• 3.01 and 02 Kill Ari Gibbs would risk anything in order to protect Abby from suffering the same fate as Kate.
• 3.09 Frame-Up When Gibbs realizes it was Chip framing Tony, he runs within a second to save Abby's life without a second thought about it.
• 3.21 Bloodbath You can tell that he thinks of Abby as the daughter that he lost, because he goes into the elevator and swares that he would give anything to protect her. He is also sweeter with her than anyone else in his life.
  – Gibbs tells her stalker he wouldn't be able to walk had he known that Mikel was already stalking Abby.
• 3.23 Hiatus (part 2) Gibbs kisses Abby goodbye as a reminder that he loves her and could never actually say goodbye.

• 4.01 Shalom Abby is the only person who has a number to reach Gibbs in Mexico. Later Gibbs kisses Abby goodbye for a second time.
• 4.11 Driven "Permission to hug?" (Abby). "Oh, you never have to ask, Abby!" (Gibbs)

Season 6

• "Gibbs and me….we're tighter than blood." – Hiatus, Part I
  

• "Why didn't you come to me Abby?"
• "Because Gibbs, I wanted him restrained, not beaten to a pulp with a baseball bat." – Bloodbath

• "Permission to hug?" (Abby). "Oh, you never have to ask, Abby!" (Gibbs) –Driven

• Abby: "Hey Gibbs, do you have any fetishes?" Gibbs: "I have three ex-wives, I can't afford fetishes."— The Truth Is Out There (1×17)

• GIBBS: We inside his computer yet?
  ABBY: Oh, um… I think I’m…
  GIBBS: Need help?
  ABBY: Yeah.
  GIBBS: All you had to do was ask. One of the smartest people I know told me that once.
  ABBY: Who?
  GIBBS: You.

–2×01 See No Evil

• GIBBS: Okay, thanks, Abs.
  ABBY: Oh, anything for you, oh wonderful wizard. –2×02 Good Wives Club

• ABBY: Correct as always, my silver-haired fox. I mean Gibbs-Sir-Boss. ABBY: See this?
  GIBBS: Yes.
  ABBY: I cut myself today installing a graphics card in my computer.
  GIBBS: Okay? You want me to kiss it or something?
  ABBY: That’d be really nice, but it’s not my point. Most of the metal inside electronics is unfinished. I cut myself all the time on burs and rough edges.
  GIBBS: Yeah, well you ought to try building a boat with hand tools after a couple shots of Jack.
  ABBY: Anyway, my point is I was snooping around the circuit board, and I found… this. (BEAT) It’s blood, Gibbs. Whoever assembled this cut themselves. We have their DNA.
  GIBBS: That’s great work, Abby. *KISS* Feel better?
  ABBY: Much.— 2×19 Conspiracy Theory

• Gibbs: "You tell Abby I want her."
  Abs: "Oh Gibbs, I never knew!" —-2×20 Red Cell

• Abby: You’re just saying that to make me feel safe.
  Gibbs: I’ll keep you safe, Abby. (kisses her head) I promise. –3×01 Kill Ari Pt. I

• ABBY: Very good, Gibbs! But that would be the case of a Senior Lead Special Agent who’s worked hundreds of crime-scene investigations throughout his storied career.
  GIBBS: I’d hate to start smacking you like I do DiNozzo.
  ABBY: You wouldn’t. You would?
  GIBBS: It won’t be on the head. — 3×05 Switch

• GIBBS: Not bad for a blonde.
  ABBY: You know, there’s no statistical evidence that say blondes have lower I.Q.s than any other hair color.
  GIBBS: I’ll take your word for it, Abs.
  ABBY: There’s more, if you’re interested, Mister President. –4×06 Witch Hunt

• Abby: "He (Gibbs) still loves me!" –5×05 Leap Of Faith

• Gibbs: (To Abby) “You’re my favorite.” –5×11 Tribes

• Abby: I just…I have two questions. This video, it’s different than the others. Why?” Gibbs: “Okay, what’s the other question.” Abby: “Can I stay with you tonight?” —6×06 Murder 2.0

