A/N: Tim/Abby friendship oneshot. It was inspired by a McAbby YouTube video by ncisabbylover (I can't put the link in here, but you can find it by searching for "ncis mcabby friends") but if you don't like the story, don't blame the video. :) It's sappy and cute. Like it or not...sometimes that's what I write. No angst to be found here. Move along. Move along.

Disclaimer: "I don't own NCIS," she said glumly and took herself off to her corner. "If I did, I'd have lots of money and my own place, instead of this basement."

Friends
By Enthusiastic Fish

Tim lay glumly in the hospital bed. It wasn't fair. This was the weekend. It wasn't supposed to be spent in a hospital! He looked with annoyance at the nurse who was checking all his vital signs. He had told her over and over again that he wanted to leave, but she was either deaf or ignoring him. Either way, the result was the same: he was stuck in this bed. Why did this kind of thing always happen to him? He had the worst luck in the world. Who got run over by a bicycle of all things...even if there had been two of them? At least the woman he'd pushed out of the way was all right...except for the fact that her clothes were probably ruined. He had pushed her pretty hard...and then had fallen very hard onto the ground himself. On second thought, he probably should have simply pulled her to him rather than pushed her forward.

Crazy bikers, Tim thought bitterly as the nurse shone a light in his eyes and then clucked with concern. Something about a lack of dilation and a concussion. He wasn't feeling very good, that was for sure, but the worst was definitely his head. He still remembered the feeling of it cracking against the pavement. For a brief moment after they had hit him, he had felt as though he was flying. The sensation hadn't lasted long at all. Things started going very blurry after that. He had tried to get up and make sure the lady was okay, but his limbs had stopped obeying his commands. Then, she had been leaning over him and his last conscious thought had been, Oh, I ruined her shirt. The next thing he knew, he was lying in this hospital bed, trying to convince the nurse to let him leave.

"Mr. McGee?"

Tim blinked and tried to focus on the nurse's face. It was more difficult than he had thought it would be.

"Yes?"

"Did you hear what I asked you?"

Tim thought back. It was strange how memory worked. He could remember the accident itself so clearly, but everything around it was blurred. Now, as well, he knew the nurse had been talking, but he couldn't remember what she had said.

"Mr. McGee?"

"Yes?"

She rolled her eyes. "How are you feeling?" she asked very slowly.

"Oh...you asked me that already, didn't you?"

"Yes. You didn't answer."

Tim tried to smile, but one side of his face felt swollen, like he'd gone to the dentist or something.

"I feel..." he considered lying and decided that there was no point. "...I feel like crap actually."

She smiled at him. "With good reason. Is there someone you can call?"

And once again, memory stepped in. "Oh, no! My phone!" Tim said and tried to sit up.

"Calm down, Mr. McGee! All your personal effects are over there, although your phone looks as though it has seen better days."

"No, I was talking. Oh, no...Abby is going to kill me," Tim groaned.

"Would you like to use the phone, Mr. McGee?" the nurse asked, clearly not understanding Tim's worry.

Tim looked fearfully at it. "I'd better. She's going to be frantic."

"McGee!" A sudden shriek from the doorway drew the attention of both Tim and his nurse. There was Abby, looking totally freaked out and...a bit angry.

"H-Hi Abby," Tim said and lifted his bandaged hand up to wave. He looked at the nurse and tried to smile again...and failed for the second time. She, for her part, looked at him with a bit of concern as Abby began to approach the bed. Tim just shrugged.

"You...I thought you might be dead! I can't believe you've been laying here all this time and didn't think to call me and tell me where you were!"

"Well, Abby, my phone...it was..."

"There's a phone right there, McGee!" Abby said, pointing furiously at the bedside table. "You can reach it! You know my number! Would it have killed you to call and tell me that you weren't dead?"

"I'll just leave you two alone," the nurse said and scooted out. Abby ignored her.

"Abby, I'm really really sorry...I just...I kind of forgot what I was doing."

"You forgot?" Abby asked, sounding livid. "You forgot me?"

