A/N: Here's another chapter folks! Sorry for the delay... RL is all I will say, to my latest followers/favourites, welcome! So glad to have you with us! To my reviewers, thank you so much! Your comments keep me inspired! So keep 'em coming!

Now, let's get back to it!

A little earlier at Bethesda Naval Hospital

Jack sat in the chair & gazed at his in-law, she was looking a little better but she still hadn't woken up, he saw the doctor enter "Dr Denson"

"Mr Gibbs" Denson greeted as she went to check on Joanne.

"How is she? Shouldn't she have woken up already?" Jack queried.

"I'd have hoped so, but with the condition she was in, there's just no certainties" Denson admitted "all indications are that the pacemaker has done its job, there's been no erratic heart movements, everything is stable as far as her heart is concerned. The trauma that her body went through though was quite intense, her remaining asleep may simply be a by-product of her body needing more time to heal itself"

"And if she doesn't wake up soon?" Jack pushed, he really didn't want to think what the reaction would be of his family if she didn't, but he had to ask. His son had left him with the responsibility of checking on her and he wanted to get full assessment for him as he could.

Denson let out a breath "I'd hoped she'd already have woken up, if she's not awake within the next 24hours, we're going to have to look at giving her something to possibly help her wake up, but I'd prefer to not have to do that" she really didn't want to go down that path.

Jack nodded his thanks as she headed off to visit her next patient, he could tell that option wasn't the desired one. He sat back in the chair as he considered just how much their lives had changed in just a few days. He had gone from having no family around & having no contact with his estranged son to not only seeing him again, but regaining a daughter-in-law & a granddaughter, then there was the materialisation of a grandson to boot! And then there was Joanne..

Jack thought back about how things were back when they were happy the first time. He'd always liked Joanne, though there were occasions where robust discussions would take place, over many different things. He always put that down to her never really understanding his son, and his all encompassing way of loving & caring for his girls. Joanne was always very polite, but she had an air of something that he could never quite understand. He'd put it down to the affect MacDonald could possibly be having on her, that was a man he never liked! He also knew that Joanne's understanding of Jethro once the girls supposedly past created even greater tension as she thought that seeing has he was so determined to love & protect them that he should have come home. Jack knew though that the decision by his son to remain overseas with his unit was the hardest decision he'd ever made. He also knew that his son didn't need Joanne blaming him for it, he blamed himself enough for it. All of that though was ancient history, all that mattered now was getting them all through their physical, as well as emotional trauma & being a family.

Jack leaned himself forward & took hold of Joanne's hand, he gently squeezed "Joanne, its Jackson Gibbs here, I know you're hurting, I know your body has been through the ringer & that it needs time to heal but you really need to wake up! Our girls, they're…. they're… well, they're alive! Your daughter is alive Joanne, Shannon's alive & well. Our little angel of Kell bear is also alive & well, they're both alive! So you need to pull what strength you have together & wake up, there will be plenty of time rest later" he rubbed his thumb along her hand before releasing it & sitting back again.

Jack sat back & looked upwards, he couldn't help but think of his beautiful, darling Anne again. He'd thought about her so often these past few days, he wondered what she'd make of it all. He knew that she would have had MacDonald pegged as a, well.. she'd never use the type of language that befitted the man, but she'd have known he was the wrong sort from day one. He knew she'd also have thought that Shannon was the perfect person to partner their boy in life, she was one of the very few people that could handle him. He often considered his Anne & Shannon to have been cut from the same cloth, as they both seemed to be able to handle Jethro aptly, much better than he could ever had managed if he was honest with himself.

Jack let out breath as he spoke with closed eyes "my darling Anne, I can't imagine just what you've thought all these years as you've watched over our family, especially our boy, but if there's anything you can do to help them through this, please chickadee, help them! They desperately need you to pull some strings"

Jack was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a cough, he opened his eyes & they widened instantly, Joanne looked.. well, her head was gently moving back & forth, she was waking up! In that moment, he did 2 things, first he pressed the call button to summon the doctor back & the second was he looked upwards, did his prayer really work that quickly? He'd test the theory later! All that he could concern himself with was that she was waking up!

Jack saw Dr Denson arrive "I think she's waking up!" he said hastily.

Dr Denson approached the bed quickly "I think you could be right" she agreed, the lady was certainly showing signs of waking, the minute movements of the body & slow swaying of the head. She approached the bed & felt the pulse as she checked the machines, it was definitely changing to a pulse far closer to one of a person awake than asleep, as was the heartbeat.

Jack was now leaning forward, he could see Joanne trying to wake up, so he again reached for her hand & squeezed "Joanne" he said quietly. The reaction took a moment, but he saw her head slowly turn in his direction.

Jack saw her eyes start to open "Joanne" he breathed out, thank heavens! "you're ok, you're in the hospital, you'll be ok" he said as quietly but reassuringly as possible.

Joanne was more than confused "J…acc…k…so….n" she rasped out.

Jack smiled "yes, I'm right here"

Joanne was still confused, but she felt her chin being turned & she saw someone, someone that looked like a doctor.

