CLOSE PROXIMITY

A/N: Thanks so much for all the alerts and reviews - appreciate every one.

Chapter 3 - Roused

Abby's first thought when she woke after a good night's sleep on Christmas morning was how warm she felt.

Strong arms were wrapped tightly around her, the weight of them resting firmly over her middle and she was pressed back against a solid chest, and long legs tangled with hers. A large hand was resting just underneath her breasts, the tips of his fingers oh so close, and his face was buried in her hair, the wash of warm breath raising goosebumps on the back of her neck.

Most distracting of all was the traditional male salute to the morning pressed against her ass... and what felt like a very impressive salute at that.

Gibbs was virtually cradling her.

Not wanting to move lest she wake him and he pulled away, Abby just lay there, enjoying the comfort and warmth, relishing the feel of his solid body curled around her almost protectively.

She was determined to savour every second, knowing she might never experience it again.

She had no illusions that his hard on was as a result of holding her. Most men woke up with a morning 'wood' and it could have been Nurse Ratchett in the sleeping bag with him and Gibbs would have reacted in the same way.

That didn't mean she couldn't enjoy it... only just resisting the urge to push back against him. She really wanted to wriggle her hips to tease that hardness, making him moan and move that hand so it was cupping her breast, so she could feel her nipple respond to those rough fingers.

Abby could pinpoint the exact moment Gibbs woke when he stiffened... well, the rest of him that wasn't already stiff, that is.

She felt his arms momentarily tighten and then loosen, and his breathing hitched as he must have realized where he was and whose body he was wrapped around. Gibbs pulled back his arms slowly and rolled onto his back carefully, obviously still thinking Abby was asleep. She was happy for him to continue believing it, to avoid any embarrassment.

She left it a few minutes and then yawned, stirring as if she was only just waking up before turning over, making a show of rubbing her eyes and giving him a sleepy smile. "Mornin, Gibbs. Merry Christmas.'"

Abby was hard put to read his expression as he moved to lean on one elbow, smiling down at her. "Merry Christmas, Abbs. Not the one we'd planned."

Abby shook her head, keeping her voice down so as not to wake the other occupants of the room, "Doesn't matter. It's Jackson I feel sorry for... he must be so disappointed we didn't make it to Stillwater in time."

She didn't add that waking up in his arms would have made this a memorable Christmas wherever she was, and would probably keep her in fantasy fodder for a long time to come.

Gibbs flopped over onto his back and stretched, "If the storm's clearing we might still get there later."

He'd spent a wakeful hour after hearing Abby's whispered comment, going over and over in his mind what she'd said. Gibbs still couldn't allow himself to believe that Abby had feelings other than friendship for him, however much he wanted to. But he couldn't see how else to interpret her words.

So it was with a sense of nervous anticipation that he'd finally drifted off to sleep. Perhaps this break away from the pressures of work would be an ideal time to really find out how she felt about him?

Obviously, his body had already decided for him what he should do and had migrated towards Abby in the night. Gradually waking, wrapped around her soft curves and with a raging hard on, he'd only just stopped himself pressing even closer and rolling her over to kiss her senseless.

Fortunately, she'd still been asleep and he'd managed to untangle himself before things got awkward.

When his body had calmed down sufficiently, Gibbs clambered out of the sleeping bag and walked over to the window. "Looks like the worst's gone over in the night. Sky's clear."

Abby joined him and he slid an arm round her waist when she leaned against him as they peered out at a white world. All the vehicles and parking lot were covered. About a foot had fallen in the night but the sky was now bright. If the plows could clear the roads this morning, they could be on their way.

While Gibbs was in the bathroom, Abby rummaged in their bags and they shared the remaining food when he returned. The kids were fidgeting in the bed and that soon woke their mother.

As the family got their things together, the kids protesting at having to leave a warm bed, Abby disappeared to brush her teeth. When she came back, it was see Gibbs investigating whether the coffee maker would work again this morning, but it seemed even the generator was now out entirely.

Abby giggled as she watched him, "Glaring at it won't make it work, y'know."

"No coffee," came the succinct and muttered reply.

"With observation skills like that, have you ever thought of being an investigator?"

He tried to keep the glare going but the corners of his mouth twitched at her teasing, and he reached up to tweak her nose.

"Just remember, Gibbs, I'm the one who's got to deal with you without your morning coffee."

Anna laughed, looking up from packing her bag, to watch them curiously, "Coffee addict, huh?"

Abby turned to her. For a moment she'd forgotten they had an audience as they bantered, "Oh, you've no idea. Coffee runs in his veins by now."

He quirked an eyebrow, smiling, "And what about you without your morning caffeine."

She held up the thermos, smirking as he grimaced, knowing what she was going to say, "Cold coffee... it'll do as a substitute Caf!Pow in an emergency, and trust me, no hot water and no fresh coffee constitutes a major crisis."

"Caf!Pow, huh?" commented Anna, smiling. "That's hardcore caffeine."

"No, the tar he drinks is hardcore," Abby assured her, ignoring Gibbs' snort of amusement.

Gibbs knelt down to pack up their rucksacks. He left the sleeping bags out for now. If they couldn't get going this morning, they'd have to wait a while longer and the warmest place to do that in a building with no heating was inside the sleeping bag... god help him.

Wrapping up in layers again, they headed outside to join the other guests in helping to clear snow from the parking lot and their cars. At least it would keep them warm while they waited.

Most of the other guests were already outside, including all the kids who took the opportunity to have an impromptu snowball fight. As a lot of the vehicles were equipped for winter travelling, there was an abundance of snow shovels and work progressed quickly. Soon the route out of the motel parking lot was clear and most of the cars were free of snow.

