Jen quickly recovered from her concussion, and she got to gather her strength in peace. Gibbs was by her side as always, and Tony would come visit with Amy every day while Jen was in the hospital. The girl was so happy her mom was ok, and her mom was more than happy that her child was alright. And Gibbs, he was just happy both of them were alive, but he couldn't let go of the thoughts of what they would have to go through if he didn't find any other way out of this mess than to sacrifice his own life. It was like a dark cloud that hung over his head, always threatening to pull him down into feelings of guilt. Jen had of course noticed something weird in his behaviour, and she had asked him about it, once or twice. The third time she asked if he was really ok, he started to feel really bad for lying to her, the first time he had just convinced himself he was protecting her. He remembered the rule, "always be specific when you lie", and he decided he would keep 'protecting' her from the truth.

"I told you, I'm fine, Jen. You gotta stop worrying about me" he tried to convince her, but she still wasn't sure.

"I don't know" she said thoughtfully "This past week you have been…happy one second, and the next it looks like you suddenly started to think of something that takes your happiness away. I want you happy, Jethro, so will you please tell me what's wrong, or I'll know you have been lying to me" she looked so serious and fragile where she lay in the hospital bed, and the guilty feelings in his heart felt stronger and heavier than ever.

"I don't mean to lie to you, Jen" he sighed. He sat in his usual chair next to her bed, and he looked down into his coffee mug, trying to figure out something he could tell her, without lying. He felt a soft hand caressing his upper arm, and when he turned his gaze, he saw her slender fingers with the manicured nails gently grabbing his arm.

"Then don't lie to me, tell me the truth" her voice was soft, with a hint of demand in it.

Gibbs finally met her eyes, and he gave her a weak smile.

"I just can't stop thinking about Daniel" he told her and she raised her eyebrows

"You think I can? No, I can't, but I'm enjoying every minute I have together with my family, every minute he has stayed away I have taken advantage of. I just want you to do the same, Jethro. Who knows what the future holds for us, or what would happen if he gets me before you can bring him down" the words were caught in her throat, it wasn't that she feared death, the only thing she feared was to hurt people, she new both Gibbs and Amy would be hurt if she gave her life in order to save theirs, and sacrificing herself was something she'd gladly do if she knew it would save the lives of those she loved.

"I won't let you die, Jen. I won't even give him the chance to hurt you" he promised her as he took her hand from his arm and squeezed it gently.

"How do you plan on doing that?" she asked, but saw the expression he wore "No, you will not give your life in order to save mine" she was scared and her voice shook slightly when she spoke. Gibbs took a second to figure out what to tell her, but he knew it wasn't just her life that was on the line.

"It's not just your life anymore, Jen. There's also our baby's life, and I'd rather have you surviving so you can have it, than me. I have already lost a wife and a child, don't make me loose that again"

Jen hated it when he brought that up; he knew she couldn't argue with him on that point, because she didn't know what kind of pain it brought with it, all the emotions and suffering.

She decided she'd put an end to this uncomfortable conversation

"Fine, let's just hope neither of us has to die, and we shall do everything we can in order to get him down without risking our own lives, is that clear?" she asked sternly, and Gibbs admired her faith.

"Yeah, it's crystal, Director" he answered and found himself smiling the first sincere smile in the whole day. Jen mirrored his smile and they reached an agreement on this point, no one would die for the other, unless absolutely necessary.

"How are you feeling?" he asked

"I'm much better, thank you" she answered and by his hand she drew him closer to herself. Gibbs followed her movements and started to lean slightly across her bed, keeping his face close to hers. They started into each others eyes for a moment before she felt his lips brushing against her own. She put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him back down to her, and their lips met once again.

"Whoa, you could have warned us, this is not a sight anyone should see" Tony's voice suddenly came, forcing Jen and Gibbs to quickly pull away from the kiss. Gibbs sat up straight in his chair and looked at the door way where Tony DiNozzo stood, holding Amy by the hand.

"Tony, what do you want? "He asked, he didn't sound angry, just slightly surprised to see them there.

"I just came to say Ziva will be taking over protection of Amy, since I'm gonna go with McGee to follow up on a lead concerning Daniel" Tony told them

"Will she be at NCIS?" Jen asked and glanced at her daughter

"Yeah, and Abby and Ducky will most likely be there to help entertain the little princess" Tony said and lifted up Amy into his arms and she giggled.

"I like Abby, she's so cool" she said and both Jen and Gibbs laughed. Tony smiled too, he liked this girl, he had never had a kid of his own, or for that matter been around kids very often, so this whole situation was new to him, but he had like her from the moment they started talking.

"Okay, just be careful sweetheart, and whatever you do, don't go off by yourself, you got me?" Jen said warningly, but Amy gave her mother a sweet smile

"I know mom, Tony has already told me I can't wander off" she said and Gibbs shot Tony a rather surprised look.

