Three Bs

Rated K+

Spoilers: Toxic, Season 6

A/N: Written for the prompt 'desperation' on the Gabby Shipper Forum. First time Gabby and an episide tag to Toxic.

"Not sure if you wanted take-out to go with the three Bs you suggested in your note, so I brought Chinese just in case."

Gibbs looked up from working on his boat to where Abby was clomping down the basement stairs. Relieved she'd taken him up on his offer, he took in her appearance as she approached, the strain from the last few days still evident on her face and the dark circles which spoke of little sleep the night before stood out starkly under her green eyes.

"Sounds good, Abbs."

He took the bags from her as she reached him and Abby favored him with a brief sad smile before averting her eyes too quickly for his liking.

He nodded to the glass already poured and waiting on the workbench and she grabbed it, tossed most of it back in one go, a grimace crossing her face as the strong liquor burned a path down her throat.

Gibbs watched her closely as she remained uncharacteristically quiet, staring down at her glass, while he unpacked their food. Distributing cartons and chopsticks between them, Gibbs thought back over the past few days... of how Abby had been 'borrowed' by the FBI to work on a Government project, and how her skills had been exploited by both the project director, Jones, and then the Marine, Robert King who'd tried to sell a bio-weapon to the highest bidder.

The relief he'd felt in MTAC on seeing Abby safe and well in Jones' office had been quickly followed by a fierce anger at both the way she'd been used and how much she'd been hurt by the betrayal.

He knew she was still pissed... as much at herself as by what had happened.

In the aftermath of the case, he wanted to make sure she didn't brood over events too much, that Abby knew he'd listen if she wanted to get it all out of her system.

And if he was honest with himself, he just wanted her near him.

He'd missed her and worried about her a lot over the past few days... to a level that was disconcerting and left him feeling unsettled.

It wasn't supposed to happen this way round.

Gibbs was the one out in the field while Abby was safe inside NCIS, not in some distant lab where he couldn't protect her. It had given him an inkling into the kind of desperate worry she went through whenever the team were out on a case, or in danger... and he hadn't liked it one little bit.

So now he watched surreptitiously as Abby poured herself another drink and walked slowly round The Kelly. She ran her fingers gently over the smooth wood, taking in the changes since she'd last been down here, helping him work on his boat.

As she moved, Gibbs could see the tension slowly leaving her shoulders and when she'd done a complete circuit and returned to stand in front of him, the soft smile curving her lips this time reached her eyes.

"Thanks for the invite." She toasted him with her glass and took another large gulp, glad to be here in this basement that was as much of a sanctuary to her in times of stress as the man in it.

Gibbs shrugged as he handed her chopsticks. "You've never needed one, Abbs... ya know that."

"I know... but that note was a nice reminder, as was the chocolate," she confided quietly, reaching for one of the cartons and settling herself beside him on a sawhorse.

"You get the lab cleaned up?" he asked, opening a carton and tucking in.

Abby nodded, waving her chopsticks around for emphasis, swallowing past a full mouthful. "Yup, all spick and span by the time I left. Thanks for letting me hijack your email... although to be fair to Jimmy, he'd already offered to clean up by then."

"Can't believe DiNozzo fell for it."

"Neither can I." A teasing smile curved her lips. "Although I think it's that ingrained habit they all have to jump to it with an, on it, boss, whenever you say jump... either in person or in an admittedly unlikely email." He chuckled at her impersonation of Tony, pleased to see her relaxing a little now she was here.

She'd spent the morning supervising the 'boys' as they'd cleaned up her lab from the mess they'd made while she'd been away... although she suspected that McGee's over-confidence was probably at the bottom of that one.

The Director had told her to take time off but what could she do? Sit in her apartment brooding all day, head slapping herself that she'd been taken in so easily? Berate herself for missing clues that all was not as it should be, either with the people or the project?

Abby wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to convey the desperation that had overtaken her when she realized what had happened. The thought that her abilities had been exploited to complete a weapon... that she'd provided the gun while someone else had fashioned the bullet would torment her for a long time.

It didn't help that Robert King was now in custody... it didn't lessen her feelings of guilt.

Throughout the morning, she'd been aware of Tony keeping a close eye on her and while she'd been thankful for her friend's concern, there was only one person's company she really wanted.

