Abby angled Kate towards the wall, pinning her there as she kissed her lips. She grabbed the belt of Kate's red coat, pulling her close so she could get away. Not that Kate was trying... When the kiss broke, Abby pressed her forehead against Kate's and said, "Stay with me?"

"Mm," Kate hesitated, looking longingly at Abby's apartment door. "I don't know if I should. I do have work tomorrow."

"Come on," Abby said.

"I don't have my pajamas," Kate said, smiling.

Abby raised her eyebrows, indicating she saw this as a non-problem.

Kate laughed and licked her lips. "Okay, well... would I have to sleep in the coffin?"

"Not if you don't want to," Abby said. "The coffin is a test. If people have a problem with it, they'll eventually have a problem with me. So..."

"I don't have to take the test?"

Abby slid a hand around Kate's waist, grabbing a handful of Kate's rear. "Mm, you've passed with flying colors, Kate, my dear."

Kate bit her bottom lip.

"So. Stay?"

"Yeah," Kate said softly.

Abby grinned.

---

Kate grumbled and cursed, pulling herself away from Abby's warmth as she realized it was her cell phone making that ungodly racket. She stumbled naked across the room, her back already cold from the absence of Abby's body as she searched for her phone. After a brief search, she picked up the singing device and groaned at the Caller ID. If Tony knew she was naked...

"Todd," she mumbled into the receiver.

Tony, sounding far too chipper for the hour, said, "Hi, Todd! I was lookin' for Kate!"

She groaned. "Tony... I swear, if you're just..."

"Not me. Gibbs. We have a call at Little Creek."

Kate muttered a curse under her breath. She looked down at the wrinkled clothes piled around her feet; the same clothes she'd worn to the office yesterday. If Tony saw her like that... no way. She would have to go home and change. And that meant... "I... uh, I'm going to be late."

Tony's voice sounded strangled, as if she'd hit him in the stomach. "Late? To... a crime scene? Ooh, Kate, I'm not sure that's such a..."

"...Great idea? Tell me about it. But it's... unavoidable, Tony."

Tony sighed. "Well, all right. I'll see what I can do to cover for ya. Might be best if you go straight to the office. I'll call you with info so you can get a head start on the background information."

She hated to admit it, but she was right. She grudgingly said, "Thanks, Tony."

"You'll owe me," he added before hanging up.

She stowed the phone in her jacket and found her slacks, pulling them on. "Abby, wake up."

"Whatsit?" she asked, sitting up and looking around the dark room.

"We have a case. They'll probably need you in early."

"M'kay," Abby said, throwing off the blankets.

"I have to get home," Kate said, searching for her shoes. "What did I do with my boots?"

Abby scratched the top of her head and said, "Living room. I took them off when I was licking..."

"Right," Kate said, hurrying down the short corridor. "God, I am going to be so late..."

Abby frowned as she pulled on her t-shirt. "Why? Where's the scene?"

Kate returned with her boots, sitting on the edge of Abby's bed to pull them on. "It's at Little Creek," she said. "But I have to go home and change clothes. If I go in wearing the same thing I wore yesterday..."

"You want to borrow something of mine?"

Kate smiled. "No offense, Abby, but if I walk in there in a Memento Mori t-shirt, they won't only know what I was doing, they'll know who."

"Kate, Gibbs is going to kill you if you're late to a crime scene."

"Gee, you think?" Kate muttered sarcastically.

Abby paused in her dressing and said, "Whoa, hey, don't get all surly at me..."

"Well, I wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't..." She stopped herself, putting a hand to her forehead. "You know what, I'm as much to blame as you are."

Abby pressed her lips together and pulled a skirt from her closet. "You didn't have to stay, you know."

"Abby, let's drop it, okay?"

Abby shrugged and stepped into her skirt. Kate pulled on her blouse, buttoning it as she crossed to Abby. "I'll see you at work?"

"Mm-hmm."

Kate sighed. "Now you're mad at me?"

"Well..."

"Fine. Be mad. I'll see you if I see you." She grabbed her jacket and draped it over her arm as she stormed from the bedroom. Abby sat on the edge of the bed and fiddled with the hem of her dress.

---

The squad room felt different without everyone else around, at the crack of dawn. Kate sat at her desk, waiting for her computer to boot up, and scanned the rest of the room. One or two night owls were actually at work all ready, stooped over their own keyboards working on last minute reports or hot leads. A janitor moved slowly along the back wall, bopping his head along with the iPod he had hanging on his belt.

Her mind was on Abby, on last night and this morning. She could have said no. But no part of her had wanted to say no. That was the problem. She pushed her hair out of her face, determined to keep Abby out of her mind for the day.

