Welcome to capitolo due :)
EDIT: Changed a teeny tiny bit at the end, thanks to alix33's suggestion. :)
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Two weeks had passed since Jaime had broken things off. Abby had perked up, the bit of sadness well hidden beneath her chipper exterior. Even Gibbs, it seemed, had failed to notice the niggling sense of loss within Abby.
It wasn't the loss of her boyfriend that had bothered her – no, it was the loss of Tim. Six years ago. Two years ago, when she told him that McGregor and Amy were "all wrong for each other". Had he given up for good after that? He never changed personality, never stopped being her best friend; he never skipped a beat at all. He just jumped right back to the way things were. The casualty between them was stunning.
At the moment, Abby was sitting boredly in her lab. A case had come and gone, a criminal sent to prison. And, again, there was nothing to do aside from wallow in her thoughts, in her what-ifs.
Until, that is, the man in question walked into the lab, dutifully holding two Caff-Pows. He smiled proudly at her, plopping one down onto the desk and pulling up a chair.
"Another boring day, McGee?" Abby put on her happy face, grinning at him before sucking up her favorite drink.
"Tony and Ziva have been fighting all day, it's really starting to grate on my nerves. I had to get out of there."
Abby smirked, "Wanna go play Halo? I hooked my X-Box up to the TV in the other room a few weeks ago."
This caught McGee's interest. He looked across to her, brows raised. "Really?" She grinned at him, and he jumped up in excitement before suddenly stopping. "Wait, Abs, if the boss catches me-"
"I'll tell him it's for a cold case I'm working on. Come on, McGee!"
He stood for a second, weighing his options. Abby gave him her classic look – the one that got Jethro a cozy spot in his apartment. He sighed, smiling a little bit, before nodding and heading toward the X-Box.
Half an hour later, McGee collapsed grumpily into a chair, his coat hanging on the back and two empty Caff-Pow cups crushed on the floor. Abby was triumphantly bouncing in the air, controller in hand. After she had finished her victory dance, she looked cheerfully over at her friend, who smiled sincerely. "Congratulations, Abby."
Abby knew that when she was happy, McGee was too. He cared deeply for her, whether it was romantically or not. And that fact, in turn, bumped her happiness up yet another level. She plopped down on the floor next to his legs, looking up at his face. He looked down with a smug look, leaning down to get closer. "I let you win."
A wide grin spread across Abby's face. "Oh-ho! No you didn't! I know you, McGee. I can tell when you're letting somebody win!"
"Like when?"
"Like that time with Ziva, on Tony's birthday.'
"Well, that was just pathetic. And I wanted her to stop swearing in other languages."
"And I could tell! No, McGee, I won fairly, and you know it."
The pair stared at each other for a few seconds, each trying to break the other's will. And then, suddenly, things got awkward. Perhaps it was just in Abby's head, but she suddenly felt uncomfortable – a feeling she hadn't had around McGee, or anyone, really, in years. She laughed, looking down to her feet. Abby shut her eyes and thought for a second, almost wanting to reach up and kiss him right there. But that would be awkward. Instead, she leaned her body against his legs, sighing. McGee reached down and patted her on the back.
For a minute or two, things stayed that way, in a sort of stale moment where no progress was being made to make it less awkward. Abby let out another short sigh, wondering when she reverted to a fifteen-year-old version of herself. But she almost liked it – there was a funny feeling in her, one she hadn't felt in ages. Abby Sciuto, the queen of purely-sexual relationships, was actually falling hard for somebody. It was a good feeling.
The moment was soon interrupted by a throat clearing behind them. They turned to see Tony, an apple in hand. "Well, well, well, McGamer, are you skipping out on work? Gibbs would love to hear about this."
"There's nothing going on up there, anyway."
"For your information, Probie, Ziva and I have been needing your expert opinion for quite some time." Tony moved to the front of the television, tossing the apple in the air a few times.
"I'm not getting in the middle of your arguments, Tony."
"Come on, McSpoil Sport, we just want to know if-"
"What in Hell is half my team doing down here playing on that – that Game Boy?"
Again, they turned to see Gibbs rounding a corner, Caff-Pow in hand. McGee couldn't resist himself: "Well, uh, actually Boss, it's an X-Box. The Game Boy is a – you don't care." He stopped himself once he saw the look of murder on Gibbs' face. Abby quickly stood up to remedy the situation, smiling at her father-figure. "It's okay, Gibbs! McGee was helping me figure something out with a cold case, and Tony was down here looking for him."
Gibbs smiled at her, handing her the beverage and shooing his team away and giving Tony a smack on the head as he passed. When they were gone, Gibbs leaned in and kissed the top of her head. "You don't need to cover for them, Abby."
He turned and walked away. Before he got in the elevator, he shouted back to her, "Hey!". She turned to see Gibbs signing from across the room, It's good to see you happy again.
