And here we are with chapter 2. I really hope you like it as much as you liked the first chapter!
Pensive, the redhead sat in Gibbs' seat, had put her head in her hands and thought about all the possibilities she could think of why La Grenouille could still be alive. But she couldn't really think of anything like that, there wasn't a plausible answer coming into her head, and announcing to the team that she was the one who shot him, that time on his yacht, wasn't an option either. Then she was Secretary of the Navy for a long time, and the wedding with Gibbs would also fall through when he learned that his suspicions at the time were justifiably correct. She needed another way to solve this problem.
"Here, I think you require it.", she heard Tony say and noticed the coffee mug in front of her.
"Thanks.", she mumbled softly and leaned back in the chair.
She was so tired she couldn't think straight, and her mind was on Gibbs at Bethesda. That he still wasn't awake increasingly worried her, robbed her last nerves.
"How is that possible?"
"You'll have to tell me, Jenny.", Anthony replied sternly, sitting her counterpart down in the chair.
"Tony, how long have we known each other?"
He smiled, taking a sip of his coffee as he looked at the ring on her finger. The last few hours still weren't quite that real, still couldn't quite realize she was back here and then engaged to Gibbs! It was surreal, no other word could better describe this feeling inside him.
"I know what this case did to you and especially to both of us, and you know that no apology in this world could make up for what I did to you. Still, I don't understand how it could be that he planned this attack."
"We're still looking for a weapon right now, and then we can take fingerprints from that."
Jennifer shook her head; "I doubt it, La Grenouille doesn't leave fingerprints. He didn't then, and he won't do it now either."
"You don't know that."
"Tony, do you know how much time and nerves I've already wasted trying to convict him of murder? I had no evidence until today, and yet I know he did it."
DiNozzo looked thoughtfully at the woman across from him. It was a tricky situation, and yet he wanted to do everything in his power to solve this case as quickly as possible.
"We're waiting for Abby's investigation now, in the meantime the others are looking for the gun and checking all the surveillance camera videos again. I know it's not easy, but if it turns out that it really was Rene Benoit who planned this attack, then you're still in his field of fire."
Silently, she nodded and turned the ring on her finger, but she couldn't really be happy even now.
Not to mention that he was currently in the hospital fighting for his life to save hers.
"It also means we need to tighten up your security detail."
"I know, I've already been briefed on all the security details."
"Let's make a deal. I'll contact you as soon as I have news about La Grenouille, and you'll contact me as soon as the boss wakes up."
The cool air breeze did noticeably good. During the last few hours, she had gotten quite a headache, probably due to fatigue and lack of sleep. It must not have been a good idea to spend the night in this uncomfortable hospital chair. With her eyes closed, she stood in the large parking lot directly in front of the main entrance to the building. Dark clouds were gathering, and it wouldn't be long before it rained. All the commotion that was going on in this big building was just too much for her, she couldn't answer all those questions right now and her Security Detail was following her every step of the way, she was completely hemmed in. So it was quite convenient for her when she noticed how all those agents assigned to protect her were inattentive for a brief moment – she had, without thinking twice, just got into the elevator and disappeared from the open-plan office. Gibbs would give her hell if he found out about this, she thought, and an unimpressive smile stole across her lips.
When she could feel the first raindrops on her skin, she put her head back and looked up at the sky. It was getting colder, and her blazer would not be able to provide much warmth for much longer. But she still didn't want to go inside, she enjoyed this quietness much more. However, only until the ringing of her phone disturbed this peace.
"Shepard?"
"Jenny, it's Todd."
"Has something happened?"
"He woke up."
Her heart leapt for joy at those words. He was awake, could that really be? Her fear that he wouldn't wake up from the anesthesia again was unfounded, and she didn't want to waste any time and go to him right away.
"Thank you.", she gasped hotter and hung up, grabbing her phone away and turning around immediately.
"Hey...", she said softly as she entered the room.
With a smile on his lips, Gibbs looked at the woman in front of him. The gray-haired man reached out and squeezed her tightly, slowly pulling her to him. Her smile, however, was quickly covered by a wave of tears. She didn't want to cry after all, she thought, quickly wiping away the tear that ran down her cheek before it could drip onto his hand.
"Jen.", said Jethro, still a little woozy from the anesthesia. "Don't cry."
Swallowing hard, she couldn't speak, couldn't find the right words. Slowly, she had leaned toward him, pressing her lips to his instead. Actually, she could burst with joy, because he was awake and could talk to her, but those mixed feelings inside her were far too great. She felt bad for him, after all, that bullet was meant for her, wouldn't have intercepted it for her.
"It's okay, it'll be okay."
Nodding, she agreed with him, but still she just couldn't do anything about her feelings. She tried to be strong, but it just wouldn't stop. She was so depressed and so happy at the same time.
"I'm sorry.", Jenny murmured softly and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"What?"
"About you lying here, because of me..."
Gibbs shook his head, though, gently brushing her hair behind her ear before reaching for her hands; "You, save, is all I need. I made a decision to take that bullet for you."
"But you didn't have to."
"Yes I did, I couldn't risk losing you again, this time maybe forever."
