A/N: Sorry for the late updates. I am quite busy with things and never really had the chance to work on any of my stories. Luckily, I did an all nighter for this one. Yeah, this one is quite overdramatic I know. Oh yeah, I was listening to a song called "All Out of Love" by John Barrowman. Maybe the overdramatic chapter was influenced by the song, but I do hope you like this chapter. If you don't, I understand. I guess my ideas are a bit out there.
Chapter Ten
After Briggs and Gibbs declared a challenge to each other, Abby was now stuck in the middle. Obviously, the tension between the two bosses increased but they didn't do anything that night because of Abby. As much as she was fond of the two, this was one of those times Abby is greatly unhappy with them, enough to give the two a cold shoulder the whole night.
The karaoke helped quite a lot because Abby did quite a bit of head banging while the instrumental played. And like Briggs told her, she clearly sang her heart out. The teams clearly saw something wrong with her, well, not maybe Palmer. Palmer was quite amazed at Abby's singing and head banging skills. The day ended better than some might expect although the team members confronted her about her unusual behavior. And all she said was, "I had a terrible... break-up." The two teams and Ducky questioned her response, but took it as it is. The way they saw it, it may be something she didn't want to tell at the time.
Surprisingly, this party was supposed to be for the Scuitos getting together. As sly as Briggs is, the purpose of the party was made at the last minute. But behind it all, Briggs wanted to make his family happy and enjoy their time as well as everyone else. After all, Briggs was never a party person unless the situation needs it the most. And that night, Abby needed it the most after Gibbs rejected her and the declaration of challenge between him and Gibbs.
The next day's work was mostly paperwork for both teams. Abby, on the other hand, was busy giving her babies a check-up. All the while, it made her busy from thinking about Gibbs. When the door to her lab was opened to reveal Briggs, she continued to give him the cold shoulder. Briggs knew Abby would ignore him but didn't mind it at all. He set her Caf-Pow down and kissed her on the head before he told her that he was sorry, but he would not take back the challenge against Gibbs. Abby turned to him and held his arm.
"I know you are doing this for me, but I'm a big girl now, Briggs. Please let me handle my own affairs," Abby told him pleadingly. Briggs gave her a caring look before he sighed.
"Abbs, you've known me for years and trusted my actions, so trust me in this as well. You deserve a happy ending, and it cannot be with that Gibbs," Briggs said before he turned and strides off out of Abby's lab quickly, not giving her a chance to speak.
It was only Briggs and Gibbs in the hallway of the NCIS building when Gibbs was about to get his coffee while Briggs held a candy bar in his hand. The two stopped their tracks when they saw (more like glare) each other. They didn't forget the challenge they gave each other about Abby. And since Abby was nowhere in sight, it was a great time they spoke to each other.
"I heard you do woodworking, mostly boats, Gibbs," Briggs said coolly. Gibbs stayed quiet while observing him like he is a suspect. Briggs noticed this as he silently chuckled.
"I have a hobby, myself. Gardening. Quite feminine, yes, but there's quite a story to mine. Just like you and your boats," Briggs told him.
"Did Abbs tell you?" Gibbs asked him, his voice rough and unhappy.
"Unlike most people, I memorize most of what she says. Being around her for long periods of time can do that to a person. Most of them pertain to you but not this. She never tells about something that is too personal to a person. Although, I did get some information from a secret source," Briggs told him. He then sighs before he circled around Gibbs. "In the times I've known her, she has never spoken with such high admiration towards someone before. It was as if you are the motor to her boat."
"Why are you telling me this?" Gibbs asked, straight to the point.
"Things will change, Gibbs, and I'll make sure of it." Briggs stopped near Gibbs so that their profiles are next to each other, facing the opposite of each other before he whispered," And by that time, she'll no longer be part of your special team but mine."
"Abby will come back to D.C. when she finishes here," Gibbs said confidently. "And she will be the same person when she comes back. Everything will go back to normal."