"No, Abby..." Tim knew that if he wasn't currently battling the headache of all headaches, he'd be able to diffuse the situation very quickly, but Abby was on a roll and he just didn't have the mental agility at the moment to stop her.

"I can't believe you said that, McGee! I can't believe it! I'm..."

"Abby, I got in an accident!" Tim shouted finally and then winced and grabbed his head. "I have a concussion. I forgot what I'd been doing before they hit me."

Abby deflated immediately and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Tim. I'm sorry! What happened? Who hit you?"

"It's not a big deal, really," Tim said.

"Tell me, so I know who to kill."

Tim laughed and winced, glad that she couldn't see his face, because while none of his ribs had been broken by the handlebars, they were definitely bruised and Abby seemed to be trying to squeeze all the breath out of him. "Don't kill anyone, Abby. It was two kids on bikes. They weren't paying attention and nearly ran over this lady as she was crossing the street. I pushed her out of the way, but I couldn't get myself out of the way fast enough. ...uh, Abby, could you let me breathe...please?"

Abby let him go. "You look so...damaged, Tim," she said, a smile on her face.

"Thank you, I appreciate that. I really do," Tim said sarcastically and shifted on the bed. "I feel damaged."

"What is the damage...besides the concussion?"

"Uh...I'm not completely sure I remember everything the nurse said. I have some bruised ribs and some stitches, but other than that, I'm just...bruised and scraped. Nothing permanent."

"Oh, Tim!" Abby hugged him again. "Bikers?" she asked.

"Yes, bikers. Please...please don't tell Tony that I got run over by a couple of bikes."

"Deal," Abby said, laughing. "So...what are we going to do?"

"What?"

Her eyes were wide as she pulled back. "Well, you have to spend your weekend doing something, Tim."

"He won't be doing anything much," the nurse said as she returned. "You're to get a lot of rest over the next 48 hours, Mr. McGee. Avoid strenuous physical activity during the day, get plenty of sleep at night, and you should have someone with you for the next 24 hours to make sure you don't have worsening symptoms. Be sure to gradually return to your normal level of activity."

"All right!" Abby said, standing quickly. "Party!"

"No, Abby. No party," Tim said as he began to look around for his clothes.

"Well, I'm taking you home, McGee. No arguments," Abby said firmly and tossed his pants to him.

Tim couldn't help smiling as she walked out of the curtained area. Abby had that effect.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"So...you never answered me, Tim," Abby said as she followed him into his apartment.

"What?" Tim asked, confused.

"I asked what you wanted to do."

"Oh. How about go to sleep?" Tim suggested.

"Tim! You're being such a spoilsport!"

Tim laughed. "Abby, I'm not really in the mood to do anything but sleep. You could just call and check on me if you want."

"I couldn't do that. Let's watch a movie!"

Tim smiled. "Okay, you watch, I'll sleep."

Abby slugged him.

"Ow! Abby, I'm bruised there!" Tim said, rubbing his arm. "If I wasn't, I would be now."

Abby rubbed it gently and then kissed his arm. "There all better."

Tim rolled his eyes and walked into his bedroom. He changed into his pajamas while Abby picked a movie. She started it going and then jumped onto the bed beside Tim. She looked over at him. He was already laying down.

"Tim, you can't start off sleeping. You have to at least pretend to watch it with me."

Tim pulled himself up. "I'm not going to stay awake for very long, Abby, sitting up or otherwise."

"It doesn't matter. I just want you to be sitting with me so I can pretend we're hanging out."

Tim laughed tiredly and acquiesced. "Okay, I'm up."

As predicted, Tim lasted less than ten minutes into the movie and Abby smiled as she felt him slide over onto her shoulder. "I'm glad we're friends, Tim," she said very quietly.

"Me, too," he replied, although it was questionable as to whether or not he'd remember his response in the morning.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim was awakened by an earthquake on his bed. He opened his eyes and saw Abby, kneeling on the bed, bouncing up and down.

"Come on, Tim! Up and at 'em!"

Tim rolled over and immediately regretted the action. "No, Abby. I'm never moving again," he groaned. Every muscle protested movement.