• He takes her out for her birthday each year. In the year that he did not, he snuck a present into her office (that lit up in the Pulp Fiction way that presents literally light the room) and it caused Abby to have a look of wonder on her face.
• He learned to communicate in the language of her parents. Gibbs talks about the parents in the past tense when he tells DiNozzo that Abby's parents "were deaf" (it is unlikely that they both stopped being deaf, so it suggests they are dead). In another episode, Abby talks about the son of a friend of her mother's and makes it sound like her mother is still alive.
• Gibbs particularly looks to keep Abby safe, even though all the evidence is that she is able to look after herself.
• Abby knows that Gibbs loves her and she advises others to just 'show him the love'; this indicates the nature of the love is not romantic.
• She knows that she can manipulate Gibbs and says so (which he overhears and argues against).
• His idea of disciplining Abby is to stare, or merely say her name, or to threaten to slap her 'and it won't be on the head'. And since it was said in exasperation (not flirtation), it was very parental (hmmm, well, this is a two-edged argument, but let's go with the innocent version).
• Abby is a 'chip off the old block'. She is a female version of Gibbs. Arguments for this include:
  • She likes boundaries: she constantly pushes at the boundaries with Gibbs and sees what she can get away with. Gibbs pushes Jen and his team. He likes it when his team stands up to him (eg McGee doing the computer wiring in "See No Evil", Season 2; McGee in the lift in "Twisted Sister", Season 4; Ziva in "Grace Period", Season 4; Tony in "Shalom", Season 4). Abby likes it when Gibbs stands up to her (because he is paying attention to her).
  • She likes rules: she likes order. Her rules are science, chain of evidence and she likes hierarchical organizations (she works in a quasi-military structure, she socializes with nuns who live in rule-bound and rank-bound structure). Gibbs is ex-military and a federal cop: enough said.
  • She likes independence of style. Her tastes are unconventional. She likes popular culture but does not conform to others' views of appropriate dress, behaviour, work hours, interior decor or sensibilities. Gibbs runs to his own rhythm and builds boats in basements and never sails them. He is as unconventional (or non-standard) in his tastes as her, but at the other extreme.
  • Neither are city slickers but they do fine in the city.
  • They both like making things: she does Habitat for Humanity electrical work and he does carpentry boat building and plumbing. (She didn't fix her own plumbing when her flat was flooded…which is odd.)
• Gibbs' daughter is between 23 and 27, depending on which backstory you use to calculate her year of birth. Abby is not as old as Pauley Perette but is older than 27, if her years of experience in the job are an indicator. Even so, her age profile is reasonable for a Gibbs daughter role.
• Abby's idea of an extreme remark is to say to McGee that she is pregnant by Gibbs. Tony is revolted at the thought. Abby agrees except that there is something kind of hot about the silver hair. Thinking of Gibbs in terms of attraction to the opposite sex is given a kinky taint in that scene.
• Gibbs in the elevator with Abby in "Bloodbath", Season 3: big daddy role there.
• Gibbs in the basement with Abby in "Bloodbath": big daddy didn't even get mad when she chipped a bit off the boat (but he had that extreme patience being tested look that parents get).
• Abby flirts with Gibbs but to provoke a reaction and not to move the relationship forward.
• Abby only discloses her fear of Autopsy to Gibbs and Ducky.
• Everyone knows that Gibbs is the only person who can reassure Abby when she is distressed. Gibbs expects her to bring her personal problems to him ("Why didn't you tell me?" in "Bloodbath", "Because I wanted him restrained, not hit on the head with a baseball bat")
• He does not take the bait when she dresses as Marilyn Monroe, other than to say "Not bad for a blonde" and grin.
• The kisses are always chaste. Always. They don't even pretend to be passionate.
• Her reaction to the kisses is that they are rewards and hard-won.
• Her reaction to Caf-Pow is that they are bribes, so she expects them ("What? No Caf-Pow"?) in "Grace Period", Season 4.
• He is her number one adviser….A new tattoo for Abby requires his input on choice of design, until he asks where on her body it is supposed to go. She is then as embarrassed as if talking to her father.
• He is her number one consoler to whom she will divulge painful secrets…such as the short and sweet suitor rejecting her because she is too big.
• He has parental pride "You've never failed me yet, Abs" (when Ziva and Tony point out that she failed to find anything useful on the images in "In The Dark", Season 4).
• Gibbs and Abby have the same relationship to Ducky: as if they are actually family. Ducky may or may not be Gibbs' father substitute, but it might be uncle/great uncle?
• There is a familial 'doting' quality to the rapport and a familial willingness to scold.
• Gibbs knows what makes Abby fret (putting Tony in gaol in "Frame Up", Season 3).
• There is a child-like attitude that Abby has with Gibbs especially when he isn't paying attention to her. Her body language gets younger (fidgety and small) and her tone of voice can be almost whiney. He patiently tolerates this. For example, in"Silent Night" Season 6, after he hugs and kisses her and wishes her a Merry Christmas, all very paternally, he physically pushes her out of the impending conversation with his hand in the small of her back. She crouches behind a cubicle half-wall and watches what she has just been dismissed from. Very much like a little girl secretly watching the adults. Even the suspect's long-lost daughter reacts to Gibb's affection with a look of longing!

