Whenever Abby is thinking about Joe/Gerald, I keep his name as Joe, because that's what (in my opinion) she would be used to thinking of him as.

"Are you sure she'll want us here?" Jimmy asked as he and Tony drove up to Gibbs' house.

"Nope."

Jimmy shook his head, "Maybe we shouldn't go in."

Tony rolled his eyes, "I told you five times, Palmer, if you didn't want to come then you shouldn't have come!" He exclaimed, clearly annoyed. Tony got out of the car, but Jimmy didn't move. Tony re-opened his door and leaned over so Jimmy could see him, "However," He began, "Gibbs may not enjoy the idea of you just sitting out in his driveway... so since you're already here, get out of the car!"

Jimmy sighed, then opened his car door and got out, "I'm coming," He said hesitantly.

"Good autopsy gremlin," Tony replied as he patted the back of Jimmy's head.

Usually, Tony would just go right into Gibbs' house, but under the different circumstances he figured it would be better to knock first.

They heard Gibbs call Tim and Abby's name right before he opened the door.

"Hey, Boss," Tony said as he walked inside.

"Abby and Tim are upstairs getting all their stuff situated," Gibbs told him, "I told them you were here, so they should be down in a few minutes."

They hadn't moved from the front door because Jimmy still hadn't come inside.

Gibbs looked at him, just staring until Jimmy pulled out of his trance.

"Uh... Um, hello, Boss- I mean, Agent Gibbs."

"Hello... Are you going to come in or just stand in the doorway?"

"Oh!" He laughed nervously as he stepped into the house, "Of course I'll come in. I... I never thought I'd be at your house."

Tony gave Jimmy a 'What a stupid thing to say' face as they all made their way into the living room.

"How is she doing?" Tony asked as they sat down.

"They've been upstairs most of the day. It's been quiet."

"Well, quiet is good, right?"

Gibbs shrugged, "Who knows?"

"McGee hasn't been down?"

"McGee cant leave Abby at all," He sighed, "Except to go to the bathroom. Even then she stands right outside of the door the whole time."

Tony went to speak, but Gibbs wasn't finished.

"I heard them talking earlier. It took Tim twenty minutes to convince Abby to come down for lunch. When she finally agreed and came downstairs I told her I'd make her whatever she wanted, but she would only let McGee fix her food. Same thing with dinner, too... He's probably having to convince her to come downstairs right now."

Tony didn't think he'd ever heard Gibbs speak so much all in one shot. He was clearly very upset.

"She's gonna have to eventually talk about what happened with Gerald," Tony said, "Otherwise we'll never understand why she's acting the way she's acting."

"Yeah, I know."

Abby and Tim came downstairs a few seconds later. Abby looked like a lost child. She stood right beside Tim, so close that they could have been attached at the waist.

"Hey, Abbs," Tony said with a smile. He and Jimmy got up so that Abby and Tim could sit on the couch.

"Hi," She replied quietly as she stared at the floor.

"Hi, Abby," Jimmy greeted her cautiously.

Abby looked up at him. 'Jimmy... Jimmy's okay, right?' She thought to herself. 'Tony, Ducky, Ziva, and Gibbs... They're the bad ones.'

"Hi, Jimmy."

They had been talking for about ten minutes when there was another knock on the door.

Gibbs got up, "I'll get it."

A few seconds later Gibbs returned, with Ducky.

"Hey, Ducky!" Tony said, "Joining the party?"

"I thought I might," He replied with a smile, "How are you, Abigail?"

She somehow managed to scoot even closer to Tim, "Fine."

"That is good, my dear."

'Why are they all here?' Abby wondered, 'If they didn't care, then why did they come?' Suddenly a voice different from hers came into her head... It was Joe's voice. '...Because, they're pretending. They want you to think they care.'

Abby would only really listen to the conversations that were going on when Tim would talk. Occasionally she would listen to Jimmy as well.

She became more and more nervous as the night went on. The same thoughts repeating endlessly in her mind. 'They don't really care about me. They're fakes. They're just pretending! If they cared then they would have found me sooner. Tim was the one who found me. Even Tony admitted it. Tim was the one to figure it out. He was the only one really looking for me.'

