We had returned home from the spa weekend mid-day Monday. The kids were still in school; Jethro was planning what he was going to do with Jen that night for their anniversary, our husbands went to the batting cages for a work out. We were too exhausted from staying up all night that we had collectively collapsed on a coffee shop couch much like the gang from Friends did for a decade. Jen had joined us since she had nothing else to do until that night and Kelly had been avoiding her still. It was obvious that all I wanted to do was curl up in my bed with my husband next to me.
I knew that just from being away from me for seventy-two hours that Nick wouldn’t want to sleep. Sometimes when he wanted to re-acquaint himself with every inch of me, I couldn’t help but think that he was still vying for baby number four so that he could have a son to carry on the family name. I had been more than done with having kids once Jayden and Jocelyn came around. Once we had unwound in the coffee shop, the six of us had gone to our respective homes. I had instantly fallen asleep the minute my head hit my pillow.
Nick had picked the girls up after the batting cages and they went off to do their homework in their respective rooms after they got home. Nick on the other hand opened our bedroom door and watched me sleep from the doorway.
“Fourteen years together and she still looks hot while she sleeps.” Nick said.
I obviously heard what he had said and I could barely hide the smile on my face. When Nick saw the smile, he knew that I wasn’t asleep anymore and wasted no time in joining me in our bed.
“Did you enjoy your spa weekend?” Nick asked.
“Yes I did and thank-you, I needed it.”
“I know you did, if you ever want to talk about your dad; I am here for you.”
“I knew there was reason why I love you.” I said as I kissed him.
Just as I had expected Nick wanted to do more than kiss.
“Want to try for number four?”
“If we’re going to, it’s going to be on my terms. And no, I am quite content with three.” I answered.
“So we can still have sex, we’ll just have safe sex.”
“Desperate much?” I asked.
“I haven’t seen you in three and a half days; can I help it that I missed you and your body.”
“But the girls are home, babe and they can walk in at any moment.”
“Relax Jay, we can lock the door and they are in their rooms working on their homework.” Nick said as he slowly started undressing me.
“No Nick, I am not in the mood.”
I pushed Nick away just as the cordless rang. It was Jen calling to ask my opinion on what she should wear to her night out with Jethro and to check up on me. I quickly got up and left the bedroom.
“Thank god you called Jen.” I said.
“Things getting a bit too heated for you?”
“You can say that. Nick wants another baby.”
“And you don’t, especially after what we just went through.”
“Exactly and I don’t want to take the spotlight away from Abs.”
Nick left our bedroom a few seconds after I had and went to check on the girls. I had grabbed a cup of tea and went outside to sit on the porch swing while I talked to my sister.
“So there is a reason why I called you.” Jen said.
“Let me guess you just wanted to check in to see how your baby sister is holding up in light of recent events and to get help on what you are going to wear tonight.” I said.
“You’ve spent too much time around Jethro.”
“Not as much as you do Jen.”
“So what do I wear tonight?”
“Wear your black dress with your black strapped stilettos and have your hair pulled back almost like it was when Ducky escorted you to the Marine Corps birthday ball eighteen years ago, you’ll definitely take Jethro’s breath away again.”
“Okay, so how are you holding up?” Jen asked.
“I am more than fine, just a little bit of guilt and complete sadness every once in a while.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I am sure; now go out for your anniversary and don’t worry about me.”
We hung up and Jen went out to dinner with Jethro. Tony, Drew and McGee had gone for drinks. A twenty-something year old girl instantly found Tony within minutes of them getting their beer and was hopelessly flirting with him. McGee and Drew found it oddly humourous while Tony didn’t.
“Sorry Ally, but I’m married and I have two daughters. I’m not interested.”
Before Ally could respond, McGee got a text message.
“Ah guys we have to go now.” McGee said.
“Why?” Tony asked.
“Abby has been admitted to the hospital, she’s in labor.”
When they had gotten to the hospital; McGee rushed to be by Abby’s side as the rest of us waited in the waiting room. Jethro and Jen had been with Abby before any of us got there. Abby had called Jethro when her water broke. We were all worried about Abby and the babies; we knew early labor was always a possibility since she was carrying twins. But we had all hoped that she would be able to carry them to full term like Ziva, Kate and I had.
Abby was only 26 weeks pregnant. We knew that Addison and Jacob would be in the NICU until they were strong enough to come home. At the moment all that was left for us to do was to wait. After an hour of waiting, the kids had joined us. JD, Hannah and Leah entertained the younger kids. Tony held Ziva in his arms, Drew held Kate and Nick held me. Ziva, Kate and I looked to our respective twins while we waited; hoping that everything was going to be fine with Jacob and Addison.
What really surprised all of us was that Kelly joined us.
“I hope it’s alright for me to be here; I thought I should be here to support Abby and McGee.”
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Girls Bonding Time
It was Mother’s Day and with everything that had happened within the past few days; Nick, Tony, Drew and McGee decided that they were going to send the four of us to a spa weekend. Jethro had decided that he was going to treat Kelly and Jenny out to dinner. This way the women in Jethro’s life would be able to get to know each other and things would be a little less awkward for everyone involved. Ziva, Kate, Abby and I were leaving after the kids went to bed so that they would be able to celebrate Mother’s Day with us. As Kate’s kids gave her the gifts that they got her, Hannah and Leah gave Ziva their gifts, and my girls gave me the gifts that they got for me; I noticed Abby smile.
Six months had past since we had all learn that Abby and McGee were going to be parents; it had also been two months since we had learned that they were expecting twins, a boy and a girl. McGee and Abby each picked out their children’s names. McGee had decided that they were going to name their son; Jacob Thomas. Abby decided to name their daughter, Addison Ryleigh. We could hardly wait for Jacob and Addison’s arrival; we wanted to see if they looked more like Abby or more like McGee.
Now all Abby and McGee had to do when it came their kids was to choose who would be their godparents. Abby and McGee wanted to wait until their kids were born to tell everyone who they had chosen. All ten kids had come to NCIS that evening so that we could all celebrate Mother’s Day together. Jen watched us from the overlook. When it was JD’s turn to give me her gift, she said that she had done things differently this time. JD had written a little speech for Ziva, Kate, Abby, Jenny and myself. Before I knew it JD had given her speech and all five of us had tears sliding down our faces. Her speech was so heartfelt that even made Jethro’s tough guy appearance melt away.
By 10pm; Kate, Ziva, Abby and I were jet setting to our all expense free spa weekend as Jethro took his girls out. Within a matter of minutes Jethro and his girls were at the restaurant. After they were seated their waiter had come by and taken their drink order. Once the waiter had departed from their table to get the drinks; Jen had decided to break the awkward since between her, Jethro and Kelly.
“Jethro, do you know what tomorrow is?”
“Not a clue.”
Jen could tell that Jethro was lying through his teeth; she could always tell what was going on in his head. Jen figured that it would be best if she just played along.
“Tomorrow is the anniversary of that second night in Paris.”
The waiter had brought the drinks and took their order.
“Of course it is. We’ll just have to do something then.”
“Seriously Dad; do you even remember yours and mom’s anniversary? Do you even bother doing anything in memory of her on your anniversary or on the day that she died?” Kelly asked sarcastically.
“Kelly, I do remember my anniversary with your mother and the day that she died. Every year I do take the time to keep her memory alive. But I am with Jenny now, that isn’t going to change. I love her as much as I loved your mother.” Jethro answered.
Jen nearly cried as she heard Jethro say that he loved her. Jethro saw Jen tear up and took her in his arms to comfort her.
“I mean it; Jen, with my entire being. I love you, always and forever.” Jethro whispered into Jen’s ear.
Meanwhile at the spa; Kate, Ziva and I were missing our kids.
“I miss the girls.” I said.
Ziva and Kate nodded in agreement.
“You shouldn’t, this is our weekend. JD and the twins are fine, Jay.”
“You don’t understand; Abby, you got to bring your kids with you. We didn’t.” I said.
“Both of you need to calm down.” Kate said playing the older sister card on Abby and me.
“Kate is right, our husbands paid for us to have a nice relaxing spa weekend; arguing and bickering like teenage sisters is the last thing we should be doing right now.” Ziva said.
“I never thought I’d hear you say that Kate was right.” I said.
“Well Jay, she is and I think that the one thing that we can all agree on is that we miss our husbands. Then the three of us that aren’t pregnant, miss our kids; we also miss Gibbs and the Director too.”
“Speaking of Jen and Jethro; I wonder how their dinner with Kelly is going.” I said.
“Your sister probably isn’t having the best of luck. Kelly doesn’t seem to be too thrilled that Gibbs is with her.” Kate said.
“Well she’ll have to deal, Jen isn’t going anywhere. Neither one of them wants to lose each other.”
Meanwhile back at the restaurant; Jethro had stepped away to visit the bathroom, which gave Jen and Kelly some time to chat.
“It’s obvious that you don’t like me.” Jen said to Kelly.
“Now what gave that away, Madame Director?”
“Show a little respect Kelly; I’m the Director of an Armed Federal Agency and your father’s girlfriend.”
“Yeah, we’ll see how long that second one lasts. You maybe the love of my father’s life for the time being, but his heart will always belong to my mother.” Kelly said.
“Look Kelly, I am not trying to replace Shannon in Jethro’s life or in yours. I know what she meant to him and what she meant to you.”
“I highly doubt that.”
