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ncisficathonTitle: I Know You Can Feel This Too - posted in 6 parts due to length.
Author: Gosgirl
Written for: v_angelique on Dreamwidth
Prompt: Fornell starts hitting on Abby, preferably in subtle ways, and Gibbs gets onto it and doesn't like what he sees. Could be Gibbs/Abby established relationship, or could be that Gibbs' jealousy cues him into his interest in Abby.
Archive: okay to archive
Genre: het
Pairings: Abby/Gibbs
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. NCIS and its characters are the property of DPB and CBS. If I had a silver-haired, blue-eyed Marine to play with, do you think I’d have time for writing?
Word Count: 20,327
Summary: Gibbs becomes jealous when he suspects Fornell is hitting on Abby. Will this push Gibbs to make a move, or are things not quite what they seem? Set during the latter half of Season 7 after Jack Knife.
A/N: Big hugs to Zivacentric and Bamacrush for being my betas and for their flurry of ideas on this story, and their continued support and encouragement for all my writing. Can’t tell you what it means, munchkins (a year’s supply of Greek yoghurt and bananas on their way!).
I Know You Can Feel This Too
Chapter 1 – Business or Pleasure?
“That doesn’t look like a dress for a business dinner, does it?”
“No, McHawkeye, it doesn’t. That looks like a dress you’d wear for a date. Well, perhaps not what you’d wear for a date,” smirked Tony, “unless there’s something you want to tell me, but something our Abbs would wear. Our Mistress of the Dark looks gorgeous tonight, doesn’t she?”
“She sure does, Tony.” McGee’s tone was wistful as he gazed at his former lover.
“Wonder where she’s going?” pondered Tony as they loitered by the filing cabinet pretending to work but both taking a good look at Abby’s outfit. Tony suddenly straightened up.
“And I’m wonderin’ when you two are gonna do any work,” commented the deep voice of their boss as he strode into view, carrying his trademark coffee, causing his agents to scatter back to their desks.
Tony kept a curious eye on Gibbs as he slowed when he passed Abby where she stood talking animatedly to Ziva at her desk. Abby gave him a wide smile as he greeted them both.
“Hey Abbs, nice dress.”
Ziva rolled her eyes at the typical male understatement. “It is much more than nice, Gibbs. Abby looks absolutely beautiful.”
Ziva was right. The dress was a shade of green that drew out the colour of Abby’s vivid emerald eyes and the satiny fabric clung to her curves, falling elegantly to just above her knees. The slender heels she’d chosen to wear offset her long, shapely legs and her dark hair was pinned up in a delicate bun. Combined with a subtly more dramatic make-up than normal, Abby looked stunning.
“Aaaw, thank you, Ziva.” Abby gave her friend a bright smile, acutely aware of Gibbs’ eyes on her.
“Going somewhere nice?” asked Gibbs as he moved on to sit at his desk.
Abby nodded, practically bouncing on her heels in her excitement. “Yup, I’m going to the Ritz Carlton, so I thought I oughtta dress up a bit.” Her face took on a mischievous look and her next words caused Ziva to snort with amusement. “I didn’t think they’d let me in there in my pigtails and boots.”
Gibbs mouth twitched in a small smile. “What’s the occasion?”
“It’s that time of year again, remember? The FBI’s annual attempt to poach me.”
That explained where she was going but he’d overheard DiNozzo’s comment and had to admit that he was right. It didn’t look like a dress you’d wear to a strictly business dinner.
Is that why his gut was churning?
Abby had a right to dress up when she went out for dinner. It hadn’t bothered him before... too much. So why did it make him uneasy now?
The sight of a dapper looking Tobias Fornell striding from the elevator now may have had something to do with it. His friend was smartly dressed in a formal suit and had obviously made an effort to spruce up. But then what man wouldn’t if he was taking a beautiful woman like Abby Scuito out to dinner?
Gibbs watched Abby smile a greeting at the FBI agent, before gathering up her black wrap and walking to meet him.
“You look really lovely tonight, Abby, are you ready to go?” By contrast, Fornell was fulsome in his praise. He helped Abby sling her wrap around her shoulders.
“I certainly am, I’m starving,” Abby replied. “What time is our table?”
“Eight o’clock but we’ve time for a drink in the bar beforehand if you’d like?” Fornell returned her smile and offered her an arm which she accepted readily.
Abby turned to wave goodbye to everyone, rolling her eyes at the wolf whistle Tony sent her way. Gibbs watched the two of them walk arm in arm to the lift, chatting away with what seemed to be the ease of close friends.
Why was she going to dinner with Fornell all dressed up?
If this was their annual dinner when Fornell was under orders from his Director to try and poach Abby away from NCIS, Gibbs knew the FBI agent usually just took her somewhere... ordinary. Somewhere that didn’t need both of them to be dressed up to the nines and looking like they were going out on a date.
After they’d left, Gibbs continued with his report reading, but before long he realized that he’d been reading the same paragraph several times. Slamming the file shut and grabbing his jacket, he stood up, announcing brusquely, “I’m going for coffee.”