An hour passed and Tim began noticing that Abby seemed to be getting jittery. She kept wiping her hands on her clothes, letting him know that she was sweating, and she was taking long, deep breaths. When you spend an entire week with someone, never leaving there side, you begin to notice everything about them. You learn their normal behavior... and their not so normal behavior. Yes, he already knew the old Abby inside and out, but now he had learned the new Abby... and he could tell that if he didn't get her out of there soon, she would probably start freaking out.

Tim faked a yawn, "I'm getting kind of tired." He said as he glanced at Gibbs, then to Abby.

Gibbs took the hint, "Yeah, me too."

Tony stood up. He also understood the reason why Tim said he was tired. "We should get going anyway. Right, Jimbo?"

Jimmy was slightly thrown off by the nickname, "Um... right."

"Yes, I need to be going as well," Ducky added, "I have to get up early tomorrow."

"I thought you had tomorrow off, Dr. Mallard," Jimmy said as they all made their way to the door.

"I do, but three weeks ago I promised an old friend of mine that I would go fishing with him tomorrow... unfortunately he remembers that promise."

They all said their goodbyes and left... Abby felt a lot better once they were gone.

"It was nice of Tony, Jimmy, and Ducky to come by for a while," Tim said as he got his bed ready... It wasn't exactly a bed. It was more of a few blankets and a pillow on the floor.

"Uh-huh," Abby replied, not really wanting to get into that conversation.

Tim sighed to himself. He knew that eventually he'd have to re-ask what was going on... but right now, all he wanted to do was get some rest.

"Did you take your medicine?" He asked. Dr. Smith had given Abby some pills to help her sleep.

"About to right now."

Abby took her sleeping pill and Tim turned off the bedroom light, "Goodnight, Abbs," He said as he walked back to his bed of blankets.

"Goodnight."

Only a few seconds later Abby began breathing heavily. It was quiet, dark, and she felt alone. "Tim?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared."

"Why, Abbs?" He asked kindly.

"I... feel alone."

"I'm right here."

"I... I know, but..." She sighed, "I'm just being stupid. I'm sorry."

"No, that's not stupid. You're in a strange place. It's not stupid to be scared."

"I just... I know you're there, but... but I don't. I forget and... I think I'm alone."

He thought for a moment, "Here," He said as he got up and walked over to the other side of the bed, "Why don't I lay by you til you fall asleep?"

"You... You don't have to, Timmy. I'm just bothering you."

"Abby, you are not bothering me. Now, will you please let me sleep with you?"

Abby couldn't help but laugh at the way that question sounded... Tim said it purposely, hoping it would make her happy... If only for a moment.

"Okay, fine."

"Thank you." Tim got into the bed and scooted close to Abby. She laid her head on his chest, to hear his heartbeat, and he laid his arm across her back.

They were both lying there with their eyes closed, just waiting for sleep to kick in when, all of a sudden, Tim began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Abby asked.

He shook his head, "Nothing."

It was quiet for a moment, then he began laughing again.

"Come on, Tim, what is it?"

"It's just... How we're laying... It reminds me of when we slept in your coffin."

Abby began laughing as well, "You didn't know it was a coffin though."

"I know. When we first got in it I thought you had a freakishly small bed. Then somebody lied and told me it was a box sofa bed."

"I didn't think you were the type to sleep in a coffin, knowingly."

Tim agreed, "Yeah, it was pretty creepy when I first found out... but, thinking back, that was probably the best nights sleep I ever had."

"Does the credit go to the coffin or me?" Abby asked, jokingly.

Tim smiled, "Definitely... the coffin."

They laughed and talked for a few more minutes. It was a nice break from all the drama that had been going on around them. But, soon enough Abby's meds kicked in, and Tim's exhaustion took control, and they both fell sound asleep.

Gibbs moved away from the door when Tim and Abby stopped talking. He didn't mean to eavesdrop... he was just passing by the door when he heard Tim laughing. Then, when they started talking, he couldn't seem to make himself leave.

He had already known that they had a past... and he knew that Tim had slept in the coffin, but he hadn't really thought of them in 'that way' in over seven years. He hadn't heard Abby sound so happy, or happy at all, since she was rescued... And thinking back, he had never heard Tim laugh that much either. It made him wonder why they ever broke up.

Gibbs went down to the basement to work on his boat, and to clear his mind. He never really thought about his colleagues personal lives before... But now it seemed to be all he could think about.

The next morning Abby and Tim woke up in the same positions they had fallen asleep in. Gibbs was already at work so Abby was okay with letting Tim go take a shower. She even let him close the door all the way.

