Author's Note:
Another chapter. There shouldn't be too many more now, I kinda changed directions on where this was going...a few times. I'm actually hoping to have this all completed and posted before the end of the summer. Fingers crossed. Reviews welcome and appreciated!
Tony hated waiting. Ziva hated it even more. As soon as McGee pulled into the parking lot of Sixty-Eight Junction the two impatient agents were on his hide. Ziva had yanked the car door open before the car had even made a complete stop.
"Ziva!" Tim yelled as he hurried to put the car into park and turn off the ignition. Tony laughed lightly under his breath at her eagerness to get to the bottom of the mystery, then took to harrying his Probie out of the car seat.
"McGee you have two seconds to explain yourself or so help me…"
"Tony, Jesus, I'm sorry! I know that was a terrible way to…"
"McGee, what happened? Where is Abby?" Ziva cut in, not in the mood for pleasantries. Calmly, Tim stood up from the car and filled them in on the highlights of the last 24 hours. They listened intently and by the end they managed to look shocked, disheartened, and ready to kill at the same time - really quite a feat.
"Please don't ask me why or for any fine details right now. I'm still trying to piece things together myself." Tony sighed heavily and laid a calming hand on McGee's back.
"I'm sorry Probie, but just know, we will fix this and everything is going to be ok." Ziva was only slightly surprised at Tony's sudden change in demeanor. She'd seen it plenty of times; it was just so strange every time it happened. She nodded her head eagerly in agreement with DiNozzo and reached out her arms in question for a hug. McGee consented and he was instantly warmed by the strength and promise in her embrace.
"Well, let's get to work!" DiNozzo announced after a few seconds of silence. His partners smirked at his lack of comfort with PDA and moved to get their things together.
"Supposedly the attack occurred…" McGee began.
Sarah felt an urge to follow Gibbs and give him a piece of her mind, or her fist. The same thought applied to her brother too. With a fierce glare directed at the front door she flopped unceremoniously onto the couch. Ducky smirked as he took a more guided seat on the catawampus armchair. He watched as the young woman tried to release her frustration and anger by sighing heavily and crossing her arms, essentially having a very controlled fit.
"You'll never feel better doing that. Mother's done it for years and she still ends up either breaking or purchasing something expensive."
"What's the most expensive thing in here?" She answered without looking at him. A quiet chuckle was his only response. Sarah, surprised that he chose to find the humor in the statement instead of scolding her, giggled lightly until she relaxed into the sofa.
"What just happened Dr. Mallard?"
"Ducky if you don't mind my dear and, I'll need you to clarify. A lot has just happened."
"Why did Tim leave like that? He knows I want to help," her question bordering on whining.
"Tim needs something to do, something to take his mind away from the here and now. These feelings, emotions, this situation is too far from his comfort zone. Evidence, calculations, solving problems- those are all in his wheel house. You cannot do any of these things either, hence you being here with me." Sarah nodded along with his explanation because she had already known the answer.
"Gibbs?"
"You may have noticed he and Abby have some history. He's hurt and possibly scared. People like Abby don't usually get hurt where we work."
"Like Abby...scientists?"
"Yes. Our field agents and other public faces take most of the heat. We lowly scientists and doctors are hidden in the belly. Safe." Sarah didn't really care about the answers. She knew she couldn't' change any of the questions so it didn't matter.
"So what are we supposed to do now?"
"I have a few questions for you actually." She lightly bit down on the bottom of her lip before nodding at him to continue.
"What exactly has been going on?"
"That may take a while to explain. Anything specific?" Ducky looked at her for a moment trying to decide if she was being either smart, defensive, or cooperative. He decided to expect all three and hope for the latter.
"Why were you having secret contact with Abby?" Sarah was surprised that he has asked her so directly seeing as how she had explained the least of preceding events to him.
"Well, it kinda happened really randomly," Ducky bit his tongue to keep from interrupting her with why she was probably incorrect in her use of the word random here, "one night in October. I was lonely and was playing with my phone, scrolling through my contacts. I remember feeling really proud and disgusted that I had so many people on my phone. While I scrolled, the phone slipped in my hand and I caught it before it fell but the squeezing caused it to dial a number. Abby picked up."
