Aftershock
Author's Note: I knew I had to add on to "Shell Shocked, Part II". Itty bitty bit of Tiva if you squint. Hope you enjoy. :)
A/N2: Edited on 7/22/2013 to lower crap factor.
The opera music played for a long time. Tony must have gotten one of the longest recordings he could get his hands on. When it finally ended, a single tear fell from her eye, landing on her pant leg and leaving a small, moist reminder in its place. She was absorbed in thoughts of Tali, and for a short while when she was listening to the music, she could almost forget that her beautiful sister was long dead.
Almost.
When the music ended, she came back to reality almost as if she was hitting a brick wall. She was the best of us. The distant words she spoke to Tony so many years ago floated into her mind. She really was, Ziva thought, running a hand through her hair and pursing her lips, trying to restrain the emotion that was threatening to bubble over.
She sat there in the bullpen for an indeterminable amount of time before finally rising to her feet. She calmly walked over to Tony's computer and went to log off for him, but she saw an open Word document with a single sentence written on it.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Ziva."
The melancholy that had settled down on her lifted slightly, and Ziva smiled softly at the pale computer screen. "You really can be sweet sometimes," she whispered to herself.
"Thanks." She heard the voice behind her and jumped, surprised that she hadn't noticed his presence. She turned to see Tony behind the cubicle wall that cordoned of his desk. "Sorry, I was waiting outside for you, figured I'd give you a ride to Gibbs'... you didn't come out, so I came back in to, you know..." He shrugged.
"Make sure I was okay?" Ziva offered. Tony nodded, rubbing a hand across the back of his head and shifting awkwardly.
"Yeah."
"I am fine," Ziva told him as she shut down his computer. He strolled around the side of his desk and met her at the front, stopping just a few inches away from her.
"Zee-vah?" he spoke her name like a question. She raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry, for, you know... prying," he told her carefully, not meeting her eyes. Ziva let out a small sigh.
"Tony, you would not be you without your prying," she said, smiling at him. Tony returned it, his hazel eyes reflecting in the dim light of the bullpen. "And, I am sorry as well. For keeping secrets from you," she admits, the words feeling strange on her tongue. Tony just grinned at her.
"You wouldn't be you without your secrets, Ziva," he mimicked. Ziva chuckled slightly before leaning up on her toes to kiss Tony lightly on the cheek. He flushed as she pulled away, and their eyes locked.
"Thank you," she said. For a span of time that could have been minutes or hours, they stood inches away and stared at each other, both of them knowing exactly what the other was thinking.
Finally, the silence was broken by Tony.
"Turkey's probably getting cold," he said, almost inaudibly. She nodded slowly, and then the two of them walked side by side towards the elevator.
"You sure you know what you're doing? That's the third stick of butter you've used," Gibbs asked carefully as he looked over Abby's shoulder at the green bean casserole she was in the process of making. Abby spun around, brandishing a large spoon at him.
"Gibbs, at work, you are the bossman, but here in the kitchen, I'm the fearless leader," she reprimanded him, and Gibbs held up his hands in a gesture of defeat.
"Whatever you say, Abs," he said, heading back into the living room, where a large dining table (provided by Ducky) was being set up.
"Ah, Jethro, could you help me with this for a moment?" Ducky asked, motioning to the table.
"We need to move in the middle leaf," McGee supplied. Gibbs just raised an eyebrow at him before helping Ducky pull his side back, leaving the gap in between for the middle leaf of the table, which Abby's newly discovered brother Kyle, the only non-NCIS member joining them, rushed forward with, sliding it in between the right and left side, leaving them with a big enough table for the seven of them.
"And there we go!" Kyle declared with a smile. Gibbs couldn't help but notice how strikingly similar Abby and Kyle looked, even for siblings. Even the way they acted and their facial expressions were similar. He was happy for his favorite forensic scientist. Their non-biological family could only do so much for her. Sometimes, like in the aftermath of the bombing, you just needed someone who you shared blood with.
"McGee, go check on the turkey," Gibbs ordered. McGee nodded, trotting back into the kitchen.
"Hey boss," McGee called from the kitchen. "How late did Tony say he and Ziva might be?"
"Said he didn't know," Gibbs replied, heading to his cabinets with Ducky to retrieve his seldom used glass plates and cups. Ducky gathered up enough glasses in his arms for everyone, and Gibbs stacked all of the plates on top of each other, forming a precariously towering pile. Kyle quickly scooped half the pile away from Gibbs, no doubt predicting the imminent disaster.
Kyle and Ducky began setting the table, and McGee popped in to let them know the turkey would be done in about ten minutes. Gibbs walked into the kitchen to grab cutlery and napkins, and saw that Abby's green bean casserole was now finished and on the stove, and she was now working on the enormous pumpkin pie.
"I didn't know you liked cooking so much," Gibbs commented, lightly scooting her back from the oven so he could get a look for himself at both the turkey and baked potatoes.
"Cooking is it's own science, Gibbs! Only instead of blood, guts, and fibers, it's sugar, olive oil, and baking powder!" Abby said cheerily. Gibbs chuckled as he slid on an oven mitt and turned the potatoes.
"Never heard it put quite like that," he said, straightening up and experimentally sniffing the air. "Smells good, Abs."
"Oh, I know." She grinned at him. "Like I said, fearless kitchen leader."
