No one ever saw Abby's basement. Everyone on the team had been to her house at one time or another. Every other room in the house was open for exploration. They'd seen her cook dinner in the kitchen, read her favourite books in the living room, dig through dressers in her bedroom, even lay in the coffin she kept in the guest room, but the door to the basement remained locked. She knew it was a matter of much discussion among her co-workers; what it was she hid down there. Last she'd heard, the latest guess was that she kept a zoo of exotic animals. She had to admit, she liked that idea better than the medieval torture equipment rumour that had been floating around a few months ago. But none of the rumours she'd overheard had ever come close to the truth. No one knew what was really down there - but tonight, her boss would find out.
Abby unlocked the basement door with the key she kept on the chain around her neck. It was dark, but she knew every bump and crack in those old wooden stairs. She stepped through the door, leaving it open so Gibbs could follow her down the stairs. She paused at the top of the stairs as the familiar scents surrounded her: the sharp odor of oil and turpentine, the earthy aroma of clay, the barely detectable fragrance of pencil lead. Mingled with it all was a dusty scent, which hinted that the room hadn't been visited in a while. At the bottom was a light switch; she turned it on. The room was large, but crowded with tables, easels, lamps, sculptures. It was her art room.
"Wow," was Gibbs' only comment. She didn't respond, only led him through the maze of canvases and tables to the easel that held the project he was there to see. She pulled the tarp off of it. The painting was unfinished and looked like it had sat untouched for a long time. But it was obvious what it had been meant to be. Or, rather, who - it was a portrait of Kate. "Abby… it's beautiful." Abby plopped down heavily in the chair next to the easel, sighing.
"I worked on it for hours. I wanted to have it for her birthday… but now I guess it doesn't matter when I finish it." Abby stared at the unfinished painting. "Ever since I saw how well she could draw… well, I like to draw, but I've never been too wonderful with pencils beyond preliminary sketches, you know, just the outlines I need for a painting or sculpture." Gibbs nodded, letting her talk. "But I brought her down here anyways, to show her a couple drawings I had done… she liked them, and she liked my sculptures, too, but she really was interested in my paintings. She came down here a lot, to watch me paint. I did one for her, once, of a horse galloping on the beach, and she hung it over her fireplace." Abby smiled slightly, idly fidgeting with a paintbrush that had been on the easel.
"You painted that?" Gibbs asked. He remembered seeing that painting at Kate's house once; it was large and beautifully detailed, and he'd wondered where she'd gotten it.
Abby nodded. "Yeah. She loved it. I did a few sculptures for her, too - think she put them on her mantle - but she always loved the paintings best. So I thought, I should do a portrait of her. I took a picture, once when she was in my lab… didn't tell her why, just waited ‘til she wasn't paying attention and snapped one." She motioned with the brush to the photo that sat on the small table beside the painting: Kate sitting in Abby's lab chair, examining something on the computer screen, wearing a triumphant grin.
"It's a good photo."
"I hoped I could make it into a great portrait."
Gibbs leaned over the table, examining the painting carefully. "You're doing a good job of it, Abbs."
Abby's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Was doing. Thanks."
Gibbs moved to stand beside her chair. "You should finish it."
"Why? Not like I can give it to her anymore." The pain in her voice softened the bite of the words.
"So we can hang it in the bullpen. Or in your lab." He put his hand on Abby's shoulder. "Preserve her memory."
Abby was quiet for a moment before saying thoughtfully, "Royalty and military heroes often have their portraits painted so their memories will live on after their deaths. They usually get either a famous painter or someone they know to paint it."
"I'd say she's a hero, Abbs. Definitely a hero."
Abby smiled and nodded. "Yeah. She is."
"So, you should finish her portrait for her." Gibbs smiled. "We'll hang it up so she'll always be remembered."
Her fingers twirled the paintbrush easily as she gazed at the half-finished portrait thoughtfully. "It would take me… a month, month and a half at most."
"Sounds good." Gibbs nodded, scanned the room until he found a chair with nothing in it, and pulled it over to the table. "Mind if I watch?"
Abby looked over at him. The last person to watch her paint had been Kate. Before her death, the door had always been unlocked and open. But Abby's first night home after Kate was killed, she had come home, run down to her artist's sanctuary, and stared at the portrait for a long time. She'd then thrown a tarp over it, turned off the light, trudged up the stairs, and locked the door behind her. She'd lost her muse that night. Oh, she still came down on occasion to add a few brush strokes here or sketch a few lines there, but she couldn't finish anything, or find the inspiration to start anything new. Maybe now, though, if she could just finish this for Kate… if she could make one last present for her best friend… she smiled at Gibbs. "Nah. I don't mind."
Gibbs returned the smile and leaned back comfortably in the chair. "Okay, then."
"Okay." She was already on her feet, opening bottles of paint and dabbing them onto a spare pallet. She would finish it in a month, so it could be hung as soon as possible. She looked at the old photo and smiled to match her friend's. She would have loved this portrait. Abby would make sure it was perfect. Kate deserved no less.