"What did you want with her?"
"That night I was so surprised I didn't know what to say. I didn't really know Abby and was a little wary of her because of the relationship that she and Tim shared, they've an interesting history,"
"To say the least," Ducky added. She smirked as she nodded in agreement.
"As a matter of fact, the last time Tim had come to visit me he'd brought her and I had been less than polite." Sarah rolled her eyes at the memory of calling Abby a few choice names and slipping salt in her ice cream that long afternoon.
"Well what happened during that first call?"
"She listened. I'd had a few...quite a few glasses of wine and when I figured out that's who I'd called I started to lay into her for her previous relationship with Timmy. Instead of defending herself or anything, she just listened to me rant. Somewhere in that rant I started to apologize and I ended up talking to her for an hour and a half about myself and my problems. She ended the call with me promising to call her whenever I needed to talk again. " Sarah quieted as she thought in shame on that fateful phone call.
"So you continued to call her on the phone when you were upset and she listened to you as a good friend? What changed to make this relationship unhealthy for the both of you?"
"You sound just like my therapist," she answered instead. To stall the interrogation even more, she padded into the kitchen to retrieve another piece of the pizza that had been delivered earlier that afternoon. Without asking, she brought Ducky a slice of the pizza and resumed her seat on the couch.
"Well this is unexpected , though, I thought I smelled oregano when I returned. Which restaurant made this?" Ducky asked jovially before he took a bite of pizza to appease her. Sarah was so surprised he'd allowed her to stop answering questions she had to go and look at the box again to answer his query. They ate in silence for a few moments before Ducky began to prattle a story about his time in an Italian pizza maker's shop when he was a young man traveling about Spain. When Sarah placed her plate on the coffee table, Ducky ended his tale and mirrored her movements. He didn't question her again, only waited for her to make the next move.
"I called her numerous times after that and loved having her listen to me. I realized I was calling her at all sorts of strange hours because I remember calling her mostly after going out. There are also a number of calls I don't remember making. " Sarah blushed crimson as she admitted her failures. " One night she just appeared at my front door. We talked for hours. She knew that something was wrong but instead of calling me on it or making me see a doctor she listened to me talk and was just nice to me. I mean she tried to get me to talk to my family and professionals of course, but I wouldn't do it and she admitted that she thought it was better that I was at least talking to someone instead of keeping everything inside. I loved that meeting so much that I wanted her to come back. She seemed surprised but grateful? I don't know, but she agreed to visit again. Occasionally I visited her when she and Tim didn't live together as often. One night...is there a particular reason that I am telling this to you?" Ducky smiled.
"Well, we have time to pass and I want to understand what has happened with my Abigail. I need to understand her... other injuries. She needs help." He tactfully left out the 'and so do you' part.
"As I mentioned earlier I've been seeing a counselor."
"How long?"
"Maybe two weeks? I tried to drag Abby to a session but that didn't work out."
"Well that was a very smart move young lady. I am also a trained psychologist and can listen if you don't mind." Sarah had figured as much when he was so calm and able to direct their conversations without controlling them.
"Right. Well, one night I confessed that I thought I drank too much. Of course she tried to get me to explain what I meant by that. I'd developed a pretty good 'sober' persona and was never plastered when Abby and I spoke in person. She must have understood my being slightly buzzed when she saw me on the weekends or something because she could always tell when I'd been drinking but she'd never pressed beyond that. After I made that confession she tried to get me to talk about why I drank and stuff like that. I shut her out until she changed the subject. When she left that night she tried to make me come back with her so I could 'clear my head' and what not, but I didn't want to leave my classes even though I was royally fucking them all up.
Not too long after that I had stopped going to class regularly and had spent the last two days holed up in my house with all my alcohol. After drinking for two days with little food or water I was delirious and my depression was exacerbated. I thought I was going to kill myself with alcohol. I found my phone in one of my waking frenzies and dialed Abby by some amazing luck and told her to come visit me. She tried to get out of it, it was three in the morning and had not been home long from work but I threatened her with drinking until she got there. I drank from the bottle I was holding and the next thing I remember she was hovering over me, trying to wake me up. She saved me that day."
