Oops, meant to post yesterday, but the past few days have been crazy! Likely won't post the next chapter until after Christmas as I'm headed out of town tomorrow for two days, then Christmas party, actual Christmas… Much love to everyone!

Tony stretched and tried to remember everything about his conversation with Gibbs the night before. They hadn't gone into too much detail, but Gibbs seemed willing to answer any of Tony's questions about the last few months. They talked about Hollis and Jeanne – both had tried loving someone else when in reality, it only made them more miserable. They drank beer and in the end, Tony asked him to stay – on the couch – rather than drive home. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and padded out to the living room to see if Gibbs had stuck around. He wasn't sure if he was surprised to see Gibbs sitting at the dining table with the days' newspaper in front of him and coffee in his hand.

"Hey…"

Gibbs looked up with a small smile. "Hey yourself."

Tony grabbed a coffee cup and filled – adding a splash of cream and sugar before sitting across from Gibbs and opening a pastry from the night before. He was just about to ask if Gibbs had plans for the weekend. He hoped that maybe they could talk to Abby. A nice dinner together and a chance to talk about everything would go a long way toward making things better. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he heard a key in the lock on his front door and he watched as Abby let herself in.

"Tony?" She called out. "I… what are you doing here?" Abby stopped as her eyes settle on Gibbs. She took in the fact that he was wearing the same clothes she had seen him in last night. "Did you spend the night here?"

"On the couch," Gibbs confirmed. "I came to talk to Tony."

She couldn't help but notice that Tony looked relaxed and almost… happy. She blanched at the thought that maybe they made up without her. Decided that they were going to try again. They had both been the ones to leave her and suddenly she found herself wondering if she had pushed them together – was she the one to be left out? She had pushed Gibbs away the night before, had she pushed him away from herself and right into Tony's arms?

"We just talked, Abby…" Tony stood slowly, reading into the pained expression on her face. "I told him what you told me, remember? That we'll figure it out together? The three of us, we'll figure this all out."

Abby couldn't hear what he was saying over the rush of blood in her ears. She stumbled for an excuse to leave, needing to get some fresh air as soon as possible. "I, uh… I forgot I need…"

"No…" Tony blocked her path to the door. "You're not leaving."

"Tony…" Gibbs warned lightly. He could see the panic start to rise in Abby's face. If she needed some more time, he wasn't going to push her.

"No," Tony shook his head, and pressed his back against the door. "We both walked out on her when she needed us." He looked back to Abby. "If I let you leave now, I'm letting you leave when you need us and that's just as bad. We don't have to talk right now, you can go rest in my room if you want, but you're not leaving. I'm not letting you leave."

Gibbs watched their quiet stare down and was sure Tony was going to give in. Abby's gaze was cold and void of any emotion in a rare display he'd never seen on her face. Tony's hand twitched on the door knob and Gibbs was sure it was all over, but then suddenly Abby turned and rushed down the hall to Tony's bedroom, pushing the door closed behind her.

Tony waited until Gibbs looked at him. "I think that was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I know I'm right. If I let her run now, she wouldn't come back."

Gibbs nodded. "She probably thinks that because I asked her to stay and she said no, that I just replaced her with you. I just needed to see you, try and fix things with you too. Wasn't trying to push her aside or substitute you for her."

"I know." Tony went back to the table and sat down. He wasn't going to push her for the time being. "She told me that when she was going to you, she was going to say that we're a package deal, her and I. It's either the both of us, or neither of us."

"I know."

"It's true."

"I know."

"Good, just so we're clear." Tony snagged a piece of the newspaper and focused on reading the days' headlines while they waited Abby out.

Gibbs was able to last fifteen minutes before he was up. "I'm gonna go check on her."

Tony considered if they should both go, but Gibbs would be good for testing the water. He wasn't the one forcing her to stay. "Okay."

Gibbs knocked softly and then pushed the door open. Abby was curled up on the bed, facing the opposite wall. "Abbs…" he moved slowly, willing to turn and go if that's what she wanted, but when she didn't answer, he headed further in and circled around the bed and sat beside her. Her eyes were open and she was staring at the wall. Timidly he reached out to run his fingers over her cheek and then through her hair. He was surprised to feel the moisture from her tears on her cheeks. "Nothing happened, here. I came here to talk to Tony, to clear the air. We ended up having a few beers, so I crashed on the couch and he slept in here."