At this point Jen had literally reached her breaking point. Jen had seen Jethro heading back towards them. She knew she only had a few seconds before he had rejoined them.
“You can believe whatever you want to believe; Kelly, but know this. Out of all the women your father has been with since Shannon died, I am one of the few good ones. If it’s any constellation, I know what it is like growing up without a mother. And you are more than welcome to visit NCIS at anytime so can get to know the others better.” Jen said.
Jethro returned and the silence had returned.
“So how is everything between you two?” Jethro asked.“Fine.” Jen and Kelly answered in unison.
Six months had past since we had all learn that Abby and McGee were going to be parents; it had also been two months since we had learned that they were expecting twins, a boy and a girl. McGee and Abby each picked out their children’s names. McGee had decided that they were going to name their son; Jacob Thomas. Abby decided to name their daughter, Addison Ryleigh. We could hardly wait for Jacob and Addison’s arrival; we wanted to see if they looked more like Abby or more like McGee.
Now all Abby and McGee had to do when it came their kids was to choose who would be their godparents. Abby and McGee wanted to wait until their kids were born to tell everyone who they had chosen. All ten kids had come to NCIS that evening so that we could all celebrate Mother’s Day together. Jen watched us from the overlook. When it was JD’s turn to give me her gift, she said that she had done things differently this time. JD had written a little speech for Ziva, Kate, Abby, Jenny and myself. Before I knew it JD had given her speech and all five of us had tears sliding down our faces. Her speech was so heartfelt that even made Jethro’s tough guy appearance melt away.
By 10pm; Kate, Ziva, Abby and I were jet setting to our all expense free spa weekend as Jethro took his girls out. Within a matter of minutes Jethro and his girls were at the restaurant. After they were seated their waiter had come by and taken their drink order. Once the waiter had departed from their table to get the drinks; Jen had decided to break the awkward since between her, Jethro and Kelly.
“Jethro, do you know what tomorrow is?”
“Not a clue.”
Jen could tell that Jethro was lying through his teeth; she could always tell what was going on in his head. Jen figured that it would be best if she just played along.
“Tomorrow is the anniversary of that second night in Paris.”
The waiter had brought the drinks and took their order.
“Of course it is. We’ll just have to do something then.”
“Seriously Dad; do you even remember yours and mom’s anniversary? Do you even bother doing anything in memory of her on your anniversary or on the day that she died?” Kelly asked sarcastically.
“Kelly, I do remember my anniversary with your mother and the day that she died. Every year I do take the time to keep her memory alive. But I am with Jenny now, that isn’t going to change. I love her as much as I loved your mother.” Jethro answered.
Jen nearly cried as she heard Jethro say that he loved her. Jethro saw Jen tear up and took her in his arms to comfort her.
“I mean it; Jen, with my entire being. I love you, always and forever.” Jethro whispered into Jen’s ear.
Meanwhile at the spa; Kate, Ziva and I were missing our kids.
“I miss the girls.” I said.
Ziva and Kate nodded in agreement.
“You shouldn’t, this is our weekend. JD and the twins are fine, Jay.”
“You don’t understand; Abby, you got to bring your kids with you. We didn’t.” I said.
“Both of you need to calm down.” Kate said playing the older sister card on Abby and me.
“Kate is right, our husbands paid for us to have a nice relaxing spa weekend; arguing and bickering like teenage sisters is the last thing we should be doing right now.” Ziva said.
“I never thought I’d hear you say that Kate was right.” I said.
“Well Jay, she is and I think that the one thing that we can all agree on is that we miss our husbands. Then the three of us that aren’t pregnant, miss our kids; we also miss Gibbs and the Director too.”
“Speaking of Jen and Jethro; I wonder how their dinner with Kelly is going.” I said.
“Your sister probably isn’t having the best of luck. Kelly doesn’t seem to be too thrilled that Gibbs is with her.” Kate said.
“Well she’ll have to deal, Jen isn’t going anywhere. Neither one of them wants to lose each other.”
Meanwhile back at the restaurant; Jethro had stepped away to visit the bathroom, which gave Jen and Kelly some time to chat.
“It’s obvious that you don’t like me.” Jen said to Kelly.
“Now what gave that away, Madame Director?”
“Show a little respect Kelly; I’m the Director of an Armed Federal Agency and your father’s girlfriend.”
“Yeah, we’ll see how long that second one lasts. You maybe the love of my father’s life for the time being, but his heart will always belong to my mother.” Kelly said.
“Look Kelly, I am not trying to replace Shannon in Jethro’s life or in yours. I know what she meant to him and what she meant to you.”
“I highly doubt that.”
At this point Jen had literally reached her breaking point. Jen had seen Jethro heading back towards them. She knew she only had a few seconds before he had rejoined them.
“You can believe whatever you want to believe; Kelly, but know this. Out of all the women your father has been with since Shannon died, I am one of the few good ones. If it’s any constellation, I know what it is like growing up without a mother. And you are more than welcome to visit NCIS at anytime so can get to know the others better.” Jen said.
Jethro returned and the silence had returned.
“So how is everything between you two?” Jethro asked.“Fine.” Jen and Kelly answered in unison.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Healing and Coping
Jen had one thing right, I was still hell bent on getting payback. Some times it was frightening how similar Jen and I were. On some subconscious level I was hoping against hope that today was going to be a calm day for Jen and me as well as for the rest of the team. Abby couldn’t see why Jen and I weren’t bawling our eyes out over our loss, why were we burying our emotions like Jethro. I knew for me, it was the only way I was able to keep myself stable enough for my girls and myself. The last thing I wanted was my girls to see me any less than wonder woman like they always had.
That day was; for the most part like any other day, the only thing that was different was that I was a mother to a sixteen year old and twin twelve years olds. As usual Ziva had gone for morning run; sans Tony. Tony; like the rest of us had been exhausted from work, so Ziva had decided to let him sleep in this particular Sunday morning like she let Hannah and Leah.
As Ziva started her run down her normal route she felt as if something was amiss. She felt as if she was being followed and even considered taking a different route just to be on the safe side. Before she knew what had happened; Ziva was attacked. Just as her instincts took over Ziva landed a kick square in Jeanne’s stomach causing Jeanne to double over in agony. At that moment; knowing that she was too far away from her house to have Tony come assist her, Ziva did the next thing that came to mind; she called Jethro. As usual within a matter of seconds Jethro had joined Ziva and escorted Jeanne to the car. Like he had nearly fifteen years ago when Ziva almost died while being undercover on the case with the serial killer killing unfaithful military wives; Jethro checked to see if Ziva was okay.
“You okay, Ziva?” Jethro asked.
“I’m fine, Gibbs.”
Jethro had that look of disbelief on his face as Ziva said she was fine, Ziva had all but noticed the look.
“What is it?” Ziva asked.
“The last time you said that you were fine, you were pretty shaken up to the point where you were beyond pissed at Tony.”
“Gibbs, you know what happened that day. Besides you’re pissed at Tony most of the time anyway.”
“Let’s get Ms. Benoit to Interrogation.” Jethro said as they headed to the car.
“I want to talk to her; Gibbs, after you finish questioning her.”
“We’ll see; Ziva.” Jethro said as they got into the car and drove back to NCIS.
By the time Jethro and Ziva had arrived at NCIS, Tony had already heard what had happened to Ziva. Kate met Gibbs and Ziva in the evidence garage to escort Jeanne to Interrogation. Jethro went to tell Jenny what had happened with Ziva as Kate brought Jeanne into interrogation.
Meanwhile things between Kelly and I started off on the wrong foot.
“Looks like my dad traded down since the last time I saw him.” Kelly said.
“Back off Kelly; my sister is the best thing that has happened to your father since your mother.”
As I defended my sister in the squad room like all sisters do for each other; Jethro and Jen were talking up in her office.
“I assume you are going to interrogate her, Jethro.” Jen said after Jethro had briefed her.
“Who else would interrogate her?”
“You have a whole team of agents that are more then capable of interrogating Jeanne Benoit.” Jen said as she resumed working on the arrangements for our father’s impending memorial service.
“I know that; Jen, but thanks to your condition from before and other circumstances, I am the only one who can.”
“You’re telling that within the two years that Kate was apart of your team that you never once had her interrogate a suspect.” Jen said in complete disbelief.
“Go back to planning Jasper’s memorial, Jen.” Jethro said.
Jen knew she struck a nerve by bringing up the fact that he had done things differently when Kate had first joined the team compared to when Ziva and I first joined up.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to criticize you like that. I am just over tired and stressed with everything that is going on right now.”
“Then take a nap.”
“Before you go Jethro, I have one minor request.”
“Jay and I want to talk to Jeanne after everything is said and done.”
“We’ll see.” Jethro said as he left.
“You can’t play that card with me; Jethro, I’m your boss.” Jen called after him.
Jethro then went to question Jeanne. Before stepping into Interrogation; Jethro had gone into Observation to see who from the team would be watching the interrogation. He had somewhat of an idea of who he would find. When Jethro had finally opened the door to Observation; he had found exactly who he expected to find, plus the one person he thought would have stayed where he had left her. As Jenny, Ziva, and I looked to Jethro; we knew he understood why we were there. Without saying anything Jethro left and went on the other side of the glass window. Kate had remained with Jeanne in interrogation and stayed as Jethro questioned Jeanne.
