A/N: Disclaimer—If I owned this…I wouldn't be here, would I? Thank you for reviewing. I'll respond to a couple.
historygirlc3, my first reviewer: Thanks so much for reading my fan fiction so far.
RomanceDoneWrite: I enjoy McGee as well. I think he and Abby are the perfect pairing.
And now I give you Chapter 4! Let the drama continue…
Chapter 4- Poisoned
Thankfully the whole day hadn't been lost to what she wanted to do. Abby eagerly opened the Internet and scrolled through her bookmarked pages. This was going to be interesting…she clicked on the link and a hundred names stared her in the face. Oh no. How was she going to do this? She closed her eyes and chose a name at random. Sally. Too common. She tried again. Rachael. Nope. Bailey. Too tomboy. Hannah. No…Twenty-seven names later, Abby had a throbbing headache that was killing her. She left the lab and went into the bathroom to take some aspirin. She came back and resumed her activities. When she returned, there was an opened water bottle sitting there on the lab table.
"That's strange…" she murmured. "I could've sworn I left it over there by the computer. Must be losing my mind," She thought nothing of it and took a sip out of it. The water tasted slightly sweetened for some odd reason, but it didn't even cross her mind.
Meanwhile…
Tony and Ziva quietly observed their boss interrogating the Canadian solider. Ziva was attempting to learn his techniques and quirks during the process, but Tony kept interrupting her.
"This totally reminds me of-"
"—Spy vs. Spy. I've heard this from you a thousand times," Ziva said heavily, getting annoyed. Gibbs started shouting in French at the Canadian.
"I didn't know the boss spoke French," Tony said, being the ignorant person he was.
"It's a simple language, captain," Ziva replied, using her Israeli accent. "Try this on for size: vous êtes un désagrément ignorant de lard," Tony hesitated before answering.
A/N: Translation- you are an ignorant pigheaded annoyance. Oh yeah, Ziva showed him!
"Something about an annoying pig…" he muttered, working on the translation. "Paris changed you too, didn't it?" Before Ziva could answer, McGee entered the hallway, humming to himself. Kate was a few paces behind him.
"The whole gang minus Abby is here," she commented, looking around. Kate said nothing, but instead headed straight for the coffee machine. She filled up two coffee cups and handed one to McGee. He took it gratefully, looking more tired than usual.
"What's going on here?" he asked.
"Just giving Tony a little lesson in French…" she winked at him before leaving. Tony rolled his eyes.
"Hey, I'm not ignorant!" he shouted after her retreating back. Kate chuckled under her breath, taking a sip of coffee.
"I ought to check up on Abby," she said after a minute. "See you in a few," She smiled at him on her way out. McGee just stared. She smiled like Abby sometimes, when she wasn't trying so hard to be vain. He shook his head, clearing it. What was wrong with him? Gibbs came in and found him staring at his coffee.
"McGee, we have a new lead. Come on," He gestured toward the elevator. McGee sighed and followed him out.
Abby's lab
Finally, inspiration struck. A boy's name and a girl's name. She hurriedly wrote them down and stuffed the piece of paper somewhere just as the sliding glass door opened, revealing Kate with a cup of coffee in her hand. She smiled at the sight of her, closing the drawer the paper was hidden in as Kate came further into the lab.
"I never get tired of this place," she said. Abby spun around to the CD player and turned it on.
"Yeah, I don't have anything for Gibbs yet, but you can tell him I'm working hard. Is he out on a new lead?"
"Why, yes. How did you know?"
"Lucky guess," She shrugged her shoulders. There was nothing but the sound of music from the CD player. It has been awhile since she could actually appreciate what was left of the memory of their love. This CD was the last evidence they were ever together as a couple. Well, that and…Abby shook her head, clearing it. She had to stop thinking about it, obsessing over it. Time to move on for good this time. She clenched her teeth and started typing an email to Ziva to see how things were doing on the case.
"So, I heard there was a new movie playing that you might be interested in," Kate said after a while. Abby shrugged, continuing to type as if nothing had happened.
"It better not be a happily ever after fairytale romance, because I assure you, there is no such thing," she snapped without looking over at her.
"I never said there was. Calm down," Abby crossed her arms. All she wanted was to be alone. Why could no one give her what she asked for? The song changed, morphing the atmosphere of the room slightly. Kate finished off her coffee and searched for a trash can. She finally found it in the back corner of the lab. Abby took a sip from the water bottle, briefly wondering why it tasted a little off. When Kate came back, she was reading the label.
"Hey, did the filters change or something for this company?" she asked, scanning though the chemicals used to purify the water.
"Uh…no. Why?"
"No reason…" She set the bottle down and turned back to the computer. Looks like Ziva replied to the email already. Before she could do as much as respond to it, she started to feel a little warm. Not extremely hot, but as if she were wearing one too many jackets on a sunny day. She knew her lab coat was generally thin, but it was mostly cotton and polyester. She sighed and tried to ignore it. Of course, Kate tried to bring him up again.
"McGee was your first true love, wasn't he?" she asked.
"Yep," she relied briefly, opening Don't Shoot the Puppy and started shooting that puppy to blow off her irritation.
"So, did you sleep with him?" she continued, feebly trying to be casual. Abby spun around and gave her such a withering look that she didn't ask again.
