A/N: I know I need to finish 'The More Things Change' and get started on the prequel to that story but this one wanted out so I had to let it go. You may have figured out that I love to whump Tony. If that's not your thing, don't read.

Disclaimer: Don't own much of anything except a laptop and a twisted imagination. I wish they were mine (don't we all!)

Chapter One

Abby Scuito loved Christmas. She loved the crowds in the mall. She loved looking for the perfect gifts for her friends. People asked her why she waited until two weeks before Christmas to shop. Or why she didn't shop online. She would just smile and shake her head. If they had to ask then they just didn't understand.

She was walking through the food court on a Sunday afternoon when she heard a familiar laugh. She froze in the middle of the aisle, earning a couple of curses from other shoppers as she blocked their way. Slowly she moved toward the sound of the laughter, eyes searching the crowd. And then she saw him. He looked different but a good different. His hair was shorter, almost as short as Gibbs' but not quite. He looked relaxed, happy.

She hesitated. Should she approach him? It had been a year and a half seen she had seen him, over a year since they had spoken. She had tried to call him, but he hadn't answered. He had also ignored her texts and emails. She was hurt but Ducky and Jimmy told her to be patient, that he was going through a really tough time. Well, she was tired of waiting! Whether he wanted to see her or not, she was going to march over to his table, sit on his lap and give him a hug.

With that thought in mind, she moved in his direction. He was looking in the other direction so she called his name. He turned, still smiling at something said by the beautiful blond seated across from him. He looked straight at her, cocked his head – and then he deliberately turned his back.

Abby was devastated. He looked right at her and ignored her. How could he do that? She thought they were friends. She didn't both hiding her tears as she fled from the mall, her seasonal joy all but destroyed.

The man at the table turned back to his companion, a small frown on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I thought I heard someone call my name," he replied. You don't happen to see a tall, Goth-looking girl with pigtails behind me do you?"

She looked past him but saw no one fitting the description. "Sorry, babe. Although in this crowd I don't see how I could find anyone."

"Trust me, Abby stands out in a crowd. I must have been imagining things, though. Abby would have just come over to the table and jumped in my lap. Wishful thinking, I guess."

"You really miss them, don't you?"

"I do. Maybe it's time, Corinne. I'll need to talk to Ducky but what would you think about having a small dinner party over the holidays? Maybe between Christmas and New Year's?"

"That sounds doable. I'll talk to Mary Pat. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"No, not really," he admitted. "But if I wait until I'm ready, I'll never take that next step. I just hope they understand why I had to leave."

"They will. And if they don't – well, that's their loss. C'mon, let's go home."

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs knew something was wrong when he walked into a silent lab. The feeling was confirmed when he saw Abby's red-rimmed eyes just before she threw herself into his arms, sobbing as if her whole world had fallen apart. He let her cry for a few minutes wondering what in the world could have happened to cause this reaction. "What's wrong, Abs?" he asked softly.

It was a few minutes later when she finally calmed down enough to answer. "I saw Tony yesterday," she said miserably.

Gibbs tried to ignore the way his heart jumped at her words. "How is he?"

"I don't know!" she wailed. "I saw him in the food court and I called his name and he looked right at me then he turned his back on me! What did I do, Gibbs? Why does he hate me? Why did he leave us?"

Gibbs tried to control his anger and she once again dissolved into tears. This had gone on long enough! "I don't know, Abs, but I'm going to find out!" He kissed her forehead and left the lab, heading for autopsy, his anger building with every step. By the time he reached autopsy he was fuming. He burst through the doors, Palmer and Ducky starting at the fury on the senior agent's face.

"Jethro, whatever is the matter?" Ducky said, concerned at his friend's manner.

"I'll tell you what's wrong, Dr. Mallard," Gibbs answered. "I just left the lab where Abby is crying her eyes out because DiNozzo hurt her feelings yesterday."

Gibbs didn't miss the look the passed between Ducky and Palmer. "I'll go talk to Abby," said Palmer.

As soon as Palmer left the room, Gibbs turned on Ducky. "Damn it, Ducky, I know that I screwed up with DiNozzo. And I know that you and Palmer are still tight with him. But Abby doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. She's devastated – she wants to know why he hates her."

Ducky sighed. He was trying to figure out just how much he could tell Gibbs without violating Tony's trust. "Jethro, I can guarantee you that Anthony would never do anything to deliberately hurt Abigail. He cares for her a great deal and . . ."

"Really, Duck? Do you honestly believe that she wasn't hurt when he left without saying goodbye? Or when he stopped answering her calls and emails? If he cares so much, then why did he just cut all ties with her?"

"I wish I could explain things to you and to Abigail but you must understand that I am not at liberty to share everything with you." Ducky made a decision. "Jethro, why don't you go back to Abigail's lab? I need to make a phone call then I will join you."

As Gibbs reluctantly left autopsy, Ducky pulled out his phone and dialed. When the call was answered, Ducky said, "Anthony, we need to talk."

When Gibbs returned to the lab, he saw Abby crying on Palmer's shoulder, the young man talking softly in her ear. Whatever he was saying seemed to be working because Abby's sobs had finally subsided. When she saw Gibbs, Abby said, "I'm okay now, Gibbs. Well, I will be."

Palmer started to leave but Gibbs stopped him. "Ducky said he needed to make a call and that he would join us after he finished. You might as well wait for him."

Palmer was silent. He was pretty sure he knew who Ducky was calling. He just didn't know what the result would be. After what seemed like hours, the ME walked into Abby's lab still talking on his cell phone. "Abigail," he said, "someone would like to speak to you."

Abby reached for the phone with a shaking hand. "Hello?" As soon as she heard Tony's 'Hi, Abs" she started crying again. The three men in the lab couldn't hear what Tony was saying to her but it was apparently calming her down. "This weekend? Really?" they heard her say. "I have to wait a whole week? Okay – here Jimmy. He wants to talk to you."

Taking the phone, Jimmy moved away from the others. They heard him say, "Are you sure?" before he ended the call and turned to Abby.

"Jimmy! Why did you hang up? I wanted to talk some more!" Abby cried.

Ignoring her question, Jimmy asked one of his own, "What are you doing tonight, Abby?"

"Nothing much. Why?"

"I'm going over to Tony's later. Do you want to go with me?"

He took the excited squeal followed by a bone-crushing hug as a 'yes'.

TBC

A/N: Okay. I think I'm going to end this chapter here. I know where I'm going but I'm not really sure how I'm going to get there. That is, if anyone is interested in reading more. BTW - next chapter of 'The More Things Change' will be up tomorrow. I promise. Maybe. No really – I promise.