Welcome to the continuation of Storm Story (my thoughts on why Gibbs and Abby are so close)! Please keep in mind that I write AU, so if the characters aren't quite what you're used to, that would be why.
I don't own them, just love to play in their world a bit.
Chapter 1
Abby Sciuto bounced happily at her computer station in her lab at NCIS headquarters as she hummed along with the music blasting its way out of her stereo system. She was in an unusually upbeat mood, even for her, and couldn't seem to stay still. After pulling up the results from her latest case, Abby attached it to an email and sent it up several floors to Tim McGee's computer. Once that was done, she had some free time on her hands as she waited for her finger-printing program to finish running, so Abby made herself comfortable at her desk.
After making sure that what she was doing couldn't be seen from the doorway, just in case someone should come in, Abby pulled up a couple of websites and began looking for the REALLY important things. Christmas presents. Or in Ziva's case, Hanukkah gifts.
She already had ideas in mind for some of the people on her list, such as some really nice aftershave for Tony, a handsome sweater that would accent his eyes, and two season tickets to his favorite professional basketball team. For Tim, she found the latest, greatest computer geek programs that would have him in happy limbo for several months. Abby was currently digging for the perfect gifts for Ziva, and she thought she found at least part of it at an exclusive dress store. Ducky was going to be getting a beautiful black overcoat and matching hat of suede she'd found, along with a round trip ticket for a date to be determined later home to England and a lovely painting created by an up-and-coming artist that depicted a perfect English summer's day in a rose garden. Ducky had been complaining that he couldn't find the right size picture he wanted to display over his mantle that wouldn't overwhelm the room, and she just knew this was it.
After swearing Tony to secrecy, she'd asked him what he thought the former Mossad officer's dress size was. Abby had nearly choked to death laughing when the man hadn't hesitated in his profession opinion of Ziva's measurements; along with some "helpful" hints on colors and styles that he felt would be flattering.
The dress she was currently considering was an expensive beauty by Mandalay. It was pearl in color, with an almost silvery overtone to it, and embroidered with black beading and patterns. It had a gathered bust with a sweetheart neckline, and an empire waist that felt into a straight knee-length skirt. Heavily embroidered straps accented the front of the dress and left the back open almost to the waist.
Abby knew that this was the perfect dress for her friend. With Ziva's stunning beauty, dark hair and eyes, perfect skin, and curvaceous figure, it would only flatter her even more. And Abby knew for a fact that Ziva didn't have a dress to wear for the New Year's party that was mandatory for everyone this time around. She actually had told Abby that she was going to go shopping for a dress after the holidays, and figured that something would appeal to her.
Knowing that the Israeli woman also didn't wear much in the way of jewelry that would compliment the dress, the Goth also pulled up some earrings and found the perfect accessory in cascading pearls of white and black set on white gold. She knew that she'd spent quite a bit this year on gifts, but Abby figured she could more than afford it after all the extra hours she had been putting in both with her regular team and the six or seven times the NCIS Director had hit her up to help the LA team.
Content that her team was now taken care of, up to and including the Director and a very old bottle of Scotch, Abby could turn her attention to what to get her family. Her brother, Adam, was going to be easy to buy for: season tickets to his favorite pro hockey team, an autographed jersey from his favorite player, and a new leather briefcase monogrammed with his initials. For Adam's wife, Heather, she'd found a gorgeous cashmere sweater in a pale blue that would look great with her sister-in-law's black hair, dark blue eyes, and creamy complexion, four weekends at an exclusive spa with all the trimmings, and a sapphire heart necklace that would look smashing with the sweater. Abby had also picked up some baby gifts for them since they were expecting twins around the New Year.
