Hey, sorry for the delay! I've been having issues with ff the past few days. Argh. Third time trying to post – fingers crossed it works!

By the time bed time rolled around, Gibbs was content to find himself curled up on the couch with Abby as she flipped channels. He wasn't interested on watching anything other than Abby, but the steady stream of chatter coming from the TV was relaxing and reminded him of simpler, easier times. Shannon loved to watch TV before bed and he would tease her endlessly – torn between wanting to spend time with her or escape to the basement while she watched her favorite shows. But now there was no decision to be made, he was just happy to run his fingers through her hair and soak up the weight of her body against his.

"You working tomorrow?" Abby tilted her head back to look at him over her shoulder.

"No," Gibbs shook his head. "Told Vance I was going to take a few days off."

"I'm happy to spend time with you, but I don't need a babysitter."

"I know," he leaned in to kiss her cheek, "just want to be with you. Had so many regrets, things I didn't say or do. Need to do something about that."

"Well, even if you aren't working, can we maybe go to NCIS for a little bit? I know you said Vance won't let me work yet, but do you think I could be in my lab for a little bit?"

Gibbs nodded. "I could probably get some paperwork done if you want to spend some time around the office. Lots of people will want to see you, talk to you. You up to that?"

"Mmm, I can't exactly just ignore people. They are expecting me to come in at some point, right? I just want things to be relaxed and normal again as soon as possible. And I need to talk to Carol about my stuff, clothes and whatever."

Gibbs tensed at the mention of her stuff. He didn't know what Carol had planned on doing with everything, and he doubted she had done anything yet. But if her apartment was still the way it had been, he didn't want Abby to feel like she had to go home alone. In fact, he was hoping she'd decide to call his place home. But he wasn't sure how or when to ask. What if she needed to be in her apartment to help with her memories? What if she thought moving in with him was moving too quickly, regardless of what had happened? "Let's not worry about it now," he fought a yawn, "nothing we can do until tomorrow anyway."

"I'll call Carol in the morning. You have her phone number, right? I, uh… don't remember it."

"I've got it saved in my phone, but for tonight..." he leaned forward and nipped at her ear, "you're all mine."

"Gibbs!" Abby squirmed away from him and turn with a grin.

"Okay, okay," he held his hands up in mock surrender. "But it's getting late, let's get to bed," again he fought another yawn. Despite having actually slept, he had woken several times to check that she was real.

Abby was up first and pulled him to his feet. Everything was already locked up or put away, so all they had to do was turn off the lights and head upstairs. They had both showered earlier before the team had arrived, so their bedtime routines were quick. Gibbs stepped out of the bathroom to find Abby already under the covers. "You look tired" He pulled back the covers and eased himself in next to her.

"Yeah, just trying to remember everything has my head feeling a little foggy, I guess." She snuggled in close when Gibbs flipped off the light and turned toward her. "Was today too much for you? Having everyone at your house?"

"Nah, was fine. Good for them to see you and spend time with you. And I can't keep you completely for myself."

Abby laughed, "but you've got me to yourself now." She threaded her fingers up through his hair and pulled him into a kiss. She moved onto her back as he pushed himself over her, never breaking their kiss. He kissed her back until they were both breathless and then moved to nuzzle her neck, dropping occasional kisses to the soft skin where her neck and shoulder met.

When Abby released a jaw-popping yawn, Gibbs move off of her and tugged her in close. "We should get some sleep, you need the rest."

"Mmhmm." She was asleep within minutes.

Gibbs held her close and focused on warmth of her body as he once against worked to reassure himself that it wasn't a dream. He pressed another kiss to her forehead and smiled as she mumbled something against his chest and tightened her hold on him. It wasn't long before he found himself being lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sound of her breathing.

"She's dead, Gibbs. Get over it," Vance pushed a file across the desk. "They've got her body down in the morgue, tell Ducky to get to it when he can, we've got the FBI hounding us for the Samuels case, so be sure to have that on my desk as soon as you're finished."

Gibbs shook his head, "she's not dead… she can't be."

"Oh for Christ's sake, go take a look if you must. But wallowing in your grief will get you nowhere."

Gibbs raced out of Vance's office and took the stairs down to Ducky. "Duck…"

"Oh Jethro, Vance said you might be bringing in more bodies…"

"Abby!"

"Oh yes, terrible loss, isn't it? Nothing much could have been done to save her, so it's probably for the-"

"Where is she?" Gibbs cut him off.

"Hmm? Oh, Abby?" Ducky looked at the far autopsy table and gave a quick nod of his head, "she's there."

Gibbs rushed over and took a deep breath before pulling the zipper on the body bag down, "she's not here, Duck."

"Hmm? Oh…" Ducky walked over and looked into the empty bag. "Perhaps she was left behind on accident? Or did the medics take her to the hospital morgue? You'd have to ask Mr. Palmer, I don't quite remember. But as I was saying, Vance…"

Gibbs fought his way to consciousness and finally opened his eyes. His heart was pounding in his chest, but he was in bed and Abby was still curled into his side, sleeping peacefully. He glanced at the clock beside the bed to see that he'd only been asleep for a few hours. He tensed when Abby moved, but she only shifted closer and mumbled against his chest before settling again. He threaded his fingers through her hair and settled back to wait for morning to come.

