Chapter 12: Deceiving events

A-N Dear readers,

First, I want to apologize for the lack of any 'Gabby action' last chapter. And for the fact that I haven´t been regularly updating anything for a while now.

I know and I´m sorry but school has been hell on me. I've already broken Gibbs rule nr. 6 twice this chapter so I'll shut up now.
Really. I know the chapter's a little short…
But I hope everyone is still keeping up with me! If so, thank you very much!

Beta: Tino-chan.
This is a surprise for her but I just wanted to thank her for being my Beta, and always making time for me, when I'm sad or just overly happy (most of the time). She supplies me with a healthy dose ofCastle and the Mentalist, and of course NCIS. She keeps up with ALL of my silly and stupid ramblings. But she thinks Gabby is stupid and she likes Patrick Dempsey more than Simon Baker (gasps). And she doesn't get my mistakes and always laughs to the point of crying when I say something incredibly stupid (also most of the time) and her dogs hate me, but I still love her very much! Thanks, Tino!

Disclaimer: No.

Preview
Now that Abby was involved, he felt like he was hanging by a thread. And the longer they couldn't find her, the more dangerous it became. The danger of her not coming back anymore. As the hours passed, the thread was slowly unraveling…
And when it fully did, he wanted to make sure he was the only one falling.

(…)

The moon was shining bright so they kept running in the dark shadows. They ran. They tripped. They stumbled.
But they kept moving.
The night had taken away all of the blazing heath that'd been haunting them during the day so they were all shivering now. Especially the little children. Danai kept falling so Abby had picked her up and carried her on her back. Sometimes one of the braids of the girl would sweep in her face and Abby would be reminded that she should stay strong for the children. But being strong wasn´t easy when it was the darkest hour of the night and your feet were killing you. So she just put her thought on non-active and put one foot in front of the other. She wasn't sure where to go. If this really was Mexico, and she was pretty sure, she wouldn't find anyone she knew anywhere.

So they just kept running like their life depended on it. Even though Danai got heavier with every step and Victor kept stumbling. The man really needed a hospital but she didn't know where to find one. There were a lot of dusty cars on sides of small alleys, the front window covered with carton, but Abby couldn't bear to steal one. Everything was so different than she was used to. The small houses, the colors, barely visible because of the darkness, the walls covered with graffiti.
But especially the lack of safety. With Gibbs there, she never thought about feeling safe. Everyone would feel safe with a man that was confident enough to not even lock his door.
Abby finally stopped running. She leaned against the wall of a building, breathing heavily. She wasn´t wearing any shoes –the kidnappers had taken them when she was unconscious. Now that she wasn't running anymore, the pain in her feet became even worse. But a few cuts were superficial compared to the situation she was in. She ignored her throbbing feet and threw an exhausted look at the others, to check if they were okay.

"Where are we going?" Luca whined, his feet leaving a trail in the dusty sand. "I'm tired. I wanna stop!" He resolutely stopped moving and sat down in the middle of the road. "I wanna sleep and I want my silky blankets and a hamburger." In a little voice, he added: "and my mommy."
Abby breathed out soundlessly. She hated the men that did this to her and those poor children. Oh, how Gibbs would make them pay. That thought even cheered her up a little. Her positive mood set in
and she started to walk again, gesturing to Victor that he should help Luca to get up. Jasmin was very silent. She hadn't signed anything since the big escape and wouldn't respond to the forensic scientist asking if she was okay. Now and then, Abby would pat the little girl softly on her auburn hair, smiling soothingly. She hoped that eased the fear a little.
Still, she had to find a place where they could take a shelter for the night, because none of them would be able to keep going for much longer.

After a few moments, she noticed the street was getting wider and to their utter relief, they saw the flickering lights of a motel. The pink light felt like it was the best thing Abby saw in a very long time. She took Victor's arm and Luca's hand while Jasmin was right behind them. The motel didn't have any bell or anything like that, so they just knocked. And prayed.
It took a while, but they could hear someone inside responding. A few muffled sounds, and then the sound they all wanted to hear so very badly: the unlocking of the door.
The door opened in a crack and a face appeared in the small opening. It was a man with a dark beard and sleepy eyes. They brightened with sudden force when he noticed them standing on his doorstep. The man just froze, staring at them.

