Blood Stained Faith by neejchee

The brakes were slammed on and the car skidded to a halt at the sight of the body in the middle of the road. The driver got out and ran over to the young woman. She was lying in a crumpled heap, clothes torn and face bloody and dirty. The man reached towards her to check for a pulse, but before he could touch her neck she was up, and his arm was snapped behind his back as he was forced face first into the asphalt.

"Give me your keys."

The man struggled, but the woman was abnormally strong, and wrenched his arm further backwards until she heard the satisfying ‘POP' of a dislocated shoulder, followed by a pained cry.

"I SAID give me your keys!"

"They're still in the car you crazy bitch!"

The woman let go and turned towards the car, but the man wasn't about to let her go that easily. Remembering her unbelievable strength, he pulled out his knife before lunging at her, grabbing her ankle and pulling her to the ground.

Without even thinking, the woman grabbed his wrist, snapping it cleanly. The knife dropped to the road, and he tried to pick it up with his other hand. The dislocated shoulder made him hesitate with pain, and that was all the time the woman needed to snatch the knife and plunge it into the side of his neck.

She stood up, backing away from the body.

"I didn't have a choice." She said, as if trying to make herself believe it.

She then turned and ran to the car, getting in and driving away without looking back once.

"Washington, here I come."

"DiNozzo! Measure and sketch! David! Photos. McGee, you take that woman's statement, she's the one who found him."

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs walked over to where his Medical Examiner was squatting by the body lying in the middle of the road.

"What have we got Duck?"

The ME looked up from where he was taking the corpse's temperature.

"Well obviously I can't say for certain until I get him back to Autopsy, but by the look of the bruising around this broken left wrist and the right forearm, I would have to say that the right arm was first pulled painfully tight behind the back, then pulled sharply to dislocate it. The left wrist was then snapped, before the knife was inserted into his throat from his right side. The poor fellow must have been in considerable pain from those injuries, but thankfully with the severity of the knife wound, he would have bled to death rather quickly."

"Do we have a time of death?"

"Well, based on the cool conditions over night, his temperature indicates that he was killed between 0200 and 0330 this morning. You know Jethro, this reminds me of a case when I was…."

"Not now Ducky. Get him back to Autopsy. DiNozzo! David! What have you got?"

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo jogged towards his boss.

"There are two sets of skid marks on the road Boss. One belonging to the little old biddy that happened to stumble across our marine and the other belonging to an unknown vehicle. Got the measurements for Abby to work out a computer re-enactment so we'll know where the car started braking; maybe we can work out why."

Officer Ziva David chose this point to add her two cents, neatly taking over from Tony as if rehearsed.

"The knife he was stabbed with appears to be a standard issue Corp knife, which would imply the weapon was his own and not brought by the killer. It is still in the body; Ducky will pass it straight to Abby for analysis as soon as it is removed. There is also a small amount of blood approximately 2 feet from where the body was found, so we have taken a sample in case it did not belong to our victim."

Special Agent Timothy McGee patiently waited until the other two had finished before reporting to Gibbs.

"Mrs. Sears; that's the lady who called the local LEOs says she didn't see anything. Apparently she was driving past on her way home from Norfolk and saw him lying on the road. Says she saw the blood and called the police; didn't want to touch him to check for a pulse. She says she went right back to her car and waited there smoking until the police arrived. They saw his uniform and called us. By the smell of her and her car, it wasn't tobacco she was smoking Boss, but other than that she doesn't appear to have done anything wrong, and she hasn't really got anything useful for us. I've taken her details of course, but…"

Gibbs looked around to make sure nothing had been missed. Once he was satisfied, he headed back towards the truck.

"Okay, lets get back and see what Abby can make of all this then."

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Okay. Got a car. Now I just need a place to stay, a place to ditch the car, a new car, a new car after that, preferably from somewhere not too close to where I ditch the ones before, some food, and fake papers. Wonderful. I'm screwed.

It's all super-bitch's fault. You know, I have powers too. She's not the only slayer around. I'm just as damn good as her, better even. Yet somehow she places herself so much higher than me and everyone else, and they all fall for it! Precious Buffy and her precious Scoobies and their precious moral standards and doing the right friggin thing all the friggin time, like she's never screwed up. Like she's never told a lie.

