Marissa slowly woke up, and tried to suppress a groan as she did. While in the past several years, she experienced more pain-filled wake-ups than she cared to, today felt different. Slowly opening her eyes, she recalled why. She managed to finally escape from him-and Marissa was determined that this would only be the first day without him. She recalled her brief interview with Gibbs—could she trust him to get Jonathon out of their lives? Or would he fall to the political pressure that Jonathon and his family could provide. Probably the later, she hadn't seen Gibbs in years and there was no reason to believe that he would help her. Best bet for her and Kelly is to get ready to disappear. They would go off the grid—hell they had been off the grid for two years now, it shouldn't be too hard to vanish again. Should Jonathon been taken down, then she might come back.

Attempting to raise herself out of bed brought on more pain and stiffness that she bargained on. This time she couldn't keep the cry of pain from escaping. Dropping back down the few inches she had managed to rise, she tried to figure out what to do next. Clenching her jaw, Marissa began to rise out of the bed again. This time, she fought through the pain and ignored the tears it brought to her eyes.

About the time Marissa managed to get into a sitting position, a nurse walked as if summoned. "Miss, you really need to stay in bed." The nurse strode over to the side and then picked up Marissa's wrist to take her pulse. Marissa could see her mouth moving as she counted. She let go of her wrist, and moved to cover her back up, "Doctor Hartman hoped you would be waking soon, I'll go get him so he can talk with you."

The nurse made it plain that she wasn't going to just let her get up and walk out of her. The pain in her back and the pressure on her bladder was working against her. Better get the nurse to help her with a legitimate request, and then act later. "Any chance you could help me to the bathroom first?"

The nurse gave her a genuine warm smile, "Are you going to let me help you, Marine?"

Panic hit her hard now, "What? How did you. . ."

Patting her arm, the nurse immediately tried to calm her, "Sorry for causing you to panic, Agent Gibbs told us you are a Marine, but due to circumstances he could not explain, NCIS did not want your name, rank or anything associated with your identity in the records here." Smiling she patted her arm lightly; "The people down in records aren't happy, but not enough to do more grumble."

Marissa groaned loudly as the nurse helped her into a standing position, "Damn, that hurts."

Guiding her to the bathroom, the nurse continued talking to her, "Back injuries tend to magnify every ache and pain in your body. Though, it's a good sign you are so stiff and sore—it means your body is working to heal itself." Once they made it the short distance from the bed to the bathroom, the nurse helped settle her on the toilet, and then discreetly turned her back on her. "Agent Gibbs also informed us about your daughter. Pediatrics has sent us a report for you—Doctor Hartman will go over it with you, but I can tell you that she is quickly winning over the hearts of the ward up there."

Once Marissa finished relieving her bladder, the nurse helped her rise again and walk back to the bed. Back in the bed the nurse unfastened the ties in the back of the hospital gown to inspect her back. After inspecting it for several minutes, she returned to Marissa's field of vision, "I'm going to get Dr. Hartman for you now."

Marissa pulled her knees up to her chest, the rest her chin on them. It pulled at her back, but was easier than trying to lie down again. The hurt she felt upon waking didn't match how much it would hurt when she moved. Glancing at the IVs next to her, she wondered how much painkillers they were giving her to knock the edge off. Did she chance leaving the hospital with the possibility of those drugs in her system? Or rather would she be able to function without whatever was in the IV?

The Doctor entered the room during her musings and pulled up a chair in front of her. They discussed briefly discussed her daughter's condition, and then discussed her condition at great length. Cold fear began to settle in the pit of her stomach and she tried to absorb what he told her. At the end of their conversation, he gripped her arm and promised to send a therapist to come talk to her later. Marissa nodded slightly in acknowledgement and tried to figure out what to do with this information he just gave her. She hadn't expected this complication—and now she wasn't sure what to do.

###

Gibbs punched the button for the floor he wanted and watched the doors close. Taking the moment of solitude, he rubbed his eyes, trying to ease the exhaustion he felt creeping up on him. Normally he would order Tony or Kate to do this type of interview. But not with Marissa—he owed her that much. And, he grimaced; he wasn't ready for his team to learn about Kelly and Shannon. He felt as if he was poking that old wound now, but he owed his girls to see this through to the end.