• Gibbs is very protective of Abby and is determined to keep her safe and happy
• The kind of relationship they have is one that would piss off potential dates for each one of them.
• Abby knows that Gibbs loves her and frequently points out that she is his favourite.
• The rest of he team not only aknowledges the fact that Abby's Gibbs' favourite, but they are OK with it, which is weird considering they're in a constant competition for Gibbs' approval. This could mean they know Gibbs' favouritism toward Abby is on a personal level more than on a professional level.
• Abby can easily manipulate and play mind games with Gibbs.
• Gibbs has thrown his coffee twice to rescue her
• His idea of disciplining to threaten to slap her 'and it won't be on the head’.
• Via ASL, he called her "My Girl".
• Abby and Gibbs have many inside jokes and little games they play with each other. They tease each other quite frequently and one may wonder if a lot of the things said are intended to be flirty.
• They have a lot in common suggesting that they would be a good couple…
  • She likes rules: she likes order. Her rules are science, chain of evidence and she likes hierarchical organizations (she works in a quasi-military structure, she socializes with nuns who live in rule-bound and rank-bound structure). He is ex-military and a fed cop.
  • She likes independence of style. Abby's tastes are unconventional. She likes popular culture but does not conform to others' views of appropriate dress, behaviour, work hours, interior decor, sensibilities. Gibbs runs to his own rhythm and builds boats in basements and never sails them. He is as unconventional (or non-standard) in his tastes as her, but at the other extreme.
  • Neither are city slickers but they do fine in the city.
  • They both like making things: she does Habitat for Humanity electrical work and he does carpentry boat building and plumbing.

  Abby has always been into older more mature men. She has often mention the effect of Gibbs’ hair on her saying that it makes her ‘tingly inside’. We also know that Abby has dated her much older university professor.

• Abby's idea of an extreme remark is to say to McGee that she is pregnant by Gibbs. Tony is revolted at the thought. Abby ends the joke by making the comment that there is something kind of hot about the silver hair.
• Gibbs in the elevator with Abby in "Bloodbath", Season 3, he tries to protect her and comfort her. He doesn’t want to lose her and his feelings for her are shown.
• In "Bloodbath", in the basement scene one can tell Abby's wearing one of Gibbs' shirts as a pijama. It takes a lot of closeness for something like that to happen.
• Gibbs is constantly kissing Abby on the cheek and muttering that she has done a good job. People who are just boss and employee don’t allow for kissing.
• Gibbs' kisses to Abby are always chaste, but they're heavy (as in emotionally charged) and full of longing. Besides, he doesn't just give her the "courtesy peck", but he totally plants one on her each time.
• Gibbs tends to look at Abby with "bedroom eyes" —> specially when he's "chastely" kising her, and he also tends to talk to her in a softer tone of voice, sometimes almost whispering. That's what people in love do subconciously.
• She flirts with him to show that she is interested and that he shouldn’t start thinking of her as ‘just another friend’. This shows that she isn’t ready to put her feelings out in the open and start a romantic relationship and but she doesn’t want the relationship to move on to a brother-sister or father-daughter level.
• She tells Gibbs her fears, problems, and insecurities. She wants him in her life to help her solve problems and comfort her. She also tells Ducky about some of these issues due to the fact that he is like her surrogate grandfather.
• Gibbs has never head-slapped Abby.
• Abby's been the only one to get Gibbs to smile openly, and perhaps laugh.
• Gibbs gives Abby shoulder massages when she's distressed. When was he last time your boss did that for you?
• When Mikel Mawher saw that Abby wasn't looking at him at the end of Bloodbath, Gibbs walked out with a smug smile. Same thing when Abby told McGee that Amy (Abby) and McGregor (McGee) were wrong for each other.
• Gibbs is the only person who can reassure Abby when she is distressed. Gibbs expects her to bring her personal problems to him ("Why didn’t you tell me?" in "Bloodbath", Season 3 "Because I wanted him restrained, not hit on the head with a baseball bat"). She knows that he’ll do anything for her because he doesn’t want to see her get hurt and he loves her (in a romantic, crush type way).
• His eyes gaze up and down her body when she is dressed as Marilyn for Halloween.
• The flirty comments between the two and the playful back and forth [flirty] banter.
• She smiles whenever kissed on the cheek by him as if it is what she looks forward to her whole day.
• Gibbs always gets her Caf-Pows whether she has results or not. In the episode near Valentines day Gibbs even topped the Caf-Pow with a heart! And it said "I love You"!
• He has said "I love you" to Abby at least three times: Two times via ASL, and once via the heart that topped the Caf-Pow! (which had "I love you" written on it). It can't get more obvious than this.
• His opinion matters to her the most, such as his opinion/input on her work, his opinion on a new tattoo, his opinion boyfriends and relationship issues… when thinking of getting a new tattoo she asks for his input on choice of design, he then asks where on her body it is supposed to go. This is a very intimate conversation that wouldn’t be shared between co-workers unless she was very comfortable. She asked as if to draw attention to her body and such an intimate and possibly erotic way. The tattoo can be considered seductive depending on the placement and what is being tattooed.
• He is her number one consoler to whom she will divulge painful secrets…this is what one would be like to their significant other. If she were talking to someone who she considered her surrogate father she would leave out embarrassing or inconvenient details that she wouldn’t want her ‘father’ to know.
• In "Legend Part 1", Gibbs goes to Abby' just to tell her he's going to L.A. (and to kiss her). After she expreses her fears (last time you went there, one of you didn't come back", he reassures her saying he's going to bring McGee back home and as soon as he's out, she says "just make sure you bring yourself back too". This shows Abby may have hidden feelings for Gibbs.
• Gibbs let Abby handle his tools and touch his boat (he didn't even get mad when she damaged it). The part where he showed her the right way to sand the boat was very… sensual, to say the least.