I mean, come on B! You're not so perfect! You bonked a vampire and set loose a killer; who knows how many lives that cost? So I killed a person or two here and there. Still adds up to less than he killed because of you!

So now I'm on the run. Dumb bitch stabbed me, put me in a coma, and now that I'm awake she's back to ‘do the right thing' bullshit, like I should turn myself in. That's why I picked Washington. Far enough away from Sunny D that I wont be running into any of them, no demonic activity as a general rule (unless you count the poli's, of course) and plenty of people who can make up fake papers for me. So long as I stay out of the main city, I should be right.

Problem is, now that I'm here, I've gotta sort myself out. Whacking that sailor boy is gonna bite me in the ass, I'm sure. Didn't have a choice though. Tried to leave him, the arm would have been fine once it was yanked back into place, but no. He had to come at me with a knife. He was begging for it, ya know? Couldn't just let things be. Still, would've been better if it hadn't gone down that way. Not much I can do now though.

First things first. Papers. They'll have my prints from that knife, and I'm on record for that accidental staking incident back in Cali. Again, not really my fault. Again, bit me in the ass. Again, all because of the Great and Wonderful Slutty the Vampire Layer. Really really hate her.

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"Have we got an ID Ducky?"

"Indeed we do Jethro. For some reason he was not carrying his driver's licence or any other form of identification on him at the time, but his DNA has been matched to that of one Petty Officer Riley Connors. The Petty Officer was taking two weeks leave in order to be with his wife, who went into labour over a month early. The doctors were able stop it, but she is still in hospital on bed-rest, and they believe the baby will try again any day now. Poor child will never meet its father."

The team entered Abby's lab to find the Forensic Specialist bouncing along to the noise she called music while typing on her keyboard. She was made aware of their presence when Gibbs turned down her music and handed her a CAF-POW! drink.

"What have you got for me Abbs?"

"Well Mr. Boss-Man-Sir, since you bribed so nicely, I'll tell you! Based on the length and curve of the tire marks left near the victim, it looks as though the driver saw something in the middle of the road and slammed on the brakes, swerving a little to make sure they missed it. But… where the marks are in relation to where to body was found, as well as the angle the car would have been facing, it doesn't look like our Petty Officer was the one they were trying to miss."

Gibbs turned around and was about to head out when Abby let out a loud whining "Giiiiibbbbsss!!!"

"What, Abby?"

Abby gave him her ‘let me finish' look, which she had perfected over the years of working with Gibbs.

"I had a look at Tony's scene sketches and measurements, and by the looks of things, that bit of blood you guys found a few feet from the victim is more likely to be what the driver was braking for. SO… I ran the sample Ziva brought back for me, as well as the fingerprints from the handle of the knife used to stab Petty Officer Connors, and sure enough, we have a match!"

Abby bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly, with a huge grin on her face.

"And? Who is it?"

Abby spun towards her computer and brought up a profile of a gorgeous young woman on the plasma screen.

"Faith Lehaine."

"That's good work Abbs."

Gibbs gave Abby a kiss on the top of her head and the team left for the bullpen, leaving Abby beaming.

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"Faith Lehaine. Age 22. Born in New Jersey, but moved a bit as a kid. Family were killed in mysterious circumstances a few years back. Lehaine was taken in by a friend of the family, who also mysteriously died not too long after that. She then disappeared for a while, but ended up in a Californian town called Sunnydale where she stabbed the Deputy Mayor in the chest with a wooden stake, of all things, and was stabbed herself not too long after that and put into a coma before the police were able to arrest her."

Again, Ziva smoothly took over from Tony.

"The police had a guard at her door at all times for the first couple of weeks, but Sunnydale is a small town, and the police force there is only a few officers, so when the doctors informed them that she was unlikely to wake up and if she did she wouldn't be physically capable of running, they abandoned her watch."

This time, McGee cut in.

"I just got off the phone to Sunnydale Memorial Hospital, where Lehaine was during her coma. They say her stats were all stable, with no change of any kind from the day she was admitted to the morning of her escape when the doctors made their rounds, 3 days ago. She was checked on that morning, and when the nurses were signing over to the afternoon shift at 0200 they found her bed empty. They called the local LEOs, who apparently came immediately."

At this point, Tony took up the thread again.
"The police arrived at the hospital at around 0215 and began searching for her. Although they didn't find Lehaine, they did find a lady of similar build unconscious and stuffed in a cleaner's closet wearing a hospital gown. Once she came around they found she wasn't a patient, but a visitor coming to see her sick father."