"I thought I was putting myself in a position of being in charge, making the rules so I couldn't get hurt. I guess I just realized that I can't ever be in that position, because no matter what I say or do, you both could leave me again without warning."

Gibbs' heart broke all over again at the pain in her eyes. He toed off his shoes and circled around to the other side of the bed. He crawled onto the bed and curled up behind Abby, wrapping an arm around her middle. He buried her nose in her hair and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her head. He wanted to tell her that he would never leave her, that he wanted to keep her wrapped up in his arms forever, but he wasn't sure that she would really listen to anything that he said. So instead he held her tight and said the only other thing he could think of. "I love you."

Tony managed to keep his curiosity in check for twenty minutes before he found himself heading down the hall, listening for their voices. He paused in the doorway and watched quietly. They were on the bed, both facing the far wall. Gibbs was wrapped tightly around Abby and as he stood there, Tony realized that they were both asleep. He tip-toed in and made himself comfortable in the oversized chair in the corner of the room to watch over them as they slept. He wasn't sure how long he sat watching but suddenly Abby startled awake, the sudden movement waking Gibbs as well.

"Easy, Abbs," Gibbs soothed.

"You're here," she stretched and stared up at the ceiling. "I forgot where I was for a moment."

"I'm not going anywhere," he hesitantly pulled her in close again, nuzzling his nose against her cheek. "I might not have handled things the best, but you've got to believe that I've never hurt you on purpose."

"I know," she admitted quietly, "I just… I can't go through that kind of loss again-"

"Abby, please…" he wasn't above begging, but she quieted him with a finger to his lips.

"But I can't just walk away from you guys either. As hard as it is, I just have to trust that you guys won't leave me."

"Abby," Tony stood up from where he'd been watching. "I don't think I'll ever stop apologizing, but I told you, I won't ever push you away again," He sat on the edge of the bed and picked up her hand. "I told Gibbs the same thing you told me, that we'll figure it out together, the three of us. We'll go slow, like you wanted, earn back your trust."

"I know."

"Can I lie down with you? Can we just forget for a few, curl up like before?"

"I'd like that," Abby nodded and scooted toward Gibbs, both of them making room for Tony on the small bed. She was tense as both men curled around her. She let a slow breath out, allowing herself to relax against them. The more she relaxed, the more she allowed emotion over the past few months bubble up to the surface. She squeezed her eyes closed as her tears started up again. She tried to keep her breathing steady as she cried quietly, but when Gibbs tilted his face up to kiss her cheek, she couldn't stop of muffled sob that escaped. She was thankful that neither man said anything; they only hugged her tighter, their gentle touches both soothing and reminding her that they were there to work things out together.

For three weeks the three of them spent extra time together, rebuilding the personal relationship between them. Both men were eager to resume their physical relationship, but Abby held back, kissing them each good night and then heading home before she could be tempted into more. She never said anything about the two of them – never asked if Tony spent the night at Gibbs' – but she knew they were waiting for her. She still struggled with the memory that they had both been able to push her away, and while she understood the reasoning behind both, it didn't make it hurt any less. She was happy that neither man pushed for more than what she was willing. They often found themselves in a pile on the couch, exchanging long, slow kisses and the gentlest of touches, but nothing beyond that. They went to new bars that Tony wanted to try, they helped Abby with service projects around town and both Tony and Abby took interest in learning to use the hand tools that Gibbs loved so much.

Nothing changed much at work, though Abby overheard Ziva telling McGee that it felt like they were finally a team again – that Gibbs and Tony had worked out any remaining tension and that Abby had re-secured her place as favorite.

"Damn you Gibbs, you take too many chances," Abby said as she watched the news feed in her lab. Gibbs was standing on the edge of the building trying to talk Michael Arnett down. They knew he was armed, but as she heard Tony tell Gibbs to ease back, she watched with dismay as he leaned forward, blocking Tony's shot. "You know, Ducky, sometimes I think he does it just to piss the rest of us off."

"What's that, my dear?"

"Not listen when we say something for his safety."

"No doubt his gut is telling him there is more to it than what we can see or hear."

