NCIS Fanfiction: Rounding Out the Team

[dragonheart]

Title: Rounding Out the Team
Series: NCIS
Characters: Jenny Shepherd and Leroy Jethro Gibbs (with mentions of Kate Todd, Ari Haswari, Ziva David, Tony Dinozzo)
Ratings: G
Words: 672
Notes/Warnings: What if Ziva wasn’t affiliated with Mossad when she came to work at NCIS.
Written for NCIS_Verse AU Fic Challenge #9

 

He recognized her quiet tread on his steps.  Months together undercover and under fire left her mark on him in more ways than one.

“Hey Jen” he spoke softly without looking up from the plank of wood that he was lovingly converting into a handrail for his latest boat.

“Jethro” she answered with an amused lilt to her voice; not surprised that he knew she was there, but unable to fully suppress the thrill she felt that he was still as attuned to her as she was to him years after their partnership had ended.

She walked over to his work bench and rummaged around for a glass that could be considered semi-clean and poured herself a neat shot of bourbon.  Contrary to popular belief; he only drank the good stuff, she savored the warm taste of liquid smoke as she watched him transform the rough wood into something functional and beautiful.  It was almost hypnotic.

“What’s with the file Jen?”  His words startled her out of her thoughts. 

She mentally shook herself and smirked “Personnel file”.

“I told you Jen, I don’t need another agent, my hands are full with the two I have.”

“Yes, and that’s the problem.  Ever since Agent Todd left the team last year for her happily ever after with Officer Haswari, your team has felt a little lop-sided.”

“Not to me”

She rolled her eyes at his stubborn opposition and continued, “I have someone I think you will like.  You and she are quite a bit alike in some ways”

“She?”

Jen quirked her eyebrow and chuckled “Don’t tell me, you have a problem with that?”

“She, he, it…doesn’t matter. I don’t need another agent” he huffed.

It was starting to grate on her nerves that he had yet to look up from his work. But two could play that particular game.  As a matter of fact; the two of them made playing that game look like child’s play.

She poured herself another drink and then dropped the file folder on his workbench.  “I am assigning her to your team, Jethro.  As team leader, you should know something about her before she walks into the bullpen tomorrow”

That got his attention, “Tomorrow?”

“It’s a done deal”

He sighed loudly and picked up the folder and began to read.

He had to admit the young agent was impressive on paper.  Born in Israel, but moved to the United States with her parents when she was six, naturalized citizen, no siblings, recruited by NCIS right out of college.  Five years working covertly in Europe, the Middle East and South America; currently assigned to the New York field office doing investigative work under a man that Gibbs knew and admired.  In fact, she was almost too good to be true and the multiple letters of recommendation from those in lofty places caused his internal alarm to sound.

“Who is she Jen?”

“It’s all right there in the file, Jethro”

“No. I mean who is she to you?”

Jen shrugged and answered “We worked a few missions together”

“Is she…?”

“Yes.”

Without further comment, he read the rest of the file.

 The file of the mysterious young agent who had saved Jenny’s life when a mission in Saudi Arabia had gone terribly wrong; a mission that she rarely spoke of and then only in the most cryptic of terms. For that reason alone, he owed this young woman a chance – this Ziva David.

Looking at the picture of the pretty young agent, he voiced his last concern about her “DiNozzo’s going to give me problems with this one”

Sensing that he was finally on board, she laughed and replied “Yes, I know.  In fact, I’m counting on it”