The sound of the alarm woke Abby early on Monday morning. She quickly turned it off and lay in bed for a moment, thinking. She'd been trying to figure out her change of heart towards Tim for the past couple of days, but his presence was distracting. As dangerous as she knew it was, she'd just let herself enjoy being close to him. She'd attempted to think things over while setting up her new laptop the previous night, but he'd insisted on helping her. She'd let him even though she didn't need help because it felt good to talk geek with him again. She'd missed that.

They were both back to work today, though, and maybe the separation between them there would help? She hoped so. She liked answers, not this confused state of mind she was in.

She could hear him moving around the apartment, getting ready for work and decided it was about time she got up. She'd set the alarm earlier than she really needed to out of habit; Tim's apartment was closer to the Navy Yard than hers was. Had been. She winced. That was going to stay painful for a while. She shook herself mentally, not allowing herself time to dwell on it.

She grabbed her favourite of the new clothes she'd bought and headed for the shower.

The ride into work was accomplished in silence. Tim seemed to have something on his mind, and Abby wasn't a morning person, at least not until she'd had her first Caf-Pow of the day. On the walk from the parking lot to the headquarters building, he turned and spoke

"Um, Abs? I was thinking, it's probably better if I don't come down and visit you unless Gibbs sends me, at least not today" At her quizzical look, he continued "Well, Ziva knows you're staying at my place, and if Ziva knows, Tony knows. There's no way he's going to believe you just needed somewhere to stay, especially not if I'm down in the lab"

"Oh" Comprehension was plain on her face "You're right, Tim, Tony's not going to buy that"

He nodded "But I'll call you when we're done for the day, ok? Unless you finish earlier" The elevator dinged, the 'up' arrow lit up. Quickly he stepped inside and hit the button for the 3rd floor, giving her a small wave as the doors closed.

She watched him go with a little pang. She'd really enjoyed spending the weekend with him, even in a platonic, friendly way. She'd forgotten what good company he was, and how comfortable she felt around him. How had she forgotten that? It was like the time spent together after so many weeks of conflict had made her realise how much she needed him around. That didn't explain the sudden resurgence of attraction however. When they'd dated years ago, she'd found him attractive in a boyish way. There was something so appealing in his shyness. But that was a long time ago; now he was confident without cockiness, assertive while still maintaining the gentleness that was so Tim. And, she had to admit, the personal training sessions that Tony had teased him so much about really had done wonders for his figure.

She suddenly realised she was at the door of her lab; she couldn't remember even getting on the elevator. 'You've got it bad, Scuito' she told herself as she entered the main lab and started powering up her equipment. In the absence of new evidence, she really needed to start working on the routine testing that was generated in an agency this large. It was time for annual physicals, and Ducky had delivered a series of blood samples from various agents. They could have farmed this out to a commercial laboratory, but the mundane work did at least give her something to do.

Unfortunately running routine tests on mostly healthy federal agents only occupied her hands, leaving her brain free to think. And the more she thought, the more she kept coming back to one conclusion; she had feelings for Timothy McGee that went way beyond friendship.

Chin propped on her closed fists, she sat staring blankly at the computer screen in front of her, not really seeing anything. She didn't want to admit that she wanted more from Tim than friendship. Just because she got a little breathless when he got close to her, felt a little empty when he left, found herself smiling when she thought of him (which was too often) didn't mean she felt that way about him. Right?

'Aww, crap' she thought as her forensically trained mind forced her to examine the evidence. She rested her forehead against the bench. She really didn't need this right now. She was car-less and homeless, and now she was staying with her best friend whom it now appeared she was in love with. That thought made her jerk upright. How had she progressed from 'have feelings for' to 'in love with' in that short space of time? Or had she always been in love with him, but didn't let herself realise it?

Gibbs' entrance, Caf-Pow in hand, was a welcome distraction. Handing over her first Caf-Pow for the day, he asked

"You ok, Abs?"

She nodded. "I'm ok, Gibbs. But my apartment was totally destroyed and maybe my car too"

"You're fine staying at McGee's?" she met his searching gaze squarely

"Yeah, Gibbs" he looked a little disbelieving at that but let it slide

"Insurance going to pay out?"

"Hopefully. They're still waiting on the report from the fire department"

He nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Let me know if you need anything, Abs" he kissed her on the cheek and left as quietly as he'd entered.

The brief conversation with Gibbs did much to clear Abby's mind. Forcing McGee to the back of her thoughts, she picked up her cell and called the insurance company again to check on her car. She knew they'd pay out her home insurance; the car was another matter.