Disclaimer: NCIS and all of its recognizable characters and scenarios are property of Bellisario Productions and CBS. I am merely borrowing them to play with.
Thanks as always to Gotgoats for all your wonderful beta assistance.
Author's Note: This story is written in honor of HPDorkFreakAZoid's birthday. Happy birthday dude!
The Prompt: "What if Abby and Tony met as kids?"
Delve Into Abby's Labby
By: Headbanger_Rockstar
"Listen to me Tony," Mrs. Forrester said. "If you can pick up some extra academics and keep your GPA above a 3.8 then you will be able to receive this scholarship."
"But I don't understand," Tony whined. "It's supposed to be a football scholarship."
"Yes and it is. However, this particular scholarship board prefers to award students who are well-rounded."
"Well rounded," Tony snorted. "Sounds like I need to join the Glee Club," he snarked.
"Actually, adding an extracurricular art would not be a bad idea," Mrs. Forrester said seriously.
"Oh this is crazy!" Tony exclaimed. He really didn't understand what all the fuss was about anyway. He was only a sophomore, after all. "I'm going to think about this and decide later," he told the guidance counselor. She nodded and he took the paper she offered with notes about the scholarship and which classes she was recommending on it and tucked it in his bag. He thanked her politely for her help and left.
Just as he reached the hall, the bell rang. He was late for class. With a sigh, Tony turned around and marched back into Mrs. Forrester's office. She looked up at him, surprised, and smiled at him. He heaved a giant sigh. "Can I have a note to class, please?"
xxx
That day at lunch, once all of his buddies had gone on to harass the poor students who endured their bullying wrath every day, Tony took out the paper the guidance counselor had given him. He stared morosely at the list of courses he could add. Literature In The 18th Century. Advanced Art History (he would need to take plain old regular Art History first though). Music Appreciation. Physical Chemistry. Chemistry-3 Honors (he'd have to take a boatload of Chemistry before that too). Advanced Precalculus. Calculus and Statistics. Advanced History of Ancient Cultures (Seriously—how advanced did History need to be?). Forensic Chemistry and Pathology…
Tony groaned. None of these classes even sounded remotely interesting, but he knew that in order to receive the scholarship he would have to have to go to college (now that his father had disowned him, he had no other way to pay for school), he'd likely be taking most, if not all, of these boring old classes. He'd also be playing every Varsity sport he could. Except Soccer. Tony hated Soccer. He'd likely be joining some Geek-Society afterschool, too.
Tony rubbed his forehead. Just how badly did he want to go to college?
xxx
Three weeks passed and the sky was a brilliant blue. The leaves were blazing oranges, reds and golds. Autumn had taken full hold of the Northeastern United States. Tony slung his backpack over his shoulder and let out a happy sigh when the last bell of the day rang. It was Friday. Sure he had to work…well most of the weekend, but TODAY! Was FRIDAY! FOOTBALL DAY!
Tony was playing second string on the Varsity Football Team. He had just enough time to go by his locker before catching the bus that would whisk him away to a wonderful all-you-can-eat-buffet before warm ups began at 6:00pm for the game that would start with a kickoff at 7:30.
He entered the main building of the school, heading for his locker in the basement. He didn't understand why the lockers weren't placed in a more…convenient location. He had no classes in the basement of the main building. He had no classes in the main building at all, as a matter of fact. As he entered the bottom floor of the building, he heard a strange sound.
He looked around, confused, trying to find the source of the noise. It sounded like someone was crying. Tony followed his ears, around the history hall's lobby, and into the back stairwell. Tucked into the corner, behind the garbage cans, Tony's eyes landed on a neon pink head of hair, bowed low over drawn up knees. It was a girl—one of the less popular girls, judging by her appearance. But still…crying girls always brought out the hero in Tony.
"Hey," he said softly.
The neon haired girl looked up. Thick and intricate eye makeup was now smudged by the tears she shed, giving her an appearance similar to a raccoon. Her smudged eyes widened when she saw Tony. "Ohhhh," she moaned, wiping desperately at her face. "Ohhhh God."
"Hey take it easy," Tony said. "Um…are you ok? Why are you crying?"
The girl sniffled again and stood up. She wore a t-shirt adorned with a glittery skull and leopard printed leggings. Heavy combat boots completed the girl's outfit. "What do you care?" she asked raggedly. "Heck, you're usually the reason for my tears anyway, you jerk," she sneered, but her voice lacked venom. She sounded tired, and shook her head with disgust.
