Chapter four

"Good morning, my queen of darkness." Tony strode into the lab just after ten, a Caf-Pow! in his hands. "You got anything running this morning?"

"Hi Tony, you look well rested." She winked suggestively at him. "I've got a DNA match running on Agent Johnson's case, but otherwise today will be spent swabbing the deck." She made a sweeping motion with her hands.

"Ah, well, since Gibbs took the day off, I thought I'd bring your morning Caf-Pow! before you went weak from lack of caffeine."

"Aww, Tony – wait, what? Gibbs…?"

"He took the day off. The director said he called in this morning."

"Tony!"

Tony ducked his head at the shrill of her voice. "What?"

"When was the last time Gibbs took time off?"

"Uhh…"

"Exactly." Abby ignored the Caf-Pow! on her desk and grabbed her purse and keys. "Tell Johnson that I should be back before anything pops up, but McGee knows how to work my babies so if something does pop up, have McGee look."

"Where are you going?"

"Making sure Gibbs doesn't do anything stupid," she called back over her shoulder as she hurried from the lab.

Abby worked her way through a variety of emotions during the 17 minutes it took to get to Gibbs' house. She was scared – scared he had taken the day off so he wouldn't have to be around her. Then her thoughts turned to Mexico. What if he's leaving again? What if this time he can't even say goodbye so he's taken the day off to pack what he needs and then leave… Abby stepped down harder on the gas pedal.

She let out a sigh of relief when she pulled into his driveway and saw his car out front. At least he hasn't left yet.

Steeling herself for whatever she was about to find, she rushed up to the front step and pushed the door open. She glanced around the living room and was slightly comforted by the fact that it looked the same as always. No tell-tale packing boxes. "Gibbs!"

"Ab-"

Her hands automatically went to her hips as she zeroed in on his voice coming from the dining room and moved forward. "If you think you can slink off to Mexico again to drink yourself into a stupor with Franks, then you-" She rounded the corner and froze.

There was a stack of photo albums on the dining table and Gibbs was sitting between two women, a pretty red-head on his right and… "Kelly?"

"Abby?"

Gibbs looked back and forth from Kelly to Abby and back again. "You two… you know each other?"

"I, um, yeah, we met yesterday at the coffee shop when I was waiting for mom to call." Kelly recovered enough to answer. "I spilled my coffee on her by accident and we got to talking and…" Her eyes widened as she remembered their conversation and then realized that her dad was likely Abby's silver fox.

"I… I shouldn't be here." Abby started to back up slowly, not quite understanding, but somehow knowing who the women were.

"Abby, wait." This wasn't how he'd wanted to tell her.

"No really, I need to go. I've got some… some tests running for Johnson and I know McGee can check, but Major Mass Spec has been acting up lately and you know he doesn't play well with others. I just want to make sure… well, you're okay, so I'm… yeah, bye." She turned and rushed out the door, not pausing to look back when she heard Gibbs' footsteps behind her.

She managed to keep her face void of any emotion until she had driven around the corner and pulled off on the side of the road.

Her eyes burned as the tears welled up and she struggled not to cry over something, or someone, that had never belonged to her in the first place. As her sobs turned to an occasional hiccup she slowly relaxed and eventually the tightness in her chest dissipated. She didn't understand how they were still alive (and she was determined to do a DNA test, just in case), but it occurred to her that the one thing she wanted most had happened.

Gibbs was happy.

And not just, 'good work, Abbs' happy, she mused. He had looked well rested, the lines on his face had softened and the look of sadness that was always visible in his eyes was gone.

She gave herself a little pep talk before pulling back out onto the street and heading for NCIS. Avoiding the squad room, she headed for Autopsy. "Hi, Ducky."

"Abigail," he looked her over. "You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"Two, actually." She shrugged and hoped he'd assume it was something to do with a dream.

"Oh?"

"But that's not why I'm here." Lie number one. "I was just thinking, and well, I was wondering if you had sometime the evening? With all the stuff in Mexico," lie number two, "I could just use a cup of tea and some time to relax with good company. That is, if you and Dr. Hampton don't already have plans?"

"Dr. Hampton is in Boston visiting her sister, but even if she wasn't, I've always got time for you, my dear. The past few weeks have been hard on everyone."

"Thanks Ducky, I'll bring us something to eat."

"Nonsense. We could both use some home cooking. I'll have something ready. See you at six."

Gibbs watched as realization and then shock washed over Abby's face the moment she rounded the corner. He hadn't yet thought of how to tell her - he still had questions of his own - but having her walk in to see them sitting around the table as a family wasn't what he had in mind.

"Abby, wait."

In typical Abby fashion, her words bled into one another as she made a hurried excuse to leave.

He followed as far as the front door and then watched as she got into her car and drove away.

