-1Well, here it is, chapter six, just barely in time! And I'm way behind in 'Won't Let Go', haven't even posted one. I should know better than to make promises that hinge on my inner muse, 'cause she's WAY too fickle. But I'm working on it! Anyways. I'm a little disappointed at the lack of reviews for chapter five; did anyone even read it? I hope I didn't lose my readers over my vacation. Reassure me; review this one! Tell me what you thought of both chapters. Please::puppy eyes::

Chapter Six

Gibbs glanced over at Abby as silence settled over them again. "Run out of songs?" She'd been singing - softly, so as not to give their location away - for the past hour. She'd cycled through every genre imaginable, from alternative rock to Christmas songs, and Gibbs had to admit she had the voice to cover all of them.

She nodded slightly. "All that's coming to mind at the moment is 'Phantom of the Opera', and that's a duet." She glanced at him hopefully, then looked a bit dejected when he shook his head.

"I'm not much of a singer, Abbs, even if I did know the song well enough."

"You don't know 'Phantom of the Opera'?"

Gibbs had to chuckle at her disbelieving look. "I've heard it, but no, I never memorized it."

"Oh, that one's a classic, though! And the play rocks. And then the movie - the newest one - is great! Though, nothing beats actually seeing the real thing at a theatre and all." She hummed a couple lines.

"Didn't expect you to be a Broadway fan, Abbs," Gibbs admitted.

"Oh, yeah. Not all of them, but the classics… My Fair Lady, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables… Andrew Lloyd Webber is a genius, so anything he did…" She shrugged and fell silent for a moment before adding quietly, "I think my dad got me into those. We'd watch tapes of them together… he couldn't hear the music, of course, but he said he could feel it same as I could."

Gibbs nodded slightly. Abby rarely talked about her dad, and he'd never asked. But he knew enough to tell that they'd been quite close. Even such a tiny tidbit of personal information from her was precious, and Gibbs stored it away along with a mental note to buy Phantom of the Opera for the next time she showed up at his house. If we ever get back home, he added silently, watching Abby as she trotted along beside him and hummed a tune he didn't recognize, apparently making it up as she went. At least she seemed to be in a pretty good mood, considering the circumstances. But it still hadn't warmed up any, and he had a slight suspicion that the reason for her quick gait might be partially just an attempt to keep warm.

The forest had thinned out a good deal, so that the morning sky was now visible through the branches overhead and they could walk a good distance in a straight line without running into a tree. That was both a relief and a concern: they would be able to see through the trees for a good distance if anything was moving, but likewise there weren't many places for them to hide out if they needed to. Gibbs knew they had a pretty good head start, as they'd been keeping up a quick pace since they'd started, but he didn't fully trust this man not to pursue them with a vehicle or some other advantage.

It was hard to really consider the situation they were in. He found himself thinking about it as if he were watching it on TV, or reading the story in a book; it was happening to someone else, and he was merely analyzing it. He was pretty sure Abby was looking at it the same way, or else she was flatly refusing to think about it. She was for all appearances her normal perky self, on a brisk walk through the woods, alternating between singing and chatting and never seeming to demand or require an answer from him, and he found himself once again amazed by this girl who could skip happily along beside him despite obvious discomfort and an immensely stressful situation.

It was by no means the first time he'd been amazed by her ceaseless optimism. He knew he was far from knowing everything about her - in fact he felt he knew relatively little, though admittedly more than most - but he knew she had as much to be upset about as anyone, excuses to be bitter, cynical, depressed, and he knew she did have her moments. But she overcame them seemingly effortlessly, and the effects of even the worst and most painful times in her life didn't change her general bright outlook. With everything she'd seen, heard of, and even been through, she hadn't lost her innocence. He prayed she never would.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Her voice snapped him out of his ponderings. He looked up at her; she'd quickened her pace so that she was a foot or two ahead of him, her cuffed arm stretched out behind her as she looked at him over her shoulder.

"Do you even have a penny?" he asked, glancing over her outfit. She laughed and blushed slightly.

"No, but I'll write you an I.O.U."

"For a penny?"

"Pennies build up! Remember how many pennies get thrown away or put in jars each year? They all think that pennies are too tiny to worry about, but that's 3 million dollars right there!"

Gibbs chuckled. "I remember, Abbs. That's why I'd let you keep the penny."

She grinned. "But do I still get to hear your thoughts?"

He smiled and shrugged. "Just this and that. Little bit of everything."

"Fun." She looked around, then sighed slightly. "This forest is getting boring. I wish there was something other than trees."

Gibbs started to answer, but didn't get the chance. The leaf-covered ground gave no warning, just giving out the moment Abby stepped on the wrong spot. She had no chance to catch herself, giving a small yelp as she fell, pulling Gibbs to the ground after her, as he frantically struggled to grab hold of something, anything, to keep himself from being dragged into the hole too. His mind flashed on the normal use of such traps for hunters - he did not want to see if he was right when either he or Abby hit the bottom.