Thank you to all who are coming alone with me on this journey. I have enjoyed writing this story because I love the show and characters. Those who have reviewed I appreciate your time for that. Thank you for your kind words. Hope you enjoy this chapter and will leave me a note if you do.

NC

Chapter 4

I can't let her be harmed he thought. Was life-giving him a second chance with her? Was he getting a second chance at love? Gibbs thought. Much was going on in both their heads as dust turned to-night. He glanced at the time and reached over to switch off the radio.

"I'll let you have the bathroom first." he stated carrying her into the room. "Call me when you are done." he said leaning her against the sink.

"I won't be long." she said turning to reach for a toothbrush. Emotions were still running rampant in her mind. So much to sort thru that she felt sleep would elude her. She had an idea what tomorrow was going to bring and was scared speechless.

Gibbs straightened up the bed and folded down the covers. Emotions were bouncing around in his head too. Had he gone too far? They were going to have a very stressful and extremely emotional day ahead. Would the nightmares stay away or get worse? He would just have to wait and see.

"I'm done, the bathroom's yours." she called holding on to the sink as she slid her sweats off and pajamas on.

"Do you want to try it along tonight?" he asked sitting her on the bed.

"Please." was all she said as she looked up into his eyes with fear etched on her face and hope he would say yes.

"I'll be in in a moment." he replied going to the bathroom to brush his teeth and other bodily functions.

Jethro banked the fire and added more logs to keep the cabin heated thru most of the night. He had changed into sweats and a t-shirt. She was laying in the middle of the bed waiting for him. He laid his gun on the night stand within easy reach and got in beside her.

Annie automatically moved closer and inhaled his scent. Jethro wrapped her in his embrace and kissed the top of her head. Hopefully the dreams will stay at bay so she could sleep. He wanted to see the circles gone from under her eyes. She moved as close as she could get to him and felt his warmth seep in to her body. This was pure bliss for her to be held in the arms of someone who would protect her and maybe, just maybe, come to love her again like the first time. At least a person could dream and sometimes, you had to hold on to that dream with your whole heart.

As the night sounds surrounded them, Gibbs listened for anything different or out-of-place. He knew the air felt like snow when he was bringing in more wood. That may be the answer now, a snow storm that no one could travel in would give them extra protection.

He needed to call his team, but first he had to hear her story, and that wouldn't happen until tomorrow, he thought as he drifted off to sleep too. Annie was asleep within minutes of him laying down, he could feel her body relaxing in his embrace. She seemed to melt into him as she went into a deeper sleep. He wanted to savor the moment and not think about the future; it would come soon enough.

Gibbs stirred in his sleep knowing something was not right. He didn't feel the warmth of another body beside him.

"Annie." Gibbs said turning in the bed toward the door. He could see a shadow standing in the doorway. "Annie?" he questioned again.

"You won't touch me again." she whispered as she raised his gun pointing it at him.

Jethro glanced at the nightstand beside him and saw his gun was missing. He looked back at her and saw a blankness in her eyes. She was not talking to him, but to someone in her past. "Annie put the gun down." he said cautiously as he slipped out of bed.

She staggered back slightly as the gun trembled in her hands. "No more, no more!" she screamed pulling the trigger. A shot ran out catching Jethro in the upper arm, knocking him on the bed as she ran out of the room.

"Damn!" he cried madly getting off the bed. He checked his arm and saw it was only a scratch, hurt like hell but not serious. He quickly wrapped a ripped piece of shirt around it and tied it tightly. He grabbed his boots and picked the gun up off the floor. Annie was not in the living room but the front door was open. He put on his boots and coat sticking the gun in his jacket pocket. Grabbing a blanket off the couch, Gibbs went out on the porch and searched around the house for Annie.

Snow was falling heavily and had been for most of the night. He berated himself for not seeing Annie's mental status sooner. He finally caught sight of some tracks going off around the house and followed sweeping the flashlight back and forth for more tracks.

"Annie!" Jethro called trying to see thru the falling snow. He stopped and listened trying to hear her. Then he caught the sound of branches breaking straight ahead. Running in that direction he kept the flashlight beam on the faint footprints. Since Annie had an injured ankle she was not moving very fast and seemed to be dragging that foot.

Annie shook uncontrollably from the cold, as she hid behind a tree. Her feet and fingers were do cold they had started going numb. She had to keep going, she could hear someone chasing her. She pushed off from the tree and limped to another one. I have to keep moving she thought. Her ankle gave way and she fell into the snow. If she just laid there for a few minutes maybe they would just pass her by, she told herself shrinking into herself.

