We've Got Eachother

"Mom! Pleaaaaase!"

Jenny Gibbs turned from the cabinet she was putting her fresh clean dishes back into to see her twins staring with pouty bottom lips and those puppy dog eyes. Six year old twins Abby and Tim had been begging for weeks now to go to the arcade again, since they had been late for dinner coming home from it last week when specifically told not to miss this dinner hadnt been allowed back. They really liked the arcade, she knew it.

"It's only 8 in the morning," Jenny turned back to the cabinet, replacing another dish. It was summer, and all her youngest kids wanted to do was spend every waking hour in the arcade a short bike ride away.

"Yeah! They are already open right now!" Abby whined. "We will be back in time for lunch, we promise!"

"Fine. But go check with your father…" She smiled as she heard them dash out of the kitchen and down the hall after high-fiving each other excitedly. They were truly harmless, and she knew her Marine Corp Gunny of a husband couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes.

She looked out the window to her left and took a peak at the backyard with an endearing grin. She saw Jethro in his Saturday Levis, her favorite pair of pants on him. It was a Wednesday. It was the second week of summer, and they had taken today off to spend with the kids, and more importantly get some much need rest after a particularly tough case at NCIS. She loved when he wore those pants, especially when it wasn't Saturday. It made her relax, really relax. Which was something she didn't often get to do.

The man in those jeans was also in a white tee, currently playing catch with their nine year old son, Tony. Tony didn't get to play catch as often as he would have liked lately, their work being rather overbearing. But whenever they could, Tony and Jethro were outside. Two kids getting dirty, and playing ball. She loved hearing that boys laughter.

The twins then appeared in the backyard right next to the baseball playing pair. Jenny watched as Jethro paused in his play, looked at Tim and Abby, let out a sigh, one that meant he was about to give in. Then she saw his mouth move ever so slighty, as he most likely murmered an 'okay, fine', and the two youngest were on their way.

She giggled at the sight. Jenny loved being home. She loved summer. She loved her husband, and they both loved their four kids unconditionally.

Speaking of four kids, she had better go and wake up their sleeping beauty, and eldest daughter Kate. She had just turned twelve, but was going on 25. It was like overnight she turned into a miniature woman, giving up all her dolls and tennis shoes and bike for bon-bon nail polish, and accessorizing all of her clothes to the max.

Their kids were definitely a handful, but Jenny wouldn't have it any other way.

"What did your mother say?" Jethro asked the pair of hopeful eyes gleaming up at him.

"That is was fine. Just that we had to check with you," Abby spoke up.

"Okay, fine," he hated the way those brown eyes could manipulate him. "Just be back for lunch!" he yelled to the quickly retreating backs of his two youngest as they raced for their bikes around the house.

He spun the small football in his palm. Just like he used to, back in the day. Only now his hand was much bigger, and the ball much smaller to account for the scrawny paws of his kid. He gave a smile at the feeling of the laces hitting his fingers right at the money spot.

"Heads up!" he yelled after sent the ball to Tony, whose extremely short attention span had him staring up into the sky at something unimportant in a daze in the twenty seconds it took his dad to answer Abby and Tim.

As quick as his mind would wander, it could snap back to attention even faster. He caught the approaching ball with ease and a smile.

"Jesus Tony," Jethro thought for sure that one was going to leave a mark. "You're gonna get yourself knocked out one of these times if you don't start paying attention.."

Tony just giggled and threw the ball back to his dad.

"So, Tony," he threw the ball back. "What do you want to do this week? We can take a trip somewhere if you'd like. Me and your mom are gonna take it off of work."

"The whole week!" this was exciting news.

"Haha, yep!"

"Awesome… I don't care. Where do you wanna go?" He gave the ball a send.

"I was thinking maybe we could go camping over by Shenendoah…" He and Jenny had talked about it previously. They had taken the kids camping twice before. It was always a relaxing retreat in the woods. Of course, as relaxing as it could be with four kids, especially theirs.

"Alright! Yeah!" Tony wanted to leave a.s.a.p. He loved camping.

"Okay, well let's go talk to Mom about it," He dropped the football in the grass and walked towards the back door.

"Your arm getting too tired, grampa?" Tony teased and wrinkled his nose in good fun. He hated when they stopped playing.

Jethro stopped dead in his tracks, and slowly and dramatically turned his head towards the kid making faces a few yards away. "Are you, talking to me?" Jethro did his best impression. "Are you, talking….to ME?"

