Hello! I finally managed to finish a new chapter, hope you guys enjoy it...

Saturday, 21. March 2020 – 10:37 a.m

The steady beeping of her heart rhythm was music to his ears. It struck evenly, and she was out of danger. A few hours ago it had looked quite different. He thought he was going to lose her without even talking to her one last time. She was his love, and he would do anything to find the culprit and cause him the same suffering as he did to Jenny. No one was allowed to harm her! She was something valuable and fragile, even though she always played the strong director on the outside, he knew quite well what she looked like on the inside. All these years she had a hard time, many obstacles were put in her way, and he still knew exactly how difficult her first years as new director were. All the politicians who tried to get to her during every event and then there were also the other directors who didn't take her for a full-fledged person. It was not an easy time but the redhead had made it and showed everyone that even a woman can get far this man's club.

And now? Now she lays in front of him in this big, white bed and seemed as small again as three years ago. Her skin was still pale and her hair lay powerless over her shoulders. She was hooked up to so many cables, had a blood transfusion and at the same time received two more infusions. She had a pulse monitor on her index finger and the doctors had placed a nasal oxygen cannula on her to support her.

She looked so fragile, he thought and moved closer to the bed. Carefully he sat down on the edge of the bed, took her hand in his and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. And suddenly she opened her eyes.

"Hey.", he whispered softly.

Deep circles around her eyes adorned her beautiful face and her otherwise bright green eyes looked incredibly tired. But around her lips played a weak smile, which he gladly replied. But in the corner of her eye the grey-haired man could see something he hadn't seen for a long time. A tear! Carefully he dried this single tear with his thumb and stroked her cheek. And even though he would never admit it, this sight hurt him.

"I'm sorry, I should have stayed." Jethro said softly.

But she shook her head in denial. "I told you to leave.", she murmured weakly. Her eyes were heavy and the headaches caused severe nausea. "It was my decision.", she added and swallowed hard.

"And as usual, I should have been against it."

A mischievous grin formed his lips. Even Jen could not help but laugh quietly, after all he was right. Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn't a friend of her professional decisions when they concerned his person and also his team. But he deeply regretted his own decision from last night. "I'm sorry, I should have been looking out for you."

"Wow.", she croaked. "You break your beloved rule twice in less than five minutes, I thought I die before I ever see you do this." She smiled and felt him squeeze her hand ever tighter.

She never expected what happened next. He kissed her gently, shyly and yet somehow greedily. His lips on hers, it was beautiful and could never stop. Her heart was beating faster, her belly was tingling with a sensation that she had last felt in Paris and although it had been so many years ago, it was still like the first day. But every nice kiss had its end, including this one. Only slowly did their lips separate from each other, but they did not reduce the distance between their two heads. She could feel his breath on her skin and his eyes drew her under his spell, drove her crazy.

She bit her lower lip. "What was that for?", she whispered.

"I missed an opportunity on our date on Monday.", he answered with the same volume and looked at her lips.

"And I thought it was because I almost died.", she sulked and looked at him sadly in an act. And Gibbs could not help but smile.

"Therefore also." Lovingly he stroked a red curl behind her ear and smiled gently at her.

"And, do I get another one now?", she asked curiously. "Or not because my life is no longer in danger?", she murmured insecurely.

Grinning broadly, he looked at the redhead and pressed his lips on hers again. This time a little less careful and more demanding. She pulled him a little closer and opened her lips. Their tongues danced a hot dance of lust and passion, it was a breathtaking kiss and even much better than the previous one.

When Ducky came back to the office, after some time, he was eagerly awaited by the others. They wanted to have answers, certainty after all, they saw a few hours ago how the redhead was taken away by the emergency doctor. What remained was a rather devastated office, a large bloodstain on the floor and many unanswered questions. And now it was up to them to solve these questions, Gibbs expected them to do so and would want answers as soon as possible.

Big eyes looked at the little man as he stopped in front of the MCRT table group. The question of how she was doing remained unspoken, because the pathologist gave them the answers without being asked anyway.

"She is alive, has been treated by the doctors and must stay in hospital. She lost a lot of blood and needs a lot of rest.", he said calmly and put the plastic bag with Jenny's private things on the table for Tony.

"What happened?"

"That's up to you to find out, Timothy." Ducky answered the young agent's question sternly.

"Did Gibbs find her?", Ziva asked cautiously and received a confirmatory nod from Ducky.

"Jethro's in the hospital, and he won't be back until tomorrow."

"How is he? Can we see them?"

"He needs you here, Abby. In a hospital, there's nothing to do but stand and watch."

Silence had entered the room. The whole situation was difficult for everyone and everyone had to struggle to remain professional but this proved to be extremely difficult. How were the agents supposed to concentrate properly when Jenny was in the hospital and Gibbs wasn't here to kick their asses? One of them was attacked, almost killed, and this became a personal matter. It was about the family!

Thick raindrops pelted against the window pane. During the last six hours a thunderstorm had been gathering, thick black clouds were decorating the sky. Perfect for the given mood. He felt bad and this feeling became bigger instead of smaller with each increasing hour. The self-reproaches were just too strong and that's why he didn't want to leave her side before they caught the culprit. Otherwise, he could not make up for this mistake!

The fact that her health was out of danger did not mean that her attacker would not make a second attempt to kill her. He had to prevent this, would stay close to her every free minute. She could not be hurt again!