"I am?" Tony asked.
"You don't even realize you do it," she spat. "But then again, you probably don't even know who I am. This is the closest you've ever gotten to me. And I've changed my hair, so you probably have no idea who you are even talking to."
Recognition dawned on Tony as he looked at the girl's face. He recalled daring his football buddies to play "Whack-A-Nerd" resulting in this girl wearing her cafeteria issued chicken pot pie and grape juice. He recalled another time when he'd chewed up a piece of neon blue chewing gum and tossed it into her seat just before she sat down—on a day when she was wearing black pants. Another time he filled the pocket of her bag where she kept her pens with honey. Oh the list went on and on. He'd been a terrible prankster to her, never intending to really hurt her, but just having good fun. He'd never ever considered before this moment how that treatment would make her feel.
"I'm…I'm sorry," Tony said contritely, ashamed of his actions. "Um…I…did I make you cry this time too?" he wracked his brain, but couldn't think of anything he'd done to make her cry today.
The girl snorted. "Don't flatter yourself," she grumbled.
"I didn't mean it like that," Tony said gently. "Look…I'm sorry I've been so horrible to you."
The girl stared at him like he'd grown another head. "Why?" she asked. "Why now?"
"I…I guess…when you've never met someone it makes it easier to not consider their feelings," Tony said nervously.
"We've never met," the rose-haired girl commented softly.
"Oh," Tony said sheepishly. "Right. Uh. I'm Tony."
The girl looked at his outstretched hand. "Everyone knows you," she said softly. "You're like, a celebrity around here. My name's Abby." She shook his hand.
"Hi Abby," Tony said softly. "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry about…everything."
"It's alright," Abby shrugged, "I guess some of it maybe was funny."
"Not if it made you cry," Tony said. Abby smiled a watery smile. "So why were you crying?"
Abby sniffled. "Nothin," she shrugged.
"Oh," Tony said quietly. "I guess…um…well you have no reason to trust me," he shrugged. "I um…I hope everything's ok…hope whatever has you upset works out," he said with a small smile.
Abby rolled her eyes. "It's so dumb!" she said, exasperated.
"It's obviously got you upset," Tony said. "Can I help?"
"Not unless you can work miracles," Abby muttered. "I met with my guidance counselor this morning. I'm trying to get a scholarship to Louisiana State for when I graduate."
"That's cool," Tony said. "You're like, really smart. You should have no problems."
Abby chuckled sadly. "Yeah," she said. "You'd think. Anyway…the academic stuff isn't that hard, but to get the scholarship that I need, I have to play a sport for at least two years. Which means I need to find one like, now."
Tony raised his eyebrows, the irony of their similar situations not lost on him. "Well…do you play anything?"
Abby snorted. "The closest I come to playing a sport is running to class," she said sadly.
"I could teach you to play something," Tony offered.
Abby looked at him uncertainly. "Really?" she said. "You'd do that?"
Tony smiled. "Sure. Let's figure out what sport you want to play and I'll help you."
"It doesn't have to be a school team," Abby said. "Thank God. I just have to play something. On a team. Until I graduate."
Tony smiled. "Let's go to a gym and we'll figure out something."
"I can't go today," Abby said. "I have work tonight, but…are you sure?"
Tony nodded, a smile tugging at his mouth. "Of course I'm sure," he said. "Heck, it's the least I can do. I've been horrible to you."
"You aren't going to throw all of this back in my face are you?" Abby asked uncertainly, "Not gonna make me the butt of some joke?"
Tony shook his head. "I won't do that. I promise. And I never break a promise."
Abby smiled. "Thanks," she said. "Um…how about two o'clock tomorrow?"
Tony smiled. "It's a date!"
Abby rolled her eyes. "No," she deadpanned. "It is NOT a date."
Tony couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled over. He was relieved when Abby laughed too.
xxx
"Ok, Abby," Tony said, leading the way into the fitness club he belonged to the next day. "What sport do you want to learn to play?"
"Um…" Abby pulled nervously on a pink pigtail. "I don't know?"
"Hmmm…what about softball?" Tony asked.
"Do you think I'd be any good?" she asked.