Tony giggled. He loved a good movie quote, and one from his dad was even better. "Well Im looking at ya! What are ya gonna do about it?"

Jethro's smile matched Tony's as he took off at a dead sprint towards the evading boy. "Come here, you little punk."

Tony ran as fast as he could, fighting the laughter as his still really fast dad chased after him. Tony was a quick little guy, but he didn't get far before he felt strong arms grab him and lift him into the air.

Jethro snatched his boy up and pulled him into a rough cradle, squeezing and tickling him. Tony was the most ticklish kid anyone had ever seen. He loved hearing his laugh. Those two gifts together was one of Gods greatest that he had blessed Jethro with. It could fix any problem or heal any wound that kids laugh and his smile.

Tony laughed as his dad tickled him hard as he carried him towards to backsteps. Jethro's smile as wide as can be.

"Say it! Say it …" Jethro warned as he knew his son was all out of air from the extreme laughter.

"Okay! Okay!" Tony breathed out between giggles and screams as he squirmed in his dads arms.

Just as Tony was about to say it, the screen door a few steps above them swung open, and a smiling Jenny emerged.

"Uhhoo," she played along. "What did you do this time…" she approached the breathless boys below her.

"Picked a fight with the wrong guy .." Jethro joked as he gave a tickle to the kid in questions tummy evoking a quick screech of laughter.

Jenny looked at her boys. The high and tight dark brown hair of her husband, and those steely blue eyes. The white tee-shirt and those Levi's she loved as they both hung loose on his fit frame. The smiling boy cradled in his strong arms, with a head full of a recently lightening brown hair, a tell tale sign her son has been spending hours upon hours outside playing, the sun turning it light in the summer. That same messy hair that stood up and out in all different kids of directions, there was no controlling it though. His red polo shirt on and his favorite jean shorts. His bright green eyes and sun tanned skin as brown as a nut. She once laughed as happily as she had in at least the last two months. She hadn't been with her family enough lately.

"Not my boy …" Then she suddenly reached forward and tickled Tony in all of the places she knew he was most ticklish. Jethro smiled as he held the laughing, squirming child his arms and his wife as she played and laughed as well, a look in his wife's eyes he has missed seeing for far too long now.

After she knew Tony had had enough, Jenny quit her form of tickle torture, ending it with a big kiss to his slightly sweaty forehead. Jethro brought his sons feet back in contact with the ground and held his squirmy child in place in front of him with one hand one of his shoulders and the other ruffling the messy hair on the head before him.

"Mom! We were just coming to talk to you," Tony piped up as Jethro leaned over Tony and met Jenny's cheek in greeting.

"Mmm," Jenny finished the hello. "And why is that?"

"We are going camping!"

"Oh noooo," a voice grimaced from the doorway at the top of the the stairs. "I hate camping!"

All heads turned to the voice to see Kate opening up the screen door and begin her descent towards the group, still in her pajamas.

"Jethro.." Jenny warned wither her tone and her stare.

"Nothing is official, Tony's just jumping the gun. That's what we were coming to ask you about." Jethro quickly explained.

"No. Please Mom! You know I don't like camping," Kate made her way between her parents, right next to Tony, a look of desperation as she faced her mom.

"Katie! Don't be such a babyyyy.." Tony teased. "It's just a-"

"Tony! I cant stand being stuck in a four foot tent with you and hyperac-"

"Me! You are the one who brings thirty bags and you-"

"You start to smell and you snore soo loud"

They were off to the races and just as Tony took a deep breath to begin another retort and hand clasped over his mouth, and only muffled whines could be heard.

"Hey, hey, hey …" Jethro started. "You two get along.. At least for a minute?"

"Kate, we can take two tents this time since you guys are a bit bigger. And it will be fun!" Jenny tried convincing her daughter. She really wanted everyone to be happy.

"Yeah Kate, you love the woods," Jethro wanted to do something that they all wanted to do, he thought kate had liked camping. She had last year. "We can go on a hike, make marshmallows, swim in the river…"

Tony reached up with both hands and pulled the large mit covering his mouth down quickly, "Come onnnn Kate! Pleaaaase!" The hand quickly made itself back over the often outspoken mouth.

"What do ya say Kate?" Jenny put her arm around her daughter and gave her a good squeeze.

