Disclaimer: I, sadly, own none of NCIS or these totally phenomenal characters! A huge 'Wow!' to those who invented them, though! :)
In Step
Gibbs sat at his desk, coffee in hand, scanning over files of paper- the most recent case reports- and hitting his computer with them every few minutes, trying to unfreeze the screen. It was a rare day that he had arrived first, before Ziva, even, and he watched as each of his agents, his team, staggered in.
Ziva was first. 0700 hours, sharp. She strode purposefully from the elevator, every hair in place, looking as if she had been up for hours. Which, Gibbs reminded himself, she probably had. She nodded him a quiet "good morning", which he returned, before settling into her desk and promptly busying herself placing final touches or correcting the wording on an unfinished case report.
McGee was next at 7:55, five minutes until his official check-in time. Classic McGee style, early enough simply to not be late. He stumbled in, bleary-eyed, clutching a stack of notebooks to his chest with his right hand and holding a coffee and a white paper bag (containing a Danish, by the smell of it) in his left. His snappy nod was accompanied by a "Good morning, boss" and a yawn which he attempted to hide in his shoulder. McGee sat down, unloading his armful of stuff onto the surface of his desk, promptly firing up his computer, and making quick work of the Danish as he organized the binders and folders.
Tony DiNozzo was, as expected, last to arrive, sauntering from the elevator at 8:20, cheerily greeting the entire team and explaining happily what had kept him this morning. He swaggered to his desk, stopping only to investigate what Ziva was working on and to tease his Probie. In his hand he carried a half-eaten slice of pizza, which he cheerfully offered to Ziva when she snapped at him.
And so began the day at team Gibbs. Ziva and Tony would continue to squabble until McGee got involved, then the squabbling would rise a decibel or two before Gibbs would step in, in an effort to protect the early-morning sanity of the other unfortunate inhabitants of the orange squad-room. Gibbs would growl and huff, dole out a headslap or two (depending on Ziva and McGee's involvement), then stride confidently out of the chaos for a morning coffee-run. By the time the elevator door closed, Gibbs would be hiding a smile at his team's hectic morning routine and the perfect chaos of his dysfunctional little family.
Hello! I decided, on a whim, to do a story about the team's morning routine and the different ways that they entered the office. What do you think? Please Read and Review :)