The following morning we called all the kids out of school so that they could meet baby Shannon and baby Ryan. Jen and Jethro said that they would meet us at Kelly, Jason and Shannon’s apartment. They said that there was something that they wanted to share with everyone.
Shortly after Jen and Jethro arrived, it was time to play the guessing game. It was a bit annoying as we tried to figure out why both Jen and Jethro were hiding their left hands from us. When I had noticed this, there were only ten of us at the apartment; Jen and Jethro, Nick, myself and our girls then of course Kelly, Jason and the baby. It was obvious that my sister and Jethro were trying to buy time for themselves as we waited for the rest of the team to arrive.
I already kind of knew what Jen and Jethro were hiding. Part of me was more than thrilled that after all this time they had finally done what they were trying to hide. But then again I wasn’t at all happy that they did this without me. By ten after nine that morning, the rest of the team finally joined us at Kelly and Jason’s. The kids were off in the family room with baby Shannon, baby Ryan, Addie and Jake while the adults stayed in the kitchen. Jackson, Franks, Leyla and Amira were with us as well.
“There is something; Jethro and I would like to share with all of you.” Jen said.
“Jen and I are married. We eloped early this morning.”
Jen and Jethro were instantly congratulated by everyone, but there was a slight bit of hesitancy coming from me and Kelly; of course Jackson picked up on our hesitancy.
“Kelly, your father is happy; Jenny makes him happy. We both know he hasn’t been this happy since your mother.” Jackson said imparting some wisdom to his granddaughter.
Kelly nodded.
“And you, Jay; you should be thrilled that your sister has finally gotten one of the things she has always wanted.”
“Jack, I am thrilled for them. It just kills me that they didn’t want me there.”
“Jay, you know that isn’t true.” Jackson said.
After Jackson spoke I turned to Kelly.
“Looks like you and I are family now.” I said.
“Sure does, Aunt Jay.” Kelly said with a smile on her face.
It was kind of weird to be called Aunt Jay, by Kelly since we were the same age. But like all other things that preceded it and were likely to succeed it, I would become accustom to being Aunt Jay, to my brother-in-law’s forty-five year old daughter from his first marriage. At this point I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my sister was wife #5 and was hoping against hope that she would have more luck at being Mrs. Leroy Jethro Gibbs than Jethro’s three ex-wives in between her and Shannon had. Hell, Jen had made it further than Hollis, Holly and M. Allison had; which was a feat in of itself.
After our little get together, we went to work. AJ and Kelly were on maternity leave. Addie and Jake were taken to Abby’s brother’s for the day while the older kids went back to their respective homes. Once at work; Jethro, Ducky and Jen made sure Palmer, Tony and I were settled into our new positions. Admittedly it was kind of nerve racking being the new Director. Jen saw my nervousness and went into big sis mode instanteously.
“You’ll be fine, Jay. I am more than sure that you’ll have a better first year as Director than I did.”
“I know, at least I won’t have to fend off Jethro like you did.”
Jen smiled a bit and let out a slight chuckle before she responded.
“You’ll just have to fend off Nick while you guys are on the job.”
“I know, and I can’t use your “no off the job” line with Nick.”
Jen and I chatted for a while before I found a file on the desk that Jen had purposely left behind. It was a case that required two agents to go under cover as a married couple in secluded mountain retreat. Jen instantly volunteered herself and Jethro for the op. It was obvious that she partially saw this op as their last hoorah as agents and as their honeymoon. There was just something about sending my sister and brother-in-law on an op when they were about to retire. It even bugged me that sending them undercover on what could be a dangerous assignment was my first act as Director.
While I stalled for time before giving Jen the go ahead for the op, both our cell phones went off. Kelly had sent us a picture of baby Shannon in her crib about to fall asleep.
There was a caption underneath both pictures.
Baby Liza just wanted to say good night to her favorite Great – Aunt.
Baby Liza wanted to say good night Grandma Jenny.
Later I would learn that Jethro got the same picture message that had the same caption as Jen’s, but had Grandpa Jethro instead.
“I guess we’re calling the baby Liza now.” I said.
“Just so that none of us get confused.”
“Okay well whatever their reasoning maybe at least they are giving a nod to Liza Minnelli.”
