No Regrets
Author: Lawral
Rating: FR13
Summary: Ziva helps Abby realize she must face her fears.
Warning: Season 9 spoilers!
Note: It's the middle of the month. There are two weeks until WEE is due and my original story was proving to be quite long. Due to unexpected circumstances (I'm sure most of you are aware), Greta has been vying for attention from my real life. She's been losing that attention. Since I didn't want Gallatea to, also, be waiting for Greta to win some attention- I used another prompt to write this story based off another of her prompts. I do plan on finishing my original story so please be on the look out for it as well.

She knew that something was going on with her friend. Abby Scuito had gone from jumping for joy at the thought of giving a complete stranger one of her body parts to desperately trying to act like her usual self. There was one big problem for Abby; Ziva knew that something was on the scientist's mind, something she wasn't voicing and it was thoroughly distracting her. Normally Abby was very easy to read depending on the volume of her music in the lab. When she'd found out that there was another possible match, and she subsequently allowed him to donate, her music had been off for nearly two days as if she was mourning the loss of someone she loved. As the week progressed, her music went from nothing to what some would call loud but it wasn't Abby loud.

"Maybe there was another complaint," McGee said and shook off Ziva's concern.

It wasn't sufficient enough for Ziva and had continued to silently investigate the troubles of her friend and colleague. Of course, the real case they'd been working had gotten in the way so her investigation had been delayed a few days.

The first time she'd followed Abby hadn't been planned. She'd gone to talk, perhaps to lightly shake the desired information from the recently troubled woman. Pulling up across the street from a pet shop had changed her mind. Instead, she sat in her car and simply watched as Abby approached the window and looked inside. Her gut was still telling her something was off but this was Abby, and the puppy in her arms was absolutely adorable; Abby was most likely just looking for a pet.

The second time, she followed Abby right back to the same pet shop. The same man greeted her and seemed to be attempting to talk her into a puppy as he motioned to another display of adorable little puppies, Yorkies. Ziva had watched for nearly a half hour before Abby tore herself from the puppy kisses. Then she noticed something in her friend's green eyes. There was conflict… A LOT of conflict.

For two weeks, Ziva followed Abby to the same pet store every day after work. The man always smiled when Abby walked in. The two would talk, play with a puppy or a litter of kittens and then Abby would leave with that same hesitation.

Ziva started to wonder if she was watching some love-sickness she'd never before seen coming from Abby. There always seemed to be a war going on between Abby's heart and brain… and it appeared that the brain was winning. The situation was perplexing; Ziva had never known Abby to be so shy when it came to damn near anything.

One Friday, Ziva entered the shop after watching Abby drive away. The guy was laughing as a small grey bird bounced around his shoulders and took crackers from the corner of his mouth. Even as he rushed around the counter to greet Ziva the bird held on for dear life, not even giving an inkling that it was about to fly off back to its cage.

"This guy," He said approaching Ziva. "This little guy was made for you."

"Oh really?" Ziva smiled as he held out the bird to her.

She raised her hand to pet the soft feathers only to have the tiny animal jump onto her hand and start climbing up her sleeve and settling under her hair, just behind her left ear. It nibbled softly at her earlobe before chewing on chunks of her hair.

"See? He likes you already." The man grinned. "Much like dogs and cats, birds are also very loyal. Now while they will go to any willing individual, preening is left for only the most special."

"I am sorry, pre-what?"

Ziva had driven to the pet store during the weekend and saw Abby enter mid-morning on Sunday. Her friend had clearly just left from church as she was dressed in her black, lace dress with matching gloves and umbrella. However, she only remained inside for a few moments and then left again. Ziva deduced that the man wasn't working that day.

Monday afternoon came and no case was demanding the attention of the MCRT. Ziva used the excuse of delivering Abby's lunch as a way to confront her friend and finally get to the bottom of Abby's dilemma. She had to be careful though; anytime one of the boys had tried to get information out of her, it wasn't pretty. Abby and Ziva had come along way from slapping each other six years before and she didn't want to ruin the friendship they had.

"One veggie burger with sweet potato fries," Ziva said sitting the bag down on the evidence table. "No onion, light ketchup and extra pickles, yes?"

