Gibbs took Tony with him to work the next morning. With a father like Tony's, he couldn't take any chances at leaving him home alone.

They stopped for coffee on the way there. Gibbs got his usual, black, and offered to buy some for Tony. His order, although hesitant, as though he were about to be hit just for asking for some, was a typical order for a younger guy like Tony. He got a regular coffee with one cream and three sugars. The boy really had a sweet tooth.

___________

Later that morning…

The doors of the elevator were barely open when he saw his three agent's faces suddenly shoot up in the direction of Gibbs and Tony. Gibbs easily ignored them and walked to his desk, while Tony kept his head down and followed reluctantly.

Gibbs could tell Tony was uncomfortable being under the gaze of the entire bullpen, so he looked up and stated casually, "Tony, the team. The team, Tony."

The short introduction didn't seem to quite please the agents, but they got back to work, knowing they wouldn't get anything else out of the former marine unless he wanted them to.

Tony was relieved to no longer be the center of attention, but he soon grew bored. There was nothing to do here except for sit and listen to the click, click, click of keyboards. And that's not as exciting as it sounds.

Gibbs realized this quickly, and suggested that he should go down to the forensics lab. It was a Saturday and Abby usually accompanied her mom to work on weekends.

Tony agreed, although seemed somewhat nervous.

Gibbs almost shuddered at the distant look of fear in Tony's eyes as the elevator doors slid closed, enclosing Tony into a small dark room, all alone.

What has this kid been through? Gibbs wondered to himself. Although he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to know the answer. He had a feeling he would probably find out sooner or later.

_____________

Seconds later in the Forensics lab…

Tony let out a deep sigh of relief when the elevator doors opened again. Small enclosed places never brought back good memories for Tony. But soon all was forgotten when a perky goth girl around the age of 14 or 15 skipped over to him. She stopped several feet away and started talking very quickly.

"Hi I'm Abby, Forensic Scientist in Training at your service."

She gave him a mock salute before continuing.

"How may I help you today? Do you need to see my mother? Forensic Specialist Amy Scuito? Or do you want to hang out? I have an extra caf-pow if you want it. I was also thinking of decorating the major-mass-spec with some of these cool red and black skull stamps I found at the dollar store. Or we could go get a snack at the vending machine. Or discuss how Gibbs will get that dang boat out of his basement. Have you ever seen Gibbs's boat? It's in his basement. He told me he'll get it out one day but there's no removable wall or secret tunnel or anything. It's rather hinky if you ask me."

She slowed for a second to take a breath. She seemed to also be looking for some sort of response from Tony, but when he had none to give, she seemed to look rather worried.

"Did I scare you? I'm sorry I just have that effect on people sometimes. I didn't mean to, really. What's your name? I'm Abby."

He was finally able to find his voice, even though it came out rather quiet.

"Anthony DiNozzo. Or just Tony."

Her face brightened at his response.

"I like the name Tony better. It's shorter. So what are you doin' in my neck-o-the-woods?"

He looked at her and studdered,

"Gibbs sent me. He said to hang out with you."

Abby's eyes brightened and she grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the break room.

He tensed and pulled his arm from her grasp, but when she turned around and he saw the hurt in her eyes, he followed her.

When they entered the break room, she went over to a large vending machine and was about to insert a dollar.

"Wait." Tony surprised himself by the sudden out burst. He said nothing more and walked over to the machine. He had her hit the number for what she wanted and he gave it a hard punch with his right fist.

The vending machine made a small noise and released the candy bar.

Abby smiled widely and took out the candy.

They sat at a small table together. Tony had tricked the other vending machine into giving him a water. He wasn't exactly very hungry right now.

Abby didn't seem to like the silence, so she spoke first.

"So why are you here today? Are you a relative of Gibbs? Why didn't he ever tell me about you? You'd think he would! Or are you with a case?"

All of a sudden Abby's eyes grew wide.

She spoke suddenly and frantically, slowly rising and pointing at him as she spoke.

"Oh my gosh, are you a criminal? Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh. You are a criminal aren't you? I should've known! I mean look at you! You're in a leather jacket for petes sake! And look at all the bruises on your face! You're a violent criminal too! Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! I have to call Gibbs I have to call Gibbs! Oh no oh no oh no! You probably have a whole bunch of criminal helper people waiting outside too don't you? What am I talking about you're only like 16! Its probably just your father or something waiting out there with a gun to murder us all!"

Her sudden outburst scared Tony. But at the mention of his father he could no longer hide the hurt from his eyes.

Abby hadn't noticed the look on Tony's face until she saw him burst out of the room. He had just gotten up and ran out.