We all smiled as we watch Jethro sit across from Jeanne, not saying a word to her. The sight of seeing Jeanne Benoit slowly coming unhinged made this interrogation quite entertaining.
“So why did you murder a retired Marine Colonel?”
“I never killed Colonel Shepard.” Jeanne answered.
“Bullshit.” I said in Observation.
“Jay.” Jen said.
“Oh come on, we all know that she murdered dad.”
Meanwhile back in Interrogation it seemed that both Jethro and Kate were thinking the exact same way I was.
“So that means that you didn’t attack Agent David this morning.” Kate said.
Jeanne kept silence. With that Jethro decided that he was going to allow Ziva, Jen and I talk to Jeanne.
“Let’s go, Agent Todd. She’s all yours, Agent David.” Jethro said as he and Kate left Jeanne.
“This should be interesting.” I said to my sister, Jethro and Kate as Ziva took Jethro chair in front of us.
“Why did she do that?” Kate asked while Ziva set the chair against the wall just as she had eighteen years earlier.
“She doesn’t want to tempt herself.” Jethro answered.
Kate was still a bit puzzled.
“If she sits directly in across from Jeanne, she will be tempted to physically harm her.” Jen explained.
“She would physically harm Jeanne?” Kate questioned.
“Jeanne tried to kill her and get revenge on Tony. What do you think?” Jenny answered.
“Give Ziva some credit. She's gained a lot of self control since she’s been here.” Jethro said.
On the other side of the glass things got under way.
“What the hell is wrong with you? What would cause you to attack a Federal agent?”
“It was payback.” Jeanne answered.
“Payback for what?”
“For taking Tony away from me.”
“I never took him away from you. He chose me.”
“No you took him from me just like that Director of yours took my father from me fifteen years ago.”
“Did you kill Colonel Shepard?” Ziva asked.
“Yes.”
“Let me guess that was payback too.”
Jeanne nodded yes as Jethro leaned into whisper something to Jen.
“Everything will be fine. Go straighten things out and take Jay.”
Jenny and I went into Interrogation as Ziva took her place with the others.
“You killed my father, bitch.” Jeanne said to Jen.
“Jeanne, what proof do you have?”
“You killed my father fifteen years ago. I saw you pull the trigger.”
“How dare you accuse her of murder. Do you even realize that you are accusing the NCIS Director of murder? I said as I slammed the table.
“I never murdered your father, Jeanne. Rene was murdered by Trent Kort.”
“So you have committed a crime and are going to jail.” I said.
“I have one request.”
“What is it?”
“I want to talk to Tony before I leave.”
“Well he doesn’t want to talk to you let alone have anything to do with you.” Jenny said.
Jenny and I left Jeanne. Within minutes she was escorted out of the building. Jethro had told Tony, McGee, Ziva and Kate to wrap up the case since he was attending my father’s memorial with Jen, Nick, the girls and myself.
Both Jen and I wore black dresses, the guys were in their suits and the girls were in black dress as well. Dad was given a proper military funeral, gun salute and all. Jen and I had finally lost it as we were given a folded American flag that all family members of fallen soldiers received. Jethro and Nick comforted us as best as they could.
I was the last to say goodbye to my father. Jethro, Nick, Jen and the girls waited for me.
“At least I have one suitable dress to wear , dad.” I said.
That day was; for the most part like any other day, the only thing that was different was that I was a mother to a sixteen year old and twin twelve years olds. As usual Ziva had gone for morning run; sans Tony. Tony; like the rest of us had been exhausted from work, so Ziva had decided to let him sleep in this particular Sunday morning like she let Hannah and Leah.
As Ziva started her run down her normal route she felt as if something was amiss. She felt as if she was being followed and even considered taking a different route just to be on the safe side. Before she knew what had happened; Ziva was attacked. Just as her instincts took over Ziva landed a kick square in Jeanne’s stomach causing Jeanne to double over in agony. At that moment; knowing that she was too far away from her house to have Tony come assist her, Ziva did the next thing that came to mind; she called Jethro. As usual within a matter of seconds Jethro had joined Ziva and escorted Jeanne to the car. Like he had nearly fifteen years ago when Ziva almost died while being undercover on the case with the serial killer killing unfaithful military wives; Jethro checked to see if Ziva was okay.
“You okay, Ziva?” Jethro asked.
“I’m fine, Gibbs.”
Jethro had that look of disbelief on his face as Ziva said she was fine, Ziva had all but noticed the look.
“What is it?” Ziva asked.
“The last time you said that you were fine, you were pretty shaken up to the point where you were beyond pissed at Tony.”
“Gibbs, you know what happened that day. Besides you’re pissed at Tony most of the time anyway.”
“Let’s get Ms. Benoit to Interrogation.” Jethro said as they headed to the car.
“I want to talk to her; Gibbs, after you finish questioning her.”
“We’ll see; Ziva.” Jethro said as they got into the car and drove back to NCIS.
By the time Jethro and Ziva had arrived at NCIS, Tony had already heard what had happened to Ziva. Kate met Gibbs and Ziva in the evidence garage to escort Jeanne to Interrogation. Jethro went to tell Jenny what had happened with Ziva as Kate brought Jeanne into interrogation.
Meanwhile things between Kelly and I started off on the wrong foot.
“Looks like my dad traded down since the last time I saw him.” Kelly said.
“Back off Kelly; my sister is the best thing that has happened to your father since your mother.”
As I defended my sister in the squad room like all sisters do for each other; Jethro and Jen were talking up in her office.
“I assume you are going to interrogate her, Jethro.” Jen said after Jethro had briefed her.
“Who else would interrogate her?”
“You have a whole team of agents that are more then capable of interrogating Jeanne Benoit.” Jen said as she resumed working on the arrangements for our father’s impending memorial service.
“I know that; Jen, but thanks to your condition from before and other circumstances, I am the only one who can.”
“You’re telling that within the two years that Kate was apart of your team that you never once had her interrogate a suspect.” Jen said in complete disbelief.
“Go back to planning Jasper’s memorial, Jen.” Jethro said.
Jen knew she struck a nerve by bringing up the fact that he had done things differently when Kate had first joined the team compared to when Ziva and I first joined up.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to criticize you like that. I am just over tired and stressed with everything that is going on right now.”
“Then take a nap.”
“Before you go Jethro, I have one minor request.”
“Jay and I want to talk to Jeanne after everything is said and done.”
“We’ll see.” Jethro said as he left.
“You can’t play that card with me; Jethro, I’m your boss.” Jen called after him.
Jethro then went to question Jeanne. Before stepping into Interrogation; Jethro had gone into Observation to see who from the team would be watching the interrogation. He had somewhat of an idea of who he would find. When Jethro had finally opened the door to Observation; he had found exactly who he expected to find, plus the one person he thought would have stayed where he had left her. As Jenny, Ziva, and I looked to Jethro; we knew he understood why we were there. Without saying anything Jethro left and went on the other side of the glass window. Kate had remained with Jeanne in interrogation and stayed as Jethro questioned Jeanne.
We all smiled as we watch Jethro sit across from Jeanne, not saying a word to her. The sight of seeing Jeanne Benoit slowly coming unhinged made this interrogation quite entertaining.
“So why did you murder a retired Marine Colonel?”
“I never killed Colonel Shepard.” Jeanne answered.
“Bullshit.” I said in Observation.
“Jay.” Jen said.
“Oh come on, we all know that she murdered dad.”
Meanwhile back in Interrogation it seemed that both Jethro and Kate were thinking the exact same way I was.
“So that means that you didn’t attack Agent David this morning.” Kate said.
Jeanne kept silence. With that Jethro decided that he was going to allow Ziva, Jen and I talk to Jeanne.
“Let’s go, Agent Todd. She’s all yours, Agent David.” Jethro said as he and Kate left Jeanne.
“This should be interesting.” I said to my sister, Jethro and Kate as Ziva took Jethro chair in front of us.
“Why did she do that?” Kate asked while Ziva set the chair against the wall just as she had eighteen years earlier.
“She doesn’t want to tempt herself.” Jethro answered.
Kate was still a bit puzzled.
“If she sits directly in across from Jeanne, she will be tempted to physically harm her.” Jen explained.
“She would physically harm Jeanne?” Kate questioned.
“Jeanne tried to kill her and get revenge on Tony. What do you think?” Jenny answered.
“Give Ziva some credit. She's gained a lot of self control since she’s been here.” Jethro said.
On the other side of the glass things got under way.
“What the hell is wrong with you? What would cause you to attack a Federal agent?”
“It was payback.” Jeanne answered.
“Payback for what?”
“For taking Tony away from me.”
“I never took him away from you. He chose me.”
“No you took him from me just like that Director of yours took my father from me fifteen years ago.”
“Did you kill Colonel Shepard?” Ziva asked.
“Yes.”
“Let me guess that was payback too.”
Jeanne nodded yes as Jethro leaned into whisper something to Jen.
“Everything will be fine. Go straighten things out and take Jay.”
Jenny and I went into Interrogation as Ziva took her place with the others.
“You killed my father, bitch.” Jeanne said to Jen.
“Jeanne, what proof do you have?”
“You killed my father fifteen years ago. I saw you pull the trigger.”
“How dare you accuse her of murder. Do you even realize that you are accusing the NCIS Director of murder? I said as I slammed the table.
“I never murdered your father, Jeanne. Rene was murdered by Trent Kort.”
