How To Relate: Chapter 3
Title: How To Relate
Author: justhowthisgoes
Fandom: NCIS
Category: Hurt/Comfort/Family
Pairing: None
Rating: T
Spoilers: Up to Season 7
Summary: Tony has been getting threatening letters and the team is worried, but Tony isn't taking them seriously. Then come the attempts on his life. Could the new girl at NCIS be involved? And what secrets from Tony's past will be revealed in the search?
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 3
Injury To Insult
Tony walked into the bullpen to find his teammates gathering up their things.
"Marine and his wife found dead at their home just outside Quantico. Come on." Gibbs announced as he headed toward the elevator, Ziva and McGee in tow.
"On your six, Boss." Tony quickly grabbed his gear and hurried after them, sliding in just before the doors closed.
"Ziva: bag and tag. McGee: shoot and sketch. DiNozzo: go interview the neighbor who discovered the bodies." Gibbs instructed.
As the team went about their respective duties, Gibbs made his way over to Dr. Mallard. In the center of the room Lieutenant Hank Dugray and his wife Linda lay about a foot apart; the man face up and staring and the woman prone with one arm under her body.
"What's it look like Duck?" He took a sip from his coffee and pulled a face as he realized it had gotten cold.
"Both victims were shot once through the heart. From close range, I would say. Almost certainly the cause of death, but I'll know for sure once we get them back home."
"Not much blood loss." Gibbs observed.
"No. Though, that could be easily explained as the heart would have stopped rather quickly considering the location of the bullets." Ducky pulled a liver probe out of the man's body and inspected the reading. "The Lieutenant was killed at approximately 0300 this morning. His wife was likely killed at roughly the same time, but I have not yet determined her time of death." He addressed his assistant. "Mr. Palmer, if you would be so good as to aid me."
"Of course, Dr. Mallard." Jimmy replied.
As the two men rolled the body over Ducky noticed something. "Jethro?"
Gibbs had just been in the process of turning away. "Yeah?"
"There is a revolver beneath the woman's body. Possibly the murder weapon."
"McGee, Ziva." Gibbs waved them over. McGee photographed the gun and then Ziva placed it in an evidence bag.
"Well, Jethro, it appears that, rather than a double murder, this may in fact be a murder/suicide."
"Could be. Or it could've been set up to look that way." Gibbs pointed out.
"Yes, well, I suppose that is a possibility." Ducky mused, "However, lividity suggests that the bodies have not been disturbed. But I imagine it would not take much movement to place the gun under the body. Abby should be able to tell us whether or not the Lieutenant's wife fired the gun. You know, this reminds me of a certain mystery novel I once read in which there was a presumed double homicide that the protagonist, quite by accident, discovered was actually-"
Gibbs cut him short. "Thanks Duck."
Suddenly the sound of screeching tires came from outside. Gibbs ran to the door and was horrified to see Tony hit the ground as a black SUV with tinted windows sped away.Tony had been at the curb next door interviewing the neighbor.
"So, you said you came over to see if the Dugray's had any room in their paper bin?" Tony prompted.
"That's right. They didn't answer, which is strange, so I looked through the front window. Then I saw them." Ensign Tabitha Peterson informed him, separating her recyclables as she spoke.
"And how long ago was this?"
"About an hour ago. I called NCIS right away."
"Did you see anyone else? Anything suspicious?"
"No. Nothing." She closed the bin lid, dusting off her hands. "Is it alright if I go now? I need to get to work."
"Of course. If we have any more questions for you we'll be in touch."
She nodded and walked back into her house. As Tony finished writing and closed his notebook he glanced up to see a large black vehicle barreling around the corner straight for him.
Tony cursed and dove to the right, reacting barely in time to avoid being mowed over.
Still on the ground, Tony pulled out his Sig and fired after the vehicle, shattering the back windshield. It sped up and disappeared as Gibbs sprinted to his side.
"Tony! You ok?"
"I'm fine, Boss." Tony panted. "Just a little winded."
Ziva and Tim had charged out of the house, guns drawn, when they heard the shots. They looked concerned as they rushed toward Gibbs and Tony.
"What happened?" McGee demanded.
"Oh, not much. I've just lost a game of chicken with a two-ton hunk of metal." Tony quipped as he holstered his weapon. "Well, at least I got the plates." He took Gibbs' proffered hand and hauled himself up, grimacing as that action caused a sharp pain to shoot through his right hand and arm.
