Road Trip

By: Raven612

Chapter 10: Boulder, CO Part 2

A/N: Well folks here it is, chapter ten! I hope you all enjoy it, and we're only a hop, skip, and jump away from Vegas! They've got one more stop after Boulder before they reach the city of lights! Stay tuned and find out what happens next, now on with the story! I would also like to add that my setting of the Alfred Packer Grill is nothing at all what the real grill is like. I wanted to make it slightly more interesting that just some college cafeteria, so in advance I apologize for changing it, please don't hate me, lol.

……..

The early morning light filtered through the white curtains and rested its wayward hand on Abby's face. Abby turned away from the light, but it followed her.

"Wake up Abs, breakfast is about to start," a deep voice roused her from her slumber as well as the feel of Gibbs's lips on her temple.

"Five more minutes," she groaned and threw her arm over her face, smiling all the while.

Gibbs smirked, "Have it your way, I'll just eat your share, I hear Penny is making cinnamon rolls; fresh," he sat back and waited for her response, knowing that cinnamon rolls were her favorite.

"Well why didn't you say something sooner?" she snapped and threw the covers off and began to rummage in her suitcase for something to wear.

Gibbs chuckled and sipped his coffee, "Figured that would get your attention."

Abby shot him a scowl before heading into the bathroom for a quick shower. Gibbs smiled after her and went to stand at the window. He noted the writer busily typing on her laptop while the cowboy sat across from her, stealing glances while throwing a stick for his dog. Andrea would catch Neal looking and blush before going back to her writing. Gibbs smiled, knowing what was going on in each of their heads, just as Neal got up to go sit next to Andrea, John and Tom came racing into the yard, each with some sort of toy, trying to attack the other. Hal was caught up in the excitement that he started to chase the boys and bark merrily. Andrea closed her laptop to watch and laugh. Neal too was laughing at the antics and took the opportunity to talk to Andrea about something.

"Anything interesting?" Abby asked sneaking up beside him brushing her ebony locks.

"Not really," he said and stepped away, offering her a better view of the mayhem.

Abby chuckled as she watched the activity below her, "They get away with too much, and they're going to be in some serious trouble when they get older."

Gibbs nodded his understanding, "Let's get some breakfast and see what it is you want to see today," he stepped to the side to allow her to walk before him.

"Anxious?" she teased as she left the room and went into the hall.

"In a hurry," he corrected and kissed her cheek as he passed her to go to the dining room.

She smiled and shook her head as she followed, "Just wait until you see what I have planned for lunch."

"It's what you've got planned before lunch that I'm worried about," he said as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Abby was two steps behind him, she stopped next to him and smiled at him, "It's not that bad, the real interesting site is where we eat lunch today, but until then I feel like doing some window shopping and a little hiking, Boulder is famous for its beauty and easy access hiking and biking trails."

Gibbs raised a brow at her, "That sounds normal," he said with an air of caution.

Abby smiled, "Well Gibbs, that's because it is normal," she then walked past him and into the dining room where she was greeted with the smells of a country breakfast.

"Good morning," Penny greeted looking up from setting a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls on the table.

"Morning Penny," Abby greeted with a large smile as she took a roll for herself, she bit into it and sighed with happiness, "these rolls are amazing Penny! I need to bring one back to Major Mass Spec.!"

Penny looked at her quizzically, yet smiled, "Well I think that was a compliment, you go on and enjoy," she urged and walked back into the kitchen just as her husband entered with a large pitcher of orange juice.

"Here you are, some O.J. to wash your breakfast down with, morning," he greeted, though he didn't smile much, there was warmth in his voice.

"Morning," Gibbs greeted between a sip on his coffee.

"Morning Frank," she greeted and smiled as she poured herself some orange juice.

Abby and Gibbs suddenly looked up when loud shouts could be heard from upstairs, and then Brad and Jean appeared at the top of the stairs, yelling at one another. They seemed not to notice that anyone else was in the room with them as they continued their arguing into the parlor at the end of the staircase. Abby cleared her throat, she felt uncomfortable listening to other people argue, Frank clucked his tongue in disapproval and went back into the kitchen. Gibbs, on the other hand, being the Marine he is and also being used to having control over a situation issued a short, yet loud and piercing whistle. Both in the middle of a sentence looked up at him startled, their faces flushed after realizing what had happened.

"Uh, sorry," Brad said in a weak tone and raised his hand to run along the back of his neck.

Jean gave Gibbs the evil eye as she brushed past him and Abby to get a glass of orange juice, "Brad, get the kids, it's time we left; we were supposed to be on the road an hour ago."

Brad looked from Jean to the sliding door right next to her, about to make a comment, he decided it would be better to swallow his words and instead went to the backyard to call the twins inside. John and Tom, along with Neal and Andrea came in.

"What?" Tom snapped to his father, clearly upset about having to come in.

"Get some food, your mom wants to leave as soon as possible, we still have a lot of driving to do before we get home," he told his sons as he ushered them to the table.

Abby watched in silence as she nibbled on her third cinnamon roll and second glass of juice.

