Closer Reality

A/N: Big hugs to Kesterpan for numerous bunnies related to this chapter and to Gibbsredhoodie for her usual awesome beta and title bunny.


Chapter 9 – Putting it out there

Later that morning, they rode up in the elevator together to the fourth floor on their way to see Vance. Gibbs could see Abby's nerves at the forthcoming meeting were getting the better of her already. Shifting from foot to foot in her boots, fingers tapping against her thigh, teeth gnawing on her bottom lip... she was one mass of fidgeting beside him.

Gibbs reached out to press the emergency button and Abby started as the elevator stopped and they were bathed in familiar blue light, before turning a mischievous smile in his direction.

"Not sure we have time to christen the elevator."

He smirked and crowded her against the wall, cupping her face so he could see her eyes. "You okay?"

She huffed, rolling her eyes. "I will be... when we get this over with. I know we discussed how to handle Leon and I'm totally cool with that plan, including me doing most of the talking."

His smile widened. "It's what you do best."

"Ha-ha... funny man."

"It could help. Leon's less likely to lose his temper with you than with me, ya know that," Gibbs pointed out, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs.

Abby sighed. "Hmm, I'm not so sure you're right about that one, given what we're about to dump on him. But let's just hope he doesn't call our bluff... not that it is a bluff if we get backed into a corner."

They'd discussed how to handle the Director during the past week. Given their respective jobs, they could both see one potential area of difficulty but had come up with a strategy that might just work... if the Director didn't throw a curveball around them or fire either one of them.

"He won't."

"You seem very confident of that." Abby reached up to run her fingers under the lapel of his jacket, smoothing the material.

Gibbs shrugged. "He'd be a fool if he does... and Leon's many things but he's no fool."

Abby gestured with her hand. "Yeah, well, I'm hoping his budget instincts will stop him calling my bluff... but we'll see."

"Our bluff," he reminded her.

Abby shook her head. "I'd rather not even mention your side of the bluff... you've pissed Leon off so many times, he might well rub his hands with glee and see this as a way of getting rid of you."

Gibbs tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Maybe but whether we mention it or not, he'll think of it anyway... and I told ya, I'm prepared to go if necessary. Not having Leon dictate my personal life."

"It's my personal life too, remember? And before we get that far, I'd resign, Jethro. As I said yesterday, and I meant it," Abby held up her hand to forestall his comments. "I am prepared to call his bluff if I have to. I'm not giving you up... I'd give up my job first."

Gibbs shook his head. "That's not gonna happen. And you love your job."

"I do... and you love your job too." She cupped his face in her hands. "But I love you more... you gonna get that into your head one of these days?"

He rested his forehead against hers, finding he had to clear his throat to get his voice to work. "Beginnin' to."

He reached behind him to flip the switch again and they moved apart to stand side by side as the elevator continued on its way. Gibbs glanced sideways at her, trying to think of a way to lessen the tension.

"Wanna bet how many minutes before the first toothpick appears?" When her lips began to curve in a smile, he went on. "Five bucks it's within the first five minutes."

Abby laughed at that. "You're on. I'm betting... three minutes." They solemnly shook on it, grinning at one another and Gibbs could see the tension in Abby's shoulders was eased slightly.

When they entered Vance's office, the Director gestured Abby to a seat and raised an eyebrow as Gibbs moved to stand behind Abby's chair rather than sitting in the empty seat beside her.

"Not used to you actually waiting to come in, Gibbs, but I'm sure my door appreciated the rest from bouncing off the wall."

After enquiring after Abby's health and the progress of her psych evaluations, Vance folded his hands on the desk. "Something on your minds?" he asked, looking between the two of them.

It was Abby who answered, shifting in her seat and plucking at the material of her pants with one hand. "Yes, Leon. We have something positive to tell you... at least we think it's very positive, don't we? Very positive good news."

Abby glanced up at Gibbs, whose hand landed gently on her shoulder. Vance raised an eyebrow at the gesture as Abby went on. "We wanted to tell you before scuttlebutt reached your ears, Leon."

