Note: This story takes place after the events of Bloodbath. And of course, I own nothing!

Prologue

He should have known it. It had barely been a week since they had caught the man that had stalked her for months and then tried to kill her repeatedly, yet she was already back in the lab, processing the evidence of their latest case. In her underground lab, her safe place, with music thundering, she gently declined any suggestions to take some time off.
Just a few days had passed. Slowly, autumn had made the leaves change from bright red to even brighter yellow outside his window. When she had shown up to work the day after the incident, giddily handing him a cup of coffee in the elevator, he had been the first to suggest that she take a few days off from work. Her smile had turned into a frown halfway through his first sentence.
"Why?" She demanded. He noticed the muscles of her jaw tensing, her mind probably already racing with every reason she had to say no.
"You've been through a lot these past days... quite frankly, you look really tired"
The frown turned into a guilty expression. "I'm okay, Gibbs. Really."
The elevator dinged. The last he saw of her before she disappeared into the array of machinery and computers was a smile and her hands quickly signing
"Don't worry!"

How she handled that workload he'd never understand. He and Abby had always been the first ones to show up at work every morning, always the last ones to leave. But while Gibbs took breaks for coffee, lunch, coffee, a snack, and some more coffee, Abby did not slow down unless forced.
He gathered his things from his desk and strode towards the elevators, turning off the lights on the way.
He avoided the puddles of water as he quickly walked across the dimly lit parking lot. Rain was hanging in the cool autumn air. He caught a glimpse of her hearse as he got into his own car.
How she handled it, he'd never understand.

Hi there!
I'm a new author at the site, and this is my first story! :)
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mangopineapple