CHAPTER 3

The prisoner finally gets the message and sits quietly while they care for Andy. When they have him stabilized and on the cradle they all assist in lifting him up the steep stairs. One paramedic stays behind to treat the prisoner's dog bite. Jenny doesn't wait to see the prognosis on the prisoner's wounds as she hurries upstairs after the paramedics. Once outside Gibbs and several other officers crowd around, all concerned about their fellow agent.

She quickly briefs her boss, "He's pretty bad. Looks like he may have fallen head first down those steep stairs and hit his head on the block wall. The steps are old and rickety and its pitch black down there. He's breathing on his own, but not responsive. No invasive trauma that we could see, but I can't say if the blunt force trauma to his head was before and caused him to fall... or if it happened during the fall."

"The suspect?"

"It's one our Navy suspects and he has a dog bite to his right thigh. It looked minor, but he's whining a lot about it. I still don't know how or why Andy got to this location, but the suspect keeps saying 'I didn't do it'. Joe has the prisoner and I'll go to the hospital with Andy."

"Go. Keep me posted. I'll meet you there when this mess is cleared up."

She nods as she turns away, missing Gibbs's worried gaze and follows the gurney as they head for the ambulance. Several agents start to follow along, but stop Gibbs tiredly calls out to them, "All right guys, we've got a crime scene to handle. Let's get back to work, okay?"

They reluctantly return to their posts as Joe and the last paramedic bring the limping suspect out of the building. Everyone stops to glare at him and Gibbs quickly orders Joe to pull his car up so they can contain the suspect away from these angry agents. Gibbs pulls Joe aside, "Joe, take him to County Hospital for treatment. Agent Montclair will drive. Get a statement as soon as possible. We need to know what the hell happened here."

"Got it."

"No one hears his statement except you, Joe. I want a lid on this thing... and whatever you do don't let that scumbag out of your sight." Joe isn't surprised when Gibbs adds his comment. He had been wondering how long it would take for him to forget about his new job and revert back to the tough field agent he used to know.

"No problem, boss. I'll report directly back to you."

He nods to them both as Joe slips into the back seat next to the suspect while Montclair takes the driver's seat. Gibbs knows what needs to be done, but in the back of his mind he can't erase Agent Shepard's face when she came out of the building. She was professionally on the exterior, but he could see that underneath she was fighting to keep from falling apart.

When Gibbs finally arrives at the hospital, he sees the media circus already gathering outside and skirts around them. He heads for the waiting room to find Jenny. He stops in the doorway, noticing her tense stance; with her back to him she doesn't hear him approach until he stops directly behind her.

"Jenny, how's he doing?" She spins around at his voice and Gibbs can see she has been crying. He suddenly wants to take her in his arms, but forces himself to remain still as she slowly wipes her eyes.

"He's in surgery right now. He has two fractured vertebrae in his neck, massive head trauma and swelling on the brain. He's non-responsive which may mean he's in a coma…"

Her voice catches and she fights back the tears again, trying to be professional, but her emotions are getting the better of her. She lowers her head and covers her tear filled eyes with her hands. She takes slow deep breaths to calm herself as Gibbs watches helplessly, wanting to comfort her.

"Andy never regained consciousness… so I still don't know… why… or how…" She finally ends on a soft sob as she starts crying again. She tries to turn away from his intense gaze, but Gibbs can't stand her pain any longer and turns her back into his protective arms. Her body shakes as the sobs continue and he holds her gently.

"It's all right, Jen. Don't worry about the details. We need to concentrate on getting Andy through this first… ssshhh… easy…"

She allows herself to melt into the warm comfort of his embrace as her hands gently curl into the material of his shirt to hold him closer. Her head is resting on his chest and after several minutes her tears stop. Gibbs is gently stroking her back as he holds her close and whispers to her. Through her distraught state she feels a heat stirring deep within her as she breathes in his musky male scent. Her hands spread across the wide expanse of his muscular chest and when she feels him place a light kiss on her temple, she lifts her head to look up at him. When their eyes meet he gently wipes away the tear stains on her cheek.

Her cheek tilts into his caress and this small movement brings her lips directly under his thumb. He can't resist tenderly dragging his thumb across the softness of her lower lip and her lips part in response. His breath catches in his throat as he is overcome with the need to kiss her. She remains motionless; her eyes reflecting her own desire. In slow motion he lowers his mouth to hers in a tender kiss which electrifies them upon contact. A tremor races down her spine as she returns his brief caress. Gibbs's body reacts as he pulls back to again look into the bright green eyes, lost in their allure. He can't look away, spellbound as the seconds tick by and his heart hammers in his chest.

Jenny finally breaks the spell as she raises up on her tiptoes, bringing her lips back to his as she softly breathes, "Gibbs…" The feel of her soft lips sends a lightning bolt through him and a husky growl escapes him as he takes the sweetness she offers. He pulls her tightly against him as his kisses become more confident and she melts into his embrace. Sighing breathlessly as her hands curl around his neck, their kisses blending one into the next as the urgency increases.

