**Chapter Six -- Breathe**
**June 21, 2010 -- Abby's Apartment**
Tony pulled up outside of the small red brick apartment building and parked his car on the street, hesitating slightly before turning off the engine. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the bouquet of black roses he had bought on his way over and stepped out of the car, heading up the stairs to her apartment.
He knocked on the door and waited, deciding after five minutes to let himself in with the spare key. Dropping his keys into the dish next to the door, he frowned, seeing that all the lights were off.
"Abby?"
He stepped further into the apartment and flipped on the lights. His heart felt like it was sinking to the floor as he looked around, seeing that all of her belongings were gone, the worn out couch and dining room table being the only things remaining.
Making his way down the hallway, he stepped into the bedroom and sighed, seeing the queen sized bed stripped down to the mattress, the heavy blackout curtains no longer hanging over the windows. He sat on the edge of the bed, dropping his head into his hands when he noticed a shimmer out of the corner of his eye. Looking down, he saw the diamond cross necklace he had given her for Christmas lying on the bedside table.
He threw the bouquet he held in his hand against the wall, littering the floor with black petals. Picking the necklace up, he closed his hand around it, knowing what she had intended by leaving it there. It was over, and she wasn't coming back.
"Fuck." He cursed quietly, flopping back against the bare mattress.
The Italian laid there for hours, clutching the cross in his hand as he went over his entire relationship with Abby in his head. Everything from the day they met to the day she walked out of his apartment. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, watching the sun move across the room as the day progressed, until it disappeared and the glow of the rising moon took over.
He heard the distinct footsteps echoing through the quiet apartment and he sighed, not bothering to reach for his weapon. He knew who it was that had come looking for him. The visitor stood at the door to the bedroom silently, watching Tony as he laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
He chuckled quietly, not bothering to look toward the door. "You remember that girl I told you about? The one that squeaked?"
"Yeah. It was Abby."
"You knew?" Tony asked curiously, his thumb brushing the cross he held in his hand.
"I did date her for almost a year. I know you like making fun of me because you think I don't have sex, but we did." McGee said shortly, stepping further into the room and turning on the small lamp that sat on top of the abandoned dresser. "So, she's really gone."
"Yep."
The younger man leaned against the dresser, nodding as he looked around the dim room. "You know..."
"I cheated on her. Some smokin' blonde hit on me at the bar on Friday and I left with her." Tony blurted, his eyes closing out of shame.
"You're a dumbass."
Tony turned his head to the side, glaring at him. "Thanks for that, McObvious. Like I didn't feel shitty enough."
"Well! You fucked up, Tony, and you know it. Is that why she left?"
"Among other things." He sighed, dropping his head back against the mattress again. "We did nothing but fight after we got serious."
"Yeah, well, maybe that's your problem. You're thinking you two *just* got serious." The younger man said, sitting on the dresser. "You guys have always been serious."
Tony looked back at him again. "We've both been with other people, Probie. Hell, like you said, she was with you for nearly a year."
"But even when she was with me she was with you. You guys have always been it for each other, you just haven't acknowledged it." The Junior Agent released a quiet sigh and shook his head. "I don't believe it." He said after a moment.
"Believe what?"
"You've done a lot of really messed up things since I've met you...but I don't believe you'd cheat on her."
Tony scoffed, turning the cross over in his hands. "Well, she didn't bother to think twice. I didn't even get a chance to explain."
"She likes to pick fights sometimes. You were always her favorite target, you know."
He chuckled. "Yeah, she always could get a rise outta me."
"You ever think that maybe you guys were trying too hard? It shoulda been easy for you two." McGee shrugged. "You fancy yourself a commitment-phobe, but you weren't ever afraid of being with her. You always went back to Abby."
Tony lowered his gaze to the floor, tightening his grip on the necklace he held in his hand. "It wasn't enough, Tim." He said quietly. "We thought it would be, but in the end..."
"Who says this has to be the end?"
"Look around you!" He growled as he pushed himself to his feet, his throat tight as he gestured to the empty space around him. "She's gone! Looks pretty finalized to me!"
"Go after her, Tony! Don't give up on this just because that's the easy route! You're really just gonna let her leave without trying to get her back?"
"Of course I want her back! Of course I wanna work it out with her, she's pregnant with our child!"
McGee's jaw dropped. "What?" He whispered, looking Tony in the eye.
"Yeah, McGee. I'd say it's over. She's pregnant and she left anyway, even when she had every reason to stay."
