No one could really say how it began, she assumed it happened as he grew on her. Then again, hadn't she kind of always known? In her own way, she'd know she was different for a reason. He never made mean jokes about her or pretended to be anything but who he was. Countless times she'd watched him leave, his life in danger everytime he stepped out the door, and she was powerless to stop him.

He came down to the lab, that charming grin on his face. She could tell he was exhausted, Gibbs had them up all night again. Just as she knew he was going to ask her if he could relax in here. "Go ahead, Tony." She sighed sadly. Her own thoughts were depressing, even for a goth.

It wasn't your fault, she told herself, taking a deep breath. It wasn't like you asked to suffer from heartbreak, it just happened, as always. And her heart had broken, the day she saw how much he loved his now ex-girlfriend. "The bitch." She signed to herself. It was just cold blooded cruelty.

Tony'd been watching her from where he was, she was ticked and it showed quite well. He'd never been one for sign language, but he recognize a curse when he saw one. Since she didn't realize he was paying attention, he took one of these rare moments to really appreciate her. He used to watch her all the time, but then it was so obvious she had a thing for Mcgee and not him. So now he was content with staring at the forbidden fruit of desire without being noticed. Her hair was down, she'd obviously been planning to go out last night, and it hung past her shoulders delicately. Pale skin contrasted nicely to the blood red lipstick she was wearing.

The white lab coat she always wore fit quite nicely over her cargo pants and tight fitting halter top. When she threw him a glance he closed his eyes, tried to erase all of the thoughts that were beginning to form in his head.

There were many reasons to prevent this from happening, most importantly, rule twelve. That would not be a pleasant conversation with his boss, he could already feel the bruise on the back of his head. Secondly, he knew the proby still had feelings for the woman, that would be awquard.

"I thought you were sleeping, Tony." Her voice was cold, an icy layer that had him sitting up straight. His eyes narrowed.

"What's gotten into you, Abs?" He looked right at her, willed her not to look away.

Damn it, she had to think of a way to get it out without him knowing the whole truth. But that would be hard, how did she not tell him that she hated his ex-girlfriend for putting him through so much pain? How could she explain that she cried herself asleep at night because he didn't feel the same things she did? That she was tired of sleeping with other guys in an effort to forget about him. An idea struck, she peered out the door to check if Gibbs was coming before turning back to him.

Her hands moved fast, signing everything she'd just thought. He watched, confused, wondering if Abby had finally lost it. As he watched her, a red dot appeared out of nowhere. When it landed on her forehead Tony's breath caught in his throat. He jumped at her, shoving her to the ground as the bullet shot mere inches above thier heads. Glass from the window showered over them as he covered her, keeping out of view of the window. From underneath him, he heard a sob escape her throat, though whether it was because of this or what she was trying to tell him, niether could tell.