Abby felt a lump form in her throat as she heard those words. She tried to calm her heart from beating through her chest.

She turned fully around to face him, "About what?" She asked calmly.

He took a deep breath and walked a few steps closer to her, "About when we were trapped in the semi."

"Oh. Okay."

"Is this a bad time?" He asked, becoming nervous.

She shook her head, "No, not at all."

Tim nodded, "Good," He said, inwardly wanting to punch himself for ever coming down to talk to her. "I'm… I just wanted you to know that… I'm glad I was with you that night. If I had been in that semi alone, or even with anyone else, I don't think I would have lived. I probably would have passed out hours earlier and died before anyone had chance to get to me. You, uh, you kept me hanging on."

"Oh, Timmy," She replied, her heart melting.

"And those times we were fighting… I didn't mean anything I said. I wasn't thinking clearly, I guess. I would never ever meaningly talk to you like that."

Abby smiled, "I know, Timmy… and I'm pretty sure I acted a lot worse than you did. I didn't mean anything I said either…" She said, then quickly clarified, "When we were fighting."

Tim smiled… Oh, how Abby loved his smile. His smile was almost like an instant calmer to her.

"Uh…" His smile faded and he looked down at the floor for a moment.

Abby went to speak, but then he looked up and started talking again, "Right before, um, we fell asleep, I told you that… that I loved you."

She nodded.

"And," He swallowed hard, "And, I want you to know that I, um, I… I meant it. I do love you."

Again, she went to speak, but he continued before she could get a word out, "And I know that you said that you loved me, too. But, I understand what you meant. You love me, like you love puppies. I get that and it's… it's okay with me," He lied.

Abby was shocked, to say the least. 'How could, after all of this time, he still think I only love him like a puppy?' She wondered.

She wasn't sure how to reply. That wasn't exactly what she was expecting. She was expecting something more along the lines of, "I want you, you want me, so tell me you love me and kiss me!"

"Okay." That's all she said. Trying to hide the fact that she was about to cry.

He nodded and smiled, but a different smile this time. Smaller, and sadder. "Okay." His phone began to ring, "Hello… Yeah, Boss, I'll be right up." He hung up, "Gotta go. Gibbs needs me in MTAC. See ya later, Abbs."

"Bye, Timmy."

He left out of the room and she slumped down in her stool, letting the tears fall freely now that he was gone.

Tim sat in his apartment, staring at the screensaver on his monitor. He thought that he would feel better… relieved, after talking to Abby… Instead, he felt like crap.

It was nearing midnight. Rain was pouring outside. It was perfect sleeping weather, yet he didn't feel tired at all. He wished he were tired, so he could close his eyes and forget about today, if only for a few hours.

He sighed and thought about being trapped in that semi. No air. No light. Not knowing which breath would be your last. He didn't know which was worse: Almost dying, or copping out on coming so close to having a relationship with Abby. Both things terrified him. No part of him wanted to die. And no part of him wanted to live the rest of his life without the woman that he truly loves.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. He looked at his watch. It was 12:01 now. He cautiously made his way to the door, wondering who would be at his apartment so late… in the pouring down rain.

He looked through his peephole, but it was too dark to see anything. The lights were out in the outside hallway. He almost didn't answer, but something in his gut told him to.

He opened the door slowly. There was Abby, soaking wet from head to toe. Pigtails dripping with water. "Hi, Tim."

"Oh my God, Abby, come in," he said, taking a hold of her arm and bringing her inside, "What are you doing here?" He asked as he closed the door behind her.

"I couldn't sleep."

"You're shivering," He said, "Let me get you a blanket, or something to change into-"

"No!" She exclaimed, shutting him up, "No. I need to talk to you."

"You can, Abby, but you can't be comfortable like that. Why don't you chan-"

"Stop talking, McGee!" She cleared her throat, "Just listen, please."

He nodded, "Okay."

"Today you came in my lab and said that we needed to talk."

"I remember."

"Well, you didn't really let me talk. You just said what you thought I would say. Now, when I said that I loved you-"

"Abby, it's okay, I get that we both thought we were going to die, so you just told me that so I'd die happy-"

"I told you to stop talking and listen, Tim."

"Sorry."

"When I said that I loved you, I didn't just say it because we thought we were gonna die. I didn't say it because I wanted you to die happy. And, I most certainly did not mean "I love you" in the way that I love puppies." Abby walked up closer to Tim, "I said I love you because… I love you. And no, it did not take almost dying for me to realize that I loved you. I knew it all along. I've known it for years. It took almost dying for me to realize that I don't want to spend another moment lying to myself about you. I don't want to keep telling myself that I don't want to be more than your friend when I know good and well that I want to be much more than your friend," Tears were coming to her eyes, "I don't want eight more years to pass by and still feel incomplete because I'm not with you. I love you, Tim. I always have."

To say Tim was shocked would be the understatement of the century. He almost didn't believe what he was hearing. For a second, he even thought he might be dreaming… But this was no dream. This was real.

He took two steps towards her, closing the remaining distance between them. He put his hands on her face and, for a moment, they just stared into each others eyes. Then, he slowly leaned in and kissed her.

It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. No, it wasn't their first kiss, but it was their best kiss. It was romantic and sweet. They both felt the same way this time. It wasn't like before when Abby just wanted something casual, and Tim wanted a real relationship. Neither of them wanted this moment to end.

This time was different.

This time was perfect.

I can feel all of you who were hitting me before, now giving me hugs.(At least I hope so)... haha ...This chapter is all McAbby, to make up for the long wait you all have had to endure ;)

This is my first story, that's not a one-shot, where I have made them a couple... There's a few more chapters left so I guess we will see how this goes :) Hope you all like it. Oh, and time for a poll question from me. Should the team find out about Tim and Abby? Yes or No. Let me know please, and if you have a reason for your answer (whichever it is) let me know that as well! Thank you!

Hope everyone had a great Easter! God bless!