**Chapter Nine -- Since U Been Gone**
**September 25, 2010 -- New Orleans, Louisiana**
Tony parked the rental car on the street in front of the large white house, sighing heavily. Glancing over at the black roses that were laying on the passenger seat, he frowned, wondering if he was doing the right thing. It wasn't the first time the thought had gone through his mind, hell, it was the reason he had never gotten on the plane before.
After his flight landed the night before, he had considered driving over to Bradley's house and standing up for what he wanted. He had gotten as far as driving past the house before he lost his nerve, turning around and heading back to his hotel. He had raided the mini-bar, breaking his nearly 2 month hiatus from hard liquor by drinking himself to sleep.
He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, picking up the flowers and exiting the car. Abby's hearse was parked in the driveway, but he didn't see any other cars around, leading him to wonder if they were even at home. Making his way up to the front door, he knocked, shifting from one foot to the other as he waited for the door to open.
"Uncle Tony!" Jack greeted, opening the door and practically knocking the older man down with a hug.
"Hey big guy. See you inherited your Auntie's penchant for hugging like a linebacker." He joked, chuckling nervously as the boy stepped back. "Is, uh...is she here?"
Jack beamed. "Yeah, she's laying down in the living room. The baby makes her pretty tired during the day. She says she likes just resting while she watches TV."
Tony felt his chest tighten as Jack let him inside, realizing that it wasn't just a dream. He had allowed his best friend and lover to leave for three months, pregnant with his child, without even so much as a half-assed attempt at getting her back. He felt dirty just thinking about it, knowing that she had been having to deal with this on her own because his pride had been too bruised to fix it sooner.
"How's she been doing?" He asked, stepping into the house and toeing off his shoes next to the door.
"Good. She misses you. Told me that you guys have been real busy at work and that's why she came down here. Something about too much stress for the baby, and she can't work with the chemicals in her lab anyway." Jack explained, closing the door behind his surrogate uncle.
It was clear that the twelve year old didn't know what was really going on. Abby had told him a story so that he didn't come to resent the only uncle he had ever known, someone he had looked up to for most of his young life as a hero of sorts. The thought made him smile to himself, thinking that even as his girl was dealing with her own problems, she still managed to think about how certain things would affect others.
Jack led the older man to the living room and smiled. "I just checked on her a minute ago and she was almost asleep. We could play some video games, if you want. Mama and Dad are out shopping, and you won't tell, right?" He asked, his bright green eyes looking up at him hopefully.
"Maybe later, buddy. Hey, could you grab me one of your Mama's vases and put some water in it?" He asked, peeking into the large room and seeing Abby sleeping peacefully on the couch.
"Sure!" He said, running off to the kitchen to do as he was asked.
Swallowing the uncomfortable lump in his throat, Tony stepped into the living room, his hands trembling nervously. He crossed the room quickly and dropped to his knees beside the couch, allowing his eyes to slide down her body slowly. He couldn't believe he was actually here, with her.
Reaching out, he tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear, freezing when she shifted under his touch.
"Mm, told you we'd play video games later, Jackie." She moaned, stretching lazily on the couch. Forcing her sleepy eyes open, she stifled a yawn as she glanced up at him, blinking rapidly as she tried to clear her vision. "T...Tony?"
"Hey." He smiled weakly, resting back on his heels.
Abby pushed herself up to a sitting position and looked down at him, confused. "Wh...what are you doing here?"
"I...I came to see you." He said, offering the flowers to her. "I'm really sorry, Abby. And I understand, if that counts for anything. I really do."
She could feel the tears stinging behind her eyes as she focused on anything but him, attempting in vain to will the tears away. She didn't want to be weak in front of him. Not now.
"Abs, baby, don't cry." He pleaded, placing a gentle hand against her cheek. His chest was aching as he watched her turn into his touch, her tears escaping and sliding down to her chin. "I'm here."
"B...but you shouldn't be." She managed, her voice thick with tears. "Work. W...what about work?"
"I'm on leave." He swiped at her tears with the pads of his thumbs, tucking her long black hair behind her ears. "I missed you."
"I missed you too." She said, meeting his hazel eyes for the first time.
"Here you go, Uncle Tony." Jack said, walking into the living room carrying a vase with water in it. "Auntie Abby? Are you okay?" He asked, setting the glass container down on the table and sitting next to her.