"Lehaine must have taken her clothes, Boss."

"Ya think, McGee?

"Sorry Boss. Umm, upon asking around the area and questioning people at the Sunnydale Bus Depot they found that Lehaine had been sighted getting on a but to Los Angeles soon after her escape. From there the Sunnydale police let the LA guys know, but were keen to get rid of the case, so didn't follow up any further."

Ziva went to her computer and put numerous photographs onto the plasma.

"These are pictures from various security cameras between here and Los Angeles, mostly bus and train stops and gas stations. It seems she was trying to throw off anyone who may have been tracking her, since she took a very zag-ziggy route, but Washington was almost certainly where she was heading."

"Zig-zag Ziva, not zag-zig."

"Are they not the same thing, Tony?"

"No. Zig-zag is how it is said. Zag-zig sounds stupid."

Gibbs slapped both of them upside the head.

"Has she been seen since the Petty Officer's death?"

"No boss. We have no idea where she is."

Gibbs gave his patented Gibbs-glare.

"…But we will find her, Boss!"

That was disgustingly easy. Pick a few pockets here, nick from a few stores there, and hey presto! I'm rich. Well, I have enough to get by for now anyway. Enough for some new papers, really, and that's all I need. Everything else I can steal.

So, I found a guy. Gave him my specs. He gave me a quote. I gave him some pain. Suddenly his quote dropped. Works for me. Now I just have 24 hours to burn, while I wait for my papers so I can sort out someplace to stay.

Nicked a really hot outfit. Tight black leather pants, hot-as heavy combat boots, and this gorgeous top. It's like a triangle of material across the front, that ends with the point just above my belly, and has two belts crossing over at the back and one going around the neck in a halter style. Great buckles on the belts. Doesn't leave much to the imagination. Just how I like it.
I reckon I'm gonna go out tonight. After all, I have nowhere to stay yet, so sleeping isn't an option, and besides, why go to all this trouble for a new life if I'm not even going to have fun, right?

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McGee walked into the lab only to find Abby taking her hair out of it's pigtails and putting a leather jacket on over a sexy mini skirt and back top that was more a scrap of material with chains all over the place holding it on. She also had her customary knee-high hooker-heels on.

"What can I help you with Timmy?"

"Umm, nothing really. We've pretty much hit a dead end with Lehaine. Gibbs is getting grumpy. More so than usual. I though I might visit you to escape for a bit. What are you all dressed up for?"

"Sorry Tim, I'm no use to your plan of escape. I'm going out."

"Why do you get to leave?"

"Because I'm a Forensic Investigator, and you are a Special Agent. I can only work with the forensic evidence, you have to do the investigating stuff."

Abby gave him a cheeky little grin and stepped into the elevator.

"Have fun McGee!"

She blew him a little kiss as the elevator doors closed in his face.

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The club was well and truly pumping by the time Abby got there. She nodded to the bouncer as she cut to the front of the line and walked right in. As she stepped though the door the heat of the lights and the hot sweaty bodies writhing on the dance floor surrounded her. She looked out at the mass of flesh and felt a smile come onto her face. This is what she wanted. Hundreds of half-naked people willing to totally abandon themselves to the music and the sensation of grinding their bodies against her own, not thinking about work or anything else for that matter. Just feeling.

She spotted some friends of hers at a table off to one side and she headed over to them, but it wasn't really them she was there for. They exchanged greetings and had a couple of beers together, before Abby decided that she had fulfilled common courtesy. She left her jacket and bag with them, before moving out to dance. She pushed her was through the throngs of people to right in front of the stage, where everyone was really getting into the pulsing beats of the music.

This place is way hotter than the Bronze could ever hope to be. God I missed this feeling. Sunnydale can rot in Hell. And probably will. Oh well, no great loss. Check out all those bodies, dry humping each other like there is no tomorrow. That's how life should be. Fun. Pure passion. Pure, hot, sweaty, naked passion.

This beer is pretty weak. Oh well. I don't need to get drunk to have a good time here. Not will all this sex around. Oh Holy Hell. That has got to be the most gorgeous chick I have ever seen. Jet black hair, snow white skin, legs up to her neck, and tats not even close to covered by the chains across her back. She looks a little tipsy.

