Gibbs listened to Vance as he recounted what he believed to have happened at the diner. He didn't understand how this all happened or why. He had questions running through his mind, but his eyes kept going back to the spot where his wife's body had been. If she'd let him be on her protection detail, she wouldn't be in CCU.

As soon as Vance told him there were four .45 caliber shell casings and no gun, he knew whom Jenny had involved. He followed Leon out the side entrance and listened to him. There was no blood. Only tire tracks.

Gibbs watched Tony and Ziva as they made a plaster of the tire tracks.

"I'm sure you want to get this bastard as bad as I do," Leon said, answering his phone and walking away from Gibbs.

The silver haired agent stood with his hands in the pockets of his Carhartt jacket. Tony was unable to make eye contact with him still. Ziva stared at him. She didn't know what to say to him. He motioned them over with his finger. Ziva stood up, walking over.

Tony did not move. He stared off at the ground. He didn't know what to expect from Gibbs. Would he pulverize him for jeopardizing his family life? He was to blame.

"What'd ya got?" Gibbs asked Ziva.

"I'm sorry, Gibbs," Ziva said softly. "We are sorry."

"What do ya got?" He repeated. Sorry was not good enough.

"It's not a lot," Tony finally spoke and moved from his spot. "Tire tracks are from a second vehicle." He stood in front of Gibbs, dodging the older man's stare. "We're working on it."

Gibbs continued looking at DiNozzo. He needed an explanation. He had taught his team better than that so he thought.

"We shoulda tailed her. Ziva…Ziva wanted to tail her."

"Yeah. Why didn't ya?"

Ziva knew this would not end well between the two men. "We were given an order," she explained, hoping Gibbs would understand.

"Uh huh. And you followed it," he said penetratingly. If it didn't feel right, one didn't follow an order. Rule number 3: Don't believe what you're told. Double check.

"And now Jenny's…"

"Fighting for her life," Gibbs finished.

Tony lowered his head. There were too many if's. If he had listened to Ziva. If he had listened to his gut. If they hadn't stopped for gas. If they had called McGee sooner. If they had calls Gibbs. If…

Vance walked back over to the trio. "We keep a lid on this. No press. No public statements. Understood?"

"Understood," Tony stated.

"I'm headed back to D.C. with the bodies. Agent Gibbs, you will remain here and oversee my investigation. I'll expect a call when you're finished." Vance put his shades on and walked to his Buick sedan.

Gibbs watched the egotistical Assistant Director leave. Of course, he would stay in California. He had his own investigation to handle. He didn't care for Vance's agenda. "DiNozzo."

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Oversee his investigation," Jethro told him. He didn't trust Leon. He walked away from the two agents. "Then call me."

As he left the diner, he received a phone call. He pulled into the gas station a few miles away. He began fueling when the Mercury Grand Marquis pulled up to the pump next to him. Franks got out of the vehicle.

"You're late," Gibbs said to his former boss.

Franks smirked. "Least of my problems," he replied, slamming the door.

"Well, I got another one for ya. Vance knows there was someone else at the diner."

"My tire tracks." He shook his head. He hadn't had time to cover his tracks better. "I'm not the only one with a problem. Jenny almost died protecting someone."

"Who?" Gibbs asked. She would only go to extremes for him, her daughters, and her mother. He racked his brain, trying to think of a reason why she'd get herself into a four on one gunfight.

"You," Franks said to him.

Jethro tilted his head to the side. How was he inadvertently involved? A gas station was not the place to have this talk. The pair changed locations to a café. Gibbs called Ducky, updating him on Jenny's condition. He told him to pass the information to Abby and McGee. He hung up and walked into the café, taking a seat next to Franks.

Franks stirred his coffee. He didn't want to have this conversation.

"Everything," Gibbs spoke.

"She called me two days ago and said she needed some help from someone outside the agency," he explained while stirring his coffee.

Gibbs took a drink from his coffee cup. "Another one of her ops." There were plenty of operations he didn't know about. There were some things above his clearance level.

"One of yours."

He put the cup down and looked at Mike in surprise. He and Jenny hadn't worked together as partners in years.

"Europe."

"Well, I spent a lot of time in Europe, Mike."

"She wasn't specific." He turned and leaned in, lowering his voice. "What I tell you about leaving them loose ends?"

"Not to. We didn't." Jethro shook his head.

"Well, you screwed the pooch somewhere." Franks didn't want to be a tattletale. He knew it was Jenny's fault about the loose ends. "Decker's cover was blown. They found him. Made it look like a heart attack."

"They?"

"Decker's funeral. There was a guy named Viggo. Came looking for a man…Oshimida."

Gibbs glanced to the ceiling. He knew the mission. He remembered like it had been yesterday. It was classified. Franks didn't need to know.

"Relax, probie. Classified went out the window two days ago. I know Oshimida was the code you used if your cover was compromised."

"In Paris. 21 years ago," Gibbs said.

"Yeah. Decker resurrected it when they found him. Instead of giving you up, he sent you a warning. Bought you guys some time."

"Not enough," he responded sadly.

"She knew what she was getting into. She was protecting you."

Gibbs shook his head. He did the protecting. He took a drink of coffee and put the cup down, moving inches from Mike's face. "Who protected her, Mike?"

There was silence on Franks end. Jethro continued to stare him down.

"What happened?"

