Me: OH MY GOD SHE'S GONNA DIE!
Abby: What are you watching?
Me: "Bring Me to Life" music video. Oh my gosh no he dropped her!
Abby: You need to find better things to do...
Me: Whatever!
Disclaimer: I can do what I want with this, disclaimers are fun! I think.
Abby wasn't released from Bethesda until three days later, instructed to rest and drink plenty of fluids until she got her strength back. Not only that, but it seemed behind the scenes of what was going on with Abby, Ziva's pregnancy, and Jewel's engagement, there was a constant charged sense of unease flowing through everyone.
Tim walked into the bullpen after making sure Abby wasn't about to go anywhere. He felt his heart jump into his throat. He just knew something was incredibly wrong. Without even explaining himself, McGee ran down to Abby's lab. Sure enough, there was a heavy black cloak on the ground. Someone was here. A Caf-Pow! sat on the table. McGee considered dumping out its contents but then had a better idea.
"Let's see what you have to say about this Major Mass Spec..."
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"Hey, Abs," Tony said, giving her a soft smile. She barely lifted up her head, that's how exhausted she was. Hospitals weren't exactly the place to get a whole ton of sleep. She knew that from experience.
"I thought it would be best to stop by...Vance told me you're running out of sick leave. SecNav's been bugging him about it. So starting next week we have to do cases again." Abby nodded, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Look, you know we won't let him hurt you again." Again, she nodded. But those green eyes, normally willing to trust anyone, were indistant and confused.
"Zi's coming by later with something to eat for you, okay? Just hang in there, sis." Tony leaned down and kissed her forehead then left the bedroom. Abby sighed and tried to get to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes she saw Hades torturing her. Making her feel...used, like a tool. For the second time she shot up out of bed and ran into the bathroom. Perhaps all this drowning in her own misery was making her sick.
Ziva walked in and briefly greeted Tony as he left, feeling bad that they haven't gotten to spend much time together lately but knowing not much could be done about it until things settled down a little. At least Tony was a good...something about it. What was the word? Spot? Spell? Sport? Yes, that was it. Sport. She wandered into the kitchen. Empty. Bedroom. Vacant. Living room, obviously...empty as well. Where was Abby? Ziva turned and saw her emerge from the bathroom.
"Hi," Abby said, her voice lacking what energy she had gained from healing and overcoming all the trauma she had endured.
"Why don't you get back in bed?" Ziva suggested. "You look dead on your legs." Abby managed a weak smile at Ziva's attempt at idioms once again, and did as she was told. Ziva waited until Abby was asleep, then wandered into the kitchen, suddenly in the mood for cooking. She hoped Abby didn't mind.
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"Did you tell her yet?" Adien asked. Jewel nodded, and her lover sighed in relief. She knew he was just as nervous about Daniela finding out. He just so happened to be better at hiding it. Adien pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the head.
"I heard Abby was poisoned," Jewel said quietly. Lately she'd been telling him everything he missed over the past twelve years, but didn't go into great detail about what happened between her and Hades. She wasn't willing to go into that just yet.
"Is she alright?"
"I think so. I haven't heard much from any of the NCIS agents, thought. I expect it's because they're all worried and half wondering if something else is about to happen. Still, I'd like to be updated now and again." Adien nodded in understanding.
"Twelve years, huh? How's our little girl?"
"She's taking all this craziness in stride. I'm envious of how much stronger she is than me."
"Sh, don't think like that," Adien chided gently, brushing back a stray strong of hair away from her face. "You are every bit as strong as Daniela, and don't you forget it." He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, and for a while Jewel forgot her reason for ever being upset.
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Ziva thought she could handle being around raw meat a whole lot better when the scent was mixed in with other things, so she experimented that theory by trying to make spaghetti and meatballs from scratch. She got so into the familiar rhythm of cooking that she didn't notice someone else enter the kitchen. It wasn't until she started making the sauce that she heard a noise. Panicking, Ziva's hand automatically went to her SIG, but she relaxed when the mysterious presence turned out to be Abby.
"Don't scare me like that," Ziva said. It didn't take a whole lot to scare her, but she had been caught off gaurd this time.
"Sorry," Abby muttered. "I couldn't get to sleep. Could you call Timmy for me and have him come over?"
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"I need any recent security footage of Abby's lab," Tim said as he entered Vance's office with a faint echo of Gibbs's confidence.
"Why do you need it?" Vance asked.
"Because Hades tried to poison Abby. Again." He slammed the Caf-Pow! onto Vance's desk to prove his point.
"Hades?" How much had he missed? McGee quickly explained to the Director what had been going on lately.
"Miss Sciuto is running out of sick days, as you know," Vance said as he lead the agent to MTAC. "I will either have to let her go or force her to return, otherwise SecNav will have my head."
"How long do we have?"
"A week." McGee started to respond, but was cut off by his phone vibrating.
"Hello?"
"McGee, I'm sorry to bother but it seems Abby has a hard time getting any rest without you here."
"Ziva...really? I'm talking to the Director right now. I understand completely what you mean, and it's not that I don't sympathize, but this is extremely important."
"Well, what do I do then, if you can't come here?"
"There's a bottle of pills on the table in the living room. It'll say Ambien on the label. Those should help her get to sleep."
"Thank you." The line disconnected. His phone was put away.
