Author: bluefirebird
Title: Never Assume
Rating: FR-18
Category: Romance, Smut, Humor, Angst
Pairing: Gibbs/Abby
Words: ~3700
Spoilers: No specific eps, just general character history.
Summary: Who'da thought Gibbs would be jealous of Fornell.
Prompt: Misunderstanding/strawberries - (sorta)
Written for Kuromigrrl in the 2010 Secret Santa at the Gabby Forum

---

The Fancy Restaurant

Abby always enjoyed it when Tobias Fornell took her out for dinner. She was pretty sure that he knew there was little chance of luring her away from NCIS to join the FBI. For all that he could offer in the way of a well equipped lab and electronic toys to play with, the deal breaker that NCIS had and the FBI never would was Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Although she had pondered more than once that if Gibbs' rule 12 was ever the only thing standing between the two of them, then her leaving to work for the FBI and having Gibbs to come home to at night might turn out to be a girl's dream.

But with the likelihood of Gibbs ever seeing her that way pretty minimal she'd settle for appreciating his company at work and enjoying the perks of a slap-up meal at a really fancy restaurant on the FBI dime at irregular intervals. Although Abby didn't fancy him in the slightest, Fornell was pleasant company and she suspected that he rather liked her company too, they weren't above a little harmless flirting at their meals, both knowing that it would never lead to anything. Whether he realised it or not, Fornell was also a goldmine of tiny details about Gibbs, having a shared ex-wife between them, and Abby was a master at teasing such snippets out of him. She also enjoyed Fornell's tales of his young daughter - Abby knew Gibbs had a soft spot for the girl because her mother was the ex-wife that Gibbs shared with Fornell.

So as the nights drew in and the weather grew harsher foreshadowing the approaching winter Abby was delighted to accept Fornell's invite to dinner. It was also an excuse for Abby to dress up in an elegant and formal way that she never bothered with in her real life.

Now the two of them were enjoying an intimate meal at an exclusive restaurant, tucked away in an alcove by the wall, with a very attentive young waiter that Abby idly noted was getting on Fornell's nerves.

---

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was happy to cultivate his reputation as a bastard, but what he didn't advertise too widely was that he could also be a gentleman when the moment arose. He could be quite charming when he wasn't distracted by little things like his job. So when the widow of one of his Marine buddies contacted him to say she'd be in town for a few days and would he like to take her out to dinner he knew just the place - small and expensive - and when he put his mind to it he could spruce up pretty good. He'd known Amanda - a redhead - and her husband well, years ago when he still had a wife and a daughter of his own, but had not seen her for years.

When he arrived at the restaurant Gibbs had routinely surveyed the entire room, spotting Fornell at his table, but not quite recognising the dark-haired woman in the elegant dress who sat opposite him with her back to Gibbs. Briefly catching Fornell's eye he had nodded to him as they were shown to their own table across the restaurant. As Fornell had done, Gibbs seated himself with a view of the restaurant - looking out for trouble - leaving his date with her back to the room.

---

As Gibbs held the chair for his date to sit down, Fornell leaned conspiratorially across the table and indicated across the room to Abby. "Well look what the cat dragged in."

Abby twisted round in time to see Gibbs seating his date and taking his own seat, neither looking their way while they were occupied. Her stomach flipped and "Wow" slipped from her lips as she took in how handsome he looked - and the flame red hair cascading down the woman's back.

Fornell smirked, "Yeah, not often we see Jethro dressed like that, must be a special occasion."

Confrontation

Abby turned back to their meal, trying to put all thoughts of Gibbs out of her mind - which was difficult because this was the last place she would have expected to run into him and her mind was busy trying to parse what he would be doing here and who the woman he was with could be. She had no claim on him, he was her boss, and what he did in his personal time was no business of hers even if she would like the situation to be otherwise.

Fornell had been taking Abby to dinner for a number of years, partly in the vain hope that she might leave NCIS to come and work for him but also partly because he enjoyed a meal in her company and an added bonus was that he could justify the occasional expensive meal with her on expenses. It had become a routine that they shared a dessert, aimless flirting notched up a ratchet or two as they shared a spoon and even fed each other a mouthful or two.