Carefully, Jen laid her head on his chest, trying not to hurt him. She felt him put his arm around her shoulder and could hear his heart beating. Although he tried not to let on, he couldn't hold back a small sigh. Jenny didn't miss this either and wanted to sit up again, but he held back.
"Stay, it's okay."
He kissed her hairline, hugged her closer, and stroked his fingers over her shoulder. It felt good to know that nothing was happening to her, that she was unharmed, and to have her here with him. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn't protected her from the bullet, then she would be lying here now, or maybe even worse. He could have lost her, too.
"You look tired.", he said quietly; "Have you been here all night?"
"I'm okay.", the redhead replied quietly.
"I don't want you to spend your nights here in the hospital, you need a proper bed, need rest."
"I'm fine.", she repeated.
Slowly, she finally sat up, looking at him urgently. Her hair fell around her shoulders, and all he paid attention to were her tired eyes. He couldn't ignore it, how could he? Gibbs lifted his hand and placed it against her cheek, caressing her ivory skin and curling his lips into a smile. He loved her, couldn't get enough of the sight of her, yet he didn't even know what was wrong with him. He wasn't usually like this and didn't really understand where these incessant feelings suddenly came from. Was it still because he felt like in an unresolvable dream? That his brain still didn't want to admit that she was alive and not dead?
"I don't want anything to happen to you."
"It won't, I can take care of myself."
"Jen, I'm serious about this. That bullet was meant for you, I promise you I'll find him and if I have, God help him."
"You would be more helpful to me if you were primarily concerned with getting better."
"It's just a scratch, I'll be out of here faster than you can see."
Rolling her eyes, Jennifer regarded him. Of course, she thought. He'd always been like this, she didn't know him any other way. What he called a scratch was anything but. He'd taken a bullet to the gut, not something that would just heal that quickly – after all, he could have bled to death.
"I promise I won't stand in the way of my recovery.", he corrected himself when he saw the look in her eyes.
"Sounds better already."
"I'd do it again.", he quoted her sentence from the day before yesterday.
"I love you.", the redhead whispered hotter as a small tear ran down her cheek.
"I love you too." he replied before pulling her into a soft kiss.
They were interrupted, however. The door to the room opened and the couple parted. Smiling, she looked into his eyes before getting up from the bed and eyeing the doctor. Dr. Gelfand looked at them both urgently, holding a folder between his hands.
"I didn't mean to interrupt, I just came to see how you were doing."
"Fine."
"Any pain?"
Gibbs denied with a motion of his head while casting his gaze back to the redhead. He'd feel much better, of course, if she'd get plenty of rest and settle down for at least a few hours. But Leroy Jethro Gibbs had known her for quite a while now, too, and knew she would have to be in a very bad way if she agreed to go home and get some sleep.
"Your surgery went very well, there was no unexpected bleeding. We were able to remove the bullet, and we can transfer you tomorrow to the normal ward."
"When do I get to go home?"
"Jethro!", she immediately intervened, looking at him sternly.
"You've had major surgery, you'll definitely be staying with us for the next few days, and as long as the scar hasn't healed and there's still a risk of it rupturing, you can't go home anyway."
"Be reasonable."
"Look, I can assure you that you will stay here for the next four to five days in any case, and after that there will be tests to be done that will determine where we go from here."
Less than enthusiastically, Gibbs looked at both of them. Of course, he would have preferred to go home, but when he heard the concern in her voice, he realized that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to stay here for a while. He didn't want to worry her anymore, she had enough to worry about with the shooting and the perpetrator still on the run. This way he could at least relieve her of one worry, he thought.
"How are you feeling?", asked Todd caringly as he walked with her down the long hospital hallway.
"I'd be doing a lot better if you weren't all asking that question.", she mumbled wearily, stopping for a moment.
Jennifer leaned against the wall, had her arms crossed in front of her chest. She just couldn't hear this question anymore, everyone was asking this, and gradually it was getting to be too much for her. Tired, Jen closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead with her hand. It was just all too much, the last few hours had been more draining than she anticipated.
"Were you hurt?"
She denied with a movement of her head while trying to ignore the dizziness. She wasn't succeeding as she thought, though, and it was almost driving her out of her mind. She definitely couldn't fail now as well, certainly not end up here herself. Gibbs needed her after all, NCIS needed her and the current case would make e very impossible to stay here as a patient even for one night.
"I'm okay.", Jennifer whispered softly, massaging her temple.
"Are you sure?"
Again, she nodded and focused her eyes on Todd. The pressure in her head only accompanied the dizziness, and she tried to force herself to smile, but failed miserably.
"Why don't we sit down?"
Nodding, she agreed and took a step forward, but quickly realized she couldn't keep her balance and felt Todd supporting her.
"Slow down.", he said thoughtfully, putting his arm around her arm. "Jenny, does anything hurt?"
"No, I'm fine.", Jenny replied.
After collecting herself for a moment, the redhead decided to take another step more towards the seating. She succeeded, but only until she noticed how the dizziness got power over her body and forced her to the ground. She couldn't hear Todd calling for a stretcher anymore, didn't catch how he was still trying to catch her. Her world was instantly enveloped in darkness, she was completely powerless and at the mercy of her fate.
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