"Ah, you think too highly of yourself, Gibbs," Briggs said before he smirked. "She doesn't need another protective figure when she already has me. And well, when you leave to go back to D.C., you'll find that you won't be as special to her when she returns. I will always be her number one man now. And you, you'll be just be a friend. Unlike your teammates, you won't have a role in her life like you used to. Your special spot is gone, and you've got yourself to blame."
This triggered Gibbs. He took Briggs by the collar and pushed him against the wall, his eyes glaring at him. Briggs didn't try to do anything but smirk.
"Jealousy isn't your style, is it Gibbs?" Briggs asked with his unwavering smirk. "How does it feel to be hurt?"
"I never liked you," Gibbs told him, his hold on him becoming tighter. "What are you planning? Why are you always with Abbs?"
"Planning? I planned to give Abby the happiness she deserves. You want to know what relationship I have with Abby? You find out yourself, Special Agent Gibbs," Briggs retorted, his smirk immediately turned into a serious one. "She doesn't need a man that replaces his wife with three others just because he is still in love with his wife and hopes to find closure that way."
Gibbs became surprised but soon pushed Briggs harder against the wall. He growled at him, angry that Briggs looked up into his past. Briggs may be rich, but how did he get so much information on him?
"You've been looking me up? Why?" Gibbs angrily questioned.
"To find out what kind of person has Abby's love and affection. And truthfully, he isn't man enough to face his own feelings, whether it was intentional or not," Briggs told him out of spite. "If you want Abby to be happy, stop lying to yourself."
"What are you saying, you bastard!" Gibbs pushed him again, which Briggs didn't even care. "That I have feelings for Abby? I don't see Abby in that way. I see her as…"
"As a daughter? Heh, those are always overused excuses," Briggs told him before he took Gibbs collar and pushed him with his own strength and then turned him so that Gibbs was now against the wall. "You don't deserve Abbs if you keep lying to yourself even if you think your mind is telling you that, but you know damn well that your heart says the opposite."
"What makes you think you know me?" Gibbs' eyes ever glaring with venom in his voice before he punched Briggs hard on the face.
The impact was great enough that Briggs hit the ground. Briggs wiped the blood on the corner of his mouth before he too punched Gibbs but on the stomach instead. Gibbs punched him again and the fight started between the two. Fortunately, Abby saw them and stopped the fight.
"What are you two doing? Stop it!" Abby yelled, horror written on her face as she saw the two beatened faces.
"This is a man's fight, Abbs. We need to resolve this through punches," Briggs said.
"No! I will not let my two favorite people fighting like this. Why are guys attacking each other anyways?" Abby said but then realization hit her and her eyes widened in horror. "Is it because of me?"
Briggs and Gibbs saw her hurt expression and they both started feeling guilty.
"No, not at all, Abbs," Briggs told her to comfort her. Abby shook her head.
"It's a lie. I know it's a lie. Is it because of what I said yesterday? Is it that bad for me to love a man?" Abby asked, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Abbs..." Gibbs started but Abby shook her head.
"I get it! So just stop! I don't want the two of you to fight because of me. Are you happy now, Gibbs? Not only did you crush my heart but to make me forget about you by doing this?" Abby asked as she pointed at the two injured men before her. "And as for you, Briggs, I know you are concerned about my well-being, but this totally ticks me off too. Why is it that anyone I am in love with hurts me in the end?" Tears now streamed down her face before she left to go weep back in her lab.
"Abbs!" Both of them yelled. Both of the men's hand were clenched at the guilt of making Abby cry like that.
"You've got what you want, Gibbs," Briggs said coldly. "Don't regret it."
Gibbs looked over at him.
"What? So you planned all of this? To what? To make her cry like that?" Gibbs said, his voice raised in anger. Briggs gave a cold look at him.
"To help her end the pain of rejection faster. It was the only way for her to give up on someone as hopeless as you," Briggs said before he left. Now, only Gibbs was left alone to think for himself.
