A huge thank you to finlaure for taking the time to proofread.
Thank you all for keep coming back and the kind and funny words you leave :)
Enjoy!
-23-
While Gibbs and Abby enjoyed the time alone upstairs, Ziva and Tim were busy making dinner.
Ziva cut the veggies, while Tim marinated the chicken.
The young agent was lost in thoughts which caused Ziva to stop her task at hand and speak up. "Is everything alright Tim?"
Ever since the young man had found out about the couple, he was often lost in thoughts. Ziva was aware of the short-lived romance the two friends had a few years back. She began to wonder if he still had feelings for the scientist.
The voice of the former Mossad assassin shook him out of his reverie.
"Yeah, sure!" He glanced at her and continued to speak after a few more seconds.
"How long did you know?"
Ziva decided he deserved at least the truth now. "Since her accident with the car."
Surprise covered the young agent's face. "How?"
"The way he watched her and cared for her changed. He always was protective but now it is a different kind of protectiveness."
More like possessive over her protection Ziva thought.
McGee nodded.
"How long has Tony known?"
Before Ziva could answer, mentioned agent entered the kitchen and joined his friends and teammates.
"How long has Tony known what?" He glanced to Ziva, who oblivious to Tim shook her head.
"Gibbs and Abby."
Tony felt sorry for Tim. He maybe didn't love her anymore in that sense but he was still close to her so he figured it must be hard to be the last to know.
"Since she awoke, not much longer than you."
There was no need for him to know that he knew it ever since the day Ziva knew. No need to add to his misery by telling him she told him after he crawled to bed with her.
Tim nodded and started to stir the marinade again.
With a goofy smile on her face and deeply satisfied, Abby let her fingertips lazily wander over Jethro's back, neck and through his hair.
"We really should do that more often."
The black-haired woman sighed contently as the arm around her waist pulled her even closer.
"Agreed."
Neither of the two knew how much time had past since they lay embraced in each other's arm, enjoying the comfort they always felt. Abby's head rested on his chest, her one hand trapped between mattress and his back while her other hand rested on his chest next to her head, moving ever so slightly over the warm skin.
His fingertips kept on moving up and down her spine, finally feeling human again.
Moments later steps became audible as someone climbed the stairs. Female steps, Abby noted.
A soft knock and Ziva's voice broke the comfortable silence which had enveloped around them.
"Dinner is ready."
Abby was the one who answered.
"Thanks. We will be there in a minute."
They heard Ziva walk away before either of them moved.
When they finally did, it was Gibbs, who eased the hold he had on Abs.
Abby followed his example, but had to admit to herself she would have preferred cuddling over food.
With a goofy grin her eyes followed the bare naked form move out of bed, straight towards the bags in the corner.
"Do you think they know what we did?"
With a smile she watched him find his cloths after placing his and her bag on the foot of the bed.
"I think they are seasoned agents and will acknowledge the bite mark on my neck." He said with a lopsided smile.
Abby's eyes focused on the colorful mark for the first time.
"Right, not really inconspicuous," Abs said while kneeling in front of the bag opening it. "Do you think they'll say something?"
He shook his head, taking the articles of clothing in his hand and moving towards the bathroom before speaking up again.
"I think they value the back of their heads way too much to do that."
With a soft laugh she got to her feet and followed Jethro into the bathroom to clean herself and to tenderly kiss the mark she had left.
Satisfied, clean and dressed they descended the stairs, walking toward the delicious smell of food coming from the dining room.
Only a few chapters left, but longer than this one. *sigh*
What you think?