Title: Tighter than Blood
Author: Jo. R (driftingatdusk)
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: Tony/Abby friendship,
Spoilers: Major for Hiatus 1&2, mild for 'Twilight' and 'Bloodbath'.
Length: 1199 words
Summary: Abby and Tony help each other through the aftermath of Gibbs' departure.
*****
She heard the shuffling of footsteps in the hallway outside her door before she heard the muffled curse that preceded the dull thump of someone falling over.
Abby Sciuto stood wearily, wrapping the blanket she'd been clutching further around her shoulders with one hand while the other wiped at the remaining tears that still dampened her cheek. Cautiously, she moved towards the door, her pace quickening when she recognised the voice that swore softly outside her apartment.
Her fingers fumbled with the security chain - one Gibbs had insisted she have installed, one he'd chosen himself - and fought the fresh wave of tears just thinking about the man brought to her eyes. She wouldn't - couldn't - think of him anymore.
Gibbs was gone.
She managed to get the door open after a few more minutes, gaze searching for and finding the crumpled form of Anthony DiNozzo within seconds.
Tony looked up at her, his own eyes suspiciously red and more than a little unfocused. Still, he managed to get one hand to rise, waving at her even as he slumped further to the side.
"Hey, Abs. What you doin' here?"
"I live here." Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Abby studied him for a few moments. She didn't think she could get him to his feet, not on her own, not feeling as tired as she did, so she settled for the next best thing and moved to sit down next to him, back against the wall of her neighbours apartment, pushing him upright just enough to slip her shoulder beneath his drooping head. "You've been drinking."
Tony blinked owlishly. "I have?"
"Yeah."
"Oh."
They lapsed into silence, both staring forward through the open door into Abby's apartment. After a long pause, Tony moved, shifting so he was leaning more against the wall than against Abby. He started hitting his head against the wall, gentle thuds at first that got louder the more he did it.
Abby slid a hand between his head and the wall when she heard the creak of a floorboard from her neighbours apartment. "You'll wake my neighbours, Tony."
"Oops."
She waited for him to say more but he didn't. He leaned his head against her shoulder again, hands tapping out a rhythm only he could follow on his stretched out legs.
"I'm gonna miss him, Tony," she murmured eventually, struggling to get the words passed the lump in her throat. Tears stung her eyes again and one slipped traitorously down her cheek before she could stop it. "Why'd he leave us?"
His hands stopped for a moment and one moved slowly to cover hers where they were clasped in her lap to keep them from trembling. "He'll be back," Tony mumbled, not sure if it was faith in Gibbs or the alcohol he'd consumed that night that made him sound so certain. "He'll miss it too much."
Leaning her head against his, Abby clasped his hand tightly with both of hers and squeezed her eyes shut, willing the moisture in them away.
"I'm gonna be the man," Tony said after another long pause. "I gotta wear his shoes, be the big Kahuna." He slumped against her heavily. "I dunno if I can be the Kahuna, Abs. My feet aren't that big."
A giggle escaped her before she could stop it. "You trying to tell me something, DiNozzo?"
"Huh?" He tried to give her a sidelong glance but couldn't focus well enough.
It only made Abby giggle more, so much so that a snort escaped her before she could clasp her free hand over her mouth. "You know what they say about the size of a man's feet..."
"Do I?" A confused expression passed over his features before awareness flared in his eyes and a light blush stole over his face. "Abs! I'm bein' serious here!"
"First time for everything," Abby teased between giggles. Her sadness momentarily forgotten, she nudged him non-too-gently with her elbow. "So how'd you know his feet are bigger?"
"Abby!"
She dissolved into helpless giggles again and Tony could only sit there, shaking his head, wishing he hadn't downed so many beers but at the same time, relieved to see his friend and forensic scientist still remembered how to laugh in the absence of their boss. He'd been worried about her, he remembered, worried she wouldn't be the same, lovable forensic scientist he'd always known her to be.
Huh.
His forensic scientist.
He straightened and swallowed the lump that rose in his throat. The haze of alcohol that had allowed him to disconnect from the situation rose suddenly and he found himself hit with the sobering realisation that it was real.
That Gibbs was gone and the team - Ziva, Probie and Abby herself - were his now.
His responsibility, his to lead and take care of.
He untangled his hand from hers. Abby turned her head to look at him and met his gaze, the humour fading from hers as he slid an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. His lips brushed her temple and he felt her shudder, knew she was crying before he felt the dampness of her tears through the dishevelled shirt he wore.
"It's gonna be okay, Abby." He tightened his arm around her shoulders, promising himself there and then that he was telling her the truth. "We're gonna stick together, okay?"
"Like family," Abby sniffled, her voice muffled against him. "Tighter than blood." Her words bought back a memory she didn't want and the tears started up again.
After a long while, Tony slid his arm from around her shoulders and got unsteadily to his feet. He swayed a little, using the wall to right himself before offering a hand to her and helping her to her feet. Abby led him into her apartment, her feet dragging as her body protested the move, emotionally and physically exhausted. He made sure to lock the door behind them, securing the chain, before following her into her bedroom, kicking off his shoes as he went.
He watched her climb into her coffin, choosing the familiar security of the dark and enclosed space over the open expanse of her bed and hesitated for only a second before joining her, the alcohol still in his system making his first two attempts at getting into the coffin failures that brought a tired smile to her lips.
"Promise you won't leave me," Abby mumbled after a while, her voice small and childlike in the darkness of the coffin.
He thought about the people she'd loved and lost, the ones he knew about anyway. Kate, Gibbs, even the psychotic ex-boyfriend she'd fallen for...
His lips brushed her cheek in the darkness of the coffin, an action that had once belonged solely to Gibbs but which was now his as well. "I promise, Abs."
The weight of his new responsibility settled firmly on his shoulders and Tony felt her arms tighten around him in a silent gesture of thanks before her body gradually relaxed.
It'd be hard but they'd get through it.
They were family, tighter than blood, and would get through whatever was thrown at them next together.
*****
End.