Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Abram and Dr. Hargrove. They are products of my imagination.

Jenny and Mike were air lifted to Bethesda hospital four hours after Gibbs 'requested' it. Luck had been with them and Jethro had managed to catch the air lift to Bethesda with them, while Tony and Ziva accompanied the bodies and evidence from the scene in the LA hospital. Mike Franks was doing well for his age, but the wound still prevented him from being released. The muscle was repaired but it would take longer than usual for it to be back to normal, due to his 'diet' of lots of alcohol and not much food.

The doctors took Jenny and Mike straight to an isolated room, where Gibbs had requested the Directors' Protection Detail to stand guard, something they were happy to do. Once they were settled into their beds, Gibbs dismissed the doctors and told the Detail not to let anyone in unless they had proper ID, or were NCIS employees. He settled himself on the edge of Jenny's bed, leaning over to tame the mess that the air lift had made of her hair. He noticed Mike watching him and he gave him a quick glare, which judging from Mike's even wider smile, did nothing.

"So you coming back here, did it actually resolve anything between you?" Mike challenged. Gibbs internally sighed and decided to feign ignorance.

"Whatever there might have been between us was resolved years ago."

"Bull!" Mike exclaimed, shaking his head in disappointment. "I thought it was just her, but now I see what she was up against and I can't say I like it. Do you remember pouring your heart out to me on my boat? Do you remember my advice? Did you have any intention of acting on your feelings? Or did you just tell me that to get me off your back?" the anger and hurt in his voice was clear and stung Gibbs. He looked away from Mike to jenny, lying still on the bed. Her chest moving was no longer the only indication that she was alive. Her colour had returned and she looked more asleep then unconscious. More like his jenny. He felt the ghost of a smile lift his lips as he remembered the last time he had been in this position with her.

He hadn't felt sleepy that night, so he had watched her sleep long in to the morning, watched the sunrise slowly illuminate the room and them in the bed, the white sheets looking orange and the soft glow of the rising sun had given her skin making her look like gold. His own personal treasure discovered in Paris, the city of love. The treasure he vowed never to let go, only to do so, mere days later when he had discovered the Dear John in her coat pocket. He hadn't followed her, hadn't even called her, his pride hurt and unwilling to let him crawl back to her.

Ducky had introduced him to Stephanie a few weeks later and he had married her, hoping she could heal his twice broken heart. She hadn't, and she had become weary of his reticence and addiction to work, divorcing him soon after. Then years later Jenny had walked back in to his life. He had worked hard to shut her out, going as far as to countermand her orders and block her looking in to his cases, even though she was entitled to do so. In retaliation she had broken the chain of command, by trying to get information from his agents before he got it. If there was one thing they were good at, it was pissing each other off. His smile grew wider at that thought and he took her hand in his, softly stroking the back with his finger tips.

The door opened quietly, admitting Ducky before the Detail guys closed it firmly behind him. He said hello to Mike, who returned the gesture. He walked over to Jenny and Jethro and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I've spoken to the doctors, the venom doesn't seem to have compromised the blood vessels in her arm, and the bullet wounds will obviously take a lot longer to heal completely. So long as the bandages are changed often and there are no complications she'll be able to go home soon. Good news really. How are you holding up?"

"I'm not that good, Duck. This is getting to me."

"Jethro, sometimes you really don't see what is right in front of you until it is ripped away. I know that she has always been independent, confident even, but she is only human, with all the faults that come with it." He let that sink in, though if he knew Jethro, he'd forget it as soon as she woke up and they'd be back to square one. "She will require help doing everyday tasks since her arm will be immobilised for a few months and her stomach will need to be kept as relaxed as possible. Something you might be willing to see to?" he nudged him gently, hoping he would take up the challenge. He wasn't disappointed as he saw the old Gibbs look in his eyes as Jethro thought about having Jenny in his arms daily. It would be heaven and it would be hell, but it would be worth it. Hopefully.

"It is, thanks Duck." He gave Ducky the smile he reserved just for him; the father figure that always seemed to know just what to say. He was so glad they were back in DC, he'd missed the old ME.

Gibbs went back to NCIS with Ducky, who had autopsies to perform on the two bodies brought back from the hospital in LA. He left Ducky in the elevator when he got off on Abby's floor with a caf-pow for her, anxious to get information on the two men waiting in autopsy for Ducky. He heard the loud music coming from her lab and he strode through the doors, straight past her and into the other room to turn it off. She looked up from her work, her eyes red and puffy and launched herself at him, crushing him in a hug.

"Gibbs! I was so worried about you! Tony and Ziva arrived a while ago and told us everything. I can't believe we nearly lost the director! And more than once! She's always been so indestructible, you know? It just made me think, what if we'd lost her? There are so many things I want to do with her, like I wanted to go shopping for a new court suit with her, 'cos you know she always looks so great. I've got to tell her that! She's a snappy dresser and she doesn't know that I think so…" Gibbs let her rattle on, content to have the hug and wondering if giving her the caf-pow he'd brought her was a good idea. The last thing he needed was an Abby chipmunk bouncing around the lab.

"…and do you know the consequences of snake bites? Most of the venom is Proteolytic, which destroys tissues and other cells through intramolecular digestion and causes a bunch of other toxic problems. Loads of snake bite victims have pain in the area for a few weeks after…" he tightened his arms around her slightly; grateful for her not commenting on the fact he hadn't let her go yet. In truth, he really needed the reassurance. He wanted to hold Jenny, to know that she was going to be ok, that she wasn't going to be attacked the moment he left her, which is why he was here, to try to find anything that could lead him to Svetlana.

"…and Tony and Ziva were called in to the Director's office by Acting Director Vance to report to him. Oh! You are supposed to report to him when you get here! Well, you're here now, so-" Gibbs put his finger over her mouth, stopping her mid sentence.

"What have you got for me, Abs?"

"Not much. They were Russian nationals, got here about a day after Viggo and Natasha; they only had cigarettes, a lighter, a cell phone, some breath mints and about thirty dollars on them. Combined. Their names are…" she tapped on the keyboard and two files with pictures popped up on the big screen. "…Abram and Boris Melcovich. The phone belonged to Abram. According to this, they both had extensive dealings with Natasha over the last few years, Abram especially." Gibbs nodded and picked up the phone. This was his ticket to stopping this once and for all, she didn't know he was dead yet, so maybe... He distracted Abby with her caf-pow and slipped the phone in to his pocket, and then he snuck out of the lab and into the elevator, taking it to Jenny's office to have a chat with the impostor Director, Vance.

Venom information came from Wikipedia, the page headed Crotalus atrox. Should Vance be a good guy, or a bad guy? I'm not sure, what do you think?