A/N: Let's start of with saying I own neither the song or the characters. I should just add the disclaimer to my profile. I always forget to add it to the story, though I think its obvious I don't own them. If I did, I probably wouldn't write fan fiction stories, because I could make the actual characters do whatever I want! Ha Ha! Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yes! The song is "She Thinks She Needs Me" by Andy Griggs. There is a small mention of Kill Ari. Very small. Its in Gibbs' POV. I also edited the lyrics. Took some out I mean. Just to make the writing go smoother. Just at the end. Have a problem with it?!?! Sorry...Don't hit me. I bruise easily.


She Thinks She Needs Me

I step out of my car with both hands full. In one, my second coffee of the day. In the other, Abby's morning Caf-Pow!. I have no doubt she already had one this morning, and I know she buys her own throughout the day. She doesn't need me to bring her however many everyday. She lets me think that though. And the truth is I enjoy getting them for her. Helps me feel useful. She works so hard on processing evidence and explaining what it all means only for it to fall on deaf ears that don't understand 75% of what she is saying.

Stepping out of the elevator, I can see, and hear, that she is already here. Walking up into the doorway, as see her moving about her lab with ease as she travels from machine to machine, bringing them to life. She sees me almost right away and gives me her thousand watt smile. I don't know how she could be so happy so early in the morning. I hold the drink out in front of me and give it a light shake. She happily takes it from my hand. "Thank you so much, Gibbs!"

As she turns back to finish turning on her machines, I catch sight of the familiar large, plastic cup sitting on her desk in her office. It probably wasn't even half gone. I turn to leave having already fulfilled my purpose for being down here, but a hand on the back of my arm stops me. The smile on her face was gone and her Caf-Pow! sitting on the table. "Something wrong with it?" I ask, nodding my head in its direction.

"No, its fine. Good in fact. Borderline perfect."

"What's wrong then?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I…" she trailed off. Its very unusual for Abby to be without words. She suddenly threw her arms around my neck and squeezed. Reflexively, my arms went around her. "I just wanted you to know that you are the best boss and friend anyone could ever ask for."

I mentally smile over her enthusiasm for such a routine thing. "You may want to lay off the caffeine for a while." I gently pat her back as a sign to let go. When she does, I cup her chin in my hand. "It's just a drink, Abby." I turn once again and head for the elevator that will take me up to the squad room.

She thinks I walk on water
She thinks I hung the moon
She tells me every morning,
"They just don't make men like you"

We have been working another long case. No need for me to go into details. It has been a long day and its starting to wear on my nerves. Not to mention my eyes. For the last 2 hours I have been watching security footage on my computer. I slip my glasses off and rub where they have been pinching my nose. I lift my coffee cup to take a sip but it feels oddly light. I lean back in my chair as I toss it in the garbage. Looking around, I see Tony sleeping at his desk. I don't mind too much. It's been a long day for us all, but I know he will be afraid of what I'll do to him when he wakes for sleeping on the job.

Looking over at McGee's desk…Where's McGee? I stand from my seat and look around. Walking over and looking behind his desk, I still don't see anything that would give me a clue as to where he went. Its strange. I didn't even see him leave. Sitting back down I try to resist the urge to look at Ziva's desk, but eventually do. Its still empty. I'm not ready to replace her yet. I'm hoping she may change her mind still.

I hear the ding of the elevator and look over expecting to see McGee. Instead I see Abby heading for my desk. I hadn't realized she was still here. But thinking back she never did call to say she was leaving. Guess because she wasn't.

She stopped just short of my desk. "Gees, Gibbs. Try not to look too disappointed in seeing me."

I hadn't realized I did. "I'm not. I thought you were McGee. Seen him lately?"

An amused smile came across her face. "Wow, Gibbs," she said, walking around my desk and sitting on the edge. "You must be tired. Nothing usually slips by you." I don't have anything to say to that. She's right. "He came down to the lab about 2 hours ago. Fell asleep on my futon mattress maybe 45 minutes ago. You didn't see him leave?" I shook my head. She looked around my desk. "No coffee. That's gotta be it."

"Gotta be." Looking at my watch I notice my regular place is already closed, but there is another place close enough by that is decent enough to place as a substitute. And they had Caf-Pow!. I stand and grab my jacket off the floor behind me. "Go back to McGee. I'll get us something."

She stood too. "I'll go with you."

