I tried to reply to reviews of the previous chapter but ff was being fickle and the reply links wouldn't load. So just know that I appreciate every kind word you've said

THE END! I was going to be mean and split this into two, but thought… wtf, let's put people out of their misery. I've done enough with cliffs for this fic, yes?

Enjoy

She wasn't surprised to see Ducky's car in front of Gibbs house. Part of her wanted to give the two men time to talk, but she knew that Ducky was likely giving Gibbs and earful for leaving without an explanation and leaving Abby to deal with the team. Ducky had every right to be upset, but she was the one that found them, she's the one that sent him on his way, she was the one that needed to take the brunt of Ducky's unhappiness. She parked and hurried up the front step and let herself inside. She could hear the men talking in the basement so she skipped the squeaky floorboard and carefully opened the door.

"Did you ever stop to think of what it would do to her? To carry the secret of where you were, who you are with? Did you think of her at all?" Ducky's voice carried.

"I…"

"No!" She heard rustling and then the crash of a bottle against the wall. "No, you don't get to lose yourself in the bottle because you feel sorry for yourself. She's ruined her life to give yours back to you."

"I know, I-"

"Ducky," Abby interrupted and moved halfway down the staircase. "I found them, I was the one to contact the Department of Justice, and I made his alias. He didn't just dump all of this on me," it wasn't often she was Ducky visibly upset. "I'm sorry; I hated to lie to you."

"Abigail…" Ducky turned to her and took a step toward the stairs.

Abby looked at Gibbs as she continued down the staircase, trying to read something, anything on his face. But as usual, he was unreadable.

"Really Ducky, you have every right to be upset, but your anger is misdirected."

"You shouldn't have had to carry that secret alone."

"I probably shouldn't have done a lot of things, but I don't regret it. He's got his girls back and I would go through everything all over again if need be." She accepted Ducky's hug, and hugged him back. "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not angry," he sighed. "Just hurt that I was left out."

"Not because you aren't trusted, Ducky. If Alejandro had come after you because he thought you knew where he was… I'd never forgive myself if it had been you instead of me. I'm a lot stronger than you guys like to give me credit for."

"Why didn't he come after me? How did he know that you knew where he was?" Ducky glanced back at Gibbs and then faced Abby again.

Abby took a deep breath – it didn't need to be a secret anymore. "He didn't know, but he suspected. I tampered with the evidence in his case, he was angry with me for that."

"Why would you…" Ducky's eyes went wide. They were people of science; always let the evidence do the talking.

"Because it was the man that was suspected of killing Shannon and Kelly. The evidence-"

"I killed him, Duck. She tampered with the evidence to protect me."

"She could have lost her career!"

Abby gripped his shoulders and turned him back toward her. "He didn't ask me to do it. He didn't know until it was already done, please Ducky…" she hugged him tightly. "Please forgive me."

"Forgive you, Abigail…" Ducky sighed. "There is nothing to forgive, I just… I just need some time to process." He gave her shoulder a squeeze and stepped around her to head up the stairs. He turned to look at Gibbs. "I assume I'll see you before you go anywhere?" Without giving Gibbs the chance to answer, Ducky was gone.

Neither said anything as they listened to Ducky's footsteps overhead, the sound of the front door opening and closing and finally his morgan pulling away from the curb. She didn't know what to say or what to do, so she did what she always need when she needed comfort, she moved forward and pressed her face to his chest, letting out a ragged sigh when he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"Abbs?" He pressed his nose to her hair and inhaled deeply.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I don't want to lose you." She felt tears welling up in her eyes and hid her face against his chest, muffling the last of her words.

Gibbs cradled her against him, one hand cupping the back of her head and the other rubbing slowly up and down her back. "You haven't lost me, I'm right here. Not going anywhere."

Abby pulled back to look at him with watery eyes. "After everything you've done for me, after everything you said, I yelled at you, made you leave. I never should have..."

Gibbs smiled and used his thumb to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "It'd take much more than that for me to walk away. If I gave up on relationships as soon as I was yelled at, I'd never have been married, not even to Shannon," he half joked.

"Don't…" she wasn't in the mood to be teased.

"Abby…" his features softened, "I'm not trying to upset you. You didn't believe how much I love you, and that hurt, but you think I would give up that easy? I didn't fight hard enough when Shannon and Kelly went away. I sure as hell wasn't going to give up without a fight now. It's you, Abbs. I want you."

"I love you, Gibbs." She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. "I really, really do."

Gibbs smiled against her lips and returned the kiss, backing her up until she was resting back against the boat. He kissed his way down her neck and startled to worry the skin over the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

"Gibbs!" she pushed him back. "Don't you dare leave a visible mark."