Ziva noticed. "Are you hurt, Tony?" she asked.
"What? No. I'm fine." Tony insisted. "I've gotten worse playing touch football."
"You are bleeding."
Tony looked down. His collision with the pavement had all but shredded his shirtsleeves and scraped a good deal of skin off of his forearms and palms. Blood was now trickling down and seeping through his ruined shirt. Quickly assessing himself, he realized he had also sustained several bumps and bruises in addition to his almost certainly sprained wrist.
"It's just a scratch. No big deal." He pasted on a smile, attempting to brush off his team's concern.
"Then you won't mind if Ducky takes a look at you when we get back." Gibbs ordered. He hadn't missed that his senior field agent was gingerly favoring his right wrist.
"But Boss-" Tony protested.
At a look from Gibbs he acquiesced. "Fine."Parked on the edge of the cold metal autopsy table, Tony thought he had gotten off easy. Ducky had poked and prodded him, determined that he had no broken ribs, and cleaned and bandaged his scraped arms. His wrist was still throbbing but he decided against mentioning that. "Well Ducky, what's the prognosis? Am I a free man?" He half-rose, hopefully.
"Not quite, Anthony. Sit."
Tony sighed quietly and lowered himself back down.
"The x-ray of your wrist indicates a slight fracture of the hamate carpel, here." Ducky pointed it out on the image. "Luckily the bone won't need to be set as it is not displaced, but you will need to wear a splint."
Tony groaned. "A splint? For how long?" he asked.
"Eight to ten weeks, depending on how quickly you heal."
"Eight weeks?! Are you kidding?"
"Eight to ten." Ducky corrected. "And if you can't manage to remember to wear it we shall see how you do with a cast instead."
Tony sulked as Ducky applied the splint. He had been planning on 'forgetting.'
"There now, how does that feel?"
Tony looked at the splint. It immobilized from his thumb down to a few inches below his wrist.
"It feels fine Ducky. I'm sorry; it's just been a long day. I don't mean to take it out on you."
"Not at all my dear boy. You're entitled to be a little put out after the day you've had. And I'm sure you must be in pain. I suggest an ice pack to alleviate some of the swelling. Also-"
Tony held up his hand, forestalling the Scotsman's next words. "No painkillers Ducky. You know how I get."
"I assume you are referring to your inclination toward rather extreme reactions to any sort of analgesics?"
"I get positively loopy Ducky."
Ducky chuckled. "Yes, you do at that. Not the worst I've seen though. Why I knew a man at Edinburgh, now this was back in -" Tony cleared his throat. "Oh I do apologize for the digression Anthony, but in any case I recommend aspirin at least."
"The old 'Take two aspirin and call me in the morning,' eh Ducky?" Tony grinned. He hopped down from the table and nearly stumbled. Ducky caught his arm, looking concerned.
"Perhaps you should leave a bit early today, Anthony."
Tony shook his head. "I'll be fine. Anyway I have to go see Abby. She'll be upset enough with me for getting hurt. Thanks for patching me up." With a quick wave, Tony was out the door.Gibbs stepped into the forensic lab and was immediately hug-attacked by Abby.
"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby was nearly hysterical. "McGee told me what happened. Is Tony ok? I can't believe someone tried to run him down!"
"Calm down Abbs. Tony's fine. Ducky's looking him over now, just in case."
"Gibbs, you have to find out who did this. They could go after him again!" Abby sniffled.
Gibbs gently patted her on the back. "Don't worry Abbs. I'm not going to let anything happen to Tony. Have you got anything for me from the case?"
Abby released Gibbs and walked over to her lab counter. "Well, I found two types of blood on Linda Dugray's clothing. One was her own, no surprise there, and the other belonged to-"
"Lieutenant Dugray."
"Right. I guess that's not really surprising either since they were killed right next to each other. The bullets in both Lieutenant Dugray and his wife came from the gun found at the scene. The gun was registered to the Lieutenant and I got several good fingerprints from it. Mostly the Lieutenant's, but a few recent prints belonged to-"
"His wife." Gibbs deduced.
"Right again! Want to guess what I found on her hand?"
"Gunpowder residue?"
"Three for three Gibbs, but there's no way you'll guess this last one. I found a video chip in Linda Dugray's pocket." Here Abby paused. "Do you know what was on the chip, Gibbs?"