"Joanne, my name is Dr Alanna Denson, I'm the head surgeon here at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Take a moment, but I'd like to know what the last thing you remember is?"

Joanne was still utterly confused but she did her best to try to recall what she remembered last "MacDonald…..he…."

Jack tensed instantly, he & the doctor had already spoken about not telling Joanne about everything until they assessed her mental & emotional state.

Joanne struggled to think about "he asked me to meet him back in Stillwater, said he wanted to talk to me about something & thought it would be fitting to do it there" she continued as she recalled it, but she looked past the doctor and she wasn't sure what she was seeing "is that a marine standing at my door?"

Jack shared a look with Dr Denson before he flashed a look at the marine guard that had been ever present on her door since she'd been brought here. He wasn't sure he understood his son's motives for it, I mean she was in the middle of a military hospital, he wasn't sure you could get much safer, but he would not go against it.

Denson gave her a small smile "let's focus on you for now Joanne" she didn't understand the need for the guard, but that wasn't her area of concern "did you meet up with him?"

"Ahh…" Joanne tried to recall "briefly, he said something about giving us what we deserved, then…" she had to stop to take a breath "he had some men take me…" she started to shake as it came back "they…" she just couldn't continue, the images she was getting wasn't at all pleasant!

"It's ok Joanne" Jack said as he squeezed her hand trying to sooth her "you're ok now, you're safe"

Joanne looked at him as she tried to calm herself "what's going on?" she had no idea what was going on, what was he doing there with her? She hadn't seen him since…

Denson again shared a look with Jack before speaking "take some deep breaths for us" she remarked quietly.

Joanne couldn't help it, she did take some deep breaths as she tried to relax, her mind had started spinning. She rubbed her chest it felt sore "what did they do to me?"

Denson didn't believe in sugar coating things, nor deflection, well for the most part "They electrocuted you I'm afraid, but from my understanding you had help at hand within seconds. They prevented you from sustaining large scale injuries." she took a moment so she could comprehend the situation.

Joanne listened, she had images flash through her mind, she couldn't really make sense of it "my chest hurts" she admitted

"I know" Denson emphasised "we had to operate to give you a pacemaker, its resettled your heartbeat that had been erratic. You've gone through quite a lot these last few days & have been unconscious for a while, but you should be fine. You have to rest though, it will take you a while to get yourself better"

Joanne still felt completely confused! She'd been given a pacemaker? "Jackson?"

Jack shared a look with the doctor, he knew Joanne deserved to know but how did he explain it?

"I'll be right outside" Denson remarked to Jack, whilst she knew this would be extremely difficult to tell the woman & she wanted to give the pair space, she was concerned the lady would get a heart attack when she heard, so she wouldn't go far.

Jack saw her leave and shifted his gaze back to Joanne, how to say it?

Joanne was exhausted, confused & scared but she couldn't help but notice how nervous the man looked, she doubted she'd ever seen him like that before! "Jackson, what's going on? Do you know why MacDonald did what he did? Why are we at Walter Reed? Why is there a marine at my door?"

"Jethro's doing" Jack answered motioning to the marine "he wants you to feel safe after what happened, he's also why you're here in this hospital. He had you checked in as a dependant, his dependant"

"Jethro did what?" Joanne asked shocked & confused.

"You're family Joanne & now more than ever that has to mean something" Jack said with a smile.

Joanne looked at him, she was sure there was something she was missing.

Jack leaned as far forward as he could, he kept a firm hold on one of her hands & using his other hand he rested it on her shoulder "Joanne, I know you're hurting & confused, and I'm sure you just want to go back to sleep, but there's something I need to tell you"

Joanne could only look into Jackson's eyes, everything he said was true. She was hurting & confused, she did just want to go back to sleep! But looking at him she could tell this was something important "is it Jethro? Is he ok?"

"He's a little banged up, but he's fine" Jack reassured her, he rubbed her shoulder & took a deep breath "Joanne, we were lied to, we were deceived, we were wronged in the most tragic of ways" he could tell Joanne was getting even more worked up, maybe it was best to just say it "Joanne, listen to me very carefully, ok?"

"What is it?" Joanne asked

Jack squeezed her shoulder & hand "Our girls are alive Joanne, Shannon, Kelly, they're both alive"

Joanne just stared at him wide eyed

"I know it's hard to believe, believe me I know! But they're both alive" Jack repeated he understood why she hadn't said anything, he also knew it would be hard for her to wrap her head around especially given her state "MacDonald, he…. well.. lied to us, to you, to Jethro, to all of us! He… kidnapped them….. they're back with us though, Jethro's got them safe & sound"

"You're speaking nonsense" Joanne finally remarked "I'm not in the right state to listen to such talk" why was he saying such hurtful things when she was in such a state?!

Jack knew it wouldn't be easy to explain "why do you think I'm here with you? Why do you think Jethro brought you back to DC? We want you close, Shannon wants you close, believe me when I say that they're both alive, the.."

