Abby had stroked Gibbs' hair until he fell asleep. Now, in the early morning light, she admired him. He's gorgeous. How had she gotten so lucky? What she wanted more than anything in the world was to be everything he needed. She knew that Gibbs had gone through hell; but she didn't realize just how much until last night. It gave her even more respect for him. He had gone through so much, and yet he was kind, honorable, and sweet. A single tear fell down her face. She didn't know if it was from sadness for what he had gone through or whether it was joy because he was hers. Maybe it was both.

Abby quietly padded to her bathroom. She freshened up. As she returned to the room, Gibbs cried out softly. His hands were twisted in the sheets, and a frown graced his face. He was clearly in the throes of a nightmare. She ran over to him quickly and gathered him in her arms. "Hey," she said, whispering in his ear. "Shh, I'm here. You're ok. I've got you."

He woke. "Abby." He hugged her back, burying his face in her hair. "Abbs. My sweet girl."

"Always yours, Jethro."

"Please don't leave me." His voice was quiet, almost unintelligible. He grasped her hard.

"I never will. You know that."

"I love you so much, Abby."

She hugged him again. "You're my everything." They spent the rest of the morning cuddling and talking lightly. Abby began to tell him stories about what it was like to grow up in Louisiana. Abby told Gibbs what it had been like to go to the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans during college. He snickered.

"I've been, Abbs."

"You, the upstanding Marine? How many beads did you get?"

"Lots, Abbs. I still have them somewhere if you want em. But you have to work for em."

"You have a dirty mind!"

"The dirtiest. But only for you."

She giggled. Abby was so happy that he was back to smiling and joking again. This was a side of Gibbs that he had only for her. She felt special, loved, and honored. She snuggled even deeper into him. "You're so warm. Are you always this warm?"

"I don't get cold as easily as some."

"You have so many muscles, that's why." She brushed her nose against his. "What do you want to do today?"

"Go back to your place so you can do what you need to do. Watch a movie together? I'll make lunch for ya."

How am I going to deal with not being with you every second at work, Gibbs? You have to promise me something."

"What's that, Abbs?"

"You have to come visit me in the lab sometimes when I don't have anything for you. Come just to say hi. I have this rare disorder where I will get really sick if I go too long without getting a kiss from you."

"I promise. You have to promise to drag me away from the Navy Yard when I don't need to be there."

"I'll take you to a Plastic Death Concert."

"You're pushin' it."

"What's your favorite TV show, Gibbs? When we get you a new TV we will have to get you movies and TV shows. I want to be able to cuddle with my Gibbs on the couch and watch movies."

"I've always loved MASH. I liked Cheers. Shows that are on now, I'll have to think. I do like Rizzoli and Isles on TNT. My guilty pleasure is Lois and Clark, from the 90's."

"That's because you're Superman, Gibbs."

"Not Superman, Abbs."

"I think you're more like Captain America, actually. You fight with a team, and you're a bit more complicated than most superheroes. The best thing about you is you are honorable and have a kind heart, and that's who he is."

"You're like Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, Black Widow, and that smart girl from Spider Man all rolled into one."

"Not Mary Jane, I hope. You mean Gwen Stacy. Wait, Gibbs, you know who they are? You watched the movies? Why didn't you tell me, we could have gone together?"

I love it when you start talking fast like that, Abbs. You're adorable."

She glared at him. "Answer the questions, Gibbs."

"I do like them. I'd go to those when work got to be too much. It was an escape. We can go to them together now, sweetheart. And, I loved comic books growing up. Plus, you know what Tony would do if he knew I liked movies. His incessant rambling would kill us all."

Abby laughed loudly. "You love Tony like a brother, admit it."

"I do."

"Gibbs, you should tell him that. Or show him. He's gone through a hard time too. His father's sort of flaky and he doesn't have any other family. Tell him, for me. He deserves to know somebody cares. You can be kind to people and also be tough Gunny Gibbs too." Abby's eyes filled with tears.

"You are the best person I know, Abbs. I'll talk to him tomorrow, k? I'm not always so good at expressing myself, you know that."

"You talk to me all the time! This whole week we've been doing nothing but talking."

"But that's with you, Abbs. It's sorta different."

"Does that mean you don't want to do it?"

"I'll do it, Abbs. I said I would. I'd do anything for you."

She pouted. "Don't do it because it's what I want. Do it because you care about Tony. If you're only doing something to please me it doesn't count, and it really means that you don't care what I want in the end, because Tony's like my family too."

"Abbs, I said I do care about him. And I can't believe that you still don't know how much I care about you. WhatI can do to show you."

"I didn't mean it like that, Gibbs. Sometimes my mouth explodes all over the place. It's always been a problem I've had."

"I still want you to tell me everything I need to know about you or do for you so you know how much I love you and how dedicated I am to you."

