Dark Nights and Caf-Pows
by ChannelD
Rated: K+
A/N: Written at 4 AM when I couldn't get back to sleep. Probably explains a lot.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of NCIS.
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In the sleek, silken black of some early hour, Abby slept, head on her folded arms on the lab bench tabletop. No answer yet to the oh-so-important test results, and she wasn't about to go home with this task unfinished.
The heady scent of a freshly-drawn Caf-Pow! woke her. Gibbs. He stood at her side, unquestioning, unruffled, all-Gibbs.
"Got anything for me yet, Abbs?"
She jumped up and hugged him around the neck, all while sneaking a peek at the screen. "Not yet, O Wondrous One, but soon, I think. Keep me supplied with Caf-Pow!s and it may be sooner."
He smiled his thanks. She turned back to her screens for a second, and when she turned again, he was gone.
The beckoning of sleep washed softly around her; gentle waves, rocking her eyelids shut. She put her head back down on her hands, but then the scent of the Caf-Pow! twirled around her nose like a veiled dancer; exotic, alluring, moving sinuously…Driiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnk Meeeeeeeeeee…
Now how could she say no to her favorite beverage? She gulped it down with gusto, feeling the remaining snoozing brain cells roll out of bed to face another work day.
As she set the nearly empty cup down, there was Gibbs again with a fresh one. "Keep at it, Abbs."
"Bless you for this, Gibbs! I will—" and in the time it took to eye it and say that, he was gone. How does he do that?...Oh, well; back to work.
Sip. Sip. Ahhhhhhhh…
In the shadows, Gibbs #3 waited, feeling the pleasant chill of the condensation on the Caf-Pow! cup in his hands. Not time yet…
Gibbs #4 came through the stairway door, bearing his Caf-Pow!. Red light ahead; the signal to all units to stop and hold until the light turned amber. He knew the signals. Gibbs #5, #6, and #7 likewise waited on the stairs.
So did Gibbs #8 (at the ladder leading down from the trap door), #9 (at the fire pole that descended into Ballistics), #10 (seated on the flying carpet that had entered through a window), and #11 (halfway through a portal from another dimension). Gibbs #12, knowing he had a wait, was catching 40 winks in his houdah atop the elephant in the shadows.
"Ahhhhh…mmmmm…" Abby sucked up the last of her Caf-Pow!
Amber light…
Gibbs #3 moved in. "Any progress, Abbs?"
She jolted upright, fully awake now, and reached for her Caf-Pow! A little was left in the cup; flat and tepid. With a shrug she finished it off, wishing she had a fresh, cold one.
"Tim! Wake up!" She gently nudged her co-worker, who'd fallen asleep on the keyboard nearby. Oh. It's only 4 o'clock. Let him sleep a little longer.
Tim sighed a little in response. In his dream he saw a series of Tonys, one after the other, coming into work and being bewildered by an error message on his monitor allegedly from 'yur hott chik' at Intel. It was a hack Tim would never tire of. He chuckled softly.
Gibbs #3 passed Tony #2 in the hallway. "Rough night?"
"Yeah. I can't believe I fell for that again!"
"Don't sweat it. See you tomorrow night."
"Quiet down there!" Director #21 snapped. "Don't you know what time it is?!"
In her sleep, Jenny rolled over and smiled.
- End -