Tony's POV
Two days earlier:
I was taking a quick break from yet another difficult case. I stood in front of the stubborn vending machine, cursing as it spat out my only dollar bill out over and over again, and out of the corner of my eye I saw McGee come in. Muttering obscenities under my breath, I tried, unsuccessfully, to shove the crumpled bill yet again into the slot.
"Come on you damn machine!" I yelled as it spat out the bill. "I just want a freakin' chocolate bar!" I was just about give the machine a well-deserved kick when McGee came up to me, pulled out a fresh dollar bill, and slid it in. He punched in the alphanumeric sequence and handed me the chocolate bar before sliding in another dollar and retrieving a Nutter Butter. As he unwrapped his food, I looked over at him, perplexed.
"Trying to butter up your senior field agent, McGenerous?" I asked. At first McGee didn't say anything, seemingly engrossed with the scene outside the break room window. Finally he spoke, but his words caught me completely off guard.
"How-how did you know Ziva was the one?"
For a few seconds I could only stare at him.
"Wait- what?"
Tim fumbled with his wrapper. "You asked Ziva to marry you. How did you know she was right for you?"
At first I was completely taken aback by the question, but as it made its way into my head, I started to really think about it, and a sudden memory came up.
"Tony, what are you doing here?"
"Couldn't live without you, I guess."
"I can't live without her." The words tumbled out of my mouth, starting a flood. "She's everything to me, McGee. She got shot, and that's when I knew it- I just couldn't lose her."I re-focused on Tim, who was staring at me with a slightly creepy intensity. Being a male, it took me a few seconds for everything to click, but then I realized what he was really asking me.
"It's Abby, isn't it?" I asked quietly. He just nodded, looking down at the floor. I rested a hand on his shoulder, and he looked back at me. "Look Tim, I'm going to tell you what Gibbs told me- I cannot tell you what's right or wrong, that's for you to decide. But I can tell you this- go for it. If she's the one, you will know, and you have to go for it."
Tim smiled crookedly. "Thanks for being honest with me Tony. One more thing- this doesn't leave this room."
"My lips are sealed, McRomeo."
Present Time
When Abby told us that she was pregnant, the conversation of two days earlier immediately flashed through my mind, and it took all of my willpower not to get into the car and race over to McGee's apartment to throttle him. Taking a few calming breaths, I looked up and locked eyes with Ziva. She gave me the tiniest of nods before her complete attention went back to the sobbing Abby. Knowing full well that Ziva would be able to calm the distraught Goth better than I ever could, I went over to the phone to call McGee. Before I could even reach out, however, the phone gave a shrill ring, the caller I.D. flashing McGee's name. I quickly snatched the phone off of its cradle and savagely punched the 'talk' button.
"Tim, why in the hell is Abby sitting on our family room couch crying her eyes out!" I growled, trying my best to keep my volume low enough so that Abby couldn't hear me, but my tone menacing enough to make my anger clear. However, McGee's tone quickly dissipated the anger.
"She is at your place? Thank God. Is she safe? God Tony, I made a huge mistake!" In the background I could hear the blare of car horns, and I idly wondered how many traffic laws Tim had just broken. "I've been trying to call her, but her phone's turned off, I can't even trace it. Oh man, I messed up Tony, I messed up big time! I was- oh go to hell you motherfu…" Hearing the drawn-out blare of a car horn, I decided right now was not a good time for Tim to be talking on the phone.
"McGee, as much as I want an explanation, I really don't feel like scraping your remains into a body bag. Look, just get over here and we'll talk, okay? Ziva and I will make sure Abby stays here." I grunted. McGee sighed.
"Alright, I'll be there in ten." The phone clicked off, and I hung our phone back up before returning to the couch where my wife and Abby were seated. I noticed with some relief that Abby's tears had slowed and her heaving sobs had been reduced to quiet sniffles. Ziva had her arms wrapped around her and she was whispering softly in Abby's ear. I motioned to her, and after reassuring Abby that she'd be right back, she came over to me. I lowered my head and my voice so that Abby wouldn't overhear us.
"McGee's on his way over. I'm going to try to get his side of the story if you can get Abby's. I'm going to keep him outside." I murmured. Ziva nodded, and then returned to Abby's side. Knowing that she would keep Abby calm, I went outside and shut the front door behind me. Soon enough I saw the headlights of McGee's car pull into our driveway and stepped off the porch. As Tim left his car and approached, I saw a desperate look in his eyes and hoped that I wouldn't have to bring Ziva out to help me restrain him.