“So you have committed a crime and are going to jail.” I said.
“I have one request.”
“What is it?”
“I want to talk to Tony before I leave.”
“Well he doesn’t want to talk to you let alone have anything to do with you.” Jenny said.
Jenny and I left Jeanne. Within minutes she was escorted out of the building. Jethro had told Tony, McGee, Ziva and Kate to wrap up the case since he was attending my father’s memorial with Jen, Nick, the girls and myself.
Both Jen and I wore black dresses, the guys were in their suits and the girls were in black dress as well. Dad was given a proper military funeral, gun salute and all. Jen and I had finally lost it as we were given a folded American flag that all family members of fallen soldiers received. Jethro and Nick comforted us as best as they could.
I was the last to say goodbye to my father. Jethro, Nick, Jen and the girls waited for me.
“At least I have one suitable dress to wear , dad.” I said.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Turning 12
As I slowly drifted off to sleep the night before I had at one point looked over to the alarm clock that sat on my nightstand. 1:15am, the clock read.
“Saturday at last, Nick and I can finally sleep in.” I thought.
It was Saturdays that I loved the most nowadays. Nick and I got to sleep in as long as we wished while JD got up to take care of her sisters. As I fell asleep I knew that today was going to be just like yesterday and Thursday, completely chaotic. Today; the string of birthdays continued. Much like Thursday when we had three birthdays, we had three more birthdays today. This time Kate and Drew’s eldest son Benjamin was turning twelve years old along with Jayden and Jocelyn. But in a few hours that was about to change for Jenny and me.
At one point later on that morning I heard the house phone ring followed by JD answering the phone and talking to Jenny for a few minutes. The next thing I knew JD was knocking on the door.
“Mom, Aunt Jen is on the phone. She wants to talk to you, something happened.” JD said from the hallway.
“Can’t she call back later? Doesn’t she know that Saturday is my day to sleep late by now?”
“She says it’s important, that it can’t wait.” JD answered me.
“Fine, come in.”
JD came in, I could tell in my half-conscious mind set that JD wasn’t her normal cheerful self that she usually was in the morning.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s about Grandpa Jasper.” JD answered as she handed over the house phone.
As JD left to take care of her sisters again and to make a pot of coffee, I brought the phone to my ear as I sat up in bed.
“What’s going on Jen? What happened to dad?”
“Dad was murdered this morning. You have to come into the office.”
“Okay.” I said knowing there was no point in arguing with Jen in light of what happened.
Before long I was stepping off the elevator and walked over to the squad room. I had been on auto pilot since Jen had called. Jethro, McGee, Tony, Kate and Ziva were already there. As I sat down at my desk, Jethro got up and headed up to Jen’s office. A few seconds later, Agent Shane Parker was literally on Jethro’s six. It was nice to know that Jen and I had the team supporting us, but the thought that Colonel Jasper Shepard was dead really hadn’t sunk in yet.
Meanwhile upstairs Jen was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Jen had every intent of letting Jethro investigate Jasper’s murder; but the minute Shane entered Jen’s office, Jen knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. Shane had been one of the agents that came to the agency under Leon’s administration. Shane and her team of agents were what we had called “Hollywood Agents”.
“So Director Shepard; who gets this case, Gibbs or me?” Shane asked bluntly.
“Agent Gibbs and his team will be taking this case, Agent Parker.”
“With all do respect; Director, you can’t do that due to the conflict involved with them handling this case.”
“Just because my sister is on Agent Gibbs’ team doesn’t mean that they can’t work this case. Agent Shepard will have to sit this case out.” Jen said.
By now Shane was completely pissed.
“You’re only giving Gibbs and his team this case because you’re sleeping with him. Then there seems to be the fact that you think that you owe him after the La Grenouille case.”
“That’s quite enough Agent Parker.”
Before Jethro could reprimand Shane, she had stepped out of Jen’s office with a smile on her face and paused by one of the filling cabinets that encased Cynthia.
Jen then looked to Jethro, who was able to tell that this wasn’t the time for a mutiny at NCIS.
“Do you think it would be inappropriate if, as Director, I went in there and slapped that smile off her face?” Jen asked Jethro just as she had seventeen years ago.
Jethro smirked just as he had then before he answered her.
“That’s why you’ve got me.” Jethro said as he started towards the door.
“Thank-you Jethro, but I do have one condition for you and your team working this case.”
“I know; Jen, I’ll take care of it.”
“Tell the rest of the team, Jethro.” Jenny said.
“I will, Jen.”
“Be discrete.”
“What’s that suppose to me, Jen?” Jethro asked.
“Just that I know you.”
Jethro left Jen and returned to the squad room. I was just about to go on a breakfast run when Jethro had finally comeback. As I got up from my desk, Jethro came over to me and hugged me.
“Everything will be okay. We’ll get the bastard.” Jethro whispered into my ear as he hugged me.
“Thank-you Jethro. Do you want anything?”
“Just coffee.”
“Some things never change.” I said as I left.
Once I was in the elevator Jethro turned to the others.
“The Director doesn’t want Jaylyn working on this case or knowing what we find, got it?” Jethro said.
Tony, Ziva, McGee and Kate nodded yes. Jethro then took the rear elevator down to Abby’s and Autopsy to fill in Abby, Ducky and Palmer. Jenny was looking down on from the overlook and saw everything that just happened. Tony, Kate and McGee returned to their desk to track down Jasper’s murderer. As Ziva returned to her desk the looked up to Jenny, fully understanding why Jenny didn’t want me involved with this case. I was still in the revenge phase just as Jen had been seventeen years ago.
Sadly Benjamin, Jayden and Jocelyn birthday party was put on the back burner in light of what had occurred. They seemed to fine with waiting for their party. I had decided that I would pick up the birthday kids and bring them back to NCIS while I was out. When we got back I saw my father’s service picture up on the plasma along with a picture of Jeanne. Ziva saw us come in and nudged Tony to change what was on the plasma.
“Why did you take that off the plasma?” I asked.
“We’re just following orders.” Kate answered.
I left the kids with the others and headed up to Jen.
“When have I given you any cause to take me off a case?” I asked.
“I had to, Jay.”
“Well if you thought I was going to fly off the handle and seek revenge on Jeanne Benoit, then you were wrong.”
“They already have a suspect?”
“Yeah and it is obvious that she did it. After all she still thinks that you killed her father fifteen years ago. If anything she is the one who is getting revenge here.”
After that Jenny and I went down to the squad room. Abby and Ducky came up with Jethro. As Jen and I got to the squad room everyone started wishing the kids a happy birthday.
“Joyeux Anniversaire.” Jethro and Jen said to the kids.
“Merci.”
“Yom Huledet Same'ach.” Ziva said.
“Toda.”
“Buon Compleanno.” Tony said.
“Grazie.”
“Happy Birthday.” Kate, Abby, McGee and I said.
“Thank-you.”
Next thing we knew the elevator had binged and a redheaded woman with cobalt blue eyes similar to Jethro’s that seemed to be around my age came over to the squad room.
“Dad.” The woman said.
Jethro thought he was hallucinating.
“Who is that, Mom?” the twins asked me.
“That’s Uncle Jethro’s daughter, Kelly.”
“Is that you Kelly?” Jethro asked.
“It is, Dad. I know it’s been a while but it really is me.” Kelly said.
“Yeah Kels, like thirty-one years.” Jethro said.
Today had just been full of surprises from start to finish.
“Saturday at last, Nick and I can finally sleep in.” I thought.
It was Saturdays that I loved the most nowadays. Nick and I got to sleep in as long as we wished while JD got up to take care of her sisters. As I fell asleep I knew that today was going to be just like yesterday and Thursday, completely chaotic. Today; the string of birthdays continued. Much like Thursday when we had three birthdays, we had three more birthdays today. This time Kate and Drew’s eldest son Benjamin was turning twelve years old along with Jayden and Jocelyn. But in a few hours that was about to change for Jenny and me.
At one point later on that morning I heard the house phone ring followed by JD answering the phone and talking to Jenny for a few minutes. The next thing I knew JD was knocking on the door.
“Mom, Aunt Jen is on the phone. She wants to talk to you, something happened.” JD said from the hallway.
“Can’t she call back later? Doesn’t she know that Saturday is my day to sleep late by now?”
“She says it’s important, that it can’t wait.” JD answered me.
“Fine, come in.”
JD came in, I could tell in my half-conscious mind set that JD wasn’t her normal cheerful self that she usually was in the morning.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s about Grandpa Jasper.” JD answered as she handed over the house phone.
As JD left to take care of her sisters again and to make a pot of coffee, I brought the phone to my ear as I sat up in bed.
“What’s going on Jen? What happened to dad?”
“Dad was murdered this morning. You have to come into the office.”
“Okay.” I said knowing there was no point in arguing with Jen in light of what happened.
Before long I was stepping off the elevator and walked over to the squad room. I had been on auto pilot since Jen had called. Jethro, McGee, Tony, Kate and Ziva were already there. As I sat down at my desk, Jethro got up and headed up to Jen’s office. A few seconds later, Agent Shane Parker was literally on Jethro’s six. It was nice to know that Jen and I had the team supporting us, but the thought that Colonel Jasper Shepard was dead really hadn’t sunk in yet.
