Rule 39: There Is No Such Thing As Coincidence (Tony DiNozzo Love Story)

The Only One Left

Erin's POV

    "Hey," I lightly say as I stare at all of them. No one moves, they stand as motionless as I had been in interrogation. Their eyes widened and mouths gaping open.

    I watch as Gibbs continues to move down the stairs and move toward the bullpen. He walks through the group, avoiding their statues and comes up to me. His arms open and he pulls me into them, holding me close to his chest I feel his head lower and rest atop mine. My face is buried into his chest and I take in a deep breath as tears escape my eyes. He pulls me away after a few long minutes and stares at me. His eyes are a bit hazy with tears that haven't fallen over.

    He steps back and Abby runs full force through the bullpen and crashes into me, pulling me into a bone crushing hug. She's holding me so tight that I hold her back with just as much force. The pain in my side and the other wounds aching but I don't care.

    "I missed you," I hear her whisper.

    "I missed you too, Abby." More tears fall from my eyes and I force them closed so that I may not have to look at the other's faces. She doesn't let go and I don't want her to, soon I feel another person next to me and I open my eyes slightly to see Ducky placing a hand on Abby's shoulder.

    "No, I don't want to let her go. I don't want her leaving again," she cries, I can hear her sobs through her broken outburst.

    "I'm not going anywhere Abby. I'm staying here." Somehow Gibbs and Ducky get her to step back and I look at McGee, Ziva, and Tony. My eyes stare at him a moment before they tear away and look at McGee and Ziva.

    McGee moves around his desk hurriedly and walks over to me. Despite the assumption that Tim wouldn't ever be comfortable around a girl like me, as Tony had put it. He and I were the best of friends, aside from Abby. We knew each other, we understood the geek-speak and could talk in a computer code that would leave everyone confused. Driving everyone insane even Gibbs and getting numerous paper balls thrown at us from Tony. He moves briskly over to me and he pulls me into a hug.

    "Don't ever...don't you ever do something like this again," he says to me.

    "I hope I don't ever have to for as long as I live." He steps back and stares at me with a hard look.

    "I promise."

    "Dying and rising from the dead. How original," Ziva says in Hebrew as she walks over to me.

    "Ziva," I say as I hug her. "I was hoping to pull a favorite from the notorious Book," I respond back to her in her native tongue.

    "It is good to finally meet you, I have heard good stories about you," she says.

    "Most of them are true," I say and she laughs.

    As she stepped back, I knew that there was only one person left. Everyone else seemed to know it as well, including him. I look at him and he just stares at me, staring as he had when he first saw me. The minutes go by before somewhere in his mind something clicks and his eyes readjust on my face. His mouth closes and he stares a second longer before he turns to his desk and grabs something from inside his drawer and walks to the elevator. I look on with disappointment, but understanding as well as I can only imagine the bomb that has gone off in his head. In his heart, and my own. The doors close and I look down at my hands a second before looking up at everyone. Their eyes are staring at the closed doors of the elevator and they all have a look of pain and sympathy.