A/N: Posting early just 'cause. Thank you so so much to everyone who reviewed last time, you guys have no idea how happy it made me to get so many messages. Anyway, my current beta has a lot of stuff going on in her life right now and can't always get back to me, so if anyone else wants to help out let me know. :) Which means this chapter is un-beta'd so also let me know if you notice any errors. Thanks and enjoy!
Chapter Fourteen
"So this is me swallowing my pride,
Standing in front of you saying, "I'm sorry for that night"*
*"Back to December" by Taylor Swift
Tony sat in his car for an extra fifteen minutes after he arrived at the diner, trying to convince himself that he wasn't nervous. It made him almost twenty minutes late, which probably made him a jerk, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
Wendy was there already, he had been sitting in the car when she arrived and walked into the diner alone. Her pale blond hair in a braid that nearly reached her waist, she was sitting at a table near the back, by a window. He could see her through the glass if he leaned back a little.
The car radio was still playing the same soft rock station he usually enjoyed listening to, but Tony barely heard the music anymore. He was too busy berating himself for being such a damn coward.
"Go inside," he instructed himself out loud, not caring that he probably looked like a crazy person, sitting in his car and talking to himself. "She's going to think you stood her up. And Ziva's going to ask you how it went in the morning, are you going to tell her you wussed out?"
He startled when someone tapped on his window, and paled when he turned to see who it was.
Wendy had a half smile on her face as he lowered the window between them. "You done talking to yourself or should I order another cup of coffee?"
"I was just about to come inside," Tony informed her, and she had the nerve to laugh at him.
Tony decided this was possibly one of the most humiliating experiences of his life as he followed her into the diner and to their table. He was so going to cut this portion of the story out when he told Ziva about it later.
They sat down and Tony ordered a burger and fries. Wendy ordered a Cesar salad, not because she was watching her weight, but because she'd always had a thing for lettuce. Unless things had changed, she could always eat whatever she wanted with her speedy metabolism and often did.
"So, how are you?" Wendy asked when the waiter was gone. "I couldn't believe it when I heard you weren't a cop anymore."
Tony explained about being an NCIS agent and how it was a lot like being a cop most days, and tried not to blurt out completely inappropriate remarks at every turn.
By the time their food came, he'd relaxed somewhat and was actually having an okay time talking about old friends.
"You're probably wondering why I wanted to talk after all that time."
Tony had just bitten off a large bite of burger when she spoke, so he settled for nodding and chewing as fast as he could in response.
Wendy smiled. "Relax, it's nothing bad. Or at least I hope you won't think so." She looked a little unsure of herself.
Tony finished chewing his bite, and swallowed. "So, what's up?" she asked, trying to look casual.
"I'm getting married." Wendy smiled proudly across the table, holding up her left hand. Somehow he'd missed the simple gold and diamond ring encircling her finger.
"That's great," Tony told her, and he really meant it. They might have had quite a past between them, but Wendy had always been a nice person and she deserved to be happy.
Even if it wasn't with him.
Wendy looked relieved when he smiled and proceeded to tell him all about her fiancé. How they met because his little boy goes to an elementary school where she substitutes for another music teacher sometimes. How sweet he is, how he proposed, ect.
Then she dropped the bomb about why she felt the need to seek him out now.
"We're going to be living in Anacostia," she told him as their food arrived. "Actually, I already am. I transferred at the beginning of the school year."
"What part?" Tony asked, and she explained where the apartment was located and the school she was working at. Greg, the fiancé, and his son Zachary would be joining her in a few weeks.
When their food was almost gone, Wendy leaned back in her chair. "I just didn't want you to find out from an old friend, or to just bump into you at the supermarket or something."
Tony laughed. "Unless you shop at the 7-Eleven on on 7th street around two in the morning I think we're safe."
"You know what I mean." She playfully swatted at his arm and laughed a little herself. "Besides, there's something I've wanted to say to you for a long time."