Gibbs was the hard one to buy a gift for. When she asked him if there was anything he wanted or needed, he just smiled, planted a loving kiss on her cheek, and announced he had everything he could ever want already. Honestly, the man was SO frustrating! She toyed with the idea of reverting her hair back to its former vibrant red to surprise him, but her mother had remarked once that it was a shame that Abby didn't have her natural father's black hair. Abby had thought that it would make her look more like she belonged to Gibbs, whose natural color was black as well. After some consideration, she decided that she enjoyed her black tresses too much to change them after all these years.
After much deliberation, Abby was leaning hard towards finding him a couple of guns. One to replace his current that was beginning to show some wear, and maybe a collector's piece or two that he would like to have. She had already bought him a couple of new sport coats and shirts that would enhance the looks of her silver-haired fox of a father, but Abby always tried to find a WOW gift as well.
After much searching, Abby found an old Whitworth sniper rifle that had been made in 1860 and had the paperwork to match it. It was the perfect WOW gift as it was something he didn't have, had been military issue when made, had been perfect for sniper use at an unheard of (then at least) 800 yards, and she could tease Gibbs by asking if he remembered how they handled when they first came out. It was a complete rifle with a hooded front sight and scope mount with clear optics, and according to the information, it appeared to have never been fired. Eagerly, Abby got in contact with the broker and quickly finalized everything to have it shipped out to her as soon as her records cleared.
She had just finished closing out her screens of gifts when she heard a loud, "Abs?" She hurriedly turned her computer off and scrambled out to her lab room to find Tony and McGee looking around for her.
"Hi, guys!" She gushed as she bounded over to them, "What brings you down to my domain?"
Tony flashed a bright smile, "We just got back and Gibbs wanted us to check in with you while he's updating Vance."
Nodding, Abby went to the computer that was running the finger prints. Just as she reached for the keyboard, the screen began to flash, "Hey, perfect timing, I just got the prints back." She glanced over her shoulder at the two men, "Oh, and I already sent the earlier results up to your computer, McGee, so you should have them to show Gibbs when he's done."
Giving the other agent a light nudge, Tony prompted, "Why don't you go on up and get everything ready, McGeek, while I get the finger print info from Abby and meet you up there in a few."
Tim gave the senior field agent a suspicious look, "And why would we do it that way?"
An impatient glitter passed through Tony's expressive eyes briefly before he smiled tightly, "Because I just told you to go do it."
Perceptive as always when it came to emotions and the subtleties they could play on the human face, Abby stepped in, "Go on, Tim, and send me an email to let me know you got the results, okay?"
Slowly, unsure of the mood suddenly in the lab, McGee left and made his way to the elevator. Complete silence reigned until the doors closed and he was on his way upstairs. As soon as the he heard the bell chime, Tony was at the door of the lab, checking around to make sure no one was lurking nearby, before shutting it and flipping the lock. Turning back to face the Goth, he swiftly made his way to her side, caught hold of her arm in a gentle grip, and tugged her back into her private office.
McGee dropped to sit in his chair with a heavy sigh, prompting the remaining member of their team to look up in concern, "McGee? Is something wrong?"
He looked diagonally from his desk to meet the dark eyes of Ziva David, "I'm really not sure. Tony basically just ordered me out of Abby's lab and it seemed like he was totally on edge." Tim shrugged, "Maybe he's just having a bad day."
Ziva frowned, "He did not seem to be in a bad mood earlier. Perhaps there was something personal he needed to speak with Abby about."
Rolling his eyes, McGee pointed out, "Since when did 'personal' ever stop Tony from sharing minute details about anything and everything?"
"Since Jeanne?" Ziva turned her head away slightly as she remembered how concerned she had been of their teammate while he was undercover. She had been imagining the worst was wrong with him when he was spending so much time at the hospital suddenly, and it had turned out that he was following orders from the previous director of NCIS. Tony had become extremely secretive during that time, which had, of course, only compounded her fears.
Before Tim could respond, Gibbs stalked into the midst of their desks demanding, "What have you got and where the hell is DiNozzo?"
"Right here, boss, and I have the finger print match from Abby for you," Tony appeared beside the intimidating man and handed him a folder.
