Again, sorry for the delay.
Summer's ending and I have A LOT of homework I've been procrastinating on (oh, APUSH and English...)
Thank you so much for A'serene for beta-ing this story for me. You really just can't imagine how many mistakes you guys would've had to indure without her correcting it.

Btw, this may be one of the few bonus chapters I have for you guys since I do plan on writing one with what happens next with Vance! (:

Thanks for reading, reviews greatly appreciated.

Epilogue

(Bonus Chapter 1)

It was Friday and as customary since she (as Genvieve Staton) had come back into their lives that they would spend the night having dinner at her place. She had become quite the cook in her new life and Jennifer Shepard was continuing that tradition. Since she had gone back to work that previous Monday, she left earlier than she had the last week catching up hoping to cook her 'family' a descent meal.

That was two hours ago. Now she was sitting at the head of the table where she usually sat waiting for them to arrive, or at least call as a heads up. Though, she would know if they were called out on a case. The dispatch calls her as well. She checked her phone for what seemed like the hundredth time that night seeing if any of them left a message.

She came up with nothing.

She looked up at the table; she had prepared a feast for them. To show them that though her memories were back, she was still keeping the good in her alive. She had made the mistake in letting that part of her die all those years ago and she wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

The food was getting cold and she had thought it was better to just wrapit up and put it in the fridge for use later.

"They're probably just in a high profiled case," she excused them, though logically she knew that the more high profile the case, the more likely she would've gotten a call about it. She didn't want to accept that fact that maybe they just left her high and dry. The fact that she had changed and became Jennifer Shepard, suddenly everything was off.

"Can't blame 'em," she muttered to herself once again. She couldn't blame them for thinking that with her old memories back, she would just treat them just like she had before, just colleagues and sometimes friends. Though, she had thought they knew her more than that, she didn't even think she knew herself more than that.

She looked at the food she was stuffing in her stainless refrigerator, she thought about the many weeks she would be spending eating the food if she were to eat it all by herself rather than watching Tony stuff his face in it, get complimented by Ducky and have Ziva, McGee and Abby enjoy it all. She sighed at that thought; she really did miss them, a lot more than she had ever though she would.

Swallowing her pride, she picked up her phone from the counter dialing Ziva's number. Her old friend would be the most understanding and most forthcoming to her out of the whole team. They had after all, shared so much back in Europe.

"David," Ziva replied answering her phone a little distracted as she had not looking at the caller ID before answering.

"Ziva?" Jenny asked slowly, "It's Jenny."

"Director," Ziva said straightening up, her voice hardening a notch. Jenny sighed hearing her friend's tone. "What can I do for you?"

"… I," Jenny stuttered at lost of herown words. This was so much better when she was Genevieve Staton. She was able to just share her feelings; she didn't have this Director façade to hide under, which made her hide under it. She was just a normal person with normal feelings that she didn't keep bottled up.

Ziva sensed her friend's hesitation. She and the rest of the team had an unspoken pact not to come by that Friday unless Jenny invited them. So many things had happened the past week that they weren't really sure where they stood with Jennifer Shepard. They wanted to give her space while she transitioned back to her job, but maybe; just maybe, Jenny didn't neeed the space that they were giving her.

"Are you alright, Jenny?" Ziva asked carefully not wanting to tread in dangerous waters.

"Are you guys working a case that I don't know about?" Jenny asked in her Director tone. She didn't want to show even her friend the vulnerability she was feeling. She didn't think she could feel rejected twice in less than a week. She was a strong woman, but she wasn't that strong.

"No?" Ziva asked confused. "Should there be?"

"Not at all," Jenny replied with a sigh. So they were really just avoiding her? A part of her said to just brush it off that things were going back to normal but she knew normal wasn't something she knew anymore. What was normal? Her being the director or her being Genevieve? For the past year, normal was her being Genevieve, besides she didn't want to go back to her old ways anyway. Gathering up the Dutch courage she wished was within her, she started to ask her. "It's Friday, I was expecting you as well as the others to come over for dinner."

"And you thought we were away on a case because we didn't come," Ziva filled in for her, "that is why you left early today, yes?"

"Yeah," Jenny said defeated, "I wanted – well that doesn't matter."

"Direc—Jenny?" Abby's voice piped up through the phone line surprising Jenny. Her perky demeanor was always something Jenny welcome and applauded about the young lady especially after everything she has seen in the world. Optimism certainly was something that the world needed more of.

"Abby," Jenny smiled in greeting.

"Can you re-heat our food for us?"

"Re-heat them?"

"Yeah," Abby replied enthusiastically once again. "We just got in the car and Ziva's driving. See you soon!"

"I'll see you soon Abby," Jenny smiled nodding her head taking the plates as she had just stuffed in the refrigerator into the oven and microwave of her home to warm them up. She took the clear wrap over the salad and set it once again the middle of the table, setting the food one by one until she heard the doorbell.

Abby was the first one through the door greeting her with one of her signature hugs. She was talking a mile a minute through the hallway and into the dinning room. McGee had come after Abby hesitantly offering Jenny a shy smile and a nod which Jenny returned as he walked to the hallway following Abby. Tony was next as well as Ziva the two bantering as they walked into the hallway only pausing in their little fight long enough to acknowledge Jenny at the door. Lastly, Ducky came in greeting her with a typical kiss on the check carrying a bottle of wine with him.

"The event calls for a celebration," Ducky explained as Jenny was about to shut the door. Ducky shook his head. "Jethro you hurry up before the young ones devour the food. You have got to taste Ms. St—Shepard's lasagna!"

Jenny blushed slightly as Gibbs entered her house a bouquet of flowers in his hand handing them to her nonchalantly as if he was handing her a file with his reports in it.

"Thanks," she whispered letting Ducky walk a step ahead of them to the room where all the noise was coming from. Her house had turned a complete 180 in just a minute. It came from total silence to loud and welcomed noises coming from the kitchen where her 'family' was sitting and having fun.

Once they were all seated and digging in their lasagnas, it was silent. One moment of silence until the family atmosphere once engulfed the room and green eyes met the blue ones across from her.

It was always unspoken and maybe sometimes they'd learn how to speak their feelings. But for now, this, them, their family. It was enough.

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