Odd things I have deleted keep reappearing once I upload my story, so if there seem to be any rogue sentences, please ignore them. Also insomnia struck, so I'm tired, so my grammar may be bad. Poor McGee, he is quite angsty so far, I think I'm projecting ;) As for if Abby and McGee will be together or apart, I'm torn…

I would also like to say that I really appreciate everyone taking the time and effort to review and/or read my story. Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement :)

Once inside the elevator, Abby punched the button for their floor. McGee guessed they would be working in her lab all day now, there was no way they could comb through all the information on these computers in just four hours. He would have preferred to be upstairs today, interrogating people and making calls with Tony and Ziva. Today would have been a good day for burying himself in his work and suppressing the feelings that had been reawakened, the very last thing that he needed was to work with Abby, the object of all his confusions. Quickly glancing at her, he wondered how someone so beautiful could sometimes make him so sad.

Tapping her foot with impatience, Abby gulped down some more of her Caf-Pow, and turned to smile at him. He seemed slightly down today, maybe he was having trouble with his writing, he always looked grumpy when he had writer's block.

"So, McGee, I was thinking that since they surrendered their laptops to us voluntarily, there must be nothing on them, right?" Abby said.

"I guess not, so it probably wouldn't even take four hours for you to do it on your own…" He replied.

"Slow down McGee, you're thinking way too simple," She interjected, "all that means, is that they think they wiped everything." "So what we should be looking for is what they used to hide stuff or wipe their systems, then work back from there, once we know what we're up against."

Abby beamed at her quick display of logic, that had probably saved them at least an hour of pointless searches, but McGee just made a faint sound in agreement and nodded. Furrowing her brow, Abby hoped she didn't have to deal with a despondent Tim all day, hopefully he would perk up once they got to work. She hated him looking so sad, it reminded her too much of the times she'd hurt him. Her smile momentarily faded, when she thought of the conversations that had led to their parting. The way he looked so crushed, so disappointed. Of course, she had never meant to hurt him, but it had to happen. He wanted too much of her, more than she was prepared to give away.

The elevator door opened out onto the lab, and they made their way over to her large desk. McGee dumped the laptops on the desk and proceeded to connect them to a variety of wires. As she bounced over to turn on her music, he winced, preparing himself for the assault on his ears. Much to his relief The Cure started up, some of her less… aggressive music. He took the seat at the furthest end of the desk, hoping she would notice and take the seat at the opposite end. He just couldn't deal with being close to her right now, he was trying to break away, trying to forget.

She hoped he appreciated her choice of music today, feeling sorry for him, she'd chosen some of her most relaxed music, 'Operation Cheer Up McGee' was underway! Together they talked about some of the ways they were going to try to extract the precious information from the laptops; the technology they would use and the timeframes they would work to. After that Abby sat herself down in her chair and then proceeded to wheel it over to where he was sitting. She hoped that they would start up a conversation, but he seemed in no mood to talk today. Desperate to see a smile on his face, she gestured towards him with her Caf-Pow, but he declined with a shake of his head. She sighed and looked down.

"Ok, I give in, what is up with you today McGee?" she asked.

"Me? Oh…uhh…nothing, I just didn't get enough sleep." He answered meekly.

"My bad, I'm sorry I kept you up last night," she started, "but that reminds me, I really wanted to say thanks for helping me out."

"Uhh, Abs, I didn't really do anything." He replied.

"But you did, and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have had my little breakthrough with the ink." She said, smiling at him.

He turned and looked at her, she had a striking smile. Waking up to that smile used to make him so happy. She was so beautiful to him, she was certainly his weakness, his vice. He struggled to resist her at the best of times, and now here she was, looking expectantly at him, desperately wanting him to just smile. Loathed to disappoint her, he slowly smiled back.

"Yay McGee! You're back!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

Her embrace had surprised him. He paused, wondering whether to return the affection or not. She was resting her chin on his shoulder, she was so warm and comforting. Wanting this so badly and unable to refrain any longer, he hugged her back. He felt her warm breath on his neck and inhaled her sweet scent; incense, a perfume, her fruity shampoo and something vaguely chemical, all so familiar and uniquely hers. Everything came rushing back; holding hands, kissing her, stroking her hair and the ice cream, oh boy, the ice cream…

When he held her, she felt so safe, he was so familiar and gentle. She missed it, she missed his gentle touch and kind eyes. Sometimes she wished she could turn back time, their relationship had made them both so happy. All the wonderful times she remembered; their little jokes, cuddling, the coffin and the ice cream, oh boy, the ice cream…

McGee was the one to break the embrace, he was trying to forget all this, he should have never indulged himself anyway. But he cared for her so deeply and right now, he yearned to be close to her. Maybe subconsciously she felt it too? Sometimes he kidded himself, that one day she would realise the way she felt and come to him, but he'd accepted that probably wasn't going to happen any time soon. He wondered if she knew the affect all the teasing and flirtation had on him.

Some of her old feelings for Tim had been reawakened. Maybe he would come over to her place tonight, they could watch a movie and see how things go from there. That's what usually happened between them now, a night here and there, a casual outlet for their feelings. Sure, she couldn't stay too long, it wasn't fair to give him the wrong impression, but at least she could make him smile for one night. In the mornings, she often felt angry with herself when she saw his poorly disguised, wounded expression; when she broke the news that he couldn't take her for breakfast.

Abby sat close to him, looking at him with her big, expressive eyes. He tried to avoid her gaze, choosing instead to look at the computer screen. He knew his eyes would have betrayed him. Neither of them spoke, but she kept on staring at him. McGee wondered if he should start typing, or say something to her, but his mind was blank, he couldn't think of a word to say. When he saw her opening her mouth, relief washed over him, he was so glad she was going to diffuse this awkward situation.

"Stay with me tonight." She said.