"I was out back. I saw 'em going in the side door. Too late," he explained sadly. "I did what I could."

"Yeah, you always do." Gibbs turned away from him, rubbing his face. He felt betrayed. Tony not keeping Jenny safe was a whole different issue. He trusted Franks with his life yet Franks had let his wife nearly die. The sting burned deeply into him.

"If you're looking for an apology…"

"I know better."

"I'm sorry, Gunney."

Gibbs nodded his head. He glanced at the waitress, refilling his coffee cup. "We left Paris clean."

Mike tried not to smirk. "Yeah, Jenny told me, and I mighta bought it except there were three agents on that op. One is dead and one's critical," he finished, staring at Jethro. His former partner sipped his coffee.

"The op…how many?" Franks asked.

Jethro flashed back. He had made his kill, Alatoly Zukov; he had taken care of his assignment. The KGB hit man who sold his services to the highest bidder after the Cold War was dead. He hadn't come back from the grave.

"One each."

"You verify the kill?" Mike asked as he stirred creamer into his coffee.

Jethro turned his head, looking at him in disbelief. Of course, he verified his kill.

"Her kill?" Maybe Franks would need to be a tattletale. It was possible Jenny wouldn't live. Gibbs would need to know what he was up against. If he could put a seed of doubt into his mind…

He shook his head. "Jen's a pro."

"I noticed."

"What about Decker? I hear he had a thing for the ladies."

Gibbs was growing more and more annoyed with the conversation. He didn't care for the fishing expedition. If Mike knew something, he needed to tell him. Spit it out and get it over with. "What is your point?" he asked, irritated.

"Maybe he was compromised."

"We got out clean," Gibbs told him firmly.

Franks turned to him. "Jenny knew something you didn't, Probie. And so did Decker. He knew this might not be over. Left an insurance policy." Franks dug into his jacket pocket and removed a pen. He wrote down the numbers of the policy on a napkin. Gibbs picked up on them being coded in photos and listened to Franks explain how they'd burned the originals. He gave the napkin to Gibbs.

"I'll let you know," Gibbs said, putting it into his jacket pocket.

Franks eyes widened. "You need me on this one, Probie. Viggo was just a hired gun. There's someone else out there."

"It's not your fight, Mike."

He glared at him. It was his fight. It became his fight as soon as Jenny told him to get on a plane to California.

"Vance is looking for you, so go back to Mexico. Give my goddaughter a hug for me."

Franks cleared his throat and left the diner. Gibbs paid for the coffee and got into his car, calling McGee. In the squad room, McGee was running down the renter of the Grand Marquis on DiNozzo's instruction. He answered his phone. "Boss."

"Hey. Got a pen?"

"Boss, I'm…I'm sorry."

"Got a pen?" Gibbs asked a second time. He didn't want apologies. Jenny wasn't dead. She wasn't going to die.

"I got a keyboard."

Gibbs gave the agent the insurance policy number even though he wasn't sure if it was a policy or what it was. McGee would tell him. While McGee was asking questions, the results came back on the renter of the Mercury. Gibbs told McGee to erase the search. He knew Vance would be breathing down everyone's neck. He hoped McGee wouldn't crack under the pressure. He was on his way back to the hospital to see his family.

At the hospital, Katie paced in the waiting room. She rubbed her forehead and glanced at Lizzie. Helen was in the room with her daughter.

"I hate this."

"Me too," Lizzie answered.

"I want her to wake up. I want to know what the hell is going on!"

"We have to wait."

"I'm sick of waiting. I want to rewind these last few days. I want," her voice cracked.

"Everything back to normal," Lizzie finished her sentence, getting up and hugging her.

Gibbs entered the waiting room and watched his girls stare at him. "Daddy?"

"I'm taking care of it."

They nodded, knowing not to ask questions. He walked closer to them.

"I have to go back home and tie up loose ends."

"But daddy…what if mom wakes up and you're not here?" Lizzie asked.

"She'll know what I'm doing."

"How?" Katie asked sharply.

Gibbs looked at her. "She'll know."

Katie wanted to argue with him. She bit her tongue and watched him kiss Lizzie on the forehead. He stood in front of Katie and hugged her, kissing her cheek. "Hold everything in place while I'm gone," he whispered.

She nodded her head and watched him leave the room. She had the feeling she would never truly know why her mother was involved in a showdown at a diner. Everything was confidential. Katie flopped down in a chair and put her face in her hands.

Lizzie went into her grandmother's purse and fished out the car keys. "I need air. Tell Grandma I took the car."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"Lizzie!" She wanted to wring her sister's neck. Why was everyone leaving? They needed to stay at the hospital. Lizzie needed to actually set foot in their mother's room, but she hadn't. Katie felt like she was at her rope's end with patience.

"Don't. The longer I sit here," she swallowed hard. "The more I feel like the walls are closing in."

Katie stared at her. "Fine. Go. Whatever."

Lizzie shook her head and left. She took a deep breath once she was out of the hospital. Her pace quickened as she made her way to her Grandmother's S-Class Mercedes. She unlocked the car and slid into the driver's seat, resting her forehead on the steering wheel. Like her sister, she wanted to hit the rewind button. As Elizabeth cranked the sedan, she thought maybe it would be better to fast forward. She needed to escape. Her head needed to be clear for the decisions she would have to make.