Given The Chance
- Chapter 3 -
Jen avoided DiNozzo and McGee and retreated to the bathroom, splashing her face with cool water trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall. She had deluded herself into thinking that she could quietly joke her way out of this "thing" with Jethro. He was angry with her for giving up, but she needed him here tonight, she needed to know that he had her back. It felt like his famous gut was rubbing off on her.
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Gibbs ran a hand over his face, trying to rub some feeling back into it. He sensed a presence behind him and turned, finding Ziva standing in the door way with her hands on her hips.
"Did she explain why we are here?" She asked, coming to stand next to him, turning so she could still see into the room. He glanced down at her.
"She said she trusts me." Ziva looked up at him.
"Did you not stop to think that she also trusts her own security detail, so why you?" She asked enigmatically, before walking back into the party, blending into the background effortlessly. Gibbs frowned, the thought hadn't occurred to him, but now he couldn't stop the question rolling around his head.
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"He is worried." The voice at her shoulder made her jump slightly.
"He has no right to be." Jen answered rather too harshly. Ziva raised a questioning eyebrow at her, confused at her use of words.
"Has he got a reason?" She asked. Jen shrugged, unable to answer the question.
"I don't know Ziva; I just have a feeling, that's all, now go do what you get paid to do." The brush off was meant to be lighthearted but Ziva saw through it, not taking offense, she smiled gently, squeezing her friends hand before retreating as Jen was swept away by more admirers.
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Gibbs sighed as he watched her across the room. He hated being confined to the sidelines as she took the stage, not because he was jealous of her, but he wanted to be next to her, wanted to be by her side. Ziva's question, so why you, still fluttered around his head and it irritated him that he couldn't figure it out. She had put a stop to whatever it was they had months ago, she walked away, again, and now she wanted him here, watching out for her. Ziva's words made him think it was more than he always had her back no matter what was going on in their personal life, but he couldn't figure it out. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this whole evening.
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She could feel his eyes on her, burning a hole in the back of her neck. She was glad that he was here, she felt safe, but did he really have to watch her every move like a hawk? She felt constricted and suffocated. She ducked behind a group of men, hoping to hide for a while, but when the strong, unfamiliar hand gripped her arm painfully, she knew hiding had been the wrong idea.
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Where the hell was she, immediate unease set in when he realized she was no longer in his line of vision. He caught sight of Ziva and DiNozzo searching too, catching Ziva's eye, she gave an almost unperceivable shake of the head and continued searching. His eyes were frantically seeking Jen out when the shot echoed through the hall.