He decided to drive around in New Orleans, not ready to see anyone just yet. He could see that New Orleans was still rebuilding from the hurricanes that came towards this place. He felt like he was in the aftermath of a sudden hurricane as well. The pit of his stomach when he saw Abby so... hurt like that killed him. He was the cause of it, yet he didn't want to hurt her any further if she was in too deep with him. He knew how it felt and he didn't want Abby to endure it as he did when he lost the two loves of his life. Tears started to form in his eyes as he thought back towards them. He didn't let those tears fall though, trying to be strong like he is as the Bossman of his team. He stopped at someplace vacant. He just sat in his car as his memories played in his mind of his wife, Shannon and daughter, Kelly. He remembered times when his wife and daughter saved his life from entering the light of death. If it weren't for them, he would've been long gone.
Suddenly, Abby entered his mind. The moments he spent with the princess of darkness (even though she was more light than dark to him) gave him another reason to live. She may have been the only cheery person he would ever accept in his life. He didn't care if she rambled on and on when she gets worried or hyped up. He didn't care how emotional she gets at times. He didn't care if she is the total opposite of him. All he knew is that her presence is necessary to him. He didn't want to lose Abby too. She was much more important than his other three ex-wives and lovers. And yes, maybe even more than Jennifer Sheppard and Hollis Mann.
The pained look on Abby's face from before flashed before him. He didn't know what would happen between Abby and him. He could handle her ignoring him for a few hours or maybe for a day at most. Any longer than a day, he would have to confront her. He could handle his ex-wives and lovers ignoring him, but Abby is different. She was lovable young woman. He knew that. He did care for her more ways than one. He couldn't place his relationship with Abby in words. There was a complexity in their relationship. He just didn't know what to describe it.
Ever since he punished her to come here, he became more frustrated. Never once did he thought that Abby would hit it off with the team here. He never thought that her and Briggs knew each other. When he saw how Briggs embraced and kissed her the same way he would do to Abby, he just didn't like it. There was something about Briggs that just irritates him. He knew Briggs wasn't some boyfriend or lover of Abby's, and he has a small clue that Briggs may be related to Abby. Unfortunately, he doesn't have enough evidence to back it up and only has his gut feeling telling him that. And he knew, his gut is almost always right. Even though he is related to Abby, he still doesn't like the guy. The way Abby looks and greets Briggs pisses Gibbs off. And for some reason, she seems to speak with Briggs more often than with him even though he wasn't much of a talker. It clicked to Gibbs that he was jealous, but he wouldn't admit it out loud. What concerned him the most was why? Was he envious that Abby may be more closer to Briggs than he was? And if so, how come he didn't feel that way with anybody else she was with? He wanted answers and he needed to find out.
Meanwhile, Briggs took Abby home to his mansion. When Abby got inside the mansion, she went straight to her room and locked it. Her back was against the door as she slid down with tears falling from her eyes once more. It was noticeable that her eyes became red and puffy from crying too much. Just because her liking of Gibbs was one-sided, the two most important people in her life became enemies with each other because of it. She wonders if she is cursed to not have a stable love life. Even though Tim was the right choice for one, she didn't feel the closure or the love she needed from him. Only one person gave such a feeling and that was Gibbs of all people. He was someone she always wanted even though it took her a long while to realize it. It wasn't just safety and warmth he gave, it was the tingling feeling emitting from inside her whenever she sees him or whenever she hears his voice. There were instances where his hugs or kisses made her relax from all the work she had to endure. The Caf-Pows he personally gave her made her work harder and show him her full potential as a forensic scientist.
Now, even those memories hurt. The tingling feeling replaced by a hundred needles prinkling inside her. His voice and face didn't give her the comfort she needed like before. She was fully drowned with pain. She wanted relief, anything to take the pain away. She gave up everything for a chance to be with Gibbs in a different way. And now, it hurts her even more. She wanted to be his significant other. She wanted to have what Gibbs and Shannon had. The devotion he had for Shannon made her envious of the woman, but she couldn't blame her. Something about her made Abby like her as well. What was it? She didn't have an answer. Abby had felt devotion once, but Mikel was dangerous. And in Mikel's term of devotion, it meant stalking, and Abby didn't want to endure that again. All Abby wanted was the kind of safety, warmth, affection, and devotion only Gibbs could give. All of it had been shattered by the man himself. A dream is, afterall, a dream. A fantasy that could only come true in her mind. And admittedly, there is only one wife in his life and that would only be given to Shannon and no one else.
