Chapter 20

The shiny gold bow looked oddly out of place, sitting on Tony's desk. It wasn't there when he got up to get something to drink. He cautiously sat back down at his desk and stared at the box.

"Let me guess: it says 'concentrate' on the side of the box."

"Funny Ziva. And, no."

She headed over to his desk. "What's up Tony? You look more confused then usual."

"Did you see where this box came from?"

"No. I stepped out for a second. Why do you ask?"

"I just never saw it being brought it. That's all."

"Why do you not just read the card?"

"Smart ass.." he smirked at her. He reached over to the box and lifted the envelope off. He carefully opened the envelope and read the card.

"Merry Christmas Tony,

Love Mom."

He tensed up as he read the card. "It's says it's from my mom. For Christmas."

"Only a couple weeks late. That's not too bad." Ziva said sarcastically. She noticed Tony wasn't smiling. "What's wrong, Tony?"

"My mom's dead."

She watched as Tony picked up the box carefully and headed to the elevator. "Where are you going?"

"To x-ray this." Tony said as the doors closed.

"So, what's in the box Tony?" asked Abby.

"That I need you to tell me Abs. It just appeared on my desk."

"Got it, Tony. Give me a second and I'll x-ray it for you."

"Thanks," he smiled at Abby as she headed to her microscope.

He watched as Abby worked. He was so glad that she was back at work. He had been so scared that they were going to loose her, after the whole Cpl. Thomas case.

She was probably his best friend in the whole world, besides Charisma. And she was so cute, with her pigtails and all.

She turned at smiled at her friend. "Ready?"

"Yup. Let's do this." He handed her the box and she placed it on the scanner.

Tony watched the screen as the box was x-rayed. Inside the box was and obelisk.

Abby looked at Tony. "Maybe we should open the box."

Tony nodded and placed the box on the desk. He slowly untied the ribbon and opened the box. Tony carefully lifted the obelisk out of the box and placed it on the desk.

"Looks harmless enough." said Abby.

"Yeah. I guess I overreacted."

"Better safe then sorry. You want me to take a closer look at it?"

"Would you?"

"I'll page you when I'm done."

"Thanks Abs." He smiled at her as he left the lab.

"Whatcha reading Ziva?"

"My horoscope. Abby got me into it."

"I don't believe it."

"In astrology?"

"No, in you reading tabloids."

"You are pathetic." replied Ziva.

"It's part of my charm." Tony said as he smiled at her.

"Is that what you call it?" she shot back.

"Why Ziva? You jealous?"

"Not likely." she smirked back at him.

He smiled as he looked back at his computer. His phone rang a little bit later.

"DiNozzo."

"Hey, it's me." he heard on the other end.

"Hey Abs. What's up?"

"I need to show you something. Can you come down to the lab?"

"I'll be right there." Tony hung up the phone and headed to the elevator.

Tony walked into the lab to find Abby staring intently at the obelisk.

"Hey Abs. What's up?"

"I think I found something."

"What?"

"A way to open the bottom."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I'm not sure yet." Abby replied.

"So what do we do now?"

Abby smiled at him as she placed the obelisk in the explosive box. She and Tony then stood back a little bit. Using the machinery, Abby opened the bottom slowly. As she opened it, Tony heard a click.

"Stop." he said as he placed his hand on her arm.

"What is it?"

"I heard a click."

She took a deep breath. "Call Gibbs before I continue."

Tony picked up the phone and dialled the number.

"Gibbs."

"Hey boss. Are you busy?"

"Not this second. Why?"

"Can you come down to the lab? Abby and I need your help."

"I'll be right there."

Tony hung up the phone. "He's on his way."

Abby nodded. And waited.

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the lab. He was concerned when he saw the box. "DiNozzo?"

"Here's the deal boss. This box showed up on my desk. The note said it was from my mom and that fact concerned me. I brought it down here and x-rayed it before opening. Inside was this obelisk. Abby noticed the compartment on the bottom. We put it in the explosive box. When Abby went to open it, I heard a click. That's when I called you."

"I'll get the bomb squad down here." With that, Gibbs dialled a number on the phone. Tony and Abby waited.

Bomb squad entered the lab and went to work on the obelisk. They wanted to make sure everything was secure before they opened the compartment.

Tony, Abby and Gibbs had stepped back to watch the process.

Just as the bomb tech opened the compartment, the obelisk exploded, causing the explosive box to explode too.

As the agents hit the floor, Tony heard Abby cry out. When the chaos ended, Tony went over to Abby.

"Hey. You ok?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Well, you cried out. And, you're bleeding."

Abby looked down and saw that she was bleeding from her abdomen. "Ouch." she whispered.

Tony grinned at her. "Can I look?" he asked.

Abby nodded. Tony lifted her shirt and saw that a big piece of the explosive box had lodged itself in her abdomen.

"I'll be back Abs." Tony stood up and walked over to Gibbs. "She needs an ambulance, now!"

Gibbs nodded and headed over to call 911. Tony walked back over to Abby. He took off his shirt. "Hey. How you holding up?"

"I'm cold."

Tony blinked to fight back the tears that stung his eyes. "I'll get you a blanket." He stood and walked over to her closet. He pulled out a blanket and headed back over to Abby. "Sweetie, I'm going to apply a little bit of pressure to your stomach. It's going to hurt. Then I'll cover you up."

Abby nodded and shivered. Tony lifted her shirt and placed his shirt against her wound. Keeping pressure on it, he covered her with the blanket. She tensed up as Tony touched her.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." she whispered.

Tony looked at Gibbs and sighed. Gibbs nodded and went back to his phone. Tony looked back at Abby and noticed she had dosed off. "Hey, beautiful. Wake up for me 'kay?" He held his breath while he waited for her green eyes to open.

Finally, they opened. Tony breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey there. The ambulance is on its way. You're going to be fine. You just have to stay awake for me, ok?"

Abby nodded. "Water?"

"Can I get some water here please?" Tony shouted. One of the bomb techs brought over a bottle of water and handed it to Tony. He tilted Abby's head up and tipped the bottle, letting Abby take a drink.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anything for you," he replied, smiling.

Just then, Tony heard sirens in the distance. He looked down and smiled. "See. I can hear them now." His grin faded. He felt for a pulse but couldn't find one. "Help me! Please!"

Tony was frantic as he waited for help for Abby.

Gibbs started pacing as he waited for the EMT's to come. Tony was panicking. His hand was covered with Abby's blood, something he hoped would never happen again.

The EMT's finally arrived and placed Abby in the ambulance. Gibbs and Tony followed behind.

Tony was pacing in the waiting room. He hated hospitals. Especially when someone he knew was in one.

Gibbs had fallen asleep a few hours earlier. Tony was too worried to sleep. Abby needed him and he felt helpless.

The doctor finally emerged. Tony woke Gibbs so they could talk to him.

"Abby's going to be fine. Nothing major was cut. She lost a lot of blood, but we have her stabilized."

"Oh thank god." Tony sighed.

"You can see her tomorrow. Go home and get some rest."

Tony and Gibbs nodded and headed out the hospital doors. Tony glanced back and smiled at the lateness of the hospital. The light from the Christmas tree shone brightly through the window.

The End