A huge 'thank you' to finlaure, for taking the time to beta!

Another huge thanks to all of you :) You guys rock!

I'm again behind on responding, and I'm sorry about that.

I kinda spilled my coffee, over my laptop... (my new laptop)... not such a great day, yesterday...

-7-

Since they had arrived at his home Abby rested on his couch. Her head turned towards the backrest, eyes closed, while listening to something he could identify as one of her favorite bands. While his mind and heart couldn't deny her anything that would make her happy, his ears silently thanked the manufacturer for the tiny speaker of her IPod; they weren't as loud as the ones in her lab.

Every few minutes Jethro appeared in the doorframe checking to see if she had moved or showed any sign that she wanted to talk, before he went back into the kitchen checking on the food he was preparing.

The special agent was worried, he had no idea when he had seen Abs like this before, and come to think of it he actually had no idea if he had seen his Abs like this before.

Usually when something was wrong, the scientist was to a point still bouncy, focused and determined to find out what happened or to make sure it never would happen again.

Moreover no matter what, Abby never was quiet; she was babbly, always in need to speak out what was going through her mind.

It was her way to work through everything.

Given her upbringing, he would say normal, taking into account that she never or seldom had someone to actually talk to, except her brother - but what teenage girl likes to discuss personal stuff with the younger brother? Talking to herself out loud was her way to think things through.

Even though Gibbs got robbed of the chance to live through the whole childhood and puberty of a teenage girl he was sure the need to speak about any kind of experience was always there in a growing kid.

Kicking a habit after you've grown up with it is hard and after years of trying to stop the babbling she gave up. Which he thought was one of the best decisions she had made in her past.

He had to admit though that he didn't always think that way, it was only after the first few months of their friendship and more knowledge of her past he understood her being, that he had come to appreciate it.

He loved her babbly personality, he would never tell her that out loud but he made sure she knew it, by giving her the opportunity to babble away, by hugging her, by showing affection.

Now Abby was far from being babbly, she just was laying on the couch, deep in thought and way to quiet for Jethro's liking. The silence let him worry about her.

Come to think of it, were the speakers only able to produce this volume? If not, Abby was either kind to him or not in the mood for her usual full blast preference and somehow that thought let him worry a notch more than he already did.

Abby's mind turned around in circles on everything that had happened to change her life in such a short amount of time.

Of course she had lived through loss before, even when it hit close to home but to an extant those deaths came with the occupation. Not that it had made it any easier but all of those who had passed away lately made decisions to work in this field of work and were aware of the chance of a death way before retirement.

Her Lady-friend didn't made that decision, she wasn't aware of the possibility she could die by anything else than natural courses. No Mrs. Rayn was healthy and fit and wanted to see and do so much more in the time she had left.

Some might say that the people who died and ended up being their case also didn't expect to die, and of course they didn't but it sure made a difference if you knew someone who got taken away for what reason ever.

Think of something else…for example the man in the kitchen.

As sad the previous day had been there was also joy in her life. Having the chance of a life with Gibbs was something she hadn't dared to dream about. Now it seemed like silly she hadn't.

Yet there was something that was eating at her.

Abby knew that she was always welcome in his home but it didn't feel right to invade his home after a just a few days with each other.

On the other hand they knew each other better than anyone else did, there weren't many surprises to expect, but still it was Gibbs' home and not hers.

While Abby knew Gibbs did everything to make it feel like home she couldn't stop thinking about her place. Ever since she had come to DC she had lived in this very apartment. So many memories had been created behind the walls of the place she had called home.

Sleepovers with Kate, long talks about her feelings for Gibbs and Kate's feelings for Tony, sad she couldn't tell her lost friend that she finally was with Gibbs.

The cooking sessions with Ziva, the poker nights with the team or those rare nights Gibbs spent time with her at her place.

Memories.

And now, what was left of her life was currently placed in cardboard boxes in Gibbs' basement, her clothing was partly washed already, and the rest what hadn't seen a washing machine from the inside yet was laying in heaps in front of it.

With a sigh the scientist turned around to rest on her back, opening her eyes staring at the ceiling while focusing on the sounds coming from the kitchen.

Abs had no idea how she could repay Gibbs for everything he had done for her the past years and now the current situation only added to the pile of gratitude she felt. At least she could show her feelings for him.

After switching the oven off, Gibbs entered the living room, and sat down on the edge of the coffee-table in front of the couch.

Not for long though, Abby turned to her side, back pressed against the back of the sofa and patted on the place in front of her stomach.

Since her wish tended to be a command for him, Jethro sat down at the vacated area of the couch.

His one hand came to a rest on the back of the couch while the other started to caress the arm Abs had placed on his thigh as soon as he had settled down next to her.

"Hey." Abs said quietly.

"Hey." Jethro's voice was not louder than hers.

With a soft smile she pulled at his shirt, following her demand he bent down. Her lips found the destination without problems, tasting the coffee that lingered on his lips and in his mouth.

After a few more soft kisses she pulled him next to herself into a laying position, snuggling close she rested her head on his chest, inhaling the comforting smell of sawdust and Gibbs.

Minutes of silence passed in which both just held each other close. Jethro's hands tenderly stroke over her back while her hand, which rested between their bodies trailed pattern on his chest.

Eventually her stomach rumbled, giving Gibbs an opportunity to speak up.

"Let's eat; you haven't eaten anything but breakfast. I don't know how you're still able to function."

"Yeah, because lying around all day is such an energy sucker."

She kept on drawing circles on top of his shirt.

"Besides, you haven't eaten anything but our breakfast and you are still able to function."

"Abs there is a difference, you're just skin and bone and caffeine, I'm not."

She couldn't help but smile.

"True, you're skin, muscle, bone and caffeine. So you actually should be way hungrier than I am."

He grinned at her explanation, kissed her lips and sat up pulling her with him.

"Alright, alright, I hopple over to the kitchen."

"No you don't." With that he scooped her up into his arms and carried her the short distance to the dining room table.

"You wait here, I will get the food."

"Yes, sir!"

Jethro just shook his head and left her alone for the few seconds he needed to cross the room, fill the plates and carry them back to the table.

They ate while talking about light topics, nothing with real depth. Not much later they were again on the couch snuggling with each other, not really talking, just enjoying the warmth and the tenderness the other one offered.

Focused on discovering more of the soft skin of her bare back beneath his fingertips, it almost startled him when Abby's voice became audible.

"Do you want to know what the worst part is? Normally no one would have been hurt. On a normal day no one would have been home. She was just home because she wanted to go on a vacation tomorrow. On any other given day she would have been in the park, watching her grandchildren."

He felt his shirt dampen as he held her close, stroking over her back.

As he held her, a feeling of uneasiness started to grow, wondering what exactly had provoked it, all the while he continued to tenderly stroke her back.

Why the sudden uneasiness? Any ideas?

One of you were on the right track, but I'm not going to tell you who... *evil grin*