Break-ups are easy to get over with as Abby had endured it before, but the one-sided love for Gibbs is a different thing. The pain of it never starting was the worst feeling she felt in her love life as of yet. At least with her break-ups with her boyfriends, Gibbs would comfort her. But who will she find comfort this time after Gibbs was the one hurting her?
She silently walked over to the bed, laid on it and looked up at the ceiling. Memories of her and Gibbs slowly played in her mind again. A few tears started falling from her eyes. She couldn't take it anymore. She wished she didn't fall in love with him. It was too much. She wanted to go back to having a carefree relationship with Gibbs. It was by that thought she decided to try to go back to that time, before she ever found her feelings for him. But she didn't know where to start.
Her cell phone started to ring as she looked over at it.
Gibbs
"What do you want?" Abby asked roughly.
"I want to talk to you. Open the door," Gibbs told her through the phone. Abby looked over at the door. Her breath caught in her throat. She wasn't fully ready to face Gibbs, but she put on a brave face anyways. She wiped away the remaining tears on her face before she got up and opened the door to see him standing there.
Gibbs was completely caught off guard when he saw her. Abby never glared at him like that before. He could see she was fiercely angry at him. Yes, a broken heart can make a person angry, but he wasn't used to that anger aimed at him by her. She did it once before but this was different. It felt like she despised him.
"Abbs," he started but Abby frowned at the nickname. He sighed before he said, "Abby, you know I didn't mean to hurt you."
Abby's hand clenched into a fist. What she was going to say next would hurt both of them, but it was the only way for her to get back to the relationship she had with him before.
"I know you didn't mean it, Gibbs. I know... so go back. Go back to D.C.," Abby said, her voice softening as she said this.
"We still..." he started. Abby looked up at him pleadingly, tears starting to form again. She hated it. She didn't want to show him her tears. She wanted to be tough, but she couldn't in this state.
"Gibbs, you've done enough damage. Just leave. I'll see you back in D.C. after I finish here," she told him coldly before she went back to her room and closed the door behind her. Tears streaming down her eyes once again.
"Someone, please. Please take this pain away," she whispered before she fell to her knees and burying her face in her hands before weeping silently.
Gibbs stood there. He felt a piercing pain stabbing at his heart, absently putting his hand on his chest. He held in his breath, not knowing that her cold attitude could hurt him in more ways than he ever thought she would. All he did now was stare at the door to her room, afraid that if he left she would no longer be his Abby.
"Mine?" Gibbs thought. His eyes widened at his realization.
"When did I...?" He mumbled.
All of a sudden, Gibbs got punched on the face making him fall on the ground. He looked up to see Moon, who seemed quite angry. He pulled Gibbs up by his shirt and pushed him against the wall.
"You..." Moon started, his eyes glaring at him. "You made her cry, didn't you!"
"Let go of him, Moon," Briggs ordered. Gibbs turned to see him as he was angry at Briggs.
"But..." Moon started.
"He wasn't the only one that caused Abby to become like this. I am to blame too," Briggs told him.
"What?" Moon yelled in shock.
"It was the only way for her to give up on liking Gibbs. If she stayed liking him as it is, she'll fall deeper into despair. Better to end it now before it is too late," Briggs explained.
"What?" Now, it was Tony yelling. "Is that why she was acting differently yesterday and today?"
The two teams including Ducky and Palmer were astonished to listen to the explanation. Tony knew beforehand that Abby liked Gibbs and thought that the two would work it out with time, but he never expected everything to end before it even started. Ducky knew as well, but experience told him to let the two handle it since meddling will only cause trouble. Although, he had to nudge here and there to help them out. He, too, was surprised that it ended with Abby hurting. Lily was also one of those people that knew what was going on. Like everyone else, she didn't expect this to happen. As for the others, they were clueless and just stood shocked at what they just heard. The two teams didn't expect this. They came to comfort Abby at whatever was making her act this way. And lo and behold, they found the reason in the most unexpecting way.
