Tony watched as Kate left the bullpen on her way home; home being her apartment. She was the last one, other than him, to leave since Gibbs had sent them all home. Tony still hadn't told her about the lump he'd found. It wasn't that he hadn't tried; he had so many times. Every time he opened his mouth his throat closed over and nothing came out. If he said it out loud it became real, a problem that he'd have to deal with; a problem that Kate would have to deal with. He loved her too much to drop this on her; he would deal with this on his own. His heart had sped up now and he was sweating.
"God I'm a mess," he said out loud, wiping his brow.
"Not as much as I am," a voice surprised him from the shadows near the elevator. Tony had been so deep in thought he hadn't even heard the elevator ping to let someone onto the floor.
"Abbs?"
"Yeah…how did you know it was me?"
"I can see the silhouette of your pigtails," he said smiling. She laughed at this. "So go on then, what makes you a better mess than I am?" She paused.
"Um…it's…umm…"
"You can tell me, Abbs."
"I should be telling this to McGee if anyone…or Kate. She would know what to say…"
"Oh great, so I'm last choice," he mocked.
"No!…There's Ducky…or Palmer,"
Tony smiled. "I was joking, Abbs. Go on tell me what's wrong."
"Ok…I'm just gonna spit it out ok?"
"Ok."
"Ready yourself…"
"ABBS!"
"Ok…well then…I'm pregnant." That shut Tony up. Abby saw Tony's face and suddenly got flustered.
"Oh God, I knew I shouldn't have told you," she said turning to leave.
"No! Wait…are you sure?" Abby fiddled about in her bag and pulled out a white stick. She handed it to Tony.
"There you go; proof." Tony looked at the stick then looked up at Abby.
"Yeah Abby, I'm a guy; I don't understand these things…"
"Oh!" she said surprised, "Well that means positive."
"Ok, well I've gathered you haven't told McGee,"
"No…"
"It is McGee's isn't it?"
"YES! Tony! Of course it's his. How could you even say that?"
"Ok, stupid question Abbs; of course it's his. Just ignore me; I'm still processing this,"
"Well?…"
"Well what?"
"What do you think?"
"Well it doesn't really matter what I think does it? How do you feel about it?" Abby sat down at this point and started fiddling with the front of her coat.
"I'm ok I guess…I just don't want for this to ruin things between me and McGee. I really love him Tony and if I tell him about this, I'm worried he's gonna leave."
"He'd never do that Abbs; this is McGee we're talking about." Abby gave Tony a proud smile.
"Yeah…" she said quietly
"Are you gonna keep it?"
"Yes. No question about that. I spend all of my time in my lab using science to hunt down all the murderers we come across. If I get rid of this baby, I'm no better than them."
"I don't think…"
"That's how I feel Tony."
"Well, then you have to tell McGee."
"I know…" Her expression suddenly changed and she looked at Tony, "What is wrong with you?"
"Oh…"said Tony, withdrawing into himself. "I don't want to drag you into it."
"Is it you and Kate? I thought you two were fine again now?"
"We are. Well we were…"
"What happened?"
"I found a lump."
"Kate!"
"No! God no…me." Abby's eyes teared up.
"Oh my God, Tony; I've been drabbling on about me and McGee and…Tony this is serious!"
"I know that, Abby."
"Have you told Kate?"
"No," he said and he hung his head.
"What! Why not? She'll want to know Tony. This is not something you can keep from her."
"I know…"
"What are you worried about?"
"She couldn't handle us moving in Abbs, so what is she going to do when she finds this out?" Tony looked straight into Abby's eyes begging for an answer.
"I can't answer that Tony. You have to tell her." Tony was silent and hung his head again. "Have you seen a doctor yet?"
"No. I only found it this morning."
"You have to set one up…I've got a friend. He's a really good doctor. I'll set up an appointment."
"…thanks Abs…I appreciate it."
Abby moved across the room and pulled Tony into a hug. Tony was surprised at how good this felt. It felt so much better to tell someone; he wasn't going through this on his own now. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he hastily wiped it away. He heard Abby crying on his shoulder and he hugged her tighter. They remained like this for a long time; to both of them it felt like forever.
***
Leroy Jethro Gibbs arrived home to find Jennifer Sheppard standing over the hob. He reached his arms around her waist, his head resting on her shoulders. He breathed in deeply and took in the smell of her hair. He could still smell it through the delicious aroma of the chicken in the oven and the pasta on the stove. Jen stirred the pan on the stove with one hand, and put the other one round her waist over Jethro's.
"Dinner smells nice."
"It does doesn't it?" she smiled. Jethro gripped her tighter, laughing softly.
"It does" He put his lips close to her head kissed her hair lightly. "You didn't have to cook for me."
"Cook for ‘us' you mean."
Jethro laughed again, "Yes…'us'."
"Well I thought I'd surprise you. We've been living together for almost 6 months now, and don't cook nearly enough. I'm a good cook I'll have you know."
"I do know," he smiled. "You're good at many things." This time Jen laughed.
"Is there ever anything else on your mind Jethro?"
"What besides you?…Never."
She laughed again and turned her head so that they were looking into each other's eyes. He reached forward and kissed her passionately. They were interrupted by the pinging of the oven.
"Dinner's ready," smiled Jen. Jethro smiled back at her.
***
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony and Abby share secrets and Jethro returns home to happy sight.