After going to bed so early, Abby was wide awake shortly after five. She padded barefoot down the stairs to the kitchen, detouring by the front door to grab the paper. Gibbs wasn't up yet, so Abby started the coffee and pour herself a bowl of cereal. She yawned and hopped up to the counter top beside the coffee machine to eat while she waited for her first dose of caffeine for the day. She looked forward to her dinner with Tony; it was time that she finally came clean about her feelings for her housemate. She needed someone to talk to and Gibbs obviously wasn't the one.

If she told Gibbs how she felt, Abby was fairly certain that he would say something sweet, let her down gently… so there was no point in going to him about her feelings.

She knew he wasn't dating. The last woman he had been romantically linked with had been Hollis Mann, and well… it had been awhile, so at least there wasn't any competition to worry about. It was a slight relief.

She needed Tony's advice. He had questioned if there was anything going on when she had first moved in with their boss, and if he had questioned then he must've thought there was possibility. She needed to hear his thoughts, even if it was to tell her to move on.

Abby was lost in thought when Gibbs made his way down the stairs; he paused to watch her for a moment. She sat on the counter, cereal bowl in hand, staring down at her spoon deep in thought. He heard the coffee percolating through the filter and the strong smell of coffee hit his nose, urging him forward. He was halfway across the kitchen when she looked up at him and smiled. He knew she wasn't a morning person, but she always made an effort. "Morning."

"Morning."

"Coffee is almost ready." As if on cue, the coffee maker beeped. Abby reached to the cupboard above the machine and pulled out two mugs, pouring a generous amount for the both of them.

Gibbs put two pieces of toast in the toaster and leaned back against the counter across from Abby. "Plans for the day?"

"Not until this evening, hot date." She hopped off the counter to put her bowl in the sink.

The toaster popped and Gibbs put the bread on a plate and pulled out the butter. When he turned back to put the butter away, Abby set a coffee mug next to his plate and then lifted a slice of toast to take a rather large bite out of it and then put it back on his plate. She was back on the counter by the time Gibbs noticed what had happened.

"Hot date, huh?" He looked down at the toast and then up at her with a smile. "What happened here?"

"I dunno." She wiped the crumbs from her lip. "But yes, super hot date. I think you'll be impressed when he picks me up."

"Oh." He didn't have anything else to say to that. He was fairly certain he wouldn't be impressed, but he didn't need her to feel like she couldn't tell him about her dates. The more he knew the better he could keep her safe. He would get the guys name when he picked her up, and then call in a favor from Fornell for a background check.

Abby couldn't help but notice the odd look that crossed his face at the mention of her date. If she allowed herself to completely analyze the look she would almost think that it had been jealousy. But that wasn't possible. She didn't think Gibbs would ever be jealous, hell, ever had been jealous. Plus, as soon as Tony arrived, Gibbs would laugh at the idea. He knew that she and Tony had always been good friends.

They spent the morning together at the dining table trading sections of the newspaper back and forth and drinking their coffee. The rest of the day, until mid-afternoon had been spent cleaning up around the house, running loads of laundry and completing various tasks that had been neglected during their overly-busy work week.

Abby disappeared upstairs in the early evening. She showered and dried her hair. She pulled it up into a elegant pony tail high on the crown of her head and then slipped into a flirty black dress. She went easy on her make-up and pulled on the cross necklace Tony had brought back from a trip he had taken to Germany while Gibbs had been in Mexico and he had been in charge.

At ten to seven she heard a car turn onto Gibbs relatively quiet road, and looking through the window to see Tony's car pull up in front of the house. She was just slipping into her heels when she heard the doorbell and Gibbs heavy footsteps towards the door.

She hurried to get down the stairs in time to see the look on Gibbs face when he saw Tony, but she didn't make it. Instead she heard a very confused Gibbs. "DiNozzo? What are you doing here?"

"Gibbs, I told you I had a hot date." Abby stepped around the corner.

"With DiNozzo?"

Both men looked at her and smiled at the sight. "You look…" They both stumbled.

"Thanks." Abby did a little twirl. "And Tony, you look rather handsome in that suit. Is it new?"

"Yeah, I… Hey, the necklace I bought you." Tony lifted it from her neck to look at it.

If it was possible, Gibbs almost looked panic-stricken. Are they seeing each other as more than friends? He looked from Abby to Tony and back at Abby. He hadn't seen this coming at all. He knew of her short-term fling to McGee, but DiNozzo?

"Alright, boss. I'll have her back in one piece. I swear."

Gibbs nodded and mumbled and excuse to head downstairs.

Abby watched him walk away and then turned to look at Tony who shrugged and then nodded towards the door. "Shall we?"

"We shall." Abby followed Tony out to his car and waited as he politely opened the door. He was quite the ladies man, she had to admit.

"You going to tell me what's going on now, or do I have to wait until we get to the restaurant?"

Abby rolled her eyes.

"I'll take that as a no…"

----

TBC…

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