A/N: Wow, I wasn't expecting that response to the first chapter! A huge, huge thank you to everyone who reviewed-I loved reading them! I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, too.

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Three weeks to Christmas...

As much as it embarrassed her, Jenny had to admit it: she'd searched for his present for her. Snooped around his desk when he wasn't there on the off chance that he was keeping it in a drawer to give to her at work one day. Honestly, she hadn't really expected to find anything-he was far too careful to leave a present somewhere she could easily find it. But in the spirit of being honest, she had to admit she was also a little disappointed each time she walked away from his desk empty handed.

Her last attempt had ended rather unfortunately. She spent what must have been at least several minutes thoroughly searching Jethro's desk: she made certain not to read anything lying around but also she also made certain that each drawer was scoured and every inch on and around the desk was investigated. Thinking that the team was busy elsewhere, Jenny crouched down to search underneath the desk. Just as she was contemplating whether or not to check Jethro's bin as a hiding place for presents, Jenny's gaze was drawn to a pair of legs standing several feet in front of her.

The owner of the legs must have been watching her and noticed her freeze because several seconds later, Tony's head was peering underneath the desk.

"Need any help, Director?" he asked cheerfully with what Jenny swore was the cheekiest look anyone could possibly have.

She hastily got out from under Jethro's desk and rose to a standing position again, pulling down her skirt which had become a little too short for her comfort after all of the desk searching. It was as she adjusted her skirt back to an appropriate length that she realised why Tony would have watched her for his own entertainment for so long. A glare settled on Jenny's face that quickly wiped away the mischievous look on his.

"I thought you had other things to do than loiter around here?" Jenny said in the most no-nonsense voice she could muster. With a sense of satisfaction, she noticed that her tone seemed to further sober him as his face adopted an even more serious look.

"I left my cell here," Tony explained, pointing to the phone lying on his desk and quickly grabbing it. "I'll just be off, then."

"Special Agent DiNozzo," she called as he started to walk away.

Tony turned around. Jenny opened her mouth to speak but he seemed to pick up on what she was about to say and got in first.

"I won't tell Gibbs," he said, before shrugging. "It's Christmas."

Jenny nodded and quickly walked away in the direction of her office. Like he'd tell Gibbs, Tony thought to himself, watching her walk away. Christmas was the season for giving and the Director of NCIS had certainly given him a fantastic view this morning. Tony could handle giving secrecy in exchange.

When she returned to her office, Jenny sank into her chair before a slight laugh escaped from her, which quelled the sense of embarrassment she was feeling. She couldn't believe she'd actually been reduced to snooping around a desk in search for a Christmas present when she normally could not stand the holiday.

Jenny couldn't exactly say why she was so curious about Jethro's present for her. She'd always been impatient, she'd always wanted everything yesterday but this was more than that. Knowing that he had picked something just for her somehow brought the smallest bit of magic back to Christmas. It was the only thing that made her hesitate every night before thanking whatever powers there were that she was one day closer to the end of this holiday season.

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The weather was starting to become bitter cold. Jen snuggled up on her couch with some work before her, grateful she'd managed to leave her office at a decent time that night. The cold had been awful getting to and from her car today and she was certain that snow would start falling any day now. Just the idea of having to go outside again made her shiver and want to turn up the heating, even though the house was already deliciously warm. Nothing short of a miracle would be enough to make her venture outside again that night.

She couldn't have been working for more than ten minutes before her cell phone started ringing, and seeing the caller ID, a wave of surprise and happiness hit her. Nothing had changed between her and Jethro after bumping into each other at the shops-maybe there were a couple more smiles, a few more words exchanged between the two of them but if he was calling her in the evening then maybe that meant something more. It wasn't as though they were in the habit of having phone conversations most evenings. And it wasn't as though she'd complain if it was a habit he wanted to start, either.

"Hello?" she answered her phone just a fraction quicker than she normally would have, with her voice just slightly less formal in tone than it normally was.

The lovesick teenager was back, Jenny realised with a mixture of mortification and amusement as she noticed that she was already smiling before he had even said a single word.

"Jen," Jethro said quickly, an underlying urgency in his voice that she was not at all used to hearing, "Ducky's had a heart attack."