Tony called her from the crime scene, giving her the victim's name. She got online and dug up as much information as possible, finding he had been written up several times for fighting. A few of his personnel reports said he had a temper and needed to work on keeping a cool head. Nothing out of the ordinary; a lot of kids, she thought, went into the military to have an outlet for their outbursts.

By the time Gibbs and Tony arrived from the scene, she had a nice little folder all prepared. Gibbs breezed by her desk, not even glancing in her direction. She looked at Tony and mouthed, "Mad?"

"Oh, yeah," Tony mouthed back.

She stood and cleared her throat, hoping to get his attention as she revealed the fruits of her labor. "I did some digging on Petty Officer McClain... his parents are still alive, live in a suburb of Virginia Beach. McClain was assigned to the USS Grapple, no outstanding reports from his CO, either good or bad. Nothing on the mission list."

"He live on base?" Gibbs asked.

Kate nodded, surprised Gibbs seemed to be speaking to her. "In the BOQ."

"Get out there with DiNozzo and McGee, see if you can find any evidence of a girlfriend."

Tony glanced at Kate. "So... you think it was a lover's quarrel?"

"No, that was your theory, Tony. It was a good one." Kate turned a shocked face to Tony, who smirked proudly at her. Before he could gloat, however, Gibbs said, "Gloating would be a very bad idea, DiNozzo."

"Got it, boss," Tony said. He went to his desk to grab his gear and headed for the elevators.

Kate was about to join him when she heard, "Agent Todd."

She winced and turned, standing in front of his desk like a disobedient student in the principal's office. He turned that indomitable blue stare on her and said, "When you receive a call, you are there. Do you understand me?"

"It won't happen again, Gibbs," she assured him.

He looked back at his computer monitor, the dressing-down apparently done. Kate grabbed her jacket and hurried to catch up with Tony. He'd waited for her at the elevators and she exhaled, asking him, "Is he always like that when someone's late?"

"Wouldn't know. I've never been late to a crime scene. And the agents who are, well... they're hardly around long enough for me to ask them."

The elevator arrived and he stepped into the car, smiling brightly. Kate glared at him.

---

McGee walked into the lab, carrying a box of evidence. "Hello, Abby."

"Mm."

McGee pursed his lips, pausing as he put the box down. "Is... e-everything okay, Abby?"

She stayed glued to her computer screen, shrugging one shoulder. "I suppose, McGee. Why wouldn't everything be fine?" She jabbed a button, changing the screen.

He mouthed, "Okay," and put the box down. "I have some things for you to go through. Clothes of the deceased petty officer, a few incidental bits and pieces we found near the body... probably just need to rule those out. A couple of these butts have probably been there since... I'm sorry, Abby, you just seem... out of it."

Abby turned around. "If you asked someone to stay over at your apartment and then that person regretted it in the morning, is it your fault for asking them or their fault for saying yes?"

McGee blinked under the unexpected deluge of words from the previously taciturn Abby. "Um... I-I think it would be... the fault of whichever one of these hypothetical people is not you?"

Abby rolled her eyes and went back to the computer.

"So, I'll just..."

"Leave the evidence here, McGee. It'll take my mind off of..."

The doors to the lab opened and she looked up into the face of the very woman she was trying to forget. Kate locked eyes with her and then turned to McGee. "We're heading to McClain's apartment."

"Without Gibbs?" McGee said.

"I'm in charge, Probie," Tony said.

"God help us," McGee muttered, heading to the elevators with DiNozzo.

Kate stayed behind, looking at Abby. Abby, on the other hand, was keeping her back to the door. "You just going to ignore me?" Kate asked. Abby didn't reply. Kate sighed and joined the men at the elevators.

---

At the apartment, Kate remained in the kitchen while Tony and McGee checked out the bedroom. She searched the cabinets, finding all of the cereal boxes in alphabetical number. A small piece of tape - cut with scissors, not torn - on the side indicated when the boxes were purchased. Small Tupperware containers line the fridge, all of them with dates, times, freshness and amount of contents within.

Kate smirked, thinking the baggy bunnies could have learned a thing or two about labeling from this guy.

"Baggy bunnies?" she whispered. "God, I'm starting to think like Tony..."

As if cued by the sound of his name, Tony and McGee returned from the back of the apartment. "Okay, Katie bear," Tony said. "What have you for us?"

"An apartment ready to show to future renters tonight," Kate said. "Everything is alphabetical. The DVDs, the cereal, everything. There's not a speck of dirt in the place, no sign that anyone actually lived here."