Abby buried her face in his chest and mumbled "I'm sor..." Gibbs cut her off when he pulled her head back up to look at him and placed a finger to his lips. She sighed. "There are a lot of weird things about me. You need to know that I like loud music, except when I am tired and it's the end of the day and I'm home for the night. Loud music drives me crazy when I am exhausted. You need to know that you should change the channel when those sad commercials about animals come on because I'll start crying. You need to know that kneeling or crouching for a long time hurts my leg, because I broke it when I was 16. I fell skiing. You should know I hate skiing and never want to do it again, but I like to sled. When I start reading on a day off I don't like to stop. You should stop bringing me Caf-Pows after three and bring me No-Caf-Pows instead, because I drink too much caffeine. You should know I really miss Kate, especially lately because the friends I have in D.C. all changed, got married, had kids, or went gluten free or something and don't have time for me. You should learn to email so we can talk to each other at work more. You should know that when I'm PMSing or have cramps all I need to do is have my head in your lap and all you need to do is stroke my hair."

"I don't like to ski either, Abbs. I prefer boats. What if we make a promise to each other to drink less caffeine? I need you healthy." She nodded. "I hate those commercials too. I always change them. If you ever hurt or are uncomfortable, all you need to do is tell me, Abbs. I'll help you. "

"You should also know it drives me CRAZY when people do everything last minute and then blame everyone else for their problems. I miss the time where things were closed at 5 and people went home and actually talked to their families. I think it's inconceivable that people run to an office or a store right when they're closing and ruin a hardworking person's night. I get really mad at people when they do that."

"Abbs, did you work in retail or something?"

"Yup. And a hotel. Wal-Mart in high school and a hotel in college. Working there is what made me choose science. I wanted to be in a place where I only worked with smart people. I hate asking stupid questions."

Well, you know how well I do with stupidity. I think we're on the same page."

"Gibbs?"

"Hmm?" He nuzzled her neck.

"Will you do the same for me? Tell me what I can do for you so you know how devoted I am to you?"

"Ok, I'll bite." He sat up in bed and urged her to do the same. She scrambled in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "First thing. It hurts me when you get mad at me easily. You know me well and you know I stumble in relationships sometimes, but if I do it doesn't mean I love you any less."

"I'm sorry, Gibbs, I don't mean to..."

"I know you don't. And I don't want you to chew over this and worry either. We'll talk about what's bothering us and that'll be the end of it." She nodded. "Know that sometimes I really need to work on my boat or whatever is down there to get over the stress of the day, and if I'm there I still want you to be. Know that I don't like doing anything on Sundays when I'm tired or stressed, which seems like something you need too. Know that being nagged is something I hate. Hold me if I have a nightmare like you did earlier, and tell me that you'll always be there. Rub my shoulders at the end of a long day. Send me text messages at work so I know you're thinking about me."

"I'm always thinking about you."

"Me too. About you."

"Abbs, you said earlier that some of your friends didn't have time for you since they went gluten-free. Why would that matter?"

"It was the first thing that popped in my head. I was being facetious on that one. I meant it as an allegory to mean that some people's lifestyle choices mean more to them than the people in them. I have one friends who is impossible to be around because she won't eat anything. She makes the rest of us feel really bad about ourselves. Gibbs, promise me that you won't ever judge me for eating?"

"Of course I wouldn't." Gibbs settled his hands on her hips. "You're perfect, Abbs. So beautiful."

"Thank you."

"Anytime. Abbs, I don't want to to knock yourself down anymore, remember?"

"I'm not. But there's something else I need you to do for me. Don't stare at redheads or flirt with them or I'll panic."

"I won't. Abby, I told you, I haven't been drawn to redheads in a long time. It's just you I see now. Do I need to remind you how gorgeous you are? You have the most beautiful expressive eyes. Your skin is ivory and flawless. You may have tattoos, but you treat your skin better than most women. You don't tan and your skin isn't leathery. Your hair is so dark and shiny." He ran his fingers through it. "So soft." He kissed her. "Your smile is brilliant."

The pair spent the rest of the morning reassuring each other. It felt like something that they'd always do, because they loved each other so much, and wanted each other to only hear the best things about them. At nine, they were on their way to Abby's apartment. Gibbs seemed a little rushed to get there and seemed almost a little squirrely. When Abby asked him about it all he said was that he wanted to make sure the roses he had given her were taken care of. She smiled at his tenderness.

Gibbs, always the gentleman, opened Abby's car door for her and helped her out. She liked that he did this; no one she had ever dated did. She grabbed his hand in the elevator. They had always been comfortable exchanging touches before they had become a couple, but now Abby felt like she couldn't go for any long period of time without touching him.

He guided her out of the elevator on their floor. Abby spied something strange. A man was sitting against the wall next to her door. He seemed to be asleep. Gibbs cleared his throat and the man awoke and looked at them. Abby reeled in shock.

"Luca? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Abby!" Luca sprang to his feet. His hair was longer than Abby had seen it since he was in high school. He looked thinner too. "Agent Gibbs called me yesterday. He told me that you were pissed at me and I should get my ass down here before my relationship with my sister was destroyed. Abby, I love you! I am so sorry how I've acted."

Abby turned to Gibbs, who had a slightly sheepish look on his face. "You called him? When?"

"Yesterday, while you were talking to McGee. I won't let you lose your family, Abbs, I can't." She gave him a crushing hug, before turning on Luca. She was just about to let him have it, but before she knew it she was rushing into his arms.

TBC