"Okayyyy. But keep the little spaz under control…" Kate teased her little brother much more gently this time as she reached forward and ruffled the hair of the newly excited green eyes that shone his happiness as much as his smile would do, if only there wasn't a hand still firmly clasped over it.

The hand moved, "Yes! Im going to go get my sleeping bag out of the tree fort!"

Three sets of eyes rolled as the watched the small boy dash quickly to the big maple tree in the back corner of the yard.

"Do I get permission to hit him this week?" Kate was predicting the irritancy she knew she was bound to experience. She looked from her mom to her dad in anticipation.

Her parents chuckled. "Noo, Kate. You cant hit your brother." Jethro bent down and gave his eldest a kiss on the forehead. " But I can…"

Kate smiled big at that. "Well do it more often …."

With that they all turned to go back into the house, Kate getting a gentle swat to the pants as she edged up the stairs in front of her dad. "Get in there…" he played.

A few hours later …

Jethro had about had it. He knew he had a short temper, so he always tried to keep from blowing his top in front of his kids, because it usually scared the absolute crap out of them. But this, this was too much. He swore he could feel the blood oozing from his ears. The SUV was large, but filled with his wife and four kids, plus camping gear for a week made it seem quite small. Especially when Abby was singing along to the radio loudly from the seat right behind him. Tim was whispering numbers and talking to himself in the seat next to her as he played Soduko, which was rare for a six year old anyway, and right now quite the annoyance. Jenny was next to him fiddling with a large map, turning and refolding it to try and find a good spot for them to set up camp. But worst of all, way in the back of the SUV was Kate and Tony bickering about something as always.

"Tony, don't touch that!" he heard Kate yell.

"But im so bored, please! You don't need--" Tony yelled back

"Ow. Owww!" Tony yelled.

That was the last straw. Jethro rammed a finger onto the off button on the radio, and slammed on the brakes in the middle of the highway, causing all heads to snap forward, in deceleration and in attention.

"Tony, shut it!" He barked. "You will not speak one more time until I say so!"

The car was scared into silence.

"Is that understood?" He yelled much too angrily.

"Yes, sir…" Tony replied sadly and quietly.

"I said, is that understood!" He barked like a drill sergeant.

"Yes, sir!"

Jethro knew he had been much too loud and angry, but he thought hed save the apology for later. The kid needed to learn to shut his mouth more often. Jethro also knew Kate was part of the problem as well, but for some reason he always snapped at the younger of the two, Tony. Maybe it was because he was a boy, maybe it was that his voice was always the one he tended to hear, and maybe it was because he knew how provoking his little boy could be. He stepped on the gas pedal and the car went back on its way, this time in silence.

"Jethro," Jenny started. "You think that was completely necessary?"

"I cant think when he is yelling like that …." Jethro defended his reasoning.

"He doesn't mean to," Jenny whispered. "You know he needs to be outside, not strapped to some seat in a car…"

"Its no excuse to be annoying," Jethro started. "He needs to learn to behave."

"I don't think yelling is the way to teach him, especially when it's you." Jenny looked at her husband hard in the eyes.

"He needs to learn."

End of discussion.

About two hours later, the car with Abby and Tim laughing at the DVD they were watching was the only sound to be heard.

"We're here!" Jethro said excitedly as he pulled the car to the end of the designated path and turned it off. It was about two in the afternoon now. The sun was shining bright, and the woods looked welcoming and calming.

Abby cheered, as did Tim and they raced out of the car. Their energy needed to be released ASAP, as they leapt from the car.

"You kids stay close!" Jenny yelled warningly as she got out of the car and shut her door. Stretching as she saw her kids run towards some mushrooms.

Jethro turned around in his seat to see what was his other two kids were doing to be met by the angry glare of Kate. She got that glare from him. He looked at the girl and saw Tony, in his red backwards baseball cap and red polo tshirt asleep on her, her arm around his upper back comfortingly. It was pretty endearing, until Jethro realized it was because of what he did and said.

"Kate.." Jethro kept his voice neutral. Tony needed to grow up sometime. "Wake him up, and meet me outside."

He knew Kate was mad at him for yelling like that at Tony. Though they bickered like it was their job, at the end of the day Kate was always protecting the accident prone little boy that everyone hated to love so damn much, but there was something about the kid everyone adored. And something Kate wanted to protect from being hurt.

