STUCK ON YOU

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Agent McGee was working at his computer in the NCIS squad room setting up a new database. Gibbs, Tony and Ziva were elsewhere in the building leaving him in peace for once. He heard a familiar 'Ding' and Abby came out of the rear elevator looking for him.

"Hey McGee you got my Oozing Sores CD?" Abby looked especially cute today in her school girl outfit. She had dragged him to one of their concerts last week and he had never be so grateful to the person to invented ear plugs. She had lent him the CD and insisted he listen to it.

"Yeah I've got it somewhere and began searching his desk drawers for it. In the process he pulled out a number of items including a red velvet ring box.

Abby saw the box on McGee's desk and asked, "What's this?"

"My grandmother's engagement ring, she gave it to me last week when we had lunch. Told me maybe it's time I get married." McGee sighed.

"So ya gonna," said Abby as she snatched up the box and opened it. The ring was elegant and beautiful. She removed it from the box and slipped it onto her ring finger.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Tim yelled as he jumped up and come over to Abby. "What are you doing? Isn't that like bad luck or something?"

"Jeez McGee I'm just trying it on. It's not like it's magical and we are now bound together for all eternity."

McGee didn't know what to say. There was a time when being with Abby forever was what he wanted, maybe still wanted, but only if she wanted it too.

She saw the pained expression on his face and tried to take the ring off. "Penny must have small fingers. I can't get this thing off." Abby scrunched up her face as she tried harder to pull and twist the ring off.

"Here let me try," said McGee It was no use, the ring would not come off Abby's finger. "We'll have to get some kind of lubricant."

Abby giggled at the word.

"Really Abby?"

"Gear up! Two dead sailors at Pax River." Gibbs rushed past McGee and Abby on the way to his desk, but stopped dead in his tracks, turned and looked at the pair, Abby's hand still being held by McGee.

"Boss, she… I..., " McGee stammered.

Gibbs cut him off. "About time you two made it official." Gibbs grabbed his Sig and his go bag and headed toward the elevator as he said, " Kiss the bride goodbye Tim and go gas the truck."

Abby and McGee stood there stunned for a moment. Abby recovered first. "You heard the man. Kiss me McGee!" She closed her eyes, leaned toward McGee and puckered up."

"Not funny Abby."

"It's a little bit funny." She grinned as she straightened up.

"I gotta go. Just get that thing off, " McGee said with a bit of anger in his voice.

"Ducky," Abby called as she entered Autopsy. "I need some help here." She came over to Dr. Mallard's desk as he looked up from a chart.

"What can I do for you my dear?"

"Look!" She held out her hand with the ring still on her finger.

"Oh it's lovely!" he said as he admired the ring. "This is Timothy's I presume. We were wondering when he would finally get up the nerve. He rose to give Abby a congratulatory hug when she stopped him.

"No, I mean yes, but no." Dr. Mallard was now thoroughly confused. Abby sighed and explained, "Yes it's his ring, but he didn't ask me to marry him. It's his grandmother Penny's ring. I saw it on his desk and, like an idiot, I tried it on and now I can't get it off and Tim's all mad at me and you gotta help me before he gets back."

"Ah, I see. Well, let's have a look shall we?" Dr. Mallard examined her finger closely noticing how red and swollen it was. "Been tugging at it awhile have we?" Abby nodded. "It's certainly swollen, but not dangerously so at least for now. We could just wait for the swelling to go down or we could cut it off."

Abby's eyes went wide open.

Dr. Mallard quickly added, "The ring not the finger."

"I know. God, Tim is going to kill me!"

"Don't be so dramatic Abigail. He loves you otherwise he would never have asked you to marry him," said Dr. Mallard with wink. "Anyway let's try some ibuprofen and cold packs and keep that hand elevated for a while. Abby promise me you'll come to me if the swelling gets worse or your finger turns purple."

Abby sat sulking in her lab, her hand in a bowl of ice water with a bottle of anti-inflammatory tablets next to it.

Tony walked in carrying a box marked 'EVIDENCE'. "Hey Abs, what the heck you doing?"

She pulled her hand out of the bowl and showed him her finger, engagement ring still firmly in place.

"No need to be rude I just asked you a question."

She moved her dipping wet finger closer to his face and glared at him.

"Oh, that's a different finger than the one I... Get a new ring? … on your ring finger! An engagement ring!"

"Nothin' gets by you Tony"

"So McRomeo finally popped the question." He smiled one of his famous thousand watt smiles and went to give Abby a hug, but she held up her other hand to stop him.

"Nope. I put his stupid grandmother's ring on my stupid finger and now it won't come off and Ducky will probably have to cut it off and McGee will kill me, " Abby fumed.

Tony was about to make a joke, but Abby's expression told him that would not be a good idea.

"Tony, did McGee say anything?"

"No, he was pretty quiet today, almost Gibbs quiet. Why are you so upset about this? It was an accident wasn't it? I mean we'll get the ring off Abs."

"I know it's just that this ring got me thinking…" she was interrupted as Ziva entered the lab carrying another box of evidence from the crime scene.

Ziva said, "Ring? What ring?" Abby showed her without comment.

