Feel Better?

Rating: T
Pairing: Abby/Gibbs
Category: Friendship/Romance
Spoilers: Conspiracy Theory
Summary: Written for the Gabby Shipper Forum Hiatus Creative Drive and the prompt 'Bruise,' and sort of a post-episode for Conspiracy Theory, from Gibbs' POV.

"God dammit."

Gibbs heard the cursing in Abby's distinctive drawl as soon as he left the elevator. When he entered her lab, his eyes were drawn to an equally distinctive ass sticking out from underneath one of her machines. Trying not to stare too hard at her curves but knowing it was a lost cause, he squatted next to her, "Something wrong, Abbs?"

"Oh hey, Gibbs. Just a minute, I'll see if I can get out of here without causing further damage."

Deciding that watching her shimmying backwards out from under the unit was also not good for his self control either, Gibbs waited until her head emerged before helping her to her feet. Her pigtails were askew and there were smudges of dirt on her face. His amusement immediately turned to concern when he saw her cradling her wrist.

"Abbs, are ya hurt?"

Abby shrugged. "Oh, it's nothing Gibbs. I just banged my wrist getting out and think I scraped the skin on my neck as I tried to squeeze underneath my baby to get at it. I guess my spatial awareness isn't as accurate as I thought it was."

"Let me see." He held her pigtails out of the way and tilted her head to get a better look. "What were ya doing under there anyway?"

"Trying to avoid calling in a tech who'd take forever and I need that baby tomorrow. But I think I fixed it before she attacked me... it's okay, Gibbs, really it's nothing. Just a scratch."

Hardly nothing. There was a livid scratch and contusion on her wrist oozing blood and a graze on her neck. Beckoning her to go with him, he walked into her ballistics lab. "C'mere, let me fix it." Gibbs gathered paper towels and her first aid kit, quirking an eyebrow at her amused expression.

"Nurse Gibbs, huh? Kissing my finger better has obviously gone to your head."

Oh, she had no idea.

The effect on him from kissing her bandaged finger earlier was out of all proportion to the simple gesture. Combined with their usual easy banter, it had given this morning's encounter an extra flirtatious edge that had suddenly felt dangerous and tempting all at once.

Drawing her over to the sink, Gibbs grasped her wrist gently, turning it to the light so he could examine the wound. He felt her shiver slightly under his touch, only his closeness allowing him to hear the barely audible gasp which escaped her as his fingers brushed the skin. Wetting some paper towels, he gently wiped away the blood and dirt from her wrist. It looked worse than it was; the scratch was jagged but not deep and had already stopped weeping blood. The skin around it looked tender and puffy though, and would soon begin to blossom as the bruising came out.

Gibbs hesitated as he felt Abby wince as he cleaned the last of the grit away.

"It's okay, go on," she whispered, her voice suddenly huskier. It was hardly a bad wound, so there had to be another reason her breathing sounded so shaky.

He hoped it was him.

"That's gonna be one heck of a bruise, Abbs."

"So I see. I must have hit it harder than I thought." He was distracted when she bit down on her lip, wanting to reach out and run his thumb over that plump lower lip.

Gibbs moved her pigtail out of the way, relishing the feel of the silky strands in his fingers. He cleaned up the slight graze on her neck which wasn't as extensive as the one on her wrist. His fingers brushed against her neck, sensing a slight tremor go through her. Mesmerised by the pulse beating steadily in her throat, he ached to press his face against her neck and cover the pulse point with his mouth and suckle on her smooth skin.

Moving the wet towel to her cheek, Gibbs wiped away the smudges of dirt, feeling her lean into his hand. Trying to retain some semblance of control, he pulled his eyes away from her neck and picked up the tube of antiseptic cream. Unscrewing it, Gibbs gently spread a layer over the scratch on her wrist. "Don't think the one on your neck needs a plaster but we oughta cover this."

"Okay." He could barely catch her soft whisper as she kept her gaze fixed on what his hands were doing.

Efficiently and quickly fastening a plaster over her wrist, he smoothed the edges, holding her wrist in his hand.

The air was becoming charged, electricity crackling between them. All those times he'd pulled back in the past when they'd been in each others' space, when by leaning forward only a few inches, he could have touched her, kissed her... given into temptation.

This time he didn't hesitate.

He'd passed the time when he could have held back about ten minutes ago. He bent his head to plant a soft kiss, not on the bandage as he'd done earlier with her finger, but on the skin next to it.

It was the barest touch of his lips but it was enough.

He savoured her gasp, pleased that this was affecting her as much as him. He saw her eyelids flutter closed as he followed his gentle kiss with a soothing caress with his thumb over the skin.

Releasing her wrist, hearing her slight moan of protest at the loss of contact, he moved behind her. Gibbs bent to place a similar soft, barely there kiss over the graze on her neck, before trailing his lips round to the spider web, letting his tongue taste the lines of the tattoo as he'd longed to do for years.

Before he could lose control entirely, he backed away and finished tending to her by smoothing more cream over the graze, his fingers lingering, drawn to her soft skin. He felt Abby sway back into him, seeking to increase the contact as her head fell back against his shoulder.

Gibbs folded his arms round her from behind, nuzzling her neck, breathing in her distinctive perfume. His mouth travelled up the side of her face, brushing his mouth softly, slowly against her cheek; a far more intimate caress than his usual cheek kisses.

Abby turned her face towards him and he hovered his mouth over hers before whispering an echo of his words from earlier.

"Feel better?"

He saw her lips curve into a seductive smile, her answer a similar echo as he closed the distance between them.

"Much."

The end.