Abby's second day in the studio was just as productive. This time they battled the feelings that she still dealt with from when Gibbs had retired, or quit; depending on whom you asked.

The fruits of their labor ended with a song, a ballad, called 'Halo'

Abby had a hard time when it came time to actually record the vocals, but Brittney urged her on "Think of it as therapeutic."

"When I need something therapeutic, I hug my hippo."

"Are you calling me fat?"

Abby stuck out her tongue and turned back to the microphone.

---

The third day they moved on to writing Abby's third song.

"So what about him drives you insane?"

"Oh God, how about the way he breathes down my neck. I mean, not in a bad way, but it sends shivers down my spine. I think if I wasn't so strong, I would melt to a puddle at his feet."

"Intense." Brittany smiled

"It really is, you have no idea."

"Ok, so this song needs to be sensual, and to the point. You want to be able to sing this and have him think you're singing this just to him, yet when we work with Devon on the dance routine, it needs to be all about sex, and the dancers all over you. Something that will make his blood boil."

Abby nodded excitedly "I didn't realize that songwriting could be so fun!"

"I think you may have a second career in song writing."

Abby nodded and thought for a moment, "Oh, I've got it."

Abby scribbled furiously on the pad of paper in front of her, paused, and then bent over the paper again to continue describing everything she felt around Gibbs. When she had a rough draft she handed it over to Brittany to look over.

"Abby, I'm going to need a cold shower after this. I can't imagine what this'll do to your special agent Gibbs."

Abby smiled while she thought to herself. Wow this really is good for me. I've been thinking about all the things I've felt about him, yet I haven't really thought or stressed about Gibbs at all today.

---

Gibbs sat with Hollis at a diner down town.

"Have you heard any updates on the Macy Barnes case?" Hollis asked.

"Nah, I haven't heard from Abby lately. I keep getting her voicemail. The director assures me that she's fine, but I find it strange that I haven't heard from her."

"Well, if director Shepard says she's fine, I'm sure she is. I'm sure she's busy. But what does she have to do with anything?"

"Abby is going undercover."

"Undercover?"

"Yes, as a singer. They are fairly sure this guy has been going around as some talent scout or manager."

"I know about the case, I'm involved with security, but I didn't know it was Abby that was the bait. I didn't realize she could sing."

Gibbs winced at the word 'bait' but decided against commenting on it. "I've never heard her sing, but from what Jen has said, Abby is perfect for the job."

"I would just think with that noise she calls music, she wouldn't fit the profile of a pop singer." When Hollis saw his brow furrow she knew she had overstepped his invisible line when it came to Abby, so she backed off. "Well, what's on the agenda tonight?" Hollis placed her hand over his on the table.

"I haven't spent much time on my boat lately."

Hollis rolled her eyes and feigned insult "Alright, well, I've got to pick up a few things, but I'll stop by later."

"Sounds good" Gibbs left a tip on the table and walked Hollis to her car. He watched her pull out of the parking space before sitting in his own car. Pulling out his cell phone he pressed the speed dial for Abby again. This had been the longest he had been without seeing Abby, let alone hearing from her since, well, Mexico.

"Hey Gibbs!" Abby answered on the fourth ring, just before her voicemail would normally pick up.

"Hey Abbs, I haven't heard from you in a while. Is everything ok?"

"Oh yeah, Gibbs, everything is just great. I've been super busy working on my upcoming music career." The words were sarcastic, but the tone of humor in her voice softened the meaning. "I've been working on the songs this week. I start the dance part next week. Gosh, and I thought I worked hard in the lab, but I've been in the studio for something like 15 hours a day. But enough about me, how are you? How is everyone in the office?"

"Everyone is fine" Gibbs paused when he heard Abby mumble something to someone near her "Abby, are you busy?"

"Oh, Devon just popped in with dinner. But I should probably get going. I need to get through a bit more before I go home."

"Alright Abbs," His voice was a whisper. "Take care of yourself. Keep in touch. I'll see you soon." I miss you, he wanted to add.

"Bye Gibbs!" The dial tone sounded before he had a chance to say goodbye. Devon? Dinner? He didn't like not knowing who Abby was involved in, on any level. He knew the majority of her other friends, had met them when he stopped by a party she had hosted at her place. Her non-stop guilt trips had him agreeing to stop by briefly. He had ended up staying until the end.

He was lost in thought while working on his boat when a pair of arms snaked around his waist. Hollis mumbled something about being jealous of the attention his boat received from his hands, so he turned to face her. He was tempted to say something about the boat never being jealous, but kept his mouth shut. He wanted to stay and work longer on his boat, but he found himself following as Hollis pulled him towards the stairs with a suggestive wink.

