Later that night, Abby arrived at the Gibbs's family house at six. She'd agreed to help Charity get ready. They were in Charity's room, Abby going through Charity's closet trying to find something for Charity to wear.
"What about this?" Abby asked, pulling out a black halter top and a cute black skirt.
"Yes to the top, but no to the skirt. It's been so long since I've worn one, I don't think I would be very comfortable." Charity replied. "How bout I just wear that top and these jeans?"
"Okay, but you are so not wearing your combat boots." Abby said. She threw the halter top to Charity and dove back into her closet.
Charity slipped out of her t-shirt and put on the black top. She then bent down and slipped off her boots. "No heels. I wouldn't be able to keep my balance." Charity said, remembering all the stillettos she had in that closet.
"Okay, how about these?" Abby asked, holding up a pair of black flats.
"Those will be just fine." Charity answered.
Abby tossed Charity the shoes. Charity slipped her feet into the shoes and slowly stood. Abby was instantly at her side helping her walk. "I don't know what I would do without you, Abby." Charity said.
Abby smiled. "That's what family is for."
The pair then made their way down the stairs. Gibbs was already waiting for them in the car. They hopped in and Gibbs drove to the Eagle. When they arrived, Tony, Ziva, and McGee were already there and were setting at a table waiting for them.
Abby took a seat by McGee and Gibbs held out a chair for Charity by Tony. As she sat down, Gibbs noticed a tattoo on Charity's left shoulder. The tattoo was of two pistols side by side and above them read "Rowdy Girls..." then below the pistols said, "Simper Fi."
"When In the world did you get that tattoo?" Gibbs asked, taking his seat next to his daughter.
Before Charity could answer, McGee and Tony were both saying, "What tattoo?"
Charity smiled and a faint pink appaeared on her cheeks. She turned in her seat so that they could all get a good look at her ink. "I got it just before I shipped out."
"Why?" Gibbs asked. "And what does Rowdy girls mean?"
Charity smiled. Then she turned back around. "Corporal Katherine Marks." Charity answered. "We joined the same time, went through basic together, and we were shipped out together. Before we shipped out, she had this crazy idea to get matching tattoos. So, we came up with this and we did it. Rowdy Girls is what we called ourselves."
Gibbs smiled remembering some of the friends he had made in the Marines.
"She could talk me into anything." Charity said. Her blue eyes went misty and then she mentally shook herself.
"So, Charity?" Tony said, addressing her directly.
"Yes?"
"If we aren't celebrating your homecoming tonight, just what are we celebrating?"
Charity nodded and then reached into her pocket. She pulled out two pictures. One was of a group of four women all dressed in fatigues and having goofy looks on their faces. The other photograph was of a group of young girls ages ranging from six to fourteen. "Tonight, we are celebrating the lives of these women and young girls. They all died in the bombong of that school house. They all died trying to make a difference in this world. Tonight we are honoring them."
Gibbs smiled at his daughter. He knew that she needed to do this. He knew she needed to honor their memory in some way and he knew that she needed to have some fun. "That sounds like a wonderful idea." Gibbs said.
Just then the waitress walked over and brought a round of shots. She placed a glass in front of everyone at the table. Charity lifted her glass, "To these brave women, who died working on changing the world. You may be gone but you will never be forgotten."
Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together. Then they all drank their shots. Music started to play in the background of the bar. People were getting up and dancing around the room.
Abby got up and looked at Gibbs. "We should dance to this song." She said. Then she looked at Charity. "To celebrate life."
Charity smiled. "Of course."
Gibbs sighed, but got up and followed Abby out onto the dance floor. Charity watched them for a moment and smiled. A very handsome man then began making his way over to the table. He looked at Ziva. "Would you like to dance with me?" He asked.
"I...I don't know." Ziva said and then looked at Charity, she really wasn't sure about leaving Charity alone with Tony and McGee.
"Go ahead. Have some fun." Charity encouraged.
"Alright, sure." Ziva answered. She stood and allowed the handsome stranger to lead her to the floor.
Then a shy looking young woman walked up to McGee. "W...would you like...to dance with me?"
"Sure." McGee answered. Then he rose and walked out on the floor with the young woman.
"So, it looks like it's just the two of us." Tony said.
"Yeah." Charity replied, suddenly feeling awkward and a little shy.
"So, how long have you been in the Marines?" Tony asked.
"Since the day I turned eighteen." Charity answered.
"So, your friend that could talk you into anything, what'd she talk you into?" Tony asked.
"So much trouble." Charity answered.
"Like what?" Tony asked.
"Well, it started off as little things in basic." Charity answered. "Mostly playing pranks on the Sergeant."
"What kind of pranks?" Tony asked, his curiosity piqued. "I love pranks."
Charity grinned. "Well, there was one time where we took and disassembled a Jeep and reassembled it in the sergeant's room and set it so that the horn would go off at three in the morning."
"That is pretty awesome." Tony said. "How much trouble did you get in for that?"
"Well, first we had to get it out of her room and then we had to clean every inch of it. Plus we had to do one hundred push-ups with the sergeant on our backs."
Tony laughed. "Sounds like you two were quite the pair."
"Yeah." Charity agreed. "So, what kind of pranks do you play?"
"All kinds." Tony answered. "I'm the king of pranking."
"Really? Do tell."
Tony then began to tell her of the numorous pranks he had played on McGee and Ziva over the years. He even had some pictures saved on his phone and showed them to Charity. She let out a huge laugh when she saw a picture of McGee covered in silly string and confetti.
She and Tony talked more and laughed, while everyone else was out on the dance floor. Charity hadn't laughed like that in a long time. She'd been through so much that had kept her from laughing. For some reason though, Tony and his goofy ways were making her laugh again.