Gibbs stopped again but didn't hear any movement ahead. He ran the light over the ground trying to decide which direction she had gone. The wind cut right thru him as he tried to decide which way to go. The snow was starting to pile up; ten plus inches had already fallen and the storm showed no signs of stopping. Something blowing on a branch caught his eye. He walked over and pulled a small piece of fabric off a branch. It was from Annie's pajamas.

He pushed thru the brush and hanging tree limbs. The wet snow was bending down the lower branches of the trees making it hard for him to get underneath them. Catching sight of another footprint, he continued to push forward. Her tracks were being blotted out by the huge flakes as the snow swirled and clung to whatever it touched.

"Annie!" Jethro called again. "Annie!"

Off to the right he saw a mount on the ground. He moved toward it trying to make out what it was. His light picked up red hair sticking out from under the drift. Gibbs dropped to the ground and begin to rack snow off her body. He had found her, he just hoped it wasn't too late.

She had been out in the storm for nearly thirty minutes. Gibbs wrapped the blanket around her scantily, clad body, threw her over his shoulder and started pushing back thru the snow-covered, low hanging branches. He turned and headed back toward the cabin as fast as the storm would allow. "Hang one Annie, hang on." he mumbled.

He stepped out of the woods and saw the silhouette of the cabin ahead. Gibbs trampled thru the snow toward the porch. Once on the porch, he knocked the snow off his boots and off his head and coat before going inside.

He laid her on the couch and checked her pulse and breathing, then went over to the stove and using a poker build up the fire again. Jethro went in the bathroom and turned on the shower, setting the water to warm. Her respiration was shallow and her heart rate was faint as she shivered in the blanket. He picked her up and went to stand in the shower holding her under the warm water. She moaned and tried to jerk out of his arms, but he held her tight.

"Annie stop, you need to get warm." he commanded as she squirmed in his arms.

Her lips were still blue and she was shaking uncontrollably. He kept her under the spray for five more minutes trying to warm her body. He grabbed a bath towel and wrapped it around her body as he sat her on the toilet leaning her against the cabinet.

He stripped off his wet clothes and grabbed the other towel to dry himself as quickly as possible. I need to get you warm he thought. He ran to the bedroom and donned a pair of boxers. There were extra blankets at the foot of the bed that he quickly spread them over the bed.

"Annie, I've got to get you out of these wet clothes and dry." Jethro said as he pulled the pajamas and underwear off. He started briskly rubbing her body with the towel trying to get circulation going again. That's when he saw the burns on her upper legs. She kept trying to pull away but was too weak to really stop him. Using another towel, he started drying her hair as best he could. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Pulling down the covers he put her in the center of the bed and climbed in beside her. Her body still felt icy cold, a cold that chilled down to the bone. She started to shiver relentlessly as he tried to share the warmth of his body. He pulled more covers over them and begin to rub his hands up and down her body trying to get the warmth to spread.

"Come back to me Annie." Jethro mumbled into her ear. "You can fight this."

She was drifting in and out of consciousness as he continued ministering to her. He kissed her forehead and pushed the damp hair off her face. She clung to his body trying to draw more heat from him. He kissed her cold trembling lips ever so softly. She responded by tilting her head more toward him to allow for another kiss. He kissed her again and then kissed her eyes tasting the tears brimming around them.

Jethro pulled his emotions back knowing this was not the time. Annie molded her body to his feeling skin upon skin. She turned her head and caught his scent, the scent of protection. His body was so warm against her cold one. She felt herself falling into a dark hole and she couldn't stop herself. Jethro! she cried trying to grasp his hands and hold on.

Jethro took her hands and began rubbing them between his. He then tucked her closer to him trying to see if she was responding. Warmth begins to inch its way back into her body, as he continued to rub his hands up and down her back.

"Can you hear me Annie?" he asked into her ear. "Annie come back to me."

"Jertro" she was finally able to breathe out. "What did I do?"

"Nothing baby, close your eyes and go to sleep." he said wincing as he moved his right arm. Luckily her aim was bad and it didn't need stitches.

"So cold." she whispered shaking slightly.

"I know, stay close to me I'll get you warm." he whispered into her hair.

Annie snuggled closer, trying to keep the darkness at bay. She kept repeating Jethro's words of protection and this brought some comfort to her. She tucked her hands under her chin and snuggled within his arms. He tightened his grip around her and she stilled.

