I am sorry that I don't have time to answer your previous reviews. I am in the process of working out my two weeks' notice so I can start a new job, which I am thoroughly excited about. Please know that I cherish each pm and review and will answer each one as time permits. Here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for being such loyal readers and for your unwavering support! Thanks again to JackiLeigh for the help! You're amazing. (This means that all remaining mistakes are mine.)

Part 27

"What the hell were you thinking, Abs?"

Abby knew that she shouldn't have answered the second call from Gibbs' cell phone. A few moments ago, she had made the mistake of assuming that the team leader had been calling her, when in fact, it had been Tony. The scientist had been taken aback by the sound of DiNozzo's voice. He had tried to make small talk and when that didn't seem to work, Tony had simply come out and asked her if she wanted to come over to Gibbs' place so they could talk.

She had told him that she was busy with one of Balboa's cases and while it wasn't a lie, there really wasn't anything pressing that should have prevented her from going to Gibbs' house to see Tony. DiNozzo had even suggested that she drop by later that night and she had declined. Abby knew that her excuses had hurt Tony and that hadn't been her intention at all. Or had it? Had she inadvertently been trying to get back at him for the fiasco of their last visit?

She had been so desperate to see him when he was in the hospital and that particular visit had quickly escalated into nothing short of a catastrophe. Abby had gone against Tony's wishes and Gibbs' instructions and had gone to see him. The guilt that she carried of being the one to deliver the evidence that had convicted him had outweighed her usual common sense. Tony hadn't wanted to see her, but yet she had insisted. Abby had thought she was helping him, but truthfully, she had wanted assuage her conscience.

The visit had resulted in Tony being so upset that he had to be sedated and Gibbs being so furious that he had actually yelled at her—much like he was doing now. She braced herself and released the breath she had been holding. "Gibbs, I know what you're going to say."

"I don't think you do," the Marine growled.

Abby could feel the anger radiating from the lead agent. The last thing she had wanted to do was incur his wrath once again, but unfortunately, she had succeeded in doing just that. "Gibbs, I'm really busy right now. Can we do this later?" Abby already knew the answer to her question. She was going to have to explain her actions, which wasn't going to be easy. How could she offer a plausible explanation when she didn't understand herself? Slipping into her office, she closed the door, sat in her chair, and waited for the verbal assault to begin.

"No, we can't do this later. Start talking."

She knew better than to act naïve. Gibbs expected the truth and she couldn't lie to him. "Gibbs, I know you're upset," Abby began. "I'm sorry. I'm just not ready."

"I don't care if you're ready or not," the Marine shot back. "This isn't about you, Abby. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I haven't done anything, Gibbs. Tony just caught me off guard and I…well, I'm not ready to see him again!"

The silence on the other end of the line terrified her. Abby's deep-seated fear of losing Gibbs' affection was always in the back of her mind, but lately, it was all she could think about. She had barely seen her silver fox since Tony had been released from prison; in fact, the last time that Abby had laid eyes on him was at the hospital when had been vehemently scolding her for not following his instructions.

When Gibbs finally spoke, his voice was low and menacing; his rage was under tenuous control. "Why not?" he demanded to know. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for him to call you? Tony wanted to try and reach out to the team to see if he could trust them, and you were his first choice. Not McGee or Ziva, but you! For some reason, he thought he owed you an apology," Gibbs fumed. "I don't happen to agree with him, but that isn't for me to decide."

Abby continued to listen as Gibbs continued his tirade. The burden of the guilt she was feeling was weighing her down. "Everything was going pretty well today, until he tried to call you. You used to the be one he could turn to who would tell him that everything was going to be all right. Why can't you do that now?"

She closed her eyes, trying to keep her tears at bay. "But when he was in the hospital, he…"

"You need to move past that. If you're gonna hold that against him, Abs, then you're not the person I thought you were. The Abby I know would want to help someone in need, especially someone she cares deeply for."

Abby was speechless for a moment. What was wrong with her? She was acting like a spoiled child who was jealous of her brother because he was getting all the attention. Tony had needed her and she had purposefully hurt him by avoiding him. "Gibbs, I…I don't know what to say."

"I don't want you to say anything, Abby," Gibbs said. "I want you to think about what you need to do and do it. Like I said, this isn't about what's best for you; it's about what's best for Tony."

"I didn't mean to hurt him," she admitted. "I just didn't know what to say. I…" Abby wiped at the tears now streaming down her face. "I'll fix it, Gibbs."

"I don't know if you can now, but you had better try."

"Do you think he will want to see me now?"

"I don't know," the older man honestly replied. "Tony's hurt and he's angry. Right now, he's upstairs and I have no idea what's going through his mind. Ducky is going to come over here about noon; maybe you can make time in your busy schedule to join him."

"I will," she promised.

"You better."

