Anthony DiNozzo was a rough person when he started working for NCIS. Under the team leader, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, he worked his way up to the rank he was at now, Senior Field Agent. He'd had some girlfriends along the way - being an agent, he wasn't allowed to date his co-workers. Yeah, he broke some rules - including that one!
Abby Scuito, NCIS' forensic scientist, was always jumpy and hyper on Caf-Pow and listened to metal music. She had liked Tony ever since she first met him, and so they had hidden the love they had away from Gibbs. They did stuff together when they had the chance. "Hey Tony, can you turn on the radio?" They were driving to Tony's place for dinner.
Tony turned the radio on and a country song came on. It was a new Justin Moore song, called 'Til My Last Day.' Tony started singing the song without Abby noticing, and he started to like the song. When they got to Tony's apartment, Tony parked and got out, walking around to the passenger door and opening it for Abby. She got out and they walked upstairs to Tony's apartment.
Abby looked at Tony. "Tony, you were singing in the car. You sing great!" she smiled.
Tony blushed bright red. "Thanks Abbs. I guess I like the song. It fits us, I think." When they got to the door of his apartment, he unlocked it and opened the door for Abby. "Ladies first," he smiled.
Abby kissed his cheek and walked into the apartment. She looked around and saw a guitar and a cowboy hat. "You play guitar?" Abby looked at Tony with a smile on her face that lit up her eyes.
"I do, here and there. I stopped playing it when I lost my mom." He sighed, a tear in his eye. Abby went to him and wrap her arms around his waist.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Tone." She wiped the tears from his eyes and put her head against his chest, comforting him.
"Thanks Abbs. Maybe I can start playing it again soon." He gave her his trademark smile, looking down at her. Wrapping his strong arms around Abby, he was glad that he was with her. They spent the night watching TV and cuddling like couples do when they are at home. While they were watching a movie, Tony had that song in his head. He couldn't stop smiling, thinking about Abby, how he loved her and how he would risk anything to keep her in his life. Hell, he'd risk his life for her! He would risk anything to keep Abby in his life, even if he gets Gibbs-slapped by Gibbs. But he always went down to Abby's lab for lunch instead for having lunch with the team - he loved having lunch with his girlfriend. And when Abby had the radio on, that same song would come on and both of them would start to sing.
Every Friday Abby went bowling with the nuns to wind down from the hard week. And Tony, what does he do on a Friday night, you might ask. Well, he goes out for drinks with with Tim McGee, Donald Mallard, Jimmy Palmer, and of course their faithful team leader, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, to have a laugh and actually laugh like friends do. Once, Tony got drunk, though not that badly. He called Abby as he slowly walked out of the bar. "Come on Abby-bear, please pick up" he muttered, standing against the wall of the bar as Abby picked up her phone with a cheery "this is Abby!" He smiled when he heard her voice. "Hey Abby. Um, can you pick me up from the bar? I got a little drunk with the guys and I don't wanna drive home drunk. Can you? " She could only shake her head and smile on the other end of the phone at Tony's plea for her to drive him home. "P-pllllllllllllleaase Abby? So we can hang out and kiss and cuddle..." He was cut off by Abby.
"Fine, fine, I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I'm dropping the nuns off right now, okay? Just wait, Tony, please?" She could hear the smile in his voice on the other end of the line. "Thank you so much, Abbs! I totally owe you one when we get home!" She laughed. "Okay Tony. You owe me, big time!" Abby dropped the nuns home and drove to the bar. Tony walked to the car and got in, kissing her cheek. He noticed a CD in the car - it was a Justin Moore CD. He picked it up and looked at the tracks on it.
"Hey! Our song is on this CD!" he smiled, waving the CD case in the air. He put it in and searched though the songs to get to "their" song.
A couple of years earlier, Tony got a mystery letter that turned out to have the plague in it. It made Tony sick, really sick. It had made everyone, especially Abby, terrified of losing Tony. When Gibbs went to visit him, Tony could barely breathe. Tony thought it was his last breath, but he couldn't die... not now! Kate walked out and hugged Ducky, crying, "he's dying Ducky! We cant lose him! Abby will be devastated if she sees Tony like this! We can't lose him!" She kept crying and Ducky comforted her while Abby was on her way to the hospital. As Ducky hugged Kate, Gibbs walked past them.
