A/N: I am very sorry it has taken me so long to update but my muse seemed to take a holiday…it appears though that she has returned now and is ready to get back to work.

For those of you reading this from STFBEfanfic…As soon as I can fix the conflict between my computer and the site I will be posting there again…I miss you guys!

Anyway it's just a short one for now, more will be coming soon!

Chapter 14

Gibbs lent his head against the tiles in the shower, the warm water flowing over his body. As much as he had enjoyed making love with Abby it had left his battered body exhausted. His mind focused on her last words to him and what Ari might have meant by them. He cursed, his words swallowed by the sound of the water pounding on his body. Ari did nothing by chance and taking Abby and letting her go had been a well thought out threat. One that Gibbs couldn't ignore. Gibbs knew that Ari had been threatening to make Abby his next target if Gibbs didn't play the game, the question was what were the rules?

Gibbs stepped out of the shower and dried himself quickly, hating the slight tremor in his hands. Not from fear but from the exhaustion pulling at his body, a body that not long ago had been fighting for its life.

Gibbs crossed the small room and entered his bedroom, his eyes scanning for Abby but not finding her. He cocked his head and heard the sound of the shower in the family bathroom, without conscious thought his heart began to beat again once he realised she was still there. She was still safe, at least for the time being.

Gibbs dressed quickly and headed down the stairs. He paused at the bottom. His eyes travelled back the way he had come, his ears listening to the sound of the shower before he grabbed his coat and headed out the front door. He knew that when Abby found out he had left she would be furious, but she would get over it, he knew though that he would never get over her death. Too many had died already because of him. He could not let her become another on the list. His actions were set, his mind determined, not realising that sometimes the past clouded the future not allowing you to see clearly.

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Abby stepped out of the shower just as the door slammed downstairs; she froze, her eyes narrowing in blazing anger.

"GIBBS!" she shouted, grabbing a towel and running downstairs. She pulled open the front door just in time to see his car speeding down the street. She stood there for a moment, clutching her towel, her eyes following the taillights. She felt a pain in her chest and a fear creeping around in her stomach. Gibbs had gone to find Ari. She knew she should be angry, but fear was beating the anger down. She wasn't sure he was strong enough to take him on at the moment, at least not physically.

Abby slowly shut the door, her shoulders slumping slightly. She crossed over to the sofa and flopped down into it. No sooner had she sat down though than she jumped up again, her eyes bright and sure.

"No damn way Gibbs! No way do you get to do this on your own" she told her absent lover angrily. "You picked the wrong chick if you think you can call the shots all the time" she said as she sprinted back up the stairs to get dressed, her mind spiralling ahead to form a plan. Whether he wanted it or not, the cavalry were coming and this was no Custer's last stand, not unless Ari was playing the leading role.

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Ari stood in the shadows, and watched Gibbs leave. Perhaps some people were predictable after all, he thought with a grim smile, as he watched Abby standing in the doorway clutching a towel around her damp body.

And once again he had to push back the feeling of regret snaking its way into his soul. He had no place for regret, only his plans his mission. And if someone died so be it, he thought angrily as he watched Abby close the front door. He would not regret it. But he knew deep down that he would, that he already did. And he hated himself for it and he hated Gibbs for making him see things that he had always been able to block out before. He allowed his anger to push away the unwanted feeling and made his way slowly and calmly across the road, his steps sure and determined. He had been set on this course all of his life, and it was time now to end the game. One way or another.