"I'm fine, Jackie. Why don't you go upstairs and finish your homework so your Mama doesn't kill me when she gets back, hmm?" She said, blinking quickly to clear the tears from her eyes. She watched as the boy made his way up the stairs obediently before turning back to Tony. "You shouldn't be here."
"You don't want me here?" He asked, moving to sit next to her after putting the roses in the vase.
"I don't want you here because you feel like you have to be."
Tony looked her over, frowning when she refused to make eye contact with him. He sighed, leaning back against the couch. "Why didn't you tell me about the baby, Abby? A...am I really that terrible, that you thought you couldn't tell me?"
"I..." She hesitated, her hands starting to sign out of habit when she realized he couldn't understand her. "I was afraid. You...always said you didn't want kids, and I had no idea how you would react."
"So you decided to leave?" There was no anger in his voice, only raw pain. She could feel the tears sliding down her face as she pushed herself off the couch slowly, swiping at her wet cheeks.
"You should go." She managed, her voice cracking. "Please, Tony."
"Please...don't walk away from me again, Abby." He pleaded as he stood, reaching for her.
The front door opened as Bradley and Britty stepped inside, both carrying heavy bags of groceries. "Abby, we're..." Bradley started, dropping his bags near the door when he heard his sister sniffling in the living room. "Abs? Is everything okay?" He asked, rounding the corner.
He froze in the doorway when he saw her, hair loose around her shoulders and her green eyes puffy from crying with Tony standing next to her. They were talking in hushed tones, and while he wasn't a good lip reader, he didn't need to know what they were saying to understand that Abby was trying to pull away from the grip the Italian had on her arm.
Bradley growled and before Britty could intervene he was on the younger man, punching him squarely in the jaw.
"Fuck!" Tony cried, releasing his light hold on Abby's arm and turning back toward her brother, reacting by throwing a punch before he even realized what he was doing.
The blow landed firmly on his nose, making him stumble back, nearly falling over. Tony took advantage, knocking the older man to the ground before climbing over him and landing another punch on his jaw. Bradley hooked his leg behind the brunette's, flipping them over before putting his knee into his stomach.
"Bradley! Stop it!" Britty cried, signing to Abby to stay back as she tried to pull the large men off each other.
"Uncle Tony!"
All movement in the room stopped as they all looked to the top of the stairs, seeing the twelve year old watching the scene play out with wide eyes. The men separated and Britty motioned to her son to come downstairs, signing to him that it was just a misunderstanding.
Jack stood close to his mother when he reached the base of the stairs, looking fearfully at Tony, not having known he was capable of hurting someone like that. Abby rushed over to Bradley and pulled his hand away from his nose, cursing softly when she realized that it was broken.
Tony stood off to the side of the room, watching as both the women glared at him as if he started World War 3. He watched as his girl signed something to her brother, her long fingers moving quickly before she stood up and turned to Britty.
"I'm gonna take B to the hospital, I think his nose is broken." She said quietly as the redhead shooed her child back upstairs. Turning to Tony, Abby approached him calmly before reaching her hand up and slapping his face, leaving her hand stinging. "How dare you! You come here and all you can manage to do is fight with my brother?"
"I...He hit me first!" He defended, his eyes darkening out of anger. "You know what, you always take everyone else's side. Even if they were at fault. You never back me up."
They started shouting at each other, neither argument completely audible as they were both trying to out yell the other. Bradley stood up carefully and pulled Abby away from her lover, leading her out to the car without another word.
The Italian attempted to follow, only to be stopped by Britty, standing in front of him with her arms crossed.
"He really did throw the first punch." He said miserably, looking down at his feet. "I wasn't hurting her, he blew it out of proportion."
"Yeah, I saw that, but it's not what I'm concerned about." She scowled at him, pointing toward the stairs. "That boy doesn't even know you very well, Tony, but he loves you all the same. Wants to be just like his Uncle Tony when he grows up, and now he's seen you beating up his father. What do you think that does to a kid like him?"
Tony looked her square in the eye, a painful memory coming to the surface. "Yeah, I do. Ever wondered why I'm so fucked up, Britty? You ever asked Abby what she knows about my past?"
"I know you didn't exactly have a stellar childhood, but Abby never told me specifics." She explained, reaching up and touching the bruise on his jaw gently. "Bradley's got a bit of a temper. Been trying for years to get him to control it."