"Hope you're right. Still doesn't make it easy to watch." Abby folded her arms across her chest and kept her eyes glued to the TV. They watched silently until there was a bang. They could see Gibbs duck, and suddenly Arnett was falling. The news channel quickly killed the live feed of the video and went to their on the scene reporter. "Oh God…"

"Gibbs is fine," they could hear Tony say.

Abby let out a sigh. "Sometimes I think this job is more stressful than it's worth." She shook her head and turned back to her computer, missing the questioning look from Ducky.

Two hours later Gibbs strode into the lab. Abby was about to throw herself at him, but held herself back and instead headed for her back office. "You've got blood on your shirt."

Gibbs looked down and saw a bit of blood spatter on the neck of his polo and accepted the clean shirt Abby handed him. He shrugged out of his jacket and lifted the polo over his head and tossed it in the trash and then pulled the clean one on. As soon as he had the clean shirt on he got what he had come for – a hug from his girl. He couldn't stay long, but watching Arnett die even though he was coming in off the ledge had been hard. He brushed a lingering kiss to her cheek and then headed for autopsy. He knew Ducky wouldn't be ready yet, but he had questions.

Abby followed Gibbs out of the lab, but headed up the stairs to the squad room while Gibbs took the elevator down to autopsy. Tony had told her about McGee's fear of heights and she had dug up a business card for someone she thought could help. She found them eating left over fortune cookies from lunch the day before.

As Tony read his, Abby stopped in front of McGee's desk. "What's yours say?"

McGee picked up his fortune and read, "as you approach life's crossroads, look both ways."

"I'm sure it's meaningful. Just think about it and search your inner self," she handed him the business card.

"Hypnotherapist?" Rather than look at Abby, McGee directed his gaze toward Tony, as he pretended to type. "What is this for?"

"She does wonders for phobias."

"Tony, who else did you tell?" He should have known that telling Tony anything meant that it would be around the office by the end of the day.

"I told you it was a very sensitive subject, Abby," he grimaced.

"Your turn!" Abby ignored Tony's comment and moved over to Ziva's desk.

"I refuse to make decisions based on stupid sayings inside stale cookies." She tossed the cookie to Abby with a laugh.

Abby caught it easily and pulled the fortune out. "Welcome an invitation to change your financial future. Hm. Gotta go." She turned and skipped back toward the elevator.

"That was incredible!" Tony jumped up from his desk as soon as Abby was gone. "It was fate that Abby opened that cookie."

Ziva nodded, clearly impressed. "She's good, she didn't blink an eye."

"It's why I don't play poker with her," MeGee added.

Tony was ready with a reply, but as Gibbs came around the corner, he hurried back to his desk as Ziva reported on Arnett's wife. He tried to pay attention, but he was still caught up with Abby's fortune. The previous night, Gibbs and the team had stayed late into the evening on a conference call with LA and Abby had been asleep by the time they got home. It wasn't unusual, but the scent of one of Abby's more formal perfumes was in the air, and a simple black dress hung on the back of the door. Neither man had known of any plans she may have had, but first thing when they arrived at NCIS, someone in the mail room had said they had seen Abby with a head-hunter the night before. He didn't think she would leave NCIS, and certainly not without discussing it with him and Gibbs first, but he couldn't help but let a few of his insecurities surface as he wondered what secrets she may be hiding from them.

He wanted to pull Gibbs aside and ask if he had heard anything, but every time he worked up the nerve to ask, Ziva or McGee found something new about Arnett and he had to push his personal worries aside.

It all came to a head down in Abby's lab as people fought over Abby's attention. Suddenly a sharp whistle shut everyone up. "Back off! All of you, okay? I am one person."

"Whoa," Gibbs stepped in. "Easy, Abbs." He had never seen her so flustered in her lab before.

"No! It's late, I'm tired, I'm over worked and I am taken for granted," she turned back to her computer. She didn't mean to snap, but sometimes she felt like people assumed that what she did was easy. She loved her job, but it was more than just rattling off results at lightning speed. She had to get those results as well.

Gibbs started to turn away, but then stopped. He had overheard Tony gossiping about a possible job offer and though he was hesitant to believe she would ever leave, he found himself wondering since she made no mention of it. "Maybe you should accept that job offer." As soon as the words were out, he knew he had taken it too far.

