Disclaimer: I don't own anyone. They are all owned by Donald Bellisario.

A/N: Thanks for the great reviews. If I didn't get to thank you through PM's know that I do love reading what you guys think of this story. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

****NCIS****

Gibbs had finally managed to get Kelly inside that morning-she had been clinging to him. Going through the motions monotonously the rest of the day, Kelly went to bed fairly early that night.

"How's Little Probie?" Mike asked, seeing Gibbs walking downstairs.

"She's asleep now," he replied, sitting down on the couch and running a tired hand over his face. "I don't know what to do, Mike."

"She's afraid you have too much going on already than to worry about her and her nightmares."

"I thought my taking time off the last couple of weeks was showing her that nothing is more important to me than her."

"Hey, I'm just telling you what she told me."

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled, looking up toward the stairs. "I just don't want her to lose that spark for life she has. She's gone through hell already-I know she made it back from that, but this is something of a whole different magnitude."

****NCIS****

The next afternoon, Jenny went out to lunch with Abby. She was spending the better part of their meal trying to convince her that Kelly was really okay.

"So, Jenny, are you seeing anyone yet?" Abby asked, finally getting convinced that Kelly was okay as she could be considering what she'd been through.

Thinking immediately of Gibbs, Jenny hardened her features-not wanting Abby to tell that she was lying. Try as she might, she could not get the memories of what she and Gibbs had done the night before the concert out of her mind. She knew that being with him would be a big risk, not only for their careers-but Kelly's feelings as well. Although it was hard to remember not wanting to jeopardize her career or protecting Kelly when she thought of his hands touching her bare skin. Swallowing the bite of her salad she had taken in order to prolong her answer, she replied. "There's a man I'm interested in, but I'm sure nothing will come from it."

"Why not?" Abby pressed, wondering what was stopping her from getting what she wanted and deserved. "He's not married, is he?"

"No, he's just very focused on his job," she said, looking up at her. "We've hung out a few times, just trying to get to know each other. I thought things would progress a little further than they have-but for right now we're both satisfied with our careers being the important part of our lives.

"Come on, Jenny, that's a load of crap."

"Abby?!" she exclaimed, shocked that the Goth had said that.

"You deserve to have a life outside of work," she said adamantly. "What happens when you're forty or fifty and look back on this time of your life and realize that you want the husband and kids to come home to?"

"Do you realize how dangerous being a federal agent is, Abby?"

"Yes, but I also realize that putting your life on hold, just because you're too caught up in your career-it will be something you regret when you get older. What happens when you live to fifty and retire? You still going to believe that load of crap you just told me?"

"I realize it, Abbs," she replied quietly, looking down at her salad-her mind drifting back to her boss. "It's just that he's older than me. He's made me feel things that I have never felt before. The way he's touched me-it's like nothing I'd ever experienced."

"Then you need to act on that Jenny," she said, taking a bite of her Chicken Caesar Salad. Catching the part where Jenny said he was older made her wonder if Kelly was right, that there were more than co-worker feelings between Gibbs and Jenny. She was happy for the silver haired fox, if he would allow himself to fall in love with his younger agent. She could only hope for Kelly's sake that it was Gibbs that Jenny was talking about-she wasn't sure how much more she could take. "Tell him how you feel, how he makes you feel. That you understand you both are concentrating on your careers, but you don't want to let the opportunity to find happiness pass you by," she said. She then added, "It's not like you're asking for a marriage proposal."

"Telling him how I feel isn't the problem," she said, shaking her head. "There are other things that would complicate a relationship between us."

"What other things?" she asked, her interest definitely piqued. She had heard that Gibbs had this rule that prevented the team from dating a co-worker, so it only made her suspect that Jenny was talking about Gibbs even more. Christmas was coming up; maybe she could stick some mistletoe above her door to the lab-make Gibbs and Jenny kiss. 'What if she's not talking about El Jefe though? What if it really is just some uptight workaholic?' she thought, trying to focus back on what Jenny was saying so she could remember all this to tell Kelly when she was doing better.

****NCIS****

Later that afternoon, Gibbs was downstairs working on his boat when the phone rang. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"Jethro, it's Melissa," Maddie's mom said when he'd answered.

"Please tell me you have good news?"

