A/N: This is another writing exercise intended to smash the writer's block that's been plaguing me. (heh heh, I said 'plague'). It was suggested I write something out of my comfort zone, and while this isn't exactly a love story, none of our favorite NCIS characters get injured. Thanks to ResearchGeek for helping me by suggesting the exercise. Thanks to the wonderful Rinne, for cleaning up my punctuation errors, there seemed to be more than usual this time… sorry, Rinne.
As a final note, the exercises may have worked, I'm working on a very long, sort of complicated case story and what do you know, a certain NCIS agent gets injured, imagine that! Please send prayers and offerings to the writing gods that I can complete this one. Thank you for your support.
When Tony Met Abby, by Tweeter"We still on for tonight?" Tony asked softly.
"You know it," whispered Abby. "I've been looking forward to this for days; it's been too long."
Tony nodded. "Way too long."
"DiNozzo," Gibbs' voice rang through the squad room.
"Yes, Boss?"
"You planning on joining us, or would you rather stand there and flirt with Abby?"
"Well, Abby is fun to be with..."
"DiNozzo!"
"On my way, Boss."
Later that eveningTony was making last-minute preparations for Abby's arrival. He looked around the room, pleased that it was clean and comfortable. Kate would have been surprised if she had ever gotten the chance to see his apartment. He was sure she imagined it to be a typical bachelor pad, full of chrome and black leather furniture and girlie magazines spread out on the glass coffee table. In fact, Tony's apartment was warm and inviting, with rich wood furniture and comfortable seating. The entertainment center was the focal point of the living room, but it wasn't overwhelming. The dark wood cabinet housed a large plasma TV and an assortment of electronics hidden behind sliding panels. The surround sound system was small, but powerful, the wires snaking through the walls.
Tony went to answer the doorbell, opening the door to find Abby, heavily laden with several bags.
"Here, let me help you," Tony said, taking the bags from Abby.
"Thanks," she said gratefully, flexing her sore hands.
"I ordered Chinese," Tony called over his shoulder as he went into the living room.
"Great," Abby called back. She took off her coat and hung it in the foyer closet. Removing her shoes, she put them away and put on a pair of fluffy slippers she retrieved from the closet shelf.
Abby padded into the living room to find Tony rummaging through the bags.
"Hey, no peeking," she scolded, slapping his hands away. "You have to wait to get your surprise."
"You know how I hate waiting," Tony said, trying to look his most adorable.
"Yeah, well that's too bad," Abby retorted, "and don't try giving me the puppy dog eyes. I'm on to you, mister."
"I do not make puppy dog eyes," Tony protested. "That's something McGee would do."
"No, McGee would push his lower lip out and look all sad and pathetic," Abby replied.
"And that works?"
"Sometimes. " She grinned at him. "You couldn't pull it off, though. McGee's got innocent down pat. You've got this devilish vibe going. That's what I love about you."
"You do, do you?" Tony grinned then snapped his fingers as the doorbell rang. "Saved by the bell," he said, going to the door to pay for the food while Abby went to the kitchen to get plates and utensils.
A few minutes later they were comfortably ensconced on the sofa, laden plates in their laps.
"Ah, fuel," sighed Tony as he savored the flavor of the lemon chicken. "This is great," he said, looking at Abby, "just what I needed."
"Me, too," Abby agreed. "I brought enough stuff to last us all night."
The two sat eating and talking, as close friends and confidants do. Their relationship wasn't always so good, however.
Four Years EarlierIt had been a particularly nasty case, involving the murder of a Petty Officer and her three-year old son. Gibbs had worked the team hard, nearly coming to blows with Agent Vivian Blackadder when she challenged him once too often. Tony had been running himself ragged, creating a buffer between the two as well as being the lead investigator.
Gibbs had sent Tony down to the forensics lab to see if there was anything new they could use in the investigation.
Loud music assaulted his ears the minute the door to the lab slid open.
"Hey, Abby," Tony yelled. Not getting any response, he walked over and tapped the young woman on the shoulder.
Abby whirled around, punching Tony in the shoulder.
"Ow!"
"Don't do that," she exclaimed. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to sneak up on people?"
"I'm sorry," Tony replied, rubbing his shoulder. "I tried to get your attention, but you couldn't hear me over the music."