Abby turned with her Caf-Pow in hand and brightened. "Thank you!"

For as close to the table that she had already been standing Ziva was not sure she'd ever seen Abby move so fast. The bag tore as she reached in to pull out the burger.

"My alarm didn't go off this morning and they had to refill the Caf-Pow machine, then the vending machine gave me a candy bar instead of the trail mix and…" Abby took a large bite and moaned in glorious ecstasy.

"Compliments of Tony," Ziva smiled.

Ziva remained in the lab, watching her friend as she proceeded around the room. Another team had been assigned a cold case that developed new evidence. Abby was retesting samples taken by her predecessor. New equipment proved helpful on the twenty-year-old case. Ziva took note of the loud music; it was once again increased in volume but she still wasn't able to completely shake the image of Abby's hesitation when leaving the pet shop.

"Did you need something?"

Ziva jerked slightly as she realized that Abby was speaking to her. Normally she didn't eat while running tests (she hated the feel of food particles on her keyboard) but today she didn't seem to mind much, though she did have a rather large stack of napkins sitting next to her lunch.

"No," Ziva instantly said before changing her mind. "Well, yes."

Abby pulled out the two metal stools that she kept under her computer station. She glanced as Major Mass Spec before sitting on one of the stools and picked up her burger again. Ziva waited for a moment, collecting her thoughts on how to bring up the subject. Her past with men didn't really make her an expert in offering an opinion.

"I have been worried about you lately," She began as she accepted the offered seat. "You may be angry with me but I followed you to that pet store."

Ziva paused again to gauge Abby's reaction. She noticed the surprise immediately but Abby still refused to say a word, instead she continued to slowly eat her lunch.

"That man seemed very nice," Ziva smiled lightly.

"You spoke to Kyle?" Abby coughed.

This brightened Ziva's smile and increased her suspicion. The scientist didn't seem to be comfortable with the knowledge that Ziva had talked to the man she went to the store to see. Abby had always been jealous when it came to McGee but now it seemed that she had found another guy to claim her attention and bring out the rarely seen insecurities of Abigail Scuito.

"I did," Ziva acknowledged. "Though I will say, he does not seem your usual type. I mean, I know that you go for the sweet, smart, teddy bear types-"

"Ziva, I-"

"Now that I think about it, however, he is rather sweet. He works with animals- I can see why you would be attracted to him."

Abby was trying to catch up to whatever it was that Ziva was suggesting until it smacked her straight in the forehead. Ziva thought she was going to see Kyle because she was attracted to him! If had been her following Ziva and finding her with a guy, she'd probably suspect the same thing.

"No, Ziva. I am not attracted to Kyle." Abby said.

The denial fell on deaf ears as Ziva's right eyebrow inched upward. "You have another reason for going to see a man on a daily basis for over two weeks?"

Abby remained silent. It had been difficult to accept the idea that her parents DNA did not match her own. Confessing her realization to Gibbs had been tough and she hadn't allowed herself to even consider saying those words again. She couldn't even tell Luca. Though, it seemed that she'd have to repeat those words from weeks before to another trusted friend.

"Yes, there is another reason." Abby sighed, resigning to telling Ziva the truth. "It's still rather new to me-"

Ziva waited for a moment as Abby's statement fell into silence. Her worry increased when she saw conflict behind her gaze once more. This really wasn't like Abby; she would talk about almost anything. Whatever secret she was keeping had to be huge if it silenced Energizer Abby.

"Do you remember when I was a match as a donor?" Ziva nodded her head without saying a word. "Well I wasn't the only match, which is why I didn't go through with the surgery. There was another perfect match."

"Another?" Ziva asked.

Abby closed her eyes (maybe that would make it easier to say) and let the words flow as quickly as she could without jumbling her words and having to repeat herself.

"I was adopted. Kyle is my brother."

Abby kept her eyes closed for several more moments which also gave Ziva a chance to recover from the unexpected shock of such a revelation. She had seen photos of Abby and her little brother, Luca, during the few times she'd stayed over. Ziva had even commented that they didn't really share any features aside from the black hair.