Before Abby could ease into the subject in her usual roundabout way, Gibbs broke in. "We're together, Leon. Abby's moved in. Change of address'll be filed by the end of the day."

Abby resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Gibbs' usual blunt approach... not quite off the script they'd agreed, but she at least thought he'd let her run with it for a bit longer before diving in.

Sometimes she thought Gibbs did stuff like this deliberately to try and wind the Director up.

Vance stared at them impassively for several long moments and his eyes dropped to snag on the ring on Abby's left hand. An eyebrow raised in response before he reached into a pocket and the familiar toothpick appeared.

Abby bit her lip to stop her laughter, glancing quickly at the clock on the wall and giving a mental fist pump at winning the bet. She dared not look up at Gibbs or she was sure she'd lose it, especially when she felt the hand on her shoulder increase the pressure slightly. She settled for twisting her ring round on her finger, trying to control herself as they waited for Vance to speak.

Vance eventually spoke. "I see... I confess this is something of a surprise, although perhaps I should have guessed when Gibbs practically hijacked an FBI jet to get to you in LA, Abby."

Abby's eyes widened as she looked up at Gibbs. "Hijacked... really?"

Gibbs' only answer was a slight head tilt as he never took his eyes off Vance and Abby found she couldn't read his neutral expression... or Mr Poker Face across the table.

Gibbs shrugged. "Borrowed... and this... us is only recent, Leon, if that's what you're wondering."

"I wasn't... but now that you mention it.

Abby continued, drawing Vance's gaze to her. "We figured you'd want to think about any impact it has on our work sooner rather than later, even though the fraternization issue doesn't arise presumably as you're my direct boss."

Vance thought for a few moments in silence before nodding. "That at least is true enough." He looked up and sighed slightly, gesturing at the vacant chair. "Sit down, Gibbs, while we figure this thing out. You're giving me neck ache. As I see it... there's only one issue that might crop up."

"Evidence in court," Gibbs put in as he sat down.

"Yes," Vance agreed, leaning forward to rest his arms on the desk as if to emphasize his point. "It needs thinking through carefully, but the obvious cause for concern would be if the defendant's lawyers jump on the idea that NCIS's forensic scientist is biased in her findings because of her relationship with the lead agent on the MCRT." He held up his hand to forestall any comments. "Which we both know is not the case but it's a possibility."

"We've been thinking it through ourselves too and figured that would be the sticking point, if there was any. But so many of my findings are relatively black and white, Leon, you know that," Abby pointed out reasonably. "I can't bias a DNA result. It either is or it isn't. Blood either matches or it doesn't."

Vance nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, but there are also a fair number of what might be termed interpretations of evidence... those leaps of intuition which both you and Gibbs' team are so good at, which almost..." Vance searched for the right word for a moment. "... leapfrog to the end result. Those are the areas where there could be most wiggle room for defence lawyers."

"But if the defence lawyers kick up too much fuss, they'll probably pay for independent testing themselves... as they do now anyway, don't they, especially in high profile cases," commented Abby.

"We can't rely on that," Vance cautioned.

"We can cross that bridge when we come to it," said Gibbs, firmly.

Vance stared at his senior agent. "It's my job to be prepared for that bridge before we even catch sight of it, Gibbs."

Abby pushed down her exasperation as the two alpha males began to bristle at one another. "We can't predict those cases until they arise, Leon."

The level stare turned in her direction. "No, I appreciate that, Abby... but at this moment, I'm at a loss how to deal with any possible manoeuvring by defence teams, other than the independent testing which they may or may not do themselves."

"It's not gonna change anything... we're together," Gibbs put in bluntly.

When they'd discussed this between them, one thing had been clear in Gibbs' mind.

He wasn't about to sacrifice anything with Abby.

He'd sacrificed enough for his country... had done his duty over and over during the past. And he wasn't about to let Abby throw her career away. He'd walk before that happened and take early retirement.

Vance held up his hands as the toothpick migrated to the other side of his mouth. "I wasn't suggesting it would... I'm not gonna ask anyone to sacrifice anything personal. You of all people should know that, Gibbs."

