GIBBS DOESN'T GET SICK

a/n Hehe. I love the way Gibbs and Abby interact.

Gibbs didn't get sick. Ever. This both confused and amused the team.

Which was why no one mentioned Gibbs' sniffles. Or the cough. Or the shaking. At least until he went down to the lab, and Abby touched his hand and freaked out.

"Gibbs, you're burning up!"

"What?" He sounded annoyed and confused. Regular Gibbs. But she could see that he was trembling all over.

"Gibbs, you're sick!"

"No, I'm not," he immediately replied. Which was when he started coughing, hacking until he couldn't breathe and tears filled his eyes.

Abby frowned and Gibbs stared back. In the end, it was Gibbs who looked away first.

"You are going home!" Abby announced, resolutely.

Gibbs glared. "We're in the middle of a case, Abs. I can't go home."

"No," Abby sighed. "You just won't go home."

The silence filled the lab. Finally, Abby rolled her eyes. "You won't go home, even though you're sick, and there's a good possibility your judgement's impaired. Right?"

Gibbs didn't respond, and Abby continued.

"Which means I have to force you to rest. So you get to get very used to my lab. Come on, Gibbs." She linked her fingers in his, and dragged him into her office, then nodded down at the futon she kept. Gibbs frowned, raised an eyebrow, then sat and stretched out on the futon.

"Now what?"

"You rest, Gibbs! I'm gonna get you some medicine. And you are allowed to read the case files only if you're lying down." She pursed her lips, hands on hips. "Tell me you understand."

Now Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Yes, Abby, I understand."

"Good," she nodded sharply, then spun and clomped out of the room, and through the lab. Gibbs started to sit up, when Abby's yell rang out. "Stay, Gibbs!"

"I'm not a dog, Abs," he muttered, but laid back down and stuck his hands behind his head and sighed. Then chuckled. He couldn't seem to say no to Abby.

Three hours later, Tony, Ziva and McGee stood at the door to the office, staring down at a sight they had never seen: Gibbs asleep.

"I didn't know he could sleep," Tony breathed.

Ziva snorted and McGee's brow furrowed.

"Did you think he gained energy and power from black coffee?" McGee questioned.

"That is absurd," Ziva answered seriously. "Of course Gibbs needs sleep. He is not a sucker hero."

"Super hero, Ziva."

"Exactly."

Abby crept up behind them and yelled "BOO!"

They all jumped and spun, hands reaching for weapons.

Abby mock glared at the three. "You need to leave before he wakes up!"

"Too late," came the growl from the floor. Everyone stared down at Gibbs, eyes wide with fearful surprise.

Abby pushed through the others. "How are you feeling, Gibbs?"

He smiled, a genuine, Gibbs-doting-on-Abby smile. "I'm fine, Abs."

She still insisted on checking his temperature, and having Ducky give him a full work over before she declared him a-okay.

Gibbs slipped his arm around Abby's shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, Abby."

She just grinned up at him. "I love you too, Gibbs."

Gibbs laughed, then headed to the elevator. Stopping, he turned and yelled at his team, "We still have a case, don't we?" There was a pause. "Well then, let's get going!"

"Right, Boss!" the three chorused and rushed after him.

Ducky grinned. "Thank goodness for you, Abigail. Otherwise Jethro would work himself to the grave."

Abby shook her head. "No way, Ducky. Gibbs is like Elvis - he'll never die. He's too stubborn."

"Except with you," Ducky smiled.

She grinned. "I'm special. Gibbs told me so. And I'm glad about that if it means making sure that Gibbs is okay."

"And that he is. That he is."

fin.