Tony grabbed a glove and tossed one to her. "One way to find out," he said. Abby fumbled the glove and it hit the floor without her catching it. She grinned sheepishly and picked up the glove. They walked onto one of the courts and Tony held up a softball.
"Rule number one," he said. "This is a softball. You throw it underhanded. Like this." He tossed the ball to her with an underhand throw.
Once Abby retrieved the ball, Tony held up his own glove. "Now you try," he encouraged her. "Remember to throw it underhanded."
Abby wound up and pitched the ball, sending Tony diving for the floor. "Sorry," Abby grimaced.
Tony stood back up. "Now sweat," he said. "Let's try again."
They tossed the ball back and forth for a while, neither of them catching any of the throws, until finally Abby snatched the ball up and held it up menacingly. "Catch!" she retorted.
She pitched the ball underhanded, just as Tony had taught her to. The throw was beautiful—her best yet—but a bit low. Tony tried to duck, tried to leap out of the way, tried desperately to dodge the ball. Unfortunately, Tony caught Abby's throw—right in the groin. With a pained squawk, he grabbed his crotch and crumbled to the floor.
"Oh God," he groaned. "No Little DiNozzos for me," he grunted dramatically. Two tears leaked from Tony's eyes and he had the vague sensation that he might throw up.
Through the fog of pain, Tony thought he heard someone screaming at him. "Tony! Tony are you ok! Ohmygosh Tony I'm SO sorry!" Abby pulled him into a bone crushing hug.
"It's ok Abby," Tony croaked. He was still not sure that he was not going to throw up. "That's enough for today. Next time…oh man…next time we'll try another sport."
xxx
The weeks passed, and with them went several sports. Softball. Basketball. Soccer (Tony hated it even more now than he had). Kickboxing. Tennis. Swimming. Street hockey. Yoga. Weight-lifting. It was terrible—Abby was horrible at all of them! Table tennis, otherwise known at Ping Pong was a complete disaster, and finally, just before Thanksgiving, Tony found Abby sitting outside the fitness center waiting for him. He'd told her to decide what she wanted to try next. She looked up at him, dejected. "It's no use," she said sullenly. This week her hair was aqua colored. "I'll never learn to play a sport. Might as well give it up and go to the community college."
Tony held out his hand to her. "I've got another idea," he said with a charming smile. "C'mon."
To her surprise, he turned and headed for the bus stop. "Um…Tony where are we going?"
Tony smiled. The bus arrived and he hopped onto the bottom step. "Trust me?" he said, extending his hand to her.
Abby smiled and took his hand, letting him pull her onto the bus. Her eyes danced with a mixture of glee and anxiety when they got off the bus near the Bowling Alley. "Tony," she said softly, shame creasing her tone. "I don't have any money," she told him.
"That's ok," Tony said. "I got it covered." She watched in awe as he pulled out a credit card and covered their tab.
"Now," Tony told her as they changed their shoes. "The trick is to get a ball that is the right weight. It should feel comfortable when you hold it, and your arm should be able to move smoothly while you hold it."
They went over to the ball rack and perused the balls there, trying out several. Abby picked out one that weighed twelve pounds and tried it. "Too heavy," she grunted. She set it back on the rack and picked up a ten pound ball. "Much better," she said, relieved. "Ok, how do you play, Fearless Leader?"
"Well this game is all about angles and trajectory," Tony said.
"Like…math?" Abby asked slowly.
Tony smiled. "Exactly."
"I'm listening," Abby smiled, feeling confident for the first time since they began.
Several games later, Abby jumped up and slapped high fives with Tony before crushing him with a hug. "This game is awesome!" she exclaimed. "Oh Tony you finally found me a game that I don't suck at! You're wonderful!"
Tony smiled. He was glad this plan worked. He was out of ideas if this one hadn't worked.
xxx
Abby was surprised at school that Tony was obviously treating her differently. He smiled at her in the halls and waved at her during lunch. He fended the bullies off of her and generally ran defense on her, protecting her from the wrath of the people who'd made her life miserable.
Christmas break came and went and the Spring Semester started. Abby settled into her classes and was happily playing on the community youth bowling league. She was the new star player and everyone was proud of her. She was sure to get her scholarship. For the first time in months, Abby walked the halls of the high school with a smile on her face, actually optimistic about her future, and confident about herself and her abilities.
xxx
Tony sat in Mrs. Forrester's office. Her news was not good. Tony needed to boost his GPA. He needed to pick up some more academics, and he needed to do it quickly. His GPA was currently a 3.4—good, but not good enough for this scholarship. Tony ran a hand over his face. "What am I going to do?" he whispered. "I don't even know how to get my grades up any higher?"
