It was ten o'clock at night and Gibbs was working on his boat, when suddenly his cell started to ring. He picked it up and to his surprise it was Abby.
"Gibbs," Abby sounded weak and shaky.
"Abby?" Gibbs said. He was worried. "Abs, you okay?"
"No," Abby now sounded like she was going to cry, "I-I think I'm sick. I can't keep anything down and I-I can't walk." Gibbs knew that the flu was going around the office, but he didn't know how bad it was.
"Slow down. What do you mean you can't walk?" Gibbs began pacing back and forth.
"Every time I stand up I get dizzy and I fall. I wasn't going to call, but I got up to get a drink and I fell and hit my head and it started to bleed and I couldn't get up."
"What?!" Gibbs was now extremely worried.
"I-I'm sorry," Abby sounded like she was crying, "I shouldn't of bothered you. I-I j-just…I'm on the floor and can't get up."
"Abby, I'm on my way," Gibbs said running up the steps and to his car.
"No, no I'm okay. I-I'm, I-I'm just," Abby started to cough violently.
"Abby, I'm going to come and get you."
"Okay. Are you sure? I can just stay here. I'll probably be fine."
"Abby, quit arguing with me. I am coming and picking you up and that is final." Gibbs was worried about her, she had never been that sick before.
"Okay," Abby was sobbing in the phone. She was a hysterical mess, Gibbs couldn't blame her for that, she was sick and scared. Gibbs got to her apartment five minutes later. He opened the door with his key and saw Abby on her kitchen floor trying to get up. She was shivering; she only had a thin tank top on with her very thin, very short shorts on. Her hair was down and slightly messy, she was most definitely sick. She hadn't notice Gibbs. Gibbs took his jacket off and put it around her. She looked up at him and smiled weakly.
"Hey," she said quietly and weakly. Gibbs smiled at her and sat her up and sat next to her. He put his arm around her and cradled her, attempting to keep her warm. Her hair was down and she had tear drops on her pail cheeks. Abby was without a doubt sick, she closed her eyes and rested her head against Gibbs' chest. He kissed the top of her head and wiped some runaway tears from her cheeks. He saw the small cut on her forehead, from when she fell, he grabbed a tissue from a table that he could reach and he dabbed the wound to get rid of the blood. When he finished he put the tissue aside and rubbed her arms to warm her up.
"You really don't feel well do you?" Gibbs asked her. Abby shook her head and let out a small whimper. "Okay, here's what we're going to do, okay. First off, I'm going to pack up some of your stuff. Second, I'm going to take you to my place, so you can rest." Abby nodded. "And third, you are not going to work tomorrow." Gibbs thought she would fight him on that one, but she just nodded weakly. She really was sick, that scared Gibbs. He picked her up bridal style and placed her on the couch.
"Thank you," Abby said weakly.
"Do you want anything?"
"Can I please have some water, please?" Abby asked very weakly. Gibbs nodded and got up to get the water. Then he helped her take a sip.
"Thank you," Abby said when she was done.
"You're welcome," Gibbs kissed her head. "I'm going to pack up your stuff, and then we'll go home." Abby nodded. Gibbs went into her bedroom and packed up some of her stuff and put it in a small suit case; then he walked into the living room and sat next to Abby. Abby looked over at him, he smiled. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I'm ready." Gibbs put the suitcase over his back, then picked her up and carried her to his car. They started driving to Gibbs' house; Abby felt so sick that she thought she was going to throw up. Gibbs noticed and he rubbed her cheek, and tried to calm her down.
"We're almost there Abs," Gibbs kept saying. Abby would nod weakly in a daze. When they pulled up Gibbs sat her on the couch. Abby was swaying tiredly; Gibbs put his arm around her and cradled her. Abby snuggled against him; she rested her head on his chest and she put her feet up on the coffee table. Gibbs knew she would probably be sick for more than a day. He stroked her hair and gently rocked her to sleep. Gibbs grabbed a blanket that was behind him and placed it over her. He smiled at her and knew that he would do whatever it would take to make her feel better no matter how long it took. Gibbs rested his head on top of hers and fell asleep himself. About an hour later Gibbs woke up to the sound of whimpering. It was Abby, she was having a nightmare. Gibbs shook her gently, but her nightmare got more intense and she started to shake and whimper more loudly. Gibbs shook her a little more and she finally woke up. She practically jumped in his lap, she was so scared. She was breathing heavily and she was sobbing so very quietly. Gibbs held her tightly and she cried on his shoulder.
"Hey," Gibbs tried to sooth her, "Hey, I got you. Everything is okay."
"I-I-I'm okay," Abby said, "I-I'm sorry I woke you." She had tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Do you have nightmares often?"
"I get them a lot when I'm sick or stressed or sad or…," Abby started but she took a shallow strained breath and wiped some of her tears away, "Yeah, I get them a lot."
"I can see that," Gibbs said holding her close, "Nothing will hurt you here, Abs." Abby nodded and smiled a small smile and rested her head on Gibbs' shoulder, as Gibbs stroked her hair.
"Hey, Gibbs?" Abby started.
"Yeah, Abs," Gibbs replied.
"Thanks…for everything." She rested her eyes and fell asleep in a matter of seconds.
"Anytime Abs," Gibbs kissed her cheek. Then Gibbs' cell phone rang and he picked it up without disturbing Abby.
"Hello?" Gibbs whispered answering his phone.
"Jethro? Why are we whispering?" Jenny asked whispering.
"Because Abby is asleep and I do not wish to wake her," Gibbs replied, "Abby's sick and she's over here."
"Abby's sick, too? How bad?"
"Extremely bad, I picked her up from her place. She's so weak that she cannot even walk."
"Well, Tony is sick, too. He's over here. He'll probably be here until he gets better."
"Why don't you and Tony come over and I'll take him off of your hands."
"That sounds nice, Jethro, but I'm not going to leave Tony. I'll still come over though, I can help you with Abby and you can help me with Tony."
"Sounds nice, Jen. See you in a minute." Gibbs said as he hung up. He looked at Abby. "Looks like Jenny and Tony are coming over, Abs," Gibbs whispered to a sleeping Abby. Abby simply let out a slight sigh and held closer to Gibbs. He smirked and kissed her forehead and smiled at the girl.