Very little traffic was moving on the main road, but gradually snow plows went past and news came again through the truck drivers' CB radio that traffic was moving up ahead, so it shouldn't be long before they could resume their journeys.

As they cleared the last of the snow from around the truck's wheels, Abby glanced over at Gibbs. He had his back to her, bent over and from this angle, showing off one of his best... assets.

A far too tempting target...

Scrabbling in the snow, Abby quickly launched a snowball before he could see what she was doing, but her aim was off and as Gibbs started to stand up, it landed full in his face.

Brushing the snow off and sending a mock glare her way, Gibbs grabbed more snow, seeing her eyes widen. Abby turned and ran, squealing as she tried to put some distance between them.

He didn't bother trying to throw it but ran after her. Catching her with ease, he spun her round, rubbing his handful of snow over her face. She gasped at the sudden cold as wet slush trickled down her neck, protesting in amongst her giggles, "Giiibbbs, I can't believe you did that! Not nice."

Retaliating, she sent a volley back at him as Gibbs retreated but her aim was more enthusiastic than accurate and he dodged every one easily. Breathing heavily, Gibbs saw how beautiful she looked... her eyes sparkling, lips curving in an enticing smile, almost doubled over with helpless laughter.

He wanted nothing more than to stride over there and lose himself in her mouth.

By now, John and Emma, along with their mother, had come across to join in the fight and it wasn't long before they were all, with the exception of Gibbs, covered in snow as a flurry of snowballs shot back and forth.

When they were in danger of re-covering the truck with as much snow as they'd already cleared, they ended the snowball fight, calling it an honourable draw, the kids giggling helplessly. Grabbing her kids' hands, Anna led the way back inside to collect their things.

Gibbs held out his hand for Abby to take. She was still laughing, her eyes sparking with mischief as he pulled her in to his side as they followed the others inside. She enjoyed the feeling of his arm round her and snuck her own arm round his waist. He didn't react, except to smile at her.

He looked remarkably relaxed. Abby reached up to lace their fingers together and Gibbs used the arm slung round her shoulders to pull her in closer, planting a kiss on her hair.

Collecting their bags, they bid farewell to Anna and the kids, and Abby noticed the wistful look Anna sent in Gibbs' direction, which he was either oblivious to or chose to ignore.

When they emerged from the motel, traffic was starting to trickle past on the highway and they joined the slow moving queue of cars out of the parking lot, everyone keen to leave.

As soon as they were on their way, Abby managed to get a signal on her phone and rang Jackson, who sounded relieved to hear from them. Abby put the call on speaker and held the phone so they could both hear and talk to him.

"Merry Christmas, Jack."

"Merry Christmas, Abby... Leroy." The cheeriness in Jackson's tone was unmistakable. "I got your message, Abby, but had visions of you both trying to sleep in that darn truck."

"We were totally fine, Jack, don't worry. We made it to a motel... which was way more comfy and a lot warmer than the front seat of the truck... even if there's a Marine nearby that would probably insist he can sleep anywhere." She glanced at Gibbs, grinning as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey dad. We should be there in a couple of hours."

"Lookin' forward to it, son."

"I should warn you, Jack, neither of us have been caffeinated and in Gibbs case, that may well be dangerous as he's driving."

"Oh dear, bad news then, son. The coffee maker's on the fritz."

There was a moment of silence in the truck before Abby burst out laughing at the look of horror on Gibbs' face. Before either of them could say anything further, the rich chuckle coming from the speaker broke in, "Sorry, couldn't resist that one. It's a pity I couldn't see Leroy's expression."

Trying unsuccessfully to smother her giggles, Abby told him, "Oh, Jackson, you're bad."

"I know but it was worth it to hear your laugh, Abby. Don't worry, the coffee will be on when you get here."

Ending the call, Abby glanced at Gibbs to see him chuckling and couldn't help teasing him further. "I swear, Gibbs, you went deathly pale on me there and for a minute, I thought you were gonna faint dead away. I could almost see the palpitations at the thought of having to drink instant coffee."

Gibbs nudged her shoulder at the teasing, enjoying her throaty laugh.

After a while, when they were about half an hour from Stillwater, Abby ventured softly, "You seem quiet, Gibbs. I mean you're usually quiet... but you seem more quiet than usual this morning and I was just wondering if you're okay."

"I'm fine."

"Ah, fine. I wonder which particular version of Gibbs 'fine' that one is? Is it the fine that means," her voice dropped into her impersonation of his deeper voice and he bit back a grin, "I'm really fine, stop worrying and fussing over me, Abby. Or the fine as in I'm sort of fine but I'm thinking about something and I'll tell you when I'm ready, Abby. Or is it the fine that means I'm not fine at all but I really don't want to talk about it, back off Abby."

He shook his head, chuckling, "The middle one."

Even after all these years, her perception and ability to read him like a book still surprised him.

"That's okay then," she said simply, content to let him talk to her when he was ready. Abby plugged her earphones in and started listening to her iPod, leaning her head against his shoulder and was soon dozing again.

Gibbs glanced down at her as she slept. One night's sleep didn't make up for all she'd lost this week and she still looked tired. A few days in Stillwater away from the pressures of her heavy workload would do her the world of good... he hoped.

Gibbs savoured the feeling of her close presence, occasionally turning his head to brush his nose against her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo, grateful as always she didn't press him to talk.

She never had, seeming to sense when he didn't want to. That was something else that made her unique.

She'd typically picked up on his preoccupation, which was mostly because he was turning over in his mind her words of last night.

Did she really want him as much as he wanted her?

TBC...