Chapter 4 - The Rescue

Gibbs stared off into space as he contemplated what he had seen. 'She loves me? We've been working together for years, and never once did she say anything about loving me. Besides, she was dating McGee as of last week…she's either very fickle or--'

Tony's voice jolted him from his reverie. "Boss?"

"What?" Gibbs asked, a little harsher than he'd intended.

"I said, 'Are we gonna go get her?'"

"Of course," he snapped, heading to the elevator. The other three immediately followed him, not bothering to turn anything off.

Stepping off the elevator and into the bullpen, Gibbs ordered, "Kate, phone Ducky and tell him what's up. Quickly." Kate promptly picked up her phone and called the morgue.

"Boss, should we call the police?" Tony asked, picking up his phone.

"Not until we have those two dirt bags in custody," Gibbs replied, retrieving his Sig Sauer from his desk drawer. "The last thing we need is them screwing this up."

"Right." Tony put his phone back down, grabbed his gun, and put on his jacket.

"McGee, I want directions to this place, and I want them yesterday."

McGee typed at lighting speed, and soon he had found and printed out a map.

Gibbs grabbed his keys. "Let's go." Just as Tony was about to call out, 'shotgun', Gibbs ordered, "McGee, I want you in front reading me those directions."

When they reached the parking lot, they all climbed into Gibbs' car and were soon hanging on for dear life as Gibbs drove like a madman on the crowded roads. He swerved around other cars as he accelerated beyond the speed limit. When he made a sharp turn, Kate nearly smacked into Tony. The ride was quiet except for the occasional "turn here" from McGee and the startled gasps from the backseat when Gibbs' turns slammed them into the sides of the car. All three of the younger agents breathed a sigh of relief when Gibbs turned onto a street that was, for the most part, empty.

Although all were worried, Kate was the only one visibly troubled. She chewed her lip nervously as she stared out the window. She was scared for Abby, and hoped that nothing had happened to her, for the girls had become fast friends immediately after Kate had come to work for NCIS.

She laced her fingers together on her lap; another nervous habit. Then she placed one hand on top of the other and crossed her ankles, not realizing that Tony was watching her curiously. Finally, she sighed in frustration and placed her hands by her sides, accidentally brushing Tony's hand. She felt his slide over hers, and she looked up into his comforting green eyes.

"We'll get her out, Kate. She'll be alright," he whispered. She nodded and squeezed his hand.

"Okay, this is Sunset Boulevard," McGee informed Gibbs after a final turn.

Wanting to park a little ways away so as not to be heard by the kidnappers, Gibbs pulled the car in front of an insurance agency, number 609 on the street. They got out and shut the car doors quietly. The foursome quickly made their way to the rear entrance of the travel agency. They readied their weapons simultaneously, then Gibbs put a finger to his lips and reached for the doorknob. The agents all held their breath as he turned the knob…it was unlocked. They slipped silently inside.

The team crept into the hallway, careful not to make any audible footsteps. Gibbs and Tony checked the first room, and, finding nothing, mouthed the word "clear" to Kate and McGee, who did the same with the room across the hall.

Suddenly a sigh floated into the corridor from a room at the end of the hallway.

Staying close to the wall, they crept towards the doorway until they were only a few inches away. "On three," Gibbs mouthed, and the team nodded. He held up his hand and counted on his fingers. When he reached three, all four agents burst into the room with their guns raised.

The agents were disturbed by the sight that greeted them. Abby was tied to a chair, pigtails drooping, her sparkling green eyes now somber, and her mouth covered by a strip of gray duct tape.

"NCIS! Put your hands in the air!" Gibbs shouted.

Abby's head snapped up and her eyes sparkled when she saw the team.

Owen, playing cards on Abby's right, and Travis, reading to the left of her, slowly raised their hands. Suddenly, Travis made a grab for his gun, but Gibbs' quick reflexes sent a bullet into Travis' arm before he could fire a shot. Travis groaned loudly and clutched his arm, his gun clattering to the floor. McGee, being the closest agent to the wounded kidnapper, immediately snatched up the gun. Then he proceeded to cuff their new prisoner.

While everyone's attention was directed towards the wounded Travis, Owen had retrieved his knife and was slowly moving closer to Abby.

Kate was the first to notice, and instantly trained her gun on him. "Drop it, now!"

Tony and Gibbs also fixed their weapons on him. "Do it," Gibbs warned, "or I'll shoot you too."

Owen hesitated for a moment, then, realizing how miserably outnumbered he was, set the knife down and shoved it across the table.

Keeping his eyes and his gun on the man, Gibbs ordered, "Tony, cuff him."