By that evening it was time to send Jen and Jethro off on their op. Everyone said good-bye to Jen and Jethro. I was the last to say good-bye. I knew this wasn’t the official good-bye. That was still pending and those of us that were staying could wait for the official good. Jen and Jethro were standing before me. The others had stepped away to let Jen, Jethro and I have a moment to ourselves. This had to be one of the hardest things I had to do. In my mind I chalked this up as being as hard as it was for Abby when Jethro’s retired years ago but on the level that Jethro’s retirement had hit Jen that night.
I felt like that worried fifteen year old, I was when Jen and Jethro were sent to Marseilles by Morrow. Jen and Jethro could see the fear as well as the uncertainty.
“Promise me that you two will do everything in your power to stay safe. Promise me that you will check in no matter what’s going on. And please whatever you do keep each other safe. I don’t want to lose either one of you.” I said.
“We will, Jay; we will come home safe.” Jen replied as she hugged me good-bye.
I t was obvious she could see that I wasn’t too thrilled about this op, then again Jen was always able to read me.
“We will be fine, Madame Director.” Jethro subtly slid in.
I loved how he thought he could get away with calling me Madame Director when he knew that in respect I was just like Jen.
With my goodbyes done Jen and Jethro left for their op. The worry officially set in once they had stepped into the elevators.
Ducky saw the worry in my eyes and placed a comforting arm around my shoulder.
“They are veterans, Director. They know what they are doing and they will be safe.”
I smiled at Ducky as we all returned to the busy work we had.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Baby Jilson Arrives
The following morning as far as work went was a bit slower than normal. For the first time in the thirty-seven years as a federal agent, Jethro was late. Now we all knew why he was late although we also knew that Tony was thinking along a different line of thought. Jethro was being the ever doting grandfather. When Tony found out, his thoughts of an early morning stolen moment between Jen and Jethro were instantly dashed.
After being in labor for nearly twenty-four hours, Kelly gave birth to her and Jason’s daughter; Shannon Elizabeth Beckett. When we first saw Shannon, those of us who were mothers desperately tried to fight back tears of happiness. Of course with all major family events there was a debate on if baby Shannon was going to have her maternal grandmother as her namesake or her paternal grandmother as her namesake. Mrs. Beckett didn’t like the fact that her granddaughter was being named after a woman who had been dead for nearly four decades. This nearly sent Kelly to tears. Those of us that were clued for longer than Jason’s parents had been knew why it was so important to Kelly that her daughter was named after her mother. When JD was born I faced a similar predicament that Kelly was facing and so had Ziva when Hannah first arrived eighteen years ago.
Along with Jethro, Ziva and I fought inch by inch with Jason’s mom for baby Shannon to be named after Shannon. If there was anyone who was backing Kelly the most it was Jethro. The endgame, Kelly and Jason’s daughter was to be named after her maternal grandmother so that when she was old enough to inquire about her grandmother that she would understand the significance. There wasn’t a doubt that on some level baby Shannon would call Jen, Grandma; once she was able to talk. On a subconscious level Jen looked forward to being Grandma Jenny, but she knew that she couldn’t replace a blood relative.
While Jethro and Jen took their time coming into work, the rest of us followed suit. At my house while the girls took turns in the shower and got ready for another day of school, Nick and I spent some time together in bed. Thankfully JD had her license now and we had brought her first car, so she was able to drive her sisters into school when she went in. Nick and I had waited eighteen years for the day JD would get her license. I needed these little morning moments with my husband. It was our chance to reconnect with each other. So Nick and I laid in bed, under the covers.
The bedding barely reached Nick’s perfectly sculpted and well maintained abs as they sat just at his waist, which made me quiet happy. Nick and I had fallen into our routine quiet easily, Nick would go to bed in just his lounge pants as I would end up yanking my lounge pants off the second I was in bed and I had Nick’s warm body next to mine. But with all that aside, the moment we were in was absolutely perfect. I laid in bed looking at my ever increasingly handsome husband of almost eighteen years wondering what I did in life to be given the reward of being married to the greatest guy ever. The chorus “Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good,” which was the song title from the classic Sound of Music; kept playing in my mind as I fell in love with Nick all over again. After the lyrics stopped playing in my mind, I couldn’t help but think that at times I was the female/younger version of Tony with all of the random pop culture trivia I had stored in my mind.