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"How is he?" Jenny asked, running up to Jethro the instant she found him.

He shrugged. "Don't know yet."

"My God," she said, collapsing in a chair. "Ducky...I mean, you'd never think..."

"I was talking to him down in autopsy and he just...collapsed," he said quietly, taking a seat next to her.

Jenny looked over at him. His cool, calm exterior had been replaced with a look expressing exhaustion, worry and confusion. He met her gaze for an instant before quickly looking away, as if afraid of what she would see, afraid of what his eyes would reveal.

"I'm going to get some coffee," Jethro decided, standing up. "Do you want some?"

Jenny nodded and watched as Jethro made his escape. She placed her head in her hands; it felt like it was trying to spin right off her body. Ducky-dependable, reasonable, talkative, kind Ducky was fighting for his life somewhere close to where she was sitting. It didn't make any sense. He was supposed to always be around, telling some narrative or another and reassuring people through his wisdom and advice. She wasn't sure how long she sat there with her head in her hands, trying to make sense of anything swirling around in her mind, but eventually she noticed the smell of coffee mixing with the chemical hospital scent and felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Here," Jethro said, giving her the coffee as she looked up.

She took the drink and forced herself to have a few sips but as she placed it down next to her, the shaking of her hands was visible. He knew that she would be upset but the sight of Jen's shaking hands really tugged at Jethro's heart. Without saying a word, he reached over and took both her hands in his own, their tremble beating against his secure hold. His touch seemed to have an instant calming effect on Jenny; her thoughts seemed slightly more rational and the trembling of her hands gradually subsided.

"Where's everyone else?" Jenny asked, only just noticing the absence of Tony, Ziva, McGee and Abby.

"They'd all gone home-I thought I'd wait until we know what's going on before I tell them," Jethro explained, as Jenny realised with regret that he'd let go of her hands.

She looked in his eyes for a moment, wanting to ask him why he'd called her and no one else but afraid that the answer would be something as simple as she'd known Ducky longer than the others had. Jethro took another sip of his coffee, resolutely looking straight ahead.

"I didn't even realise I was calling you," he said so quietly she wondered if she'd really heard it. "It was just one of the first reactions I had."

Her hands started to shake again but this time, it was for a different reason. This time, the shaking wasn't from disbelief that Ducky had just had a heart attack. It was disbelief that Jethro had just said the words she was virtually certain she'd heard, disbelief that he may just have expressed that he had something of a need for her. She wanted to slap her hands to stop them trembling or-better yet-have him take them in his own secure hands again but she settled for clasping them in her lap and staring at them.

"I'm glad you did," Jenny said a few moments later. "This isn't something you'd really want to be alone for."

"Depends on who the company is," Jethro said with a smile. "In this case…no. I wouldn't want to be alone."

Jenny returned his smile, forgetting momentarily why they were there waiting around in a hospital.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts while being grateful for the other's company, grateful to have the other sitting right next to them.

"We should've heard something by now, shouldn't we?" Jenny said a few minutes later, a frown creasing her forehead and worry evident in her voice.

"I don't know," Jethro replied honestly.

"Do you know what the first thing I thought was when you told me it was Ducky?"

Jethro looked over at Jenny, awaiting the answer that came almost as a whisper.

"Thank God it wasn't you."

He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that; how to express how touched he was while also comforting her in some way. He settled on wrapping his arm around her shoulders and Jen quickly responded by resting her head on his shoulder.

He didn't know how long they were sitting like that in silence for but eventually, he felt her breaths deepening and lengthening. Sure enough, when he looked down at Jenny, she was fast asleep, blissfully unaware of what was happening around them.

As the time went by, the look of complete peace on Jen's face and the feel of her body sleeping next to his were the only things Jethro could find to distract himself from the fact that there should most definitely have been some news about Ducky by now.

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We have two options for the next chapter: I'm behind by a week at the moment (a bit scary to think Christmas is in a fortnight-I haven't started my shopping!) so I could either try to get another chapter up this weekend or the story can be short of one chapter and I'll just skip a week somewhere…somehow. So let me know what you'd like, please!