"Wow, I-" Ziva blinked and covered Abby's hand with her own. "Abby, look at me."

Abby opened her eyes, the brim filled with an unshed tear. It was still so much to accept and there was no one she could really talk to.

"Does he know?"

It was a simple question. One that she had to shake her head at. "I've been trying to figure out what to say. Every day I go with the intension of telling him but, I don't know, I just start thinking."

"Thinking what?" Ziva asked.

Abby slowly started to open up more. When she'd first told Gibbs that her parents had adopted her, it wasn't a thought that occurred to her but now it fueled her fears.

"What if it was just me?" Abby said softly. "Maybe Kyle wasn't adopted and he was raised by our parents. He's not that much younger than me, Ziva."

Ziva nodded her head, listening to the woman's worry. "Perhaps; though maybe he was adopted too and doesn't know it."

Abby paused. A glaze crossed her eyes and Ziva could only assume it was a glimmer of hope and that she wasn't the unwanted child. "Do you think so?"

"I do not know," Ziva admitted. "But, neither will you unless you talk to him."

She knew it was true. The only way to know for sure would be to suck up her confidence, which was usually always in supply, and talk to Kyle. How would she start a conversation like that? It was a difficult subject on its own and if he wasn't aware of his possible parentage, could she really live with the knowledge she'd just turned his world upside down?

"If you could go back and not find out that your brother was dirty, would you?" Abby asked.

Ziva instantly felt that knife running through her heart; it always happened at the mention of Ari. "No, Abby. It was right that I know who my brother was. As much as it pains me that he'd turned his back on me…" She shook her head again, clearing the fog. "I know who Ari was and acknowledge that I could not have changed him. Despite our close relationship, he was beyond my reach."

Once more, Abby grew quiet as she absorbed the information she was just given. Ziva had lost her own flesh and blood, at Gibbs hand but was still able to work side by side. Ziva had taken Gibbs as a father figure just as she had done years ago.

"I should get back upstairs. Enjoy your lunch, Abby."

Ziva left Abby to her thoughts, disappearing with ding of an elevator door. Abby knew that she had a point. Perhaps Kyle didn't know if he was adopted; maybe he did know and they could look for their birth parents together. Still she couldn't quite squash that nagging fear that maybe it was only her who'd been given up. Could she really accept that? Would she be able to look at him, knowing that their parents had chosen to raise him and not her?

"I do not know but neither will you unless you talk to him."

Abby picked up what was left of her lunch and threw it into the trash without eating another bite. She made her way to her office and pulled out her cell phone. Pressing a single button, she stared at the number for a moment then pressed TALK before she chickened out once more.

"Hey Kyle," Abby said as he answered. "It's Abby. Uh, I was wondering if maybe we could talk. Maybe after work tonight?"

Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.

Ziva looked up as the tell tale sounds of a hyper Abby came running into the middle of the squad room. It was almost half past five and the MCRT was beginning to pack away their belongings to enjoy the rest of the evening at their own leisure.

"Ziva," Abby said as she stopped in front of the Israeli-born American's desk. "I took your advice."

"I called Kyle and," She inhaled deeply. "I'm gonna tell him. We're meeting at a diner near the shop at seven."

"So you figured out how to tell him?" Ziva asked, finishing up an email.

"No," Abby frowned slightly. "But- you were right. If he doesn't know, he has a right to know; if he does know, then it was fate we found one another."

"Using your savvy computer skills, of course." Ziva smiled.

"Of course," Abby nodded.

Ziva powered her computer off and gathered her coat. "Would you like me to go with you?"

"No," She said after a beat. "This is something I should do on my own. I mean, this is completely different than visiting him at work. I'm about to tell a stranger that I'm his older sister."

"Of course," Ziva said, nodding her head. "I have no plans if you wish to talk after your meeting with him. Either way, I expect a full report tomorrow."

Abby smiled and gave Ziva a rather large bear hug. Yep, Abby was back to her usual self.

"Oh by the way," Ziva said as the walked to the elevator. "Tell him that he was right. Zane was made for me."

"Wait, Zane?" Abby inquired. "Who's Zane?"

Ziva merely smiled as the elevator doors closed.