A/N: Again, sorry for the delay in updates. My mother has been in the hospital for nearly three weeks, now, and on top of all of that, I'm trying to put together two children's Christmas performances. Life's a bit nuts around here. Thanks for continuing to read. There's still SO much to tell in this story.
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"Tony! We need help!" Kaye cried from across the small once-grassy area in the front of his apartment building.
He had been turned in the other direction, taking in the scene. The world was silent. Many of the usual traffic sounds were non-existent tonight due to the blizzard, and what other ambient sounds remained had been muffled by the snow that continued to fall around them. They had been lucky. They had almost turned back around and gone inside once they felt the icy chill of the wind and snow, but within minutes, like a little miracle, the wind had died down slightly. It was still there, and it was still strong, and he was glad that he had made Kaye and Abby both wear a pair of his old big snow gloves on top of their own thin ones (it was incredibly amusing to watch Kaye try to figure out how to use her hands while wearing them, but she was managing) along with knit hats under the hoods of their winter jackets, but it was enough that they could be outside and have some fun.
He turned and smirked at the girls, who had been working on a snowman.
"We need help lifting the body!" Abby told him excitedly. He grinned. He loved when she was purely happy. She tried so hard to be the source of joy for the team all the time. And it was true that it came naturally to her. But when she wasn't trying to be that for them and she was just completely happy – he always felt his heart swell.
"Abby, you know I'd do anything for you, but if we're going to move bodies, there might be a conflict of interest with our jobs…"
He was suddenly hit by a small snowball.
"Really?! THAT is how you ask for help?"
The two girls were thrown into fits of giggles as Tony stomped over through the snow to help them lift the mid-section of the snowman up into its place.
"I'll make the head!" Kaye shouted.
Before going out, Abby had insisted on grabbing a few things for the snowman, and now Kaye was intent on making it perfect. While she worked on making a small ball of snow and rolled it around in odd little trails around the yard, Tony bent down to help Abby lift the rather large midsection onto the massive bottom part.
"Couldn't have made it any bigger, Abbs?" He squeezed his words out through his clenched teeth. This thing was not light, and he knew that if they dropped it, Kaye would be devastated and he would have to lift another one eventually, as well.
"Sorry…DiNozzo…didn't know you were…such…a…girl!" Abby struggled with her words, finally breathing a loud sigh of relief as they dropped the giant snowball in place.
Tony stretched, arching his back. He wasn't old by any means, but his back hadn't particularly enjoyed that, either. Looking up, he was shocked and amused at the mystery of Abby Sciuto once more. She didn't even seem fazed by the heavy lifting they had just done, and was already bent over helping Kaye roll around the head. He had known Abby closely for four years, now, and each day spent near her made him realize even more that he would never understand her fully. Just as well. He liked mysteries. They kept him on his toes.
Smiling, Tony trotted over to the girls as they finished rolling the head of the snowman and packing it down. He squatted down and lifted it, sending up a silent prayer of thanks for how much lighter it was than the last one.
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Tony watched Kaye shiver as she put the last eye in place on the snowman. Pulling his sleeve up, he checked his watch. He couldn't believe it. It was almost eleven. They had been out in this snowstorm forever. Once they had managed to get the snowman assembled earlier, they had broken out into a massive snowball fight, followed by making snow angels, and then they had played some version of a snowball fight mixed with tag that Kaye thought up. It was only when the three of them were completely out of breath and exhausted did they begin putting the various pieces that Abby had brought out onto the snowman.
"Alright, ladies. Let's get a photo with Mr. Snow, here, and then we'll head inside. It is so far past your bedtime, Kaye, it isn't even funny."
Kaye grinned. It had turned out to be an awesome night after all.
Tony ran inside quickly and asked Carl if he would snap a picture of the three of them, to which he happily obliged.
"Okay, you three. Get in there with your friend."
Abby stood to the right of the snowman, her arm wrapped gently around its neck. Tony was on the other side, with Kaye in front of him.
Carl smiled to himself as he took a few different shots. He was even happier with the candid ones that he managed to capture than the posed ones. As he quickly looked down at the screen after taking the pictures, he scrolled through them all and decided he had several good ones for them. His favorite two stood out, though. In the first one, Kaye was looking up at the snowman that was taller than her, that perfect magical Christmas look that children get on her face, as the two adults grinned down at her. And in the second, Abby had darted around to the other side with Tony and Kaye. She was latched onto Tony's arm, looking at he and Kaye mid-laugh, as Tony swung Kaye up into his arms. It was fun and chaotic and loving and so family-like. Carl hoped they would like those ones, as well.
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"Okay, young lady. You've had your movie. You've had your snowstorm fun. You've had your hot chocolate AND the cookies you managed to talk me into. You're in your pajamas. Your teeth are brushed. And it's after midnight. It is beyond time for bed."
Kaye smiled sleepily up at Tony from her place in the middle of his bed. After a moment of debate, they had decided that all three of them could manage to fit comfortably on his bed together, though Tony and Abby weren't quite ready for bed yet, themselves.
Abby sat down on the edge of the large bed and handed Bertha to Kaye. "Here's your hippo. How are you feelin'?"
