**Chapter Two -- Someone Like You**
**June 15, 2010 -- Abby's Lab**
Stepping off the elevator in the lab, Tony couldn't help the slight frown tugged at the corners of his mouth as he watched his girl move around the large lab slowly, shutting down the various machines as she went, her heavy soled boots clunking loudly against the floor.
It had been a long day in an even longer week and he could tell that the long hours were taking their toll on her body, as not even the copious amounts of Caf-Pow! they'd been supplying her with had been enough to keep her from dragging. Leaning against the door frame, he studied her for a moment, noting the way that even her pigtails seemed less perky than usual.
Pushing off the wall, he made his way over to her, wrapping his arms around her thin waist as he pulled her back to his chest. She jumped, startled by the pair of strong arms that gripped her waist, though she relaxed after a second.
"You shouldn't sneak up on people," she scolded gently as she settled back into his embrace.
"But it's so much fun to make you jump," he teased, dropping a kiss to her shoulder.
She smiled and turned herself around in his arms, resting her cheek against his chest. "You coming home tonight?"
He sighed, wishing he could tell her yes. "I can't, baby. You know how Gibbs gets about this stuff. No sleep until the job is done."
"Yeah, I know."
The cell phone attached to his belt started vibrating a second later, making them both groan.
"Well, there goes my plans for sneaking you out of here in my purse." Abby joked, looking up at him as he pulled the phone off his hip.
"DiNozzo." He answered, listening to the caller speak as he rubbed the Goth's back gently. "Uh huh. I'm on my way up, Ziva."
"Got a lead?"
"Yup." He ducked his head and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I gotta go."
"Okay." She frowned. "I'll see you when I see you, I guess."
"Get some rest, hon. Enough for both of us." He smirked, stepping into the elevator.
"I'll try. Be careful."
She watched as the elevator doors closed, frowning when he was gone. She finished turning off her machines and picked up her purse, turning the lights off before taking the elevator down to the parking garage.
**Bullpen**
"Where were you, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, watching the younger man as he pulled the gun from his desk drawer.
"Just telling Abby goodnight. Wanted to let her know I'd be here late."
The older man nodded. "Local LEOs called in the BOLO on Jennings. Let's go, Ziva's getting the car."
He strapped his gun to his belt and grabbed his cap, pulling it on as he followed Gibbs to the elevator. When the two men got downstairs, Gibbs took over the driver's seat while Tony climbed into the back. Ziva moved toward the passenger seat, choosing at the last minute to join Tony in the back of the sedan.
"How is Abby doing?" She asked quietly, clicking her seatbelt.
Tony eyed her curiously. "She's fine. Just tired, she's been working long days all week."
"She does not seem to be taking the long hours as well as she usually does. Is she still sick?" She asked,
"She's not sick anymore, but when she was it really took it out of her. She's still playing catch up."
The Israeli simply nodded, noting the concerned tone in his voice. He was worried about the Goth, and she had a feeling he was questioning whether or not she was really just sick.
"DiNozzo..." Gibbs barked as he skidded to a stop in front of the bar. "Go in. Get eyes on the suspect. Do NOT engage until I give you the all clear."
"Got it boss." Tony nodded as he threw the car door open, stepping out into the warm June night. Straightening his shirt, he made his way into the bar. Dressed in jeans and a button up, he blended in fairly well, walking up to the bartender and ordering a water. He caught sight of their suspect a moment later, sitting at a booth near the back of the bar.
Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Gibbs' number and waited for him to answer.
"I got him, he's in a booth in back corner, near the emergency exit."
"Don't spook him, we can't get around the back like we thought, the alley's blocked off. Looking for another way around." Gibbs said, hanging up the phone.
He sat at the bar, his shoulders slumped casually as he sipped his water. Though his back was to the door, he could see Jennings from the corner of his eye and he didn't miss the way the man fidgeted slightly at the sound of the door being pushed open.
Turning slightly on the stool, Tony clenched his jaw in irritation as he spotted the pretty Rookie cop that he recognized from Baltimore. Something about the petite blonde had rubbed him wrong from the moment he'd identified himself to her at the crime scene. The very crime scene that she'd nearly contaminated. That alone had not sat well with him, and he'd made both Gibbs and Vance aware of his distrust of the young woman.