Gibbs stared back at Vance for a moment before nodding. He looked across to where Abby was still fiddling with her ring and his gaze softened for a moment. "It's permanent, Leon..."

Abby gave him a shy smile in return before turning back to Vance. "Wanna hear our compromise?"

Vance gestured. "Please... go ahead, Abby."

Abby took in a deep breath, hands gesturing animatedly as she spoke. "Okay. We've been thinking about this and this is what we've come up with. It's not ideal, I know but it's the only thing we can think of... If we have a case that, once it's wrapped up, looks like falling into that category, then we could pay for an outside lab or an agency temp to test the, whatever it is, independently of me after my original work... so there is that unbiased interpretation in the paperwork before it goes to trial."

"Not sure that's in the budget," Vance advised, frowning.

"Maybe not but it's not likely to occur every time we have a case, is it?" Abby pointed out reasonably. "It would only be for occasional cases that fit the criteria we figured out. And anyway... the cost of those occasional extra tests or an agency temp to do them here wouldn't amount to the same figure as all the overtime hours I don't claim for, Leon."

Vance stared at her for a moment, the toothpick waggling at a particularly vicious clamp down. "Meaning?"

"Meaning... if absolutely necessary, if there's no way around this and you think it would compromise the integrity of this agency and my work, it might be best if you had someone else in the lab... and then there'll be no conflict," suggested Abby. "I will leave if I have to, Leon. I'll even take Fornell up on the offer his Director has him make every year and which I've thrown back in his face up till now."

Vance took in the stubborn set of her jaw, the determined glint in her eye as she met his gaze. He glanced at Gibbs, noting the glimmer of pride in the other man's eyes as he watched Abby.

Vance turned his gaze back to Abby. "You threatening to quit?" When Abby inclined her head slightly, he went on, firmly. "I don't appreciate being blackmailed."

Abby sensed Gibbs stiffening beside her as she responded, trying to keep her voice calm and level. "It's not meant to be blackmail, Leon. I'm just making it clear that I'm not giving up my personal relationship for anything. As my... partner says, it's permanent."

Vance turned to Gibbs. "You behind this, Gibbs?"

Before Gibbs could answer and maybe lose his temper, Abby jumped in, unable to keep the exasperation out of her tone this time. "Leon, no one's behind me making my own decisions and if necessary, I would give up my job if I had to." She gestured between her and Gibbs. "This is that important to me... to us. Us is important to me...to us. Oh, you know what I mean."

"Yes, I think I got that, Abby," commented Vance, his mouth twitching at the corner for a moment.

She held up her hand. "As far as I'm concerned, this is a wedding ring... without the paperwork."

"Or the expense," put in Gibbs, and caught her eye as they exchanged an amused glance.

"This is as important to me as Jackie is to you, Leon," Abby said softly as she turned back to Vance. "If there is an alternative, we'd love to hear it... coz if there isn't one and you don't accept that we can continue to work together on cases, then you're gonna have to fire one of us anyway... So then I'd have to quit."

Vance tried to push down his anger. He was used to being tag-teamed by Gibbs and DiNozzo... it was a new experience to have Abby put her foot down.

"Let's not jump the gun," said Vance. "Yes, I see it as a possible problem but let's not go off half cocked until we've thought it through."

"Although I think you might have to replace me with two people to cover the number of hours I do anyway, or pay one person overtime. So that might impact on the budget too," Abby pointed out.

Gibbs interjected. "And the workload she covers... the results Abby gets in half the time anyone else could."

Vance nodded. "I'm well aware of that, Gibbs."

"Anyone other than Abby in that lab would slow down the speed cases are closed by every team here, Leon, and that impacts on the budget too... not to mention makes ass kissing on the Hill more difficult," observed Gibbs with a slight smirk.

Vance turned back to Abby and they stared at one another for a few moments, before a slightly amused gleam appeared in Vance's eyes.

Abby gazed back, willing her poker face to stay in place but she was unable to stop her fingers fidgeting, hands twisting nervously together and she had her legs crossed in a desperate attempt to stop her feet tapping.