The way she moves. It's like she doesn't give a damn about anything in the world. Like the music is pulsing through her veins rather than blood, like she is an extension of the music itself. There're people around her. All gyrating to the beat as well, but not like her. They are all trying to impress someone. She's just losing herself in it. A few guys try to dance with her. She doesn't even notice them. God, she is perfect. She feels the passion, lives for the passion, just like me.

I have to touch her. I lose sight of her on and off as I move towards the stage, towards her, but she is like a magnet. I'm heading right for her, and suddenly she's there. Right in front of me, hotter close up. I wrap my arms around her waist from behind and start grinding against her ass. She throws her head back over my shoulder and wraps her arms up around my neck. She's taller than I am, and as we dance I lightly sink my teeth into the back of her shoulder. I can feel her shudder, and she turns herself around in my arms to kiss me.

I've been with a few people in my time. Men and women. But the way this chick can kiss, and the way she moves, I've never been hotter in my life.

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Throughout the night Abby had a few more drinks in between songs, and by about midnight was nicely tipsy, bordering on drunk. She didn't care. She was having fun, and everyone around her was in pretty much the same condition, if not worse. People were trying to move in and dance with her. Mostly men, sometimes women. She just ignored them. They wanted her to respond, to make them feel special. She couldn't be bothered with them.

Then a pair of arms came about her waist from behind. The person was a little shorter than her, but not enough to make things uncomfortable. This was someone with confidence. Someone who wanted the passion of the dance, rather than the ego boost of acknowledgment.

Abby threw her head back and put her arms up over head to go around the neck of the person she was dancing with. As she did she could feel a pair of breasts against her back. That this confidence was coming from another woman turned her on even more, and she ground back into the woman. When she felt teeth against her shoulder it pushed her over the edge, and she turned herself around and smashed her lips down on the other woman's.

They continued grinding and dancing as they kissed, warring with their tongues. Both were strong personalities, and neither was willing to give in to the other. As their tongues battled, they slowly moved towards the edge of the swarms of people. Abby was the first to break to kiss, grabbing the woman's hand and dragging her over to the table where she had left her bag and jacket. She snatched them up, threw a quick goodbye to her friends, and practically ran for the door, pulling the other woman along with her.

When they got outside Abby was immediately pushed against the wall and kissed again, just as rough and demanding as the first time. Eventually they managed to get to Abby's car, and drove back to her apartment. She was far too drunk to be driving, but at that point all she cared about was getting this gorgeously self-assured person in her bed.

When they made it in the door they came together like they had no control over it. Abby walked backwards, leading the woman attached to her lips towards the bedroom. When they got there they began stripping off each other's clothes. Once they were both totally naked, the woman pulled back to look at Abby. Her eyes scanned up and down Abby's body, lingering on the various tattoos she found along the way. The heat in her eyes made Abby feel more beautiful than she had ever felt with any of her real relationships, let alone one night stands.

She chose not to think about that and moved forward to kiss the woman, more exploring than before, but still firm and demanding. There would be time for gentle later. They fell onto the bed and Abby started kissing down her lover's body, laying sharp nips and hard sucks as she went. When she got down to the pierced nipples she took one into her mouth and rolled the other between her fingertips. The woman beneath her moaned loudly as Abby worried the nipple with her teeth, before switching to the other.

When she felt she had paid sufficient attention to them for the time being she moved down towards her ultimate goal. The legs fell apart with no prompting needed, and Abby happily set to work. Even drunk, she knew her way around a woman and it wasn't long before the room was filled with moans and screams, followed by heavy panting as the woman tried to catch her breath. As she was calming down, Abby kissed her way back up towards the woman's lips and kissed her deeply.

One quick movement and Abby found herself flipped over, lying on her back with a gorgeous woman hovering over her. As the woman moved down the bed, Abby closed her eyes in anticipation. When she finally felt the warm tongue against her clit her hips tried to jerk up, but were firmly pinned to the bed. She felt two fingers start to thrust inside her as the tongue began flicking across her clit rapidly. Just as she felt herself come close to the brink both the fingers and mouth were taken away, and she groaned her displeasure. She opened her eyes to see what was going on and found a pair of deep brown eyes looking right into her own. She lifted her head and kissed the woman, who had angled their hips perfectly to grind their clits together. Kissing hard as they ground their hips against each other, they both swallowed the other's screams of completion as they came together, kissing again before falling asleep still wrapped up in each other's arms.