"Why?" He lifted his head. "Everyone will know about us." There was no way this would stay a secret from his team.

"I… I know… but it doesn't mean we have to rub it in their faces."

He knew his team wouldn't care - they would only smirk and gossip when he wasn't around, so he figured that she must mean Shannon and Kelly. He didn't think they would care either, but fair enough. He didn't want to put her in an awkward position. He kissed his way back up her neck and along her jaw and nipped at her chin before kissing her lips again. He kissed her until she was mostly a boneless heap against the boat, her arms wrapped around his waist, holding him against her.

Her lips were swollen when he eventually pulled away, and it made him reach out and trace his finger across her lips with a satisfied look on his face. He glanced at the clock on the wall and was surprised to see that it was past seven in the evening. "We should head up, order some food." He had emptied his kitchen before leaving the first time.

Abby led the way and curled up on the sofa while Gibbs ordered them a pizza. He found a case of beer in the garage and pulled out a couple bottles and put them on the coffee table.

By the time dinner was done, Abby was sitting with her back against the arm of the couch, her toes tucked under Gibbs' thighs. She sat sipping her beer, her eyes studying Gibbs' face as he paid attention to the evening news.

"You're staring."

"Just remembering."

"Remembering?"

"Yeah, just in case…"

"I'm not going anywhere, neither are you."

"I know, but… just in case."

Gibbs pushed his beer bottle onto the coffee table and held out his arm in an open invitation. Abby set her beer beside his and eagerly moved against his side, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. "Can I stay tonight?" she asked.

Instead of answering, Gibbs pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, knowing she would understand he was saying yes.

"Does… does Jack know?" She thought of how to word her question. "Doesn't he expect you and Shannon to… to be a family?"

"We are still family, but he considers you family, too." He hugged her tighter. "When that agent went to his shop to invite him to be in the program with us, he turned the opportunity down. He was going to stay until you were safe. Shannon talked to you, didn't she?"

Abby nodded. "How did you know?"

"Because you asked what Jack thought, not her. She explained that we'll always be family, but that's it, right? There is nothing more?"

"Yeah, we talked. What about Kelly?"

"She's not my little girl anymore, she's all grown up. She understands."

"She wants you to be happy."

Gibbs was silent for a while, running his fingers through her hair, enjoying the weight of her warm body against his, but eventually his curiosity won out. "How long were you going to stay hiding with Mike?"

"I don't know, a few weeks? Then I figured you'd be long gone and I could go back, work with the team to draw him out," she shrugged. "Hadn't really planned it out, we just grabbed our stuff and left."

Gibbs shook his head, and tried to quell the anger he felt bubbling up. Out of everyone, Mike knew that taking Abby away was a sure way to keep him from leaving, and it suddenly dawned on him that Mike had likely agreed to the idea to set Gibbs' blood boiling. It had only confirmed that he needed to be with Abby, and by forcing those feelings to the surface he could make a sure decision rather than dancing around it while they were both around. "Sneaky bastard."

"What?"

He let out a deep breath and hugged her closer. "Did Mike hesitate at all when you asked him to go away?"

"No," Abby shook her head, "he seemed to think it was a good idea."

"Thought so."

"Why?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Don't be angry at him, it was my idea."

"I'm not… angry… I was, but I'm not now. He did what he thought was necessary." Gibbs started to sit up, shifting her to the side. "Come on, let's get to bed. It's been a long day."

Abby followed him upstairs and took the over-sized shirt he handed her. She dug out an extra toothbrush and then headed to his bed and flipped through a woodworking catalog while she waited for him.

"See anything in there you like?" He teased.

"Yeah, you should build one of these!" She pointed to a huge tv and media center. "It'd look fantastic next to the fire place," she teased back.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and made a show of tugging the catalog from her fingers and turning off the lights. They moved under the covers and Gibbs tugged her in close. "It's my house, so no telling me to leave in the morning, okay?"

Abby laughed and snuggled in close. "I'll try to remember. And I'll try not to wake in a panic."

"I'll be right here if you do."

Abby woke with her back flush against Gibbs' firm chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her middle and his face pressed to the back of her neck. "We slept in," she said quietly after a quick glance to the clock.

"Mmm," Gibbs pressed a series of soft kisses to her skin. "S'ok. Don't want to leave the bed. Just want to stay here, with you." He pushed his leg over hers and half covered her body with his own. "This is good," he mumbled.

