TITLE: A CHRISTMAS WISH

CHARACTERS: Timothy McGee / Abby Sciuto

GENRE: Romance, Friendship

RATING: K+

PROMPT: I would like to see a fic about McGee. I'd prefer to see it explore his character.

SPOILERS: Slight reference to "Faith" (7x10) but not enough to ruin the plot of that episode.

A/N: I ended up in both of their heads…oh well! I hope you enjoy it!

Special Agent Timothy McGee sat at his desk and wondered about what she was going to do to him this time. "She" referred to the extremely talented and gorgeous forensic scientist, Abby Sciuto. Every year at Christmas she managed to get him into a whole heap of trouble with his boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. And, every year, even though he knew he would be at the receiving end of some disapproval from Gibbs, he caved in to Abby's requests. He couldn't help it. He knew (and she knew) that he was like putty in her hands. Perhaps this year he would be able to resist…hopefully…

Meanwhile, a few flights downstairs, the aforementioned lab rat was putting the finishing touches on her Christmas décor. Every year she placed a new ornament on her tree in the corner. Just this summer she had found an antique glass bulb with black onyx beads adorning the delicate glass at the church flea market. She smiled as she placed it on the tree, remembering old Mrs. Flanagan and her story about how Mr. Flanagan had given her that ornament when they were courting 60 years ago. Unfortunately, Mr. Flanagan passed away and Mrs. Flanagan had to sell a lot of her belongings because there would be no room for her possessions in the assisted-living housing she was moving into. Abby made sure she bought several items from Mrs. Flanagan that day.

As always, the music was beyond deafening in the lab, Abby didn't hear the footsteps of McGee as he entered her domain. "Abbs!" McGee shouted as he walked in, "Abby! ABBY!"

"Oh, hey, McGee!" Abby twirled around suddenly, surprised to see him there. "What's shakin', bacon?" She walked back to her desk and picked up a mound of tinsel slowly unwinding the strand around her monitors.

"Nothing much. I just thought I'd come by to see if you needed any help decorating." McGee looked around the lab, noting the myriad ornaments on the tree, the Santa bat decorations and the skull-and-crossbones shaped lights hanging on the walls.

"Sure! Grab some tinsel and decorate the big plasma screen, please!"

"OK," he replied and went to do as she asked, "So…um…how's Carol doing?" He made sure he was busy hanging tinsel so she couldn't see the concern on his face. "And Fisher? What are their plans for Christmas this year?"

"That's so sweet of you to remember, McGee!" Abby smiled, "Carol is fine. Her sister was reassigned to Bremerton Naval Base in September so she's going to visit them in Seattle for the holidays." McGee suddenly let go of the breath he did not realize he had been holding. Half of his brain had been trying to figure out how he was going to pull off another caper like he had last year, while the other half was trying to come up with a gentle way to say no to Abby. Now there was no need!

"Don't worry. I'm already done with my charitable cause for the season." McGee raised an eyebrow at her statement.

"Really?" he asked suspiciously, "What did you do? And will we need to rescue you…or something… or someone…eventually?" His lips pursed into a concerned pout.

"No, silly!" Abby rolled her eyes at him, placing her hands on her hips. "This weekend I helped Gibbs and his father bring the toys that they made over to the children's hospital and gave them out to the kids. We – okay so maybe it was just me- sang Christmas carols with them and then ate cookies and milk. It was so much fun!"

McGee was surprised to feel a little left out by her revelation. "Oh. You should've told me! I would've joined you." He turned around looking for another place to hang tinsel so she wouldn't see the hurt in his eyes. Heading over to the tree, his eye was caught by the antique ornament. The intricate design of the onyx reminded him of Abby's personality – dark, beautiful, and complex. He reached over to trace the design with one finger.

"I…I didn't know. Really. I thought you'd be busy buying presents or going paintballing one last time before the end of the year. I so totally would've invited you if I had known!"

"Why would you think that?" he replied angrily, swinging about so suddenly that his hand knocked the ornament off the branch onto the floor where it shattered against the ground. "Did you think I wouldn't… Oh no!" he stammered, "I'm so sorry! Here, let me clean this up for you." He felt really clumsy and even more sorry for himself. What would she think of him now? Quickly he cleaned up the mess and stood up preparing to leave.