Kate and Drew were getting their kids together for school as Abby and McGee got their kids together so that Sarah could watch them for the day. Tony and Ziva sat down together to have breakfast together as Hannah and Leah grabbed breakfast as they walked out the door for school.
Later on after everyone got to work, Nick had come over to the squad room before Jethro had left for coffee. Tony had brought up the time that Ziva had pointed her gun at him while they were undercover as married assassin, which from what I had seen had put a smile on Jethro’s face. Of course Tony couldn’t help but remind everyone that Kate also slept with her gun under her pillow like he had years ago. This in turn prompted Nick to share some information about me.
“Kate and Ziva aren’t the only ones that sleep with their guns, Tony. Jay does the same thing.”
I just rolled my eyes. Jethro had that look in his eyes like he was about to say that Jen did the same as me, Kate and Ziva; but thought better of it. Tony, on the other hand picked up on Jethro’s not so subtle look as I had.
“Ha! The Director does the same too, doesn’t she boss?” Tony said.
“Smack him for me, Ziva.”
It was easy to tell that Jethro was quite pleased that the women he worked with and saw outside of the office took such precautions. Seeing Jethro thrilled with the fact that Jen, Ziva, Kate and I slept with our sigs and Jethro knowing that Abby was able to kick some butt in order to defend herself gave Jethro some peace. It also seemed to give him the reassurance that once he, Jen and Ducky retired next month that we were able to protect ourselves.
A little while later we were all back on the labor and delivery floor of Bethesda Naval hospital. Needless to say it was a packed house on the labor and delivery floor. Palmer’s parents had flown into DC for the birth of their grandchild just as AJ’s parents had. Leyla had stayed behind with Amira, Franks and Jackson back at Jen and Jethro’s. As we waited in the waiting room I let my mind wonder off, which most of the time was okay.
Even though they had been living together for years now, it was still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that it was Jen and Jethro’s home and not just Jethro’s. It didn’t seem to affect the others as much as it did me, probably because I was the one out of me and my teammates that has known Jen and Jethro the longest. As I drifted back to reality I had realized that Nick had put his arms my waist and was behind me as we waited. I also noticed Kelly waiting with us with baby Shannon in her arms. It was safe to say that we all would agree, whether we were a parent or not; there was something sentimental about a new mom holding her baby.
When Kelly had shifted baby Shannon to her arm that had been supporting the baby’s butt it was easy to tell by the expression on my face that I missed the days when mine and Nick’s daughters were that small. Eventually the waiting progressed, the kids had returned home from school while we remained at home. The older kids knew what to do and where to reach us in case of an emergency. At one point I had texted JD to tell her that Leyla, Franks, Jackson and Amira were only a phone call away if she or the others need anything.
Slowly the hours vexed on as we waited. We had grown accustomed to the late nights due to cases and our respective kids waking up in the wee hours of the morning. Palmer’s mom and AJ’s mom went down to the hospital caferteria to get coffee for themselves and their respective husbands. When they returned they were taken aback a bit. Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Wilson had found all of us sleeping in the waiting room just outside AJ’s delivery suite.
All the men from Ducky to Nick had propped themselves up against a chair on the waiting room floor as my four best friends, myself and Jordan rested our heads on our respective significant others’ laps. Nick and I were right next to Jen and Jethro; Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Wilson smiled when they saw us. They knew Jen and Jethro’s story, they knew my fairytale. Within a few minutes they zoned in on Jen and I. Later on I would learn why they had zoned in on us.
Before long Palmer and AJ’s son, Ryan James was born. AJ and Palmer shortly settled into their new roles as mom and dad as we all returned home. We were all beyond tired and our beds were more than welcoming. JD had put her sisters to bed after they had finished their homework. JD had fallen asleep on the couch with her copy of Pride and Prejudice while she tried to stay up until Nick and I got home.
“Baby girl, time to go bed.” I said softly as I tried to wake JD up.
JD was like me when she was woken up, cranky as all hell. After JD was in her bed, Nick and I collapsed in our bed. While we all slept, something was going on with Jen and Jethro that come morning we would all find out.
