Chapter 3, and the final chapter, is up!!! Back to the present, just after Gibbs calls Abby, and so on. Pondering the idea of a part 3, if anyone's interested…trying to come up with a good song for it. Sorry, going too far ahead of myself, as usual! Enjoy!

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It had been a week since Mark and Jennifer had been killed. Lee understood that her parents were gone, that they had gone up to heaven, but she didn't cry, just kept staring off into space, and barely said anything. Abby was really worried about her, but when the morning of the funeral came, she knew she couldn't help the little girl. Her silence came from grief, and that had to heal on its own.

Abby, Lee and Barbra, Abby's grandmother and Lee's great-grandmother, were standing in the front during the services. Since it was a beautiful day, Abby had decided to have the funeral outside, something she knew Mark and Jennifer would've liked.

As Mark and Jennifer were laid to rest side by side, tears poured down Abby's cheeks, and as people got up and began to walk towards the grieving family, Lee suddenly took off, running as fast as a 3 year old could, away from the graves of her parents.

"Lee!" Abby called, desperately running after her niece. That was all she had left, beside her grandmother. She couldn't lose someone else. "Lee, baby, stop," Abby pleaded, catching up to her niece easily and swiftly pulling her into her arms. Lee fought her hard, but that only made Abby hold on tighter.

After a few minutes, Lee gave up the fight and sobbed on Abby's shoulder, all the bottled up grief pouring out from her little body as her parent's death took its toll upon her body and soul.

--

That afternoon, Abby talked with Barbra about moving to DC. They both agreed it would be best, for them all. Abby would be back home, and Barbra needed a change of scenery anyways. Lee would be better off when she started school, and they all would be better off away from the haunting town where Mark and Jennifer had been killed.

The only person Abby called was Ducky, for two reasons. One, she knew he wouldn't tell anyone else, and two, she kind of hoped to introduce her grandmother and Ducky, had been wanting to for a while now.

A few days later, Abby's plane descended into DC, and when Abby stepped off the plane, a smile grew on her face. "How do you like DC so far, Lee?" Abby questioned, swinging the girl into her arms.

"Pretty sunset," Lee said excitedly, pointing to the sun sinking down below the horizon.

"Why, yes it is, my dear," Barbra said, standing beside them. Abby's eyes focused on something closer than the sunrise: an old car with Ducky standing next to it.

"Ducky!" She cried out, setting Lee down and dashing over to him.

"Abigail!" Ducky exclaimed, embracing the young woman who threw her arms around his neck tightly.

"I missed you, Duck-man," Abby said, and Ducky replied with a chuckle,

"I missed you too, Abby,"

When Abby drew back, his tone turned somber as he said, "I'm so sorry to hear about your brother and sister-in-law, Abby,"

Abby blinked back tears and nodded, whispering, "Thanks, Duck. You would've liked them,"

"I'm sure I would have." Ducky assured her, and Abby looked at him with questioning eyes, saying,

"I'll tell you about them later,"

"I'd like that," Ducky replied warmly just as Lee came running up. "Now who do we have here?" Ducky questioned with a big smile, crouching down to Lee's height.

"I'm Lee Sciuto." Lee said proudly, taking a hold of Abby's hand.

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Lee Sciuto."

"Duck-man, this is my grandma, Barbra Sciuto." Abby said eagerly, pulling Barbra forward.

"Dr. Donald Mallard, at your service," Ducky said, bowing to Barbra, who smiled and said,

"It's very nice to meet you, Dr. Mallard."

"Oh please, call me Ducky. All my friends do,"

"I'd be honored," Barbra said with a grin, and Abby rolled her eyes, walking to the car and saying,

"Ducky, can you drop me and Lee of at NCIS? I wanna go see the team,"

--

Ducky and Barbra drove away, deep in conversation while Abby pinned a visitor's badge to her shirt, and one to Lee's. The security men all hugged Abby, and then she boarded the elevator with a grin. "It's good to be home," Abby whispered, squeezing Lee's hand, who was busy being fascinated by the way the buttons lit up when you pushed them.

Apparently they were visiting all the floors possible, and then some others ones, today.

Minutes turn to hours

And the hours to days

Seems it's been forever

That I've felt this way

Gibbs was sitting at his desk, about ready to send his agents home for the night. All their cases were wrapped up, and no one else was likely to kill a sailor that night. Just as Gibbs stood up, the elevator doors dinged, and for some strange reason, they all looked over in the direction of the elevator.

Abby stepped out of the elevator, looking around with a sigh of relief. Her gaze strayed to the four pairs of eyes staring at her, and no matter how hard she fought it, her eyes locked onto the brilliant blue eyes she hadn't seen in forever. To distract herself, she bent down and picked Lee up into her arms.

Gibbs's eyes clouded with confusion for a moment, seeing the little girl in Abby's arms. His mind quickly did the math, and with a jolt of realization, he thought that if Abby had been pregnant when she left, she could have a child by now. But that freezing thought passed when he realized that the girl had to be at least 3, and Abby had only been gone a year or so.

"Abby!" Tony cried out, literally running over to the Goth and embracing her solidly.

"Do no hurt the poor girl," Ziva scolded, striding over quickly and hugging Abby tightly as well.

"Abbs, you're back!" McGee exclaimed, hugging her after Ziva. Gibbs slowly walked over to her, and Tony pulled McGee back from his hug with Abby. "Hey!" McGee exclaimed, but then saw Gibbs standing there, and fell silent.

