Elizabeth pushed stray strands of hair away from her eyes as she stared over the Pacific Ocean. The past week of her life had been a blur. The days lapsed into one another. Time stilled at the wrong moments. She pushed her toes into the sand of the Malibu beach as she watched the waves crash. She wanted to get lost in the ocean. As she watched the waves flow in and out, her emotions did also. Lizzie shuddered, thinking about the sudden changes. She hadn't wanted anything to change; she loved her life and the people in it. Her mother's life had been hanging by a thread over a week ago. She wiped a tear from her cheek. She hadn't set foot into the CCU area. Drawing on her father and sister's strength was not enough to aid her in setting foot in her mother's hospital room. She swallowed hard and buried her face into her knees, crying. What sort of daughter couldn't visit her mother in a hospital? Jenny had been awake for three days.

Lizzie wiped the tears from her eyes. Her engagement ring sparkled in the west coast sun. Her relationship with Anthony had changed. The two hadn't spoken since the battle at the diner. She had called and texted him for two days with no response. She couldn't imagine what he was going through, yet it couldn't be worse than what she had been put through. Didn't he realize she needed the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with? She shook her head, trying to knock loose the doubts. They would not leave. Was she ready to get married? Did she want the life of being the wife of a federal agent? She knew the life. As the diamond caught her eye, she knew what she had to do. She took the ring off and slipped it onto the third finger of her right hand.

As she walked to the car, her phone started to ring. She answered it with hesitation. "Hey Daddy," she said softly.

"Lizzie, she's asking for you."

"Okay." She ended the call. Her father had not talked about what he did when he was gone for two days. In a way, she didn't want to know. Katie had her suspicions and theories. They both knew the problem had been taken care of since he had handled it. Leroy Jethro Gibbs did not leave loose ends.

She drove to the hospital and arrived after cursing L.A. traffic too much. Helen met her near the entrance to CCU. She grabbed her hand, ready to praise her granddaughter until she felt no engagement ring.

"Elizabeth."

"Not now, Grandma."

"Elizabeth," Helen repeated as she kept a hold of her granddaughter's hand.

"Not now," she repeated firmly, pulling her hand away. "I have to see mom."

Helen shook her head, watching her granddaughter continue down the hall. She didn't know what was going through that head of hers. Later, she would find out.

Jethro stepped outside of the door and noticed Lizzie. He smiled at her. "Took you long enough."

"Traffic. Is she…?"

"She's sitting up and plotting how to break out of here. She beat me three times in a row playing poker. Lizzie, she's still your mom. Just takes a while to heal. Go in and see for yourself." He squeezed her hand. Lizzie had been distant. He knew it was for more than one reason. Lizzie hadn't mentioned Tony, and Tony hadn't said a word to him about Lizzie. Jethro understood the guilt DiNozzo was feeling. He had told the agent it wasn't his fault about Jenny.

Lizzie nodded her head and stepped into the hospital room. He watched the smile on his wife's face. She was doing surprisingly well, but he knew she had a long road to being 100% herself. Jenny was off the ventilator, and the chest tube had been removed days ago. He was glad to see Lizzie finally visiting. He and Jenny knew it would take her time. After a few days, Jenny's patience had worn thin. She wanted to see her little girl. Jethro needed coffee. He left for the cafeteria.

Jenny smiled at her daughter and held her arms out. She felt more normal since Katie had brought her silk pajamas, makeup, perfume, and other essentials to make the hospital stay easier. "Come here!"

Elizabeth wanted to run to her and fling her arms around her, but she didn't want to hurt her. She carefully hugged her and buried her face into her neck, crying.

"Honey," Jenny whispered, kissing her head.

She pulled away from her and sat on the bed. "I thought you were…"

Her mother put her finger over her lips. "Don't say it. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Lizzie smiled through her tears and hugged her. Jenny rubbed her back and kissed her cheek. "I know you hate poker. How about Go Fish?" She asked, cutting the cards.

"You're not mad?"

"About?"

"Not…coming in to see you sooner."

Jenny shook her head. "We all have to do things at our own pace. You've always had trouble with acceptance like me, Elizabeth."

"What changed?"

"Your father taught me to accept. It didn't come naturally for me." She dealt the cards.

Elizabeth picked up her cards and put a match down. Jenny raised an eyebrow.

"What's new?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Uh huh," she said. "Any fives?"

Lizzie handed over a card. Her eyes grew large when her mother grabbed her hand.

"Why is your engagement ring on your right hand?"

"I must have not been paying attention when I put it on this morning."

"Avril Elizabeth, you've always been a terrible liar."

She looked down and sighed, twisting the ring.

"I'm thinking of calling off the engagement."

Jenny closed her eyes and fell back against the pillows. This was her fault. "Why, Elizabeth?"

"I think it's best. I've needed him here, and he hasn't been here. He hasn't answered my calls or texts. He let you nearly get killed!"