Gibbs' attention kept being drawn to Tobias and his date. There was something familiar about her, but the loose hair and evening dress conspired to confuse him, leaving a niggling familiarity that he couldn't quite place. He wasn't aware that Tobias had a girlfriend currently and was intrigued at the apparent intimacy as the FBI Agent shared a strawberry sundae with the woman opposite him - they had to know each other well to behave like that in public. Sadly while Gibbs' brain grasped for what he hadn't quite taken in about the situation across the restaurant from his table, he wasn't really paying adequate attention to his own companion.

It was only when Abby excused herself to go to the powder room once she and Fornell had finished their dessert, that Gibbs suddenly realised what had been niggling at him, why the woman had seemed more and more familiar. A shaft of what he refused to acknowledge as jealousy stabbed through him and he excused himself from his own table to follow Abby.

Abby left the bathroom with her attention on the purse she clutched, snapping it shut, so she didn't immediately spot Gibbs lurking in the darkened hallway, not until he grabbed her wrist far too tightly and pulled her round to face him. "What the hell are you doing here with Fornell?" he growled.

His expression was as menacing as she'd ever seen on him, though she wasn't accustomed to it being levelled at her. Years of reading the man came into play and she could sense a possessiveness to his anger. 'Well screw you mister, I might want it otherwise but you have no claim on me,' passed through her mind and before she could stop herself she'd slapped him across the face. He dropped her wrist and took a small step backward in response. She idly noted that he didn't put his hand up to where she had slapped him.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I get a free meal from the FBI every now and then in an effort to recruit me. You know all about it and you don't generally care, but if you are going to behave like this then perhaps I should consider the offer. Fornell is always a perfect gentleman, unlike you." With that Abby brushed past him to return to the table. Pausing to catch her breath after the angry outburst Gibbs had provoked - she didn't want Fornell to know about it and start asking questions.

Gibbs watched her return to her table, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Only once she had gone did he allow himself to ruefully rub his jaw. 'O.K. Marine, that was a stellar performance.'

Abby tossed and turned in bed - unable to sleep - pondering who Gibbs' date could have been and why the hell he thought he had any right to be angry at her night out with Fornell. She picked up the phone several times only to put it down again - toying with talking it over with Tony or even phoning Gibbs himself but finally coming to the conclusion that Gibbs owed her an apology. Finally she decided that Gibbs could stew in his own juices the next day while she had a day off to go Christmas shopping. Unless a case came in the next day she was up-to-date on all urgent work, so a day off would work well for all of them - especially with Christmas fast approaching - and maybe she'd be less angry with Gibbs by Monday. If Gibbs was going to apologise she'd make him work for it and if he thought a Caf-Pow and a "Good job, Abs" was going to cut it this time he was wrong.

Across town, Gibbs had delivered his date back to her hotel having just about managed to be an attentive companion for the remainder of their evening, and was sanding a little too roughly on one of the ribs of the half-built boat in his basement. He didn't know quite how he'd come to upset Abby so badly earlier, but every time he thought of her feeding a spoonful of that dessert to Fornell his blood boiled. Tomorrow - he'd talk to her tomorrow.

Finally in the wee small hours they both managed a few hours of fitful slumber.

---

First thing the next morning Gibbs approached Abby's lab with a Caf-Pow! in hand by way of apology, only to find the room quiet and lifeless in her absence. Which left him growling and snapping at his team with barely supressed frustration through a slow day of paperwork. Tony's muttered: "Geez, the boss *really* needs to get laid." earned him a headslap from Gibbs hard enough to make him truly see stars after which all three of them kept their heads down below their computer monitors where Gibbs could barely see them.

---

Abby spent a pleasant day buying Christmas gifts for all but one of her friends, losing herself in the thoughts of what they would like and successfully pushing aside all thoughts of Gibbs whenever his image or his behaviour the previous evening threatened to intrude. She knew men generally, and Gibbs in particular, well enough to recognise that his behaviour the previous night seemed to be sparked by jealousy. But he'd never had a problem with her having dinner with Fornell before, she'd never hidden it from him, and besides he'd had a very attractive date of his own with him from what she could see, so he had no claim over her, no right to get angry. Every time she thought of it she got angry herself - and truth be told a little jealous.

