He had been relaxing on the beach with Mike when the mail came, and news of a call.

"Hola, senors."She greeted them as Franks dug some bills out of his pocket.

"Hola. How much do I owe you?"

"Twenty-five American. Call for you, Leroy Jethro. A man, said it was muy importante." She handed him the cell phone

"Hola?"

"Boss, you gotta come back."

"I'm retired."

"Don't hang up! Abby's taking it really hard."

"She's a big girl." He ran a hand through his scruffy hair, sighing. He knew this would happen, but he trusted Tony and Ducky to take care of her.

"… She's in the hospital, boss."

"What the hell happened?!" He exploded, imagining the worst for his girl.

"We're not exactly sure. She might be in denial."

"Tell me everything." When he got off the plane he took a taxi directly to Bethesda, getting in easily because he was still her main emergency contact. That she hadn't changed it was a bad sign. It likely meant she believed he was coming back. He couldn't give her false hope. He was here to snap her out of her funk.

When he entered the room they all looked at him expectantly. His eyes immediately went to the bed, but she was out cold.

"They sedated her. She hasn't been sleeping."

"Yeah, I got all that on the phone. Didn't she talk to anyone?" They all shook their heads. Exasperated, he sat on the bed and ran his fingers through her hair. He wondered if it had been let down to aid the hospital, or if she hadn't bothered to put it up. They confirmed that she wore her hair normally, and acted chipper.

"How is that a bad thing?"

"She's putting on a show, Jethro. She didn't play music in her lab for weeks, she has your picture on all of her computers, but acts as if she's fine." Abby shifted and murmured in her sleep and they all watched with baited breath. She simply settled back into the pillows, without waking.

"Any idea why she hasn't been sleeping?" No one did. Apparently they had all been watching Tony, seeing if he was up to the challenge. Even Ducky hadn't noticed much. She had somehow always woken from her faints before anyone checked in on her; they had only noticed the darkness under her eyes.

They had chatted for a few hours, then the nurse shooed out everyone but him, since he was her emergency contact. She allowed him to sleep in the chair next to her bed. It reminded him of comforting Kelly after she had woken with a nightmare. He woke to her moving about restlessly, mumbling under her breath. He watched anxiously, and her eyes shot open. She was tearing up and her breathing was ragged.

"Gibbs…"She whispered brokenly, and it sounded the exact same as when he had kissed her cheek and left.

"I'm right here, Abs." He murmured, sliding his hand into hers. She gasped, and clung to him as best she could with one arm in a sling. She began sobbing and he sat on the bed, pulling her into his lap. He rocked her and rubbed her back until she had caught her breath, then he sat next to her and made her lie down. She squeezed his hand and he returned the gesture. She fell asleep and he quickly followed her into dreamland.