Disclaimer: NCIS doesn't belong to me and I don't make money with this story. That's only for your and my amusement.

A/N: Not much to say about this chapter, just that I didn't go with canon here (Canon suggests that Abby didn't like Tony all that much at first). In my universe she's... well, kinda nice. You'll see. :)

Thanks so much for your reviews, story and favorite alerts for this story. I loved every single one of them. Sadly I don't have the time to answer them but please know that they all mean very much to me.

This chapter was once again beta'd by AZGirl, the most amazing girl ever. All remaining mistakes are my own.

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The Days After The Day

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Chapter 02

Voices broke through the fog that clouded Tony's mind, but he was too tired and exhausted to try and concentrate on what they were saying. Somewhere deep down he knew that he was sleeping and about to wake up, but a great weight seemed to pull him down every time his consciousness tried to rise fully. He couldn't say that he was bothered by that. He liked where he was right now - so peaceful and relaxing. If he could stay a little bit longer in that void, Tony would be a happy little agent.

But just as the voices faded again and he thought he would be able to succumb to sleep once again, he felt a weight settle on his chest, more real than the one that wanted to drag him back to sleep. Whatever had put up camp on his chest didn't cut off his air supply but it wasn't exactly comfortable either. Not quite awake yet he shifted sluggishly to dislodge the annoyance. Instead of disappearing though, the weight giggled softly and Tony finally realized that this thing was actually a person. A female person.

"Wa~ke up, To~ny." The voice sing-songed in a sweet tone and the Italian couldn't help but obey - he had always been a sucker for demands whispered by a woman. His sleep-addled brain was still wrapped up in confusion and for a moment he forgot that he wasn't in Baltimore anymore and that he had fallen asleep in a car. For a moment he thought that he was back home and one of his 'acquaintances' was trying to wake him for a second round of sheet-tangling.

And so, with a sleepy smile and a blissful 'Hmm', he slowly opened his eyes...

Only to come face to face with the scariest sight he had ever seen. Big green eyes were framed by a thick black line, turning them into sunken hollows in a ghastly white face. Lips that looked like they were dripping with blood curled at the corners into a cruel imitation of a smile, twisting the features of the woman into a horrid grimace. A blood red mouth parted and a tongue slipped out to wet the upper lip.

And then a voice spoke, low and sinister, sending puffs of breath across his cheeks.

"Welcome to hell, sweetheart."

Later, Tony would deny that he screamed like a little girl and desperately pushed against the being that straddled his lap. The woman was laughing hysterically in his face when he was finally able to push her away. She was still draped half over him but now her upper body was tilting slightly to the side as well, twisting her body into a position that had to be at least uncomfortable.

Despite his panic, Tony knew that he wouldn't be able to escape without seriously hurting the girl, but he also realized that he had no desire to cause her harm. The moment he heard her laughter he gathered all the bravery he could muster to take another look at her face and that's when he noticed that she didn't look all that scary anymore.

Now that she wasn't up close and grinning into his face like the Joker himself that is.

He ceased his struggles and tried to calm his ragged breathing, all the while staring at the still snickering Goth in his lap. Because, now that he wasn't freaking out anymore, he could see that that's what she was.

"Wha- Who the hell are you?" he managed to wheeze through gritted teeth. He still didn't know what to think of this strange woman.

The prankster eventually got her chuckling under control and leaned back against the dash board with crossed arms. Tony couldn't believe it but despite the awkward position she actually managed to look absolutely cool and relaxed while she did so.

"Sorry for the scare, but I just couldn't resist." She chuckled again and for the first time Tony was aware of the fact that the movement transferred immediately to his lap. Normally, a moving woman on his sensitive parts would have caused some kind of reaction from 'little DiNozzo', but with this woman there was nothing. He felt no kind of sexual attraction towards her. He knew it had nothing to do with her appearance. After all, he had dated quite his share of odd birds over the years and he could see that under all that make-up, she was quite beautiful.

She leaned forward again and bumped her forehead against his, a move that was strangely intimate coming from a woman he didn't even know yet.

"You scream like a girl, you know that?" she teased and Tony couldn't help the surprised laugh that escaped him. This situation was just too bizarre.

"Do not."

"Do too!"

"Do not! And I still don't know your name. Or are you trying to stay the mysterious woman a little bit longer?"

She grinned and bounced up and down on Tony's lap. Still no reaction from 'little DiNozzo'.

Curious.

"I'd like that, but no, you can have my name if you want, Tony. After all we're going to be working together from now on and we're going to be best friends, you and I. We're going to go clubbing and watch movies all night long and if some guy gets too close you can scare him off. I really hope you don't fight like you scream because that would make it so much more difficult-"

"Whoa, wait, wait!" Tony shouted and waved his hands in a warding gesture. "You work here? Seriously?" he asked, deciding that he would ignore the fact that he had apparently already found a new best friend without doing much more than sitting there and staring at her like a gaping fish.

