So sorry about the delay, I've been sick and writing while on cold meds has been a bit difficult. Hope you enjoy!

--

"You realize it's not even 9a.m. yet, right?" Fornell pulled a t-shirt over his head and stepped aside to let Gibbs in.

Gibbs ignored the comment and stepped past his sometimes-friend. "You find anything on Ian Reed?"

"You at least bring me breakfast?" When Gibbs only grunted, Fornell decided not to push. "Yeah. He's 38, native of Long Beach, California. Mother is deceased – died in a hiking accident. Father, Miles Reed, lives in Miami with his third wife. It doesn't look like there is a great father-son relationship, though Miles deposits a sizeable check in Ian's account each month."

"How big?"

"Ten grand." Fornell looked impressed. "Then Ian takes most of it out in cash a few days later. The locations of the withdrawals match the locations of the other victims Abby mentioned."

"Has he been seen anywhere lately?"

"He took out a large sum of cash in Lexington, nothing since. I've got agents tracking down his father and sending him up our way. Abby said that he was driving a red car, but wasn't sure which make and never saw his plates. When we get back to DC I'm going to pull all the traffic cams and any security cams in the area and see if Abby can ID anyone. How is she?"

"She's… she'll be okay," Gibbs paced across the small hotel room. "Is the plane waiting for us? I want to get her back to DC." He needed to get back to D.C.

"She's okay to leave? The plane is ready when you are."

"Yeah, I spoke with one of the nurses. They'll release her once the doctor has had a final look. You have everything you need from up here?"

Fornell pointed to a file on the small dresser in the corner of the room. "No traffic cams in this neck of the woods. There are a few photos of her when they brought her to the hospital and the notes from Sheriff Hansen and ranger Campbell. They've still got the clothes she was wearing bagged and ready to go back to our lab, just need to pick them up."

Gibbs glanced at his watch. It was 8:45a.m. "I need to shower, make a phone call and get back to the hospital. By the time the doctor gets around to seeing Abby, and then driving back to the plane. I think we could be in the air by 2."

"I will make the call and meet you there. I'll swing by the station and get her clothes."

---

Gibbs didn't have a room at the hotel, so Fornell let him borrow his shower.

He let himself relax in the shower, taking his time soaping up and then standing under the hot spray until the water started to cool. As much as he wanted to get back to Abby, he knew she was safe with the team so he let himself have a few minutes to relax and let go.

He scrubbed the towel over his head and then down his chest before wrapping it around his waist. His overnight bag was resting on the toilet and he shook out the clothes, not caring that they were slightly wrinkled. Dressed, he exited the bathroom and took the coffee that Fornell handed him, sniffing it cautiously.

"Free down at the front desk." Fornell shrugged.

As Gibbs was about to leave, Fornell stopped him. "You know I'm going to have to ask again about everything that happened. I'll need to do it back at the FBI…" He shifted his gaze away. "I'll need to record everything. I need a sworn statement."

"She doesn't need to be interrogated," Gibbs looked up sharply. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"Of course she didn't, but we can't go changing the rules just because it's Abby."

"You've heard her side, you've got the details, let her heal… please."

Fornell had never heard him say please before, and it caused him to do a double-take. "Jethro. I want to nail this bastard to the wall."

"I know, I just…"

"You don't want her to have to re-live it, I get that. We'll do it as soon as we get back to D.C. and get it over with. Then you can take her home and she can focus on resting."

"Tobias." Gibbs was borderline pleading. "I don't want to put her through that."

"It'll be quick, I promise. Jethro, I have to get it recorded. I'm sorry."

---

When he returned to the hospital, Abby had already changed into the clothes from her bag at work that Ziva had brought with them and was ready to go.

"Can we leave yet?"

"Ducky is with your doctor getting copies of all his notes, but I'm sure as soon as he is done and Gibbs is… oh, hey boss." Tony looked up when the door opened.

"Gibbs!" Abby sat up a little straighter.

She looked better, he thought, now that she had changed from the hospital gown, but she still looked small and fragile. "Everything okay here?" He forced a smile.