"Your so mean sometimes." Kate said as her dad got out of the car, just before he could get his door closed.

Jethro shook it off. It was hard disciplining his kids, but he had to do it sometime…

"Mommy! Let's go swimming in the river before it gets too dark! Please!" Abby begged as Kate and a sleepy Tony climbed out of the car.

"Okay, okay. You kids go change in the car one at a time into your suits and we will go. Your father can set up camp while we go …" Jenny said. She wanted to get back at Jethro for his acting out in the car. If he wanted to teach hard lessons, he could learn one too …

The four kids ran back towards the car, and Jenny turned to follow them, leaving Jethro to his self to set the tent up,

A few minutes later, the kids and their mom were on their way to the river in swim suits and towels. Tim and Abby had matching life jackets on. Tony was a very good swimmer for his age, and had proved he could handle this river when he was swimming better than Kate, with no life jacket at the age of four. He was a natural athlete, they all knew. He was good at everything already.

They go to the river. It had a beach that was inlayed from the current of the river where the water layed still. Still enough for the kids and Jenny to swim in at least. If they went out too far, the current could take them downstream, but the river itself was pretty shallow and not very fast. But today it seemed to have a stronger current than years past when theyd camped here.

Tony ran and dove into the chilly water first. He was too wild for his own good sometimes, but he laughed in amusement, and it was good to see him happy again, though Jenny knew deep down what happened in the car was still bugging the little guy.

"Tony, be careful…." Jenny slowly got into the water holding Tim and Abby's hand in each of hers. "Don't go out past your belly button." she warned.

Tony didn't answer but was jumping and splashing happily by himself a bit further out then where Abby and Tim explored to rocks they could discover in the shallow water near the rivers edge. The River had a rocky base, and a lot of big rocks on the edges, especially on the edges of their 'beach', that made the outline for the little pool they swam in.

Tony was starting climb on a big rock a bit too far out for Jenny's comfort, but as she was about to say something little five year old Abby started sputtering some water she must of swallowed while trying to "dive" for pebbles right next to her. Jenny began to strike the child on her back to help finish getting the little bit of water out.

"Kate! Come swim…" Tony yelled to the twelve year old currently tanning on the beach.

"No, that water is freezing! Its dirty too…" She yelled back.

"Aw. Pleaaaseee!" Tony yelled as he shifted his feet from where he stood on the sharp rock in his swim trunks and tanned skin. He moved to fake pout and put his hands together in a beg, when Kate saw his foot slip out behind him, and his body fell forward, his head slamming into the sharp rock horrifyingly.

"Tony!" Jenny and Kate yelled simultaneously. They stood, and looked to try and find the little boy in the water behind the rock, waiting for him to pop back up for air. It never happened.

"Tony!" Jenny was running as fast as she could through the thigh high water to see her little boy face down in the icy cool water, slowly drifting away from her towards the fast moving current of the river a few feet from him. She could see a red cloud forming in the water that made her want to throw up.

Kate felt her stomach drop. She told Tim and Abby to come ashore, and to stay put. Then she turned and used her powerful screaming voice for good, for once. "DAD! HELP!" The camp that they were setting up was only about a hundred yards away.

Jenny saw Tony drifting away from her further and further, as she decided to finally dive and swim for him. The running not getting the job done. He was only about ten feet away, but the current was starting to make the distance a bit further, soon he would be washing down the river. Jenny fought the bile she could feel rising in her through as she swam in panic towards her son she knew was drowning.

Jethro had been sulking and putting up the tent in anger, driving stakes with force, angry he was exiled from his beloved family. Though he was realizing it was his bad, and swore hed go fix it as soon as this tent was up. He could hear some screams from the river, though they seemed muffled. At least they were having fun … Just then, he heard an awful blood curdling scream, and it was a call for him. He recognized it as Kate and immediately was off at a dead sprint in awful fear as he wondered what went wrong at the river, his gut telling him it wasn't good, and for some reason he knew it was Tony.

He reached the riverside to see Kate and Tim and Abby staring out down the river. But Jethro didn't see anyone, and he knew Jenny and Tony were missing.

"What happened, Kate!" Jethro demanded as he ran up to the trio.

"Tony was trying to get me to come in the water, and he slipped and fell, and .."Kate was crying. "He didn't wake up in the water, and now he got sucked out to the river, and mom--" Jethro looked up in time to see Jenny swimming upstream as best as she could, on her back holding Tony's head above the water as best she could. Jenny was trapped in the current, and a bloody little Tony was in her arms.

