A/N: Hate to keep you loyal readers and reviewers hanging so here's a short update.

Long Enough Alone?

Chapter 37 - The Aftermath

Half an hour later a nurse came to the waiting room and summoned Jen and Ducky. They followed her to the ICU and were shown to the room where Jethro had been taken. Jen had been trying to prepare herself for what she was going to see. She had cared for many patients in critical condition during her career. She had seen a lot of patients in very bad situations but she had never seen the man she loved in such a place. Looking at Jethro now tore at her heart and literally took her breath away. She had to hold onto the bedrail to steady herself.

From the waist up Jethro was covered with a gauze bandage. His left leg was heavily bandaged as well. He of course had tubes and wires everywhere. There was a drain in his chest and a tube down his throat. A machine breathing for him and another was monitoring his heart and blood pressure. He was as pale as a ghost and his skin felt clammy to the touch. Jen took his hand in hers and kissed his palm holding it to her cheek. Tears ran down her face and dripped onto the sheet. She roughly brushed them away and forced herself to get control. She ran her fingers gently through his hair and kissed him on the forehead. Ducky brought a chair for her and she sat down next to the bed never letting go of Jethro's hand.

Ducky had seen Jethro in bad shape several times over the years but even he had to admit this was a frightening sight. The nurse, having been alerted as to who he was, allowed him to look at Jethro's chart. What he saw there was not encouraging. All Ducky could hope for was that somewhere in Jethro's subconscious he remembered Jenny and Sophie and would fight his way back to them. He desperately wanted to give Jenny something positive to hold onto.

"If it is a matter of will then I know Jethro will survive this my dear. He has too much to live for now. He won't give up."

"I know Ducky but it might not be enough this time. I'm going to hope and pray it is but unfortunately I know what all those numbers and results in that chart mean. He has a long way to go. You are right though, I know he won't give up."

For the next hour Jen barely moved in her chair. She never let go of Jethro's hand and she talked to him constantly in that quiet, soothing voice that always made him feel better. She told him how proud she was of him and how much she loved him. She told him his team and Ducky were all there for him and urged him to keep fighting. There was no change in his status but at least he was still with her. When she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket she pulled it out and saw it was Bill Sheppard calling. She knew she needed to call and talk to Sophie.

"Ducky, will you stay with him please? I have to go call Sophie and explain why her grandparents are coming and why I wont' be home."

"Of course my dear. Take your time. I'll be right here."

Ducky took her place in the chair and launched into a story he had already told Jethro at least a dozen times. It never failed to make his friend smile though which is why he chose it now. Jen stepped into the hallway to call her daughter and somehow break the news to her. First she called Bill back.

"How is he?"

"He survived the surgery but it's still too early to be optimistic. Are you almost at the house?"

"Yes, only about ten minutes out. We wanted to be there shortly after you talk to Sophie in case she's as upset as I imagine she will be."

"Yes, I'm afraid she is going to be very upset and afraid. I feel very torn about not being with her but I just can't leave Jethro now."

"Of course. Your place is right there for now. Let us take care of Sophie for you. Go ahead and call her and we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Thank you so much. I'll keep you posted."

Jen hung up and called Helen. "Helen, it's Jen. He made it through the surgery but he's still critical. Sophie's grandparents will be at the house in just a few minutes. I need to tell her some version of what's happened."

"Let me get her for you."

Jen took several deep breaths and hoped she didn't say the wrong thing.

"Hi mommy. Are you coming home?"

"Hi baby. Sophie I want you to listen very carefully okay?"

"Okay."

"Jethro got hurt while he and mommy were gone today so he's in the hospital and mommy needs to stay with him for a little while. Grandma and pawpaw are going to be there in just a few minutes to stay with you."

"What's wrong with Jethro? When is he coming home?"

"I don't know for sure when he's coming home. He has to stay at the hospital for a few days. When he feels better you can come see him but not now. He asked me to tell you he loves you. Sophie, mommy will be home as soon as I can but I want you to be a good girl for your grandparents. You show them your new room and the extra room where they can sleep. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, mommy. Can I talk to Jethro?"

"He's sleeping right now, baby. Please be a good girl and I will be home as soon as I can."

"Are you crying mommy?"

"No, baby I'm not crying. Hey, I think pawpaw is bringing you a surprise. I have to go now Sophie. Let me talk to Miss Helen please. Bye."

"She seems okay right now. Try not to worry about her. I'm sure when her grandparents get here she'll be fine. I'll show them where things are in the house. You just concentrate on taking care of yourself and Jethro."

"Thank you so much Helen. I don't know what I would have done without you today."

Jen decided to take a few minutes to try and gather herself before she went back to the ICU. She went into the ladies room and looked at herself in the mirror. The person she saw looking back at her seemed to bear very little resemblance to the woman she had seen in her bathroom mirror just a few hours ago. That woman had been practically glowing with happiness. The woman she saw now was anything but glowing and was certainly far from happy. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and almost overwhelming stress. Jen saw fear and despair on her face. She splashed handfuls of cold water on her face in a desperate attempt to wash away that fear and despair. Finally she took two deep breaths and told herself she was going to fight just as hard as she was imploring Jethro to do. When she came out of the restroom Ziva was waiting for her in the hallway.

"Has something happened?"

"No. There is a detective here from Metro PD. He needs to ask you some questions. Tony has gone to check with Ducky and he will let us know if there is even the slightest change. It would be helpful to the police to hear your story while it is still fresh in your mind. Although I doubt you will forget any of it in the near future."

