That night Abby prudently put the box containing the pregnancy test on the bathroom counter, ready to be used first thing in the morning.
And use it she did. She left it on the counter in the bathroom to do its thing while she went back and sat on the bed next to a very wide awake Tony to nibble on a saltine as they waited for the timer. Truth be told, Tony hadn't slept much at all, his mind a jumble of thoughts and emotions, but as the morning light had broken through the crack between the curtains he made a decision, and now it was time to act on it.
He took Abby's hand in his and pulled it to his mouth to kiss it gently. Abby gave him a little smile and kept chewing her saltine, trying to will herself not to throw up. Tony played with her fingers trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. The ding of the timer in the bathroom signaled that it was time to check the test, but as Abby stood to go check it he wouldn't release her hand and he blurted out, "Marry me."
A little in shock Abby sat back down next to him, and before she could say anything he tried again, "Marry me. Whether that thing is positive or not, marry me."
She heard a little twinge in his voice, and she realized that he was steeling himself for rejection and that was why he stated it instead of asked. She knew he was sincere, he would never have said something of that magnitude and not meant it. She also knew that he was handing her his heart, to do with what she would, and that thought made her eyes well up and made her want to tuck it someplace safe, like right next to hers, forever. Her stomach was rolling with nausea and she didn't trust herself to speak without throwing up in the middle of it, so she simply nodded and squeezed the hand holding hers.
Tony breathed out a huge sigh of relief. "Really?" he asked, almost like he couldn't believe it.
He finally believed it when she leaned over and kissed him lightly and whispered, "Yes, really," leaving Tony sitting there grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
A potent wave of nausea hit her and she scrambled for another saltine and said quickly, "I better go check that test."
A long minute later she came out of the bathroom with the test in hand, her expression unreadable. Tony couldn't stand it any longer. "Well? What's it say?"
Abby didn't say anything, just handed him the test to see for himself and as he looked at it, his brow furrowed in confusion. There was a very faint pink line in the test window and he asked, "So is this a positive or a negative."
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I don't know. My testing in my lab is much more exact. I have no idea. It could be a bad test, could be a false positive or it could be a very faint actual positive. I just don't know."
"So what do we do now?"
"We could try sneaking into the office so I can run the test there, and just hope Gibbs doesn't catch us."
"He did threaten me that he didn't want to see us until Monday, but I guess since we wouldn't actually be working maybe it wouldn't count."
Abby suddenly looked green and bolted for the bathroom and threw up splendidly. Tony did the dutiful thing and got her a cloth and some water. As she knelt on the bathroom floor, leaning with her arms on the toilet and her head resting on them she said wearily, "I just need to throw up for a little while first."
Tony sat on the floor next to her and rubbed her back gently and said lightheartedly, "I'd take over for you for a while if I could, Abs."
"I know. There is one thing you can do though."
Thinking she wanted something he said earnestly, "Anything for you."
She turned her head with a little smirk on her green face and gave him a sideways glance, "You get to tell Gibbs we're getting married."
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tbc...
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