After being in labor for nearly twenty-four hours, Kelly gave birth to her and Jason’s daughter; Shannon Elizabeth Beckett. When we first saw Shannon, those of us who were mothers desperately tried to fight back tears of happiness. Of course with all major family events there was a debate on if baby Shannon was going to have her maternal grandmother as her namesake or her paternal grandmother as her namesake. Mrs. Beckett didn’t like the fact that her granddaughter was being named after a woman who had been dead for nearly four decades. This nearly sent Kelly to tears. Those of us that were clued for longer than Jason’s parents had been knew why it was so important to Kelly that her daughter was named after her mother. When JD was born I faced a similar predicament that Kelly was facing and so had Ziva when Hannah first arrived eighteen years ago.
Along with Jethro, Ziva and I fought inch by inch with Jason’s mom for baby Shannon to be named after Shannon. If there was anyone who was backing Kelly the most it was Jethro. The endgame, Kelly and Jason’s daughter was to be named after her maternal grandmother so that when she was old enough to inquire about her grandmother that she would understand the significance. There wasn’t a doubt that on some level baby Shannon would call Jen, Grandma; once she was able to talk. On a subconscious level Jen looked forward to being Grandma Jenny, but she knew that she couldn’t replace a blood relative.
While Jethro and Jen took their time coming into work, the rest of us followed suit. At my house while the girls took turns in the shower and got ready for another day of school, Nick and I spent some time together in bed. Thankfully JD had her license now and we had brought her first car, so she was able to drive her sisters into school when she went in. Nick and I had waited eighteen years for the day JD would get her license. I needed these little morning moments with my husband. It was our chance to reconnect with each other. So Nick and I laid in bed, under the covers.
The bedding barely reached Nick’s perfectly sculpted and well maintained abs as they sat just at his waist, which made me quiet happy. Nick and I had fallen into our routine quiet easily, Nick would go to bed in just his lounge pants as I would end up yanking my lounge pants off the second I was in bed and I had Nick’s warm body next to mine. But with all that aside, the moment we were in was absolutely perfect. I laid in bed looking at my ever increasingly handsome husband of almost eighteen years wondering what I did in life to be given the reward of being married to the greatest guy ever. The chorus “Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good,” which was the song title from the classic Sound of Music; kept playing in my mind as I fell in love with Nick all over again. After the lyrics stopped playing in my mind, I couldn’t help but think that at times I was the female/younger version of Tony with all of the random pop culture trivia I had stored in my mind.
Kate and Drew were getting their kids together for school as Abby and McGee got their kids together so that Sarah could watch them for the day. Tony and Ziva sat down together to have breakfast together as Hannah and Leah grabbed breakfast as they walked out the door for school.
Later on after everyone got to work, Nick had come over to the squad room before Jethro had left for coffee. Tony had brought up the time that Ziva had pointed her gun at him while they were undercover as married assassin, which from what I had seen had put a smile on Jethro’s face. Of course Tony couldn’t help but remind everyone that Kate also slept with her gun under her pillow like he had years ago. This in turn prompted Nick to share some information about me.
“Kate and Ziva aren’t the only ones that sleep with their guns, Tony. Jay does the same thing.”
I just rolled my eyes. Jethro had that look in his eyes like he was about to say that Jen did the same as me, Kate and Ziva; but thought better of it. Tony, on the other hand picked up on Jethro’s not so subtle look as I had.
“Ha! The Director does the same too, doesn’t she boss?” Tony said.
“Smack him for me, Ziva.”
It was easy to tell that Jethro was quite pleased that the women he worked with and saw outside of the office took such precautions. Seeing Jethro thrilled with the fact that Jen, Ziva, Kate and I slept with our sigs and Jethro knowing that Abby was able to kick some butt in order to defend herself gave Jethro some peace. It also seemed to give him the reassurance that once he, Jen and Ducky retired next month that we were able to protect ourselves.
A little while later we were all back on the labor and delivery floor of Bethesda Naval hospital. Needless to say it was a packed house on the labor and delivery floor. Palmer’s parents had flown into DC for the birth of their grandchild just as AJ’s parents had. Leyla had stayed behind with Amira, Franks and Jackson back at Jen and Jethro’s. As we waited in the waiting room I let my mind wonder off, which most of the time was okay.
