Oops! Sorry about the delay. I've gotten a tad behind. Not sure if I'll make it to post tomorrow, but then I hope things will be back to normal.

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The weekend went by in a blur for most everyone except Abby. Gibbs spent a minimum of twelve hours a day pouring over the old case files relating to Sharif, while Hollis, her team as well as Tony, Ziva and McGee followed one cold trail after another.

Once Tony had assured her that he would keep an eye on Hollis as well as the well-being of her lab, Abby reluctantly let Ducky take her home. They spent most of both Saturday and Sunday at his place before he drove her home. Both nights it was mid-night before Gibbs got home. Abby watched through the window upstairs in the guest room, what had been her room, as Hollis' rental pulled up. She couldn't see their faces, but they say a moment before Gibbs got out. The doctor has insisted that Gibbs not drive until a follow up scan in two weeks.

She watched as he shut the door and then nodded to one of the security teams parked across the street. She was halfway down the stairs when Gibbs unlocked the door. "Abbs?"

"Here." Abby stepped off the bottom step and turned to face Gibbs as he hung his jacket. It was the second time she had driven him home and it drove her nuts. Gibbs had explained that Tony hadn't been around, and that Hollis had offered and all he wanted to do was get home to Abby so he had said yes. Abby wasn't the type to make a scene, so she kept quiet, instead letting him fold her into a tight hug.

"What'd you do today?"

Abby pulled back. Did he really just ask me that? "What did I do today? I did nothing, Gibbs. Like yesterday, Ducky babysat me while some other fool was in my lab, doing my work!"

Gibbs pulled her back into the hug "We'll get you back in the lab as soon as we can, I promise."

"You know she took me out because she doesn't like me, right?"

"That's not true. I'm not allowed to do my job either."

"Yes you are!" Abby's anger was slowly bubbling inside. If she had been kicked out of her lab because of her involvement, Gibbs shouldn't have been allowed to help either. She knew he wasn't out in the field, Hollis had said something about always needing another pair of eyes… yeah, Gibbs' eyes.

"I'm at my desk all day. I might as well be home." Irritation edged into his voice.

"Then stay home with me."

"I can't. I have to be there… just in case. I just… I need to finish this." Abby could see it in his eyes, the way he spoke about finishing… she almost wished that someone else had the chance to kill the bastard first before Gibbs could get his hands on him. "Come on," he continued. "Lets' go to bed, I'm exhausted."

Abby was anything but tired, but she followed him to bed anyway. If she couldn't work with him during the day, she could at least lay beside him at night. Gibbs was asleep moment after he pulled her in close and kissed her good night. Abby lay awake another two hours before she too fell asleep.

Gibbs was already gone by the time Abby woke, shortly after ten on Monday morning. She showered first and then made a quick sandwich after peeking out the window to make sure security was still in place. Next she moved to her computer, checked her mail and wasted time on a few of her favorite websites. By early evening she was feeling a bit lonely, and decided to call Gibbs and check in.

She dialed the number by heart and waited. It rang three times before the phone was answered and Hollis' commanding voice came through the line.

"Is Jethro there?"

"He just went down the street to get us some-"

Abby heard a slight scuffle before Tony's voice came though. "Hey Abby! Boss ran down the street for some Chinese."

"Oh. Have him call me?"

"Sure. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just a little bored."

"Want to talk to McGeek? He said something about a new computer game. I stopped listening, but I'm sure you'd get more out of the conversation."

Abby hear McGee's protest in the background. "Nah. Maybe I'll just get some stuff done around here."

"Okay, call me if you need anything. McGee, Ziva and I…" There was a brief hesitation, likely as he glared at Mann, before he continued. "…send our love."

"Thanks Tony, love you guys right back." Tony's declaration of love had put a small smile on her face. She hung up and stretched out on the couch. It took 6 minutes to make it from the squad room to the Chinese place, and they always called in their order, so it was only a matter of paying. She figured it would be a maximum of25 minutes before Gibbs returned her call, so she closed her eyes to relax, her phone clutched tightly in her hand.

It was close to mid-night when the sound of the key in the lock startled Abby awake. Gibbs pushed open the door moments later and smiled when he saw her blinking against the harsh light in the living room. "You were supposed to call me." Abby blinked several times as her eyes began to adjust.

Gibbs hung his jacket after throwing the deadbolt and headed towards her. "I'm sorry, Abbs. Tony told me, but then Hollis thought she had something and I… I just got so focused, I guess."

"S'ok." Abby sighed, as Gibbs motioned for her to sit up so he could sit beside her. "But I missed you today."

He leaned forward for a kiss and Abby collapsed against him. "I missed you too."

Abby felt her anger melt away as she let Gibbs take control of the kiss. He had that effect on her, and as much as she wanted to stay mad, she couldn't. He was just pushing her back on the couch – they still couldn't have sex yet, but a heavy-duty make out session on the couch hadn't caused either of them any harm – when the doorbell rang.

Gibbs froze and automatically reached for his gun at his hip, but frowned when it wasn't there. It was dark and it was late, and if it was security, they would've called first. "Up the stairs, Abbs." Gibbs whispered and nodded towards the steps.

Abby took two steps up and listened. She heard Gibbs let out a sigh of relief as he opened the door. "Hollis?"

"Since when did you get a lock for the door, Jethro?"

"There has always been a lock, I've just never used it. It's late, what've you got?"

"I found the name of a half brother after you and Tony left, I thought you might want to know."

Abby processed the information – It'd had been Tony to drive him home that night, that was a relief. She headed back down the steps towards Gibbs and Hollis. Gibbs stepped back allowing Hollis inside.

"We haven't found much of anything on him yet, but his name is Nasser Sharif, and they were half brothers."

"You couldn't have called to share that?" Abby interrupted. It was one thing to be pleasant to her at the NCIS offices, but this was her home. She wanted to be sure Hollis knew who was in charge.

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TBC…