As if I didn't have enough other fic to work on… I've got three or four longer ones (already past 20-30k) that I just can't seem to wrap up, so I started this little piece. Real life has been a bit of a royal bitch lately, so I needed something a bit on the fluffy side before I pick up the evil hat again.

Only one more chapter. Maybe two if I split it - I'll have to take a look.

After being accused of copying (which I didn't), let me just say that any coincidences between this and any other fic are purely by accident.

She had always known he didn't sleep well. It wasn't uncommon to see Gibbs stretching, pulling this way and that when he thought no one was looking, but it wasn't until she overheard Anthony Sr. telling Tony that Gibbs always bunked on the sofa that she understood why.

Every time she had ever stayed the night, Gibbs had always pushed her to his bed, playing gentleman, saying he would sleep on the couch. Not that she would have ever minded sharing, but she had figured he was being polite.

She couldn't leave her findings based solely off of Seniors statement, so late one Thursday she circled the neighborhood every hour or so until the basement light went out. She gave it another hour and then pulled to a stop across the street from Gibbs' house and headed up the front step. She needed to be careful, she wasn't thrilled at the idea of Gibbs pulling a gun on her, but she was certain she could calm him down before he pulled the trigger. Well, fairly certain.

The door was unlocked like usual, and she knew to skip the first, third and fourth floorboard and then step a little to the right before she could turn toward the living room. Gibbs was always sneaking up on her in the lab, so she had made it into a little game for herself to try and sneak up on him in the basement. She was roughly 11% successful.

Abby was thankful for the street lamp right outside, giving her a clear view of Gibbs' livingroom. Her heart broke when she found him. He was on the couch, a few thin cotton blankets over him, his feet sticking out the end. He shifted and groaned and she could see how his back was giving him trouble even in his sleep.

She was torn between waking him and telling him to go to bed – which, telling Gibbs to do anything for himself was as useful running filtered water for a DNA sample. Abby paused for a moment wondering if filtered water really was all that filtered.

Bringing herself back to the present she moved forward and picked up the thicker blanket that had fallen to the floor and tucked him in. She risked the gentlest of kisses to his forehead and crept back out to her car and headed home.

Gibbs was a royal pain the next day, but Abby had a plan and no amount of scowls or Gibbs-style glares we going to delay her plans. She caught him mid-yawn at his desk, just after 8pm. The rest of the team had left an hour ago, but Gibbs seemed to be in no hurry to get home. She approached his desk slowly, her head bent and her shoulders drooped.

There was one thing that always caught his attention, she knew, and that was if she was feeling scared or sad or in any way miserable.

"Abbs?"

She looked up with a forced smile. "Uh, Gibbs? Can I ask a favor?"

His features softened and despite having been frustrated with the delay in results earlier, all was forgotten and his only concern was her well-being. "Of course."

She hated to lie to him, she really did, but she figured she had a few rules going for her, so with steel resolve she spoke up. "There's this guy, and I'm… well… worried and-"

Gibbs pulled out a piece of paper and clicked his pen. "Name," he growled.

"No no no, not like that," Abby gently pulled the pen from his hand and set it back on the desk. "He's just… he's had a really hard time and I'm trying to be helpful, but… I haven't been able to sleep because I've been worried and I just… will you come over tonight?"

Gibbs was able to refuse, demand the name and do a little background search, but when he looked at her she nibbled her lower lip and twisted her fingers together and he couldn't help but agree. "I'll swing by and pick up Chinese on my way." He clicked off the light on his desk and gathered his things. "You okay to drive home yourself?"

"Yeah, totally. I just need to go shut down everything in my lab. If you beat me home, you have my key, right?"

Gibbs pulled out his keys and lifted the key with the vampire engraved on it. "Yup."

"Okay, see you in a bit." Abby turned and hurried back to the elevator, quite pleased with herself. She beat him to her apartment by only a few minutes and by the time she had gathered everything from her car and locked it up, she saw him pull into the parking lot and park in the visitors spot outside her unit. She led the way up to her place and let him in, taking the food from him while he stashed his go-bag in the corner of her living room. She carried the cartons to the sofa and plopped down, nudging a fluffy pillow out of the way for Gibbs to sit.

"So tell me about this guy you're worried about." Gibbs used his chopsticks to bring a piece of cashew chicken to his mouth.

"I can't."

"You can't?"

Abby shook her head ruefully. "Nope. It's kind of like doctor-patient confidentiality."

"You're not a doctor."

"I could be."

Gibbs eyed her for a moment and then went back to his chicken. "You're not in danger? Not even a little? He's not going to go off the deep end and come after you?"

"I promise, you'll be the first to know if I think he's dangerous. I just hate when friends are having a hard time and I can't do anything."

