Chapter 8
By the time that Gibbs had gotten there, Abby was completely free, and had begun to calm down. When she saw Gibbs though, the tears began to fall hard and fast from her face. She was clutching Bert, and McGee was standing behind her, a hand on her shoulder.
Gibbs entered the cell, kneeling to look her in the eyes, and hugged her. She let him, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt like she was eight again, crying with her dad. Gibbs stroked her hair softly, and murmured in her ear.
"Abby, Abby, its okay. You're safe now, safe. I'm here, we all are. Stop crying, come on, its okay," he comforted her. She pulled away from him and tried to stem the tears flowing from her eyes. Gibbs stood and pulled McGee over to one side, letting Tony and Ziva speak to Abby.
"You did good," he told the younger agent. McGee just nodded, desperate to get back to Abby.
"Wait, what?" he asked, finally realizing what Gibbs had said.
"You did good," Gibbs repeated, looking him in the eye, "You found her, I'm proud of you."
"Thanks," said McGee, standing up a little bit straighter. Praise from Gibbs was hard to come by.
"Maybe we should get her home," Tony interrupted their conversation, trying to help Abby stand up.
"Let's go," agreed Gibbs.
The weather was cold and rainy as they drove out of the mountains. They stopped to buy Abby a hot chocolate to stop her from shaking, which she had been doing since they left, but she insisted on a Caff Pow.
Abby still seemed to be in shock. Constantly shaking and always on the verge of tears. They all agreed that she shouldn't be sent home alone, and after a quick debate they decided that she would be best off at McGee's. He knew that they were just taking advantage of his feelings for her. They knew that his extra love for her would be the most comforting.
They stopped by Abby's house, and Gibbs ran in to grab her some clothes. He seemed determined to help her in any way he could, but her going back into her apartment seemed a bad idea. They dropped McGee and Abby off at McGee's apartment and before driving away, Gibbs called out to them.
"McGee, I expect you at work tomorrow morning, and Abby, you stay here, try to rest." McGee waved to show that they understood, and put an arm around Abby, leading her out of the rain, and inside.
When they got up to his apartment it was early in the evening. Abby went into the bathroom to change and when she came out she plopped herself down on his bed, staring into the black TV as if in a daze.
"It works better when it's on," he told her, handing her the remote, "Are you hungry?" She said nothing, but nodded slowly. "Popcorn okay?" he asked, slightly worried about her. She nodded again.
Soon the machine gun sounds of popping popcorn flowed out of the kitchen. Minutes later he sat down next to her, handing her a bowl of steaming popcorn. He pulled a blanket over the both of them, and together they began to watch a scary movie, that she had flipped to.
Hours later they were still sitting there, eyes glued to the television. McGee had his legs stretched out in front of him; Abby was curled into a ball, with her feet up under her, leaning against him. He had his arm around her, fingering her pigtails, and she was resting her head on his chest.
"I was scared," she said suddenly, in a small voice, looking up at him.
"It's just a chain saw," he told her, referring to the movie that they were watching.
"Not that," she said sitting up, "When I was tied up. I thought about you, you and Gibbs and Tony."
"You did?" he asked, slightly disappointed that she had moved, but glad to hear what she was saying.
"I didn't think I would ever see you again," she continued in a small voice, "I thought I was going to die, and you would never find me."
"I'll always find you, I'll always be here for you," he promised, turning of the TV and kissing her gently on the head, "I've gotta work tomorrow, so sleep okay?" He lay down. "Wake me up if you need anything. Sweet dreams."
"Okay," she answered, lying down also, "You too." He turned of the light, and together they slept.
In the morning when he awoke, she was already up waiting for him, and fiddling with his computer.
"Abs, why are you up?" He asked as he entered the room, "Gibbs told you to stay here all day."
"I'm going to work," she told him firmly.
"Bu-" started McGee.
"No, McGee. I'm going," she argued.
"Fine, but if Gibbs blames me-" he began, but Abby finished for him.
"I'll tell him I made you, which I am," she agreed.
"We had better leave now then, to get Gibbs a coffee. He's gonna kill me for letting you come," and together they left.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Abby is at McGee's place, after it's all over, or is it?