Abby tapped her fingers nervously against her knees as Gibbs drove them toward NCIS. She kept telling herself that things would come naturally, and if they didn't, Gibbs was right there to help her through. But she couldn't help but worry. Would she remember what to do to check in with security? Did she remember where her lab was? Everyone's names?

"Abbs, you doin' alright?"

Abby looked up and saw that they were parked in the parking garage. "Um, yeah. I'm just nervous, but I'll be okay."

Gibbs nodded and the got out and circled around to open the door for her.

Abby grinned at him as she got out. "I do remember that you like to be a gentleman and open doors for the ladies."

Gibbs felt his ears burn as he rolled his eyes and then shut the door behind her.

Abby could feel his demeanor change as they stepped inside the building. His hand tightened around hers, his shoulders stiffened and he stood right beside her, their shoulders nearly touching.

"Hey Abby, it's good to see you," the security guard stepped forward to take her bag.

Abby was hesitating on his name, but he was wearing a nametag so she cheated. "Hey Jason, it's good to be back." She dropped Gibbs' hand as she went through the metal detector and waited until Gibbs joined her on the other side. He picked up her hand again and they walked to the elevator. "Third floor, right?"

Gibbs nodded and pushed the button.

They hit the squad room and Abby hesitated three steps out of the elevator. "Abbs, you okay?" Gibbs gave her hand a squeeze.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm okay. Just… remembering," she smiled and stepped forward, dropping Gibb's hand when Tony jumped up from his desk and hurried around to hug her. She gasped when Tony wrapped his arms around her middle and lifted her off the ground. "Tony!"

"What?" He grinned, "it's just so good to see you back at NCIS, even if it's just a visit today."

"It's good to be here," she hugged him back and then smiled at Ziva as she approached for a brief hug. McGee was next, and the entire time she was with the team, various others from around the office came over for a quick hug, a pat on the back and a hello.

"Ready to go to your lab?"

"Yep," Abby followed Gibbs to the back elevators. "I'll be back up to say goodbye before we leave. Be good!" Abby was nervous during the ride down. "So, it doesn't look exactly the same, because my personal stuff isn't there, right?"

Gibbs nodded as the elevator doors opened. "We'll get your stuff back in here when you're ready to start again." Together they headed for the lab.

"Baker," Gibbs growled, "this is Abby…"

The new replacement turned from the computer to look at Abby. "Wait, what… I thought you were, well, dead."

"Nope, just a little accident, I'll be good as new in no time," she said cheerfully.

"Vance will keep you up-to-date on when Abby is ready to return."

"So I've lost my job?"

Gibbs stood a little straighter. "I'm sure Vance will assign you elsewhere, either in our agency or loan you out to another. This is Abby's lab," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kevin looked at Abby for a moment and turned back to the computer, shaking his head. "Didn't like this place anyway."

Abby ignored the tension and moved around the lab, looking at all her old machines, stopping at one she remembered to be her favorite. "Major Mass Spec…"

"That old piece of crap?" Kevin asked. "That doesn't work; I'm waiting for a tech to come take a look."

"Nah, the Major has always been a little picky," Abby pulled off the back panel and wiggled a few wires. "Mostly he just needs a little extra love and attention and an occasional little wiggle." She replaced the panel in the back and then watched as the display screen lit up. "See?"

Gibbs watched as Abby worked with her beloved machine and then dropped a little love-pat to the top before moving on. He didn't fight the smile spread across his face as she again, moved around the lab reminding herself what her machines did, how to use them and all their little quirks. "Okay," Abby returned to his side, "I think I'm ready to go again. Can we see Ducky?"

"Mmhmm…" Gibbs placed his hand on her lower back and turned her toward the door. With a last glance at Baker, they left her lab. He wanted to ask if her lab was just like she remembered – with the exception of her personal belongings, but he remembered Ducky's suggestion to avoid asking her if she remembered things and instead offering one of his memories. "I think you've sweet-talked that mass spectrometer into working more times than I could ever count."

Abby nodded as they stepped back into the elevator. "We all work faster with a soft touch, imagine what Tony could do…"

"I think he's beyond a little pet, a slap seems to work well. But you… does that mean I can come to the lab, give you a little soft touch and get my results faster?"

Abby laughed and bumped his shoulder with hers. "I don't know about faster, but you can give it a try…"

The doors opened and they stepped out and followed the sound of Ducky's happy humming. "Hey Duck," Gibbs greeted.

"Jethro! Abigail! Lovely that you two decided to stop by. Mr. Palmer is out running errands, so I've a few minutes to spare. Tea?"

"I'm fine," Gibbs looked to Abby.

"I…" Abby hesitated.

"Abbs?"

"I'm okay," she assured him. "I just… I don't know, something sparked a memory… Um, no tea for me, thanks. We just wanted to say a quick hello. Gibbs?"

Gibbs was thrown off by her sudden urge to leave, moments after arriving. "You ready?"

Abby gave a quick nod. "It's good to see you again, Ducky."

Ducky hugged her and looked at Gibbs, confusion on his face. "Take care, my darling. I will see you again soon."

As soon as they were back in the elevator, Abby was in Gibbs' arms. "Take me home."

TBC