Gibbs wrapped an arm around her and stole a piece of orange chicken from her carton. "I'm sure you do plenty. I'm sure your friend knows how much you care."

"Hope so."

With that out of the way, Abby was able to relax and enjoy the time she spent with Gibbs. After dinner they talked about their latest case, about Tony's dad visiting and about Jack. Abby loved to hear how Jack was doing, and although she talked to him regularly, Gibbs didn't know, so hearing from him that Jack was happy was nice.

Gibbs was the first to yawn, their long busy day taking a toll.

"I'm not really ready to sleep yet, you take my bed, I'll crash out here when I'm ready."

"Abbs… you need sleep."

"But we're not working tomorrow. I can sleep in. Really, it's okay." Abby blinked up at him innocently and she watched his resolve crumble.

"Fine." He got up and grabbed his bag, wishing her a goodnight before disappearing down the hall.

Abby found a movie on the Sci-Fi channel and by the time it was over, she was fighting to stay away. She tip-toed down the hall to brush her teeth and was surprised to see the bedroom light still on. Suddenly feeling more awake she continue down the hall to see why he was still awake. "Gibbs?" She leaned against the door frame, watching him flip the page in his book.

Gibbs pulled the glasses from his face and looked up "Yeah? You okay?"

"How come you'll sleep in my bed, but not your own?"

"What?"

"I overheard Senior telling Tony you said you always sleep on the couch. I came over yesterday because I didn't think it was true, but then you were asleep on the couch and… Gibbs you'll kill your back sleeping like that."

"I told him I slept on the couch so that he'd take the bed. Easier for me to hear him if I'm downstairs, and yesterday… I must have fallen asleep," he shrugged.

"Bullshit, Gibbs. Why would you have a pillow and blankets if you just fell asleep?"

"Abby…?" Gibbs set his book aside. "Am I the friend you're so concerned about?"

Abby frowned and worried her lower lip. She nodded to the thick book in his hand. "Were you even going to sleep here? Why won't you sleep in a bed?"

Gibbs sighed and looked at her, his face unreadable. "Space."

"Space?"

"Too much space," he shrugged. "Feel like I'm always reaching for something, someone, that isn't there if I'm sleeping alone. Not a good feeling. Easier to just rack on the couch."

"But you're hurting your back," Abby flipped off the overhead light and headed for the bed, pulling back the covers and slipping her legs between the sheets. "Stay the weekend, get some real rest." She hesitated a moment as she got comfortable, and then looked at him again, "You can reach for me," she reached out and wrapped her hand around his and then closed her eyes.

She forced herself to keep her eyes closed and listen. It was several long moments before he reached over to click off the bedside lamp, but to his credit, he never let go of her hand. He lay beside her for what felt like hours before rolling over toward her and pushing her to her side so he could spoon up behind her and hold her close. She moved willingly and suppressed a shiver when he placed a tender kiss to the back of her neck. Within minutes his body relaxed and he was asleep. It took Abby a while longer to fall asleep, but eventually, the warmth of his body and the sound of his slow and steady breathing lulled her to sleep.

It was almost noon before she woke the next day, the smell of coffee and breakfast making its way down the hall and into her bedroom. She rubbed her eyes as she headed to the kitchen. Gibbs was at her kitchen table reading the newspaper and glanced up with an amused smile. "Thought I was gonna have to scrap breakfast and make you lunch instead," he nodded over his shoulder, "plate is keeping warm in the oven."

"Thanks." She went to grab the plate and carried it back to the table to sit across from him. "You sleep okay?" She caught his guarded expression as he nodded but said nothing; instead she put a bite of pancake in her mouth and chewed. "Mmm, this is good. You should make me breakfast more often." She snagged a section of the paper and skimmed over the front page, pretending not to notice he was still watching her. "Ha, did you read this…?" She lowered the paper and pointed to an article with a photo attached. "Some tourists drove right into the lake because that's what the GPS said… Okay, I mean, I have big faith in technology, but this…?" She laughed. "Even I wouldn't trust it that much." She saw a visible shift in Gibbs' demeanor as he smiled and nodded and she let go of the tension she had been holding.

"S'why I use a regular paper map."

"Yeah, but that's you. And plus, you're always calling me for GPS coordinates."

Gibbs ignored her and kept reading the paper.

She had no idea how long he planned to stay, but she had meant it when she invited him to stay the weekend and get some real rest, and judging by the look on his face, he had slept well. She couldn't put her day on hold – she didn't have big plans, but needed to run to the farmers market and get some laundry done, but she didn't want him to think that she was trying to get rid of him.

