And the story continues….

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The week progressed slowly, but Gibbs improved by leaps and bounds every day. On Monday he was moved to a regular room, and on Tuesday his sutures were removed. Abby went home each afternoon for a quick shower and change of clothes while Gibbs worked with a therapist to strengthen his lungs as well as getting back on his feet.

Jackson headed back up to Stillwater. He didn't want to feel like a burden to his son or to Abby, and he had a store to run. He promised to be down again soon, and Abby promised to call him each evening with an update.

Gibbs was eventually discharged on Saturday and he was more than ready to go home. Although he moved a little slower, he had been up on his feet for a few days, and was ready to be back in the comfort of his own home, with Abby by his side. And, although he hated to admit it, Gibbs was looking forward to getting back into the office. He was required to take another week off, and then he was on desk duty after that, only allowed to work cases from the comfort of the NCIS offices until Ducky cleared him for field work.

But as Abby said, at least he was alive – everything else would happen in due time.

He took comfort in the fact that by the time he was discharged, Abby was moving around nearly without hesitation. He noticed that she was still rather stiff in the morning when she woke, and that I took a good twenty minutes of moving around before her movements became more fluid, but from what he was aware, she was no longer taking any form of pain medication.

Tony carried both their bags up the steps of his house, and opened the door, holding it open until both Gibbs and Abby were inside. Abby had spent the entire day before cleaning, and grocery shopping and getting everything ready for Gibbs' arrival.

She first got him settled on the couch, and Tony gave him a sympathetic look as Abby moved around him, fluffing pillows, pulling off his shoes and then moving to the kitchen to make him a bite to eat.

"Abby, relax. Come sit with me."

"You need to eat, Gibbs." Abby called from the kitchen. "You need all the rest and good food you can get so that you are back to 100% as soon as possible."

Gibbs looked to Tony in a silent plea of help.

"Uh uh, if she wants to make you healthy food, I'm not getting in the way of that. That's a battle you've got to fight alone. I got your six, boss, but when it comes to what Abby wants. That's a train I'm not stepping in front of."

Gibbs fixed him with a glare and Tony slapped the back of his own head. "Thanks Boss."

"Tony, you want a bite too?" Abby peeked around the corner.

"Uh no, I was just leaving. You call if you need anything, okay? I'll stop in tomorrow or Monday before work and don't forget to call Jack this afternoon. He'll be waiting for your call." Tony was quick to grab his jacket and head out. Like Gibbs, he wasn't the biggest fan of health food, preferring to eat pizza and Chinese take-out and then breaking out a sweat to burn it off.

Gibbs waited patiently for Abby to finish in the kitchen. She eventually emerged with a plate over-flowing with fresh cut veggies, fruit and a turkey sandwich containing lettuce and tomato and avocado. Rather than his usual coffee, Abby presented him with a glass of water.

"I'm not so hungry, Abby. Will you just sit with me?"

"You aren't sick of me stuck to your side yet?" Abby grinned.

"Not yet. Please?"

"There is that 'please' again." Abby set the plate down on the coffee table, but picked up the sandwich. "I will if you at least eat the sandwich."

"I can do that."

Abby smiled. She knew he'd be unlikely to touch the cut veggies, and that's why she had loaded the sandwich with them as well. Her plan had worked. She knew that if she had just brought the sandwich, he'd have been likely to resist it as well.

Gibbs was surprised at how hungry he actually was once he started on the sandwich. Abby waited until he had finished the sandwich before leaning against him. She sighed as his arms wrapped around her, and he pulled her in close, pressing his nose against her hair and inhaling deeply. "God Abbs, I've missed this."

"Me too."

They were silent for a while, Abby content to relax in his arms, enjoying their first bit of alone time in weeks, even when they were alone in the hospital room, there was always a nurse flittering in and out of the room checking equipment, monitoring his condition and making notes in his journal.

From what Gibbs could remember, someone had deliberately hit them head on. He remember the gut feeling of being followed, but couldn't remember seeing the face of whoever hit them and other than being asked what he could remember, no information on the accident had been offered.

Torn between his obsessive nature, wanting to know all the details on the case – knowing full well that Tony had started the investigation as soon as he found out about the crash – and his urge to hold on to Abby and not let go, he wasn't sure how he could balance both. Memories of his obsession over finding the man that had killed Shannon and Kelly clouded his brain, and he remember how every other aspect of his life had faded until he had successfully put a round through the man's head.

He didn't want to risk his relationship with Abby, but something was nagging in the back of his mind that this - whatever it was - wasn't over until he ended it.

"Gibbs?"

"Hmm?"

"I… I've been thinking about this for a while, and I… You saved me, Gibbs. I was a little bumped and bruised, but I would've been hurt much worse, but you… you saved me. Thank you."

"Abby-"

Abby pressed a finger to his lips. "But I swear to God, if you put yourself in danger like that again, thinking that you'll sacrifice yourself for me… I will follow you to the grave and kill you all over again." Abby tried to sound mad. She had spent way too much time contemplating her life without him, and after the scare she'd had, she decided that life without him wasn't an option, and as much as she had tried to stay strong and tell him she would be okay if he couldn't fight, she was wrong. She felt guilty, wanting him to stay for her rather than being with Shannon and Kelly, but she couldn't help it.

Gibbs tried to fight the smirk, but in the end he gave up. "I love you too, Abbs."

Abby melted at his words. "I know, I just…"

"I know, Abbs. But we're okay," Gibbs sought her eyes for reassurance, "right?"

"Right. We're more than okay. We'll be even better if you eat your fruits and veggies." Abby reached for a strawberry and pressed it to his lips.

Gibbs smiled and took it, purposely nipping at her finger in the process.

Abby laughed. "You're trouble, you know that?"

-------

Tony arrived back at his apartment to find Fornell waiting in the parking lot. "Fornell?"

"I called Miss David and she said you were driving Gibbs and Abby home from the hospital and then were headed home. I didn't want to call while you were with them, so I thought I'd meet you here."

Tony nodded. He wanted to keep quiet about the case as long as possible around his boss, though he knew he couldn't keep quiet forever. "Come on in. Can I get you a beer?"

"Yeah." Tobias set his briefcase on Tony's dining table, opening it and spreading various papers out to show Tony. "How are they?"

"Good. He's still a stubborn bastard, and she still doesn't seem to see it." Tony smiled.

"She always has been immune to his temper." Tobias accepted the beer with the smile.

"So, has the FBI learned anything, or does NCIS need to take over to get this case figured out?"

"You remember Mamoun Sharif?"

"Not a name I care to remember, why?"

"The driver… we've found connections between the two, but if you'll look at these…" Fornell handed Tony a few sheets of paper.

Tony skimmed over the information on the paper and then looked up at Fornell. "He was part of Sharif's plan to release the BZ gas?"

"It seems as though it was Sharif's plan, but that yes, he was involved. But I don't think he was behind the idea of the crash. We've found large deposits into his around, plus, the photos of Gibbs' car were sent to him, but the return address is just a p.o. box, we're working on getting an ID."

"Why would there be deposits into the account if this guy crashed into Gibbs and then died?"

"Maybe he didn't think he would die in the process?"

"Do you have any leads?"

"I… Sort of."

Tony raised an eyebrow.

----

TBC….