SUMMARY: Sequel to "The SecDef Cheats." Lt. Col Cassidy moves in to NCIS and this will mean for Abby in the long run. McAbby, Drama/Romance/Angst
RATING: T - Adult subject matter, rare mild language, killer smooching.
A/N: And here is my penance chapter :D And if you are really lucky... I might have two more by next Sunday :)
REVIEWS: I am always trying to improve my writing, so all constructive criticism is welcome. I would also like to thank you in advance for any reviews you might wish to leave. They really are a great boon to a writer's ego and gives you a huge incentive to live up to your expectations.
Chapter 7
Dreamless sleep was oddly disorienting, and so when the consciousness started to weasel its way back into her mind, Abby was having trouble figuring out where she was. In the hopes that the additional oxygen would help to clear the fog, she inhaled a chest full of air and then realized that she was stuck between two surfaces as her back made contact with something on the inspiration. When the something also inhaled a shallow, sleepy breath, she understood that the something was actually a someone, and that someone had an arm resting protectively over her midsection. As that someone slowly exhaled the shallow breath and blew the air over her ear and cheek, she understood that the someone's head was resting over her shoulder.
She was still feeling the queer sensation of disorientation so she opened her eyes and instantly recognized that she was staring, nose to leather, at the back of her own sofa. She hazarded a glance down and saw that she was actually crammed between the back of the sofa and that person, but that was not sitting right with her, since she knew the sofa was not really that deep. So, when she turned her head and tried to turn her shoulders to identify the person at her back, she felt the arm across her belly grasp for a handhold and then a tremendous THUMP on her floor as the cool air swept over the void from the body that was formerly pressed against her for warmth.
She squinted her eyes and then flipped over to see who had just been unceremoniously dropped onto the floor. "McGee!" She sat straight up on the couch from her fright. "Oh man! Are you okay?"
McGee opened his eyes in a cartoonish gesture and worked furiously to get his mind back into gear as he tried to decipher how he had ended up on the floor in a place that was not his apartment. His hand reflexively reached up to the back of his head to check for blood, but found none. Opening and closing his eyes a few more times, his focus began to swim back to the surface. His current focus was on a pair of red lips, so he blinked a few more times, hoping to get the rest of the picture. Red lips, porcelain skin, black hair with bangs and a concerned expression, but the face seemed to be hanging in midair, almost disconnected from the body. The lips started to move and he blinked away a few more of the cobwebs, trying to register if the lips were actually talking to him. Suddenly, in a rush, the whole world came back into focus. She was leaning over the edge of the couch to get a good look at him and blinked his eyes one more time before saying, "I'm okay… Just disoriented, is all."
There was a flash of movement over him and he found her hands grasping his and lifting him up so that he was sitting on the floor, instead of splayed out on it. "Oh man… I hope I didn't give you a concussion." He squinted his eyes as he tried to clear mind from the head rush he had gotten from rising so quickly.
He started to rub at his eyes, realizing that his lack of total focus probably came from his contacts being slightly out of place. "No, just… Foggy to partly cloudy." He felt her reaching for his hands again, but he batted them away as he worked through his lids to get those lenses back into alignment. "Gimme a sec?"
When he felt her hands reaching up under his arms from behind, he realized that she was being serious, but he was still trying to figure out which side of the world was up so he was not ready for too much more movement. "C'mon, McGee… You gotta get up so I can mak-…'
Maybe it was his disoriented disposition that made him forget to be self-conscious of his actions, but whatever it was, when he felt her breath on his neck as she leaned down to try and hoist him up onto the couch, his other self took over and he turned his head just right to capture those red lips in a kiss that had her dropping to the floor with the same speed he had arrived there, pulling him back to her as she moved her arms from under his to around his chest. When they let go, he found his head and torso being cradled in her arms and his back resting against her. Bliss; that was the only word that came through his head as his whole body warmed from the sensation of being there, on the floor with Abby holding him tight and running her hands through what little hair he had at the moment. "Whoa…" Apparently, Abby was feeling something similar.
"Feeling better?" He could feel her tense up just a little when he had asked her, but he did sense that she was doing much better than when he had arrived.
"I kinda freaked, huh?" Her voice was more timid, but nowhere near as bad as before they had fallen asleep.
"Just a little… But… Maybe I did,too." He took in a deep breath and tried to put together all the pieces of their earlier conversation. "I just… I worry about you, Abs."
She sunk down, wrapping both of her arms around his neck and then resting her chin on top of his head. "I know… I'm just… I'm not used to that, I guess."
He tilted his head up, trying to see her face when he said, "Not used to what?"
She sighed against him and said, "People worrying about me. It's just usually the other way around."
He smiled, knowing that she was probably right: right about everyone, but him. "Okay, then that's rule number one."
She scrunched up her nose and looked down at him with a confused expression. "Rules? Since when are there rules?"
He just smiled again and said, "Well, you made the rules last time… Let's say we make them together this time?"
Abby felt the warmth spreading out from her heart to her whole body when she understood what he was saying. "Sounds like a deal." She squeezed his neck tighter and kissed his forehead.
"Okay, so rule number one is; we take care of each other, which includes the worrying sub-rule." She could tell that he was enjoying what he was doing and it made her giggle.
She smiled and said, "Fine… But only if we have the worry-wart clause."
McGee laughed, because he could feel the tension draining from her with their little rules discussion. "And that would be?"
"If either of us is caught worrying too much, they deserve to get smacked."
That was the perfect setup for him and he simply could not resist it, "That's fine… As long as it's one of us doing the smacking." When she gasped at his insinuation, he could picture the look on her face and it made him smile even wider when she playfully slapped at his shoulder.