Title: Catch
Author: PonytailPrincess
Pairing: Leroy Jethro Gibbs / Abby Sciuto
Rating: for children over the age of 12
Beta: No
Spoilers: If you haven't seen Hiatus
Category: Angst
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters you recognise, I only own the storyline.
As soon as the doors of the elevator closed and took Gibbs and Ducky, all the stress in her body imploded and for a moment, Abby could see nor hear anything.
Timothy McGee stood next to her and he was the one who caught her. Ziva and Tony sprinted towards her while Jenny sprinted towards the elevator doors. But Abby regained her voice soon enough.
"No, let them go. I'm peachy."
The team exchanged looks, but Abby rose and walked away without even looking back.
Several moments later, the music in her lab was blaring again and the sound of typing could be heard by those who came to see her. However, nobody did. Abby was alone.
Outside, Gibbs wiped a bit of red lipstick from his hand and stepped in Ducky's car.
Crying at work was unprofessional and not done. So she didn't cry or did anything else against her normal pattern. She left the building at half past ten. The others weren't there anymore.
When the team arrived next day, Gibbs' desk was empty and his personal belongings were gone. The music in Abby's lab was as loud as ever and if Abby was a little more cheerful than usual, nobody mentioned it.
Ducky came to talk to her, but she ended up comforting him.
McGee and Tony did their own game of pretending as if nothing was different. Ziva spoke a bit less. A new case came in, a new agent arrived and Gibbs' Tony's team consisted of five persons again.
Nobody lived there and yet Gibbs' house was always clean, his plants were watered and his refrigerator restocked with microwave food.
One night, the night guard found a sleeping Abby at her desk, with mascara streaks on her face and a tissue crumpled in her hand. He turned the music and the lights off.
She woke up to no music and for a lonely second her eyes tried to find a silverhaired man. Then she realised he was gone and she had broken her rule. She cleaned her face and her bench and slept in autopsy
Ducky received quite a scare when he turned the lights on and found Abby lying on one of his slabs. He woke her before Palmer came in. She gave him a hug and went to change in the girls' bathroom.
Neither of them mentioned it to the others and Abby just processed evidence as usual. When Tony had to leave for the security conference she flew into his arms and he had to catch her and his balance to keep them both upright. She held him so tights he almost choked. He didn't mention it. He ravelled in her embrace and returned it.
His plants were watered too.
Abby hadn't gotten drunk since Mikel, but one evening she just lifted a bottle to her lips and only lowered it to get another one. And another one. McGee sat right beside her and they had to catch each other when they stumbled onto the pavement and took a cab to his home.
Neither could remember next day what had or had not happened between them, so they decided during breakfast that nothing had happened and they both acted normal around each other. Abby was secretly happy she took the pill.
When Gibbs returned for Ziva, he didn't expect Abby to behave like she did around him, cheerful and happy as always. Neither did she. Nobody caught her when she fainted in her lab, all alone.
And nobody saw the bruises on her hip and leg. Just as she wouldn't show anyone the bruises on her soul. They didn't heal so quick.