Even though they had been living together for years now, it was still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that it was Jen and Jethro’s home and not just Jethro’s. It didn’t seem to affect the others as much as it did me, probably because I was the one out of me and my teammates that has known Jen and Jethro the longest. As I drifted back to reality I had realized that Nick had put his arms my waist and was behind me as we waited. I also noticed Kelly waiting with us with baby Shannon in her arms. It was safe to say that we all would agree, whether we were a parent or not; there was something sentimental about a new mom holding her baby.
When Kelly had shifted baby Shannon to her arm that had been supporting the baby’s butt it was easy to tell by the expression on my face that I missed the days when mine and Nick’s daughters were that small. Eventually the waiting progressed, the kids had returned home from school while we remained at home. The older kids knew what to do and where to reach us in case of an emergency. At one point I had texted JD to tell her that Leyla, Franks, Jackson and Amira were only a phone call away if she or the others need anything.
Slowly the hours vexed on as we waited. We had grown accustomed to the late nights due to cases and our respective kids waking up in the wee hours of the morning. Palmer’s mom and AJ’s mom went down to the hospital caferteria to get coffee for themselves and their respective husbands. When they returned they were taken aback a bit. Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Wilson had found all of us sleeping in the waiting room just outside AJ’s delivery suite.
All the men from Ducky to Nick had propped themselves up against a chair on the waiting room floor as my four best friends, myself and Jordan rested our heads on our respective significant others’ laps. Nick and I were right next to Jen and Jethro; Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Wilson smiled when they saw us. They knew Jen and Jethro’s story, they knew my fairytale. Within a few minutes they zoned in on Jen and I. Later on I would learn why they had zoned in on us.
Before long Palmer and AJ’s son, Ryan James was born. AJ and Palmer shortly settled into their new roles as mom and dad as we all returned home. We were all beyond tired and our beds were more than welcoming. JD had put her sisters to bed after they had finished their homework. JD had fallen asleep on the couch with her copy of Pride and Prejudice while she tried to stay up until Nick and I got home.
“Baby girl, time to go bed.” I said softly as I tried to wake JD up.
JD was like me when she was woken up, cranky as all hell. After JD was in her bed, Nick and I collapsed in our bed. While we all slept, something was going on with Jen and Jethro that come morning we would all find out.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Pregnancy Scare and the Grandfathers Visit
The start of the New Year, started like any other day. All the kids with the exception of Addie and Jake had returned to school after their winter recess ended. And as usual work was the same. Franks, Leyla, Amira and Jackson were still around; which made all of Jen and Jethro’s kids quite happy. Today I had busy day, busier than normal. The day started with Kate, Ziva, Tony, McGee and I squeezing into Observation to watch one most entertaining things ever. A Jen and Jethro interrogation. To the five of us the only thing better than a Jen and Jethro interrogation was a Franks and Jethro interrogation. Besides our current form of entertainment, I had to go over to the set of the CBS’ Early show so they had background on me just like they did with Jen back in 2005 when she succeeded Morrow. Now it was my turn as the day I would succeed Jen was right around the corner. Thankfully the CBS thing wasn’t until midday, so I had time. I was more than grateful to have some time to get my nerves in check for the thing with CBS.
I had spent the past twenty years of my career as field agent who didn’t have to worry about being in the limelight. Who was cautiously protected and sheltered from the scrutiny of the job as well as the politics by her sister’s boyfriend and her sister. In a few days that would all change. But in a few hours the change in administration would begin; at least in the public persona of the agency. It was an understatement to say the nerves were running in overdrive. I knew I that I had to figure out a way to calm down, so I started running through the possible ways to calm down in my mind while we continued to watch the pros before us.
Going down to the shooting range came to mind, but I really didn’t have time to go today. Then the thought of being pampered ran across my mind. The last thought that came to my mind was sneaking away from the office with Nick for an hour or to. Our house was empty until the girls came home from school at 3pm. Of course that left me to figure out how we would sneak out without some eyebrows being raised. So that would leave me to spend time with Nick after everything was done for the day.