"Maddie just woke up," she replied, letting out a small sob of relief. "She doesn't remember anything from that day though. The doctors have said it's normal-she would like to see you and Kelly though."

"I'll bring Kelly by tomorrow," he replied, knowing he would need to prepare Kelly for the fact that Maddie doesn't remember the shooting. "She's not had a good couple days."

"What's wrong with her?" she asked, worrying about her like she was her own.

"I think she's suffering from PTSD," he replied. "She had a bad breakdown yesterday at the mall. A piece of drywall or something fell into a store, sounded like a gunshot and she freaked out."

Nodding her head lightly-she could understand why Kelly had freaked out. "Is she having nightmares still?"

"Uh huh, she hardly slept any last night. Jenny and Abby brought her back from the mall and she was pretty much out of it. She slept off and on throughout the night. She still won't tell me what she sees in her dreams."

"Are you going to get Kelly into therapy?"

"Yeah, I may take her to see the shrink at the Navy Yard," he said, leaning against the boat. "She's had experience dealing with men coming back from combat and suffering from PTSD."

"Did it just start all of a sudden?"

"Well, when she skipped school and went to your house, that's when this first started I think. She's had night terrors from it, but I only found out about it after she skipped school. The incident yesterday at the mall made it worse; she's upstairs watching TV with my dad right now. She hasn't said a whole helluva lot about what happened at the mall. I'm almost afraid to ask and see if she remembers it."

"Jethro, you know your daughter," she said gently. "You know what she can and can't handle. You also know that she will talk to you if she needs to. Remind her as much as you can that you are there for her. We'll get our girls through this disaster."

Nodding his head lightly, he closed his eyes before speaking, deciding to not comment on what Melissa had just said to him, but going back to Maddie. "So do the doctors say that Maddie will make a full recovery now?"

"Yes, they went ahead and took out her spleen. They had to go back in and close up another laceration on her liver-now that it's all taken care of they say she should make a complete recovery."

"I'm glad Maddie's doing better. Tell her we love her and will see her tomorrow."

"I will, Jethro. Take care of yourself and Kelly. I'll tell Maddie that you guys wanted to give her a chance to get her bearings before you come visit her," she said, leaning against the door to the room they'd moved Maddie into.

"All right, we'll see you guys tomorrow."

****NCIS****

After having lunch with Abby, Jenny was more than ready to get home and just soak in a hot bath. The bubbly Goth scientist had Jenny walking all over the place. She had insisted on going shopping for Kelly, getting her a lot of things for Christmas. Jenny grabbed a few things as well, not sure how much time in between then and Christmas she would have to shop. Getting home, she dropped her packages by the door, along with her purse and coat. She walked into the study and poured herself a tumbler of Scotch and went upstairs to start her bath. Climbing into the steaming hot bath, she allowed the water to work on the tense muscles built up in her back. Leaning her head against the tiled wall, she closed her eyes and thought about what Abby had said. 'Could she really go the rest of her life having not allowed herself to love someone completely or having a family of her own? Was this vendetta against the man she was convinced murdered her father worth putting her own life on hold? She knew her father would not approve of her sacrificing her own happiness just to catch the man responsible.' After thinking about it some more, she started visualizing what her own children would look like. Seeing a little girl with fiery red hair like hers, running around in a backyard chasing after a butterfly; a little boy with looks that mirrored his father, rolling toy trucks through a sand box. Opening her eyes, she let out a wistful sigh. Of course the man she wanted most right now was clearly not interested in her. Maybe she could just take the bull by the horn so to speak and tell him her feelings. Shaking her head of that thought, she knew that he would probably tell her that nothing could happen between them. Both times anything had happened, he was clearly not in his right mind. Why did she have to fall in love with an unattainable man? 'Wait, when did I start loving him?' she thought to herself as she took a sip of her scotch. 'Is it really that hard to believe you could love the man? You've seen how he is with his daughter, the way his hands felt on you that night at his house. You've heard of love at first sight, Jen.' Groaning a bit, she washed off and got out of the bath. Drying off, she wrapped herself up in her fluffy robe and took her hair down from the clip it was in. Walking over to her closet, she decided to go out that night. Maybe she could meet someone who would help her get her mind off Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Grabbing one of her favorite skirts and a tight green sweater, she went and got dressed, hoping for a night of fun.