"The Hell he's gonna die on my watch. Not today!" Gibbs walked into the room and over to Tony. He whispered, "Tony, can you hear me?" Gibbs stood beside Tony's bedside as Tony coughed a couple times, weak, and his lungs were hurting.
"I'm listening boss." He looks at Gibbs, sweat pouring down his face.
"You. Will. Not. Die. You do not have my permission to die, you hear me, DiNozzo?"
Tony was slowly closing his eyes. "I'll try boss..." He felt a pat on his head like a Gibbs-slap, but softer. He opened his eyes. "Hey... I'm dying bo-"
Gibbs cut him off. "Tony. I said, you're not going to die. Alright?" Gibbs gave Tony his cell phone. Tony opened it and texted Abby saying, "Abby, I need you. Please."
Abby was just entering the hospital when she got the text from Tony. She ran to the airbox and put her hand on the glass, watching Tony struggle to breathe. "Tony! You can't die, you just can't!" She started sing their song, hoping Tony would sing with her. "Til my last day, til my last breath, of everyone that can, I can love you the best. Til my last day, I'll be lovin' you." She smiled and wiped the tears she'd shed singing the song with Tony. She put one hand on the glass and the other over her heart, smiling, then signed to Tony saying, 'I love you, Mr. Muscle Machine." He smiled and signed back to her, 'I love you too, Goddess of the Dark.'
Tony had known he needed to survive the plague, and he did. After a few months, Tony got his strength back. He got a tattoo on his forearm with the date that he and Abby had started dating, but he had another surprise for her, too. Later that night, he was practicing the song so he wouldn't mess up in front of Abby. He had a cowboy hat and boots to look just a little more like Justin Moore. He finally got the song right on the guitar, but he'd have to keep his sleeve down so Abby wouldn't notice the tattoo.
Abby drove to Tony's house, smiling over Tony surviving the plague, even though his lungs wouldn't be the same after what he been though. She got to the Tony's and walked up to the apartment. "Tony? Its Abby!" She smiled and waited for Tony to open the door.
"Shit, shit! Hold on Abbs!" He ran to his bedroom, put the guitar on the stand and took his cowboy hat and boots off. He wanted to make this perfect for Abby. Tony walked to the front door and opened it. "Hey, sorry it took so long. Come in!" He grinned as he watched Abby walking into the living room. He closed the door and kissed Abby, hugging her. "I missed you, Abby."
She looked up at Tony and said, "I missed you too, Tony. It wasn't the same at work without you."
They spent some time talking, and then it was time to show her the surprise. "Abby, I have a surprise for you, but you need to close your eyes first alright?" He beamed at Abby.
"Tony! What are you gonna do?"
He stood up and walked to his bedroom, putting on the cowboy hat and boots, and grabbed his guitar. He smiled, thinking about his mom giving him this very guitar. He put the guitar strap over his shoulder and began to walk back down the hall. "Abbs, are your eyes closed?" he called happily.
Abby sighed and covered her eyes. "Yes, Tony! What's the surprise?"
He started playing their song as he walked into the living room, then began singing it. Abby had tears rolling down her cheeks as she opened her eyes and watched Tony. She was shocked to see Tony wearing cowboy hat and boots. "Oh my God!" But she kept watching him through her tears.
Tony was happy - wait, he was more than happy. He'd survived the plague. He has his girlfriend by his side. And of course his "family" too - they were more a family than a team, that's for sure. When he'd finished the song, he pulled up his sleeve, showing the tattoo. "And this is your other surprise." His smile grew as he showed Abby the tattoo he'd gotten after getting out of the hospital.
"Oh God! Tony! You got a tattoo!" Abby just about screamed. "Wait a minute ...that's the date of our first date together." Her eyes sparkled dreamily.
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to forget that day as long I live, Abby." Tony played a little more of the song and put the guitar down. When he opened his strong arms for Abby, she jumped up and ran to him, melting into his arms. "Thank you so much for being there for me, Abby," he said in a husky voice. "You never left my side during what happened and I wanted to surprise you, do this for you." Tony touched her soft cheek, wiping away a tear. "You've been my rock though this. I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I had that song in my head the whole time I was in the hospital recovering."
Abby's smile shone as more tears fell down her cheek. "I love you so much, Tony DiNozzo. Almost as much I love Caf-Pow!" She giggled at the thought.
"And I love you too, Abby. To the moon and back, and all around the world."
And that night was perfect for the both of them as they slept together holding each other.