Title: Ice
Rating: T to be safe (and maybe a possible insinuation at the very end)
Spoilers: Iceman, Model Behavior
Author's Note: From Chirugal's Hiatus Week 13 prompt "Ice". Who can spot the reference to Model Behavior? ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except what I write. NCIS and all its characters, plots, and quotes are all Mr. Bellisario's…I just play with them every now and then.
Gibbs heaved a sigh as he closed his front door behind him. It had been a long night – he'd sent his team (and their forensic scientist) home hours before while he figured out how to write the case report without incriminating Mike or his newfound family. As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he could just see Abby huddled on his couch with what looked like every blanket in the house wrapped around her. He reached back and slid the bolt on the door as quietly as he could before going to her.
When she felt a warm hand on her head, Abby stirred and blinked up at him without saying a word.
"What's up, Abbs?" Gibbs asked her softly.
Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck so tightly that he had to lean down over her if he didn't want to be choked.
"What a horrible way to die, Gibbs! I mean, I know he didn't actually freeze to death, but it was a close thing, and…I'd never even thought of freezing to death – I guess being from New Orleans, the cold is never really a thing, you know? – but now I think I've got to put it on my list."
Gibbs cocked his head silently; Abby heard the question anyway and rushed to answer it.
"You know, my list of the worst ways to die. Although I'm not sure where to put it…I mean, it's not gruesome, but –"
Peeling back the blankets was like slicing an onion for Gibbs – endless layers and likely to cause tears (he hated seeing her like this, curled into herself). When he finally extricated Abby from her nest, he pulled her against his chest.
"You're so warm, Gibbs," Abby said, burrowing into his arms.
"Can't get much closer, Abbs…c'mere." He picked her up and carried her to the stairs. "Let's warm you up."