Chapter 1 of the final addition to my trio of Gabby song-fics! The first one was "Please Remember Me" and the second one was "Not A Day Goes By"
If you didn't read them: First, Gibbs and Abby are together, but he pushes her away, forcing her to leave DC. She goes to New Orleans, moves in with her brother Mark, sister-in-law Jennifer and their daughter, Lee. Mark and Jennifer are killed in a drunk-driving accident and Abby moves back to DC with Lee and Barbra, her grandmother. Gibbs tries to apologize to Abby, but she's too emotionally unstable with grief to even think about starting another relationship with him. He understands, and that's where it ended.
This song is "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum, and it's kinda based on the video. This chapter starts out with Abby in hers and Lee's new DC apartment, thinking things over. It's been 4 months since Gibbs told Abby he'll wait for her, and she's unsure if she's ready, but everyone is trying to convince her she is. Enjoy!
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"Looky what I drew!" Lee squealed, showing Abby a scribbled in picture of Beauty and the Beast. Abby smiled and ruffled Lee's hair, saying,
"Good job, baby!" Lee grinned and went back to scribbling happily. Abby would have to leave for work soon, and she was going to drop Lee off at Barbra's apartment (which was pretty close to Ducky's house). Barbra always delighted in babysitting little Lee, since Abby couldn't bring her to work every day.
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When Abby got to work, she roused her babies so they were up and running when she heard footsteps and turned to see Gibbs walking in. She was more than slightly shocked, as Gibbs had hardly come down to her lab since she had returned. Abby was grateful; he wasn't pushing her at all, but she did want to see him sometimes, and he made that hard.
"What can I do for you, Gibbs?" Abby said cheerfully, and Gibbs sat down in the chair next to her, as they were in her office.
"The others won't be here for an hour, at least,"
"Probably not," Abby said slowly, trying to figure out where he was going with the conversation.
"Tell me about your brother and sister-in-law," He implored gently, leaning forward and giving her his full attention. She hadn't spoken of them to anyone in 4 months, and as her thoughts flew to Mark's handsome face and Jennifer's beauty, tears welled in her eyes.
"I, I can't, Gibbs,"
"Yes you can." He said firmly, giving Abby that feeling that she could do anything just because he believed she could. With a sigh she drifted back to her childhood and told Gibbs a lot of the thing she did with her brother. How they teased each other when they were young, how they coped together when their parents were killed in a plane crash, how she was the maid of honor when Mark and Jennifer got married, how Abby was the first person to hold Lee after Mark and Jennifer, and how the year she spent with them was one of great times and happiness.
By the time she finished, Abby's shoulders were hunched and shaking slightly in grief. Gibbs hesitated, but then pulled Abby willingly into his lap. He held her tightly and rubbed her back as she sobbed into his shirt like a helpless child. "It'll get better, Abbs, I promise you," He whispered, tears choking his throat as he held the pieces of Abby together as she fell apart. The use of his nickname for her made Abby feel a little bit better and the tears still flowed, but the sobs quieted.
Splitting the quiet was the annoying ring of Gibbs' cell phone. He muttered a string of expletives as he dug for his cell phone. Abby let out a laugh at the look on his face as he snapped the phone open and snarled, "What?"
"Uh, boss, we've got a case," came McGee's timid and frightened voice.
"I'll be up." Gibbs stated angrily and snapped his phone shut.
"Don't bite his head off," Abby said quietly from the other chair. She had gotten up and was proceeding to wipe her eyes and put her mascara back on. "Sorry 'bout your shirt," She said apologetically, and he looked down to see wet spots on his shirt, mixed with a little bit of black.
"Don't worry about it," Gibbs said dismissively, putting his jacket on and covering the stains. He bent down and put a hand to Abby's cheek, pressing his lips to the top of her head and whispered, "Hang in there, Abbs," She nodded and kept her lips sealed as he turned and walked out, heading upstairs.
Picture perfect memories
Scattered all around the floor
Reaching for the phone, 'cause
I can't fight it anymore
A couple of weeks later, Abby sat on the floor with her 2 liter bottle of Coke. She was pretending it was something alcoholic, something incredibly strong, and it was slightly working. NCIS was having a party that night, but Abby was choosing not to go, as of that moment. But who knew, she might change her mind.
The dozens of phone calls she was getting, along with the text messages certainly weren't going to change her mind. Lee was at Barbra's house, she was going to take her to the party for a while, but then take her to Ducky's house.
Abby had taken out all the pictures she had of Gibbs and had laid them out all around the floor, and she was sitting in the middle of them, swiveling her head around and staring at each one of them, remembering what happened when they were taken.
The past few weeks had been almost a blur, and she and Gibbs had grown closer than they had in 4 months. She supposed it was partly because Gibbs had stopped trying to ignore her, and because Abby had started letting people close to her heart again. That talk with Gibbs about Mark and Jennifer had really helped her emotionally, and she had started to joke and laugh a lot more.
And she was now sure that she was ready for love.
Abby's mind whirled, remembering how Gibbs had brought her Caf-Pow every morning before the team arrived, and they talked for an hour about anything and everything. One day it was Lee and what they would do when she went to school, another day it was Gibbs' adventures with her dangerous ex-wives. And he never failed to keep her supplied with Caf-Pow the rest of the day. He never let anyone else bring her Caf-Pow, and if they tried, they were subject to a glare, and usually a head-slap.
Abby knew about that, she just thought it was sweet.
And I wonder, if I, ever
Cross your mind
For me it happens all the time
With a sigh, she grabbed a remote and turned the radio on. As she went to change the station from Lee playing with the dial, the lyrics being sung caught her ear, and she paused a moment to listen. With a sense of recognition she looked at the clock and saw that it was indeed a quarter past 1 in the morning. She groaned out in emotional turmoil and lay back, listening the Hilary and Charles singing the chorus together.
It's a quarter after 1
I'm all alone and I need you know
I said I wouldn't call
But I've lost all control all I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now
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End of the first chapter! The next chapter will be back to the beginning, only with Gibbs' point of view. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope I'm winding this story down well! Hope you enjoyed, and adios for now!