Author's Note: I'm not really quite sure where this is going to go. My bestie, JenJen, requested that I write another McAbby story (multi chapter this time) and seeing as I love her to bits and also that today is her anniversary, I just couldn't say no. It took me a while to form a good idea and all that came through was the basic premise so I'm flying by the seat of my pants here.
Muse's Note: She neglects to mention that while she is super into Tiva, her trusty writing partner here is as big of a McAbby fan as her bestie so I'm 100% behind writing this too. If you haven't read anything we've written before, please take just a moment to peek at our profile. It's extremely short and will make this chapter notes make so much more sense.
Disclaimer: If we owned NCIS, JenJen wouldn't be several seasons behind, McAbby would be together, and the TIVA scenes would not only exist but push the boundaries of "acceptable for television".
Spoilers: Since JenJen is several seasons behind, just assume this is somewhere post Somalia but with no real spoilers for anything.
Beta: I run solo, but I do proofread. If I miss anything, blame Sebastian and PM me so I can fix it please!
"You let him get shot! Shame on you Anthony Dante DiNozzo Junior!" The shriek was punctuated with several slaps on his upper arm.
As he moved to rub the offended muscle he shook his head. "I didn't let him Abbs. I shot the suspect but he squeezed off a round on his way down. Hit McGauzewrap in the leg. It's just a flesh wound."
Tony recoiled as Abby Scuito swung her pale hand to hit him again. "He could have died, Tony!"
Shaking his head once again he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, stilling her movement. "Abby! He's fine. They removed the bullet, stitched him up, gave him some painkillers. They're releasing him in the morning. He's pretty out of it, but why don't you go see him. Room 282. He's drugged out of his gourd. It's hilarious."
She pelted him with one last blow then scurried off down the hall toward McGee's room.
"Was that Abby?" Tony turned toward Ziva David's voice.
"Yes. Apparently it's all my fault McTarget got shot. And how does she know my middle name? It's not in my file or on my social security card or birth certificate and you are the only one my father told."
His partner shoved a cup of coffee in his hand and the red that spread on her ears told him everything he needed to know. He glared at her for a moment then sighed. "Come on. We better get back to the office. Gibbs has already decreed that we have to cover McGee's paperwork, get everything in tonight, and be in on time tomorrow morning."
Now it was Ziva's turn to sigh. "Great. Sleeping at the office again. I call bibs on the couch in Vance's waiting area."
"You mean 'dibs' and that's fine. I much prefer the one in cybercrimes."
Abby woke with a start at the hand on her shoulder. She blinked several times before her eyes focused on her boss and surrogate father. "Gibbs!"
He held a finger to his lips then shot a pointed look at McGee. He held up a Caf-Pow, turned, and walked into the hall, the forensic scientist hot on his heels. As soon as she closed the door behind herself she reached for the drink.
Much to her chagrin, he pulled it back before she could take it. "Abbs, focus."
She shifter her gaze to his face and he continued. "DiNozzo, Ziva, Palmer, and I are catching a flight to Charleston. They have a dead petty officer and the local NCIS office is understaffed. You going to be okay looking after McGee and Ducky?"
Abby nodded. "Sure. I need to do a system upgrade on the computers in my lab. I'll get McGee to help to keep him busy. And I'll get Ducky to come over for dinner, make sure he gets out of autopsy."
Finally, he handed off the highly caffeinated beverage. "That's my girl. Hopefully we'll be home by the weekend. Call me if you need anything."
With that he was gone, quickly disappearing around a corner in the corridor. She took a couple of long pulls of the sweet red liquid then reentered McGee's room. She should probably wake him considering it was almost 0800 and the doctor had said he'd be by around 0900.
She set her cup on a small table and crept over to the bed, nudging his arm. "Timmy, wake up!"
When she reentered her lab, McGee was on the phone. Abby set the bags in her hand down quietly then placed the cup carrier next to it and waited.
"And you're sure it's not going to be fixed until next week?" He paused and listened to the person on the other end of the connection. "Okay. Well, thanks for calling." He ended the call and sighed heavily.
"What's wrong?" Now that he was done with his call she grabbed the back of the wheeled chair he was seated in and shoved him toward her office, picking the food and drinks back up before following him.
He sighed heavily as he used his good leg to pull himself up to her desk. "That was my super. The elevator in my building is out again and he had to order a part so it's going to be at least Tuesday next week before it's up and running again. I don't know if I can manage three flights of stairs on crutches. I swear, next place I live, I'm holding out for the first floor instead of the fourth. "
Abby chewed her lip contemplatively as she unpacked their lunch onto her desk then dropped herself into her own chair. As she chewed the first bite of her sandwich she began to muse out loud. "Well, my place is out of the question. No way we could hide Jethro for a whole week."
The look on McGee's face clearly showed that he hadn't yet thought about the issue of his dog. "Speaking of…"
Abby waved her hand. "Jimmy stopped by and walked and fed him last night. Gibbs did it this morning. But what to do with him until you can go home?"
Her thoughts were interrupted by the chirping of her phone and she stole a quick glance at the caller ID before answering. "Hi Gibbs! Were your ears burning? I just mentioned you."
"I just wanted to let you know that we made it to the base in Charleston. Everything okay there?"
Abby quickly filled him in on their conundrum with Jethro. "So I have to figure out what to do with them."
"Abbs, take 'em to my place. There's clean sheets in the closet in the upstairs hallway. If he can manage the stairs, put him in the back bedroom. If not, fix up the couch and he can shower at work."
A smile spread on her face. As much as he pretended to be a hardass, Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a big softie when it came to his team. "Thanks Gibbs!"
He ended the call without so much as a 'goodbye' but that was just typical of him. She grinned widely at McGee who had raised an eyebrow at her. "We will be staying at Casa de Gibbs."
Shock spread on the agent's face. "Wait, Gibbs just gave you permission for my dog to be in his house?"
"Yup." Abby took another bite of her sandwich as she watched him analyze the information. Even after all of these years it made him uncomfortable when Gibbs showed him any type of affection and she was pretty sure it was a side effect of his very hands-off father.
They finished eating in a comfortable silence then Abby stood and shoved her chair to the side. "Alright, I have a ton of evidence to process before we can get out of here. So you need to stay in here and stop distracting me. You can work on the computer in here for the afternoon."
She grabbed his chair and rolled him around the desk then scooped up her Caf-Pow and marched back out into her lab. A moment later she stabbed at the button on the remote to resume her thumping music and dove back into her work.
AN: I know this is a bit slow in the starting but the ground work had to be laid. I have things to do tomorrow after work so next chapter should be up Tuesday. Feel free to drop us a review and let us know what you think!