Chapter 9
"Wedding?" Abby asked as soon as they were alone. "What wedding?"
Xander shook his head. "No wedding." He held up his hand to prevent his sister from protesting and asking another question. "Can we go home now?"
Abby scrutinised her little brother. There was a seriousness in his eye that she hadn't noticed before. And as much as she wanted to know the answers now, she realised they needed to have this conversation in the privacy of her apartment, not at work. So she nodded. "Okay. Let's go home."
As soon as they entered Abby's apartment Xander excused himself and went to the bathroom. He needed time to collect his thoughts before talking to his sister. Especially as he had never been able to lie to her. Or, rather, she had always been able to tell when he was.
Taking a final look into the mirror and adjusting his eye-patch Xander gave himself a grim nod before putting his 'I'm-as-happy-as-Larry' mask on and joining his sister in the living room.
"Pizza?" he asked sheepishly.
Abby shook her head and pointed at his eye. Or where it should have been. "When? How?"
Xander sighed and squeezed her hand. "Last year. And it doesn't really matter."
"It doesn't matter?" Abby looked at her brother as if he'd just grown a second head. "It doesn't matter? Are you mad? Someone hurt my little brother! Of course it matters! I'm going to find that little bastard and make him sorry he ever took that first breath when he clawed his way out of his mother's womb!"
Xander grinned, his good eye sparkling with mischief. "That's a good one, Abs! Very visual and pretty creepy too."
"Thanks." Abby grinned then slapped his arm. "Stop distracting me! I was ... where was I?" Abby stood up and started pacing. "Right. I'll start with his finger nails. Plucking them one by one. I'm sure Ducky would lend me some of his tool. But then he'd ask questions. No, that wouldn't be good." Abby stopped and looked unseeingly at her brother before turning around and resuming the pacing. "Ziva! I'll bring Ziva! I mean, I know where it should hurt most but Ziva, Ziva's trained in this sort of stuff. She'll help me. Yeah. I'll catch him and cuff him to a chair or maybe to the ceiling of a dark room and then I'll call Ziva. Or maybe I'll get her to help me catch the soon to be dead guy to start with..."
Xander's eyebrows slowly rose higher and higher while Abby talked herself into a frenzy. When his eyebrows where as high up his forehead as they would go he stood up and grabbed his sisters by her arms.
Abby was ready to continue her monologue when her brother grabbed her. She blinked in confusion as her eyes slowly focused on his face. In particular on the big grin on his face.
"Thanks." Xander said quietly before kissing her forehead and pulling her into a hug. "Thanks for wanting to protect me. And for always looking out for me."
"You're my little brother. Nobody hurts you without hurting me too," she grumbled. "And I get cranky if somebody hurts me."
Xander chuckled, pulling her back on the couch with him. "Must be a family thing, then. Cause I get pretty cranky when I'm hurt too."
"What happened?" Abby asked quietly, seriously, as she snuggled into Xander's side.
"That crazy preacher story?" Xander asked, waiting till Abby nodded. "It's sort of true. He was killing innocent girls and the police wasn't doing anything about it. So we tried to stop him. Him and his gang. And we did... but only after I got hurt. "
"Xander..."
"Abby, the man who did this to me is dead. And, even knowing what I know now, I'd go after him again. He was evil; he had to be stopped and we were the only ones able to do it." Xander stared at his sister, wanting her to understand. Seeing the wheels turning in her head, he added, "Sunnydale had many problems. Gangs, right from the day it was founded. Too much sun frying their brains or something. Willow still thinks it was given its name to make up for its true character." Xander chuckled humourlessly. "We renamed it Sunnyhell a long time ago."
"But-!" Abby whimpered as she thought back to her rare visits to her father's chosen home. She had always felt uneasy going out on her own, particularly at night, but had put it down to not knowing the area as she did her hometown. Worse, she knew her brother. She knew when he was lying. Even if it was just a teeny tiny lie. And she just knew that he wasn't lying now. "But ... but you can't just go and fight the bad guys. There are the police and ... and other agencies for that. What if you get hurt?"
Xander raised his eyebrows and Abby huffed. "See? You got hurt already!" Frowning, she moved away from him and tugged on his shirt. "Take it off."
Uh oh. Xander moved out of his sister's reach and shook his head. He knew that look and it wasn't boding well for him. "I'm not a little boy anymore."