"I'll load the bags, you ready?" Gibbs asked bringing her back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm good," she answered, "I'll be up in a second to help, I'm going to say goodbye to Frank and Penny."

Gibbs nodded and went upstairs to get their bags while Abby went into the kitchen.

……………

After a short drive into town Abby and Gibbs were walking along the crowded sidewalks looking in windows and weaving in and out of bicycles. Gibbs was surprised to see the amount of coffee shops in the moderately sized town and was working on his third cup of the day. Abby, having Caf-Pow! withdrawals, was nursing an energy drink. They reached the end of the wooded sidewalk and where a hiking trail started.

"Come on Gibbs, let's see where this goes," she smiled and beckoned for him to follow her.

He rolled his eyes and followed after her, glad to be away from the busy sidewalks and loud music being played on the street corners. Gibbs was content to travel at the pace Abby had set for them, it was barely 11 o'clock in the morning and the woods were beautiful. Abby and Gibbs were surrounded by towering pines, the path they followed edged by wild ferns and various other bushes and grasses, the light from the sun filtered through the tress in small splashes. Abby stopped suddenly.

"What is it Abbs?" he asked and rushed to put himself in front of her, fearing she had senses something he did not.

Abby blinked a few times and shook her head she then dropped down onto a boulder beside the path and rested her head in her hands, "I'm sorry Gibbs, but I just suddenly got a flashback to being in the woods with Carl."

Gibbs sighed and went to stand next to her, he placed his hand on her shoulder, the boulder prevented him from crouching to her eye level, "Look at me Abbs," he ordered in a warm yet stern voice.

Abby slowly raised her head, her eyes dancing in pools of unshed tears, "I know he's dead and I thought this trip, this little vacation might help me with everything, but being here in these woods just brings me back to those two days." She stopped for a moment to think about what she wanted to say next, Gibbs kept silent knowing she had to collect her thoughts herself, "What if I hadn't jumped into that stream Gibbs, then I wouldn't be here with you," she tried to smile at him.

Gibbs sighed and nudged her over a few inches so he could sit next to her, once seated he drew her into him and used his thumb to massage her shoulder, "You were smart enough to know to get away from him and you are here, right now, with me. I know you don't want to face those events from a few weeks ago, but the truth is Abbs, in order to conquer our demons, we must first face them and you don't have to do it alone, you've got me and you've got the team." He drew her in closer and pressed his lips to her temple as he whispered his last few words, "No matter what Abby, you'll always have me and I will always protect you, I love you." He kissed her temple then when he finished.

Abby smiled, though he couldn't see it because her face was cast down, but she knew he could feel it, "Thanks Gibbs, I guess it hasn't helped much that I've kept it all inside, huh?"

"Nope."

Abby nodded, "Didn't think so, but I just didn't know how to bring it up, ya know?"

Gibbs nodded.

"I suppose it's brought up now, huh?"

"Yup."

Abby let out a sigh and hugged Gibbs tightly, "What if I don't want to talk about it?"

Gibbs shrugged, "You gotta talk about it sometime Abbs."

"I know, but I don't want to ruin the rest of the trip."

Gibbs smirked as she left an opening for a comeback, "The trip was ruined as soon as you decided to drag me to Vegas."

That may have sounded like a insult to anyone else, but Abby smiled and untangled herself from him and socked him playfully in the arm, "Giiiiiibbbs," she wailed and laughed.

Gibbs smiled, glad to see her happy again, but then he turned serious and looked at her, "You feeling any better?"

Abby sighed and jumped from the boulder and turned to face him, "Getting there, this was a good first step," she smiled and waited for Gibbs to re-join her on the trail.

Gibbs put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side and turned to face her and kissed her full on the lips. Abby reached her arms up around his neck and pulled him in closer and pressed her lips back onto his. "How much further?" he asked as he reluctantly pulled away.

Abby looked ahead but couldn't see anything around the bend in the trail, "Another mile?" she asked.

Gibbs nodded and took her hand as they set out once again on the trail.

…………..

As they rounded their third corner the unmistakable sound of rushing water was heard and Abby stopped, frozen in her spot. Gibbs stopped next to her knowing what was going on, "Want to turn around?" he asked gently.

Abby shook her head, "No, I can go ahead," she straightened her shoulders and her spine and after a few minutes took the first step forward, "he's not here I'm not running from anyone," she whispered to herself as she continued slowly ahead, the water sounding closer and closer with each step. Finally, after rounding the fourth bend in the trail they spotted a small stream, swelled with the summer runoff of the mountains beyond. Abby took in a deep breath and let go of Gibbs' hand. He knew she had to do whatever it was she was going to do; alone. He stood behind her, watching carefully, ready to spring into action if she needed it.

Abby walked up the stream and stared down at her broken reflection, snippets of her kidnapper and herself in the woods back in D.C. flashed through her mind, her reflection changed, just for a second, to that of Carl's face. She shivered when she saw, blinked, and looked again but she only saw herself. She crouched down and closed her eyes, taking two deep breathes she stood again and turned to Gibbs, a light smile on her face, "Gibbs, come check it out, you can see the fish in it."

