Hey, everyone, I'm sorry to leave you all with the evil cliffhanger last chapter. I should have warned you guys, but that particular detail kind of slipped my mind. We'll find out what happened to Abby in this chapter, and the reason for her acting a little strange will be in the next chapter, which picks up immediately after this one.
• Warning for future references • : If no one could already tell, this story is going to be, basically, a roller coaster. It'll have moments you're going to like and moments you're going to hate me for. However, there will be no major character deaths in this fic. Promise. If you don't think your heart can take all this, then you should probably stop reading right about now. If you're brave enough to stay tuned in for the ride, by all means, continue reading, and don't forget to review. (:
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:: Chapter 7 – McHero, Part I ::
My mind was fuzzy when I woke up the following morning. I could not recall much of what had happened the night before. I remembered going to dinner with Tony, McGee, and Abby, and then I came home… but that was it. I awoke before the alarm did, so I unplugged my phone and took it with me as I headed straight for the shower. I took a quick, ten-minute shower, and the moment I stepped out, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and was surprised to see that Tony was calling at this time in the morning. If he was, it could only mean bad news.
"What?" I answered briskly, still too tired to want to talk to him.
"Ziva, we've got a problem," he said hurriedly, and I could then feel myself become more alert and awake.
"What?" I asked.
"It's Abby."
Abby. I began to recall the night before as the memories hit me like a stack of bricks. I had seen pictures of her in the camera. She had been in the hospital, but I did not know why or what was going to happen to her. I was feeling way too many things at the same time. My heart was racing, but I felt numb and a little sick. My brain was indecisive. For a moment, I lost the ability to speak, but quickly composed myself.
"What?" I said for the third time. "What happened to Abby? Is she okay?"
"She's in the hospital," Tony explained. "I'm leaving NCIS right now and I'm coming to pick you up so we can both go. She's at Bethesda."
"Tony, what happened to her?" I asked roughly, wanting a damn explanation.
"McGee… McGee found her in her lab, unconscious about twenty minutes ago. Said she had a huge bump on her forehead, so it looked like she hit her head against something. He looked her over and there were no obvious signs of a struggle or anything, so he's got no clue how she even got that bump." On the other end, I could hear the slamming of a car door and the roaring of an engine. He had begun to sound breathless, so I knew he had been running and talking to me at the same time. "Didn't even wait for the damn paramedics to get there; he took her to the hospital himself."
Instantly, guilt was gradually taking over me. I had seen most of it, but why had I not done anything? I could have stopped it, or at least warned her – or anyone – about it.
"How is she now?" I asked.
"I don't know," he said. "I just got off the phone with him, like two minutes ago, and now I'm talking to you. Guess we'll find out at the hospital when we get there."
I sighed audibly, clearly distressed. I knew Tony noticed it, but he did not know the reasons why I felt beyond worried.
"Ziva, I'm on my way now. I'll be there in ten minutes, fifteen the most. Be ready."
Needless to say, I rushed to get everything done within ten minutes time. I threw some clothes on, briefly tied my hair back, and gathered some things in a small purse I had. By the time I had finished doing all that, Tony was pulling up outside my house. I did not even have time to apply make-up or anything. I looked horrible, but that was the least of my worries. Quickly, I slipped some shoes on – probably some worn out sandals that I didn't have any time to even glance at – and stormed out of my house. I rapidly locked my front door and ran into Tony's car. He barely gave me any time to close the passenger side door before he sped off.
The ride to the hospital was a quiet one. I did not think I could even get a word out. Tony was driving as fast as he could through the snow. I could not help but think that the man had probably been learning a thing or two from Gibbs.
Gibbs. Oh, God. Who would tell Gibbs? He had to know. If he came back to work and found out that Abby had been in the hospital and no one told him, Tony's, McGee's, and my ass were on the line. I treasured all of my body parts, including my ass – at least from Gibbs, I did.
When we got there, Tony turned off the car, practically ripped his seatbelt off, and ran towards the entrance. I was not very close behind. I took off my seatbelt, grabbed my bag, slammed the door shut (maybe just a little too hard), and ran off. Tony was already inside, waiting for the elevator. I had to race to catch up to him, or else he would have left me behind.
"Abby's in room 324," he said rather breathlessly.
We took the elevator up to the third floor and found McGee waiting outside the room Abby was in. He stood a little straighter when he saw us coming up to him, but did not say anything.
"How's Abby?" Tony asked before I could get a word out.
"She's fine," he sighed. He looked exhausted and it was not even nine in the morning yet.
"And?" I said. Why was it so hard to just tell what happened?
"Tell us what happened, McGee," Tony urged.
