Chapter 7

Not for the first time, Gibbs was grateful for both McGee and Abby, who'd been called back in and was only too happy to help. If not for them, he would have had no idea how to trace the signal, giving him Jenny's location. Still, when he reached the empty field, it was more than obvious that there was no building in which Jenny could be held. He turned back to look at DiNozzo, not sure he should have put his faith in technology, but his famous gut that never failed him told him that Jenny was somewhere close.

"We have to follow the signal, boss," Tony spoke as Ziva began looking for something in the back of the truck.

Gibbs nodded, following a completely different navigation instrument than Tony, but both ending up in the same location. "Here," Gibbs said, kneeling down to touch the frozen ground. "She's here." He paused. "The bastard buried her," he whispered, almost unheard.

With the shovel that Ziva had located as well as makeshift tools and their hands, the three NCIS agents began to dig as fast as they could while Ducky radioed for an ambulance, knowing he could attempt to help her until they arrived, but also knowing, if she was buried, she was running out of air, out of time. After he finished the call, he too began to dig, but it seemed like it took forever until they finally saw a pine box, the kind that used to be used for a coffin.

Gibbs' hands became beaten and dirty as he dug at the lid until finally it opened. Jenny was lying there, so still, so quiet, her eyes closed as if she were asleep. Her hair looked even redder than normal, mainly because she herself was so pale. Pale enough that, in fact, Ducky and Tony both thought she was dead. Her skin was cold to the touch and Ziva ran to get blankets, spreading one on the ground so that Gibbs could lay Jenny down, check her pulse, and listen for signs of breathing. He rubbed her arms, trying to warm her, not ready to give up on her, not yet.

"C'mon, Jen." He whispered, tucking the other blankets around her carefully, still struggling to maintain what body heat she did have. Ducky looked on, certain that his friend had finally lost it, that Jenny was dead. Gibbs began to perform CPR, listening for signs that she was breathing. "C'mon, don't do this," he whispered, no longer aware that any of the others were around, his total focus on Jenny. He tried again, nothing. "C'mon, baby. Please. Please." He tried again until he could feel her breathing again, very faintly, but it was there.

Gibbs paced in the hospital waiting area, still furious that the doctors wouldn't let him go with Jenny. He knew he'd be of no use, but the thought of being helpless when she needed him killed a part of him. Ducky sat nearby, on one side of Abby, McGee on the other. No words were being said, but then again, none were needed. Although she'd caused friction when she'd first arrived, each friend had their own reason for being there. Tony hadn't said a word since they'd arrived at the hospital, torn between knowing Shelby would want to be with Jenny and her brother and worrying that it would be too much stress for her.

Not long after they arrived, Ziva slipped off unnoticed, walking back to the hospital room where she seemed to spend a lot of time. Although she and Shelby had never been what anyone considered close, she respected the love the other woman had for what were obviously the three most important people in her life, her family.

Shelby was sitting up, using her non-injured hand to brush her hair, and Ziva smiled at her determination. "You feel better."

"A little." She admitted. "A lot of it's pain meds though. I feel like they've shot me up with enough to dull anything." She paused. "Is everything okay?"

Ziva nodded, coming inside the doorway, but not getting much closer. "We found Jenny."

Shelby closed her blue eyes, moving her lips, before opening them. "How is she?"

"The doctors are with her. She was buried...underground." She paused, hoping that she was right to come get Shelby.

The blonde turned a pale shade of white. "Jethro?"

"He was the only one who didn't give up on her," Ziva said haltingly, trying to find the right words to describe the situation.

"He always was," Shelby said quietly, almost unheard. Her voice raised an octive as she looked at Ziva. "Can you help me?"

Ziva knew Tony would kill her, but nodded. Within ten minutes, Shelby was in a wheelchair, a blanket around her, keeping her warm, as Ziva pushed her to the waiting area.

Gibbs' eyes went directly to his sister and he stopped pacing, standing there in the middle of the floor. Tony's eyes had been on his boss, but quickly followed his stare to Shelby and Ziva, his emotions switching between anger that Ziva had told her without asking and relief that someone was there to help Gibbs.

"Bubba." Shelby used the childhood nickname for him and he sat, leaving her room to sit beside him. She took his hands with her own, looking at how beaten and dirty they were. "How's Jenny?"
"She was always so cold, got cold so easily." He flashed back on giving her the coat for their anniversary that year, two years together, how he'd thought they'd be together forever. "And the bastard buried her. He shot you and he took Jenny...It's my fault."

She realized arguing with him would only lead them in circles. "Tell me about Jenny."

"He buried her in a pine box. She didn't have her coat, a blanket, anything. She was so still and quiet...she's never quiet. The woman won't shut up." He had never really wanted her too though. The only times he ever remembered Jenny being quiet was when something was seriously wrong.

"You love it." She knew that half of their 'fights' were really more bantering than anything else.

He nodded. "Her eyes were closed...she was so pale...she wasn't breathing..."

It was at that moment that she realized the only thing she could do was to sit with him, be there for him, like the rest of his family, his people. As Gibbs looked as his baby sister, he realized that the last time he was faced with a loss like this, he had lost both his wife and his daughter. Although he was reasonably sure he wouldn't lose Shelby, he still couldn't help but be frightened of losing Jen.