"Just tell me Abbs."
Abby pouted. "You're no fun Gibbs. The video was basically a suicide note slash murder confession starring none other than Linda Dugray. Long story short: she apparently thought her husband was cheating on her and decided they were both better off dead. So case closed, I guess."
"Good work Abbs."
Tony walked into the lab. "Hey Abby, are you glad to see-oof!"
Tony's greeting was cut off as Abby rushed at him bodily and smothered him in a hug.
"Abby!"
"Yes Tony?"
"Broken wrist. Crushing. Pain." Tony sounded strained.
Abby immediately sprang back. "Oh, I'm so sorry Tony!" She lightly patted his splinted arm. "Wait, did you say broken? Gibbs, you said he was fine! 'Broken' is not fine!"
Gibbs fixed Tony with a steely stare. "He didn't mention it."
Tony shifted uncomfortably. "Well, to be fair, I thought it was sprained. And it's really more of a fracture than an actual break. A very minor fracture. Probably the least fractured that a bone can be and not be fine. I just have to keep it splinted for a week or two."
"Just a week or two?" Abby asked. "Really?"
"Well, maybe three." Abby still looked skeptical. "What, you don't trust me?"
Abby looked at Gibbs.
Gibbs reached over and slapped the back of Tony's head.
"Ow! Geez! Did you guys forget I almost died earlier today?"
Abby put her hands on her hips. "Don't make me go ask Ducky."
"Fine. Eight to ten weeks. Happy?" Tony growled. "And Ducky already threatened me with a cast if I don't wear the splint."
"Good." Abby smiled, satisfied. "So, did you want to know if I got anything from the photos..." she trailed off as she noticed Tony shaking his head and frantically gesturing at her to stop speaking.
Tony quickly changed his hand motion into a shadow puppet as Gibbs turned to look at him. "Heh. Look, it's a bunny."
"Painkillers, DiNozzo?"
"Well, actually-"
Gibbs turned back to Abby. "What photos, Abbs?"
"Um-" her eyes darted to Tony. "Sorry, I thought you told him already."
"Something you forgot to mention this morning, DiNozzo?" Gibbs folded his arms, waiting.
Tony smiled sheepishly. "Well, I didn't think it was that important at the time since we had a case. And then, I guess, in all the excitement it just slipped my mind. You know how slippery my mind can be."
Smack!
"Better?"
"Yes. Thank you Boss."
"What. Photos."
"Ok." Tony took a deep breath. "That letter this morning wasn't just a letter. It had photos inside-"
"And they were all of Tony." Abby cut in.
"They were taken this weekend." Tony continued. "So, basically-"
"Tony is being stalked by a psycho killer." Abby finished.
"Well, it sounds really bad when you say it like that, Abbs." Tony rolled his eyes.
"And did you get anything from these photos, Abby?" Gibbs face was an inscrutable mask.
Abby sighed sadly. "Nothing. No prints, no fibers, no unusual substances. They were printed on the most popular brand of your average photo paper using the second most popular brand of your average printer ink. Whoever this is, they're being really careful."
"Alright, Abbs. Keep me updated."
"Will do, Bossman." At this Gibbs nodded and abruptly left.
"You know," Tony pondered, "this kind of reminds me of a movie. Murphy's Law, 1986."
Abby giggled. "Actually, Tony, I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one."
"Why?"
"Because Murphy wasn't just stalked, he was also framed for murder."
"Right. Well, the day is still young. And with my track record…" Tony scoffed.
"Oh Tony. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about me Abbs. I'm fine."
"Are you really fine Tony?"
"Yes. No. Not really. I hate this stupid splint. It's itchy and I can't move my hand, like, at all. Stupid threatening letters. Stupid SUV. Stupid witness with her stupid recycling. Stupid me standing in the stupid freakin' street!"
"Aw Tony. Are you being pitiful?"
"...Maybe."
Abby embraced him again, careful to be gentle this time. "I know just how to cheer you up. We'll go out tonight. All of us. You, me, Timmy, Ziva. Palmer too. Come on, let's go tell them they're coming."
"Don't you mean 'ask them'?"
She linked arms with him and pulled him toward the door. "I think you know me better than that, Anthony DiNozzo. We're all going, and we're gonna have a great time whether we like it or not!"