"Ti-im! Come on! You can't stay in bed; it's almost noon! I've been waiting all day!"

"What?"

"I was nice and let you sleep, but it's offically no longer morning and you have to get up!" Abby jumped on the bed some more.

"Okay, okay," Tim groaned again and reluctantly dragged himself out of bed. He looked at himself in the mirror in the bathroom and winced. He, like his phone, had seen better days. "I look terrible," he said.

Abby came up behind him and hugged him gently around his waist. "That doesn't matter, Tim."

"I know, but...I think it makes it worse, knowing how bad it looks." Tim looked down at her hands. "Abby, I'm really glad you stayed, but you don't have to, you know. I'm sure you have much better things to do today. It's Saturday! I don't want to ruin your weekend."

Abby turned him around. "Tim, I like hanging out with you. We're friends! I don't care if you're not operating at peak capacity. I was about to suggest that we hang out this weekend when we were talking yesterday."

"Really?" Tim asked.

"Really. So put on some clothes because you can't stay in your p.j.s all day," Abby directed and left him to it.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"People are staring at me," Tim said, a few hours later, as they walked around the museum exhibit. "I'm hobbling around like an old man and I look like I had an argument with a cinder block. I should have stayed home."

"Tim, stop worrying about what other people think! I don't care and I'm with you. You promised you'd come with me. Look at the grave stuff and not at the people!" Abby said and linked her arm through his. "I don't look normal either. Maybe they're staring at me. Does that bother you?"

Tim looked at her. "Of course not, Abby!"

"Well, I don't care what other people think of you. I do care what you think of this necklace," she said, pointing at a golden necklace with turtle charms. "I need something like that, don't you think?"

Tim laughed, in spite of himself. "I don't think they'd like that too much at work, Abby."

"Oh, come on! It wouldn't get in the way!"

"Abby, it's made of gold and those turtles are not too small! You'd probably fall over when you looked in your microscope."

Abby laughed. "No sir. The card says it's only 85 grams. Oooh, how about this? A golden diadem!" She bent over to read the information card. "It has lions attacking a wild boar. I so need this."

Tim didn't answer. He just smiled as Abby tried to figure out whether or not the diadem would fit on her head. They stayed at the Sackler Gallery for another hour. As they left, Tim looked over at Abby. She was so free. She really didn't care about other people's opinions. She was so secure.

"How do you do it, Abby?"

"Do what?"

"Not care."

Abby shrugged and grinned. "I'm me, Tim. Nothing else really matters. I like who I am."

"I like who you are, too."

"You don't have to be perfect, Tim. You just have to be you. I don't want you to turn into a clone of someone else. Just be you. That's all you can expect," she said as they headed out of the gallery and headed toward the Metro stop. "I like who you are, Tim."

"Thanks."

"...even if it does involve being trampled by teenagers," she added mischievously.

Tim smacked her...but he was grinning. "Well, at least you can live secure in the knowledge that I will save you from rabid bikers. If I'll save a complete stranger, I'll save you, too."

Abby kissed him on the cheek. "Exactly."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

When they reached his apartment again, Tim was feeling tired. He stumbled inside and was ready to just fall into bed again.

"Thanks, Abby. I had fun."

"Me, too, Tim," she said as she pushed him toward his bedroom. No matter what he had said, he was definitely too tired to do anything else tonight.

As soon as he sat down on his bed, Tim felt his body start to shut down. "Abby?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad you stayed."

"Me, too. I like hanging out with you, Tim."

Tim's eyes started to droop, but he looked up at her. "Even when I'm reciting poetry?"

Abby chuckled, a wide grin on her face. "Even then." She pushed him into a supine position and said, "Don't change, Tim."

Tim yawned and let his eyes close. "Okay...just for you."

She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "No, Tim. For you." She began to walk out of the room and then paused and looked back at Tim. He looked asleep already. "See you on Monday."

"Ditto," came the sleepy reply.

Abby smiled and turned out the light. As she walked out the door, she heard Tim's last conscious thought.

"I'm glad we're friends, Abby."

"So am I, Tim."

FINIS!