She is drowning in the intensity of it all and finally breaks the kiss to gasp for breath as she moans against his lips, "Ohh, Gibbs…"

He abruptly stops her words as his teeth close over her lower lip and she gasps. He holds her lip as his tongue glides wetly over its softness and she trembles. Her fingers glide up into his hair to urge his mouth back to hers and this time her tongue meets his eagerly. Gibbs growls and kisses her hungrily as his tongue delves deeply in search of her very soul. They have lost all sense of time and location until they suddenly hear voices approaching from the hallway.

Reality crashes in on them and Jenny breaks the kiss, pushing away from him in stunned silence. Their eyes hold for a moment in silent question, but when the waiting room door opens Jenny spins away to cover her emotional distress from the newcomers. Gibbs tries to comprehend what just happened, but doesn't get much time to think as Joe calls his name.

"Gibbs? How is he?" Joe stands there looking drained and exhausted with the other two agents on his team flanking him. Agent Ned Bowers and Agent Walter Timpson look just as worried for their team member.

Gibbs turns away from her to greet them and clears his throat as he runs a quick hand over his mouth to remove any traces of their indiscretion. He composes himself as he gives them a quick rundown on the status as they know it. "He's still in surgery, broken neck, head injury with brain swelling..."

Jenny quietly excuses herself, saying she wants to check with the nurse again. She keeps her eyes averted, and doesn't notice the worried stare Gibbs gives her as she passes him. She really just needed to put some distance between herself and Gibbs right now. She isn't quite sure what just happened, but she doesn't trust herself to speak with anyone. She is still shaking after several minutes and decides to find a restroom where she can hide until she calms down.

One glance in the restroom mirror tells her all she needs to know. Her flushed cheeks, her swollen lips and the glitter in her eyes clearly gave away how excited she was by that man. She realizes for the first time just how strongly she is attracted to him. The way her body came alive in his arms totally scares her to think how completely she had surrendered. And here… in the hospital when she should have nothing on her mind except Andy's well being! She feels a wave of guilt wash over her at this unforgivable behavior. She takes several deep breaths and glances over her calmer reflection one last time. Her cheeks have a rosy glow and she scolds herself to get a grip before she goes out to face the man who has turned her entire world upside down.

When Jenny returns to the waiting room she finds it full of concerned agents and Naval officers, but Gibbs is nowhere to be seen. To her relief Joe tells her he went to the NCIS offices to interrogate the suspect personally. She spends the next couple hours in a blur as they all stand around talking and waiting. Everyone is anxious about Andy and the tension is high in the crowded room. After a while Jenny can't stand it anymore and quietly slips out into the hallway. It is now early morning and Andy has been in surgery for six hours. She is exhausted and has a raging head-ache, but she doesn't want to leave until she knows if Andy will be all right.

She leans against the wall in the darkened hallway, unaware that Gibbs is watching her from the other end. He got back from his interrogation about thirty minutes ago, but has been standing here wondering how he is going to face her. He is just as shocked over what happened, but his burden of guilt is much heavier. He took advantage of her weakened emotional state! What kind of a jerk would use an emotional situation like that to make a sexual advance?!

Jenny probably thought he was a real bastard, but as he stands watching her, he has to wonder why she responded like she did. Maybe it was just the emotional stress she was under. He knew stress can be vented in sexual situations, but could that explain the way she had looked at him and whispered his name?

Just then she turns to see him watching her from down the hall. There is a long hesitation, then Gibbs takes a deep breath and decides not to let her see how deeply affected he was by their brief interlude. He walks directly towards her as if nothing is wrong and tries to sound calm as he stops before her. "Aahh… what happened earlier... you know... I can't let it affect the investigation I have to do on this."

He sees the shock register on her face and hears her swift intake of breath. Immediately he realizes she took his words wrong and by the look on her face he couldn't have made matters worse if he had slapped her. He doesn't know what to say next so he quickly turns on his heel and goes into the waiting room.

Jenny is so shocked she can't even move as his words echo in her mind. She knew there had to be one, but did he actually believe she had kissed him… thrown herself at him just to influence the outcome of the investigation?! Yes, she has some explaining to do, but he had insinuated she was trying to persuade his investigation with sexual favors! Like a ton of bricks the reality of the situation crashes in on her and she sighs heavily as she admits her life is about to become a living hell. She tiredly walks off down the hall.

Inside, Gibbs is no less stunned by this latest turn of events. After he saw her expression he knew she'd taken his words wrong. What he meant to say was he couldn't let his own feelings for her interfere with the investigation. He was to blame for the entire scene earlier because he'd taken advantage of her emotional state. He was professional, should have been in control, and instead of helping her through this stressful time he used it for his own selfish pleasure.

He can't deny he enjoyed those kisses, enjoyed the feel of her softly curved body against his… enjoyed the thrill of her surrender. He can still recall her perfume, her sweet kisses and his manhood began to respond accordingly. He quickly forces these thoughts from his head and scans the room to make sure no one was watching him. He has never hated himself more than he does right now for the pain he caused her… the woman he secretly considered the perfect one for him. He sees Agent Montclair motioning to him and takes a deep breath as he walks over to the group across the room. He tries to concentrate on the conversation, but his guilt weighs heavily on his mind.