Mrs. Forrester smiled sympathetically. "Well there are lots of other nice schools," she said gently. "And you make good grades—Tony you'll get into a very good school. And you still have a couple of years—there's no rush. Just relax and enjoy your high school experience, Dear," she told him.
Tony swallowed thickly. His father hated him. He had no one to help him pay for school. If he didn't get into college on a full scholarship—or at least on a mostly-paying-for-it-scholarship…well he'd be stuck flipping burgers forever. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Um…thanks," he said quietly.
He got up and left the office without looking back. He headed for the parking lot. There was no reason to stay here anymore. He'd never be anybody. As he climbed the steps he sighed. "Looks like dear old Dad was right," he muttered moodily to himself. "I am going to end up in the gutter after all."
As he walked, he was so angry, that he didn't even see the person sitting at the top of the stairs, legs extended across the sidewalk. He stumbled hard over the person and face planted right on the pavement. He finally skidded to a stop and rolled to his back, staring at the sky for a long moment, his chest heaving as his body screamed in pain.
"Tony? Are you ok?" a familiar voice asked.
Tony closed his eyes. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He didn't want to see anyone. He just wanted to be left along to wallow in his misery. With a sigh, he opened his eyes.
Abby loomed over him.
"Abby," he said softly. "Hey. Sorry I fell over you."
"It's ok Twinkle-toes," she said with a wink. "Are you ok though? You fell really hard!"
Tony sat up and brushed himself off. His jeans had holes in both knees and his elbows were busted, along with his chin. Abby passed him a tissue. "Yeah," he muttered. "I'm fine."
Abby sat down next to him. "You looked so mad. You didn't even hear me when I said hi to you. And then you fell right over me. What's going on?"
Tony wiped at his skinned chin. "It's stupid," he muttered. "I was stupid for even thinking that—"
"Woah, wait," Abby said. "I don't think you're stupid. What happened?"
Tony shrugged listlessly. "I just…I'm screwed," he said softly. "I want…I need to get a full scholarship…I can't go to college without it. But…I have to pick up more academics…and I have to have nearly perfect grades…Jesus Abby…My GPA is a 3.4…I have to have a minimum of a 3.7, but the higher I can get it the better. I don't even know why I thought I could do this," he put his head in his hands. "It's a stupid idea. I'm such an idiot."
To his surprise, Abby whacked him hard on the arm. "Listen to you, ya big baby! Quit your whining! Your situation isn't that bad!"
Tony looked at her like she'd grown another head. "Sure," he said. "It's not like I had any dreams for my future or anything. Of course it's not that bad. And I guess I should just take Mrs. Forrester's advice and 'relax and enjoy high school.' You know there's no need to work hard. No need to try. So I don't think I even need to stay. I'm outta here." He stood up.
"Ohhhh no," Abby grabbed his arm. He stared at her like she was crazy and then looked at his arm that she still held tightly. Glancing back at her pretty face, he noticed that this week her hair was blond. She looked like Marilyn Monroe.
"What do you mean 'oh no'?" Tony asked. "I'm a loser Abby. A dumb jock. It's all anybody thinks I'm capable of being."
"But that's not true!" Abby exclaimed.
"How do you figure?"
"You knew enough math to teach me how to bowl," she told him.
"It's not that hard Abby," Tony said with a roll of his eyes.
"Sure it is! It's actually incredibly difficult. A lot of people would have never been able to even recognize that bowling uses math. And you're forgetting something."
"What am I forgetting?" Tony asked, confused.
"You have a secret weapon."
"A secret weapon." Tony raised an eyebrow, completely lost, wondering what in the world Abby was talking about.
"Absolutely," Abby nodded firmly. She scribbled something on a piece of paper. "Bring your books and come to my house this weekend. I'll help you."
"You'll…Abby I can't ask you to do that," Tony said, splaying his hands out wide.
"You didn't ask me to do that," Abby said sweetly. "I offered. Besides…I can help you now. We'll be even."