Little did any of us know but things were about to get more insane. But that was the least of my concerns at the moment. All I cared about was not making an ass out of myself while I was with the Early Show. The people at the Early Show said to come as myself, but I knew if I gone dressed like myself then I would be in a whole boat load of trouble. Even though I am in my forties, I still had a bit of my twenty-four year old rebellion left in me. I guess it was my way of keeping connected to a simpler time in my life as well as keeping the memories of my parents alive.
Before I knew it the time between watching Jen and Jethro do one last interrogation and the thing with CBS had past. It was time for me to cowboy up and do this interview, no matter how much I detested it. After a tedious drive to the station and I had gone through all the necessary things to have done before the tapes started rolling, I was sitting in a chair on the set.
Of course I was still nervous as hell as I sat in the chair and waited for the person who was interviewing me. Within minutes Barbara Sanchez – Rodriguez sat down in the chair across from me. At this moment I knew it was now or never and it was time for the nerves to dissipate. All I had to do was picture myself being as confident as I was when I was in the field with my sig in my hand.
“Hello Mrs. Balboa. I’m Barbara Sanchez- Rodriguez and I’ll be asking you some questions, a little get to know you; if you will.” Barbara said introducing herself.
“Okay.”
The cameras began to roll, Barbara did her little news broadcaster intro before she and cameras turned their attention to me. I knew that the team and all of the kids would be watching this.
“I am sitting here with one of NCIS’ finest agents, Special Agent Jaylyn Emma Shepard-Balboa. Mrs. Balboa, how long have you been an Agent and what inspired you to join the agency?” Barbara asked.
“Please call me Jaylyn. I joined the agency twenty years ago when I was twenty-four. As far as what inspired me to join the agency, it’s more like who inspired me. So to answer your question; Director Shepard and Special Agent Gibbs were the ones who inspired me to become an Agent.”
“It says here that not only are you an Agent, but your husband is too and you two have three children.”
“Yes, Nick and I are agents; although he’s been at it a lot longer than I have. And yes we do have three children, three daughters to be exact.”
“How long have you and your husband been married?” Barbara asked.
“We’ll be married for eighteen years this May.”
“Back to your children, care to tell us more about them.”
I was a bit hesitant, protective if you will. I didn’t want to divulge too much about JD, Jayden and Jocelyn. I guess it was the whole protective mother bear syndrome all mothers went through at one point or another.
“Nick and I have three daughters. Jennifer Delaney who is a high school senior and then we have our twins Jayden Sophie and Jocelyn Reese who are high school freshmen.”
“Where do you think your eldest will be attending college in the fall?”
“Well I hope she chooses to go to Georgetown like Director Shepard and I did.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, but what do you like to do in your spare time outside of the office?” Barbara asked.
There was a slight pause before I answered the question. Things had changed quite a bit in the past twenty years. I wasn’t the reckless, care-free, sleep with any guy that crossed my path twenty-four year old I once was. I guess getting married at twenty-five and having our daughters at twenty-five and twenty-nine respectively helped me grow up.
“Care to answer the question, Jaylyn?” Barbara asked snapping me back to reality.
“Sorry, I like to spend my spare time outside of the office with my husband and our daughters. Sometimes I like to spend time with my sister; we’ve been close since our mother died.” I answered.
The interview ended shortly after I answered Barbara’s last question. As I drove home my phone buzzed in the cup holder in the middle console. I had linked my cell phone to my car’s hands-free device so with the press of the hands-free button on the steering wheel I answered my phone. Once I was at a stop light I noticed that it was my sister calling me.
“What’s going on Jen? Something wrong with the girls?” I had asked.
Since JD’s birth, almost eighteen years ago; I had morphed into another variation of myself. I liked to think that what the kind of mother that I had morphed into all those years ago was the kind of mother, my own mother would have been like with me and Jen if she was alive today.
“The girls are fine. JD, Hannah and Leah are all watching the younger kids at mine and Jethro’s with Leyla and Amira.”
“Then what’s wrong? Why did you call? I’m on my way home from the CBS Early show thing.”
“I called because we’re all at Bethesda. AJ was brought in cause she thought she was in labor and Kelly is in labor as we speak. I need you to pick up Jason’s parents from the airport and bring them here.”
