Chapter 4
The office was quiet, too quiet for Gibbs' liking. Tony was still in the hospital and Abby and McGee hadn't come in yet, so it was just him and Ziva in the bullpen. Gibbs stifled a yawn as he fired up his computer. It had been a long hard night, he had been up for most of it working on the boat and worrying about Abby. He had nearly sanded a whole in the thing as he drank and blamed himself for her amnesia. Ziva was watching him from across the bullpen.
"It's not your fault," she told him, practically reading his mind, " You found them in time at least. Minutes later and Abby would have been dead. As for Tony…" she let the comment hang in the air.
"They're my people," Gibbs told her angrily, "My responsibility."
"Bu-" Ziva began to argue, put was silenced with a look that clearly said that the conversation was over. At that moment Abby and McGee walked in. Gibbs didn't meet Abby's eyes, his guilt still riling him, and instead he turned to McGee.
"You. Sit," he ordered and McGee complied, "I need you to finish the paperwork I left you yesterday. Ziva," he turned to t
the liaison officer, "Take Abby down to her lab, you've got half an hour." Ziva nodded and gestured for Abby to follow her to the elevator.
"Why won't he look at me?" Asked Abby once the elevator doors closed behind them.
"Guilt," Ziva told her, "He feels that your amnesia is his fault."
"But how could it be?" she asked. Ziva sighed and began to explain.
"Almost a week ago," she said smoothly, "You and Tony didn't show up for work. You do remember Tony right?" Abby nodded, remembering the young, fairly attractive man, whom she had visited in the hospital.
"That day," Ziva continued, "Gibbs got a call saying that you had been abducted, were going to be killed, and that there was nothing we could do about it. Then he tortured you, and Tony too. We heard the whole thing over the phone. McGee traced the call and we found you, just as the man, Jennings, was about to kill you." Abby absentmindedly put a hand up to her shoulder where she had been stabbed.
"Gibbs thinks that if he had only gotten there sooner, than you'd remember us." Their conversation had carried them out of the elevator and finally into Abby's lab.
"Cool," said Abby approvingly, looking around the lab, "What's that?" She pointed to a complex looking machine.
"You don't remember?" asked Ziva, surprised. She had thought that Abby would still know about all of her stuff. She shook her head.
"It's a … well … a … I have no idea," she finally admitted shrugging, "McGee could tell you…probably, but I'm not much help." Abby laughed at her truthfulness and Ziva gave a forced smile. She hated being laughed at, but there was nothing she could do. Even the old Abby laughed at her.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Ziva's been told to take Abby to her lab, show her around, etc. In the process she explains what happened to Abby.
Chapter End Notes:
This chapter's kinda short so I'm just gonna put the rest of the story up.