Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: Because I caught the end of the episode last night where that one guy tried to frame Tony... if you haven't seen the end, it won't make sense. At all.

Shatterpoint

When he opened up that folder and saw the picture, his heart stopped. Somehow, he managed to pull out his gun and start running. He was on autopilot, feet pounding the floor on the path to the lab, hoping to get there before that man snapped and hurt Abby. He could hear Tony behind him, but he didn't pay much attention.

Calling her name, he hurried into the lab. It took him a minute to see her, sitting in the chair with her back to him. He said her name again, suddenly deathly afraid that killing her had been some sort of final gesture meant to twist the knife as much as possible. When she turned around, his heart began beating again.

Her hair was out of place, and her general appearance could only be described as disheveled. She looked tired, scared, and barely able to focus on his face. "Now can I work alone?" She pointed behind her to the guy duct taped up on the floor. He could see bruises under the edges of the tape, indicating that Abby had possibly taken a few extra kicks once he was down.

What scared him most was the knife. It was lying three feet or so from her chair, and it was a solid reminder of what could have happened had she not been able to defend herself.

Later, when he was walking her to her car (as he'd insisted she let him do), she asked him what was wrong.

"You're the one person who shouldn't be put in danger like that. The rest of them, Tony, McGee… they're used to that. You? You work in the lab."

"Gibbs…" Abby stopped walking and grabbed his arm. "I can defend myself, as I proved today. Besides." She shrugged. "I work at NCIS. I have to expect excitement." When he didn't look convinced, she smiled cheerfully. "Gibbs… you aren't blaming yourself, are you?"

He glared at her. "No."

"Yes, you are." She shook her head. "Gibbs. There was no way you could know, and you came running down to save me when you found out. That, to me, means you did everything that you could." Wrapped her arms around one of his and started walking, dragging him along with her. She leaned her head against his arm (because she was too short, even in combat boots, to reach his shoulder). "But hey, if you're really feeling that guilty, you can take me to dinner."

He looked down, raising an eyebrow. "Are you asking me on a date, Abbs?"

She smiled winningly. "Yes."

"Fine…" He was grumbling, but she could practically feel him grinning.

"Do I get a kiss goodnight at the end of it?" She decided to try for the cheeky approach.

"Only if you're good. But don't push it." He helped her into her car. "When do I pick you up?"

A/N: See? Cute, fluffy, Gabby. Jenni… long time no chat, hope you liked this.