Abby knew that Kaye had been a little freaked out earlier in the evening about having to stay with them instead of Gibbs overnight. And though she seemed to have forgotten those fears while they were outside, ever since she started getting ready for bed and got her hot chocolate, the little girl had been fairly subdued.
Kaye looked down at Bertha and gave her a squeeze, causing the stuffed puppet to let out a loud farting sound, and earning a quick smile from all three of them.
"I'm…okay. I think. Can I tell you a secret?"
Tony came to sit on the end of the bed, watching her closely.
"Of course, Bella."
"I…haven't ever really had a sleepover. I-I mean, when Roxy moved out of our apartment, I would sleep over at her place sometimes, but that was different. It was like my other house. And I've known her my whole life. But I was always too scared to have sleepovers at friends' houses. I was happier with mom than anyone." Kaye paused, holding Bertha to her. "I miss mom. And…when I had to move in with Gibbs it was like one big new sleepover. But I had to be brave for mom. And I knew that she knew Gibbs and wouldn't give me to him if he wasn't good. So I tried my hardest to make it my new home in my head. And I think it's working. Because…well, because I didn't want to sleep here tonight. I wanted to be at home, with Gibbs."
Tony glanced at Abby, noticing the tears welling up in her eyes. He reached across the bed and placed his hand over Kaye's ankle through the blankets. Abby blinked back her tears. There was no sense in letting Kaye see her all worked up over the mention of Kate. If she needed to be upset, she could be upset after they got her to sleep.
Kaye continued. "But, he said it's just for tonight to start. And that tomorrow, hopefully, I'll be back home with him. He still wants me. And I know that mom knew you guys and liked you both a lot, too. And she wouldn't send me to be with you if she thought that I should be scared of you. I still miss being home…I still miss being at home with mommy. But I had fun with you guys tonight. And I'm happy that I get to be with you. So, I guess all of that means that I'm okay."
Abby swiftly moved across the bed and enveloped Kaye in a giant hug. "Sweetie, I know this is all new for you, but we love you very much. And we are so happy that you get to be here."
Kaye snuggled into Abby's embrace. She really did like Abby and Tony.
"And hey," Tony spoke softly, giving her leg a squeeze. "Maybe once you're ready, we can make this a weekly thing. You coming over for movie night and a sleepover. Abby can come when she wants, and McGee, and maybe even Ziva. What do you think?"
Kaye looked at him as Abby backed away from the girl. "I think that will be fun."
Standing from the bed, he came around and leaned over, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head. "Good. Now you have a good sleep."
Abby pulled the blankets up around Kaye as she snuggled down into the bed. Her eyelids were drooping heavily, and they knew she would be asleep soon. "Sweet dreams, little girl. We all love you, hon." She paused, leaning down to whisper in the girl's ear. "And remember, whenever you're scared or nervous or upset, remember that your mom is up there watching over you."
Kaye nodded, her eyes closed.
Abby pulled away from the bed and felt Tony's arms encircle her as she choked back a sob. Ushering her out of the room, he pulled his door shut behind them and guided her over to the couch. This was so unlike Abby. Sure, she was an emotional being. That was obvious to the entire world. But for her to be so easily swept into tears…this was odd.
He sat down, pulling the tall goth down beside him. She immediately turned into him as he lifted his arm and placed it around her shoulders.
"What's this about, Abbs?" He asked her softly.
"It's just – it's a lot of things. It's Kate. It's the fact that she's gone. It's the fact that that little girl in there lost her only parent and she will never get her back." Tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, her voice cracking every so often. Tony felt a tug at his heart at each word that she spoke. "It's about…it's about Gibbs getting to be a dad a…it's about all of it. It reminds me of losing…of when my dad died."
Tony squeezed her to him. Wow. This was new. From the time that they began being friends, they had always been close. They talked a lot. And Abby was a good sounding board when he had stuff he needed to figure out in his own life. But one thing they still shied away from was their pasts. He knew she had grown up in Louisiana, that she had loved solving mysteries since she was a kid, that she had a brother, and that her parents were deaf…but that was it. He had no idea that her father had passed.
"It's gonna be okay." He whispered close to her ear as she sniffled into his shoulder. "It still kills me every day that Kate's gone. And, I'll admit…" he hesitated. He had never told her about this either. "The whole situation brings up hard memories of me losing my mom when I was a kid."
Abby's head jolted up, looking him in the eyes. They were void of tears, but they held a unique Tony sadness deep within. She reached up and patted his cheek, a sad smile slipping across her face.
"Guess we're more alike than we ever knew, hey, Tonyboy?"
He rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he hugged her to him again. "Guess so, Sciuto."
Settling Abby against him, he reached over and grabbed the remote. It was just about December, and some of his specialty movie channels were already showing Christmas movies. He silently flipped through until he found one of her favorites which hadn't started too long ago and clicked on it. As the old film all about the magic of Christmas sprang onto the screen, she left a chaste kiss on his cheek. He still remembered that this one made her feel like a child again. Tony pulled the light blanket from the back of the couch over them and glanced down at Abby. He smiled to himself. Her eyes were locked on the screen, and as she settled herself more comfortably against him, they watched as a young Natalie Wood as Susan Walker sat in front of an apartment window, watching the Macy's Parade, telling Fred Gailey all about how her mother didn't like fairy tales.