She gave him a look that told him that she thought he was an idiot. An idiot she was especially fond of. "Well, I don't make a habit of jumping people in random underground garages, do I? I work in the lab, although it would be much more accurate to say that I live there, considering my working hours. Name's Abigail Scuito, but you can call me Abby or Abs or simply 'Goddess of all that is dark and beautiful'. Your choice."

Tony grinned and shook her hand in greeting. "I'm Anthony DiNozzo, but you already know that."

"Oh I know all about you, Tony." She winked at him but there was something about her voice and the way her eyes shifted to the side for a split second that made Tony uneasy about her comment, like there was more to it than she was ready to admit.

Abby seemed to notice the sudden tension and he could see in her eyes that she desperately wanted to change the subject without giving away that anything was amiss. Seeing her in distress bothered him more than he thought it should and he took pity on her.

"Where are Gibbs and Ducky?" he asked and the Goth immediately pounced on the chance to steer the conversation on a different path.

"Oh, Ducky went to autopsy and Boss-man is already on his way up to Morrow. You should probably go too."

Tony was faintly amused when he looked down their entangled limbs. His initial struggle had dislodged her original position and now her legs were effectively stuck, and so, in turn, was Tony. "I probably should. But the question is: how do we get out of the car?"

Abby followed his gaze and an astonished expression crossed her face as if she was just now realizing their precarious situation. She wiggled a little to the left and then to the right without accomplishing much of anything.

"Geez, Gibbs finds out about this and he is so going to force me to cut back on my Caff-Pow's." Abby muttered, before shrugging and shooting him a sheepish smile. "Well again; welcome to NCIS. Better get used to the insanity."

Despite the fact that he was going to be late for his first meeting with Director Morrow, Tony soon joined her carefree laughter. When he'd imagined his first day at NCIS, being trapped in a car with a Goth on his lap certainly hadn't crossed his mind.

Insanity indeed.

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"Your boy is late." Morrow observed while his eyes wandered around the bullpen. It wasn't a reproach but a mere observation, the desperate means to start a conversation with the silent man that waited with him. Tom had always been quite lenient with his agents when it came to punctuality. Working for an agency were lives depended on you put things into perspective. The director had long since decided that he had no problem overlooking tardiness when it came to the men and women that risked their life for others on a daily basis.

No, Tom wasn't annoyed, far from it. He was actually amused because he knew that Gibbs was annoyed. In the past five minutes his best agent had shot the occasional glance towards the clock and each time the lines around his eyes had gotten a little bit tighter. It was refreshing to see Gibbs act like that because of an agent Tom hadn't chosen. In fact, it gave him a weird satisfaction.

"Abby was supposed to bring him here."

Morrow winced sympathetically. "Was there no way to stop her?" Gibbs shot him a look and Morrow decided to drop the topic. He knew better after all. Instead he fixed his best agent with steady eyes, determined to get some answers to the questions that had bugged him ever since Gibbs had first told him about the kid. "I don't suppose you are ready to tell me what's so special about Anthony DiNozzo that you had to bring him here by any means, are you?"

Gibbs eyebrows narrowed a tiny fraction, the only indication that he didn't like to be questioned like that. "You read the report Michael Boston emailed you, didn't you?"

"I did." Morrow conceded. "And it's quite impressive. DiNozzo is obviously a very talented investigator but that still doesn't explain why you wanted him on your team." He raised his hand when he saw that Gibbs wanted to play dumb. "You've met a lot of impressive detectives and agents over the years, but you never wanted one of them on your team so badly. For God's sake, you even threatened me when I expressed reservations."

"I didn't threaten you."

"Call it what you like, but telling me in that 'Do as I say, or die' voice of yours that I would regret it if I refused, is hardly the way I start a friendly discussion."

Tom vividly remembered the chills that had traveled down his spine when Gibbs had hung up on him. He didn't hold it against Gibbs, though. They had worked together for far too long to let little differences in opinion get in the way. And Gibbs was by far the best agent he'd ever worked with. If he had to put up with the odd idle threat once in a while to keep him, he was willing to sacrifice that small chunk of his pride. Talk about putting things in perspective...

"'Do as I say, or die' voice?" Gibbs repeated, with just a hint of amusement.

"Don't change the subject. Now tell me, what's going on with the two of you?"

The former Marine huffed angrily, and ran a frustrated hand through his graying hair. "It's complicated. We knew each other when he was a little kid and some stuff happened."

When he refused to explain further, Morrow dropped into an empty chair and exhaled a sardonic laugh. "That's not complicated. You simply don't want to tell me." Gibbs neither denied nor agreed. "Just answer me one more question. Will this... 'stuff that happened', be a problem?"

