A/N: Big thanks and hugs to gosgirl for kicking my muse's backside into gear.
Chapter 23
With their heads resting on the same pillow in the centre of the bed, Abby and Gibbs lay facing each other, barely a hint of a gap separating them. Covering their entwined bodies was a thin sheet, and a blanket sat at the foot of the bed, along with one of Gibbs' hoodies. Abby had noticed since they'd got back from the cabin how he always made sure there was a hoodie she could reach during the night if she got cold. She hadn't needed to use it yet, preferring to snuggle closer to him and absorb his body heat instead, but just the fact that he continued to leave it there for her provided even further confirmation how he was always looking after her.
The subdued light coming from the lamp beside the bed provided enough illumination so they could see each other clearly, but also set the calm and intimate mood. Abby knew she'd never felt this content before in her life; her entire future was right here in front of her. Now whenever she thought about what lay ahead, Gibbs was always at the forefront of her mind. Abby no longer had to wonder how she would spend the rest of her days making plans alone. Her existence wasn't just about her, it was about them. She'd spent so much time wishing that something would miraculously lead him to her, that somehow she could be everything to him, and now she was.
Being able to feel the way she did about their future was something she was aware might take her a little while to get used to. Before her time at the cabin with Gibbs, Abby had continued to tell herself that nothing good could really come from looking too far into the future. She had her job and her friends, and they were the things that got her out of bed in the morning. She wouldn't allow herself to think ahead, because in her mind, Abby was always alone. She was always without Gibbs.
Now it was difficult to not think about planning for their future. Their commitment to each other was strong and the realization that every thought she had would involve them together made her take pause so she could remind herself Gibbs really was hers.
As they lay together, Abby studied every detail of Gibbs' face; the strong curve of his jaw, the lines of his mouth that she couldn't stop kissing, and the intensity in his blue eyes that made her heart skip a beat. There was no denying how sexy she thought Gibbs was, but just as much as she loved everything about him physically, she was captivated by what made him the man he was; his heart, mind and soul.
While they had dressed for bed after their shower, Abby doubted they would stay clothed for very long. She had one of Gibbs' old NIS t-shirts on and a pair of panties, while Gibbs had just put on a pair of boxers. One of her hands lay on his bare chest, her fingers gently moving through the smattering of hair, while her other hand was resting flat against the warm skin of his back. Gibbs had both his hands on her waist, holding her hips nestled against his, their entangled legs ensuring their entire lengths were as close as they could be.
"This is nice," she sighed, her fingers moving from his chest, up his neck and higher to play with the strands of soft silver hair that fell over his forehead.
"Gonna get used to you being here all the time real easily," Gibbs admitted, trying to pull her even closer.
The kiss he initiated didn't require much movement from either of them due to the already close proximity of their mouths and Abby soon found herself completely immersed in the feel and taste of his lips. She could envisage every night finishing this way; wrapped up happy and safe in his arms. But as much as she loved the idea that this would become a common occurrence in everyday life, she wanted Gibbs to understand what her moving in would mean, for both of them.
"Are you sure about this...about me moving in?" She asked breaking the kiss, and returning her hand to travel over the contours of his chest.
Gibbs moved one of his hands to cup her cheek, his thumb teasing over her swollen moist lips; his longing gaze converying his feelings before any words even left his mouth. With one look he could slow the world down around her, with those expressive eyes he made her feel like nothing else and no-one else mattered.
"Meant it when I said what's mine is yours," he whispered. "I'm sure. There's never gonna be anyone else, Abbs."
While she had no trouble imagining all the good things that would come from her moving in, Abby knew it would be a mistake to believe that it would be sunshine and daisies all the time. Just as they could both be incredibly stubborn, they both also had their own ways of coping with situations and the last thing she wanted was for Gibbs to feel like a guest in his own house.
"I just don't want you to feel like I'm taking over when my stuff gets moved in," she said, letting her eyes drift closed, readying herself in case Gibbs told her he'd changed his mind.
Gibbs lifted his head off the pillow so he could press a soft kiss to each of her closed eyelids. "I want you here. I know it might take us some time to get used to certain things. I've lived alone for a while now, and so have you...I want this to be our home."
Every time she'd talked about his house in the last week Abby had been careful not to allude to the fact that she now saw it as her home too. She knew there were places in the house that held special meaning for him, that there were memories he hadn't completely dealt with. Gibbs asking her to share his bed had been a big step forward but she didn't want him to feel as if she was pushing him into things and invading his personal space too much.
Abby opened her eyes to watch him kiss his way along the bridge of her nose, before he rested his head back down on the pillow. He was so unbelievably close. She fought the urge to take his bottom lip into her mouth and suck on it, knowing that before she could have her way with him again that this was a discussion they needed to have.
