Chapter 12 â€" Going home
"When I take you to bed, Abbs, I guarantee you won't be thinking of G. Callen."
Gibbs pulled back, smirked at her, pressed a quick, firm kiss to her lips and strode off to the checkout to deposit their bags.
Abby grinned at his retreating back as her imagination supplied more than a few images to match his words.
He'd been unusually passive this morning as she'd spent time with Callen. She'd yet to experience Gibbs' full on jealous side, other than that glimpse last night, and she suspected that it was only the fact that Callen was his friend and she'd discussed how she felt about the LA agent the night before, that had stopped him coming over all cave man and throwing her over his shoulder.
Not that that wouldn't be a fairly sizzling scenario…
As independent as she was, there was something very hot about someone as alpha male as Gibbs going all possessive.
Trying to shrug off the lingering melancholy from saying goodbye to Callen, she followed Gibbs to the checkout.
As they had more than an hour before boarding, Gibbs persuaded her that they should both think about lunch. He was concerned that she'd only eaten the bare minimum in the last 36 hours. Abby should be trying to eat more than she was, even if she was still battling occasional nausea. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the nearest cafe. Abby rolled her eyes, knowing what he was doing but feeling too tired to argue.
After she'd taken more nausea pills, she picked at her food, wondering how to broach something she wanted to talk to him about. "You talked to Callen about the video footage," she eventually asked.
"Yeah. Not sure how much there'll be but Eric's gonna check." He studied her face, suspecting where she was going with this.
"I need to see it, Gibbs." She reached for his hand. "If I don't know what really happened while I was unconscious, then my imagination's going to supply the rest… and believe me, it's doing a pretty good job of that already."
"I know, Abbs." He ran his thumb across her hand. "Would be happier if you talked to Ducky first. Hell, I need to talk to Ducky."
"I will but you can't protect me from this, even though I know you want to." She didn't want to argue with him but needed to make him understand how important this was for her. "Did Callen tell you what I thought was on my clothes?"
"Yeah. Was waiting till you were ready to talk about it." He squeezed her hand, unsure how he could offer comfort.
"We both don't need to guess how the semen got there, do we?" She saw him shake his head, looking grim. "I just… I just need to know what he did to me before or after that… while I was unconscious."
"I need to know too." If this guy were still alive, Gibbs would want to kill him with his bare hands for ever laying a finger on her.
"I'm going to need you to get me through this."
"I'll try, Abbs." He reached out to brush a stray hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek, wishing they were alone so he could hold her again.
"Thanks for not pushing me… to talk, you know. I was gonna tell you… it's just…" she trailed off.
"Take whatever time you need."
"I'm not sure I can talk about it yet, Gibbs. I know I need to but I… I just don't know if I can." She looked down at their joined hands, feeling the warmth of his hand anchoring her.
"I know, Abbs. Let's get home. Talk to Ducky." He just wanted to get her back to DC and into familiar surroundings.
She glanced up, her gaze earnest. "Yeah, I need Ducky… I know they're gonna try and make me talk to some nameless shrink, Gibbs, but it's Ducky I need. Ducky and you and my friends."
Depending on what they found but already suspecting what they would, Gibbs thought that Ziva might know how best to help her. But he didn't want to put Ziva through it, although he knew that she would offer without hesitation. He needed to talk to her… after speaking to Ducky. He couldn't remember needing his old friend more.
Their flight was called and they made their way through onto the plane and settled into their seats, both thankful to be finally heading home. With the flight time and the time difference, it would be evening before they arrived. Gibbs had phoned Fornell and he was going to pick them up at the airport.
As soon as the flight took off, Abby opened her laptop.
"You sure you wanna do that now, Abbs?" he said, shifting to get comfortable with legroom that wasn't enough for his long legs.
"It'll pass the time on the flight, Gibbs." The report needed writing so she might as well start it now.
"So does sleeping."
"You might be able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, but some of us need a comfy bed and an even comfier pair of arms." She smiled at him as he turned partly on his side so he could face her.
He smirked at her. "We'll see what we can do later."
"You make a very warm pillow." She resisted the urge to close the gap between them to taste him again but only just.
He read her intentions and tenderly ran his fingers down her cheek. "Stay with me, Abbs... even just for a few days. Let me look after you."
"Yeah, I'd like that." The thought of curling up in his house, the focus of his attention was a very comforting one.
He gave her a soft smile. "You ought to rest now."
