Dec 7: Grinch
"… It's a wonderful Christmastime…" Tony sang along with the radio.
"DiNozzo…" Gibbs warned.
"Driver picks the radio."
Gibbs tried to ignore the noise. Thankfully, Tony didn't sing along with the next song. He leaned his head back against the seat.
"…walking in a winter wonderland…"
"DiNozzo."
"Driver picks the radio." Tony said, "My car, my rules."
Gibbs cursed the day, the case and the idiotic probie Vance had forced on them who had got so overexcited that he pushed Gibbs, knocking him off balance and down two steps to land on the concrete floor.
"…I wonder as I wander…"
Gibbs cursed the doctor who had put a brace on his knee. The doctor had told him it was a wonder it wasn't broken. The doctor had had the nerve to tell his team that he needed to be off the leg for a few days and no driving. Gibbs gritted his teeth. It's not like Gibbs hadn't driven with a brace before. His ankle worked fine. He had been determined to drive even when Ducky threatened to call Vance. He held firm when Tony threatened to alert the LEOs. He even held firm when Tony threatened to call his dad. Gibbs scoffed. He would have been home before his dad even got packed. Gibbs shifted his leg gingerly.
"…the most wonderful time of the year…"
Gibbs cursed McGee. When had his agent got so sneaky? McGee had watched Ducky and Tony threaten and cajole doing nothing. Gibbs had been celebrating internally, when it appeared the other two were running out of ammo. It was then that McGee had stepped into his field of vision and nonchalantly but very deliberately taken out his phone. Gibbs had asked triumphantly who he was calling.
McGee had replied very evenly that he was calling Abby. If Gibbs didn't trust him, Tony or Ducky to drive him home, Abby could do it. The two men engaged in a stare down. McGee added that Abby would probably insist on staying with him a few days. When did McGee grow a backbone? Gibbs had held out until McGee started to press buttons, before muttering to DiNozzo to bring the car around.
"…let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…"
Gibbs snapped off the radio.
"Hey…"
"I dislocated my kneecap. The muscles are strained. I'm in a brace...And I haven't had a cup of coffee in hours…" Gibbs snarled. "You think singing about snow storms is a really a good idea right now?"
Tony gulped. Maybe he had been pressing it a bit. Familiar with knee injuries and pain meds, Tony was pretty sure the knee was beating the bass drum of pain at the moment. Maybe he should let the sleeping tiger…er… cranky boss alone for a while.
Silence. Blissful silence. Gibbs shifted his leg again. There were a lot of things at work that he needed to plan in advance. (The probie was on dumpster duty indefinitely). DiNozzo would be gassing up the car and keeping it clean. McGee? He knew HR was looking for help entering old data into their system. Of course, that was on a computer. Not really an adequate punishment. Maybe it was time to suggest to Vance that all cell phones be cleaned and optimized. He remembered McGee complaining about the junk on Tony's phone and that time he and Abby had to go through all those wet phones. That should take a fairly long time and McGee would hate it.
Gibbs snapped the radio back on. Recognizing the song, he began humming along while Tony threw worried looks his way.
The radio kept playing. "…You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch…"
