Title: Better Than Fine
Author: Jo. R (driftingatdusk)
Rating: FR-13 at most.
Pairing: Gabby, of course.
Summary: 6pm, May 21st.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
- It's the End of the World, R.E.M.

5.38pm, Saturday May 21st.

Abby Sciuto sat in her car outside of the house that wasn't hers, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.

The world was supposed to end in twenty three minutes. Well, she corrected herself mentally, not end exactly. The good people of the world were supposed to disappear and go to heaven while everyone else got to stay behind and get on with their lives for a couple of months. October 21st was the day the world was actually supposed to end but that was semantics, really.

The world as she knew it, she thought as she unbuckled her seatbelt, was going to end at 6pm on Saturday May 21st.

Or at least, she hoped, it was going to change dramatically.

At 5.46pm, she let herself into the house and listened as she stood over the threshold. As she'd expected, the house was mostly quiet with the exception of the light rasping sound coming from the open door leading down into the basement.

The world might be about to end, she thought, but Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn't letting it stop him from keeping to his usual routine.

She made her way slowly down the steps, careful not to make a sound but knowing he knew she was there when his hand hesitated, the sanding block he was using pausing for just a split-second. As was his way, Gibbs didn't say anything, perfectly content to wait for her to break the silence first and explain why she was there.

It was her first time in the basement since the fateful night she'd gone to him and begged him to tell her he'd always love her. He hadn't answered her then, not verbally, but the look on his face had both answered her question and told her so much more.

"Tell me how much I've been like a daughter to you... and how much you love me."

"Will that help?"

"No. What I really need to know, Gibbs... is if you're going to love me, no matter what."

The expression on his face when she'd asked him to tell her how much she'd been like a daughter to him had surprised her. It'd taken her a while – months, if she was honest with herself, to fully process it and convince herself that she hadn't been seeing what she'd wanted to see. The look on his face when she'd asked if he would love her no matter what...

Abby squared her shoulders against a shiver and glanced down at the watch on her wrist.

5.55pm.

Taking a deep breath, telling herself there was no backing out, she took a few small steps towards, her uncharacteristic silence making him look up with a half quizzical, half concerned glint in his blue eyes.

Abby tried to smile to reassure him but nerves wouldn't let it stay on her face for long.

"Abby...?"

Gibbs straightened and turned to face her fully, his brow furrowing.

At 5.59pm, Abby covered the gap between them, lifting her hands to his shoulders and closing her eyes as she pressed her lips against his, her actions timid but determined.

As the time changed to 6pm, the sanding block fell from Gibbs' hand, landing on the concrete floor with a clatter neither of them heard, his hands moving to her hips. When she realised it was to pull her closer, not to push her away, Abby smiled against his mouth, lifting a hand to the back of his head as she gave in to his silent request to deepen the kiss.

At 6.07pm, Gibbs reluctantly pulled away from her, gazing down at her flushed cheeks and swollen lips with searching blue eyes.

"Not that I'm gonna complain, Abs, but what...?"

"The world didn't end," Abby interrupted, her smile satisfied and her eyes bright. "It was supposed to end at 6pm, or at least all the good people were supposed to disappear and since you're one of the best people I know, I couldn't let you go without, you know, kissing you at least once."

It took a second for the confusion to clear from his face, a second more for an eyebrow to rise in question. "You believe that stuff, Abby?"

"No. Thought it was a good excuse, though. In case you didn't kiss back." Her smile grew, showing how pleased she was with herself. She tilted her head slightly, her fingernails lightly tracing invisible patterns on the back of his neck. "Like I'd believe there'd be piles of clothes all over the place because the good people of the world went to heaven naked. Why would that happen?"

Gibbs smirked at her, lifting one hand from her hip to the top button of her shirt. "Could always fulfil that part of the prophecy ourselves, Abs..."

Her response was to kiss him again, without any of the uncertainty but a whole lot of the determination.

By 6.29pm, there was a pile of clothes abandoned on the basement floor.

I couldn't resist! :)