A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews/favs/follows :) And big hugs to gosgirl for being as helpful as always!

Chapter 2

The first thing that registered with Abby's sleep hazed mind was the cool rough hand that covered her cheek. As she pushed through the weariness and opened her eyes, she gasped at the intense blue gaze that was barely inches from her face.

"Gibbs..." she mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah Abbs, it's just me." His voice was soft as he tenderly stroked his thumb against her skin, the gentle caress almost making her close her eyes again.

Lifting a hand to her face, Abby tried to wipe away the remnants of sleep, her vision slowly clearing to reveal the wet and dishevelled figure before her.

Droplets of water ran down his face, and Abby watched as one hung off his chin, Gibbs seemingly immune to the fact that he looked like he'd been swimming with his clothes on. A barrage of questions formed in her head but it was the sadness and fear in his eyes that immediately put a stop to all but one.

"What's the matter?" She asked frantically, sitting up and reaching out for him at the same time.

"Nothing...I just...wanted to see you."

One of his hands took hold of her smaller one, while the other lifted to cup her cheek like it had done when she awoke.

Looking into the depths of her green eyes Gibbs realized it had been a long time since he'd felt like this about anyone...as if he couldn't live without her. He wondered whether Abby had any idea of the hold she had over him, if she understood how his thoughts of her had started to take over every waking hour.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Gibbs hoped now that he was inside her apartment he could follow through and finish what he'd started. Everything he wanted to say to her was stuck somewhere between his brain and his mouth, swirling in a mass of confusion and doubt.

He grasped for the three most important words...the ones he hadn't said to anyone in years, because if he had said them they would've been a lie. But not this time, this time he would mean it with everything he was.

If he could get nothing else out, he had to say those three words because her reaction would give him an indication of whether to go on or make a hasty retreat before he made an even bigger fool of himself. More than anything Gibbs just needed her to know that his feelings for her were that deep; that they far outweighed the boundaries of friendship and had long ago surpassed anything even close to just being work colleagues.

If he was forced to run from her apartment at least Abby would know, and he wouldn't have to go on wondering if he let an opportunity for happiness pass him by because he was too gutless. She deserved that much...to be aware of the impact she'd made on his life already, and they both deserved a chance to find some happiness after all they'd gone through.

"Gibbs, you're scaring me, I can see something's wrong...and why are you dripping wet?"

He looked down at the puddle of water that was accumulating at his feet then returned his gaze to Abby. "I'll clean up the mess on the floor."

Abby moved to the edge of the couch, trying to read him for any signs that might give her more of a hint of what was going on, but all she could see was his apprehension. She knew Gibbs kept his emotions well guarded but she could usually catch at least a small glimpse of what was lurking underneath one of the many masks he kept in place.

"I'm not worried about that," she answered honestly. "I'm worried about you."

She watched as he ran an unsteady hand through his hair, his eyes pleading with her...for what, Abby had no idea.

All he had to do was ask and she'd do whatever he wanted, because Gibbs never asked for anything, at least not outside of work. He liked to give the impression that he could get through anything on his own, but Abby had seen his sensitive side and the man now before her looked more nervous than she'd ever seen him.

"I need to tell you something, but..." he trailed off and looked away from her, his eyes focusing on a picture she had on the wall of all the team gathered for Thanksgiving last year at Ducky's.

"But what?" she prompted.

After several moments of silence Gibbs returned his gaze to her. "Not sure how Abbs...or if it'll hurt you..."

Abby felt her heart begin to race, her stomach churning and her head spinning with possible scenarios for what he was getting at. Was he sick? Was she going to lose her job? Was he going to leave her again and go to Mexico or some other place where she'd never see him again...she didn't think she could cope with that.

She reached out, nervously placing her warm hand over Gibbs' cheek and sighing when his eyes briefly drifted closed. Trying to push away her own anxiety and instead concentrating on getting to the bottom of whatever had him worried, Abby tried to reassure the usually confident and in control special agent in front of her that he could share anything with her.