Jethro was in the water in an instant, and out to his wife and kid in ten seconds flat.

Jenny was bawling, struggling to get back to shore. Just then her husband surfaced a few feet from her to the rescue, his eyes showing terror.

"Take him! Hurry!" Jenny yelled at Jethro. Jethro could feel the current pulling them further downstream than the beach. He reached gentle are under the armpits of the limp little body in her arms.

He didn't get a good look at him, but he knew he had to hurry. He grabbed Jenny by the arm and pulled her til they were out of the strong current.

Then he swam fiercely through the calm water back to the shore, and could feel Jenny right behind him, and the dead weight of Tony tucked under one of his arms as he ran in his now wet and heavy clothes to the shore.

"Jethro, oh god!" Jenny yelled as her husband lay Tony down on the riverside. They got their first good look at the nine year old before them.

Jethro could see a huge cut and swelling on the boy's forehead above his right eye. Blood trickling all over the unconscious face. Then, Jethro's heart stopped as he saw Tony's bright blue lips.

"He's not breathing, Jen!" Jethro heard Kate and Jenny beside him cry in fear.

He immediately had his son's head tilted back, and began breathing breaths into the little lungs beneath him.

Jethro let the tears fall freely off his face, in coordination with the water dripping off his head. He hadn't bothered to feel for a pulse. Tony wasn't dead, and he wasn't going to be. Jethro kept breathing, and then began pushing on the little, cold chest. He knew Tony had water in his lungs, and he needed to get it out. Tony wasn't dead.

He should have been there. He shouldn't have been building the tent. He hadn't even offered to go. They wouldn't have gone if he hadn't been so mean in the car. The guilt rose like the bile in his stomach.

Jenny checked for a pulse on Tony's carotid, and let out a cry of horror and agony as she felt nothing.

"Jethro he has no pulse…"

That wasn't right. Tony was fine. He always was fine.

He began pumping even harder on the little chest, the entire family around him crying, Jethro too. "God damnit, Tony…" Jethro sobbed. Jenny breathed into the blue lips beneath them.

"Its gonna be fine, guys. Tony, you will be okay!" Jethro tried to comfort everyone, including himself.

Jethro let a sob escape loudly as water erupted out of the blue lips. Coughing and sputtering continuing to expel water out of the mouth.

Tony's eyes were open now, and air was being sucked in and out frantically by the little boy. Jethro turned Tony on his side and smacked his bare back hard several times.

"Oh Thank God!" Jenny yelled. She was beginning to think she had seen her little boy breath his last breath and smile his last smile.

Jethro sat the weak little boy up, him doing all the work. Tony's eyes were glazed and he wasn't looking at anything in particular. The blood still flowing freely down his face in a spider web-like manner.

Jethro got in his face, "Tony..Tony! Are you okay?"

No response, just Tony turned his head slowly towards Jethro's. He looked drunk to be honest. His head lolling to the sides and his eyes beginning to close again. The blood. It was disturbing on such a gentle and usually happy face.

"Tony! Bud…answer me." Jenny turned the little face toward hers in fear. Nothing. Just his head falling back limply as his eyes fell shut.

"Let's go to the hospital, now!" Jethro scooped the little boy up in his arms and cradled him as he walked fast through the woods to the car. Jenny and the three kids were jogging behind him to keep up.

"Im calling 911 to find the closest," Jenny said once they got everyone loaded into to car. They had put Kate holding Tony;s head in her lap in the middle seat, and the youngest two way in the back. Jethro driving and Jenny on the phone in shot gun ready to navigate.

Jethro was driving dangerously fast down the mountainous path. But he wanted to get Tony help soon.

"Kate, put this on that cut on his head…" Jenny handed back a washcloth from the bath bag on the floor of the SUV behind her seat. Kate did as she was told. "And keep trying to get him to wake up--Hello, yes I need the nearest hospital to Mountainside Ridge. My son drowned and has a head injury…North…"

Jethro was already out on the main highway, taking a few turns to country roads as it was.

"Twenty miles on this road Jethro …." Jenny repeated as she had followed the directions that had matched Jethros always miraculous 'gut driving'.

"Okay, we will be there in three minutes" Jethro replied confidently as pushed the accelerator even harder.

