Chapter 2: Welcoming Committee

A/N: In response to Challenge 3064: conception by conspiracy *non-stargate* by shelli.

A/N2: Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. NCIS characters belong to Donald Bellisario, Don McGill and CBS Paramount Television. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

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NCIS, Abby's Lab

Putting down …whatever it was he was pretending to study, Tony saw that the rest of the team and Ducky had come to the lab for this little meeting of Gibbs'. "What's up, Boss? New case?" he asked, not really expecting that to be the reason.

And sure enough, it wasn't. Gibbs looked almost excited or nervous – two things not normally associated with the man – by his announcement. "I talked to Buffy Summers last night, and she's moving to DC with her mother and her friend, Rupert Giles. I'd like to help them find a house – preferably nearby," he rushed to explain.

Kate's eyes widened in surprise. "She's coming here? Just because she's pregnant with your kid? Doesn't that seem a little odd?" the former Secret Service agent inquired hesitantly. She didn't want to sound distrustful of the woman. After all, she really enjoyed meeting her.

But Gibbs didn't take offense to the suggestion. He just repeated Buffy's explanation, "She said there were too many bad memories for her there. Can't say I blame her if this pregnancy deal was any indication. She just said it was the last straw for her. And it's not like she's trying to scam me for my wealth," he pointed out. With his bank account, there must have been better guys on the list to go after.

Ducky already knew all this, having talked to Jethro earlier. He chimed in optimistically, "At least her family is coming with her."

"And apparently, she's made friends with the guys on the list up and down the coast out here that she'll keep in touch with," Gibbs ground out. He still wasn't happy about that bit of news from her, but it wasn't as if he could forbid her to talk to them, could he?

Abby saw the look in his eyes and gave him a sympathetic hug. "Aww, are you jealous, Gibbs? You know that when she gets to know you, none of those guys will be able to compare!" she promised.

Gibbs was doubtful about that, but he returned the embrace anyway. "Maybe. Anyway, I'd like you all to make her and the others feel welcome. And please look out for them. If somebody wanted to get to me, they might use her or her family," he informed them. It couldn't be an order per se, but he knew his team wouldn't let him down.

Tony was the first to validate Gibbs' trust. "Don't worry, Boss. We've got them covered."

"Do you know what kind of home they are looking for?" Ducky inquired for the sake of the others.

"Only that it's big – at least 4 bedrooms. I would like it to be easy to secure if necessary, though," Gibbs added seriously.

"Planning a siege?" Tony teased somewhat.

Gibbs wasn't in the mood though and smacked the younger agent's head. "I just don't want to risk losing her or the baby."

Going over different plans in his head, McGee offered, "Okay. It should be easy enough to set up an alarm system that we can monitor without invading their privacy."

The conversation had taken an unnerving swerve for Kate. As an agent, she was right there with Gibbs, but as a woman…she felt it necessary to warn him, "Uhh, you might want to watch the overprotective attitude there, Gibbs. Buffy didn't strike me as the kind who'd appreciate it."

"She'll have to deal with it. Her safety is more important than her pride," Gibbs growled out, knowing that he was right about this.

Abby cautiously raised her hand. "I'm with Kate on this. Even though I never met her, I don't think that just because she's pregnant, she'd like you treating her like she's incapable of taking care of herself. Unless you want to drive her away," she pointed out.

Needing to hammer it home, Ducky agreed, "There's a fine line between caring and being overbearing, Jethro."

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5 weeks later…

"They're coming in today!" Abby chirped over the phone to McGee one early Saturday morning. "I can't wait to meet Buffy! It sucks that I was in court when she was here before," she pouted.

McGee thought about how to explain Buffy. Obviously, Abby had seen footage of Buffy on the NCIS cameras, but it wasn't the same as seeing somebody in real life. "She's different. She looks so small and girly, but she wanted to challenge me to a sparring match – despite being pregnant," he said with a slight chuckle at the memory.

Abby couldn't help bouncing in excitement. "What did Gibbs think of her?" she pressed.

Knowing that they'd had variations of this conversation for the past month, McGee rolled his eyes. Then he realized that he hadn't shared this observation before because it was too out there. "It's the weirdest thing…And if he were anyone else, I wouldn't think anything of it," he hedged.

"What?" Abby demanded impatiently.

"It almost seemed like he was flirting with her," he answered. Then he felt he needed to clarify, "If he was a normal person, I would just pass it off as friendliness, but with Gibbs…I don't know. To be quite honest, it was kind of unnerving."

