A/N: Enjoy! Long author's note at the end!

Gibbs propelled Abby, Jenny and McGee into the living room, his hand on the small of Abby's back. Abby looked pretty confused, as she had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"Am I in trouble? I didn't do anything, I promise Gibbs!" She babbled as he told her to sit in the armchair. McGee sat on the chair next to her, while Gibbs and Jenny sat on the couch opposite.

"It's alright Abs, you've done nothing wrong." Gibbs assured her, and she sighed, relieved.

"What is it? What's happening?" Abby prompted in the silence that followed. Gibbs glanced to Jenny, who nodded.

"We wanted to ask you something." Gibbs began, and Abby looked at him quizzically. "We were wondering if you would… want to live with us permanently."

"What… like… be adopted?" Abby asked, and McGee gaped. He generally wasn't included in these 'family' conversations.

"I guess so." Jenny agreed, tilting her head slightly as she waited for Abby's answer.

"I… I…" Abby, for once, was completely lost for words, so instead she launched herself at Gibbs and Jenny, landing between them and hugging them tightly.

"I guess that's a yes?" Gibbs said, smiling widely.

"Of course!" Abby exclaimed, before getting up. "Thank you."

"It's the best we can do." Jenny replied, smiling.

"For everything you've done." Abby continued. "Thank you. All of you. McGee too. And Tony, Ziva, Ari and Kate obviously, but they're not here."

McGee stood up and hugged Abby from behind, and she kissed his cheek.

"You two go and do… whatever you guys do." Gibbs let them go with a flick of his hand, and they heard what Gibbs commented on as a 'herd of elephants' as they ran upstairs.

Abby sat down on her (black) computer chair and pushed herself from where the chair was, near the door, to near the bed where her computer was. She brought up her internet and logged onto Facebook.

McGee arrived close behind her, and almost fell into Abby's coffin as he ran into the room.

"What are you doing?" He asked breathlessly, as Abby typed her login and password in.

"Facebook." Was her reply. McGee rolled his eyes.

Abby clicked to write a new status, and sent it to her broadcasts. McGee read it before Abby went to change her settings. It read:

"Abigail Jennifer Ann Sciuto is now Abby… Gibbs?! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!"

McGee grinned, and watched as Abby typed in her new name under settings.

"You know, it isn't legalized yet." He told her, and she shrugged. McGee looked at what it was. 'Abigail Jennifer Ann Sciuto - Gibbs.'

"I know." She replied. "I'm keeping my… old… surname so people can find me, and also… I don't… I don't… it reminds me of mom and dad and Julian."

McGee could feel tears pricking the back of his eyelids as tears flowed down Abby's cheeks. He sat in her coffin, and she sat with him, and let him rock her gently, until her tears relented. She sniffed.

"I'm sorry." She apologized.

"It's alright." McGee said, brushing her hair from her face, which, for once, was down. Abby rested her head on his shoulder, and that was the way they fell asleep. Fully clothed, together in a coffin.

Love and bliss.

Some people find love in strange places.

Meanwhile, Ari and Kate had the apartment to themselves. Tony and Ziva had decided to go out and have a drink at the local pub together, so they had the place to themselves. Ari poured them each a glass of red wine, and Kate smiled as the sat on the couch together, in pajamas, sipping wine.

Kate's pajamas consisted of her underwear and one of Ari's old university shirts, whereas Ari was only wearing pants, his tanned bare chest impressing Kate every time she looked at him. Currently, she was continually impressed.

"I could get used to this." Kate said, smiling, and Ari pulled her to him.

"Me too." He agreed.

"Are… are we going to get our own place?" Kate asked, and Ari shrugged.

"Maybe Tony and Ziva could even live here." He suggested, and Kate smiled.

"Just what I was thinking. It seems very… Tony and Ziva." Kate said, and thought for a while. "It's… Tiva?"

Ari laughed at the combination of the names.

"Interesting!" He agreed, laughing. "Can you imagine? It sounds… Spanish…"

Tony and Ziva were having a rather different conversation to Kate and Ari. Moreover, they weren't actually talking.

Neither knew why, or even when conversation had failed. So, instead, they both sat drinking their beer in silence.

Ziva put her empty glass down on the table, and glanced at Tony, to find him staring at her. She smiled as their eyes met. Tony drained his glass and stood it down on his beer mat, before walking up to the bar to pay.

Once he had paid, and tipped the bartender, he headed back to the table, to find Ziva ready and waiting to leave. He took her hand and they walked out into the cool night air, their hands entwined and swinging gently.

