"Aaaawwwww, look at how cute they are!"

"Tony, why do you always have to be such a-"

"Such a what, Kate?" Tony interrupted.

"Yeah Kate, explain." McGee chimed in with an amused look on his face.

Kate sighed deeply, shook her head and turned her back to Tony and McGee. Those two were just a bunch of pigs. They had to make fun of everything and she was getting sick of it. "Listen, you losers, I don't nee-" Kate started saying as she turned back around to the special agents behind her. But Tony interrupted her.

"Sshhh Kate! You don't wanna wake up Gibbs!" He whispered. "That just might not be a very smart move."

"Oh, you have any better plans?" Kate retorted as she turned around and looked at Gibbs and Abby. Who had fallen asleep together. Well, they sure did look cute together. No argument there. But Tony always had to be such a wiseass. They all stood there, gazing at their boss.

"It's funny, but in all these years that I have been working under Gibbs' orders, he's never looked so relaxed and I don't know... happy." Tony's voice was soft as he took a trip down memory lane. He had been on a dozen stake-outs with his boss, he had seen girlfriends come and go, he even had risked his own life to save Gibbs out of a sinking car. They had been through everything together, and yet this was the first time that Gibbs looked really peaceful and on cloud 9.

"You done yapping, DiNozzo? Where's my coffee?" Gibbs spoke without opening his eyes.

"How does he always know we're talking about him?" Tony asked.

"Correction Tony. How YOU are always talking about him." Kate corrected him with a teasing smile on her face. She always pretended to be annoyed by Tony, but she was glad he was still alive and enjoyed their bickering more than she'd like to admit to herself.

"COFFEE, DiNozzo!" Gibbs demanded.

"On your six, boss" Tony squealed and hurried away to get some coffee for Gibbs.

Gibbs laughed out loud as Tony ran away and he stretched himself. He'd gotten stiff as a board lying on that small hospital bed.

Being careful to not wake up Abby, he stood up and stretched some more.

"How is she doing, Gibbs?" Kate asked as she handed him a large envelope.

"She's doing unexpectedly well and if she keeps improving the way she does now, she might get released from the hospital before christmas. Is this what I think it is, Katie?"

Kate nodded and Gibbs wrapped her in a big bear hug. "Thanks!" He whispered as he kissed her temple.

"You're cheating on Abby already, Gibbs?" Tony joked as he came back with his boss' coffee.

"Zip it, Tony, I still owe you a couple of thousand headslaps. Don't make me put you in one of these beds here." Gibbs stated without any emotion as he put the envelope in the window sill. Tony was a little taken aback by his boss' attitude towards him and he was wondering what he had done this time to rub Gibbs the wrong way.

"What's with the beds anyway?" McGee chimed in, curious to know why Abby had a whole room to herself.

Gibbs grinned as he started to speak. "Apparently Abby is recovering so well in our presence that her doctor said she should have a pajama party."

"As in with snacks and movies?" McGee asked astounded. "Since when do they do that in a hospital?"

"I don't know, but what if you and Katie make sure there's some good food and drinks, and invite Ducky and Jimmy, Tim? Gibbs asked, avoiding Tony's questioning gaze

"Should I do anything, Gibbs?" Tony asked hesitantly.

"No, DiNozzo. You're staying here." Gibbs sat down in the chair next to Abby's bed with a neutral expression on his face. It made Tony itchy and insecure. He was so sure that he had figured out the mystery that's called Gibbs after all these years of working under his orders. Apparently not. So he sat himself down on the bed that was on the other side of Gibbs, and waited for his boss to start speaking.

But Gibbs didn't talk. He just sat there in silence and Tony got nervous. He was about to open his mouth when Gibbs finally started speaking, his voice soft and calm. "I never properly thanked you for saving Abby in that gas station." He took a deep breath and continued. "If it wasn't for you she'd be dead by now and only God knows how many other people would've died in the process. I owe you so much." Unable to look Tony in the eyes he just sat there, staring over Abby out of the window.

"You don't owe me anything, Gibbs. You would've done the same for me." Tony said quietly.

"If I think about what could have happened to her... I have nightmares..." He said faintly, with a hint of desperation in his voice and finally turned around in his chair with fear and anxiety in his eyes. "I have nightmares of her lying there, bleeding out of every inch of her body and I can't get to her. I can't get to her, Tony!" He exclaimed in agony, clenching his fists in an attempt to restrain himself.

Tony stood up, walked over to Gibbs and kneeled down besides his chair, resting his hand on Gibbs' lower arm.

"Boss, listen to me," Tony urged Gibbs to look him in the eyes. "Abby is NOT dead, she WILL recover and you and her WILL grow old together. Having these nightmares is only normal after what we've all been through. Please, Gibbs, go see the shrink. She can help you to get over this." He was glad that they got to have a sleepover and Gibbs could sleep with Abby in his arms that night, because he realized that the nights Gibbs had spent in his own bed since Abby was in the hospital were pure torture to him.

"Thanks kid." Gibbs ran his hands over his face as he stood up from his chair. "You gonna rent some movies for tonight?" He asked as he gently tried to wake up Abby by softly running his fingers over her hands.

"Yeah no problem, boss. You sure you're done with the grumpy attitude from this morning?"

"Nah. That was because you're a pain in the royal butt." Gibbs stated matter of factly as his mouth twitched into a mischievous grin and he bent over to kiss Abby.