"What else?"
McGee leapt to his feet, grabbing the remote and tapping a couple of buttons, "Here's the info Abby sent up earlier, boss."
"At least someone around here is doing their job," Gibbs growled softly as he gestured sharply for Tim to get on with it. Inside, he was cackling gleefully as the two men jumped through hoops to try to placate him while Ziva simply continued doing what she was doing.
"T'was the day before Christmas and all through the house, every creature was stirring, especially the lab rat," Jethro murmured with a faint smile lifting his lips. The object of his scrutiny, his darling Abby, was currently…frolicking…for lack of a better word, around the Christmas tree she had set up in the office in her lab. She'd informed Director Vance, not requested, but informed, that she was putting up a tree so her team could place presents under it and open them on Christmas Eve. Abby had also told Leon that she expected his presence at a certain time that day to receive his gift from her.
Truly, he'd raised that girl to be completely fearless.
His smile grew as he studied the tree a bit more closely and realized that almost all of the decorations were done in blue and silver, and represented Ziva's Jewish heritage in Stars of David, dreidels, and menorahs. Abby had wrapped the Israeli woman's gifts in paper decorated with Happy Chanukah on them and topped them with huge bows of blue and silver, representing the colors on the flag of her homeland.
The tree topper was what finally pulled a chuckle from him. An exquisite angel with long red hair was dressed in royal robes of green and gold, her wings a gossamer silver, was blindfolded and held a tiny cradle complete with the baby Jesus in one hand and lit up the world with a blazing menorah in the other. Trust Abby to try to find a way to harmoniously combine the two cultures on their team. Not even the sometimes prickly Ziva could take offense at this obvious attempt to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable.
Jethro was very proud of Abby and her brother, Adam; they were both successful in their chosen careers, stayed in contact with each other regularly and Adam and Gibbs spoke weekly about how things were going in Philadelphia and the young man's job as one of the youngest ever surgical oncologists. After the loss of their mother to cancer, Adam had dedicated his life to doing everything he could to give people dealing with the disease a fighting chance. When he removed a tumor, he was extremely meticulous in making sure he checked and double-checked to be sure he had gotten everything out. Patients adored him and his bedside manner and he was very popular for his devotion to a high level of care while maintaining a human approach.
Abby bounced over to him and locked her arms around his neck in a tight hug, murmuring in his ear, "Merry Christmas, dad."
Returning her hug, Gibbs whispered, "Merry Christmas, baby."
The sound of a throat being cleared broke them apart, though neither showed signs of embarrassment when they faced Director Leon Vance. The man nodded silently to his agent before turning to the forensic specialist, "As ordered, Ms. Sciuto, here I am."
Releasing her hold on Gibbs, Abby approached the director and caught hold of his forearm to tug him over to her holiday tree, "And right on time as always, Leon." She let go of his arm and bent over to rummage through the packages and find the one she'd wrapped for him. Vance and Gibbs made eye contact for a moment and both could tell that the other was trying very hard not to laugh at the young woman's fearless, joyful attitude.
She handed him a heavy present and folded her arms as she waited impatiently for him to start unwrapping it. When he didn't take her subtle hint, Abby politely pointed out, "There's only the three of us here right now and I want to see your reaction; so open it already!"
Hiding a grin, Leon obliged by removing the wrapping and placing it in the trash, then removing the top of a fancy box. Reaching in, he drew out a large bottle of very old scotch, one of his absolute favorites, though he had no idea how she'd known. He looked up to actually smile at the Goth, "Thank you, Abby, it's the perfect gift, though very expensive. Perhaps we're paying you too much."
She snorted, "Stop dragging me into LA's cases and you wouldn't be paying me so much overtime."
"I will keep that in mind for the future. Until then," he pulled out several envelopes and handed one to her and one to Gibbs before placing the rest on a table beside the tree, "Happy Holidays."