Much to his amazement, Abby said nothing, but in her usual giving way came over to him and enfolded him into a big hug. She felt a rush of awareness go through her body as she grasped him tightly.

"It's OK," she murmured into his ear, "Accidents happen." She was sad to see the beautiful ornament shatter to pieces, but right now couldn't move even if her lab was on fire.

McGee himself was relishing the warmth of her body and the smell of her gunpowder perfume. It was becoming very difficult to gather his thoughts. Barely picking back up the thread of the conversation, he said quietly, "But now you have to make it up to ME this year, seeing as you left me out." He could almost swear that an electrical current passed between them as he spoke. The deepest corner of his heart wished this moment would last forever.

"What do you want me to do?" Abby said a little warmly as she felt really comfortable in his embrace and didn't want to let go. She raised her arms to rub his back.

Reluctantly he loosened his arms from around her waist and looked into her eyes. "Hmm…I'll have to think about it a bit. But I'll let you know. I'm sorry I broke the ornament. However, I have to get back up to the squad room before Gibbs starts looking for me." He smiled wistfully as he kissed her on the forehead and left the lab. Abby's gaze followed his back as he walked out the door. She wondered what he would want her to do. Thinking back to the hug they just shared, a little, tiny part of her wished it would be more along the lines of that embrace.

LATER THAT EVENING

McGee was thankful to be home at last. Although the day had started out slow, the team had caught a case soon after he had come back up from the lab and they had been out at the scene until nightfall. He was cold and tired and wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower. Unlocking the door, he was welcomed by the loud barking of his German shepherd. "All right, all right! I know you've been waiting all day for me to get home." McGee put down his backpack and grabbed the leash from behind the door. "Let's go, but we're going to make it quick today, Jethro. I'm too tired to go for a long walk. OK?" The two made their way downstairs and outside for a brisk walk. While Jethro inspected every fire hydrant and plant, literally leaving no stone unturned, McGee's thoughts inevitably turned back to Abby. Part of him wondered why it felt so different this afternoon hugging her. Another part of him wondered why he kept torturing himself with thoughts of her. Sighing to himself, he whistled at Jethro and turned them both around to head back towards home.

Apparently the optimistic side of him had somehow ruled the day because as they were returning to the apartment building, McGee spotted a dark figure with pigtails standing at the entrance.

"Hey, McGee!" Abby waved gaily at the two walking up towards her. Jethro woofed excitedly and ran towards his favorite person in the whole world. She knelt down beside him and gave him a brisk pat down. "Ooh! Jethro! How are you? Have you been a good doggy?"

"Whatcha doin' here, Abbs?" McGee asked as he unlocked the front door to the building. He was concerned – did something happen to Abby? Why was she here? Was something wrong? She didn't look or sound agitated though…

When he looked down at her, he caught a hesitant expression on her face, as if she were trying to figure out what to say…or how to say it. "Umm, I was just in the neighborhood, so I decided to stop by?" Both he and Abby knew that was a big lie since she lived across clear across the city from him.

"Uh huh."

"OK, so I just needed to talk to you. And...not over the phone. So I came over."

"Well, let's go upstairs where it's warmer." He stood aside to let Abby and the dog go in first. Once they were inside his apartment, he removed the leash from Jethro and then took her coat and put it on the hook beside the door. Turning around to face her, he saw she was pacing back and forth between his desk and the bookcase. "Do you want something to drink? Hot chocolate?"

"Sure. That'd be great." Abby replied with relief at having a few more moments to figure out what to say to him. McGee went into the kitchen to place the kettle on the stove.

"Look, why don't you take a seat and I'll be right out. I'm just going to take a quick shower, OK?" McGee walked out of his kitchen and saw Abby ensconce herself in front of his computer getting ready to play World of Warcraft.

