The sun had just risen, revealing a beautifully clear blue sky, and Jethro Gibbs was trying to fix his sump pump. He was extremely annoyed, because it had broken down early enough in the storm that the water had risen to half a foot up his boat. Yeah, boats were made for the water, but not at this point in the construction. He was swearing an average of twice a minute.

When the phone rang the first time, he ignored it until it stopped. The second time he said, "Son of a bitch!" but he stopped working and answered it.

"Boss, there's something you need to see. Channel 4." It was Tony's voice.

He hung up the phone and went straight to the TV. He hadn't liked the tone of voice Tony used.

"- had been evacuated, it was initially believed no one was in the building," a reporter stated. Gibbs realized the reporter was standing in front of NCIS and there was clearly significant damage. "If it had not been for the 911 call, rescuers might not have come here until later today. Fortunately, however, both women were located."

Gibbs was stunned. Who would have stayed in defiance of the evacuation? He was grimly certain he knew who at least one of them was, and maybe both.

The studio's meteorologist said, "Thank you for your report, Richard." She looked towards the news anchors.

"We just had an update from Bethesda Naval Hospital on the condition of the director and the forensic scientist. Director Shepard's condition is serious but stable, while Ms. Sciuto remains in critical condition. She is currently -"

Gibbs grabbed his coat and car keys, and headed out. He didn't need to hear anymore; his gut was screaming at him to hurry, hurry, hurry or it might be too late.

Just as Gibbs approached the hospital, his cell phone rang. He didn't pause to see who it was. "What?"

"Jethro, have you seen..."

"Yeah, Ducky, I'm almost to Bethesda now."

"Oh. All right, we'll meet you there."

He pulled into valet parking, barely braked and shifted before he got out, and tossed his keys to the valet. Then he ran to the elevators, getting in one that was almost full, and went to the intensive care floor. He knew which one it was. He had been there before.

He didn't bother asking where they were, because he didn't want to be told he couldn't go in. So he went room to room instead. He had checked three rooms when he heard a familiar voice. "Gibbs, down here." It was Ziva. He guessed that either Tony called Ziva first or Ziva had been at Tony's apartment. Or perhaps the other way around. It didn't matter.

"Here is Jenny," Ziva said quietly.

He didn't know what he had expected. Actually he hadn't thought about it; his main concern was just getting there. But now that he saw her, he felt a wave of sadness - and yes, guilt. The electrodes buried in her beautiful red hair, the oxygen mask, the IV attached to her right arm, some other kind of tube that he didn't recognize in the other arm, the cast on her wrist, the cuts, bruises, and abrasions on her face and arms...

He glanced at the monitors but couldn't read them; his nerves were shot. "Is she in a coma?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yes, but it's mild," Ziva replied.

Tony had been sitting in a chair beside the bed, but he stood up as soon as he saw Gibbs." It's not as bad as it looks. But she had seizures earlier, they said."

Gibbs sat down and laid his hand on Jenny's right hand. "Concussion? What happened?"

"We are not certain," Ziva admitted.

"They were found in Abby's office; Jenny was protected by the mattress from Abby's futon, but Abby was on top of it, apparently holding it down. It was a direct hit, Boss. The tornado smashed the lab, and Abby..." Tony stopped and swallowed hard, trying to get a grip on himself.

"What about Abby?"

"She's still in surgery," Ziva said. "She did not look good, Gibbs. She had shards of glass and bits of metal embedded in her back and arms. Some even in her hair. She has been in surgery for five and a half hours now. They are trying to get it all out and stop the bleeding."

A low moan came from the woman on the bed, and all heads turned toward Jenny. She seemed to be trying to speak, and then she moved her hand slightly as if to gain Gibbs' attention.

Tony and Ziva disappeared, leaving Gibbs and Jenny some privacy.

"Jen," he said, his voice cracking, "why didn't you leave with everyone else?"

She slowly turned her head and tried to open her eyes "Abby." The word was blurred but he could understand it.

"She's in surgery. Tony and Ziva said she saved your life."

"Mmm," she murmured. "Hurt."

"You were hurt in the tornado?"

To his surprise, she said clearly, "No."

"No? Then how -"

Tony interrupted, sticking his head into the room. "Boss, Abby's out of surgery and she's asking for you."

Gibbs leaned over and kissed Jenny's forehead. "I'll be back," he promised.

Abby lay on her side in the PACU, her back, arms, legs, neck, and head covered with bandages. They had shaved most of her sleek black hair and tied what was left of it into a bundle at the top of her head. She had a breathing tube and an NG tube and two I.V. lines and a something else, like Jenny had. Gibbs wondered how she had been able to ask for him.

As he approached, she looked at him with her eyes half-open and answered his question when she began to sign in slow motion.

'Jenny OK?'

"She's doing fine, Abby. She had a seizure, but they think the concussion is getting better now."

