A/N: No cliffhanger this time, I promise!
She shrugged. "Home, I guess. And then tomorrow we need to go and see a lawyer. I was thinking, if we go to Legal, Lang owes me a favour."
McGee tried to imagine exactly how a lawyer had ended up owing Abby a favour and failed. She saw his confusion and explained
"He spilt my Caf-Pow. It was a whole one, McGee. And the machine was empty."
He grinned. Spilling Abby's Caf-Pow was almost as bad as spilling Gibbs' coffee. For a moment he felt sorry for the lawyer.
"That's not quite what I meant, Abs" he said. "I meant, where do we go after this?" he pointed to the rings they both wore. "After this whole weekend."
"Oh." Her face became uncharacteristically grave. He'd seen that look once before- when she'd broken up with him, just after he'd joined Gibbs' team. And he knew that her answer was going to be the one he'd expected, rather than the one he'd wished for.
She shifted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable. "Why do we have to go anywhere with this, Tim? Why can't it just be a crazy weekend we spent together after a few too many drinks?" He decided not to point out that they hadn't been drinking the night before, letting her continue instead.
"It doesn't have to change anything, McGee. You're still my best friend, right?" Her big green eyes pleaded with him to agree, and he'd never been able to resist.
He wanted to tell her that he loved her, and that he didn't want to annul their marriage. But he knew that she wanted to, and he figured that friendship with Abby was better than nothing. Which he was pretty sure was what he'd be left with if he told her what he really wanted. So he nodded in agreement, not really trusting himself to speak normally, and ignored the all too familiar shaft of pain.
When he was fairly certain he could speak without his voice betraying him, he told her "I'll always be your friend, Abs."
He watched her sigh in relief and relax in her seat at his words. He envied her. The only reason she had to care about this weekend was because it might damage their friendship. Aware of his thoughts becoming bitter, he picked up the headphones provided by the airline. "I'm going to watch a movie" he told her before putting them on, hoping to distract himself.
It didn't work. He stared blankly at the screen, not really seeing it, while his mind went over every moment of their time together, storing the memories away. Soon he felt a pressure on his arm. Startled, he looked down to find Abby leaning against his shoulder, fast asleep. His smile was bittersweet as he stroked her glossy black hair. He'd always be her friend. That's what she wanted him to be.
A/N 2: Ok, that ended up quite sad. Hope you liked it anyway. F.