Chapter Seventeen

February 5, 2011 – 3:32am

The door opened to reveal Abby Scuito, wearing an old-fashioned nightgown, a floppy sleep cap, and no makeup, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

"Abby, I'm sorry I woke you up." Jimmy was talking a mile a minute; he was too nervous now to slow down. He'd passed the point where he could predict what would happen based on previous versions of this night; now he was walking the tightrope without the safety net. "I needed help and you're the only one who knows about this stuff who won't think I'm a terrorist or that I'm crazy or –"

"Don't be too sure about that, Jimmy." Abby reached out to grab him by his sleeve and hauled him into her living room. She closed the door, then dragged him to a chair and pushed him down. "Now, what's this about a bomb that's going to kill everyone?" Her tone was very clipped and precise; her voice was dangerously quiet. This wasn't happy-bouncy Abby, with her pigtails and bright smile; this was deadly-serious Abigail Scuito, who could kill and leave no forensic evidence behind.

In answer, Jimmy pulled out his phone and brought up the first of the pictures, then handed the phone to Abby.

"What the…" Her voice trailed off as she began scrolling through the pictures. She was still frowning, but there was an element of puzzlement to her features now. "Jimmy, how did you get these? Where is this?"

"I took them," he said simply. "I was there, I was hiding when they finished setting it up. This is what happened to the explosives that those Marines stole off their bases." He completely ignored her second question; he couldn't risk her or anyone else going anywhere near the Art Jones Building until he knew it was safe.

"Why are you bringing these to me?" Abby looked at him strangely. "We need to get these to the Bossman –"

"No!" Jimmy was half out of his chair before he caught himself. Sitting back down, he turned imploring eyes on Abby. "Abs, listen, I need you to trust me. If we send these to Gibbs now, they'll all go charging in there and get themselves blown up. There's stuff going on that they don't know anything about, and it'll kill them."

Abby crossed her arms again, staring at him in anger – and Jimmy couldn't help but notice that she was still holding his phone hostage in her hand. "Stuff they don't know about," she repeated, her voice flat.

"Yes."

"But you know about it."

"Yes. Well, mostly." He still didn't know exactly why the bomb had detonated last night, but he suspected that Ziva or Gibbs might have had something to do with it. He didn't want to mention that, though. One didn't get on Abby's good side by putting down her silver-haired fox, that was for sure. "But they won't believe me."

Abby raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to trust you, though."

"No." Suddenly feeling the weight of four nights' worth of fear, frustration, and grief, Jimmy pulled off his glasses and buried his face in his hands. "No, I don't expect you to just trust me based on nothing. But I don't know how I'd make you believe me, so… so I'm just asking." He looked up at her, her face blurred by more than just his poor vision. "Please, Abby. I need your help. Tell me how to defuse that thing." He nodded toward the phone still in her hand, which held the only proof he had.

"Jimmy." The anger was gone from her face now, replaced by worry. "You're asking me to not tell Gibbs and the others that they're in danger, and to trust you to save them. No offense, but… you're not exactly Agent of the Year material." Her crossed arms seemed to be more of a self-hug now, rather than a sign of wrath. "You've got to give me something, Jimmy. I can't just –"

"Tony and I broke Rule 12."

A look of surprise crossed her face before being overtaken by outright shock. "You and – you and Tony? Together? Like, as in together, together?"

Jimmy nodded.

"Seriously? You and Tony? But –"

"Yes, me and Tony," Jimmy snapped, suddenly angry. He put his glasses back on so he could glare at her. "As in, he was at my apartment before he got called in tonight. In my bed, with me. But then Gibbs called, and Tony had to go" – the anger drained away, replaced by desperation – "and if I tell you how I know what I know you'll think I'm crazy too and you won't help me and we'll both lose the people we love!"

"Jimmy! Jimmy, wait, I didn't mean –" Not knowing what to say, Abby grabbed Jimmy's arms and pulled him to his feet so she could envelope him in one of her giant Abby-hugs. "I didn't mean – you know, that you and Tony wouldn't make a good couple or anything, I just didn't know that either of you swung that way." She pulled back and looked at Jimmy's face. "You could have told me, you know."

"We were afraid to, Abs," Jimmy admitted. "We didn't want to tell anyone until we figured out what to do about Gibbs and Rule 12. Ducky guessed, but I don't think anyone else has."

"Fair enough." Abby looked at him for a moment longer, then let go so she could flip Jimmy's phone open. She examined the pictures again, frowning in concentration. Then her head came up again. "Who else thinks you're crazy? Who else have you told?"

"What?"

"You said I'll think you're crazy, too. So you told someone else. Who else knows about this, Jimmy?"

"I –" Jimmy's eyes darted around the room frantically, as if looking for an escape.

"Jimmy, I appreciate that you trust me enough to tell me about you and Tony," Abby began. "But I'm asking you to trust me more, and tell me everything. Because you're asking me to trust you with their lives, and I can't give you that level of trust without getting it back." She pulled him over to her couch, where she sat down next to him and put her hand on his arm. "Tell me how you got these pictures. I need to know everything."