"If I can just make a start on the report now, Gibbs, then there'll be less to do tomorrow," she explained. "I'd rather do it in bits when I'm feeling okay, which I am now than be forced to do it tomorrow, regardless of how I feel."
He nodded. "Okay." He didn't turn away but continued to gaze at her as if memorizing her face.
"You gonna sit there and watch me the entire time."
"Uh-huh."
"You realize how distracting that's gonna be, right?"
"Uh-huh."
Shaking her head at him as he gave her a lop-sided grin, she turned back to her laptop, acutely aware of the man beside her. If he didn't stop looking at her like that, she'd be tempted to drag him off so she could join the Mile High Club.
Abby tried to gather her thoughts into some sort of coherent order for the report and started writing. It was hard to put what she'd gone through in dispassionate language fit for an official report, but she figured that writing it down might also be helpful for her state of mind…. and it did need to be completed.
She was in an unusual position here of being both victim and scientist on the team.
As the nightmare had unfolded, she'd tried to engage the Phantom in conversation, seeking to gain as much information as she could. She may not have been a trained field agent, but she knew the drill and was determined not to give the bastard any satisfaction by showing how truly terrified she was.
Hearing him explain that he'd lured her to LA by posing as Mike 287 on her blog had truly appalled her. It meant that he'd been virtually… stalking her for months, she could think of no other word for it.
To think that he'd been right there all the time… what had she missed?
She remembered taking her courage in both hands, metaphorically speaking as she couldn't do anything with her limbs immobilized, and she'd tried to smooth the nut job's ego. Not knowing whether she was making a huge mistake trying to lure him closer, she at least could make an attempt to get some forensic evidence either on her or on him, even if she wasn't coming out of this one alive.
As terrifying as it was, she'd felt a sense of satisfaction when she'd tricked him and bitten his finger, finally getting a look at his face.
Her heart had chilled as she'd taken in sight of the bed and the camera, hearing him talk about watching her when he was at work. Fear had taken over then and it was a while before she realized that her bravado may only end up baiting him, provoking him to do something to her sooner rather than later.
Gibbs watched her face as she typed, seeing the concentration and emotion flit across it. She always had the most expressive face of anyone he knew and ordinarily he loved watching her, but this time he could almost see where she was in her story just by observing her expression.
He would have given anything to spare her this.
A sudden thought struck her, trivial as it was. "And he even got my age wrong."
Trust Abby to latch onto that. "Yeah, I heard him. By at least ten years." He snorted as she turned to glare at him. "I know your age, remember?.
She huffed at him, trying to look annoyed and only half succeeding. He continued, anything to distract her. "But you do look younger than you are."
She shook her head, amused at his 'save'. "Good answer, Gibbs."
Some time later, Abby eventually closed her laptop, flexing her fingers and easing her shoulders. She could feel the muscles stiffening again, not helped by the enforced sitting in one spot. She leaned her head against Gibbs' shoulder for the final hour and dozed.
Fornell waited in the arrivals lounge, eager to see them both. He'd only had the barest of information out of Gibbs earlier on and was keen to see Abby for himself to reassure himself that she really was okay.
He watched them approach and when they were within reach, he opened his arms and without hesitation, Abby walked straight into them, letting Fornell wrap his arms around her.
"You can turn the volume down on that glare, Gibbs. She's my friend and I was worried about her."
"Ignore him, Toby. He's just cranky coz the coffee on the plane sucked." She tossed a playful glance over her shoulder at Gibbs.
"At least if I can see his hands, he can't head slap me." Fornell held her at arm's length and took a good look at her tired face, seeing the dark circles and the strain she was trying to hide under her cheerful greeting.
"Don't bet on it, Tobias." Gibbs seemed to have spent most of the day fighting down an urge to head slap every man who got within hugging distance of Abby.
Abby looped her arm through Fornell's as they headed for his car, chatting about Emily.
"I'll just get the bags then, shall I?" came the good natured grumbling from behind them.
"You do it so well, Jethro," teased Fornell, earning him a giggle from the woman on his arm, a sound he thought he'd never hear again. As they reached his car, he opened the door for her. "You'll be glad to get home, Abbs."
Gibbs answered for her. "Going to my house."
Fornell grinned at him. "Really?"
"You can wipe that smirk off your face, Toby." Gibbs deposited the bags in the boot.
"Boys, play nice," Abby chided, unable to hide her amusement.