I've never felt like this. I've had my fair share of one-night stands, Hell, I've had an awful lot more than my fair share. It's always the same. Good, hard sex, and leave while they sleep. It doesn't mean anything, except that you felt like getting laid and they were hot and available. But this is different. She is different.

Last night, she was all sweat and sex and passion. I was drawn to her, like I never have been to anyone else, but it was all physical attraction. Even the things that were less physical that attracted me, like the way she blocked out everything around her, it was still all about the sex. And Holy Shit, the sex was amazing. She is an absolute Goddess in bed, make no mistake.

But now, it's different. Now should be when I cut and run. I should have gone already. But then, I shouldn't be feeling anything for her. She should just be another convenient body, like all the others have been. But I cant. Because she isn't.

She is just as gorgeous now as last night. More-so even, now that she is naked and curled up next to me. But she looks so different. The lights on her porcelain skin last night, combined with his black hair and tats made her look cold, hard, and darkly exquisite. Now, with the sun on her face and her hair spread on the pillow she looks innocently beautiful. Even the tattoos in this light add to the angelic look, like pieces of art blended with her skin to make her special, and different from all the other angels.

This isn't me. I don't think like this – this soppy crap. I love em and leave em. Want, Take, Have. That's it, end of story. Other people are there to be used, to help me get what I want when I want it. They don't mean anything.

So why am I still here? And why am I tracing the cross tattoo on her back with my fingertips? Why cant I stop myself from pressing gentle kisses to the tattoos on her shoulders, like some kind of lovesick fool? Why am I hoping she will wake up, so I won't have to force myself to leave just yet?

She rolls over towards me, onto her back. Still asleep, she kisses me back when I touch my lips to hers. I need to make her want me. Need to make her crave me. Need her to want me to stay, just a little longer. So I lower myself between her legs and start kissing her clit. Lightly at first, then harder, for open mouthed, then I start nibbling and sucking. She's thrashing around and moaning in her sleep, and I have to hold her hips still. She's so responsive. In the past eating a chick out has always been about getting them off so they would do me. I've never enjoyed it like this. Never watched their face like this. Never gotten off on the reaction like this.

She's close, I can feel her stomach tense up under the hand I'm holder her down with. One hard suck on her clit, and there she goes. Her eyes open wide and her mouth tries to let out a scream but can't manage it. Her whole body shakes as she comes down again, and I move up to kiss her good morning. We kiss for a few minutes, then I wrap my arms around her and drift back off to sleep, content to stay right where I am for now.

Abby woke up to the best orgasm she could ever remember experiencing. She couldn't breathe, couldn't scream her release, couldn't make a sound. By the time she had gotten her breath back she was being soundly kissed by those lips, and that tongue, that had given her heaven just moments earlier. As the kiss ended her lover settled down next to her and held her close, falling asleep with a small smile on her face. Abby leaned forward and softly kissed those lips again, before laying her head back down and closing her eyes.

A second later they snap back open in horror. This woman, the one who danced with her and kissed her like she wanted to consume her and made love to her like there was no-one else in the world. This was Faith Lehaine. This was the murderer Gibbs and the team were looking for. This perfect creature, it turns out, wasn't so perfect afterall, and Abby didn't know whether to scream or cry.

She was in bed, naked, wrapped in the arms of a murderer. She should be afraid. But she wasn't. Some how she knew Faith would never hurt her. At the same time though, she was hurt. Because Faith had made her feel something that she hadn't felt in a long time, if ever. A night of dancing had led to what should have been a one-night stand, and that one night stand had led to Abby finding her match. Finding her equal. Finding someone she could very possibly love. And it was all a lie.

She gently pried Faith's arms from her body and slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake her. She grabbed her robe and the phone from the bedside table and went into the next room to lie in her coffin and cry. After a few minutes she gathered her courage, pushed down her tears, and picked up the phone. Dialling Gibbs' number by rote, she fought the urge to throw the phone across the room. As it was, when Gibbs answered it took her a few moments to get any sound to come out of her mouth.

"Gibbs."

"Abby? Is that you? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I umm, I think, umm, I think I found Lehaine, Gibbs."

"What? Where? You stay away from her Abby, I don't want you getting hurt. You just tell me where she is and we will deal with it, okay?"

