Author's Note: This was written simply because I've never felt that the first season relationship between Abby and McGee made sense. Don't get me wrong, I love it. But why those two? On the surface, they're totally different people. So this is my take. F.
Thanks goes to Trina109 for her beta services... And her patience. Miss ya!
Disclaimer: I own nothing NCIS. Pity that.
It was the voice that got his attention first
The image on the dinky little laptop screen was too distorted from his angle to get a decent idea of what she looked like. But the voice... It was husky and interesting; coupled with her unusual greeting, it was downright intriguing. Tony's comments about tattoos only added to his interest. He liked intelligent and unconventional women.
So he used the inter office directory to find the email address for the forensics lab. It took him a few days to work up the courage- he found her intriguing but that didn't mean it worked both ways- but finally he sent her an email, asking if they could have lunch when he came down to Washington to submit his report. He knew he didn't need to, but he wanted to at least try to impress Gibbs.
He was both elated and a little amazed when she accepted.
...
Almost immediately, doubts began to set in. Not about meeting her, but about whether she'd like him. From what Tony had said, he probably wasn't her usual 'type'. There was only one thing he could think of that he knew might make him more acceptable to her.
So, for the first time in his life, Tim McGee visited a local tattoo parlour.
It wasn't what he expected. Instead of the stereotypical dingy room, there was a gleaming expanse of tiled floors and an expensively decorated waiting area. If it wasn't for the framed tattoo designs on the walls, the parlour could have been taken for a high priced doctor's surgery.
Tim had been ambivalent about getting a tattoo- it seemed a little on the extreme side, just to hopefully impress someone he'd never actually met- but he found himself fascinated by the intricacy of the designs. Before he knew it, he'd selected one of the simpler designs and was being shown to one of several cubicles.
...
By the time the case had been wrapped up and McGee had written his report, his brand new tattoo had healed up nicely. He sent Abby another email, letting her know that he was heading to Washington in the morning and confirming they were still on for lunch.
He was both nervous and excited about meeting Abby. Something told him this woman was different; that this was going to be an important personal connection. He told himself he was being ridiculous- they'd never met, so how could he know? - but he couldn't shake the feeling.
...
He couldn't help but be amused at the look on DiNozzo's face as the elevator doors closed. He figured the senior field agent had him pegged as just another geek, so it was satisfying to be able to shock him into silence. And he got the feeling that that didn't happen often.
The incident relieved his jitters a little, but by the time he reached the open door of the Forensics lab, they were back in full force.
His first impression was the noise. Every lab he'd ever been in- and there'd been a few, mainly at school- had been quiet, often to the point where the only sound was the equipment itself. Not so here. Loud, repetitive music was playing from somewhere in the back. He hesitated a little. Should he knock? He looked through the open door and got his first sight of Abby in real life.
She was tall; even discounting the platform boots she was wearing, she wasn't much shorter than he was. From the back, the white lab coat she was wearing gave the impression she was wearing nothing but the coat and the boots. Her jet black hair was tied up in girlish pigtails, and she had a collar of some sort around her neck. Mentally he shook himself, telling himself to stop staring, and knocked on the door.
She spun at the sound of his knock, a surprised expression on her face. He was immediately struck by her appearance. For one, something that neither DiNozzo nor Abby herself had ever mentioned was her Goth tendencies. The other thing that struck him was her looks. She wasn't conventionally beautiful, but her big green eyes and alabaster skin were arresting.
Her surprise changed to a half smile. "Are you McGee?"
He collected himself enough to nod and attempted to stammer a greeting. Mentally he kicked himself. 'Not a good impression' he thought to himself.
"Sorry. Yeah. I'm- I'm Tim McGee."
"Abby Scuito. I've just gotta finish up here, and then we can go."
She turned back to her computer. From what he could see, it looked like she was running a back trace.
"What are you working on?"
Without turning, she explained. "It's this email I've been tracking for Balboa's team. It's been bouncing all over the place. I've lost it and picked it up like 4 times, but this time I really can't seem to get a handle on it."
"Mind if I take a look?"
She turned and gave him a look.
"McGee. If I can't find it, I doubt you can."
He suppressed a grin. Maybe he had a chance to recover from his poor first impression after all.
"Try me."
She gave him an appraising look, then waved him forward to her computer. She stood beside him with her hands on hips, watching his every move.
He took a moment to orient himself, and then got down to work. Her unwavering attention made him a little nervous, but it wasn't long before...
"Got it."
He looked over at her to see her smiling.
"You really know your stuff, McGee. Where'd you learn to do that?"
"MIT. Masters of Computer Forensics."
"Really?" She sounded impressed. "You're going to have to show me how you did that." She held up a hand, stopping him as he went to move back to the computer.
"Later. After lunch."
She went through to the far room of her lab and came back wearing a short black jacket instead of her lab coat. The effect over her short red and black skirt and tight black t shirt made him slightly breathless.
"Come on, Timmy. Let's go."
He followed her out of the lab.
"Timmy? Really?"
"What's wrong with Timmy?"