All the lonely people – A very special Christmas
A./N. This is my very first NCIS fanfiction although I have been addicted for a long time. It's a Tabby-story. A bit fluff but not much. Hope you like it. It's gonna be two or (more likely) three parts. Might be slightly OOC sometimes, but it's not intentional. Happy about feedback and comments.
PART A
The wind was cold enough to bite into Abby's face when she walked over to the lab. There was no reason for her to be here. No fresh murder had occurred and there was almost nothing left to work on although new evidence was always welcome to the three trials that were running at the moment.
She should have stayed at home but she could not stand it. The empty flat, the mini Christmas tree she has decorated with "Nightmare before Christmas" merchandise... The humming of the fridge had been too loud and there had been too much too romantic crap on television.
She had tried to call Gibbs and then tried to call McGee but neither of them had answered their phone. The streets were empty; the bus had been empty too. Everyone was having themselves a merry little Christmas and only Abby was left out. So she had decided to go to the lab because she felt more at home and less needy when she was running a PCR.
She entered the building. There were a couple of guards on duty but they took 4 hour shifts during the season and then returned to their families. Abby heard her steps echo through the hallway and felt lonelier than ever.
When she passed the bullpen, she hesitated. There was light! And she could hear someone typing and humming. There was someone in the office. But who? It couldn't be Gibbs otherwise he'd have answered his phone. It couldn't be McGee either although McGee was the most likely to come back to the squad room during Christmas because he had forgotten something.
Curious, Abby went in and was surprised to find Tony at his desk. He looked terrible. Not obviously terrible of course. He was clean shaven and wore a nice blue shirt and new blue jeans. Bus something in his posture and mimics made her think he was not completely happy.
"Hi Tony", she said.
He gave a start and clasped his hand to his heart.
"What the ... are you doing here, Abbs? It's Christmas!"
She shrugged.
"I could return that same question, Tony."
He sighed and nodded.
"Okay, you're right. Let's not discuss our personal bullshit here. We've never done that have we?"
A grin flashed over his face and Abby smiled back, then pulled McGee's chair over to sit down. She caught a glimpse of the screen.
"You're seriously working on the Palmer-case?"
The Palmer-case had been exactly what she had had in mind when she set off from home.
"The evidence is still quite thin and Gibbs could not get a confession out of him although he took him down to Ducky."
"I know. It's just...", she didn't finish the sentence.
Tony looked at her. Usually he always had that half-mocking glint in his eyes but not now.
"Abbs, my life's a mess. I mean the part of my life that does not involve working here."
She was not sure whether she wanted to hear that.
"Did you ever notice how loud the fridge is, when everything's quiet in your flat?"
She stared at him.
"I know this sounds crazy, but it was horrible. As if someone was hovering the floor next door for hours and hours. I needed to get out of there before I went completely mad."
He put his head in his hands.
"I tried to call Ziva, she didn't pick up the phone. Tried to call Kate next. She actually picked up and was all happy clappy joy joy merry Christmas and all. I didn't want to spoil her day. Then I thought about calling Gibbs but realised he would not be very supportive although even a head slap would be nicer than feeling like a complete idiot."
Abby grinned, took one of the files from his table and slapped him. He looked up meeting her eyes. He seemed so vulnerable, much different from his usual self.
"So this is what you're hiding", she thought. "You're always acting, playing a role and deep down inside the real you is screaming at the top of it's lungs because it is lonely and self conscious and sad."
"I'm sorry Abbs, I didn't want to say this. I am not really myself at the moment."
Abby shook her head
"I think you have never been more yourself than right now and I don't want you to apologize."
She took his hand and waited for some sarcastic remark but he didn't say anything, just squeezed her fingers a bit.
"Well Christmas is a bitch but as we are both here now and don't have anywhere else to be... why don't we have our own little Christmas party?"
She was not sure whether she really meant what she was saying. This was Tony, Tony the womanizer, Tony who was so far from her and her life as anyone could be. If it had been McGee, okay, they spoke the same language. Ducky was weird and he spoke a different language but one she understood. If it had been Gibbs... he even could do sign language.
But Tony... Tony didn't even inhabit the same universe. At least that was what she had always thought until today, until he had started talking about loud fridges, until he had told her he had been alone on Christmas night.
"We could order food and turn the lights on on the Christmas tree in the hallway", she proposed. Tony grinned and picked up his cell phone.
"Chinese or Italian?"
"I am celebrating with you, don Antonio diNozzo. I am a-not a-gonna have a-Chinese of you are here to choose the pizza."
His smile got wider.
"Someone must have sent you here tonight, Abbs, and I am pretty sure it wasn't God. He doesn't do Goth-angels."
Abby grinnes and switched the computer off without asking for permission.
"Perhaps I am the latest invention. You know, evolution and stuff... Adam, Eve, large mess... Gothics!"
They both laughed.
Tony put the phone to his ear.
"DiNozzo here. I need a delivery..."