Abby seemed to relax. 'Good.' She closed her eyes and seemed to be unconscious again, but he saw her form two abbreviated signs: ' Jenny I love you.'

Gibbs stared at her. Surely she didn't mean - or did she? No, Abby loved everyone. There wasn't anything more to it than that. There couldn't be more than that.

He left the PACU, his face impassive but his mind still troubled.

When he returned to the ICU, he found that Ducky, Tim, and Palmer had arrived. "How is Abby?" Tim asked immediately.

"She's... recovering," Gibbs said slowly. "She's in bad shape."

"Did you talk to her?" Ducky asked.

"Yes. She had a breathing tube, so she couldn't speak, she could only sign. She asked how Jenny was, then she became unconscious again." He didn't mention anything else; he was keeping it to himself until he understood what she had meant.

"I'm surprised - pleasantly so - that she was able to communicate at all. If she escaped a serious head injury, she'll be lucky."

"There was a bandage around her head."

"Well, then, we'll have to wait until the doctor gives us a report. She obviously has some sort of head injury. Let's just hope it isn't too bad."

Abby was moved to ICU a few hours later, and all her friends had a glimpse at her. They could tell her injuries were severe.

Gibbs asked the doctor, "How is she doing?"

Dr. Miller replied, "She's stable, which is the best we can hope for now." He hesitated a moment. "You're her boss?"

"Yes, she asked for me when she came out of surgery. Her family lives in Louisiana."

"I'll level with you then, Mr. -"

"Gibbs. Just Gibbs."

"Ms. Sciuto was severely injured. I know you were in the military, so you will understand this. She looked as if she had been standing near a suicide bomber or an IED. Fortunately, the front of her body and her face were fairly well protected. But the back - in spite of hours in surgery, we couldn't remove all the pieces of glass, plastic, metal, you name it. Shrapnel, essentially. She had one large piece of glass in her left shoulder, which cut through most of the rotator cuff - that injury will take a long time to heal, and it may never be the same as it was."

Just the thought of that wound on his Abby made Gibbs cringe.

"Another piece was in her neck and just millimeters away from her jugular vein. Several damaged her kidneys and a few even went through the rib cage to her lungs. She also has several skull fractures caused by building materials that hit her when the building collapsed. We had to remove part of her skull to lower the pressure." He sighed. "To be honest, we weren't sure if she would make it through the surgery. The next few days will be critical. If her body is strong enough, I believe she can fight her way back to health. But I just don't know."

"How much time can we spend with her?"

"As much time as you want. And talk to her." He hesitated again. "You don't have to answer this, but - have you been a patient here before?"

"Yeah, I was in an explosion. Head injury and coma."

"Then you know that sometimes people can hear when they are comatose, even if they don't respond."

"Yeah."

"It would help to have someone with her at all times, as long as the person doesn't interfere with her treatment."

"No problem. What about Director Shepard?"

"She's doing very well. The MRI showed less swelling than we expected. If she continues to improve, she may be able to leave ICU tomorrow."

Gibbs nodded and left to tell the others.

Ducky called Abby's parents via TDD and was distressed to learn that her father had just had a serious heart attack the day before. "When I found that out," he told Gibbs later, "I minimized Abigail's injuries, so they wouldn't feel pulled in two directions."

"You'll have to tell them the truth eventually, Duck."

"I know. But not now." He made the statement so firmly that Gibbs changed his mind about calling the family himself.

Tony and Ziva were in Jenny's room talking. She didn't feel much like talking herself, but she was glad to know her friends were there. After awhile, she drifted off to sleep; Tony and Ziva stayed but lowered their voices until McGee came in to invite them for dinner in the hospital cafeteria.

When the three of them sat down at a table, Ziva said, "McGee, you've been very quiet."

"I don't have much to say."

"You're worried about Abby, aren't you?" Tony asked gently. McGee gave him a look. "We're worried too."

"I wish I knew why they stayed," Ziva mused. "And why did Abby not protect herself?"

"She probably couldn't hold on to the mattress - it would have blown away - then neither of them would have been protected," said McGee.

"She would have done the same for any of us," Tony added.

"Probably," Ziva agreed. "Still..."

"Still what?" asked McGee.

"Still, there is something I do not understand here. I will be glad when they can tell us exactly what occurred."

"If they can," said Tony. "They may have amnesia. I'm fairly certain Abby will, because Gibbs said her head injury was very bad."

"Where is Gibbs?" Ziva wanted to know.

"I think he's sitting with Abby," McGee replied. "He feels responsible."

Tony and Ziva smiled at one another. "Oh yes, it must be his messianic complex," Ziva teased, grinning at McGee.

"Guys, please, can't we just forget that?" McGee pleaded. "I've put up with you teasing me for a long time and I'm really tired of it."

"Okay, Tim. We won't tease you anymore," Ziva said. "Actually, I don't think you were very far off - when it comes to Gibbs," she hastily added