-1I actually had this done only mere hours after finishing the prologue! Go me! But, it helps that I already know the basic beginning of this story. After that, though (and even now), I'll say, suggestions welcome! Can't promise I'll do what's suggested, but hey, give me ideas and maybe I'll write faster! It's worth a shot, right? lol

Chapter One

Gibbs woke confused, cold, and with a pounding headache. It took a moment for memory to return, and he opened his eyes to find himself somewhere dark, cramped, and chilly. After a minute, he recognized the feel of movement and decided he must be in some sort of vehicle - probably the back of a truck or van - but from the close quarters and the feel of the material beneath him he could go beyond that to guess he was in some sort of metal box or crate. He gave himself a mental once-over and suddenly noticed the feel of cold metal around his right wrist. He lifted his arm a bit, blinking as he tried to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and made out the shape of a metal ring, connected to a chain - handcuffs. That wasn't too big of a shock, really. The shock was what he was handcuffed to. Or, rather, who.

Abby's still form lay beside him, still unconscious, the other cuff closed tightly around her left wrist. He guessed she'd been abducted from her house as well; even in the darkness he could make out that she was not dressed to be out of the house. He assumed the skeleton-printed tank top and hot pants were her PJ's when she was at home; every time she stayed at his house she had just borrowed his Marine shirt. As his eyes became accustomed to the darkness, confusion turned to concern as he noticed her condition: she was bruised and battered, apparently having put up a good fight against her assailant, and they hadn't gone as easy on her as they had on him.

"Abby?" he whispered, feeling for some reason as if he shouldn't speak loudly. Rolling onto his side, he put his hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly. "Abby, wake up."

She groaned slightly, stirred, cracked her eyes open. Memory kicked in then and she woke with a jolt, sitting up quickly only to whack her head on the top of the box and drop back with a yelp. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" She groaned again, from pain this time, but nodded. Then it clicked that someone had asked that, and that that someone was right beside her and she didn't know who it was, and she jerked away again, this time bumping her spine rather firmly against the cold metal of the box, bringing forth another "Ow!"

"Abby, stop moving." And then she recognized the voice.

"Gibbs?"

"Yeah." He sounded relieved, and she knew she felt likewise that it was him and not some random person. "Are you okay?"

She blinked a few times, peering at him through the darkness. "Well, now my head hurts. And my back," she admitted a bit sheepishly. She tried to bring her hand up to rub her head, but found resistance behind the movement. Looking down at her arm, she found the cause to be the handcuffs linking her arm to Gibbs'. "Wow. This is…hinky."

Gibbs sighed. "Just a bit."

"A little kinky, too."

"Abby…"

"Well, it is!"

She heard Gibbs chuckle. "How hard did you hit your head, exactly?"

Choosing to ignore the question, she twisted her neck to look around the space they occupied. She knew it was pretty small, as she was pressed rather close against Gibbs. There isn't even enough room to sit up, she thought ruefully, rubbing her head with her uncuffed hand. "Where are we?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Gibbs answered. "A box of some sort, and I think we're in a moving vehicle." He sighed, wishing he had more than that. He felt Abby shiver beside him. "Cold?"

"Just a little," she lied, trying to suppress another shiver. The metal was cold against her bare skin, and she wasn't exactly dressed warmly. That thought warmed her up a little as she blushed at the realization that she was dressed rather scantily and in such close quarters with her long-time friend and boss. "So, metal box in a moving vehicle. What's the plan?"

She felt more than saw Gibbs shrug. "You don't have any creative ideas?"

"You're the agent."

"You're the creative one."

She sighed slightly, thinking. "Well, stab in the dark here; maybe we should see if we can get out of the box?"

"Good a plan as any," Gibbs said with another shrug.

Nodding slightly, Abby decided to see how large the box was. If she stretched she could touch the bottom end with her toes. She reached her arms over her head to touch the top end, pulling Gibbs' arm along with her. The top was maybe six inches over her head, the bottom about an inch from her feet. "Maybe if we brace ourselves against the bottom end we can push this end open."

"It's a metal box, Abbs."

"Yeah, but it's gotta open somewhere." Unless it's locked, she added silently, but she figured it wouldn't help to verbalize that. "It's worth a shot." At his go ahead she tried to slide down so that she could use the bottom end as a bracer. The movement attempt was surprisingly painful and she couldn't suppress a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs asked instantly, a note of concern obvious in his voice.

Abby took a deep breath to steady herself before answering. "Nothing. I'm good. Just sore." She felt Gibbs' eyes on her and explained. "Guess I'm a bit beat up. I didn't much like the idea of some random guy dragging me out of my bedroom. But, really, I'm okay." She didn't think he really believed her, but he didn't prod for more information.

"Okay. Let's try this, then," she said, feeling the cold metal of the box against her feet. She felt Gibbs shift beside her and the slight tug on her arm as he moved his arms to the other end of the box, and she moved with him, pushing with all her strength on the unbudging metal.

"I don't think this is working," he said after a minute of trying to get the box to give.

"Me either," she sighed.

He moved to press against the side of the box that was above them, pulling her arm along with his, but gave up after only a few seconds. "I'd say we're likely locked in here."

"So, what do we do?"

Gibbs sighed. "I guess… we wait." Abby matched his sigh. She could tell by his tone that he didn't like that plan any more than she did… but, it was the only choice they had.