Working with Gibbs (a NCIS story)

Chapter 11: the misfire part 1

A/N: I just want you all to know that this caused me physical pain...anyways, moving on...

-after the holiday season-
Gibbs was sitting at the bedside of the love of his life - but he hadn't told her that yet...
'How did things go so bad, so fast...?' He asked himself as he thought back to the evening before.
Flashback
The team was doing cold cases and Grace found something in one that heated it back up, so she and Gibbs went to investigate while Tim and Tony stayed behind to dig up more information. They staked out the location for a while and then she saw movement in the upper window.
"Gibbs, look" she said and once he saw, he kissed her quickly before they got out of the car and headed towards the building.
As they were walking there, the suspect got panicked and started shooting at them.
"Run" Gibbs yelled and they made it back to the car, but unfortunately they were no safer there...the suspect fired more, and when Grace saw that Gibbs was about to be hit, she pushed him out of the way. "NO!" Gibbs yelled when he turned and saw her on the ground, gunshot wounds to her abdomen and leg, the Kevlar vest clearly failing. He turned and started firing, and eventually the firing stopped, so the suspect was dead. He turned back to Grace and saw she was barely conscious. "Hey, stay with me..."
-about 20 minutes later-
Grace was rushed into surgery as soon as she got there, and Ducky came from HQ to be with Gibbs.
"Should've been me...why'd she take the bullet?"
"Because that's who she is, Jethro...she protects the ones she loves at all costs" he replied, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He sat in silence, thinking about his first wife and their daughter, what he went through when they were killed. He wasn't there to protect them, just like he couldn't protect her now.
"Is one of you special agent Gibbs?" A doctor asked, coming out of the OR about an hour later.
"I am. What's going on?"
"I have to admit, it was touch and go for a while, but she did pull through the surgery. However, her condition remains critical. The next 24 hours are critical - she is in a medical coma for now to let her rest, and if she improves after 24 hours, we'll start bringing her out of it."
"What did you have to do?" Ducky asked, curious as to the surgeries that had to be done.
"Well, unfortunately, the bullets that were used were shatter bullets, they literally shatter when they come in contact with anything; in this case, it was Miss Williams' abdominal cavity and her left femur. Thankfully the fragments in the abdomen didn't do any major damage, but we did have to stitch some minor lacerations on her liver. Her left femur wasn't as lucky...we had to replace that completely with rods and steel plates."
"Can we see her?" Gibbs finally asked, desperate for physical proof that she was at least alive for now.
"Yes, but just for a moment. Follow me, please" he led Gibbs down a long hallway and stopped at the next to last room. "I apologize, but I can only give you 5 minutes..." Gibbs nodded and went into the room, taken aback by the machines and wires hooked up to her. He went to her bedside and took her pale hand in his.
-flashback over-
"Hey, angel, it's me. You've gotta fight, please. Use that fighting spirit I know you have. I'll be back in the morning, okay?" He kissed her forehead and reluctantly let go of her hand. When he left the room he sat on the floor, covered his face with his hands, and cried...