Angel and the Badman
Gibbs and his team were exhausted. They were all at their desks, finishing reports on the case they had just solved. This particular case had been especially difficult, involving a man kidnapping children of military personnel and holding them hostage until he could exchange them back to their families for classified military information. All of the children were rescued and the perpetrator caught, but by the time it was over both the team and the children, while relatively unharmed considering what could have happened, were traumatized by the ordeal.
"Finish up and go home," Gibbs said to his agents as he continued writing his own report and eating the Chinese food they'd ordered earlier. Once everyone else was gone and the bullpen was mostly dark, he turned off his computer, threw out his trash and walked out to his pickup. He sighed with relief that it was Friday, the case was closed and they were not on call that weekend.
As he pulled into his driveway, he smiled at seeing Abby's car parked out front and his living room light on. She was the only person besides himself that had a key to the semi-new lock on the front door. It had been a while since she waited at the house for him, and she usually only did so after an especially stressful case, so he was not surprised that she was there.
As he walked in the house, he looked down and smiled at her and she smiled sweetly back at him. She was curled up on the couch, her hair still wet from the shower and cascading freely over her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of his sweatpants and one of his old NIS t-shirts. Angel and the Badman, starring John Wayne and Gail Russell, was playing on his small TV.
"Gonna jump in the shower, Abbs," he said as he leaned over and kissed the top of her head. She nodded, smiled again, then turned her attention back to the movie.
Once he was finished showering and in sweats and a gray USMC t-shirt, he walked into the kitchen. "Beer or bourbon, Abby?" he called to her, even though he already knew the answer.
"Both," she replied, and he smiled again and returned to the living room with a beers and a glass in each hand and a new bottle of bourbon tucked under his arm. This was their ritual of sorts, and they both found comfort in its familiarity.
He sat on the couch next to her, opened their beers and poured them both shots. Their ritual continued as he handed her a glass, tapped his against hers and they downed their drinks in unison. He poured them each another shot to sip on, then leaned back on the couch, putting an arm around her shoulder.
She snuggled up against him and they sipped their drinks in comfortable silence as they watched the movie. It was one of their favorites to watch together. It certainly wasn't the greatest western ever made, but there was enough action to keep Gibbs' attention, and he loved that Abby loved all of the sweet and romantic moments in it. Gibbs could definitely relate to Quirt Evans. He was the "Badman" in the movie, and had a bad reputation but a good heart, and while Abby was definitely not as innocent as Gail Russell's character, Gibbs wholeheartedly considered her his "Angel."
They continued to watch and Gibbs finished his second shot and poured himself another. The bourbon and beer had him feeling relaxed, and he was happy to be home and have Abby in his arms. They came to the scene where the hero Quirt Evans, played by John Wayne, convinced Frederick Carson, the crotchety old neighbor of the family he was staying with, to let some water over the dam to help the farms of the Quaker families living in the valley. "I'm glad you made me do it," Carson said to Quirt, "Makes me feel good!"
Abby beamed at this line, as she always did, and Gibbs smiled down at her and gave her a squeeze. "You make me feel good, Abbs," he said before he could think about it. The alcohol made him blurt out what came to his mind, but before he could regret it, she lovingly kissed his cheek.
"Aww, Gibbs. You always make me feel good, too." She looked up at him again and smiled. Their eyes locked and before he could stop himself, his fingers traced trails over her cheek and he tucked some stray hairs behind her ear.
"You're beautiful, Abby," he whispered, his blue eyes never breaking contact from her green ones.
"I love you so much, Gibbs," she whispered back, and those whispered words stoked the burning embers inside of him into a hot flame.
Control was not something that Gibbs easily lost, and he'd always made sure it was in check when he was with Abby. He'd loved her for years, but her friendship was too precious for him to ever risk screwing it up with his feelings. This night, however, her words caused every ounce of control that he had to fly out the window.
He leaned over slowly and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was brief and chaste. He pulled back and searched her eyes, seeking permission, silently begging her to let him continue.
She pulled him back and they kissed again, this time not stopping. Soon both of his hands were tangled in her hair. He finally mustered up enough control to pull away from her and he gazed into her eyes again, "You have to tell me when to stop, Abby. Otherwise I'm not going to."
"I don't want you to stop," she replied and he leaned over to kiss her again, but she stopped him by placing a hand on his chest, "Unless… Gibbs I don't want this to be a booty call."
"A booty call?"
"Yeah... I don't want this to just be a one time thing that we pretend never happened in the morning. I love you, Gibbs, and I want this to work. If you're not ready for that, then we need to stop now."
"Oh, Abby… I would never do that. I love you. I've been wanting this for years, but didn't want to ruin our friendship. But… are you sure this is what you want? I'm a cantankerous old bastard. I don't have the best track record with women."
"Gibbs, I don't care about any of that. I already know your heart. And I know that you love me. I just don't want to lose you. Don't ever go away from me."
Gibbs smiled and quoted a line from the movie they were watching, "If I go away, thee go with me." He leaned forward and kissed her passionately.
They kissed for a few more minutes before he pulled her to her feet and led her upstairs to the bedroom. They made love for hours, late into the night and early morning, worshipping each others bodies and professing their love to each other.
The next week at work, Tony, Tim and Ellie did not miss the spring in his step. Shortly after Gibbs left for a coffee refill mid morning on Monday, McGee and Bishop gathered around Tony's desk.
"There's something definitely going on with him," Tim said.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Tony agreed, "Do you think he started seeing someone?"