For Tim, the shower could not last long enough. It seemed that no matter how much he slept, he still felt exhausted the next morning.

As he stood in the shower, just letting the hot water run over him, memories of all the phone calls, and talking to Gerald in person, flashed through his mind.

'If I do not like one of the questions you ask, or I disagree with anything you say, then she will be harmed.'

'Why are you doing this?'

'Times up.'

'I will win.'

'Timmy!'

'Not a good question!'

'How are you doing?'

'Ah! Please, stop it!'

'Stop hurting her!'

'I will win.'

'Tim! Help me!'

'Don't talk. I just want to hear you breathe.'

'Your three minutes begin now.'

'It'll be like when I would listen to your heartbeat.'

'You hear my voice all the time. When you try to sleep, when you try to eat, when you try to work... I'm always there.'

'I will win.'

'It's your fault, Timothy.'

'I will win.'

'You caused the pain, Timothy.'

'I will win.'

The water temperature changing from hot to cold brought Tim out of his trance. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in the shower, but he figured it must have been a while... seeing that he used all the hot water.

He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, then got dressed.

When he went back into the room that he and Abby were staying in, she wasn't there.

"Abby?" He called out.

No answer.

He went downstairs, "Abby?"

Still no answer.

"Abbs, where are you?" He asked, becoming very worried.

He was about to go down into the basement when he sat that the backdoor was cracked. He walked outside and saw Abby just standing there, staring straight ahead.

He walked over to her slowly, "What are you doing?"

She shrugged, "Just... thinking."

"What about?"

"Everything."

"Anything you'd like to share?"

"I'll have to start working again soon... I don't know if I can."

"Abbs, you know you can take as much time off as you need."

"Yeah," She turned to him, "But you can't."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed, "Tim, I can't eat breakfast without you right beside me!" She exclaimed frustratedly. "When you were in the shower I stood by the door for ten minutes. It took me another twenty minutes to get downstairs and out here and I had two panic attacks along the way!"

"But, you did it," Tim replied, trying to find the bright side, "You came out here all by yourself."

She stared at him for a moment then turned back to the house, "Look up there, Tim." She pointed to the upstairs, middle window, "That's where you were. I looked back eighteen times to make sure the light was still on and I could see your shadow. Then, once the light was off, I heard you calling my name... so I knew you were there and I knew that you'd be out here soon." Her bottom lip began to tremble and tears fell from her eyes, "I hate being this way, Timmy. I hate it!"

"It's okay, Abby-"

She began pacing back and forth, "No, it's not. It's not okay. I know that I can't seem to function without you. I know that I can't stand to see Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, or Ducky. I don't understand why, though! I remember being "normal" but I can't force myself to go back to that. It's like everything before being kidnapped was just a dream. I remember when I thought that Ducky cared or Gibbs cared or the rest of them cared... but now it's all mixed up. I see them and... and they act like they care about me, but they don't. They pretend, but they don't act like they're pretending."

She was now on the verge of hyperventilating, but she didn't give Tim a chance to speak yet, "And, I remember loving them. I remember wanting to see them. But now, I hate them. There's still some moments in the day where I'll think about one of them and I'll smile, but then I hate them again. And both feelings always seem so wrong. I shouldn't love them, but I shouldn't hate them, but I do hate them." It was all becoming too much. She couldn't think straight. She couldn't think of an easy way to explain how she felt... Maybe because there really was no easy way.

She fell to the ground, no longer able to stand. Tim was quickly right beside her, holding her in his arms.

"Everything... is so... messed up, Tim," She said through her sobs.

"I know. I know it is, Abbs."

"My brain is... all tangled up... and I can't... fix it."

"It'll get better, Abby. I promise, it'll get better."

"I... hate this, Timmy... I hate it."

So many of you got the pistachio thing! That's awesome! haha

I promise I wrote the whole thing about the coffin before last nights episode (which was amazing!)! I actually wrote it about thirty minutes before the episode aired and I had no idea they were gonna use that as a flashback... Did anyone else notice the little smiles on Tim and Abby's faces when they thought of each other! So adorable :) They belong together. I believe they are in the denial stage right now... Next come acceptance (yes!) lol... Until then, I'll keep waiting for them to just kiss already! Also, next weeks episode looks amazing, too.

In other news: Thank you all for your fabulous reviews! They mean the world to me. If I could give you all farting hippos, I would.