Meanwhile upstairs Jen was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Jen had every intent of letting Jethro investigate Jasper’s murder; but the minute Shane entered Jen’s office, Jen knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. Shane had been one of the agents that came to the agency under Leon’s administration. Shane and her team of agents were what we had called “Hollywood Agents”.
“So Director Shepard; who gets this case, Gibbs or me?” Shane asked bluntly.
“Agent Gibbs and his team will be taking this case, Agent Parker.”
“With all do respect; Director, you can’t do that due to the conflict involved with them handling this case.”
“Just because my sister is on Agent Gibbs’ team doesn’t mean that they can’t work this case. Agent Shepard will have to sit this case out.” Jen said.
By now Shane was completely pissed.
“You’re only giving Gibbs and his team this case because you’re sleeping with him. Then there seems to be the fact that you think that you owe him after the La Grenouille case.”
“That’s quite enough Agent Parker.”
Before Jethro could reprimand Shane, she had stepped out of Jen’s office with a smile on her face and paused by one of the filling cabinets that encased Cynthia.
Jen then looked to Jethro, who was able to tell that this wasn’t the time for a mutiny at NCIS.
“Do you think it would be inappropriate if, as Director, I went in there and slapped that smile off her face?” Jen asked Jethro just as she had seventeen years ago.
Jethro smirked just as he had then before he answered her.
“That’s why you’ve got me.” Jethro said as he started towards the door.
“Thank-you Jethro, but I do have one condition for you and your team working this case.”
“I know; Jen, I’ll take care of it.”
“Tell the rest of the team, Jethro.” Jenny said.
“I will, Jen.”
“Be discrete.”
“What’s that suppose to me, Jen?” Jethro asked.
“Just that I know you.”
Jethro left Jen and returned to the squad room. I was just about to go on a breakfast run when Jethro had finally comeback. As I got up from my desk, Jethro came over to me and hugged me.
“Everything will be okay. We’ll get the bastard.” Jethro whispered into my ear as he hugged me.
“Thank-you Jethro. Do you want anything?”
“Just coffee.”
“Some things never change.” I said as I left.
Once I was in the elevator Jethro turned to the others.
“The Director doesn’t want Jaylyn working on this case or knowing what we find, got it?” Jethro said.
Tony, Ziva, McGee and Kate nodded yes. Jethro then took the rear elevator down to Abby’s and Autopsy to fill in Abby, Ducky and Palmer. Jenny was looking down on from the overlook and saw everything that just happened. Tony, Kate and McGee returned to their desk to track down Jasper’s murderer. As Ziva returned to her desk the looked up to Jenny, fully understanding why Jenny didn’t want me involved with this case. I was still in the revenge phase just as Jen had been seventeen years ago.
Sadly Benjamin, Jayden and Jocelyn birthday party was put on the back burner in light of what had occurred. They seemed to fine with waiting for their party. I had decided that I would pick up the birthday kids and bring them back to NCIS while I was out. When we got back I saw my father’s service picture up on the plasma along with a picture of Jeanne. Ziva saw us come in and nudged Tony to change what was on the plasma.
“Why did you take that off the plasma?” I asked.
“We’re just following orders.” Kate answered.
I left the kids with the others and headed up to Jen.
“When have I given you any cause to take me off a case?” I asked.
“I had to, Jay.”
“Well if you thought I was going to fly off the handle and seek revenge on Jeanne Benoit, then you were wrong.”
“They already have a suspect?”
“Yeah and it is obvious that she did it. After all she still thinks that you killed her father fifteen years ago. If anything she is the one who is getting revenge here.”
After that Jenny and I went down to the squad room. Abby and Ducky came up with Jethro. As Jen and I got to the squad room everyone started wishing the kids a happy birthday.
“Joyeux Anniversaire.” Jethro and Jen said to the kids.
“Merci.”
“Yom Huledet Same'ach.” Ziva said.
“Toda.”
“Buon Compleanno.” Tony said.
“Grazie.”
“Happy Birthday.” Kate, Abby, McGee and I said.
“Thank-you.”
Next thing we knew the elevator had binged and a redheaded woman with cobalt blue eyes similar to Jethro’s that seemed to be around my age came over to the squad room.
“Dad.” The woman said.
Jethro thought he was hallucinating.
“Who is that, Mom?” the twins asked me.
“That’s Uncle Jethro’s daughter, Kelly.”
“Is that you Kelly?” Jethro asked.
“It is, Dad. I know it’s been a while but it really is me.” Kelly said.
“Yeah Kels, like thirty-one years.” Jethro said.
Today had just been full of surprises from start to finish.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Junior Prom
Just as things had began to calm down the day following the girls’ party; we had a rude awakening. The day following the party happened to be a Friday and the three eldest girls had a short day of school, which none of us knew. When I had gotten a minute to talk to JD, I had found out that junior prom was that night. JD had said that she was going with Hannah and Leah to get prom dresses along with getting their nails and hair done. Once I had gotten off the phone with JD, I had gone down to the squad room to fill Ziva and Tony in as well as to tell Nick what was going on.
My mood had changed as I stepped out of my sister’s office even if it was for a few minutes; it was still my brief chance to get step away from all of Jen’s responsibilities at the agency. The fact that Jen and Jethro were finally returning from their vacation in a matter of minutes also seemed to contribute to my sudden change in mood. I was literally counting the minutes until my sister and Jethro’s return. I was hoping that Jen and Jethro weren’t planning on taking anymore trips down memory lane any time soon once they had returned. Abby had been in the squad room with Ducky and the rest of the team patiently waiting the return of her protector. As I reached the squad room the elevator had binged and the doors opened.
Abby’s face lit up as she saw Jethro step out of the elevator. It only took Abby a matter of seconds before she rushed over to welcome Jethro back with a hug. Unlike Abby’s enthusiastic hello, I had toned my enthusiasm down a bit as I walked over to Jen to welcome her back.
“I take it walking in my heels has presented a challenge.” Jen said to me as I hugged her.
“Nothing I wasn’t able to handle. Besides the stressed look I have isn’t a NCIS related look.” I answered.
“JD again?”
“Of course.”
“You’ll figure it out, I did.”
“Thanks Jen.” I said.
Just as she had nearly knocked Jethro over seventeen years earlier, Abby had nearly knocked him over again as she hugged him. Like before Tony and Ziva were there to keep Jethro from falling backwards. The last thing we needed was for Jethro to have any of his head trauma acting up again.
Just at that point the elevator had binged and opened again. This time it revealed all of the kids; from Hannah all the way down to Drew Jr. Apparently Hannah, Leah and JD had bumped into their boyfriends while they shopped. Hannah’s boyfriend Jesse had offered the girls a ride to NCIS as Leah’s boyfriend Matt drove Kate and Drew’s kids. That left my babies with JD’s boyfriend, Josh. While Hannah rode with her boyfriend, Leah stayed with Kate and Drew’s kids.
At that point I was beyond pissed and Jen could tell. I couldn’t believe that JD would let her younger sisters in a car with a guy that she barely knew. Before she had met Josh; JD had been a level headed fifteen year old that was very protective of her sisters. But now she had completely changed as she turned sixteen and started seeing Josh. I had no idea who she was or what the hell had gotten into her.
Jen had then decided before she and Jethro gave the kids the gifts that they brought back from their trip that it would be best to get me out of the squad room before another argument had ensued between the two people that she knew had major tempers. Jen had brought me back up to her office.
“We should talk.” Jenny said.
“What is there to talk about?”
“You know damn well what there is to talk about.”
“Okay so what are you waiting for Jenny?” I asked.
“Do you remember what you were like at sixteen?” Jenny asked.
“I was a saint compared to JD, Jen.”
“Actually Jay, I witnessed your teenage age years. I had to put up with you and all of your mood swings. You’d be surprise how similar you and JD are.”
“What? We’re nothing alike.” I said a bit insulted.
“I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything, Jaylyn. I just want you to think of what you were like at sixteen so that you and JD. I just want you to stop and think about all of this because if you don’t then as soon as JD turns eighteen; she is going to leave and never return if don’t stop arguing with her over every little thing. Just think of how you would have wanted mom to react when you had your first boyfriend at 16 and go from there.”
“Okay so you’re right. You know I can’t help it, JD has completely changed. Is it so wrong for me to want her to be the person she was when she was six years ago?”
“No it isn’t, there are time when I wish you were ten years old again.” Jen answered.
By 6pm the girls were at prom with their boyfriends as the rest of us had all gone home. After my talk with Jen that afternoon; we had gone back down to the squad room and the kids had gotten their souvenirs. Apparently it was Jethro’s idea to get all the kids dog tags like he had gotten all of us years ago. The kids’ dog tags were engraved with Jethro’s A-team and their names. Much like Jethro had made all of us promise to wear ours he had made the kids promise to always wear theirs. Jethro had even gotten two dogs tags for McGee and Abby’s kid.
“My gut is told me that you guys are having twins, one of each so I got them dog tags like the other kids when they are older.”
“Thanks boss.” McGee said.
“Thank-you Gibbs.”
At that point it was time for pictures since all of the prom goers were ready.
“Be good girls and don’t go into any hotel rooms tonight.” Tony said to Hannah and Leah after pictures had been taken.
“Relax DiNozzo.”
“I want you all three of you to listen to me.” I said.
The girls nodded.
“Don’t do anything, I wouldn’t do.”