Abby spun around, looking more hurt than any of them had seen her look in quite a while. The small gasp from McGee didn't go unheard. Her hand flew out and smacked the back of Tony's head and she looked at Gibbs with a frown. "I can't believe you'd say that to me, Gibbs. How could you think that I'd be leaving? Because I got a little mad? So what! We're family, that's allowed. I get 3-4 job offers every year and I've never considered any of them."

"Then why'd you have dinner with that head-hunter?" Tony asked.

"Have you ever had the beluga caviar at the Ritz Carlton? And besides, it was nice to feel wanted. Now get out of here, all of you. I have work to do." She turned back to her computer. She knew she'd have to answer to her guys once they were home, but for now she had to focus on the case.

They were almost to the door when Abby heard the unmistakable sound of Gibbs smacking the back of Tony's head. Hard.

"What was that for?" Tony whined.

"Spreading rumors."

"Where's Gibbs?"

"Is that what you get for turning down the job offer?" Ziva looked up as Abby entered the squad room, a bouquet of black roses in her hand.

"No, for solving the case," she smiled down at the flowers.

Tony pouted after sending her a playful wink. "Then I believe those are for me, as I solved the case."

Abby couldn't help but roll her eyes as Tony, McGee and Ziva bickered playfully over who really solved the case. If it had been a real argument, Abby would have stepped up to say that they had worked as a team, but the playful posturing between the three was too amusing to break up. Only when Tony rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in defeat, did Abby speak up. "He still loves me," she took a few steps to stand toe-to-toe with Tony and pulled a black rose from her bouquet. "And I still love you." She gave him a knowing smile as she handed him the flower. It would be as much of a public declaration of love as she could get. "See you guys tomorrow." With a wave she headed to the elevator and out to her car.

Abby got to Gibbs' house first and found a vase for her black roses, setting them in the center of the dining table. It would still be an hour before the guys were home – they still had paper work to wrap up. She thought about making them dinner, but opening the fridge confirmed her suspicions that there wasn't much to make. She ordered delivery from Tony's favorite pizza place and made mental note to pick up groceries for him the next day.

Gibbs arrived just after the pizza was delivered and Tony was just minutes behind him.

"Thanks for the flowers," she smiled shyly.

"Welcome. Did you plan on telling us about dinner with the head hunter?"

Abby nodded. "It was a last minute invite, and then we were so busy with the case, I forgot. And you," she turned to Tony, "should have said something if you were so worried. What would ever give you the impression that I would leave NCIS?"

"I didn't think you would have, but everyone was talking and I just got caught up in it all. And did you mean what you said about wanting to feel wanted? I know we've… things have been rough, but if you-" He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

"I know, we're working on things," she glanced back at Gibbs, "it's just that at work sometimes I am pulled in eight different directions and I feel like people forget just how much work goes into some of those tests."

"Sorry, babe." Tony nosed his way down her neck before nipping at her collarbone. "I'll try and keep the probie in line."

Gibbs snorted and shook his head and lifted the lids on both pizzas, and took a slice of each before heading to the sofa. Abby joined him shortly and leaned against him as she took a bite of pizza.

"Who offered the job?"

"Right, like I'm going to tell you," Abby laughed. "I don't need you getting into a pissing contest with another agency."

"I can find out other ways."

"I know, but I'm hoping you'll respect me enough to leave it alone. I'm not leaving, I never will. And plus, it was a nice, free dinner."

"You want a nice dinner, you tell me," Gibbs tapped her nose gently.

"Gibbs is right," Tony sat in a chair opposite them, his feet propped up on the coffee table. "Let us take care of you."

Abby shook her head. "It's not that. It's nice to know what I'm worth."

"Abby-"

"No, you guys… Our reviews are coming up. It's nice to have a concrete number for when I talk to Director Sheppard. I know NCIS can't afford to pay me what I was offered, but knowing exactly what I'm worth to other agencies will go a long way in figuring out my yearly bonus. It's always been that way, that's why I entertain those head-hunters every year. I need their number."

A grin tugged at Tony's lips. "You never cease to amaze me. You know, the FBI once offered me a job, think it'd work for me?"

"I wouldn't mention it DiNozzo, Jen might suggest you take it."

TBC

Happy Holidays!