Chapter 6 - Family
Once everyone had retrieved their gifts from their respective rooms they exchanged them among much laughter and talking. Drinking his coffee Gibbs watched on as Abby practically glowed, her excitement to see everyone happy and together evident in everything she did and said.
His smile carried when Tony walked over to him with a gift in his hand, the younger man not failing to see where Gibbs' focus had been.
"Merry Christmas, boss," Tony grinned, passing over the present. "Hope you put these to good use...though I suspect you've already got everything you wanted this year."
"Yeah," Gibbs nodded.
Tony stood next to him where he leaned back against the table, watching everyone else as they sat in the open living room just a few feet away.
"I know you'll look after her but..." Tony trailed off and paused for a moment, unsure if he was over stepping the boundaries of his friendship with Gibbs. "She's special, ya know?"
"I know DiNozzo, and I get it," Gibbs answered softly, appreciative that Tony would look out for Abby. "Always gonna put her first, give her whatever she needs to be happy."
"Pretty sure all she needs is you then." Tony took a step away and pointed at the gift in Gibbs' hand. "Feel free to crack half of that open later on tonight after dinner."
Gibbs slapped him lightly on the shoulder, a stark difference from his usual head slaps, the gesture making the younger man's smile widen.
"Merry Christmas, Tony."
After Gibbs had opened up his present to find a vintage bottle of bourbon and a chisel set, he moved over to the fire to build it up a little, knowing that if it wasn't giving off enough heat Abby would get cold.
The rest of the morning was spent preparing the remainder of the food for lunch, all of them helping as they took turns to shower and relax in between. Abby and Gibbs stayed close to one another most of the time, exchanging gentle touches and brief kisses when they thought they were alone, allowing themselves to enjoy the changes taking place between them.
Abby had moved her bag into Gibbs' room as well. Besides the issue of Ziva snoring, neither of them was willing to sleep apart anymore when they didn't need to. She'd also called Kyle and Luca to wish them a happy Christmas and Gibbs had done the same with his dad, passing the phone to Abby so she could have a chat with him as well.
Neither of them told Jackson about their relationship, agreeing they'd rather go and tell him in person, but Abby found it impossible to lie when Kyle asked her if she got everything she wanted for Christmas. How could she not tell him that she'd gotten everything she'd wanted and needed for years?
When they eventually sat down to eat, Abby brought herself and Gibbs over a glass of wine and took the seat next to him.
While everyone's attention was focused on Tony and the huge plate of food he had stacked up, Abby leaned over to kiss Gibbs on the cheek. "You okay?" she whispered.
Abby knew this time of year was always a bit of a struggle for him, he'd gotten better at dealing with it and spending time with the family now surrounding him, but she didn't doubt he'd still have moments of sadness.
Gibbs lifted his hand onto the table to cover hers, squeezing it gently. "I'm good, Abbs...could sit here all day and watch you."
"You're sure?" she asked timidly. "That you're okay I mean...not that you could watch me all day."
He grinned and leaned sideways, kissing the curve of her ear, his voice low as he spoke. "You make things easier...better..."
Abby lifted her free hand to cup his cheek, turning so she could tenderly stroke her thumb over his skin. She quickly became absorbed in the blue depths of his eyes, unable to look away from him, and for a moment she forgot where she was, so overcome with her feelings for him that she softly pressed her lips to his.
"You make everything better," she murmured.
Realizing that silence had fallen and they had become the center of attention, Abby pulled back from him, her cheeks burning as curious eyes and knowing smiles were directed at them.
She cleared her throat awkwardly, picking up her knife and fork to eat, muttering "sorry."
"Don't be," Breena spoke up from the other end of the table, everyone turning to face her. "If I've learnt anything over the last several months it's that love shouldn't be wasted, you've all been through a lot...you two should be together, and we're all happy that you're happy."
"Very true, my dear," Ducky acknowledged from beside her, patting her hand gently. "Mr Palmer, I do believe Jethro isn't the only lucky man here."
The loud roar of Tony's stomach broke the moment, all of them laughing as he raised his hands in defence. "What? It's been hours since breakfast."
Abby shook her head as they all began eating, she knew Tony was loving having everyone around as much as she was, not to mention the constant supply of food. As much as he tried not to show it, he had his own memories to deal with when it came to Christmas, just like Gibbs did. So she loved that he could be around people who genuinely cared about him, rather than him brooding about the past or what could have been.
Feeling better that her relationship with Gibbs was slowly coming out into the open Abby let herself relax as she ate lunch, all the while maintaining some form of physical contact with him. She wasn't going to start flaunting things in front of the others, but it put her at ease knowing that everyone had accepted the changes.
At least everyone but one person.
She was having trouble gauging exactly what McGee was thinking, he was still polite and Abby couldn't sense any hostility, but neither did he seem particularly happy she was now with Gibbs.
On numerous occasions she'd told Tim that they could never be more than friends. It hadn't worked out the first time and even though she suspected that was mostly because of her feelings for Gibbs, she and McGee were just better as friends.
