The silence may have been pulled away by Gavin's words, but the warmth of those moments remained nonetheless. Abby smiled contentedly, returning his intent gaze easily until Gavin decided to look to those wonderful vintage sneakers. And she couldn't help but think, that [i]nothing[/i] with him was ever difficult. Not ever.

Gavin never failed to disarm her with his easy smile, his wit and his humbly self-deprecating comments spoken in that warm, lilting voice she never tired of hearing. No matter the burden she carried, the stress that screamed agonizing tension along her shoulders, searing a tortuous path up her neck and pounding behind her ice blue eyes, Gavin's mere, uncomplicated presence could lift her worries. It was as if he had this uncanny ability to effortlessly hoist her cares and set them to the side, and offer her precious moments of rest. No, none of her burdens were [i]forgotten[/i] - not in the least. They were all simply... [i]Eased,[/i] and had been from the day they met. 

It was no mistake, that Gavin's was the first face Abby sought among the Third Shift.

"Lefty Gomez," Abby said with a smile, "That was Lefty Gomez, the baseball player you were thinking of... And [i]what?[/i] Are you saying cricket's not your thing? An Englishman who doesn't drink tea, but makes the best coffee I've had in my lifetime? A Brit who tosses over England's pastime, for the American one? Oh, you [i]are[/i] an enigma wrapped in a riddle, tied off with a great big red bow of mystery, Dr. Gavin Brock... "

She laughed softly. "I admit, I'm biased on the subject of you. I happen to think you're lucky [i]and[/i] good - and it's got precious little to do with your Converse, no matter that hot retro style you're sporting." Abby settled into her chair a little further, content to simply listen as Gavin spoke of the general's decisions concerning his daughter's murderer. And, though she did not argue the point with Gavin - she simply [i]could[/i] not, not without dumping more cares on him than she already had - Abby still felt some better [unsurprisingly] for hearing him out, and better still when he topped off her empty coffee cup.

Well, until the point she realized she needed to down the brew about as quickly as he just had, his new appointment enroute it seemed. "Sure, sure - pour me a fresh cup of coffee, and then scoot me right out the door! I take it all back - you're a [i]cruel[/i] man, Dr. Brock!" Abby grinned and shook her head in mock exasperation as she stood, lifting her coffee mug to her lips and winking at him impishly over the brim. She polished it off swiftly enough without the least trouble; her career choice had made snatching quick cups of coffee infinitely worse than Gavin's amazingly tasty brew almost as easy as drawing her next breath.

She set her empty mug down next to his with a contented sigh, nudging his elbow playfully with her own as she turned to leave. "No, I've got a few more visits to make myself before we chat up Mr. Eadoré, and apply a healthy dose of our own due diligence. So lunch time then at the mess hall?" Abby stretched her arms overhead as she walked to his lab door, feeling a satisfying *pop* in her spine in a spot that hadn't felt quite right since the moment she woke up atop Michael's bed earlier. It was nice, that a visit with Gavin could help set even the small irritations a little straighter.

"It's a date," she quipped as her arms dropped back to her sides, fingers reaching for the door panel control at the very instant she realized what she'd said. For a split-second, Abby considered turning around, sputtering out a sheepish apology or some such stammering words - but all she really did, was shrug inwardly and grin big. 

"See you then Gavin," Abby called over her shoulder, a wide, unabashed smile and a quick wave for the doctor as the door slid open, and she stepped back into the [i]Copernicus'[/i] halls.