In Case Of Emergency, Call Abby

Louisiana

Mostly as a treat for Rubyjane because she'd never been out of Quantico before, when Christmas vacation rolled around, Abby took her new family down to New Orleans by train. They were going to be spending the holidays with the Scuitos of New Orleans, and they were each looking forward to it very much.

"Remind me again who we're meeting." McGee said as he, Abby, and Rubyjane disembarked the train, luggage in tow.

"My brother, Luca!" chirped Abby.

"And he knows you're pregnant, right?"

"Oh, yes." Abby gave her rounded middle a pat, smiling when, under the layers of clothing and jackets to keep warm against the Louisiana cold, she felt the baby turn over. "I told Luca the story in a phone call, and he's told the others."

"Meaning that they all also know about me and RJ?"

"Yes, and I promise you, Tim, they're all going to love you both. Plus, RJ is the first Sciuto grandchild, so my parents are especially going to have a field day with her."

"Okay..."

Abby just laughed and looked at Rubyjane, who was in McGee's arms. "RJ, will you tell daddy to chill out?"

Giggling, Rubyjane turned to McGee and held his face in her mittened hands, telling him with an extremely straight face, "Mommy says chill."

"Oh, alright." McGee said, surrendering playfully. "If mommy says to, then I will."

Rubyjane trilled her approval and then looked around the crowded train platform. "Where's Uncle Luca?"

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Abby spotted her little brother in the crowd.

"He's there!" she said, pointing.

In contrast to Abby's looks and features, Luca Scuito was tall with blond hair and bright blue eyes, and he even had some kind of permanent scar on his upper lip. Without changing his own skin color, Luca was Abby's complete opposite. He was also dressed in a preppy style, straight down to a bow tie and preppy-looking boots, but the way Luca carried himself, including the twinkle in his eye and his enthusiasm as he greeted his sister when she wove her way across the crowded platform to join him, told McGee that unlike most preps, Luca wasn't full of himself or any shade of pretentious. McGee would be able to roll with that.

From what McGee understood, the family that his girlfriend had grown up in was large... at least by his own standards.

Abby's adoptive parents were named Tyler and Gloria, and both of them were completely deaf, although they were both experts at signing and reading lips. The elder Scuitos were also capable of speaking verbally, and they did, although their speech sounded a little different from a person who wasn't deaf or hard of hearing.

Abby, herself, was next in the lineup, and after her, less than a year younger was Ellie Kate. She had been a complete surprise, having been born after her parents had told her that even conceiving a biological child would be impossible. Nevertheless, Ellie Kate had been welcomed into the family as equally as Abby had been. And also like Abby, Ellie Kate was born with a clean bill of health.

Born when they were five was Luca, very healthy and very happy. He was the only son, and because of that, he had been spoiled when he was younger.

Rounding out the Scuitos was Clementine, just twenty-five now. She'd been born with hearing problems, though not as drastic as what her parents had to deal with. So as to at least point her in the direction of a good life, she'd been wearing hearing aids since she was two months old and was put into speech therapy as soon as she had the coordination to start signing. She was almost a chameleon these days with how well she was able to fit in.