Gibbs strode out of the bullpen, leaving his agents looking after him thoughtfully.
Chapter 2 – Feeling Excluded
The next day it wasn’t long before Gibbs needed to visit the lab. After depositing her Caf!Pow on the workbench, he crowded into her personal space in his usual fashion as he looked at the results she brought up on her screen. “What d’ya got, Abbs?”
After her usual canter through the evidence, delivered with the animated gestures, wide smile and husky voice that he looked forward to every time, Abby wandered into her office and threw herself into her chair, smiling up at him as he lingered.
Gibbs wasn’t sure how to begin and not even sure Abby would welcome the question. “Enjoy your dinner, Abbs?”
Abby smiled, nodding enthusiastically. “Yup, I did, very much. Toby’s surprisingly good company and after dinner, there was dancing.”
Toby?
“Dancin’, huh”
“You can mock, Gibbs, but Toby can cut quite the rug, ya know.”
“Just tryin’ to picture Toby dancing,” smirked Gibbs.
Abby wagged her finger at him, giggling. “Well, he can and he’s rather good at it. The last few years I’ve really started to enjoy our annual ‘I’m taking you out to dinner on the FBI’s dime and offering you a job but we both know you won’t take it‘ dinner. This year the FBI Director apparently insisted Toby take me somewhere fancy and expensive, thinking that it might be the extra persuasion I needed to join the Feebs.” She sounded amused.
“Did it work?” He teased, perching on the edge of her desk.
Abby rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, Gibbs. You know I’d never leave NCIS. But hey, if it gets me a dinner and some good company in a place where neither me nor Toby could afford to go and eat out of our own pay checks, then who am I to complain? Besides, it nearly always helps me screw a raise out of Leon too... “ She stopped herself in mid sentence and folded her hands in front of her, trying to look innocent. “I mean, give me a chance to open delicate negotiations with the Director for a raise commensurate with my perceived value.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” he snorted with amusement and bent to kiss her cheek, breathing in her distinctive perfume.
As he turned to leave, Gibbs noticed a bunch of red and black roses by her music centre. Abby saw his interest, watching him curiously as he paused.
“Do you like my flowers, Gibbs? Toby sent them. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed themselves last night.” Abby leapt up and sniffed appreciatively at the roses.
Gibbs glanced down at the card perched on the edge of the cabinet, which presumably also came with the flowers. He watched her gather up the card, smiling as she read the note inside.
As he left her lab, Gibbs tried to convince himself that it was merely politeness on Fornell’s part to send her flowers as a thank you. So why did the thought of who’d bought them for Abby leave him feeling irritated?
_________________________
The week progressed normally but was less busy than usual. His team caught a case but it was solved relatively quickly and they spent the rest of the week drowning in paperwork; not a favourite occupation for any of them, although Abby was kept busy with evidence from the other teams.
Gibbs soon forgot all about the dinner until one afternoon when he was delivering another Caf!Pow to Abby’s lab, intending to pick up the paperwork he knew she’d have ready for him.
The sound of Abby’s giggling and a deeper voice which he recognized made him pause at the entrance to her lab. Fornell was standing next to Abby at her workbench, their heads bent close together looking at something and they were both laughing.
As Gibbs approached, Fornell looked up and moved slightly away from Abby, nodding a greeting at Gibbs. “Jethro, how’s the shoulder?”
It was only a few weeks ago that Gibbs had still needed his harness to protect his injured shoulder when he’d worked a case with Fornell. It had taken more time than he’d have liked for his injury to begin to heal, so much so that Fornell had actually driven Gibbs’ precious Charger on that case, much to his delight and Gibbs’ disgust.
Gibbs nodded back, unconsciously flexing his shoulder, which was now out of its support but still needed physiotherapy exercises and ached like hell occasionally. “Improving, Tobias.” He stepped closer. “I miss something?”
Abby beckoned him over. “Hey, Gibbs, come and look at Fred Astaire here.”
Stepping between them to place the Caf!Pow next to Abby, Gibbs took the photos she handed to him.
“We got one of the waiters to take them... everyone was doing the same thing so I thought it’d be a nice souvenir of a fun evening out,” Toby explained.
“Can I make more copies, Toby, so I can keep these?” asked Abby.
“No need, Abby, those are yours. I made copies already,” answered Fornell, smiling at her.
Gibbs flicked through the photos which showed Abby dancing with Fornell. In one, he could see that Fornell was holding her close and she was laughing, and in another he was dipping her partway to the floor and she was clutching his shoulders.
“Nearly put my back out on that one,” chuckled Fornell.
“Cheeky. You accusing me of being heavy.” She swatted him lightly on the shoulder, giggling.
“Nope, wouldn’t dare,” he teased, looking her up and down. “You’re just taller than me, especially in those heels.”
Gibbs listened to the easy banter rolling back and forth between them, feeling excluded and not liking the feeling one little bit. It was usually him and Abby who were always on the same wavelength, flirting, teasing, enjoying their shared sense of mischief, usually at the expense of DiNozzo or McGee.