...
Chapter 4
Author: justhowthisgoes
Fandom: NCIS
Category: Hurt/Comfort/Family
Pairing: None
Rating: T
Spoilers: Up to Season 7
Summary: Tony has been getting threatening letters and the team is worried, but Tony isn't taking them seriously. Then come the attempts on his life. Could the new girl at NCIS be involved? And what secrets from Tony's past will be revealed in the search?
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 3
Injury To Insult
Tony walked into the bullpen to find his teammates gathering up their things.
"Marine and his wife found dead at their home just outside Quantico. Come on." Gibbs announced as he headed toward the elevator, Ziva and McGee in tow.
"On your six, Boss." Tony quickly grabbed his gear and hurried after them, sliding in just before the doors closed.
"Ziva: bag and tag. McGee: shoot and sketch. DiNozzo: go interview the neighbor who discovered the bodies." Gibbs instructed.
As the team went about their respective duties, Gibbs made his way over to Dr. Mallard. In the center of the room Lieutenant Hank Dugray and his wife Linda lay about a foot apart; the man face up and staring and the woman prone with one arm under her body.
"What's it look like Duck?" He took a sip from his coffee and pulled a face as he realized it had gotten cold.
"Both victims were shot once through the heart. From close range, I would say. Almost certainly the cause of death, but I'll know for sure once we get them back home."
"Not much blood loss." Gibbs observed.
"No. Though, that could be easily explained as the heart would have stopped rather quickly considering the location of the bullets." Ducky pulled a liver probe out of the man's body and inspected the reading. "The Lieutenant was killed at approximately 0300 this morning. His wife was likely killed at roughly the same time, but I have not yet determined her time of death." He addressed his assistant. "Mr. Palmer, if you would be so good as to aid me."
"Of course, Dr. Mallard." Jimmy replied.
As the two men rolled the body over Ducky noticed something. "Jethro?"
Gibbs had just been in the process of turning away. "Yeah?"
"There is a revolver beneath the woman's body. Possibly the murder weapon."
"McGee, Ziva." Gibbs waved them over. McGee photographed the gun and then Ziva placed it in an evidence bag.
"Well, Jethro, it appears that, rather than a double murder, this may in fact be a murder/suicide."
"Could be. Or it could've been set up to look that way." Gibbs pointed out.
"Yes, well, I suppose that is a possibility." Ducky mused, "However, lividity suggests that the bodies have not been disturbed. But I imagine it would not take much movement to place the gun under the body. Abby should be able to tell us whether or not the Lieutenant's wife fired the gun. You know, this reminds me of a certain mystery novel I once read in which there was a presumed double homicide that the protagonist, quite by accident, discovered was actually-"
Gibbs cut him short. "Thanks Duck."
Suddenly the sound of screeching tires came from outside. Gibbs ran to the door and was horrified to see Tony hit the ground as a black SUV with tinted windows sped away.Tony had been at the curb next door interviewing the neighbor.
"So, you said you came over to see if the Dugray's had any room in their paper bin?" Tony prompted.
"That's right. They didn't answer, which is strange, so I looked through the front window. Then I saw them." Ensign Tabitha Peterson informed him, separating her recyclables as she spoke.
"And how long ago was this?"
"About an hour ago. I called NCIS right away."
"Did you see anyone else? Anything suspicious?"
"No. Nothing." She closed the bin lid, dusting off her hands. "Is it alright if I go now? I need to get to work."
"Of course. If we have any more questions for you we'll be in touch."
She nodded and walked back into her house. As Tony finished writing and closed his notebook he glanced up to see a large black vehicle barreling around the corner straight for him.
Tony cursed and dove to the right, reacting barely in time to avoid being mowed over.
Still on the ground, Tony pulled out his Sig and fired after the vehicle, shattering the back windshield. It sped up and disappeared as Gibbs sprinted to his side.
"Tony! You ok?"
"I'm fine, Boss." Tony panted. "Just a little winded."
Ziva and Tim had charged out of the house, guns drawn, when they heard the shots. They looked concerned as they rushed toward Gibbs and Tony.
"What happened?" McGee demanded.
"Oh, not much. I've just lost a game of chicken with a two-ton hunk of metal." Tony quipped as he holstered his weapon. "Well, at least I got the plates." He took Gibbs' proffered hand and hauled himself up, grimacing as that action caused a sharp pain to shoot through his right hand and arm.
