Disclaimer: You know the drill. They ain't mine, no matter how much I paddy on the floor.
It was nearing midnight when the doctor came to see if anyone was still in the room: there was, no one had left, but there was only one awake: Gibbs. The doctor quietly beckoned him and led him to a room in the ICU.
There, in the pearly glow of a soft light, was Abby. Going into her right arm was an IV of blood and a machine was beeping along to her heart. Gibbs just stood there staring into Abby's face.
"What's the date?" Gibbs mind suddenly started to whir.
"July 2nd, why?" Gibbs jumped, he hadn't meant to wonder out-loud. He also hadn't expected the answer to come from Abby, who was not only awake, but also fully aware of what was going on around her.
"Four days until your birthday. Twenty-one again?" Showing his humorous side, Gibbs sat on the chair by the bed. He coaxed a laugh out of her.
"No, you know damn well it's thirty-one." Her hand had gone to the wound in her chest, making it obvious that laughing hurt.
'Right, note to self: don't make Abby laugh. Yeah, right.'
"How long have you been awake?"
His hand found hers.
With a half-hearted shrug she said:
"An hour maybe. The doc. went to look for you, but you'd disappeared. From the smell of sawdust on you, I'd say you've been in your basement taking your emotions out on a certain wooden sailing vessel." It was: he'd got back about fifteen minutes ago.
"I went to do some thinking. Listen, when you get out of here you're to come and stop at mine for a bit, just until I know you'll be alright."
'Good, that's half way to telling her. You're on a roll, why not just tell her now?'
"That would be nice, but wouldn't that put you out a bit? I mean you've only got one bed, though I guess most nights you just sleep in your boat." Abby neglected to mention the real reason, she was scared that she would end up telling him how she felt, because she was pretty sure that he wouldn't feel he same.
After a minute's thinking it dawned on Gibbs what Abby had just said.
"Abigail Sciuto, since when have I been 'put out' by helping you?"
Another minute went by in silence.
"There was that time once when I asked you to drive me to Canada." Abby smirked at him.
"Ahh, but I was in Hawaii at the time. And Ducky had forbidden me from leaving the hotel after that mad man tried to shoot me."
"Ok, I'll go back to yours, but only if you bring the spare bed from mine, and you let me go back to work when I say."
"You know that will never happen, but if that's what it takes, ok. Just don't blow my house up. I've finally gotten round to repainting the kitchen door after someone drew a skull on it with marker-pen" Grinning a grin that screamed got-no-clue-what-you're-on-about Abby said "I had just drunk a whole bottle of JD, and you well know it."
A few minutes went by without either of them speaking.
"I'm having McGee do the interview, the bastard's hiding something. He was thrilled at the idea of being left alone with the slimy git."
"Why McGee? Why not Tony or Kate? They've more experience in their little toes than he does in his whole body."
"I couldn't trust anyone to take this interrogation seriously, not like he could. Tony would just flirt with the first solid object he saw and Kate would just beat the crap out of him, so she wouldn't be able to keep her job if I let her. McGee, he loves you, anyone can see that, so he would keep at this guy until he gets answers that would satisfy us both." Abby's face still betrayed some apprehensive thoughts, and she knew that Gibbs had seen them.
"And because I love you, like him so I know he'd be best to do it." That was reason enough for her. And he'd finally said the words that had haunted him for years.