A/N: Hooray! Praise Jesus, the hurricane turned! The only damage we had was a few fallen tree limbs and leaves all over the place. :D I shall try my best to get the next chapter up before the next episode, but I can't promise anything. Without any further ago, I give you…

Chapter Three - "These Wounds Won't Seem to Heal"

Gibbs sat at his desk, slightly subdued and very tired. He sighed and rubbed his eyes; he hadn't been sleeping much since Kate's death. After making sure that Tony was okay on that terrible Tuesday, he had gone home and worked on his boat. As he had sanded the frame, his tears had fallen and mixed with the sawdust to create a gritty mess on the floor. He had finally fallen asleep, exhausted, in the bottom of the boat, which he christened "The Caitlin". Wednesday night was much the same, although he had gotten a little more sleep.

Gibbs looked over at Tony, who was working busily on a cold case. He became slightly jealous when he noticed that Tony didn't appear to be sleep-deprived at all. Little did he know that the younger agent had resorted taking several sleeping pills to finally find rest. Next, his gaze fell upon Kate's empty desk. After blaming himself for her death for several minutes, he decided to call Abby.

When an unfamiliar voice answered the phone on the Lab extension, Gibbs was surprised, a thing that didn't happen very often. The male technician informed Gibbs that Abby hadn't come in yesterday or today, and that he was filling in until Ms. Sciuto returned. Gibbs thanked him curtly and dialed Abby's home phone number. The phone just kept ringing and ringing. Beginning to grow irritated, he tried her cell and got a message saying that "the wireless customer he was trying to reach was currently unavailable." Now more than annoyed, he pushed his chair back and stood up, grabbing his keys.

"Going somewhere, boss?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. Out to lunch," Gibbs answered tersely.

"But it's only eleven," Tony commented, looking at his watch.

"So go on an early lunch break. Just be back by one." With that, Gibbs left the bullpen.

XXXXXX

Gibbs knocked on Abby's door. "Abby?" he called.

"Who is it?" Abby returned with a dull voice.

"It's Gibbs. Let me in, Abbs."

"Go away." Abby returned her attention to the movie she was watching.

"I'm not going anywhere until you let me in," Gibbs stated resolutely.

"Leave me alone." She turned up the volume.

"Abby, open up," Gibbs ordered, pounding on the door. There was silence from within. "Abby, you open this door or I'll break it down!" he roared.

Abby sighed; she didn't doubt his threat. She retrieved a remote from the coffee table and pointed it at the door, pressing a button. There was a "click" as the deadbolt unlocked; McGee had installed the special locks for her several months ago.

Gibbs opened the front door and barged into Abby's living room. The sight with which he was greeted saddened him. Abby lay on the couch, hair unkempt, no goth make-up, wearing pajamas, with Kate's flowery blanket wrapped around her. There were a half-dozen empty Caf-Pow's next to the couch, along with a photo album and a stack of chick flick DVD's.

Abby looked up at him, her eyes dull and sorrowful. "What do you want?"

"We couldn't get ahold of you, and we've been really worried about you, Abbs," he answered, slightly concerned at her deeply depressed mood.

"I'm fine." Even she was surprised at how unconvincing she sounded.

"Why don't you get dressed and we can go eat lunch?"

"No." Abby looked back at the movie. It had been one of Kate's favorites.

Gibbs sighed; Abby could be extremely stubborn when she wanted to be. "Then I'll order pizza. What kind do you want?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Abby, you've got to eat." He sat in the comfy chair next to her.

"I'm fine, Gibbs," she lied.

"Abby, when was the last time you ate?" he asked, starting to grow worried. She made no reply. "Abbs," he said sternly, "you have to eat."

She continued to stare at the television screen.

"Fine, I'll order the pizza and see how you act when I wave it under your nose." He walked over to her phone on the counter and saw that it was disconnected. He sighed and plugged it back in. Then he ordered the pizza.

Twenty minutes later, Gibbs' order arrived. Gibbs paid the man and then sat down on the couch next to his friend. He waved a slice of steaming pepperoni pizza under Abby's nose.

Abby didn't even look at him.

"Dang it, Abby! What good does starving yourself do?" Silence. "What would Kate think if she knew you were doing this?"

As soon as Gibbs mentioned Kate's name, Abby turned and frowned at him.

"It's okay for you to miss her, Abbs. I miss her, too. But this isn't good for you. Please. Kate would want you to eat." He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently rubbed it. "Abby…please?"

Abby looked at his pleading eyes for a moment; Gibbs' eyes rarely pleaded. Finally, she gave in. She took the proffered slice of pizza and devoured it in a matter of seconds.

Gibbs smiled. "That's my Abby." He handed her another slice and grabbed one for himself.

They ate without speaking for a few minutes, then Abby broke the silence. "What's your favorite memory of her?"

The question caught Gibbs off-guard. "Hmm…" He had to think about it for a minute. "Maybe…watching her rappel…or that one time when she went under-cover as a club dancer. She looked gorgeous in that little red dress."

Abby raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Gibbs pulled his best "innocent" face. "Just because I didn't care for her in that way doesn't mean I'm blind."

Abby grinned and reached for another slice of pizza.

"What about you?"

Abby thought hard for all of two seconds, then said, "Probably her and me wearing those ridiculous hats and tricking McGee out of forty dollars." Abby seem to perk up as she recalled the fond memories. "And having her work in the lab with me. Oh! And going to the spa on weekends. And…making wedding plans…I was going to be the maid of honor," she finished quietly.

Silence ensued for a moment, then Abby spoke up again. "How's Tony?" She reached for a Caf-Pow that had a small portion of drink remaining and took a sip.

"He hasn't cracked a joke since Tuesday and he rarely smiles, except when he talks about her. Every so often something will remind him of her. Sometimes he'll smile and reminisce a memory; other times he'll become irritable. He's really thrown himself into work. I think it's his way of working it out and not completely breaking down."

Abby nodded, then asked, "How's McGee?"

Gibbs sighed. "I don't think he's ever lost anyone close to him; he's taking it harder than I expected. He asked if he could take off the rest of the week as vacation and I let him. I guess he needs time alone to sort through his emotions." Gibbs paused, then said with a half-smile, "Don't tell him I know, but a new character by the name of 'Katie Dodd' had made her way into one of his stories."

Abby chuckled. When silence reigned again, she reached for the photo album lying on the floor. She handed it to Gibbs and he slowly opened it. Abby smiled at Gibbs' amused reaction to the pictures; they were slumber party photographs that had been taken at Kate's apartment one weekend around two in the morning.

After several pages, the pictures became less crazy. As Gibbs continued flipping through the pages, Abby felt her throat constricting. A few photos more and she couldn't stop a couple of tears from falling. When Gibbs looked up at her, she quickly wiped them away. He closed the book and pulled his friend into his arms. Abby lay her head on his shoulder and sniffled. "Dang it, Gibbs, is it always going to hurt this bad?"

"It takes time, Abbs. Healing is a slow process." He gently rubbed her back. "We're all hurting."

She wiped at her tears. "I haven't lost someone this close to me in a long time."

"I know, Abbs…"

After a few moments, Abby regained control of her emotions. "Are you going to be alright?" Gibbs asked. "Because I have to get back to the office."

Abby rubbed a hand under her nose. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

"Alright." They stood and Abby walked him to the door.

"Hey, Gibbs," Abby called just as he was leaving.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." She hugged him gratefully.

"No problem, Abby, that's what friends are for."

She smiled as she released him.

"You are coming to the funeral tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Good. Bye, Abby."

"Bye, Bossman," she said with a wink.