Gibbs had gone into Abby's lab because she'd called and like always, he'd expected a lead. What he hadn't expected was for the lab to be dark, and for Abby to be hiding in the ballistics lab.
He walked in, and found her standing there, arms crossed, with a smirk on her face that told him everything he needed to know: he was in serious trouble of some kind. Not with her, necessarily, but anything that prompted such a smile was bound to mean trouble for the rest of the agency.
"What do ya got, Abs?" he asked.
"A problem, Gibbs. A big one."
"What, did ya overload the fuse again?" he asked, gesturing to the dark lab. "I can call maintenance, Abs, it's not a problem."
"No, Gibbs, it's not about my lab being dark. It's Kate." He blinked, and then frantically started thinking back to the last time he'd seen Kate… he'd sent her and McGee off on to chase down a lead, and she'd looked fine to him then. Unless she was telling Abby a different story. Was she okay? Was she hurt or sick somehow? His racing thoughts were quickly cut off by Abby. "Gibbs, I can hear your gears turning from here. Kate's fine."
He sighed, quickly, before shaking his head at her. "Then what is this about, Abs? And why'd ya have to scare me like that?"
"Well, Gibbs, you know how I left early last night?"
"Yes…" he said warily.
"It's because I was giving one of my neighbors a ride to their prom, because their car is in the shop and I'm a nice person, and so I was talking to Kate about the prom, and about the beautiful dresses and the awful food-,"
"I know that there's a point in there somewhere," Gibbs cut her off.
"Kate told me she never went to her prom!"
"And this concerns me how?" he asked in return.
She smirked, and he knew that he'd been right. Big trouble. "Kate missed her prom because she was really sick."
He made a face. "Ew."
"Not my point, Gibbs. My point is that it's prom season, and prom is such an important rite of passage, that it doesn't seem right that she should just miss it-,"
"What does this have to do with me?"
"You, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, are going to help me convince Director Shepard that we need to have a prom to promote team bonding and morale." She smiled at him.
"I'm going to what?" he asked, shocked, but not really. He should have known Abby would go for something like this. She was never one to shy away from shock value.
"And then, once you do that, I think you should ask Kate to go with you."
"Abs," he warned. "There is no way that Director Shepard will ever possibly go for that. Ya know that."
"Do I?" she asked. "I have this little thing called optimism."
"Fine, but I'm tellin' ya, Abs… it's not happening."
"Well," Abby checked her watch. "You'd better go upstairs, Gibbs. I booked you a meeting with Jenny that starts in ten minutes. I texted her," she said in response to his incredulous look.
"Ya what?" he asked. "How?"
"I had McGee hack your phone."
"I'm gonna kill that stupid probie, for fallin' under your spell, Abs."
"You can't kill him, Gibbs. He probably has a future wife out there somewhere. It's not me, but there's gotta be someone."
Gibbs shook his head. "Ya owe me one, Abs." He turned to stalk out of the lab, trying not to picture Kate in formal wear. This led his brain to another, equally dangerous location. A prom, or formal dance of any kind, usually meant a date. And Abby had suggested he ask Kate.
"Gibbs!"
He turned. "What?"
"Stop acting like it would be terrible for you to go on a date with Caitlin Todd. In fact, I think you should be thanking me."
"If ya keep actin' like a spoiled brat, Abs, I swear-,"
She waved at him. "Just trust me, Gibbs. And did you honestly come to my lab without a Caf-Pow?"
"Nope, but ya aren't gettin' it now!" he called, heading out of the lab.
"Oh c'mon Gibbs!" she was calling as he got on the elevator. "You'll thank me one day."
He stabbed the floor button angrily. "I doubt that," he muttered. The elevator doors closed, leaving him wondering exactly how he was going to convince Director Shepard to do something even he didn't want to do.
XNCISX
"I'm sorry, Jethro, what exactly are you asking me to do? I'm afraid I don't understand."
"That makes two of us," he muttered under his breath, before smiling – it was really more of a grimace – at her. "Director, when you added Ziva David to my team, surely ya noticed… growing pains?"
"Growing pains?" she asked.
"Yeah, Director. Ziva's brother tried to kill Kate, and put a bullet through my shoulder. I'd call that growing pains. They haven't… bonded."
"So you're suggesting that we try and ease them into some kind of mutual appreciation?"
"Yes, Director, that is exactly what I'm suggesting." From the mouth of Abigail Sciuto to the Director of NCIS. And I'm just the messenger who's trying to not get shot.
"And you want to do this how?"
"A formal event. Sort of. Essentially a way for the team to get to know one another in a semi-formal setting. I believe they call it a prom."
