**Chapter Eleven -- Bloodbath Part Two**
**June 5, 2009 -- Abby's Lab**
McGee stepped off the elevator and into the lab, sighing when he didn't hear her music playing yet again. He was concerned, Abby and Tony had been extremely distant with each other, barely speaking except when forced.
"Hey, Abs." McGee said, setting the Caf-Pow! he was holding down in front of her.
"No thanks," she said simply as she pushed the large beverage away from her, her gaze never leaving the computer screen. She could feel his eyes burning into her back as he studied her. "What McGee? Don't you have anything better to do than stand down here and stare me to death?" She snapped.
"Hey." He said softly, putting his hand over hers and squeezing lightly when she tried to pull away. "Stop for a second, talk to me."
She pulled her hand away and looked up at him. "Did *he* send you down here to soften me up?" Her hand was firmly on her hip, an eyebrow raised at McGee suspiciously.
"No, Abby." McGee sighed, exasperated. He knew she was upset with Tony, but it had been almost two weeks and neither of them were showing any signs of giving in. "Tony hasn't even been in today."
The junior agent didn't miss the way her face fell ever so slightly before she set her jaw again, looking back to her computer screen. "Oh."
"Abby...what's going on with you two? I know you're both stubborn, but come on. Don't you think this is getting a little ridiculous?"
The Goth turned away from him and headed for her office. Rounding the desk in the opposite direction, McGee cut her off, holding onto her wrists gently when she tried to push him away, her eyes dark with anger and sadness. He wrapped his arms around her, not letting go despite her protests.
"You gonna tell me what's going on with you and Tony?" He asked when she finally stilled against his chest and returned the embrace.
"It's stupid." Abby mumbled, opening her mouth to say more, only to be interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. Stepping away from McGee, she picked up the phone off her workbench and glanced at the caller ID. "Great."
McGee cocked his head a little and watched as she tossed the phone back on the table without answering it. "Who was it?"
"Tony." She spat, turning back toward McGee. "I'm not taking his calls until he apologizes. If he wants to talk to me he can come down here and do it in person."
He groaned and rolled his eyes at the Forensic Specialist. "Abby...you have no clue, do you? No clue how completely unbearable he's been these last few..." He stopped suddenly, grabbing the chirping phone out of his pocket, answering without looking at the screen. "McGee."
Abby saw McGee's face go completely pale and immediately felt sick to her stomach. "Timmy..." She started, her voice small.
"Tony...calm down. Are you alright?" McGee asked, turning away from Abby.
"Tony!" She called, running up behind McGee and grabbing the phone from his hand. "T? It's me...are you okay? Where are you?" She spoke into the reciever frantically, her voice shaking. McGee traced small circles on her back as she spoke to Tony, knowing she was blaming herself. "We...we'll be right there."
**3 Years Earlier -- April 25, 2006 -- McGee's Apartment**
Stepping out of the stairwell, the first thing that Ziva noticed was her friend crouched by the wall outside of his apartment with his processing kit laying open on the floor beside him.
"McGee?" He didn't glance up when she spoke, though she saw him pause. "What are you doing?"
As she moved closer, she noticed the way his hand trembled slightly.
"They're going to kill me." he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "They're going to murder me in the most painful way possible."
"They are not going to kill you, McGee." Ziva reassured him, watching as he carefully put the bloody swab into a tube and sealed it.
McGee scoffed, looking around carefully for more evidence before snapping a few pictures with his digital camera. "You don't know Tony very well. Abby's like his sister. Nothing happens to her without him getting mad about it."
She reached over him and picked up the swabs, putting them into an evidence bag and packing up his processing kit. "There is no use crying over spilt cream, McGee."
"Milk. Spilt milk." He mumbled, correcting her English out of habit.
"Same thing. What is done is done and there is nothing you can do now but be strong for Abby. They will get her back safe and sound." She informed him, patting him on the shoulder as she stood up. "Come on, let's get back to HQ."
**One Hour Later -- Annapolis, Maryland**
Tony sat up a little straighter when they pulled up across the street from Mikel's house, setting his jaw firmly when he saw the car registered to him sitting in the driveway.
"Tony." Gibbs said, snapping his fingers in front of the younger man's face.
Gibbs fixed him with a firm stare when Tony made eye contact with him. "You gotta let me handle this."
"If you think I'm just gonna stand aside and let him explain himself, you're wrong, Gibbs." He explained, not too surprised when Gibbs' hand connected with the back of his head.
"Maybe I didn't make myself clear, DiNozzo. You will let me handle this. You will follow my lead. This isn't a discussion."
Tony frowned and looked away from the older man. "Thank you, Boss." He followed Gibbs' lead and climbed out of the sedan, waiting for him to explain their plan.
"You go around the right, I'll take the left. Meet in the back of the house. See if you can get a visual on Abby."
