N.C.I.S.: Karma Squared
Chapter 1Having just finished a case, and an enjoyable weekend, they were all trying to finish the paperwork that always accompanied their cases.
Gibbs' phone rang. He looked at it and sighed…the caller ID said "Vance."
"Yea." He answered, then listened for a few seconds. "I'll be right up."
Without another word, he headed up the stairs to Vance's office.
"Uh oh." Ziva said as she watched him go. "It's never a good thing when the Director calls him up first thing on Monday morning."
"Cancel your plans, tonight." DiNozzo said, then looked at McGee. "At least, for those of us with plans."
When he walked in, Vance was sitting at his desk and handed him three folders.
"What's this?" Gibbs asked.
"Your interns." Vance said. "I figured you might be especially interested in the one on top."
Gibbs looked at the name and smiled as he left the office.
"What's this?" McGee asked as Gibbs put the folders on his desk.
"Interns." Gibbs replied.
"Ugh. Let's hope we don't get a repeat of last year." Ziva said, thinking of Michael Thomas.
"I don't know." DiNozzo replied. "Abby made out pretty good."
McGee picked up the top folder and opened it.
"Uh, Boss?" He said.
"I know." Gibbs replied. "Only had to make one call."
"Does Abby know?" McGee asked.
"Not unless you told her." Gibbs said. "Personally, I'd like to see her reaction to the surprise."
McGee only laughed.
"What's going on?" DiNozzo asked.
"She said she would be back." McGee said.
Ziva stared at him for a few seconds before the answer dawned on her. "You don't mean…?" She finally said.
"Miss Jennifer Graham." McGee said. "Specializing in forensics. Straight A student, too."
Abby came up on her way to lunch and, seeing the files on McGee's desk, tried to grab them, but McGee put his hand on them.
"Do you mind?" McGee asked.
"Not at all." Abby said as she tried to read the names on the folders, which became impossible when McGee opened a drawer and placed them in it.
"What would you do if I started grabbing things on your desk?" He asked.
"Break your fingers?" Tony offered.
"Throw you out of my lab." Abby replied, giving Tony an amused look. "Are those the intern files?"
"They are." He said. "They will be here after lunch."
Abby gave him a look that could melt ice.
"Understand this, McGee…if I don't get who I'm expecting," she scolded, "I will cross your name off my Christmas card list."
"And just who are you expecting?" He asked innocently.
"The daughter of the best intern I ever had." She replied.
McGee gave Ziva an accusatory stare.
"Don't look at me, I didn't tell her." Ziva promised.
"Do you really think she would be in town all this time and not call me?" Abby asked. "We have lunch twice a week."
McGee looked at the three college students standing at his desk.
"Brian Willis," The investigative major was just over six feet tall, with red hair and an athletic build.
"Steven Grice," The medical major was about five-nine, with brown hair and a medium build.
"And Jennifer Graham." McGee said. "Welcome to N.C.I.S. Why do the three of you want to be here?"
"To make a difference." Brian and Steven replied…Jennifer just shrugged.
McGee looked at her and nodded.
"Very good." He told them. He was getting good at keeping a straight face over their answer…it was always the same. "Brian, your place of duty for the next two weeks will be this desk." McGee pointed at the small desk next to his. "Steven, you will be in the Medical Examiner's Lab with Doctor Mallard…Jennifer, Abby's lab."
They all just nodded and stared at him.
"What are you waiting for?" McGee asked, waving them off. "Go."
Steven just stared at him, about to ask where the lab was, when Jennifer grabbed his arm and motioned for him to follow her to the elevator.
"Graham." Gibbs called. When she turned back, he motioned for her to return to his desk, then looked at Brian.
"Come on, Willis." McGee said as he stood. "I'll show you where the break room is."
"How are you doing?" Gibbs asked Jennifer after they had left.
"Better than the last time I stood here." She replied with a smile.
"How's your mother?" He asked.
She thought for a few seconds before replying.
"Facing her demons." She finally said. "Getting help. When we left here, we had a…discussion…about a tombstone. Two weeks before my 18th birthday, she took me to the courthouse and signed for me to legally change my name back…I think she'll be alright."
"Nice birthday present." Ziva said.
"It was." Jennifer nodded. "Along with a pink Mustang GT convertible."
Ziva's eyes went wide.
"That's…a nice gift, too." She said after a few seconds.
"412?" Tony asked, referring to the GT's horsepower.
"Shelby." Jennifer replied. The Shelby being a special, limited edition.
"550." Tony said in complete awe. "5.4 Liter, supercharged V8. I get chills thinking about it."
"You staying at the dorm?" Gibbs asked.
"No." She shook her head. "I'm renting his apartment."
"You can afford that?" Gibbs asked. "I mean…I know the fund was given to your mother."