"Neat freak," Tony said. "Had a girlfriend like that once... I had to take a shower every single time we..."

"Please, Tony, please," Kate interrupted.

Tony shrugged and said, "All right, bag and tag what we've got. Let's get back to the office."

Kate had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu and glanced at McGee, glad to see he was snickering, too. Tony, however, failed to see the humor. "What?"

McGee said, "You're becoming Gibbs."

Tony pointed a finger at McGee. "Watch yourself, probie."

McGee nodded. "Yeah, in about three years? You'll have that down to a pointed stare."

Kate laughed, "He's right. You're Mini-Gibbs."

"Gibbs-on-the-go," McGee offered.

"The next best thing to real Gibbs."

They left the apartment, still laughing about Tony's Gibbs-isms. They left the BOQ and headed towards the parking lot, McGee glancing back to see how far behind them Tony was. Deciding it was far enough, he asked, "Have you spoken to Abby today?"

"Today?" Kate said. "No. Why?"

"She seems a little out of it. Not herself."

"Hm."

"I think she had some kind of lover's spat."

"Couldn't tell ya," Kate said. She climbed into the passenger side of the truck, scooting to the middle to allow McGee the chance to ride up front for once. As Tony got into the truck and started it, Kate couldn't help but feel the desire to apologize to Abby for what had happened.

Maybe when they closed this case, she thought.

---

McGee carried another box in to Abby. She turned as he entered, smiling at the offering in his hands. "Ooh, another box of evidence in one morning? You're spoiling me, Timmy."

He smiled. "Hey, there's the Abby we know and love!"

She curtsied and said, "I just needed to get a little caffeine in me, that's all." She held up her Caf-Pow and stepped up to the table, examining the bounty. "Laptop computer, that's sweet. What are these papers?"

"Love letters," McGee said. When Abby's eyebrows rose, he said, "Don't get too excited. They're extremely tame love letters. Apparently, Petty Officer McClain had very dreamy green eyes."

Abby frowned. "McClain had blue eyes."

"Are you sure?" McGee asked.

Abby nodded. "I was down in autopsy while you guys were gone. Ducky was telling us all about the frequency of dark haired, blue-eyed people versus brown-brown and blonde-blue. Very interesting stuff, actually."

"I'll bet," McGee said, taking the love letters and dumping them on the table. "Maybe whoever wrote it just wasn't very observant."

Abby tapped her fingers on the edge of the desk. "What color were your first girlfriend's eyes?"

"Blue with a hint of... gold... near the pupil," McGee sighed, realizing what she'd done. "Okay, you have a point. But still, maybe it was just that... they were blue-green. Did you actually see McClain's eyes?"

"No," Abby said.

"Maybe Ducky's blue is the Mystery Writer's idea of green. Who knows?"

Abby shrugged and opened the computer, booting it up. "Let's see what we've got here. Oh, awesome, Castle Greyskull wallpaper."

"Oh, yeah," McGee chuckled. "He had posters all over his room. Some guys just can't grow up..."

Abby looked at him and said, "Really."

He blanched, forgetting that she had seen his apartment. "Um... y-yeah... well, I didn't say I wasn't one of them..."

She clicked on the files and groaned when a prompt came up. "Guy protected his files. This could take a while."

"Yeah," McGee agreed.

---

McGee abandoned her a few minutes after arriving, heading upstairs to use the head and to try hooking McClain's computer up to his own to see if that got him anywhere. She cranked up the music and headed into the inner forensics area with McClain's cell phone in an evidence baggy. She'd barely gotten her funk on when the music was shut off. She went back into the main room and saw Gibbs stalking away from the stereo.

"You're harshing my buzz, man," she complained.

"You're damaging your eardrums," he countered. "Where's McGee?"

"Head," Abby said.

Gibbs pointed at the evidence baggy. "McClain's belongings."

"Geez, Gibbs, give a girl a chance to get acquainted with the evidence before you ask for a profile." She walked to her computer and typed in a sequence, watching the screen as the information popped up. "Okay, we've got a laptop computer, a couple of love letters scented in something even Ducky's mother wouldn't wear... some video games, typical guy haven. Except no porno."

"How about photo albums? Pictures in a wallet, that sort of thing?"

"Probably stored pictures of his girl on his cell phone."

Gibbs grumbled under his breath and said, "All right, see if there's anything on the computer that could find her for us."

Satisfied he'd gotten everything possible at this point, he headed for the door. Abby hesitated and then turned around, hoping she didn't regret the lie. "Look, don't be mad at Kate. It wasn't her fault she was late to the crime scene."

