Oh my chicken! I'm so sorry that I'm just now getting this story updated. THings have been crazy busy!
Ch 3
Kate and Juliet walked into bullpen with a spring in their step. "Right on time," Kate said as she and Juliet rounded the corner.
The bullpen had a new atmosphere now, and it was much more crowded. Kate had been given her old desk back, and another desk had been added for Ziva, making the bullpen completely full. Juliet wasn't given a desk, but instead, a rolling chair, which satisfied her completely. Things where finally normal again.
Juliet plopped down in her chair and dropped her bag next to her as she pushed off around Kate's desk to the middle of the bullpen. Everyone was sitting at their desks doing paperwork, and she had nothing to do besides watch. She pushed over to Tony's desk to watch over his shoulder what he was doing.
"What are you doing?" asked Tony, pretending to be annoyed. "Interning!" said Juliet enthusiastically. Tony spun around in his chair to face Juliet and put his hands on her shoulders.
"How could you possibly be of assistance to me right now?" Juliet leaned to her right and pointed at the computer screen. "You misspelled to, one o." she said with a kidding serious look on her face. "Oh…well…hmm…one o, who would have thought." Tony said as he turned his upper body to see the computer screen. "Well, thanks! Aren't you just a doll!" he said sarcastically as he pushed her chair away.
Juliet let out a small laugh at Tony sarcasm as she wheeled her chair over to McGee's desk. He was in the process of trying to crack a computer code, which he liked to practice, just in case the need ever came up. He has his hands in his hair and let out a frustrated groan. Juliet looked over his shoulder at the computer screen to see what the problem was.
"Why don't you try this," said Juliet as McGee scooted his chair so she had access to the keyboard. Juliet swiftly typed in a series of numbers and letters and the computer screen blinked with a sign of approval.
"How could you have possibly figures that out!" asked a distraught McGee. Juliet replied with a quick shoulder shrug and a smug grin as she wheeled her "desk" over to Ziva, who seemed to be engrossed in a book.
"Oh! I love that book!" said Juliet, referring to the copy of Pride and Pregedous. "Maybe you could learn something from our friend Elizabeth Bennit." said Tony without looking up.
Juliet rolled her chair back to Tony's desk. "What was that supposed to mean?" she asked with genuine offense. "You know," said Tony, "just that, interning, y'know…" Tony stopped rambling when he saw the hurt look on Juliet's face. "But, hey, Elizabeth wasn't a grammatical genius or a computer nerd." said Tony with a genuine smile. Juliet rolled her eyes playfully. Tony expected her to say thank you, but instead her reply was, "oh, I know." she rolled away with a cocky smile. Jules was definitely a spit-fire.
Juliet's rolling was interrupted when Gibbs walked in and grabbed the back of her chair and pushed her over to Kate's desk one handed, coffee in the other.
"Grab your gear." he said. "Got a dead marine, housing edition in Virginia. Stabbed to death in his basement, lest go." he said impatiently before heading for the elevator. The whole team piled in still trying to snap themselves out of the trans that they had been in, whatever they where preoccupied with. "I call shotgun!" said Juliet as they approached the car. "No," said Gibbs, "you ride with me. He grabbed Juliet by the arm and pulled her to the car in the next spot. Their field team was so large, they had to take two cars now.
The ride started put silent, Juliet watching the passing scenery, Gibbs speeding down the road. Neither made any effort to speak. Juliet was wondering why he had wanted her to ride with him in the first place.
Hold on, maybe
In our next life I will be less crazy
And make up for the mistakes made this time
I know you're trying to save me
I know you're busy saving yourself
Don't let the light you leave on
Burn you out inside
Suddenly, her thoughts where interrupted when Gibbs finally spoke. "What's bothering you?" he asked without looking over. "What are you talking about?" Juliet asked with a serious confusion. Gibbs let out a soft chuckle before speaking again.
If I kick tomorrow
Would you stick with me
I know I'm not as straight
As I would like to be
And though it's hard enough as it is
Tomorrow still comes
"I can tell something is bothering you. What is it?" he said, this time, piercing her with his blue eyes. "Uh..." she said. She didn't even know where to begin.
I'll take the high road
The one you pave with
Patience and love
Let my pages turn with the tide
I have made you my crutch
Yeah I owe you too much
I can only clean up and
Get out the gallows from my mind
"Brian's moving." she blurted without hesitation. She needed to get it off her chest. "And now, I have to choose." she continued. Gibbs didn't reply so she went on. "And I can't. It wouldn't be right. They both raised me and are both important in my life. I'm kind of annoyed that they are making me choose in the first place."
If I kick tomorrow
Would you stick with me
I know I'm not as straight
As I would like to be
And though it's hard enough as it is
Tomorrow still comes
Gibbs still fell silent. "No comment!" asked a rather annoyed Juliet. "nope." he said matter-of-factly. Juliet fell back in her seat with a humph. "Because I think you need to figure it out yourself. You're a smart girl; you'll make the right choice. Follow-" he was cut off by Juliet. "My gut?" she asked with a half smile. "Your heart." corrected Gibbs as he looked at her with a softened expression. Juliet's eyes tinged with a spark of motivation and ambition at his wise advice.
So shine your star
Sing the words
From the song that leads the way back home
Juliet looked back out the window with a new sense of enlightenment. A huge weight was lifted from her shoulders and he felt free. Gibbs was right, she would just have to do what her heart said, and be brave.
Tomorrow still comes…