“Okay, I’m on it. And Jen.”
“Yes, Jay.”
“Don’t worry, Kelly will be fine. She has Jethro’s tenacity.”
“See you in a bit.” Jen said.
A little while later I was walking through the labor and delivery floor of Bethesda with Jason’s parents in tow. I knew that since Ziva, Kate, Abby and I were able to get through the deliveries of our respective children that Kelly would be more than able to as well.
Once we had found the others and some time had passed while we waited, things got a bit interesting.
“So you’re Kelly’s parents.” Mrs. Beckett said to my sister and Jethro.
Ziva, Kate, Abby and I looked at each knowing full well that this subject was never one that was discussed. McGee, Palmer, AJ, Ducky and Jordan had the same look on their faces as we did. Tony on the other hand was trying his hardest to hold back a laugh and muttered something to McGee.
“Isn’t it obvious, Probie; that Kelly isn’t the Director’s daughter? They look nothing alike, if anything Kelly looks more like the boss.”
Ziva had heard what Tony muttered and elbowed him.
Now we all stood there waiting to see how Jen and Jethro would respond to the inquiry.
“Kelly isn’t my daughter, I am merely just her father’s girlfriend.” Jen answered.
“Kelly’s mother died in a car crash in the early nineties when she was eight years old while I was overseas with the Corps during Desert Storm.” Jethro said.
There was an awkward silence now; those of us within the NCIS collective knew how much it bothered Jethro when the subject of Shannon’s demise was brought up. During the silence the waiting continued and I couldn’t help but think that the last inquiry wasn’t the last that my sister and Jethro would have to answer while Jason’s parents were around.
I had spent the past twenty years of my career as field agent who didn’t have to worry about being in the limelight. Who was cautiously protected and sheltered from the scrutiny of the job as well as the politics by her sister’s boyfriend and her sister. In a few days that would all change. But in a few hours the change in administration would begin; at least in the public persona of the agency. It was an understatement to say the nerves were running in overdrive. I knew I that I had to figure out a way to calm down, so I started running through the possible ways to calm down in my mind while we continued to watch the pros before us.
Going down to the shooting range came to mind, but I really didn’t have time to go today. Then the thought of being pampered ran across my mind. The last thought that came to my mind was sneaking away from the office with Nick for an hour or to. Our house was empty until the girls came home from school at 3pm. Of course that left me to figure out how we would sneak out without some eyebrows being raised. So that would leave me to spend time with Nick after everything was done for the day.
Little did any of us know but things were about to get more insane. But that was the least of my concerns at the moment. All I cared about was not making an ass out of myself while I was with the Early Show. The people at the Early Show said to come as myself, but I knew if I gone dressed like myself then I would be in a whole boat load of trouble. Even though I am in my forties, I still had a bit of my twenty-four year old rebellion left in me. I guess it was my way of keeping connected to a simpler time in my life as well as keeping the memories of my parents alive.
Before I knew it the time between watching Jen and Jethro do one last interrogation and the thing with CBS had past. It was time for me to cowboy up and do this interview, no matter how much I detested it. After a tedious drive to the station and I had gone through all the necessary things to have done before the tapes started rolling, I was sitting in a chair on the set.
Of course I was still nervous as hell as I sat in the chair and waited for the person who was interviewing me. Within minutes Barbara Sanchez – Rodriguez sat down in the chair across from me. At this moment I knew it was now or never and it was time for the nerves to dissipate. All I had to do was picture myself being as confident as I was when I was in the field with my sig in my hand.
“Hello Mrs. Balboa. I’m Barbara Sanchez- Rodriguez and I’ll be asking you some questions, a little get to know you; if you will.” Barbara said introducing herself.
“Okay.”
The cameras began to roll, Barbara did her little news broadcaster intro before she and cameras turned their attention to me. I knew that the team and all of the kids would be watching this.
“I am sitting here with one of NCIS’ finest agents, Special Agent Jaylyn Emma Shepard-Balboa. Mrs. Balboa, how long have you been an Agent and what inspired you to join the agency?” Barbara asked.
