A/N: Last chapter… hugs to everyone for sticking with my first story. I've had a ball writing it!

Chapter 10 – Starting to Heal

Resting his injured hand on her back as Abby wrapped her arms around him, Gibbs leaned his cheek on her hair, letting her scent wash over him.

"You should try and sleep, Jethro."

When he didn't reply, she raised her head to see his eyes still held a troubled expression. "Not sure I want to, Abbs… not yet."

Sensing that was subtext for not wanting to be hit with nightmares just yet, she leaned in to kiss him gently, hair trailing across his chest, trying to reassure him in the only way she knew how.

He returned her kiss, deepening it, enjoying the taste and feel of her. She couldn't suppress a slight moan as she felt herself responding to his hunger, as he tried to pour everything he couldn't put into words into his kiss.

Breathing heavily when they broke apart, he searched her dazed eyes, "I need you, Abbs." Slipping his hand to the back of her neck, he pulled her close to nip and kiss his way along her jawline to her neck, breathing out against her skin, "I want you."

Not sure that this was a good idea given his injuries, she nevertheless knew what he was asking… help him forget, if only for a short time. As always, she found herself unable to refuse him anything, and if she were honest with herself, she needed to feel their connection too… needed to feel him deep inside her.

He let her take the lead, content to feel a slow heat build. She kissed her way slowly down his body, re-visiting those sensitive areas she'd memorized that caused the most reaction. He wasn't the only one who knew how to press buttons. Enjoying the sensations she was creating, he relaxed into her touch.

She licked and nibbled her way over his chest, teasing his nipples and tracing her tongue down the line of his navel, causing him to shift restlessly underneath her. Kissing across his hips and down his thighs, her silky hair brushed across his erection, earning her a strangled gasp from his mouth.

Grasping him in both hands, she stroked him softly and he could only moan as she added her lips and tongue to teasing him as he hardened further. Not wanting this to be about tormenting him too much tonight, she soon moved to straddle him, easing herself over him until only the first inch was inside. He growled out her name at the sensations coursing through him as she undulated over the sensitive tip.

Green eyes locked with darkened blue as she sank gradually down, savoring every inch until he was buried inside her. Settling a slow pace, she began rocking back and forth over him, bracing her hands on his shoulders.

He gazed up at her poised above him, captivated by the sight she presented as she closed her eyes, biting her full lower lip, moaning softly as she lost herself in the feel of him. His good hand roamed over her breasts, teasing and caressing.

Sensing neither of them would last long, she increased her pace, grinding herself against him as he thrust up against her. Senses aflame, she tried to hold on through the haze settling over her and leaned forward to murmur in his ear, "Come for me, Jethro."

Almost growling at her words, he surged up to clutch her to him, muffling his cry against her neck, arms tightening almost painfully as the waves of his release ripped through him. She rode out his aftershocks, finally finding the necessary friction to tip herself over the edge.

Feeling dazed, she clung to him as her heartbeat hammered in her chest. Stroking his hand over her back, he held her as she lowered herself over him, still shuddering and trembling. When their breathing had returned to normal, she eased off him and snuggled into his side, wrapping a leg possessively over his, while she drew idle patterns on his chest.

"I'm not sure this is what Ducky had in mind when he said you should be resting," she ventured, laughing softly. "Although judging by the expression on his face in autopsy, I don't think he'd be that surprised at what we've just been doing."

Abby wasn't sure how he'd react to the thought of Ducky guessing about their relationship. Neither of them had planned to reveal so much in front of anyone so soon but the stresses of the day had caused their mask to slip a little. Fortunately it was in front of someone they could both trust completely.

"Yeah, I kinda gave the game away, didn't I?" he acknowledged ruefully, thinking back to his actions in greeting her in autopsy.

They'd always been physically affectionate with each other even in front of their team, but he figured Ducky must have seen something else that gave them away. He remembered wanting her near him and not being able to let her go. There must have been something on their faces or in their actions this time to make it more obvious to their friend.

"It wasn't just you, I was just as responsible. I was so worried about you, I acted on instinct. I just couldn't help myself." She pulled back to search his face but couldn't find any sign of annoyance at the thought of the cat being let out of the bag so soon.

"It's alright, Abbs. Ducky doesn't miss much, even without our… help."

"I'm sure he'll be discreet, he cares about both of us," she offered.

"Yeah, I know he does… you especially," he smiled down at her, hand brushing her hair back behind her ear.

"Ducky's been like a father to me ever since my dad died," she smiled fondly at the thought of the ME who'd become her confidante over the years.

"Then I'll probably be getting the fatherly chat fairly soon… the one that goes, if you hurt her, I'll kick your ass," he mused.

"He cares about you too, Jethro. He'll probably give the same talk to me," she laughed softly. "Don't worry. If we hurt each other, we can always set Ziva on the other. That should be enough of a deterrent for both of us."

"Scary thought," came the wryly amused comment.

