AN: So thanks to being grossly ill and isolated to my bed or desk, I have worked through enough to finish this chapter and possibly finish the story for good. I know, its been a while but I hope you all take closure as an apology.

Chapter Twenty One

Not Yet

It took another month before they heard back about the apartment. When they did the pipes were fixed and all the walls and floors were redone and was completely move in ready. Abby got the call when she was at work and she was practically blindsided to hear her landlord tell her that her apartment was ready.

She stammered through a thank you and tried to go back to work but her mind was elsewhere now. She hadn't thought about her own place the months she was out of it because she was so comfortable with Gibbs.

Thoughts of what it would be like to live on her own with Anton again kept her busier than her work. She was almost afraid to tell Gibbs that her apartment was ready because then her fairy tale would be over, reality would come crashing down on her. She ended up taking longer to do her work because she was still trying to keep her mind in a straight line, she barely noticed when Gibbs came down fifteen minutes past eight.

"Abbs, you okay?" He asked in his quiet manner as he slid next to her.

"What time is it?" She asked, jumping a little.

"Its late, we should get going." Gibbs answered, pulling her away from her computer.

She nodded absently and went through her normal procedure to close everything down and then locked her lab. They walked to the sedan together and Gibbs drove them back to his home all the while Abby did her best not to think about the fact that she'd have to tell him the truth soon.

It was a Friday and since they didn't have any major cases they were actually off on the weekend unless they were called in.

They stopped at the daycare to get Anton and then went home. Gibbs started dinner while Abby played with her son, having missed him all day. They played in the living room, on the floor, because that was what they normally did. There was no way anyone could tell they were just guests in the house, it looked like they had been sharing the place for years.

Abby and Anton's things had mingled together with Gibbs' so well and naturally that it didn't look like they belonged anywhere else. Abby resigned herself to telling Gibbs the truth by Monday at the latest, but she was going to enjoy her last weekend especially since the rest of the team had plans out of town and it would just be them and them alone.

She had already convinced him to take Anton to a new garden that had opened a month earlier. It didn't take much to get him to agree to it, but still she was proud of herself and it was another day they could spend together and Abby could pretend they were a happy family.

Gibbs brought dinner to them in the living room because he still didn't believe in a dining room table, and his dining room had just turned into a play room for Anton anyway. Anton's food was on the coffee table and he knew to stand in front of his plate and tried to use his spoon on his own even though Gibbs or Abby ended up feeding him anyway because he still hadn't mastered getting the spoon to meet his mouth.

Gibbs chuckled at the mess Anton made and was never mad at him because everything he did was so adorable. Abby couldn't be mad either and it was always hard to be stern with Anton when Gibbs looked so softly at him.

She finished her dinner quietly and Gibbs knew something was wrong then but he didn't say anything quite yet, not while Anton was still awake because Abby was known for going over the top when she was confronted and if she got upset, the baby would get upset too. So he ate quietly too and played with Anton blissfully while Abby did the dishes and then showered.

Once she was done it was time to give Anton a bath and Gibbs volunteered to do it. He knew Abby needed time to stew in whatever was bothering her and he hadn't got to bathe Anton in a few days. He let him splash around on his own for a while before actually washing him. Once Anton started yawning widely and rubbing his eyes, Gibbs took him out of the bathtub and swaddled him in a thick towel, carrying him to his makeshift room that now looked more like his permanent residence.

Gibbs dressed him as warm as he needed to be for the night and carried him out to his mother for her to put him to bed. Abby met them in the living room and smiled seeing them both. Gibbs kissed Anton's temple and then passed him to Abby. She smiled him and then took Anton back to his room, whispering to him the whole time.

She took him to his crib after kissing him several times and laid him down with a blanket tucked under his arms and making sure nothing was in the way of his normal fitful sleep. There was a light that projected stars onto the ceiling that she turned on for him and then left the room, keeping the door open just a hair.

She went back to the living room, feeling much more comfortable in her pajamas and found Gibbs on the couch, waiting for her with one of her favorite ciders. She smiled at him and sat down next to him, taking the cider from him.

"What's up Abby?" He asked concerned.

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently, but she knew that he was catching up with her mood.

"You're distracted." He said simply.

"I was just thinking about things." She tried to answer as vaguely as possible.

Gibbs almost laughed as he moved his arm behind her to pull her close to him. "What things?" He prodded some more.

She took a long sip of her cider and pulled her knees to her chest while she sank closer to Gibbs. "I got a phone call at work." She told him, giving into his comfort.