“Please call me Jaylyn. I joined the agency twenty years ago when I was twenty-four. As far as what inspired me to join the agency, it’s more like who inspired me. So to answer your question; Director Shepard and Special Agent Gibbs were the ones who inspired me to become an Agent.”
“It says here that not only are you an Agent, but your husband is too and you two have three children.”
“Yes, Nick and I are agents; although he’s been at it a lot longer than I have. And yes we do have three children, three daughters to be exact.”
“How long have you and your husband been married?” Barbara asked.
“We’ll be married for eighteen years this May.”
“Back to your children, care to tell us more about them.”
I was a bit hesitant, protective if you will. I didn’t want to divulge too much about JD, Jayden and Jocelyn. I guess it was the whole protective mother bear syndrome all mothers went through at one point or another.
“Nick and I have three daughters. Jennifer Delaney who is a high school senior and then we have our twins Jayden Sophie and Jocelyn Reese who are high school freshmen.”
“Where do you think your eldest will be attending college in the fall?”
“Well I hope she chooses to go to Georgetown like Director Shepard and I did.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, but what do you like to do in your spare time outside of the office?” Barbara asked.
There was a slight pause before I answered the question. Things had changed quite a bit in the past twenty years. I wasn’t the reckless, care-free, sleep with any guy that crossed my path twenty-four year old I once was. I guess getting married at twenty-five and having our daughters at twenty-five and twenty-nine respectively helped me grow up.
“Care to answer the question, Jaylyn?” Barbara asked snapping me back to reality.
“Sorry, I like to spend my spare time outside of the office with my husband and our daughters. Sometimes I like to spend time with my sister; we’ve been close since our mother died.” I answered.
The interview ended shortly after I answered Barbara’s last question. As I drove home my phone buzzed in the cup holder in the middle console. I had linked my cell phone to my car’s hands-free device so with the press of the hands-free button on the steering wheel I answered my phone. Once I was at a stop light I noticed that it was my sister calling me.
“What’s going on Jen? Something wrong with the girls?” I had asked.
Since JD’s birth, almost eighteen years ago; I had morphed into another variation of myself. I liked to think that what the kind of mother that I had morphed into all those years ago was the kind of mother, my own mother would have been like with me and Jen if she was alive today.
“The girls are fine. JD, Hannah and Leah are all watching the younger kids at mine and Jethro’s with Leyla and Amira.”
“Then what’s wrong? Why did you call? I’m on my way home from the CBS Early show thing.”
“I called because we’re all at Bethesda. AJ was brought in cause she thought she was in labor and Kelly is in labor as we speak. I need you to pick up Jason’s parents from the airport and bring them here.”
“Okay, I’m on it. And Jen.”
“Yes, Jay.”
“Don’t worry, Kelly will be fine. She has Jethro’s tenacity.”
“See you in a bit.” Jen said.
A little while later I was walking through the labor and delivery floor of Bethesda with Jason’s parents in tow. I knew that since Ziva, Kate, Abby and I were able to get through the deliveries of our respective children that Kelly would be more than able to as well.
Once we had found the others and some time had passed while we waited, things got a bit interesting.
“So you’re Kelly’s parents.” Mrs. Beckett said to my sister and Jethro.
Ziva, Kate, Abby and I looked at each knowing full well that this subject was never one that was discussed. McGee, Palmer, AJ, Ducky and Jordan had the same look on their faces as we did. Tony on the other hand was trying his hardest to hold back a laugh and muttered something to McGee.
“Isn’t it obvious, Probie; that Kelly isn’t the Director’s daughter? They look nothing alike, if anything Kelly looks more like the boss.”
Ziva had heard what Tony muttered and elbowed him.
Now we all stood there waiting to see how Jen and Jethro would respond to the inquiry.
“Kelly isn’t my daughter, I am merely just her father’s girlfriend.” Jen answered.
“Kelly’s mother died in a car crash in the early nineties when she was eight years old while I was overseas with the Corps during Desert Storm.” Jethro said.
There was an awkward silence now; those of us within the NCIS collective knew how much it bothered Jethro when the subject of Shannon’s demise was brought up. During the silence the waiting continued and I couldn’t help but think that the last inquiry wasn’t the last that my sister and Jethro would have to answer while Jason’s parents were around.
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