Hello all- sorry for the delay in updates. Been through a lot in the past month and trying to squeeze out creativity for this has not been a priority. We should be good now. Hope you like this chapter. :)

Tony, Gibbs, and McGee all walked into the building. Everyone spun around the office as if nothing happened. Their averted eye contact, redirected routes, and hushed conversations made a blaring statement that they all knew someone on the team was killed on the line of duty. Word had gotten out but no specifics on who. The process of elimination let them find out though.

Their pitiful looks sickened Tony for two reasons. The team did not need pity, they needed justice. And he almost felt like their looks shot right through his tough exterior and resided right in him. Were they thinking it was his fault that his partner was shot? They had to be. He was supposed to have her six. How could he let her down?

When the three member team entered their little office area, Gibbs ordered the other two towards his desk. As he sat down in his chair, he looked up at both of them. McGee looked him right in the eye waiting for what for him to talk. His eyes looked sad and lost with grief. Tony failed to make eye contact. His eyes were fixated on the blue carpet beneath his feet.

"I want the two of you to take off the rest of the day. Losing a partner is never easy." As the boys went to protest, "Do what you need to do, but come back tomorrow ready to fight for justice."

The boys, who looked like lost puppies, nodded in sync. Before they could turn away, Gibbs handed a folder full of papers to Tony. "Before you leave DiNozzo, run this down to Abby."

Tony nodded taking the folder. He had to figure out how he would get in and out of the lab without Abby seeing him. He had little strength in him to face her. He knew she would barrage him about questions about the day and that she would need comfort. He could provide her nothing. He was numb in his own grief to offer her any solace.

The elevator down was much too quick to devise a plan. All he could think of was to slip the folder on the first flat surface and run out. When the doors slid open however, Abby was nowhere to be seen. She was not standing at her computer. Tony peeked his head in to see if she was at her desk. She was not there. Maybe she was talking everything over with Ducky. Ducky was the glue that held the little NCIS family together during the hard times.

Feeling it was safe for him to put the folder by her computer, Tony waltzed in. He put the folder down, turned his body around which caused a surge of pain to run up his back. He still felt pretty weak from his battle with the plague. Every time he thought about the past three weeks it brought humor to him. Who, in the twenty first century, gets bubonic plague? Only him.

As Tony winced in the aching muscles in his back from spending too many hours gasping for air, he heard a sniffle. She was in there. He found her small little body curled up under the table near the door holding onto a stuffed animal. She stared right past him with her dark eyes swimming in tears. Tony wish he had the heart to ignore her and walk pass as if he didn't see her. He already failed one of the woman in his life today, he couldn't possibly fail another.

"Hey Abs, you got room down there for one more?" Tony inquired gently.

Abbey slowly nodded with her eyes still fixated on the ground. Her chin rested on the stuffed animal's head. Tony crawled next to her despite the soreness his body felt. He curled up next to her and fixated his eyes in the same place she did. Abby was the sister Tony never had. They bantered a lot, did a lot of fun things outside of work, and he loved to be there for her. Anytime they were together whether at work, in a movie theater, or other places they frequented they were constantly getting into trouble for laughing and being too loud. Abby allowed Tony the experience of letting his guard down and allowing his goofy side to come out. He had no need to attempt to impress her. His raunchy humor had been just his mask but with her he could remove it.

But at this moment, the two who never shared a single moment of awkward silence, were both paralyzed in numbing grief. The words swirled around Tony's head, but none could make it out of his tongue. The vision of Kate's dead body hurdling to the ground replayed over and over again. He shook his head violently trying to get it out of his head.

"I just want to know why." Abby choked.

With his head resting on his crossed arms that sat on his legs, Tony shifted his eyes over in her direction. The uneasiness of her voice caused his heart to ache. He shakingly brought out his hand to rub her back. Before he met her, touch was just a sensual thing. He never grew up with touch as a means of comfort. She had taught him that. It took some getting used to and even now it was hard, but he reached out regardless.

As if his touch was a bolt of electricity, Abby jolted and her eyes fired at him "Why did you let her die, Tony?"

Tony pulled back his hand as guilt caved in. Her once wet and grief stricken eyes turned into two windows of the anger in her soul. "I…I had no idea it was going to happen, Abby. I…I"

"Why didn't you have her six?!" Abby's generally sweet demeanor melted under her rising anger, she got up from under the table and stared down at Tony.

She loved the man like he was her own older brother, but right now her spinning emotions made her sick. She had to get out her aggression, hatred, and downright sadness out on someone. Tony happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was right in the path of her projecting anger.

The way Tony remained underneath the table barely able to make eye contact typically would have broke Abby's heart, but she needed this outlet. It almost made her angrier that he couldn't look her in the eye. That showed he knew he had failed. Her anger could not have been irrational if he knew he had messed up.

Still unable to meet her blazing gaze, Tony tried to speak softly and slowly "Abs, I…"

Abby would and could not hear his excuses or his apologies. She covered her ears and shouted "I don't want to hear it! Get it out!"

Tony watched the girl's lips quiver. He knew she could not have meant it. Obviously, the grief was too overwhelming. Generally when the goth was hurting, he would, out of his comfort zone, comfort her with physical touch. Tony rose to his feet and walked over to her. He reached out his arms to hold and pull her in. He touched her shoulders, Abby without thinking slapped him right across the face.

"I said get out!" she bellowed.

The stinging sensation on his cheek held no candle to the emotional pain. Tony withdrew his arms and turned around. He stepped away with not only his ego fractured, but his heart aching more than it had when he originally walked in the lab. Still holding his burning cheek, he stopped at the door and without looking at her, uttered shakingly;

"For what it's worth Abby, I am sorry."