Disclaimer: I own nothing and am in no way affiliated with CBS or any company that has anything to do with NCIS or it's characters. I'm just borrowing the characters cause they make me happy!
The lyrics used in this fic are readily avalible on-line they are the chours from The Cowboy in Me by Tim McGraw
Abby was sitting in Gibbs basement yet again; it seemed that whenever they had a long day or tough case they wound up grabbing a bite to eat together and sitting in his basement, well, her sitting, him sanding. The last case had undoubtedly been difficult. Gibbs, scared for his father's and teams safety, the loss of an agent which they both knew was never easy. She never knew how it happened, it just did, them sitting in relaxed silence. She believed that it was because they both took solace in the fact that the other was fed and safe.
Abby had always had feelings for Gibbs if she didn't admit to that she'd be lying. Over the past year or so those feelings had evolved, she loved the man though she would never tell him. At the same time though, she didn't know if Gibbs had those feelings as well. Sometimes she thought he might like when he invaded her space or when he went into over-protective mode like assigning an agent to follow her 24/7 since this whole fiasco had begun. At other times she didn't think those feelings existed for her, he had after all dated Hollis, let's not talk about the unsuccessful marriages and the infamous rule twelve. She knew the weight he carried around with him on a daily basis, having to deal with his past yet still push forward and make a life for himself. Even if there was nothing between them Abby couldn't complain, he was always there for her, making sure she was safe and listening to her miniscule problems (compared to his anyway).
As Abby sat on the workbench admiring the flexing in Gibbs shoulders, arms, and back as he sanded a song came on the country station Gibbs had set the radio to. This thought made her chuckle, Abby had begged Gibbs to put a radio in the basement for times just like these and he had but then informed her that while she got a radio he got to pick the station. She agreed to it, what else could she do, she really was a slave to him. Her mind went back to the to the song as the chorus. She liked what she heard:
The first to run, the restlessness,
The heart of stone I sometimes get,
The things I've done for foolish pride,
The me that's never satisfied,
The face that's in the mirror when I don't like what I see,
I guess that's just the Cowboy in me…
The song continued but Abby's mind began to wander, she couldn't get past the resemblance between the fictitious man the song was speaking about and the man standing in front of her, that was no doubt real. Her mind flashed with past events like a digital photo album gone haywire. She saw him putting his finger to her lips and running off to Mexico. She saw the restlessness in him that made him run off on his own to get a case solved with no help from the agency. The heart of stone he had when it came to having sympathy for the men and women he had thrown behind bars. His attitude toward Jenny when she became director attested to his pride. As for never being satisfied, she believed the three ex wives spoke for themselves (although if she could get her hands on him, man would he be satisfied) And lastly her mind flashed to the event that began the case he had just ended, Gibbs avenging his wife and daughter's deaths . She knew that although he might not regret his actions, he did regret putting everyone else in danger. He would look at the death of the NCIS agent guarding his father and the injuries the other agent and Mike Franks suffered as his fault. She knew that was what he would see when he looked in the mirror even though she knew this to be the furthest thing from the truth.
The more she thought about the resemblance between the man in the song and Gibbs the more she realized that wasn't the man that he let her see. With all the examples she came up with none of them involved her, with the exception of running off to Mexico, but she knew that was something he needed to do. She came to realize that not many people knew the man that she did, they only say the cowboy. He let her in, he let her see who he was, what he wanted, he never pushed her away or let her think he was mad. She knew that Gibbs would never let a child be hurt without some sort of retribution and even then she saw him hurt because of it. She knew that sometimes even he needed to be comforted. After Kate and Jenny's death she had come over, they had had dinner and talked about the good times, trying to ease each others' minds. She knew that most people didn't think that the man she knew even existed. The second chorus began and Abby was snapped back into reality by Gibbs.
"Abs, whatcha thinkin' about?" he asked while nudging her knee. She had been so deep in thought she hadn't even noticed that he had stopped sanding and jumped at the nudge. "Didn't mean to scare ya…" Gibbs stands just to her right facing her and so close she can smell the soap from the shower he took when he got home. She knows that he's waiting for a response but at the moment he's standing to close for her to formulate one.
