Abby let a soft exhalation of breath ghost over her lips as she stood silently and looked down at the two sleeping figures stretched out on the soft futon in her dimly lit lab.

Timothy McGee lay on his back with little Brian Abbott asleep on his broad chest, the toddlers small dark head tucked just under his chin. There was something about the two of them as they lay there sleeping that was causing her unimaginable agony.

Tomorrow Brian's mother would be released from protective custody and she could return to her home and Brian would be safe. But for now he lay protected beneath the strong curl of Tim's arm and Abby knew a single twitch from the boy would bring Tim swiftly awake to sooth and comfort him, his large hand rubbing warm circles on the frightened boys small back.

But for now they both slept exhausted, the soft shadows painting the innocence of the scene.

Tim always had a face which looked so young and fresh but tonight his soft pout was put to shame by the cubby cheeked boy wrapped in his arms. The small chest in flannel dinosaur pyjamas rose quickly against the slower moving white t- shirt clad one below it, while a small plastic Star Wars figure remained clutched lovingly in the boy's tiny fist. Brian's pursed lips were a deep pink colour that cosmetic manufacturers could never replicate while his smooth dark hair was still slightly damp from his hastily conjured bath in one of Autopsy's wash troughs.

Abby longed to bury her head down into his hair and smell Ziva's borrowed pomegranate shampoo combined with the scent of baby powder and bare soft skin. Instead she straightened Tim's jacket which had become a makeshift blanket, to cover small bare feet and smiled at the use of one of her lab coats which had been bundled up to become a makeshift pillow for Tim's head.

Brian had chosen his own protector and he had learned quickly how to twist NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee around his tiny fingers.

With a lispy cry of "Thim! Thim" and small arms held up, he knew he would be swept up and cradled in Tim's arms. Watered down juice and a small piece of sandwich would not be far away, perhaps an old computer key board to clatter on. Even one of Tim's soft worn MIT t-shirts had become a replacement blankie to be dragged around the bull pen on frequently collapsing legs.

When the team had first met the boy, Tony's wild enthusiasm had frightened him, while Ziva's attempts at being friendly only seemed to confuse him. They had all expected Brian to find comfort in the only member of the team to have ever been a parent. Gibbs had seen the poor boy wailing, at the end of the hallway, terrified from the sounds of shattered glass and the memory of his mothers frightened crying and he had knelt down to the red faced toddler.

Instead though, Brian suddenly turned and clutched tightly at Tim's legs, refusing to let go, his head almost buried in between Tim's calves. The look of surprise on Tim's face was matched only by his sense of alarm and Gibbs had looked up at his young team member and smirked.

"It's ok McGee. Pick him up. He won't break. I promise."

And so Timothy McGee had become Brian's favourite. Tears had been soothed and lessons quickly learnt. Tomorrow it would be a happy ending and there would be smiles and hugs and sloppy kisses and even some tears of farewell.
So why wasn't she happy? Why wasn't she overcome with a deep sense of satisfaction at such a perfect end to a case, which had seemed at one stage hopeless?

Why did she want to cry at the sight before her?

As Abby looked down at the pair she couldn't help the overwhelming sense of loneliness that consumed her. She stared at her best friend's familiar face, at his beauty.

The pain she felt, it wasn't love. She still loved Tim as a friend and she knew that any chance of anymore had vanished into the dark night many months ago. She had waited too long to realise how happy she could have been with him and now he was bonded to Dante, heart and soul.

And Dante wasn't a partner to grow tired of him, so she could fill her heart and her head with little hopes of future maybes. Dante was an immortal vampire whose search for a Companion had filled the centuries. Their bond had awoken Tim's own blood heritage so now he had gifts of his own.

And more than that. Tim was truly happy. He was happy in a way that made you want to roll your eyes at him as he would smile with a light that reached his eyes and disappear out the door at the end of a long case. She knew he had loving eager arms waiting to hold him tight.

Once she had found her own comfort in warm fun loving coffin mates but lately she preferred the easy solitude of being alone to being lonely surrounded by clamouring company. Was that it? Was she just lonely?

No. It was more than that. She had plenty of friends and people who cared for her. It was something else which made her feel unfulfilled.

She wiped away the silent hot tears she had abandoned attempting to hold back and were now filling her eyes and tried to think clearly.

She was a scientist. What was it? She had farewelled Tim as her true lover long ago, why was it hurting her so much now?

She closed her eyes and tried to analyse herself, carefully, methodically as if she herself were a machine the needed a diagnostic test run on it.

The pain was lower than her aching heart, deeper than her gut. It was right down deep inside her blood and marrow where she had never felt such a strong desire before.

Her womb ached.

As Abby stood and watched over her sleeping charges she realised what the silent lonely yearning of the last few months had been.

She wanted a child.

And she wanted one with Timothy McGee.