The late autumn sun blazed into his eyes as he emerged from his cool, dark house and into the cooler air. Today would have been a good day to fish. He smirked at the thought, he hadn't taken a break to go fishing in years. He mentally added to his To-Do list once he'd finally been forcedly removed from NCIS headquarters. He felt the buzz in his jacket pocket and answered before he registered that he was on the phone.
"Gibbs."
"Boss, we're at the crime scene. The main suspect is here. Proceed in apprehension?" DiNozzo's frighteningly serious voice greeted him. Gibbs knew that they were not talking about the case that they had just received that morning, the one that they were supposed to be working on at that very moment.
"Do you have a warrant?"
"Are we really taking him in?"
"DiNozzo..." He heard a muffled voice in the background.
"McGee says he should be here all day and we can come back later. I say we..."
"DiNozzo, just make sure he doesn't leave." Gibbs ended the call and entered the Dodge, letting his gut take him where he should really be at the moment. While he let his body drive, he let his mind wonder over the past few hours. What had happened with his girl?
DiNozzo snapped his phone shut and leaned against the hood of the car.
"He said don't let him leave. By the sound of it he's on his way over." Ziva smirked at her partner's ability to pout over the smallest things. She watched as he glared toward the bar entrance.
"I don't think burning holes into the bar with your eyes will help," she offered quietly. Tony slowly took his stare away from the bar and down to Ziva. A light smile graced his features.
"You finally got one right," was her only answer.
"Ass," she muttered as she made her way to McGee, who was now sitting in his own passenger seat. She slid into the driver's side and allowed him to break the silence.
"I think she tried to explain this situation with my sister to me a few weeks ago in this very seat." McGee stared dejectedly out the windshield. A space of silence passed before she answered.
"Knowing Abby, there are a number of ways she may have tried to explain. If she wasn't direct it would be very difficult to come to this conclusion."
"Knowing Abby, she probably told me a hundred times in a hundred ways and I just couldn't get it." Ziva did not want to argue with him, she was well learned in the lesson of never arguing with a person in pain. Instead she placed a firm hand on Tim's fists.
"You are probably right. Abby is as hard to read sometimes as anything, but we cannot dwell on that right now. She is strong, you are strong, we are strong. Together, we can make it, ok?" The power and conviction in her words startled him as much as the person it was coming from. He could remember when she had not shown so much emotion. She'd always been kind, but her real emotions were rarely left unchecked. He also remembered the day that Abby had rudely pointed that out to her; and her apologies. McGee let out a shuttering breath and smiled lightly.
"Thanks, Ziva." Not poetic, but truer than Gibbs' icy blues. She rubbed the back of his hand warmly, then reached to turn his face to hers.
"Dwell later," she repeated and went to harass Tony. McGee hit his head on the headrest a few times to regain focus.
"McGee, are we sure this is our perp?" Tony asked sticking his head into the driver's side window.
"Why wouldn't it be? Sarah said he works here so..."
"Well if the other bouncers caught this guy attacking the girls and they called the police, what makes you think he isn't in the precinct somewhere or at home, sleeping off alcohol? If he was attacked with pepper spray he might be at the hospital somewhere still. Why would he be at work?" Tim grunted in surprise that he hadn't thought of that.
"That's what I thought. Good thing I already called the boys in blue and had him prepared for a few questions. Gibbs is heading over there now." Tim clenched and unclenched his hands a few times before answering. If he was this off on something so basic, he was truly afraid of what he would do if he was face to face with this guy.
"You guys go on ahead. I want to check the parking lot and question some of the employees before we go. We need to make a solid case against this idiot before we have to get legal involved." Tony was not overly pleased in leaving Tim alone at the moment, but his ideas made sense.
"Why doesn't Ziva stay here and help you bag and tag some more and I will meet Gibbs at the station?"
"Ziva will want to question him too..."
"Don't worry McGee. I think Gibbs will take up most of that time, and I have the tendency to encourage his...exciting sessions. DiNozzo is better at reasoning with Gibbs."
"I am?" Tony smirked at the two and headed for the company car. "Don't have too much fun while I'm gone!"
Ziva and Tim rolled their eyes as they watched the blue sedan drive away.
"Shall we start with questioning the witnesses or looking over this parking lot for evidence?"