As 8pm rolled around JD had returned home just as Hannah and Leah had returned home. I had found odd that the girls were back such an early hour on prom night, especially after all the preparation they had done for it. Later on I would learn that all the guys had tried to get them to spend the night with them in the hotel room they gotten. Even though it was getting closer to the younger kids bedtime, Hannah, Leah and JD had wanted to go to the family dinner so that they could forget what had just happened at prom. We all had gone out for the girls’ dinner and had left as soon as the younger kids started falling asleep. Thankfully there were enough adults around to help carry out Benjamin, Jaliyah, Noah, Ashleann, Drew Jr., Jayden and Jocelyn out to the cars.
When we had gotten home, Nick put the twins to bed as I went to find out what had caused JD, Hannah and Leah to come home so early from prom.
“So what caused you guys to come home early?” I asked as I sat down on the end of JD’s bed.
“Josh, Matt and Jesse had gotten rooms. They tried to get us to go up with them to sleep with them.” JD answered.
“Well I have to say that I am the probably the proudest mom in DC tonight besides Ziva.”
“Thanks mom.”
“Your father will be quite relieved to know that you didn’t sleep with Josh.”
“Yeah.”
“Well it’s late, if you want to talk more tomorrow.” I said.
“Good night mom.”
“Good night JD, I love you.”
“Love you too.” JD said as I turned off the light on her nightstand and she went to sleep.
A few minutes later Nick and I were fast asleep after a long day that thankfully came to an end.
My mood had changed as I stepped out of my sister’s office even if it was for a few minutes; it was still my brief chance to get step away from all of Jen’s responsibilities at the agency. The fact that Jen and Jethro were finally returning from their vacation in a matter of minutes also seemed to contribute to my sudden change in mood. I was literally counting the minutes until my sister and Jethro’s return. I was hoping that Jen and Jethro weren’t planning on taking anymore trips down memory lane any time soon once they had returned. Abby had been in the squad room with Ducky and the rest of the team patiently waiting the return of her protector. As I reached the squad room the elevator had binged and the doors opened.
Abby’s face lit up as she saw Jethro step out of the elevator. It only took Abby a matter of seconds before she rushed over to welcome Jethro back with a hug. Unlike Abby’s enthusiastic hello, I had toned my enthusiasm down a bit as I walked over to Jen to welcome her back.
“I take it walking in my heels has presented a challenge.” Jen said to me as I hugged her.
“Nothing I wasn’t able to handle. Besides the stressed look I have isn’t a NCIS related look.” I answered.
“JD again?”
“Of course.”
“You’ll figure it out, I did.”
“Thanks Jen.” I said.
Just as she had nearly knocked Jethro over seventeen years earlier, Abby had nearly knocked him over again as she hugged him. Like before Tony and Ziva were there to keep Jethro from falling backwards. The last thing we needed was for Jethro to have any of his head trauma acting up again.
Just at that point the elevator had binged and opened again. This time it revealed all of the kids; from Hannah all the way down to Drew Jr. Apparently Hannah, Leah and JD had bumped into their boyfriends while they shopped. Hannah’s boyfriend Jesse had offered the girls a ride to NCIS as Leah’s boyfriend Matt drove Kate and Drew’s kids. That left my babies with JD’s boyfriend, Josh. While Hannah rode with her boyfriend, Leah stayed with Kate and Drew’s kids.
At that point I was beyond pissed and Jen could tell. I couldn’t believe that JD would let her younger sisters in a car with a guy that she barely knew. Before she had met Josh; JD had been a level headed fifteen year old that was very protective of her sisters. But now she had completely changed as she turned sixteen and started seeing Josh. I had no idea who she was or what the hell had gotten into her.
Jen had then decided before she and Jethro gave the kids the gifts that they brought back from their trip that it would be best to get me out of the squad room before another argument had ensued between the two people that she knew had major tempers. Jen had brought me back up to her office.
“We should talk.” Jenny said.
“What is there to talk about?”
“You know damn well what there is to talk about.”
“Okay so what are you waiting for Jenny?” I asked.
“Do you remember what you were like at sixteen?” Jenny asked.
“I was a saint compared to JD, Jen.”
“Actually Jay, I witnessed your teenage age years. I had to put up with you and all of your mood swings. You’d be surprise how similar you and JD are.”
“What? We’re nothing alike.” I said a bit insulted.
“I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything, Jaylyn. I just want you to think of what you were like at sixteen so that you and JD. I just want you to stop and think about all of this because if you don’t then as soon as JD turns eighteen; she is going to leave and never return if don’t stop arguing with her over every little thing. Just think of how you would have wanted mom to react when you had your first boyfriend at 16 and go from there.”
“Okay so you’re right. You know I can’t help it, JD has completely changed. Is it so wrong for me to want her to be the person she was when she was six years ago?”
“No it isn’t, there are time when I wish you were ten years old again.” Jen answered.
By 6pm the girls were at prom with their boyfriends as the rest of us had all gone home. After my talk with Jen that afternoon; we had gone back down to the squad room and the kids had gotten their souvenirs. Apparently it was Jethro’s idea to get all the kids dog tags like he had gotten all of us years ago. The kids’ dog tags were engraved with Jethro’s A-team and their names. Much like Jethro had made all of us promise to wear ours he had made the kids promise to always wear theirs. Jethro had even gotten two dogs tags for McGee and Abby’s kid.
“My gut is told me that you guys are having twins, one of each so I got them dog tags like the other kids when they are older.”
“Thanks boss.” McGee said.
“Thank-you Gibbs.”
At that point it was time for pictures since all of the prom goers were ready.
“Be good girls and don’t go into any hotel rooms tonight.” Tony said to Hannah and Leah after pictures had been taken.
“Relax DiNozzo.”
“I want you all three of you to listen to me.” I said.
The girls nodded.
“Don’t do anything, I wouldn’t do.”
As 8pm rolled around JD had returned home just as Hannah and Leah had returned home. I had found odd that the girls were back such an early hour on prom night, especially after all the preparation they had done for it. Later on I would learn that all the guys had tried to get them to spend the night with them in the hotel room they gotten. Even though it was getting closer to the younger kids bedtime, Hannah, Leah and JD had wanted to go to the family dinner so that they could forget what had just happened at prom. We all had gone out for the girls’ dinner and had left as soon as the younger kids started falling asleep. Thankfully there were enough adults around to help carry out Benjamin, Jaliyah, Noah, Ashleann, Drew Jr., Jayden and Jocelyn out to the cars.
When we had gotten home, Nick put the twins to bed as I went to find out what had caused JD, Hannah and Leah to come home so early from prom.
“So what caused you guys to come home early?” I asked as I sat down on the end of JD’s bed.
“Josh, Matt and Jesse had gotten rooms. They tried to get us to go up with them to sleep with them.” JD answered.
“Well I have to say that I am the probably the proudest mom in DC tonight besides Ziva.”
“Thanks mom.”
“Your father will be quite relieved to know that you didn’t sleep with Josh.”
“Yeah.”
“Well it’s late, if you want to talk more tomorrow.” I said.
“Good night mom.”
“Good night JD, I love you.”
“Love you too.” JD said as I turned off the light on her nightstand and she went to sleep.
A few minutes later Nick and I were fast asleep after a long day that thankfully came to an end.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sweet Sixteens
Over the next few hours things became quite a bit interesting like they always did around the time of Hannah, Leah and JD’s birthdays. The girls had wanted Jen and Jethro to be at their party; so Ziva, Tony, Nick and I had to decide what to do. I didn’t want to tell them to cut their vacation short since it wasn’t fair to them. Jen and Jethro had only just gotten to Positano which meant that they still had Serbia left. Due to all of the factors we decided to have two parties for the girls this time. One with their friends from school and then a dinner out with their NCIS family; just as I had gone out with the gang fourteen years ago.
I felt so beyond disconnected as I sat up in my sister’s office, disconnected from the others. It was a nice change of pace; but unlike my sister who loved being Director more than being a field agent, I absolutely loved being a field agent. Just as I sat back in my sister’s very comfortable office chair to relax, Cynthia had buzzed me from her desk to say there was a Senator on line one wanting to talk to the Director. Since I was acting director, I obviously had to take this pointless phone call and deal with yet another petulant Senator.
“Director Shepard.” I said.
“Hello; Director Shepard, its Senator Ryans. I just called to see if you had looked over the GAO notes from the last meeting.”
I obviously had no clue what the hell Senator Ryans was talking about and he clearly didn’t realize that I wasn’t my sister.
“Ah Senator, who do you think you are talking to?” I asked.
“NCIS Director Jennifer Shepard, of course.” the Senator replied.
“Sorry; but no, my name is Jaylyn Shepard. I am filling in for my sister while she and Agent Gibbs are on vacation. I have no idea what you are talking about as far as notes go.”
“Well then, have your sister call me when she gets back from her vacation.” Senator Ryans said as he abruptly got off the phone.
“And that is why I prefer being an agent.” I said to myself.
I was counting down the days until Jen and Jethro returned; I more than wanted a bit of normalcy in my life again. Especially with my eldest daughter turning sixteen soon. I knew that wasn’t going to happened until Jen and Jethro returned; even then it wasn’t going to be normal or remotely close to normal until the girls had their family dinner with all of us.