Kate kept her hand pressed down on the washcloth balled up and covering her little brothers forehead, which lay in her lap. He was coughing weakly every so often, and wheezing with almost every breath. He must be getting cold, being wet and only in his swim trunks, because he was starting to shiver.

Jenny turned around after hanging up the phone with the 911 dispatcher, her eyes full of concern as she looked at the bloody face before her. She noticed just then that Tony was shivering so bad she could hear his teeth chattering.

"Timmy, can you reach in the back and get us that blanket please. Hurry."

Tim unbuckled and did as he was told, then watched as his older sister and mom took good care of Tony, gently rolling him and then wrapping him in the nice blanket.

"Jenny, how is he?" Jethro asked worriedly as he passed a car with gusto.

"The same, coughing a bit …" Jenny moved Kate's washcloth to look at the head wound. "Oh, god .."

"What?" Jethro hated hearing expressions like that.

"The cut on his head looks really bad," Jenny tried to get some blood out of the crack of Tony's still eyelids. She pried open an eyelid, to see a green, empty eye. There was blood in his eye, but the cut was bleeding so much they didn't have anyway of preventing it. His eye didn't move, blink or who any kind of life. It made Jenny want to throw up.

"I know, we are almost there.." Jethro was speeding through the small city streets, following the signs with a big H on em. A city he'd never been to, nor heard of, but was hopeful they had a medical staff that knew what they were doing. This was the closest hospital for miles and miles.

Finally, the SUV careened into the carport to the ER and before the car was even done moving the driver was out of the car, and opening the back door.

He pulled the small, limp frame under the armpits and then turned him and pulled him into his chest before almost running into the hospital.

Jenny wanted to follow them, but she knew someone had to park the car. She wished she could be the one to be with Tony right now, but she knew her place, and getting between Jethro and his son, his pride and joy, was not the place for her. Jethro and Tony needed each other more than she could contribute. Her time best spent keeping the other three kids calm, and also healthy.

"Sir, you need to put your son down now so we can help him." Jethro didn't realize the death-grip he had on Tony. One arm was supporting his weight under Tony's butt, and the other hand was gently on the back of his head, stroking the semi-wet brown mess of hair, pressing his little face into the crook of his neck.

Jethro had already explained that Tony had drowned after hitting his head and how long ago it was, but for some reason never let go, til now.

He gently laid the little body, in his favorite swim trunks, on the gurney awaiting him, and then he walked with it as they made their way into an exam room.

A young male doctor opened a bloody eyelid, shined a light in front of the dead green eye, which was like a punch to the gut, and did the same with the other eye. "No reaction." he heard the young man say. A team of nurses was working around the doctor, taking different vital signs, hooking the boy up to different wires and machines.

"Concussion." The doctor said flatly to himself more than anything as he put the stethoscope on Tony's chest and listened to his breath. "Water in the lungs," the doc listened again. " A lot of it .. Damn. What's his temp?"

"100" someone answered back among the commotion.

"Okay, someone put some butterfly clips on that cut, and let's hurry up and get him up to CT…" the doctor said as he stepped away from gurney removing his gloves. "We can take care of the cut later, right now we need to know what's going on where we cant see…"

Someone placed a few white butterfly bandages over the bleeding gash that was starting to swell angrily, and then the team was off. Jethro was shown his spot to wait in the waiting room as they wheeled Tony away.

Jethro rubbed tired hands over his face as he stalked into the waiting room.

"Daddy!" Abby hugged his thigh. Jethro reached down and patted the pig tails sadly. They were the only ones in the somewhat cozy waiting room, a definite blessing.

"Hey, Abs.." then he picked up the little girl and walked over to sit in the chair next to Kate and Tim. "Where's your mom?" He realized who was missing as he sat to relax, the black pig tails hugging into his chest.

"She went to go find something …" Tim answered. "Didn't say what, just said we had to stay put."

"Okay." Just then Jenny walked through the door with her hands full of scrubs. Just then jethro realized that the rest of his family was no longer in their wet swimsuits, but their normal clothes they must have had in the back of the SUV still. Jethro was still freezing in his wet levis and tshirt, and soggy tennis shoes.

"Here ya go, honey. Go get yourself warmed up," Jenny held out the scrubs as she approached the waiting family.

