After handing out coffee to his team, Gibbs retreated to his bedroom to change intro a rugged pair of jeans and a USMC tee and then snuck, unnoticed by most, down to the basement to work some of his frustrations out on the boat taking shape in his basement.

He leaned into the boat as he worked the sandpaper, moving with the grain of the wood. Little bits of sawdust clouded into the air around him, tickling his nose as he worked. He stayed away from the bourbon, though it called to him from its place on the shelf. He needed to be completely sober when he finally had the chance to talk to Abby alone. He wasn't sure if it would be tonight, or if it would be later in the weekend, but on the off chance she wanted to talk before bed, he would be ready.

As he worked, he thought back over the evening; how first seeing Abby in her dress took his breath away, how seeing her on Fornell's arm had caused anger and possibly jealousy to coil in the pit of his stomach. He thought of the fear he felt when Vincent raised his gun toward Abby. He shivered at the thought that if he had arrived half a minute later, he could be at the hospital right now telling her to wake up, or he could be in the morgue telling her how he'd been too stubborn to admit his feelings while she was alive and was now forced to tell her cooling body.

He swallowed against the lump in his throat at the thought of seeing Abby in the morgue. He couldn't go there.

Suddenly Gibbs felt like he was being watched. He stiffened and then remembered that he had left a house full of people upstairs. He turned around to see Abby sitting halfway down the stairs, the puffy skirt of her dress taking up more space on the steps than Abby herself.

"You okay?"

"You can't ask me if I'm okay every time you see me from now on, Gibbs." Abby smiled softly at him. "I'm okay. Much better now, but, you know. It'll be a while before I stop looking over my shoulder."

Gibbs appreciated her honesty. "You don't have to worry anymore. Even if he does pull through, he won't ever see the outside of jail cell. I'll make sure of that."

"I know you will." Abby gathered the poofy fabric and pulled it aside, creating a spot for Gibbs to sit beside her.

Gibbs brushed as much of the sawdust off as he could before settling down beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He looked down and smiled when she let go of the fabric and it spread halfway across his lap. "The team still upstairs?"

"No. I sent them home. I know you don't like a bunch of people crowding your house."

"Abby, you need your friends. They can stay as long as you need them."

"I'll talk to them tomorrow." Abby worried her lower lip for a few moments. "I need you more."

"I'm right here." Gibbs pulled her into his side and rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"I know." Abby pulled her hands into the sleeves of Gibbs' sweatshirt that she was still wearing, her fingers pulling at the cuffs of the sweatshirt. "It's been a long four weeks, hasn't it?"

"It has."

"I've missed NCIS, my babies and you."

"It hasn't been the same without you being around. I can't speak for your Major Mass Spec, but I'm sure it's missed you too."

"The lab tech, she didn't mess up my lab too bad, did she?"

"No. I had McGee keep an eye on everything for you."

"Thanks." Abby sighed and felt a little of the tension leave her body. "Smells good down here."

"Smells like it always does, Abbs."

"I know, I just haven't been over for awhile. Haven't seen much of you either."

Gibbs wasn't sure what to say to that. They had been flirting over the phone for so long, but now that they were face to face and things were a little more serious, Gibbs wasn't sure how he should play it. He wasn't even sure if she remembered their phone call from the night before. Gibbs ran his fingers along the fabric of her dress. "You look beautiful tonight."

Abby was glad Gibbs couldn't see the smirk that played over her lips. "See, last night over the phone, I told you it was beautiful."

"You did."

"You came all the way over, why didn't you at least wake me up?"

"I don't think you would have woken up if I had tried to wake you. How much did you drink?"

Abby pulled away as she tried to remember how much she had to drink the night before. "Ugh, I don't know. But judging by how I felt this morning, more than I should have."

"Come on." Gibbs held out his hand. "You should get some sleep; you've had a long day. I'll help you get settled."

Abby took his hand and allowed him to lead her up the basement. Gibbs dropped her hand to go grab the bag she had brought with her from Fornell's place. With the bag in hand Gibbs directed her up the stairs.

Abby hesitated at the top of the stairs; she knew Gibbs was a private person, but she didn't want to be alone. She would have settled for Fornell's company if she had to. "Gibbs?"

Gibbs nudged her toward the room to the right. "You can sleep in my room, it's the most comfortable." He set her bag on the bed and then stepped into the en suite bathroom to flip on the light for her. "You have something comfortable to sleep in?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Gibbs moved around her to pull back the covers for her and then started to edge closer to the door so she could change.

"Gibbs?" Abby stopped him. "I um, I don't want to be alone tonight. Could you, um, maybe stay? With me?"

Gibbs thought a moment before he nodded and took a step towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back softly. "Yeah, I'll stay." He held her a few moments longer before pulling away again. "You get changed while I go back downstairs and turn off the lights."

"Okay." Abby watched as Gibbs turned to go. "Wait, Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you also, um, lock the door?"

Gibbs smiled. "Already did."

When she heard his footsteps hit the bottom step, Abby turned to go through the bag she had packed. She lifted Gibbs' red hoodie off and laid it on the bed. Pulling out a plain white tee and a navy blue pair of shorts, she stepped into the bathroom to unzip her dress. After changing, Abby hung her dress over the hook on Gibbs' closet door, and then went back to the bathroom to brush her teeth and run a wet cloth over her face – the majority of her makeup had come off with her tears. When she looked up at the mirror, she saw Gibbs standing behind her.