This time Gibbs didn't hesitate. "No sir, it won't."

Tom didn't know if he should really believe that, but before he could grill Gibbs a bit more about the matter, the elevator opened and two giggling teenagers burst into the bullpen. Only on second sight did Morrow realized that the two strangers weren't teenagers, but Abby Scuito and a man he presumed to be Anthony DiNozzo. The two were clinging to each other's arms like old friends and laughing so hard that Abby had to fight tears. Their clothes were rumpled and crooked and for a moment Morrow thought that the two had had sex, but then realized the foolishness of such a thought. He didn't know about DiNozzo, but Abby wasn't that kind of girl.

He took a moment to inspect the newest addition to Team-Gibbs, and despite his initial reservations about bringing such a young man into NCIS, he already liked what he was seeing. Appearances didn't matter all that much to Tom but it was obvious that Anthony DiNozzo played some kind of sport, and a healthy body was always an advantage in their line of work. Furthermore, he was glad to see that the young Italian seemed to already get along really well with their resident Goth. Certainly not a bad thing, considering that Abby was Gibbs' special charge.

"I don't believe we actually did it without breaking every single bone in our bodies." DiNozzo was saying, still bent over from laughing and completely oblivious to their audience.

"I told you, I practice yoga from time to time. I knew it would come in handy one day."

"You'll have to teach me a bit. I know other situations where that kind of agility would come in handy." DiNozzo said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively and making the girl laugh and punch his arm.

They were still laughing when Gibbs suddenly loomed behind them and simultaneously swatted them both over the head. Tom suppressed a grin when the lab rat and the new agent winced and turned towards him with exactly the same doe-eyed expressions on their faces, an indignant Boss and Gibbs escaping their lips.

"Where have you two been?" Gibbs asked, not at all affected by the big, hurt eyes.

Tony and Abby exchanged a quick look. "I was just showing him around, Boss-man." Abby said. "You know, my lab and autopsy and where the toilets are of course. He needs to know those things."

"Yep, exactly." Tony nodded and bumped her shoulder with his. "She gave me quite the tour."

Their boss looked unconvinced and the two 'kids' kept going on hoping to distract him from their obvious lie. As Gibbs watched Tom thought he saw a soft smile play around his lips from time to time. The sight was so unexpected and unfamiliar that he nearly fell out of his seat. He looked from the Gunny to the Italian and back and suddenly it dawned on him that, maybe, he really had no reason to be worried.

Maybe everything would work out okay.

"Well," Abby drawled. "I need to get back to my lab."

She turned to Tony and hugged him hard. Tom was surprised to see the startled look on Tony's face and that he returned the gesture almost warily. After the closeness he had witnessed he would have thought that something like a friendly hug would only be natural for the two.

If Abby noticed his hesitation, she didn't show it. "See you Tony. You should totally come by and see my lab some time. You have to meet Bert!"

Before Tony could ask who Bert was, Gibbs put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at the two. The smile was anything but nice though.

"I thought you already showed him your lab?"

Abby fidgeted under his stare and Tony had a hard time keeping still as well. After a couple of seconds the Goth suddenly cupped her ear and looked towards the elevator. "What? Did I hear someone call my name? Well, I better get moving. See you two around." And with that she was gone, leaving Tony alone with a very smug Gibbs.

DiNozzo wormed his way out from under Gibbs hand and smiled shyly at him before inspecting his surroundings "What a nice bullpen. Feels really homey already. And so many other agents milling around. I guess it would be hard to maim someone here with so many witnesses around to see it."

Tom finally broke his silence and snorted. He really couldn't understand how and why Gibbs chose such a person as his partner. He couldn't see the former Marine putting up with that kind of behavior for long before finally snapping.

"Well Jethro, I'll leave you two alone for now."

Gibbs stopped intimidating the young man in front of him long enough to shift his attention to Morrow. "Are you sure Director? I thought you wanted to speak to him."

DiNozzo's eyes lit up in recognition and he blushed furiously. Poor boy was probably mortified by the fact that his new superior had witnessed that little display. The thought made Tom grin even harder.

"Ah, no. I've seen enough." he said and made his way towards his office. "You already have your work cut out for you enough as it is. I have full confidence that you'll handle him to my satisfaction."

He heard a low "You bet I will" and a worried gasp and decided that - good agent or not - Anthony DiNozzo would definitely make things much more exciting around here.

He didn't know yet how right he was about that.

TBC

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A/N: I have seen many different versions of Abby and Tony's first meeting but I've never seen one where Abby scares the shit out of our little Italian (if there is something similar then, again, I have not seen it). I hope you liked it. Let me know if you did.