"Thanks for ruining all other men for me?" Tony quipped.
"Cute." Wendy suddenly got serious. "Actually, what I wanted was, 'I'm sorry'."
"For what?" Tony asked without thinking.
Wendy raised her eyebrows.
"Oh." Tony swallowed. Suddenly his French fries looked just fascinating.
Wendy let him play with his French fries in the ketchup for a moment before continuing. "Taking off like that, it was a really lousy thing to do, I know."
Tony shrugged. "Wasn't that big of a deal," he insisted.
"Don't." Wendy leaned forward and waited for him to look up at her. "Don't pretend it was nothing because it wasn't. An engagement is big, Tony, and I left you the night before our wedding."
"So why did you do it then?" Tony blurted out, shocking himself. If there was one thing he had not planned on, it was asking that question.
Wendy took a deep breath. "Short answer? Because I knew neither of us were ready to get married."
"I wouldda made a lousy husband," Tony agreed, cracking a half smile.
"Back then? Heck yeah." Wendy grinned. "And I would have made a lousy wife. We would have been divorced in a year."
"Is that the long answer?" Tony asked, only half joking.
"Part of it," Wendy told him. She picked up her fork and poked at a soggy crouton. "Deep down, I knew it was a terrible idea, and I couldn't remember why I'd ever said yes."
"Ouch."
"I didn't mean it like that." She put her fork down with a clink. "I loved you Tony, but I was only twenty-two. I could barely buy beer without a fake I.D. I wasn't mature enough to be somebody's wife. I had no idea what I wanted from life. And I also knew that when I said those vows, it would be forever. I couldn't promise that to you."
Tony was quiet as he gathered his thoughts. Suddenly he felt ten years younger, like he was the Tony who had just found a note instead of his fiancé at his apartment.
"Tony?"
His head jerked up as he saw Abby and McGee making their way across the diner, each holding a kid.
"Hey Abby," Tony said, trying to look casual. "What are you guys doing here?" He wasn't sure if he should kiss her or curse her.
"Beth and I wanted apple pie." Abby squeezed the toddler in her arms. "This is the best place for pie."
"That it is," Tony agreed.
McGee was looking curiously at the blond sitting across the table. "Um, Abby? We should get our own table." When Abby looked perplexed he nodded towards Wendy. "I think we're interrupting."
"Ohh!" Abby looked over at Wendy. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were on a date."
"He's not," Wendy said quickly. "Just an old friend. We were about to order dessert, why don't you two join us."
Tony raised his eyebrows as he looked at her. They were?
"Tony?" Abby asked, bouncing in place a little.
"Yeah, sure." Tony slid further into the booth. "Join us for pie."
"Great." Abby happily slid in next to Tony, setting Beth on the seat between them. McGee looked dubious, but sat down next to Wendy when she smiled warmly at him.
"I'm Wendy," she said, continuing to smile at him and offering a hand McGee was too stunned to take.
Abby turned to Tony with a look that was equal parts delight and deviousness. She had obviously forgotten that his former fiance had called with everything that had been going on at work and at home.
He was suddenly very, very afraid.
"I'm Abby." The Goth in question thrust her hand across the table. "That's McGee, and this is Beth." She gestured to Beth with her free hand while shaking Wendy's hand with the other.
"Nice to meet you." Wendy smiled cordially at Abby and Beth, then turned to McGee and the baby in his arms, who predictably beamed at her.
"That's Gavin," Abby told her.
"Aren't you the cutest little thing?" Wendy cooed at him.
Tony shook his head in amazement. He was going to have to figure out how to harness all that baby cuteness. You know, without giving women the wrong idea.
Abby was watching him with a knowing look on her face. "You are not using Gavin as a wingman," she informed him.
"Aw, come on, Abbs," he teased. "We could get matching suits."
Wendy was shaking her head. "He hasn't changed a bit, has he?"