---

The following Wednesday, middle of the second week of Abby's pop-star training, Gibbs was getting irritated. He couldn't explain why, but he suspected it was partly due to the fact that he hadn't heard from Abby since he had last called her, a week ago. He had tried again over the weekend, but again her voicemail picked up. She had sent him a text message several hours later, saying that she hoped to speak to him soon, and that she was off to bed.

He couldn't explain it, but he was starting to feel ignored by Abby. Not that she had to report to him daily, but a pang of jealousy had hit and he didn't know why.

Gibbs strode past his desk upon return from lunch, he was on his way to visit Ducky, but something on his desk caught his eye. He picked up a folded piece of paper that was held down by the corner of his keyboard. His eyes lit up when he recognized the writing

Hey Gibbs!
I stopped by to check in with the director, and you weren't here – boo!
Talk soon. xoxo Abby

Gibbs put the note in his desk drawer and continued down to see Ducky, passing Tony in the hall.

"Hey Boss, you just missed Abby. I think she left a note on your desk."

"I know, DiNozzo. I found it."

"Ok good. Damn." Tony had a suspicious looking smile on his face.

"What?"

"Abby." He said dreamily.

Gibbs stepped closer to Tony. "What about Abby?"

"You really missed out. She looked good. I mean, she always looks good, but something was different, besides the clothes."

"DiNozzo…"

"She always looks good in her regular clothes, but I don't know. Something was different. I just can't put my finger on it." Tony cringed awaiting a slap to the back of his head.

"What was different about her clothes?"

"She was in regular clothes, jeans and a tank top. Not a skull in sight."

"Hmm…"

"Yeah, boss she looked good enough to-" Tony cringed as Gibbs hand made contact with the back of his head "I'm done boss."

---

Abby had started to see changes in herself in just ten days. Besides starting on just working with the music, they had put her on a no-carb, high protein diet. It wasn't that she needed to lose weight; it's just that they wanted to tone her up a bit; they needed her to catch the eye of the killer they were after. The two dead women they had found had bodies that could rival a supermodel. Also she would need the protein to help her muscles, especially with the long days of perfecting the dance routine. When she showered in the evening, she noticed the added muscle tone in her legs, and indents above her hip bones.

It had been two weeks since she last saw Gibbs and had only spoke to him once briefly on the phone. It had been the longest she had gone without seeing him since he had walked away from everything and left for Mexico. The break was good though. She felt like she spent every day at work obsessing over when he would show up, what he would say, and if he would kiss her cheek or the top of her head. A few days a week, when they were able to leave at the same time, he would walk her to her car, his hand resting gently against her lower back.

After the first week of not seeing him, she thought that maybe her feelings for him were dying. She no longer could feel his lips on her cheek and the scent of sawdust faded. But then he had called her. She had been exhausted from a full day of singing, but the sight of his name on caller I.D. and the sound of his voice had been enough to cheer her up. Only then did she realize that she had only been able to push her feelings aside while she focused on something else.

Since her time was mostly spent in the dance studio, she spent her time in tight yoga pants, and a sports bra. The first few hours she was self conscious and had a hard time concentrating on dancing in front of the mirror, but once she was able to relax she had no problem. It also took her some time in getting used to the dancers having their hands all over her body. Not that she didn't like close bodily contact, it was the context which made her slightly uncomfortable.

"Eric! If you grab my ass like that in front of my boss, I think he will rip it off and shove it down your throat."

Brittany sat back against the mirrors and laughed "Ok Eric, that means you need to grab her ass and make sure it reads on your face that you intend to do it again. That you intend to do it again off stage."

"Brittany!"

Brittany gave Abby a devilish look and then turned to Devon. "Ooh, on second thought, get Laura or Julie up on her. I'm sure this Mr. Gibbs would enjoy a little woman on woman action. That ought to get his attention."

"Brittany. Seriously." Abby tried to keep a straight face, but failed. "Ok, that would get his attention, but come on. This can't be too trashy. I'll never live it down."

"Well, the main objective of this show is to catch this killer-freak, but let's face it, our second goal is to at least make sure your boss knows what he's missing."

"Back to work, everyone." Devon shouted "Let's take it from the start. Ready, five, six, seven, eight, and one…" Abby jumped back into place and started the dance over.

"Boys call you sexy…"

When Monday rolled around Devon thought that Abby was ready to start going through the routine in the shoes that she would be wearing during the show.

Abby nearly choked when Devon brought out the four inch heels that Ken had picked out to match her multiple wardrobe changes. "You think I can dance in those?"

"I've seen the boots you wear on a daily basis at work."

"The difference between those and those is the fact that my boots have a thick heel. Those are tiny."

"You'll do fine. We won't work in them all day, but a few run-throughs each day will have you ready for the show next Monday."

"The agency so owes me a massage and a pedicure after this." Abby muttered, sliding her feet into heels.