Tony thought about it for a long moment. "You'd do that for me?" he asked. "I've been…I was so…"
"Tony you were wonderful to me. We got off to a rocky start, but…but when I really needed a friend you were there for me. You helped me—I'll be able to get the scholarship I need now because of you Tony. Not anyone else. You were the only one who helped me. You were the only one. And I can help you. And I want to."
"Mrs. Forrester said I need to add a bunch of academics to my schedule," Tony admitted. "I am barely holding on now. I don't think I can add anymore academics…especially all those advanced ones."
"Go adjust your schedule, add what you need, and on Saturday come to my house. Bring your books and we will work on whatever you want. Ok?"
Tony smiled. "Thanks Abby."
xxx
On Saturday morning, Tony rang the bell at the small house at the address Abby had written down for him. He was surprised when the lights inside flickered. A moment later, Abby opened the door. "Hey Tony!" she squealed, hugging him.
Tony smiled and returned the hug. It was rare for him to get any kind of affection and he never quite knew what to do with it. "Hey Abs," he said quietly, without thinking about what he called her.
"What'd you call me?" Abby asked softly, pulling back.
Tony swallowed hard. "I'm uh…I'm sorry. I called you Abs. I didn't mean to though, I—"
"Hey calm down Tony!" Abby said. "It's ok! I don't mind it! I just…wasn't expecting it, is all."
"I didn't mean to upset…"
"You didn't upset me Tony," Abby said. She was surprised by Tony's behavior. At school he was so confident, so sure of himself. Here…now…he seemed…nothing like the guy she saw at school. "C'mon in. Are you hungry? My grandma was just making some sandwiches. We can take them downstairs with us."
"Downstairs?" Tony had figured they'd sit in the dining room or maybe in the living room.
Abby smiled. "Yeah, downstairs. That ok? I promise I won't clobber you on our way there?" her grinned turned cheeky.
Tony smiled faintly. At that moment the door to Tony's right burst open, causing the young man to jump and startle slightly. Abby narrowed her eyes slightly at him, wondering why he was so nervous, but didn't say anything.
"Oh! Who are you!" Abby's Grandma exclaimed.
"Grammy this is Tony! I told you he's coming over today to work on homework!"
Grammy stepped right up to Tony. "Don't you be acting inappropriately with my Abigail!" she pointed a crooked finger in Tony's face.
"No ma'am—er, yes ma'am—uh…um…I won't…do anything…inappropriate. Ma'am," he sputtered.
The older woman eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "You leave that door open y'hear?" she said.
"Yes Grammy," Abby said, taking Tony by the hand and dragging him down the stairs with a roll of her eyes. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Abby stopped at a closed door and leaned her back against it. "Are you ready?" she asked.
"To do my homework?" Tony asked.
"No," Abby shook her head and smiled. "Are you ready to delve into Abby's labby?"
"Abby's…labby?" Tony asked.
Abby swung the door open and Tony's eyes widened. "What is this place?" he breathed, awestruck.
"It's my lab," Abby said. Tony looked at her with wide eyes. "Well you can't study as much physics and chemistry as I do without having a place to try experiments and stuff!" Abby retorted.
Tony nodded. He walked carefully into the lab and set his backpack on the floor. On the counter there were Bunsen burners and tongs, and along one wall was a shelf filled with carefully labeled chemicals. He recognized a few of them, but not all of them. She had a book in the corner that contained "Material Safety Data Sheets" according to the cover—and Tony wondered what the hell she did here.
"Let me see your schedule," Abby said, holding out her hand.
Tony blinked away from his reverie and quickly dug into his backpack. He handed Abby the sheet of paper with a mildly ill expression. "If I pass all of these classes it'll be a miracle," he told her.
"Fiddlesticks," Abby said. "We'll get you through them. And I can spend lots of time helping you—I barely study at all."
Tony blinked. "Seriously?"
Abby nodded. "Seriously. I just listen to the teacher and I know it. I don't know how I do it. I just do." She looked back at the schedule. "So it says here that you are taking Honors Chemistry-1, Advanced Precalculus, Literature in the 19th Century, Gym, Weight Training, Art History-1 and…Jesus you're taking Advanced History of Ancient Cultures?!" she looked at him with wide eyes.
Tony rubbed the back of his neck. "Yes?" he said. "I didn't want to. But Mrs. Forrester said that I needed to take all these really hard classes and I have to keep my GPA above a 3.8. Do you think I can do it?"
