Whew – sorry about the delay. We've finally lowered back to the mid-upper-80's (though, as humid as Seattle can get, I prefer 70's around here), and the family has flown home (great graduation party though). Here is the next chapter – and there should be another tomorrow… and now that things have settled, one a day…

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Eventually the call of nature had Abby crawling out of bed, moving over Gibbs slowly, not quite wanting to give up the body contact that she so desperately craved. Gibbs asked, softly, if she was coming back to bed, and tried to hide his disappointed when she said she wanted a shower and that she would meet him downstairs for breakfast.

They had been cuddling, but now that she was up, Gibbs felt that she was more distant. He waited until he heard the water turn on, and the shower curtain rings scrape along the bar before pulling on a pair of jeans, an undershirt and a blue polo. In the kitchen Gibbs found breakfast waiting for them, but decided to wait for Abby, so he headed to the store.

Tony was working alongside Jack in the store, laughing as Jack told him stories about the locals, like Dorothy, who spent her days spreading the town gossip from the general store to the diner and then to the knitting club she often attended.

He was surprised that he heard Gibbs before he saw him – the man, he swore, was part cat with the way he moved about silently.

"Uh, morning boss."

"Good morning, Leroy."

"Morning." Gibbs stared at Tony, sending him a mental note to scram. Tony suddenly understood the look. "I, uh, I need to run upstairs."

Gibbs gave him a slight nod and turned towards his father. "Thanks for watching out for her."

"Someone has to."

"I know. It should be me." Gibbs hung his head a little and looked away from his father.

"She's lucky she's got a friend like Tony. She's a special girl, Leroy, I hate to see you lose her. She's good for you."

"I know." It was true. Gibbs couldn't think of a single day since he'd known her where he hadn't smiled, at least once, because of her.

Jack moved around the counter and picked up the pricing gun. "This might sound harsh, but you need to hear it. If you had put Shannon through something like this, she would've slapped you long time ago, in fact, I think she'd slap you now for putting Abby through all this."

Gibbs looked up sharply.

"You both were in a serious car accident, she wasn't just physically hurt, it was emotional. Heck, you were hurt emotionally, too." Gibbs tried to interrupt but Jack stopped him with a stern look and continued. "I don't care if you admit it or not, but you were. And I know you deal with your emotions alone, but you need to open up to her. Focusing on getting this bastard isn't dealing."

"I can't deal if I don't get him"

"Leroy, you've got a great team, let them do their job. You don't think they want this bastard dead as much as you do?"

Gibbs jaw tightened. "I didn't get the asshole that killed… them… until after they were dead. I won't let that happen to Abby."

"No, you won't, but you'll let Hollis get to her instead."

"No, Hollis won't be a problem."

"She's forgiving about the casework, but then you add in that Hollis woman and it's just too much. I must say, the short time I was in DC, that woman was all over you. You might not have noticed but she was. I know you would never cheat on Abby, but…"

"I know, I just… I… I, well, I need to talk to Abby." It would no doubt be hard to explain everything and he didn't need to do it twice. This was between him and Abby, so he'd save the explanation for her.

"You have a lot of explaining to do to her. You've got a lot to make up for. She doesn't ask for much, son. A little attention goes a long way with that young woman. You should've seen her at the diner down the street. Everyone wanted to talk to her, fawning over her. She took it all in, but you can see in her eyes." Jack stepped up to his son. "She just wants attention from you. It's about time you gave her some."

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After her shower, Abby found Tony sitting in the kitchen. "Tony!" She rushed forward to hug him "What are you doing here?"

"I drove Gibbs up last night."

"Oh," Abby remembered that he wasn't cleared to drive yet. "Thanks."

"If you don't want him here, Abby say the word and we're gone. I'll take him back to DC if you'd like."

"Oh, Tony. You're such a great friend." Abby sat on his lap and pulled her legs up. "But no, I want him here. As long as Hollis isn't here, I'm sure we'll be okay. But why is he here?"

"I'm not 100% sure, so I'll let him explain. He just called and told me to pack a bag and pick him up. I just did what I was told."

Abby messed his hair. "You're such a good little boy, Tony."

Tony bounced his knee hard causing Abby to fall off. She caught herself by grabbing hold of the table and then, after sticking out her tongue at him, sat across the table from him.

Tony stood and moved to the oven. "Breakfast, m'dear?"

"Nah, I'll wait for Gibbs. Where is he?"

Tony raised his eyes. "I'm pretty sure Jack is ripping the boss a new one… down in the store."

"Oh no…" Abby pushed back from the table and rushed towards the store. She pushed in through the door, finding Jack and Gibbs face to face. "Jack, wait!"

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TBC…