He stopped and turned, glaring at her. "Whose fault was it?"

"Mine," Abby said. "I was really..." She waved her hands, looking for the right words, and said, "Really out-of-sorts last night. I called her about midnight, she came and got me. She was still with me when Tony called her about the crime scene."

He nodded slowly. "All right, Abs. By out-of-sorts..."

"I was... a little drunk."

"And now..."

"I'm fine. I don't get hangovers. You know that."

Gibbs nodded and headed back to the elevator. "Thanks for letting me know, Abs."

Once he was gone, Abby exhaled and leaned against the table. She hadn't really known she blamed herself until she said it aloud. She would have to find Kate later, before things got too icy between them. It was just a stinking overnight stay... no reason it should cause this much strife.

---

Abby read halfway down the page and then flipped it face-down onto the table. "This sucks. Why couldn't this guy have been shot? If you're gonna kill someone, have the decency to do it with a gun like a civilized person."

McGee smirked and leaned back, staring at the screen. He had come back down about an hour ago, frustrated at his attempts to use his computer to hack McClain's. "I've tried every back door I could think of. This guy is good. Firewall protection, spyware blocker..."

"You saying you can't get through, McGee?"

"Oh, I can get through," he said. "It'll just take me longer than I'd like to admit."

Abby went to work on another love letter. "God, these letters are depressing."

"Depressing?" McGee said. "They're love letters."

"Yeah, but... I mean, what does it all mean? 'I love you' and 'you're everything to me.' If you say it often enough to enough people, how long can it really mean anything to you? How many women have you told 'I love you'?"

McGee paused. "Me personally?" he thought. "Two."

"Two?"

"Yeah. How about you?"

"Two men."

McGee raised an eyebrow. "How many women?"

Abby shrugged. "Three." She looked over at him and said, "What? Women are easier to say it to. And sometimes it just slips out."

"I think love is an abstract, anyway. You can never love two people the same way. It's just a method of describing something that is, in essence, indescribable."

"Wow, McGee. Very outside-the-box."

"Thank you, Abby." He looked down at the computer and frowned. "Huh."

Abby rolled her chair to him and looked over his shoulder. "What?"

He ran his finger over the 'O' key. "This O is faded. There's barely any marking on it."

"It's an old computer, McGee."

He thought for a moment. "Petty Officer Jeremy McClain. What was his middle name?"

"Michael," Abby said. "I saw it on Ducky's report."

"There's isn't an O in that." He exited the screen he was on, returning to the main screen. "I wonder..." He clicked on the private folder and saw the password prompt. "Okay, here goes nothing..." He typed a four-letter word and hit enter.

"PASSWORD ACCEPTED."

Abby slapped him on the shoulder. "You're the man, McGee! See what he's got in there."

McGee clicked around, opening a file at random. "Okay, it looks like some saved emails... from a TracyF." He scrolled down, "Okay... oh, these might be to Tracy from Petty Officer McClain."

"Why do you say that?" Abby asked.

McGee cleared his throat. "Oh, just... uh... s-some buzz words jumped out at me... is all."

Abby arched an eyebrow and said, "Buzz words?"

"You want to read Penthouse forum or do you want to get Gibbs down here?"

Abby rolled her chair over and picked up the phone, dialing Gibbs' extension. "Take it easy, Tim... you're blushing."

McGee brushed his hand over his face and shut the file window.

---

Gibbs walked in a few minutes later, trailed by Tony and Kate. "What did you find, Abby?"

"Actually, it was McGee," she said, indicating him.

McGee cleared his throat. "Well, I just happened to figure out the guy's password. It saved us a lot of hacking time."

"You guessed a total stranger's password?" Kate marveled.

"Well, he seemed to follow the He-Man fandom, what with the DVDs and the VHS tapes in his room, the posters and..." He caught Gibbs look and said, "I... uh... noticed the 'O' key on the laptop keyboard was slightly worn indicating slightly... more... use than normal." He cleared his throat and nodded at the monitor. "We've accessed his private emails."

"I'm hoping they're more interesting than the He-Man story," Gibbs said.

"More love letters. Very, very steamy love letters from some girl named Tracy."

Tony spoke up. "The quarters next to McClain's are registered to a Tracy Fiddle."

"Fiddle?" Gibbs said.

"As in 'hey-diddle-diddle'?" McGee asked.

"I'd have gone for 'fit as a,' McGee," Tony said. "It's a little more masculine than nursery rhymes."

Gibbs asked, "How did you glean this information without McGee or Kate finding out along with you?"

