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There were times, especially after a rough case, where he wished he could just admit to Abby that he needed her. They had just dealt with a case involving small children. The team had been moments away from losing the little girl, and it had hit Gibbs harder than he would care to admit.

As soon as they arrived home, Gibbs changed and then headed down to the boat only pausing to tell her to not wait for him for dinner.

Abby knew better than to try and push him to talk, so she fixed a quick sandwich, eating it over the sink and then curled up on the couch and waited.

And waited.

It was near 1am when she finally heard his footsteps coming up the stairs. He wasn't entirely surprised to find her still awake, but he was grateful that she was.

She watched him round the coffee table to sit next to her, and the moment he sat she wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him tight; it was the only way he would accept her support. She knew if she tried to tell him that everything was ok, that they saved the child, he would push her away again, so she just hugged him.

He was rigid in her arms at first, but the longer she hugged him she could feel him start to relax against her. She wanted to take it one step further, she wanted to press her lips to his in a soft kiss, but she didn't need to stress him out any more than he already was, and she certainly didn't need to make their living arrangements awkward.

Abby was warm in his arms as he slowly returned the hug. He wanted nothing more than to tell her how much he needed her, wanted her. "Abby, I.. I.." His fingers trailed up and down her back as he struggled for words.

She squeezed tighter as he spoke.

"I… thank you for not pressing the issue and letting me deal."

She nodded against his chest.

Gibbs picked up the remote and switched on the TV (also switched out with Abby's much larger, newer TV from her apartment). He put it on the local news, listening half heartedly to the weather for the rest of the week. He was aware of every breath she took as she sat cuddled up to his side.

He remembered what it was like with Shannon. They had often cuddled up on the couch after tucking their daughter in for the night. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and pretended that he was cuddled up with Abby because they were together. He pretended that, he could pick her up and carry her to the master bedroom and make love to her like he would if they really were together.

But then Abby stirred, breaking his train of thought, bringing him crashing back to earth. She pulled away slowly, yawning as she stood. She gave his hand a squeeze and mumbled a goodnight before she headed upstairs.

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With the disappearance of Captain McCauley, the team had been working nearly around the clock in order to find him. Being in charge of classified meant that the navy was hard-pressed to find him before anything could happen – unfortunately they were too late. Gibbs had been on edge all week, snapping at just about everyone. Abby let everything roll off her shoulders; she knew that none of it was personal.

After four 18 hour days, they had finally caught Petty Officer Cole. They were able to detain him on lesser charges, but were confident that once the DNA results were in they could pin murder to him as well.

Gibbs headed down to the lab to check on the progress of the DNA test. He saw Abby shuffling around in the lab, a pained look on her face as she stopped ever few steps to adjust her boots.

"You alright, Abby?"

"Just breaking in some new boots… no pain no gain, right?"

"Breaking them in? Shouldn't they be comfortable when you first put them on?"

Abby shot him an annoyed look. "Gibbs, that's not how things work."

He stayed silent and Abby realized she had snapped rather harshly. She wasn't angry with him, just tired and her feet hurt. "Sorry, I'm just a little tired and my feet hurt. The boots will be fine in a few days."

"The DNA results in yet? That's all we're waiting for."

"Not yet, maybe twenty minutes, thirty max."

"Okay. Have a seat." Gibbs directed her to her desk and waited for her to sit down. He perched on the side of her desk and motioned for her to lift a foot.

"Huh?"

"Foot." He bent forward and lifted her foot to rest on his thigh. He tugged at the zipper along the side of the boot and slid it off, placing it on the floor with a soft thud. He pulled her sock off, resting it on the desk and then firmly pressed his thumb to the center of her foot and pushed upwards until his thumb pressed over the ball of her foot.

"Oh God... Gibbs." Abby slid down her chair a bit, her eyes closed and her head tipped slightly back. If she hadn't been convinced his hands were magic before, she was absolutely positive now. After nearly a week of 18 hour days on her feet, Gibbs hands felt like a little slice of heaven. "I will cook every day for a year if we can make this a regular occurrence."

Gibbs smiled. The way she whisper his name was reward enough, if only she knew. Before he had the chance to answer, the lab doors slid open and Tony strode in.

"Boss, how come you never do that for me?"

"Because you aren't his favorite, that's why." Abby answered. She flashed a small grin but her eyes remained closed, hoping that Tony appearance wouldn't interrupt the relief. Suddenly her machine beeped. She pushed up from her chair with a sigh and walked over to the screen. She stood, her stance slightly slanted with only one boot on, as she examined the results. "Bingo. You've got the right guy." She pressed print and then handed the paper to Gibbs.

He thanked her with a little pinch of her cheek and then was out the door.

Tony was about to follow, but Abby grabbed his arm to stop him. "Tony."

"Yeah?"

"Take me out to dinner this weekend?"

"Well, Abbs… usually a person asks if they can take the other person out, not asks the other person to take the other person out…" Tony thought for a moment, lost in his own explanation. "Well, whatever. Why am I taking you out?"

"I need a hot date."

"Reaaally? Why?"

"I'll explain over dinner, where are we going?"

"Abby, I'm a little concerned. Is everything ok?"

"I just need someone to talk to…"

Tony stepped closer. "Abby… what aren't you telling me?"

"Tony, nothing life threatening, nothing dangerous, I just need my best friend."

"I thought Gibbs was your best friend?"

"Tony!" She punched him lightly in the arm.

"I know, I know… I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven. Wear a dress, I might as well take you somewhere nice."

"Love the enthusiasm, Tony. Makes a girl feel wanted."

Tony flicked at a pigtail and went in search of Gibbs. The sooner they could throw Petty Officer Cole in lock-up, the sooner they could leave.

Friday night Abby had practically passed out the moment they got home. Even though she hadn't been in the field with the team, she had still spent the same amount of time at work, often running between the lab and autopsy.

She managed to fix some toast, despite Gibbs offer of making something more substantial. Afterwards she wished him a good night and headed straight to bed. Abby hadn't realized how tired she was until they had walked in the front door. She wished she had been awake enough to spend a few hours downstairs with him, they hadn't spent much time together lately, but there was no way she'd stay awake.

Gibbs had also been hopeful that she would stay up a few more hours. It was 9pm by the time they had gotten home, and he would've liked nothing more than to curl up on the couch and finish the foot massage he had started. He could still hear his name in the raspy whisper she had used to let him know he touch was welcome. But he could see it in her eyes how tired she was, and he knew she needed sleep.

He spent a few hours cleaning up a bit around the basement; the saw dust had gotten a little out of control – even for him – and then went to bed.

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TBC….

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