Eventually, when she was sure she was about to crack and start babbling again, Vance nodded briefly before going on.

"What bothers me slightly is that the very act of paying for independent testing would signal to the defence team that we obviously did have a concern ourselves about conflict."

"Chicken and egg, Leon," Gibbs commented.

"Maybe so... but we need to make sure that something doesn't come back and bite us in the ass," retorted Vance. He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "Let me think on it some more. But your... compromise might be the best way to go for now... I'll let you know."

Vance looked back down at his paperwork and it was clear they were dismissed. They both stood to leave.

"Abby."

She turned back to face Vance, her expression betraying her nerves now and she felt Gibbs step up behind her and a hand rest on her lower back, steadying her.

Vance stared at her for a moment longer before a slight smile appeared on his face. "You and I must play poker sometime."

Busted.

She nodded, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I'd like that... Leon."

Vance shifted his gaze to Gibbs, raising an eyebrow and Abby turned her head in time to see Gibbs tilt his head in acknowledgement, a slight smirk appearing on his face.

Typical.

She was about ready for a nervous breakdown and these two were enjoying themselves.

Vance folded his hands, a more genuine smile curving his mouth this time as his eyes came back to Abby. "I suppose I'm in charge of telling Jackie and the kids your news?"

"Well, I'm seeing her for lunch this week... I could tell her then if you like?" offered Abby.

Vance shook his head. "Oh no... if Jackie finds out that I knew today and she didn't find out till later in the week, that's me in the doghouse for Christmas."

Abby smiled, nodding. "Excellent point."

As they turned to go, Vance's voice stopped them again. "Oh, and... congratulations."

Abby's smile widened. "Thank you, Leon."

"And I guess I have you to thank, Abby, for Gibbs being less cranky than usual lately?"

"You do," replied Gibbs before Abby could respond and grinned slightly at Abby as she passed him, rolling her eyes.

Gibbs held the door for Abby as they left the office and they both waited until they were clear of Vance's secretary's office before meeting each other's eyes.

"Not a bad good cop bad cop routine we had going in there."

"Even if he did see through it at the end." Gibbs smirked.

"No kidding... The last time I got in the middle of you two, if you remember, I ended up building a friggin' coffin. I'm not sure that was any easier." Abby gestured in the direction of the Director's office as they moved off. "My nerves are in tatters... I don't know whether to go and lie down in a darkened room or hit the booze."

Gibbs glanced over at Abby as they walked towards the stairs. "Didn't know you were close to Jackie."

Abby shrugged. "Not close especially... we just have lunch once in a while. I showed her and the kids around DC when they first moved here... that was a while back and we've kept in touch."

Gibbs came to a halt. "But you hated Vance back then."

Abby looked at him steadily. "Yup, but it didn't mean I couldn't give his wife and kids some help getting orientated with a new city... places to avoid, the good shops, the better libraries, that kinda thing... Ducky did the same for me when I moved here. And besides, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea... I thought maybe the karma of me helping out would get my three musketeers back faster... not sure that worked but I'm glad I did. She's a terrific lady... and fantastic for Leon. She's his balance."

Gibbs shook his head, surprised once again by Abby's ability to be generous, whatever the circumstances. They set off down the stairs as he asked. "Ducky still comin' over later?"

Abby nodded. "Yup, for dinner... and we were, erm, gonna make a Christmas pudding if that's okay?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well... it was kind of a promise I made last year, thinking I'd still be in my apartment, not your house... so if you'd rather we did it at Ducky's." Abby bit her lip, gazing up at him as they halted at the foot of the stairs.

Gibbs shook his head, stepping closer and lowering his voice. "Your home, Abbs, remember? As long as I get to eat it..."

Abby smiled. "Complete with the Mallard sixpence, you might need to be careful not to choke on it."

Gibbs smirked and made to turn away.

"Hey, haven't you forgotten something?" Abby called out. When Gibbs turned back, eyebrow raised, it was to see her hand out, a cheeky curve to her lips. "Five bucks, remember?"

TBC...


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