"Sorry," she mumbled, blushing and looking down at her feet. "Too personal," Guilt colored her cheeks more darkly than usual. The heat was increasing in minute degrees, and her palms started to sweat a little. Abby frantically wiped them on her jeans and went back to her game. Seeing that she didn't want to talk, Kate left the lab and returned to her desk. There sat Ziva, blocking Tony from stealing another item.
"Get back to your desk!" she shouted, holding Kate's cell phone out of his reach. He jumped and made a grab for it.
"Let me see what her wall paper is," he insisted, scrolling through the phone. "It'll only take a second," Kate snatched her phone back and punched him on the arm. He rubbed his arm, muttering curses under his breath. The Director passed through and headed down to the autopsy lab to get her annual report from Ducky. It was strictly ritual, something that had to be done to show the other businesses they weren't complete slobs with their records. Like the FBI and CSI, for example. Kate ignored her and opened an online game of solitaire. A dialogue popped up, showing that Ziva was logged into an IM chat. Curious, she accepted the invite to see what she had to say.
Guns and roses: I was speaking with McGee earlier and learned something very important that should be looked at immediately.
Pink hearts: Is it about the case?
Guns and roses: No it is not
Pink hearts: Oh, then what is it?
The elevator opened, and Kate looked up to see Abby passing by. She returned her attention to the computer screen.
Telltale wants to join the IM
Pink hearts has accepted Telltale into the chat
Pink hearts: What do you want, Tony?
Telltale: How did you know it was me?
Guns and roses: Because we can see you laughing from all the way over here. Plus, there are only so many of us with an account. Abby and McGee have one, and their usernames are just as obvious as yours. "telltale" is so like you.
Telltale: You're one to talk. Guns and roses? It's obvious that you're not Gibbs…and the Director isn't one to be reduced to childish things like this.
Pink roses: You just admitted this is childish.
Gummygothic wants to join the IM
Guns and roses: What the heck? Abby?
Pink hearts: You know she doesn't have much to do right now.
Guns and roses: What makes you say that, Kate?
Pink hearts: Because I saw her playing Don't Shoot the Puppy. She might have just been frustrated, but who knows really?
Guns and roses has accepted Gummygothic into the chat
Guns and roses: What's up, Abby?
Telltale: Yes, do tell what's up…
Guns and roses: Shut up
Telltale: :P
Pink heats: Oh, I wonder if that thing loaded up.
Guns and roses: What thing?
Telltale: Yeah, what thing?
Pink hearts: The one I told you about.
Telltale: Uh…what?
Guns and roses: Oh. That thing. I'll check it out in a minute.
Telltale: You're making no sense…
Gummygothic: What was that movie you were talking about, Kate? Was it the one about the imperial spy?
Telltale: Which one? There are a million of them.
Pink hearts: No. The other one, with the guy from that one thing…remember?
Telltale: What are you talking about?
Guns and roses: You wouldn't get it. I know which one she's talking about, though. I'll show you the playing times later. In the meantime, who want to go out for lunch? It looks like the Director doesn't have anything planned for us right now. Leave a note in case she panics, Tony. You need something to do besides interrupting our conversation.
Telltale: On it.
Telltale has logged out
Guns and roses has logged out
Pink hearts: You doing okay, Abby? You haven't said much.
Gummygothic has logged out
Pink hearts has logged out and terminated the chat
Abby went into the bathroom to splash some water onto her face. The water she was drinking only made her feel thirstier. Besides, it was empty anyway. She shut the door behind her and leaned against it. The dizziness came and went in unexpected waves. Beads of sweat stood out on her forehead, and she wiped it off with the back of her hand. Maybe she was going crazy, but it seemed like her vision was getting blurry. Was it? Abby swayed back and forth on her feet, trying to remain upright. Her breath came in quick pants, as if she were running a race. What is wrong with me? She thought. She cautiously felt her forehead. It was clammy and damp. She shuddered and splashed more water on her face to clear her head. It seemed to help, but only for a second. She felt unbearably hot, and struggled to take the lab coat off. As it fell to the floor, she heard a knock at the door. She held her breath, waiting to see what happened next. Silence. Then another knock, louder this time. Not her imagination. Abby waited a little longer, hoping to be left alone.
"Abby? Are you in there?" It was Ziva.
"Yes," she whispered.
"You've been in there a while…are you ill?"
"No, I'm fine, I just…" She sucked in a breath, wanting the dizziness to go away so she could think clearly. "I just need to-" The lock turned, and Ziva came in. Oh no, she thought.
"You don't look so good," she said. "You sure that everything's all right?"
"Yes…" Ziva looked doubtful.
"You look about ready to pass out. Maybe you should sit down," She helped her into a chair out in the hall. Concerned, she felt her friend's forehead. A little warm, nothing to be worried about. Abby closed her eyes to take a nap. She felt her pulse. A little faster than normal…Ziva frowned. Her forehead was clammy and slightly damp from water. Suddenly, Abby started wildly coughing. It wasn't just the normal, choking on air kind of coughing either.
"I…can't breathe!" she gasped between coughs. Ziva whipped out her cell phone and dialed 911.
"Hello? I'm calling from NCIS, and we have an emergency!" she shouted into the receiver.