He'd agreed with her and moved on since then but there was something in his eyes that told her he was having trouble coming to terms with her and Gibbs being together. If it became a problem she would talk to him, but for now she was determined to enjoy the day with her family.
By mid-afternoon Ducky, Jimmy and Breena had gone for a lie down to try and sleep off the food overdose, while Gibbs and Abby sat sprawled out on one couch, Ziva and McGee on the other couch and Tony sat on the floor playing with Jethro.
"Don't get him too worked up Tony," McGee said as Tony threw a ball across the room. "He's had a lot to eat, I don't want him throwing up."
Tony screwed his face up at the prospect of having to clean up the contents of Jethro's stomach with his own so full. "Sorry, buddy, game's over."
"A walk outside might be a good idea though," McGee said getting to his feet and calling Jethro when he reached the door.
He put on his jacket and disappeared out the door, the dog eagerly following behind. Abby smiled as she watched them go, noticing that although McGee still seemed to be a bit uncomfortable around her and Gibbs, as the hours ticked by he appeared to be getting somewhat used to the idea of them as a couple. She knew it would take time, but appreciated that he was trying.
Reclining into Gibbs' side with her fingers threaded through his, Abby lifted their joined hands to study how naturally they seemed to fit together. She brought his long tanned fingers closer to her to slowly trace over his knuckles, feeling the arm he had draped over her shoulder squeeze tighter.
She didn't see the exchange of glances between Tony and Ziva as they watched her, the sound of Ziva's voice bringing her out of her reverie.
"I think I will go and have a nap too, unlike Tony I am not used to eating this much food...and it is not often I get to relax like this in the middle of the day."
"Funny, isn't that what you do every day at work?" Tony joked.
"I think you are mistaking me for yourself," Ziva retorted, standing up before DiNozzo could fire off another remark.
They watched as she walked up the stairs, Tony getting to his feet and looking around for his jacket.
"Think I'll go join McGee and try and work off a bit of lunch...give you two some time alone."
Abby reached out to grab a hold of his hand before he could move away from them. "Tony, you don't have to do that, we're here to spend time with each other, as a family."
"I know Abbs, and we will." He leaned down to kiss her gently on the forehead. "Believe it or not I know how long you've both waited to be together, so enjoy it without the craziness of everyday life."
Taking several steps towards the door Tony paused and turned around, a mischievous grin spreading out over his face. "Probably don't wanna get too frisky out here though, just in case Ducky comes out, don't want him having another heart attack."
Abby snorted as he left, turning within Gibbs' embrace so the front of her upper body was pressed against his chest.
"They're not real subtle." She raised an eyebrow and kissed his chin.
"Never have been."
"Don't want them to feel like they have to give us privacy though, this trip was about all of us...not that I don't want to spend every minute with you," she quickly added, panicking when she realized the words had come out wrong. "I didn't mean that like it sounded."
"I know Abbs, and it still is about everyone. I'll have you all to myself at night, you being happy is the most important thing to me, want you to have fun while we're here, you deserve it."
Gibbs framed her face in his hands, delicately kissing her lips as if she might break under his touch. The gentleness of the kiss took away her breath and Abby wondered how he always knew what she needed. He'd known how desperate she was to have him last night, and he knew now that she needed reassurance about not feeling guilty for wanting to spend time with her friends.
When he teased his tongue into her mouth to slide against hers, Abby let out a moan before nibbling on his bottom lip, her touches just as slow and tender as his had been.
Abby sighed when the kiss finally came to an end. "God Gibbs, I'm so tempted to just drag you off to bed and have my way with you."
"Never gonna discourage you from doing that," Gibbs smirked, his hands roaming down over her back to settle on the rise of her backside. "Almost can't believe I'm saying this but we'll have time later, I'll make sure it's worth the wait."
She kissed him again, this time for being so understanding and for knowing she wanted to spend time with everyone. It was part of who Abby was to show the people she cared about how important they were to her. And the most meaningful way of doing that was with time...minutes and hours that they might not have gotten if any of them had been killed in the explosion or if Ducky hadn't survived.
After everything that had happened, time was the biggest gift they had to give.
"Come on," Abby grinned, breaking the kiss and getting to her feet. "I promised Tony a snowball fight and I'll be able to catch him unaware cos he'll think we're in here making out."
She took hold of both of Gibbs' hands and dragged him to his feet, pulling him towards the door. Before opening it she paused and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips.
"Thank you...for being you," she whispered, smiling against his lips. "Promise I'll thank you properly later."
"Can't wait," Gibbs grinned as she led him towards the door.
After they'd put on their jackets, gloves and scarves Abby stepped quietly and carefully out onto the porch. She tried her best not to laugh when Gibbs signed to her that she was going to need a huge snowball to take out Tony's big head and full stomach.
The playfulness in him was something she didn't get to see as often as she liked, but she hoped now they were together it would become a part of everyday life. She loved to see him smile, the crinkles at the corner of his eyes and the way the blue orbs sparkled with mischief. It filled her with such a feeling of completeness to know she was the reason behind his smile, and she was willing to do whatever it took to make him happy.
TBC...