Despite the fact that she'd been declared off limits by his director, Tony couldn't ignore the way his gut twisted uncomfortable as she scanned the bar, worrying her lower lip nervously.
He watched her carefully as she walked up to the bar and ordered a drink, taking a seat just a few stools down from him. She checked her watch, she was clearly waiting for someone, but he took the opportunity to talk to her and get some of his questions answered.
"Officer Miller, surprised to see you here." Tony smiled, sliding onto the stool next to her. "You come to DC often?"
"Oh, Agent...DiNozzo. No, I'm just meeting a friend." She explained, thanking the bartender when he brought her drink.
He noticed how she scanned the bar nervously, as if looking for her missing companion. "It's Tony. They running late?"
"Annabelle." She smiled, taking a sip of her drink. "He should be here any minute."
"Oh, too bad." He grinned, leaning closer to her. "I'd be more than willing to keep you company if he doesn't show up."
"Thanks, but you don't have to." She said, watching as his glass was refilled with water. "On duty tonight, huh?"
"Nah. This is my...usual hangout."
"Ah." Annabelle nodded, glancing toward the door again. "Not a big drinker, I see."
Tony looked down at his glass before looking up at the young woman again. "Watching my figure."
She looked him over, her full lips curving into a smirk that he didn't like. "Yeah, I can tell."
He frowned, his dislike of her growing with each passing second. "So..." He said, his voice sharper than he'd intended. "Who's the lucky guy?"
She didn't answer at first, eyeing him suspiciously. "Doesn't matter. He's obviously not coming."
"Or maybe...he's already here."
"You...what?"
Tony's eyes flickered involuntarily toward the booth that Jennings was occupying. The young woman followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing angrily when she recognized Jennings.
"You sonofabitch! Off duty, huh? You got somethin' you want to say to me, Agent DiNozzo, then say it!" She snapped. "I told you after your snide little accusations at the scene that I had nothing to hide!"
The sound of her shrill voice carried and it was all he could do to keep from slapping her as Jennings jumped up, bolting.
"Fuck!" He cursed, following the suspect as he ran toward the back door of the bar. "NCIS! Freeze!"
Jennings shoved the emergency exit open, pulling the weapon from his waistband before he turned, opening fire as Tony spilled out into the alley behind him. The Senior Agent cursed loudly, feeling his ankle twist beneath him as he attempted to duck out of the way. His Sig fell from his hand as he hit the ground hard, the cement tearing at his palms as he attempted to break his fall.
He reached for his weapon as Jennings neared the blocked end of the alley.
"Federal Agent! Stop and lower your weapon!" Tony ordered.
The frantic man paid his warning no mind as he fired again, his shots going wild as he searched for an escape route. A strangled cry escaped from Tony's throat as a bullet grazed his upper arm, tearing the flesh before it lodged in the wall behind him.
Tony's fingers closed around the end of the gun before he pulled the trigger, managing three shots before the man pulled himself over the ledge of the building via the fire escape. A second later, Gibbs and Ziva burst through the emergency exit of a neighboring building, their weapons drawn as they scanned the alleyway quickly.
"He's gone. Took off up the fire escape." Tony groaned, holding his arm where the bullet grazed him.
"Damnit, DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted, walking over to the younger man and pulling him up by his good arm.
The dark-haired man shrugged away from the assistance, slumping against the nearby brick wall when he realized he couldn't hold his weight on his ankle. "Shit." He cursed under his breath, bending his knee slightly.
"Are you alright, Tony?" Ziva questioned, slipping her gun back into its holster and looking over her partner carefully.
He gritted his teeth, just as mad at himself for losing the suspect as Gibbs seemed to be. "I'm fine." He ground out, continuing to hold his arm as the bleeding stopped.
Gibbs walked over and pulled the younger man's arm over his shoulders, hoisting him off the hurt ankle. "C'mon." He motioned for Ziva to follow him as he pulled Tony back through the bar and down the street to the sedan, putting him into the passenger seat and closing the door. "What the hell happened, DiNozzo? You shoulda called us in for backup."
"It happened too fast, Boss. The rookie from Baltimore was there." He groaned as the car went over a bump, jarring his ankle. "Said she was waiting for someone. Seemed like too much of a coincidence, so I called her on it. She yelled, said my name, Jennings bolted. I didn't have time to call it in."
