A/N: Okay, I know it took me awhile to get this up. Our computer's been having issues. And I'm really sorry, but this is also a pretty crappy chapter. I fine tuned it, but it still sucks. I'm not sire why, but I really just don't like it. Still, I've had people say it was good, so I decided "Ah, what they hell, I'll post it." So you guys have my permission to tell me that it sucks because- hey- I think it does. And if you have any ideas as to how I could make it un-suck, PLEASE tell me! Oh- in case you care- my first original Tate fic should be up soon(ish)... I'm hoping that I'll get more reviews, as there seems to be more Tate fans than there are GAbby... ::sighs::

Gloved hands appeared over his eyes. "Guess who?"
He spun around and grabbed Abby by the waist. He grinned proudly. "Gotcha!"

"Okay, okay, you win…" She grinned, hoping that he was now ready to release her. She sighed. "You do realize that you can let me go now, right?"

"Well, normally I would, but- as I ended up out here without a jacket or anything (not to mention a wet sweater) - I'm just a bit colder that usual."

Abby blushed guiltily. "Sorry…" She squirmed. "Can you let me go now?"

He grinned and let her go. "Come on then- we'd better get back inside. Ducky's probably looking for us, and besides- this snow storm is definitely getting worse by the minute."

And indeed it was. What had been lightly falling snow when Abby hopped out of her car was now almost a fully grown blizzard. Still, that was typical in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas. The weather was incredibly unpredictable and seemed to have a mind of its own.

The two of them hurried inside of Ducky's house and Gibbs shut the door behind them by leaning heavily against it.

Abby hung her wet coat, hat, gloves and scarf up on Ducky's coat stand and shivered. God, it was even cold in here. She was tempted to put all of her layers back on, but she couldn't… Not too many people found wearing outerwear inside very normal. She probably wouldn't have cared- except that Gibbs was there. And she cared- very much. More so than usual, as it was Christmas.

"Hey Gibbs, where's the Duck-man?" She could smell all of their wonderful food and decided that Ducky must have gone somewhere. She ran into the kitchen and started turning off the burners and the oven.

Gibbs followed her. "Abbs, are you okay?"

"No, we're going to burn down Ducky's house, and he's not even here!" She turned around and brushed her hair impatiently out of her face. "Where do you think he is Gibbs? He would never leave his house unattended! What if he's-" She was becoming frantic.

Gibbs gently wrapped his hands around Abby's wrists. "Shh, Abbs, chill… Everything's fine, okay? Ducky probably just went out for Eggnog or something; we're here, remember?" He rubbed his thumb against the inside of her wrist. "You're the logical one…"

"But Gibbs, he'd tell us first, wouldn't he? I don't know, I just I can't-" Abby let out a frustrated growl.

"Hey, it's okay… You're worried, and that's good. Now, we're going to go into the living room and calm down, all right?" Gibbs had to admit that he was slightly worried too. No one should be driving in a storm like this… And Ducky ought to know it. But Gibbs wasn't about to tell Abby that. She was panicking, and the last thing he wanted was for her to be upset on Christmas day. He pulled her gently away from the stove and into the living room. "Sit down, okay, and I'll be right back…"

Abby sat numbly on the couch. Where was Ducky? Why had he left them? Had he felt like she abandoned him? No, Abby, no- think positive… Gibbs was right! He's probably out getting something… Gibbs came back a moment later with a puzzled expression on his face. "Abbs, how many cars does Ducky have?"

Abby looked at him. "One, as far as I'm aware… Why?"

"Because there's a car in the driveway." Gibbs shrugged.

Abby stood up suddenly, a look of pure horror on her face. "Oh my God, he's lost in the snow and he's going to get hypothermia and he's going to have to go to the hospital and he's going to die and-" She ran for the door without thinking to even get her coat.

"Abby! Abby, wait- you forgot your-" Gibbs sighed as she ran out the door. He went to the coat rack and threw on his coat, then grabbed Abby's.

It was snowing hard, but he could make out her black clad figure wandering around to the back of Ducky's house. He caught up to her quickly enough and wrapped her coat around her shoulders. She was crying, but it was so cold that the tears were already freezing on her eyelashes.

"Gibbs, I can't find him! What are we going to do? I mean, we can't just-"

"Hey, relax. Now, think about it. First of all, Ducky's lived here for quite awhile now Abbs. I'm sure he knows his way around. And even if he is missing, I know he wouldn't want you out in the cold looking for him." He wiped the tiny droplets of ice off of her eyelashes and held her to him. "Let's give him ten more minutes to show up. Then, if he's still not here, I promise that we'll send out a search party, as well as looking for him ourselves," he murmured against the top of her head.

She sniffled. "Okay…"

Gibbs let her go and smiled. "Come on… I know I'm cold, so you're bound to be freezing."

"Yeah? Well, forgive me for not being taught to ignore the cold… Mr. Macho-Ex-Marine Man."

Gibbs chuckled as they walked back to Ducky's house. "There is no such thing as an Ex-Marine Abbs; once a Marine, always a Marine."

At the bottom of the porch steps, Gibbs was suddenly hit by another snowball.