The line went dead and Abby knew that Gibbs was through talking to her. She certainly had made a mess of things and now she had to somehow convince Tony that he could trust her to help him. Abby knew that it was up to her to set things right; if she couldn't repair the broken trust between her and DiNozzo, she would not only lose Tony, but Gibbs as well. She would lose her family and that was unacceptable.

"It's time to grow up, Abby," she whispered as she headed back into her lab. "You have to make things right."

"Abigail? To whom are you talking to?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice of the ME, Abby found herself crying on his shoulder. "Oh, Ducky; I made a terrible mistake! I'm such a horrible, horrible person!"

"Now, now," Ducky soothed. "I'm sure you're exaggerating, my dear. What's the matter?"

Abby couldn't look Ducky in the eye. She was so ashamed of herself. "Tony called me."

"Yes, Jethro told me he was going to do so. Isn't it wonderful that he's taking such a big step toward healing?"

Ducky's words only served to compound the guilt that was already starting to consume her. The elderly physician had been one of the few that had been permitted to see Tony on a regular basis, so he was more than aware of the daily struggles that DiNozzo was facing. "What did Tony say when he called you?" he wanted to know.

"He wanted me to come to Gibbs' house so we could talk. I uh…I told him that I was too busy."

"Why on earth would you say that?" Ducky asked, a slight hint of condemnation present in his cultured voice.

"I don't know," she sobbed. "I guess I was scared." Abby wiped her eyes again and met the doctor's curious gaze. "I still am."

"That's not an excuse, Abigail. For Anthony to call you took great deal of courage on his part, and for you to refuse the proverbial olive branch he was offering could set his recovery back."

"I know that now and I'm sorry. I'm going to fix it." Abby stood tall and held her head high. "I told Gibbs that I would make things right, and I will," she reiterated.

Ducky gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Even though the ME was obviously disappointed in her, he wasn't going to judge her too harshly. "Just be sure that you're doing this for the right reasons," he warned. "Do it because you care for Tony and you want to help him, not because you're afraid of losing Gibbs' affection. I know his approval means the world to you, but please, don't use Anthony as a means to get back into Jethro's good graces."

"I'm not," Abby declared. "I just have to figure out what I'm going to say."

Abby glanced at herself in the reflection of the plasma screen. "I need to freshen up a bit; I don't want to scare Tony any more than I already have."

"That's a good idea; perhaps you should make sure that your makeup is waterproof," he suggested. "I have a feeling that there will be a few more tears before the day is over."

"You're probably right, Duckman. By the way, Gibbs said that I might catch a ride with you."

"Of course. I'll be ready to leave in about half an hour."

Abby placed a quick kiss on the physician's cheek before he turned to leave. "Thanks, Ducky."

She headed back to her office where she could start getting ready to go to Gibbs' house. She took a deep breath as she studied her reflection in the mirror on the wall. "All right, Abby. Tony needs you, so you better get it together."

She wasn't sure that the pep talk she was giving herself was working, but she had to try. Abby knew that she had been wrong in refusing to see Tony, and she was going to have her work cut out for her to convince him that she did care and that she wanted to help him. If he didn't want to see her, then she wasn't sure what she would do. However, one thing was for certain- she wasn't going to give up on Anthony DiNozzo.

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Gibbs had no idea what he was going to say to Tony; perhaps that's why it was taking him forever to walk up the stairs. DiNozzo had almost seemed excited about making the decision to reach out to the team; maybe excited wasn't the right word, but at least Tony had appeared to have a more positive frame of mind. Now, the Marine had no idea what the younger man was thinking.

He only hesitated for a couple of seconds before he knocked on the wooden door. "Tony?" he called out. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," came the nearly inaudible reply. Gibbs could only hope that maybe Tony would be willing to listen to reason; DiNozzo had to realize that he wasn't responsible for Abby's attitude. If she had destroyed what little bit of self-confidence that Tony had managed to regain, the Marine wasn't sure that he would be able to forgive her.

Opening the door, he quietly entered the room. Tony was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Gibbs sat on the edge of the bed, hoping that he would find some words of wisdom to impart to the former agent. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Can I get you anything? I'm still keeping those pancakes warm for you."

"Still not hungry," Tony tiredly replied. "I'm just going to lay here for a while. Maybe figure out a plan B."

"Plan B?" Gibbs wasn't sure exactly what Tony meant by figuring out a Plan B. He just hoped that it wasn't anything too drastic. He was scared that DiNozzo was going to bolt and would shut him out again. The older man had a feeling that if Tony left, he would probably never see him again and that was completely unacceptable.

"Well, Plan A didn't work so well, so I figured I should try something else." Tony brushed his hand through his hair. Gibbs noticed the slight tremor in DiNozzo's hand betraying the frustration that the hurting man obviously felt. "You know, maybe something that doesn't involve dealing with people. I think I'd be better off on my own."

"You don't really believe that.," the team leader challenged.

"I don't know what to believe."

