Sorry about the delay… one of my beta's had finals the past week and was busy studying… guess I can't blame her. Anyway, on to ch 22. Enjoy! Also, keep your eye open for a Christmas fic I will post in two parts, likely starting tomorrow!

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"Gibbs?" Abby frowned as she shut the door behind her. She knew it was late, but she had hoped to spend some time with Gibbs talking about what had happened between them the past few weeks over the phone. She knew she couldn't judge things by the previous night - for all she knew, the brief kiss and the fact that he held her the night before could have all been due to the fact that a gun had been pointed at her hours before. She hoped that wasn't the reason.

Double-checking that the door was locked, Abby wandered through the living room and into the kitchen, checking for any signs that Gibbs was still up. She opened to the basement and called down softly to make sure he wasn't down there. Tiptoeing up stairs, Abby peeked into his bedroom and saw Gibbs under the covers facing away from the door.

She was quiet as she moved over to where she had left her bag of clothes. She grabbed the tee and shorts and headed to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. When she finished her nightly routine, Abby stepped back into Gibbs' room hoping that he'd been woken up by the sound of her moving around. He was still facing the wall, and his breathing was steady. She wasn't completely convinced that he was asleep, but if he wasn't ready to talk, then she wasn't going to force it. She was happy to just curl up next to him for the night.

Abby gently pulled back the covers and slipped her legs under. She was careful as she scooted up behind Gibbs, and hesitated only a moment before wrapping her arm around his waist and hugging herself close. She inhaled deeply, taking comfort in the scent of his skin before pressing her lips to the bare skin of his shoulder. "Night Gibbs," she whispered. "I love you."

She wasn't sure if she imagined it, but it felt like Gibbs held his breath. Before she could decide if he was indeed holding his breath, he turned around to pull her against his chest. "Love you too, Abbs."

"Then what's wrong?" Abby tapped her fingers against his chest as she snuggled into his arms. There was something going through his head, she could tell. She just wasn't sure what it was.

Gibbs sighed. "I want to kiss you, but every time I close my eyes I see you and Tobias."

Abby pulled back and stared up at him through the dark with wide eyes. "Tobias? Why would you..?" Abby tried to clear her thoughts. "I don't, I never. Tobias and I never, you think we…?" Abby couldn't even put into words what she was trying to get at. "I never kissed him! Not once, Gibbs. I promise. You can ask him."

"I believe you, I just," Gibbs wasn't sure how to explain what he meant. Flat out saying 'I'm jealous' wasn't an option. "Why were you there so late tonight?"

Abby gave up on hoping for that kiss, so she rested her head back on the pillow. "He doesn't have a team like we do, Gibbs. I went to check on him in the hospital and he was getting ready to go home, only there was no one to give him a ride. He was going to take a cab. If anyone on our team was shot, there is no way you would let them take a cab home alone. I took him home, bought some groceries so he wouldn't have to go out for a few days, and then helped him get the house ready for when Emily comes home. I packed up my stuff and then we just sat talking about the past few weeks. It was a lot to go through and I just needed to talk about it, you know?"

Abby took a deep breath. Satisfied that he wasn't going to try and stop her ramble, she continued. "I know I can talk to you about it, and I want to talk to you, but he went through everything with me and he was even shot, so I guess it was just nice to talk to someone who was right there beside me. But I know you've only seen bits and pieces of Tobias and I together and you only saw the happy parts of us pretending to be a couple. But it wasn't like that. You have no idea how badly I've wanted my life back and I want us to be okay, better than okay, because-"

Gibbs knew that Abby rambling was her way of letting off steam, but he could only listen for so long before he got lost in her jumbled words. He opened his mouth to try and get a word in, but when she just closed her eyes and kept talking, he knew he needed a more direct approach.

When Gibbs' mouth closed down over hers, Abby's eyes flew open. She hesitated a brief moment as her brain caught up with her body and then pressed into his kiss, her hand scrambling to hold on to him the best that she could.

Gibbs pulled away first, chuckling when Abby issued a breathy complaint. "Don't stop."

"I had to shut you up somehow. Worked pretty well."

"Gibbs please." Abby wasn't above begging when it came to Gibbs.

"Patience, Abbs." He spoke against her lips. "We've got plenty of time."

"But I'm not a very patient person, you know that."

"Mm, I know." Gibbs gave in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips and then her nose. "Good thing I'm patient enough for the both of us. But talk to me Abby, I need to know what's going on in here." Gibbs tapped her forehead lightly and then her chest. "And here."