"Ducky is getting all the information he needs and then we can go. We can go home, right?" Abby reached out for him.

Gibbs gladly took her hand and smiled. "Yeah, we can go home. We've got the FBI plane waiting for us."

"They FBI let you use their plane to come get me?"

"You've got friends in high places, Abbs," he smiled. "I'll see if I can round up Ducky. I also want to hear for myself from the doctor that you're okay."

Tony waited until the door closed again behind Gibbs before turning back to Abby. "He would've stolen the President's plane to get here if the FBI didn't let us use their plane."

"It is true. It would have taken us nine hours to drive here," Ziva added.

McGee nodded. "You're pretty popular with the FBI. I don't think it took much convincing."

"I don't know," Abby giggled. "Gibbs can be pretty scary when he wants to be."

"Gibbs is pretty scary when it comes to you," Tony smiled.

---

He hadn't wanted to let Fornell take her to the FBI but when it came down to it, he didn't have a choice. They made it back to the plane and had Abby situated comfortably on the plane. Fornell had eyed him when he boarded and he knew if he didn't tell Abby about their next stop, Fornell would. He had sat beside her and waited until they were up in the air. He hadn't been sure about how to approach the subject – normally he wasn't one for dancing around the subject, but when it came to Abby, there was nothing normal in what he did.

"Gibbs, what are you thinking about?"

"Hmm?"

Her hand squeezed his. "You have this look on your face; you have something to tell me?"

"Fornell needs to ask some more questions. He has to record it." He hadn't been surprised that she didn't fight against it.

"I know, I figured as much. I'm no different than any other… case." All she could do was shrug.

And it broke his heart.

Now all he could do was pace. He'd been on this side of the interrogation room before, watching suspects worry before he stormed in and demanded to know what they knew. He'd even seen Abby in interrogation, though the last time he'd seen her there he had asked her to spill the radioactive cocktail on her hands so that Michelle would think her cover was safe. But now, seeing her sitting across from Fornell, her arms wrapped tightly around her body as if she was hugging herself, he felt sick to his stomach.

They were at NCIS for her interview; Gibbs had called ahead and made sure that Vance had someone ready to record. The building was less busy than the FBI and she asked to visit her lab. Vance had been waiting for them, and made sure that they could get in and out without people crowding around Abby. She was popular at NCIS and as much as she needed her friends, she needed space too.

She had agreed to let the rest of the team watch with Gibbs from the observation room, and they stood back silently and watched as Gibbs moved back and forth in front of the one-way mirror.

"Can you start from the beginning?" Fornell asked.

Abby chewed nervously on her lower lip and nodded. She sucked in a shaky breath and began. "On Thursday I went to meet my friend Ashley at Curb, a new club that just opened."

"What time?"

"I was supposed to meet her at seven thirty. I was about ten minutes early."

"Go on."

"I got out of my car, and a man got out of the car next to me. He asked for some help with his car. I lied and said I didn't know anything about cars, and that I could ask someone inside. Then he said he just needed a jump, that he had jumper cables, he just needed a car to get him started. That seemed harmless enough, so I said I would help. He opened his trunk to get the cables, but his trunk was empty. I started to feel something hinky in my gut," she looked up through the mirror knowing that Gibbs was watching her. "I tried to back away, but he grabbed me."

Gibbs' felt his fists clench tightly as he watched her shiver and hug her arms around herself a little tighter.

"I screamed, but the music was so loud, I don't think anyone could hear me. I tried to get away, I tried to fight, but somehow he got me down to the ground. He took my necklace off and then wrapped his hands around my neck and choked me until I couldn't breathe and passed out." A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away hastily, determined not to cry.

"I woke up in the back of his car, my hands and feet were tied. He knew my name, said he looked through my purse. He told me about these other women, and what he did. He made it sound like he was sad that they didn't survive and he didn't feel guilty. It was like he blamed them for dying."

"Did he tell you why he picked them? Why he picked you?"

"No," she shook her head. "But he talked about his father and his mother. I don't remember much, just that his father was talking to him in his head or something and he wouldn't stop."

