Abby looked over a Major Mass Spec, waiting for the results. This was the longest case she could remember. She hated when they involved kids. Then she could finally leave and go home. NO, she reminded herself, to Gibbs' place. Her roof was still being fixed. Damn snowstorm. Not that she minded staying with him! A sleepover with Gibbs...She reminded herself that he was her boss and that nothing was going to happen.

She left about an hour while later. Her hearse finally pulled into his driveway. She always noticed that he had a pretty little house, still living in the one he shared with Shannon and Kelly. She opened the usual unlocked wood door and walked in. She knew he would be in the basement, where he would work on another boat that he would get out of the basement somehow. But how? He knew that it bugged her. She never could get him to respond to her questioning.

"Hi, Gibbs." She knew he wouldn't even look up. He had reconized her heavy footfalls.

"Hey, Abbs." He was almost done with that one and handed her a sander. She absentmindedly wondered what hed name this one. They worked in mostly silence, with Abby chattering about the time she chipped his boat. He laughed at that. Her crazy ex had been stalking her and she'd gotten drunk in the basement. A strom began to blow in. The wind started to pick up and the thunder crashed. Abby jumped up, she hadn't been expecting that, knocking over his bourbon and work bench. She was always afriad of storms, her deaf parents never able to comfort her as a child. He just slightly smiled and pulled her against him to comfort her. He understood her fear. He let her go and she sat on the floor to watch him work.

He looked over later to see her curled up, fast asleep. He smiled in earnest at the sight. She looked like such a little girl; afraid of storms and thunder. He gently picked her up and started up the stairs to the guest room, next to his own. The guest room seemed fitting, it had once been Kelly's room. But Kelly had been his daughter and his feeling for Abby swirled between loving her like a daughter and wanting to be her lover. Changing his mind, he put her in his own bed. He'd just sleep on the couch. That guest bed wasn't that comfortable.

He tucked her in, after slipping her boots off her feet. She'd wake up at some point and change into something of his. At that thought, he put a t-shirt on the nightstand by the bed. He then grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and stretched out on the couch. Soon he was asleep as well.

They both slept for a few hours, despite the storm. She screamed at about one a.m. in a nightmare. He knew she'd been having them, but didn't know that they were this bad. She never detailed them, he never wanted to make her relive them. He jolted up and ran to her, without thinking. He sat on the edge of the bed to comfort her. She curled up in a ball against his chest, listening to his soothing words. She stopped crying and he moved the blankets to accommodate both of them and pulled her against him. He pulled the blankets up over both of them. Her head rested against his chest, she could hear his heart beat, even in her sleep. She drifted off to sleep against him.

NCISNCISNCIS

She awoke first, due to it being a bright Saturday. She mused, it is always bright after a storm. She loved the smell of rain and the fresh, renewed smell it left behind. She found herself still in his arms, his heart thumping lightly against her cheek. She listened for a few minutes until he began to waken himself. He smiled to himself as he realized that she was still in his arms. It had not been a dream. And her nightmares made no more appearances that night; unknown to him, he starred in the rest of her dreams. She viewed him as her hero, her knight in shining armor. He hugged her tightly before letting her go to get up and get some air that didn't smell like her. He needed to be able to breathe without wanting her. And he needed coffee in his system before he did something he would regret. Abby sat there, cold, missing his warm arms around her. But she had a whole day for that...a whole day with him...

NCISNCISNCIS

She finally came down and joined him for breakfast. They sat in compainionable silence, each lost in thier own thoughts. Thoughts that were consumed by the other. As breakfast was finished he headed down to work on his boat. She cleaned up and followed him. She had no other place she could or wanted to go.

Abby was very content to stay with him, more than content. They didn't do much other than work on his boat. But still...there was something about his work that made her giddy. He crafted those boats with his own hands. She loved to help him with them, love to see what he created. Not to mention just watching him work.

"Whatcha going to name this one?" They stopped sanding for a moment. He looked at her thoughtfully.

"Don't know Abbs. Haven't really thought about it." In truth, he had, but not that detailed yet.

"Oh, okay. Maybe something pretty. You give boats a girl name right?" He smiled at her inquiry, and her as usual spot on guess. He was starting to get an idea, one that had surprisingly never came to him before. Usually the boats were given a name of a woman he loved or admired. It had been a long time since he'd named those first two.. a long time between his world crashing and it being rebuilt. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither did Jethro Gibbs fall in love in a day.

"Yea Abbs. That or a place or important person." Important person indeed. His own. Yes, he knew the name of this one. But he wondered how the woman would feel about that. He wondered if it would be taking it too far; crossing lines and breaking rules that he didn't want to cross or break. In truth he worried not about what he would do, but her reactions.

"Ok, maybe flowery or..what about..oh I don't know! It's your boat after all." She grimaced in frustration, worried she may have upset he when he stopped sanding. She knew that those boats were his and that she just had the priviledge to work on them. He caught her eyes and decided immediately that that's exactly what he would name this one, the name that spun in his head and heart constantly.

"My girl.." She looked at him inquizitively. He sighed internally. She was naive, but he hadn't wanted to spell it out, to risk it all. He was too old, too close to her to lose her now. HIs heart began to knock against his ribs and his breath caught in his lungs.

"That's a funny name for a boat, but whatever floats your boat." She giggled at her pun. He had to smile before moving around to the side that she was one. His blue eyes met her green ones. He knew that if he didn't take the next step, regardless of the outcome, he would be plagued by what-ifs for the rest of his life.

"No..it's name will be the Abigail Marie." Well, there she has it, how would she take it?

"Oh that's so pretty-" She stopped talking when she realized that he had said her own name. She threw her arms around him, obvoiusly in joy of the percieved honor of his boat being named after her. She broke away from him and ran her hands down the smooth side of the boat. No, of the Abigail Marie. She looked back at him and jumped happily into his arms, knocking him back against the wall. His strength supported her featherweight body easily. He chuckled and kissed her lips lightly. She felt her world go all woozy.

He read the shock and surprise on her face and his heart dropped and its rate picked up even more, until she recovered and returned the favor. He held her for a moment, kissing her until they both needed air. He never let her go, his pounding heart thudding against her head.

"Abby..." He looked down at her. She always could read his mind. She took his hand and led him back upstairs to his bedroom. He smiled and laid her on the bed. He laid down with her, not doing anything more than holding her. He was determined to take this slow and not mess it up. he had lost Shannon and royally screwed up three other marriages. He would rather take a balde to his heart than hurt Abby.

She looked up at him and slipped her hand under his shirt, feeling the smooth muscles she found there. She had wanted a bit more but was more than content to lay there with him. After all it was midday and she always liked to nap when she could. (Which wasnt often). So she could stay there forever. She dozed lightly for a few hours until her stomach grumbled for food. She unwillingly opened her eyes. He was still dozing, sleep calming and relaxing his handsome features. She gently shook him.

"Hey...is it lunch time yet?" He yawned and looked at her. He hadn't napped during the day like that for a while. It felt refreshing especially when he saw Abby looking at him.

"Uh..yeah. What do you want?"

"You." The word was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She ducked her head agaisnt the pillow. He grinned at her

"That can be arranged."

FIN