"You're comfy, Gibbs, but I have to pee." Abby worked herself free of his grasp then headed to the bathroom. "Don't go anywhere, I'll just be a moment." She returned a few minutes later, but rather than go back to the side of the bed she had been on, she went to the side Gibbs was on, and sat on the edge. "You're sure? You're sure that this is what you want, that I'm who you want?"

"The whole week you were off with Franks, I kept tellin' myself that you never would've left if you knew how I felt about you. We've been through a lot together, Abbs. I should've been with you at the safe house." Gibbs sat up and leaned back against the headboard.

Abby picked up his hand and laced her fingers with his. "I just want you to be happy, you've had a rough time," she glared at him when he started to protest, "and if you need some time without the threat of Alejandro to really think things through, you can."

"I know what I want," he let go of her hand so he could cup her face in his hands. "She's tall, fair skin, black hair. More tattoos than I've seen on most sailors, and all her babies need an electrical outlet to come to life."

Abby smiled as she rolled her eyes. "That last little bit makes me sound kind of creepy."

"Doesn't matter," he said, leaning forward and hesitating when he was an inch from her lips. "I like your creepy."

Abby quieted her laugh by leaning forward, touching her lips to his. Their kiss was slow and exploratory and when they finally parted for air, Abby wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck.

"Abbs?" He spoke softly against her ear. "You okay?"

"Perfect," she pulled back and looked at him, noticing that the stress of the past few weeks seemed to have washed away overnight. She traced her fingers over his face and gasped when he nipped at her fingertips, startling her. "Gibbs!"

"What can I do, what can I say so that you don't wake up every morning wondering if I've made a mistake?"

"I believe you, I just…"

"No," he shook his head. "You don't believe me if you have to ask."

Abby thought for a moment. "It'll get easier, I promise. I… we'll spend time around Shannon, I'll believe it, I promise."

"Hey, I'm not upset," he pulled her forward into his arms. "I'll remind you every day that it's you I want. I just don't want you to worry about something when there is no point."

Shannon, Kelly and his father all arrived at Abby's apartment within 20 minutes of Gibbs and Abby. They brought food and cleaning supplies and Shannon had suggested that once things were cleaned up and sorted, she and Kelly take Abby out to replace broken picture frames, dishes any anything else that had been ruined.

Gibbs draped an arm around Kelly's shoulder as they stood side by side in Abby's apartment.

"She's going to be okay, right?" Kelly nodded toward Abby. "I mean, physically her bruises have faded, but mentally, it can't be easy to get through everything that happened to her, even staying in this apartment can't be easy."

"I know," Gibbs pressed a kiss to the side of his daughters head. "But she's the most stubborn, willful, and strong person that I know. I think she'll be okay."

"More stubborn than you?"

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "More so than me."

"And you'll look out for her, like the rest of us will?"

"Mmhmm." Gibbs looked around at everyone in her apartment, everyone sorting through broken picture frames, stacking books and organizing her DVDs. He let his gaze settle on Shannon as she sat beside Abby, a photo album in her hands. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but Abby looked up at the other woman with a smile and opened the album. The first photo was one of the team. It was a group shot taken at a habitat for humanity build site where they had all agreed to help out. They were all smiles despite a full day of hard physical work, and Gibbs remembered the sense of pride and accomplishment they had all felt at the end of the day. "You know," he said. "I think we're all going to be okay."

"We have a lot to catch up on," Kelly said as she wrapped her arms around her father. "I know it'll be a fun months until I'm back out here for good, but once I am. Maybe we could have a few father-daughter date nights? Just the two of us, grab dinner and talk? I mean, if you don't think Abby will mind?"

"She won't mind, and I love that idea." He nodded over to where Abby and Jack were telling Shannon about the last time Jack had been in D.C. It had been Christmas time and Abby had taken him to bowling practice with the nuns. They had all swooped in to keep him entertained, and Jack had talked for weeks about how wonderful they were. "Your mom seems to enjoy her company."

Kelly nodded. "Last night she said she was glad she could spend some time with her yesterday. I guess they talked a lot. She said Abby is perfect for you and she can't wait to know her better once we move out here."

"Good."

"Kelly!" Shannon waved her over. "Come look at this photo. Abby bowls with nuns and she wears a poodle skirt." She pointed to the photo in the album as Kelly approached.

"Please tell me dad bowls too and wears tight jeans a white tee with his hair slicked back!"

Abby grinned at the idea. "I've been working on him, but no such luck. Maybe you can help."

Gibbs' smile faded at the idea of both Kelly and Abby trying to talk him into something. It wasn't often he could say no to Abby, and he didn't think he'd last more than five minutes if Kelly was asking.

"Well son, I can't say I ever imagined everything turning out the way it has, but I can't complain."

