TITLE: FEAR: PART 7- TIL' DEATH DO US PART
Song: Til death do us part by Madonna
Warnings: Abuse, domestic abuse, violence etc etc.
Style: Tarantino style (jumping from now to ten years ago and other etc)
Pairing: Abby/OMC
Disclaimer: I own Thomas and Shayla. No one else. Oh, and now Jade, Loritta, Braelan and Renata. That is all.

"Have you seen Shayla?" Abby asked as she sat in the visiting room with Tony.
"Haven't since you came in here. But she's fine, according to Ziva."
"Good."
"I need you to tell me what happened the night you shot Thomas." He blurted out. That's what he was sent there for by Gibbs. That and to check on her.
"Wow, that was completely random." She said trying to hide her discomfort.
"Well…?" He tried again. He hated that he had taken the smile from her face and the expression left was one he wasn't used to.
"Must we?"
"Yes. It's important. For the case." He added.
"But I have gone over it a million times. Trust me." Abby tried, begging with him to not ask questions.
"Abby, I promise you it'll be worth it."

You need so much but not from me
Turn your back in my hour of need
Something's wrong but you pretend you don't see
I think I interrupt your life
When you laugh it cuts me just like a knife
I'm not your friend, I'm just your little wife

Now he recognized that look. The same one she had when he had been disappointed in her for not telling them about Mikel Mower. Now he cursed himself for being an asshole when she was obviously dealing with something bigger than they knew. She closed her eyes and let out a breath before opening them again to look at Tony.

"Okay." Abby finally said looking back down at the table between them. Her hands were bound together as she attempted to fiddle with rings that were no longer gracing her fingers. Obvious nervous habit. That's when Tony noticed the tiny heart tattoo that took the place of a wedding ring, that was usually covered by a large leather ring or latex gloves at work.

They never laugh, not like before
She takes the keys, he breaks the door
She cannot stay here anymore
He's not in love with her anymore

"Vanessa decided to leave Thomas after he pushed Shayla." She started, disassociating instantly to be able to talk about it freely. Not consciously.
"He did?"
"He was beating her when she came back in the room. Shayla tried to pull Thomas away and he accidentally pushed her out of the way when she grabbed his arm." Abby justified and then winced. "Not that it wasn't just a matter of time until he did inflict on her what he did on Van… me." She corrected when she realized how she was talking.
"And then what?"
"After he realized what he did, he took off. He didn't come back until after Shayla was in bed and I had planned to leave him. He blamed me for what happened, and I told him to 'go to hell'. But I didn't give him the impression that I was getting out of there with Shay that night."
"Okay. So why did you shoot him?" Tony asked when she stopped speaking, looking everywhere but at him.
"We snuck out while he was sleeping. Or so I thought. He caught up to us when we got to the car and he dragged me back into the house."
"In front of Shayla?" He asked, shocked.
"Yes. He started kicking me again, and I knew Shayla was screaming in the car. It had to stop. And I knew that he would have killed me that night if I didn't do something and that was not going to happen to Shayla. And that was before I found out he already got rid of another wife and child."
"Self defense?"
"In every sense of the words." Abby said looking at him squarely. "Everything I have done, every law I have broken, every document I forged. It was all for survival."

The bruises they will fade away
I will not stay to watch your hate as it grows
She's had enough, she says the end

"No boyfriends yet? Suppose that's not out of the realm of possibility for a nearly sixteen year old." Ziva said as she and Shayla tried conversation again. Ziva picked it as a safe topic but the look on her face told her she once again failed.
"Apparently I have trust issues with the opposite sex." She said quietly. "But, it doesn't bother me that I'm not like all the other girls my age." She added, adding a smile. The older woman was trying so hard.
"Truly your mother's daughter."
"Yeah. So what's your deal, Ziva?" Shayla asked finally.
"My deal?" Ziva asked, confused.
"Your story. I am sick of talking about my screwed up childhood. Tell me about you." Shayla said in a familiarly quick speed.
"What would you like to know?"
"Anything."

He makes demands, she draws the line
He starts the fight, she starts the lie
But what is truth when something dies
He's not in love with her anymore

"Did you get anything?" Gibbs asked when Tony returned.
"She's coping. Pretty well, actually." He said.
"I knew that much. Anything that'll help?"
"Just what we already had." Tony said.
"I'm going out for coffee." Gibbs said leaving the office immediately.

"Gibbs, what are you doing here?" Ziva asked when he showed up at her apartment. She lowered her weapon and stepped aside to let the man in.
"I need to talk to Shayla." He said. The young girl looked up from the book she was reading.
"Shayla here, you're on the air." She chirped the way her mother always did.
"Shayla, I need to ask you a few questions."
"Okay."

But she'll come back, she knows it then
A chance to start it all again
Till death do us part