"She has a concussion – nothing too big," McGee said. "Doctors say she should be here one more day, two the most, just to keep an eye on her. She should be going home soon. She could probably be awake by now."
"Do you know what happened?" I asked him.
He shook his head, looking distraught. I felt bad for him. "I-I came to work, set my stuff down at my desk, and headed down to her lab…"
"Why?" Tony interrupted.
"To say good morning…"
Is that why he was always there earlier than me? To just say "good morning"? I wondered if anything else, anything more, might have been going on between him and Abby. I pushed that thought aside and focused on what he was trying to explain before DiNozzo interrupted.
"Hmph," Tony said quietly.
"Anyway… I went down to her lab to… say good morning. Her music was playing, so everything seemed normal. But when I went in, there she was on the floor. And I don't mean like sleeping, like, you know, sleeping… She was on her back, head titled to the side, and, when I moved her bangs away, she had a really big bump on her forehead. I-I-I panicked. I tried to see if she would wake up, but she didn't, and I didn't wanna cause any more damage, so I took her over here."
"You didn't call the paramedics?" Tony asked.
McGee looked from him and back at me. "I didn't want to wait for them to come, so I just brought her in. I didn't know what else to do… I was panicking."
"It is alright, McGee," I told him, trying to sound comforting. "We should go see her now." He nodded and the three of us turned and walked into Abby's room. To my not-so-big surprise, she was already awake. Her pigtails were gone and her hair was down, tucked rather messily underneath her head. She looked even more exhausted than McGee did, and that was saying quite a lot. Seeing her like that, I couldn't help but think that I let this happen and that it was all my fault.
"Hey, guys," Abby said wearily. "Nice of you to join me."
"Hey, Abbs," Tony said. "How're you feeling?"
"Fine," she said. "My head hurts, though. But other than that, I'm fine. Why aren't you guys at work?"
"Because we're here," Tony said dryly. But at least it made her smile.
McGee went straight to asking her questions. "Abby, do you know who did this to you?"
"I'd be able to help you out if you actually told me what happened," she said.
McGee glanced at us uncertainly. Tony looked back at him, clearly not comfortable with the idea of having to explain to her the situation. McGee merely looked like he was not sure how to even begin explaining. They glanced at me, their eyes asking if I wanted to do the honors. Poor Abby was more than just confused. So I stepped up. She had to know, anyway.
"Uhh, Abby…" I began awkwardly, stepping up to her bed as she looked at me, waiting for an answer. "McGee found you in your lab today, unconscious… and you have a bump on your forehead, so we think you may have been hit in the face with something. Do you remember anything at all? Did someone come into your lab and attack you or something?"
She looked away, trying to remember the situation. I could tell it drained her energy to do so, but she recalled a little bit. "I remember I went to my lab this morning like I always do… I put my music on, went to work on something, and that's it. That's all I remember."
"You do not remember anyone coming into your lab or anything?"
"No."
"You did not hear anyone coming into your lab?"
"No," she said again.
I picked up her hands and she only stared at me as I did so. Her fingernails were clean, and as I looked her over, I noticed that, like McGee had said, there were no obvious signs of struggle. I did not know how she got that bump, unless she did it herself. It was not like Abby to want to hurt herself like that, but it was not impossible either.
"What?" she asked me after a few moments.
"Abby, you have a concussion."
"Yeah," McGee finally decided to step in. "Nothing too serious, so you'll probably be here a day or two more just to be safe. But you're fine."
"Oh," she said. "Well, I'm probably going to just try and rest, so you should go back to work."
"Someone should stay with her," Tony said.
"Someone has to tell Gibbs," McGee added.
"And Director Vance," I put in.
Abby began to speak, "You guys don't have to stay with me. I'm fine–"
But McGee interrupted her. "Tony, you call them," he said.
"Why me?"
"Because you're the senior field agent."
"And Gibbs put me in charge, so that's exactly why I can tell you two who's going to call who."
McGee rolled his eyes, and I was honestly surprised that he was surprised Tony was going to say something like that. Tony had the tendency to use the fact that he was the senior field agent to his advantage, so that he would not have to be the one doing the things everyone else dreaded or did not want to do.
"Then I will call Gibbs," I offered.
McGee sighed. "Guess I'll call Vance then," he murmured.
"You guys can go back to work," Abby said. "I'll be fine here by myself. You can see me after work. Just as long as one of you brings me a Caf-Pow. Seriously. I'm really craving one right now."