Jethro boosted Abby into the same chair as Tim, them being just small enough to fit in the same seat. Then he stood up and took the offering. The light blue scrubs would do. Then he took his arms and wrapped them in a big bear hug around his wife.

Jenny allowed herself to be hugged, and closed her eyes leaning into the much needed embrace as she squeezed her arms around his waist.

"Im so sorry, Jen." Jethro whispered.

"No, I am. I should've been watching him better. He shouldn't of been out that far, or climbing on that rock, I--" Jenny rambled on, being interrupted by Jethro.

"Hey, hey … If I wouldn't have said those things earlier in the car then --"

"No, Jethro don't--" Jenny pulled out of the hug so she could make eye contact. "I-- we…"

"Let's just focus on the kids…" Jethro completed her thought.

"Okay. Your freezing… go change into those scrubs. Sorry, your bag wasn't in the car still, you must have unpacked it at the sight.

"Yeah, I did. These will be just fine. Thank you…" Jethro kissed his wife on the cheek, then made his way out of the waiting room door in search of a bathroom.

Jenny approached the three kids on the chairs. "How are you guys doing?" Jenny asked as she knelt in front of them, rubbing a hand on their knees.

Kate was the first to speak up, "I am sorry, mom. I was ignoring Tony, and that is why he fell …." Just then she broke into a pitiful round of tears, falling into her moms embrace.

"Caitlyn … Caitlyn. This is in no way your fault, do you hear me? It was just an accident. These things happen." she rubbed her back in soothing circles.

"No, its my fault. Tony is really sick now because I was mean to him. I am sor--" She was still so very upset. Trmebling and sobbing upon each word.

"Shhhh. Kate. Tony is going to be just fine. He's got one hard head, you know this."

"I didn't mean for him to get hurt, I just should have --" she sobbed again.

Just as Jenny was about to try and talk some more sense into Kate, she felt a hand on her shoulder. A hand that she knew belonged to Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Jenny stood from her spot and went and sat down on the other side of the family, beginning to talk with Abby and Tim about how they were doing.

Jethro picked up the girl, took a seat in a chair, and then plopped the whimpering child in his lap and removed her hands from her face gently, "Kate. Listen to me…."

Kate looked directly into his blue eyes, them being a bit blurry peering through salty water droplets.

"Tony is going to be okay. Alright?"

Kate nodded her head. It was always like that, anything Gibbs said Kate did with no contest, believing all things he said to her, trusting him like it was the word of god himself.

"And this is not your fault …. In any way. Kapeesh?" He put his hands on her shoulders to prove his point.

"Kapeesh," her voice was small and sad, but she wasn't crying any longer.

"Here for Tony Gibbs?" the room was immediately silent as they looked up to see the male doctor looking back at them expectantly.

"Ya" Jenny and Jethro stood, and met him near the doorway, away from the other kids to hear the news.

"How is Tony?" Jenny asked immediately.

"Tony has a severe concussion. The injury had a recoil effect from the hit, so his brain smashed up against the front of his skull as well as the back it. The CT was clean for any sort of bleeds. There is some water in his lungs still, which is some cause for concern coupled with a concussion. Coughing a lot can cause intracranial pressure to spike, which is very bad for a kid with a traumatic brain injury."

"Is he going to be okay?" Jenny spoke up. All of this talk was starting to increase her anxiety.

"It is really a waiting game in these cases, we have to wait for the swelling in the brain to go down, so he gets a bit more lucid and we can get do some tests on him to determine any kind of brain damage that might come out if this. Because of the drowning, which means a definite lack of oxygen and blood to the brain, the chances of permanent brain damage is high."

The parents choked on that thought for a second.

"He has awaken though, but is completely out of it. Can't form sentences, pupils are still not reacting to light, thrashing around a bit and pretty distressed."

"Where is he?" Jethro asked sternly. He was kind of angry he hadn't been told was up and struggling until now.

"Follow me, I can show you."

"Kids, come on. We are going to go see Tony," Jenny turned and held out her hands. The twins grabbed hold, and Kate walked over and grabbed her dads hand as they followed the white coat down the long hallway.

There was a soft whimpering they could hear outside of an ICU room.

"Its, okay hun. Just a few more. .." they could hear a nurse talking to him.

Jethro immediately walked into the room he heard the whimpers from. Jenny and the kids slowly making there way in.