"Just the song Gibbs." Abby says dismissively trying to play it off while it still rings out of the speakers.
"Well what about the song?" Gibbs inquires with a raised eyebrow " I didn't take ya for a country fan Abs." He received a swat for that.
"I take offence to that Gibbs! I am an Equal Opportunity Music Listener!" Abby playfully retorts, hoping Gibbs has forgotten about his prior question.
"You didn't answer my question" Gibbs drawls.
Well so much for trying to get him off topic Abby thinks, at this point she just goes for it, well not all the way but it's hard to hide things from Gibbs he has those spidey sences she has a feeling he'll see right through her but it can't hurt.
Abby begins her ramble she knows it may be her only saving grace. Hopefully she can twist the words of her confession to confuse him into stopping her before he figures it out "I don't know Gibbs… it reminds me of someone…well it does but it doesn't…It reminds me of the person this person lets other people see not the person I know this person really is…" Abby is confusing herself at this point but she will not give in. She has noticed that with every word that passes though her lips Gibbs' eyebrows move up a notch, she sure hopes this is working… "See this person the one I know might not say a lot but he says enough…enough to let me in a little anyway and…" He is now going cross-eyed trying to follow her rant.
"Do I know this person ?" he questions, he has a feeling he knows him like they're one in the same.
All of a sudden she is at a loss for words, which is rare. She doesn't respond with words only jumbled sounds.
Gibbs had heard this song before and had a feeling Abby was referring to him. If it was a feeling before his last question, it was affirmation at Abby's responses to it; he can't help but to give a little chuckle. He knows that she is right, while the song does in many ways, probably more ways than not, apply to him. He doesn't want her to see that side of him a lot because she keeps him grounded, she is the one that shows him that there is still peace in the world by sitting in his basement with him. She is the one that lets him know that not all the love within his heart is gone because it surfaces every time he looks or thinks of her. The silence begins to stretch between them, both of them lost in their own thoughts.
Gibbs surfaces first; trying to bring Abby back he says "Abs, I asked you a question."
Stammering for words and getting nervous she whispers "Well yeah, no, I don't know Gibbs…" He watches as she fiddles with the hole in the knee of her jeans.
He looks into her eyes and sees something that he has seen flashes of in the past but it never seemed as clear to him as it did now. He moves to stand directly in front of her and positions himself so he is standing between her legs while she sits on the work bench and places one hand on either side of her. He knows he is taking a chance that this might ruin the relationship they have built over the past ten years but if the shiver through her body tells him anything, it tells him he's on the right path, that the feelings are mutual. He needs to let her know why she knows the real man and not just the cowboy and god knows he's waited long enough.
He picks up her hand and places it against his beating heart, nuzzles her neck and whispers "Is my heart made of stone now Abs?"
He pulls back to look at her and she is speechless once again as a shiver runs up her spine that she hopes he cannot feel.
Gibbs looks at her mouth and eyes opened wide in surprise. He moves his hand from atop hers on his chest to cup her cheek. The look on her face is priceless, as he leans in her eyes begin to flutter shut. As he grazes his lips against hers she inhales sharply and she tries to deepen the kiss. Judging by her reaction Gibbs is relieved that the kiss has not scared her or that he has not mistaken her feelings for him. The kiss continues until they both need air but Gibbs doesn't move far.
He starts placing short kisses along her jaw line that lead to her ear and once he reaches it he simply says "You know the real me cause you've always been my cowgirl." and pulls his head back to look at Abby.
Her eyes open slowly and she has a lazy grin on her face and looks him in the eye and says "Is that so cowboy?"
His only response is a kiss as he lifts her off the workbench. The kiss becomes dizzying, they both begin to lose control, hands begin running up and down one another's bodies. As the emotion and hunger builds Gibbs slips one of his legs between hers and Abby pulls back immediately.
Gibbs looks at her, nervous that he has moved too fast, she steps out of his embrace and turns her back to him and begins to walk up the steps but the smirk that it forming on Abby's lips tells him there is no need to fret.
Glancing back at him in her best southern drawl she says "I think we better hurry up and get upstairs this cowgirl has waited long enough for a ride."