The mood is somber as they gather around the gravesite, no one quite sure what to say.
"Who would've thought?" Tony whistles lowly, shaking his head.
Abby isn't paying attention to him, her worried eyes are on the silver haired man who's currently talking quietly to an elderly woman.
"This is what you call 'Dumb luck', right?" Ziva frowns as she tries to get the phrase correct.
Tony looks at her, "No, this is what you'd call Bad luck."
Ziva frowns deeper, and looks at McGee for an explanation. As McGee tries to explain, Gibbs makes his way over to them.
"Thanks for coming."
Abby doesn't stop herself, she hugs him tightly, struggling not to cry. It isn't that she particularly liked Hollis, in fact she'd never seen why Gibbs liked her so much, but seeing Gibbs so sad made her want to break down.
"Thanks Abby." He pulls himself away and hugs Ziva, shaking hands with Tony and McGee.
As the small crowd dissipates, Abby leaves with her friends, casting one last glance at the man kneeling next to the casket, wishing once again that things had been different.
It's nearly two in the morning, and she can't sleep, so she gets dressed and drives to his house, knowing he's not asleep either.
She isn't sure she wants to intrude on his privacy like this, the last few years have been almost strained between them, but she knows he needs someone other than his beloved friend in a bottle.
It's no surprise that he's down in the basement, the sound of hammering rising up to meet her ears.
"Gibbs?" She stands at the doorway, waiting for an invitation to come down.
He doesn't look up, "Come in Abs."
She walks down slowly, wondering what to say.
"You alone?"
"Yes, I couldn't sleep."
He nods, and keeps working.
She walks around the small structure, knowing that eventually it will be a beautiful boat.
"How are you doing?"
"Could be better."
"I don't know how to help…"
"Tell me why you came."
"I told you why. I couldn't sleep. I was worried about you. I didn't want you to hurt yourself, you know, alcohol poisoning, you drink too much, that's what I mean. I don't…"
She stops and looks at him, not sure if she's just crazy or if she's really seeing the beginnings of a smile.
"Still ramble."
She laughs nervously, "Yeah, I guess. I mean, not all the time, but sometimes when-"
She stops abruptly, wondering if he did that on purpose.
He chuckles softly, "I've missed you Abs."
"I missed you too.. Boss-man."
"Why didn't you ever come over? Door was still unlocked."
"You had a wife, I couldn't just come over. Things were different. I couldn't keep doing things the way I had been."
"What do you mean?" He's staring at her now.
"I had to back away, give us both space. You space to start a new life, me space to.. Quit loving you."
"You don't love me anymore?"
She rushes to explain, "No, I do, I mean, not like that, anymore, but I still love you, like I love Ziva and Tony and McGee, or like I love Ducky and sometimes even Palmer."
He stops working to look over at her,
"What do you mean, anymore?"
She sighs, "I was in love with you for a long time."
"You never said anything."
"I didn't think I had to. I mean, everyone else saw it, I thought you would have to. You were always taking me out to dinner, bringing me flowers, doing all the little things, I just figured, you knew."
"You always had dates, I didn't figure you'd be going on dates if you were in love with me."
"Well, I didn't want to just sit at home waiting for you. I might have waited forever, and never gotten anywhere."
He doesn't reply, just turns back to the boat.
She waits a moment before speaking again. "I never knew why you liked her."
"It worked. I don't know for how long, but it worked."
"What do you mean?"
"We fought. Just like with the others. The only one I never fought with was Shannon."
"But you made it work."
Gibbs shook his head, "She was filing for divorce. Apparently, I'm that hard to live with."
"But.. You two seemed to work well together."
"We thought it would carry over into marriage. It didn't. She didn't like my way of dealing with things."
"Shutting people out, working on the boat…"
He nods.
She sighs. "Everyone has their own way of dealing with life."
"And apparently I'm doing something wrong."
Abby feels a rush of compassion for the misunderstood man in front of her.
"No, you're not doing anything wrong, they just don't understand you."
"Maybe I don't understand them either."
"That could be part of the problem."
Gibbs glares at the boat in front of him, "Who understands women?"
Abby laughs softly, "Did you understand Shannon?"
His face changes and he stops to think.
"That was different. I didn't have to understand her, she understood me."
Abby shakes her head, "You have to understand each other."
"You understand whichever man has your heart?"
"No man understands me." She avoids the question, not wanting to talk about her heart.
"You need to sleep, Abby. Work later."
"I'll be fine. I'm worried about you."
He shrugs off her worries, "Nothing I can't handle."
She moves forward to press a kiss to his cheek,
"Everything will turn out right."
He hugs her and lets go slowly.
"See you at work."
When she makes it home at nearly four, she feels a peace she hasn't felt in years.
His life has been hard, but she sees a rainbow coming. She just hopes she's there to witness it.
Part two done! I sat here for a long time trying to figure out why on earth he would have married Hollis Mann- I must have been insane last night. Anyhow, hope you all like this.