"Was that…? Who was that, Jethro?" Shannon asked, leaning against the door frame. Her voice was low and full of concern. "She looked upset."

"That was Abby, we work together at NCIS. She's my forensic scientist." He tried to ignore the fact that he had called her his. "I never take time off; she was probably worried that something had happened."

"Has something happened?"

"Long story," his shoulders tensed. "I left NCIS for a few months without warning." Gibbs shook his head and looked one last time down the street. "She didn't take it very well and after everything that just happened…"

"You should go after her, dad." Kelly whispered.

Gibbs nodded, but stepped back inside and shut the door. "I need to go to NCIS."

"You think she'll tell everyone at NCIS?" Shannon asked. They didn't need to hide anymore, but she worried none-the-less. Old habits die hard.

"No." Gibbs shook her head. "She'd never tell, but if people suspect something is bothering her, they will hound her to find out what's wrong. She doesn't deserve that. And my team, they need to know."

"Can we come?" Kelly looked hopeful. "If you'd rather we didn't, I understand."

He thought a moment and then nodded. "You can come." He figured it would keep Tony from circling the neighborhood trying to catch a glimpse of either Shannon or Kelly later in the day.

It took just over an hour for them to clean up, get to NCIS and get both Shannon and Kelly a visitors pass.

Tony was in the middle of launching a paper airplane when the elevator doors opened and Gibbs stepped out.

"Boss!" Both Tony and McGee were quick to push their supply of paper planes into the trash. "Didn't think you were coming in today."

"I see that."

"So, uh…" Tony looked from Shannon to Kelly and back to Shannon. "Boss?"

"Call Ducky and Abby. I want you all in conference room one in five minutes."

"On it, Boss." Tony smiled at Kelly as he reached for the phone. "Hi."

"DiNozzo!"

"Making the calls!"

Gibbs led Shannon and Kelly up the stairs, past the conference room to the director's office. He didn't want to give the director a long, drawn out explanation, but at the same time, Vance needed to know. He gave the basic details of what he knew, made quick introductions, and then, when Shannon and Kelly stepped out, he asked Vance to use his connections to get as much information as possible on the case and FBI agent Thomas King.

Vance gave a slight nod and slipped a toothpick between his lips, signaling that their conversation was over.

Gibbs found his girls waiting just outside, Shannon chatting politely with the Director's secretary. "Come on. I want you to meet my team." He led them down the hall to conference room one where his team was waiting along with Ducky and Abby.

As expected, Tony and McGee were busy speculating on who the women were. Gibbs wasn't certain, but he was fairly sure he heard Tony say something about the younger one maybe being single. He made a mental note to head-slap DiNozzo into next week the next time he had a chance.

Ziva, sitting beside the boys, was doing her best to ignore their childish behavior and chatting quietly with Ducky. Abby was quiet, though the expression on her face gave nothing away that she knew what was about to happen.

When Gibbs spoke, his team quieted and sat up a little straighter at the strain of emotion in his voice. He was determined to hold himself together in front of his team, but it was obvious, even to him, that he sounded as though he was on the verge of breaking.

"… and this is my daughter, Kelly."

Abby watched as he struggled to find the right words to explain the arrival of Shannon and Kelly, and all she could think of was pulling him into a hug. But that wasn't her job anymore. It was weird and a little scary to see Gibbs, her hero, her rock, her… to see him so emotional was unnerving, even if he was happy. She drifted in and out of what he was saying, wondering if he was going to get a DNA test, and if things would change at work. She wondered what he would say to her when they were alone and had the chance to have the talk she was now dreading.

She was pulled from her reverie when she realized everyone was standing up to introduce themselves to Shannon and Kelly and have a little one-on-one conversation. Ducky was the first to approach Shannon and Tony jumped up immediately to introduce himself to Kelly, earning a head slap in the process.

Abby waited behind the others, still slightly embarrassed from intruding on their moment that morning. She could feel Gibbs' eyes on her and in order to avoid meeting his gaze, she kept her eyes trained on McGee as he introduced himself to Kelly. She could sense Gibbs approach before he moved into her line of sight.

"Abbs?"

She chewed nervously on her lower lip to keep a tearful apology from slipping out; she knew how much he hated to hear I'm sorry.

"Abby," his warm hand wrapped around her upper arm and he turned her slightly to face him. "I should have-"

The door to conference room one opened and Vance stepped in. "Miss Sciuto, Agent Johnson is sending in two sets of finger prints, DNA and a blood sample. Should be in your lab by the time you get there."

"I'm on my way." She gave Gibbs an apologetic smile and then stepped out, thankful for the excuse. She hurried down to her lab, wiping at the stray tear that threatened to fall. She arrived at the same time as Agent Cole, who had Johnson's evidence in hand. She signed the necessary forms and set to work loading the DNA and scanning the prints, thankful for the comfort of the familiar routine.

