I definitely fell asleep writing this last night... at nine pm. This is what happens when you work with a class of two year olds. Thanks for all the follows/reviews. It always lifts my energy levels during the kids' naptime when I see all the emails from telling me I have new followers, etc. :)
Abby was finishing up at work when she got a text alert on her phone. Still angry with Gibbs, but excited about her date with Matt, she picked up and scanned it quickly, her heart sinking. Matt had an emergency with one of his patients, and needed to raincheck dinner that evening. Not wanting to sound like she was nagging, Abby responded optimistically, and suggested that if he finished early, they could still meet somewhere for a late dinner. Abby was listlessly messing with her computer when she got his response of, "Sure!" with a smiley face.
The thought of Gibbs popped into her head. How would it look if suddenly she didn't have a date with Matt tonight? Normally if a date canceled on her last minute, she would shrug it off and get take out with Gibbs or Tony, but Abby didn't want to admit to Gibbs that her date had fallen through. Call her proud or stubborn, but she didn't want to seem like she'd just had sex with a guy who wasn't interested in seeing her again tonight, especially after her yelling spree the night before. She would just seem like a silly child who was clueless about men if Gibbs knew, so Abby headed to the bathroom with her chosen outfit and started to prep for an imaginary date.
~*~*~*~NCIS~*~*~*~
Gibbs was ignoring the occasional looks his team had been throwing his way for the last couple of hours. They'd picked up on his anger and frustration, and had been visibly trying to avoid him. An hour earlier, DiNozzo and McGee were whispering to themselves before Tony pulled a quarter out of his pocket and McGee hastily whispered, "Heads!" Gibbs had interrupted them by growling that if they had a question just to grow some balls and ask it.
As Gibbs was finishing the last of some paperwork, the back elevator dinged and Abby strode out in a tight, black skirt and a tee shirt from one of her favorite bands that she had reworked to look like a frayed tank top. Between her outfit, the knee-high boots she wore with the outfit, and the way she strutted through the Bullpen, it was obvious that no one was getting any work done due to a lack of focus.
"Wow, Abby, another date?" Ziva whistled at her.
"Yup. With Matt, the successful dentist. He's really awesome. I don't think there's a better guy out there." Abby kept willing herself to stop, but it just kept coming. "He's really considerate, and honest." Now she was just being a bitch. Time to put a lid on it.
Gibbs kept his eyes trained on the desk as she went on about her new man. He knew her last comment was aimed at him, but there was no point trying to talk to her just then. Between her impending date and the team being within earshot, such a conversation wouldn't end well.
Abby glanced at the clock across the room, "Don't wanna be late. Night, all." With a quick wave, she vanished down the stairs, so anxious to leave that she didn't bother waiting for the elevator.
Gibbs stared at the paper in front of him, reading the same sentence several times over without fully comprehending its meaning. He'd never fought this long with Abby before. He rarely, if ever, fought with Abby, so he really didn't know how to make things right with her. With his ex-wives, it usually involved flowers or jewelry, but Abby wasn't that type of woman. Maybe he could get her a new tattoo? How would that even work?
It had been a long time since he'd found himself wanting to make things right, rather than just feeling obligated to do so. Abby meant the world to him, always had. And even if that meant accepting a new man into her life, and apologizing for his attitude towards her, then that's what he would do. No matter how badly it killed him in private.
~*~*~*~NCIS~*~*~*~
Abby ordered her usual Chinese take-out and sat in front of her television as she ate, watching reruns of Friends halfheartedly. It was already past eight, and she hadn't heard anything else from Matt. She cracked open her fortune cookie and scoffed at the fortune which read, To Forgive and Forget is Divine. There were some days that irony just wasn't funny, and today was one of those.
There were so many things she could have been doing at that moment, like work on a paper she was hoping to publish regarding the fingerprint database and how it could be simplified to create a shorter wait time, or she could continue reading the second book from the Game of Thrones series, which she'd just started the week before. But all Abby could manage to do was stare at the television listlessly. She was jarred from her trance when her phone went on. Matt was calling her.
Abby tapped her phone to answer it. "Hello?"
"Hey, cutie. I'm sorry it's so late. Were you still interested in hanging out? I could grab some take out and bring it over to your place?"
"I actually just ate. But I don't mind keeping you company while you eat."
"Sounds good to me, what's the address?"
Abby rattled off her address as he punched it into his GPS and approximated that it would take him twenty minutes to get there. As soon as they hung up the call, Abby jumped up and dashed to her room to change into something more suitable for a night at home with Matt.
~*~*~*~NCIS~*~*~*~
Abby yawned at her desk, wishing she could've slept in rather then come in to work. Matt had stayed over until one thirty that morning. After eating and watching a movie together, the two had ended up in bed before Matt had to head home so he didn't have to do the walk of shame in his previous day's clothes.
A new case had opened up that morning, so Abby was busy running fingerprints, checking on samples of varying DNA, and determining the size and type of tire tracks left at the crime scene. It was only a matter of time before Gibbs would seek out the results, and she would have to speak to him for the first time since the previous morning. Her anger was beginning to fade, though she was bewildered by Gibbs's actions.
Her thoughts were cut off as a familiar presence filled the lab. Abby turned in her chair to find a solemn Gibbs in the doorway.
"Don't really have anything yet, Gibbs." Abby was quiet, but lacked the anger Gibbs was listening for.
He nodded. "Didn't think you would yet."
"Then why bother coming down?"
Gibbs handed over a Caf-Pow! "Figured you'd be thirsty."
Abby accepted it and immediately took a sip, having already finished her morning Caf-Pow! long before from her exhaustion.
Gibbs spoke again, "Meant to apologize."
The straw dropped from her mouth in surprise. "Apologize? That would make twice in one week. You're getting soft."
Gibbs neared Abby and leaned over to kiss her on the temple. "Just worry about you."
"I know. But next time, just come to me? Please?"
He nodded.
"Promise?"
He chuckled, "Promise."
Abby hugged Gibbs. "Thank you." She held him tightly in a quick squeeze, and then stepped back. "Now, I have work to do, Agent Gibbs. This evidence won't analyze itself!"
With a brief smile, Gibbs exited the lab. Though he felt lighter following the apology, he still felt a heaviness within him, nagging at the back of his mind.