Without hesitation, Abby tore into hers and squealed in glee over the gift card to one of her most loved Goth shops in the area. And since it was still just the three of them, it earned Leon a huge hug from the exuberant young woman. Gibbs managed to contain his laughter to a snort at the Director's expression when he found himself being throttled and opened his envelope. He looked up and nodded his thanks when he caught Vance's eye. Gibbs had been given a gift card to his favorite coffee shop, a large gift card; but then, he'd given Leon a gift card of his own to a music store that carried some of the man's beloved oldies.
The elevator chimed and Vance extracted himself from Abby and beat a hasty retreat. He would never admit it to anyone, including himself, but Gibbs' team were his favorites and the only ones he'd actually spent time thinking about what to get them. Tony's gift card was to a nice clothing store, Tim's was for computer toys, Ducky got one to an exclusive book store, and Ziva had been gifted with a spa treatment that he hoped she would take advantage of. Everyone else at the agency had gotten generic gas cards.
The team gathered in the office, and Ziva studied the holiday tree with a smile twitching at the corners of her lips. Gibbs hoped she didn't say anything unknowingly hurtful, but he shouldn't have worried. The Israeli woman hugged Abby, whispering words of thanks for making her feel so included.
"Time for presents!" Abby announced as she began digging through all the gifts and handing them out to everyone. As she did with everything else in life, Abby had a plan. She handed all the gifts for Tim to him first, demanding that he open them so everyone could see.
To no one's surprise, he had a huge assortment of computer games, toys, and equipment, all of which he'd been either wanting or needing.
Ducky was next and had to be gently redirected from commentary on each gift and what it reminded him of. Abby's gift of hat and coat were immediately tried on for size, as was the matching scarf and gloves provided by Ziva. He exclaimed in delight over the marvelous painting and ticket to England from Abby and the luggage Tony and McGee had gone in together on. He shared a grin with Jethro over a large bottle of…something…he wouldn't show to anyone else and promised to include the team leader in thanks for giving it to him.
Tony swept the Goth into a tight hug in thanks for his season tickets, and graciously expressed his gratitude to Ducky for a signed jersey and Gibbs who had gotten him a ticket home for the holidays to see his family. He slapped Tim on the back in appreciation for the stunning leather jacket and gave Ziva a smoldering look for her gift of a weekend stay at an exclusive hotel, complete with dinner for two at their five star restaurant.
Next on her list was Gibbs, who was completely blown away when his team presented him with a Visa gift card to a handcrafted leather furniture store so he could get a new living room set (his was more than a little old) and a smart phone that had everything in it he could possibly need and was simple to use. Ducky also included a top-of-the-line, easy to use coffee maker with an assortment of flavors for him to try out. Everyone got quiet when Abby approached her step-father with her gifts and handed them to him one at a time. He was very pleased with the sports coats and shirts she'd gotten, loving the colors she put him in, but it was the final gift that caused him to stare at her in disbelief. The others oohed and aahed over the Whitworth sniper rifle, admiring the dull gleam of the beautiful antique she'd managed to find.
Smiling up into the ice-blue eyes fixed on her, Abby handed him the paperwork that went with the gun, pointing out that she'd run a couple of tests and determined that the gun really had never been fired. It was a mint condition rifle fit for a military man who could appreciate it for what it was. It also earned her a tight hug and kiss on the cheek, along with a signed //I love you//.
//Love you, too, dad// she flashed back as turned to face the only other woman in the room.
Ziva had been saved for last on purpose. Abby wanted to get the full effect of the gifts as the former Mossad opened each one. She had shown Tony and Gibbs her gifts and they decided to help complement and build on what she'd done. Tim had gotten the young woman a new gun, which of course thrilled her to no end, and Ducky had found out that Ziva wanted to get a membership to a local gym that came with an indoor pool and had classes on hand-to-hand combat, so he got it for her.