****NCIS****

Gibbs was sitting in his basement thinking over everything. He was beating himself up mentally for not noticing that Kelly was struggling to deal with everything that had happened. He knew that if Shannon had still been alive, she would have helped her better than he had. Before he could beat himself up more, he heard Kelly's screams of terror and his father yelling for him. "Jethro!"

Rushing up the stairs, he ran into the living room where Kelly was sitting on the couch, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs and she was rocking back and forth. Walking over to her carefully, he knelt down in front of her. "Kel, baby what's wrong?"

Not getting an answer out of her-he saw the look in her eyes and knew she was having a flashback to that day. Looking up at his dad, he was hoping for some type of explanation.

"We were sitting here watching a football game, and she just zoned out during a commercial. There was a preview for a movie and it had guns in it; that's when she screamed," Jackson said, his heart breaking at the pain in his granddaughter's eyes.

"Kelly, it's okay. You're at home, and you are safe. I promise nothing is ever going to happen like this again."

Throwing her arms around his neck, she buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed. Pulling her into his arms, Gibbs held her like she was a little girl again, like he had after Shannon had first died. Running his fingers through her hair, he attempted to calm her down some. "Sweetie, Maddie woke up this afternoon," he whispered to her, hoping it would help her to know her best friend was better. "I told her mom we would come up tomorrow and visit. Give her a chance to get herself situated in her new room," he added, not wanting to really say that it was so Kelly could be prepared about her not remembering the shooting.

"She's going to be okay?" Kelly asked softly, her voice hoarse from screaming and crying the last couple days.

"Yes, she'll be okay," he replied, rubbing her back. "She does not remember the shooting though, the day is just completely blank to her."

"Oh," she sighed, biting her lip nervously. "Does she remember me?"

"Yes, Kel, it's just the day of the shooting she doesn't remember."

"All right, that's fine," she replied, not sure how to react to the news.

Looking at her worriedly, Gibbs knew not to push her to open up-knowing she would just shut down and possibly never tell him her feelings. Letting out a quiet sigh, he looked her in the eye. "Why don't you go wash your face, then we can go out for dinner somewhere."

"Sounds good," she replied, as she got up and walked up the stairs quietly-leaving both Gibbs and Jackson to watch her sadly.

****NCIS****

Jenny was sitting at the bar drinking a scotch on the rocks, chatting occasionally with other patrons. She was even flirting with a handsome guy, who appeared to be close to her age. "Can I get you another drink?" he asked, saddling up beside her on an empty stool.

"Sure," she responded, turning in her seat toward him and crossing her legs.

Signaling to the bartender to get Jenny another drink, the mystery man rested his hand on her knee. The band began to play, making people have to move closer together in order to hear each other talk. He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "What's your name?"

"Jenny," she replied flirtatiously, resting her hand on his rock hard thigh. "What's yours?"

"Tony."

****NCIS****

The next morning, Jenny woke up with a massive hangover. She groaned lightly at the sun shining in through the mini blinds. 'What the hell?' she asked herself, as she quickly realized she wasn't at her home. Looking behind her, she saw the guy she'd left the bar with last night. What was his name, Tom, Terry…no it was Tony. Slipping out of his bed quietly, Jenny grabbed her clothes and walked into the bathroom to get dressed and hopefully sneak out of there before he had a chance to wake up.

Driving home less than ten minutes later, Jenny started beating herself up mentally. Sure, she had wanted to go out and have a good time, get her mind off of Gibbs-but sleeping with some random guy? 'Okay, so the sex was good, but it wasn't Jethro. That's who you really wanted it to be Jen.' she thought, as she wanted to beat her head on the steering wheel, but refrained knowing it wouldn't help her headache. "God, how stupid can I get? Why can't I get this man out of my mind? Even trying to move on-he still creeps into my thoughts!" she yelled, as there had been a couple times the night before when Jenny had imagined that it was Gibbs she was having sex with. Rolling her eyes, she knew that sneaking out of Tony's place wasn't the best idea she'd had-she just didn't want to see his look of disappointment when she said she couldn't see him any more. At least this way, she knew there was almost a slim to nothing chance that they'd ever run into each other again, so it made sneaking out a little easier.