"I, no, she, I saw her at the club last night. I, I was kinda drunk, Gibbs, so I didn't think to call you then, but she came on to me. I can contact her. I can get her to meet me. I'll tell you where."

"No! You give me the number to contact her. I don't want you getting involved in this Abby, she is dangerous."

"I can't give you the number Gibbs. I don't have it. I told you, I was drunk last night. I'm going to meet her for lunch."

"When? Where? You're not going, Abby."

"Umm, that café on the corner, near the office. At 1:30."

"Okay, I'll deal with this okay? Don't you worry. You just stay home today. You did good, telling me this Abbs."

As soon as Gibbs hung up Abby broke down and cried again. She closed the lid of her coffin and sobbed until she had no tears left. Then she got up and went into the bathroom to have a shower.

As she was rinsing the shampoo out of her hair she felt a familiar pair of arms circle around her waist, and a pair of full lips press against the spot that last night they had bitten. Unable to help herself, she turned around and kissed Faith, softly sucking on her lower lip before releasing it and lightly teasing the lips with her tongue. Faith kissed her back equally as tenderly, and they spent the next hour kissing and making love like there was no one in the world but each other. And every second Abby's heart broke a little more, knowing what she was about to do.

What if she doesn't feel it? What if this is just sex to her? But the way she kissed me, and held me, and loved me in the shower, she has to feel it. She couldn't have kissed me like that if she didn't feel it. But what if she could? What if I'm wrong? And why the Hell am I thinking about this? I should go. Just…leave. But first I have to ask her. Just, maybe, whisper it. Then she can pretend she didn't hear me, if she wants to. Yeah, that's how I'll do it. Then if she doesn't answer I can leave and pretend none of it ever happened, and go back to sorting my life out alone.

So, here goes nothing…

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After they got out of the shower and dried themselves they cuddled up together on the couch in front of the television, which was currently displaying Saturday morning cartoons. Faith buried her face against Abby's neck, and mumbled something quietly. Abby pulled away slightly and asked her to say again.

"Have lunch with me?"

Abby was shocked. She had been trying to think of a way to get Faith to the café that afternoon, and Faith had just done it for her. Not only that, but she looked almost shy about it! Abby gently kissed her, before suggesting a little café called Below Deck. Faith readily agreed, and wrote down the directions Abby gave her. She then reluctantly told Abby that she had to leave for now, but would see her at 1:30 on the dot. They shared a kiss, and Faith left. Once again, Abby cried. She wished she had Bert to hug, but he was at work, and she couldn't bring herself to go in today.

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It's 1:15. I know we said 1:30, but I can't help it. I want to be here waiting when she arrives. Came straight from picking up my papers. I've chosen a nice outside table for us. I don't know how to treat her when she gets here. Can I kiss her? Will she be embarrassed to kiss another woman in public? Will she even want to kiss me at all? Or do I just kiss her on the cheek? Or nothing? I guess I'll figure it out when she gets here.

A cute guy just sat at the table next to me. Well dressed, gorgeous facial definition, nice body shape, looks Italian. Normally I would have been all over him, but today I hardly even notice. A woman joins him anyway. She's quite pretty. Foreign, and again the sort I would normally be all over. I couldn't care less about them though. A baby-faced man takes the table on the other side of me. He's one of those cute in the adorable chubby way sorts. I'm getting sort of annoyed; I was hoping not to have too many people around our table when she gets here.

‘Click' I feel the gun against the back of my head, hear the hammer being cocked.

"Hands in the air! Now!"

Shit. The Italian guy and his girlfriend both have guns trained on me, and so does baby-face on the other side. I slowly put my hands above my head and begin to stand up. Old guy with the first gun doesn't move away, which is kind of good for me. He's banking on me being a normal girl. Or at least, a normal criminal. He doesn't know I'm a slayer. Much as I wanted to leave it all behind, I have to admit, at times like these I'm glad I have super strength.

I throw my fist backward at the guy behind me, ducking at the same time and shooting my leg out at baby-face. I can hear the guns go off, but I'm moving too fast. I bolt away from there as fast as I can, up onto the roof of a nearby building. Easier to move across the roofs without being seen. I'll hide out for now. Go and see my girl tonight. Explain why I wasn't there. Hope she forgives me.

