Melinda

Chapter 2

"Max!" Tony said shocked and looked at the picture in his pocket.

Save Him. It said written in red marker pen.

Gibbs grabbed a glove and carefully took the picture off Tony who stood there.

"Do you know who this is?" Vance asked Tony who stood shaking his head.

"Not exactly," Tony replied and he walked over to his desk and opened a file marked 'MK' on his computer and pictures of Max came up from his birth to the latest one they had on the plasma. "I've been getting these for years from a woman called Melinda. That's all it says on the emails I've tried chasing the IP address but the address turns out to be a dead end every time." He said

McGee turned to him, "Maybe I can try?" he offered.

Although Tony knew it was useless to try he allowed Tim to try anyway and Tim went off to his computer to try and trace the source of the emails.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Gibbs asked.

Tony shrugged what could he say.

"Maybe Melinda is an old girlfriend?" Ziva suggested.

"No," Tony snapped. "Look Boss, I know my reputation, but I've never really slept around and I know the names of all the women I have slept with and never been with a Melinda."

Gibbs and Vance looked at each other, they had both known that Tony's reputation with women was not as prolific as he made out, but to see him confirm it, in front of the team meant that DiNozzo was freaking out.

"Sit DiNozzo, until we find out why these were sent to you and what connection there is between you and the Watsons."

"Well I know Noemi….She was Director Shepard's housekeeper, I went to Je…Director Shepard's home once or twice." He looked away and Gibbs could tell there was more than that. Gibbs assumed it was because at that time Tony was working undercover for Jenny.

"This when you were dating Jeanne Benoit?" he asked.

Tony shrugged. "Yeah around that time, and before when you took your hiatus to Mexico."

Gibbs had been gone a month and Tony was getting fed up of the sniping he was getting at work.

Everyone had left for the day, their paperwork was left undone and to keep the MCRT running Tony was left catching up with the paperwork and had watched as Tim, Ziva and Abby had gone out to a club laughing that he couldn't go with them, telling Tim he'd have more chance to pull a girl. Tony sighed as the elevator closed shutting him off from their laughter.

Jenny had been watching from the balcony, she hated the way the team was treating him and she was still mad at Gibbs for the way he had left.

She walked down the stairs and walked up to his desk, "Dinner?" she asked him.

"Er, Sorry Director?" Tony asked looking up at her.

"Dinner Tony, you need to eat don't you?" Jenny smiled at him.

Tony grinned back "Yes Director, I do need to eat." He said and grabbed his bag, "My treat, A DiNozzo never lets a lady pay." He said with a smile.

Jenny and Tony talked a lot after that, having many more meals and meeting together she could see the effect being in charge was having on him, he was handling the team well and even though they were behaving like an ass to him at times the case solve rate never went down and neither did the quality of paperwork from the team either, which Jen assumed was due to Tony's nightly diligence.

Then it happened, Gibbs came back.

Tony had walked in to find his stuff, in a box on his old desk and Gibbs was sitting back in his place as team leader.

He hadn't said a word to Gibbs that day, but he said a lot later.

Walking into Jen's house he threw his bag down and walked upstairs to the room they had shared on numerous occasions over the last few months.

"It's not bloody fair Jen!" he said throwing his jacket on the chair and picking up his t-shirt from the drawer.

Jenny looked up at him, "I'm sorry Tony, I could order him to stay retired?" she offered.

Tony sat on the bed as Jenny moved to put her arm around him.

He sighed and kissed her, "You know that's not what I want, He needs to be back doing this, and he's not himself…" he said.

"Rota's still open." Jenny offered.

Tony looked at her, "I'm not going, I can't leave him to lead the team as it is and I can't leave you." He admitted.

She closed the folder she had been reading and set it on the nightstand. "You still want to be with me, even though he's back?" she asked.

Tony stood up and looked at her. Over the last few months he had fallen for her and fallen for her hard. He never allowed himself to believe he meant as much to her as she did to him.

"Do you still want me…now he's back?" He asked his voice uncertain.

"Tony, you were never a pity fuck, you are….you, you are funny, charming, and incredibly sexy and you're spending your off hours with someone who is older than you."

"Jen, I….I lov...like you a lot, you are funny, beautiful, smart and an amazing woman, I know Gibbs is your first love, the one that got away and I won't fool myself into believing that you wouldn't drop me in an instant if he offered you the chance to be with him again," he said sadly.

Jenny looked at him and saw all the uncertainty and sadness in his eyes.

She moved over sat on his lap and kissed him, pouring all the passion she could muster into the kiss. "Jethro….who?" she smiled and lost herself in his arms.

Later after their passion was spent, Jenny leant over to pick up the file she had been looking at, "Tony, if you're not taking Rota, I do have an assignment I wouldn't trust to anyone else." She said.

Three months later he was sitting in her office, "Jen, she wants us to sleep together." Tony said.

"Do you want to?" she asked her voice flat and her heart breaking.

Tony made sure the door was locked hitting the secrecy button on her desk, "No…that's not what I want," he said lifting her onto the desk and kissing her.

Two hours later he walked out of her office, looking exactly as he had gone in, although feeling a lot better about where they stood, but knowing that the assignment was still on and he was still undercover, playing the part of Anthony DiNardo, university professor and boyfriend to one Jeanne Benoit.

Another month later when Jen was in MTAC with Gibbs looking for Tony the bottom fell out of her world.

When his car blew up it was all she could do not to scream and faint. Inside all she wanted to do was die, but she held it together and headed the investigation. However when Ducky finally came up and told them it wasn't him she felt like kissing the older man.

Tony had eventually appeared after shooting her a brief grin, which thanks to Ziva standing in the same direction, Gibbs thought was for the younger woman, he had been debriefed and then let home early.

He hadn't been home for an hour when he heard his door opened and closed quietly.

He waited as the footsteps he was expecting came up behind him and her arms encircled his waist.

"I thought I'd lost you." She whispered.

He turned and looked at her, "Jen…" he started.

"Tony." She looked up finally allowing the tears she was holding to flood over her.

He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

"Jen, I'm not dead…" he said kissing her until they came together in a conflagration of passion.

Afterwards he held her as she slept; watching her breathing until he was certain she couldn't hear him.

"I love you Jennifer Shepard." He said softly, in the dark she smiled.