Abby set the schedule down on the counter and crossed her arms. "That depends," she said evenly. "Do you want to do it?"
"I want to go to college," Tony said.
"You can go to college without all of these classes," Abby told him.
Tony nodded. "Yeah," he said tightly. "Everyone keeps telling me I should give up on this scholarship," he shrugged. "But if I don't get a full ride for something I won't be able to afford to go," he said, his voice growing quieter.
Abby's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Why not? You've got buckets of cash—everyone at school knows you come from money!"
Tony chuckled sadly and shook his head. "My father has money," he said. "My clothes? My shoes? My car? I work a full-time job to pay for it all. I get nothing from him."
Abby's eyes rounded. "I…I didn't know," she said quietly. "I didn't mean anything…"
"I don't want everyone to know," he said. "And it's just assumed that Dear Old Daddy will pay for any school I want to go to. It's not so much the case. So do I want to take all of these classes? No. Am I going to take all of them because I want to go to college? Absolutely."
Abby smiled, inspired by her friend's—when did Tony become her friend?—desire to succeed. She nodded firmly. "Ok then. Let's do it."
xxx
A Few Years Later
"Good afternoon everyone. I'd like to welcome everyone to Louisiana State University's Baccalaureate Graduation Ceremony. Our guest speaker for today is one of our own graduates, a triple major student receiving degrees today in Sociology, Criminology, and Psychology. Please help me welcome Ms. Abigail Sciuto!"
A round of applause greeted the Kelly-green haired young woman as she approached the podium. She waved at a few of her friends and signed "I love you" to her mom and dad who had traveled several hours to see their baby girl graduate from the university.
"Hi everyone!" Abby chirped into the microphone. She wasn't nervous. She'd decided to just be herself, and just…talk to the people. Share her knowledge of life with them. "Let me first say to my fellow graduates—WE MADE IT!" she did a little happy dance around the podium, determined not to let the stuffiness of the occasion get her down.
After she'd finished her happy dance, she returned to the microphone, smiling as the laughter died down. "I wanted to share with you today, the story of someone I met a long time ago. He's played a big role in my life—and he probably doesn't even know it. I haven't seen him or talked to him in over four years, and yet…I still consider him to be one of the best friends I've ever had. You might have heard of him—he was this year's Starting Quarterback at Ohio State University—his name is Tony DiNozzo."
She smiled and pointed appreciatively when several people in the crowd hooted in recognition. "See? He has a fan club everywhere he goes—he's just that kind of guy," she smiled. "But the thing I want to share with you about Tony is a lesson that he taught me. Now—let's be honest with each other—how many of you out there are nerds?" A chuckle rumbled through the entire auditorium and several hands—in the students and in the audience—raised. Abby nodded. "Right! And how much fun is it to be a nerd!" Laughter bubbled louder. "Ok so let me just say that in high school, I was like, the Queen of the Nerds. I even have the t-shirt. To demonstrate, she opened her robe. Sure enough, she was wearing a light blue t-shirt with a glittery crown on it. The t-shirt read "QUEEN OF THE NERDS!"
As the laughter died down again, Abby smiled sadly. "I digress. The lesson that Tony taught me—is that as important as it is to work hard and study hard—it is just as important to play hard and have some fun. You see—Tony and I, we didn't start out as friends. He liked to make my life miserable, and well, I let him. But one day he found me—the day I found out that to get this scholarship that brought me to you—and I had just found out that to get this scholarship I had to play on a team. It was one of the requirements for the scholarship. Now—all you nerds out there—how many of you play sports?" The crowd burst out laughing again. Abby nodded. "Exactly what I thought. I was a nerd! I didn't play sports—the closest I came to playing sports was…" a sad smile crossed her face and the nostalgia hit her hard. "The closest I came to playing sports was running to class. But Tony found me, and he pulled me up, and he promised that he'd teach me how to play. We tried every sport—it's a miracle the guy can walk and if he is able to have children…well that'll be a miracle too—" the crowd chuckled again. "I sucked! I was NOT good at any of the sports we tried. Except for one. Tony found a way to make playing work for me. He found me a game where I could use my smarts and my brain as the muscle for the game. He taught me how to bowl."
