A Valentine's gift
The elevator doors opened to the squad room revealing a solid wall of black roses.
"A little help," called Abby's voice from behind the hedge as flowers started peeling off and plumeting to the ground.
Tony, Ziva and McGee leapt from their desks and ran to her aid.
The elevator doors quivered impatiently but the vegetation held them at bay while the three agents took armfuls of the dark blooms and piled them outside the elevator door. As McGee encouraged the last few recalcitrant petals out of the elevator with his foot, the doors finally shut.
"Are you starting up a small business, Abby?" Ziva asked.
"It's Valentines Day," Abby replied incredulously.
"You got all these for Valentine's Day?" asked McGee, a little despondent.
"No, these are just the ones that wouldn't fit in the lab. I thought they'd brighten the squad room." She staggered through the bullpen like the pied piper with Tony, Ziva and McGee following mesmerized in her wake. She dumped her load on McGee's desk. "See, doesn't that look cheery?"
"And the purpose of Valentines Day is to decimate the world's supply of black roses?" asked Ziva, examining the effect from a distance.
Abby stared at Ziva with narrowed eyes deciding if she was trying to be funny or just sadly, sadly oblivious. She decided on the latter.
"Oh you poor thing," she ran at Ziva full pelt and smothered her in a hug. "Don't tell me you don't have a Valentines gift?"
"OK, I won't tell you," Ziva gasped.
Abby tightened her grip. "Everyone woman should have a Valentine's present on Valentine's Day! It's the day secret admirers give you something to tell you how much they are thinking about you, just to let you know you are special."
Ziva peeled Abby's hands from her body. "I don't need someone to tell me I'm special."
Abby re-attached and hugged her again. "Of course you don't. Shhhh, it's OK."
After a full minute, Abby released Ziva, took her by the hand and led her to the pile of roses lying on McGee's desk like a small child displaying her toys. "These are the anonymous ones," she explained, picking one up to show Ziva. "Don't get me wrong, I love them all, but the special ones are the ones with the personalised notes. Sometimes very cryptic about some special moment that you shared together. Then you can guess who it is."
"And people give them to you?"
"Men, Ziva," Abby clarified, her tone reverting to cold harsh practicality. "Single, thoughtful, eligible men give them to you."
"Just to say they like you?" Ziva was starting to break under Abby's pressure. "So no one thought that I….McGee!"
McGee snapped bolt upright behind Ziva's desk.
Ziva stalked over to him. "What are you doing to my desk?"
"Nothing," he blurted, sliding hastily sideway. "It's just that sometimes someone can leave a Valentine's Day gift, ah, hidden, like in a drawer."
"Nonsense," she growled. "I would have noticed the smell!" She ripped open her top draw with righteous venom. "See!"
Her eyes opened wide. Lying in the top draw was a single black rose with a small tag. Stunned, Ziva raised the flower and read the writing. "I long to hold your hand," she breathed.
There was a pause as she absorbed the message and gazed in wonder at her gift.
"It's probably that guy you keep meeting in the men's bathroom," Tony offered, causing her to momentarily juggle the stem.
"Stop it Tony," Abby warned.
Ziva looked up at Abby. "What do I do with it?"
"Oh, well for a start you should put it in some water," Abby suggested.
Ziva looked around and finally snatched up her coffee cup. "Right, water!" She set out for the woman's bathroom on her quest.
When the door shut, Abby slowly crossed the room to McGee, enveloped him in a warm hug and kissed him. "And that," she said, "is why I love you."
"But now I have nothing to give you."
"You gave me the best present of all."