"Probably not." McGee had managed to reclaim his tongue. "I've known him for almost nine years and other than the receding hairline, he's exactly the same."
Abby and Wendy chortled as Tony's hands snapped up to his hair.
"Not nice, McBaldSpot."
Wendy had turned back to Gavin. "He really is a happy baby, isn't he? Can I hold him?" she asked, looking to Abby for permission.
"Oh! Go ahead," Abby urged. "We got to play with him all day. Share, McGee."
McGee obediently passed the baby over, although Tony noticed he watched Wendy carefully. His probie really was turning into quite the family man.
Abby was torn between watching Tony try to act casual or watching Wendy, who was stroking Gavin's arm and talking baby talk to him.
She hadn't been thinking when she'd dashed over to say 'hi' to Tony. It had completely slipped her mind that tonight was the night of the big dinner with Wendy. For a brief second she had almost let McGee drag her away, but then her curiosity had gotten the better of her.
Wendy was not at all what she had imagined. The petite blond was the polar opposite of any woman Abby had ever seen Tony with in the past. Somehow she had always imagined the legendary "Wendy" as the dark-haired lawyer type, abrasive and sly.
Her eyes didn't miss the ring on Wendy's left hand, obviously this wasn't an attempt at reconciliation. Abby had about a zillion questions she wanted to ask, and had no intention of holding them back.
"So, you guys almost got married?"
Tony groaned and McGee kicked her under the table, but Wendy just laughed.
"Yeah, I did." She nuzzled her face against Gavin's hair. "That was a long time ago, though."
"I know." Abby leaned forward. "I want to know everything about what Tony was like back then."
McGee was laughing too hard to notice the desperate looks Tony kept shooting him across the table. Abby was really enjoying herself.
"Hmm." Wendy bit her lip. "I'll have to think for awhile to remember all the really good stuff…"
"Oh thank god," Tony muttered.
"Did you know he camped out for a week to see Star Wars when they re-released the first movie?"
McGee's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh really," he said, turning his grin towards Tony.
Tony waved his hand in the air dismissively. "It was a classic cinematic experience I didn't want to miss out on."
Wendy leaned closer to McGee. "I still have pictures of him in his Han Solo costume," she whispered loudly.
"Weren't we going to order pie?" Tony desperately looked around for a waitress, any waitress.
"Did he make you dress up like Princess Leia?"
"Pie! Someone bring us pie!" Tony called plaintively.
Wendy reached across the table. "Don't worry, Tony. I won't tell them about the Wookie you got in a fight with."
"You got in a fight with a Wookie?" Abby and McGee asked in unison.
To Abby's dismay, and Tony's pleasure, their waitress chose that time to appear. They all ordered pie, except for Wendy who asked for a slice of cheesecake, and coffee, which their waitress had in front of them before Abby had a chance to get any more dirt out of Wendy.
McGee had offered to take Gavin back when their dessert came, but Wendy declined, saying she didn't need both hands to eat her cheesecake. He dozed off in her arms as they all sipped their coffee and watched Beth stab at her pie with enthusiasm.
"Your kids are beautiful," Wendy said as Abby cleaned bits of pie off of Beth's face.
Abby froze. She realized that to the average person it might look like she and McGee and the kids were a family, but this was the first time they'd encountered the misconception.
She glanced at McGee, but she couldn't read his expression. "Actually, Beth and Gavin are my first foster kids," she tried to say casually.
"Oh!" Wendy flushed. "I'm sorry, I just thought…you have the same green eyes…"
"It's okay," Abby reassured her, and it was. If Gavin and Beth stayed with her for much longer, she was sure it would come up many more times.
Wendy looked from Abby to McGee. "But you two are…"
"Friends," Tony clarified.
Abby wasn't sure why she felt a flare of annoyance when Tony answered for her. It was true after all.
"You should have seen it," Abby told Ziva, who was helping Abby out that morning in the lab on Gibbs' orders again. "I thought he was going to pass out when she said she had pictures of him in his Han Solo costume."