Abby's heart swelled with emotion as she thought of her dear friend. She wondered where he was now and how he was doing. She'd read online (because she followed his sports career avidly) that last fall in the last game of the season—the game which all of the professional coaches were attending to make final decisions about their draft choices—Tony was tackled on his blindside by an opposing player. His knee was shredded, effectively ending his sports career. She worried about him a lot, but figured that he was Tony—he was no quitter. Wherever he was, she was sure he landed on his feet.
"Tony," she continued, "taught me the value of getting my nose out of the books. He taught me that, as much life as there is to be discovered by reading and studying, there is a whole world out there just waiting to be experienced." She pointed her finger at the graduates. "So here is my advice to you—my charge, if you will. No matter where you go, no matter who you are or who you become: never stop learning. Don't ever stop trying, and never, ever forget how to experience the life that the world has to offer. And be on the lookout for Tonys in your life who will help you see it when you lose your way. Thank you." She smiled and sat down, proud of herself and grateful for the applause that she—and Tony—were receiving.
xxx
Tony DiNozzo straightened his tie. He was here—at his old high school—as a recruiter for Ohio State University. The scholarship board was very sympathetic to Tony's situation in light of his accident on the football field. In addition to being the star starting quarterback, Tony was also a brilliant student—at the top of his class despite having two majors and two minors in addition to his varsity position. He was majoring in Physical Education and Criminal Justice and his minors were in Forensic Pathology and Chemistry.
The scholarship board realized that he would be graduating summa cum laude with double majors and minors, and realized that at the time of his accident he only had one semester left before he'd graduate. So they spoke with Tony and worked out a deal for him. He could stay at Ohio State and not lose his last semester of college scholarship money, if in exchange he would travel around to different high schools and encourage students to attend—particularly students like himself—well rounded sporty and academically gifted students. Tony realized he had no other options. If he wanted to finish his college degrees he'd have to do what they asked.
Now he stood in front of a microphone looking out over a group of about 100 students. Forcing a smile to his face, Tony took a deep breath. "Good afternoon," he said turning on all of his charm.
The group of students mumbled a greeting and Tony took a step back. "I know you can do better than that!" He exclaimed. "GOOD AFTERNOOONNNN!" The group of students responded with a roaring greeting then and Tony laughed. "That's better!"
He'd done this a dozen times if he'd done it once, and by now he knew he had to make it interesting or else he'd be just another boring guy talking to them about a boring subject that they didn't want to hear about.
"So I'm here today, because Ohio State is a pretty awesome school, and they wanted me to come and tell you about why it's awesome. But I want to give you a hint about college in general: it's as awesome as you make it. If you slack off in high school, and you goof off and get lousy grades—let me tell you right now—you will hate college. You'll have to take low-level classes to catch up on what you should have already learned, and once all your friends graduate, you'll still be there. How many of you play sports?"
A show of hands went up.
"Keep your hands up. Now is there anyone in the Drama club? Acting? Singing? Dancing?"
More hands went up.
"What about academic societies? Latin Club? Literary Club? History Club? Debate Team?"
More hands.
Tony smiled. "Look around you." Nearly all of the hands were raised. "Is there anybody else who is involved in anything I forgot to list off?" The last couple of hands went up. "Look at you," he praised. "You're all winners! How many of you believe that about yourselves?"
If Tony had to guess, he'd say probably 85% of the students' hands went down. They didn't think of themselves as winners. The kids who kept their hands up glanced around at their peers. "Look around you," Tony said softly. "Those students who put their hands down…they need encouraging," he told them. "They need to know that they are good enough, that they can be smart enough, talented enough, and athletic enough to succeed. They need to know that they are your equals."
A hushed murmur rumbled through the group. Tony smiled and put his hands in his pockets. "You know, I remember a time, not too long ago, when I was in your position," he said. He paused for a moment for effect and then continued. "I went to this very high school—" he had to stop when the students began to cheer—"and I sat in this very auditorium. I heard all about how important college was, and how important success was. But I learned something—something maybe from one of the people who would have put her hands down just now. Her name was Abby. And Abby—Abby was the most brilliant person—IS the most brilliant person that I have ever met. I needed a lot of help to get to where I am now. I could not have done it on my own. And Abby—who didn't think she was fast enough, coordinated enough, talented enough or athletic enough—taught me how to be a good student. She had a gift for sharing knowledge…and it was a gift she did not even know that she had until she offered to help me."