"Promise me if something gets on your nerves you'll tell me...if my music's too loud, if I leave too much mess or make too much noise...I'm sure I'll have bad habits that will at some stage drive you a little mad." Her voice was gravelly, the seriousness of her words almost overrun by her arousal. Clearing her throat she continued on, inclining her forehead forward so it touched his. "I couldn't stand the thought of you hiding down in the basement and resenting me for something I don't realize is upsetting you."
Even though he was making progress with being more open with her, Abby knew Gibbs had a tendency to brood. Instead of bringing something up and risk hurting her, he was likely to just let it continue to irritate him and end up causing a rift that could easily be fixed if he'd talked about it.
"I've spent enough time on my own to pick up bad habits too; I stay up too late, drink too much bourbon and don't eat properly," he joked before turning serious again. "And sometimes, I don't appreciate what's right in front of me...that's gonna change. I won't resent you, Abby, don't think there's anything you could ever do that would make me believe otherwise."
"Even me wanting to tell the rest of the team?" she asked with trepidation.
He smiled and lowered the hand that had been on her cheek to slip up under the hem of her t-shirt and lightly skim over her back. "Even that."
"It's just...I know you wanted to keep it a secret but they're important to us. I've had to hide how I feel about you for so long and I don't want to anymore. They're my family...they're our family."
Being able to behave around Gibbs the way she wanted, with no restrictions or limitations had been a relief that Abby had never expected to be so freeing. All the things she wanted to say to him and all the ways she wanted to be with him, now there were no longer any barriers to keep him from her. But there was just one thing that was stopping her from completely letting go.
Abby had never been ashamed of being in love with Gibbs, hiding her feelings from her friends had merely been a defence mechanism to protect herself, and to protect him. The rest of his team had already picked up on the changes in her since returning from the cabin, and she wanted them all to know that Gibbs was the reason for those changes, for her happiness.
"I think they'll be hurt if we don't ask them to help with the moving," she continued. "And I have a lot of stuff, Gibbs...even though I won't need to keep everything, we could use a few extra sets of muscles to help out."
Gibbs raised his eyebrows at her statement. "Well Ziva's got muscles, DiNozzo and McGee I'm not so sure about."
Abby swatted his chest lightly. "Play nice," she teased.
She knew they would need help when it came to bringing over some of the larger things from her apartment. Gibbs' relic television and the cabinet it sat on would never be able to hold up to her viewing standards. And even though she doubted much of their free time would be spent watching tv, there would be times when she just wanted to sit down with Gibbs and relax.
There were also several bookshelves filled with scientific books and journals, as well as her bed and coffin. What to bring and what to get rid of would be something she'd have to discuss with Gibbs once they started to pack all her stuff up, but for now she was more focussed on making sure the rest of the team would be there to enjoy the experience with them.
Looking away from his scrutinizing gaze, she focused on a spot on his chest. Thoughtfully thinking out her next words, her finger traced repeatedly over a small scar to the left of his sternum before she went on. "This is a special occasion for me, for us, and I want to share it with people we care about. I need to tell them."
Gibbs leaned in to quickly kiss the corner of her mouth, his hand tracing soothing patterns on her back while he shifted their lower bodies so his legs had a tighter grip around the back of hers. "If it's important to you then it's important to me."
"So we'll tell them on Monday then." It was more of a statement than a question and before she had chance to let her nerves overcome her she kept talking, wanting to get everything off her chest so they could enjoy their first full weekend together. "And maybe sometime in the next couple of weeks we can put in for some vacation time and go and see Jackson...and go to Louisiana?"
Gibbs chuckled at her enthusiasm. "You really are serious about telling everyone."
"There's never gonna be anyone else, Jethro," she repeated his earlier words fondly. "This is it for me, you're it."
When he lightly brushed his lips over hers, Abby temporarily forgot what they were talking about. With just the simplest of touches Gibbs was able to direct her thoughts to only one thing; the all consuming need she had for him. She whimpered as he nibbled her top lip, his tongue sweeping into her mouth. Abby's hand that had been playfully stroking through his chest hair zeroed in on one of his nipples and Gibbs groaned into her mouth when she lightly pinched it.
"I'll talk to Vance about vacation time," he said huskily, drawing back from her and kissing his way up the side of her face to her ear. "But we can call Jack tomorrow as well, I'm sure he'll be happy to hear from ya."
Abby felt a sigh of relief go through her, she hadn't been entirely sure that Gibbs would be willing to share their news with everyone so soon. They were still getting used to the newness of their relationship so she had wondered whether he'd feel ready to deal with everyone else's reactions like she was.
"I want everyone to know that I love you...that you're mine." Abby grinned when she realized what she'd said and ran her nose along the side of his. "Guess some of your possessive streak is rubbing off on me."
"I'd rather a different part of me was rubbing you," he smirked, holding her hips in place and wriggling himself against her.
Abby gasped and moved the hand that had been on his back a little lower to dip under the waistband of his boxers. "So should we head over to my apartment in the morning to start packing, or can you think of something more entertaining we can spend the weekend doing?"
