This is a romantic Gibbs/Abby story. Also, it's kind of an angst story, as it begins with Gibbs in his basement contemplating the reasons why Abby left him. The song is "Learning How To Bend" by Gary Allan.
Enjoy!
I'm still learning how to pray
Trying harder not to stray
Try to see things your way
I'm still learning how to pray
Gibbs stormed down the steps that led to his basement and immediately threw his phone against the wall. The battery separated from the rest of the phone and it fell to the ground in pieces. Gibbs then stalked over to his bottle of bourbon and poured himself a generous glass and downed it in one sip. As the alcohol rushed to his brain he filled it again and sat down, sipping it this time.
"Women," He muttered, staring at the pieces of his phone. He didn't want to be bothered with the millions of calls he was sure to get from Tony, Ziva, McGee, Ducky, even Jimmy and probably Vance. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he deserved all of those calls. He and Abby had sure made a scene in NCIS that day.
But what had provoked that gigantic fight that he had with the woman he loved? The alcohol, instead of fuzzing up his memories brought this particular one right to the front of his mind.
Abby had begged him to go with her to the midnight showing of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and he had flatly refused. She had been extremely disappointed and left the house with anger flashing in her eyes.
When she had come home, Gibbs thought, was when the whole trouble really started. Lt. Colonel Mann came over, having flown back to DC from Hawaii. And when Abby came into the house, she went down the stairs into the basement and she heard Mann trying to seduce Gibbs. When she came down a bit farther she saw Gibbs grab Mann by the wrists and push her against the wall.
Her eyes blurred with tears so she couldn't see anymore. She held back her sobs until she had crept out of the front door and into her car. Abby drove and drove until she just parked in a random parking lot, turned her cell phone off and started crying. Abby eventually fell asleep in her car that night and when she woke up, she started the car and rushed off to NCIS.
She parked her car and walked through the front doors, got on the elevator and took it down to her lab. When she stepped through the doors (which were strangely open) she saw Tony sitting at her computer. "Tony? What're you doing down here?" She asked, clearing her throat.
Tony whirled around and immediately yanked her into his arms. "What the hell were you thinking? When you didn't come home from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Gibbs raised hell trying to find you. Your cell phone was off so McGee couldn't even track you! We were worried sick!" Tony said harshly, and Abby drew out of his arms as if she had been burned.
"Leave me alone!" She yelled at him, and he took in her appearance. She was wearing the same clothes from the day before, her hair was all tangled, her eyes were red and puffy and she had bags under her eyes.
"Abby you look like hell," Tony said in concern just as McGee walked into her lab.
"Tony she just turned her phone…" He abruptly stopped talking and walking as he saw Abby standing in front of Tony. He quickly grabbed her arm and his eyes were wide open. "Why the hell did you turn your phone off? You could've been dying and none of us would've known!" McGee yelled, masking his intense fear with anger.
"I…" Abby started to say and then Ziva walked in.
"Dear God, Abby, you had us all scared to death! Don't you ever go off like that and turn your cell phone off! How could you do that to us?" Ziva demanded, and Abby jerked back from all three of them, fisting her hands in her hair and screaming,
"STOP YELLING AT ME!"
I'm still learning how to trust
It's so hard to open up
But I'd do anything for us
I'm still learning how to trust
Everyone fell silent and Ducky stepped into the doorway. Instead of saying a word he walked over to Abby, took her arm and escorted her out, putting up his hand to stop the other agents. When they were in the elevator Abby turned to him and buried her head on his shoulder, sobs wracking her body. He patted her back soothingly as the elevator doors opened at the morgue level. Jimmy watched Ducky bring Abby into the morgue and he quickly left when Ducky gave him the look.
Ducky pulled out his bottle of alcohol and poured Abby a small cupful. As she sipped it, the color started to come back into her cheeks. "There you go, my dear," He sat down across from her and patted her knee. "Now, why don't you start at the beginning? Before you went to see the show,"
Abby took a deep breath and said, "I asked Gibbs to go with me and he refused. I was a bit peeved, but when I got home I heard Lt. Col. Mann talking in the basement. I went down there and I could hear her trying to seduce him and I saw her hanging all over him. Then he grabbed her and shoved her against the wall and" Abby broke off, a fresh round of tears overcoming her. "And I just ran. I got into my car and drove until I was crying so hard that I couldn't see. I turned my cell off and I just sat there. Eventually I fell asleep and when I woke up I drove to NCIS."
"Abby, you shouldn't've have slept in your car in an unknown place with your cell off," Ducky gently chastised, but added, "However, under the circumstances, I can forgive you. Just as the others should and will."
