Poor Gibbs….

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Thursday was busy at NCIS and with case after case coming in, evidence began to pile up in Abby's lab. She spent the morning babying Major Mass Spec, and cooing appreciatively each time AFIS gave her a match. Gibbs had brought down a Caf-Pow! first thing in the morning and then again after lunch, but she was still fighting to keep up with the evidence that she found stacking up around her. Fornell has been picking her up at five, though by three she knew she wouldn't be ready to leave by then. She called and left a message for Fornell to let him know that she'd likely need an extra few hours at work that evening and that she would call when she was ready for him to pick her up.

Gibbs ordered his team to keep out of her lab as much as possible so that she could get her work done with a limited number of distractions. He knew that, although she was serious about her work, a visit from Tony could easily turn into playtime in the lab. He knew Abby was working late - she'd let him know that although she'd finished everything that he needed, she was going to stay late to work through the evidence from another team.

It was nearly six o'clock and the squad room was quiet, with only the sound of agents tapping away at their reports breaking the silence. Although their case had been open-and-shut, the paperwork involved with a double homicide on a Navy base would keep them there for at least another hour, if not two. Deciding he needed coffee and that Abby could probably use another Caf-Pow!, Gibbs headed for his usual coffee stop.

Gibbs waited patiently for his turn to order. "Black coffee and a Caf-Pow!"

Chelsea looked shocked. "Abby needs another one already?"

"Another one?" Gibbs looked at his watch. It had been roughly five hours since he'd brought Abby her Caf-Pow! earlier in the afternoon.

"Yeah, well, there is only one person around here who drinks it, so I assume the man that bought a Caf-Pow! ten minutes ago had bought it for Abby. You know, we really only have that because of her. If she didn't drink so much of the stuff, we likely wouldn't carry it-" Chelsea wasn't sure what she had said wrong, but Gibbs had taken off at a run abandoning the coffee she'd set in front of him.

A million thoughts went through Gibbs' mind as he raced back to NCIS. They weren't certain what Vincent Kain looked like at this point as there were no recent photos, and they also weren't convinced that he had acted alone. He took the stairs two at a time and remembered the last time he'd raced to her lab. They had just figured out it was Chip that had framed Tony and the fear that gripped Gibbs when he realized Chip was alone with Abby in her lab was enough to make him sick to his stomach.

He ran as though her life depended on it, thinking briefly about the time Terry Spooner had hired a hit man to kill her so that she wouldn't be able to testify.

The suicide note Mikel had fabricated made his stomach turn.

Nothing would happen to Abby, not if he could help it.

When he pulled his gun from the holster on his hip in the hallway just before he entered her lab, he remembered rushing to protect her when Ari had taken a shot in through the window, attempting to kill Abby after already killing Kate.

He rushed in just as Abby put the straw to her lips, but before he could open his mouth to stop her, he saw Fornell sitting at her desk. Fornell. Fornell had bought her a Caf-Pow!.

"Gibbs?" Abby turned to look at him, her eyes going wide at the sight of the gun in his hand. Abandoning her drink, Abby rushed forward, pressing herself against Gibbs for safety. "Oh my God, what's wrong?!"

Fornell jumped to his feet and grabbed for his own gun.

"Nothing is wrong." Gibbs pressed a reassuring kiss to the top of Abby's head. "Chelsea just said that some guy had bought you a drink and I didn't think that he had come to pick you up yet. I just thought-"

"Jesus, you scared us." Fornell put his gun away and sat back down. "Abby wasn't sure when she would be done, so I thought I would stop in to see how things were going. I thought I would bring a Caf-Pow! with me, I know how much she likes them."

Abby snuggled into Gibbs' arms and let out a sigh of relief. "You ran in here with your gun drawn and scared me, but thanks. Thanks for worrying about me." Abby looked up at him before pressing her face to his chest again with a heavy sigh.

