She had been a nail biter all throughout her childhood, a habit that she hadn't really learned to kick until she was just starting her career at NCIS. She knew the facts behind it: that bacteria festers underneath your fingernails and it truly is a less than sanitary tick to have, but she couldn't help herself most days. It was always a way to relieve her stress.
It had been upwards of 15 years since she managed to ween herself away from her nervous tick, but the moment Gibbs had stormed out of her home the urge had returned to her; a flood of muscle memory from years before.
She hasn't been able to stop biting since.
The green nail polish - her favorite color - that had coated her once wall crafter manicure was all but chipped off completely. Cynthia had told her once the color brought out her eyes and she had been wearing it ever since, though she could do without anyone trying to look too deep into her eyes, lest they see the lack of sleep perpetrating them.
She picking at the remaining polish again when a soft knock fills the room, one to quiet to be Cynthia.
"Come in." She says, loud enough that her voice could be heard on the other side of the door.
It only opens partially, just wide enough that Abby can slip her thin frame inside. Of all people she had expected to see, the young scientist was not one of them.
"Hi Director." She greets, voice peppy as ever though tainted with just a bit of seriousness.
"Good afternoon Abby," she greets with a smile. It wasn't often she was visited by someone so cheerful, "What can I do for you?"
Her gaze drops to the floor, "I wanted to talk to you about uh, something kind of personal, if that's okay?"
"That depends, how personal are we getting here?"
She can see the physical shift in Abby, how suddenly her shoulders tensed up and her movements became ridged. It was a state that she had never seen her in, and she would be lying if she said it didn't worry her.
"Are you leaving?"
She hadn't been expecting that.
"I beg your pardon?"
"NCIS," Abby clarifies, "Because if you're not, you and Gibbs need to have a conversation. I'm tired of him stomping around because his maybe or maybe not girlfriend is moving to the other side of the country."
"I-," she stutters, "How did you know about that?"
Abby waves her hand dismissively, effectively dodging the question, "Listen, as your employ I'm here to complain about how his behavior is affecting my work environment, because all he does is stomp around and yell, and he never yells at me. And as your friend, the both of you are miserable."
It takes her a full minute - maybe longer, if she's being honest - to process exactly what Abby had said to her.
"I'm not his girlfriend," she starts with, because it's the only thing that is concrete at the moment, "And we're a bit to old to tack on such juvenile terms, Abby. And as far as the job offer goes," she pauses, "I don't know about that. There are a lot of things for me to consider."
"Is there?" Abby retorts.
She opens her mouth to respond, but Abby cuts her off.
"You either want to be here, or you want to be there." She tells her, "I might not know everything that's happened between the two of you, but he loves you, and you love him. This job or that job or any job will always be here, but there's only one Leroy Jethro Gibbs."
There's a part of her, one she buried rather deep within herself, that feels like familiar prickling of tears threating to fill her eyes, but she swallows it before it makes itself known.
"I don't think it's your place to interject your opinion, Ms. Scuito."
It was harsh and she knew it, but she doesn't want to talk about her relationship problems with anyone else.
She gives Abby credit though, she remained unfazed despite the harshness of her tone.
"Do you remember our Locus Amoenus conversation? When I asked you what yours was? Well, if it's out there in California, then go. But if it's not, if your happy place is here in this agency, with your friends and the love of your life, then stay. It's not complicated, it's pretty simple."
She looks down t her desk, avoiding looking into Abby's eyes, "Nothing is ever that simple Abby."
Abby rolls her eyes, "Your Locus Amoenus, what is It?"
"I don't know." She answer truthfully, because she doesn't know much these days.
"Well," Abby says, clearly finished with the conversation, "I suggest figuring out."
With that, Abby walks out of the door, closing the door behind her just a bit more forcefully than strictly necessary, but she understands why. Abby was nothing if not loyal to Gibbs, perhaps even to fault. She would defend him tooth and nail at any cost.
She raises a hand to her lips, nervously biting her nails again.
There's a chill in his house that he just couldn't get to go away.
He wants to believe it's from the frigid temperature outside, that perhaps the insulation in his home wasn't what it used to be and that was why so much cold air had made its way inside, but he knows better. It seemed his world was just a little colder since they stopped seeing each other.
He could feel it though, the shift in temperature the moment he heard his front door slam shut. It was her of course, there was no one else it would be at that hour.
"I'm not in the mood for a lecture, Jen." He says as she makes her way down the basement steps, not peeling his eyes away from his work. Looking at her would make all of this more real and he had had enough of real for a while.
"Neither am I, but I already got one from Abby."
He snorts, "Come here to tell me that's my fault? 'Cause I didn't send her."
He chances a glance at her, surprised to see just how much sadness is lingering in her eyes.
"I want us to talk." She says, glossing over his statement entirely, "Not yell, not go to Ducky, or Abby, or anyone else. We need to talk face to face."
He relents despite not wanting to see her at the moment, lest he loose his temper again, but he knows he can't go on forever like that.
"Fine."
A/n: I split this into two chapters because it had clocked in at just over 3000 words, so I decided to stop it here, but the next chapter is ready to be posted, and i'll only have a few after this. I want to wrap this story up soon so the end is coming alone guys! R&R
- Ali