Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, or the characters. In case it wasn't really obvious.

So here we are at the end of another story, I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it!

Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews throughout the writing of this fic! I truly value each and every one.

Enjoy!

This final chapter is dedicated to losingmymind2. I wish you and your son all the best.

For once in his life, Gibbs is lost for words.

How can this be happening?!

She has to recover.

Why'd I push her into having the surgery?!

"Mr Gibbs." Dr Hamish's voice breaks into his thoughts, and upon Gibbs looking up he sees that the other man is in the doorway, about to leave the room.

At this moment, something in Gibbs snaps, and he charges at the physician. And gets in several vicious punches and kicks before a couple of security guards pull him off.

"Let go of me!" Gibbs shouts indignantly as he fights against the guards.

On the doctor's insistence, the guards just hold Gibbs there until he settles down a few minutes later.

Once they're sure he's calm, the guards release Gibbs as he apologetically says. "I'm sorry, it's been a bad day."

Having dealt with innumerous families going through similar situations, and been lashed out at by at a quarter of them, Dr Hamish tells him. "It's alright." As he checks out a bruise on his forearm; nothing serious.

Within a few minutes, Gibbs goes back to Abby's room, and continues his vigil.

The night before Abby is scheduled to be transferred to the long term care unit, Gibbs has on just gone back to his motel to get a few hours sleep, when Tara, who's come into Abby's room to check on the condition sees that her eyes are half open. At first she thinks that they must've just slipped open, but then she sees Abby's hand lift slightly off the bed.

Tara goes over to the phone, and pages Dr Hamish before going to Abby's side. "Abigail? Are you with me?"

After a moment, Abby nods weakly.

"Okay. Don't try to talk just yet, you're still intubated." Tara says as she wipes a tear from Abby's eye. "You're alright, just relax."

When Gibbs arrives a couple of hours later, Dr Hamish stops him before he enters the room. "Mr Gibbs, can I speak with you for a moment?"

Gibbs looks towards the room, clearly wanting to be with Abby right now; she must be so upset. "Okay. Is Abby alright?"

"She's better than alright." Dr Hamish begins with a smile. "She regained consciousness earlier this morning, but-"

As soon as he hears the 'but', Gibbs interrupts. "But what? She is alright, isn't she?"

Dr Hamish hesitates before telling Gibbs. "She seems to have a severe hemiplegia on her right side, but with assistance she should be able to adjust."

Gibbs just stands there, stunned as he tries to take in the news.

It is another three days before Abby is moved into a step-down unit, where her doctors have decided that she will stay until she finishes radiation.

Once the staff has settled her into a bed, Abby turns to Gibbs, who is sitting beside the bed, and says. "So I'm meant to go start the treatment pretty soon."

"Yeah." Gibbs confirms, already knowing where this is going.

Sure enough, the next words out of Abby's mouth are- "Do I really need this? Maybe it'll be alright if I just let it go." Gibbs only has to look at her, and she then says. "I know, I'm just really scared."

Gibbs stands up, goes over to Abby, and embraces her as he says. "You're going to be alright, Abby. I'll be right here with you."

Abby can only nod before an orderly comes into the room, he promptly helps her into a wheelchair, and then with Gibbs following close behind, he takes her for the first treatment.

After the radiation treatment Abby is violently ill, and Gibbs can only stand by helplessly as a nurse tends to her.

Once Abby finally falls asleep from sheer exhaustion, Gibbs steps into the hallway, and quickly dials Ducky's number. He answers after several rings. "Hello, Duck."

"Ah, Jethro. How are you? Is Abigail feeling any better yet?" Ducky asks in his usual manner.

Gibbs sighs wearily as he tells his old friend. "She had her first radiation treatment today, it made her so sick. I just let her nurse take over, I didn't know what to do."

The broken, defeated tone in Gibbs' voice worries Ducky. All he can think to say is. "That's alright. The nurses and doctors are there to make sure she's comfortable, right now she really just needs you to be there for her."

The team arrives four days later from Washington DC to visit Abby. When they enter Abby's room, despite having already been prepared by Gibbs for the visit, they are all shocked to see the state that she's in. The bandages were removed yesterday, so her shaved head is obvious, and it is clear that she has no control over her right side, that side of her face is slack, and her arm is supported by a sling to make her more comfortable, and worryingly to them, there is a customized wheelchair sitting beside her bed.

"She sleeps a lot these days, the treatment ...it wears her out." Gibbs explains as he adjusts the blankets, revealing a side of him that they rarely see.

They stay all weekend, but even then they barely get to spend anytime actually talking to Abby, she is always either sleeping or feeling to sick to talk.

Four and a half weeks later, Abby is sitting in her wheelchair by her room's window when Dr Hamish comes in, and greets her. "Good afternoon, Abigail. How're you feeling today?"

"Better. I'm feeling stronger everyday since the treatment stopped." Abby tells him, speaking slowly to avoid slurring her speech at all because of the paralysis.

Dr Hamish smiles as he sitting down in an empty chair beside her. "Well, I have some good news for you ...the tests we ran yesterday showed no signs of tumour cells."

"Meaning?" Abby asks cautiously, not wanting to get her hopes up only to be knocked down.

Dr Hamish turns Abby's wheelchair around so that she is facing him, and says. "It means that the tumour is gone. You can go home."

Despite how difficult it is for her, Abby leans over, and embraces Dr Hamish; it mightn't be the same as her old hugs, but it's as close as she can get these days.

Dr Hamish stands back up, and tells Abby. "I'm going to organise for you to be discharged tomorrow." Before he walks out of the room.

Epilogue

Two months later

As Abby comes into work in the middle of the night, after having been called in by Gibbs to process evidence urgently, she can't help but feel that everything is almost back to normal. Except for of course the fact that she is now in a wheelchair, but that hasn't affected her work because one of the first things Gibbs did when she returned to DC was 'persuade' Jenny to have everything adjusted to suit her. And although when she first returned her hair was barely a centimetre long, and everyone commented until Tony and Ziva threatened the entire office with physical harm if they said another word, it is now a bit longer, and Abby has dyed it back to black, and often styles it in various bizarre shapes using hair gel, and no one ever dares to say a word against it or her.

The end.

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