I wanted her to just shut up. Part of me scolded myself for thinking something like that. She was fine and not seriously harmed, and we all would have hated to not be able to hear her voice ever again if she had died, but the more she talked, the guiltier I felt. My conscience continued to taunt me and tell me that I caused this and that the only reason she was here was because of my sheer carelessness. How could I have fallen asleep when my friend's life was in potential danger? "I can stay with her," I said. "And you guys go back to work. McGee, you can tell Vance when you get to headquarters."
"Why should you stay?" Tony asked.
"Because…"
"Because…?"
"Because I want her to stay," Abby filled in for me. "Maybe now we can have the girl talk we're never able to have."
"What kind of girl talk?" Nosy.
"Like what brand of tampons she recommends for me to use."
Tony wrinkled his nose. "Eww. Fine, Ziva, you stay."
McGee was the first one to leave, saying good-bye to Abby and that he would see her during his lunch break (to which she protested that he should not waste his time doing that during his lunch break, to which he replied that, honestly, Abby, it was no problem at all) and again after he left work in the afternoon. After he left, Tony approached her bed and I stepped behind him.
"You gonna be okay, Abbs?" he asked her.
"Sure, Tony. I'll have Ziva to keep me company." I could see her force a big smile through her exhaustion.
"Yeah, that's why I asked," he joked. I remained silent.
"Just make sure you tell Vance why she's not at work," she said. "I don't want her to get in trouble because of me."
"No one's going to get in trouble, Abby." Tony glanced at his watch on his wrist. "Anyway, I should get going now. I may join McHero here at lunch. If we don't have a case, that is." He bent down and kissed the side of her head, in a similar Gibbs-style affection kiss. My stomach did an uneasy flip-flop.
Oh, for the love of God, Ziva. The whole world does not revolve around you and you only. Besides, they are like brother and sister.
"You don't have to, Tony," Abby said. "Unless you're going to bring me a Caf-Pow. I really, really want one. Oh, and do me another favor while you're at it." She motioned for him to get closer to her, and she whispered something to him in his ear that I did not catch. I hadn't even the slightest clue about what she could have said. It was anyone's guess, really. He nodded at her and turned to leave.
Our gazes met, but he had a different look in his eyes that told me he was not yet finished with me. Abby looked ahead at us, wondering what was going to happen next, but I felt that she somehow knew what was going to happen. It must have been whatever they were just whispering about.
"Miss David, could I have a word with you for a moment?" Tony said seriously.
I glanced back at Abby, whose face was stoic, but whose eyes seemed to be telling me to follow him. I gave him a slight nod and walked out of the room. "What, Tony?" I asked once we were out of her earshot completely.
"Abby's worried about you," he said.
"Abby is worried? About me?" I laughed incredulously. "Why? I am not the one in a hospital bed with a concussion!"
"She said you have a strange look on your face," he went on. "And I don't blame her. She's not the only one who's noticed."
I did not know what to say in response to that.
"And I'm sure Abby and I aren't the only ones who've noticed that you've been acting a little – okay, kind of a lot – weird lately. Right now, I don't have to go back to headquarters right away. I can stay here for a little while longer…"
"I will stay with Abby, Tony," I said. "You can go."
"I wasn't talking about Abby, Ziva. I know you're staying with her. I was talking about you. I can stay here a little bit longer and talk…"
For once, I found myself not thinking before I spoke. My mouth was suddenly way ahead of my rational thinking. I did not – I could not – stop until I was done. "It is my fault."
"Excuse me?"
"It is my fault, Tony," I said. "This whole thing – Abby being in the hospital. It is my fault. I could have stopped it, I should have stopped it. I fell asleep, I don't know why. I could not help it; I was just so tired. I should not have fallen asleep. I should have called her and warned her, or I should have at least just called you or McGee or someone."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
We stopped walking and faced each other. I felt the words casually slip from my mouth. "I have something to tell you."
"Okay."
I stepped closer to him, though I was not sure why I did; at this point, I could start to feel his body heat. "Remember when we were talking in the bathroom and you asked me what was on my mind and I said I could not tell you because I was not ready?"
"Yeah?"
"I am ready now."
Tony looked at me seriously again. "Okay. Tell me."
Just as I did not know why I was suddenly just blurting this all out, I did not know why I started to chicken out either. There must have been some panic in my eyes, because when I suddenly said, "I have to go to the bathroom," Tony all but believed me, and grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
"No, you don't," he said rather sternly.
"Yes, I do," I countered. When I thought about it, really hard, I did kind of have to go. I began to make my way towards the bathroom, only to find Tony was still right behind him. "Why are you following me?"
"Because I can." Unfortunately, the bathroom was a single bathroom, and since Tony was not going to leave me alone, I had no other choice than to lock myself in there with him. Not that I was complaining.