The two men took off in their opposite directions, their guns drawn as they peeked through the windows on their way to the rear of the house.
"Nothing, Boss." Tony said, fidgeting slightly as they met at the back door.
Gibbs nodded silently, pulling his lockpick kit out of his pocket and unlocking the back door. They entered the kitchen, their guns up and flashlights out, and they cleared the room before Gibbs spoke again.
"Tony. Clear the house."
"But Boss..." The younger man started, stopping when he was met with a fierce stare. "On it." He conceded, walking out of the kitchen.
When he had left the room, Gibbs headed for the basement door on the right hand side of the kitchen. Opening the door quietly, he turned off his flashlight and readied his Sig, descending the stairs. Once he was at the bottom, he took a moment to observe the situation before announcing himself.
"NCIS." Gibbs called into the dimly lit basement, his Sig pointed at Mikel.
"I knew you'd come." Mikel said, pacing back and forth in front of a dirty mattress where Abby was sitting slumped against the wall, unconscious, with her hands tied behind her back.
"Oh yeah?" Gibbs asked, never taking his gun off the man pacing nervously in front of him. "How'd you know?"
"You think you can protect her. But not better than me. You proved that today. She could've died in her lab!" Mikel exclaimed, becoming more hostile by the second.
Gibbs took a step closer to him, not wanting to make any sudden movements that might scare him into hurting Abby any more than she already was. From where he was standing he could see the blood coming from her nose that looked like it was broken.
"Good thing I was prepared for you to come." Mikel smirked deviously, pulling a dagger out of his back pocket. Kneeling down on the mattress next to Abby, he pulled her unconscious body in front of him, putting the knife to her throat. "You should probably go. She's only in danger around you. She's safe here. With me."
"I can't leave. Not without Abby." Gibbs said, moving slightly to his left, trying to get a better shot at Mikel. The way he had Abby positioned across his body, he couldn't manage to get a clear shot without risking hitting Abby as well.
"You're gonna have to." Mikel snorted. "If you don't..." He pressed the knife against her throat a little harder, drawing a thin stream of blood. "There won't be anything worth taking back with you. And to think you drove all the way here."
Gibbs' could feel his jaw twitch as he tried to control himself. He'd been dealing with psychos like Mikel for years; the last thing he wanted to do was make a sudden move and agitate him any further.
"You don't really wanna hurt her, Mikel. So don't. Let me take her with me."
"She's mine," the younger man snarled, his eyes dark with anger. "And if I can't have her, neither can you."
Tightening his grip around the handle, Mikel pressed the blade harder to Abby's throat.
Upstairs, the sound of a gunshot reached Tony's ears. "Abby!"
With a strangled cry, he pushed off of the door frame in the bedroom and headed for the stairs, taking the two at a time.
He reached the bottom of the stairs in the basement slightly out of breath, immediately seeing Mikel writhing on the floor, gripping his shoulder in pain.
Tony glanced over to where Gibbs was hunched near the ground over a pair of legs that be knew belonged to Abby.
"Abby!" He called, hating the way his voice betrayed him by shaking. He pointed his gun at Mikel when he didn't get a response from his friend, preparing to shoot him.
"Tony." Gibbs warned, unsurprised when his Senior Agent didn't move a muscle. "Tony, she'll be okay. Call an ambulance."
He hesitated, but pulled out his phone and dialed 911, holding the phone to his ear.
"Gibbs?" Abby moaned, making Tony nearly drop his phone.
"Abs?" Tony asked, dropping to his knees next to her, stroking her hand. "It's me, hon."
Gibbs stood up and snatched Tony's phone, walking toward the stairs as he spoke to the dispatcher while cuffing Mikel and leading him to the sedan.
"T...Tony?" Abby whispered, reaching up to touch the shirt that Gibbs had pressed to the wound on her throat. "What...happened?" She choked out, her voice weak. "Mikel?"
"It's okay, babe." He said, pulling her weak body into his lap and rubbing her wrists where the rope had left raw marks. "We've got you."
Gibbs reentered the basement as he hung up the phone and walked back over to where Tony was sitting on the ground, holding Abby close in his lap.
"DiNozzo." He said, dropping the phone on the floor next to him.
Tony looked up at his boss and frowned. "Whatcha need, Boss?"
"Need you to go back to HQ. Put the bastard in holding and write up your report, then meet me at the hospital."
"I'll do my report tomorrow."
"Not a suggestion, Tony." Gibbs said, crouching down next to him and picking Abby up off Tony's lap. "You're not coming in tomorrow. You're staying with her." He turned away from the younger man, not waiting for a response before heading upstairs to where the EMT's were waiting.
Tony sighed and picked up his phone off the ground, flipping it open and dialing a number. "Bradley?" He asked when the other line picked up, heading for the stairs. "It's Tony. I just wanted to let you know, everything's okay now but..." He spoke quietly into the phone as he exited the basement and headed back to HQ.
