Clones

Discussion

Gibbs finally comes back 5 minutes before the end of the workday. Ashley and Jasper come running out of Jen's office playing tag. They bump into Gibbs and cause him to spill his coffee. Gibbs starts to raise his hand thinking it's one of his employees until he turns around and sees two children. He speaks up, "Whose children are these?"

Tony stops playing with paperclips and stands up lickity split. He herds them towards his desk, "Why don't we see who can make the best paper airplane?"

Gibbs asks again, "Whose children are these?"

Tony answers as the kids are folding pieces of paper, "Director Shepard's."

Gibbs takes a literal step back, "Jen has- Jen has kids?" Tony nods scared. Gibbs connects some dots, "Tony, they look 5 or 6 years old, right?"

Tony follows where Gibbs is going, "I don't know, I think 6 or 7."

Gibbs taps on JJ's shoulders. JJ turns around and stares Gibbs in his eyes. Gibbs looks deeply into his baby blues and huffs. He marches up to MTAC. Tony tries to calm him down but fails. Jethro knows. Jethro pulls Jen out of her chair and outside of MTAC, "Special Agent Gibbs, your back..." Outside of MTAC, she sees her kids surrounding Tony's desk. She thinks to herself, 'Goddammit, Jen.'

He pushes her softly into her office and slams the door. He starts to get angry, "Jennifer Barbara Shepard, give me one good reason you didn't tell me you had my kids!"

"I wanted to, I did. It's just..." Jen trails off

"What? What on God's green earth would make you not let me know I have kids?" Jethro sits in her swivel chair at the head of her desk.

Jenny starts to sob, "Jethro..."

Jethro huffs, "That's what I thought." He yells, "Those are my children out there and you didn't tell me that they existed! How dare you, Jen. How dare you! Those are my blood, my lineage, my soul put into those people and you had the gall to just not tell me! You better give me a reason, because you are not allowed to just stand there crying."

Jenn sniffles heavily and yells back at him, "I thought you wouldn't care."

Jethro leans forward aggressively, "I'm sorry, did I just hear that correctly? Because if so, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."

"Jethro please..." Jen sits in the chair across from Gibbs.

Jethro calms down a little and leans back in her chair, "You left me, then had the balls to have my children without notifying me?"

Jen looks at Jethro and apologizes, "I'm sorry."

"For what, leaving me, or for having my clones without telling me?" Jethro asks.

Jethro hit a nerve. Jen stops crying and angrily says, "I am sorry for not letting you know you had children. Now if you may, get the hell out of my office."

"Jen..." Gibbs says quietly.

Jen responds, "It's Director. Now leave."

Gibbs hangs his head and stands up out of her chair. Before leaving he mentions, "I loved you Jen, and you left." Before Jenny can say anything he slowly and softly shuts the door and returns to his desk. He packs up his stuff and heads towards the elevator. He sees Jen out of the corner of his eye pack her children's things. He then gets in the elevator and heads to his car. The workday is done.

The next few days they avoid each other until Jethro decides to intervene. After Jen finishes her call in MTAC, she is taken by the arm into the same storage closet where she and Tony talked. While being flung into the closet she mentions his title, "Special Agent! What are you doing?"

He answers, "I want to know my kids."

"No way," Jen answers, trying to push past him towards the exit.

He pushes back, "I'm not accepting that answer. You made the wrong decision 8 years ago, ultimately costing me my relationship with my children. With all due respect, I wasn't asking. Now either you tell them in a controlled environment or I find a way to tell them as soon as possible."

Jen knows he isn't bluffing. Gibbs doesn't bluff. She answers, "Fine. My house tonight, under my rules."

"Under your roof tonight, with my rules," Jethro demands.

She negotiates, "After work, we set rules we agree on, then meet at my house."

Jethro thinks about the offer for a minute, "Fine."

They both leave the closet and bump into Tony. Tony grins thinking of what they were doing in the closet. Jen looks at Tony and asks Gibbs, "Should I do it or you?"

Jethro replies, "It'd be an honor for you to do it." Jen smacks Tony on the back of the head and walks back to MTAC.

DiNozzo and Gibbs walk down the stairs together. Tony mentions, "What were you two doing in the closet?"

Gibbs answers, "None of your damn business."