Abby steeled herself to let Lee down and throw her arms around Gibbs' neck, saying, "Hey Gibbs!" like she did almost everyday over a year ago.

Gibbs was so stunned he couldn't get his arms around her before she pulled away, and said, "This, is my adorable niece Lee!"

"She's so cute," Ziva cooed, and they all knelt down by Lee, introducing themselves. When that was over, Tony stood up and announced,

"Let's all go over to that bar nearby and get wasted while swapping stories, huh?"

"I'll go but I'm not drinking," Abby said quickly, gathering Lee up in her arms.

"Huh? But, you used to drink better than me," Tony said questioningly, and Abby said quietly,

"I'm going to go drop Lee of with my grandma. I'll meet you all there."

With that she quickly walked to the elevator and closed the doors before any one of them could react. "What was that all about?" Ziva asked with confusion, and Gibbs thought for a long moment, and then it hit him. When he got really drunk at night, which was a lot, he'd turn on the news in New Orleans to see what was going on where Abby now lived. He remembered seeing a drunk-driving accident, and the name 'Sciuto' but he hadn't put two and two together, until now.

"Her brother and sister-in-law were killed in drunk-driving accident a month ago," Gibbs replied quietly, and it was his turn to get questioning looks. Instead of answering them, he turned and walked over to his desk to get his coat. Tony, Ziva and McGee did the same, but when Gibbs left, they convened in the same elevator. They had much to discuss.

Not a day goes by

That I don't think of you

After all this time

You're still with me it's true

Oh, somehow you remain

Locked so deep inside

Baby, baby, oh baby

Not a day goes by

That night, Abby was slyly interrogated about her life in New Orleans, and then Ziva brought up the subject of her niece. Abby told them the exact same thing Gibbs had, and avoided everyone's eyes, including Ducky, Gibbs, Palmer and Jenny, who had shown up a little later than the 3 special agents. Barbra had stayed at Ducky's place with Lee. The big group sat at a table and ordered shots and bottles as they all talked, drank and laughed. The only one not drinking was Abby, who kept ordering a Coke with double ice, just because she could.

Before they knew it, the clock hands were creeping past midnight, and Abby let out a yawn. "Well, time for me to get home, er…"

"You and your grandmother can stay with me until you find a permanent dwelling here in DC." Ducky said warmly with a smile at Abby. Just as Abby stood up, Gibbs rose to his feet and said quietly,

"I'll drive you home, Abby,"

"I can manage better than you can, Gibbs." Abby replied in an equally quiet voice. No one dared speak as Abby walked out, and Gibbs followed her.

"Abby," He implored, gently touching her shoulder. She whipped around and said,

"What do you want, Gibbs?"

"I, I just wanted to talk," Gibbs said, stunned from her reaction.

"Fine, Gibbs. Let's talk. You want me to talk about how you waited a whole year before calling me? Or how about the fact that I heard no news from you at all? Or maybe…"

"Okay, I get your point, Abby!" Gibbs exclaimed, and Abby said loudly,

"Do you, Gibbs? My heart broke from the moment you started pushing me away. Have you ever thought of the fact that you might just be too late with your apology? And here I was thinking that an apology was a sign of weakness. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe my whole life is a lie. I don't really know anymore."

Abby's rambling thoughts made no sense to Gibbs for a long moment, or Abby even, but then Gibbs recognized it as a symptom of grief, obviously from losing her brother and sister-in-law. "Abby…" Gibbs started to say soothingly, and Abby lost it.

"Don't baby me! I'm so sick and tired of it! I don't even know if you were sincere with your apology, or you were just tired of that new forensic dude you have. You never told me you loved me, Gibbs, in that message. Maybe that's all I wanted to hear, those three little words that you could only sign to me before. Maybe you don't really love me." Abby shook her head, conflicted with emotions. "I don't even know what I'm saying,"

"Maybe you do," Gibbs said gently, and Abby shrugged, the tears cascading down her face. "I hurt you, Abby, I hurt you really bad," He started to say, and Abby replied,

"That's the problem, Gibbs. I'd already forgiven you for that, long before you left a message on my voicemail. That old cliché is true this time, it's not really you, it's me," Her voice sounded miserable, and Gibbs knew what he had to do as he stepped as close to her as he would dare. His heart was breaking, but he was firm in his resolve.

"I understand, Abby. What can I do?" He asked in a whisper, and she looked him straight in the eyes, saying tremblingly,

"Wait for me. It's not right for me to ask that, I know, but, I just need space, time to think things through. I was not prepared for, for Mark, and Jennifer, both of them, they didn't deserve that, they'll never get to see their little girl grow up…" She trailed off, and Gibbs interrupted,

"It's the least I can do for you, Abby. I'll wait." She nodded, and Gibbs knew he made the right choice. He didn't want a relationship based on grief or regret, and he knew she didn't either. That's why she'd been pushing him away. Too bad he wasn't going to go anywhere.

With understanding nods, they both turned and walked in opposite directions. About 10 steps later, both looked back at the other, and a soft smile appeared on Gibbs and Abby's faces. That smile stayed there throughout the turn to face their separate directions as they continued on their, for now, separate ways.

That I don't think of you

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Don't hate me for the ending!!! I'm working on a sequel, the final one, and I'm using Lady Antebellum's song "Need You Now" so if you look up the lyrics, it might give you a hint as to what the final addition to my 3-fic series will be. Thanks so much for reading, and adios! (for now)