"Not much going on up there right now. I blame you." Abby stuck out her tongue and then smiled at him. "You kiss me like that and then pull away. Not fair. And here," Abby covered his hand on her chest. "It's about to explode."

Gibbs settled on his back and waited until Abby made herself comfortable, her head resting on his chest. "I know you say you're okay, but you aren't. You had a gun pointed at you. How can I help you?"

"You already have helped. You're helping right now." Abby kissed his collar bone and carded her fingers through his chest hair. "I feel safe with you. I always have, but now… all I need is you, Gibbs, to feel safe."

"I'll keep you safe." Gibbs tightened his arm around her.

"I know. Gibbs?"

"Hmm?"

"That day when Vincent showed up and you sent me with Ziva and Tony, why didn't you come with me? I asked you nicely."

"I couldn't. I needed to work on catching that bastard. I couldn't be distracted by you."

"Oh. Wouldn't that have been a good distraction?"

"Not sure I would have let you go back to live under his roof if I had taken you home for the weekend," Gibbs answered honestly. If he had spent any more time with her that day, he would've taken her far away from DC and the danger that Vincent posed.

"Gibbs." Abby's voice grew stern. "As much as you want to put all the blame on Tobias, he's your friend. You can't blame it all on him."

"I can-" And he would. It would take a lot for him to completely forgive his friend for dragging Abby into the mess, even though he knew Fornell hadn't done it on purpose.

Abby cut him off with a flick of her finger to his chin. "You can't blame his agents either. We were dumb to let him in like that, I know. I don't think we need to have this conversation again."

"He didn't have to help you sneak out." That was another conversation he knew Abby was eager to avoid, but Gibbs didn't mind bringing it up if it would send the message home that Abby had made a pretty dumb decision.

Abby suppressed a giggle. She knew Gibbs was trying to get a reaction out of her, but she ignored him. "My original thought was to sneak over here. Would you have kicked me out?"

"I would have called Fornell and told him to keep track of his girlfriend. He busted through my door accusing me of hiding you though."

"Sorry." Abby sighed. "I didn't mean to get you into all that. I didn't think he would even notice that I was gone."

"S'ok. It's all over now."

"Yeah, all over." Abby agreed, tracing her fingers across his chest and listened to his steady heart beat under her ear. She inhaled deeply, the scent of sawdust settling the last of her nerves. She didn't have to pretend any more, she wasn't spending anymore nights at Fornell's place, and she certainly didn't fear for her life anymore, not with Gibbs beside her. "You need to talk to Fornell soon. You need to figure things out between you. He's a friend Gibbs, not some guy who was keeping me from you. It wasn't like that and you know it."

"He almost did take you from me. If I had been 30 seconds later, last night could have ended very differently. I can't just forget about it. You know my past, and Abby to have you taken away like that and with everything still unsaid. I wouldn't have made it through that."

Abby was well aware of his past and how Shannon and Kelly had been taken from him without warning. "I know," Abby didn't want to kill the mood. "But it's all being said now, right?"

"It is. I love you." Gibbs stroked her hair softly.

"Easy, isn't it? When you mean it." Abby hugged herself even closer. "I love you." Although she wanted nothing more than to be ravaged by him and covered in his kisses, his declaration of love was enough to quiet her for awhile and enjoy the feeling of his arm securing her to his side.

"You know, if you want to get technical about the whole situation, I could blame the whole thing on you. If you hadn't been all over that redhead at the bar I wouldn't have been sitting with Tobias that night."

"You're blaming me now?" Gibbs lifted his head to look at her.

"No. I'm telling you to stay away from the red heads at bars and red-headed FBI agents at dinner parties."

Gibbs shifted to his side. "What about women with black hair," he tugged gently on a lock of her hair, "and tattoos?"

"I dunno, I might have to think about it."

Gibbs rolled over and covered her body with his. "You sure you need to think about it?" Gibbs looked down at Abby as she giggled beneath him. "You still thinking?"

Abby's giggles faded and she blinked up at him. "No. I'm done thinking Gibbs. I was done thinking a long time ago. I've loved you for a long time, but I think my time away and pretending to date Fornell-" Abby swallowed against the lump in her throat and gripped his shoulders tightly. "It made me realize how much I really depend on you in my life, even for little things, by not being around you for so long. And Gibbs? I don't want to be away from you like that again."

Gibbs dipped his head to catch the tear that rolled down her cheek with a kiss.

"No more FBI."

"No more," Gibbs agreed. "No more." He peppered a few kisses around her cheek until her grip on him loosened and he felt her relax.

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TBC…