There was a male doctor and female nurse putting some stitches on Tony's very painful looking forehead. The patient was in a child's gown that loosely covered the small boy. There were wires going underneath the gown, and various other wires and monitors, the most prevalent being the pads and wires stuck variously around Tony's forehead and going into various spots around his head, leading somewhere underneath the brown messy hair.

There was a nasal canula delivering oxygen to his 'wet lungs'. Tony's eyes were pinched shut in pain, his fist clenching the blankets covering him, and his back arching while little legs squirmed.

The doctor looked up from his work in the forehead.

"Good," the doctor said.

He hated scaring such a little boy, and causing him pain with no one around that he knew. It had to be scary, especially when your concussed and don't know where you are or how you got there.

"Hi, im Doctor Savage and I just need to put a few more sutures in this cut of his. He shouldn't be in pain from this, probably just a strong headache and very scared."

Jethro and Jenny stepped forward immediately, recognizing the soft whimpers, and squirming of their little boy. Tony looked about half his age, and like a lost puppy.

He took the small, soft hand in his as he leaned over the bed. He rubbed a calloused thumb across the side of the smooth cheek that was stained from tears, Jethro wiping one away as he did so.

"Hey, buddy…Its okay." Jethro whispered gruffly. Tonys glazed eyes turned to meet his.

"I--umm. Uhh, I um …" was the response he got. Jethro narrowed his eyes in concern, but attempted to keep the boys attention off the needle and thread doing work on his numbed forehead so he kept talking to him even though there was no communication happening between the two. Tony was indeed really out of it, but as the kid relaxed under his touch he knew he was right where he needed to be. "Atta boy, Tony."

The doctor was a bit shocked by the immediate response. Especially because he knew that Tony had no idea what was happening, his mental state being incoherent. But somehow the boys dad was able to just touch his cheek and the boy would relax enough for him to do his work.

"All done. Thank you for your help." The doctor was thankful the young boy got some relief from his extreme distress.

"Thank you, doctor." Jenny said as she stood idly from the opposite side of the bed as her husband.

"Im going to hit these lights for him, the light is probably really hurting his headache." The doctor pulled the string on the wall light, after taking his cart full of suture supplies out of the room and hitting the other light.

"Tony?" Jenny asked as she saw him staring up at her. The boys eyebrows furrowed.

A few hours later, the blank stare in the little green eyes changed suddenly as the twins curled up on the end of his bed started laughing at the TV. Jethro had been looking directly at those eyes, worrying that the swelling was getting worse, and the beautiful son they had was going to be nothing but a vegetable because of his own temper when he saw those eyes flash.

For the past few hours, Tony had just been staring around the room erratically. Coughing a bunch, and answering all questions with 'Umm' and 'Uhh'.

"Tony?" Jethro was in his face, his voice hopeful.

The big green eyes turned toward the caring blue ones.

"Daddy," the voice was small and timid. "How come we aren't camping anymore?"

"Tony, whats the last thing you remember?" Jethro asked as Jenny immediately stood in shock that her son was finally talking a form of English, and knew who his dad was. Jenny hit the call button at his side to inform the doctor that Tony was awake.

Suddenly the look in his eyes turned to one of fear. "You were really mad at me …" He looked pitiful in his little oversized children's hospital gown, the large bandage on his forehead, the wires and tubes.

"Tony, Im not mad at you. Im sorry I yelled like that. You didn't do anything wrong, you hear me?"

Tony just studied the look in his dad's eyes, not really believing what he was hearing, but he'd always known to trust those eyes. "Yeah. Daddy, my head really hurts…" Tears were beginning to form.

"I know it does Tony. Do you remember going swimming at the river?" Jethro asked

"No, when did we do that?" Tony asked confused.

"A few hours ago. You fell on a rock and hit your head really hard," Jenny spoke up from the side. They would spare the being dead for a few minutes thing for a later date. "We are in the hospital now."

"Oh. Okay." Tony said plainly as he reached a hand up to touch the spot on his forehead, and he gently probed around the large bandage. "Hi Abby, Tim. Hey Kate…" Tony saw them staring from the end of the bed.

"Good to see my favorite patient is awake…" the doctor exclaimed from the doorway as he ran knocked on the door and continued forward towards the bed, all eyes turning on him. "How are you feeling Tony?"

"Great." The little boy form the bed who looked like he was about to fall asleep right then and there said. They all knew it was a lie. But they knew in due time, he would be.