Chapter 2
Abby and Gibbs finally enjoyed a leisurely meal after they both showered, and then a heated debate as to who was sleeping where; Gibbs had insisted that Abby take his room, and he would take the pull out in the den, Abby equally insisted that she wasn't kicking him out of his own room, Gibbs of course won.
The evening progressed in a companionable way, they cleared up after dinner together and then they headed down to the basement and worked on the boat together for a while, in a companionable silence. Abby soon became absorbed in sanding down the planks that Gibbs had nailed on the night before, while he added new ones, Soon though the physical work took its toll on Abby's battered body and so she went and collected the laptop she had bought with her, she tucked herself into the corner of his bench, plugged herself into his phone line and sat surfing while he stood sanding.
"You really, really need to get broadband" Abby gripped after waiting for a page to open very slowly. Gibbs looked over at her bent over her computer and smiled, not having a clue what broadband was
"And why would I want to do that?" he asked, a hint of laughter in his voice
"So that you get a faster internet connection" she said without looking up, or noticing that he was now standing behind her
"Wouldn't I need a computer for that?" he said in her ear, causing her to jump and spin on the stool she was perched on, except this wasn't the swivel chair she had at work, and the stool stayed where it was, causing Abby to slip off. Gibbs automatically reached out and grabbed her to stop her from falling, his hand grazing her breast; his face mere millimetres from hers.
Abby froze, the sensation of his hand against the side of her breast causing electric shocks to course through her body, her heart skipped several beats and then started to race, she looked into the blue eyes that she fantasised about frequently and held her breath.
Gibbs looked down into Abby's face, and watched unnamed emotions flash across it, his head lent forward of its own violation before he realised what he was doing, then he pulled away, his fingers tingling where they had touched her.
"You ok?" he asked gruffly, sitting her upright on the stool and pulling away from her. Abby felt bereft at the loss of contact but nodded shakily
"Yeah I'm fine boss man" she said trying to distance herself from her emotions and feeling's for him, sure that she had imagined the desire she had seen in his eyes. Gibbs heard the phrase boss man, and turned away to hide his dismay, he could have sworn she had felt the same way, but he told himself she had used the phrase to remind him of their boundaries.
"Good, I'm going for a drink" he said as he left the basement taking two steps at a time.
Upstairs Gibbs walked into his den, and crossed over to the cabinet that held his Jack Daniels and poured himself a large glass, he turned and sat in the large worn leather chair, his glass in his hands, he sighed and closed his eyes
"You stupid, stupid old fool" he muttered to himself, the berating continuing inside, he leant forward and took a healthy swig from his glass, calling himself every kind of fool imaginable.
Slowly the alcohol began to work its magic, and his heart stopped pounding, but Gibbs wasn't sure if the pounding had been desire or fear.
Abby sat staring at her computer screen, her mind turning over what had happened, she pushed the laptop away and lay her head on the bench, closing her eyes in an attempt to keep the tears from falling.
"Damn it" she muttered to herself, sitting up to wipe her eyes and looking furtively upstairs in case Gibbs came back, it was bad enough that she was a weak fool, without letting him know she was stupid too.
Abby pulled her laptop towards her and slowly shut it down, buying herself the time she needed to compose herself and face him again, once done, she took a deep breath and turned around, screaming at the shock of seeing Gibbs standing there
"Thought you might like a drink too" he said, his tone the same neutral one that he used at work. He held out a tumbler with an amber liquid in it, identical to the one in his own hand. Abby took it, her mind whirling, how long had he been there? Had he seen her crying?
"Thanks Gibbs" she said, sniffing the glass "Ohh JD, thanks" she said forcing her tone light and fun, Abby the party girl, Abby the lab rat, she thought, Abby the moron she thought bitterly.
"Your welcome" he said turning back to his boat, placing the glass inside the skeleton shape of it and picking up his screwdriver "you going upstairs?" he said without turning around
"Yeah, its killing me trying to use dial up, so I thought I might watch some TV" Abby said desperately, trying to think of something to get her away from Gibbs for awhile, he turned and watched her intently, his eyes assessing and questioning at the same time
"Then you need to stay down here" he said, then nodded to the corner of the room, where an ancient portable TV sat "That's the only one in the house" he continued, smiling gently at the dismay that crept over Abby's face.
"No Cable?" she said her voice a shocked whisper, as she looked at the old TV, Gibbs shook his head, his grin growing wider
"Nope" he said turning back to his boat
"Gibbs, you are seriously weird" Abby said, shaking her head in dismay "You really need to get with this century, no wonder you have three ex wives, and no dates" she said her eyes seeming to be fixed permanently to the silent TV
Gibbs laughed at her statement
"I'm weird? I'm not the one who mutilates my body and sleeps in a coffin" he scoffed, turning to face her, his eyes creased in laughter.
"Which, if you had let me bring, would have meant that you didn't have to sleep on the pull out couch" she said, her eyes heating up with the sense of fun sparring with Gibbs always gave her.
"Which would not have fitted in my car" Gibbs countered easily
"You didn't even want to try" Abby said, "Do you think I would solve all the great things I do, if I didn't try the impossible?" she argued, the earlier anguish forgotten, in returning to the comfortable banter they shared.
"Try the impossible? You are the impossible Abs" he laughed, picking up the hand sander and tossing it too her,
"If you don't want to watch my TV, or play on that thingy" he said pointing to her laptop "then make yourself useful, and sand this down" he said, running his hand over a section he had finished earlier on.
"Yes, boss man sir!" Abby said, saluting smartly, a grin on her face as she crossed over to the boat and the section he had pointed to.
Abby and Gibbs worked the boat in silence, each of their thoughts centred on the other, neither realising that there thoughts travelled similar paths. Only difference was, Abby's were with a sense of loss, and what could never be; Gibbs's were with a sense of shame and denial.