"There was a stack of mail in McClain's apartment." He walked across the room to the evidence box, digging around and coming back with an Entertainment Weekly. "A couple of magazines, some junk mail envelopes, were addressed to Tracy Fiddle. The address put her right next door to our dead guy."

Gibbs said, "Let's go see Ms. Fiddle. Abby, see what else you can find. I don't care if you have to input the names of Bart, Homer and Eliza, you get me everything on that computer."

McGee went back to work on the computer and Gibbs headed back to the elevator with Tony. Knowing she only had a few seconds, Kate put a hand on Abby's elbow and led her away from McGee's prying ears. "Hey, I wants to talk to you about..."

"Special Agent Todd!"

She looked over her shoulder and saw a furious Gibbs holding the elevator door open. "Later," she said. "Please, Abby?"

"Yeah. Go."

She hurried to the elevator and slipped in, praying he wouldn't tear into her too badly. In a voice like ice, he said, "You do not want to make me wait a third time today, Special Agent Todd."

"Won't happen again, Gibbs."

In the silence that followed, Tony said, "Lisa."

"What?" Gibbs snapped.

"Nothing, boss."

---

Tracy Fiddle squirmed in the interrogation room. Gibbs had his back to the mirror, but even with the one-way glass, Abby felt that he knew she was there. To everyone's surprise, Tracy Fiddle was a male petty officer who had been in a casual relationship with McClain. They'd gone for a walk on the beach and McClain had said the forbidden words; relationship, love, commitment.

Fiddle had been adamant that he wasn't 'a freaking fag,' restating his assertion to Gibbs in the interrogation room. He had taken a swing at DiNozzo for implying the relationship had meant something to him. It hurt Abby, seeing people who were so self-loathing, so angry at who they were. Who they loved made them hate who they were.

She left the observation room and headed for the lab. Another team had brought in shell casings from a shooting. She could lose herself in that for awhile, at least until it was time to go home and she could talk to Kate without interruption. She stopped on her way to the elevator, sitting at Kate's desk and writing 'Come downstairs after work' on a Post-It and sticking it on the computer monitor.

---

Abby dropped off what she'd found out about the shell casings with the officers upstairs and returned to her lair, heading to her desk to grab her stuff before heading out. She didn't notice the stereo was off until Gibbs' voice came out of the silence. "Abby."

"Geez, Gibbs!"

"Sorry."

"Why are you lurking?" she asked, jabbing a finger at him. "You know you can't sneak up on me, so you lurk?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said, remaining still and boring a hole through her with his icy blue eyes.

"Tell you...?"

He stepped forward. "If you are going to sleep with a member of my team, it had damn well better not interfere with the performance of their duties. Is that clear?"

She nodded, more than a little scared.

He nodded back and put a hand on her shoulder. "She's probably upstairs getting ready to leave soon. I can tell her to wait."

"She's going to come down when she gets off," Abby said quietly.

He nodded again and headed for the door. Abby watched him go and then rushed after him. "Wait. Gibbs!" He stopped. "Don't you have anything to say?"

"About what?"

"About... who it is."

He hesitated. "Yeah," he said finally. "Thank God it isn't DiNozzo."

He smirked and headed to the elevator. When the doors opened, Kate nearly stepped into him. She froze, looking up at him as if afraid of what he was going to do. He widened his smile and said, "She's waiting for you, Kate." He slid by her, stepping into the elevator and cleared his throat. When she looked, he tapped his watch.

She held up the travel alarm and said, "Early, even."

He nodded and said, "Good girl," as the doors closed. Kate exhaled sharply and went into the lab, finding Abby next to her desk. "Gibbs..."

"...knows," Abby nodded. "I'm sorry, Kate, I tried to cover for you."

"Yeah, I... screwed that up. Thank you, though. It means a lot."

Abby nodded.

Kate brushed her cheek and looked at the dark lab. "Quite a day."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Abby," Kate said. "Me being angry this morning had nothing to do with you."

Abby smiled. "Well... it had a little to do with me."

"I guess I'm just not as adjusted to the idea of us as an... us... yet. Give me time?"

Abby stepped forward. "You want time... which means..."

"I'm not done figuring you out yet," Kate said.

"What did Gibbs say to you just now?"

Kate looked at the present he'd given her earlier; a small travel alarm clock. "I told him I wasn't going to be late again."

Abby smiled.

---

The next morning, Tony looked up from his breakfast and frowned. "Morning, Kate."

"DiNozzo."

"Isn't that the same outfit you had on yesterday?"

Kate smiled and took off her coat. "Yes, Tony. Yes, it is."

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