"I… I gotta get back to work. Why don't you head out for tonight?" Gibbs couldn't bring himself to say 'home' when referring to Abby heading to Fornell's house.

"Yeah, yeah that's good idea. I don't think I could focus anymore this evening." Abby moved away from Gibbs to gather her belongings. She looked at the Caf-Pow! but rather than bring it along she tossed it in the garbage. When it had appeared by her keyboard she had nearly turned to wrap its deliverer in a tight hug. She was glad she'd been too busy to follow through when she realized it was Fornell that had brought it in for her. She waited for Fornell to dig his keys from his pocket and then start to the elevator before following behind. "Night Gibbs. Thanks again."

"Night Abby. Tobias."

---

"A little overprotective, don't you think?"

"Tobias! How could you say that?" Abby glared at him from her spot on the passenger side of his car. "He was worried about me. No one buys me a Caf-Pow! but Gibbs, except maybe one of the team if he is busy, so I don't blame him for thinking the worst. In case you've forgotten, someone wants to kill me because you couldn't do your job."

Fornell pulled his hands off the steering wheel just quickly enough to show defeat. "Alright, alright. I just thought it was a bit much to come charging in with his gun drawn, that's all." His voice softened. "And I know, I'm sorry for getting you involved in this."

"It's okay. I know. I know you didn't mean to drag me in to all this and I know you tried your hardest to save that woman, I just…" Abby thought a moment. "Gibbs worries. You know how he is."

"Yeah, I know."

They rode the rest of the way home in silence. Abby was tired and stressed from her long and busy day at work, and the drama of Gibbs rushing in to rescue her had drained her completely. Once home, they sat and had dinner, Chinese takeout they picked up on the way home, with Russ Terry. Abby didn't feel very social, so as soon as she was finished with dinner she excused herself and headed upstairs.

Crawling into bed after a long hot bath, Abby felt relaxed as she sank into the soft mattress and reached for her phone. She hadn't called right away because she knew he'd likely have stayed longer at the office and she didn't want to interrupt anything if they were still working.

"Hey Abbs… I was starting to think you weren't going to call. You haven't called the last few nights." Gibbs teased. He knew she'd likely still be riled up from earlier. He had slapped the back of his own head once she'd left her lab; he couldn't believe he'd let himself scare her like that.

"Gibbs, phones work two, ways you know, you could have called me."

He had to smile at the amusement in her voice. "I thought maybe you had fallen asleep."

"Asleep? It's just now ten. But you can wake me up, Gibbs, anytime."

"I'm sorry I scared you earlier, it's just…" Gibbs tried to think of how to explain.

"It's okay. I'm glad you care." Abby closed her eyes and smiled. "You're always coming to my rescue."

"I don't think you need rescuing from Tobias."

"No, maybe not, but I still appreciate it. I appreciate you." They were both silent for a moment, thinking of what she might have meant by that. Sensing that the silence was dragging on, Abby spoke again. "I guess I'm going to a formal that the FBI is hosting to benefit some community outreach program or something."

"Looking forward to it?" Gibbs tried to relax his jaw so he didn't sound as if he was asking through gritted teeth.

"Actually, if I wasn't a possible target, I guess it could be kind of fun. Can I borrow Ziva on Sunday?"

"Ziva?"

"I need a dress, and Tobias has budget meetings this weekend. Plus, I'd rather go shopping with someone who knows what to look for when looking for a dress."

"We aren't on duty this weekend. You should ask her tomorrow at work." Gibbs tried to push the thoughts of Abby dressed up out of his mind. He saw her dressed up once a year when they went somewhere nice for dinner the evening before her birthday. He always had to remind himself to breathe when he picked her up.

They chatted on for a while until Abby started to struggle to remain awake.

"Abbs?"

"Hmmm…?" She sounded drowsy.

"Go to sleep."

Abby was half asleep. "Mm hmm, ok. I miss you Gibbs."