"I'll handle the problem here, Agent McGee," Vance said. "Miss Sciuto needs you more than you know." He walked off before Tim could say anything in reply.
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"Ziva, I don't want to take anymore medication," Abby sighed after she'd had some of the spaghetti for lunch.
"McGee said he was busy talking to the Director, so you're going to have to take it sometime," Ziva said. At that moment, a flash of pain flickered in Abby's eyes at the prospect of being abandoned. Again.
"I'm here," McGee called, entering Abby's apartment. Ziva sighed in relief.
"I'll get going now. I will see you both later." She gave them a small smile and left the apartment.
"No more pills?" Abby asked shyly once she was gone.
"Nope," Tim replied with a smile. "Now...what's going to help you get some sleep?" Abby giggled and blushed, showing emotion for the first time since her rescue from Hades's van three days ago.
"Get your mind out of the gutter and get into your coffin, Abs," Tim sighed, but his eyes sparked with amusement. Finally, Abby settled down and crawled into bed. She stared at the ceiling, thinking that this vicious cycle would continue for ages. But then, McGee started humming a gentle tune that almost instantly caused her to drift off.
She wrapped her arms around herself, wondering if this is always how she would feel. Trapped. Lost. Spiriling out of control with seemingly no end to it all. She cried out for someone to save her from the physical and emotional pain but got no response. So, drowning in hopelessness, she sobbed the name of the one she loved over and over again. Then the shivers came. She tried to feel her surroundings, but couldn't get past the metal chains trapping her to this world of darkness. The shadows, blending into the endless night, wrapped themselves in places they shouldn't. And then the shadow became his hands, dirty and rough. Careless too, because she could feel the bruises being arrogantly handled like the marks meant nothing at all. They travelled down her waist. Hungry lips attacked her neck, shoulder, and cheek. This heated body was much too close to her. She knew she should be feeling something, but all sense of emotion had left her when his presence became known.
Whatever cries she wanted to unleash from her frozen mind were torn away when she felt blood running down her legs. Lost in shock, she glanced down and realized what he had done to her. But before she could accuse him of being a monster, like a ghost, he was gone, having gotten what he wanted. There was pain, and try as she might to ignore it, the throb of bruises and ache of feeling violated was impossible to ignore for much longer. Tears streaked down her cheeks. She brought her legs up to her chest, ignoring the resulting pain of doing so. And she was still hopelessly alone, falling inside herself with no end. That feeling was the one she hated most.
"Help..." Abby moaned, curling up into a little ball. Nobody heard her desperate cry for assistance, making her feel worse than ever. She rolled over, sinking back into a restless sleep.
McGee left the kitchen with a helping of spaghetti that Ziva must have made before leaving the apartment. He paused, thinking he had heard something from Abby's room. After listening for a minute, he didn't hear anything and sat down to eat. She was probably fine...nothing to worry about. As he finished up his surprisingly elegant meal, he heard it again. A faint cry for help. Perhaps he shouldn't have ignored it the first time.
Another silver something pierced her flesh, and she did her best not to cry out as the agony took its toll on her body. Being unconscious would be an absolute blessing, but she had to remain awake in case she had a concussion from recieving so many violent blows to the head. But none of that compared to how shockingly helpless she felt. There truly was no way out, and this would be her miserable existence for all eternity. She was expected to go to school after experiencing this? There was no way she'd find the strength to drag herself out of bed within two weeks, much less two months. She'd want to close her eyes and never wake up. But that would mean giving up. And that would mean he was right. She couldn't have that. She wouldn't have that. So she did the only thing she could: cling to life by the tiniest thread. Endure. Survive. It was the only thing she had left. He tore everything else away.
"Abs..." These choked whimpers that were barely even heard were much worse than hearing her scream. It meant she was suffering so much that she was attempting to hold back the emotion so as not to deal with it. He gently tried to shake her awake, but that didn't work. Abby was too lost in her nightmares to be woken up that easily. He tried calling to her and shaking her again, but she didn't respond. Finally, he went into the kitchen and filled a cup with ice cold water, then came back and dumped it all over her face. Abby shuddered, gasped, and opened her eyes.
"T-Timmy...am I awake?"
"Yes, Abby. You're safe now." She threw her arms around him and broke down into shuddering sobs that caused both of them to shake. He continued to comfort her for the next few hours, not leaving her for even a second.
"Don't leave me," Abby whimpered once she had calmed down.
"I won't, I won't," Tim replied. "You know that." With that reassurance in mind, Abby drifted off back to sleep much more peacefully this time. He watched as her features slowly relaxed, and the smile his words had given her didn't completely leave her face. He loved seeing Abby completely without worry and a care in the world, like she was before, but he also was aware that these moments would probably be rare for the longest time. Someone had broken his Abby almost beyond repair. He knew who that someone was. Hades. He deserved to die and be tortured. But tortured first, preferably a long time, years even. He should be brought to within an inch of his death as punishment, then locked in the chains that had trapped Abby, and probably would still trap her, for a long time coming. But he couldn't do any of that now, not when Abby needed him now more than ever. So, he'd let Hades roam free for a time, under the illusion that he was actually going to get away with his horrendous crimes. Perhaps that would work, because sometimes people preferred the illusion to reality if that was what made them feel better.