"You know what you want. *I* know Abby well enough to know that it's what she wants, too. She may not be showing it, but you know as well as I do deep down that her leaving is a defense mechanism. She's pregnant, scared, and let's face it, Tony. You're not exactly the easiest person to talk to about family matters."
"She knows she can talk to me about anything. But she didn't come to me with this." He whispered lowly, opening his hand up and looking at the necklace, giving McGee a look at it for the first time.
"Stop being such a fucking wuss, Tony." The younger man blurted, knowing it would probably piss his partner off, which ultimately, was kinda what he wanted. "She left that here for you because she knew you'd find it. Ball's in your court. Give her a reason to come back."
Tony looked up at him and stormed out of the room, the anger of being told what to do by McGee nearly making his blood boil. He knew that the junior agent was right though, he had to give her a reason to come back.
**June 22, 2010 -- 0200 Hours**
Pulling up in front of the large white house, Abby threw the car into park, a quiet sob escaping her as she turned off the engine.
She hadn't planned on coming here. She had no plans when she left her apartment other than getting as far away from Tony as possible. She figured this would be one of the first places he'd look for her, but she didn't care. The owner would protect her, not allowing Tony to see her if that was what she wanted.
Climbing out of the car, she made her way up to the front door hesitantly, almost turning and heading back for the car. It was 0200, and the last thing she wanted to do was wake anyone up. Her analytical mind won out in the end, telling her that she'd be in worse trouble if
he found out she had slept in her car instead of coming inside.
Reaching the front door, she rang the doorbell once, knowing the owner wouldn't be able to hear a knock from his bedroom. She leaned against the brickwork right next to the door and waited patiently, fidgeting with her overnight bag. The door swung open a moment later, flooding the front porch with light from the entry hall.
"Abby? What are you doing here? We didn't know you were coming."
"I..." She hesitated, looking up at her brother with tears in her eyes. "I didn't know I was either."
Britty jumped out from behind her husband and wrapped her friend in a tight hug. "Come in, hon."
"Its 2 am, Abby." Bradley said tiredly, pulling the door closed and following the two women into the kitchen. "What's going on?"
"Tony and I broke up." She blurted, looking away from him.
"Oh, sweetie..." Britty soothed, sitting her sister-in-law down at the dining table. "I'm so sorry."
"What did the moron do this time?" Bradley asked, leaning against the counter.
"Bradley!" The redhead hissed, glaring at her husband.
"What? Its a valid question."
"I'll be right back, Abs." Britty said, smiling sweetly before turning to her husband. "Can we have a word?" She said, walking out of the kitchen, missing the eye roll he gave.
The couple went into the living room and stood across from each other silently for a moment before Britty spoke up. "That's your baby sister in there with her heart broken. She drove all the way here because she needed her big brother. Now is not the time to beat up on her by reminding her that she may or may not have made a bad decision with Tony."
"Yes, Master." Bradley chided, stepping forward and kissing his wife on the forehead.
Britty reached around and smacked his ass once. "I prefer to be called Mistress. Now, go apologize to your sister. I'll make some tea."
He watched as his wife made her way out of the living room before he shook his head, running a tired hand over his face. Despite the fact that he was sure her relationship with that overgrown juvenile would have gotten to this point eventually, he hated the fact that he'd been right.
He'd been praying that Tony would have proved him wrong but he turned out to be as big a disappointment as he originally feared.
Unfortunately, he had to let it go because as much as he hated to admit it, his wife was right. Abby needed her big brother and he knew he couldn't provide the comfort he knew she needed unless he pushed those feelings aside.
Making his way back into the dining room, he ignored the ache in his chest as he watched his little sister, hunched over at the table. Her shoulders were shaking silently as she cried, her hair tangled and dirty around her shoulders. It killed him to see her like this.
Releasing a quiet sigh, he made his way over to her, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her from behind. "I'm sorry, Abs."
Abby nodded, not trusting her voice. She leaned back against her brother, letting his embrace comfort her. She looked up when Britty re-entered the room, setting 3 cups of chamomile tea on the table.
"Drink this, hon. It'll help you get some rest. You look beat."
"Thanks." Abby mumbled, taking the tea her friend offered and sipping it. "I...I can go to a hotel, if it's too much trouble. I didn't mean to just show up here and bother..."
"Don't you even think about it!" Britty exclaimed, slapping Abby's arm gently. "You're staying here, right Bradley?"
"Of course, Abby-cadabby. You're always welcome, you know that. We'll make up the spare bedroom."
The redhead smiled brightly and headed upstairs to put clean sheets on the spare bed. Abby took another sip of her tea and set it down, avoiding eye contact with her brother.