"What do you want?" Abby's eyes were narrowed as she observed the younger agent suspiciously. She still hadn't decided how she felt about DiNozzo. He had only been with the agency for three months. Usually she would have formed an opinion about him by now, but there was something unusual about the man that she couldn't quite put her finger on, so she still held him at arms length. He wasn't as buttoned-down as former FBI Agent Blackadder, but he wasn't exactly Stan Burley. Stan had become a good friend and Abby had been sorry to see him leave. She had been ready to dismiss DiNozzo as a hotshot ex-cop, probably an ex-jock - most likely very full of himself - but he seemed eager to get her approval, which belied his cocky demeanor.
"I came to see if you had any new information for us on the Fraser case," Tony said cautiously.
"I'm still running tests on the gunk you found on the bodies," she replied shortly, turning back to what she was doing.
"Oh." Tony stood for a moment, feeling awkward. "Is there anything I can do to help?" He gave her his most sincere smile when she turned to look at him.
Yup, trying to get on her good side. Well, he's going to have to do more than flash his pearly whites, she thought. "Did you get a degree in forensics over the weekend or something?"
His smile fading just a touch, Tony quickly recovered. "No, but I'm good at helping people. Really."
"I'm sure you are," she said, turning back to her work.
Tony wandered over to the other side of the lab. "How did you wind up working in a lab at NCIS?" he asked.
"I applied and got the job," Abby replied.
"I hear you're the best," Tony said distractedly, his eyes drawn to the lights and buttons on one of the machines. "You're pretty young; you must be a genius."
Abby snorted. "That's real smooth, DiNozzo."
"Mm hmm." Tony cautiously touched a button, setting off a series of alarms. He jumped back as if burned, his eyes wide with surprise, his hands raised defensively.
Abby leaped up and ran to the flashing machine, hitting a sequence of buttons to silence the alarms.
"That is not a toy," she said coldly. "This room is filled with millions of dollars worth of scientific equipment, delicate scientific equipment. These are not video games."
"I'm sorry." Tony started backing out of the lab.
"You should be," she continued. "If I was running a test you could have messed up the results. You could have messed up a case."
"Maybe I better go," he said, reaching the doors to the lab.
"Maybe you better."
"Okay, then," he said in a small voice. "See you later."
Abby felt a pang of regret at the hurt look on Tony's face. She felt as if she had kicked a puppy or swatted a kitten. She almost ran after him to apologize and explain the reason for her bad mood, but her mass spectrometer started beeping at her, bringing her mind back to the case.
The team was busy for the next few days tracking down leads. In the end, the murderer turned out to be the woman's ex-husband, an egotistical, overbearing Naval captain. Captain Howard Fraser had been an abusive husband and was angry that his wife had the nerve to take their son and leave him. He wanted to make sure that she learned her lesson and that his son would never call another man 'Dad'. Gibbs had nearly torn the man's head off in the interrogation room
It wasn't until 11:00 in the evening that Gibbs released everybody. Tony felt totally drained as he headed for his car. He felt good that they had caught the killer, but the deaths of the young woman and her son weighed heavily on his mind. It was going to take awhile to erase the image of the small boy lying in his trundle bed, looking as if he was asleep, from his mind.
Tony was jerked out of his thoughts when he collided with Abby. He swore silently as he sent the items in her arms crashing to the ground.
"I'm so sorry, Abby," he said, bending down to help her retrieve the fallen items. "I was thinking and didn't notice where I was going."
"Obviously," Abby replied.
Tony winced inwardly. He had been trying to get Abby to like him since he first joined the team. There was something about the young Goth that made him want to get to know her better. It wasn't a sexual attraction, even though she was a very beautiful woman. For some reason he felt drawn to her, like they were kindred spirits. He didn't even believe in that sort of thing, so he couldn't really explain his feelings.
Tony picked up a DVD case, read the title and looked at Abby in surprise. "Practical Magic?" he said, eyebrows raised.
"So?" Abby snatched the case from his hand. "It's a good movie," she said defensively.
"I know," Tony agreed, "it's one of my favorites. It just doesn't seem to be your type of movie."
"I could say the same about you, "Abby retorted. "I would think that movies like Triple X or Air Force One were more your speed."
"Get off my plane," Tony said in his best Harrison Ford voice. "I love that movie. But who could resist Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman dancing around singing 'You put de lime in da coconut and drink it all up.'"
Abby smiled, despite herself. "That was a wicked sexy scene," she agreed. "I like to watch chick flicks after an ugly case," she said conspiratorially. "But if you ever tell anyone that, I'll have to kill you."
"Your secret is safe with me," Tony replied solemnly. "You could always say you watch it for the witchcraft angle."
