A/N: Here's a longer chapter for you this time, everyone

Thank you all for the overwhelming flood of reviews and alerts after my last post. It was the icing on the cake after an awesome day. F.

She opened the door into Observation, letting light into the darkened room. All three of them turned towards the door, watching as she entered.

"Hey Abs" Tony greeted her. "What are you doing up here?"

"Got a hit on the DNA samples" she explained "Thought it was something Gibbs could use". She looked around as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. Tony and Ziva were standing closest to the large one way mirror that was the dominant feature of the room; McGee stood a step or two behind them. She went and stood next to him, craning forward a little so she could see between Tony and Ziva's shoulders. The wife had a disdainful expression on her face

"Has she said anything yet?" she asked. McGee shook his head.

"Not yet. She's been a lot tougher than we thought."

"This might help" she told them, daring to look sideways, studying him. He looked tired and a little distracted, his brow furrowed in thought despite the lack of activity in the room before them. She was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking about, and it wasn't the case. He looked down at her, catching her glance, a telltale flush creeping up over his face. She quickly looked away, catching the movement in the interrogation room as Gibbs stood and walked to the door. She darted out of Observation, knowing the team was behind her.

"Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs. I got a match on the DNA samples. There was two women's DNA on the Marine's pants. I traced one of them back to a Petty Officer Carolyn Drew. I pulled her service records, and get this. Petty Officer Drew is related to our Marine's wife; they're half sisters"

She handed Gibbs the printouts of the DNA report and Drew's service record.

"That's good work, Abs" Gibbs turned and went back into Interrogation

The team returned to Observation; there was a sense of suppressed excitement in the room now. They could tell Gibbs was going to break her. They watched as he sat down again, laying Abby's printouts on the table one by one. Softly, persuasively, he laid out the facts of the case again. Then "We matched DNA found on your husband's clothing to a Petty Officer Carolyn Drew". They all saw her reaction to the name, jaw and neck muscles tightening as Gibbs continued "She's your half sister, isn't she? So your husband was sleeping with your sister... is that why you killed him?"

"She's my sister" she hissed out through her clenched teeth

"So you took a knife and cut his throat while he was sleeping! Did you give him the Valium to stop him struggling?"

The look she gave Gibbs spoke volumes. He slapped the table with his open palm

"Did you?"

She nodded, shoulders slumping as she began to recount the events of the previous night. Abby left Observation quietly, heading back to her lab. She had an evidence report to finish and file before she could go home, and she wanted to get it done quickly.

...

Once back in the lab, she turned the music up to its usual ear splitting volume and settled herself at her desk, pulling her notes towards her. All she had to do, she told herself, was type up this evidence report, and then she could go home and hopefully get some sleep. She would not allow herself to think about Tim McGee, and certainly not allow herself to daydream about him the way she had earlier. She began typing furiously, hoping the evidence would stop her from becoming distracted.

Her stern words to herself worked for about 15 minutes. Without realising it, her typing slowed and stopped as she replayed his parting words at the cafe in her mind. They still sent shivers down her spine, setting a few butterflies loose in the pit of her stomach. She caught herself up as she started to lose herself in thoughts of Tim, administering a mental head slap. She picked up the thread of her evidence report again, managing to piece it together through her disjointed thoughts. She printed off a copy for her records, emailed a copy to the Director for the Agency file and picked up her bag. She took the necessary few moments to shut down her equipment, and then she was out the door.

She made it home in good time, stopping briefly on the way to pick up takeout. She settled down on the couch to eat, not bothering to turn the TV on; she knew she wouldn't watch it anyway. Now that she was home, she could let herself think things over. She mentally replayed their conversation in the cafe once again, feeling the jolt that ran through her whenever she thought of his words, letting the butterflies loose again. She pictured him in her mind- the look in his expressive green eyes, the way he'd smiled at her- feeling the butterflies growing as she did so. She was a little irked at herself. Plenty of guys had made it clear that they found her attractive and none of them had sparked this kind of reaction from her. What was it about him that had her all tied up in knots? Abandoning her partly eaten dinner, she got to her feet. She needed to move around; it helped her think.

Pacing restlessly, she turned back to her mental list of reasons from earlier that afternoon. Why had she gotten into bed with Tim? Last night she'd been too relieved to learn that he wasn't going anywhere to want to leave him, but she knew it went deeper than that. Tim's apartment was functional, utilitarian even; but somehow it felt more like home than her own apartment did. Even after the debacle with Mikel, she felt safe there. She admitted to herself that it had more to do with the occupant rather than the apartment itself. Looking around at her own apartment, she suddenly felt caged. She picked up her keys and shrugged back into her coat.

...

She looked at the familiar door in front of her. She had no clear memory of deciding to come here; she'd been driving aimlessly through the city, and each turn had somehow brought her one step closer to this point. She wavered, unable to make herself either knock on the door or turn and walk away. Behind her lay a security of sorts; where the scariest thing she had to face was a Gibbs who hadn't had coffee and some hinky evidence. Ahead of her... It might be scary, but she wanted to do this. She wanted to see him, wanted to see that special grin he only gave her, wanted to hear his voice. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.