So the box in her lab fridge containing not only a chocolate muffin from her favorite bakery, but a note in familiar handwriting asking, 'basement, bourbon, boat?' had brought a genuine smile to her face for the first time in days.

Gibbs knew her so well. Knew that she'd need more than a pep talk to deal with what had happened.

They ate in comfortable silence, polishing off the take-out quickly, Abby pouring them both refills more than once.

"Put me to work, Gibbs. Let me help." She'd spent many hours, helping... or hindering, with The Kelly and had come to treasure the time down here.

As he watched the booze disappear from her glass at a steady rate, Gibbs figured as long as he kept her away from any chisels this time, his boat should be fairly safe. He beckoned her over to the porthole he'd been working on, handing her the sandpaper. The Kelly was almost complete, the bulk of the remaining work painting and varnishing but he doubted her hand would be steady enough for that, once the bourbon hit.

Standing behind her, trying not to get distracted by the creamy skin of her slender neck right under his nose, he covered her hand. Mouth close to her ear, he whispered, "With the grain, remember?"

She chuckled softly, rolling her eyes as she tried to suppress a shiver at his nearness and deep voice. "Of course I remember... again."

It had become a standing joke between them ever since she'd not only knocked a chunk off The Kelly years ago with a chisel, but also 'rubbed' her up the wrong way with an over-enthusiastic wielding of a sanding block.

She threw a grateful smile over her shoulder, seeing his half grin and set to work, concentrating on smoothing the edges of the porthole in front of her. It was harder to get into a rhythm with the smaller, more intricate parts of The Kelly but she could still lose herself in it, occupying her hands and quietening her mind.

After they worked quietly side by side for a while, she glanced at him, asking softly, "Well, you gonna give me that pep talk yet?"

He examined her profile. "Not unless you want me to."

Abby shrugged, biting her lip. "If you think it might help. Are you disappointed in me... coz I sure am?" His opinion mattered so damn much and she was worried that he was as disappointed in her as she was in herself. She'd let him down... let them all down.

"Nope... hindsight's 20/20, Abbs." He paused and waited till she turned to face him, holding her gaze. "It's not your fault."

Her smile was wistful as she searched his eyes, seeing nothing but warmth and concern there. "Reminds me of another conversation we had a few years ago right about here about blame."

Even drunk as she'd been back then, Abby could still remember how sneakily he'd pushed her into admitting to herself that having a stalker wasn't her fault either… that she wasn't responsible for another person's actions.

"Yeah... so you shouldn't need another reminder," he told her firmly. "You still pissed?"

"Too damn right I am." She reached for her glass and took a more moderate sip this time, but she was already feeling the slight buzz from the alcohol.

There were lots of issues she wanted to discuss, particularly about the consequences of what would happen now with the results, with the weapon, but it was the personal betrayal that stung the most and was occupying her mind now… and she felt guilty about that being the uppermost thing in her thoughts too.

"At yourself?" He turned and leaned back against the side of The Kelly, so he could see her face and eyes.

"Yeah, Gibbs. Mostly at myself. I can't believe I didn't see it..." Her voice rose and she spun away, hand waving her glass as she began pacing. "Can't believe I missed everything that was wrong... and I can't believe I fell for King's lies."

He waited till she'd paced herself out, rambling her way through blaming herself, and come back to sit on the sawhorse in front of him again before he asked curiously, "Then why did ya?"

"Good question, Gibbs," she pointed a finger at him, tilting her head to one side. "In fact, an excellent question. If you figure out an answer, you just let me know."

He considered for a moment the best way to tackle her and not have her clam up on him. "Why d'ya trust him then?"

Abby usually took a while before she let down her guard with strangers. So why she'd let Robert King through so quickly was a puzzle that Gibbs had been turning over in his head since yesterday and been unable to come up with an answer, and why he was pushing her now.

And her words to King at the cafe had startled Gibbs, 'You made me care about you.' And if he were honest with himself, they'd also sent a surge of jealousy through him.

"And that's an even better question..." she paused, staring down into her glass before going on hesitantly, still not meeting his eyes. "I guess seeing him supposedly sick fooled me... made me less cautious and questioning and when I thought he was dead, I just..." she trailed off. She knew it wasn't the main reason but she really didn't want to go there... especially in front of Gibbs.