"No, its raining. You'll catch a cold."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Gibbs, I thought even you knew that rain and cold weather, not that its even remotely chilly out, don't cause you to get sick. Germs do that. Besides, its not like you're going to walk, is it?" I didn't respond. "You are? But its raining!"

I kiss her cheek as I walk by her. "Don't worry," I say as I head for the elevator. "I'm far from sugar. I won't melt. I'll be fine."

"I know you will."

She thinks I've got it together
She swears I'm as tough as nails
But I don't have the heart to tell her
She don't know me that well

Walking back with our drinks, I get a strange sense of déjà vu. Its not something I usually get and I don't like it. There's a strange sense that something bad is going to happen. Or maybe, should happen. Stopping, I look around, trying to see something that may be off. Its dark, so I don't see much of anything. Plus, its still raining which is also obscuring my vision. I suddenly hear a muffled sound of a gunshot and shattering glass. I realize right away it was only in my head. A memory. Looking down to the left, I see the small half circle window to Abby's lab.

Déjà vu. The night Ari killed Kate. The night that bastard took a shot at Abby, safely concealed in her lab. At least, I thought she was safe. The feeling I had that night, when I thought I might have lost her, suddenly overcomes me. Looking up to the sky, I relish in the feeling of the cool water droplets hitting my face. I lean against the building and sit on the sidewalk. I set the cups down next to me. I turn my head my towards the rain and close my eyes, willing the thoughts and fears away.

What would I do without Abby? Without the hugs all throughout the day or the kisses I can bring myself to only plant on hr cheek or the top of her head? Without that smile that brightens up anyone's mood? Could I even go on here without her? Could I go on at all? Its easier now to think positive than when it happens. I hope for Abby to outlive me for a long time. I hope they all do. Even Ducky, though that's not realistic. I wouldn't want him doing my autopsy anyway. It must have been hard enough for him to do Kate's. And Jenny's. And everyone else we knew. I can't even imagine.

I'm not sure how long I have been sitting out here. I may have fallen asleep. I'm not sure. My nightmares and reality have blended on occasions. It wasn't until a voice said my name that I even opened my eyes.

She don't know how much I need her
She don't know I'd fall apart
Without her kiss, without her touch
Without her faithful, loving arms
She don't know that it's all about her
She don't know I can't live without her
She's my world, she's my everything
And she thinks she needs me

"Gibbs, what are you doing out here?" Abby is holding her parasol with a shirt draped over it to be more effective over her head. She is looking down at me with a very concerned look on her face. "Are you alright? Do you need me to get help?"

"I'm beyond help, Abbs. Go on. I'll be back in soon." I look down at the ground between my knees. I don't know why I expect her to go right back inside, but it surprises me when she sits next to me on the ground. "You'll get your pants wet." It's the only thing I can think to say right now.

"I have extra clothes in my cabinet." She continues to look in my eyes and I can't seem to turn away. I can see her searching for something I'm not sure she'll find. "Why are you sitting out in the rain?" I look away, not wanting to answer her. I'm afraid that might trigger a conversation I'm looking to avoid. "Are you thinking about Kate?" she asks me quietly. It surprises me. Maybe she can see more in me than I give her credit for.

"Yeah," I say, unsure since that wasn't the only thing I was thinking about. For a few moments, we sit silently, staring out into the wet darkness. Abby lowers her makeshift umbrella, removes the shirt on top and closes the parasol. She takes a sip of her Caf-Pow!. Closing her eyes, she looks towards the sky too. I decide that I have to know. Can she really see my thoughts that easily? If so, what else has she seen in me? "How did you know that?"

She smiles lightly, but continues to stare sightlessly at the sky. "I think about her when it rains, too." She moves her beverage to her other side and slides closer to me. She rests her head on my shoulder. I lay my arm across her and she tries as best she can to wrap her arms around my torso. Its not long before I feel her body shaking from her silent crying. I place a kiss to the top of her head, unable to get my other arm around her in this position without getting her into my lap. And I'm not going to do that in the middle of the Navy Yard. I'm surprised no one has been around yet to make us get on our way.

"Abby, please stop crying," I ask when I start to feel to sting of tears in my own eyes. I hate the way I sound; so weak, so vulnerable. So transparent. Like she can see right through me and know exactly what I was thinking. She can do that better than anyone else, and I'm not sure how I like it. There are some things I don't want her to see or know. Things I think and feel about her. The nightmares I have of waking up one day and she isn't here. And its all my fault. Because I got too close. I won't let it happen. Of course my actions betray my thoughts as I pull her tighter to me. Her arms tighten around me and I relish in the feeling of knowing she is right here.