As Fornell drove them to Gibbs' house, they chatted idly, keeping the conversation light and Abby smiled as she let the familiar banter between the two old friends wash over her. Halfway through the journey, Gibbs asked, "You okay, Abbs?" twisting in his seat to look at her on the back seat, conscious she'd become very quiet.
Trust him to pick up on her change of mood. He was so attuned to her sometimes, it was positively spooky. "Just starting to feel a bit nauseous, Gibbs. I've just taken some pills but they seem to be taking longer to kick in this time."
"And?" he persisted, seeing her rubbing her arm.
"Pins and needles are back a bit. I think my muscles are just stiff from the flight." She sounded tired and exasperated.
When they pulled up outside his house, Gibbs saw that his car was back on the drive, looking in one piece still, despite being driven there by DiNozzo. Gibbs held open Abby's door and was the first to see her go white as she stood.
"Whoa…" her voice was shaky.
He caught her arms as she swayed. "Abbs?"
"Suddenly feel sick, Gibbs."
"Okay, I've got you." Gibbs wrapped his arm round her more firmly and helped her into the house.
Fornell grabbed their bags from the boot and followed them inside, kicking the door shut behind him. Gibbs was standing in the hallway with his arms round Abby rubbing her back gently as she leant heavily against him. He could feel her trembling slightly.
"You gonna be sick?" Gibbs asked gently.
Abby shook her head and drew back slightly, still looking pale. "No, it's fading. It just came over me as I got out of the car. Sorry."
"It's been a long day, Abbs, you've probably overdone it. Pins and needles bad still?" Gibbs asked.
Abby flexed her shoulders, grimacing. "A bit. The muscles just feel stiff."
Fornell dropped their bags by the stairs. "That won't have been helped by sitting on that plane."
Abby shivered. "I feel cold too, I can't seem to get warm."
Fornell suggested, "Maybe a hot bath would help… both for that and for your muscles?"
Gibbs rubbed her shoulders gently. "I'll go and run it. You go and sit down for a minute."
"If you've got any Epsom Salts, that might help the muscles." Fornell had had his fair share of pulled muscles over the years in the line of duty.
"Might have. I'll see what I can find." Gibbs tilted her face up to catch her eyes. "Then do you think you can face a sandwich?"
"Urgh," she couldn't help pulling a face as her stomach rolled in reaction, but saw Gibbs about to protest. "Okay, okay, I'll try. Hopefully the pills might have kicked in then."
Gibbs gestured with his head at Fornell, who put his arm round Abby and steered her into the living room, while Gibbs set off upstairs.
Fornell settled her on the couch, sat next to her and encouraged her to lean against his side. He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it round her, feeling her shivering gradually subside as she relaxed against him.
"I'm glad you're okay, Abby," he said into the comfortable silence.
"I was so scared, Toby. I thought I wasn't going to get out of there." She paused, remembering something Gibbs had mentioned earlier. "Gibbs told me you were on the plane and saw the video feed."
"Can't remember feeling so helpless for a very long time." He rubbed his hands gently up and down her back, trying to warm her.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," she looked up at him.
It was typical of her she'd be more concerned about others. "Was worried about Gibbs too. Never seen him so scared," he confided. "If anything had happened to you, Abbs, we'd have lost him too."
She still sometimes found it hard to believe how Gibbs felt about her. They'd only had a short time to talk last night and she hoped that things would calm down over the next few days and they could enjoy exploring this new found relationship.
"We all owe Callen and Sam a lot… me most of all."
"It wasn't the way I'd have wanted it to happen but I'm glad it made Gibbs pull his head out of his ass." He tightened his arms around her. "I'm glad you're together."
"That obvious, huh?" she smiled at him, touched that her friend was so pleased for them.
"Oh yeah. I mean I'm taking my life in my hands right this very minute. I hope you realize that," teased Fornell, smiling down at Abby.
"You done playing grab ass, Tobias?" came the deep voice from the doorway. Typically, neither had heard Gibbs coming down the stairs and he was now lounging against the doorframe, a half smile hovering.
"See what I mean?" Fornell whispered to Abby, as she laughed.
"Bath's ready, Abbs." She sat up and Fornell helped her to her feet, blanket still wrapped around her. Gibbs walked her to the hallway, arm around her waist, out of earshot of Fornell. "Will you be okay? Don't like the idea of you taking a bath on your own in case you feel dizzy."
"Gonna join me then?" Tired as she was, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease him, knowing full well he was going to come over all noble again.