Ziva noticed. "Are you hurt, Tony?" she asked.
"What? No. I'm fine." Tony insisted. "I've gotten worse playing touch football."
"You are bleeding."
Tony looked down. His collision with the pavement had all but shredded his shirtsleeves and scraped a good deal of skin off of his forearms and palms. Blood was now trickling down and seeping through his ruined shirt. Quickly assessing himself, he realized he had also sustained several bumps and bruises in addition to his almost certainly sprained wrist.
"It's just a scratch. No big deal." He pasted on a smile, attempting to brush off his team's concern.
"Then you won't mind if Ducky takes a look at you when we get back." Gibbs ordered. He hadn't missed that his senior field agent was gingerly favoring his right wrist.
"But Boss-" Tony protested.
At a look from Gibbs he acquiesced. "Fine."Parked on the edge of the cold metal autopsy table, Tony thought he had gotten off easy. Ducky had poked and prodded him, determined that he had no broken ribs, and cleaned and bandaged his scraped arms. His wrist was still throbbing but he decided against mentioning that. "Well Ducky, what's the prognosis? Am I a free man?" He half-rose, hopefully.
"Not quite, Anthony. Sit."
Tony sighed quietly and lowered himself back down.
"The x-ray of your wrist indicates a slight fracture of the hamate carpel, here." Ducky pointed it out on the image. "Luckily the bone won't need to be set as it is not displaced, but you will need to wear a splint."
Tony groaned. "A splint? For how long?" he asked.
"Eight to ten weeks, depending on how quickly you heal."
"Eight weeks?! Are you kidding?"
"Eight to ten." Ducky corrected. "And if you can't manage to remember to wear it we shall see how you do with a cast instead."
Tony sulked as Ducky applied the splint. He had been planning on 'forgetting.'
"There now, how does that feel?"
Tony looked at the splint. It immobilized from his thumb down to a few inches below his wrist.
"It feels fine Ducky. I'm sorry; it's just been a long day. I don't mean to take it out on you."
"Not at all my dear boy. You're entitled to be a little put out after the day you've had. And I'm sure you must be in pain. I suggest an ice pack to alleviate some of the swelling. Also-"
Tony held up his hand, forestalling the Scotsman's next words. "No painkillers Ducky. You know how I get."
"I assume you are referring to your inclination toward rather extreme reactions to any sort of analgesics?"
"I get positively loopy Ducky."
Ducky chuckled. "Yes, you do at that. Not the worst I've seen though. Why I knew a man at Edinburgh, now this was back in -" Tony cleared his throat. "Oh I do apologize for the digression Anthony, but in any case I recommend aspirin at least."
"The old 'Take two aspirin and call me in the morning,' eh Ducky?" Tony grinned. He hopped down from the table and nearly stumbled. Ducky caught his arm, looking concerned.
"Perhaps you should leave a bit early today, Anthony."
Tony shook his head. "I'll be fine. Anyway I have to go see Abby. She'll be upset enough with me for getting hurt. Thanks for patching me up." With a quick wave, Tony was out the door.Gibbs stepped into the forensic lab and was immediately hug-attacked by Abby.
"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby was nearly hysterical. "McGee told me what happened. Is Tony ok? I can't believe someone tried to run him down!"
"Calm down Abbs. Tony's fine. Ducky's looking him over now, just in case."
"Gibbs, you have to find out who did this. They could go after him again!" Abby sniffled.
Gibbs gently patted her on the back. "Don't worry Abbs. I'm not going to let anything happen to Tony. Have you got anything for me from the case?"
Abby released Gibbs and walked over to her lab counter. "Well, I found two types of blood on Linda Dugray's clothing. One was her own, no surprise there, and the other belonged to-"
"Lieutenant Dugray."
"Right. I guess that's not really surprising either since they were killed right next to each other. The bullets in both Lieutenant Dugray and his wife came from the gun found at the scene. The gun was registered to the Lieutenant and I got several good fingerprints from it. Mostly the Lieutenant's, but a few recent prints belonged to-"
"His wife." Gibbs deduced.
"Right again! Want to guess what I found on her hand?"
"Gunpowder residue?"
"Three for three Gibbs, but there's no way you'll guess this last one. I found a video chip in Linda Dugray's pocket." Here Abby paused. "Do you know what was on the chip, Gibbs?"
