Whoa there, a little antsy that Gibbs is abandoning Abby for good, are we? Sorry I didn't reply to anyone for the previous chapters comments… I knew I couldn't and not give it away. I can't spoil the cliff hanger that I was dangling ya'll over, now could I?

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"I came here to tell you that I'm leaving…"

Abby didn't give him a chance to finish. She was frantic. "What? No! Gibbs, you can't leave. I'll leave, if you can't work at NCIS with me, I understand, but don't punish the rest of the team. You can't leave them again, you can't."

"Shh, Abby... I'm just leaving for a few days. I'm not leaving NCIS, and neither are you. I just need a few a few days to clear my mind and to think. I'll be back, I promise. I just wanted to let you know. Last time I left without saying anything, and I regret that."

Gibbs touched his lips gently to her forehead before walking away.

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"Well, well Probie. What brings you back? My roof isn't leaking. You must be here to finish that hot tub you promised to build me last time you were here?"

"I needed to get away and clear my mind, Mike."

"Uh oh, you get blown up again?"

"No."

Mike stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest "You aren't going inside until you tell me what brings you back. And don't think I'll believe you if you say it's because you miss me."

"Things just got a little overwhelming at NCIS. I just needed to take a few days in the sun."

"Uh huh." Mike stepped aside. "Don't think I count that as an explanation, but go ahead and set your bag in the back bedroom. Bring a couple of beers when you come out." Mike moved to his favorite chair on the deck overlooking the beach.

A few minutes later Gibbs reappeared, two beers in hand. He sat in the chair next to Mikes and handed him a beer.

"I know you aren't a man of many words, something is bothering you, but I won't press. So why don't you start with filling me in on that team you've got. Has Ziva finally hurt Tony yet? I swear that one is a loose cannon. The way DiNozzo checks her out… I'm surprised the boy still has eyes."

"I know."

Mike eyed him before taking a long drink of his beer. "How about that pretty little thing you've got hidden away in the lab. If you aren't going to do something about her, then I can't promise I'll keep my hands off when I visit next."

"She's why I'm here."

"Oh, she turned you down?"

"She was shot in downtown D.C."

Mike sat up and turned to fully face him. "She ok?"

"Fornell came to tell us they had her at the FBI morgue, showed me the photos of her lying in a puddle of her own blood…"

"Oh Probie…"

"Two days ago Fornell came back and said that it had all been an act. It's a long story, something about an old FBI case that Abby did forensics for. Abby was in danger, so they had to pretend to kill her. She's fine."

"That must've been hard on you." Mike settled back in his chair.

"It…" Gibbs tried to find the words to explain. "It hurt all over again."

"So if she's fine, why exactly are you here? Shouldn't you be wrapped around her in your bed? Wait – don't tell me you ran away from her. Is that why you're here, probie?"

"I don't know, it just… it hurt so badly. And then it wasn't real." He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before running his hand through his hair.

"I'm sure it wasn't something she wanted to do. Did you at least tell her that you love her?"

"No."

Mike sighed. "You just don't learn, do you? Such a probie mistake. What's the one thing you regretted most when you heard she died? I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you regret not telling her that you loved her sooner. Am I right?"

Gibbs looked at Mike and nodded.

"I just hope she's waiting for you when you get back."

---

Abby stepped out of the café and squinted in the sunlight. She looked left and then right. With her Caf-Pow in hand she headed back towards the Navy Yard. She smiled as she passed three guys in baggy clothing hanging around a park bench. She hesitated when she heard car tires screeching on the road up ahead. She looked up to see a car with tinted windows fly around the corner and speed down the street in the direction of where she was. In slow motion, she saw the window roll down and the barrel of a gun point.

Four shots were fired, one piercing her chest, just to the right of her heart.

Tony and Ziva were on the scene in minutes.

Tony crouched and held his jacket to Abby's chest to slow the blood. Abby's eyes were wide with shock. "Tell… tell Gibbs I'm not… not faking."

Tony pulled out his cell and dialed Gibbs number. "Boss…"

Gibbs woke in a cold sweat, his heart pounding in his chest. He looked at the digital clock beside the bed; it was four in the morning in Mexico, meaning it was six in D.C. Abby was likely just waking up.

Her phone rang twice before she answered. Abby's voice was heavy with sleep. "Hello?"

"Abby."

"Gibbs?"

He could hear the rustling of sheets, and the click of the lamp by her bedside. The dream had been so real, that he hadn't been able to fight the urge to call and double check that she was really ok.

"Gibbs?"

"You ok, Abby?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm alright. Gibbs, are you ok?"

