Abby sat in her car, breathing deeply, wondering if she was really going to do this. She and Gibbs had been together on and off for a few months, but they’d never played games before. And tonight, Abby wanted to play.

Her plain white shirt was tied off at the midriff, her pleated skirt barely covering her serviceable white panties. Her makeup was light, her hair pulled back into pigtails. As Kate remarked, she was a Catholic schoolgirl gone wild. Of course, Kate had pressed her to know who she was sharing this with, but she wasn’t giving any info. This Gibbs thing was between just the two of them.

She pulled in one deep breath before she got out of her car, looking down at her body. Her skimpy red bra peeked out from the shirt. Yeah, she was a naughty schoolgirl gone wild and she was going to investigate a little older man/daddy kink.

As usual, he was nowhere to be found, the basement door open, the TV blaring. For someone who claimed to hate TV as much as he did, it was usually on while he worked on the boat.

She paused at the top of the stairs, looking down. Ooh, polo shirt and chinos. She could make do with that.

“Hi,” she said in a sultry voice, walking down the stairs. “I was just getting ready for school, and I wanted to say bye.”

His eyes darkened, his gaze taking her in. He swallowed hard. “Not in that, you aren’t. You want all the boys checking you out?”

She shrugged. “I don’t mind. A girl has needs.”

“Not mine,” he growled and she started getting really wet then. She’d gotten a Brazilian yesterday, something else new, something else she knew would drive him crazy.

“You offering, Daddy?”

Something flashed in his eyes then and she backed off, sensing playtime might be over. “Gibbs? What is it?”

He looked up and away. Had she hit a nerve? Had one of the exes had a daughter he’d been close to? He sat down on the metal stool and motioned her close. God, were those tears swimming in his eyes?

“Gibbs?” Her voice was shaking now.

“Abbs, schoolgirl I can do. But I can’t do father/daughter games.” She’d never heard him like this before and she’d known him over five years.

“Why?”

He sighed. “It’s complicated. You don’t know…nobody knows…”

“Then tell me.”

“First off, you look at me as a father figure. You come to me for advice. We translate that into sex games. We have a great time. I have no complaints.”

She shrugged, not seeing the problem.

“But you don’t know, Abbs.”

“Know what, Gibbs?” She knew her voice was somewhat petulant.

“Come with me.” He took her hand and led her into the den where he pulled a DVD out of a drawer. She didn’t think the TV and DVD player had been used often; at least they never had when she’d been there.

“Watch as much as you need to. But I can’t.” He handed her the remote and disappeared, the thump of his feet letting her know he’d gone upstairs instead of back to the boat.

Her desire had faded into worry and concern and she hit play on the remote. The first scene started on what was obviously a home movie. A little girl’s birthday party, a much younger and smiling Gibbs, a redheaded little girl calling him Daddy, a gorgeous woman with her arm around his waist. Shannon, he called the woman Shannon.

Who was she? The exes were Julia, Diane, and Stephanie. Everyone knew that. But Shannon? And a little girl who seemed to be named Kelly?

She turned the DVD off and left quietly, going to the Navy Yard and starting a search. She finally hit pay dirt when she typed in Shannon and Kelly Gibbs and what she learned chilled her blood. He’d been married and had a daughter. And they’d died. While he was overseas, no less. Why didn’t anyone talk about this? It explained so much.

She drove back to Gibbs’ place and let herself in. The house was quiet and she grabbed a bottle of bourbon before climbing the stairs. He was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. “Gibbs?” she said quietly.

“You came back.”

“Yeah. Had to apologize and don’t you tell me that apologies are a sign of weakness because I must’ve really hurt you there and I didn’t know. I swear, Gibbs, I didn’t know. Ducky never told me and I don’t know why.”

“Ducky doesn’t know.”

“He…doesn’t?”

“Nobody knows. Except you now. And Abbs, I don’t want anyone else to know.”

She nodded, sitting at the edge of the bed, opening the bourbon and taking a long swig. “Your turn.”

He chuckled low. “You came over here for sex and got a head case.” He took a long pull of bourbon and handed the bottle back.

“There’s time for sex later. Right now I want to be with my friend and father figure. Care to give some advice?”

“Shoot.”

As she launched into some embellished problem that didn’t really matter, she felt strangely comforted. Tonight hadn’t gone as she wanted, but they’d gotten much closer in spite of her misstep. She’d learned a lot about Gibbs tonight and that was more important than a half dozen orgasms that rocked her world.