When Abby returned home, laden down with bags and gifts, and tired from her day out, the very last thing she expected to find was Leroy Jethro Gibbs sitting quietly in the darkness on her sofa. He was so quiet that she'd dropped all of the bags in a corner, hung her coat in the hallway and shed her boots before entering her lounge, turning the light on and coming face to face with the man himself. Her green eyes flashed angrily when she saw him, the annoyance she'd been trying to squelch all day returning in extra force at his unexpected presence.

"So it's breaking and entering now, is it...? Jethro." His uninvited appearance seemed to encourage the informality of using his first name, in the scornful tone she'd heard Director Shepard use on him over the years.

Gibbs stood up and took a step towards her, both of them instantly aware that her boots usually made her the same height as him and suddenly without them he had gained a couple of inches advantage over her. For an instant he didn't know what to say or do - he never had been good with words, or with women's feelings - and then without a conscious decision he closed the gap between them, placed a large, gentle hand behind her neck and leaned down to press his lips against hers.

Abby's first instincts were to fight him off, and she briefly pushed against his chest with her hands, before her brain caught on to the notion that she'd far rather be kissing the man than fighting with him and her anger melted away. She stopped struggling, and opened her mouth to him, tentatively touching her tongue to his lips, at which point his tongue drove passionately into her mouth and his other hand snaked round her to crush her to him in a possessive hug.

There was a very short pause for air, and a growled "Mine," from Gibbs before he continued thoroughly kissing her, leaving Abby grateful that his embrace was holding her up because she was sure her legs had melted. Gibbs broke away from her again, turning his attention to her jaw line, her ear, nibbling and kissing down her neck and she briefly wondered if he'd eaten during the day or was she dinner. His hands began wandering, his touch setting her skin on fire and driving all other thoughts from her mind. This needed taking to somewhere she could reciprocate his attention, preferably bed and preferably without all the winter clothing that was keeping them apart. With years of lusting after Gibbs behind her, Abby was getting very aroused at his touch even though it was yet to become overtly sexual and she in turn could feel the effect she was having on him where their bodies were pressed together in his embrace.

Abby disentangled herself enough to work at the sport jacket he was wearing, pushing it off him from inside and working her hand under his shirts to the warm skin beneath, at the same time stepping between his legs and easing him backwards gently with her body weight. Gibbs took the hint, moving slowly backward and shrugging his jacket off at the same time, allowing himself to be gently manoeuvred backward toward the bedroom, shedding clothes as they went.

Somewhere along the way there was a pause and their eyes met, despite his lust-blown pupils Gibbs blue eyes held a predatory possessiveness that took her breath away. He searched her face for a moment, perhaps looking for her permission to proceed, and with an almost imperceptible nod he seemed to make the decision that Abby had been convinced that he'd never make. As they continued to the bedroom he made short work of her skimpy top, and callused fingers caressing her buttocks and stroking down her stocking-clad legs, which he lifted up to his hip, somehow removed her underwear as well.

By the time Abby landed gently on her back on the bed, her bra had gone too and Gibbs had latched onto one pert nipple with his mouth while teasing the other between thumb and forefinger. He eased down her body removing his own shirt and undershirt in a smooth motion that barely interrupted his worship of her body. His hands swept up the back of her legs from her knees, ending by pushing her short skirt up above her waist and out of the way and his tongue homed in on exactly where she wanted to be touched, making her writhe underneath him while his fingertips danced over the back of her thighs. Abby reached down blindly, needing to touch him and finding only the rippling muscles at his shoulders and the oh-so-strokeable short hair at the nape of his neck.

He knew exactly when she was ready for him, standing up from where he knelt beside the bed, belt and trousers already undone, but still on for the moment. She thought he looked ever so slightly sheepish as he gruffed "Condom?", removing his trousers and boxers in one movement as she sat up and extracted the small foil packet from the bedside cabinet. He knelt on the bed beside her, giving the base of his erection a firm squeeze as he allowed her to roll the condom on, while she took the opportunity of her first chance to really touch him. He positioned himself between her legs, lining up to enter her gently but with one smooth movement, then he surprised her by rolling them over so that she was above him, until she realised that the position allowed him to stimulate her clit with his shaft as he thrust in and out. He may have been underneath, but as his hips pistoned up and down there was no mistaking who was in control, especially as being underneath allowed his hands to roam everywhere over her skin while he plundered her mouth again.

