The elevator doors closed in front of the two of them, insulating them in a pocket of virtual silence. Gibbs glanced sidelong at Abby but the dark-haired girl stared straight ahead. He shifted his gaze to match hers, becoming aware of the faint sounds of her agitation. The quiet but steady thump of her boot on the floor, the soft susurration of her rubber bracelets against her lab coat, the slight rustle of her pigtails. He said nothing to her, her unwillingness to speak evident in the lines of her stance.

The doors parted and she was out like a shot, headed for her lab. He followed at only a slightly slower pace, waiting for her to burn through her angry energy.

He was barely next to her when she began to speak, her words directed at him, but her gaze on her lab table as she deftly worked the mechanics laid out.

You probably already figured out that your brakes were tampered with, but it was a really impressive piece of work, Gibbs. She moved to one of what appeared to be two identical displays, her words short and crisp.

Gibbs merely nodded and she continued on with a rapid-fire explanation of the sabotage to the braking system, never pausing, never looking up.

Also, I believe your seatbelt was tampered with. She leaped to the next issue as quickly as she hurtled through her previous explanations, and though he was barely keeping up with her words, he didn't try to slow her down.

I've taken apart the seatbelt mechanism here. Parts of this look like the dirt and gravel were forced into the ratcheting wheel, not just lodged there on their own. He looked at the pieces she held, but she was already putting them back, moving on to the next topic.

I'm scanning traffic cameras, hoping to track our POI from the hospital, she explained as she seated herself in front of her computer, fingers slapping the keys rapidly as she punched up various images on to the plasma for him.

He sighed and walked over to the screen, waiting. There was more, he knew, and it wasn't about the evidence.

I've also set up the facial recognition program to run a search on the DMV's in Virginia and Maryland. She brought up another screen for him to view as she continued. I thought maybe we might get lucky there. Gibbs, why do you suppose McGee is so willing to believe that this has nothing to do with Ari?

She ran the words together enough so that it took him a second or two to catch her question. Ah, now we get to the heart of the problem, he thought. That bother you? he asked, casually.

Well, yeah! Everyone knows Ari's been after you for months. Ever since Kate died, hunting him down has been the only priority. She finally raised her face to his.

That's true, he mused. But we have made other enemies, Abbs. And it may be that one of them has come back to haunt us now.

So, what? We just drop the search for Kate's murderer?

He heard the underlying anger and bitterness in her voice. No, Abby. Never. We just have two cases to work, that's all. the goth girl whispered with quiet venom as she turned back to a video scan on screen.

He waited until she looked at him, green eyes meeting blue.

Gibbs, no one's taken the time to really mourn for Kate. Did you know that? Tony, McGee, even me, we've all just been focused on catching that bastard that killed her. If you take that away, what happens to us then?

Her words surprised him, though truthfully they shouldn't have. It was his team, he should have been aware of it. From the minute Special Agent Todd was murdered on that rooftop, it was a crime scene, business as usual. Then a case. An unsolved case, one they'd been working non-stop. Kate's body had been laid to rest, but had any of them allowed themselves a moment to lay their feelings to rest?

You're right. And maybe, in some way, this is our grief. I know it is for me. I lost a team member; I have to live with knowing that that shot might have been meant for me. I grieve every day as I walk around, knowing that she's dead because of her association with me.

There was silence for a moment then Abby asked softly, Does it get any easier? Has it gotten easier for you?It never gets easier, Abbs, he said gently as he slipped an arm around her and gave her a hug. You simply learn to go on.