Ok I know this is a short chapter but I just had to leave it off where it is cause it's very dramatic. Please review


2 months, 19 days, 21 hours, 16 minutes

"Hey Gibbs," Abby said as she walked down the stairs into the basement. The door had been unlocked as usual and she decided that Gibbs wouldn't get mad if she came in without knocking.

"What can I do for you Abbs?" he asked, looking over at her as he cleaned his hands with a worn rag.

"Nothing, just wanted to know how the boat was coming along," she lied.

"Abby," he said knowingly and she broke.

"I just needed someone to talk to," she said as she moved to lean against his work table.

"What do you want to talk about?" Gibbs asked, already knowing.

"McGee sent me an e-mail and he said he was fine and he was really sorry about not talking to me in so long but he needs to be away right now and sort out some things," Abby said as she began to pace.

"Did he say he didn't want to come back?" Gibbs asked wondering why McGee's e-mail had upset her so much.

"No he said he would come back when you got everyone back together," she said getting more and more upset.

"Then what's the problem?" he asked.

"I don't fucking know!" she yelled. Gibbs was surprised by her outburst but said nothing.

"He met some girl named Edith a few days ago," she said with a sigh.

"Edith?" Gibbs said, knowing he really didn't have a right to judge the woman's name.

"Yea," she grumbled. "God I'm so stupid."

"No you aren't Abby," Gibbs said trying to comfort her.

"Yes I am, why is it that you never know what you have until it's gone?" she asked

"I don't know, I wish I did," Gibbs said as he took a sip of bourbon.

Abby grimaced as she realized what she had said "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he replied as he poured her a glass.

"Thanks," she said with a smile as he offered her the mug.

"You need to figure some things out while he's away as well," Gibbs said and she looked at him in surprise.

"I mean you're feelings about McGee, you need to figure out if this is just because he's gone," Gibbs said. He knew they had broken rule 12 before and McGee had gotten his heart broken. He didn't want it to happen again, because if it did they just might lose McGee for good.

Abby knew he was right. She had always been bitchy when he had a new girlfriend, but when he was single she told him she loved him like a puppy. She couldn't have it both ways.

"You're right," she said softly before taking a drink. Then again Gibbs was alright so she shouldn't be so shocked.

"Tony told me to tell you that he slaps himself upside the head everyday to ease his home-sickness," she said with a grin.

Gibbs couldn't help but chuckle and Abby started to laugh. "Only DiNozzo," he said.

Turning, he looked back at his half built boat and Abby walked to stand beside him. "One of these days you're going to have to tell me how you plan to get this thing out of here," she said.

"One day I will," he said as he put down his drink and picked his sander back up. "Just not today."

Abby opened her mouth to complain but was interrupted by her cell ringing. Gibbs looked over his shoulder as she answered.

"Hey Sarah," she said. Gibbs wondered if the Sarah she was talking to was McGee's little sister.

"Tim told me he e-mailed you," Sarah said.

"Yea he did and I e-mailed him back today," Abby replied.

"Ok I was just checking, I didn't know if he actually did or if he told me he did just to get me to shut up about it," the younger woman explained.

"Um, has he said anything about a woman named Edith?" Abby asked timidly.

"No, although we didn't talk for very long, we kinda got into a fight and he hung up on me."

"He hung up on you?" Abby asked in shock. It wasn't like McGee to get upset and hang up on someone.

"Yup," Sarah said simply.

"What were you two fighting about, if you don't mind me asking."

Sarah was silent for a moment "I really shouldn't say but he hung up on me so confidentiality flew out the window."

Abby decided to turn on speaker phone so Gibbs would know what was going on.

"He's smoking again."

Gibbs looked at the phone as if it had grown legs and a tail. "What do you mean again?" Abby almost yelled. "He told me he didn't smoke."

"Well when he told you it was probably true," Sarah said calmly. "Tim started smoking when he was seventeen…after something really bad happened."

"What happened?" Abby asked calmly and Gibbs took a step towards her.

After a long silence "Our mom died," she said softly before hanging up.


Told you it was dramatic. Review!!