Taking the small package Abby offered her, Ziva opened it to find a lovely pair of black and white pearl earrings in white gold. Before she could say anything, Abby was pressing Tony's gift, a large, flattish box, into her hands and in it she found a stunning necklace that matched the earrings to perfection. Again, she had no chance to get her equilibrium before Jethro's present was handed to her and she found a floor-length winter-white cape trimmed at the neck and hem in a faux snow leopard fur.
She lifted her eyes to meet the smiles of her teammates, "I…I…do not know what to say. It is all far too much. You should not have been so extravagant."
"There's one more, Ziva, from me," Abby held out an elegant box with the word "Mandalay" emblazoned across it. The Israeli woman opened it with fingers that trembled slightly and extracted the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen from the tissue paper. The box fell from numb fingers as she slowly lifted the silvery pearl gown with its black beading and embroidery up to press against her slender figure.
Abby nearly deafened them with her shriek of delight when she saw how perfect the dress was against Ziva's startling beauty, "Try it on! You have to go try it on right now!" She grabbed the jewelry and cape and handed it to the bewildered young woman before gently shoving her in the direction of the restroom to change.
Ziva took a couple of halting steps before turning to look at the Goth, "Alright, Abby, I will try it all on, but you cannot open any of your gifts until I return. Agreed?"
"No problem!"
It didn't take long for Ziva David to return from her impromptu changing room and when she did, complete silence descended on her teammates. Abby had been absolutely correct in her choice of style and color, Tony's necklace enhanced the effect, and Jethro's cape completed the stunning picture she made.
Abby immediately grabbed her camera and snapped several pictures of the beautiful young woman, "I thought you might like to wear it for the New Year's party, Ziva, since you said you didn't have anything."
Despite her dislike of cameras, the Israeli woman couldn't bring herself to argue when everyone had obviously gone through a lot of trouble for her, "Yes, Abby, I do believe that I shall. I think that this would be the perfect dress for the party." Looking at her teammates, she smiled slightly, "And now, I believe that it is your turn to open some gifts."
Tony took over the honors and handed the lab rat Ducky's gift first, which was several new lab coats that not only had her name embroidered on them, but had little black skulls and crossbones decorating the hem and cuffs. Abby knew just how expensive something like that could cost and didn't hesitate to throw her arms around the man she looked upon as an uncle in a tight hug. Her next gift, from Tim, had several computer enhancements and a couple of games she wanted, earning him a happy hug as well.
Pulling out his gift next, Tony smiled, "Hope you like this, Abs. I saw it and immediately thought of you."
The box contained a small pile of lace, silk, and satin that she lifted out, and suddenly found herself holding what appeared to be an old-style wedding gown worn by high society ladies who could afford something so glamorous, yet modest. Perfectly suited to Abby's style. It had long sleeves made entirely of lace that flowed into a silk bodice covered in the same lace. The floor-length skirt was silk and it had satin banding the hem, cuffs, and neck, with a large, wide satin ribbon that belted the waist. But the absolute best thing about the dress in Abby's opinion was that it was completely black.
She nearly throttled Tony with her hug, "Tony! It's gorgeous, where on earth did you find it?"
"My secret," he teased gently as he returned her embrace.
He disentangled himself enough to hand her Ziva's present as Tim sidled closer and asked softly, "No joke, Tony, where did you get that dress? It's so perfectly Abby, I don't know how she could miss something like that as much as she goes out and window shops."
After making sure the lab rat was busy with the wrapping paper, Tony turned to the other agent, "The day I told you to go back upstairs and get things ready to show Gibbs, I took Abby into her office to get her to show me Ziva's dress. While she was busy with that, I managed to filch a couple of business cards to her favorite clothing stores and contacted them as to what I wanted. One of them got the dress in and hid it for me so Abby didn't see it and try to but it before I could get there."
"Sneaky little cuss, aren't you?" Tim queried with a low laugh. Tony just grinned at him.