Gibbs rolled his eyes, "Normally you wouldn't be able to stop me, but you're not well… remember?"
She looked up at him. "Yeah, I know… doesn't mean I'm not tempted."
"Me too, Abbs." He ran his hand down her arm to clasp her hand. "I've put your bag in my room. I'll bring a sandwich up shortly."
Abby nodded, giving him a wan smile. "Okay, don't feel quite so nauseous now so perhaps I should try and eat something."
Fornell came over. "If you feel faint while you're in the bath, just shout and we'll come up."
Gibbs raised his eyebrow, glaring at him. "Just shout and I'll be up, Abbs."
Abby snorted at the pretend face-off. "I'll be fine you two… behave. I'm just tired. Think I might go to bed straight afterwards."
Gibbs turned back to her. "Good idea."
Fornell nodded. "You should get as much rest as you can."
Abby looked from one to the other. "I see you've taken over from Callen as a substitute mother hen, Toby."
Gibbs cut in, "If ya think we're fussing, wait till ya see what DiNozzo has in store. Think he's planning a protective detail to rival the President's"
"Armed guard on a coffee run, eh?" asked Fornell.
"At the very least," shot back Gibbs, a half smile breaking out.
Fornell nodded, unable to keep a twinkle from his eyes. "Quite right too."
She shook her head, amused at the double act. "You two should go on the stage, you know that. Just leave this invalid to have a bath in peace, will ya?"
Gibbs ushered her towards the stairs. "I'll be up soon."
Abby gave him a soft smile and then turned to Fornell, "I'm so pleased to see you, Toby."
"I'm glad you're back, Abbs. You get some rest. I'll bring Emily by at the weekend if you feel up to it." He kissed her cheek.
"That would be great." Abby hesitated. "Does she know?"
Fornell shook his head. "No, I haven't told her anything other than that you've been in LA for a few days. She'd be too upset for her favorite aunt."
"Thanks. I don't want to upset her either but I'd love to see her."
Gibbs watched her climb the stairs before going into the kitchen, where he was joined by Fornell. "Got something to say, Tobias?" He knew that smirk.
"Other than it's about damn time, nope. Glad to see you've ignored your own rules for once."
"Abby's an exception to a lot of rules."
"I gathered." He leaned against the counter and looked over at his friend, seeing the tiredness and the stress on his face. "Seriously, Jethro, I'm really pleased for you both."
"Thanks." Gibbs sighed, glad to be home, feeling the strain of the past two days starting to drain away. "It's good to get her back."
Gibbs pulled two beers from the fridge and they drank in silence for a while before Fornell asked, "Where's this sickness coming from? Is that the drugs that bastard gave her?"
"Yeah, the stuff to knock her out is making her sick, and the crap that stopped her moving is causing the stiffness and pins and needles."
Fornell felt his anger rising again. "How long do they reckon before it's out of her system?"
"Not sure, a few days maybe. The more she rests, the better it'll be but…" Gibbs shrugged and set about making sandwiches.
"Huh, getting Abby to rest is like getting you to take it easy, Jethro, just about impossible."
"Yeah, I know." Gibbs figured he'd have more luck getting her to rest if he was here in the house too. He fully intended taking tomorrow and the rest of the weekend off… and into the following week if need be. Apart from anything else, they'd had little time to explore this new side of their relationship and while he had no intention of making a move while she was still feeling ill, just having her close would be enough for now.
"What else did he do to her?" Fornell asked. He shook his head when Gibbs offered him a sandwich. He needed to get going soon.
"Don't know yet." Gibbs replied, the anguish in his voice obvious to his friend.
"What about the video feed for during the night… before we tuned in live?" That thought had been rolling around in Fornell's head for most of yesterday and today.
"Yeah, that's the bit that worries me too. Eric's analyzing it."
"Makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I mean a guy doesn't go to all the trouble of getting a bed into a warehouse if he wasn't intent on using it. We heard him threaten her, Jethro." Fornell all but slammed his beer bottle down on the counter.
Gibbs hesitated as Fornell collected his coat and headed for the door.
He wasn't sure if Abby would want to share everything about her ordeal just yet, but he felt so out of his depth at the moment that he felt the need to confide in his friend. He knew it wouldn't go any further. Despite the amount of teasing he inflicted on Fornell, he knew the FBI agent cared about Abby and was just as protective of her as everyone else. "She says she found semen on her clothes"
Fornell paused with his hand on the door. "Oh, jeez… did that bastard rape her?"
