Omgoodness, she's still alive! So sorry for the lapse. I've had a wedding anniversary, and then work drama, and our dog passed away (it was actually a blessing - she was fourteen and very ill). One thing after another. Anyway, here ya go. Reviews are love.
Abby was already dressed the next morning by the time the Director called to explicitly order both Abby and Gibbs to remain at home, knowing they would both likely show up otherwise, though it was already Friday. Gibbs was making coffee for the both of them when Abby reported the phone call to him.
"I figured Leon would call." Gibbs handed Abby a mug of coffee and sipped from his own.
"Don't blame him, really. Of anyone, we'd be the two who would come in today." Abby blew on the steaming coffee, before taking her own sip.
"Did you have anything you need to do today?"
Abby shook her head, "Nothing planned. I…" She paused, wondering how to phrase her thoughts. "I'll probably just stick around until after lunch, then head on home…"
Gibbs cocked his head. "Thought you were staying here."
"I could. I mean, I want to, if you want me to. But only if you want me to, ya know? I know you had a rough week too, I mean, obviously it was rough. But if you'd rather have some quiet and time to yourself, then I don't mind-"
He cut her off by leaning over and kissing her, capturing her lips gently. After a moment he pulled away, a slight smirk on his face. "Stay, Abbs."
She nodded, dazed. "That is now the preferred way for you to stop me from rambling." Abby paused, and smiled before looking down shyly. "I wasn't sure if I'd dreamt what I'd told you and your reaction. Or maybe that you'd have changed your mind since then."
"Never." Gibbs shook his head succinctly.
Abby gave in to her urge to wrap herself in his arms and stepped quickly, setting her coffee on the kitchen counter and closing the distance between them. Anticipating the move, Gibbs raised his coffee mug with his arm and pulled her towards him, inhaling the scents that always reminded him of Abby: her shampoo, a hint of the gunpowder perfume she'd made, and a slight smell of the chemicals from her lab, though in a way that made them less overwhelming. He reached around her and set his coffee down on the table, happy to wrap both arms tightly around his girl. His arm pulled upwards to stroke her hair.
Abby sighed with comfort at the feel of his fingers lightly brushing her temple. It had been weeks since she had felt this at ease, as if everything were suddenly right because Gibbs had returned and taken over all of the problems that had accumulated since he had first gone undercover. She lifted her face from his chest and looked up at him, studying his blue eyes as if figuring out the secret to his calming effect. Overtaken by him once more, she stretched upward and pressed her lips lightly against his, allowing the kiss to deepen with his encouragement. Her mouth opened to his as he slipped his tongue inward, caressing hers lightly.
Gibbs' hand had moved from her temple to her neck, his palm pressed gently against its curve, his fingers tangled in her hair at its nape. Abby responded to his touch, arching herself towards him and drawing him closer. She yanked her shirt over her head and let it fall to the floor, carefully stepping around it. Goosebumps rose up on Abby's arms as Gibbs wrapped his free arm around her bare back to unhook her bra with quick expertise. The black lacy garment soon joined her shirt on the floor, as if the pair were trail markers, left as a means of finding the way back to the now-abandoned coffee.
Their kisses grew more fervent, Gibbs pulling off his own shirt to continue the trail. Quickly and suddenly, Gibbs pressed Abby into the kitchen wall, the sudden desire to take her against it flooding through him.
As Abby's back hit the wall, her mind reeled backward in time, and she shoved Gibbs away, pleading with him to stop as she sunk to the floor, arms covering her head.
Dazed for a split second by the sudden action, Gibbs recovered and crouched next to her on the tiled floor, careful not to make it worse. "Abbs."
The slim forensic scientist was shaking, her head buried into the slight crevice made by her joined legs.
"Abbs."
Abby peered upward over her knees at the uncharacteristically worried expression on Gibbs' face. Tears stained her cheeks, fresh ones still speeding down her face.
Her voice squeaked quietly, "Sorry."
He picked up her fallen shirt from behind him, reached around her and pulled her into his arms, lifting her effortlessly as he lightly placed the shirt over her bare torso. Abby clung to both Gibbs and the shirt as he carried her to the couch, settling on it so that she was seated next to him, with her legs stretched sideways over his. She leaned forward so that Gibbs still had one arm wrapped around her back, pulling her towards him so her side was pressed tightly to his chest.
"Don't be sorry, Abbs."
She opened her mouth to answer, but instead let out a fresh sob. Burying her face into his shoulder, Gibbs witnessed Abby cry like he'd never before seen from his favorite scientist. The strangled sobs racked through her body, Gibbs finding himself wishing he'd never gone undercover at all.
Abby clung to Gibbs for the next several minutes, trying desperately to steady her breath and calm her sobs without much success. The images of Hendricks looming over her wouldn't vacate her mind's eye, no matter how hard she tried to picture anything else.
"Abbs."
She'd always found it awe-inspiring how Gibbs could say so much with so little. It was as if he was reassuring her that things were okay, while encouraging her to talk about it, and implying that he wouldn't think any less of her.
"I know." Abby whispered, clearing her throat to regain control of her voice. "He had his gun pointed at me. Made me get on the bed." She swallowed back at the lump in her throat and continued. "Told me to pull down my underwear." A stray tear slipped out, creating a new stream over the stiff, half-dried stains. Her voice had taken on a dead, lackluster tone, as if she was trying to distance herself from the memory. "He had a condom with him. He was planning it."
She paused, as if expecting Gibbs to say something, but he remained silent, his right hand resting on her left knee.
"I tried so hard to tune everything out; to pretend that I was somewhere else like in my lab, or at home watching a horrible movie with Tony. But he was so rough." The emotion was suddenly back in her voice, cracking for a moment before she silenced herself. When she spoke again, her voice once more lacked feeling. "He made me look at him. And then he was finally done and he left."
Gibbs was expecting Abby to begin crying again, and had readied himself for another deep hug, but quickly realized it wasn't coming. Abby sat quietly, staring at her knees.
"I regret few things, Abby. Going undercover is one of them."
Her head drew upward to look at him. "I shouldn't have come after you, Gibbs. I should've trusted you. It's my-"
"Not your fault." Gibbs interrupted.
Her expression was blank as she shook her head. "And it's not your fault, Gibbs."
"I will trust you from now on."
"Work comes first. I understand." Abby shook her head again, insistent.
He studied her calm, determined demeanor. "Doesn't change anything. From now on, you'll know."
It was a moment before she nodded in response. "Okay." Abby swung her legs off of his and stood from the couch. "I'll start breakfast." With that, she vanished into the kitchen, leaving Gibbs behind to take in her sudden mood swing.