"You saw me four hours ago."

"Mm hmm."

"Night Abby." Gibbs heard her phone click shut, so he hung up and set his phone back on the work bench so he could return to his boat. He took out his frustration on the boat, pressing hard against the sandpaper as he smoothed away the splinters in the wood. It was all he could do not to toss the sandpaper aside, drive across town and rescue her from the trap of playing Tobias Fornell's significant other.

---

Friday was the complete opposite compared to Thursday. Gibbs' team didn't catch a single case and by three in the afternoon, the agents were restless from having spent the entire day at their desks. It was getting windy outside, and the weather forecast had promised severe winds with gusts hitting up near 70mph. With a sigh, Gibbs let his team head home early to get the weekend started. Ziva had agreed to pick Abby up just before lunch time on Sunday so that they could grab a bite to eat before hitting the mall in search of a dress. Gibbs was relieved that Ziva would be on protection duty rather than Fornell.

Abby appeared shortly after the agents had left. With nothing to do and Fornell not scheduled to pick her up until five, she had some time to kill. Abby settled into Tony's chair and looked over the various toys he kept in and around his desk. Gibbs was still bent over the report he'd been working on all day, and although she knew he was aware of her presence, she didn't want to disrupt him. She just liked being near him.

Gibbs watched her from the corner of his eye. She sat at Tony's desk, her legs drawn up as she swiveled side to side, reaching out to touch the various trinkets. He finished the page he was on and removed his glasses with a sigh. "Whatcha doing, Abby?"

"Just hanging out."

"You could probably get Fornell to come pick you up early."

"I know."

"Did you call him?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because I like hanging out up here with you."

Gibbs gave her a little smile. "Oh."

Abby grinned back at him and resumed her silent exploration of Tony's desk when Gibbs put his glasses back on and returned his attention to the paper in front of him.

Abby startled slightly when the lights flickered due to the increasing wind speed outside. "Looks like it's going to be one windy night. Keep your phone handy."

Gibbs smiled inwardly. He had envisioned a few extra phone calls from Abby - the pretext for the call would likely be something like, she was concerned about him not having proper supplies should the power go out - but he liked to think that he kept her calm in a storm. Gibbs was about to answer, but the elevator dinging interrupted him and Fornell stepped out.

"It's getting pretty windy; I thought we could head home a little early." Fornell nodded at Gibbs but faced Abby as he spoke.

"Sure. You've got candles? And a battery-operated light? What about the agents across the street, do they have the proper supplies?"

"We're all set should the power go out."

"Ah, okay. Well, night Gibbs. Don't stay here too much longer. You have enough supplies in case the power goes out? Maybe you could hangout with us."

"I don't need power to work on my boat, Abbs."

"He probably wouldn't even notice if the power did go out." Fornell smirked, but quickly frowned when Abby's fist connected with his shoulder. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Be nice! Apologize."

"What?"

"I said," Abby moved both her hands to her hips, "apologize. Gibbs' boat is very important to him. It's not like you have a hobby, Tobias."

Fornell looked at Gibbs and then back to Abby.

"Well..?"

"Well, what?"

"APOLOGIZE."

Fornell rolled his eyes and looked back over his shoulder at Gibbs. "I'm sorry?"

"That wasn't a real apology, but it'll do for now." Abby shook her head as she headed for the elevator. "Night Gibbs, talk to you later."

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The power went out just after they finished dinner. Abby set to work lighting candles around the living room while Fornell went in search of a deck of cards, but was only able to locate Monopoly. Abby loved it when the power went out, claiming that there was nothing better than candles and a board game. They played Monopoly for nearly four hours before Abby decided it was time for bed. Claiming victory, she left the guys to clean up. She wanted to call Gibbs, but had a hard time keeping her eyes open. She reached for her phone as she snuggled under the covers but with one final yawn, Abby fell asleep, her phone gripped tightly in her hand.

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TBC…