"She says not and… I guess she'd know." They exchanged a glance, not needing any more words… two old friends who'd seen their share of horrors over the years but this time it was all too close to home.
As he left, Fornell put his hand on Gibbs' shoulder, "You need anything, Jethro, you know where I am." Gibbs nodded his thanks as his friend left.
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Upstairs, Abby tried to relax in the bath but the heat of the bathroom was making her feel nauseous again. She'd left the bathroom door ajar, partly for safety in case she did feel dizzy and also to let the heat dissipate. The hot water seemed to be helping her muscles though and she felt sure a night's sleep was exactly what she needed… if she wasn't plagued by nightmares again.
She heard Gibbs enter the bedroom, calling out through the door if she was okay.
"I'm fine, Gibbs. I'm getting out in a minute. You can come in you know."
"You trying to kill me?" came the amused reply.
"It's nothing you're not going to see, hopefully sooner rather than later." Abby pulled herself out of the bath, wrapping herself in a warm towel.
"If I come in there, Abbs…" He paused, hearing her moving, swallowing hard at the mental image of her rising up out of the bath, water streaming over her. "It was difficult enough to control myself last night, seeing you in a bath is not going to help that."
She rolled her eyes at his chivalrous behavior but had to admit if the situation were reversed, she'd feel the same.
When she came out of the bathroom in her PJs, he was sitting on the bed sipping coffee and eating his sandwich. She couldn't help a smile breaking out at the sight… the first time she'd seen him sat on his bed.
She was gradually beginning a new store of memories for their relationship and that wasn't a bad one to start off with.
She'd spent the night in Gibbs' bed before but he'd always slept on the couch. Even if nothing happened tonight, at least it would be the first time they'd spent the night together in his bed.
He smiled at her as he made room for her to sit beside him and handed her a sandwich and a bottle of water. She huffed a protest at the lack of caffeine… yet again and he smothered his smirk at her reaction by sipping his coffee.
"Gonna take a shower. Try and eat, Abbs." He dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder as he headed for the bathroom.
She forced down the sandwich even though she didn't feel like it. She was thirsty though and made inroads into the bottle of water, curling up in bed when she'd finished. She took the same side of the bed as last night, hoping she'd guessed right as to the side Gibbs preferred.
Her nausea was back and she shivered, grabbing her spare pillow and clutching it to her stomach, curling round it and trying to warm her tummy and hug the sick feeling away.
As she heard the shower running, she was left with her own imagination to fill in the mental picture… again.
It wasn't long before he joined her and she was pleased to see that he was as shirtless as last night and wearing soft sweatpants. At least the view was pretty damn good even if she couldn't do anything about it.
As soon as he was under the covers, he scooted closer and spooned against her. She grabbed his hand as his arm came round her and put his warm hand against her stomach.
"Is it bad?" he asked gently.
"It just seems to react like this as soon as I eat. It'll pass soon… hopefully." The warmth of his large hand against her stomach and his chest against her back was comforting.
He pressed a soft kiss to her hair. "Try and sleep, Abbs."
She rolled over towards him. "I'm sorry, Gibbs."
"Hey." He propped himself on one arm and wrapped his arm fully around her, concerned at how tearful she looked. "You've nothing to be sorry about."
She reached up to run her fingers down his jaw. "When will I start to feel okay? I feel fine for a few hours and then I just feel sick and achy again."
He knew she hated being ill and was only slightly less cranky as a patient than he was. "It's been barely 48 hours, Abbs. You gotta rest." He leaned his head down to nuzzle into her cheek, resting his head on the pillow beside her. "I know you're frustrated."
She couldn't help an exasperated laugh escaping her. "Huh, you can say that again." Oh, if only she felt better, she'd have jumped his bones by now. This was beyond frustrating.
He snorted, knowing full well what she meant. "I meant from feeling sick."
"Yeah, I know. It's just… do you have any idea how much I want you?" She wriggled round to face him, feeling herself drowning in his close presence.
His reply was fervently muttered. "Oh yeah, about as much as I want you." He kissed her lightly and quickly and then pulled her close, wrapping arms and legs around her. If he couldn't make love to her tonight, at least he could have her as near as possible.
Abby sighed as she relaxed against him. "This isn't how I imagined ending up in your bed for the first time, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I know." She felt his hands run gently up and down her spine, managing to be both soothing and promising at the same time. "We've plenty of time to make some new memories in this bed, Abbs."
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