Gibbs grinned at his father.

"You're such a lucky man, you know that?"

"Oh, I know."

"You take good care of 'em when I'm not around, you hear? And anything starts to get tough, ya'll come on up to Stillwater, okay?"

"Things won't get tough, but we'll still come and visit."

"Good," Jack nodded.

Gibbs felt nerves fluttering through his stomach as he stood at the departures gate as Shannon and Kelly were about to leave. They'd already decided on two condos in the same building for when they came back – Kelly was ready to be on her own, but Gibbs' liked the idea of having them close-by, and he'd searched deep into the backgrounds of everyone that lived in the building, as well as the doorman.

Abby stood back so they could say their goodbyes. Even though they were only going to be gone for two-three months, she knew it wouldn't be easy for Gibbs to watch them leave. She knew he would never admit to it, but she sore she saw tears welling up in his eyes as he hugged Kelly one last time.

"Bye Abby!" Kelly came over and wrapped her in a hug. "Take care of my dad while we're gone, and don't let him do anything crazy like do a background search on everyone living on our block."

"Oh…" Abby glanced at Gibbs. "Might be a little late for that…"

"Dad!"

"I was only kidding," Abby laughed. "Mostly."

Shannon stepped up and wrapped her in a hug. "We've got the movers driving the big truck, but we're each planning on driving our cars out. Gibbs has said he'll flight out and help, maybe you could as well? I'm sure Kelly will want him to drive with her. Thought you could maybe keep me company?"

"I would like that," Abby smiled big. "But I'll have to ask my boss for the time off. He's a stickler about giving time off."

Shannon glanced back at Gibbs with a raised brow. "I think he'll be lenient this time around."

"You'd better get going, don't want to miss the flight." Gibbs stepped up and wrapped an arm around Abby's shoulders. "Call once you've made it home."

"Of course."

With a wave Shannon and Kelly were off.

Gibbs had been tense much of the day and well into the afternoon until his cellphone started ringing and Kelly's name flashed on the screen. They had been curled up on his couch half-watching the news and making out for the past hour, but he couldn't completely relax until he knew they were safe. When Abby saw Kelly's name on the screen, she started to get up, to give him some privacy, but he caught her wrist and shook his head. He talked to her for a few minutes before hanging up and slipping his phone back into his pocket. "C'mere," he tugged her in close, "you don't have to leave the room every time either of them call."

"Well, I wasn't sure..."

"Strange to hear her voice over the phone, but now that I know they're home safe, I can relax." He scooted down on the couch and pulled Abby on top of him. "Relax with me."

Abby laughed as he tugged her down. "I had big plans to wash my hair, or paint my nails, but I suppose I could relax too."

"Mmm," Gibbs tangled his hand in her hair and pulled her in for a kiss, his eyes falling shut at the close contact.

Abby cupped his face in her hands as she kissed him, eventually pulling away from his lips to kiss out along his jaw and down the side of his neck before pressing her face to his warm skin. "Let's take this upstairs, okay?"

"You're sure?" he nuzzled gently against her cheek. "In the few days they had been together, they hadn't taken their relationship further. It was partly because they were both so mentally exhausted from the past several weeks. They climbed into bed and were almost asleep before they had the chance to curl up together. And then Gibbs figured that Abby still needed some reassurance that she was his. They spent the majority of the day with Shannon and Kelly, so he didn't want to rush her into bed right after, not wanting her to think that she had to please him to keep him interested.

"Come on…" She got up and tugged him to his feet. They had already locked up, so all they had to do was switch off a few lights and then head upstairs. She hesitated in the doorway of his bedroom and Gibbs wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled against her neck.

"Let me take care of you?" he asked.

"Let me guess, you're not the type to just lie back and enjoy?"

Gibbs chuckled and kissed her shoulder. "Not with you, not tonight. Want to take care of you."

"But some time? You'll let me have my way with you?"

"Mmm, I'm not saying you can't touch me, but tonight all my focus is on you." He worked his hands under her shirt and slid them up her sides, bringing her shirt up in the process.

Abby felt giddy as more and more of her skin was revealed to him. Once her shirt was off, his hands spread over her stomach to pull her back against him, her head resting back on his shoulder. He nibbled along her neck and shoulder before dropping his hands to the waistband of the black pants she was wearing. He worked them down over her hips and then nudged her forward toward the bed. She moved eagerly toward the center of the bed and with one swift motion had her bra off.

Gibbs kicked his shoes off to join her, confusion clouding his face when she held up a hand to keep him from coming too close.

"You need to lose some clothes, Gibbs. Only fair," her eyes caught on his black hoodie resting over the arm of a chair situated in the corner. "Or put that on?"