"I'm ok Abby. Go back to sleep." Gibbs hung up and stared up at the ceiling through the darkness. When sleep didn't claim him, he dressed and decided to go for a run along the beach.

He wiped the sweat from his brow as he headed back up the beach to Mike's house.

"Mornin' Probie. For a minute I thought you might've come to your senses and returned to that lab rat you love. Then I saw your stuff was still here."

"I called her."

"You tell her you love her?"

"No."

"Boy, you know if you hadn't been through so much in your life, I think I'd slap you right about now. You love her, and you know she loves you. That poor girl… she loves you, but doesn't know that you love her. Who's hurting who now?"

"I'm not hurting her."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure she's just fine. I remember how she was the last time you came down here."

"I told her I was leaving this time, I didn't last time."

"Yes, so that makes everything better." His voice full of sarcasm, he downed the last of his beer. "I'm sure she's just fine then."

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Abby had been deep in sleep when her phone rang and woke her up. Her eyes were too heavy to open and look at the caller I.D. She struggled to flip her phone open and put it to her ear. The sound of Gibbs voice had woken her, and she struggled to sit up and flip the light on.

She had to repeat his name twice before he spoke again. She was confused when he asked if she was ok, and she stumbled for an answer. She asked if he was ok, he said that he was and that she should go back to sleep. But sleep never came. She had to be up for work in half an hour, and after hearing from Gibbs she knew she might as well just get up.

Abby used the time to take a long, hot shower. While she was eager to get back into the swing of things at work, she doubted things would be the same for quite some time, if ever. The day before had been her first day back and it had been awkward, but her friends made an attempt to normalize the day the best they could.

The second day Abby was first in the office. She put her stuff away, slipped into her lab coat and pressed play on her CD player. Gibbs team had no current cases, but one of the other teams needed a DNA sample run. She fired up her machines and set to work.

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Gibbs knocked on her door and waited patiently for her to open.

She peeked through the peep hole before opening. "Jethro?"

"I can't do this. I'm sorry."

"Because you love her?"

Gibbs nodded.

Hollis shut the door. She didn't want or need to hear anymore.

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Abby paced nervously in her lab. Gibbs was supposed to be back in the office today. She stopped when she heard the elevator ding, her heart stalled in her chest. She frowned slightly when she saw Tony.

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, Abby." Tony joked. He knew she was nervous. "But relax. He isn't avoiding you, he's not here yet."

"You think he'll come down here?"

"I think so."

"I don't want him to feel pressured into talking to me until he's ready, so I'm going to stay in my lab. I won't go looking for him."

"Fair enough. Anyway, I just came to check on you. I'll stop in later, ok?"

"Thanks Tony. I appreciate it."

Abby was alone in her lab until early in the afternoon. McGee came in carrying a small box containing a gun in an evidence bag. "Hey Abby, Gibbs asked if you could run any finger prints you might find on the gun.."

"Oh. Yeah, sure."

McGee couldn't help but notice the look of disappointment on her face. "Oh Abby, it isn't like that. We got a call five minutes after he arrived and he's not even back yet. He sent me with the evidence because I'm supposed to start on a computer trail."

"I'm ok, McGee."

"Abby."

"Seriously, I'm ok. I'll get started on the tests. I'll call when I know something."

"Ok" McGee gave her shoulder a squeeze as he walked past.

It was nearly seven pm by the time she was done, but Abby was able to match the finger prints. She pressed speed-dial for McGee's desk. "McGee. I ran the finger prints from the gun, they match a Daniel Adams, I ran the registration number as well and the gun is registered to-"

"Navy commander Sarah McCloud."

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Well, Sarah McCloud was found dead in her home. So it looks at thought Daniel Adams shot her with her own gun. But the case has taken a new turn. I just got off the phone with Gibbs, Adams was found dead. He apparently killed himself. Go home, Abby. We can't do anything until Ducky takes a look at his body in the morning. Unless something comes up in autopsy to show that it wasn't suicide then the case is closed."

"Oh, alright. I'll see you tomorrow Timmy."

"Night Abby."

Abby hung up. She hated to think that her confrontation with Gibbs would half to wait one more day. Collecting her things Abby went to her car and drove home. Abby pulled into her parking spot at her apartment complex. She was slow in walking the long path from the parking lot to the front doors of her complex.

Abigail, you really stepped in it this time… Abby was deep in thought and didn't notice the dark figure sitting at the top of the steps by the door. She slowed her pace to dig her keys out of her pocket and then continued.

Abby was stepping up onto the first step when Gibbs said her name. She stumbled backwards, but grabbed the railing to steady herself and keep from falling.