A happy squeak got their attention as Abby opened the box and found old-fashioned medium-heeled shoes, a black umbrella made of lace that almost perfectly matched the dress, a silver cross on a long black satin cord with an emerald in the center and at each of the points, and a delicate wire bun holder for her hair. Ziva smiled as she pointed out how each would enhance the dress Tony had picked out for her.
Tony looked under the tree for Abby's gift from Gibbs, but didn't see one. He quirked an eyebrow at the team leader who simply smirked at him. Catching the by-play, the Goth pounced on her step-father, "Just what do you have planned?"
He rested his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead as he murmured, "Stay put for a minute." Turning away, Gibbs made his way out of the lab and down the hall. When he returned, he had a bundle of blankets in his arms and as he reached her, Jethro held out his left arm to her to take the blanket from him.
Not sure what to expect, Abby accepted the blanket gently and nearly dropped it when it moved suddenly. Shifting the bundle to one arm, she used her free hand to move the cloth away and revealed the scrunched face of a two week old baby. Her eyes snapped up as Jethro adjusted the bundle he was still holding and showed her another two week old bundle of joy.
Unable to resist and keep his mouth shut any longer, Tony piped up with, "So for Christmas, Gibbs got Abby a couple of babies? Normally, parents want to wait until their kids are happily married before they look for grandkids, don't they?" At a look from Gibbs, Ziva happily head-slapped her teammate.
Abby's eyes went impossibly wide as she met Jethro's warm delighted smile, "Oh my gosh…you didn't…"
A young couple appeared in the doorway and Tony suddenly found himself holding a baby as Abby went hurdling across her office and into the arms of the handsome man waiting for her. She released him only long enough to wrap her arms around the lovely woman with him before pulling him in for another hug.
Tony began to squawk nervously when the baby he was holding began to fidget and wail softly. The Goth rushed back over to him and gathered the baby back into her embrace murmuring, "It's okay, sweetie, Auntie Abby's here, I've got you."
She turned to face Gibbs with tears brimming in her eyes, "You brought Adam and Heather and the twins here for Christmas?"
He nodded even as he swayed gently back and forth with the other child, "I made Leon give you and I the next four days off so we could spend time with them while their house is being finished. They were born a little early, so they just got out of the hospital. I told Adam that it would be part of my Christmas present to you to bring them here, so he didn't tell you Heather had given birth."
Abby carried her baby over to her brother and sister-in-law, "So what are their names, you guys?"
Adam slipped one arm around his sister and the other around his wife as he replied, "You're holding Ashley Gail, named after mom and you; and dad is holding Andrew Lee, named, in a way, after all three fathers."
"Three fathers?" Ducky asked.
It was Heather who responded, "Yes, my father's name is Andre, and Abby and Adam's natural father's name was Andrew; then Lee is for Jethro's first name."
"Thank God you didn't name him Leroy, I might have had to petition the courts for custody so I could change it," Gibbs growled affectionately as everyone chuckled.
Abby leaned over to press a kiss to her step-father's cheek, "Thank, dad. This was the best present ever."
He smiled lovingly down at her, "I'm glad you think so, but this isn't your only gift."
Four days after Christmas found Abby and Gibbs stepping through the door of her favorite tattoo shop. Butch, the owner and best tattoo artist around, looked up from front desk with a huge grin, "There's my favorite girl. How was your holiday, Abby?"
She bounced around the desk to give him a hug, "It was great, Butch, how about you?"
"No complaints, little darlin'. So what brings you down here today?"
She turned and pointed at Gibbs, "I have no idea, but he kidnapped me and dragged me out of the house kicking and screaming all the way."
"And you are…?" Butch inquired.
Jethro stepped forward and extended his hand, "LJ Gibbs, Abby's father. She says that you're the best at what you do, so you're the one I picked."
"That I am," the big man agreed humbly and he shook hands firmly. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Gibbs; name's Butch Kurrigin and I'm the one who's done most of your little girl's artwork."