Jimmy bowed his head, struggling to control the despair he could feel washing over him. He was running out of time, and it would take even more time to tell Abby, and she probably wouldn't believe him – though she might; this was Abby, after all – and even if he convinced her to show him how to defuse the bomb, he almost certainly wasn't going to have time to do it tonight. And then the night would start over again – if he was lucky – and he and Tony wouldn't have had their earlier conversation; and he didn't know if he could arrange matters so that the subject would come up again in exactly the same way. And worst of all, he would have to endure another night of watching Tony die…

Abby shook his arm a little. "Come on, Jimmy, talk to me." She held up his phone. "Or I'm going to have to call Gibbs and send these to him – well, to Timmy, anyway – only you said that would get them killed, and –"

Jimmy shook his head. "No, don't call. I'll tell you. Just" – he laughed, though there was no humor in it – "just remember, I told you it would sound crazy."

Abby's bright green eyes met his. "Try me."

He took a deep breath and jumped in. "I know what's going to happen because this is the fourth time I've gone through this night. I've already seen Tony and the others die three times."

He continued on, turning his head to stare at one of Abby's bowling awards on the wall so he didn't have to see the disbelieving look on her face. He told her about seeing the explosion on the news, and how he found out that Gibbs and Ziva were dead. About going to the crime scene and saving Fornell, only to find that Tim and Tony were beyond saving. About waking up that next night, thinking he'd lost Tony forever, only to have his lover tell him that it was just a nightmare – and then watching the nightmare repeat itself.

He described going to the office building on the third night, though he was careful not to mention anything that would give away its location. When he told Abby about how Agent Sacks had treated him, he felt her hand tighten on his arm and he remembered that she didn't like the arrogant FBI agent any more than Tony did. He finished by describing his plan for tonight – to find out how to defuse the bomb and get there before the agents did, so that by the time the target – he didn't tell her who it was – drove by, the remote detonator would be rendered harmless.

Jimmy didn't know what to do, once he ran out of words. He stole a glance at Abby out of the corner of his eye. She was looking at the pictures on his phone, her still face not giving anything away. Since Abby's face was normally an open book, he found himself worrying about what might be going on behind those expressionless green eyes…

"In the movies," she said finally, breaking the silence, "the main character is usually able to prove that they're caught in a time loop by predicting what someone is going to say next, or that the phone is going to ring, or something." Abby looked up at Jimmy. "What do you have, Palmer?"

Jimmy closed his eyes and shook his head. "Nothing, until it's too late," he admitted. "I didn't pay much attention to the TV that first night until the news report came on, and the second night, I didn't turn it on until after it happened. And last night I was stuck behind Tony's desk." He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I've got nothing."

Abby narrowed her eyes. "Maybe not…" He watched her face while an idea took form in her mind. "If I call Tony right now, where will he be?"

"Abby, you can't call him!"

She held up her hand. "I won't tell him anything about – this," she promised. "But you would have been at NCIS about this time last night, right? So tell me what I'd find if I went there right now."

Jimmy looked at the clock. "It might be different," he warned her. "I don't know what might have been changed because I went there last night, other than the part where they knew where to go earlier than they should have."

"Doesn't matter. Just tell me what you know."

Jimmy told her what he remembered of the events at NCIS the night before. Then he watched as Abby dialed Tony's number and put the call on speakerphone, warning Jimmy to keep his mouth shut.

Tony answered. "Agent DiNozzo."

"Hi, Tony!" Abby spoke in her normal, overly-excited tone.

"Abs? What are you doing up so late? Something wrong?"

"Nope, everything's fine." Abby narrowed her eyes at Jimmy as she spoke. "Whatcha doing?"

"Working the stolen weapons case. We got a good lead tonight. Why?"

"Just wondering. Timmy there with you?" Jimmy listened as Abby cast her line, fishing for information.

"Yeah, we're all here, Abby. What are you doing up so late?"

"Bugging you." Jimmy couldn't help but smile at Abby's technique; it was so… well, Abby. "Who else is there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you guys were working this with the FBI, weren't you? Or are you working behind their back, since they took the lead?"

"No, we got the case back. Fornell and Slacks are here; Stiller and the rest of the ATF team are out running down another lead." Tony's voice sounded suspicious. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason." Abby grinned slyly. "What's Palmer up to?"

"Sleeping, I hope. It's past 3am, Abby!"

"Your bed or his?"

There was a stunned silence on the other end. Then: "How did you find out?" Tony whispered into the phone.

"I have my resources." Abby looked smug, Jimmy thought. "Don't worry, I won't tell. But you are going to tell me everything. I want details, Tony!"

Tony sighed audibly. "Is this all you called for, Abby? I kinda can't talk about it here…"

"Later, then. You two can come out with me tomorrow night – uh, Saturday night – and tell me all about it."

"We'll see how the case goes, and… uh… look, Abby, I really can't talk right now."

"Alright. Call me tomorrow, Tony. G'night!"

"Goodnight, Abs." There was a click as the line disconnected.

As soon as the call ended, the smile dropped from Abby's face. Jimmy looked at her nervously. "Well?"

Abby chewed her lip as she thought. "It's not enough to qualify as proof, speaking scientifically –"

"Abby, please –"

"But," Abby continued, overriding his interruption, "it's a hell of a coincidence. And the Bossman doesn't believe in coincidences."

"Rule 39." That seems to be coming up a lot lately, Jimmy thought.

"Right." Abby sat still a moment longer, then nodded her head decisively and jumped to her feet. "Come on, Jimmy," she said, pulling him to his feet. "Let's give you a crash course on bomb disabling techniques!"