Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS

A/N: Hey, hope you all enjoy this part as much as you all seemed to like the last part… Read. Enjoy. Review.

Part X:

Gibbs heard a small sob come from her as she left, and immediately flipped his phone shut. He stood and went to follow her inside, but stopped. He saw a man out of the corner of his eye. The man approaching the porch had black hair and he was wearing clothes he could imagine a male version of Abby to wear. He spun around and looked indignantly at the man now approaching him with a dozen red and yellow roses in his hand. Gibbs nodded slightly over to him.

"Who are you?" Gibbs asked, already dreading the answer.

"Could ask you the same," said the man as he stepped onto the porch in front of Gibbs, "I'm James, old family friend, and I heard Abby was back. Wow, I haven't seen her in forever. You know we used to be a thing way back. And you are?"

This was exactly what Gibbs had been dreading hearing. He gave James a very narrow and intimidating stare and James took a step back.

"Gibbs," He replied and disregarded James as he turned to the door, where Wade was now standing with a menacing look on his face.

"Hey, Wade," said James, and Wade gave him a nod of recognition.

"What the hell did you say?" Wade directed at Gibbs.

"Nothing, I said nothing, yet, the lawyers called and interrupted me," said Gibbs, "Can I just talk to her."

"No, I don't think that would be a very good thing right now," said Wade, and he looked around Gibbs and to James, "James, you can come on in."

Gibbs thought better of throwing a fit and went and sat down on the porch swing once more, head put into his hands, trying to figure out what he had said wrong this time. While James stepped into the house and Wade shut the door behind him.

Abby sat on the chair, watching her mother who had fallen back asleep on the couch. She wiped the tears out of her eyes and sat there, fully expecting Gibbs to walk in anytime, she knew she hadn't been able to hide her tears from him. She was surprised when she saw Wade leading James into the room. Although she hadn't seen James in the longest time, she recognized him immediately. How could she forget him? He was the reason she had left Louisiana in the first place. He was the most annoying ex boyfriend on the planet. She had broken up with him in high school, and judging by the flowers she knew he thought his claim was still there.

He was as dorky as always, thinking by copying her style she'd like him more. He smiled and she gave him a polite fake smile. He handed her the flowers and with his same old goofy grin.

"Thanks, James," said Abby receiving the flowers and putting them down on the coffee table, then she turned her attention to Wade, "Where is he?"

"Outside, I don't think it's a great time for him to talk to you," said Wade and he gave Abby a look, "James? Can you run into the kitchen and grab some water? You remember where the kitchen is, right?"

"Yeah sure," said James and he excused himself from the room.

"What the hell are you doing?" Abby said, "Why are you keeping him from me?"

"Well A. because he can't seem to be able to talk to you lately without you falling apart," said Wade gruffly, "And B. He knows James is one of your ex beaus so I figure he can have some crazy jealousy going on out there, so the longer James stays the better."

"Wade," said Abby seriously, "I don't deny that James is one of the most annoying human beings in the world, but you can't just do this to him. And what about Gibbs? He may not even care."

"Oh, he cares," said James with a smirk, "He's on the porch swing with his head in his hands."

"Really?"

"Yup," said Wade smugly, as James reentered the room.

"Poor guy," said Abby, she gave her brother a little pout.

"So, Abbs," said James, just the sound of his voice made Abby wish she were deaf, but her mind swiftly switched to Gibbs's more velvet voice, and she felt better.

"Yes?" Abby said cringing slightly.

"You been living in D.C. then, have I told you how big the crime rate is up there, compared to here? I am starting to take over my dad's store, he's getting pretty old now," said James in his usually arrogant and squeaky voice.

Abby just sat there as James went on and on about himself, he sounded like a cars salesman. He was so rude, arrogant and horrible. Abby wondered how she ever found him anything but annoying and vile. She zoned out and hoped he didn't realize, feeling bad about her poor silver haired fox outside on the porch swing. She couldn't believe this had gotten so bad.

Suddenly Abby stood up and left the room, in the middle of James's sentence. She knew he was giving her an indignant look, but she had to get out of there. She doubted Gibbs was still out on the porch, but made for it anyway. She burst out the door and onto the porch running off the porch towards the old red barn on the edge of the property. It was a bit more rundown now than it was when she was a kid, but it was the same old barn she had run to for peace and quiet when she was little.

She ran right into the back of the barn and sat in the old hay. It had aged gracefully, and was as comfortable as she remembered. She nestled down into it, ignoring the small spiders and critters that had inhabited it in her absence. She could care less, this was what her life had become, or maybe she was just noticing her life's full circle.

When she was a younger she spent countless hours in the very same barn, when Wade and his friends were being annoying, or when she didn't feel like being around her family. She had grown up, gone off to D.C, gotten a big fancy career at NCIS, but in the end, she was just the little girl in the pile of hay. Crying over what had happened in the day, or in this case the boy she liked didn't seem to like her back.

Abby closed her eyes and just let the tears leak through her eyelids. She sat there for a few minutes alone, she started to shiver as she sat there. It wasn't cold at all, but for some reason she could feel the goose bumps rising all over herself. Then all a sudden she felt warm and she felt something hard behind her.

She opened her eyes and saw that a very familiar wool sport coat was draped over her. She looked around herself and noticed Gibbs had his arms wrapped around her. She buried her head in his chest and he held her tighter.

"Abbs," He whispered into her ear, "I love you, Abbs, and I do want you. Abby, I want to do this right, so Abbs, I want to wait. I-"

He stopped and Abby just looked into his eyes, she had been and he figured he should stop.

"Gibbs?" Abby said, "Would you shut up? I mean really you love to ruin moments don't you?"

He gave her a small smile and showed off his twinkling eyes that she loved so much. Which immediately got him off the hook, but what was the fun if Abby just told him he was already forgiven. She promptly turned and rested the back of her head to his chest and stared through the hole in the roof of the barn, enjoying the moment.