Jethro was contemplating another cup of coffee when a scrub-donned Tony stepped into the waiting area. He looked tired, and nervous and worried all at the same time.
Gibbs couldn't speak, he didn't know what he would do if he lost Abby or the baby.
Evie's calm voice asked, “Tony? How's it going in there?”
Evie walked over to him and he gave her a little halfhearted smile, “She hasn't started swearing at me yet.”
Evie chuckled, “I thought you were looking forward to that part?”
Gibbs tried to breath, but this was Abby in there. Abby. His. And he absolutely no control over the situation. Tony's eyes met his, and Gibbs realized that he wasn't the only one feeling that way. And Abby was Tony's in ways that she had never been His. Tony had her heart.
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Their girls had abandoned them, leaving them alone to sort things out. The two men known for not talking about their feelings. Their relationship had changed dramatically before Jethro followed Evie to Hawaii, and they had not been together since.
Neither knew how to start the conversation, but the first night the girls were gone they got together for dinner. And as they worked side by side in the kitchen, sharing a bottle of wine and light conversation they found themselves touching casually. And there was a moment over a refilled glass of wine when their fingers touched that made them really look at each other. A moment later the wineglass was shoved on the counter haphazardly and the two men embraced, squeezing each other for dear life. Hoarsely whispered words of missing Him, were echoed by words of needing him. When they loosened their grip on each a little they found themselves doing something they had never done before, they shared a kiss. It wasn't gentle, it wasn't chaste, but it sealed everything for them.
Neither of them could say the words, couldn't admit to loving another man. They could admit to wanting and needing, but love was something else entirely. But yet it was love that was poured into that first kiss. Enough that it drowned out all the doubts and fears. And as they stumbled their way to the bedroom, it gave them the strength to be there as equals.
They explored all of the aspects of their relationship that week, and in the quiet darkness of the bedroom after their sweat had cooled and their minds and bodies were relaxed they would talk, one holding the other. They talked about themselves, they talked about Evie, and mostly they talked about Abby.
Abby had brought the two of them together initially. And if Tony had been half in love with her before, the year the two of them spent together as His had pushed him over the edge. He loved her as much as Gibbs loved Evie.
And he lay there in a panic one night trying to find the words to tell Gibbs that. He didn't expect Gibbs to laugh when he finally told him, but laugh he did. And then he told Tony that he had known for a long time and was just waiting for Tony to admit it.
It was with Gibbs' blessing etched in his mind that Tony stupefied Abby when they picked the girls up at the airport by taking her face in his hands and kissing her deeply in front of Him.
Over time the four of them ironed out a life that worked for them all. Love, laughter, teasing, and most importantly, respect filled their homes. And when Tony and Abby married two years ago, it was Evie and Gibbs standing up for them at the altar.
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tbc...
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