Jennifer Shepard didn't laugh at Gibbs often, but she was currently standing in the middle of her own office, laughing her head off at Gibbs. "You're suggesting," she said, in between giggles. "That we somehow force your team to bond by making them attend a prom? Jethro, even for you, this is ludicrous."
"Well, Director, that's probably because it wasn't my idea."
"Really? Who- Abby."
He nodded. "Abby."
"And she convinced you to set up a meeting with me? The stakes must be high, I've never known you to make an appointment. Usually you just barge in." She wiped away the tears of laughter, before shaking her head at him. He knew it was leading up to a no, so was surprised when she smiled. "I think it's a lovely idea."
"What?" he asked, not for the first time that day, and inwardly cursed Abby. Now she was getting him tangled up in her stupid scheme. Why exactly was he going along with it?
"Your team needs to have each other's backs. They can't do that if there are growing pains. A nice, friendly opportunity is… important. It promotes greater team bonding and boosts team morale, Jethro. It's a nice tagline."
"Sure thing, Director. Just one request."
"I might be able to grant it, depending."
"Please," and he was cringing inwardly. "Keep my name out of it."
"Jethro, there is no way I can do that. It's too suits will be having a field day if they hear that you brought it to my attention."
He rolled his eyes. "Abby's idea, Director. She should get the credit."
"Well, I'm putting her in charge of organizing it, in that case. Now, if you don't mind, Jethro, I think I have more important things to attend to than the senior prom of my staff. I'll make an announcement later."
"Understood, Director. And I have a case to get back to." He left, without being dismissed, still wondering how the subject would be brought up among his team. Growing pains had been an understatement; most days he could barely prevent outright murder. As it was, Kate spent most of her free time in autopsy with Ducky, while Ziva haunted the bullpen. He didn't know what ran through Kate's head most days, but he knew it couldn't be good.
Could this be the key to fixing his team?
XNCISX
They were all working on case reports when the news broke. Gibbs was staring at Kate's desk, currently occupied by Ziva. Kate was faster at finishing her case report and had already delivered it to Gibbs, before heading downstairs. Jenny made the announcement, and left them dumbfounded.
He was only sorry that he wasn't there to see Kate's face when the announcement came out. She had missed her prom, and for some reason, Abby had talked him into doing this for her. He needed a victory with her; they'd barely spoken since her near-fatal accident back in May. Only it was no accident. Maybe they'd both been keeping their distance on purpose, but here they were.
He stood, and felt three pairs of eyes on him as he walked out of the bullpen, intent on heading down to autopsy. He knew that's where Kate would be.
As soon as he got downstairs, he felt a shift in the atmosphere. Upstairs were barely controlled tensions boiling just below the surface. Here, it was relaxed, peaceful even.
Ducky stood. "Jethro, we weren't expecting you. Is everything quite all right?"
"Sure, Duck. It's all good. Uh, Kate, can I talk to ya?"
"Sure." She exchanged a look with Ducky, biting her lip.
Ducky noticed. "Allow me to step out, I do believe I needed to bring a sample to Abigail." He hurried out, leaving Kate and Gibbs standing a few feet apart in the autopsy suite.
"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the announcement, would it?" she asked, and he smiled. She was an expert at fitting the pieces together, so of course she'd jumped right to the only logical conclusion.
"Yeah, Kate, it would. I wanted to ask ya somethin'."
She eyed him warily. "What?"
"Will ya go to the dance with me?" he asked, walking closer to her, and taking her hand. It wasn't the first time they'd held hands, but it was still surprising to her somehow. He could see it in her face. She hadn't been expecting this.
"What, like as a date?"
"Yeah."
"What about rule twelve?" Ouch. Fair enough, he should have been expecting that. He'd given her that lecture when she'd gotten a little too friendly, a little too nice towards him. He'd regretted it ever since, but it was the way things were.
"Kate, I think I owe ya one. Ya took a bullet for me, and it's about time I repayed ya."
"Gibbs, are you comparing going to a dance to taking a bullet for someone? Because you might want to rethink that idea."
"Okay. Consider it my way of sayin' thanks. I don't know if I ever did thank ya, Katie, for savin' my sorry ass."
"You're welcome," she said, before letting go of his hand and walking away. He stood there, before running to catch up to her in front of the elevator.
"Is that a yes?" he asked, suddenly hopeful.
She rolled her eyes, but finally offered him what he thought had to be the first real smile he'd seen on her face since May. "Yes, Gibbs, I will go to this dance with you."
His grin was probably the last thing she saw as the elevator doors closed, and it was such a wide grin that his face hurt.
Damn the team bonding and the morale fixing, this was the real reason he'd agreed to it. He was going to a formal event with Caitlin Todd.
Now he just had to not ruin it or die in the meantime. And he could work out what it all meant later. For now, he had a dance he had to get ready for.