In Case Of Emergency, Call Abby

Interlude

Abby woke with a start to find that she was in a hospital. The last thing she remembered was fainting in McGee's arms, but she noticed that at some point between that and waking, she'd been bathed, put into a clean hospital gown and then hooked up to various wires and monitors that were monitoring hers and the baby's health. She also saw that she was in a private room, and she was glad, because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to let out all of her emotion the way she wanted to, had she been sharing the room with a stranger.

Looking around, she saw McGee sitting in a chair beside her bed. When he saw that she was awake, he helped her to sit up and have a drink of water. After she had as much as she could handle, McGee put her glass on the bedside table and then sat on the bed with her.

"How are you, Abby?" he asked.

"Exhausted and hungry."

"That's understandable." McGee sympathized as he pointed to the IV needle and line that she was hooked up to. "The doctor said no food or water until that's done. If you're desperate, ice chips are an option."

Abby glanced at the fluid bag and blew a raspberry. "The last time I had ice chips, I was eight, and I'd broken my leg when I was playing in the junkyard. The pain was so unbearable that I couldn't even focus on eating. It was also the hottest summer Jefferson Parish had seen in ten years, and the heat actually gave me heat exhaustion."

"Okay, so no ice chips." McGee said with a laugh. "What the hell were you doing in a junkyard when you were eight?"

Abby shrugged. "I was a weird kid, but not as weird as the kid in Sapphire End that did taxidermy for fun..."

"What?!"

"You'll have to come to New Orleans with us for Christmas, and then I can show you." Abby looked again at the IV equipment. "How much longer do I have left?"

"An hour."

"I guess I can work with that."

Abby moved her gaze from the medical instruments to her baby belly, which was exposed and hooked up to a few of the monitors at her bedside. Careful of all of the wires and paper patches, she gave the fleshy mound a few gentle rubs.

"How's the baby?" she finally asked McGee. "Nothing bad to report?"

McGee smiled. "The little guy or girl is as happy as a clam, and very healthy. I saw on the ultrasound they performed on you during the ride over on the ambulance—I rode along because you fainted in my arms."

"I remember that, but how did you get them to let you come?"

McGee kissed Abby's forehead. "I told them that we're engaged."

Abby felt her stomach flip-flop as she pictured, just for a moment, actually being engaged to Special Agent Timothy McGee. She kept her mind from going too far by taking McGee's hands into hers, kissing his palms, and then holding them against her baby bump.

"Thank you for sticking with me." she told him.

McGee kissed Abby's forehead a second time. "I'd do anything for you, Abby. I love you."

In truth, Abby had always had a feeling that McGee loved her—her heart would always belong to him—and even after they ended things during their brief relationship, she hadn't been able to fully let go because of how deep her love for him ran.

So she replied, "I love you, too, and I could never stop."

From that moment on, they both knew that they were back in a relationship, and that they were it for each other forever.