Rekindling the Flame

Igniting a Spark

"I'm ok," she said again, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry."

Knowing it was futile to probe any further, he stood up and walked with her to the door. As she opened it to leave, he took her arm and pulled her close, kissing her on the forehead.

"Look after yourself Jen," he said gently. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She smiled at him and then turned and left. Watching her walk down the path, he waited until she was safely in her car. Then, shutting the door, he headed upstairs to talk to Tony and assure him everything was ok.

But Gibbs had been worried. Jenny was as tough as they came. He had seen her take down hardened criminals, shoot someone point blank, manage to take cover and wait silently with a bullet lodged in her thigh. Yet, despite all that, this one nightmare could have her sobbing like a lost child. So many nights, he had sat with her, rocking her gently while she whimpered into his chest, her body shaking uncontrollably as he sat there helpless, unable to do anything except hold her and soothe her frightened soul. Then, seethe with frustration when the morning came and she would brush it off as if nothing had happened.

Now, seven years later, discovering she was still haunted by this one paralysing nightmare, set his stomach churning again. He was determined to get to the bottom of why this was still happening and help her find closure once and for all.

He looked at his watch. It was 10.15am. Deciding he would ring her and see how she was this morning, he grabbed his cell from the kitchen bench and hit the speed dial. It rang several times before she finally answered. He was shocked when he heard her voice. Gravelly, and thick with sleep, she said quietly, "Shepard." She obviously hadn't even looked at the caller ID, another indication that he had woken her from a deep sleep.

"Jen?" he said. "Are you ok?"

Clearing her throat, she replied, "Oh Jethro, hi. Yeah, you were right, definitely coming down with something. I decided to take the day off and rest at home."

That in itself was cause for concern. He hadn't known Jen to voluntarily take a single sick day in all the years he'd known her. In fact, back in her probie days, there were times when he'd had to order her to go home after she'd stumbled into the squad room, pale and running a fever.

"What's up?" he asked, wondering what would have her laid up in bed.

"Just the 'flu I think. My head's pounding and I ache all over. Nothing a couple of days in bed won't fix," she replied sleepily.

"Well, you won't be doing that alone," Gibbs answered firmly. "I'll be over there shortly to see how you are, and if I think you're sick enough, I'll be bringing you back here."

"I'm fine Jethro," she argued, sighing with frustration. "I just need..."

"This is not a debate Jen," he interrupted. "I'll be seeing you soon." And with that, he closed the cell effectively ending the conversation.

Flipping it open again, he called Tim.

"Hey Boss," he heard Tim answer.

"Hi Tim," replied Gibbs. "Just wondering if I could ask you a huge favour? Jenny's not well and I need to get over there and see how she is. Any chance you could come over and watch Tony and Ziva for me? Shouldn't be for more than an hour or so."

"Sure," said Tim. "Is Director Shepard ok?"

"Yeah, I think it's just the 'flu," assured Gibbs. "But I want to check on her and make sure. Thanks Tim."

"No worries Boss. See you soon."

Gibbs hung up for the second time and, putting the phone in his pocket, he went outside to call Tony and Ziva. As they came bounding into the kitchen he asked them both to sit down at the table.