before his lips could touch hers, he mumbled,

"Long live the queen".

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The End