A/N: With this chapter, I'm going back in time to when Gibbs wakes up in the morning after making a move on Abby.
4.5 hours earlier.
"Abby," Gibbs mumbled as his eyes blinked open and he squinted against the harsh sunlight that streamed in through his bedroom window. He was laid sprawled on top of his bed, still fully clothed. With a bit of effort, he rolled to his back, closed his eyes, and tried desperately to think past the pounding in his head.
It wasn't unusual for Abby's name to be upon his lips each morning when he awoke. Most every night, he drifted off to sleep while thinking of her. Sometimes his thoughts were of their encounters in her lab. Other times, his thoughts recalled her sweet smell and sultry voice, or a hug they had shared, or a kiss he had bestowed. Often times, though, his mind conjured up images of her alluring outfits of short skirts and tempting blouses, along with her flirtatious words. Those kinds of thoughts always lead to visions of her being naked on his bed, or in his shower, or against the workbench in his basement.
With an audible, painful groan, Gibbs sat up and held his head in his hands. What had he done to himself last night? How many drinks did he have? How the hell did he get home?
Sliding off the bed, he started undressing on his way to the bathroom. By the time he stood in front of the mirror, which hung over the sink, he wore only his boxers and socks. Bracing one hand beside the faucet, he used his other hand to retrieve a bottle of pain pills and popped the lid off with his thumb. His throat was dry and scratchy, so he filled a glass with water while taking a tentative glance at himself in the mirror.
And good lord, he actually looked worse than he felt! His graying hair stuck up in several spots, his eyes were red with dark circles beneath them, and there was a path of dried drool from the corner of his mouth down below his chin. But what the hell was that on his lips? Leaning closer to the mirror, he saw a heavy smear of bright red. Had he cut himself? Had he been in a fight and got a bloodied nose?
Touching the redness with his fingertips, he knew right away that it wasn't blood. It was soft and waxy and… oh! OH? Lipstick. How on earth did he get lipstick on his mouth?
Don't be daft, Gunny!
Turning, Gibbs rested back against the sink and gulped down three pills with the glass of water. Okay… so, there was the young blond woman who had sat next to him, be he couldn't even remember talking to her.
As he showered and shaved, his mind wearily ran through the women he had encountered the previous night. After the blond, there was the chain-smoking brunette. He had talked with her, even bought her a drink. But had he kissed her? Nah. What about the waitress serving drinks at the tables. Lorraine! That was her name! She had been constantly stepping up to the bar beside him to retrieve her drink orders. Lorraine had been a lovely gal with dark hair, tight black slacks, low cut tee, and nice makeup. He always noticed a woman's eyes and mouth and Lorraine had worn dark plum eye shadow and heavy black lipstick. Ah, sweet Lorraine.
Head slap to Gunny! Hello! YOUR lipstick was red!
After dressing, Gibbs headed downstairs to fix some eggs. Scrambled. Whenever he had a hangover, he ate scrambled eggs. His mind continued to ponder on the previous evening. After Lorraine, was there another woman? Oooooh yeeeaaah! The redhead at the end of the bar. As soon as she had sat down, she had snagged his attention. Long thick curly red hair, barely contained voluptuous breasts, beautiful dark eyes, and lipstick to match her hair color. So she was the one. Gibbs gave a little hum as he sought to recall her name. It was Maureen. No. Angie. Nope. Suzanne? Not that either.
Jeeeez, Gunny, you kiss a woman and can't even remember her name!
Gibbs' head was starting to pound again as he refilled his coffee cup and headed for his basement. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't actually recall talking with the redhead. But that wasn't so unusual. Sometimes he had close encounters with women that he never talked to. Especially when he was drunk and only needed one thing. But dammit! Something just wasn't right!
There had been another woman. Someone he knew. His damn headache certainly wasn't helping his deductive reasoning! She had sat next to him. Held his hand. Comforted him.
Oh, god, it was Abby!
Instantly, the fog in his brain cleared and he remembered.
I'd like you to spend the night with me.
Who said anything about sleeping.
I need to hold on to you and lose myself.
I'm not taking no for an answer.
I've wanted you….
Gibbs slammed his cup down on the workbench, splashing hot coffee over the lip. Burying his hands in his hair, he squeezed his painful head and groaned. He had made a complete fool of himself. How could he have said those things! Sure, he thought them, but he never dared to speak them aloud. What must she think of him now! Had he actually asked her to sleep with him? Yep, he had. Another louder groan filled the silent basement.