Gibbs smiled and walked to her on the bank and looked into the clear crystal waters with her, he too was plagued by images of finding her on the bank of the stream in D.C., but her laughter made the memories disappear.

……….

It was well after 3 o'clock when Gibbs and Abby finally made it back into town, their hike back was relatively quiet as both were lost in their own thoughts. Once back on the crowded sidewalk Abby grabbed Gibbs' arm and drug him after her, "I'm starving," she admitted as they went, Gibbs could only imagine where they were going.

After being drug around for a half hour Gibbs was startled to see the University of Colorado looming ahead of them, "A college Abby?" he was rather curious as to what they were doing at a college.

"Kind of, the place I want to eat is the Alfred Packer Memorial Grill which is near the college."

Gibbs was confused, so far all the stops they made were for the more unusual things, but this particular stop didn't sound so weird, but he couldn't stop his question, "Who is Alfred Packer?"

Abby grinned when he asked and pulled him into the small restaurant, "See for yourself," she motioned to the papers hanging on the walls detailing just who Alfred Packer was. According to the story Alfred Packer was a famous cannibal and there were all kinds of sites on Colorado's Cannibal Trail.

"A cannibal, we're going to eat in a restaurant that is dedicated to a cannibal?"

Abby lit up and nodded, "Yes we are!"

Gibbs let out a groan and allowed himself to be drug back to a booth with Abby, their waiter handed them some menus and told them of the house specials: fried trapeziums, which was fried chicken thighs, though they used the muscles from the human arm, and thumb and hair soup which was chicken noodle. After a few minutes of deliberation Abby ordered the head burger with a side of toes and a large snot shake. Gibbs, repulsed by the names assigned to the menu items ordered a portion of stomach with a side of its contents and a coffee.

"This place is so cool," Abby said with a smile as she looked around the place.

Gibbs merely nodded and kept his eye focused on his steaming coffee, lost in his thoughts, thoughts that had been going through his mind since Abby had come to stay in his house, glad that they could hit the road when they finished eating and also glad that the light at the end of their seeming never ending tunnel was coming closer, just one more stop before they reached Vegas, then it would be time for them to come home. After lunch Gibbs and Abby made their way to the ever crowded sidewalks.

"That was some good brains," she said with a smile and yawned, it was nearing 5 o'clock now and Gibbs was anxious to go, they had a long drive ahead of them and they would pulling into the next town well after dark.

"Here, go find the car, I've got to go to the bathroom," Gibbs handed Abby the keys and turned sharply getting lost in the crowd.

Abby stood staring after him, confused, she knew something was bothering him, but wasn't sure what. She went and found his car, got into the passenger side and started it. She looked out the windshield into the dense forest in front of her; she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to figure out what was up with Gibbs. He was silent throughout lunch and didn't seem like he wanted to talk much. Abby noticed him heading towards the car from the corner of her eye. She watched him get in and buckle then she turned towards him in her seat, "Gibbs is something wrong?"

Gibbs was startled by her question, "No Abbs, everything is fine, why?"

Abby pouted and shrugged, "You seemed far away at lunch today…" she trailed, not sure what else she could say.

Gibbs frowned at her while he looked behind him as he backed out of his spot, "Everything is fine Abbs," he reassured her and, before putting the car into drive, kissed her gently on the lips.

Abby, still confused, turned to face out her window, her brow crinkled as she tried to think of something to explain his sudden distance. Gibbs looked over at her, and could kick himself for seeming like such a jackass, but he wasn't quite ready to share his thoughts with her, he reached over with his free hand and grabbed her hand closest to his and squeezed it, "Everything is perfect Abbs, I was just thinking how a guy like me ends up with a girl like you."

Abby turned back to him, her face softer and a lot happier looking, "Gibbs, stop being like that," she chuckled softly, "you deserve me every bit as much as I deserve you!"

Gibbs smiled and shook his head, "Whatever you say."

Abby smiled, "I love you Gibbs, and only you…well I love Tony and the others too, but I love you in a different sort of way…not like I love them, I love them like brothers and a sister, but you…you're my silver haired fox."

Gibbs chuckled, "Love you too Abbs."

Abby smiled and nodded her curiosity towards her lover's earlier actions, forgotten…for now. They drove into the mountains and into the plains of Utah as they continued on with their trip. The sun s burning flame high above them was beginning to sink and night was only a few hours away, but Abby was already asleep in her seat and Gibbs glanced at her, a small smile on his face, his mind was made up, it was just a matter of time.

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A/N: So? So, I know it is very late, but school is just so hard to work around! But I am trying to be faster, I've been working on this chapter for two weeks! I am definitely sticking by my next idea or finished stories before posting them! I totally got the idea from the amazing ncislove! So far I have three chapters for my newest story, but I'm going to finish this and Disturbing Behavior before I post it! But for now, to make me happy, leave me a review!! I love you all and thanks to much for reading this chapter and this story, I shall try my hardest to get the next chapter up a lot sooner!