Abby took a sip of her Caf-Pow! before asking, "Do you think it was only because of the baby? Not that it's bad for him to be nice to her because of that, but if she takes it as flirting and it isn't, she could get hurt," she finished, the worry in her voice clear.

Even though she couldn't see him, McGee shrugged, "Well, she certainly isn't who I would picture as his type. Actually, at first glance, she's more Tony's. You know, the incredibly beautiful type."

Her eyes narrowing in jealousy, the lab tech fought to inquire calmly, "You think she's beautiful? Like the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?"

"Probably – at least by the usual norms of society," the computer geek responded absently. "Although…she's a little bit too short and athletic for that to be entirely accurate." Unaware of the minefield he was currently in, he continued shyly, 'Personally, I prefer the more unusual standard of beauty. Somebody who isn't afraid to buck the conventions."

Abby couldn't keep the pleased note hidden in her voice, "Oh. So, could she interest Gibbs?"

"Sure. And even if it does start as interest in the mother of his child, there's worse ways for a relationship to begin," McGee allowed.

"I guess. …I wonder when we can visit her at the house?" Abby questioned looking at the clock next to her bed.

McGee recognized that hint in her voice and warned her, "Maybe we should wait for Gibbs to tell us."

She just replied absently, "Uh-huh."

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Summers/Giles' home

Several hours later…

Buffy heard the doorbell as she dug through the unpacked trunks. "Mom, can you get the door? I'm stuck in this pile of clothes!" she called out.

Laughing under her breath, Joyce called back, "Yes, honey! I hope you're not overdoing it!" she added in that mother-hen tone. She heard some kind of mutter as a response and went to open the door.

She smiled at the unusually-dressed young woman standing there – thankfully in the direct sunlight. The visitor looked like a stereotypical vampire, albeit a cute one. "Yes, can I help you?"

As soon as she started talking, though, that's when the stereotype ended. Unless there was a way for a vampire to get high, she was just too bubbly to be one. "Are you Buffy, 'cause you aren't what I imagined from everyone's descriptions; I mean, you're beautiful too, but a little older than I expected; Oh! Not that I think you're old or anything, just older than I pictured in my head; man, are you Buffy's mom, Joyce?" she finished her amazing speech without a single breath.

Which made Joyce chuckle. "May I ask who you are?" she inquired politely.

Abby cringed at her behavior. So much for making a good first impression. "Oh! I'm Abby Scuito; I work at NCIS with Gibbs; but I wasn't there when Buffy visited last time." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Sorry for the rambling; I'm just very excited."

Joyce stepped back to let her in. No sense in changing habits now just because they weren't on the Hellmouth anymore.

"I am Buffy's mom. You wouldn't happen to have a relative in Sunnydale, California, would you? You sound just like Buffy's best friend, Willow. When she starts babbling like that, we usually tell her it's time to switch to decaf," Joyce teased. "Buffy's in her room, unpacking; did you want to meet her?"

"Yes. Please," Abby replied, relieved not to have annoyed the woman yet.

Pointing the way, Joyce informed Abby, "Third door down the hall on your right, across from the bathroom."

The Goth lab tech smiled and said, "Great! Thanks, Mrs. Summers."

"Joyce is fine," the older woman corrected kindly.

"I'm Abby or Abbs, although Ducky calls me Abigail, but only he does," she hastily tacked on.

Joyce shook her head in amusement. "Third door on the right," she reminded Abby before turning back to her boxes.

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Buffy's room

Without looking who was behind her, Buffy spoke, "Hey, Mom, who was it?"

"I'm Abby Scuito; I work with Gibbs," Abby introduced herself.

Buffy twisted around to look at her. "The lab tech, right? Sorry for not getting up. As you can see, I'm sorta stuck here. So, here to check me out?" she asked with a smirk.

Abby was instantly worried that she had offended the pregnant woman. "What? No! Please don't tell Gibbs I bothered you! He wants us to make you feel welcome!" She started backing towards the door.

"Calm down and get back here, Abby! I was just teasing you." Buffy laughed. "Wow, you're like a Goth Willow!"

"Your best friend, right? Your mom mentioned her when I came in," Abby explained when Buffy gave her a questioning look. "I tend to run off at the mouth sometimes. Especially when I'm excited."