"Just tell me Abbs."
Abby pouted. "You're no fun Gibbs. The video was basically a suicide note slash murder confession starring none other than Linda Dugray. Long story short: she apparently thought her husband was cheating on her and decided they were both better off dead. So case closed, I guess."
"Good work Abbs."
Tony walked into the lab. "Hey Abby, are you glad to see-oof!"
Tony's greeting was cut off as Abby rushed at him bodily and smothered him in a hug.
"Abby!"
"Yes Tony?"
"Broken wrist. Crushing. Pain." Tony sounded strained.
Abby immediately sprang back. "Oh, I'm so sorry Tony!" She lightly patted his splinted arm. "Wait, did you say broken? Gibbs, you said he was fine! 'Broken' is not fine!"
Gibbs fixed Tony with a steely stare. "He didn't mention it."
Tony shifted uncomfortably. "Well, to be fair, I thought it was sprained. And it's really more of a fracture than an actual break. A very minor fracture. Probably the least fractured that a bone can be and not be fine. I just have to keep it splinted for a week or two."
"Just a week or two?" Abby asked. "Really?"
"Well, maybe three." Abby still looked skeptical. "What, you don't trust me?"
Abby looked at Gibbs.
Gibbs reached over and slapped the back of Tony's head.
"Ow! Geez! Did you guys forget I almost died earlier today?"
Abby put her hands on her hips. "Don't make me go ask Ducky."
"Fine. Eight to ten weeks. Happy?" Tony growled. "And Ducky already threatened me with a cast if I don't wear the splint."
"Good." Abby smiled, satisfied. "So, did you want to know if I got anything from the photos..." she trailed off as she noticed Tony shaking his head and frantically gesturing at her to stop speaking.
Tony quickly changed his hand motion into a shadow puppet as Gibbs turned to look at him. "Heh. Look, it's a bunny."
"Painkillers, DiNozzo?"
"Well, actually-"
Gibbs turned back to Abby. "What photos, Abbs?"
"Um-" her eyes darted to Tony. "Sorry, I thought you told him already."
"Something you forgot to mention this morning, DiNozzo?" Gibbs folded his arms, waiting.
Tony smiled sheepishly. "Well, I didn't think it was that important at the time since we had a case. And then, I guess, in all the excitement it just slipped my mind. You know how slippery my mind can be."
Smack!
"Better?"
"Yes. Thank you Boss."
"What. Photos."
"Ok." Tony took a deep breath. "That letter this morning wasn't just a letter. It had photos inside-"
"And they were all of Tony." Abby cut in.
"They were taken this weekend." Tony continued. "So, basically-"
"Tony is being stalked by a psycho killer." Abby finished.
"Well, it sounds really bad when you say it like that, Abbs." Tony rolled his eyes.
"And did you get anything from these photos, Abby?" Gibbs face was an inscrutable mask.
Abby sighed sadly. "Nothing. No prints, no fibers, no unusual substances. They were printed on the most popular brand of your average photo paper using the second most popular brand of your average printer ink. Whoever this is, they're being really careful."
"Alright, Abbs. Keep me updated."
"Will do, Bossman." At this Gibbs nodded and abruptly left.
"You know," Tony pondered, "this kind of reminds me of a movie. Murphy's Law, 1986."
Abby giggled. "Actually, Tony, I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one."
"Why?"
"Because Murphy wasn't just stalked, he was also framed for murder."
"Right. Well, the day is still young. And with my track record…" Tony scoffed.
"Oh Tony. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about me Abbs. I'm fine."
"Are you really fine Tony?"
"Yes. No. Not really. I hate this stupid splint. It's itchy and I can't move my hand, like, at all. Stupid threatening letters. Stupid SUV. Stupid witness with her stupid recycling. Stupid me standing in the stupid freakin' street!"
"Aw Tony. Are you being pitiful?"
"...Maybe."
Abby embraced him again, careful to be gentle this time. "I know just how to cheer you up. We'll go out tonight. All of us. You, me, Timmy, Ziva. Palmer too. Come on, let's go tell them they're coming."
"Don't you mean 'ask them'?"
She linked arms with him and pulled him toward the door. "I think you know me better than that, Anthony DiNozzo. We're all going, and we're gonna have a great time whether we like it or not!"
...
Chapter 4