Ok, hopefully back to the regular posting schedule. A bit more about Gibbs…

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Abby startled awake. "Gibbs."

"Abbs!" Tony had fallen asleep, his forehead resting on Abby's bed. "What is it?"

"I… I was dreaming." Abby closed her eyes again and sighed. "Any news?"

"No, none yet." Ziva broke in. Both Tony and McGee had fallen asleep, but Ziva sat watching over them all. "We would wake you."

"I need to make a phone call."

Tony sat up. "I'm sure we can find a video phone so you can sign with your parents."

"That's not who I need to call. I should… I need to call Jack." Abby looked to Tony. "He needs to know."

"Maybe we should wait until we know more." Tony suggested.

"No, I need to call him now." Abby looked at the clock. It was early, nearly five am. Jack opened the store at seven during the week, and usually woke by five to have breakfast and read the newspaper before readying the cash register.

"Would you like me to call him for you?"

"No Tony, but thank you. I'll do it."

"Sure, we'll give you some privacy." Tony nodded towards the door and Ziva stepped out. "Come on, McGee." Tony patted him lightly on the shoulder with one hand and dug out his cell phone with the other, handing it to Abby.

When the door to her room closed Abby took a deep breath and dialed Jack's number. It took three rings before a tired Jack answered. "Hello?"

"Jack…" It was all Abby was able to get out before she broke down with a sob.

Tony had been resting against the door, and as soon as he heard Abby break down he pushed back in. He took the phone from Abby's hand wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear. "Jack, it's Tony DiNozzo. I don't know if you remember me, but…" Tony brushed the hair from Abby's face and waved Ziva and McGee back in to comfort Abby while he stepped back into the hallway to speak to Jack.

"Of course I remember, what's going on?"

"There has been a car crash. Both Abby and Gibbs were in the car-"

"How are they?"

"Abby… Abby will be ok. She's bruised up pretty bad, and broke her wrist. She's got a bad concussion, and there is a little swelling in her brain."

"Oh God." Jackson's voice was thick with worry. "And… and my boy?"

"It looks as if he swerved to protect Abby, and took the brunt of the impact. He's in surgery right now, but… he's hurt real bad. It took them nearly two hours just to be able to get him to surgery; he kept crashing in the ER. They'll know more once he's out of surgery."

"Oh no… this… this can't be happening. I... will you call me when he's out of surgery? I will close up tonight and drive down. I will let people know that I'll be closed for awhile so people can get what they need today."

"Yes, of course. I will call as soon as I know something. If you'd rather not drive, I can send an agent to pick you up. It wouldn't be a problem."

Jackson weighed the option, but declined. The idea of sitting in a car with a stranger for four hours on the way to a hospital where both his son and the woman his son loved were in the hospital was too much. He'd rather have the silence to sort through his own thoughts. "I appreciate the offer, but no thank you."

"Alright. I need to check on Abby. I hope to have information for you soon."

"Thank you for letting me know." Jack hung up the phone, and stared at the newspaper he had just about been ready to sit and read. He moved slowly around his kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee and staring out the window to watch as the sleepy town of Stillwater slowly woke for the day. He wondered how many times his son had been close to death and he hadn't know about it.

He wondered if he would have even been notified if his son had died before the case that had brought his Leroy back home. By the sounds of it, his son's team had thought Jack was dead until they met him. The day moved slowly, as he tried to work efficiently around the store. News of Jack closing up to head to DC spread quickly, and Jack was glad that the increased traffic of people stocking up on what they needed kept him busy and his mind off his son for a an hour or two at a time.

Jack closed up early and took a quick shower before tossing some clothes in a dusty suitcase he hadn't used in over 20 years. Just as he was about to head out the door his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Jack, it's Tony. He's out of surgery, and is stable, but in critical condition. They're moving him to ICU now. Abby's been moved out of ICU to her own room. You can find us in her room. She's on the third floor in room 217."

Jack let out a sigh of relief. "I'm just leaving now. I'll be there in a few hours."

Tony and jack said goodbye and then hung up. Jack could breathe a little easier knowing that his son was out of surgery. The drive went by in a blur, he had to stop himself from speculating the various outcomes, and just focus on arriving at Bethesda safely.

It was shortly before seven pm when Jack pulled into hospital parking. He parked in the long-term parking section, between his son and Abby, he had no intention of leaving the hospital any time soon.

The elevator jerked upwards as he headed to the third floor in search of Abby's room. He tried to ignore the depressing feeling that washed over him. The last time he had been in a hospital had been when his wife had died, and the sickly smell of hospital disinfectant hadn't been something he'd forgotten.

When he reached Abby's room, Tony was just settling her back into bed. He watched a few moments, having gone undetected by Abby and the three agents in the room. Abby looked exhausted. The skin not covered in bruises and scrapes seemed paler than normal and her eyes lacked their normal sparkle.

Abby noticed him standing in the doorway. "Jack."

"Jack." Tony moved from the chair he had just sat in and offered it to Jack. "It's good to see you, though I wish it was under different circumstances."

"Thank you." Jack took the seat that Tony offered. "Yes it is good to see you again; my son spoke highly of you while you and the team were in Stillwater, but like you said, if only it was under different circumstances." Jack swiveled in the chair to face Abby. "How are you doing, my dear."

"I… I've been better."

Ziva motioned for Tony and McGee to step out, but Abby stopped them. "You guys should go home. You've been here more than 24 hours now. Go home, get some sleep."

"I'm not going anywhere. You guys go take a break and come back in the morning. I've got Tony's number. I'll call if anything changes."

The three agents exchanged silent looks before slowly agreeing. "You sure you don't want us to stay?"

"Go. I'll be fine. But Ziva? Maybe you could stop by and let the nurse in the ICU know that Jack will be visiting Gibbs? She doesn't seem to be able to say no to you."

Ziva smiled and flashed the gun on her hip. "I will do that, and perhaps let my hip do the talking."

"Thank you." Abby smiled weakly.

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TBC…