"That you are, Abby," Ducky agreed as he walked into the bustling kitchen in search of napkins. "Kyle, my dear boy, could you handle the gravy boats?" he asked. Kyle peeked his head around the corner.
"No problem, doctor!" he said, scuttling off to the cabinets.
"He still calling you that, Duck?" Gibbs asked, adjusting the temperature on the stovetop for the gravy.
"I'm afraid so. I told him to just refer to me as Ducky, but my professional term seems to have stuck, so to speak," Ducky said with a hint of amusement. Gibbs laughed as he found a pot holder to place the green bean casserole on and made his way back into the living room to set it down on the table, making sure to leave enough room for the turkey and the other dishes.
"Hey, McGee, get the wine, will ya?" Gibbs said as he scooted around Abby to wipe his hands off with a towel.
"You own wine, boss?" McGee asked incredulously.
"Nope. DiNozzo brought it over earlier. If I had my way, we'd be drinking bourbon," he told the younger agent with a grunt. The doorbell rang, and he heard footsteps from the living room.
"I'll get it!" Kyle said, two gravy boats hooked around his fingers. "Hi!" He heard him greet whoever was at the door.
"Err... hi?" Gibbs smiled to himself. Tony and Ziva had arrived. He paced into the living room so he could see the front door. A confused looking Tony and Ziva stood in the threshold, eyeing Abby's shorter brother.
"I'm Abby's brother, Kyle!" He held out his hand, and Tony raised an eyebrow before shaking it.
"Tony DiNozzo." Kyle surprised Ziva with a hug, despite the fact that she had been holding out her hand.
"Um, my name is Ziva David," she said, peeling him off of her. "It is nice to meet you. I was not aware that Abby had another brother."
"Neither was I!" Kyle said happily, beckoning them into the living room. Tony sniffed the air, a goofy smile forming on his face.
"Man, it smells awesome in here, boss," Tony said, closing his eyes contentedly. Ziva and Gibbs both smirked at his expression. Abby bounced over to them, wearing a black apron with a skull and cross bones on it.
"You guys are just in time!" She wrapped her arms around them, pulling them into an impromptu group hug.
"Sorry we're a late, Abs," Tony said, rubbing her back. She pulled away.
"It's fine! Come on, come on, sit down! Dinner's almost ready," she said excitedly, clacking off to the kitchen. "Gibbs, can you heat up the rolls?" she asked as she passed him.
"Got it," he told her. He took them off of the counter where they were sitting and heated them up in the microwave. Ziva and Tony wandered into the kitchen, where they greeted McGee, but Abby quickly waved them back into the living room.
"Get! We're almost done, just go and wait like good little sheep!" she ordered, and the two agents quickly obeyed Abby and scurried back to the table to take their seats, followed closely by McGee. Ducky took custody of the rolls, Gibbs grabbed the baked potatoes and green bean casserole, Abby the pumpkin pie, and Kyle the boats of gravy and cranberry sauce.
They set them down carefully on the table, and Ducky and Kyle took their seats while Abby and Gibbs retreated to the kitchen to get the turkey, which Abby had declared to be cooked perfectly. Gibbs grabbed the turkey, and Abby the knife to cut it with, and before heading back to their friends, Gibbs smiled softly and kissed Abby on the cheek.
"You did great, Abs," he said quietly, and she beamed at him as they brought the centerpiece of the meal to the table. They placed it carefully in the heart of the dishes, and there was clapping from around the table. Tony reached forward with a fork, but Abby slapped his hand away.
"I'll serve it, hold your horses!" she chastised mildly with a small smile. Abby cut slices of turkey while Gibbs offered her everyone's plate in turn, and within a few minutes, everyone had three slices of thick and tender turkey on their plates. Everyone helped themselves to a mixture of potatoes, rolls, and green bean casserole. Gibbs sat down between Ziva and Abby. Gibbs grabbed for his fork, but Ducky halted them before they all began digging in.
"Now, now, perhaps we should have a moment of thanks? After all, that's what the holiday is about - the breaking of bread with family and giving thanks for our blessings," Ducky suggested.
"You mean, like, say grace?" McGee asked apprehensively. Ducky let out a low chuckle.
"I was thinking more along the lines of a brief silence before our meal, Timothy," Ducky told him. Unsurprisingly, almost everyone at the table looked at Gibbs, who shrugged before taking Abby's hand in his right and Ziva's in his left. Everyone around the table locked hands, and for a long moment, they all sat there in a comfortable silence, some of them giving thanks, some of them just wondering if there was someone to listen to them give thanks.
Tony, unsurprisingly, was the first to break the quiet.
"Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub!" he declared, letting go of Ziva and McGee's hands and diving for his fork.
The meal was comfortable and left them all feeling content. They laughed, chatted, and enjoyed their delicious food. Abby, who had handled most of the food, received a shower of compliments (many of them being from Tony through a mouth full of potatoes) for the excellent meal. They all got to know Kyle better, and Gibbs thought it was the general opinion that Abby's brother was a good man - and quite like his sister.
Finally, when night had fallen and plates were clean, Ducky raised his wine glass, which still had a small amount left.
"A toast?" he offered, looking around the table and straightening his bow tie. Gibbs smiled and raised his glass, and the others quickly followed.
"What shall we toast to?" Ziva asked. Gibbs looked around the table, a feeling of warmth spreading through him.
"Family," he supplied. They all raised their glasses, small smiles ghosting across each face.
"To family," they all said together with a clink of their glasses.
To family.