Gibbs walked up to the nurse's station and displayed his badge. The nurse on duty, after carefully studying his badge, nodded her head toward the room at the end of the hall bracketed by two Marine guards. "Only the nursing staff, Dr. Hartman and someone from the pediatric ward have been in there. Pediatrics would not have been in there, but she insisted upon seeing her daughter." Giving a slight shrug of her shoulders, "Medically she's not up to dealing with an active two year in my opinion, but she was so worried about her, that it calmed her down when they brought her down about half an hour ago."

He nodded his head at the information and walked over to her room. He flashed his badge to the guards before putting it in his jacket pocket. Upon entering the room, he immediately had to allow his eyes to adjust to the near darkness of the room. Once he eyes focused, he immediately noticed that the bed was missing its occupant. "The nurse out there didn't seem to think you would be ready to leave just yet."

From the chair in the corner, Marissa softly answered him, "I don't have a choice. If I stay here, there is a good chance that he will find us." Jutting her chin out towards him in a defiant tone, "I will not let that bastard lay a finger on either of us again."

Gibbs shifted his position to be between her and the door, "Tell me what is going on? Talk to me."

"Why? Why should I?" she spat out.

The venom in her voice surprised him. Her trust issues were more than just an abusive husband, much more. Pulling a chair over near her, he saw Marissa holding her daughter next to her while the child slept. "You trusted me before. Trust me now." He paused and peered into Marissa's eyes, "I will not let anyone hurt either of you. I promise."

Marissa's jaw trembled as she fought back tears. "I want to believe you, but the last man I trusted left me high and dry and straight into Jonathan's twisted clutches."

Gibbs reached out and grasped her hand, "I will not leave a Marine behind. Trust me; I will keep you both safe. You have to trust me, Rissy Kitty."

The tears she held back burst forth as the sound of her childhood nickname. "I had almost forgotten that old nickname." Wiping the tears from her face, "You called me that when I was little."

"You tried to adopt everything stray cat on the base. If your mother hadn't been allergic, you would have probably tried to keep all of them in your house." He chuckled at the memory, and released her hand "And I remember you trying to keep a litter of kittens hidden at my house."

The memory of her childhood antics release more tears, but did bring a smile to her face. "I was so sure that the two of us were the only ones that knew—we never counted on your hearing then meow during the night." Rubbing her daughter's hair, she swiftly changed the subject, "Help us. Please."

"Tell me what happened. I know you were reported missing on your way to Norfolk."

She snorted, "Is that what he said? We didn't go missing—we've been held by Him for the past two years. Who else do you think fileted my back like this?"

"Your husband did this?" Gibbs's voice cooled slightly.

"Agent Gibbs, my husband has beaten, raped and tortured me since the day I married him. And when he found out I had a plan to leave him, he knocked me unconscious and when I woke up I was in his private dungeon and lived out the next two years in hell."

Gibbs's grip on his pen tightened. "Did you ever report him?"

A harsh laugh escaped her throat, "I did at first, two Generals and two Commanders told me to be a good wife, a good Marine, and shut the hell up." She turned her face to look at Gibbs, "The only time he got into some trouble was the one time he hit me in the face—and I overheard the General tell him that they couldn't keep it quiet if he left visible marks. Then I was called in and asked if I was alright after my 'training accident'."

"Your husband is the heir to a large company, isn't he?"

"You nailed it. The higher ups bend over backwards to kiss his ass to gain political favor. Hell, I'm just a Jarhead from nowhere."

Gibbs jaw tightened. He knew the type she referred to, those who had forgotten what it meant to be a Marine and there were way too many in command nowadays. "My team and I will protect you. You have my word on it. You're not alone in this fight."

Relief flooded her face, "Can you? Jonathan has powerful friends. . ."

"That he might. But he hasn't met me yet. I'll keep the two of you safe," rising he gripped her shoulder and giving her a slight squeeze, "I promise, I won't let anything happen to either of you."