"Look Tony," Gibbs attempted to reason. "I know that you're disappointed and hurt, but…"

"But what, Gibbs?" Tony sat up and faced the older man. Once again, his son's eyes were haunted by hopelessness and that only served to fuel his anger at Abby. Gibbs wished that she had shown as much courage in reaching out to him as DiNozzo had demonstrated by calling her.

"Abby doesn't want to see me," the former agent continued. "Why should anyone else feel any different? I'm better off just being on my own."

He felt Tony's body tense as he gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Remember what I told you, DiNozzo?"

"That you owe me a head slap?"

"Besides that," Gibbs smirked, pleased to see a tiny glimpse of Tony's sense of humor. He truly missed DiNozzo's laughter, movie references, and his well-timed one liners; there had been so many times when Tony had managed to make even the most difficult cases more bearable with a quip or joke. "I told you that you're not doing this alone."

"I guess you did," Tony sighed. "You and Duck keep telling me that you're in for the long haul. I guess I'm going to have to get used to that. "Guess I can make it with just two friends."

"Tony, don't let Abby's reaction ruin what you're trying to accomplish; you haven't even tried to talk to Ziva and McGee."

"And I probably won't. Their reactions are going to be the same. McGee is so head-over-heels in love with Abby, he's not going to talk to me because I upset her. Ziva doesn't even know me that well; she'll just see me as weak. I don't need them, Gibbs. I'll be fine."

To hear Tony speak with such certainty was troublesome to the Marine; DiNozzo had already decided on what his Plan B was going to be and was prepared to act on it. He wasn't prepared to give his team mates another chance; Tony wasn't going to open himself up to that kind of pain again. "Tony, listen to me," Gibbs pleaded.

"I'm kind of tired, Gibbs," Tony said. "I'll come down later and get some of those pancakes."

The team leader knew he was being dismissed. "All right, Tony. Let me know if you need anything."

"Okay."

Tony closed his eyes and Gibbs took that as his final cue to leave. His hand briefly hovered over DiNozzo's arm before giving him a gentle pat. "Take it easy, Tony." The former agent was hurting both physically and emotionally and there was nothing Gibbs could do to take away that pain. He was experiencing that all-too-familiar feeling of helplessness, and the father in him didn't like it.

He headed back downstairs, unsure of what he should do next. Gibbs didn't want to interfere because he knew that Tony needed to feel like he was in control of his life. DiNozzo had made the decision to reach out and that had backfired miserably; now, he would have to decide what his next step should be. He wasn't sure how much more Tony was going to be able to take.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as he heard the door close, Tony opened his eyes. He wasn't as tired as he had claimed to be; truthfully, he just wanted to be alone. How could he have been so stupid? Why would Abby want to see him? This past year, he had turned into some kind of monster and now, she was scared of him. How could he blame her for that?

Sitting up, he pulled out the picture of him and Kate that he had placed under his pillow. "Sorry, Kate. I tried. Like everything else, I screwed it up. Do you know how many times I wished that it had been me who had died on that roof? Every day," he whispered. "Every day, I wish things would have been different; you would have never gotten yourself into this mess."

He could hear Kate's voice in his head; Tony knew exactly what she would say. Really, DiNozzo? Enjoying your pity party? You're better than that, Tony.

Kate had always held him to a higher standard than he held himself. He had been told from a young age that he was worthless and that he would never amount to anything. She had almost managed to convince him that his father's words were nothing but a lie, and he had started to believe her, right up until she had died. Circumstances of the past year and reopened those partially healed wounds and his soul now lay bare.

"I don't know about that, Katie. I'm sitting here talking to a photograph and answering you, even though you're dead. Sounds pretty pathetic to me."

Laying the picture on the night stand, he ignored the constant pain in his knee as he pushed himself to his feet and slowly began to pace; Tony did his best thinking when he was in constant motion. He had told Gibbs that he was working on a Plan B; he just didn't inform him that he had already worked out some of the details. Tony's first priority was to find a place to live and for that he needed money.

During the trial, his assets, including his saving accounts, had been drained to help pay his legal fees. Fortunately, he had made it a practice of keeping his credit cards paid off and Gibbs had thought to cancel them, so Tony hoped that his credit rating hadn't suffered too much. However, he desperately needed funds and right now, he only had one option. The only problem was that Tony was going to have to reach out once again to someone who definitely didn't want to have anything to do with him.

He really didn't want to do this, but Tony felt like he didn't have a choice. The old cliché was true—desperate times called for desperate measures. Everything in his future was contingent upon the phone call he was about to make. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he picked up the phone and began to dial a familiar number. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he mumbled.

After a couple of rings, Tony considered hanging up. He wasn't sure he could sacrifice the little bit of pride he had left in order to hopefully get a few bucks. As he was about to disconnect the call, he heard a man with a deep, rich tone, answer the phone. So much for pride.

"Hello?"

He nervously licked his lips as he summoned the courage to reply. Clearing his throat, he answered, "Hey, Dad."