THE RED ROSE
by Caz
Rated K
Disclaimer is in force, so leave me alone! This is just a little harmless fun for me and other fans of Gibbs & Abby
Gibbs watched from across the room; her head was hung low and her hair half covered her face. But he didn't have to see her face to know that that she was close to tears.
From the moment he had handed her, what he thought to be a romantic gesture, her mood had changed, there and then. Gibbs thought maybe she had been touched by the simple gift, but he knew her well enough to know that even if she had cried, Abby would have grinned with pleasure and launched herself into his arms.
But she didn't. Her sage green eyes had fallen to shield whatever traitorous thought had rocked her to the very core, her guard in place before Gibbs could even blink.
This was not good; here they were, on their way to a party and the guest of honour was sitting in her lab, in a dress that dared to defy gravity as it clung to her shapely curves. By what, Gibbs had yet to discover. It was a pleasure he had been looking forward to after a night of wining and dining her, with maybe some dancing and maybe a little quality time together after, alone.
Gibbs heard Abby's sigh from across the room he turned to watch her push herself up from the chair, come to a stand in front of the windows and stare unseeing out into the blackness beyond. Gibbs knew that she stared at nothing and glancing at his watch, he realized that he had only a few minutes to find out what was troubling Abby, and as much as he wanted to know, he equally as much didn't.
Taking a deep breath Gibbs took a tentative step towards her, her name falling huskily from his mouth. "Abby?"
He saw her head drop forward again, the tell tale thrust of her shoulders telling him that she was ready to face him. "Abby, what's wrong?" he asked, nervously.
Gibbs' heart thumped painfully within his chest as he watched her turn. Lord, but she was beautiful with her face already made up for the night ahead and the blood-red lipstick almost mirroring the red rose that hovered before her, held in her two two slightly unsteady hands. Her huge eyes shimmered with unshed tears, except for one which clung desperately to her long sooty eyelashes.
He tried again, the need for an answer almost desperate now. "Abby?"
The teardrop fell and Gibbs watched it trickle down her face to the corner of her lip. The room was silent except for the pounding of his heart. He wanted to go to her, but instinctively, he knew that she didn't want him to, so he waited.
Abby's voice was low with anguish when she finally broke the heavy silence. "I know what this rose symbolises, Gibbs. I know it is a token of love."
Gibbs' voice was heavy with dread as he answered her. "You know how much I love you, Abby, you've always known."
Abby nodded sadly, releasing another tear, and again, Gibbs watched it slide down her cheek and slip off her delicate jawline, landing on the creamy mound of her half exposed breast.
"Yes...I know, Gibbs, but this symbol means you want more."
Gibbs didn't know whether to laugh or frown and he ended up doing both. "Of course, Abby, I've always wanted you. I've made no secret of that fact. Rule number 12 hindered it for a while, but now I'm ready to throw the towel in on it. I want you, Abby."
Gibbs felt and saw Abby's misery as she lifted her face to look at him again and asked with anguish, "Why, Gibbs, why now, why are you going to spoil it, now?"
Gibbs stared at her in amazement. "Abby! How can I possibly spoil the one thing that has been coming? We both know that this moment was going to happen. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but it will come, Abs, you can be sure of that. I wanted it to be today because today is special. It's your birthday."
It was then Gibbs knew she was deadly serious, that maybe he had taken their future for granted, anger twisting itself around his words. "I'm done running, Abby. My head has finally caught up with my heart and I want us to be what we are destined us to be; together. Finally."
For many moments, Gibbs and Abby simply stared at each other. Neither took one breath, and neither spoke. Neither dared to.
Then at last, Abby took one step towards him, but instead of stepping into his arms like he expected her to, like he desperately wanted her to do, Abby placed the solitary beautiful rose back into his own unwilling hand and walked out of the room, and he knew now, out of Gibbs' life.
The only woman of his life, his dreams, his future, and the owner of his soul, had broken his heart, and all it had taken was a rose. One single blood-red rose.