NCIS and all of its wonderful characters – no they don't belong to me. Sigh, they never will. Some of them do belong to each other, though, don't you agree?

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (sequel to Sawdust and Gunpowder) – Boundaries get crossed and bridges get burned. Will Abby and Gibbs ever get on the same page?

Rating – M. Not for kiddos. Really.

FWandFS (Fair Winds and Following Seas): Second Fanfic in this Fandom. Have written others as FeliciaMaplewood for Scarecrow and Mrs. King…Yes, I am dating myself by admitting that.

Chapter 3 – Kisses sweeter than wine

"There's a camera every thirty yards." Abby noted under her breath.

To all intents and purposes, they looked like a lovesick couple as they scanned the grounds with care. They ambled slowly, their steps in synchrony and their bodies close. They had decided to expand their search after Gibbs had found scant evidence in their clandestine searches of both the suites. However, Abby had managed to get ample sampling of Mikhail Ostepenchevko's DNA courtesy of his romp in the sheets with his mistress.

Abby looked intently at the surrounding flora as they walked the shady, well-tended paths.

"Whatcha got, Abbs?" Gibbs murmured, recognizing the signs that Abby was having a brainstorm.

"Azaleas." She whispered back. "There were crushed azalea leaves in the second victim's sneaker treads."

"Take some with us – try for a match?" Gibbs replied.

"My thoughts exactly!" She smiled as she pulled away laughingly from him. She ran ahead and darted behind a tree, peeking around the side as if teasing him. As he approached her, she scooped up a handful of fallen azalea leaves from the bushes around them and tossed them over him, showering him with nature's confetti.

She laughed and started to dart away, but Gibbs swiftly caught her around the waist swinging her in a playful circle. Abby reached up and tenderly pulled errant leaves from his hair as he smiled bemusedly down at her. Blocked from the cameras, she slipped them into his jacket pocket for later analysis. Linking her arm in his, she leaned towards him confidingly as they walked along the path.

"We're being watched, Gibbs."

"Well, Yeah, Abbs. That's kind of the point," he replied wryly.

"Well, this time it's that oversized Neanderthal from the guardhouse by the gate. He doesn't look as stupid as Paulie...he looks suspicious." Abby had begun to talk more rapidly as she became anxious.

"Relax, Abby."

"What if he doesn't think we're for real? What if he calls Mikhail?" Her eyes widened in alarm. "If Tony and Ziva are supposed to be giving us backup, I haven't seen any sign of it." She bit her lip in concern.

"You're not supposed to see them," he said calmly. "We'll just remind the audience why we're here, O.K.?"

He eased her back against the trunk of a tall magnolia, resting his hands against the spreading trunk on either side of her, even though his hands itched to run the length of her svelte form. Gibbs leaned in and ran gentle kisses along her temple and cheekbone, slowly easing down to her lips which parted of their own accord. His kiss was as lazy and exploratory as it had been urgent earlier.

Her lips clung to his as she gave herself up to the sweetness of his kiss. This was what it meant to feel cherished. Her head fell back in silent yearning, exposing her long graceful neck for his exploration. She shivered as she felt the feathering of kisses across her spider web tattoo. Her hands slid up his back under his jacket, relishing the sinewy strength she found there. He was so warm to the touch. Gibbs was always so calm, you would think he would run cold-blooded, but he was every inch a red-blooded American male. Her eyes fluttered closed and she didn't notice when the guard had turned away satisfied that they were exactly as they had presented themselves on arrival.

"You should come with a warning label." Abby murmured playfully, opening her eyes languorously. Her eyes were smoky and the fear in them had been completely erased.

Gibbs smile split the difference between being somewhat abashed and boyishly cocky. He knew that eventually he would have to pay the piper for the boundaries they had crossed, but he couldn't bear to think of that when she was warm and willing in the circle of his arms. He felt more alive than he had in years.

He leaned in to kiss her one last time, tracing the seam of her lips with his tongue as she moaned softly. He loved that she didn't control the sounds of her desire. There was nothing so arousing as Abby in uncontrolled heat. If he had only minutes left to live this fantasy, he might as well make the most of it.

Gibbs pulled reluctantly away and slipped his arm around her waist as they walked back along the paths to the main house of the estate. They had found all they could for the case, at least for the moment.

"Whoa!" Tony gaped as he watched his Team mates through binoculars. "Boss got game!"

"You can see them?" Ziva said sharply, reaching across from the driver's seat for the binoculars as Tony batted her hands away. She had been edgy when Gibbs and Abby had been out of sight so long. They had taken a significant risk sending in Abby who was untrained for this kind of work. They simply had to bank on that unstated connection that everyone knew she and Gibbs shared.

"I take it back, Ziva. Boss does bounce!" Tony said in a surprised voice, noting the slightly cocky spring in Gibbs step as he chased Abby through the azaleas. He sucked in a surprised breath as he saw them lean up against the tree. It looked for all the world like the boss was trying to seduce their forensic scientist. From the way Abby was responding, it wouldn't take much effort on his part either. Tony grimaced. It always galled him that women drew like moths to a flame towards the senior agent, despite his age.

"Give me that!" Ziva yanked the binoculars from his grasp and gazed through them. She remained silent, her thoughts only given away by her carefully pursed lips.

"Either Abby gets an Academy Award or she has a thing for older men," Tony groused.

Ziva gave him a knowing sideways glance. "Older men can be very…intriguing" she murmured. "A woman can benefit from their – how would you say – experience."

"You've thought about the Bossman?" Tony was mildly appalled. Did Gibb hold thrall over all the women he knew? Just what was it about his silver hair that made them all tingly inside anyway?

Ziva shrugged. "I speak hypothetically, of course."

Tony glanced at her warily. He never quite knew the former Mossad agent's thoughts. "You think Abby's his favorite in more way than one?" he asked.

Ziva's voice was soft in her response. "I think they look very…" she paused as she searched for the right word, "sweet." Somehow she couldn't find the words to describe the yearning she had seen in both of their faces. It was bittersweet, like a war time romance that you knew would have a sad ending. She lowered the binoculars, conscious of having intruded on a very private moment.

If Tony concurred, he wouldn't admit it. "Sweet?" he snorted. "Bossman would love that." He derided. He grabbed the binoculars back from her. "Looks like they're headed back. Wonder how much longer they'll be."

Ziva nodded thoughtfully, still processing the private moment she had witnessed. If she wasn't mistaken, things would be very different back at headquarters. And Ziva was rarely wrong.

TBC

Reviews make my day! Please let me know what you think!

Thanks so much to Periodically Chlorinated, The Gabby Effect, miss4nschik, punkcatwitissues, gosgirl, ncislove, Alrighta, tanya2byour21, Ziver69, louise1717, and ascifigirl for taking the time to review!