He flinched and pulled away from her, making his way toward the door. "I knew this was a mistake. I shouldn't have come."
"Tony, stop."
"Just...tell Abby I'm sorry. I won't bother her anymore."
The redhead jumped in front of him and poked a finger into his chest. "You stop. You really think I'm just gonna let you walk away?"
He sighed, attempting to move past her again only to be blocked. "Britty...please save the pep talk, okay? We're over. We've been over for 3 months. Hell, I'm not sure we should have been a 'we' in the first place."
She reached up and connected her hand with the back of his head, albeit not as hard as Gibbs hit him, but enough to get his attention.
"What?!" He roared, finally losing the temper he had been trying so hard to hold onto. "You know, I am so sick of being the fucking bad guy in this!"
Britty stepped back, watching as he started pacing the hallway slowly, a proud grin on her face.
"I'm the one that took all the flak for her leaving. I'm the one they expect to fix this, when she's the one who left me! She broke me! Not the other way around!"
"You done?"
Tony sighed heavily, plopping down in the armchair next to the door. "Yeah."
"Good. Now that you have that out of your system, what's the plan for getting her back?"
"Who said I had a plan?"
"Tony, who do you think you're foolin'? Why are you here if not to get her back?"
He looked up at the younger woman, trying to hide his emotions. "I just came to apologize. And now I'm leaving."
"No you're not."
"Britty..." He growled, standing up. "Don't try to stop me."
"You haven't seen her, Tony. She's been a wreck without you."
"Maybe." He shrugged. "But its like I said, she left me behind. I..." He hesitated before sighing again, slipping his shoes back on. "I gotta go."
"Fine. Go." The redhead said, waving him off. "But, you know, you're the one doing the leaving this time, and there's no turning back. You go now, without her here, no amount of smooth talking is gonna be able to fix it. You ready to throw it away?"
Tony didn't respond, instead simply walking out the door and heading back to his rental car.
"Well, this trip was a waste." He muttered, putting the car into gear and heading back to his hotel.
**1900 Hours -- Tony's Hotel Room**
Stepping out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, he sighed as he looked around his hotel room. It wasn't a 5-star, but it wasn't exactly some hole-in-the-wall either, and it was far enough from the downtown bars to make it a hassle to go drink.
He opened his suitcase on the dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before sinking onto the bed, he turned on the TV and flipped through the channels absently, hoping to stumble upon something that would put him to sleep. He groaned when he found nothing, turning off the TV and pushing himself off the bed, headed toward the mini-bar.
Tony entered the code and knelt down, examining the selection of tiny liquor bottles in front of him when he suddenly closed the small refrigerator door. He couldn't bring himself to drink, despite the horrible day he had.
Releasing a sigh, he stood up and began to pace back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. He'd fucked up...again. Stalking over to the bed, he sank down on the mattress. He could fix this...he had to fix this. There was no way he could go back to DC without his girl and pretend that the last 11 years never happened.
His mind made up, he pushed himself to his feet, grabbing his jacket before he bolted for the door.
**Bradley's House**
Tony climbed out of the car and jogged up to the front door, anxious to talk to Abby. He knocked and stood patiently, waiting for someone to answer the door.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Bradley asked as he pulled the door open.
"I came to see Abby. I...I'm really sorry about what happened earlier, Bradley."
"Yeah. She doesn't wanna see you. So you should probably go." He was attempting to restrain his anger, moving to close the door when the Italian stopped it with his hand.
"You didn't even talk to her. Please just ask her. I just wanna apologize."
The sandy-haired man frowned, narrowing his eyes at the younger man. "She. Doesn't. Wanna. See. You." He enunciated, moving to close the door again. He hadn't spoken to her, and as soon as they got back from the hospital Abby had gone upstairs and locked herself in her bedroom, not allowing anyone inside except her nephew.
"Well, I'm not leavin'. So, if she changes her mind, I'll be here."
Groaning, Bradley slammed the door shut, retreating into the house as Tony took a seat on the porch swing.
"Who's at the door, hon?" Britty asked, draining the pasta she had cooked.
"Just some salesman." He said, pulling a beer out of the refrigerator.
She turned and looked at him, her hand on her hip. "I can't believe you sometimes, Bradley Sciuto."
"What?" He asked incredulously, sitting at the dining room table.
"You really think you can lie to me?"
"Not lying."
