A/N: I know it is a short chapter, but we are nearing the end.

Chapter 6

Everyone was kicked out of Gibbs' room when Tony came back with a decaf coffee. Gibbs took a big gulp and spit it back out. "What the hell is this, DiNozzo?!?"

"Coffee."

"It's decaf!"

"How can you tell?"

"Are you seriously asking him that?" asked Abby.

"I told them to make it really, really, strong," he said as everyone marched out of the room.

Gibbs was alone for a couple of hours until Jimmy showed up with a Get Well card. "Thanks, Palmer," he said laying the card on the side table.

"So when are they going to spring you from this place?" Jimmy asked pulling a chair up to the side of the bed.

"Not soon enough," Gibbs mumbled. Jimmy continued to look at him. "A day or two," he clarified. Jimmy nodded his head slowly. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence. Gibbs and Jimmy didn't spend a lot of time together at or away from work. Gibbs wasn't even entirely sure what Jimmy was doing there. He was trying to come up with something to say when Nurse Jennings entered the room.

"Got something for you, Gibbs," she said, not even acknowledging the young man in the room. She handed the items to Gibbs.

"What is this?" he asked opening the book.

"It's a journal and a few pamphlets on what you may be feeling." Gibbs raised an eyebrow to her. "Yeah, I know," she said. "But you still need to read it. There is also a pamphlet about some cardiac rehabilitation programs you'll need to sign up for within the next couple of weeks."

Gibbs flipped the pamphlets over in his hands, glancing at the front and back of each one, while Nurse Jennings checked his IV. "A journal?"

"I get the feeling you're a no BS kind of guy, Gibbs. I also get the feeling that you're not the journaling type."

"Got that right," said Jimmy with a smile. Both the nurse and Gibbs turned and looked at him. The nurse seemed to have noticed him for the first time. "Sorry," said Jimmy letting the smile slide from his face.

"He's right, though," said Gibbs still looking at Jimmy.

"I figured," said Nurse Jennings. "I'm going to give you the official spiel here. Rehabilitation programs help you recover fast physically from a heart attack, but dealing with the psychological impact can take longer. Many patients experience feeling of helplessness and/or depression. It is best to confront these feelings than to bottle them up inside. One good way of doing this is by keeping a journal. Writing down the feelings you are having may help you to feel better."

Gibbs looked from the pamphlet to the nurse's face. "That is almost exactly what it says in here," he said holding it up.

"I told you it was official," she said. "But that doesn't make it any less true. You are to take all of this seriously."

"So…write in the journal?"

"Write in the journal." As an after thought she added, "Or you could talk about it with him." She looked at Jimmy again. So did Gibbs.

"The journal it is."

For the next two days, Gibbs had a few visits from the team. They had unfortunately caught a case a few hours after first leaving Gibbs, so they didn't have much time to come by. By the second day, Gibbs was so tired of being cooped up that he started wishing Jimmy would come visit him. He kept wondering when he would be able to go home. Just as he was about to get fed up and leave, Dr. Jordan came in.

"When can I get out of here?" Gibbs asked as soon as the doctor was in eyesight.

"If you behave yourself, tomorrow. Let me see your bandage." Gibbs expertly pulled the gown away from his chest as the doc looked at his wound. "Its healing very nicely. Is it hurting?"

"Nope."

"How's the journaling going?" Gibbs just glared at Dr. Jordan. "That well, huh? Well, would you rather talk to a counselor?"

"Yes."

Dr. Jordan looked surprisingly at Gibbs. "Really?"

"No."

The doc laughed. "I figured as much. How are you feeling?"

"I need a damn coffee," he growled.

"Only decaf."

"That's not coffee! What about half-caf?"

Dr. Jordan sighed. "Do you want to end up back here so soon? Ok, one cup of regular coffee a week, but that's really all I can comfortably allow you. And even that is stretching it."

"2 half-cafs a week."

"Only with at least one day between them." The doc was used to negotiating with patients, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it, or even recommended it. "But you have to keep up with everything else. The exercises, stress-relieving techniques, rehabilitation program, AND journaling."

"You got a deal, doc."