But as I adjusted the chain around my neck and pulled the one thing that kept connected me to the rest of the team out from underneath my shirt, things became a little better. About three years ago; on the anniversary of when Leon broke up Jethro’s team, Jethro had gotten all nine of us engraved dog tags. On the dog tags Jethro had each one engraved with Jethro’s A+ Team followed by our name. Just knowing that the others including Jenny, Ducky and Palmer were wearing their dog tags made everything better.
Everyday all nine of us wore our dog tags at Jethro’s request. The guys had decided to just let the chains of their respective dog tags sat on remain visible. Jenny, Ziva, Kate, Abby and I had no shame in letting our respective dog tags be visible when we wore them. Within the twenty-six years Jenny had known Jethro he had been so many things to her. He had been her lover, protector and confidant as well as the one person she knew that she would spend the rest of her life with whether there was a ring on her hand or not.
For me Jethro was like the brother I never had. Jethro was obviously Kate, Abby and Ziva’s protector along with being their father figure. All five of us were quite attached to Jethro, which gave us the add bonus of everyone within NCIS knowing that they would be in a world of trouble if we weren’t happy. No one messed with Jethro’s girls. During my last phone call with Jenny there had been a slight hint from her that they were bringing back gifts for all of the kids.
Throughout the day Jen had been texting me when she and Jethro weren’t entwined in each other. I had told her about the girls’ party later that night, how Ziva and I scrambled at the last minute to invite everyone we thought the girls wanted at their party. Jen had loved the ideas we came up with, but at the same time she hated being away from her nieces when they had an important birthday coming up. Ziva and I decided at the start of the work day that the girls’ party was going to a surprise party for them, so we only told them that all of us would celebrate their sweet sixteen birthdays when Jen and Jethro returned. Nick and Tony were bringing the girls to the banquet hall we had gotten for their surprise party that night.
Later that night all of the girls friends, Ziva and myself waited in a darken banquet hall as we saw the headlights of the car that had our respective husbands and the girls in it pull up. Within minutes Hannah, Leah and JD walked in with Nick and Tony; the lights came on as the girls stood completely stunned. Once the shock wore off Hannah, Leah and JD made their way to their respective boyfriends. Both Tony and Nick couldn’t believe what they saw.
It was clear that Tony was worried that his daughters were dating boys that were just like he was before his transformation from womanizer to gentleman. I could tell that Nick was just as worried as Tony. Ziva on the other had a look on her face that told me that she had no idea that her twin sixteen year old daughters had boyfriends.
“I guess you didn’t know.” I said.
“You guessed right, Jay.” Ziva answered.
Tony and Nick promptly came to us after the girls had kissed their respective boyfriends.
“They are dating.” Tony said.
“When did this happen?” Nick asked.
“Most likely a few months ago.” I said.
“This isn’t good; they shouldn’t be that intimate with those boys at this age.” Tony said.
Ziva and I laughed at Tony.
“What’s so funny?” Tony asked.
“It’s nothing.” Ziva said covering for us since we both saw the irony of Tony’s statement knowing what he was like before he married Ziva.
“Don’t worry the girls have a head on their shoulders and they won’t do anything they don’t want to do. Have faith in them, they are intelligent young women.” I said.
Before long the worried looks had dissipated from Tony, Ziva and Nick’s faces. But just like me they were still a bit concerned. Apparently that was normal for parents who had teenage daughters dating.
I felt so beyond disconnected as I sat up in my sister’s office, disconnected from the others. It was a nice change of pace; but unlike my sister who loved being Director more than being a field agent, I absolutely loved being a field agent. Just as I sat back in my sister’s very comfortable office chair to relax, Cynthia had buzzed me from her desk to say there was a Senator on line one wanting to talk to the Director. Since I was acting director, I obviously had to take this pointless phone call and deal with yet another petulant Senator.
“Director Shepard.” I said.
“Hello; Director Shepard, its Senator Ryans. I just called to see if you had looked over the GAO notes from the last meeting.”
I obviously had no clue what the hell Senator Ryans was talking about and he clearly didn’t realize that I wasn’t my sister.
“Ah Senator, who do you think you are talking to?” I asked.
“NCIS Director Jennifer Shepard, of course.” the Senator replied.
“Sorry; but no, my name is Jaylyn Shepard. I am filling in for my sister while she and Agent Gibbs are on vacation. I have no idea what you are talking about as far as notes go.”
“Well then, have your sister call me when she gets back from her vacation.” Senator Ryans said as he abruptly got off the phone.
“And that is why I prefer being an agent.” I said to myself.
I was counting down the days until Jen and Jethro returned; I more than wanted a bit of normalcy in my life again. Especially with my eldest daughter turning sixteen soon. I knew that wasn’t going to happened until Jen and Jethro returned; even then it wasn’t going to be normal or remotely close to normal until the girls had their family dinner with all of us.
But as I adjusted the chain around my neck and pulled the one thing that kept connected me to the rest of the team out from underneath my shirt, things became a little better. About three years ago; on the anniversary of when Leon broke up Jethro’s team, Jethro had gotten all nine of us engraved dog tags. On the dog tags Jethro had each one engraved with Jethro’s A+ Team followed by our name. Just knowing that the others including Jenny, Ducky and Palmer were wearing their dog tags made everything better.
Everyday all nine of us wore our dog tags at Jethro’s request. The guys had decided to just let the chains of their respective dog tags sat on remain visible. Jenny, Ziva, Kate, Abby and I had no shame in letting our respective dog tags be visible when we wore them. Within the twenty-six years Jenny had known Jethro he had been so many things to her. He had been her lover, protector and confidant as well as the one person she knew that she would spend the rest of her life with whether there was a ring on her hand or not.
For me Jethro was like the brother I never had. Jethro was obviously Kate, Abby and Ziva’s protector along with being their father figure. All five of us were quite attached to Jethro, which gave us the add bonus of everyone within NCIS knowing that they would be in a world of trouble if we weren’t happy. No one messed with Jethro’s girls. During my last phone call with Jenny there had been a slight hint from her that they were bringing back gifts for all of the kids.
Throughout the day Jen had been texting me when she and Jethro weren’t entwined in each other. I had told her about the girls’ party later that night, how Ziva and I scrambled at the last minute to invite everyone we thought the girls wanted at their party. Jen had loved the ideas we came up with, but at the same time she hated being away from her nieces when they had an important birthday coming up. Ziva and I decided at the start of the work day that the girls’ party was going to a surprise party for them, so we only told them that all of us would celebrate their sweet sixteen birthdays when Jen and Jethro returned. Nick and Tony were bringing the girls to the banquet hall we had gotten for their surprise party that night.
Later that night all of the girls friends, Ziva and myself waited in a darken banquet hall as we saw the headlights of the car that had our respective husbands and the girls in it pull up. Within minutes Hannah, Leah and JD walked in with Nick and Tony; the lights came on as the girls stood completely stunned. Once the shock wore off Hannah, Leah and JD made their way to their respective boyfriends. Both Tony and Nick couldn’t believe what they saw.
It was clear that Tony was worried that his daughters were dating boys that were just like he was before his transformation from womanizer to gentleman. I could tell that Nick was just as worried as Tony. Ziva on the other had a look on her face that told me that she had no idea that her twin sixteen year old daughters had boyfriends.
“I guess you didn’t know.” I said.
“You guessed right, Jay.” Ziva answered.
Tony and Nick promptly came to us after the girls had kissed their respective boyfriends.
“They are dating.” Tony said.
“When did this happen?” Nick asked.
“Most likely a few months ago.” I said.
“This isn’t good; they shouldn’t be that intimate with those boys at this age.” Tony said.
Ziva and I laughed at Tony.
“What’s so funny?” Tony asked.
“It’s nothing.” Ziva said covering for us since we both saw the irony of Tony’s statement knowing what he was like before he married Ziva.
“Don’t worry the girls have a head on their shoulders and they won’t do anything they don’t want to do. Have faith in them, they are intelligent young women.” I said.
Before long the worried looks had dissipated from Tony, Ziva and Nick’s faces. But just like me they were still a bit concerned. Apparently that was normal for parents who had teenage daughters dating.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Driving Lessons
Before long Nick and I were in Key West in our hotel room as Tony and Ziva were in theirs in Key Largo. It was 3am in Key West; Nick and I had been asleep for two hours when my cell rang. Half asleep I looked at the caller id on the front screen of my phone and answered it.
“Why the hell are you calling me when its 3am here, Jen?”
“To tell you that Jethro and I made it to our room after the lay-overs and what not.” Jenny said.
“What part of its 3am here don’t you get?”
“Someone is a bit on the bitchy side.”
“You would be too if you only got two hours of sleep when your sister decided to wake you up with a six hour time difference.” I said.
“So you’ve been in Key West for six hours, what have you two been doing for six hours?” Jenny asked.
“You know perfectly well what Nick and I were doing. The exact same thing you and Jethro were doing at 25, 000 feet when you two rejoined the mile high club.”
“I’ll talk to you later, go back to sleep.” Jen said to me as she got tired of my bitchy side.
“Jen, I’m thirty- nine not ten, with a husband and three kids of my own; you don’t have to tell me when to go to bed anymore.”
I hung up with my sister and went back to bed. In a few hours Nick and I would be getting couples’ massages, going for a romantic walk along the beach and what not.
Meanwhile ninety miles northeast of Nick and me; Tony and Ziva were sound asleep. Ziva had sent me a text message before they fell asleep saying that she never wanted to leave Key Largo. Shortly after Ziva had text me, Tony had gotten a text message from Jethro saying that Tony and I were acting bosses once the four of us got back to DC.