"I uh… I need to go to the farmers market today. Do you want… would you want to come with me?"

Gibbs looked up and thought for a moment. "Can't think of the last time I've been to the farmers market."

"Then it's time you go. I just want to grab a quick shower and then I'm ready."

Gibbs nodded. "I need one too. I'll head home and then come back and pick you up. That work?"

She resisted the offer to share her shower – she was the one with the crush, not him – and nodded. "Perfect."

He set the paper down and started to tidy up, but she pushed him away. "I'll take care of this, you go. I'll be ready by the time you're back." It didn't take long to tidy up the kitchen (he had done most of it as he'd worked) and then she jumped in the shower, forcing herself to keep her hands away from her body unless it was to actually wash. Curled up with Gibbs had been such a temptation for her that she wasn't sure how she'd managed to sleep at all. But she had decided that she wasn't going to let her feelings for Gibbs cloud her judgment. And what he needed wasn't her humping his leg as he slept. He needed rest and several good hours of sleep before the weekend was over. She just hoped he would stay the rest of the weekend.

She was ready to go and just putting a load of laundry into the wash when Gibbs knocked. "You know, you can just come in. You have a key and it's not like I don't just walk right in to your house."

He shrugged. "Wasn't sure…"

"Well, now you are." She collected an armful of reusable grocery totes and together they headed out to Gibbs' truck.

It was only a ten minute drive and once they were there, the smell of fresh cut flowers, fruits, and veggies combined with various snack vendors was intense. They circled around and Abby picked up her favorites for the week and then Gibbs suggested some extra tomatoes for a tomato mozzarella salad to have with dinner. "Sounds good!" She tried to sound casual, but inside she was jumping for joy at the thought that they would share dinner again. They were walking back to his truck, produce in hand, after a crepe at one of the carts when Gibbs hesitated and dug out his wallet. Abby watched curiously as he picked out a bouquet of flowers. "We stopping by the diner, those for Elaine?" she teased.

"Nope," he tugged a flower out of the mix and tucked it behind her ear. "Thought they'd look nice on your kitchen table." He was halfway to his truck before Abby managed to pick her jaw up off the ground and follow. A dazed thank you on her lips.

"Was thinking about what else to have for dinner," Gibbs said as she climbed into his truck. "Steak?"

"I don't have a fireplace," she quipped.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. The only reason he'd started doing that was so that he didn't have to clean the grill. Now whenever one of his team was over, they always requested steaks over the fireplace for dinner. "You've got a grill out on your patio."

"I know, just giving you a hard time about your caveman cooking. Steak is fine."

They stopped at the grocery store for steaks and while Gibbs went to find the meat, Abby waited in line for a Caf-Pow! and a cup of coffee. He'd probably had coffee at home, but they had been at the market for a good two hours, so she figured he was in need again. "Here you go," she handed him a cup as they met up at the cashier, her smile growing wide when his eyes lit up at the sight of a coffee cup. Abby heard someone mention something about what a sweet daughter to bring her father a cup of coffee, but when Gibbs didn't show any sign that he'd heard it, she decided to ignore it.

"Abbs?" They were finally headed back to her place, and Abby just couldn't shake the comment from her head. Gibbs hadn't heard it, so there was no point in bringing it up, but that woman's voice echoed in her head, the comment track on repeat through her mind.

"Hmm?"

"You seem quiet, everything okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Was just trying to remember… when I was last CPR certified." It was lame and she knew it.

"We all were about two months ago, why?"

"Oh, right… You know how you're thinking about one thing and then another and another and suddenly you don't remember how you got from point A to point B…" She brought her fingers up to steady the flower behind her ear and smiled. "The wheels are just turnin', that's all."

Gibbs reached out to touch her cheek. "Don't work your brain too hard, it's the weekend afterall."

"Of all the people at work to say that… go figure it'd be you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"When aren't you thinking about work?" When he didn't say anything, she laughed. "Ah, so a 'do as I say, not as I do' sorta thing, huh?"

"No," he shook his head. "Haven't thought about work since yesterday afternoon."

"Oh, really?" She glanced over at him as he drove. "I thought you were always thinking about work."

Gibbs shook his head. "Don't think about work while readin' the sports page, and earlier was thinking about the last time I was at the farmers market. NCIS is a big part of my life, but it isn't everything."

"Oh." She felt a bit like an ass for suggesting it was.

"Tomorrow I'm helping Mrs Johnson three houses down. She needs a wall taken down between the dining room and living room, was thinkin' that you're the best electrician I know. Care to come help with moving the outlets?"

"I'd love to! I met her when she came to visit your dad when he was staying with you last summer. She's a sweet woman."

Gibbs nodded. "Good."

TBC…