Abby narrowed her eyes. "Don't play the coy card on me, mister! You're not McGee and even he can't resist me for long!"
Grinning, Xander kept evading her hands. "You and McGee, huh?"
Throwing her hands up in frustration, Abby screamed. "Alexander Lavelle Harris! Stop changing the topic and take off your shirt!"
"Abby..." Xander tried again but she only shook her head. Sighing, he knew from experience he'd have to give in eventually anyway, he took off his shirt and sat down again. He didn't even protest anymore when Abby, after tracing a more prominent scar on his shoulder, pulled his muscle shirt over his head as well.
Abby gasped several times while her eyes scanned first her brother's torso and then his back. Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered the well formed muscles in his upper body but foremost she registered the variety of scars. Her brother had more scars than could be explained with bad luck and clumsiness. Her analytical mind also noticed that the majority must have come from the use of knives or other bladed weapons. And, to her horror, she realised that they differed widely in age. Some were barely visible anymore while a couple where clearly less than a year old.
Tears in her eyes, she traced a still pink line on his right side as she looked up at him.
He smiled lopsidedly. "A little misunderstanding. The guy wanted my money, I wanted it too. He's in jail now, serving several years for some muggings and a couple of stabbings." For the first time Xander was glad about the scuffle with that guy a few months back. From all the scars on his body, this was simply the easiest one to explain. Without having to lie anyway.
Abby was scared. Just what had Xander gotten into? And could she have prevented it? All those scars! They hadn't been there when they met up after his high school graduation. Or had they? Thinking back, she couldn't remember seeing him without a shirt. Abby whimpered again. She should have known! Even then she'd been working long enough in forensics to notice the signs of fighting, of abuse. But she'd been too busy enjoying her brother's company after not having seen him for a few years. He had grown so much yet had still been his goofy self. Or had it all been a mask?
Abby suddenly couldn't breathe. She needed fresh air. She needed to clear her head. Jumping up, she grabbed the first coat she could reach - Xander's - and left the apartment in a hurry.
Xander sighed. Abby was freaking out already and they hadn't even gone to the wedding yet. Slowly getting up, he followed his sister at a more sedate pace. After all, he had a pretty good idea of how she felt. He'd been able to read her face like an open book, with her feelings displayed up front. But he also knew his sister. Knew she needed time to process things. To hopefully realise it wasn't her fault. Although, he figured, that was rather unlikely. So he would have to find another way to make her see. Preferably without introducing her to the supernatural. Seeing how she had a coffin in her bedroom already, he really didn't want to go there.
Xander stopped his car a few houses down after Abby had pulled into one of the driveways ahead of him. He watched her scramble out and more or less run towards the front door. She hammered on it with her fists and Xander almost smiled when he saw Gibbs opening the door, a dark scowl on his face. Xander watched as the scowl turned into a frown before Gibbs pulled Abby into a hug and into his house.
His sister was in good hands for now - and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was needed elsewhere.
--
Gibbs had barely changed out of his work clothes when someone tried to knock down his door with their fists. Swearing loudly, he grabbed his gun and opened his door, ready to give whoever dared to disturb him a thorough chewing out. Though, when his eyes fell on Abby, he immediately forgot about it as he pulled her into a hug.
Noticing Xander's coat, he raised his eyebrows but didn't ask any questions. Yet. Instead, he led her to the couch and sat her down before getting her some of his freshly brewed coffee.
"Drink."
Abby obeyed without thinking. After the first couple of sips her eyes opened wide and she finally focused on her friend. "Gibbs! Hi!"
Smiling, he took a sip from his own cup. "Abby. Wanna tell me what's going on? Where's your brother?"
Sighing deeply, she shook her head. "Home. I guess."
Gibbs gently lifted her chin. "You guess?"
"I kinda left in a hurry?"
Taking the cup from her, he asked, "What happened? Did you have a fight? Did he hurt you?"
"No!" Abby looked up in alarm. "No! We talked, he talked and ... and then I couldn't breathe and had to get some fresh air and then you gave me coffee. Your special coffee. Gibbs! That was a present! Just for you! You're not supposed to share it with anyone!"
"I'm not sharing it with anyone. I'm sharing it with you." Gibbs grabbed her hands before she could accidentally hurt either of them. "Now tell me what's going on?"