"Mazel tov! I'm sure you and McGee will be very happy!" She started to run around the table to hug Abby.

"Wait, wait, wait. McGee didn't propose. I was playing around with his grandmother's ring and it got stuck on my finger." As she said it Abby started pulling on the ring again and grimaced in pain.

"Oh, " said Ziva with disappointment in her voice. After a moment she asked, "Do you have any sewing thread Abby?"

"Um, sure," she said with a puzzled expression on her face. "It's in my office desk. Top left drawer in the back."

Ziva fetched the thread and, taking Abby's hand, slowly wrapped the thread around the knuckle just in front of the reluctant ring. Abby winced a little, but said nothing. With the skin compressed by the wrapping the ring slipped off easily.

"Ziva, you're a genius!" She gave Ziva a big hug.

"Old trick I learned from an uncle in the jewelry business."

Abby placed the ring back in the box and snapped it shut. She was so relieved to finally get it off.

After unwrapping her finger and putting the ring and thread into her desk drawer she started to dig into the evidence she had been presented with. She didn't seem to notice the two agents still standing there until, without looking at them, she pointed to the door and said, "Out!"

Tony and Ziva looked at each other and Tony shrugged and turned to walk out. Ziva followed him out, but glanced back at her friend standing there alone and felt a slight twinge of sadness.

After Abby had all the evidence unpacked, inventoried and in process she decided to take a break and get rid of the ring that had caused he so much trouble. Grabbing the ring box she went to the elevator, but was so distracted that she pushed the wrong button and got off at the MTAC level instead of the squad room. The elevator doors had closed behind her by the time she noticed her mistake so she headed for the stairs, but paused and looked over the balcony railing and saw McGee working at his desk, presumably on their latest case. He was alone in the bullpen with Gibbs, Tony and Ziva nowhere in sight.

She opened the box and looked at the ring. To the scientist in Abby, it was just a bit of metal and crystallized carbon, but to the woman was it something more?

Someone touched her shoulder and, startled, she spun around. It was Gibbs. "Don't do that!" she hissed. "I almost dropped it! This ring's been enough trouble as it is. I don't want to have to go crawling around down there trying to find the damn thing."

"Too small Abs?" Abby made a 'How did you know that?' face. "Yer finger's all red and swollen."

"Yeah. Hurts like hell too." She turned and looked down at McGee still hard at work. "You know he didn't actually ask me to marry him. I put the ring on myself when he wasn't looking and couldn't get it off.

"I know."

Abby's 'How did you know that?' face returned.

"If you'd said 'Yes' McGee would have been grinning like an idiot all day."

"Yeah. I mean no he didn't."

"That why yer sad?"

"Who says I'm sad?"

Gibbs said nothing, but cocked his head to the side a little and gave Abby a half smile.

"That obvious, huh? Actually I'm not sad I'm… I'm… I don't know what I am."

"You'll figure it out." Gibbs kissed Abby on the forehead and headed off to the elevator.

The elevator doors opened and Tony came walking out. "Hey boss," he said as he passed Gibbs. He saw Abby leaning on the on the railing looking down at McGee below. "She OK?" he asked Gibbs.

"She will be," Gibbs replied as he entered the elevator.

Tony went over and stood next to Abby for a moment. He didn't want to intrude on her thoughts so he just leaned on the railing next to her.

Not looking up Abby began, "Everyone who saw that ring on my finger today just assumed it was McGee who proposed and seemed to be really happy about it. Am I missing something? Other than the stuff we do for work we don't have much in common. I'm Goth and he's geek. I'm punk and he's jazz. I'm leather and platform boots and he's polyester and wingtips. Don't get me wrong. He's cute and funny and smart and kind but..."

"You know what they call it when two people who don't have much in common feel about each other the way you two feel? They call it love Abby. I think you should go ahead and marry the guy," said Tony looking uncharacteristically serious.

Abby stared at him wide eyed.

"Look, Abby before you two first started dating I tried to warn him that he wasn't your type. He didn't care. I told him you didn't go for guys that didn't have tats. He went out and got one. He slept in your coffin for God's sake! He adopted a dog that nearly killed him because you asked him to. Abby if you don't see it I guess you never will."

"Oh my God! He's in my blind spot!"

"Your what?"

"My blind spot. It's like that place on your retina that can't sense light, but you don't see it 'cause your brain sort of fills it in so you don't see a big black hole. My brain has been hiding it from me all these years. Like you and Ziva."

"What about me and Ziva?"

"Uh nothing. Thanks Tony!" she said and gave him a smile and a hug before running down the stairs to the squad room.

Tony smiled and shook his head. "As he headed back to work he began to sing, "Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match. Find me a find, catch me a catch…"

Abby slowed as she approached McGee's desk and when he turned and looked up at her she pressed the ring box into his hand, bent over and whispered in his ear, "When you are ready to ask the question... I'll be ready to give you an answer." She then kissed him on the cheek, stood up and headed back to her lab.

McGee looked confused as he watched her leave then looked down, opened the box, saw the ring and smiled.

BLACK & WHITE FREEZE FRAME - FOOF!

Author's Note: I intended this as a one shot, but who knows maybe there will be another chapter. I kinda like leaving it open ended though.