Gibbs awoke the next morning to find an unexpected guest at his bedside.

"Rachel..."

"Good Morning, Agent Gibbs," Rachel said, smiling warmly.

"Why are you here?"

"Tim called me in the middle of the night. He told me what's been going on."

Gibbs wanted to be angry with Tim for calling Rachel behind his back, but he knew Tim was trying to help him. He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his unshaven face.

"I'm not really up to this right now."

"Why are you in the hospital?" Rachel asked.

Gibbs rolled his eyes at the question.

"I had a heart attack."

"Has your cardiologist found the cause?"

"Still waiting for the test results. Doc is coming back to do the Echo."

"Did you know that stress increases your risk of having a heart attack?"

"I'm a Federal agent, Rachel. I'm stressed every damn day."

"Is NCIS the only thing that's causing your stress?"

"I know what you're trying to do," Gibbs snapped irritably. "I don't want to talk about my sister."

"You'd rather keep it bottled up until it nearly kills you, then?"

Gibbs didn't have a retort for that. He looked away.

"Jethro, look at me."

Damn it, why does she have to sound so much like Kate?

Gibbs brought his eyes back to Rachel.

"You don't have to hide from what happened to your sister, and it certainly was not your fault."

"I let them take her. I should have protected her," he said shakily.

"You were only a child."

"I could have tried! She was my sister! We looked out for each other!"

"Kate was my sister. I couldn't have stopped that terrorist from shooting her any more than you could have stopped whomever kidnapped your sister."

Rachel reached out and gently took his hand in hers.

"It's okay to let her go."

Gibbs bit his lip to keep himself from crying, but tears were already streaming down his cheeks. Leave it to Kate's sister to make him cry. He never cried, damn it, but he couldn't help himself at that moment. He leaned back into his pillow and let the tears fall.

Rachel sat with him, holding his hand, until he drifted back to sleep. As she gently slipped her hand from his, there was a soft knock at the door, and the Doctor stepped into the room.

"I see Agent Gibbs is still asleep," he said pleasantly.

"He's just gone back to sleep, actually. He's been through a lot, physically and emotionally."

"I'm Dr. Theimke, his Cardiologist," he said, holding out a hand for her to shake.

"Dr. Cranston, his friend and Psychologist."

"I have his EKG and x-ray results. Would you mind if I woke him for a moment?"

Rachel nodded, and Dr. Theimke went to Gibbs' side.

"Agent Gibbs," he said softly, shaking Gibbs' shoulder a little. Gibbs opened his eyes and turned his head.

"Dr. Theimke."

"I have your results, and wanted to tell you right away. You have a blockage. We're going to have to put in a stent to keep the artery open."

"You mean an operation," Gibbs said nervously.

"It's a very simple operation, nothing to worry about at all. We're going to make an incision in your upper thigh, in the groin area, and we'll use a catheter to navigate through the artery, and insert the stent. It won't take long at all, and you won't even know it's there," Dr. Theimke said with a reassuring smile.

"I've never had to have surgery before," Gibbs admitted, sounding more nervous than he thought he'd be.

"You're in good hands, Agent Gibbs. Bethesda has some of the best cardiac surgeons in the country."

Gibbs looked over at Rachel.

"Where's my father?"

"He's asleep in the waiting room," she said, smiling. "I'll go get him." Rachel stepped out of the room.

"I have your surgery scheduled for 11 this morning. I'll leave you to rest, and someone will be back in a little while to prep you."

"Okay, thanks, Doc."

Dr. Theimke smiled and left Gibbs to rest. Jackson came in moments later.

"How do you feel, son?"

"I have to have an operation, Dad. They want to put a stent inside me."

Jackson saw the fear in his son's eyes. He hadn't seen his son show that kind of fear since he was a child.

"You're going to be all right, son. After the surgery, and a little rest, you'll be good as new."

"What's happening to me, Dad? Everything is just spiraling out of control... the dreams, and hearing Viv, and then the heart attack... Dad, it's becoming too much."

"You haven't told a soul about what happened the day your sister disappeared, and you've been holding that in for 55 years. Son, you have to tell someone what happened to her. Keeping it to yourself any longer is only going to hurt you worse than you're hurting now. Do you understand?"

"What happened that day isn't something I want to remember anymore, Dad."

"Then let it out of you. If you keep putting stress on yourself over this, you're going to have another heart attack, and it might be worse than this one. I don't want to bury you, Leroy. I can't lose another child. I won't."

Gibbs remained silent, staring at his father. Jackson reached out and took his son's hand in his own.

"You don't have to tell me, but please, Leroy, I beg of you, tell someone."

Gibbs looked at the heart monitor he was connected to, and then back at his father. He knew what he had to do.

"Okay Dad. I'll do it."

Jackson returned to waiting room after Gibbs was wheeled into surgery. Ducky and Dr. Cranston were waiting there, chatting over tea.

"How is he?" Ducky asked as Jackson sat down next to him.

"He's scared, but I think he's going to be all right." He brought his eyes to meet Dr. Cranston's. "He wants to talk about what happened to his sister, but not to me."

Rachel nodded her understanding.

"We can start our sessions when he's settled back at home. For now, He needs support from his family and friends to get through the surgery and recovery."

"We'll be with him every step of the way," Jackson said, nodding simultaneously.

Rachel looked at Ducky.

"Let me know when he's settled at home, and we can schedule his first session."

"I will," he said with a smile. "Thank you for coming, my Dear."

"Anytime."

Rachel left them, and Jackson let out a shaky breath.

"He will be all right, Jackson. Your son is the strongest person I know."

"I hope you're right, Dr. Mallard."

TBC...