"Jesus, Gibbs." Abby ran a hand over her face and took a deep breath before climbing the rest of the stairs. "Inside?" She looked at the door, unable to bring herself to look him in the eye. "Or would you prefer to talk out here?"

Gibbs glanced at the door. "Let's go in."

Abby slipped the key in the door to unlock it and stepped inside. She held the door open and waited for Gibbs to follow before letting it close behind him. They took the stairs to the second floor and Abby unlocked the door to her apartment.

She flipped on the light and stopped. Gibbs hadn't expected her sudden stop and his body collided with hers.

Gibbs momentarily forgotten, Abby glared at Fornell "What the hell are you doing in here, again?"

"I didn't expect you to be here Jethro." Fornell stood from the chair he had been sitting on. "I here because you've been ignoring my calls, and I know I put you through a lot. I wanted to check up on you."

"Fornell, I swear to God if you break into my place again…" She clenched her fists. "Next time leave a message."

"Jethro, I've been meaning to talk to you as well."

"I've got nothing to say to you, Tobias."

"You know that I did what I had to do."

"Maybe, but I don't know if I can forgive you." Gibbs' eyes were cold and he stepped away from the door so that Fornell got the idea that he could leave.

Abby cringed at his words, I don't know if I can forgive you. If he couldn't forgive Fornell, someone he had known longer than her, she wasn't sure she could even begin to ask for his forgiveness for herself. Abby stepped into her kitchen while Fornell grabbed his jacket to leave. She stood by the kitchen sink, her hands supporting her, resting on the counter on either side of the sink. She heard the door close and Gibbs walk across the living room and then joined her in the kitchen.

She felt a tear well up in the outside corner of her eye, then spill and roll down her cheek. She looked over at Gibbs, waiting for him to say something.

He stepped forward and reached out to wipe the tear away with his thumb. "Don't cry. There have been enough tears the past week."

The touch of his thumb on her skin started a second tear down her cheek, and then a third and a forth.

Abby's body shook with sobs. Gibbs stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest.

"Shh, shh… Calm down, Abby. Breathe. Just breathe. It's ok." He soothed.

As Abby began to calm down, she turned in his arms to look up at him. "You don't think you'll forgive Fornell? You won't forgive me either, will you?"

Gibbs caught another tear as it followed the well-worn tracks down her cheeks, his rough thumb moving along her skin. "What makes you think I haven't already forgiven you?"

"You ran away to Mexico, again, and you avoided me at work today. I don't blame you. I really don't."

"Abby, I needed to clear my head, and I was busy today, but I'm here aren't I? I don't want to forgive Fornell because, well, because of him, I thought I had lost you for good."

"You couldn't lose me if you tried." She tried to smile, but failed miserably.

"I almost did, and it was my own fault."

Abby sniffed and stepped away from Gibbs to grab a tissue. "What are you talking about? This had nothing to do with you."

"I was losing you before all this drama. I almost lost you because of Hollis." The mention of Hollis' name caused Abby to frown, and Gibbs couldn't help but smile softly. "You really didn't like her, did you?"

"Something like that."

"We really need to talk about everything." Gibbs reached out and took hold of her arms and pulled her in for another hug. This wasn't something he would take for granted anymore.

Abby molded herself against his chest. "I don't want to talk about her."

"We don't have to talk about her then. But we still need to talk." Gibbs wrapped his arms a little tighter around her and lifted her to sit on the counter. He parted her legs to step between them.

"I noticed that ever since Hollis started working some NCIS cases you started acting differently." As he spoke, Gibbs undid her pigtails, letting her hair fall around her face. "When I asked you what was wrong you said it was guy issues." He raked his fingers along her scalp. "Then you were always talking about these random dates…"

"I wasn't seeing anyone, I made it up." She interjected.

"… and I was concerned about your well-being. You seemed to avoid any situation where I could ask you about it. I finally asked Tony to dig around and find out what's wrong."

"You asked Tony?"

"Yes, I asked Tony. I didn't know what else to do, you weren't talking to me. So imagine my surprise when Tony says he has the home address of the guy and then show's me my own info."

"He told you?"

"He did. And I'm glad he did. I was shocked, honestly Abbs, I never even thought you'd feel that way about me. I just wish I hadn't taken so long to figure everything out. Abby, I thought you were in the process of moving on. I stayed with Hollis after I found out because I thought… I thought it was better for you. And then all this happened and…"

"And what?" Abby was unsure of what else to say.

"And when I thought you were gone for good, my biggest regret was that I didn't do this…" Gibbs leaned forward to press his lips to hers.

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TBC…

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