Buffy had a sudden flash of insight and inquired, "Did Gibbs find this place by himself, or did he get everyone involved?"

Unsure of the best way to answer this, Abby tried to make sure Buffy wouldn't be angry with him. "He was just so relieved that you were moving here; he wanted to make things as smooth as possible for you and the baby. Do you know what you're having yet?" she asked.

The still semi-buried blonde shook her head, "Nah. I haven't decided if I want to know ahead of time. Did Gibbs say if he wanted to know?" she asked back.

Abby returned the shake of the head, "I think he's just excited about getting to be a dad."

Just then the doorbell rang. Buffy looked at Abby. "Is the rest of the team coming?"

"Uh, no. I kinda came against the advice of them," Abby admitted. She helped dig Buffy out so they could see who it was. Giles was expecting his moving truck sometime today, too.

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Entryway

Giles grinned when he recognized the man standing on the other side of the door. "Dr. Mallard, how nice of you to visit!" he greeted him warmly.

"Ducky…please," the ME corrected him. "I just wanted to welcome you three to the area, and to give you a housewarming present."

Taking the basket, Giles stepped back to allow the older man entry. "That's very kind of you. Let me go track Buffy down."

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15 minutes later…

The group settled in the living room to talk, deciding that now was as good a time as any to take a break. They just had Abby and Ducky move their vehicles to the side of the house so they weren't in the movers' way.

"Yes?" Joyce asked, somehow not surprised to see the lady on the doorstep wasn't a mover.

"I'm from NCIS. My name is Kate Todd. I just wanted to welcome you to DC. Here's a local guidebook with some handy tips," Kate added, holding the book out.

Joyce smiled and allowed her to come in. When Kate had passed the door frame, she said, "Please, come join us in the living room."

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And another 15 minutes pass…

Kate had moved her car as well and was drinking her coffee when the doorbell rang again.

This time Buffy was the one who answered it, "Wow! We must be pretty popular. Either that or you guys have really dull lives."

"What do you mean?" Tony inquired, completely confused by her welcome. He held out the flowers that he brought.

"Apparently, your new headquarters is in my living room," Buffy teased, sniffing the bouquet appreciatively.

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You got it, a short time later…

Tony added his vehicle to the car lot forming in their yard and joined the group.

Joyce let in the next visitor with a laugh. "Let me guess, you work at NCIS and you're…umm, Timothy McGee, here to welcome us?"

McGee stood there, stunned. "Huh? How did you know?"

"The only one missing is the father. We're taking bets on how long it is before he arrives. What do you take on your pizza?" she asked, taking the basket he offered her. "Buffy's ordering delivery."

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Just before the pizza arrived…

The team decided to help unpack what they could before dinner arrived. They figured it was the least they could do for dropping in unannounced. It was turning into quite the party.

Giles got the money out and ready to hand to the pizza guy. "You're not the delivery boy. Good afternoon, Agent Gibbs," he welcomed the father of Buffy's child.

Sighing, Gibbs asked, "Mr. Giles. My people haven't been bothering you, have they?" He had checked the exterior of the house and found their vehicles filling the yard on either side of the house.

"Well, you might as well join the rest in the living room. We're taking a short break to get better acquainted. How did you know they were here?" Giles inquired. "They actually helped us unpack for a bit, so no harm done."

"I told them to make you feel welcome. But I never intended for them to get in your way while you were unpacking," Gibbs replied, sounding annoyed. He held onto the bag he brought for Buffy, but handed Giles the bottle of wine.

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When dinner was done…

Buffy got up to answer the door this time, teasing over her shoulder, "Who could it be now? Your director?" When she opened the door, she saw who it was and squealed excitedly, "Mulder! Scully! Ahh, you just missed the pizza!"

Scully smiled at the pouting blonde. "That's alright. We just wanted to check on you; see how you were doing," she said, giving her a warm embrace.

Hugging Buffy, Mulder added, "And see how you were able to move here. Not that it's not great having you here, but--"

She cut him off before he could say anything unusual, "That's gonna have to wait until our company leaves, 'k?"

Then she dragged them into the living room and introduced them to the NCIS crew, rolling her eyes at the glaring contest between Mulder and Gibbs. If she knew him better, Buffy would have smacked Gibbs on the shoulder, too. As it was, she only did it to Mulder, then looked confused when the NCIS people – sans Gibbs – burst out into laughter.

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A/N: Next…A baby shower.