Chapter Four
"Jethro, do stop pacing," Ducky requested, leaning back against a table as he watched him. "You're making me nervous, and I doubt Abby finds it easy to concentrate with you walking back and forth."
"Sorry, Duck," Gibbs replied, halting his pacing to stand again behind Abby's computer chair. He was getting nervous as well, honestly; it had been nearly two hours of waiting for something to happen. So far, Abby seemed fine…Gibbs knew, though, that that could well change quite suddenly.
Though it had taken her a while, Abby had convinced Kate and Tony to leave her lab, claiming that she couldn't think when there were so many people hovering over her. They were now examining the tapes from the security cameras, trying to figure out how the terrorist had gotten into headquarters, as well as to get a good screen capture of him.
Abby had attempted to get Gibbs and Ducky to leave as well, but they had both refused. Gibbs wanted to keep an eye on her, to make sure he knew what was going on; Ducky thought it best he stay near her ‘in case he was needed'. Abby had actually given up on trying to talk them into leaving rather quickly. Honestly, she felt a bit better, having them there.
She had spent the past two hours experimenting and running tests on just about anything she could find to experiment and/or run tests on. Anything to keep her mind busy. She had even debated running various types of blood tests and such on herself, except that she didn't want to be stuck with another needle. One was more than enough for a day.
She now sat at her computer, diverting herself by messing with the car crash simulator, creating various wrecks and hit-and-run scenarios, seeing what was possible, what wasn't… and what wasn't possible, but she managed to create anyway through a little manipulation. Gibbs watched over her shoulder, amused at the odd ways she managed to tweak situations, making them work the way she wanted them to.
After a moment, Abby leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and resting her head in her hands. Gibbs was immediately concerned, placing a hand lightly on her shoulder as he asked "Abby? Are you okay?"
She nodded slightly, smiling at him. "Yeah. I just have a headache… probably been staring at the computer screen for just a little too long."
Gibbs though for a moment. Had headache been one of the symptoms the terrorist had mentioned? Yeah, he was pretty sure it was. "Are you dizzy?"
"No."
"Feeling lightheaded?"
"Aren't they sorta the same thing?"
Gibbs reached around her to place a hand on her forehead. She felt a little warm…he could be imagining it, he told himself. Maybe she was right; maybe she had just been sitting in front of the computer for too long. While half of his mind though that, the other half was already considering what had to be done if it wasn't just that. "You still have that futon in here, Abbs?"
"Yeah," she answered, looking a bit confused. "Why?"
Gibbs glanced over at Ducky, slightly pleased to see that he had already moved to set up said futon. Gibbs knew that they'd need somewhere comfortable for Abby to lay; somewhere that they could keep an eye on her. He was sure Ducky didn't like the idea of laying her on an autopsy table any more than he did.
He turned his attention back to Abby, who was tapping her fingers idly on the desk, pretending to pay attention to her computer while really trying not to worry. Sure, working at her computer for a couple hours had never given her a headache before, but there's a first time for everything, right? Okay, well, maybe not everything, as some things are impossible, but all possible things could potentially happen, however low the chances might be, so…
"Abby?" Gibbs' voice broke into her thoughts. She looked over at him as he continued. "Maybe you should do something else for a while."
"Oh. Yeah. Sure, okay," she agreed, standing. Maybe she could fiddle around with a microscope or something. She took a few steps before the room suddenly seemed to start spinning; she stumbled, and Gibbs was instantly at her side, putting an arm around her waist to steady her. "Okay, woah, dizzy now," she said softly, leaning against him slightly.
"Gibbs held her for a moment, concern flooding through him. His mind seemed to start working again a minute later, and he gently directed Abby towards the futon, keeping a steadying arm around her. "Okay, Abby. Come on, let's get you over here and you can lie down."
Abby nodded slightly, leaning against him as they walked. She was immensely grateful for his supporting arm around her; she was pretty sure that walking on her own would have meant bumping into tables or something equally unpleasant. Even after he gently lowered her onto the futon, she had to sit for a moment, trying to convince the world to stop spinning, or at least to slow down a bit.
Gibbs watched as Ducky felt Abby's forehead, checking for a fever, and then took her wrist to check her pulse. After a moment, he carefully directed her to lie down on the futon. "How is she?" Gibbs asked quietly, keeping his worried gaze on Abby.
"She does seem to have a slight fever, but her pulse is normal and she seems to be breathing regularly. Nothing to worry about yet." Gibbs didn't like the ‘yet,' seeming to claim that there would eventually be something to worry about. "But it is a wise idea to keep her here, not up and around much if at all, and to keep her comfortable."
Gibbs nodded, moving to sit down on the floor beside the futon. Abby smiled at him, and he managed a small, worried smile in return. He had a feeling these next few hours would be rather long. He could only hope that the terrorist had exaggerated his own skill; hope that Abby wouldn't get much worse… hope that the ‘yet' never became ‘now.'
Chapter End Notes:
Yay, chapter 4. Things are starting to get serious now. Slowly but surely the plot progresses. ^_^ Let me know how I'm doing! lol, tempt me to post more stories on here; I've got like six of them I'm writing.