Sometimes she cries on my shoulder
When she's lying next to me
But she don't know that when I hold her
That she's really holding me, holding me

She's still crying and its breaking my heart. Before I can stop it, a sob escapes my throat, carrying her name along with it. "Abby…" She lifts her head from my shoulder and looks me in the eye again. I thank God for the rain covering up the tears slowly making their way down my cheeks. But I feel like she notices them anyway.

She's looking at me in that way again. The one that's always searching. The one that breaks down barriers I put up to keep her out, to keep her safe. And she sees them there; crumbling. "Just say it," she says. "There's something you are thinking that you won't tell me. Just tell me, Gibbs. Please?"

She tore right through everything with that last plea. I look off into the distance, my arm still loosely on her shoulder since she has pulled slightly away. "I can't lose you, too." The words sound different out loud. More pleading than fact like they were in my mind. "I don't know if I could do this without you." She tries so hard to suppress a smile that is threatening to overcome her face. So much so that she nearly looks like she has fish lips before a giggle finally escapes her. This surprises me. "Not quite the reaction I was expecting." I try to pull my arm away, but she holds it in place.

"Sorry. Its just that…well…that was a very 'Mulder' thing of you to say."

I chuckle, knowing immediately what she is referring to and can't believe I didn't catch it before. Those damn X-Files again. She's made me watch that first movie, Fight the Future, about 6 times already. All my credibility just flew out the window and I'm thankful. Maybe she won't take it too seriously and see my statement for what it truly was. "Come on," I say, finally standing. My back aches in protest, but I can't sit on the ground all night in the rain. I hold out my hand for her. "Let's get dried off."

She takes my hand and stands as well. "I don't think you're ever going to be dry." She bends to pick up her Caf-Pow! shirt and parasol, but I get it before her. She thanks me as I hold out my arm to her. She easily slips hers around it.

She don't know how much I need her
She don't know I'd fall apart
Without her kiss, without her touch
Without her faithful, loving arms
She don't know that it's all about her
She don't know I can't live without her
She's my world, she's my everything
And she thinks she needs me

"Thank you," she says once we are in the elevator. Her arm is still looped around mine.

"For what?"

"Everything. What I said before about you being the best boss and friend? I totally meant that. I'm real lucky to have you in my life." She quickly leans in a kisses my cheek. I slightly shake my head and smile.

Yeah, and the funny thing is
She thinks she's the lucky one

Stepping out of the elevator, I see Tony still asleep at his desk. McGee is back at his as well. He does a quick double take of Abby and myself. Before he has a chance to ask what happened, I lean over Tony and shake the excess wet from my hair. I hear Abby and McGee chuckle as Tony quickly sits up swatting at his head. When his eyes meet mine, they are fearful. Well, maybe guilty is more accurate. "Sorry, Boss. Won't-". He stops short of his usual apology and takes in our appearance. "What happened to you guys?"

"We were outside, sitting on the sidewalk in the rain." It amuses me how she says it like it's a regular, everyday occurrence.

"Yeah," Tony says. "That makes perfect sense to do in the middle of the night."

I head over to my desk, tossing my jacket on the floor. I open my cabinet drawer and stare into the empty space. "What's wrong?" Abby asks.

"I don't have any clothes."

"You may have some extra in my cabinet." I close the drawer trying to remember if I wore those already too, or not. As usual, Abby sees right through my line of thought. "If not, you can always wear some of Jimmy's scrubs."

"I don't think Palmer's clothes will fit." We head towards the elevator to take us to her lab and the morgue.

"I don't know about that. He's been working out. Getting all buff-like and stuff. You haven't noticed?"

We step into the elevator. "Why would I notice?"

She pushes the button for her lab. "Well, you are the trained investigator."

She don't know how much I need her
She don't know I'd fall apart
Without her kiss, without her touch
Without her faithful, loving arms
She don't know that it's all about her
She don't know I can't live without her
She's my world, she's my everything
And she thinks she needs me


A/N: Maybe its not how you were hoping it would go. It ended up different from what I originally planned. But the whole point of the song is that she doesn't know. So she couldn't know. Though, I'm sure she does. But since this was from Gibbs' point of view, he thinks she doesn't know. Get it? I confused you, didn't I? I've confused myself. Like the X-Files reference? XD