Lying quietly, she waited to see if Gibbs was ready to talk any more, amazed and happy that he'd opened up as much as he had already but not expecting any more. She didn't want him to feel that she was pushing him at all. She'd accept whatever pace he was comfortable with.

Thinking he was drifting off to sleep finally when his breathing evened out, she was startled when he spoke again. Surprisingly, he chose to ignore tonight's events and instead focused on their relationship, albeit obliquely.

"Do you think Ducky approves?" His friend's opinion was important to him.

"He does," she blurted out before stuttering to a halt and trying to tuck her head under his chin so he couldn't see her face.

Oops… busted.

He was having none of it though and tilted her head up so he could see her eyes. He quirked an eyebrow, face settling in what she called his best and most irritating poker face.

"How do you know he approves? When did you tell him about us, Abby?"

One of his more valued traits as an investigator and interrogator was his ability to put on a blank mask and make his eyes unreadable. It was also one of his more annoying habits. Even after all these years, she still couldn't read him when he did it.

It didn't take long for her to start fidgeting under his gaze and she pulled away to sit up, cross legged beside him on the bed. "I haven't. I haven't told anyone yet. We agreed we wouldn't say anything yet… if you don't count our… slip in autopsy, I haven't said a word to anyone. Pinkie promise."

"Then how can you be so sure that Ducky approves?" he queried, his tone gentle but eyes still unreadable.

"Umm, well, because he knows how I feel about you."

Unable to meet his clear gaze, she looked down, twisting her fingers in the sheets nervously. "He's known for a long time about my feelings for you, ever since Mexico. He helped me when… when I fell apart when you left." She sneaked a glance up to see something indefinable flash across his face far too quickly for her to read it.

Gathering up her courage, she was determined to get it all out now she'd started, but kept her eyes downcast.

"He's never said anything to indicate he wouldn't approve if we did get together. I know he just wants me to be happy and he'll be pleased that I am, I'm sure of it."

She refrained from saying that Tony also knew how she felt, unsure how he would react to that.

One hurdle at a time.

He was silent for a long time… what felt like too long in her anxious state, before finally reaching out to still her fidgeting hands, asking in a soft voice, "And what are your feelings, Abbs?"

Here we go. This where I frighten him away by going too fast. Why do you always screw it up, Scuito?

Not able to meet his gaze or find her voice, heart hammering in her chest so loudly she felt sure he would hear it, Abby extended her pinkie, then her forefinger and thumb, folding her middle fingers in to her palm and pressed her hand against his chest.

She'd signed I love you to him many times before, as had he in return. But it had always been in circumstances where it could be shrugged off as either friendship or the exuberance of the moment. Here in the more intimate surroundings of his bed, signing it to him suddenly meant so much more.

She'd wanted to tell him that she loved him so many times, not only in the last two weeks but long before now. She'd never found the courage. But given the risks in his job, brought home with a vengeance today, she wanted him to know how she felt about him. It didn't stop her being afraid of how he'd react. Given how quiet he'd become, she felt she'd been right to be worried and felt a fist close around her heart.

Startled out of her thoughts, she saw his hand move into her line of vision which... very deliberately and slowly signed, I love you too.

Her eyes flew up to meet his warm gaze, her breath catching in her throat as she saw his face open and unguarded, for once his emotions plain to see. She felt his hand trail up her arm, across her shoulder to cup her cheek and holding her gaze, he let his slow sexy grin build in response to the dawning delight on her face.

Heart soaring, she stilled her first instinct to launch herself at him, mindful of his injured hand. She settled for grabbing his hand and pressing it against her face, kissing his palm, too overwhelmed to speak. She leaned forward to brush a lingering kiss across his lips, unable to stop a wide smile breaking out on her face when she pulled back, eyes sparkling.

He brushed his fingers across her cheek and across her lips, drinking in the sight of her. She was in his bed and in his heart, and he still found it hard to believe what a lucky bastard he was.

Gibbs pulled her back down and spooned against her, pressing a kiss onto the back of her neck, nuzzling his nose into her hair. She dragged one of the pillows against her stomach so he could rest his injured hand more comfortably, taking care of him as she always did, without fuss.

From the tension of earlier, he now felt a sense of contentment stealing over him. He knew that he was too set in his ways to change quickly or at all, but she was worth every bit of effort. Knowing she were there to share his life was the best healing he could hope for.

"Sleep now," she unconsciously echoed his words from their first night together.

"I'll be here if you need me. I always will," she murmured as they drifted off to sleep and that, in the end, was the most important thing for both of them.

The end

A/N: Phew… what started off as a couple of post-episode chapters just 'growed like topsy!' Hugs to everyone for their support and encouragement which really gave me the confidence to continue. The biggest hug goes to Zivacentric… it really is all your fault, you know, for starting me off! Given the poor woman doesn't have a Gabby bone in her body, it's a wonder she hasn't gone into anaphylactic shock by now…