"Not like you to trust at face value, Abbs." Gibbs washed down his observation with another swallow of bourbon.

"Not to mention it shatters Rule 8," Abby gave a wry smile, glancing up at him briefly before shrugging almost helplessly. "Oh I dunno, Gibbs. Perhaps he had a head start in getting under my guard," she admitted quietly, suspecting he wouldn't let her leave it there.

He waited her out but Abby remained silent, sipping her drink. "Why?" he eventually prompted.

"It doesn't matter," she muttered, pushing off from the sawhorse and making to move away, only to be stopped by his hand on her arm.

"Go on."

Exasperated with herself for digging herself into this hole in the first place and with Gibbs for continuing to push, Abby shook off his hand and began pacing again. When he remained watching her, arms folded, his blue eyes unsettling in their intensity, she eventually blurted out nervously, waving her arms. "Well, maybe coz he looked like you, Gibbs."

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself and she came to a halt by the side of the boat, seized with the urge to head slap herself.

His gut was now screaming at him to push further and he moved to her side. When she kept her eyes stubbornly averted, tracing aimless patterns on the boat with her fingers, he tilted her chin so he could see her face.

His heart clenched at the vulnerability and worry in her green eyes. "What's that gotta do with anything?" he queried softly.

"Well, duh, Gibbs..." she pulled away from his hand, looking down as she mumbled her way further into the mire, cursing herself with every word. But she'd gone too far to back away now and one part of her didn't want to... was too tired of holding back her feelings for this man. "A Marine, older, silver hair, blue eyes, dry sense of humour... that's a quick way under my defences and halfway to my heart straight away."

He froze at her words, the realization of what she was trying to tell him rooting him to the spot and stealing his voice.

When Gibbs didn't reply and the silence stretched out, Abby glanced up at him, saw his blank expression... and lost her nerve. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all that... blame the drink, Gibbs. Forget it. I'd better get going."

Turning, she snatched up her bag and scurried towards the stairs, convinced she'd ruined everything. Stunned, Gibbs almost let her reach the steps before he was galvanised into action and set off after her. Grabbing her arm as she reached the bottom of the stairs, he spun her round, gripping her shoulders.

She looked everywhere but at his face, staring resolutely at his chest as if she could avoid seeing the ruin of their friendship if she didn't meet his eyes.

His heart pounding, he cupped her face, seeing her close her eyes tightly. "Abbs... look at me."

Abby shook her head, keeping her eyes squeezed shut as she bit her lip and he could feel the tension virtually vibrating in her body.

Framing her face in both hands, Gibbs did the only thing he could think of, leaning in to brush a soft kiss across her lips.

The contact caused her to gasp into his mouth and her eyes flew open. Not sure what to say yet but wanting to reassure her and banish her doubts and above all, taste her again, he slid an arm round her waist, pulling her flush against him and kissed her again.

As the kiss deepened, he felt her arms come round him as she melted into him and he felt a jolt of desire go through him at the contact.

The kiss went on until air became a necessity rather than an optional extra, and he slid his mouth to her neck, nuzzling his way over her warm skin and felt her hands spear into his hair, holding his head as if afraid he'd pull away.

When he eventually raised his head, her eyes were hazy and a teasing seductive smile curved her mouth. He ran a thumb over those full lips as he cupped her face.

Leaning his forehead against hers, he bumped her nose playfully and whispered against her mouth. "He got halfway, huh?"

A shy smile curved her lips. "Well, not really... just a figure of speech. Barely through the door I guess... he just reminded me of you a bit is all... Well, apart from the whole trying to sell a bio-weapon to the highest bidder thing... I'll give you that one."

He chuckled and pulled her into his arms, cupping the back of her head as she snuggled into him, face pressed against his neck. "Ya think."

"And anyway," she admitted softly, pressing soft kisses against his skin. "There'd be no point if anyone tried to get all the way there... coz it's already got a reserved sign on the door."

Her words warmed him as much as her kisses and he bent to capture her mouth again, breathing "Mine?" against her lips.

She heard the question in his tone and framed his face in her hands. "All yours. Every inch of me is yours."

The end.