"He did not! It was my decision to ditch detail. Tony followed my order. Elizabeth, there are things you'll never understand. There are choices we make that will haunt us. I made a choice 21 years ago, and it came back. I knew it had found me when Decker died. I made the decision of not involving your father. I knew I could have died, but you and Kate would still have one parent. It's over now, and I'm still here. I don't want you to make a choice that will haunt you. Please, Elizabeth…listen to me. If you should be mad at anyone, be mad at me!"

"I have to go," she said shakily, throwing the cards down and sliding off the bed. She couldn't understand her mother's choices or how Tony could have obeyed an order when he knew something was off.

"Elizabeth!" she called to her as she darted out the door. "Dammit," she mumbled.

Jethro walked into the room and saw his wife trying to get out of bed. He rushed over and grabbed her. "Hell no, Jen. I don't think so." He was met with a green-eyed glare.

"Jethro! Let me go. Now." She grimaced from the pain of standing up. It was too soon to be on her feet.

He missed hearing her say his name even if she was aggravated. No one said his name like Jenny could. He shook his head and sat her back down on the bed. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"After Lizzie."

He sighed. "What happened?"

"She wants to call off the engagement."

"Jenny, she can make her own decisions."

"It's not the right one, Jethro."

He agreed with his wife, but he knew to stay out of it. The only way he would step in would be if he was needed. "If her mind is made up, it's made up."

She glared at him. "A mind can be changed, Jethro."

Gibbs laughed. "Not likely."

Jenny elbowed him in the side then put her head against his shoulder. He slipped an arm around her. "It's my fault. I ruined our daughter's life."

"You didn't, Jen."

"They'll both be in therapy in a few years."

He rolled his eyes. "If we were so terrible, they'd already be in therapy. Jenny, I'm not going to listen to you and a pity party."

"It is not a pity party. It's fact, Jethro."

"No," he said resolutely. "Fact is you get off course. You go off the road to get back onto it. If it's meant to happen, she'll find her way back to Tony. If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours."

Jenny lifted her head, looking at him strangely. "Jethro, did you spend too much time in the gift shop reading Hallmark cards while I was unconscious?"

"I can be philosophical."

She rolled her eyes and yawned softly. He looked down at her and kissed her head. "You need to rest."

"Haven't I done that enough?"

"Nope."

She stuck her lips out in a pout. "I'll only rest if you rest with me."

He allowed her to get comfortable and slipped into the hospital bed next to her. She snuggled into his chest. "You need to go back to work."

"Jenny, don't start."

"You'll be stir crazy by next week. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm staying here until you're well."

"Jethro, both of us shouldn't suffer while I'm stuck in here for however long."

He looked at his watch and smirked.

"What?" she questioned.

"Took you 75 hours since being awake to start an argument."

"Bastard," she mumbled.

He smiled and fluffed a pillow. "Go to sleep, Jen."

She continued mumbling under her breath until her eyelids became heavy, giving into sleep.

Outside, Lizzie paced and kept looking at the name in the address book of her phone. She calculated what time it would be in D.C. and decided to make the call. She opened the door of the Mercedes and sat down, cranking up then turning the radio off.

Tony let the phone ring. He knew he'd blown his engagement to hell, and he didn't know how to make things right. How could he? He wasn't upset over spilled milk. More than milk had been spilled. Gibbs telling him it wasn't his fault had helped but not enough. He refilled his glass with scotch.

Lizzie ended the call when it rolled over to voicemail. If he wouldn't answer the phone, she'd end the engagement in person. She was making plans for a flight to D.C. when Helen slipped into the passenger seat of the sedan. Helen snatched the phone from her ear and ended the call.

"We're going to have a talk."

"Grandma!"

"Elizabeth, what do you think you're doing?"

"The right thing."

"How is it right?"

"Grandma, I don't know."

"Elizabeth, if it was right, your answer wouldn't be that you don't know. You are not thinking clearly."

"I am!" She barely believed the words herself after hearing them aloud.

"Sweetheart, do you still love him?"

She was silent and looked the older redhead in the eyes, nodding her head. "I do."

"I know I wasn't warm to the idea of you getting engaged to Anthony. I didn't want you having the same life as your mother. Elizabeth, I've seen the way he looks at you and the way you look at him. You're happiest with him. Don't throw away happiness. Don't break your own heart. If you follow through, you'll be doing just that. No matter what you do I'll always love you."

"Why hasn't he returned my calls?"

"Sometimes we love a person so much we don't know how to handle ourselves especially after a tragedy. Elizabeth, think about it. Put yourself in his place. He feels like he failed at his job. He failed you, and he's thinking the worst. To him, avoidance may be the best medicine. You have to show him it's not. The greatest loves are tested. It's the way of the universe. If it's worth it, you work through it. Together. Honey, you may never find a love like this again."

Helen handed Elizabeth back her phone and took her wallet out of her purse, giving her a credit card. "Now, schedule a flight home and work through the issues." She kissed her cheek and got out of the car.