A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone, here's the next chapter! -pj
Gibbs wasn't sure how long they sat there in the darkened elevator while he waited for Abby to come back down from the edge.
He knew it was several minutes, because his arm was going to sleep and his fingers were tingly from the repetitive motion of stroking her hair. Every desperate sob that ripped from her chest squeezed his until he could hardly breathe.
After a while, a long while, he could feel her turning boneless in his arms, exhausted.
He waited, relaxing his grip enough for her to shift against him, curling up in a ball under his chin.
"Gibbs?" she whispered, voice hoarse.
"Yeah," he answered, smoothing her hair back from her warm face.
"Did I do this?" she asked, her voice somewhere between a whisper and a squeak.
Gibbs stopped moving.
"What?"
Abby's grip on his jacket tightened and he cut her off as she started to repeat herself.
"Did-"
"No." he said, a bit more forcefully than necessary and he felt Abby tense further.
She nodded and suddenly sat up and away from him, scooting back to sit against the wall of the elevator kiddie corner from him.
"Yeah," she swiped her arm across her nose, eyes glued to the floor, "I'm sure you're right."
"Are you?" he asked quietly, resting his elbows on his knees.
Abby shrugged silently, needing several minutes more before she could respond, "I just can't help but think that," she shrugged again, folding her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees, "maybe I sent Kyle the wrong signals, you know? Maybe I was too needy with Zoe. I don't know. Sometimes I do things and don't realize I'm doing them," she rambled, never lifting her eyes from her shoes.
"Abby," Gibbs said, calling her attention to him, "look at me."
After a moment, she complied.
"None of this, none of it, is your fault." He practically whispered, the intensity of his gaze almost demanding that she believe him, "you understand me, Abby? It's her fault, and only hers."
She started to shake her head, "then why am I the only one left?"
Gibbs watched her eyes fill with tears and an old familiar pang of guilt mingled with new understanding warred inside his chest. He realized that, in that moment, there was nothing he could say to ease her pain. So it didn't really matter that he couldn't find the words.
"Your mother?" He said, his gut twisting forebodingly.
Abby pursed her lips and shook her head, "the hospital called me about an hour ago."
Gibbs clenched his jaw. He'd left them explicit instructions to call him if there was any news. He hated to think of Abby receiving any more bad news, let alone from someone who didn't know her and over the phone. He lifted one arm and beckoned her to him. Abby slid back over to be beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"You're not alone, Abby," he said quietly after a moment, his lips brushing against her hair, "And we are going to get through this."
TBC