Sitting down heavily on a stool next to his bench, he wondered why Abby hadn't stayed with him last night. He knew how she felt about him. Had known for years now, even though she had never confessed anything to him while in her right state of mind. But she deserved better than him, and so he had kept their relationship as strictly friends. Even though he wanted more, he knew he would only end up hurting her. It pained him every time she went on a date or flirted with another guy or… wait! When was the last time she went on a date? He couldn't even recall because it had been so long. But Abby did go clubbing a lot, so how was he to know if she hooked up with some guy. Well, usually he would hear some talk at the office, but not for a long time now. Gibbs couldn't believe that as beautiful and smart and vibrant as Abby was, that she wasn't dating. That wouldn't make sense.
The lipstick suddenly came back to the forefront of Gibbs' mind. Oh, god, he had kissed her, on the mouth no less. Not the cheek this time. Nope. He had to aim for the lips. Those lovely, full, sexy, come-taste-me lips. But when? When had the kiss or kisses occurred? Gibbs grabbed his cup and took a gulp of the lukewarm beverage. She had driven him home. He barely remembered that. They had stood inside his door and he had once again asked her to stay. He couldn't believe he had put so much pressure on her.
I'm not taking no for an answer.
Sure you won't join me?
The situation he had put her in must have made her extremely uncomfortable. They were friends. He was her boss. Gibbs was proud of her that she hadn't caved and had actually stood up to him and said no. Not many women ever did that to his face. Well, except his ex-wives, he thought wryly.
Abby's soft voice floated into his memory.
You have no idea how hard this is for me.
Another night, and I'll say yes.
Then she had kissed him, softly, sweetly. She had kissed him. A smile broke out on Gibbs' face. It wasn't the other way around. He hadn't kissed her. She had kissed him! Then she had said something to him that he had said to her not so long ago.
If you remember this in the morning, call me, and I'll rush right over.
Gibbs jumped off the stool with only one thing on his mind. He had to find his phone! Almost a half hour later, he gave up on searching for his cell, and he grabbed his jacket and rushed out the door. A cold wind filled with snow nearly took his breath away and he ducked his head, pulling up his collar. He laughed as he remembered that Abby had said it was supposed to snow. Gibbs crawled inside his car, blew on his icy hands, and started the cold engine. As he drove through the wintry blast, he hoped like hell that his girl was at her apartment.
It took longer than usual for him to make the drive to Abby's building, since the roads were snow covered and icy. Then he couldn't find a parking spot out front, so he had to park two blocks away. He used his key to get into the building and bounded up the stairs two at a time until he was finally at her door. On the drive over he had thought of everything he was going to say to her. Everything he was going to tell her. But now that he was at her door, he wondered if she would be angry with him. He had pressured her last night and it wasn't going to be easy facing her.
Unlocking her door, he stepped quietly inside and didn't immediately see her. But then she stepped out of the bathroom, into the hall, holding a towel to her face. Was she crying? Gibbs' heart nearly broke at the thought the he may have caused her so much worry and pain. As the towel drifted below her eyes, she froze in her tracks and stared at him. Her hands fell to her sides and he could see that she wasn't crying. It seemed like it had taken him forever to get here. "Hey, Abbs, I lost my phone, so I came over," he stated, while trying to hold back a grin
Her pretty green eyes were looking at him with amazement, then they softened as they floated up then down then up again, over his entire body. He could easily see the desire revealed in her gaze. "What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.
Everything that Gibbs had planned to say, fled from his mind. He never was good at giving speeches or declarations of any kind. Silently he walked towards her, drawn by her gorgeous expression. When he stood within inches of her, he lifted a hand and brushed his fingers lightly against her warm cheek until they slid into the silky hair at the back of her head. His gaze dropped to her waiting red lips before he leaned forward and whispered, "Just wanted to say thank you."
Gibbs pressed his lips to hers and felt her tongue timidly brush against his. He kissed her slowly, cautiously, needing to know if this was what she wanted. It was only seconds later that she was responding fervently to his kisses and grabbing his shoulders to pull him closer. He held her head and deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue inside her mouth until she whimpered. Gradually he slowed their kisses down until he pulled back and saw the joyful smile on her face, knowing he was giving her the exact same expression. Instantly, she pulled his head back down into a deep demanding kiss.
A/N: To be continued…