Abby had decided that her need for Bert outweighed her need to stay home today. She snuck down to her lab at about midday. She didn't want to see anyone. Most of them would try to chat to her, or congratulate her on finding the killer. Gibbs would see right though her and want to know what was going on. She couldn't handle either of those things. So she crept down to the lab, grabbed Bert, and huddled in the corner of the room hugging him close.

That was how Gibbs found her 2 hours later. He walked into the lab to see if she had come in, not really expecting her to be there. He looked around, but didn't see her, and was about to leave when a loud farting noise gave away her position. One look at her and he knew something was very wrong. She had obviously been crying. She was wearing a baggy shirt and old jeans, with plain sneakers on her feet. She had no make-up, and her hair was down about her shoulders.

Gibbs sat down on the floor next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. The next second Abby was clinging to him like a lifeline and soaking his shirt through with tears. When she had calmed down a little she blurted out the whole story. How she met Faith, how she was drunk, how they slept together, how perfect Faith was, how much it hurt to let her go that morning, know what was going to happen to her.

"…I love her Gibbs! I'm not supposed to love her! She's a killer! And I shouldn't be able to love her anyway! I only met her last night! What is wrong with me?"

Gibbs just sighed and held her closer until she had finished crying.

"You can't help who you fall in love with Abby. Believe me. Do you think if I had any choice in the matter I would have fallen for DiNozzo?"

Abby looked at him as though he had grown an extra head.

"Tony? You and Tony? But…you…and he…and…huh?"

"Why do you think he baits me the way he does? Why do you think I constantly have to put him back in his place at work? It makes things unbelievably difficult, but it's worth it. He is worth it. Is Faith?"

"I don't know Gibbs. What if she was just using me? If she feels the way I do, then yeah, I think she is worth it."

"You know I still have to bring her in, if I catch her, right? She did kill that marine."

"What do you mean ‘if you catch her'? I thought you got her today?"

"She got away. Still haven't worked out how yet, but she did. You might like to know, she was there waiting for you 15 minutes early."

Abby thought about that for a moment.

"Is it wrong that I'm glad she got away?"

"As an employee of a federal agency or as a woman in love?"

Abby kissed Gibbs on the cheek and left the lab. She had some serious thinking to do. She did, of course, take Bert with her.

She did it. My girl. Abby, she said her name was. Amazing that I could fall in love with her without knowing her name. But I did. And she turned me in. I showed up at her place. Needed to explain to her why I wasn't at lunch. She opened the door in an oversized t-shirt. She had suitcases under her eyes and she had been crying. I thought it was because she thought I had stood her up. I moved forward and pulled her close, apologising over and over. It took me a while to realise she was doing the same thing.

She pulled me inside and made me sit down. I tried to speak, to tell her. I was going to tell her everything. She already knew. She's a fed. Or at least, she works for them. She called her boss, told him about me, and then made love to me in the shower. She set me up and kissed me goodbye. So why do I still love her?

I couldn't stay there. After she told me, she tried to kiss me. I pulled away. I couldn't kiss her. Couldn't touch her. Couldn't look at her. I love her so much, and she betrayed me. So I ran. I ran back to the attic I had spent the day hiding in, and I curled up there and cried. I couldn't understand how she could do it. And how I could still love her anyway.

I understand now. It's simple really. She is too good for me. I'm damaged. I always will be. I have blood on my hands that can never wash off. No matter how she felt for me, she had no choice but to turn me in. She is too good not to. Just like no matter what she did to me, I have no choice but to keep loving her. She is too good not to.

I can never be good enough for her. Even so, I can't live with myself knowing I didn't try. Which is why I'm here. At the NCIS Headquarters. I have never heard of them, but that's who Abby says is after me. Who she works for. I walk in and am stopped by a security guard. I tell him that my name is Lehaine, and that a Special Agent Gibbs will want to see me. Then I wait.

The old guy who held the gun to my head comes down to get me. The entire team come with him. Italian guy, his girlfriend, baby-face, and my girl. My Abby. She stares at me in shock as I turn around and put my hands behind my back for cuffing. As Italian guy leads me off to Interrogation Room One, I see her mouth move. No sound comes out, but I can see her ask why. As we pass her I stop. Just for a second. Just long enough to tell her.

"I love you Abby."

We keep walking, and she watches with tears streaming down her face. But it's how it should be. She's too good for me. And I'm where I belong.