Love is…

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! I have taken some creative liberties with the original dialogue so it is not word for word.

After watching this episode, I felt like the writers are finally seeing what we have been seeing for many years. I am finally glad that they are letting Gibbs realize what he truly has again...a family

If one was an outsider looking in on the group surrounding the desk in the lower area, one could listen in and get the feeling that this was a family discussion. There was none of the formalities usually associated with a workplace, there was a myriad of emotions, and a different one on each face as the conversation was started by the exuberant nature of the youngest bounding down the hall yelling….

"Gibbs…Gibbs…Gibbs….Gibbs…" Abby skipped down the hall towards Gibbs' desk. It was the actions of a young child, enthusiastically bounding down the hall at home, yelling out for their parent's attention, and impatiently waiting for a reply.

Gibbs, hearing his name repeated over and over again, stopped what he was doing and answered back. "Abby. Abby, slow down. What? What?" He repeated, trying to get her attention to let her know that she now had his full attention.

Not only had Abby garnered Gibbs full attention, she now had the rest of her fellow agents attention. Tony was now standing behind his desk and McGee had stopped his research and was waiting on her next words.

"This is great! This is so good! I just got a call back from the Washington Hospital and I'm a match." Abby said with great excitement.

"What? You were chosen to be a bone marrow donor again?" Gibbs asked as he knew how much Abby loved to give of herself in any way or form. Whether it be of her time with Habitat for Humanity or of herself with bone marrow, Abby would never be considered selfish."

"Nope, a kidney." Abby answered as if this was nothing.

But the others thought differently, upon hearing kidney, Tony and McGee made their way to stand beside her.

"I didn't realize you had a family member that needed a kidney?" Tony asked with such care and concern. Being the senior field agent not only gave him seniority, it made him the big brother of this team. Tony's face was tight as he tried to figure out how he could have missed something like this.

"Oh, I don't" Abby said with a bounce.

"Then who?" Tony asked, relieved that it was no one kin to Abby, but now even more concerned.

"Some 18 year old kid I heard about in church and I just had to do something. I went down to the hospital to be tested and it came back that I am a perfect match. So all I have to do is go down and meet with…" Abby continued on with fervor.

Gibbs, feeling like a father, trying to calm down his child, takes a deep breath and tells her to, "Slow down here, Abby." He knew that she would do something so drastic without even a second thought, and wanted her to have a full comprehension of what was going on.

"You mean, you are willing to give away a perfectly good kidney to a stranger?" Tony asked, a tinge of concern lacing his voice as he tried to keep from head slapping her right here. He did not want his lil' sis to go off and do something dangerous, and he knew that once her decision was made, it was almost impossible to get her to change her mind.

Abby could hear the trepidation in Tony's voice, but turned to her strongest supported, Ziva. She looked up to Ziva as one would a big sister. She could tell her her deepest secrets and knew they would stay secrets.

"I think it is admirable." Ziva said with a gentle nod of her head. She was just as anxious on the inside as the rest of the team, but she knew that if she gave away her feelings, then Abby would just shut them out and do it anyway. The only way to get her to see is to let her talk it out and then try to listen to the pros and cons.

McGee could not stay silent any longer. He had stood in the background one to many times as he has seen Abby get in over her head without thinking things through. If she would slow down and talk it over and was sure this is what she wanted, then he would support her all the way. He knew just how difficult it is to find organ donors, especially ones that were not blood related, but he just wanted her to see the full picture. "Abby, this is major surgery." He said as he tried to read her face for any comprehension. He noticed Gibbs' eyes going from his face to hers. He knew that Gibbs was hoping that if anyone could get her to see everything, then he could. His lips were tight around the corners as he was trying to keep from punching her in the arm to get her full attention, just like a pesky brother would do. "What is the recovery time? How long does it take?" He asked.

"I don't know…" Abby started. She could see that Gibbs wanted her to talk this over with him first but she didn't have time. "I have an appointment with the transplant coordinator in one hour for out interview and then I will know more." She was now bouncing on her toes in anticipation of this meeting.

Gibbs felt like he was talking to a wall when she was like this. "Abs…" He started but stopped mid-sentence as he saw a metro detective enter the bullpen. " Detective, how can I help you?" He asked trying to keep this little family discussion going, but when he turned to look back Abby was bouncing away.

"Can't talk now guys… Have a very important appointment I have to keep!" She yelled back as she made her way down the hall. She had a grin on her face as she heard her 'dad' yell back.

"Do not commit to anything Abby!" Gibbs yelled as he watched his youngest surrogate daughter bound down the hall towards the elevator. He partially rolled his eyes and softly shook his head as he thought to himself, 'my kids are driving me crazy.' He turned back to the detective who had just finished watching the whole little interplay there and looked at the detectives grinning face.

"What?" Gibbs asked, as he looked around to see the rest of the family still around his desk.

"Oh, nothing" He said with a grin. "But, if you were to close your eyes and not know that you were at the NCIS headquarters, and listen to your conversation. You would think that you were in a family living room with one over-hyper youngest daughter, a middle daughter who is the quiet one, and the two older brothers who are thoroughly concerned with the decisions the baby is getting ready to make. And then there is the dad, who gently rolls his eyes, takes a deep breath, listens to the passionate ramblings of the children and just wonders to himself how did he end up in this place, at this time in his life." The detective said with a chuckle.

"Oh, believe me, I ask myself that question every day and I have only one answer." Gibbs said as he looked at the faces of the oldest three kids. "I chose this place and am blessed."

TBC

Please read and review! Next chapter we will deal with Abby trying to find the truth and how her family chips in…