"Where the hell is she Tony? I need to see her!" McGee panted. I just managed to grab him as he tried to rush past me.
"McGee." I grunted as I tried to push him back. When he didn't respond, I smacked him on the back of his head, hard. "Tim, knock it off! You're not going anywhere! Abby is safe, she's with Ziva, and you have a lot of explaining to do." McGee relaxed somewhat, and I led him over to one of our porch chairs and motioned for him to sit down. Once he had, I sat in the one next to him, looking him straight in the eye.
"Alright Tim, what happened? And start at the very beginning." I growled. Tim broke eye contact, shifted, and then finally spoke.
"Abby and I have been see- alright, dating each other around when the triplets were born- when we became godparents. It just seem, so, I don't know, right I guess." Tim paused, clearly unsure of what to say next. I watched him fiddle with his car keys, but didn't say a word. My patience soon paid off.
"I guess it was the Terranova case that- that really set things off. When I got shot while we were apprehending the Ensign's sister, Abby took me home with her and things got- we had sex" Tim finished flatly. I briefly toyed with the idea of teasing him, but decided that doing that wouldn't help the situation much. Tim flipped his keys, caught them, and then continued. "It all happened so fast, so sudden, and neither of us thought much about the consequences. And when I talked to you two days ago, I was serious. You made me realized that I can't lose Abby. But I screwed up, and I am going to lose her!" Tim buried his face in his hands, and I carefully rested my hand on his shoulder.
"What exactly happened when you found out?" I asked quietly, causing Tim to raise his head.
"She came over to my apartment today after work and I made us dinner. Abby was really quiet, and I kept asking her if anything was wrong, but she kept telling me she was fine. It wasn't until we were watching a movie…"
"Which one?" I asked. Catching Tim's glare, I grimaced. "Wrong time, huh?" Tim didn't say anything, but continued on with his story.
"Anyway, it wasn't until we were watching the movie that she looks up at me with those gorgeous eyes and just asked, 'Tim, what would you think of having kids?' I thought she was joking of course, and I said that I'd like it, and thought that that was that, but she paused the movie and said 'Tim, I'm pregnant'. Just like that." McGee ran a hand through his hair with a groan. "And God help me, I just sat there like a slack-jawed idiot! I didn't say anything, I just stared at her like she was a-a-a freak!" McGee spat the word out like it had a bad taste. He then leaned forward and spoke in a more subdued voice.
"That's when she teared up and took off. She just grabbed her keys and ran out the door without a word. And I just sat there Tony! I just sat there, doing absolutely nothing! My girlfriend needed me, and I just sat there! When reality finally hit me, I tried to call Abby, but her phone was turned off, so I tried to trace it, but couldn't. So I just kept calling until I realized that I should try to call you and Ziva or Gibbs. And so I called you and, and that's it, I guess." Tim's whole body sagged at that, and I felt sorry for him. But I also knew that he had to be able to solve his own problems as well.
"So now what?" I asked. Tim looked up at me, confusion and a little bit of aggression evident in his eyes. But I refused to back down. "What are you going to do Tim? Are you going to help her, or are you going to leave her?" Tim's eyes flashed dangerously at the last suggestion.
"NO! I'm NOT going to leave Abby! What the hell are you thinking DiNozzo! I. Love. Her. She is everything to me, Tony, everything! She's funny, sweet, intelligent, gorgeous and now she's carrying our child, and I can't think of anything more amazing than that! Now, if you're not going to open the door, I'm going to bust it in myself because I have to talk to Abby!"
Before I could say a word, however, a familiar voice spoke softly.
"No Tim, you don't have to say a word."
Both of us immediately spun around. Ziva and Abby were standing at the now- open door, which we had had our backs to. I wondered how long they had been listening in, but the look on Ziva's face said that they had heard enough. Ziva gave me a raised eyebrow, and I quickly got up, offering my chair to the quiet Abby. She and Tim needed to talk.
Ziva and I went back inside, and she quietly re-told Abby's version of the story, which for the most part confirmed Tim's version, with a few differences. As we were talking, we heard a shriek come from outside, and we both rushed out to see if everything was okay. What we saw made us smile.
Tim was holding Abby's hand in both of his large ones and an engagement ring shone brilliantly on Abby's forth finger.
Ahh, don't you just love resolutions? And yes, I have decided to bring in a McAbby baby!
Again, so sorry for the delay, and a tip for any soon-to-be college goers, do NOT take more than 17 credits if you can do so! 22 credits+work is killing me right now! Thank God for fanfic!
Anyway, enough bellyaching. Please enjoy and REVIEW!
Yeah, sure, you becha!