Well, I amazingly managed to make it through Abby's last appearance on NCIS without breaking down completely, though I did have the tissues on standby just in case. I'd been playing with this story idea for a while, ever since it was announced that Abby would be leaving - the team decides to do something special for her. But what do you get, or do, for the high priestess of forensics who has everything?
So here's what I came up with. And I think this turned out to be pretty special.
Those of you who've read my other fics, including "So It Went" and "Somewhere Out There" will know that I'd had Ducky getting back together with his old girlfriend Maggie Clarke. I continued that in this fic. It's my ship, and I'm sailing with it.
Oh, and - spoiler alert - Ziva is alive and well in this particular universe.
xNCISx
"C'mon, guys, you've got to tell me what's going on," Abby said.
"Oh, you'll see when we get there," Ellie said cheerfully as she navigated the car through Georgetown.
"This isn't revenge for me locking you in the coffin, is it?"
"Nope - it's cool, Abbs, I'm over that." Nick held up his hands.
"We're here," Ellie said.
Abby looked out the window and gasped. "Carmela's! I love this place!" Carmela's was reputed to be the best New Orleans-style restaurant in the D.C. area. Some said it was the closest you could get to going to Brennan's without actually going to New Orleans.
Ellie found a parking spot and slowly nudged the car in. Nick jumped out and held open the back door for Abby.
Abby gingerly stepped out of the car and opened up her black lace parasol. In her billowy black ball gown with skulls and crossbones appliqued on it, she looked like a Goth shepherdess.
Inside, the restaurant was busy with the Friday night dinner service. All of the tables and the bar were packed, and the music system was playing Cajun and blues over the din of the crowd.
Ellie went up to the hostess desk. "Hi, we're here for the…"
"Yes, everyone else is here and ready," the hostess said cheerfully. "If you'll follow me."
She led them to the big gathering space on the restaurant's back veranda. Ellie took out her phone and sent a quick text.
It was hard to hear anything, but Abby could have sworn that she suddenly heard several people running around and dropping things behind the doors.
"She's coming!"
"Everyone, get ready!"
Abby pushed the doors open.
"SURPRISE!"
People swooped in from all directions and gave Abby hugs and kisses, while others snapped photos with their phones.
The veranda was decked out in what could best be described as a combination of Halloween and Mardi Gras decorations - in other words, bats and spiders mingling with gaudy parade ribbons. The tables were covered in bat-printed tablecloths, and they were set with floral arrangements in Erlenmeyer flasks.
"You guys," Abby said, blotting a few tears from her eyes. "You didn't have to do this. A goodbye party, for me?"
"Don't presume, Miss Sciuto," Ducky said, taking her arm and leading her to the chair at the head of the main table. "It was the least we could do."
"Besides, this isn't a goodbye party," Ellie said firmly. "More like a see-you-later party."
Abby sat down in the chair, and Ducky pushed it in behind her.
"May I offer the lady a beverage? We have an especially fine vintage of Caf-Pow," Tony said, sidling up with said drink.
"Tony! You're home!" Abby threw her good arm around Tony's neck and hugged him tightly. Then she leaned in for a quick round of air-kisses from Ziva, who was juggling Tali on her hip.
"Shalom, Abby, it's been a while," Ziva said cheerfully.
"Say, has anyone seen…"
"Sorry I'm late, had trouble finding parking," Gibbs said, walking in. He had a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a twine-tied shoebox in the other.
"Fashionably late as usual, boss?" Tony asked.
"Watch it, DiNozzo, or I'll head-slap you," Gibbs retorted. He set the box and flowers down on the table and gave Abby a long hug before taking his seat at the other end of the table.
The DiNozzo-David clan, including Senior, sat next to Gibbs, and McGee and Delilah sat next to them. "We left the twins with my mom," Delilah said. Palmer, Breena and Victoria sat on the other side of the table, next to Ducky and Maggie.
Fornell, Vance, Sloane, Nick and Ellie filled out the rest of the main table. The other tables in the room were filled with NCIS staff, nuns from the convent and various assorted family and friends.
The servers came in, passed around menus and started taking drink orders.
Vance stood up. "All right, everyone, thank you all for coming here tonight for Abby's big night. But before we get started, let's have a moment of silence for our colleague and friend, Clayton Reeves."
The room fell silent for a moment, as heads bowed around the tables.
"He was quite a fella, Reeves was," Senior said gruffly. "Didn't know him all that well, but he was quite a fella. And whatever help you need with that vets' aid project of yours, Abby, say the word and I'll cut a check."
"Cut a check?" Ziva frowned. "You mean, take a pair of scissors and go snip-snip-snip to it?"
