Title: Crush (2)

Author: GataChica

Rating: FR15 for language and sex

Spoilers: None.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to NCIS. The characters are not meant to resemble anyone living or dead. No copyright infringement is intended.

Abby was not surprised when she opened her door to the delicious aroma of cannelloni, antipasto, and sautéed asparagus. "Tony!" she squealed, rushing into the kitchen to give him a great big Abby hug.

"Hey, Abbs, I was wondering when you'd get here." He smiled, brandishing a wooden spoon covered in red sauce. Abby held out her tongue for a taste; she was surprised when he used his index finger to wipe the spoon, then laid it against her tongue, her lips automatically closing around it.

He was even more surprised when she took her time licking and sucking all traces of sauce off his finger. He could feel the goose bumps running up his arms and down his back, but he was helpless to stop her. Finally she released his finger and slowly licked her lips. "Great sauce, Tony." Then she turned with a little smirk and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Tony in shock, his mind full of the sensation of her mouth covering his finger, imagining the magic that same mouth could do when wrapped around certain other body parts.

After several seconds he shook himself out of his fantasies and reminded himself that Abby was his friend. And besides, Gibbs would kill him. They'd had a brief fling when he was first hired, but Gibbs squelched that pretty quick. He had to wonder why she'd teased him that way, but then again she was a terrible tease. Or could it possibly have been real? But Gibbs would kill him. He kept coming back to that refrain. If nothing else could stop him, surely the thought of Gibbs' retribution could!

He managed to finish preparing the meal, although his mind was still reeling, and served their plates. "Abby!" he shouted, running into her as he carried a plate to the table. "Oops! I thought you were upstairs."

She took the endangered food from his hands and set it on the table. "No, I've been checking my email. And I changed clothes, of course."

'Oh yeah… did she ever…,' he thought, gazing at her body, which was clad only in a tank top and panties. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Tony!" she finally yelled, amused. "It's not like you haven't seen me in underwear before. Stop staring at me."

"Yeah, but that was before you sucked my finger," he muttered under his breath, retrieving the other plate from the kitchen.

"What was that?" she asked, grinning at him when he turned around and found her following.

"Nothing."

"I thought I heard something about your finger."

He denied it again, then set the other plate down with a thud. They sat at the table.

"Tony, something's bothering you. Did I do something?" Abby asked, her expression innocent.

He avoided her eyes at first. "No, of course – yes, Abby!" he replied fiercely, his eyes fixed on hers. "I know you like to tease, and normally I don't mind. Normally I can shift my thoughts to some other woman, one who is safe.

"But do you have any idea how your little performance with the sauce affected me? Then you changed into these skimpy clothes that expose way too much skin for me to keep my composure, too much for me to be just your best friend and substitute brother. I am a man, Abbs, with a healthy sex drive, no girlfriend, and very tight pants at the moment. I can't help it. Just give me some time to cope, okay?" He picked up his fork and stabbed a piece of asparagus, refusing to look at her.

"I'm sorry," she replied in a meek voice, picking up her fork. But before using the fork, she paused. "How tight?" she asked thoughtfully, with the beginnings of a smile.

Tony just groaned. "Abby, please. I can't have sex with you, no matter how much I want to, because Gibbs will kill me. No joke. Not only is there rule 1 and rule12, but you're Abby. You're his favorite and he would not like the thought of 'his girl' with a womanizer like me."

She just nodded, her head bowed, and took a bite of cannelloni. They finished the meal in an uncomfortable silence. 'Have I just ruined our friendship?' Abby wondered. 'I guess I did go too far. But when he put his finger in my mouth it just turned me on so much... I know I should have stopped. He's probably afraid of me now.'

Tony felt bad about pushing away his best friend, even though he knew he had to. 'Will it ever be the same?' he thought. 'We've flirted lots of times since the 'incident,' but this was different. I could tell she was serious. I had to push her away. Maybe we can get past this, pretend it never happened.' But he had his doubts about that solution.

When they were finished, Abby collected the dishes and set about washing them, while Tony cleaning up the cooking mess. They could feel the tension in the small kitchen, made worse by the fact that occasionally they bumped into one another. That was never a good thing.

Finally, everything was done and they came to that awkward moment of deciding what to do next. Luckily, Abby had been thinking while she worked. "Hey Tony, wanna watch 'The Sum of All Fears'?" She knew it was one of his favorites.

He smiled. "Hmm, Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, a young Jack Ryan – can't beat that!"

"Great!" She clapped her hands together. "You know where it is, don't you? Get it set up and I'll be right back."

He tried not to wonder what she was doing and whether it would prove to be helpful or unhelpful. Instead, he searched for the movie in Abby's disorganized pile of DVDs and once he found it, he set it up, ready to play. When he heard her footfalls on the stairs, he was relieved to see that she had put on more clothes – a loose T-shirt and drawstring pants.

"Ready?" she asked with a smile, settling herself into the reclining chair.

"Always." The moment he said it he knew he shouldn't have, but he grinned sheepishly and she grinned back. Tony stretched out on the couch and pushed PLAY on the remote.

Two hours later, Tony blinked at the credits rolling down the screen. Abby had been asleep, curled up in the recliner, for at least 30 minutes, judging by her slow, even breathing and the occasional snort or two. He stood up and walked over to look at her. He had never really taken the time to appreciate her – except that one time at Halloween when she dressed as Marilyn Monroe. Seeing her costumes was the only good thing about Halloween, a holiday he personally hated.

Now he studied every part of her that he could see, with the wistful feeling that he might never get this close again.

After a time he found a blanket and covered her, then leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. But when he tried to stand back up, he couldn't. One of her hands was out of the covers and holding onto his shirt so tightly he knew it would rip if he straightened up. "Abby," he murmured, "let go now. I have to go home. Please, Abby, let go."

"Mm-mm," she answered, her eyes still closed. "Stay. Stay with me."

"I can't, Abbs." He began to gently pry her fingers from his shirt.

"Terrorists," she whispered, her eyes suddenly opening, revealing intense fear. "Tony, the terrorists."

He tried to placate her. "We don't know for sure if there are terrorists, Abby. It could have been a malfunction. SecNav's just playing it safe."

"No," she shook her head violently. "It's not a malfunction. I'm scared, Tony. Will you sleep with me? I don't mean sleep with me, I just mean sleep. Hold me." By this time she was sobbing, and Tony was shocked at the intensity of her feelings. Was this why she had tried to seduce him – so she wouldn't have to be alone?

"C'mon, Abbs," he whispered. "Let's head upstairs and go to bed."

**NCIS**

The leader of the small group stood watching through the near darkness as the others busied themselves with their assigned tasks. Everything was proceeding according to plan. It always pleased him when a mission fit well and there were no weak spots in the progression of events.

Hasav, the communications monitor, spoke suddenly, interrupting his reverie. "They have discovered the source, and they believe it to be caused by nature. They are not suspicious, sir."

He patted his stomach with satisfaction. "Very good. Let me hear them."

Hasav switched his headphones to speakers.

"—lightning caused a short circuit, you say?" The voice was fuzzy, obviously coming from a cell phone tap.

"I would bet my commission on it, sir."

"No way it could be intentional?"

"Not that I can imagine."

"Very good. As soon as you have it repaired, call everyone back to HQ."

Hasav returned the feed to headphones and glanced at the leader. "Orders, sir?"

"Keep listening. Once they have returned, we start our countdown."