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Pieces of the Puzzle
Chapter Two: Hiatus Part 2

She watches him say goodbye. He gives Tony his badge, tells him that the team is his now. He tells McGee that he's a good agent, and never believe otherwise. She hears all of this but can't comprehend it.

Gibbs then turns his gaze on her and Abby flinches inwardly. She has never seen emotions like those in his eyes - weariness, defeat. It's not supposed to be like that. He's Gibbs, El Jefe, the one who marches in where angels fear to tread. He's always been the rock in the stormy sea that is her life, the one person she can hold onto to regain her bearings, much as she clung to him just a few short weeks ago during the insanity with Mikel and the hit man.

Abby wants to rant, to rave and curse the people who have pulverized her rock, who have done this to him. Despite how she feels, all that comes out of her mouth is a single word, full of devastation.

"Gibbs…"

His finger presses gently but firmly against her lips, preventing her from saying anything else. He leans in and brushes his lips over her cheek, a kind, tender gesture that makes her eyes water even more than they already are.

For a moment that is far too brief, Gibbs holds her gaze, like he is trying to say something. Abby doesn't even have the strength to raise her hands to speak in ASL, their preferred method of communication when the spoken word is too difficult for one or even both of them. As a result, the message in his eyes is left hanging in the air between them as he finally looks away. He speaks to Ziva briefly, and then starts toward the elevator, Ducky walking along beside him.

Abby watches him pause just before he slips out of sight, hears his final words to them - "Semper Fi" - but can do nothing but stare.

Then he is gone.

The past several days have been hell. What began with that damnable phone call from McGee, continued with the case from hell, kept going with Gibbs' coma, and rounded out with the knowledge of his amnesia, that he didn't know her, know any of them. Then, just a half-hour ago, Abby had gotten a semi-coherent phone call from Ziva, who'd managed to tell her that Gibbs remembered and that they were coming to the Navy Yard. Abby had never run so fast out of her lab and up to the squad room before.

"Abby?"

For a few minutes, her world had righted itself. Gibbs had come into the squad room and was quickly surrounded by friends, but Abby had barely seen them, had only focused on getting to him as quickly as possible. She'd lunged, and hit her mark perfectly. He had staggered back a few steps, but still managed to catch her in his arms pretty solidly. His words of remembrance had been better than all of the music in the world - he remembered her.

"Abby?"

Now, though, everything is worse that it had been before. Gibbs had still been there before. Fuzzy in the head, but still alive. Not now, though. Now he's gone, or will be soon enough. Abby has no doubt that he'll be out of Washington within the next six hours, if not less.

"Abby!"

Her world has fallen apart. She -

Hands grip her shoulders tightly and Abby looks up into Tony's frantic face. His words are like gunshots.

"Abby! Breathe!"

She does, and that's when the pain explodes inside her. She's completely blinded by tears now, and every breath she breathes is agony in her chest. "T-Tony…" she chokes, and then starts heaving with every breath, trying in vain to suck in enough breath for her air-starved body.

He pulls her close then, wrapping her in a hug, and Abby can do nothing but cling to him. Tony's hug isn't like Gibbs'. Gibbs' hugs made her feel safe, loved, cherished, like she was the only woman in the world in his eyes, however brief that moment turned out to be. Tony's hug is a comfort, one last piece of wood to grab on to before she goes under the waves for good.

"Oh God…" she shudders. "He's gone… Tony…" She buries her face in his shoulder, her tears wetting his jacket. "W-What just happened?" She knows, but she can't comprehend it. The foundation of her world has just fallen away, and she doesn't know what to do.

Tony doesn't answer her, though, just keeps hugging her to him, almost rocking her. Abby doesn't keep asking questions, just cries into his shoulder. She feels two hands on her shoulders, knows that they're probably McGee and Ziva, and she tries to hold on to their presence. They're all she has left now.

The world as they've known it just ended, and now they have to all pick up the pieces. But not now, probably not for a while.

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