Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS...or anything having to do with NCIS...or anything at all, so don't sue me. I'm broke.

A/N: This is a chapter of some significance, because it marks the end of my writers block...and by that I mean that I deleted half of the original story and started the rewrite here.

Chapter Seven

Chains

"I didn't know you were coming over," Abby said when Tony stepped into her apartment just after leaving the Navy Yard. "I thought you were avoiding me."

"Why would I avoid you?" Tony asked, feeling slightly guilty for lying to her about his lunch plans earlier in the day.

"I don't know, you just seemed awfully distant today," Abby shrugged.

"I had some things on my mind," Tony admitted, dropping down onto the plush purple couch in her living room and leveling her with a stare that she met. "I'm sorry."

"Apologizing is a sign of weakness," Abby admonished him, imitating Gibbs gruff voice as she wagged a finger in his direction.

"I'm a weak person," Tony shrugged in response, breaking eye contact to look across the room at the television set in the corner.

"No you aren't!" Abby protested, and she was sitting beside him before he realized she's crossed the room. "Don't talk about yourself like that!"

He had to admit it to her- what he'd been thinking. If he didn't, he'd feel guilty for the rest of his life.

"I didn't know if I could do it," Tony whispered, refusing to meet her gaze, even though she angled her head in an attempt to. "I'm really good at pretending everything is okay, but…it's too hard, Abby. I'm scared."

"You are the strongest person I know," Abby assured him, giving up and pulling him into a tight hug.

"I don't feel very strong today," Tony shook his head against her shoulder, letting his arms wrap around her slender torso. "I was going to end it. I was going to kill myself. It just seemed easier."

She stiffened against him, so he continued speaking.

"I couldn't do it though. I was looking at Petty Officer Jameson, and I knew I couldn't do it," he said. "I couldn't do that to you, or to Gibbs, or my friends. I couldn't do that to my father. I'm going to die, eventually, yeah, but that doesn't mean it'll be today, or even tomorrow. Hell, I could live for another ten years."

"That's a good way to think about it, "Abby said, and he could hear the tears in her voice.

"That's how I'm going to think about it from now on," he promised her, squeezing her again.

Tony didn't know how long they sat there for, but he didn't mind. It was comfortable.

Suddenly, after what seemed like an impossibly long time, Abby pulled away from him and wiped at her eyes. Her mascara was smudged down her face, following a path of tears. He felt bad for making her cry, but relieved at the same time. He knew he'd made the right choice.

"Let's go out!" The sparkle in her green eyes returned as she jumped off the couch. "We'll go to Chains. We'll get really drunk, and we'll regret it when we have to be at work in the morning."

"Gibbs'll kill me if I show up hungover," Tony protested, but his voice belied his desire to go, and he was standing up as well.

"I'll wear my new black dress, and you wear those pants I bought you in New York," Abby ignored the comment, already on her way towards her bedroom. "Pick me up in an hour."

He was out the door and down the steps to his car without a word. She knew he was in without him having to say it. Thankfully, he didn't live too far from her, and he tore into his apartment building with an air of excitement about him. He greeted his neighbor enthusiastically as they crossed paths outside the elevator, not bothering to acknowledge her strange look.

He really didn't have a very good relationship with his neighbor- not since he'd turned down her advances when she first moved in years before. When he had the unfortunate luck of running into her while home, their conversations were usually pretty aggressive. She thought the world revolved around her because her dad had some money, and he liked to point out that he'd grown up with just as much. She definitely didn't like thinking of herself as equal to him, who had to work for a living. That evening, however, he couldn't keep up the act- he had much better things to think about, like dancing and drinking and spending time with a woman who had more personality and charm than she ever would.

The pants Abby bought him were still in the bag, and he glared at the creases being folded had caused them before he shook them out and pulled them on. The dark blue denim fit him well, and he paired it with a black t-shirt he was sure he'd bought with Abby at one point or another. He spruced up his hair and changed his shoes before he was darting out of the apartment and back to Abby's.