"Ok, back to the car ride. Did he tell you where he was taking you?"

"No. But we must have driven all night. It was light again by the time he stopped. When he got me out of the car, he pulled a gun out and told me to walk. We walked for a few hours in the woods, and I was so tired, I just wanted to stop, but he made me keep going. Then when we finally stopped, he drugged me. I thought he was going to kill me, but he just drugged me and I fell asleep."

"By the time you were found, your blood was clear. Did he tell you what he gave you?"

"No." Her hands twisted nervously in her lap. "He just drugged me and left me," she closed her eyes and a tear formed on her lashes. "He left me to die."

"It's alright," Fornell reached across the table and squeezed her shoulder. "We're almost done."

Abby nodded.

"Did he tell you anything about where he would be headed next?"

"He said he hung around to wait until the women had been found. Said something about wanting to see if they 'made it'. He said nothing about where he would go next." Abby stared at her hands. "He's waiting for some news paper article about me. To see if I've died," her lip trembled. "He took me to the middle of nowhere to see how long I would last. Why couldn't he just have shot me and got it over with?" Her shoulders slumped forward and she could no longer hold the tears back.

The door burst open and Gibbs went straight for Abby. "We're done here."

Fornell nodded and headed around to the observation room. He felt sick to his stomach and judging by the faces of the others who had been watching, he wasn't the only one.

"Shh, Abbs. Come on, I've got you. Let's get you home." Gibbs pulled the chair back and lifted her from the chair. He walked down the hall with Abby in his arms, only somewhat aware of his team following behind. No one said anything as they rode the elevator down to the garage and it wasn't until he had Abby buckled into the passenger seat that he turn to Ziva.

"You've got the list of things she wants from her apartment?"

"I will go now and bring it to your place right away."

"Good," Gibbs turned to the guys. "Wait until tomorrow to visit. She's been through enough."

Tony and McGee nodded in agreement.

"I will be by this evening to take a look at her feet and change the bandages." Ducky reached up and squeezed Gibbs' shoulder.

"Alright." Gibbs circled his car and got in.

---

Pulling into his drive-way, Gibbs parked and then walked around to the passenger side. He opened the door and then leaned in to scoop up Abby and carried her to the front door. Inside he used his elbow to flip on the hall light and then carried her up to his room. It had been a few days since the sheets had been changed, but he hadn't slept much, so he figured they were clean enough for her, at least for the night.

Abby was quiet as he set her down, he eyes darting around the room. She had been in his room once or twice before in search of a t-shirt, but had never lingered to look around. "I'm not complaining, but why here instead of the guest room? You always put me in the guest room."

"Jack will be here tomorrow. He can have the guestroom," he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the covers up around her. "You didn't want Gloria to visit yet. You need someone with you during the day. I don't want you to be alone." He had asked about flying her mother up for a visit, but Abby declined. She hadn't said anything, but he could read it on her face that she didn't want her mother to see her looking so fragile.

"Where will you be? Can't I stay with you?"

Gibbs shook his head, "no. I need to find Ian and make him pay."

"Can't I hang-out at NCIS? You know how much my lab calms me down."

"I know, but not yet. You can hardly walk."

Abby dropped her head forward. It was true; the skin on her feet had been rubbed raw by her boots. "I know."

"Hey," his voice was gentle and he used his fingers to tilt her chin up so that she looked at him. "Jack has been really worried. He's looking forward to spending some time with you. I bet if you ask nicely he'll tell you stories about me as a kid. Something you can entertain DiNozzo with."

"I'd like that."

"I can imagine." Gibbs stood and then leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Take a little nap while I make some dinner. Ziva will be over in a bit with the stuff you wanted from your place."

Abby opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself.

Gibbs noticed and raised his brow, giving her the chance to continue.

"Nothing, nevermind." She snuggled under the blankets. She could ask him to kiss her some other time.

---

TBC…

I don't know how long voting is open, but if you could please go here: http://www(dot)soundersfc(dot)com/Matchday/Golden-Scarf/April-17(dot)aspx and vote for Hanne Poulsen I would be very, very grateful. – just replaced the (dot) with .