ABBY

Abby couldn't keep still. She suspected she was annoying Ziva enormously, but she couldn't help it. The unthinkable, unbelievable had happened, but until she actually saw Kate with her own eyes... Well, she couldn't quite bring herself to believe it, and that meant lots of nervous energy to the point where sitting down at all was a trial. Pacing had worked for a while, but it hadn't stopped the chattering in her brain, and she had gotten to the point where she was irritating herself.

She gnawed at a hangnail that she should have, would have dealt with straight away if she had been thinking straight. She didn't consciously register what she was doing until a hand on her arm stilled her.

"Abby. You will make it sore."

Abby looked down at her finger, at the redness already blossoming, and smiled slightly. Ziva's mother hen qualities emerged at the most unexpected moments, and after seven years her tenderness could still sometimes be surprising. "Sorry."

Ziva squeezed her arm gently. "You do not need to apologise to me, Abby." Her eyes seemed even bigger and darker than usual, and it struck Abby how peculiar this must also be for her as well. Kate had played such a big role in Ziva's life - her disappearance, her apparent death at Ari's hands, the ensuing vengeance, the space left in the team which Ziva had filled - and yet they'd never actually met.

"This is so weird, Ziva. Kate was my best friend. I thought she was dead, I went to her memorial, I just..." She shrugged. "I want her to be here now."

"A watched pan never boils, Abby."

"A watched pot."

Ziva chuckled. "That too. Maybe you should go back down to your lab. As soon as I hear anything, I will let you know."

Abby pressed her lips hard together but managed to squeeze out a smile - sort of. "'Kay."

"Go and play with Ernie."

"'Kay." Abby paused for a moment, then leaned in for a quick hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You are welcome."

They shared a smile, then Abby headed for the elevator.