"Go away Jackson! Leave me alone!" Joanne cried, she'd had it, she couldn't listen to more!

Jack nodded & left the room, he saw Dr Denson "she wanted to be left alone, she doesn't believe me"

"Can't imagine many people would understand such circumstance without seeing the people in the flesh" Denson replied, she doubt she would have! "I'll check on her & make sure she's resting, perhaps you should give your son a call to let her know that she's awake"

Jack nodded as he dug his phone out to make the call.

Jack was sitting in the hall, about halfway between Joanne's room & the lifts, it had been about 30 minutes since he'd spoken to his son, so he knew they'd be here soon. He knew Joanne wasn't well & that dumping her with what he had wasn't really fair, but he knew there was no other way he could have handled it, they couldn't have given her days to recover before telling her. The wait would have been cruel to not only Joanne but Shannon & the rest of their family as well.

Jack knew that given she hadn't believed him about Shannon & Kelly being alive she certainly wasn't going to comprehend the appearance of Phoenix, besides he didn't think it was his right to tell her. That was news for Shannon & Jethro to say.

Jack was pulled his thoughts by the ding of the lift, his gaze shifted & he finally saw his family step off. He couldn't help but smile, he'd never get sick of the sight of his son, Shannon, Kelly & Phoenix all together as a family & added to his family were both Michael & Myles Bond. He stood to greet them "good morning"

"Hey dad" Gibbs greeted as he came up to him, he also saw the doctor "Doc?"

Shannon nodded at her father in-law before seeing the doctor "She's awake? Is she ok?"

Dr Denson shared a look with Jack before speaking "yes, she's awake, she coherent, her heartbeat, pulse all signals are pointing to her being ok, physically at least"

"Physically?" Gibbs prodded

"She got very worked up when Jackson tried to tell her about the situation, she's only just settled down now. Had it not been the fact that she's just woken up I would have given her a sedative, but she's steady now" Denson answered

"I tried telling her that MacDonald lied to all of us, that you were alive my dear" Jack said to Shannon, before shifting his gaze to his granddaughter with a smile "that you were both alive" he looked back to Shannon & his son "but she just didn't believe me, ended up crying herself to sleep again"

Shannon leaned into her husband, this wasn't sounding good! "I don't want to cause her more pain" she whispered.

Gibbs put an arm around his wife as he felt her lean into him "I know babe" he soothed as he held her tightly. He looked at the doctor "what do you think her reaction would be if I tried to talk to her about it?"

"I'm not sure" Denson answered honestly "do you think you can actually convince her of the situation? Because I doubt many people in their right would believe something like this without seeing or hearing the person in the flesh." She looked at Shannon "your mother isn't in the perfect of health, so she's even more susceptible to confusion. I honestly have no idea what the best way would be" she'd never dealt with such a situation before.

Gibbs considered it way back when he'd have done anything possible to not have to have a one on one conversation with Joanne, he knew they ruffled each other's feathers but standing here now he'd do it if it helped his wife "let me try, if it looks like she's getting too worked up I'll back off" he said to the doctor. Turning to his wife "stay here for a few minutes, I'll talk to her, try to get her to understand" he leaned his forehead against hers "love you babe" he whispered before leaning in for a kiss.

Shannon came out of the kiss & had to smile "love you too darling, thank you", she certainly didn't want to just walk in on her mother & cause her a heart attack. She sat down on a nearby chair & watched as he headed off.

Mike hadn't interfered in any part of the conversation, his main focus had been on Kelly, she'd stood in silence just to the side of her parents. He could tell she was nervous, she was chewing her bottom lip & giving her left foot a small but constant tap to the ground, both were telling signs she was nervous. When her dad made his move he watched as Kelly sat herself down on the chair next to her mum, he took the one on the other side & just held her hand, he tried to give her as much support as he could.

Nix had just stood there whilst his parents had spoken, he wasn't sure what to do with himself, but when his mum sat down, she had placed an arm on his shoulder and took him with her. He wasn't sure why, but instead of sitting down next to his mum he climbed into her lap & nestled into her as much as he could.

Shannon sat herself down, she couldn't help but smile as her boy climbed into her lap & her girl sat down next to her and nestled into her too. She pulled her boy as close to her chest as she could & wrapped her other arm around her girl. She leaned her head onto her girl's head and closed her eyes, she just sat there content to have them in her hold whilst they waited to see her how her husband would do talking to her mother.

Gibbs headed down the hall having no idea as to how he would tell the woman what had happened, heck he hadn't spoken to her in 13 years! Add to that their last conversation was a tense affair, yes this conversation was going to be a piece of cake…. Not!

Gibbs got closer to room & knew one thing, he took his badge out as he gained the eye of the marine on duty "move yourself down the hall to those people sitting on the waiting chairs until I say otherwise marine"

"Yes sir!" the marine replied as he came to attention for the agent before doing as instructed.

Gibbs allowed the marine to move as he took a deep breath, here goes nothing!

A/N: so Jack didn't go so well.. how will Gibbs do explaining things?

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