WISHES DO COME TRUE
by Caz
Rated M
Disclaimer is in force, so leave me alone! This is just a little harmless fun for me and other fans of Gibbs & Abby
This is for Kelly. Happy Birthday, my friend :D
"Come on, Gibbs, blow out the candles, unless, of course, now that you're REALLY old, you haven't got enough puff anymore!"
A roar of laughter rocked the room and even Gibbs laughed along heartily as he glanced around at the group of people that surrounded him, wishing him well. His colleagues and his friends, each and every one of them.
The Director, a man that Gibbs could only look up to and admire now, and admire him he did. It had taken a long time for him to accept Leon Vance. it hadn't helped that he'd arrived on the wake of Jenny, but he had and he'd earned his place. He was a good man, one of the best.
His eyes rested briefly but fondly on the woman beside him. Her dark eyes alight with merriment and mirth and it hadn't taken Gibbs long to know that Ziva David was the instigator behind this surprise party, as she usually was. She liked nothing better than being in the middle of chaos, especially when she had created it, if only to laugh at the end of it all. Gibbs also mildly wondered if she created these small society meetings so that she could put Tony in an atmosphere of neutrality, the only time where he seemed to really let down his guard, even if it was only briefly. Maybe it was the champagne that flowed, maybe it was out of work hours, but whatever it was, it was enough to satisfy Ziva's craving to see the real Tony DiNozzo.
Tim McGee's grin lit up the room adding to the illusion that he was larger than life as he laughed along with the others. Hell, Tim was larger than life and Gibbs was immensely proud of the computer wizard with what he had achieved in time that he'd been with NCIS and the friends that he had made along the way, everyone of which all admired and adored him as much as he did them.
But no one adored him as much as the joker standing beside him with a grin that lit his entire demeanour up, his eyes taking in everything he saw, intent on absorbing everything and anything going on around him. He knew the younger man didn't have much to do with his family back home and it hadn't taken him long to realize that he'd found another family and that he was one of us and always would be. Tony was a very special person and one day he was going to find a very special woman that would give him all that he unconsciously sought. Jeanne had broken his heart even deeper than he had broken hers and there were times, Gibbs knew, that he still mourned her loss. But the romance was not to be and Gibbs silently wondered if he was deliberately not looking closely enough at the other woman that he knew could be just the one for him. Ziva.
And then there was Ducky. Would could he say about Ducky? He loved him, it was as simple as that, providing he could manage to stop him from talking non-stop. The man had an amazing knowledge of the world and its mother, but, alas, there was only so much a man could stand. But even so, there was only one man that Gibbs would go to in times of personal trouble, and that was one Dr. Donald Mallard. Ducky.
And then there was the woman that always came to him when she was in trouble. Abby Scuito. Abby was the one woman that he continued to keep at arms length when, in truth, all he really wanted to do was to pull her into them and keep her there. Being crazy about a woman that you couldn't have was excruciating, to say the very least, and he was crazy her. Pity she didn't know the fact.
Gibbs' eyes rested on her a little longer than the others as he watched her laugh up into Tim's face at the joke that Tony had just emitted. The spark of envy that flitted through him was so brief it was barely noticeable to all those others that surrounded him as they urged him on to blow out the single large candle that sat upon the huge cream cake, a candle that he had a sneaky suspicion was one of those ones that relit itself.
Taking a deep breath, Gibbs' eyes met hers as he prepared to blow, making the wish as he did so. Seconds later with a raucous round of applause and laughter as indeed the darned candle did relight itself and he didn't no more than pluck it out of it's creamy bed and hurl it into the bin and tip the dregs of his cold coffee over it watching with satisfaction as the plumes of smoke rose from the extinguished flame.
Gibbs sat quietly as the music gently rolled over him as he let the evening's events slip through his mind leaving him with a deep sense of well-being. The door's chime surprised him but he was unsure why. He had a hunch that she was on the other side, but the question was, why? She had only left him some forty five minutes or so ago and Gibbs could still feel her lingering chaste goodbye kiss on his lips; it had been the kiss of a friend. Ziva's kiss had been slightly more exuberant, no doubt done to stir up Tony's libido, which it had done going by the tell-tale spark of heat and envy in his eyes.
But none of that mattered now as he came to a stand and prepared himself to come face to face with the woman of his silent wishes. Gibbs didn't hear the hushed husky thrill in his voice as he answered the chime. "Come on in, it ain't locked."
She stepped through the door and it silhouetted her frame as she became basked in a halo of light from the street behind. It outlined her tall willowy figure, hiding her features in the shadows as she stood in the centre of the room that was only lit by a soothing amber glow from a single lamp by his side.
Gibbs was unsure of her intent and not wanting to be presumptuous or forward he stayed where he was. Nor did he want her to see his need if he stood up and revealed himself. His quiet, 'Hey, Abs', he hoped was neutral enough for her to not see his joy, but he'd forgotten to shield his eyes.
Gibbs might just as well had spouted his undying love out aloud for what good his pretence at being otherwise had done. Abby had read him like an open book.
She stepped towards him, her eyes never leaving his as she murmured sassily, "Hi, Gibbs, I've come to make your birthday wish come true."
Gibbs' eyes dropped to her mouth and then lower still before coming back to rest upon her mossy eyes once more. "How do you know what I wished for, Abs? It's supposed to be secret."
She made another step towards him bringing him within an inch or two away from her. She looked down into his face; a face that mirrored her desire, and said huskily, "I know all your secrets, Gibbs, and I know what you wished for tonight. I'm here to grant you that wish."
Gibbs held his breath as he slowly pushed himself to his feet bringing himself within reaching distance, but when he spoke his voice had turned husky. Hopeful. "You are, huh?"
She stood on tiptoe and lightly touched her lips to his, "I am."
Gibbs lifted his arms and rested his huge hands upon her shoulders as the question in his eyes hovered between them, "Tell me. Tell me what I wished for tonight, Abby."
Abby placed her slender frame against his larger one, circling his waist with her arms, her expressive smile lighting up her beautiful features as she continued to look into his blue eyes, "You wished to be surrounded by your family and friends for your next birthday."
Gibbs gasped with surprise. It was true, it was what he had wished for; to be in the same place surrounded by the same people, his family and friends. But Abby continued talking over his scattered thoughts. "You will always have your friends, but in order to have a family, Gibbs, you have to create one, and to do that you have to have a relationship. I want to be your family. I want to make your wish come true. Marry me, Gibbs."
And in that moment as Gibbs swept Abby up into his arms, he realized that this was what he had wanted all along. Everything he had ever wanted and desired was there, in his arms. Wishes did come true after all.