"He was a Silver Star recipient," she replied, "which means Virginia pays for my college. And he had his educational benefits transferred to me," she smiled, "and, as long as I'm a full time student, I get a percentage of his retirement pay. Add it all up, and I get a nice monthly check."
"Alright." Gibbs said. "If you need anything, let me know. Now, get your tail down to Abby…she gets upset when her intern is late."
"Yes sir." She smiled, then turned to head to the elevator.
"Are you really a black belt in Karate?" Tony asked.
"Are you challenging me?" She smiled.
Tony's eyed went wide and he shook his head, making Jennifer and Ziva laugh.
"Silver Star?" Ziva asked after the elevator doors closed.
"Fourth highest medal there is." Gibbs replied. "Third highest for Valor in combat."
When Abby saw her enter the lab, she ran over and hugged her.
"Welcome back." She greeted.
"Thanks." Jennifer replied as she looked around. "Though, to be honest, I wasn't sure if I could do it."
"The last time you were here was pretty depressing." Abby sympathized. "I still get days where I open the door, expecting him to greet me."
Jennifer just smiled.
"But let's not talk about bad stuff." Abby said as she closed her eyes and appeared to do a short meditation. "It's important to focus on good things to keep the universe in balance."
Jennifer just watched her and smiled.
"OK." Abby finally said. "I will give you the standard brief. Our hours are from eight-thirty to five…but that is flexible depending on a case, we might have to come in early or work late."
Jennifer just nodded.
"Your desk is over there." Abby pointed. "The lock for the drawer used to be broken, but it was fixed…actually, "fixed" is misleading, it was replaced after the explosion."
"You did an awesome job." Jennifer complimented. "It looks almost exactly the same as before."
"Almost?" Abby looked around with a nervous look on her face. "What's different?"
"Nothing that I can remember." Jennifer laughed. "But I had a lot on my mind during my only visit here."
"Happy thoughts." Abby reminded, and closed her eyes for a few seconds to take some deep breaths. "Do you have any questions of me?"
"None that I can think of right off hand." Jennifer told her. "I'm just really looking forward to this."
"That makes two of us." Abby laughed. "Has Brian asked you out yet?"
"No." Jennifer said. "He's actually upstairs now…another intern."
"No way." Abby laughed. "You think he did it so he could be here with you?"
"Beats me." Jennifer laughed. "He hardly talks to me."
Late that afternoon, Gibbs' cell phone rang. When he looked at the caller ID, he smiled and turned away.
Try as they might, they couldn't hear what he was saying.
"I'll be right there." He finally said, then hung up, straightened his desk up, and left without saying another word.
They watched him go, but knew better than to ask who had called.
After Gibbs left, Brian approached Tony's desk.
"I get the impression he doesn't like me." He said.
"He doesn't." Tony replied.
"But don't take it personally." Ziva tried to soften the blow. "He doesn't like anybody."
"I also get the impression that you guys know Jennifer." He said.
"We've met." Tony replied, eyeing him suspiciously.
"What's she like?" Brian asked. "I mean…she's pretty hot…what's she interested in?"
Tony looked over at Ziva, who was barely able to contain her laughter.
"Well, let's see." Tony began. "First, you should know about her old man. Decorated combat veteran. Karate instructor." He turned to McGee. "What level did you say he was?"
"Third degree black belt." McGee answered without looking up.
"Third degree black belt." Tony repeated. "Which is higher than just a regular old black belt. And I know for a fact that he killed two people with his bare hands in less than five seconds."
"One person." McGee interrupted. When Tony looked at him, he clarified. "He killed one person with his bare hands, then took that person's gun and shot the other one."
"That's right." Tony agreed. "I had forgotten about him being an expert marksman."
"But he did do it all in less than five seconds." McGee added, without looking away from his computer.
Tony looked at Brian and shrugged.
"Anything else about her you want to know?" He asked.
"No." Brian, who was wide eyed with shock, answered. "Would you excuse me, please?" He asked and headed to the restroom.
"I can't believe you just chock-blocked him." Ziva laughed.
"If you're implying what I think you're implying," Tony looked hurt, "that is done by driving the female away."
"Then what do you call it?" Ziva asked.
"Eliminating the competition." McGee answered.
"What?!" Ziva practically screamed. "You wouldn't dare."
"Absolutely not." Tony claimed. "I was just having some fun with our intern." He turned to McGee. "Is he taking any chemistry classes?"
"That's what I'm checking." McGee replied. "Nothing out of the ordinary so far."
Tony looked at Ziva, who was giving him a skeptical look.
"There is only room for one female ninja in my life." He told her. "And that position is already filled…very nicely, I might add."
She just narrowed her eyes and continued staring.
To be continued
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