All of a sudden, a loud thump sounded in Abby's room. Ducky knocked on her door and asked her if she was okay. No sound. Tony pounded the door harder and yelling if she was okay. And again, no sound. Everyone became worried this time. Tony, Moon, and Gibbs looked at each other before they nodded, gesturing that they had to kick in the door. On the count of three, the three kicked the door hard. They rushed in and found her at her desk, playing a game on her laptop. She had earphones on and everyone sighed in relief that Abby was okay.
Abby felt someone was watching her, so she turned around, startled to see everyone in her room and her door broken. She took off her earphones and it was quite loud enough to drown any noise surrounding her.
"Abby!" Tony yelled before he held her in a tight hug. "I'm glad nothing happened to you."
She was once more startled, not knowing what was going on.
While Abby was crying in her room, she noticed her laptop. She thought she would relieve her anguish by playing action games, and it helped a lot. She also wanted to drown out the pain inside her by drowning out the noises with the game she was playing. Abby was afraid of the game being too loud for everyone, so she used earphones instead. Abby had no idea that it would cause her this much trouble.
"What are you guys doing here?" Abby asked. "And why did you kick into my room?"
"We know everything, Abby. Your feelings for Gibbs," Ziva said. Abby was surprised but then frowned again. The pain returned once again.
"What was that thumping noise we heard?" McGee asked. "We thought something happened to you."
"Thumping?" Abby said before thinking for a minute. "Oh! That. I was so into the game that I stood up and the chair just fell back and hit the ground."
This gave everyone a sigh of relief. Abby noticed that and gave a questioning look.
"Did you guys think I will hurt myself or something? Or maybe thought I would commit suicide?" Abby asked, a smile forming on her lips and then she chuckled. "I'm so glad that I have you guys. Yes, a broken heart hurts but I won't do that to everyone. I will never do that even if I have to suffer through the pain."
Even though a broken heart hurts more than anything, she wouldn't have done any of those things. Abby would never hurt her family and friends like that. She would rather be caught dead in another person's hand than to cause them the mental suffering if she hurt or killed herself with her own hands because of love. Abby wasn't a fool. She knew the consequences of suicide or cutting. She saw how families broke apart, blaming each other or themselves. Friends would think the same, wondering if they had done something then maybe their loved ones would still be alive or wouldn't hurt themselves in such a way. The guilt eating them up and they would always be scarred forever. Abby never ever want her family and friends to endure such suffering. They never deserved it.
"Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, do you want to go out and enjoy the parade?" Briggs asked her. Abby's eyes gleamed.
"Of course! Everyone should join!" Abby said happily, becoming her normal self again.
"But Abby, we've got to tell you one thing," Moon told her.
"Huh?" Abby asked confused. The two teams had a serious expression.
"We didn't mean to keep quiet but since we're going out, we have to tell you something important," Lily told her.
"And that is?" Abby started to become more concerned.
"You remember the case that involved your brother?" Phoenix asked. Abby nodded.
"Of course, how could I forget?" Abby said.
"The hate group may be targeting you. That's why I recommended that your whole family stays here," Briggs said.
Another big blow hits Abby.
"What else? Everything seems to go against me today, and I'm sick and tired of it! So just tell me everything I need to know before I blow up!" Abby yelled.
"I like you," Moon said suddenly. This shocked everyone greatly. The cold prince confessed to the preppy forensic scientist. Nobody (well, maybe a few people) saw that coming.
"What?" Abby said as well as some others.
"I said I like you. Be my girlfriend," Moon told her.
"What is this? Is this some sort of soap opera or something!" Abby said frustrated. She turned back to her laptop and then at them. "I want to play my games. Get out!"
Everyone left as Abby closed the broken door behind her. This was not her day. At all.
In the meantime, Moon looked over at everyone.
"Did I just get rejected?" Moon asked, more to himself.
Tony patted Moon's shoulder and so did McGee before they left. The girls giggled before they left as well. Briggs gave him a sympathetic smile and gave him comforting words and then strided off somewhere. Now, it was only Moon and Gibbs. Gibbs looked at Moon for a moment before he walked away and into his room.
Today wasn't a good day for Gibbs. At all.