"You're right about that. I want to help catch those three men. I can talk to the detective now."

Jen introduced herself to Detective Morris and they went to sit in a corner of the waiting room. Jen told him everything she could remember from the time she and Jethro pulled up to the gas pump until she left in the ambulance. She described the car and what little she saw of the shooters. The detective told her one of the boys from store had died but the other was still alive and expected to survive. He said the woman and child were uninjured except for some scrapes and bruises. Jethro was definitely the most grievously injured.

"He surely saved that young woman's life and the little girl as well. From what we could piece together from the scene they were definitely between the shooters and the boys they were targeting. What Agent Gibbs did was truly heroic. I hope he will be alright."

"Thank you Detective. Please keep his team informed about your investigation."

"Oh don't worry. They won't rest until one of us has found the shooters. I've known Tony for a long time and I've worked a case or two with Agent Gibbs and his team. We'll find the shooters don't you worry about that."

"If I can be of any more help you know where I'll be. Now I'd like to get back to the ICU."

"Thank you, Ms. Sheppard. And good luck."

When Jen returned to Jethro's bedside nothing had changed. She took her place in the chair next to the bed and Ducky left to stretch his legs and talk to the rest of Jethro's team. Jen took note of all the readings on the machines monitoring Jethro's condition and was satisfied he was at least holding his own for the moment. When she glanced at the clock she was surprised to see it was just after 3:30 in the afternoon. As she held Jethro's hand and stroked her other hand through his hair she thought about what they were supposed to be doing today. They were going to just laze around the house and enjoy being together at home. Now the idea of being at home with Jethro seemed very far away. She thought about their plans to christen the hot tub tonight after Sophie was in bed. Looking at Jethro now she swallowed down the fear she would never be in it at all.

The nurse continued to constantly monitor Jethro and all his mechanical connections. It gave Jen some sense of security that she was right there, always within reach if something happened. She closed her eyes and tried to think positive, happy thoughts. After a few minutes she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Jethro's beautiful blue eyes looking at her from the face of a much older man. Ducky was just behind him. Jen stood up and reached for his hand but instead he pulled her close to him and hugged her.

Without releasing her he said, "I'm Jackson Gibbs, Jethro's father. You must be Jenny."

"Yes. I'm very glad you're here Mr. Gibbs. I certainly wish it were under better circumstances."

"It's Jack, please. How is he?"

"He's in critical condition. He had a lot of internal damage and lost a lot of blood. The next several hours will be crucial."

Jen moved aside and let Jack take her place beside the bed so he could see Jethro and touch him. He held Jethro's hand and spoke softly to him. "I'm here son. They tell me you're in pretty bad shape but they don't know how tough you are. You just hang on Jethro. You don't have my permission to go anywhere. You got a beautiful woman here and I know you don't want to leave her alone. I love you son, you hang on and fight." Jack leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Jethro's forehead.

When he turned around his eyes were shining with tears. He pulled Jen to his side and kissed her on the temple. Then he moved away and motioned for her to resume her place. He sat down in chair against the wall and prepared to wait for his only son to wake up. No matter how long it took he would be there.

The hours seemed to crawl by and Jen never left Jethro's side. She continued to maintain some physical contact with him at all times and she talked to him almost constantly. She knew somewhere in his subconscious he could hear her. She kept her comments positive and encouraging and she repeatedly told him how much she and Sophie loved him and needed him to come back to them. She reminded him he had promised to marry her and she wasn't going to let him get out of that. Every now and then Jack would move to the bedside and speak to Jethro, telling him he was there and that he loved him. Jen began to doze on and off as the evening wore on but she refused to leave her station beside the bed. Jack fell asleep in the chair.

At about 7:00 they were startled awake by alarms going off and nurses rushing into the room. Jen stood up to find out what was happening but was expertly moved out of the way by the resident who came running from across the unit. Her professional side understood what they were saying and doing but again, as a loved one of the patient she was terrified. All of a sudden Jethro's blood pressure had plummeted and he was in danger of coding again. The staff very quickly determined the problem and began moving him out of the unit toward the operating rooms. One of the nurses that did not need to go with them stayed with Jen and Jackson and explained what they thought was happening.

"We suspect he's bleeding internally again. It's not uncommon considering the extensive damage he suffered. They will open him up again and get it under control. I know all the alarms are frightening even though you are a nurse; he's not a patient to you of course. I won't say don't worry because this is very serious but I can tell you he is in the best possible place and in very good hands with Dr. Harmon. They will do everything they can for him."

Jen just nodded at her and tried to remember how to breathe. She and Jack went out to the waiting room and found Jethro's team all still there. When they saw the two of them they stood up and seemed to automatically hold onto each other. Ducky spoke first and asked what was wrong. Jen quickly told them what was going on. They breathed a collective sigh of relief when she didn't say he was dead. Abby was crying silent tears as she clung to McGee for support. They all looked like people who had been sitting in uncomfortable chairs fighting off despair and sadness for the past several hours. Jen knew she looked at least as bad. She thought of suggesting they go home and try to rest but she knew that would be pointless and also insulting. After all these dear people had known and loved Jethro a lot longer than she had. And she knew without a doubt that each of them would be crushed and heartbroken if he didn't survive this horrible ordeal.

Sitting still was not an option for Jen any longer. She began pacing up and down the hallway asking God all the time to please not take Jethro away from her and those five persons in the waiting room. And Sophie. And Jackson.

TBC