AN: Sorry about the slow update: Men make plans, God laughs. Thanks to all who've reviewed! I have no medical knowledge except Freshman health class and watching Scrubs.
Thunder roared across the city, which was illuminated only by the lightning accompanying the storm. All the lights in Washington were out, save for those lucky few with generators. Sirens blared, signaling the loss of balance in the city in the midst of the chaos. The hospital was bathed in an eerie red light, adding to the aura of fear in the ICU.
Jen sat quietly, fuming. She flinched at each bolt that danced across the sky, lighting up the room from the skylight above. She paced the corridor several times, trying to ease her nerves. Distraught, she moved over to the pay phone. She mentally ran down the list of people who she could call, who might answer, and who might come. She dialed the first number that came to mind, and heard the ringing of a cell phone somewhere nearby.
She jumped, feeling a clammy, calloused hand on the back of her neck, "Jethro! You scared the hell out of me! What are you doing here?"
"I was gonna ask you the same question, Jen. Who calls at 0500 on a Saturday?" he grinned, leading her over to one of the bucket seats in the waiting room. He offered her one of the two paper cups in his hands, "Coffee?"
Grateful, she gulped it down greedily. After a moment, she stopped and swallowed disdainfully, "I think that one's yours. How can you drink that crap? It could peel the paint off of a car!"
He smiled, happily switching cups with her, "Oh? What about you? Four creams, five sugars, have you even heard of diabetes, Jen?"
She met his gaze, glaring, "Are you insinuating that I need to cut back on the sugar? That I don't need any more sugar?"
Gibbs raised his hands in self-defense, "Don't look at me! I bring you coffee at the crack of dawn, and not so much as a 'thank you, Jethro'?"
She reluctantly sat down, still very much on edge. They sat in silence for a moment, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They both were beyond that. Another bolt of lightning illuminated the room from the skylight overhead. A few seconds later when the loud, low roar came, she jumped.
Gibbs chuckled, "Still afraid of a little storm?"
Jen drew the blankets around herself tightly, a pillow covering her ears. From outside the window of her lavishly decorated hotel room, the bright lighting was blinding, illuminating the Parisian summer's eve. In spite of the July heat, she felt chilled to her bones. She trembled violently under the covers, sipping tea that had long since gone cold. Nothing could warm her tonight. The memories still haunted her. Her father, the office, the gun, the bang...the blood.
A knock at the door roused her from her thoughts. She rolled herself lazily out of bed, drawing her robe closed loosely. She opened the door a crack, and saw a face that was laced with mischief, "Room service?"
She glared at her partner, "I didn't order anything. Leave me alone, Jethro. Its late. Go to bed, please. We have work to do in the morning."
She tried to close the door, but he inserted his foot in the doorway, "Oh come on Jen, we can't sleep tonight! What day is it?"
Standing back reluctantly, she let him invade her room, knowing that the word 'no' was not in his vocabulary. "Its July fourteenth. Why?"
He stared her down, shocked, "Little miss 'Political science major' doesn't know what's happening tonight? Here? Why I came all the way over here? Come on, you're a smart girl!" he was enjoying this.
"Jethro, your room is across the hall. Please, just go!" she whined as another bolt sent chills up her spine.
He moved her end table from her bedside to her window, moving two chairs over with it, whistling softly as he did so. Letting the bag he brought with him fall to the floor, he looped an arm around her waist, leading her to one of the chairs, chivalrously scooting her in. "Okay, what did you do?" she sighed. He could be a gentleman if the occasion called for it, but she was skeptical
"Nothing! Now, one more chance. Look out that window. What do you see?" he pointed off in the distance, his chin resting on her shoulder, blowing warm breath softly in her ear, just to make her squirm
She gazed out over the dark City of Lights, "The Eiffel Tower. What's with the twenty questions?"
"And you can't tell me what's gonna happen right there. Eiffel Tower. Tonight. July fourteenth. In, oh," he checked his watch, "...five minutes?" he smiled, his blue steely eyes gazing down at her.
She opened her mouth to answer, but instead she gasped. A shower of red and green sparks danced across the sky. The Tower was framed by lightning and fireworks, the crowds of thousands of people cheered from the streets below. The sight was breathtaking.
She turned to Gibbs, who was now rummaging through the bag he brought with him. He handed her a plate, "Hey! What do you know? They started early!"
He piled some food on her plate and poured her some wine. She was speechless. His arm snaked its way around her waist again as he sat down beside her. A finger wormed its way onto her plate, a motion that didn't go unnoticed. She pinned his hand to her plate with her fork, "Eat off your own plate, Jethro! Didn't your mother ever teach you manners?"
"Well, obviously not. You never eat your mushrooms anyway. Why let 'em go to waste?" he used his own fork to steal another. She playfully slapped him, muttering something under her breath he couldn't quite make out.
Another clap of thunder sounded, but she remained seated still, simply enjoying the moment.
"You never did tell me why thunder scares you." Gibbs noted aloud
"It doesn't scare me," she insisted firmly, "I just prefer calmer weather. Something less dreary?"
Gibbs wasn't satisfied with her answer, but knew better than to pry. There were some things about her that would always remain an enigma to him, just as he hasn't told her everything. Not even everything she really should know. "So... do we know anything?"
She sighed, laying her head down on his shoulder, "I don't really know. They took her down to surgery a while ago. They didn't tell me why, only that they needed to find out what was causing the shock."
A man in blood stained scrubs approached them, extending a hand, "Miss Shepard? I'm Dr. Edmonds, Ziva's surgeon. You're listed as next of kin?"
Jen stood up, taking the man's hand, "Yes, please tell me what's going on! Is she going to be alright?"
Gibbs stood behind her, keeping a steady hand on her shoulder for support. She leaned heavily against him, mentally and physically exhausted.
"During the initial surgery, when her appendix was removed, a surgical sponge was accidentally left inside. When the incision was stitched up, it got closed in there, causing sepsis. Its out now, and the incision has been cleaned up. The infection could have been a lot worse, and still might be."
Gibbs was red in the face, "So she could be dying because one of your people was negligent enough to leave something inside her? How could you not notice something like that? You can't just go around losing things inside people!"
Not many things in life are as frightening as an angry Marine. Jen took a step away from him, touching his hand, "Calm down, Jethro! What's going to happen now?"
The doctor sighed, "She's just now gotten out of surgery, so she's going to sleep for probably another few hours at least. There are drainage tubes in place to help keep things from getting infected again, and her antibiotics have been increased. Look, I know the guy who did her appendectomy. Dr. Harrison? He's a good man with nearly thirty years experience. But things like this do happen. Hell, its a miracle it doesn't happen more often. The first rule of medicine is 'do no harm.' This was completely accidental, and Miss David is going to be alright."
Gibbs rubbed his temple as the doctor walked away. He moved to sit down, but Jen grabbed his hand, "Come on. There's not much good you can do sitting around, brooding. I'm taking you home."
He raised an eyebrow at her, "You're taking me home?"
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Jethro. You can see her when she's awake. But for now, just let her rest. The doctors will take good care of her." she smiled, leading him toward the doors
Before they reached the doors, he pulled away, "I just want to see her for a minute. Why don't you go get the car, I'll just be a moment."
She nodded, understanding. "I'll be back around in five minutes."