Remembrance
Summary: a short vignette in honour of Armistice/Remembrance/Veterans Day
Disclaimer: They're not mine, but hopefully nobody minds me borrowing them.
He stepped out of the elevator, carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and his jacket in the other. He knew immediately that something was wrong. Well, maybe not wrong, exactly, but there was definitely something up. McGee was working away. But Tony and Ziva kept looking over at his desk, and were whispering urgently at each other across the space that divided their work areas. When they saw him approaching, they both quickly pretended to be busy. He glared at both of them as he passed. Whatever they were up to probably deserved at least a glare. And if they thought he knew what that was, so much the better.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see something orangey-red in the middle of his desk. He slowed down slightly, surprised by the single flower centred carefully in front of his keyboard. He dropped the coat over the back of his chair, set his coffee on the desk, and sat down. He picked up the flower by its slightly furry stem and stared into its powdery black centre for a long moment. Then he reached behind him to grab a bottle of water off a shelf, cracked the top open, and slipped the poppy into the makeshift vase.
As he gently set it on the corner of the desk, he looked across to the agent sitting opposite him, who had been the only one not openly wondering about the presence of the anonymous gift. McGee met his eyes.
'Thank you, Boss.'
Gibbs held his eyes for a moment, smiling gently and nodding. Ignoring the puzzled expressions of his other two agents, he reached for his coffee and settled in for what he hoped would be a quiet day.
A/N: Yes, I know that Americans generally put greater emphasis on Memorial Day, and that using 11 November to honour all who have served in any war, rather than just WWI and WWII, is more of a Canadian/British thing. And yes, I know that Americans don't wear poppies as a sign of remembrance. It's called creative licence. Do you really think Gibbs or McGee would have a problem with the sentiments they're being used to express?