"Damn fine work it is, too," Jethro agreed. "I thought, as part of my Christmas present to her, we would both get tattoos to commemorate the birth of twins to her little brother. Think you can fit us in for that?"
A huge grin split the big biker's face, "For something like that, and for my favorite repeat customer, I'd fit you in even if I was overbooked! Come on back and let's see what you have in mind."
One of his three employees was just finishing a customer as they came back and all of them greeted the newcomers, especially Abby since they all knew her. Butch settled the two at a table and bit back a smile when Gibbs reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a couple of pieces of paper. One was of two hearts joined together, one in dark pink, the other in blue, with a banner under them with a date and another over them announcing I'm an Aunt! Inside each heart was a baby's first and middle name.
The other paper was much simpler, a single heart with a banner underneath saying Proud Grandpa, with the names of the twins and date of their birth. Butch bit back a laugh when he saw that the heart had room in it to fit more names and dates. It appeared that this man was hoping for several grandchildren to bounce on his knee!
Abby grabbed the first piece of paper and pulled it over gushing, "Oh, Gibbs, this is so great! I love the two hearts done that way; where do you think I should put it?"
He eyed his daughter with laughter lurking in his gaze, "I have no idea, sweetheart, I would say probably on one of your shoulders, but I don't know if it will interfere with the giant cross on your back."
Butch chuckled, "We can fit it, the cross sits low enough that I can put it on either shoulder."
Abby looked at the other design and bumped Gibbs with her arm as she pointed at his heart and space in it, "Are you hinting around at something here, grandpa?"
Reaching over, he tucked an errant lock of coal black hair behind her ear and smiled, "One never knows what the future holds, Abs; you of all people should know that. Besides, you and Adam are both still young, who knows how many kids you all may have?"
Butch began laying out everything he'd need and asked the other man, "Ever had a tat before?"
Gibbs shrugged out of his coat and pushed up both arms of his short sleeved shirt, "Yup." Butch quickly came over to admire the artwork done on the man's left arm and the other three men joined him; the US Marine symbols and motto held the largest position on his bicep, but under it in painstaking detail was a pair of crossed rifles with his unit information and the word Sniper.
"Sweet," Butch murmured in appreciation for the work done on the tats. "You want the new one on the other arm?"
"Yup. I prefer that you do Abby's tat first, or I don't mind if one of your other guys here do mine; but I want you to be the one to take care of hers."
"No problem," Butch agreed. "Tucker is really good at doing scrollwork for something like this, so I'll have him do yours while I work on Abby."
"That's fine," Jethro agreed as he shook hands with the wiry man who approached and introduced himself as Tucker Mayone.
The two artists got down to business and chatted with their respective clients as they worked their magic. Gibbs talked about being a grandfather for the first time and how it was making him feel old, while Butch asked Abby about her holiday.
The Goth happily related the gifts she'd gotten from her friends at NCIS, and the surprise of her brother, sister-in-law, and the twins being brought in by the new proud grandpa. Her smile widened, "But that wasn't all he got me…I mean besides getting me this new tat. He also got me this beautiful new collar that alternates spikes and emeralds, with earrings to match; but then he decided to go completely overboard this year and got me a new car."
"Another hearse?" Butch asked as he filled in one of the hearts. If this had been any other client telling him this, he would have been suspicious that there was something hinky going on. But this was Abby, and she personified hinky since it was her own word of her own creation and suited her so well.
"Of course. But it's state-of-the-art, it has GPS, a CD player, security system, emergency assistance; I could even put in a DVD to watch if I wanted to."
Gibbs smirked at her from across the aisle, "Whatever she said. I asked what they had and what they could upgrade and just said yes to it all. I have no clue what most of that even is."
His artist chuckled softly, "So what did she get you?"
"A gun."
Tucker paused in his work a moment in surprise, "A gun?"
"Yup, and not just any gun, an 1860 Whitworth sniper rifle in mint condition. Already have it on display at the house; my little girl did good on that one."