"I do not remember what this Han Solo looks like, but I trust that the pictures would be embarrassing, yes?" Ziva handed Abby a blank microscope slide and raised her eyebrows simultaneously.
"Very." Abby took the slide and applied a sample to it. "It's nerdy, Ziva. All those years of mocking McGee and it turns out Tony's a closet nerd."
"Then I am sure McGee quite enjoyed learning that little nugget of information."
Abby glanced over the computer to make sure Beth was still playing in her office. As the little girl became more comfortable with her surroundings, she played harder and explored more. Which was good, but a little terrifying.
Gavin was happily kicking in the bouncy chair she had gotten from Nina. It was covered in purple butterflies but the little boy didn't care, he loved the way it bounced when he kicked his legs.
"Anyway," Abby continued, returning to her work, "I gave Wendy my email address and she promised to send me the pictures when she unpacks them. If they're as awesome as I think they're going to be, I think we should blow one up and post it in the break room."
Ziva smirked. "Sounds like you and Wendy hit things off," she said, her voice becoming a bit drier.
"Yeah, kinda." Abby shrugged. "It just sorta happened."
"Oh!" Ziva exclaimed, looking around for the bag she'd brought with her. "I almost forgot, I brought something for you."
Abby accepted the plastic bag Ziva handed her. "Oh! You didn't have to get me anything," she exclaimed, even as she dug into the bag excitedly.
She pulled out what looked like a long band of black fabric with white skulls printed on it. "Don't get me wrong, Ziva, I love it, I really do. But what is it exactly?"
Ziva laughed, obviously not offended in the slightest. "It is a baby sling. A woman in my building makes them. I asked her to make one with a less 'pastel' fabric for you."
Abby nodded, still a little puzzled as she fingered the fabric. She did like the print.
"It is to hold the baby," Ziva explained. "I will show you how to tie it later. That way you can hold Gavin when he is cranky and still have your hands free to work."
"Oh!" Abby's face lit up as she finally realized what Ziva was talking about. "I've seen women using these before. Thank you so much, Ziva!" She flung her arms around her friend.
Ziva laughed and returned the hug. "It is just a small thing, Abby, but you are very welcome."
"It's not a small thing," Abby protested as she released her. "It's sweet and thoughtful and really, really useful. Right Gavin?"
The baby babbled up at them as his answer.
A 'ding' coming from the computer let Abby know that the DNA results she had been running were ready. Just as she turned to look at the data a loud rumbling noise came from the direction of Gavin's diaper.
Abby couldn't help but giggle when Ziva raised her eyebrows at him. "You have terrible timing," she told Gavin, turning away from her test results with a sigh.
Ziva waved her away. "I will do it. I cannot interpret DNA results but I can change a dirty diaper."
"You sure?" Abby hesitated. "That sounded like a gross one."
Ziva nodded resolutely. "I am certain I can handle one little baby diaper."
"That's what McGee said," Abby responded with a smile. "But go right ahead. I'm not going to fight you. Beth can show you where the diaper bag is."
After Ziva left the room, Abby pulled the DNA results up on one side of her screen and put a second set beside them. "All right," she said, using her best Maury Povich impression as she compared the two. "In the case of three month old Gavin Flynn… Joel Parker… you are NOT the father."
"Phew." Abby let out a long exhale. Good news for Gavin, bad news for the case. Joel Parker still hadn't given them a solid alibi, but they also didn't have any concrete evidence on him.
She'd really been hoping that Gavin wouldn't be Joel's son. Having a man like that for a father, that would be the pits. She'd only spent a couple minutes in his presence to swab his cheek, but that had been enough time to discover that he was a complete creep.
Despite the totally cool tattoo he had on his forearm.
She began setting the computer to run Joel's DNA against the partial sample Ducky had retrieved from under Christina Flynn's fingernails.