"Well that would explain the fact that he hasn't barked at or head slapped anyone this morning," Bishop said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, and I definitely didn't miss the spring in his step," Tony replied, "McGee… Abby said she was going over there on Friday. Maybe she knows something."
"She has always been the favorite," Tim agreed, "If anyone knows about Gibbs it's her."
"Boss should be back any minute," Tony said, checking over his shoulder, "Run down to the lab and see if she knows anything."
"On it," Tim said, turning and jogging toward the elevator.
"Take the stairs, McSpy, it's quicker!"
"Right!"
Tim jogged down the stairs and breezed into the lab, "Hey Abbs, we were wondering if…" McGee stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Gibbs holding Abby in his arms and kissing her.
Abby pulled away from Gibbs with a smile and turned toward McGee. "Hey, Timmy! You were just wondering what?" She asked innocently as she sipped on the Caf-Pow that Gibbs brought her.
"I uh… well, I mean um… ah… ya see…"
Gibbs fought hard to keep a straight face as Tim stammered incoherently and Abby looked over her Caf-Pow at him with wide, innocent eyes.
"What, McGee?" Abby said again.
"I uh… I think I already got my answer."
"You were wondering what put me in such a good mood today?" Gibbs asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Gibbs and I are together, Tim!" Abby said brightly and Tim nodded.
"I can see that. Just… I guess I wasn't expecting this. We thought you may have started seeing someone, Boss. I just didn't think it would be Abby."
"Is there a problem?" Gibbs asked seriously and Tim shook his head.
"No problem, Boss. If you guys are happy then I'm happy for you, but… What about Rule 12?"
"Rule 12 doesn't apply here," Abby answered, "Technically, I'm not on your team, even though you guys know that I'm team Gibbs all the way, and Gibbs isn't my boss or even superior so we're not breaking any agency rules."
"Well… OK then. Uh, guess I better head back upstairs. Talk to you later, Abbs."
"I'm right behind you, McGee," Gibbs said to let him know to hold the elevator.
"See you later, Badman," Abby said to Gibbs with a mischievous smile.
He kissed Abby quickly then got on the elevator with Tim and hit the button for the squad room. When the elevator was moving, Tim surprised him by hitting the emergency stop button and turning to face him.
"Something on your mind, McGee?"
"Yes. Boss, you're probably going to shoot me for saying this to you, but I have to say it."
"I'm listening."
Tim took a deep breath and continued, "Gibbs, Abby is my best friend, and you're more of a father to me than my dad ever was. If you guys are serious about being together, then I'm happy for you, but I need you to know that I will not tolerate any man hurting her, that includes you. If all you're looking for is for someone to be Shannon, you need to break this off now. She's not Shannon, and she never will be. Abby loves you so much, and I will not stand by and watch her become another one of your ex wives."
"Is that what you think I'm doing, McGee?"
"No, that's not what I think. You have to be blind not to see how much you love her. I just… I just needed to tell you that. If Abby gets hurt, then the rest of us will be hurt as well. And I love this family too much to risk us breaking apart. That would kill me, Gibbs… So, I just need to make sure that you know what's at stake with this. Please don't hurt her. Don't hurt us."
Gibbs stepped toward him, right into his personal space, and Tim closed his eyes. "Boss, if you're going to shoot me, I'd prefer it be in the shoulder or a non vital organ."
Tim jumped as Gibbs wrapped his arms around him, but opened his eyes in surprise when he wasn't being thrown against the wall of the elevator. He only realized it was a hug when Gibbs cradled the back of his head in his hand and rubbed affectionately. He smiled then wrapped his arms around Gibbs to return his hug, careful not to spill the coffee that Gibbs still held in one hand.
"That took a lot of balls to stand up to me and say what you said," Gibbs whispered to him, "I'm proud of you, Tim. And I'm glad that Abby has a friend like you in her life." He pulled away and placed his hands on Tim's shoulders. "I'm not looking for Abby to be Shannon. And I certainly won't make her an ex wife. I loved Shannon. I love Abby. That's the difference. I never loved any of my ex wives. I though with marriage the love would come eventually, but it never did with those three. With Shannon the love came naturally. It's the same with Abby. The love is already there. She makes me a better man, and I love her more than I can say. So trust me, Tim. My intention is to only make her her happy. And if you ever see me doing anything other than that, you have my full permission to headslap some sense into me."
That made Tim smile, "Really, Boss?"
"Really."
"OK, then."
Gibbs went to hit the switch to start the elevator, but Tim stopped him.
"Just one more thing, Boss, am I allowed to tell Tony and Bishop?"
"It's not a secret, McGee."
"OK, well, can I tell them now or do I have to wait until lunch?"
Gibbs sighed, "Well, I don't want you announcing it to the whole squad room." He hit the switch and the elevator started moving again, and shook his head, "Just… call a campfire, tell them discreetly, then everyone get back to work. OK?"
"Got it, Boss," Tim said with a smile.
The elevator door opened and Gibbs stepped out and went right to his desk. Tim followed behind him and called out, "Tony, Bishop, campfire!"
"Campfire? What?" Tony asked, "Now?"
"Yes, Tony, now." Tim replied.
Confused, Tony and Bishop looked over at Gibbs, who jerked his head toward McGee and simply said, "Go."
Not having to be told twice by Gibbs, Tony and Bishop got up from their desks and followed Tim onto the elevator.
Gibbs smiled to himself as the elevator doors closed and he heard Tim say, "You guys are not going to believe what just happened…"
The End
If you guys have never watched Angel and the Badman with John Wayne, it's a wonderful movie, and available to watch in its entirety on YouTube.