Solutions
by Caz
Disclaimer is around, somewhere
Rated K
Taking in the delicate scent of the tiny bright orange English rose, Abby giggled as the fragile petal tickled her nose, the man beside her smiled in amused tolerance as he watched her antics with a familiarity that they had both become accustomed to over the many years.
She was still grinning as Gibbs gently took her hand, aiding her rising, keeping it there as they moved along the gravelly path that meandered through the gardens. There was a comfortable silence between them as they admired, sometimes touched the profusion of blooms along the way.
The silence was broken by two young children chasing one another through the maze of paths, the high-pitched screech of the female child to the clearly irksome boy as he barrelled past Gibbs and Abby's legs at a break-neck speed, "Come back here at once, Daniel Thompson or I'm gonna tell mommy!"
Both Abby and Gibbs watched the two with comical fascination until the tiny tornado's disappeared as fast as they had came and the tranquil quiet prevailed again. Reaching the heart of the arboretum, Gibbs indicated for Abby to sit on the bench, placed there so the visitors could relax and enjoy the restful sound and sight of the cascading fountain that continuously spurted forth frothy water from the strategically placed scantily clad woman seemingly pouring the water from the urn held in her arms.
Abby loved it here, Gibbs too. It was a place of peace. A place to talk, and if you didn't want to talk, then to just be together, just for a while. Today Abby wanted to talk.
"I wonder if the little girl caught up with Daniel Thompson? I wish it were that easy; to simply call for a man and for him to come running. I would use it on Simon Carsdale. I could just shout 'Here boy!' and he'd come running instead of me trying my hardest to drop subtle hints and making myself look like a total idiot."
"Who's Simon Carsdale?" Gibbs asked, "I haven't heard that name before."
Abby nonchalantly leaned forward and swirled her finger-tips in the cool water, "He's new in town. He's terribly dishy and I was fancied him instantly." She turned her head and smiled dryly up into Gibbs' handsome face, "Trouble is, so do the rest of the unattached females around here."
"You'll just have to be patient. Your time will come. There is no man alive that can resist your charms, Abby." Gibbs assured her, hiding the green flame of jealousy from his voice.
Abby gave a hefty sigh, "But he doesn't seem to know that I exist, gibbs!"
Gibbs looked away. He appeared to be studying the distant display of flora, but seemed to notice nothing, "I know how you feel." he ventured at last, lost in thoughts of his own.
Abby was stunned, "You do?" For as long as she'd know Gibbs, she had never known him to have lady trouble. Quite the opposite in fact. She studied him a little closer. Now that she looked deeper, she could see the fatigue lines, the tousled hair and the 'not-so-confident' air that surrounded him. Abby felt guilty suddenly. So wrapped up in her own pursuit of a romantic liaison, she had neglected to notice that her closest and dearest friend was having some troubles of his own.
He cleared his throat before answering her, "Yes, I do."
Abby looked even deeper still. The blue eyes looked the same, and he looked the same, but at the same time he looked...different.
Gibbs dared a full frontal look at the woman before him. It was enough for him to pluck up the courage to say more when he saw her concern, "Yes...I do know the feeling." Another glance at her surprised face gave him a tad more confidence; he had to go on. "Absolute hell, actually. " His body slumped again as he turned away and muttered more to himself than her. "But what can a guy do?"
The silence stretched between them as they each digested each others revelations. At last Abby asked quietly, "Who is she?"
Abby wasn't sure at Gibbs' response to her perfectly obvious question, but he seemed surprised to hear it, and before he could think coherently, he repeated it, knowing he sounded stupid for doing so, "Who is she?"
Abby saw the invisible wall go up before Gibbs did and she sat back out of his direct vision, "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked, I didn't think that perhaps you don't want to tell me."
Gibbs immediately swung in his seat towards her, "No, no, I'm sorry, its alright, really." He sighed with resolution as he prepared to reveal his secret - or so Abby thought, until he sighed again, "It's...just a woman I know."
Abby almost screamed with frustration. He was being deliberately evasive and it was driving her insane. Here she was, laying her heart for him to see and he was deliberately avoiding an issue that somehow annoyed her beyond reason. Damn it, he was supposed to be her friend. They were supposed to tell each other their secrets. They were supposed to be there for each other, through thick and thin. But Gibbs had decided to play coy with her and she was festering inside. No way could she let it go now, no way, even if it did make her feel like a leech.
She pushed on relentlessly, "What's her name, Gibbs. Where did you meet her. Was it at work. Have you even spoken to her?" And just for good measure she added, "And does she know that, 'you' even exist?"
Gibbs fell back against the seat dejectedly, his arms crossing across his chest as he warded off the chill that ran through him, pursing his lips before finally answering her quietly, "Ros. Her name is Ros... Rosalind." He added, needlessly.
Abby chewed the name over in her mind, searching for its familiarity. Was she an agent, or maybe one of the office bunnies? She didn't recognise the name and that sparked an inner dread within her once more. She wanted to be able to say, "I know her." And she wanted to know if the woman should be considered a serious threat to their incomparable relationship, but Abby's phenomenal memory bank came up blank.
Abby was desperate to know what 'Ros' looked like. Gamely she threw him a grin and said, "With a name like that I bet she's small and delicate, red haired and willowy. I bet she's highly distinguished and her family are loaded." Abby chuckled knowingly, nudging his arm playfully. "And I bet she'd got big boobs, too."
The sparkling grin that Gibbs threw her as they chuckled together seemed to satisfy her curiosity. Suddenly laughing out aloud, Gibbs heartily answered her obvious attempts to find out about the woman that had captured his attention, "Couldn't have gotten it any closer, Abs."
As the two laughing friends finally pushed themselves to their feet, locked arms and began to make their way out of the gardens, Gibbs was relieved that Abby seemed satisfied with her own definition of Gibbs' typical female companion. Somehow it seemed safe to leave it as it was. The trouble was now he had to convince 'Rosalind' that he was the man of her dreams.