Taking a deep breath, Abby told him everything Xander had told her earlier and her own conclusions. "See?" she finished, "It's all my fault he got hurt! I could've stopped it and then he might still have both eyes and not so many scars." Her eyes filling with tears, she whispered, "Gibbs? Why does he have so many scars?"
Gibbs held her close while he wondered the very same thing. Although it answered one of the questions that had bothered him ever since meeting the young man. He certainly wasn't the kid just out of high school he wanted everyone believe him to be; he'd already seen much more of the world than most people his age. And from all the information they'd been able to gather so far - which wasn't all that much - a lot of it had to do with Sunnydale. A small town turned sinkhole the previous year.
Looking down at Abby, he smiled. She'd fallen asleep. And, after the day she had, he couldn't even blame her. Leaning back, he put his feet up on the couch table and thought back on his earlier visit to the club while watching his favourite Goth sleep.
Both the barkeeper and the manager had been as forthcoming as they'd been in the morning, though they'd been unable to tell him anything new. In fact, the only time he got a reaction out of either of them was when he had mentioned Harris. The manager had apologised again for not having thought about the camera above the bar but had pointed out they'd quickly handed over the data from it as soon as Harris had pointed them out. The barkeeper's reaction had been even more interesting. He had actually shuddered. Gibbs had almost missed it, but only almost and it had confirmed his earlier impression of them being scared, or at least wary, of Xander.
Gibbs sighed. That boy was raising questions faster than they could answer even a single one.
--
Knowing Abby would be safe where she was Xander drove back to his hotel. He showered, changed into some fresh clothes and went in search for some food before going back for a lazy night in. Naturally his cell phone rang half-way through his meal.
He smiled when he saw the number on the display. "Hi Dawn."
"Hey Xander. How are you? How's Abby? Does she still sleep in a coffin? How about tattoos? How many does she have again? Do you have any pictures? I want a tattoo too but Buffy wouldn't let me. So I figured if she'd met Abby and saw how good it could look she would agree. I mean, the tattoos look good on Abby, right? Are you bringing her to Cleveland before you leave for Africa? I mean, only Willow knows her so far and we're all curious. Cause Willow said she's really smart and you're, well ... uhm."
"Uh huh." Xander chuckled, waiting for Dawn to dig herself out the hole she'd just made for herself. "I'm listening. So Abby's really smart and I am...?"
"Too?" Dawn offered sheepishly. "Just a different kind of smart? I mean, you know all this stuff about repairing doors and furniture and walls and windows and ... you know?"
"After that, I'm expecting a special birthday present."
"Okay!" Dawn was ready to agree.
Xander chuckled again. "So, how's Cleveland? Anything interesting happening since I left?"
"Naw. I mean, with Faith and Willow and some of the girls gone it's pretty quiet."
Xander sighed as he gave the remains of his dinner a longing look. Putting the phone on speaker he went through his bags to find something appropriate to wear.
"Xander?" Dawn asked. "Are you still there?"
"Yup. Just getting ready to go back to the club and I can't have the girls laugh at my attire again, can I?"
"The girls?" Dawn asked cautiously.
"Faith, Willow and whoever else is here?" Xander offered matter-of-fact.
"I'm so screwed."
Xander smiled at the phone, imagining Dawn pouting at the offending piece of technology at that very moment. "Don't worry, Dawnster, my lips are sealed."
"Really?"
"Yup. As long as you tell me when and where they wanted to go tonight."
Dawn scoffed. "That's blackmailing."
"Yup. So...?"
--
"Why are we doing this again?"
Ziva slapped Tony's chest. "They've hurt Abby. They find their victims in the clubbing scene so we're going clubbing. We're going to find them, have a little talk, and then hand them over to the police." Ziva polished the blade of her favourite knife before putting it back into its hiding place in her boots, a feral grin appearing on her lips. "Maybe."
--
A/N: Ha, only one week between updates (and I'm half-way through the next chapter too)! I have to say your reviews once again helped me a lot in making this work better! So thanks again to everyone who reviewed. And even to those who thought about it. LOL. Now, I have to admit He-Muse and She-Muse are a bit distracted. Oh, they still come up with great bits for this story but they are working on something else. Admittedly, it's my fault for watching all three season of Eureka in the past two weeks but, well, it's a fun show! So anyone coming up with a crossover idea with BtVS, you're welcome to drop me a line (note: instead of Buffy/SMG Fargo will be obsessed with someone else)... Meanwhile I'm trying to convince the muses to work on those other sequels I really want to write!