He glanced over his shoulder and looked back at her with a raised brow. "You want me to put more clothes on?"

Abby laughed, her confidence betraying the fact that she was almost completely naked. "You look ridiculously attractive in that hoodie, Gibbs."

He rolled his eyes and lifted his shirt over his head. If any other woman had told him to put clothes on, he'd have been offended, but Abby had her quirks and he had no doubt they would one day be in bed where he would be wearing that sweatshirt at her request.

Abby fell back against the pillows and watched as Gibbs' undressed, his eyes focused on her body. He was down to his boxers when he crawled forward again.

Abby was about to reach out to him when she was distracted. The small silver fox she had given him was sitting on his nightstand. "You still have that thing?"

Gibbs followed her gaze and smiled. "Mmhmm, reminds me of you." Gibbs reached out and picked up, moving to straddle Abby's hips. He placed the cool metal to her skin, just above her belly button and smiled when it made her gasp. "A little chilly?"

Abby nodded and watched as he slowly trialed it up between her breasts and then over to circle around her nipple. The cold metal caused her nipples to peak and she squirmed below him. "I'm pretty sure this isn't what I bought it for," she gasped.

"Isn't it?" Gibbs leaned forward to press his tongue over her nipple, sending a wave of warmth through her. She cupped her hand over the back of his head to hold him to her chest while at the same time lifting her head to press a gentle kiss to his forehead.

Putting the small fox back on the nightstand, Gibbs met her kiss with more force and stretched himself out over her, pressing her firmly into the mattress. Her body was warm and welcoming, and Gibbs suddenly felt like he couldn't get close enough. He couldn't remember the last time another body had him reacting so strongly, but he could barely hold back from ripping her underwear off, shedding his and pushing into her like it was the only way to stay alive. He figured she must've sensed his desperation, because soon she was wriggling free of her underwear, while maintaining as much contact as possible. She worked them onto their sides, and broke away from his kiss to catch her breath. She placed hot, open-mouth kisses across his chest and along his neck while he worked his boxers off. Before he could do anything, she kissed him again and grabbed his hand, bringing it to between her thighs. She used her fingers to press his to her clit and then reached for his straining erection, tugging gently on his balls before working her hand up his length.

He knew he found the right speed against her clit when her hand faltered and her body tensed. "Come on, Abbs… let it go."

She almost let him bring her over the edge, but at the last minute she pushed his hand away and pushed him to his back. "Not without you." She straddled him, steadying herself with her hands on his chest as he guided himself to her opening. She froze the minute he was inside her, closing her eyes and enjoying the fact that it had finally happened - he was everything and nothing like she had dreamed about. It wasn't until he bumped his hips up against hers that she was pulled out of her thoughts and pushed down against him.

"Gibbs…" she let out a happy sigh and fell forward to meet him for a kiss. For a few minutes she was lost in the sensation and nearly brought herself to release before slowing again. She let him roll her onto her back and allowed him to take control, wrapping her legs around him as he thrust into her gently, slowly building his speed.

It became a game for them, trying to bring the other to release before letting themselves go. It wasn't until Abby nipped at his neck and moaned his name that Gibbs finally couldn't hold it any longer and groaned her name through his release. The sound of desperation in his voice was enough to put her over the edge and she followed him to completion moments later.

They were both covered in sweat when Gibbs pulled away long enough to pull the blankets up over them, but he knew they would cool quickly. Her skin was hot when he curled around her under the blankets and nibbled at her neck. "Meant to give you multiple orgasms tonight," he said honestly. He hadn't been joking when he said he wanted to take care of her.

"Mm, too sleepy for more," Abby sighed. "But we can do this again tomorrow morning, and night and maybe during our lunch break. We're back at work tomorrow, right?"

"You're gonna kill me with sex, aren't you?" He hugged her tight and nipped her ear lobe.

"Mm, I might," she pondered. "But I've got a few other things to try first."

"Oh yeah?" he questioned.

Abby turned in his arms and pressed a leg between his. "For starters, I wasn't kidding about that hoodie…"

Gibbs moved forward and covered half her body with his. "One thing at a time, Abbs. Still haven't had a taste of you yet."

"Well, we've got plenty of time."

The End

Possible epilogue taking place in a few months? I dunno. Shout out if you've got any suggestions!

And I love you all for your reviews and comments and suggestions. Everyone here is so absolutely lovely – now if everyone would go hound gosgirl and gibbsredhoodie because I am impatient and they make me wait SO LONG for updates. Makes for a cranky, sad and pathetic author. *nodnod*