Twenty minutes later he watched her slowly breathing in and out knowing she had drifted to sleep. Color was returning to her cheeks and her body only had a tinge of cold remaining. Her toes were still cool so he rubbed them with his foot to warm them. Hopefully she would stay asleep for a while and not have another episode like earlier.

Jethro did not let himself sleep. He kept a close watch on Annie as she slumbered. It was almost time for the sun to come up and another day to start. He knew he was going to have to push to get answers to questions and he couldn't wait any longer.

He could tell the fire had burned down by the chill in the air. Annie had made it thru the rest of the night without any nightmares, but that may have been because she was so out of it. Being careful not to wake her, Jethro eased out of the bed.

He tucked the covers tightly around her hoping to keep her from getting up. He went to the other bedroom and picked up some clothes off the bed and dressed. Gibbs went to the stove checking to see if the ashes needed to be removed for it to burn better. Wouldn't hurt he decided, going to the door to get the shovel and bucket. The land looked like a winter wonderland. Everything was blanketed in over a foot of snow. The air was eerily quiet as he closed the door.

After taking out a couple of buckets of ashes, he brought in more wood and got the fire going again. Heat radiated out bringing warmth to his chilled bones. The coffee was ready and he poured a cup sipping it slowly. He waited for the water to boil, to make her some hot tea.

With a cup of tea and a straw in hand he went back into the bedroom.

"Annie," he said sitting on the edge of the bed. "Wake up you need to drink something."

"Mm-m-m." she mumbled softly. "No." she whined turning away.

"Yes, now stop fighting." he said helping her sit up some and pushing the covers around her for warmth.

Taking the straw, he held it to her lips. "Sip." he commanded.

She turned her head and tried to push him away. He was not having any of it. "Annie, you need some fluids now sip!" he stated more sternly. She glanced up at his face thru squinted eyes trying to focus on his voice. Redundantly, she took the straw and sipped the tea. She swallowed several sips and paused. The warmth of the tea was slowly heating her up on the inside.

"No more, please." she pleaded softly.

"You need the liquid after being so cold. Do you remember what happened?" he asked holding up the straw up to her lips again. She swallowed more and noticed the white bandage on his arm.

"I don't really remember. Did I do that to you?" she asked swallowing hard. Just the thought of hurting Jethro made her feel sick.

"Good thing you're a lousy shot." he said setting the cup on the nightstand.

"Shot, I shot you?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "How? Why?"

"Evidently you though I was someone else who had harmed you and with my gun." he answered. "Do you feel like getting up now?"

"Why was I so cold last night? I remember it hurt so bad." she questioned.

"You ran out in the snow storm only in pajamas. It took me a while to find you and get you back to the cabin. I had to put you in the shower to help warm you up." he said pulling clothes out of a bag. "How do your fingers and toes feel?"

"Prickly, kind of numb." she said looking at her hands. She started to look at her toes and realized she had no clothes on. "Jethro, I have no clothes on." she questioned looking up.

"You had the start of hyperthermia, I had to get you warm." he said matter of fact.

"And you were in bed with me last night?" she prompted.

"Yes I had to get you warm." he repeated.

Her face turned several shades of red as she thought about the implications. She knew there were feelings, deep feeling for Jethro, but she was not sure how far it went last night.

"It's ok." he said handing her the clothes. "I'll re-wrap your ankle after you get dressed and then we are going to talk."

She gulped and tried to keep her hands from shaking as she picked up the clothes. Jethro turned his back so she could get dressed in private. She knew this was coming but it still made her sick to think about the nightmares she was going to have to relive.

Her concern didn't go un-noticed by Gibbs as he set her foot on his knee and checked her ankle. It was black and swollen because of the trip thru the woods last night. He gently rubbed it in a slow steady motion. He unrolled an ace bandage and wrapped her ankle. Slipping his arms behind her back and under her knees he carried her to the couch.

"Would you like some breakfast?" he asked standing in front of her.

"I'm not hungry." she replied not looking up at him.

"Do you want me to heat your tea?" he asked bringing it from the bedroom.

"No I am fine." she said.

He refilled his coffee and brought a chair from the kitchen sitting it down in front of her.

"Annie, it is time." he said straddling the chair. She looked up into his eyes and bit her lower lip. "Tell me what happened to you." he said softly looking her in the eyes. "Take you time, we have all day."