He smiled, wondering where she was now and figuring she was hard at work taking the world by storm. "So I'm inviting you to come to Ohio State because you are all awesome students. You are all talented students. All of you can be strong enough, fast enough, articulate enough, wise enough, talented enough, and good enough students to be a part of our community there. I would also invite you to have a good time while you're in high school. Live a little, play some games, have some fun—but do your homework, find a study buddy, and be good students too. You'll be glad you did. And break out of your comfort zones. Find yourselves an Abby to be friends with. Someone who will encourage you on your lowest day when all you want to do is give up. Someone who can give you a new perspective on everything you thought you knew. And that, my friends, can be the greatest education you will receive anywhere."
The students cheered as Tony moved back to seat. He glanced at Mrs. Forrester, sitting across the stage from him, and offered her two thumbs up and a wink. To his surprise, Mrs. Forrester returned the two thumbs up and the wink.
Maybe things would work out alright after all.
xxx
A Few More Years Later
The elevator dinged and Abby raced off the elevator. She'd gotten to work early today because she heard Gibbs had hired a new probie. Abby loved probies and harassing them was one of her joys in life. She deflated a bit when she looked around and didn't see anyone new.
"Relax Abs," Gibbs said with a smile. He knew what she was up to. He did not know that every time he called her 'Abs' it reminded her of someone from a long time ago. "He's down in HR. I'll send him to meet you when he gets up here."
"Do you promise?" Abby asked, folding her hands and looking imploringly at her silver fox.
Gibbs nodded. "I promise. I'll send him down to meet you while I go get more coffee."
Abby squealed in delight and jumped up and down. She raced forward and kissed Gibbs on the cheek and then trotted off to the elevator. She arrived in her lab a few moments later and set about waking up her babies. She turned on Major Mass Spec and booted up her computers and cranked her music up loud. She was dancing around, making sure she had enough copies of all of her forms and files and stuff—you didn't dare run out in the middle of a case—and she didn't even notice when the new guy showed up until he turned her music down.
"Hey what's the big idea!" Abby swung around.
"Sorry," the well-dressed, clean cut man before her said, his hands up apologetically. "I didn't think you heard me call out to you over the music."
"Who are you anyway?" Abby retorted.
"I'm Gibbs' new agent," the new guy said. "My name is Anthony—"
"Welcome!" Abby said, racing forward and hugging him tightly. He returned the embrace, but seemed a bit stiff to Abby. It was almost as if he didn't know what to do with the affection. Interesting. And familiar. Only not. She hooked a hand lightly around his wrist and turned, waving at her lab with one sweeping arm. "Come!" she exclaimed. "Delve into Abby's Labby!"
The man she was dragging behind her froze suddenly. She stopped and looked at him. Hinky.
"Abs?" he whispered. "Abby Sciuto?"
Recognition dawned like morning light on Abby's face and her eyes widened. "Tony? TONY DINOZZO!" At his nod she squealed and leaped into his arms, wrapping her arms and legs around him like an octopus, embracing him tightly. "Oh my gosh how are you! Are you alive?! Obviously you're alive, what am I saying? Oh I am so excited to see you! I saw where you busted your knee up Senior year, but after that I never heard where you went or what you did or—oh it's so good to see you!" She hugged him again. "I missed you!"
Only when her excited tirade stopped did he smile and flick a pigtail with one hand. "Your hair color is different again," he said. "I like it. But I almost didn't recognize you."
"I didn't recognize you!" Abby said. "And do you believe that the Navy has rules about hair color? I mean seriously of all the silly things in the world—hair color is like the most harmless thing ever! Guess we need rules about it!"
Tony couldn't help himself. He threw back his head and laughed. This was too good to be true. It was wonderful enough that Gibbs had hand-picked him out of Baltimore (thank God) and brought him here to work, but…Abby!
"You know Abby," Tony said softly. "I don't know if I ever told you or not, but…well you're the reason I got through all that stuff back then," he said.
Tony was not just talking about the hard classes and Abby knew it. She smiled. "I feel the same way Tonyboy," she hugged him. "But I knew the first time you came to my lab that you loved me."
"Yeah?" Tony said. "That a fact?"
"It's totally a fact. And just think. Now we can work together! We don't ever have to go through stuff like that alone again. We can do it together."
Tony hugged Abby again, feeling like all of his Christmases had come true. Abby really truly was his very best friend. "That we can, Lady of the Night," he said and smiled when she whacked him on the butt. "That we can."
The End