---

During a break on Wednesdays dance practice Abby noticed several missed calls from Gibbs and decided to call him back.

"Hey Gibbs, what's up?"

"I need you."

Her heart fluttered but Abby played cool "What else is new, Gibbs?"

"No, Abby, I need you in the lab. Right now"

Abby dropped her head and heart sunk, and then her head snapped up again "Oh God, what did Sam do to my lab?"

"He's done nothing, that's the problem, some personal emergency. He's not here, and I desperately need a DNA match started"

"Can't Ducky do it?"

"Abby!"

"Ok, ok. I'll be on my way."

"Abby?" Devon questioned when she hung up the phone.

"Sorry guys, I've got to run to the lab and start a test. I don't have to stay for the whole thing, they can read the results, they just don't know how to get it started and I guess my replacement is out on some personal emergency or something"

Abby grabbed her bag and went to the bathroom to change from the outfit she had been rehearsing in. She pulled on a pair of black low-rise jeans and a black tank top over the red sports bra she was wearing. The tank top fell to an inch above the waist line of her jeans, and hugged her curves tightly. She decided against pulling her hair up into her customary pig-tails and then walked back into the studio.

Eric and Brittany were standing by the door "We want to go with you. We want to see your boss"

"You guys…"

"We won't say anything, we just want to know what we're dealing with here. Eric needs to know who to look out for so he won't lose his hand"

Abby rolled her eyes and followed them out to the parking lot.

---

Gibbs paced the bullpen; he was aggravated that Sam wasn't in, although when he put more thought into it, he supposed that having his mother admitted to the hospital was grounds to take a day off. Tony, McGee and Ziva watched their boss pace, coffee in hand, until the elevator dinged. Before they could see who is was, the sound of Abby's laughter carried into the room.

"Get out of the elevator, Eric" Abby laughed and shoved him forward. Both Abby and Britney fell out behind him, laughing. During the car ride towards the Navy Yard, Abby's explanation of Gibbs and his rather rough exterior had caused Eric to re-think wanting to see the man that he would be trying to make jealous during the show.

Tony and McGee's jaws both hit the floor when they saw Abby and Gibbs nearly dropped his coffee.

"Hiya Gibbs. Hi Tony. Hi Ziva. Hi Timmy. Guys this is Eric, one of my dancers, ha, I have dancers" Abby laughed at herself "and this, this is Brittany. She's helping me with the music."

Ziva noticed the shock on the faces of the three men and stepped forward "Abby, you look great! It is so good to see you. We've missed you."

"Aww, I've missed you guys too" Abby said, pulling Ziva into a tight hug.

"Abbs…" Gibbs started, but was interrupted by the obnoxious sound of his phone. Everyone stood silently as they listened to Gibbs side of the conversation.

He hung up with a sigh, "Grab your gear."

Abby, Brittany, and Eric stepped back so that the agents could get to the elevator. Gibbs paused when he past her and gently he cupped his hand to the right side of her face so he could touch his lips to her left cheek "It's good to see you Abbs."

Abby exhaled and smiled. She wasn't sure if it was his voice that sent shiver down her spine, or that out of the corner of her eye she saw Hollis looking down at them from the railing above.

---

When Abby had stepped out of the elevator Gibbs felt himself freeze. It's not that he hadn't thought of Abby as attractive before, but this… this was something else. He could've sworn that there was a spotlight on her, highlighting every little detail of her body. He was far from his eager teenage, hormone filled years, but the sight of Abby set fire to the pit of his stomach, something he hadn't felt for a long time.

He had started to say her name, but the blasted phone interrupted him. Had he been alone with her, he would've ignored it, but with the rest of his team around he had to pull himself together and act like the agent he was.

Gibbs was disappointed when he returned to find that Abby had already left again. She had left instructions on McGee's desk on how to check the results, which would be ready in another three hours or so.

He couldn't get the sight of Abby out of his mind. She was in all black, except the red sports bra the peeked out from under her tank top. Her hair, which was more often than not up in pigtails, hung loose down her back, and her face was washed clean of her usual make up.

---

Once they were safely in the car again Brittany let out an exaggerated sigh "Damn, now he is one sexy silver fox!"

"Thank you." Abby agreed.

"He could kill me." Eric said from the backseat.

Abby turned to Eric "and don't think that he wouldn't."

"Who was the woman in the camouflage, looking down as if she was surveying her kingdom?"

"You saw her too? That's Hollis Mann, his girlfriend."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"I don't like her. And I'm sorry, but camouflage isn't flattering. I don't care who you are. If you aren't on the battle field, you shouldn't be wearing it."

Abby suppressed at laugh at the comment on Hollis' choice of clothing. "But you've never met her."

"Do you like her?"

"Well, no."

"Then neither do I."