"Evidence. That's what I came out here to do anyway. We need to be quick before they send someone out here to ask why we're basically loitering." McGee answered as he stepped out of the car and into the bright sun.
"There's only one person here, Tim. He's probably the manager or clean-up. Bars like this are only open at night." Tim lowered his head as he snapped on a disposable glove.
"Ok, ok I know I'm distracted but..." Ziva shushed him.
"We will scan this parking lot, talk to the guy inside and rendezvous with Gibbs and DiNozzo. Then you will go home and get some sleep so you will not become a liability." Her words were harsh but truthful and he merely nodded in acknowledgement and started to walk towards the doors of the place.
"Let's give Gibbs something to work with."
Gibbs counted to ten and back to one three times before entering the interrogation room. Half of him wasn't sure why he was here. If he'd had it his way, he would've grabbed this guy of the street, taken him to a deserted place, ripped him a new one, and maybe, just maybe let his ass get carted away by the authorities later. The reasonable side, generally the smaller, quieter part, calmly explained that a confession on tape would be helpful when Abby and Sarah decided to press charges. It would also look better to all parties involved if this at least started out in a perfectly legal manner. If the guy was held in jail, any abuses could be blamed on other prisoners. Perhaps the reasonable side had spent too long crammed in with the boisterous 'unreasonable' side.
"Hey DiNozzo how long is this gonna take. He's been staring at this guy for a good seven minutes. This was kind of a last minute favor, he was about to be released." The older cop complained as they watched Gibbs and the criminal through the one way mirror. Tony sighed lightly.
"Not so sure. Usually the perp breaks..." he froze for a few seconds, " ...now."
"She saved you?" Ducky asked. He worked to keep his tone light and clinical, as his body began to dance on pins and needles with dread and the anticipation of her answers.
"Yes, helped me regain consciousness, was able to get me to...release a good portion of alcohol, and not die. I'm relatively sure I got alcohol poisoning that night because I've never been so sick from it. Sick all weekend. Abby stayed by my side the whole time."
"She didn't go home?" He frantically racked his brain trying to think of a weekend he hadn't seen Abby in order to get a better timeline in his head. Her arms contained fresh cuts when he checked them earlier, but some were in different stages of healing. The ones on her wrists worried him the most. Sarah played with the paper plate in her hands.
"No. She got there Thursday night and I don't remember saying goodbye until Sunday evening. Of course, most of that weekend is pretty sketchy in my memory." Ducky was thrown a little off center. Abby not being at work or home for an entire three days and him unaware? This was unusual. If she had a trip or anything related to an event where she wouldn't be at work or home she was quite vocal about it.
"Do you remember when this was?" He broke down and asked. Sarah looked up at him.
"Why?"
"A very valid question. Was it more October?"
"Dr. Mallard,"
"Ducky if you please."
"Why is time important? What...oh. I don't know when she started cutting either." she finished very softly.
"Sarah," Ducky sighed, afraid he may have shut her down, " Abby's coping mechanism is not your fault. She may have been doing these things far before you called her. We have a high stress job and she's been in not a few relationships besides your brother." Sarah's eyes snapped to his.
"Never overlapping of course." he added quickly.
"Of course not! She's not a whore, " she sensitively left off the' like me' part, "How can you say that? I am every reason that woman has to be depressed."
"Does that not sound...arrogant?" he asked in an effort to keep her talking. She had the presence of mind to blush lightly.
"It does, but I'm not bragging or anything like that. I just know that Abby seemed relatively happy before me and after spending so much time with me she's not." Ducky wasn't quite sure what to say to that. She could have been very right, but she could have been wrong. He'd seen Abby down many times since March after she and Tim had broken up again - over another woman. They sat in silence for a short while, each collecting their thoughts and remembering less dismal times.
"Uh, I think that particular weekend was Halloween weekend." Sarah answered quietly. Well that would explain it. That holiday was practically sacred to Abby. She would have taken leave since the team wasn't on call.
"Ducky? Are any of her scars...do they seem...about a month old?" He thought this over and chose his next words carefully.
"It is possible. What would be significant about that time?" She opened her mouth a few times before closing it and sinking further into the couch.
"Nevermind. I don't want to talk about this anymore."