He had started brushing her hair absently. "About what?' He pressed.

"My apartment is finished." She almost whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear and she could just stay there forever.

He sighed a little but didn't stop the calming ministrations on her scalp. He knew the day would come where reality would come knocking and some choices would need to be made but it was still sooner than he was ready for and he could tell it was something Abby didn't want to face either.

He hugged her tighter to him in silence because he wasn't sure what to say at the moment. They finished off their drinks in silence until Abby started yawning. She went to get up but Gibbs didn't let her go. He looked down at her then.

"What do you want to do?" He asked her quietly.

"I'm really grateful that you let us stay this long but I can't ask to stay any longer if everything is ready for us, even if I want to." She said quickly as she pulled away from Gibbs and stood up. "It won't be fully ready until Monday so we'll get everything sorted out by then." She told him resolutely with a stiff nod.

He wanted to say something to her about staying once and for all but she just gave jerk of her head that seemed to be a nod and then she went off to her bed to sleep.

Gibbs sighed and scratched the back of his neck and thought about what he should do. He could let Abby go back to her apartment alone with Anton and he could visit them as much as he could and he could worry about them all the while. Or he could stand up and tell her that he didn't want her to leave. That he wanted her to stay with him with Anton and keep doing what they were doing so well.

He went to his bed and tried to sleep. But he wasn't going to be able to. He didn't go down to the basement because he knew he'd just wake them up if he started working down there. He stared at the ceiling of his bedroom for a few hours, never really finding anything that could be called sleep. He knew Anton would be waking up soon as soon as the sun started peering through the trees so he got out of bed and went to Anton's room to watch him sleep until he woke up.

He sat in the rocking chair and watched as the sun came through the widow and shone on Anton's face. He started mewling as soon as the room began to warm and when his eyes opened and he found Gibbs he started whining to be picked up. Gibbs didn't make him wait very long and scooped up Anton and carried him into the kitchen for breakfast.

Anton preferred a bottle with cereal in the morning rather than a spoon feeding so that's what Gibbs gave him to keep him busy while he made breakfast for himself and Abby. Anton sat at the high chair in the kitchen and watched him wordlessly move around the kitchen as he cooked.

Gibbs made enough toast and eggs for Abby and himself, and an extra piece of toast for Anton. He always got bored with his bottle as soon as his mother came into the kitchen and a piece of toast kept him happy long enough to finish eating and clean up the kitchen normally.

But Gibbs finished his food and Anton finished his toast without Abby coming out of her bedroom. Gibbs did the dishes he could and then took Anton out of the highchair and changed him into clean clothes, a new diaper and ready to go out for the day and Gibbs went to Abby's room. He knocked and didn't hear an answer so he opened the door and found Abby packing her things away.

Gibbs sighed and walked over to her, she was zoned into what she was doing and didn't look up at him until he crouched down in front of her and put his hand on hers. "Abby," He murmured.

"I need to start packing." She mumbled.

"Let's go to the garden you talked about." He offered, ignoring what she said about packing.

She looked at him with confused eyes but nodded. Abby got off the floor and changed into comfortable clothes and Gibbs did the same with Anton sitting on his bed, playing with his socks.

Once they were all ready to leave, Gibbs gave Anton to Abby and packed a bag for him and put his stroller in the trunk incase they needed it and drove off to the garden outside of DC that Abby had been talking about so much. He knew she was still conflicted and didn't speak at all, Anton blabbed in the back seat the whole drive out there and when they got there, Gibbs carried Anton and held Abby's hand while they walked the nature trail of the garden.

Gibbs was hoping the garden would keep her mind off of what she was worrying about but she was still very distracted. He took them off the beaten path and into a nice open field to let Anton crawl around while they sat on a bench and watched him.

"Abby," He said quietly.

"Gibbs." She said looking at him.

"You know, he likes it at my house and I like you guys at my house." He told her casually as he glanced back at Anton to make sure he hadn't found anything to put in his mouth off the ground.

Abby instantly got a look of hope and her eyes were almost filled with tears as she processed what he said.

"So, if you want to, you both can stay." He offered with half of a smile.

Abby was obviously trying to stop herself from smiling but that only worked for so long before she flung her arms around Gibbs and squealed a little bit. He didn't need her answer to know what she meant. Anton squealed like his mother as he crawled over because he thought it was a game and they both laughed at him as he squealed at the top of his little lungs but Abby wouldn't let go of Gibbs and the crushing hug she had on him.

And Gibbs was okay with Abby not letting him go.

AN: Review!