"Um, can we stay here for the night?" Abby tried. She didn't speak Spanish. How she wished that Ziva was with them. She would fight them all off and she spoke almost every language in the world.
She wrung her hands together nervously and gave him a smile that said: please let us in! The man didn't respond so she did what she always did in a situation that made her this nervous: she started rambling.
"Look, it's cold and well, we just want a place where we can stay for only one night, you know. Because the kids are really, really tired –have you seen their feet? Well, we promise not to be a nuisance, we just want to sleep!" The man mumbled something incomprehensible but motioned to them to come in.

A streetdog barked a few times when they followed him inside. They went through a small corridor and into a living room, where a woman was laying on a couch. She awoke with a startled sound. She and the man -that'd opened the door for them and who apparently was her husband- started a loud conversation in Spanish. Luca just slumped against a wall and Victor barely managed to hold him up. The woman noticed and to their surprise, she started talking English.
With a heavy accent, she told them:
"Sorry for the… fight we had. You can sleep here. On…" She looked at her husband, who pointed upstairs. "Desván. Uh," she was searching for the word, when her face brightened. "attic. I show you." She led them up on a small stairs, into a small room. There were no beds or whatsoever, but they were content with a safe place where they could rest without being afraid of being kidnapped again.
And besides, they were used to sleeping on the floor.

Abby finally let Danai slide to the floor and made sure the girl was laying comfortable on a grey blanket that the woman gave them. She wanted desperately for someone to talk to, someone she could tell everything into detail, before she would pass out.
But there was no one there.

She tried asking the woman for a phone, but all she did was shake her head in denial. Maybe they could find a phone tomorrow. And then the team would come immediately. Maybe she would be home again tomorrow. Maybe… and with that thought, she slowly fell asleep with a smile on her face.

(…)

Gibbs was almost there. With every minute he got a little closer. It still didn't go fast enough. What would he do when he would never find her again?
Would it feel like that time, so long ago?
He still heard her talk in his dreams, sometimes. His wife, smiling, telling them to be careful as he and his daughter would go horse riding.
It hurts. It hurts so much.
Sometimes the pain would just overtake him and he would be work on his boat and go the work but not feeling everything anymore. It'd taken so long before he found that there was something to live for again. Fornell, Jenny, Hollis –even Dinozzo; they had all tried to find the real Leroy Jethro Gibbs. They didn't understand. But Abby… Abby understood. She saw the deepest into him, deeper even than Ducky. She knew the reason he was like this. She was his girl, his funny, silly Goth girl who was too noble for her own good sometimes. She was the one he lived for now.
She accepted all of him, even with all of his past that still lived on within him.

Now he was on his way to the place he was hoping he'd find her.
And this time, he would never let her leave his sight again.
he just prayed he would be on time.

Finally, he saw the sign he was waiting for.

"Welcome in Mexico"

(….)

When they woke up, Abby felt… hinky again. Her head hurt like the first day… How strange. She remembered going to the motel… Being really sleepy… Slowly, she opened her eyes.
and gasped. Panic started to build up in her chest and she screamed.

No. This couldn't be true.
She couldn't be here.
But it was true.
They were back in the small room where they escaped from that very night.
They were back.

A/N
Wooh, cliffhanger!
You all probably hate me now. Sorry! (see, that's three times!)
NO, I haven't got a clue if there's really a sign saying welcome in Mexico and I don't speak Spanish. So please give me a break. And I was also too lazy to look up how far Mexico is from DC –If you know, don't hesitate to share.
I'll update another chapter as soon as I can and maybe, just maybe Abby and Gibbs will reunite… or maybe not. You'll have to keep reading! XD
YES, I haven't forgotten my promise: deviantart art/Abby-281443521
It's not really good or anything. Just wanted to attribute something extra to the story. To make up for the small writers block I've been suffering.