At first she thought it was because she had realized he was a criminal, but at the last second as he was turning the corner out of the room, she saw the tears running down Tony's face. She had been wrong. She had hurt his feelings. Suddenly Abby felt horrible.

__________

At the bullpen…

Gibbs was sitting quietly at his desk when he saw Tony suddenly bolt out of the break room and through the bullpen. Tears were running down his face.

Gibbs stood up and quickly tried to get in the way of the running boy. He stood directly in his path.

Tony didn't look up to realize that Gibbs was a few feet infront of him. He collided into him and suddenly fell into his arms, sobbing.

Gibbs held the boy as he cried.

By now the whole team was staring at Gibbs, their eyes asking for an explanation to the sudden outburst. But Gibbs couldn't give them one. At least not yet.

Gibbs saw Abby at the door to the break room. Her eyes were wide with worry.

Gibbs had a feeling that this had something to do with her. He wanted to find out what happened, but it would have to wait until he could calm Tony down.

They young boy finally looked up from the spot on Gibbs shirt that he had been crying into and cringed, expecting a hard slap across the back or an elbow to the gut for this childlike behavior. DiNozzo's didn't cry.

But the pain didn't come. All he felt was a gentle hand on his shoulder as Gibbs led him down to see Ducky.

When the elevator doors slid closed, Abby emerged from the break room and walked to the center of the bull pen. All the agent's eyes were on her. She spoke in a small voice.

"What did I just do?"

_____________

In the elevator…

Gibbs watched Tony as the doors closed. The kid was shaking like a leaf. He was making an unsuccessful attempt to hold the tears back.

At least he isn't sobbing anymore. He was only allowing the tears to fall silently down his cheeks. Once again Gibbs found himself wondering, What has this boy been through?

Now a new thought was crossing Gibbs mind.

What could a girl like Abby have done to make him do this?

He knew Abby could sometimes get a little carried away when she first meets people, but she couldn't have said anything too bad. He quickly made his decision and hit the shutdown switch, causing the elevator to slowly stop and the lights to flicker off.

Gibbs expected Tony to start sobbing again, but instead he backed against the wall as if Gibbs had just pulled a gun out. Gibbs suddenly felt bad. He hadn't thought about how it might scare the kid. It made sense that it would considering the past he's had. Gibbs spoke in a gentle voice to try and calm Tony, but he had to ask his questions fast. They couldn't spend all day in this elevator.

"What happened?"

Tony cast his eyes down to the floor.

Gibbs didn't have time for his stalling. He asked again, this time adding a bit more power in his voice.

"Tony. I need to know. If you don't tell me, Abby will. So you might as well give me your side of it."

Tony kept his eyes on the ground but answered.

"We were just talking. Well, mainly she was talking. A lot."

Gibbs smiled at that. Abby did love to talk.

Tony continued.

"Then she asked me why I was here. I wasn't really sure what to say, so I kind of didn't say anything. Then she started making guesses. At one point she asked if I was a criminal. When I didn't answer, she freaked out and said I probably have people waiting outside to murder you all. She said…"

Tony choked back a sob.

Gibbs looked at Tony and said,

"Tony this is important. What did she say?"

"She… she said that m-my father was probably out there waiting to kill you all too."

Gibbs just straightened up, responded with a simple "She didn't mean it, Tony", and flicked the switch. The elevator roared back to life and continued in silence.

____________

Back upstairs…

Abby paced back and forth in the lab. Her mother was out on lunch break so the lab was empty.

Thousands of thoughts wracked her head.

What had I said?

Is there something I don't know?

Am I too forward with people?

Why did I assume so quickly?

Why didn't Gibbs call me down yet?

Is Tony a criminal?

Did I just hurt him terribly and I'm not even aware of it?

How will Gibbs get that boat out of his basement?

Is there something troubling Tony?

Did I just make it worse?

I need Caf-Pow.

She continued pacing, trying to sort out her thoughts. She knew she had to apologize to Tony, but first she needed to find out what exactly she was apologizing for.

_____________

Back at the elevator…

Tony was unsure of what he should do next. Gibbs hadn't given any sign to how he was feeling when Tony explained the reason for his sudden meltdown.

Thoughts swirled around in Tony's head.

What will he say?

Does he think I over-reacted?

Is he going to hurt me for being childish?

What is Abby going to say?

Is Gibbs going to kick me out onto the street?

What do I do now?

Tony sighed.

He would just have to wait and find out.

When the elevator doors slid open, Abby was standing in the entrance, worry evident on her face.

Gibbs still didn't speak. They walked silently to the confrence room.

When they arrived, Tony and Abby sat across the table from eachother. Gibbs sat at the head of the table. Tony looked between the two others in the room. They both stared at him, their eyes begging for an explanation.

In his mind, Tony could sum it up in two words.

Oh crap.