****NCIS****

Kelly had another rough night, so much so that she'd accidentally punched Gibbs in the face when he tried to wake her up. So now they were both awake and sitting in the living room-Kelly eating a bowl of cereal, or pushing it around in the bowl mostly, while Gibbs had his morning coffee.

"Morning you two," Jackson said as he walked into the room. Getting a look at Gibbs' face, he was more or less shocked by what he saw. "What happened to your eye?"

"I punched him in the face," Kelly muttered, and at any other time Gibbs knew that a comment like that would have made Jackson look appalled but he had heard her nightmares, so he wasn't all that surprised.

"So we decided to get up and have breakfast, before going out to the hospital to see Maddie," Gibbs said, giving Jackson a look that said to let the conversation drop.

"You going to take Maddie her stuff from your concert you went to?" Jackson asked, sitting down beside Kelly.

Nodding her head lightly, she set the soggy bowl of cereal on the coffee table. "Hopefully she's not too upset that I had Jenny go."

"Sweetie, she would have wanted you to take someone to have fun with," he said, hugging her to him. "You've said yourself your daddy doesn't know anything about the band or their songs."

"Yeah."

"Did you have fun with Jenny?" he questioned, lifting her chin up so he could look her in the eye.

"Yes," she replied softly. "Especially when she teased Daddy for driving crazy."

"Then Maddie's not going to be mad at you for having Jenny go with you instead."

Gibbs sat there listening to his dad trying to make Kelly feel better. He knew that today would be rough on her, as neither one really knew what to expect when they got to the hospital to see Maddie. Sure, they had seen her when she was unconscious, but now that she was awake and aware of what happened, he could only hope and pray that both girls came back from this tragedy somewhat normal. "Kel, go get ready and we'll head on up to the hospital now."

"All right," she replied, getting up and walking upstairs.

"Jack, you going to still be here when we get back?" Gibbs asked, knowing things were still tense between the two of them, but he knew it would help having him here for Kelly's sake.

"I can stay as long as you want me to Leroy," he replied, knowing they still had a lot to go through with Kelly.

"Okay, I need to go get ready."

Almost an hour later, Gibbs and Kelly were walking down the hallway looking for Maddie's room. Kelly had brought her notebook that she'd been writing letters to Maddie in since the shooting, keeping her caught up on everything. She also had the T-shirt of Nick Carter from the concert they went to, as well as all the pictures that Jenny had taken organized in an album for her. Finding the right room, Gibbs knocked lightly before opening the door and letting them inside.

"Hey Maddie," Kelly said quietly, walking over to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," she replied, looking over at her before asking, "How's your shoulder?"

"It's better; it still gets sore sometimes but I don't have to wear the stupid sling anymore," she answered, sitting down in the chair her mom had vacated. "I thought you didn't remember the shooting?"

"I don't. Mom told me that you were shot in the shoulder when I asked if you were okay."

Nodding her head lightly, she handed her the presents. "I wrote you letters every day to keep you updated on everything going on," she said, giving her a look that went unnoticed by the adults in the room. "We also got you a T-shirt at the concert, and Jenny went in your place but she took a lot of pictures of Nick for you."

"Cool, thanks."

"When can you go home?"

"The doctor thinks I should be able to go home by Friday at the earliest," she replied quietly. "If there aren't any more setbacks, and they don't have to go operate anymore."

"Cool, there's supposed to be a Backstreet Boys concert on Disney Channel next weekend, it's from the tour that I saw," she replied. "Maybe if you're home, I can come over and we can watch it together. It'll be like we were really there together."

"Sounds like fun."

While Kelly and Maddie continued talking, Gibbs looked over at Maddie's parents. "I've actually missed hearing them talk about Backstreet Boys constantly," he chuckled, surprised he was actually admitting that.

"I know what you mean. It's been quiet at the house whenever one of us goes home for the night," Joe Tyler chuckled, looking back at the two girls.

"We're just ready for this nightmare to end, like I'm sure you are," Melissa said, having remembered her conversation with him the day before.

"I think we're all more than ready," he answered, knowing that another part of Kelly's childhood had been ripped away from her. What worried him most-he didn't know if she would ever be able to get it back.