Tucker and Butch exchanged smiles over their respective clients. It was obvious to them that these two were closer than many of the father/daughter pairs they saw coming in and out of the shop. Their love for each other was visible in their eyes and mannerisms, but for Abby to get her father a gun, and for Gibbs to buy his daughter a hearse showed them just how well the two knew each other.
When Tucker finished with Jethro, the agent rose and stepped closer to the large mirror by his station so he could get a good look at it, "Nice. Butch was right, you do very good work, thank you."
"No prob, man, any time."
Gibbs settled himself near Abby's table so he could watch as the other man did his magic on Abby's creamy skin. She never flinched as Butch plied his trade, which told Gibbs she had done this far too many times in his opinion. Perhaps he shouldn't have done this as a gift for her. Then again, if he hadn't, she no doubt would have done something to commemorate the twins in her own way.
A couple of other customers came in to have work done one artist or another, and they each paused briefly to greet Butch and admire his work on Abby, but didn't stay long when Jethro stared through them.
Finally, the big man straightened up and announced that he was done. Before she could move, Abby's father was there to press one hand lightly to the center of her back so he could study the tattoo a moment. When he looked up, there was a joyous spark in his eyes that chased away the icy glitter for once, "Abby's right on the money. You're one of the best."
Butch grinned with pride, "Thanks, but it's easy to work on Abby; she's got great skin, knows how to take care of her tats, and she's had enough done that she doesn't budge from start to finish. Makes my job a lot easier."
Abby was helped to her feet by her father and she grabbed a hand mirror so she could turn her back to the big mirror and see the work. After turning and moving in various ways so she could see it at different angles, she tossed the mirror down and launched herself at Gibbs, "I love it, dad! Thank you so much!"
He caught her easily in a tight embrace, "You're very welcome, sweetheart."
A soft cough from behind her broke them apart and she turned to see Butch pouting teasingly, "Hey, what about MY hug? I'm the one who did the work, you know."
Before anyone could move or even realize what he was doing, Leroy Jethro Gibbs stepped forward and gave the big biker a firm hug. When he stepped back, he rested his hands on the man's shoulders, "You're absolutely right, Butch, you did do the work and it looks great. Thank you."
Abby collapsed onto the table beside as laughter overcame her and the three employees joined her from their stations. Butch's jaw was hanging open and he was staring at Gibbs as if he'd sprouted a second head. When the agent flashed him a grin, the artist joined in the laughter, realizing that not only had the other man been teasing him with the hug, but it wasn't something he did normally.
When her father stepped back, Abby rose and also came over to hug Butch, whispering in his ear as she did, "He must be happy with the tat if he did that. He doesn't even let closest friends hug him."
Butch released Abby and held out his hand, "Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Gibbs. Any time you decide you want another tat or you have more names to add to yours, feel free to stop in. I'll be glad to take care of it for you."
"I'll do that, Butch, and thank you for the good work you did on Abs." Gibbs turned to Tucker and also shook his hand, slipping a twenty dollar tip in as he did so. When they went up front and he paid for the tats, he also included an extra thirty for the more intricate work Butch had done.
As the two made their way out the door, Butch shook his head as Abby began bouncing like a three year old and asking, "Can we get a Caf-Pow now, dad, can we, can we??" The biker smiled when Gibbs pressed a loving kiss to the Goth's black hair as he draped an arm around her shoulders.
"Of course, Abs, you don't think I would ever deprive you of sustenance, do you?"
"So, dad, let's talk about all these grandkids you've made space for on your arm. Just how many are you thinking?"
"Oh, I don't know. Enough for a football team would be nice."
"DAD!!!!"
Author's note
Well, that's all for this one. I started out with something in mind and it kept changing as I wrote, so if it's a bit all over the place, blame the muse. That's what I always do! Happy reading!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays to all, and here's to a blessed and Happy New Year!!!
Nikani