He was her rock, the one that kept her grounded and sane. Gibbs was her gravity when everything else was spiralling out of control, so if something was wrong in his world then it was wrong in her world too. It went beyond simple concern for someone she cared about, it was part of their unspoken connection and Abby would do whatever she needed to take away his obvious pain.

"I trust you Gibbs, more than anyone, and I know you'd never do anything to hurt me...you can tell me anything."

Gibbs stood up and pulled Abby to her feet at the same time, closing the distance between them with one small step. She rested her hand on his chest, feeling the rapid pounding of his heart underneath his drenched clothes, his own hands settling on her waist as he leaned in towards her.

"You're not alone," he whispered next to her ear, "not before the explosion and not now."

Abby's breath caught in her throat. Dare she hope that what he was saying was what she'd waited so long to hear? She wanted to believe it, but maybe he was merely referring to the friendships she had with Gibbs and his team. In that sense she always knew she could count on all of them...except with Gibbs she wanted so much more.

Everyone knew when it came to Gibbs she wore her heart on her sleeve, but she wondered whether he or anyone else ever really saw beyond the harmless flirting and friendly kisses they shared.

There had been times when she thought he'd picked up on some of the subtle hints she'd thrown his way...but he'd never given her any indication that there was anything more between them than friendship. So she'd kept her delusions to herself, her fantasies about him growing daily as her heart and mind fought against her desire for him. It was a constant battle, and had been for years, one that had begun to wear on her, even more so since he'd saved both their lives.

As well as her nightmares about being in the morgue, Abby had dreamed about Gibbs running into her lab to save her and him dying with his arms around her. She hadn't told him all the details of those nightmares because they were the ones she found it hardest to talk about. The image of him dead was ingrained into her mind and it haunted her daylight hours just as much as when she tried to let her body rest.

"Don't mean Kyle," Gibbs went on, breaking into her thoughts, "and I don't mean everyone else at NCIS...just me, Abbs. You've always had me."

She took hold of one of his hands in both hers and brought it up to the centre of her chest, asking expectantly, "Gibbs?"

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Not good at this stuff...saying how I feel."

"You're doing great, keep going...please," Abby urged gently.

Gibbs took her by surprise when he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers, Abby clutching onto his hand a little tighter.

"I want more than phone calls at three in the morning, I want to be lying in bed next to you with my arms around you when you wake in the middle of the night and need my help...and I don't want you to ever feel like you're alone..." His voice caught in his throat, rough with emotion and barely above a whisper.

Abby felt her eyes start to glaze over, not only because of his honesty but because this was the moment she felt like she'd waited years for. She blinked back tears, not wanting to give him the false impression that she was upset. Nothing could be further from the truth. The one man she wanted, that she'd felt like she'd loved for a large part of her life was now telling her he wanted her as well.

"I want all that too," she murmured, taking deep shallow breaths as she rubbed her nose tenderly along his.

A slight smile flickered at the corner of Gibbs' lips as he breathed out unsteadily. "You do?"

Abby nodded, her lips passing over his but not touching. "This is what you were so worried about? Telling me you want us to be more than what we are...what we have been up until now."

"Yeah..." he admitted, trying keep his anxiety under wraps despite what she'd just told him.

"What about you and Doctor Ryan?"

Abby hadn't seen Ryan around NCIS for months, and while there had been speculation about what had happened between her and Gibbs, no-one really knew for certain what had gone on. Gibbs wasn't likely to let details of his personal life filter into his work life either so she needed to know before they even thought about making things more serious between them that she wasn't going to be thrown in the middle of an ugly break up.

She was willing to fight for him if she had to but Abby didn't want to put strain on their relationship so early on.

"There is no me and Ryan, not anymore...not sure there ever really was..."

"I thought you liked each other."

Gibbs smiled at her using 'like' rather than something more meaningful. "Sure, I suppose I liked her, but I never knew where I stood with her, didn't appreciate being blackmailed into talking about things that I really didn't want to talk to her about...and she wasn't you."