"No, Ziva, it's…"
"Of course I know," Ziva laughed. "I'm just teasing."
Drinks arrived, and people began placing orders for appetizers and entrees.
"I don't think Reeves would have wanted us to be sad on a night like this," Sloane said. "He'd have wanted us all to be here, celebrating our friendships."
"And if he were here, he'd be arm-wrestling Nick. And Tony. And half the other guys," Ellie said.
"That's enough talking," Nick cut in. "Let's get going with the presents!"
"I'll start," McGee said. "You've got a lot of fan mail coming in, Abby. Looks like there's a lot of people following you on Twitter and stuff." He reached under his chair and held up a big canvas bag stuffed to the seams with cards, letters, postcards and crayon drawings.
"Wow," Abby said, taking the bag. "It's going to take me forever to go through all this. I'm going to have to hire a secretary!"
"There's some fan mail in there from John Jay. It looks like they want you to come up and give a guest lecture sometime," Palmer said. "Dr. Mallard's told the trustees all about you…"
"Oh, good heavens, Dr. Palmer, it wasn't all my doing," Ducky said.
"Speaking of mail," Vance said, "these came in today. Dwayne and the New Orleans team send their love. Same for the LA team," he said, handing a manila envelope to Abby. Inside were more cards and well-wishes, and a few strands of Mardi Gras beads.
"My turn." Sloan grinned sheepishly as she reached into her tote bag and pulled out an etched-glass candy jar full of lollipops. "For your very own," she said.
"Our turn!" Ellie handed over a black scrapbook bound with red and pink ribbons. "This is from all of us on the bullpen."
"Ellie did all the work. I just autographed the inside cover," Nick said.
Inside was a collection of photos of the NCIS team from Abby's tenure, including a few photos of Kate, Jenny, Gerald and Quinn. The front page had signatures from all the NCIS personnel.
Ducky stood up. "And now, here is the contribution from the autopsy division, not to mention a certain lady who is well-versed in antiques," he said with a knowing nod to Maggie. "Dr. Palmer, if you would help me lift this onto the table."
"Absolutely, Dr. Mallard," Palmer said, getting to his feet. The two men lifted something rectangular and wrapped in red velvet onto the table. "Take a look, then, and tell us what you think," Ducky said to Abby.
Abby pulled away the red velvet to reveal a worn, but well-polished, wooden box that looked like a small cabinet.
"It's a portable apothecary's cabinet, circa 1796," Maggie explained.
Abby pulled open the wooden doors on the box and gasped with delight. "You guys! I've always wanted one of these!"
"I had to conduct some rather spirited negotiations at Sotheby's in order to acquire that," Maggie beamed.
"Spirited negotiations? My dear, you sent that other antiques dealer running home to his mother in tears," Ducky said.
Finally, Gibbs came over with the shoebox, and he carefully set it down in front of Abby.
Abby opened the box and almost broke down sobbing at the contents.
It was a pirate ship in a bottle, complete with the Jolly Roger flag flapping in the breeze. And the ship had "Abby" painted on both its bow and the captain's cabin on the stern.
"You never did tell me how you got all those boats out of your basement," Abby said as she reached for another wad of tissues.
"It's like I said," Gibbs said nonchalantly. "I broke the bottle." Then he planted a kiss on Abby's head, which officially broke the dam for her. Several people quickly handed over more tissues, and there were a lot of noses being blown around the table. But some of that could have been because of the spice levels in the shrimp gumbo.
"Guys, this…this is the best going-away-but-not-forever present I could have asked for. And you guys are the best friends ever," Abby said, pulling herself together. "And I may not be coming into the lab every day now. But NCIS was, is, and always will be my home."
She took a sip of Caf-Pow and brightened up. "Now isn't this supposed to be a party? Let's put on some music!"
"Not Brain Matter, please," McGee muttered.
Someone turned up the speakers as Professor Longhair's "Going to the Mardi Gras" came on.
We could tell you that the party ended with several people needing to be sent home in taxis. ("I've never seen Sister Annemarie put away so much Scotch," Abby said.) We could tell you that Fornell was moaning for an antacid after eating the jambalaya.
We could tell you that the appearance of the bananas Foster, in all their flambeed glory, prompted Ducky to go into a long-winded discourse about how a plum pudding once sent one of his relatives to the hospital's burn unit.
We could also tell you that Gibbs told Abby, face-to-face, that he fully understood and respected her decisions for leaving, and that he gave her one last hug and a "Good work, Abbs."
But let's leave the party just as the fun is really getting started, with the team having the whole night ahead of them.
And there was the promise of other such gatherings ahead. For as it has been noted, it wasn't goodbye forever, just a see you later.
xNCISx
Reviews welcome!