"Thought you wanted to spend some time in your hammock..." he murmured against her lips.
At the mention of the hammock, Abby pushed him over onto his back, untangling her legs from his and straddling his waist. "I do...and we really need to christen those stairs in the basement."
Slipping both hands under her t-shirt, Gibbs glided them up her sides and pulled her body down flush along his. "For a long time, the basement was my sanctuary...want it to be ours now, Abby. Don't want it to be a place where I go to retreat from life anymore."
By Gibbs putting the hammock up for her, Abby knew he was welcoming her into every part of his life. While in the past the basement had served as the only place he could find peace and quiet, the one place he could escape, now on the occasions he did need to step away from the realities of his job he wanted Abby there with him. She also understood there would be times when he needed solitude, just like everyone did at some stage.
Abby lightly nuzzled her cheek alongside Gibbs', closing her eyes and giving in to the feel of his warm hands as they moved to run up the length of her spine. Sighing, she rested the centre of her forehead just above his eye before regaining the ability to speak. "It doesn't have to be a place where you totally withdraw from life...but I understand there'll be times when you need to be on your own. You'll still have difficult cases and want time to clear your head, and I'm okay with that."
Gibbs gently nudged his forehead against Abby's and she took it as a sign of his agreement. Turning her face more towards his, she began kissing the corner of his mouth, stopping when he hadn't responded as she tried to deepen the kiss.
"I'm sorry." His voice was barely audible and yet Abby could hear the honesty that it carried in the quiet room.
She sat up, straddling his hips and looking down at him quizzically, uncertain exactly what he was apologizing for.
"I'm sorry that I didn't get to ask you to move in the way I wanted...the way we both wanted."
As much as Abby would've liked the occasion to be more romantic, and just the two of them, the end result was the same. Gibbs cared for her enough that he wanted her here with him every day. That in itself meant far more then the way in which he'd asked her.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry for...you don't need to woo me or win me over, you did that years ago," she teased, bracing her weight on his chest, her fingers digging lightly into the muscles underneath.
Suddenly, the realization of exactly what was happening sunk in, and a huge grin spread out over Abby's face. With everything else that had happened she hadn't allowed herself to really get excited about the prospect of moving in with him. "So how does it feel knowing you'll be my first real roommate?"
"Was hoping to be more than just a roommate," Gibbs growled as he sat up, his hands moving to the bottom of her t-shirt so he could lift it over her head.
Once it had been removed and thrown to the end of the bed Abby pressed her chest against his, both of them gasping at the feeling of their warm skin once again coming into contact. Abby started to rotate her hips slowly, enjoying the strangled moan that rose from between Gibbs' lips as his body started to come alive under her movements.
"So much more..." she purred against his lips and before Gibbs had chance to say anything more Abby's mouth was firmly sealed over his.
Without the frantic need they'd had in the basement hours earlier, they took their time in exploring one another and eventually gave in to the demands of their body's. Abby rose above him, asserting a dominance that Gibbs was beginning to get used to. And as she shuddered around him Gibbs pulsed within her, both of them finally falling back onto the mattress exhausted.
Moving off him, Abby let Gibbs manoeuvre her so he could wrap his arms and the rest of his body around her from behind. The feeling of his weight on top of her and around her was something she'd never get tired of, nothing had ever made her feel more protected or more loved.
"I can't believe how miserable I was a week ago," Abby sighed reflectively, her breathing starting to calm and her trembling subsiding. "Never thought it would be possible that we'd be in each other's lives like this...be in your bed and thinking about moving in together."
Gibbs pulled her tighter within his grasp and rested his chin on her shoulder so that his mouth was next to her ear. "You changed everything, Abbs...brought us together."
Gibbs had told her how brave he thought she was in taking the first step in them being together and when she thought back on it Abby didn't know where she'd found the courage. Her desire to give into her feelings, to love Gibbs and be loved by him, was the force that had propelled her forward. But the final decision, the total surrender, had come from Gibbs.
"We both did, I couldn't have done this alone...you could have taken the easy way out and we'd still be unhappy, but you didn't." She took hold of one of his hands and brought it up to her lips to kiss across his knuckles before placing their joined fingers in the middle of her chest. "You're stronger than you think, Jethro."
He kissed the junction of her neck and shoulder and Abby let the feel of his warm breath on her skin, and his heated body completely envelop her. She never thought she'd be as happy and as content as she felt right now, and as Gibbs relaxed around her she could tell he felt the same.
Letting her heavy eyes flicker closed Abby focused on the steady rhythms of his breathing next to her ear and the beating of his heart against her back. It seemed like they'd lived a lifetime in the last week, but her anguish at once being forced to live without him was gone. She felt whole, and with Gibbs now present in every part of her life Abby had no regrets about the choices she'd made in bringing them together. Gibbs was hers in every sense and her future, their future, had more meaning and more promise than either of them could ever have hoped for.
TBC...in an epilogue...