"You don't have to stay here all day.", she spoke softly.

Slowly he turned to her and went closer to the bed, sat down with her again. His gaze spoke volumes and although she knew it was pointless to speak against it, she could not help but do so anyway.

"Really, I'm fine.", she whispered hotter and slid a little to the side to make room for him.

For a whole eternity not a word had left his throat, but his eyes said a lot. Anger, doubt, even fear and uncertainty. She knew him just too well to know what was going on inside him. He couldn't fool her any more than she could fool him. They were a well-coordinated team. He had mastered the technique and she had the brains.

"Tell me what you can remember."

"Not much.", she replied succinctly.

"Just tell me everything you can remember.", he repeated and took her hand in his, stroking gently with his thumb across the back of her hand. "Anything you tell us will help us catch the culprit."

She opened the door. A hard blow. She felt the ground beneath her body and the blood running down her temple. Her head was throbbing, her vision was blurred and the sounds muffled. Voices were heard, but she could not identify them. The redhead wanted to stand up, but she lacked the strength in her arms and legs. The attacker pulled her roughly onto her legs, holding her arms firmly in his hands. The pain made it unbearable for her to concentrate on her counterpart, to push him away. Sturdy he pushed weakened bodies against the wall.

"Hey.", he said softly and tore her from her deep thoughts.

"It all happened so fast, I— there was a knock and when I opened the door, he pulled something over my head."

"What did he look like? How tall or short was he? Do you remember what he was wearing?"

"Jethro I don't know.", she sighed and drove her hands into her hair. "How could I pay attention if I got hit on the head with something as soon as I opened the door?"

Silently he squeezed her hand. He didn't question that she was still foggy and groggy, he didn't question that at all, but he was disappointed in her and expected much more from her. She had once been one of his best agents. Her role as director had apparently weakened her memory a lot. He didn't like it at all, but he couldn't be their bad guy either. He could not and would not force her!

Tomorrow was another day, he thought.

"Pack everything up, everything's gotta go down to Abby.", called Tony and rubbed his forehead.

It had taken a long time for the three of them to get up and enter Jenny's office. It was not pretty to look at but it had to be done, it was her job and Gibbs relied on her. As difficult as it was for the three of them, she had to remain professional and was not allowed to let her private feelings take over.

She photographed every single spot. The door, the drops of blood on the floor in front of the desk, the dirt that was scattered on the floor, the blood splatter on the wall and the big stain on the floor. Everything that came into her field of vision. There were so many questions in her head, but the biggest one was why she did not defend herself, so she did not even know the redhead. She was not so careless, she knew how to fend off an attacker. The Israeli wanted to see her, talk to her and make sure that she was well — but she was needed here, could not leave.

"I wonder what happened here." McGee murmured softly and packed the individual bags into a large white box.

"I'll go to the hospital, maybe there are marks under her fingernails."

"I'm taking this to Abby and I'm going to take a look at the security camera."

Tony nodded to both of them, giving them the silent confirmation of their plan. With a thick toilet in his throat he looked at the room. It was so unrealistic, it was like a bad movie. The building was actually well secured and especially in the evening it was quite difficult to enter as a visitor, at least he thought so.

"Ziva.", he suddenly said, stopping his teammate from leaving the room. "Gibbs will have already tried, but talk to her and call me if you got anything." She nodded and went.

"McGee — "

"I know Abby should call you as soon as she finds anything, and I'll do the same with the tapes.", he confirmed to him his unspoken request.

Only Tony was left behind. The Senior Field Agent knew that he had to inform SecNav and Leon Vance, but he didn't want to make this decision behind the back of Gibbs or Jenny. There was a problem with Jenny's schedule. Tony didn't know how long she would be out and how her appointments could be arranged without attracting attention. The incident was not to be released to the press, it would only put her in more danger, the attackers learned she was alive.

"Let's check the e-mail.", he murmured softly to himself.

There just had to be a clue. Everything had to be checked. Email histories, their phone, mail and even their homes need to be searched to see if there were any suspicious things. Gibbs would do the same, he thought.

"Cynthia!", he shouted out.

"Yes, Agent DiNozzo?"

"Can you log in using Director Shepard's password? I wanna check her Mails."

Nodding confirmed it to him. Typed in the access data of the boss and the agent had full access to any data of Jenny.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"Report Director Shepard sick, preferably the next few days, and cancel all of her appointments, and I'll take care of the rest."

"How is she?", asked the young woman somewhat cautiously.

"She's asleep."

"Do you think I could ask her a few questions? N-not that maybe you haven't done that already, a-but — ", she stuttered.

"Ziva.", he sighed. "She's tired, needs rest and I did this earlier, and she didn't remember much of the attack."

She frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Can I at least take some swabs of her fingernails? We believe that she must have scratched the perpetrator and hope that we can get a lead on him."

"I'll do it later, because I don't want to wake her up. She's asleep."

Nodding, she handed him the bag.

"How long she need to stay here?", she asked for a moment of silence. "What did the doctors say?"

"They want to keep her overnight for observation, make sure there is no secondary bleeding and depending on her condition in the morning, the doctors will decide whether to discharge her or not. The grey-haired man sipped his coffee cup.

"Tell DiNozzo not to make a move until I get to the office. I don't want to alert SecNav until we're 100% certain what the cause of the attack is."

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