"Right, boss." Tony stepped forward, confiscated the knife, and then reached into his pocket. Finding nothing, he checked his other one, but found no handcuffs. "Uh…" he looked at Kate sheepishly.

Abby rolled her eyes. 'Tony…'

Kate smirked at him, then fished a pair of cuffs from her pocket and dangled them in front of his nose.

He snatched them from her and then cuffed Owen's hands tightly behind his back.

"Get 'em out of here," Gibbs said, holstering his gun.

Tony began reading them their rights as he and McGee led them outside. You have the right to remain silent…" McGee kept his gun on them as he phoned for a squad car and an ambulance.

Gibbs and Kate ran over to Abby. He gripped one corner of the tape on her mouth. "It will hurt more if I peel this slowly, so I'm just going to yank it off really fast, okay?"

Abby nodded and steeled herself. Gibbs tore it off and Abby whispered, "Water."

"I'll get you some," Kate said, and quickly ran out to the car.

Gibbs pulled his knife from his pocket and cut the ropes on Abby's ankles. "I got your message."

"Obviously."

"No, I mean the other one," he signed 'I love you' to her, then returned to cutting her restrains.

"Oh," she blushed. "I didn't know if I was ever gonna see you again."

"But did you mean it?" he asked, working on her wrists.

"Yes."

"Good." The last of the ropes snapped.

Abby stood and rubbed her wrists, then she searched Gibbs' eyes, his piercing blue eyes. To her surprise, she saw that his usually emotionless features were sparkling with feelings that mirrored her own.

"Oh, Gibbs," she whispered, then threw her arms around his neck. She let her tears flow freely, soaking the shoulder of his jacket.

He kissed her gently, and then held her tightly for several moments. She laid her head on his chest as her tears ceased to fall. "I love you, Abby," he whispered in her ear.

She beamed. "I love you, too," she murmured.

Gibbs tightened her pigtails so that they were symmetrical once more, and kissed the top of her head. Then he said, "Oh, I almost forgot." He reached into his pocket and pulled out her bracelet, which he held out to her. "You dropped this."

"Thanks, Gibbs." She smiled, and put it on her wrist.

Looking around, Gibbs muttered, "Where the heck is Kate? We had a bottle of water in the car."

"Let's go find out." Gibbs wiped her tear-stained cheeks, and followed her out of the building. "Where's Kate?" Abby asked McGee.

He pointed down the street, where they saw Kate running towards them.

When she reached them, she thrust a bottle of cold water into Abby's hand. "Sorry," she panted, as Abby began draining the bottle. "I came out to the car to get the water, and I saw DiNozzo chugging it down. By the time I stopped him, it was nearly empty." Tony grinned, and shrugged. "So I ran down to the gas station to get a new one."

"Thanks, Kate," Abby smiled. Then she gave each of the agents a hug, and exclaimed that she was the luckiest girl alive to have friends like these that would come to her rescue.

They heard sirens nearing them, and soon the brothers in crime were leaving-Travis in the ambulance, and Owen in the squad car.

Gibbs watched the vehicles until they were out of sight. "McGee!" He threw the keys to the younger man. "You drive."

"Shotgun!" Tony cried gleefully, running around to the passenger side of the car.

Kate rolled her eyes at her colleague. 'So immature, yet so winsome.' She opened the car door and slid into the backseat.

"Thank you," Abby said cheerily as Gibbs opened the door for her. She scooted into the middle seat, and he got in after her. McGee started the car and they left.

The drive back to headquarters was silent; everyone was consumed with his own thoughts. McGee was, of course, concentrating on the road, but he was also wondering to how many years in prison those two would be sentenced. Tony couldn't help thinking about what might have happened. 'What if we hadn't gotten the tape in time? What if Gibbs didn't know sign language? What if they had hurt Abby? What if…'

Kate was just glad that the whole ordeal was over and that Abby was safe and sound. Gibbs was berating himself for leaving her alone that night. He vowed that he would never let anything happen to her again. Abby was curious as to why Travis and Owen had wanted to hurt Gibbs, she decided that she would ask later. Emotionally and physically spent, she leaned over, laid her head on her boss' shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Gibbs smiled slightly, gently lifted his arm, and placed it around her.

Kate saw this and raised an eyebrow at him, then smirked, but a glare from her superior quickly erased the grin from her face.

Author's Note: Hannah, I cannot thank you enough, you're best boos - I mean boss - ever! ;) And thank you so much for all of my wonderful reviews! I have an epilogue, but I may not be able to post it right away as I have to go out of town for a few days; I promise it will be up by Sunday at the latest. Please review!