"I could," Abby nodded in agreement. "But what's your excuse for liking it?"
"Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock," Tony replied, grinning. "What's not to like? Anyway, it's a good story." He paused, then said quietly, "After the last bad case I had a marathon of animal flicks: Homeward Bound - the first one, The Black Stallion, Babe; only movies with happy endings of course."
"Of course." Abby made a snap decision. "Would you like to join me?"
"Really?" was Tony's pleased response.
"Sure," Abby replied, "we can wash this case out of our brains together."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Tony agreed. "Your place or mine?" He made a face, "Sorry, I didn't mean that like it sounded," he apologized.
"I know," Abby said. "My place. I have weapons if I need them. You can follow me home."
"Ooookay," Tony said doubtfully.
"Sorry about earlier," Abby said earnestly. "My boyfriend just broke up with me – well, not just, it was over a week ago – but he still e-mails and IM's me to explain why he did what he did and I really don't care because it's a really stupid reason. I mean, just because I don't like split pea soup ever since I saw The Exorcist, that doesn't make me a bad person. Who gives split pea soup that big a role in their lives anyway? He's the one who left so why is he still bothering me?" She stopped and took a deep breath.
"And I got caught in the fallout; wrong place, wrong time, wrong gender," Tony said sympathetically.
"Yeah, sorry." Abby looked contrite. "You can't help being a man."
"Gibbs is a man," Tony pointed out.
"Gibbs is wonderful," Abby said forcefully, "the jury's still out on you." She grinned and headed for her car, a big black hearse taking up two parking spots.
Thus began the cleansing ritual that only Tony and Abby shared. It started out as an evening of movies and pizza. After a case involving a series of attacks on female Navy personnel with a boxcutter, they added ice cream sundaes and classic Loony Toon cartoons to the mix. Eventually the evenings of mindless entertainment became all-night video and junk food marathons, with the two ending up asleep on the floor, or curled up together on the sofa with the television blasting.
Present Day"So, what's in the bags?" Tony asked, gathering up the plates and taking them into the kitchen.
"I have a cornucopia of baked goods that's guaranteed to send you into a sugar coma," Abby said. "And if those don't, then the family sized chocolate bars will."
"Excellent," Tony said, returning with fresh glasses for the soda. "I have lined up a very eclectic selection of videos for your viewing pleasure." He picked up a handful of DVDs, displaying each one with his best Vanna White impression.
"We have Please Don't Eat the Daisies, because nobody can resist smiling when Doris Day is on the screen."
"Absolutely," Abby said, nodding emphatically.
"Next, we have Little Shop of Horrors because it's a horror movie and a musical, all in one."
"Multi-faceted." Abby nodded solemnly. "Plus we can sing along."
"There is that," Tony agreed.
"After that, we have Must Love Dogs, because Diane Lane is hot and I know you like John Cusack."
"Ahhh, a chick flick," Abby sighed happily.
"I knew you'd like that, Abs," Tony said, smiling.
"And last, but not least, we have Chicken Little, because I can't get enough of Runt, the karaoke loving pig," Tony said, displaying the DVD with a flourish.
Abby clapped her hands. "And I love that Chicken Little's girlfriend's name is Abby, and she's strong and capable and smart."
"She wears her hair like you do, too," Tony said.
"You mean her feathers," corrected Abby.
"Yes, that's what I meant."
"Pop that DVD in there, mister, and get your butt over here," Abby said, pulling out an assortment of Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, brownies and cinnamon rolls.
The two settled comfortably on the sofa as the beginning strains of Please Don't Eat the Daisies drifted through the room.
"You think we should invite the others to one of our detox sessions?" Abby said suddenly.
Tony turned to her. "I don't know, do you?"
"I kind of like that we have something that's just ours, you know, you and me," Abby said, chewing on her lower lip. "But sometimes I wonder what McGee and Ziva do after a hard case. We know that Gibbs works on his boat."
"Plus he would never sit and watch movies with us, except maybe westerns or war movies," Tony said. "I bet McGee either kills people online or kills them in a book he's writing."
"Nothing seems to affect Ziva," Abby said. "She probably has her own way of winding down, like beating someone up in a martial arts class."
Tony nodded. "I think that it's okay for us to have something that's special, just for us. We can always go out with the others and drag Ducky and Jimmy along with us."
Abby snuggled closer to Tony. "Yeah, we do lots of stuff with the guys. Aw, look at the cute English Sheepdog."
And the ritual continued.