"Tony," Gibbs yelled, as he watched the younger man head to the sedan, "You know that nap that was so damned important to you on the way up?"
"Yeah boss?" Tony asked, opening the backseat door. He could already tell this was not going to end well for him. They had been on the case for the past seven days, in the field for the past four; they had three dead victims, two crime scenes, a hell of a lot of paperwork, and a dead killer who realized his own bullet was better to face than the wrath of Gibbs.
Gibbs glanced over his team, as he planned just how to tell Tony his latest job. In the midst of it all Palmer had been shot and Abbey had come out to help Ducky remove their latest baddies body. It wasn't like Abs to work the field. She talked about it quite a bit, but had never been quite as eager as she had that afternoon. Watching her closely the rest of the evening he realized her interest was not in the cold body now bagged and ready to be transported back to the morgue. Her attention had been fixated on the much warmer and curvier body of one Special Agent Caitlin Todd.
"Boss?" Tony asked, fighting off a yawn. All he wanted was to curl up in the back seat and sleep. Hell even going home seemed like too much of an effort. Sure he had napped, but he knew once he was out he was going to be gone. It would not have been the first time he had crashed in the navy yard overnight.
Snapping his attention back to Tony, Gibbs grinned. "You're driving Ducky and our Lieutenant back." Raising his voice to be heard from her spot near the truck, Gibbs yelled, "Come on Abs, you're riding back with us."
Opening the driver door, Gibbs tossed his bag over into the passenger seat and met Kate's glance over the door. Steeling her with a look, he made sure she realized she would not be riding shotgun.
Kate tossed Gibbs a bewildered look, then sighed in frustration and moved towards the back of the car. It wasn't that she minded sharing the backseat with Abby; she just wished she understood what Gibbs was thinking more often than not. She was just glad it was going to be Abby with her and not Tony. The man managed to take up more space when sleeping than she, Gibbs, and Abby did combined.
"Oh and Tony," Gibbs yelled, opening the door behind his for Abby and shutting it behind her. "Make sure you help Ducky unload before you head home." He smirked at the older Doctor and nodded goodnight, then slid in behind the wheel.
Abby grinned happily in the backseat, keeping her chatter to a minimum. She knew Kate and Gibbs were exhausted, but she could only take so much silence. Kate was shifting every few minutes, trying to find a position that her body wouldn't revolt against if she tried to sleep. Gibbs absently was flipping through the stations, finally stopping on a station playing classic jazz. It wasn't his normal, but it seemed like the safest bet as far as something they would all agree in.
Abby nodded her approval at his choice and stared out the window as they drove. It was about twenty minutes later when she felt Kate's exhausted form slump against her. Looking at the woman next to her Abby couldn't help but push away the stray hair that had fallen over Kate's closed eyes. She heard Gibbs clear his throat and met his eyes in the rearview mirror questioningly.
"You know, we've still got at least another hour in the car, you might as well get comfortable," he said, knowingly. It wasn't hard for him to read people, especially people whose body language he was familiar with. However, he questioned his own level of observation realizing he had overlooked the new familiarity the two women had with each other.
Tony glared at the car in front of them. The one thing he hated more than Gibbs putting him in his place was driving the speed limit. "God," he groaned as a car passing them honked. "Ducky, why is he going the speed limit? Gibbs never goes the speed limit unless something is still gnawing at him and seriously this one is in the bag," he said, laughing at his own bad joke.
Ducky could not help but laugh at Tony's oblivious nature. He was hardly an unintelligent lad, but sometimes the most obvious things passed him by. "You call yourself an NCIS Agent?" Ducky questioned, challengingly.
Tony squinted his eyes at Ducky and turned back to the car. Ducky was smart, but Ducky was book smart. If he was noticing something, it had to be obvious. Staring at the car in front of him, he rose to the challenge and tried to figure out what it was.
After making sure the door was locked, Abby had propped herself up against the door and rearranged Kate. The sleeping agent was now curled up between Abby's legs with her head nestled safely against Abby's chest.
"You know Abs," Gibbs said, in a rather amused tone that left Abby wondering if he had already found out that she was the one who had been misplacing all of Tony's things since she had arrived, "You could have just told me you missed her. You didn't have to go through the pretense of schlepping for Ducky."
"Aww, Gibbs, there was a time in your younger days when I wouldn't have had to tell you anything. You're slipping up old man. Besides, I had fun with Ducky. Not something I'd want to do all the time, but definitely a learning experience."
Gibbs couldn't help the laugh that escaped. It surprised him how relaxed he felt. They hadn't even filed their reports yet, but it was always calming when everyone settled back into their places. He liked balance. His eyes softened as he watched Abby gently lean down and kiss Kate's forehead. A full-blown smile slipped past his gruff exterior when his agent nuzzled back and still asleep clung to the Goth a little tighter. Glancing at the side mirror, he nodded as he watched Tony and Ducky talking and laughing. All was as it should be.
"I give up," Tony finally conceded, "Why is Gibbs going the speed limit Ducky?"
Dr. Mallard laughed and nodded at the car in front of them. "How many people in that car are wearing seatbelts Tony?"
Tony scrunched up his face in confusion at first. Then realizing that he could no longer see Abby or Kate, it hit him. A very pleased grin spread over his features, as he fully processed the situation. "Right on," he leered, as his mind went over the possibilities. "You think Gibbs knows?"
Ducky gave Tony a look that truly made Tony wonder where Gibbs sense of sarcasm came from. "Yeah you're probably right." Setting the cruise control, he relaxed back into his seat and forgot all his previous irritation. They had caught the bad guy, Gibbs had managed to look pleased with him more than once that afternoon, he'd figured out it had been Abby messing with him, and most importantly he had new ammo to tease Kate with. "It's gonna be a good day tomorrow Doc," Tony murmured, grinning.