Abby took a moment to pray that they would match. Joel Parker was the first decent lead they'd had in days. The longer it took to solve the case, the more Abby worried that the killer might come after Beth.
Gibbs seemed to think that she'd seen something the day her mother was killed, although she obviously wasn't talking. Then again, the killer didn't know that. What if he decided Beth was a threat? What if Abby couldn't keep her safe?
She took a deep breath and backed away from the computer. Okay Abby, she told herself. You need to get a grip. If you freak out, you cannot work. If you cannot work, you cannot help solve the crime. And if the crime does not get solved, you'll have plenty to freak out about.
Beth was watching a movie on Abby's iPad with a pair of headphones on when Ziva carried Gavin into the office. She glanced up, but ultimately ignored Ziva, who spotted the diaper bag and headed over to Abby's desk after snagging it off the floor.
Ziva smiled a little at the towel already laying across the top of the desk. Apparently this was the current diaper changing station. She lay Gavin down on top of the towel and began pulling supplies out of the diaper bag.
Gavin was unusually silent as he watched her, poking his little tongue in and out of his mouth as if he had just discovered how the appendage worked.
Ziva thought about the email she had received the previous day from her friend Liora as she unsnapped Gavin's sleeper. Strangely, she and Liora had become closer since her move from Israel. They emailed and texted on a regular basis, things she had not had much time for in Mossad.
Ziva peeled back the tabs on Gavin's diaper and frowned. "That is rather disgusting," she told him, wrinkling her nose. She wondered if her delicate stomached friend knew how vile of smells could be found inside of babies diapers.
According to that last email, Liora was three months pregnant. She had been married for the past three years, but Ziva hadn't realized her friend was planning on having children, so it had come as somewhat of a shock to her. Liora had never been what you called a child person, but she must have changed her mind.
Ziva cleaned up Gavin with an efficiency that surprised her. Apparently it was not only Abby and McGee who were getting used to taking care of children.
Of course, she had been around children before, mostly in Israel, but she had never "baby sat" or "sat on a baby" (as she had called it once). It just seemed natural to help out because Abby was her friend. McGee was her friend.
She fastened the new diaper on Gavin, feeling her heart soften just a little as he gave her one of his gummy smiles. He really was a good baby. She finished re-dressing him and lifted the baby back into her arms.
"You make me think about things I do not wish to," she told Gavin seriously, as his hand tangled in her shirt. Ziva had rarely thought about having children, but the idea was worming itself in her brain more and more over the past few days.
"It might be time to find out," she murmured. She nuzzled the top of Gavin's head, never seeing Abby's shadow moving quietly back into the lab.
"Abby!" Tony's head shot up. "What are you doing up here?"
Abby shrugged. "Leon called me up. Said he had something he wanted to discuss with everyone." She'd been working alone since lunch and had been surprised when she'd received a summons.
McGee paused in his typing. "Where are the kids?"
"Jimmy's watching them." Abby had a little smile on her face. "When I left Beth was using my makeup to make him 'pretty'."
Ziva chuckled. "Palmer is a good sport."
"Palmer can't say no to women," Tony corrected. "I knew this would get him into trouble one of these days. Abby, that live feed to your lab is saved onto the system, right?"
He didn't see the headslap coming. Abby and Ziva snickered as Gibbs strode over to his desk, fresh coffee in his hand.
"What's up, Abbs?" Gibbs asked, situating himself in his chair.
"I called her up here." Vance walked down the stair case, slow and steady, all the agent's (and forensic scientist's) eyes on him. He too his time, walking carefully until he was able to speak to everyone.
Gibbs demanded to know what was going on with a single glare in Vance's direction.
"Local P.D. called a few minutes ago," Vance began. "There was a murder at the Motel 6 on Georgia Avenue."
"Who?" Ziva asked simply.
"They were able to identify the body as Lieutenant Brian Flynn."
Thoughts? lol. Let me know if you guys liked my version of Wendy, I might keep her around. :-)