"Really? Maybe you should become a father some day Tony, you seem to get really into the parent thing" Gibbs mocked and Tony glared at his boss before setting Amy down on the floor so she could say good bye to her parents.

Amy rushed forward to her father, and he picked her up into his lap so she could lean over to bed to get to her mother.

Jen wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed her head before saying good bye.

"I love you mommy" Amy told her and Jen smiled sadly and tucked some hair that hung across Amy's face behind her ear.

"I love you too, honey" she said and pulled her daughter back into her arms in a tight hug. One of her arms was around Amy's waist, and the other she held on her head, holding her against her chest.

Amy lay still in her mother's embrace, and she enjoyed the comfort it gave and she inhaled the scent of Jen that she loved so much.

The room was silent and Gibbs and Tony's eyes met, Gibbs at least having a clue why Jen didn't want to let go of her child, Daniel could show up when they least expected it, and he understood Jen wanted to have said a proper good bye to her daughter if Gibbs wouldn't be quick enough to save Jen's life.

After a few minutes Jen thought if was time to let go, and she loosened her grip, and Amy slowly sat back up, she gave her mom a smile that Jen returned, before she turned to her dad.

"Bye daddy" she said and hugged him as well, and Gibbs held her the same way Jen just had, and just as hard. But for not as long. Amy pulled away and Gibbs immediately let her go, but she told him she loved him before she climbed down from his lap.

"I love you too" he said after her as she ran back to Tony and took his hand.

"Okay girl, let's go back to NCIS and deliver you to your new protectors" Tony said and they started to walk out of the room, but Amy turned and waved at her parents, who immediately returned the gesture. Then they left the room.

Jen leaned back against her pillow; she was half-sitting up in her bed.

"Hey" she turned to Gibbs when she heard him speak "It will be ok, we will get through this" he promised her for the hundred time.

"I know, we will get married and we will have a baby. And then we're gonna live happily ever after" Jen said and they both smiled.

"Yeah, we will" he agreed, but when their eyes met, they could both see doubt in the other's eyes, but they also new they would have to keep believing, they couldn't loose their faith.

Gibbs pulled Jen into a tight hug, and they sat with their arms wrapped around each other, thinking about the future they hoped they would some day have together.

"I love you" she whispered into his ear. Gibbs pulled his fingers through her hair, taking in the words he had heard her say so many time these past weeks. He realized how much they meant to him, how much it meant that someone loved him. But it hadn't been until this moment he really understood the meaning of them, the true meaning, which was that she would go to her death if it meant he would live, she'd die for him. That was true love, but it reflected the two different sides of love, that you'd be so lost in your love that you'd die for the other, and the pain the one left behind would feel.

"I love you too" he said back, putting so much honesty into the words that he just knew she understood he really meant it.

Jen thought she was going crazy, she felt like she just wanted to stay in his arms forever, just cry and forget everything except him. But she knew it didn't work like that, but she didn't want to go through this, didn't want to deal with it. But this was reality, not a fantasy world, and reality has its downsides. She hugged him tighter, she was scared, especially since she was released from the hospital tomorrow, and she didn't want to leave the safety she had had this past week. She nuzzled her face into his neck, she felt safe this close to him. She knew why Daniel was after her, she knew what he would do to her when he found her, make her pay for what she had done to him. It wasn't just about Amy...

As if holding her head this close to his had made him able to read her mind, Gibbs suddenly asked "Why does he want to kill you anyway? It is really about Amy, or is there something else that you haven't told me about?"

Jen closed her eyes and pulled away from him. Still with her arms around him, she looked up into his face. She knew the truth would come out eventually, and she saw no point in lying to him about her past.

"What he's after is payback. I cost him a lot of years in prison when I pressed charges on him after the rape and abuse" Gibbs saw the pain come back into her eyes when she spoke, the pain that came with the memories of the rape she had never really dealt with.

"I see. So he got in jail because of you, and now when he's out, he wants revenge. And he thinks the best way to do that, is to kill you" Gibbs stated, and Jen nodded slowly.

"Kill me, or make me suffer first by killing those I love, like Amy and you" she said sadly, and he pulled her back into his arms.

"I'll kill him first, you can count on that. Have you ever doubted me?" he asked and smiled to himself, thinking about all the times he had asked her that, and all the answers she had given him.

"No" he heard her saying, but the answer wasn't convincing enough to persuade him.

"Why are you doubting me now?"

"I just don't know how far he'll go in order to get back at me, I mean, he is probably capable of anything, and I'm not sure you could beat him" she said honestly, but Gibbs felt she was loosing faith, she lost every positive thought and replaced them with the negative ones.

"You can't give up, Jen, not this easily. There has to be a way, and we will find it" he promised her and kissed her head, he held her closely against his body, and they both hoped he would be right.

Who will die for who? Will anyone die at all?

That's some new questions for the upcoming chapters… Please review