Relief filled Abby as she realized there would be nothing to stop them being together if this was what they both wanted. She sighed and leaned into him more, the moisture covering his face transferring onto her skin.

"I guess she had no idea how to read you then...that's a rookie mistake, trying to make you talk when you're not ready."

Gibbs nodded, his warm breath fanning over her as he spoke. "You know me better than anyone, all that stuff she wanted me to share...I want to, with you. Some of it might take a while but if you have the patience, I wanna try."

"Of course I have the patience, whenever you have something to say I'll always listen."

Whenever Gibbs did say something he meant it, he wasn't one to make stuff up and it was because he said so little that his words held so much meaning. It was one of the reasons Abby knew she could rely on him, and she wanted nothing more than for him to open up and share more of himself with her.

"Was so scared of losing you," Gibbs admitted. "Not just when the bomb went off, also tonight when I decided to tell you how I felt, don't wanna have to go through that again Abby."

His words and the vulnerability they allowed her to see in him were the last straw in keeping Abby from him. She brushed her lips over his, tentatively at first, then increased the pressure and deepened the kiss when Gibbs started to respond to her.

She nibbled and tugged on his bottom lip, every so often sweeping her tongue out to touch his. When she heard and felt him groan into her mouth Abby pushed her tongue between his parted lips to tangle with his, her arms wrapping around him to hold onto him tighter.

When she felt the water held within his clothes start to soak through to hers, Abby was reminded that he was dripping wet.

"We need to get you out of these clothes," she breathed heavily after breaking the kiss. "I don't want you to get sick."

"Don't have anything to change into, and I don't think your clothes will fit me," Gibbs teased.

Abby blushed, nervously biting her lip at what she was about to say and wondering if it was too soon to be assuming every aspect of their relationship was about to take a huge leap forward.

"Who says you're gonna need clothes for the rest of the night," she grinned and watched his eyes widen before continuing. "But I can put them in the wash once you're in the shower...then I guess you'll have to settle for a blanket or something while they're in the dryer."

Gibbs took a step back from her, taking hold of both her hands as he looked her up and down. "Think you might wanna join me in the shower?" He asked, quickly trying to give her a reason for suggesting it. "You know...since your clothes aren't exactly dry anymore either."

But Abby didn't need a reason, and she swallowed loudly at the thought of sharing a shower with him. Her mind had run through similar scenarios many times, but this was real, and the prospect of seeing Gibbs naked, being able to touch him and have his hands on her was suddenly a lot to take in.

Her brain immediately jumped ahead to what she wanted to do with him in the shower, a loud moan echoing through the otherwise quiet room and making Gibbs chuckle.

"So I take it that's a yes then?"

Abby was suddenly unable to form any coherent thought, words failing her as Gibbs reached up to slide a hand around the back of her neck. She couldn't look away from him even if she wanted to, his cobalt eyes leaving her powerless to do anything but let herself get lost in him.

"I need you to be sure this is what you want Abby, coz once we cross this line there's no going back. I want you, all of you, but if you don't feel the same then say so and this stops now."

Dragging her thoughts back to the present Abby returned Gibbs' intense stare, both of them knowing this was the moment that would change everything.

This was the point of no return, and Abby was determined that they wouldn't go back to being friends. She was just as scared of losing him as he was of losing her and she wasn't going to give up the opportunity to be with him in the way she'd longed for.

"Not stopping, want all of you too," she told him without hesitation. "I'm sure, Gibbs."

Without another word she tightened her grip around his hand, her slender fingers clenching his as she led him down the hallway towards the bathroom. Abby knew things were moving quickly, but in a way they had been building up to this for months, years even. They already knew each other so well and their emotional bond had only gotten stronger the longer they knew one another.

Being together physically was the next natural step for them and Abby was ready to move forward and give herself completely to Gibbs. They could wait, but she didn't see the point in that, not now that he'd made it perfectly clear he wanted her. And Abby wasn't about to deny him anything, especially when she wanted it more than her next breath.

TBC...