Abby's lab was filled with balloons and a little gathering of people, making it seem much smaller than it had these last too-many-years-to-count. Gibbs leaned against the far wall and munched on a sandwich, watching the proceedings with a slightly bemused expression on his face.
"Hey!" Abby threw herself at him and hugged him tight - a little too tight - her very pregnant belly digging into him. "You should be mingling," she scolded him. "Anyone would think you'd never been to an office party before!
Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "I haven't. Don't do office parties, Abs. Never have."
"Really? Never?" She thought about it. "What about Christmas 2008?"
"Nope." He shook his head.
"You weren't at Tony's "It's a Wonderful Life" party in MTAC?" she frowned.
"Nope." He shook his head again.
"Hmmm. Well, what about Ziva's leaving party?" she demanded. "We went to that bar, and Jimmy got drunk and threw up all over Tony's new shoes."
"Ah, so *that's* why Jimmy went through that phase of leaving chocolate bars on Tony's desk every day. I did wonder," Gibbs mused. "Thought he just had a thing for him."
"Idiot." Abby thumped his arm playfully. "Tony did forgive him eventually," she added with a wink.
"Only took the contents of an entire Hershey factory."
"Well, you know how Tony is about his shoes!" Abby laughed. "Hey, Tony – did you ever manage to clean those shoes after Jimmy puked up over them that time, or did you have to…?" She trailed off with a frown, looking around.
"He isn't here, Abby," Gibbs told her softly.
"He isn't?" She scanned the room anxiously. It didn't take long; she'd only invited people he had a close working relationship with, so the party wasn't exactly heaving. Gibbs was proud of that. He had never been in this job to make friends, and it was his idea of hell to hang around after work making small talk with Margaret in Accounts and Simon in HR. "Why isn't Tony here, Gibbs?" Abby asked forlornly.
"Maybe he's upstairs moving all his stuff over onto my desk," Gibbs replied. "I guess he's the boss now." Not that it had been officially confirmed, but Tony had spent several long hours ensconced in Leon's office over the past few weeks so Gibbs figured it was a done deal. Abby stared at him for a moment, and then launched herself at him for a hug.
"Why did you have to go and *retire*, Gibbs?" she asked, burying her face in his shoulder.
"It was time, Abby," he replied, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. She snuffled against his shirt for a bit and surreptitiously wiped her eyes on the collar. He grinned down at the mascara stain she left there.
"Why do things have to change!" she wailed at him, drawing back.
"You tell me." He put his hand on her rounded belly and raised an eyebrow at her. "You won't be around for long enough to miss me, Abs. In a couple of months you'll be taking on a whole new job."
"I know. But…" She sighed. "Promise me you'll at least come back for the christening."
"Promise me that you'll at least put that baby to sleep in a proper crib and not one shaped like a coffin," he retorted.
She grinned at him. "I'll promise if you will, Bossman!"
"It's a deal then." He glanced around the room again, grimacing. "So, how long before I can leave?"
"Gibbs! It's your party!" she scolded.
"Yeah – the party I expressly remember telling you that I didn't want!" he retorted.