"Mmhmm," she responded, hoping that she looked like she was involved in the game, rather than beginning to panic about what to say to him. She had absolutely no idea about what she wanted from him. The only thing she was sure about was that she had to talk to him. Tonight. Ever since she had hugged him this afternoon, it was all she could think about. The way she had felt in his arms. It felt so right being there. She had denied that feeling for so many years but knew in her heart of hearts that he was the one. If Abby Sciuto was going to commit the rest of her life to being with one man, she admitted to herself, Timothy McGee was that man. But, maybe that ornament shattering was a sign. Mrs. Flanagan had kept that ornament for 60 years…she could barely hang on to it for 6 months! That wouldn't bode well for their relationship, now would it? She frowned to herself and tried to concentrate on the game.

McGee just shook his head and walked into his bedroom. Shedding clothes as he made his way towards the bathroom, he wondered what she was doing here. He had been thinking on and off throughout the day about what he said to her when he left the lab earlier this morning. What possessed him to say he'd come up with something? What would she expect from him? They had been flirting with one another for years. No matter that they had broken up right after he had joined the MCRT, there was always that attraction between them. He turned on the shower and looked at himself in the mirror. Gazing at his reflection, he inspected the person staring back at him. If he could have one wish this Christmas, it would be that Abby choose him to be her "forever-after". There. He finally admitted it to himself. He had never stopped loving her, and always would. However, he also knew that if she were to find that special someone (that wasn't himself) he would be happy for her because SHE would be happy. And that was his wish for her. Surprisingly, once the thought passed through his brain, he felt an enormous weight lift off his shoulders. He climbed into the shower and unfortunately his treacherous mind began to think of all the delightful things he could do with – and to – Abby – if she would let him.

Abby's breath caught as she heard the shower being turned off. OK, ok, just breathe, she thought to herself, its just Timmy! Don't panic! The kettle began to whistle so she went into the kitchen and prepared two mugs of hot chocolate. Grabbing both, she went back to the desk and said a quick prayer hoping that something brilliant would come out of her mouth because at this very moment her mind was a total blank. McGee came out of his bedroom wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, toweling his hair. Abby swiveled around in the office chair and looked up at him as she handed him a mug.

"Abby." "Timmy!" Both laughed as they spoke at the same time.

"Abby – ladies first!" McGee said with a courtly sweep of his arm.

"OK. Well… I really don't know why I came over but I just felt the need to come over, you know just like when you have the need to eat cheesy poofs at midnight, even though you really don't need to eat them. And certainly not at midnight because honestly, that's too late for ingesting carbs, and with all that salt and fake cheese on top of it…"

"Abby…."

"…And I mean, it's not like you're a cheesy poof, although before you lost weight you were more like the baked puffy ones but now you're more like the fried ones, which are crunchier but they have more calories…" Even Abby was aware that at this point she was babbling nonsense.

McGee stopped listening once he heard her compare himself to a cheesy poof and did the only thing he knew that would shut her up. He grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the chair and kissed her.

Abby melted into the kiss. It was just like she remembered…and at the same time, was like nothing she'd ever experienced. McGee had improved over the years, or maybe she had changed because an overwhelming feeling of rightness came over her.

McGee was in a state of wonder. All these years he had doubted whether or not Abby was all that his fevered memories had made her up to be; or was it mostly wishful thinking on his part along the lines of grass being greener. This kiss put all doubts aside – she was all that – and even more!

Finally they had to break apart to breathe. Staring into each other's eyes, Abby and McGee could see the love pouring out of the other's gaze.

"So what did you want to say to me, Abby?" McGee asked in a low voice when he finally could speak.

Abby briefly closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said, "McGee-I-don't-know-why-I-came-over-but-I'm-going-to-say-this-only-once-and-I'm-sorry-if-this-upsets-you-but…I-Iove-you. Not like puppies, either. I really, really love you. Like, in love…with YOU. OK, now I just said this three times and didn't I just say I was only going to say it once!"

Burning with embarrassment she tried to move away but McGee wouldn't let go. "Abby, it's all right. I love you, too! Really." He couldn't believe she had just declared her love for him, Timothy McGee, geek extraordinaire. Still, even though they called him Probie, he was no fool. Gathering his wish come true closer in his arms, McGee murmured in her ear, "And now you're going to have to pay for not inviting me to the children's hospital!" He led her towards his bedroom.

"Ooh!" Abby purred back at him, "I can't wait to make it up to you…all night!" It was definitely going to be a Christmas neither one of them would forget for a very long time.

THE END