She nodded. "Sure. So, if I go to the door right now, Tony's not gonna be sitting on the porch?"
He took a sip of his beer, choosing not to answer her question. She walked by him a moment later, headed for the door when he grabbed her arm. "Do not go talk to him, B."
"Why not?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
"Because I told you not to. And you're gonna listen because you're my wife."
Leaning down, she whispered in his ear while pulling her wrist out of his grasp. "I never was good at following orders." She turned back to the kitchen and started fixing plates for dinner, glaring at her husband over her shoulder. "Go tell your son to wash up and get your sister down here. Dinner's ready."
Britty waited until her husband walked upstairs before she made an extra plate for the Italian currently sitting on their porch. Bradley and Jack returned a moment later, sitting at the dining room table while she served them.
"Where's Abby?"
"Sleeping." Bradley answered. "I didn't wanna wake her."
"Ah." She leaned down and kissed him before picking up two plates and heading to the door.
"Where are you going?" He asked, watching her leave.
"Taking Tony a plate." She said simply.
"Britty..." He growled. "I told you not to talk to him."
"And I told you I wasn't good at following orders." She smirked, walking out onto the porch and closing the door behind her.
Tony looked up when he heard the door close, surprised to see Britty standing there. "Thought Bradley was coming back to kick my ass again." He said quietly.
"Yeah well, he's not very happy with me right now either." She said, offering him a plate. "Hungry?"
The Italian smiled at her, taking the plate and scooting over so she could sit next to him. "Thanks. How's Abby doing?"
"She's sleeping right now." She said, taking a bite of her pasta. "She was still fuming earlier though. If the Sciuto's have anything its a pair of hot tempers."
Tony chuckled. "Yeah, I figured." He took a bite, using the opportunity to gather his thoughts. "I am sorry for what happened earlier."
"I'm not the one you have to apologize to, Tony. You know that."
He nodded and they fell into an awkward silence, eating their dinners and enjoying the warm evening. He jumped slightly, startled when the redhead patted his leg, smiling at him.
"You know, its not completely your fault that Abby was afraid of how you'd react to a baby."
"Yeah." He scoffed, finishing his meal. "The fact that I had a subpar childhood and a crappy dad had nothing to do with it."
"I didn't say that, Tony. I said it wasn't only that."
He dropped his gaze to the empty plate in his lap, his face turned down in a frown.
"I'm gonna to tell you something and I expect you to keep this bit of information to yourself. You will not repeat this to anyone. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes ma'am." He responded with a roll of his eyes.
Narrowing her eyes at him momentarily, she shifted on the swing, wrapping her hand around the chain. "Before Bradley and I got married, we had a pregnancy scare."
"Didn't you guys get married right after you graduated high school?"
"Uh huh. Talk about horrible timing." She said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"What happened?"
"Luckily, it was a false alarm."
"I don't understand exactly what this has to do with me and Abby."
"You've seen that Bradley doesn't exactly have his temper under control. Well, it was worse when we were younger. That scare almost ruined our relationship. He flipped out and wouldn't talk to me for weeks."
"You've gotta kidding me."
She shook her head, closing her eyes briefly at the memory. "We tried to keep it from Abby. She was my best friend and his sister and we didn't want her put in the middle of it. But you know as well as I do that it's nearly impossible to keep her out of the loop on anything."
"She found out?"
"Oh yeah. I don't know if she ever looked at Bradley the same way after all of that happened. Their relationship was strained for awhile."
Tony looked down at his hands, taking in the story. "I did tell her I didn't want kids. I...that was a long time ago though. I didn't think I was ever gonna settle down. After Abby and I..." He took a deep breath and released it, turning to face the redhead. "Things are different now. I...I see myself being with her for a long time. Her and our baby. If she'll have me back."
Britty smiled, placing her hand on his knee. "You know, Tony...you should tell her that." She paused for a second, thinking to herself before nodding her head and standing up. "She's been working at the shop a few days a week, just to keep herself busy. You should go see her tomorrow. Bradley's staying home with Jack, so he won't be there."
"T...thanks." He said, standing up with her. Putting his hand into his pocket, he pulled out the cross she had left behind for him at her apartment and held it out to Britty. "Could you give this to her for me? I...tell her I'm sorry?"
She reached out and examined the cross, grinning at the older man before closing his hand around it. "You give it to her. It'll mean more, trust me."
Chapter End Notes:
"Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson