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Spoiler: Season 2 episode: Caught On Tape

Title: Not Now but Someday

Rated: T

Category: Romance/Humor

Author: WithTheGrain

Pairing: Abby/Gibbs

A/N: I recently saw the episode 'Caught on Tape' and this little story came to mind. This was a great episode. A lot of fantastic humor. Written for the Gibbs/Abby Shipper Forum weekly Creative Drive for the prompt 'celebration'.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Gibbs?" Abby yelled into her phone. "Can you come pick me up?"

He looked at the empty mug in his hand and the half empty bottle of bourbon on the workbench in front of him. "Where are you?"

The music blaring within the club prevented Abby from hearing what Gibbs had said. With one finger, she plugged her opposite ear. "What? Wait a sec!"

Gibbs heard the noise coming into his phone suddenly diminish and Abby's voice came through loud and clear. "Gibbs?" she yelled into her phone again, causing him to jerk his phone away from his ear. "My friend, Angie, was gonna give me a ride home, but her car won't start. Can you come get me?"

Without hesitation, he answered, "I'll send a cab for ya. Give me the address." Gibbs copied down the information and told her to sit tight. Snapping his phone shut, he contemplated once again whether he should just go get her himself, but in the end, he knew he had had a bit too much to drink, so he called the cab company.

Thirty minutes later, Gibbs was surprised by Abby's clunking boots descending the steps to his basement. He had expected the cab to take her home, not bring her to his place. Upon reaching the bottom step, she held the banister to steady herself. "Hey, Gibbs. Thanks for the ride."

He watched as she began pulling her jacket off her shoulders. Apparently, she had come to visit. "Your friend get her car fixed?"

Abby waved a hand through the air at him. "Nah. She'll have it towed to a garage tomorrow."

Gibbs noticed her unsteadiness. "You drink a lot tonight?"

Giving a heavy sigh, Abby moved towards him. "Not really. It was a birthday celebration for my friend, Mandy. She hooked up with some guy and left rather quickly. Guess she'll have a happy birthday."

Gibbs noticed the time was 10:30. Early for a birthday party to end. He lifted a wooden chair off his workbench and set it on the floor. "Wanna sit?"

Abby eyed the chair warily. "Is it safe?"

"Fixed it up good and solid yesterday," he replied with a grin. "Sit." Just as Abby settled onto it, he added, "I wanna make sure it won't fall apart before I return it to Mrs. Davis."

When Abby made a move to stand, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her onto the seat. "I'm kidding, Abbs."

The small smile he had on his face made Abby feel warm and tingly inside. "Funny, Gibbs," she teased.

"Actually, I just finished painting it, so don't lean back."

Abby lunged to her feet and saw him smirking, on the verge of chuckling. She knew he was kidding once again and she gave him a playful swat on his arm. "You're kinda feisty tonight. I like it." She smiled and winked then sat back down.

Gibbs felt a little light-headed and knew it was the bourbon that was bringing down his inhibitions. Dragging a stool over, he sat in front of Abby, their knees only inches apart. "Something you wanna talk about?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "Something you want to talk about?" She liked the sparkle she saw in his blue eyes.

"I thought you'd go home from the club. Why d'ya come here?"

Abby looked around then smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. Never actually thought about going home."

Her answer gave him a comfortable feeling and he had to hold back from reaching out and caressing her cheek. He saw her eyes drift over his thighs and slowly up to his face. There was an alluring look in her gaze that raised his pulse. "Kate gonna keep that dog?" he asked, trying to start a topic of conversation.

Abby giggled as she remembered the antics that she and Kate had pulled on DiNozzo. Kate had named the dog Toni and they had used DiNozzo's cap as a food dish for the dog. "Just until she can find a good home for it. She doesn't have enough time to give Toni the attention she needs."

"She's a good watchdog," Gibbs commented.

There was a long minute of silence as they both thought about the terrier and eventually Abby was the first to speak. "So, do you think a man and a woman can just be friends, Gibbs?"

He had heard Kate and Tony bantering throughout the day regarding that same question. "I suppose it's possible," he answered.

"Okay, but do you think that if a man and a woman are friends, and they sleep together, that they can still remain just friends?"

Gibbs tilted his head back and sighed heavily. "I don't know. Never thought much about it."

Abby was almost certain that he had thought about it, but he just didn't want to talk about it. She leaned forward and boldly rested a hand on Gibbs' knee. "We're friends, right?"

Gibbs could have sworn he felt an electric surge rush up his thigh to his groin. He knew he had to change the topic of conversation. "Was it a surprise birthday party for your friend, Mandy?"

Abby give his knee a light squeeze and smirked. She knew exactly what he was trying to do, but she wanted to see how far she could push this… him. Seeing her friend Mandy leave with a guy had made Abby realize how much she would love to hook up with the silver-haired Marine sitting in front of her. "No, she knew we were planning the party." Abby slowly slid her hand a little ways up his solid thigh. "I actually consider you a very close friend."

Gibbs tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "I think of you as a close friend, too, Abbs." He could feel a fire starting to burn low in his belly. "Did she get presents and a cake?"

Abby stood and moved to straddle Gibbs' lap as she looped her arms around his neck. "She got a man. A strong… sexy man who's probably making all of her birthday wishes come true right now," she purred and brushed her lips along his cheek. The smell of bourbon and the feel of his hands falling to her hips, made Abby wiggle closer.

"Abby," Gibbs growled and fought the wave of desire to press her against his boat and find out if sex really would change a friendship. The feel of her warm soft body and sultry voice in his ear kept him from pushing her away.

"When it's my birthday, maybe we can have our own… private… celebration," she murmured and placed a soft kiss near his earlobe. She couldn't believe that he was letting her get this close; letting her push the boundaries of their friendship.

Gibbs felt his resolve snap, and he lifted her off his lap, pressed her back against the empty hull of his boat, and looked hard into her glimmering green eyes. His mouth was insistent when it fell to hers and Abby immediately parted her lips, to let his wet tongue slide along hers. He felt her arms tighten around his neck and a moan escape her throat and he pressed against her body more firmly. Eventually he pulled back slightly to regain his breath.

"Or we don't have to wait for my birthday," Abby gasped.

Gibbs pressed a few more gentle kisses to her sweet red lips then stepped back to clear his thoughts. "I can't do this, Abby. Not now. We need coffee."

He turned to move away but she caught his arm and moved in close. "If not now, when?" she spoke softly and didn't know how long she could possibly wait. His kisses had practically made her knees buckle.

"I need your friendship right now," he said and trailed a finger along her jawline. "When it's the right time, we'll both know. But I can't give you what you deserve right now. I shouldn't have kissed you. It won't happen again."

"You can kiss me whenever you want. I don't mind. I really liked it," she said with a smile.

He grinned and wanted desperately to kiss her again, but instead he stepped away and headed for the stairs. "Let's get some coffee. We've both had a bit much to drink."

Abby watched him ascend the stairs, needing a few minutes to gather her thoughts and understand why he had pulled away. She had definitely seen the desire in his eyes, and she had felt something almost magical when their lips met. But he was right, it wasn't a good time for either of them to start something. He was still getting past a third divorce and she needed to work out her relationship with McGee. Abby walked up the steps slowly, knowing she was willing to wait months, even years, to experience another kiss like that! Someday they would be together… she could feel it.

A/N: Please leave a review!