"Here, let me help." Gibbs stepped up behind her and took the cloth from her hand. He tilted her head slightly and wiped the cloth gently along the side of her neck where her spider web tattoo was hidden under make up. "There. Much better."

"Thanks." Abby let out a happy sigh at the touch of his fingers. "Had to cover it, didn't think it would go over well with the FBI big-wigs. They aren't as relaxed as NCIS."

Gibbs smiled and stepped around her to grab his toothbrush. Abby left him in the bathroom and headed back to clear her stuff off the end of the bed. She folded Gibbs' red sweatshirt, placing it on top of her bag and then moved to the bed and sat down. It wasn't the first time she'd been in his room, but it was the first time she was sleeping there.

Pulling the pins from her hair, she let it fall to around her shoulders. Raking her fingers along her scalp she tried to ease the tension from keeping her hair tied to tight.

She slipped her legs under the blanket and lay back. She'd had dreams about spending the night in Gibbs' room – though if she were completely honest with herself, her dreams didn't include much sleeping.

The bed dipped, and she looked to see that Gibbs was sitting on the side of the bed, pulling the t-shirt he'd been wearing off over his head; he had already changed into a pair of long sleep pants.

He switched off his bedside lamp, bathing the room in darkness and then slipped under the covers. Abby turned to look at him through the dark, her eyes adjusting to the darkness quickly. She wanted to reach out to him, to snuggle in close, but she was unsure of what to say. Although she hadn't seen him much the past few weeks, their nightly chats had started something between them. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was different from their usual flirtatious banter and she wanted to know where she stood with him.

Before she could ask, she felt Gibbs move and suddenly she was being pulled toward the center of the bed and found herself wrapped tightly in his arms. She snuggled into his arm, pressing her face against his chest and wrinkling her nose at the tickle of his chest hair. When he said nothing, she decided to risk a kiss to his chest as well. When the kiss earned her a soft chuckle, she did it again and then wrapped an arm around him to pull herself even closer.

"Abby?"

Abby pulled back to look up Gibbs. "Hmm?"

Gibbs used his hand to steady her chin and then leaned in to brush a soft kiss against her lips. "You're safe now. I've got you."

"I'm always safe with you."Abby didn't get the chance to respond to his kiss, instead, when he pulled her back into his arms she tilted her head to press a kiss to his neck. "S'why I love you."

---

Abby woke with her back firmly up against Gibbs' chest and his arms wrapped tightly around her middle. As she stirred, she felt his lips press to the back of her neck. "You sleep well?"

Pressing her face into the pillow, Abby smiled. "Best night of sleep in more than four weeks."

"Good." He touched his lips to the back of her neck again. "Must be the designer mattress I've got."

"Must be." Abby turned in the circle of his arms. "Gibbs, I-" She was interrupted by the sound of Gibbs' phone ringing.

Gibbs brushed his lips across her forehead and then rolled over to grab his phone off his bedside table. "Yeah, Gibbs."

Reaching out, Abby traced her finger across Gibbs' chest as he spoke. Her fingers sought out the bullet wound from Ari and she traced the small circle and then hugged herself close, resting her head on his chest, drawing comfort from his voice as he spoke. When he hung up, she looked up. "You have to go?"

"Yeah, it's the FBI. They want an official statement. I've got to go to their office."

"They don't want to talk to me? I was there too."

"They will, but I think they are giving you a chance to rest a bit. I have no doubt they'll be in touch." Gibb sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Can you drop me off at my apartment so I can get my car? I want to go to the hospital and check on Tobias. And I want to get the rest of my things from his place."

"Sure."

While Gibbs showered, Abby changed into jeans and a t-shirt – an outfit she had grabbed the night before. She headed down stairs and started Gibbs' coffee machine, figuring he'd need a cup before dealing with the FBI. Gibbs found her in his kitchen, a cup of coffee in her outstretched hand.

----

When Gibbs dropped Abby off at her apartment, he thought it went without saying that she should come back to his place that evening. They still had things to discuss, and spending one night with her in his arms wasn't enough.

He didn't enjoy his time at the FBI, but he knew it was a necessary evil. Gibbs made sure that the FBI agent working the case got every single detail that he could remember. He hadn't personally called to check on Vincent, but at the FBI headquarters he learned that it was still touch and go for Vincent. Gibbs wasn't sure if he wanted the man to survive; if he did, Gibbs would make sure that he wouldn't set foot outside of his prison cell, however, part of him, a very small part of him understood the grief that the man had gone through to cause him to seek revenge.

Gibbs returned home mid-afternoon, and spent the rest of the day milling around the basement, working on his boat, organizing his tools and cleaning up. When Abby hadn't shown up by seven he wondered if he should give her a call. Nah, she was probably called in to give her statement.

When she hadn't arrived by eight, the urge to call her grew. Maybe she didn't realize that I want her to come back. Maybe she needs some alone time. Give her an hour.

At nine, with no Abby in sight, Gibbs picked up his phone and dialed. "Abbs?"

"Oh Gibbs, I was just about to call. I'm with Tobias. I think I'll be here for awhile."

----

TBC…