Without knowing why, and without conferring, they headed down to the park nearby. Ziva took off her shoes as they walked on the grass, and they sat down near the lake.

Tony sighed, contented, and laid back on the ground. Ziva followed his lead, and lay down next to him, her head on his arm.

She remembered something a counsellor had once said, another place, another time.

'Communication is key.'

She thought about her and Tony's relationship, and realized that the most meaningful moments were the ones where silence spoke the words.

That night, no one went to bed alone or sad.

Kate and Ari.

Ziva and Tony.

Abby and McGee.

And, not forgetting the two people most prominent in most of the six teenager's lives.

Jenny and Gibbs.

Abby dreamt that night that she was in heaven with her mother, her father and her brother, but then her dream changed. She spent the time she could with them, but they told her, 'it is not your time to go.' She woke up after a while, but when she found herself safe in the cocoon of McGee's arms, she fell back into a contented, happy and dreamless slumber, where her guardian angels watched down on her.

That night, as they lay under the stars before going home, Ziva wondered on what her father was doing now. Or her mother, or Talia. The last thing she had heard was that Eli David, she no longer considered him her father, had gone back to Israel, to rejoin Mossad. Her mother and Talia, she was sure, were having a fun life together, just the two of them. She would get in touch soon, she told herself. Talia's sixth birthday was fast approaching… two weeks. She knew Abby would enjoy organizing a surprise party.

Tony thought about what his father was doing. Where his mother was now. The thing he realized was that he actually didn't care. He had his family with him now. Gibbs, the father. Jenny, the mother. Abby, McGee and Ari, his siblings. Kate, of course, was the only person in his 'family' who was actually family. And Ziva. Not family, but the closest person he would ever get to. And hopefully, stay with forever.

McGee wondered about his life in five years time. Would he still be with Abby? He certainly hoped so. Kate and Ari would be married, he realized. Would there be Kari kids running around? He thought there possibly would be. Would Tony and Ziva ever get further than the dating stage? He was pretty sure they would. After all, they already acted like an old married couple, so nothing would change apart from it was be legal and rings would be exchanged.

Kate and Ari discussed plans. They had decided on a small wedding, nothing big or extravagant. Only their real family, minus Eli David, but adding in Gibbs, Jenny, Abby and McGee would be invited. They talked about what sort of wedding they were going to have, and Kate surprised Ari with her revelation.

"I am converting." She had said, and he had stared at her amazed. So, it was decided. The wedding would be traditionally Jewish. To Kate, this was the strongest bond of commitment. Her parents would disapprove, for a while. They were strongly Catholic, but to be honest, she had only been Christian because they were. To give Ari what she believed was right, she would become Jewish.

She laughed when Ari told her she was now eligible for Israel citizenship. He had explained that because she would be related to someone Jewish, and would be a Jew herself, she was automatically able to apply for an Israeli citizenship. She had commented that they seemed surprisingly accepting, and Ari had agreed. He realized that now his children would be Jewish, without having to convert. Both had gone to bed, with hopes and dreams for the future and a smile for each other.

Gibbs thought about the fact that now he and Jenny would have a child. Even though years ago they had found out that Jenny couldn't have children, due to the unfortunate case of polycystic ovarian syndrome that had left Jenny infertile as the doctor had misdiagnosed her with cancer instead and she had received the wrong treatment. Gibbs decided that Abby would be the best child they could have together, and even though they had missed her younger years, they would make the best of the rest.

Jenny remembered about Gibbs' previous marriages. She wondered whether a daughter like Abby would ever live up to Kelly, and whether she herself had ever lived up to the memory of Shannon. She hoped for the future.

Their future.

No one knows what the future is going to end, do they?

All we can do is to hope it turns out the way we want it to.

Sometimes things go wrong, sometimes things happen in a rather different way than we ever expected.

In the end, it's all for the best.

Whatever happens in life, it happens for a reason, even if reason doesn't know why.

And if you runaway, you never know where it will lead you.

For Ziva?

It led her here.

To now.

And she's never going to look back.

A/N: Well, there you go! That is the official ending of Runaway! I hope you enjoyed it!

If over ten people want me to, I will write an epilogue, of ten years later perhaps.

I want to thank you all for following this story through, and for all your amazing reviews that kept me going! Check out my other stories if you like my stuff, I'll probably start a new one soon!!

Reviews will be much appreciated on the finale of my favorite story I have written for NCIS!