"What happened, Abs?" He asked, taking the seat next to her. "You didn't drive 1500 miles just because of a break-up."
Abby stood up and moved to walk away when Bradley reached out and took her hand in his. She flinched and pulled her hand away, picking up her overnight bag and heading up the stairs to the spare room. The sandy-haired man continued to sit in the chair, stunned, as he watched his sister walk upstairs.
His wife rejoined him a few minutes later, after she had helped Abby get to bed. "What did she say?"
"Nothing." He said simply, picking up their cups of tea and heading to the sink. "I asked her what happened and she got up without saying anything. I tried to stop her, took her hand...she pulled away from me. Like she was scared."
"You don't think Tony hurt her, do you?"
Bradley shrugged. "I don't get that vibe from him, but..." He sighed. "I can't process this all tonight, B. C'mon, let's get back to bed. I'll talk to her in the morning."
**0800 Hours -- Bradley's House**
Abby groaned as the curtains in the guest bedroom were pulled open, squinting at the morning light as it filtered into the room.
"Morning sleepy." Britty said, sitting on the edge of the bed with a tray of food. "Bradley made you some pancakes. He said they were your favorite."
The Goth rolled over, facing away from her friend. Britty frowned, setting the tray of food on the dresser. "I put some clean towels in the bathroom for you, if you want." She said, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I...guess I'll come back later."
"Close the curtains?" Abby asked quietly, closing her eyes against the harsh sunlight as she burrowed deeper into the sheets.
"Sure, hon." She agreed, pulling the heavy red curtains closed, darkening the room. "Want a light on instead?"
"No."
Britty could hear the pain in her friend's voice, knowing that she was having a lot of conflicting emotions. "Okay." She whispered, leaving the room and silently closing the door behind her.
The door opened again later that night and Bradley walked in, standing in the doorway for a minute observing his sister before he shut the door. He had waited patiently all day for Abby to come downstairs and talk to him, to let him know what was bothering her like she used to when they were younger, but it never happened. Except for the short shower she had taken earlier, he could only assume she hadn't left her bed all day.
He stepped over to the bed and laid down on it, wrapping his arm around her thin body and pulling her back against his chest. She struggled for a moment, but he held firm, letting her know that he wasn't leaving. He could feel her body trembling against him as he held her, the quiet sobs making his chest ache.
They didn't speak for awhile, she cried while he held her silently, not wanting to force her to speak. He simply wanted her to know that he was there for her if she wanted to talk, and the reassurance of having him in the bed with her only made the tears come faster.
"I...I loved him. Always. Since I met him, I always thought he was it for me."
Bradley didn't say anything, instead he pressed a kiss to the back of her head as he reached up and ran a hand through her hair.
Abby sobbed, turning over in her brother's arms and burying her face in his chest. "I waited for him! I...I was always there when he was hurting...always. When he needed a friend, after every girl that left him...after Ziva left..."
"Shh..."
"I fucked it up. I pushed him away, when all he was trying to do was make me happy." She wiped her eyes and sniffled. "I...I didn't think it would hurt so much."
The older man didn't say anything else, continuing to hold the raven-haired woman close to him as she sobbed. She fell back asleep just over an hour later and he climbed out of the bed slowly, not wanting to disturb her sleep. Exiting the room silently, he crossed the hall into the master bedroom and sat on the bed next to his wife.
Britty put her book down and looked at her husband curiously. "Did she say anything?"
He dropped his head into his hands. After the few hours he had spent holding his sister as she cried, he wasn't feeling so sure about some of the things he had said about Tony. "She said she loved him. I think she still does. Says she pushed him away, but not what the reason was."
"She'll probably always love him, B. Think about it, how many other guys has she fallen for the way she fell for Tony? I know she went through her rebellious stage, bringing home a different guy 3 nights a week, but you said it after he left to go back to Philadelphia...that part of her life was over when she met him."
"Then why'd she push him away? If she loved him so much, why let him go?"
The redhead chuckled lightly. "Things change, Bradley. Not always in the way we want them to. I think...she finally realized that and it's hurting her."
Bradley pushed himself off the bed, running a hand through his hair as he worried about his sister. He pulled his t-shirt off and climbed into the bed next to his wife, tossing her book down on the table and pulling her close to him. "Mmm..." He said, nuzzling her neck as she relaxed against him. "You think he'll come for her?"
Britty smiled to herself, turning over in her husband's arms and relaxing her cheek against his chest. "I really hope so. I think she's too far gone to go back on her own."
Chapter End Notes:
"Breathe" by Taylor Swift