Fornell interrupted his thoughts, picking up his coat. “I gotta run, Abby. I’ll see you Friday, take you both out to lunch.”
“Tell Emily I’m looking forward to it.” She waved goodbye and turned back to Gibbs with a smile.
Gibbs quirked an eyebrow at her after Fornell left.
Abby explained, smiling. “Emily’s coming over on Friday, she’s doing a school project on ‘A day in the life of...’ and she’s doing a day in the life of me... well, not me me but me forensic scientist me.”
Chapter 3 – A Feeling of Family?
Friday morning saw Gibbs in the bullpen when Fornell arrived with Emily to drop her off at the lab. Emily rushed over to him for a hug and Gibbs swung Fornell’s daughter, who was not so little anymore, off her feet and into a hug. He was very fond of Emily and didn’t spend nearly as much time with her as he would have liked.
His agents looked on, indulgently. However much of a hard ass Gibbs was, they’d seen evidence of his natural way with kids many times over the years. It was a nice change to see the softer side of their boss, which only emerged occasionally, except when he was with Abby.
When Gibbs set her back on her feet, Emily chattered away at how excited she was to be spending the day with Abby. Smiling proudly, Fornell held out a hand to his daughter. “Come on, Em, let’s go find Abby.”
On his visits to the lab during the morning, Gibbs found Emily absorbed in watching Abby, listening to her explanations and hanging on her every word. As busy as she was, Abby had devised a plan for the day so that Emily could get the most out of her visit for her school project.
Later, Gibbs missed the time when Fornell came by to take Abby out to lunch with Emily, but on a regular run to his coffee shop, he noticed the three of them sitting in the diner next door.
As he waited in the long queue for his usual blend, Gibbs couldn’t help watching them as they had lunch. He felt a pang of guilt for spying on them but was unable to tear his eyes away.
They looked like a family, was the thought that skittered across his mind.
Abby’s face was always so expressive and she looked happy as she smiled at something Fornell was saying, while Emily tucked into her food. Gibbs saw Abby reach out to tickle Emily, who squirmed in her seat, giggling as she tried to get out of reach.
What brought him up short though was the look on Fornell’s face as he watched the two girls. The look of fondness and affection on his face made Gibbs’ stomach tighten.
Or was he simply reading too much into it?
He’d been angry enough years ago when he first thought the FBI was attempting to poach Abby away from her lab, and while Gibbs was now fairly sure that she wouldn’t leave NCIS... leave him... he wasn’t so confident that things weren’t spiralling out of control in another area.
What if Fornell was hitting on Abby?
And what if he was?
Abby didn’t belong to Gibbs. She didn’t belong to anyone. If Abby chose to go out with Fornell, to see him socially, to go on a date, that was up to her... wasn’t it?
The rational part of Gibbs’ mind acknowledged that Fornell was lonely... just as he was. It must be difficult for Fornell being a divorced father of a young girl, especially with an ex like Diane who’d never made things easy for him. Gibbs remembered how Fornell had to fight for even the limited access he had, and how Diane had used the FBI agent’s job against him in an attempt to limit his visiting rights to his daughter.
Fortunately, Emily was approaching an age where she could make up her own mind what she wanted, and make those wishes clear to her mother. There was no doubt Emily wanted her father in her life.
Since Fornell had divorced Diane, Gibbs wasn’t aware that Fornell had had a long term relationship with anyone. So if he were being a friend, he should be happy for Fornell if he was now dating or in a relationship.
But why did it have to be Abby?
And why not?
She was a warm, vibrant, intelligent, beautiful woman. Any red-blooded man with a pulse would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to be attracted to Abby. Gibbs wasn’t blind to the spark of attraction that existed between them, unacknowledged and so far not acted upon by either of them... just simmering away in the background.
So it wasn’t the fact that Fornell should be interested in Abby that was bothering him. That much was a given... It was why Abby might show any interest in Fornell that he couldn’t work out... and that was what was causing his disquiet.
But look at it the other way.
Why would Abby be interested in a cranky, damaged, thrice-divorced Marine either? Gibbs entertained no illusions that Abby would look twice at a man like him. Sure, they flirted and teased one another, but then Abby flirted with everyone. If he were honest, he was fooling himself if he thought he had a chance with her.
If Abby was interested in Fornell and vice versa, then he should be supporting her, and him, shouldn’t he? He should be happy for her and not be wanting to get between them, as he was itching to do now.
He’d always wanted happiness for them both... he just never imagined that it would be together.
Gibbs knew he had no right to dictate what either of them did, particularly with what was happening in his own complicated private life at the moment, even if things weren’t as they appeared on the surface.
So why did the sight before him, of the three of them laughing and joking together, bother him so much?
Rest of chapters
Chapters 1 - 3
Chapters 4 - 5
Chapters 6 - 8
Chapters 9 - 11
Chapters 12 - 14
Chapters 15 - 17
Chapters 18 - 19
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Date: 2011-08-16 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-21 10:00 pm (UTC)