I've been sitting on this story for a few weeks, the little one-shot called 'Stood Up' that distracted me turned into a bit more than a one-shot…. Whoops. Anyway, fair warning… if you are a fan of Hollis – this might not be the story for you. Rated M for sizz-ex later on.

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Intro

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Leroy Jethro Gibbs had debated with himself for a long while. The feel of the rough sandpaper in his hands, and the jerky movement of the hand plane over the wood helped him to center his thoughts. He had been having more than professional thoughts about his long-time forensic scientist for some time, and here lately, they had been creeping up more often than not. He contemplated the likely hood of a relationship between them working; was she even interested? He highly doubted it, but the thought still crossed his mind when he allowed himself to relax long enough to think about it. He didn't think he was exactly her type, but he had to admit there was some sort of chemistry. Every time she had a new boyfriend he would mentally compare their similarities and differences, hoping to find a common trait that he could link to himself. When he found out about her short-lived romantic involvement with McGee, he decided that, although he would always love her, it was time to give up. He and Timothy McGee were about as far apart on the scale as he could imagine. McGee was kind and soft-spoken; he was the type of guy who would remember the small things, the one month anniversary, notice the new outfit and he would know the lyrics to her favorite song; even if he didn't like it. It's not as though Gibbs wouldn't notice a new outfit, he already noticed, he just never thought to comment on it. As for the lyrics of her favorite song, he would likely recognize the screaming, but hell, he could hardly remember the name of his own favorite songs, let alone the lyrics. As for the one month anniversary, he was fairly sure he would remember every single day he had with Abby. But McGee knew how to express himself with words. Gibbs considered himself more a man of action. McGee was like a peach, soft and sweet, and a little fragile. Someone for Abby to dote on when needed. Gibbs thought that the day he needed doting on would be the day he was locked away in a mental institute. He could take care of himself, and he liked it that way. It was easier that way. The darkness of the basement was his refuge. He could ask questions in the darkness and know that nothing or no one would bother him with a response. He could still feel the heaviness of previous questions lingering in the shadows.

Abigail Scuito. Abby, as she preferred, swiveled back and forth on her office chair. It was well past mid-night as she sat and waited for her mass-spectrometer to clue her in on the mystery substance. She could've easily gone home, the case wasn't urgent, and if she left the test running the results would've been waiting in the printer when she arrived. But there was something comforting about the quiet of her lab at night. During the day the walls shook from the bass of her CD player, cranked up to an eardrum shattering screech – just the way she liked it. At night she rarely played any music, if she did it was something out of character for her, such as soft jazz or something she would normally consider embarrassing, like love songs sung by Celine Dion. Without the threat of visitors, Abby would move barefoot around her lab, twirling elegantly, humming along softly with her eyes closed. Normally she worked at a rushed pace, but since working through the night was her own choice, there was nothing to rush her and she could just enjoy the sounds of her lab, the cold linoleum under her feet. She had been putting more and more evenings in at the lab. Not because they were busier than usual, but because she found pleasure in placing the results at Gibbs desk for him to find first thing in the morning. He used to question her about staying so late, but she would make up something about, only staying an extra hour, or she was just about to leave but decided to clean some test tubes and the results finishing early. He didn't need to know that she stayed late for him. Lately she had been thinking about her boss a lot more, and the thoughts had been far from innocent. Abby had found herself attracted to him from the moment he first strode into the lab, demanding DNA results from evidence he had sent to her less than thirty minutes before. Since then, every man she had dated had been compared to Gibbs, and subsequently dumped for their short-falls. She felt bad when she had briefly dated McGee, but it was clear after the first few weeks that he was just too… McGee and not enough… Gibbs. It wasn't his fault. She struggled with breaking his heart, but she knew it was for the best. The first few weeks had been more than awkward, but eventually things had settled and they found that friendship suited the both of them. Once things had settled down, Abby vowed to stop wasting her time with men that she knew would never compare. To stop wasting her time on men that weren't Gibbs.