A few hours later, around 10am Nick and I were awake, just as Tony and Ziva were in Key Largo. Nick had offered to turn the shower on for me since he knew that I hated going to bed the night before with the just got off the plane feeling.
“How hot do you want the water, hun?” Nick called from the bathroom.
“After fourteen years of marriage, three daughters later and you can’t remember that I like my shower water to be on the verge of scalding hot.” I answered.
“Sorry I forgot that you like your shower just like your sister likes hers.” Nick said.
I walked over to the bathroom and looked Nick in the eyes.
“How the hell do you how my sister likes her shower? I never told you that.” I said suspiciously.
Nick could obviously tell that I was thrown by what he had said.
“Gibbs told me how the Director likes her shower when we were talking about how much the two of you are alike the other day.”
“You know how weird that is; that you know this.” I said.
“Can we get pass this awkwardness, so I can have your absolutely stunning towel clad body with mine.”
“Vying for baby number four, are we?” I asked.
“Doesn’t hurt to try; are you going to come over here or not?” Nick asked.
“I’m going to get into the shower. We had our fun last night.” I answered as I stuck to my position of just having three kids under the age of eighteen while proceeding to the bathroom.
I had left the bathroom door open since it was just Nick and I in the room. Nick laid on the bed and looked over to the bathroom as I let my towel drop to the floor.
“See something you like?” I asked.
“As always, it still blows my mind that perfectly sculpted body of yours once held our girls inside it.”
“Thank-you; hun, but you’re not going to change my mind. I am showering.”
A few minutes later as I got dressed after I got out my shower Nick noticed my third tattoo which was on the back of my neck.
“I still find it sweet that you have the girls initials tattooed on your neck.” Nick said as he traced the heart on my neck that encased JD, JS and JR.
“Well they are my world, just like you are.” I said as Nick and I left our room to go to breakfast and do the other things we planned on doing.
Tony and Ziva were pretty much doing the same things that Nick and I were doing, but instead of walking along the beach they were horse back riding on the beach. As the four of us were enjoying our respective second honeymoons, the girls were waking up for another day of school just as Jen and Jethro were going to bed.
The thought of getting a bit of payback on Jen for waking me up at 3am had crossed my mind at one point. I knew it would be juvenile of me if I went through with calling Jen when it was 3am over there. The last thing I want to do was resort to Tony’s level of juvenile behavior just to get payback on my sister. Nick and I were enjoying our last day in Key West as much as we could since we had to get back to DC due to Jen and Jethro’s vacation, the team needed a leader and the agency needed someone to run it. Both Ziva and I hated the fact that we had to cut tropical escape short, but we had to.
The massages that we all got were absolutely relaxing. All my stress had dissipated by the time Nick and I went on our walk. As we walked on the beach, Tony and Ziva were riding horses much like Jethro did with Shannon and Kelly years ago. At one point Tony had looked over to his wife and saw a smile on her face.
“I love that smile.” Tony said when they had paused to watch the sun paint the sky pink and orange.
“Well you bring it out, Tony.”
“I know; I am just glad that you’re smiling again, I haven’t seen it in a while.”
“Get over here.” Ziva instructed.
“You’re not going to Gibbs’ slap me, are you?”
“No, get over here.”
Tony did as he was told and directed his horse to stand closer to Ziva’s horse. Without saying a word, Ziva leaned over to Tony and pulled his head close to hers to the point where they a few inches apart from each other. Before Tony processed what was going on; Ziva had brought his lips to hers and passionately kissed him in a way that told him that she wasn’t planning on ending the kiss anytime soon.
“Thank-you for all of this, for everything that you have done for me and everything you’ve given me. I love you.” Ziva said.
By 7pm that night all four of us had returned to DC. The kids had returned to their respective homes. JD had begged Nick to take her out driving just has Hannah and Leah begged Tony to take them out driving. So Nick took JD out as I stayed home with Jayden and Jocelyn to help them with their homework. The next day as Jen and Jethro wrapped up their time in Marseilles before heading over to Positano; Tony and I were temporarily taking over for them until they returned at the end of the week.
“Why the hell are you calling me when its 3am here, Jen?”
“To tell you that Jethro and I made it to our room after the lay-overs and what not.” Jenny said.
“What part of its 3am here don’t you get?”
“Someone is a bit on the bitchy side.”
“You would be too if you only got two hours of sleep when your sister decided to wake you up with a six hour time difference.” I said.
“So you’ve been in Key West for six hours, what have you two been doing for six hours?” Jenny asked.
“You know perfectly well what Nick and I were doing. The exact same thing you and Jethro were doing at 25, 000 feet when you two rejoined the mile high club.”
“I’ll talk to you later, go back to sleep.” Jen said to me as she got tired of my bitchy side.
“Jen, I’m thirty- nine not ten, with a husband and three kids of my own; you don’t have to tell me when to go to bed anymore.”
I hung up with my sister and went back to bed. In a few hours Nick and I would be getting couples’ massages, going for a romantic walk along the beach and what not.
Meanwhile ninety miles northeast of Nick and me; Tony and Ziva were sound asleep. Ziva had sent me a text message before they fell asleep saying that she never wanted to leave Key Largo. Shortly after Ziva had text me, Tony had gotten a text message from Jethro saying that Tony and I were acting bosses once the four of us got back to DC.
A few hours later, around 10am Nick and I were awake, just as Tony and Ziva were in Key Largo. Nick had offered to turn the shower on for me since he knew that I hated going to bed the night before with the just got off the plane feeling.
“How hot do you want the water, hun?” Nick called from the bathroom.
“After fourteen years of marriage, three daughters later and you can’t remember that I like my shower water to be on the verge of scalding hot.” I answered.
“Sorry I forgot that you like your shower just like your sister likes hers.” Nick said.
I walked over to the bathroom and looked Nick in the eyes.
“How the hell do you how my sister likes her shower? I never told you that.” I said suspiciously.
Nick could obviously tell that I was thrown by what he had said.
“Gibbs told me how the Director likes her shower when we were talking about how much the two of you are alike the other day.”
“You know how weird that is; that you know this.” I said.
“Can we get pass this awkwardness, so I can have your absolutely stunning towel clad body with mine.”
“Vying for baby number four, are we?” I asked.
“Doesn’t hurt to try; are you going to come over here or not?” Nick asked.
“I’m going to get into the shower. We had our fun last night.” I answered as I stuck to my position of just having three kids under the age of eighteen while proceeding to the bathroom.
I had left the bathroom door open since it was just Nick and I in the room. Nick laid on the bed and looked over to the bathroom as I let my towel drop to the floor.
“See something you like?” I asked.
“As always, it still blows my mind that perfectly sculpted body of yours once held our girls inside it.”
“Thank-you; hun, but you’re not going to change my mind. I am showering.”
A few minutes later as I got dressed after I got out my shower Nick noticed my third tattoo which was on the back of my neck.
“I still find it sweet that you have the girls initials tattooed on your neck.” Nick said as he traced the heart on my neck that encased JD, JS and JR.
“Well they are my world, just like you are.” I said as Nick and I left our room to go to breakfast and do the other things we planned on doing.
Tony and Ziva were pretty much doing the same things that Nick and I were doing, but instead of walking along the beach they were horse back riding on the beach. As the four of us were enjoying our respective second honeymoons, the girls were waking up for another day of school just as Jen and Jethro were going to bed.
The thought of getting a bit of payback on Jen for waking me up at 3am had crossed my mind at one point. I knew it would be juvenile of me if I went through with calling Jen when it was 3am over there. The last thing I want to do was resort to Tony’s level of juvenile behavior just to get payback on my sister. Nick and I were enjoying our last day in Key West as much as we could since we had to get back to DC due to Jen and Jethro’s vacation, the team needed a leader and the agency needed someone to run it. Both Ziva and I hated the fact that we had to cut tropical escape short, but we had to.
The massages that we all got were absolutely relaxing. All my stress had dissipated by the time Nick and I went on our walk. As we walked on the beach, Tony and Ziva were riding horses much like Jethro did with Shannon and Kelly years ago. At one point Tony had looked over to his wife and saw a smile on her face.
“I love that smile.” Tony said when they had paused to watch the sun paint the sky pink and orange.
“Well you bring it out, Tony.”
“I know; I am just glad that you’re smiling again, I haven’t seen it in a while.”
“Get over here.” Ziva instructed.
“You’re not going to Gibbs’ slap me, are you?”
“No, get over here.”
Tony did as he was told and directed his horse to stand closer to Ziva’s horse. Without saying a word, Ziva leaned over to Tony and pulled his head close to hers to the point where they a few inches apart from each other. Before Tony processed what was going on; Ziva had brought his lips to hers and passionately kissed him in a way that told him that she wasn’t planning on ending the kiss anytime soon.
“Thank-you for all of this, for everything that you have done for me and everything you’ve given me. I love you.” Ziva said.
By 7pm that night all four of us had returned to DC. The kids had returned to their respective homes. JD had begged Nick to take her out driving just has Hannah and Leah begged Tony to take them out driving. So Nick took JD out as I stayed home with Jayden and Jocelyn to help them with their homework. The next day as Jen and Jethro wrapped up their time in Marseilles before heading over to Positano; Tony and I were temporarily taking over for them until they returned at the end of the week.
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