The silver-haired man only grunted in response, pulling up outside of the emergency room just a few blocks away from the bar.
"Boss, I'm fine. I don't need to go to the hospital." Tony whined as Gibbs climbed out and came around to his side of the car.
"You're not getting a choice." He said firmly, pulling the younger man out of the car and helping him into the emergency room.
**0330 Hours -- NCIS Headquarters**
"Upstairs, DiNozzo. The Director wants to talk to us." Gibbs said, leading his Senior Agent up the stairs to the Director's office. "Ziva, check on the BOLO again then go home. Tell McGee to go too. Be back here at 07."
"Nah, Boss. I'm good with staying down here." Tony slurred, allowing the older man to lead him despite his brain telling him to lay down and go to sleep.
He rolled his eyes as they entered the large office, sitting the Italian in one of the chairs at the conference table.
"Agent DiNozzo."
"That's me." He said, trying to focus his eyes on the man sitting at the other end of the table.
Vance looked over at Gibbs, who simply shrugged his shoulders. "You know why you're here?"
"Well, I'm guessing its for somethin' big, 'cause if it wasn't, Gibbs would've dealt with it himself."
"You disobeyed a direct order, DiNozzo. I told you to leave Officer Miller alone."
Tony nodded before raising a finger and touching his nose. "That...yeah. That wasn't really my fault."
The older man raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't your fault?"
"Nope."
He turned to Gibbs and glared at him. "What the hell is wrong with your Agent?" He growled. "Get him under control!"
The silver-haired agent smirked. "Tony and painkillers don't exactly get along, Leon."
Vance turned back to face the younger man, trying to maintain his professionalism. "We can't just go aroung accusing people based on a 'feeling' or 'gut instinct'."
"It works for him." Tony said, looking at Gibbs. "And I learned from the best."
Gibbs smirked, watching how the director rolled his eyes.
"She graduated at the top of her academy class, on the fast track to being promoted to Homicide."
Tony scoffed. "She's only getting a promotion because she's got a nice rack."
"The Baltimore PD's hiring and promoting practices aren't any of our business. What *is* my concern is the fact that you managed to make a mockery of this agency by accusing their Golden Girl of murder when all she's guilty of is fraternization with her superior." He closed Tony's file and stood up from the table. "I'm placing you on a week-long suspension with desk duty to follow until your ankle is healed."
Tony's jaw dropped as he looked between his boss and the Director, stunned. "C'mon! Gibbs, you're not really gonna let him do that, are you?"
"Can't have you in the field with a fractured ankle, DiNozzo." Gibbs noted, standing up and patting the Agent's shoulder.
"But Boss! What am I gonna do?" He pouted. "You know I don't handle being a desk jockey well!"
He shot the young man a warning look and turned toward the door, taking a sip of his coffee.
Tony sighed heavily and stood, following behind Gibbs closely. "On your six, Boss." He stepped behind his desk when they got downstairs, pulling one of the files off the stack on his desk.
"Go home, DiNozzo."
The Italian looked up, cocking an eyebrow at his boss as he tried to focus on him. "Nah, I need to finish this first. I still got the rest of today."
He started working on the files, getting about halfway through the pile before he fell asleep on his desk. Gibbs allowed the younger man to sleep, having known he wasn't going to last long with the medication he had been given at the hospital.
**0630 Hours -- Abby's Lab**
She slipped into the dark lab, her hands shaking slightly as she she made her way into the office to deposit her belongings. Dropping her jacket onto the back of her chair, she shoved her purse into the bottom desk drawer before she headed back out to the main lab, ignoring the uncomfortable twinge in the pit of her stomach.
She hadn't slept well the night before, the results from the home pregnancy test she'd taken after work weighing heavily on her mind. She walked over to her supply closet and picked up a syringe, pulling on a pair of gloves and sitting on the floor in the small room to draw some blood.
After a few tries, she finally got enough to run a test with, disposing of the gloves and the syringe in her biohazard trash can.
"It's not that hard when I'm drawing someone else's blood." She muttered, putting on a bandage. She prepped the blood and started the test, pacing across the lab signing to herself in a vain attempt to remain calm.
"Abs?"