**0145 Hours -- NCIS Headquarters**
Tony stepped off the elevator and set his jaw, immediately spotting McGee sitting at his desk working on his incident report. He balled his hands into fists and tried to calm himself down, but to no avail. Yes, Abby was safe and at the hospital with Gibbs, but the whole night had thoroughly pissed him off.
"McGee!" He yelled, stomping over to the younger man's desk and grabbing the back of his shirt, standing him up roughly and shoving him against a filing cabinet. "What the fuck were you thinking?!"
"I..." McGee hesitated, looking over to Ziva, who was watching them closely. "She left her t...toothbrush in my car. She wanted to...to go get it herself but..."
"You left her alone!"
Ziva stood and approached the pair slowly, seeing that Tony's anger was beginning to get the best of him.
"She's safe, right? He...he didn't hurt her, did he?"
Tony's eyes narrowed to slits as he snapped, clenching a tight fist and swinging it at McGee only to have his hand grabbed by Ziva at the last second and wrenched behind his back. She pushed him down face first on McGee's desk and twisted his wrist, successfully preventing his movement.
"You need to calm down, Tony." She said, continuing to hold him down despite his struggling against her. "This was not McGee's fault."
The Senior Agent stilled against the desk, his arm already sore from being pinned behind his back.
"Are you done?" Ziva asked, loosening her grip slightly.
"Yeah." Tony spat through clenched teeth. "I'm done."
Letting go of his wrist, Ziva stepped back, watching closely as Tony straightened his tall body and rubbed his wrist lightly. He started to turn away from them, taking only one step before swinging around and lunging at McGee again.
Ziva's fist flew up out of instinct, catching Tony firmly on the left cheek. He froze, his hand moving quickly to cover the sting of the punch. They stared at each other harshly for a moment, Tony breaking the eye contact first, growling at McGee as he passed him on the way to his desk.
The three agents sat in silence as they worked on their reports, completing them in record time despite the tense feeling that sat in the air. The ringing of Tony's cell phone was the only thing that had been able to stop the record-breaking quiet. He answered the phone and ended the call quickly, standing up and grabbing his jacket.
"Everything is okay, yes?" Ziva asked, watching as Tony dropped his report on Gibbs' desk, leaving the bullpen without any acknowledgement.
**0330 Hours -- Abby's Apartment**
Tony parked his Mustang outside and walked up the stairs, stopping outside Abby's door. Sighing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the key she had given him, unlocking the door only to almost run into Gibbs as he walked inside.
"Hey Boss. How is she?" He asked, concern clear in his voice.
Gibbs looked his agent over carefully before responding, gauging his state of mind. "She's doing better. The doctors checked her out, she'll be back to work in a few days." He took Tony's chin in his hand and turned the man's head, seeing the bruise on his cheek. "What happened?"
"Nothing Boss." He said, pulling his chin out of Gibbs' grasp and pushing past him, dropping his jacket and the bag of movies and food he had brought over on the kitchen counter. "Ran into a wall on my way out. Got distracted."
"Uh huh." The older man agreed, disbelieving but aware he wasn't going to get a straight answer from him. "She's sleeping right now, asked for you a little while ago though."
Gibbs pulled open the door and was about to leave when Tony spoke up again, still standing in the kitchen. "Wh...what injuries does she have?"
"She's got a pretty good sized knot on the back of her head, nose is broken but should heal up pretty quick. The cut on her throat was taken care of, she's got a bandage on it that's gonna need changing. Other than that, she's in pretty good shape. Doesn't remember most of it."
"He drug her?" Tony asked. Gibbs could hear the hesitancy in his agent's voice, noticing how he was trying to keep himself calm.
He simply nodded, looking Tony in the eye. "Chloroform. Just knocked her out, no other side effects." He paused, looking at the younger man thoughtfully. "Night, Tony." He said, leaving the apartment and locking the door behind him.
Once Gibbs was gone, Tony released a heavy sigh and walked toward Abby's bedroom, seeing her curled up into a little ball in the center of her queen sized bed. He toed off his shoes and pulled his shirt and pants off, tossing them into her laundry hamper, leaving him in a white undershirt and his boxers.
He climbed into the large bed behind Abby and wasn't too surprised when she backed up against him, allowing him to drape his arm over her waist and hold her close.
"It's okay, Abs..." He soothed, combing a hand through her silky black hair as she relaxed against him. He could feel her start to shake against him slightly and he held her tighter, hearing her sobbing quietly.
Tony frowned, leaning down to kiss her shoulder gently. "It's alright...I'm here. You're safe now." He couldn't tell if he was reassuring Abby or himself, but he continued to hold her tightly as she cried, until they both fell asleep from exhaustion.
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