With her music turned up to her preferred level, she quickly fell into her lab routine, bouncing from one machine to the next. The Caf-Pow! Tony had delivered that morning had gone flat, so she tossed it, a sad look on her face as the red liquid circled the drain.

She was surprised when she looked at the clock and it had been almost an hour since she had left everyone upstairs. She assumed that meant Gibbs had taken Shannon and Kelly home rather than follow her down to the lab. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Gibbs (she always wanted to see Gibbs), but she needed time to sort through her thoughts before they talked.

"Abbs?"

She clearly needed to work on her Gibbs-o-meter.

She turned to see him holding a fresh Caf-Pow!

"We would have been down a bit sooner, but I figured Johnson didn't know that a Caf-Pow! should accompany new evidence."

Abby tried not to smile, she really did, but she couldn't help it. "Especially if he wants a rush on the results. Not that I'm easy or anything." She quickly regretted the last few words the minute they came out. Her eyes darted to Shannon and Kelly who stood a few steps back. "I mean, not that you would think I'm easy."

"No one thinks you're easy." He set her drink on her desk. "You left before I could introduce you."

"Oh, uh, right. Work." She shrugged, but then stepped forward and held out her hand to Shannon. "I'm Abby. I'm the forensic scientist here at NCIS. This is my domain." She waved her hand back, gesturing at the lab.

"Pleasure to meet you, Abby, I'm Shannon." She glanced around the lab. "This place looks amazing, nothing like on the criminal shows on TV."

Abby perked up at that comment. "That's because they do nothing right. They don't follow procedure, they do tests out of order, and the turn-around time for many of those tests is at least double what they imply on the show. It's absolutely ridiculous, but yet so addicting to watch, I just can't… sorry."

"Don't be sorry."

Abby turned to Gibbs, a smirk on her lips. "I now know where you got that rule."

Gibbs opened his mouth to reply, but Kelly cut him off. "It's good to see you again."

"You too." Abby was unsure if Kelly had mentioned any of their conversation. "I… I don't know why I didn't recognize you. You've got his eyes."

Kelly blushed. "Thank you."

"So yeah, uh, sorry about this morning. I should have called," she turned to Gibbs. "I just, Tony said you took the day off and you never take the day off, and with Mexico, I just…" Her shoulders slumped. "I should have knocked."

"Hey," Gibbs stepped up and curled his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "You've never knocked. And you never will. We clear?"

"No. No, I think I've learned my lesson."

Before he could answer, Abby's computer dinged and she was spinning away from him. He followed her to the computer, waving both Shannon and Kelly further into the lab. Her fingers flew across the keyboard and suddenly she clapped her hands together and jumped up and down, her pigtails hitting Gibbs in the nose. "Perfect match. I swear, even when it isn't your case, you always knew when I'm about to get something!" She gave brief details on the finger prints and how they matched up exactly. "Just perfect."

"Good work, Abbs."

Abby held up her hand to stop him from kissing her cheek. "Not your case, Gibbs. Not your line."

Both Shannon and Kelly noticed the flash of hurt that crossed Gibbs' face, glancing at each other as Abby turned back to the computer, brushing off his praise. "I should probably get back to work," Abby hinted. Gibbs was confused by her back and forth between trying to avoid him and his look, to being almost normal with him. Almost.

"We still need to talk. Come over tonight."

"I don't know when I'll be done and I…" If she said she was going to Ducky's, she wasn't sure if he would try to talk her into coming over to his house instead or if he'd show up at Ducky's. "I don't know."

Kelly was about to second the invite to come over, but she was interrupted when a tall, no-nonsense sort of guy walked in, two men following closely behind.

"You have my results yet?" He demanded.

Abby rolled her eyes and turned back to the computer to give the results. Gibbs stepped forward, blocking Johnson's path. He didn't say anything, but the look he gave Johnson said more than enough.

"So, the prints you gave me…"

Gibbs followed Shannon and Kelly out of the lab, glancing back over his shoulder to see Abby hurrying through the results as Johnson tapped his foot impatiently.

Kelly watched the way her father easily invaded Abby's personal bubble, tilted her face to his, and she was convinced there would have been a kiss had she and her mother not been there. She watched as Abby bounced happily at whatever she had found, her pigtails hitting her dad in the nose. He looked amused and listened attentively as she rattled off something about loops and whirls on the fingerprints and gave herself a pat on the back for finding results so quickly.

Their bodies were nearly touching as Gibbs leaned in to give praise on her work, something he must have done often since Abby anticipated his move, stopping him before he could kiss her cheek.

TBC…

The reviews and pm's have been lovely, I thank you all. I apologize for not getting back to you individually, but I've had some other stuff going on and figured you'd rather have the chapter. More soon. ^^