"But how could he do that me, Ducky? After Mike Franks died he's just been pulling away from me but I never thought he'd cheat on me," Abby said in a whisper, and Ducky placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I know, Abigail, and I'll be having a chat with Agent Gibbs very soon. I know it's been tough to live with Jethro lately and you've been doing the best that you could. You're a human being, Abby, you need affection to survive. And with the little attention Jethro has been giving you of late I'm not surprised that you're emotional. You've a right to be." Ducky said firmly and he poured more alcohol into her drink and then locked the bottle away. "Drink that while I go run an errand," He instructed and he walked out of the morgue.
As he took the elevator up to the bullpen area, he contemplated what he should say to his dear old friend Jethro. The elevator doors slid open and Ducky stepped out, seeing Gibbs talking to Tony, McGee and Ziva and he swiftly rose to his feet and headed for the elevator Ducky was standing in front of.
"Not so fast, Jethro," Ducky said ominously, and Gibbs said,
"Not now, Duck, I have to…"
"I locked the morgue, Jethro, you're not getting in there to see Abby until you talk to me."
"Duck, please," Gibbs began, but Ducky shook his head and he couldn't hold back his anger anymore.
"Do you even know what you did to that poor girl besides neglect her for the past few months?" Ducky demanded, and Gibbs looked floored.
"Neglect?" He said in disbelief and Ducky continued,
"Yes, neglect. You do this every time you have a good woman in your grasp! A case comes up or, in this instance, a friend dies. Mike Franks died, yes, but you don't need to punish Abby for that! That poor girl nearly worships you and all you do is blow her off for your damned boat and bourbon! You're on the verge of losing Abby, Jethro, and unless you straighten up and let her help you get over Mike Franks, you will lose her."
"What else did I do?" Gibbs finally asked, not finding anything to contradict what Ducky was saying.
"Do you have any recollection whatsoever about what occurred last night?" Ducky asked, and neither of them were aware that half of NCIS was listening in on their heated argument.
"Abby went to see some show and was pouting because I refused to go with her and then she didn't come home." Gibbs stated, and Ducky clenched his fists.
"Do you happen to recall a certain woman coming over for an impromptu visit?"
Gibbs wracked his brain and shook his head. "I was drunk last night, Duck, I don't remember much of anything."
"Well that's too bad. Maybe you should go talk to Abby about this."
"No need Duck-man," Abby said quietly as she stepped from the elevator. Gibbs immediately stepped forward with his arms outstretched but Abby lifted her hands that clearly said 'stop'. Ducky quietly stepped back and Abby said tiredly, "I'll just go get my stuff from your house, Gibbs, and then you can do whatever you want."
"What? No, Abbs, I don't want…"
"Actions speak louder than words, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and last night yours spoke volumes. I don't care if you were completely stone cold drunk, that did NOT give you the right to go around and cheat on me while I was at the midnight showing of Rocky Horror!" Abby said, her voice getting louder and louder.
"Cheat on you?" Gibbs was again floored.
I'm still learning how to bend
How to let you in
In a world full of tears
We'll conquer all our fears
I'm still learning how to fly
I wanna take you high
I'll be there 'til the end
I'll be a lover and your friend
I'm still learning how to bend
"Fine, go ahead and tell me that I didn't see Lt. Col. Mann wrapped up in your arms in your basement last night. I heard her talking and I started down the stairs. She was hanging all over you, saying stuff and seducing you. You grabbed her by the wrists, shoved her against the wall and I wasn't going to watch anymore. I left, and I camped out somewhere in my car, bawling my eyes out. There, you happy? Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted? You've pushed me to this breakdown for months now, and it's finally happening."
"Am I happy? Abby you look like hell and obviously you're not happy. How can I be happy if you're not?" He asked angrily, and she blew up.
"You are complete missing the point! You! Cheated! On! Me! Am I just supposed to take that and forget about it? Is that what this whole relationship is about? I refuse to be the girl begging for your attention and your affection when clearly it's need with someone else. I'm not going to be the one begging for you to stay."
"What do you mean I cheated on you? I did not!" Gibbs yelled, and Abby yelled back,
"Well I'm so sorry I didn't take a video, I was a little busy getting my heart broken! I actually let myself love you, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but I guess that was the biggest mistake of my life. I'm done with you, Gibbs, I'm done."
"I'm not done with you!" Gibbs exclaimed, grabbing Abby's arm as she went to turn around.
"Don't touch me! You refuse to touch me or kiss me or anything these past few months, and suddenly you decide you still want me? It's too late, Gibbs. I'm not going to fall into this cycle, where you avoid me and then say it won't happen again and we kiss and make up and then you avoid me again. That will not happen. I'm ending it before I torture myself with that. Now let GO OF ME!" She screamed, ripping her arm out of his grasp.
Yes, Abby is heartbroken, and who can blame her? Will Gibbs come to his senses? I sure hope so! The next chapter will be up soon, as I need to fix some typos and grammar errors before I post it. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you're enjoying this story so far!