Chapter 10. I don't know what to say. I have been working on this story for nearly and year and this is the last chapter. The irony of this of course is that this story was only ever created to set up Our Sixteen Summer which I will set up in mid June. I find that really fun. Any way my baby is all grown up. I hope you like the last chapter.

Disclaimer: No…I do not own the cast of NCIS…or CSI NY for those of you who have been paying attention.

Spoilers: None.

Kate searched her face for any of hint of humor. She hoped that this was a joke. She knew by the confusion in Abby's eyes that it was not. Abby truly did not remember her. Kate could not be in the room anymore. She ran to the door and threw it open. She could barely see through the tears building in her eyes as she sprinted down the hall and into the bathroom. The door slammed behind her and she leaned against the sink.

The door opened behind her and two more people walked in. Kate saw Lindsay and Jess's blurred reflections in the mirror. "What are you doing here?" she asked her voice shaking with emotion.

"We were coming to visit Abby and we saw you running down the hallway," Jess explained.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Lindsay asked her friend. Putting a hand on Kate's shoulder as Kate turned around to face them.

"Abby woke up," Kate started trying to keep her tears from falling. To both Jess and Lindsay this seemed like a good thing but neither one of them was about to point that out until Kate finished the sentence. "And she doesn't remember me." At that point Kate lost all control and tear start to stream down her face blurring her vision.

Lindsay pulled Kate into a hug and rubbed circles on her back to sooth her. "Hey it's going to be okay," Lindsay told her friend quietly.

"No," Kate said furiously wiping tears away, "Everyone said Abby would wake up and things would be okay. Things are not okay."

"They are going to be," Jess said, "Brain damage does not have to be permanent."

"But what if it is?" Kate asked.

"Then we will take that one step at a time," Jess decided, "Abby is the one who just lost however many years of her life."

"You're right," Kate said, "Abby's the victim here, not me."

"You're still allowed to cry," Lindsay reminded her, "you haven't done anything but help other people since this all started. Maybe it is good you are letting it all out. She is your best friend. No one is going to resent you for being upset."

"Can you go back in with me?" Kate asked the other two, "I want to talk to her but I just ran out and…"

"Of course," Jess replied as Lindsay nodded. Kate wiped away the last of the tears and nodded to the other two. Together they made their way back towards Abby's room.

-0-0-0-0-

The first conversation was the hardest. Abby had no memory of them, any of them. This of course was to be expected because she did not remember Kate. She and Kate had known each other far longer than Abby had known Jess or Lindsay. Abby was also much closer to Kate than she was to the other two.

Abby had lost a lot of time. The last thing that she could remember about her life was her third grade graduation. She had met Kate the fall of fourth grade. Jess had joined their group in fifth grade and Lindsay had come in sixth.

The doctor said that her memory would most likely come back in bits and pieces but it might also come back all at once. The key to that would be finding a trigger. A trigger would be something that reminded Abby of everything. Given this information her friends created a schedule so that she would never be alone unless she specifically asked to be alone.

Abby had always been the heart and soul of their group of friends and without it just seemed so empty. She was the bright happy cheery one, who always brought a smile to the face. Without her they were all lost. No one tried to fill her spot because no one ever could so they devoted their time to trying to get her back.

They all took their turns visiting for two weeks. Some days it seemed like they were getting somewhere and other days broke their hearts. Abby still had a six year blank in her memory as the end of July.

-0-0-0-0-

Abby was sleeping when Kate got to her room. Kate pulled out her I-pod and put it on shuffle. The little electronic device chose had a certain tendency to choose things that either were the most or least appropriate to the current situation. It occasionally used its powers for good but it much preferred evil. It choose a slow song first and Kate skipped it. She did not really want to listen to that stuff right now.

"What are you listening to?" Abby asked from the bed. In response Kate handed Abby one of the ear buds. Abby put it in her ear and listened to a few lines. "That is some of your country trash," Abby said wrinkling her nose. Kate looked at Abby but Abby wasn't paying attention. "It's called 'Letter to Me' by Brad Paisley isn't it?"

"First of all country is not trash," Kate told Abby, "and second of all how did you know that?'

"I don't know," Abby replied, "I think I remember it from before the six year blank."

"Abby," Kate said looking straight into her friends face, "your blank is everything after the spring of 2003. That song came out in 2007."

-0-0-0-0-

It would take another couple of weeks for Abby to get a comprehensive picture of 2003 through 2009. That memory was only a start, but it was a start. By the time Abby, Kate, Jess, and Lindsay started their sophomore year in the fall Abby knew most of what had happened. There were still small details she did not know but in the long run she was the same as she had always been. She was the happy cheery girl who lead her pack and did not care what others thought. She had the same dreams that she had had before. She still wanted to be a forensic scientist and travel the world. No brain tumor could change her fundamental characteristics and no brain tumor could destroy her friendships. Those were meant to last…

Aw…It's all over…for like a month. Right so given that this is the last chapter I would really love you to review. Anyone who review's this chapter will be notified when I post the sequel. I would also like to say thank you to those of you who have stuck with this story all the way through. I have not been the most faithful updater and I apologize for that… but again thanks to those who stuck with me.

Peace, Hugs, NCIS