She spun around, tensing when she saw Tony standing in the doorway, his ankle wrapped in a brace. "I'm fine." He grunted, reading the question on her face before she spoke it. Walking over to his girl, he placed a hand on her shoulder, cocking an eyebrow when she flinched away from him. "What's goin' on?"
"I'm...stressed. That's all."
"You're stressed? Try getting shot at and fracturing your ankle within 5 minutes of each other, then getting suspended for a week plus desk duty."
Abby's eyes widened as she looked up at him, watching as he limped into the room. "When did this happen?"
The Italian sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned against the wall. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine."
"You always say that." She muttered.
"What was that?" He snapped, taking a step toward her.
They both started talking over one another in rapid-fire, their individual stress levels finally reaching their breaking points. It wasn't the first time they had argued like this, and it only seemed to be getting increasingly commonplace the longer they were together.
"You're not listening to me!" They shouted simultaneously, staring at each other in shocked silence when they heard a chuckle from the doorway.
"A lover's quarrel, yes?" Ziva smirked, walking into the lab. "Sounds like you both need to relax for a moment."
"Thanks for the counseling, Zee, but I think we've got it." Tony spat, turning back to Abby as they continued to stare each other down.
The beeping of her computer made them all turn to look. "You gonna check it?" He asked, his shoulders tensing slightly as he saw the tears that were forming in the raven-haired woman's eyes.
She made her way over to the computer and brought up the results, taking in a sharp breath when she saw the 'positive' flashing on the screen.
"What's that for?"
She quickly blinked and cleared the screen before turning back to him. "It's nothing. Just something for another case."
Tony walked up behind her and whispered in her ear, low enough so that Ziva couldn't hear them. "Bring it back up." She pressed a few keys and walked away, letting him stand there and analyze the screen. "Pregnancy test?" He asked. "Who's case?"
The throbbing pain in his ankle prevented him from noticing the terrified look that Abby had on her face as she turned to Ziva, or the twitch in her leg that accompanied her desire to run from the room.
"It is mine." The Israeli spoke up, giving Abby a look that asked her to relax. "I...I asked Abby to keep the test quiet until she told me the results, but I suppose that since you have already seen them, you are bound to find out eventually."
The older man whipped around, looking at his partner. "Wow...you're pregnant?" He questioned, looking between the two women. "Um...congratulations. I mean, if it's somethin' you're happy about."
Ziva nodded. "It is not the best of times, but you must make do with what you are given." The not-so-subtle message was meant for Abby, and noting the way that the Scientist swiped at the stray tear that fell down her cheek, she knew that she understood it.
Tony nodded, smiling at his ex-lover. "Congrats, Zee." He stepped over to her and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek before turning back to Abby. "I'm gonna crash on the futon."
The Goth nodded, avoiding eye contact with her lover as he brushed past her, their bitter argument still fresh in both of their minds.
Ziva watched as her injured partner made his way into Abby's office slowly, his limp less pronounced than earlier thanks to the medicine he'd been given at the hospital. She watched as he dropped down onto the futon, struggling to find a comfortable position before he settled in, closing his eyes against the early morning light.
"Maybe this isn't gonna work between us." Abby frowned, reclaiming her seat in front of the computer screen still blinking rapidly with the positive pregnancy test result. "I mean, we've had fights before, but we've fought more in the last 6 months than in the last 11 years! Maybe...we should go back to being just friends."
"Abby!" The shorter woman scolded, moving to stand in front of her friend. "You know that Tony would be crushed if he even THOUGHT you were saying things like that."
She closed her eyes, fighting the tears that were welling up in them. "I'm not so sure."
"No one said relationships were easy. You both love each other and...if you think about it, being friends for so long provides you with an advantage. You already know everything about each other. Everything WILL work out, Abby." Ziva sighed softly. "You just need to talk to him."
"I...I can't, Ziva." Glancing over her shoulder, she bit down hard on her lower lip. "He...he's not going to take it well."
"You cannot possibly know that."
"But I do. Tony has a temper, Zee. He isn't...he won't like this."
"He loves you, Abby. And it is obvious to EVERYONE, even if you cannot always see it."
"Yeah... But sometimes loving someone isn't enough."
Chapter End Notes:
"Someone Like You" by Boys Like Girls