Every thrust of his hips pushed his cock deep inside her, the friction against her clit driving Abby higher until waves of pleasure washed over her as her orgasm hit and then she was dimly aware of Gibbs' movements becoming more erratic as he too reached his climax. The caress of his fingertips on her back slowed to a stop as Abby snuggled into the warm furry chest beneath her, his performance as a wonderful lover only spoiled by the fact that he'd already begun snoring gently, his softening cock still buried inside her. Abby smiled to herself, she too felt sleepy after the previous troubled night and great sex. She wriggled off of him, disentangling them from each other and removing and disposing of the condom before reaching out and finding some bedding to pull over them and settling under his arm, with her head on his shoulder, allowing herself to drift off - despite still wearing her skirt and stockings.

The Morning After

Abby wasn't sure if it was the gentle caresses or the rumbling stomach behind her that woke her. It was only a little after 5am, but they'd missed dinner and had a pretty early night, so she'd had a good night's sleep already.

"Mornin'," said the man in whose warm embrace she lay snuggled, and he leaned over to give her the sort of soft cheek kiss that usually went with a "Good job, Abs". She marvelled at how gentle he could be, compared to the fierceness she was accustomed to at work. He shifted a little behind her and she could feel his morning erection nestled against her buttocks. She briefly entertained the idea of a morning bout of sex, but then both their stomach's rumbled and he kissed her again and said:

"How 'bout I buy us breakfast? Seem to recollect missing dinner. There a diner nearby?"

"Yeah, I know a good place." Abby said quietly moving to get out of bed, but Gibbs' arms tightened around her, stopping her.

"Mine," he growled again.

"Possesive, much," Abby grinned at him.

He squeezed her gently again. "You've known me long enough..."

"...to think that this would never happen." she finished the sentence for him. "What about rule 12, huh? This better be more than a DiNozzo-style apology, Mister." She was beginning to get angry again, there was so much going on here that she didn't understand - and while Gibbs was pretty eloquent *without* words when he was ordering people around, relationships required a whole lot more finesse than even he could manage with an expression or gesture.

"I look like DiNozzo?" He scowled at her.

"No"

He rolled over onto his back on the mattress, his chest bare where Abby had pulled away from him and wrapped herself in the sheet at the edge of the bed, turning on the light as she did so. Running a hand over his forehead and sighing he said wearily: "Guess I need to revise rule 12 now."

There was a pause, Abby still couldn't read exactly what he meant and was torn between hope that this was the beginning of something and fear that it wasn't. He didn't exactly sound happy at the idea of revising rule 12.

He leaned up on an elbow and looked at her. "I... The other night... when I saw you with Fornell. Don't know what came over me..." She wasn't used to Gibbs sounding so unsure of himself. There was another pause as he grasped for words to explain but then he got completely side-tracked.

"DiNozzo-style apology? You been on the receiving end?

Now she could clearly read jealousy in his voice, which at least made her feel better - a jealous Gibbs she could understand, even if she didn't really know why.

"No. I've seen it work for Tony, but he knows I don't consider seduction to be an apology." She looked pointedly at Gibbs. "You still owe me an apology for your behaviour at the restaurant. I thought you knew both of us well enough to know that I *like* Fornell but nothing more. And anyway what about your date, shouldn't you have been paying attention to her, not me?"

Gibbs looked down at the covers almost - almost - as if he was hanging his head in shame. Quietly he said, "Amanda's the widow of one of my Marine buddies, she... and Shannon... were good friends. Haven't seen her in years."

"Oh." was all Abby could manage in response, and then the moment was broken as Gibbs' stomach rumbled loudly again.

"Breakfast," he said firmly. "Then we've got the whole weekend to figure out how you'd like me to apologize - if you'll let me."

Abby's heart soared.

---

Epilogue

Christmas Eve saw them snuggled together on the sofa at Gibbs' place in front of a roaring fire, making out like a couple of teenagers until a knock at the door broke them apart. Gibbs stood up to open the door finding his father, Jackson, standing on the porch. The older man stepped in and they embraced briefly, then Jack studied Gibbs' rumpled appearance before turning his attention to where Abby sat watching on the sofa.

"You know, Son," he said thoughtfully, turning back to Gibbs. "When I met this delightful young woman, I thought she might be the one to tame you..."