"You are going to watch me pee?" I asked rhetorically.
"Yep," he answered shortly.
"Is that your idea of fun?"
"What's the big deal? Nothing I haven't seen before anyway."
I glared at him, but he had a point. I pulled my pants down and sat down on the toilet, setting my purse on my bare thighs. I felt uncomfortable as Tony folded his arms and leaned against the door, just waiting for me to pee. Nothing was coming out and I did not think that anything would if he continued to stare at me. I sighed.
"Does it normally take this long for you to pee?"
I rolled my eyes and got up. I pulled my pants back up, noticing the amused look on his face. "I am glad you enjoyed that, Tony."
He winked at me – which was sexy on its own – but then became serious. "You wanted to talk?"
I looked down. Why, after blurting out everything, could I not even begin to explain myself? I stepped up to him, keeping a short distance between us, but he moved up a few steps towards me. He put his hand on the side of my neck. "I'm all ears, Ziva," he said gently.
I hesitated a little, but found the courage within to just say it. "Abby… Abby is here – in the hospital – because of me. I let this happen to her when I could have prevented it. It is all my fault."
"Ziva, I'm not following you."
I sighed. "I mean I saw what was going to happen before it happened. I knew Abby was going to be in the hospital before it happened. I did nothing about it."
"How could you possibly have known?"
"I found this camera," I began, "about a week ago. A yellow, Nikon camera. I was coming home after wrapping up a case and I found this camera on my counter. I thought it was a joke, perhaps, and more so when I turned it on and found pictures of you guys on it."
"What kind of pictures?" Tony asked quietly.
"Pictures of Gibbs and McGee and Abby," I said, "doing normal, everyday things. So when I got to work the next day, everything I had already seen on the camera was happening." There was absolutely no sound, let alone movement, from him, except for a blink of the eyes. I went on. "I brushed it off. I continued to think it was a joke, or that you were playing a joke on me or something… but it continued to happen. I saw our next case victims in the camera. I saw… Gibbs's father in the hospital, and then I saw Abby. Last night."
There was still no answer from him, so I continued. Eventually, he would say something. "But I do not know what happened. As I was looking through the pictures of Abby, I suddenly felt very tired. It was like I could not stay awake a minute longer. I was so tired and I just felt asleep. When I woke up this morning, I could not remember much about what happened last night, until you called me."
There were a few more seconds of silence. I felt a little bit better, but not entirely.
"That's funny," he said humorlessly. "I thought Abby was the one who hit her head. Not you."
"There is nothing funny about this, Tony," I shot back. "I will show you." I reached into my purse, pulled out the camera, and turned it in on. He was curiously waiting to see what I was about to show him, but of course, the pictures were gone when I turned the camera on. The camera was empty and had no images. At this point, I was close to ripping the hair off my scalp. I could feel Tony staring at me doubtfully.
"What the hell?" I shrieked in vain. "The pictures were here last night! I swear!"
"Okay, okay," Tony said, trying to calm me down as he put his hands on my shoulders to keep my steady. "Chillax, ninja girl."
"Tony, I swear on my life! I saw those pictures last night! And now they're gone; I don't know how! I never deleted them!"
"Okay, Ziva," he said, but I could not tell if he believed me or not. "Fine."
"You do not believe me," I stated plainly. "You think I am crazy; you think I am making this up!"
He shook his head and, sighing, said, "I believe you, Zee."
I was stunned for a few moments. "You do?"
"Come on. I know you. I know when you're lying and when you're telling the truth. You know better than to make up stories and lie about them. I believe you. You've been acting strange for a while now and this certainly… makes sense. In a weird kind of way. I want to see it for myself, though."
"Do not tell anyone," I said.
"You don't think we should at least tell Abby or McGee? Or Gibbs?"
"No," I snapped. "I do not want anyone to know about this. Do not tell anyone, Tony. Please." Even I sounded foreign to myself, and so desperate, as though I had been begging. How pathetic of me.
He nodded sincerely at me. "Fine," he said. "I promise I won't tell anyone. Under one condition, though."
Why was I not surprised? "Name it."
"Any weird, fishy, life-threatening crap comes up and I want you to tell me. No matter what's happening, or what I'm doing. You tell me," he said. "Got it?"
I nodded. "Got it," I said, trying to keep my voice flat. "Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. He stiffened for a moment in surprise, but then relaxed and hugged me back. I knew we both had to leave now, but I embraced the moment, taking in his wonderful scent and pleasant body warmth, and rested my head against his broad chest. I had to get back to Abby and he had to get back to work. But, God, I could not help but think that our best moments always seemed to happen in the bathroom.