Part Fourteen

It was so easy to forget about everything else in the haze of contentment that settled on her as she drove to work but Abby was brought back down to earth with a bump later that morning after her computer beeped to signal a new email had been downloaded into her inbox.

She half-walked, half-danced over to her computer and hit the button to open her email automatically. She wasn't paying attention at first and it took several moments after she looked up for what she was reading to make sense.

'My dearest Abby,

I'm so glad you're okay and recovering from what Doyle did. I promise if I'd known... Well, I would have taken care of him, I swear. It doesn't matter now, anyway. We can just put the past behind us and look forward to our future, which I'm sure will be wonderful.

Can't wait to see you again, and to finally be with you.

All my love x'

The email wasn't signed with a name, just a kiss. Abby moved the mouse cursor to rest over the delete button and let it hover there, deliberating with herself whether to delete it and dismiss it as the ramblings of her imprisoned ex... or to wonder if it could be more.

"It has to be Mikel," she told herself quietly. It sounded like something he would write, she rationalised, and he mentioned Tommy Doyle by name...

Making her mind up, she clicked on the delete button before she could change her mind, going straight to the deleted items folder to clear it from there, too. On impulse, she found herself reaching for her phone, dialling a number she knew all too well. A few moments later, she hung up after receiving assurances that Mikel Mawher was still behind bars and wasn't due to be released for over a year.

A lot could happen in a year, Abby told herself firmly. He could forget about her, get over his little obsession...

... And if he didn't, she'd be ready for him. She had plenty of time to prepare.

After a pleasantly quiet morning, Tony decided to take advantage of having no current case and take an extended break with one of his favourite people. He offered to go on a coffee run and got a grunt from Gibbs that could have been permission. When his boss was summoned to MTAC, Tony decided to go with the assumption that he had Gibbs' approval and made arrangements to meet Abby by the elevators.

He'd noticed when she'd walked past his desk that morning that the bright smile on her face had been joined by a glint of something he couldn't recall seeing in her eyes before and saw it as his duty, as a friend, to investigate and make sure it was a good thing.

Linking arms with her, ignoring the questioning looks Ziva and McGee threw them, he led her into the elevators and out of the building.

"So..?" Tony glanced at her expectantly.

Keeping her gaze fixed on the coffee shop sign ahead of them, Abby avoided his gaze. "So."

He slowed his pace deliberately, knowing it would make her look at him. "You gonna tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing? We don't have a case..." The mock innocent look she gave him, the widening of her green eyes might have fooled someone else but not him. He knew her too well. "Stop looking at me like that, Tony!"

He grinned at the exasperation in her voice and nudged her affectionately, picking up the pace a little at her urging. "I wouldn't have to look at you like this if you'd just tell me... C'mon, Abs! Some of us are living vicariously here!"

Abby rolled her eyes at him but said nothing more. She let him open the door for her, walking inside the coffee shop with a smile.

"Abby!" Elliot and Susan, the coffee baristas, stopped what they were doing almost immediately and moved around the counter to greet her. "You're back!"

"It's so good to see you're okay," Susan told her, relief evident in the petite brunette's face. She gave Abby a hug as enthusiastic as any Abby herself could give before stepping back with a blush. "We were so worried when they told us you were ill."

"Hey, I came in and told you guys she was doing okay!" Tony protested but his objection was overlooked as Elliot took his turn in hugging the forensic specialist.

"It's one thing hearing about it, another seeing it for ourselves," Elliot replied as he, too, stepped back. Susan returned to the counter to continue serving the customer she'd been in the middle of taking care of while Elliot ushered the two NCIS employees into a booth in the corner. "So you're sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Abby smiled reassuringly, touched by their concern. "Can't say I'm in any rush to drink coffee or Caf-Pow anytime soon but Ducky assures me you guys have plenty of fruit teas I can play around with till I find one I like."

"We've got enough to keep you happy," Elliot grinned and stood up. "So coffee, cream and two sugars for Agent DiNozzo, raspberry and blackcurrant tea for Abby... and a strong, black coffee to go for Agent Gibbs before you make your way back."

Abby's face lit up at the mention of their boss, making Tony smirk. "You know us a little too well, Elliot."

"Good customer service," Elliott called back over his shoulder, leaving them alone so they could talk in relative privacy.

"So," Tony repeated, lifting an eyebrow. "You and boss man seem on better terms."

"Better terms is one way of putting it." Her smile was coy, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

He waited a moment, sighing when she didn't expand on the subject. "So am I just to assume you guys talked and you realised you were completely wrong, and I was completely right?"

"You can assume that," she said after a pause. When he shot her another look, she laughed and leaned forward in her seat. "You really want the details, Tony? Think twice before you say you want to live vicariously through me because he's your boss. You're gonna have to work with him even after finding out that he's really, really good at..."

"Ah, ah, ah!" Tony put his hands up, his expression changing. "I don't need to know everything. Just... Just enough to know you're doing the right thing and that you're happy. Both of you."

Her smile was soft, her eyes shining. "I'm happier than I can remember being in a long time. It's early days but I think I can make him happy, too."

Having seeing the look on his boss's face that morning, and the small smile that played on Gibbs' lips when he thought no one was watching, Tony couldn't help but agree with her. He reached out and covered her hand where it rested on the table, squeezing her fingers. "I'm glad for you," he told her honestly, genuine emotion flittering over his face. "If anyone deserves to be happy, it's you guys."

"You do, too, Tony," Abby assured him, turning her hand over in his to link their fingers. "And you will be, one day. I know you will."

Tony shrugged, saved from having to answer by Elliott returning with their drinks.

He got more and more frustrated as he listened to them speak. His hand tightened around his cup and he had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from shouting out loud.

She was a good actress, he'd give her that. If he didn't know any better, she might've been able to convince him she was in love with her boss, too.

He did know better, though. He knew she was just pretending, that there was a reason for her deception. Drew knew where her heart really lay, who her loyalties were with.

Just as he knew where his were, too.

Thoughts of Abby and her boss had kept him awake, tossing and turning in an empty bed knowing she wasn't sleeping alone in the apartment below him. He'd had to reassess the situation, reconsider everything he thought he knew, and he'd come to the same conclusion time after time.

She was his. Drew's. Not Agent Gibbs', not Mikel's. His.

It made perfect sense to him. Why he'd been assigned Mikel as a cellmate, why the ramblings of his friend had only intrigued him rather than annoyed him. Why he'd been able to punish Doyle for hurting her when no one else – not the NCIS agent, not Mikel – had been able to.

Fate had led him to her, and it was fate that she would eventually be his.

He listened to her laughter and tried to pretend she was laughing with him. He watched her link hands with Agent DiNozzo across the table and pretended he could feel her fingers against his own.

When she stood to leave, he looked up and watched her, willing her to look over at him, to acknowledge he was there.

For a moment, he got his wish, their eyes meeting across the coffee shop. Abby blinked, surprise crossing over her face for a few fleeting moments. She opened her mouth as if to say something but was whisked away by Agent DiNozzo.

Drew sat back in his seat, exhilarated, his heart racing in his chest.

There was a connection between them, he knew, one no one could deny.