She was dressed when he arrived even though he hadn't been gone for an hour. Her make up was refreshed, and her face was clean. A bit of red in her eyes still hinted at her earlier distress, but it was barely noticeable beneath the black eyeliner and mascara. He recognized her black dress with the studded belt and buttons as one she wore to Chains often, and her usual platform boots adorned her feet. She was waiting for him on the sidewalk when he pulled the car up, and she jumped in without invite before he was pulling away from the curb.

For a weeknight, Chains was bustling with people. When they'd first started going to the club in a not so pleasant part of town, Tony had been apprehensive about it, but over the years, it has certainly grown on him. He greeted the bouncer at the door with a nod of the head before following Abby into the large room, where strobe lights glinted off the wiggling bodies of dancers.

The only rule about Chains was that they stayed together. There were some questionable people hanging around, and when drunk, a state in which they both left on more than one occasion, it could be dangerous.

After a few hours of drinking and dancing and being their usual crazy selves, they left the club arm in arm with smiles plastered on their faces. Tony had parked close to avoid having to walk through the dangerous streets at such a late hour, and they collapsed into the backseat giggling.

"Did you see that guy trying to steal me away?" Abby laughed as she settled on the passenger side of the bench seat, resting her back against the car's plastic interior wall. "I thought he wasn't going to give up!"

"I almost had to teach him a lesson," Tony replied, resting his spinning head against her stomach, twisting his torso so his feet rested on the floor behind the driver's seat.

"You'd have fallen down before the first swing," Abby teased. "You could barely stand up straight."

"Did he have a couple of identical brothers with him?" Tony tossed back, barely able to finish the sentence before he was laughing uncontrollably.

"That guy who invited me to the 'back room' with him was kinda cute," Abby admitted, stroking her fingers through the hair at the crown of his head.

"If you think STD's are cute," Tony made a face.

"Eeewww," Abby squealed. "It's just been so long…"

"It's been a long time for you?" Tony questioned, turning his face up to look at her. "I haven't gotten laid since…since the last time I hooked up with Jethro."

"Have you gone back to a first name basis?" Abby teased him.

"Yeah, right," Tony scoffed. "I wish. It would greatly improve my sex life."

Abby burst out laughing, and Tony couldn't help but join in. How many times had he been drunk with Abby? He couldn't count. It was just so fun and comfortable. They could talk about anything and everything, and Tony wasn't worried about waking up to a nasty surprise the next morning. They looked out for each other, and had a good time doing so.

"You know…" Abby said when they'd settled down, "we could help each other out."

Scrunching up his brow, Tony thought about what she was saying, trying to get the words through his foggy mind.

"How is that?" He finally has to ask her, turning to look up at her face with confused eyes.

"You could pretend I'm Gibbs, and I could pretend your some hot stranger I picked up on the dance floor," Abby suggested.

Tony laughed outright at the suggestion. "You think you could pull off Gibbs long enough?"

"DiNozzo!" Abby growled gruffly. "Get your ass up and kiss me before I head slap you into next week!"

He continued to laugh, ignoring the stitch in his side, as he followed her orders. He sat up and let his lips land on hers.

One thing he was sure of, was she was not Gibbs. Her lips were soft against his, and her skin smooth. The long arms that wrapped around his neck and pulled him close were slender instead of muscular. Everything about her was soft and smooth and distinctly feminine. Her face lacked the stubble he'd grown so accustomed too, and her hands had not a single callus to drive him crazy.

"Abby," he groaned as he pulled out of the kiss.

"Shh," she scolded him, her hands dropping to his belt buckle. "Just pretend. Let your imagination go crazy."

A/N: Don't murder me. I know you all want a Gibbs/Tony conversation, and it's coming eventually, but at this point it was unrealistic. Tony coming clean to Abby about his thoughts and fears seemed to make more sense than him coming clean to his boss and ex.

And just another thing, I do tend to give out spoilers when I respond to reviews that make me happy...so that's just something to take into consideration when you're deciding whether or not to review...