Hello everyone! Thank you all for the continuous support and feedback, it means a lot! :-) I hope you will enjoy this chapter too.
Season 1
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS
xOxOx
Busted
xOxOx
He enters the lab quickly, wanting to know why Abby called him down so soon. The music is lower than usual, making him wonder what she is up to. He hopes she has something new to show him but he has a hunch that she has a different reason for calling him down here.
To his surprise instead of his favorite forensics specialist he finds Kate, sitting at the desk, one of her sketchpads open in front of her.
"Hey," he greets and she turns, looking at him questioningly.
"What are you doing here?" she asks with a frown.
"Abby called. Where is she?" he questions but she shrugs.
"She said she had something to do and that she would return in ten minutes," she explains as she sets her pencil down and stretches.
He walks closer to where she is sitting, his steps unhurried for once, and he sits at the edge of the desk. She gives him a small smile which he returns readily. He takes her sketchpad in his hands and inspects the half finished drawing of their suspect.
"I thought Abby would do this with Tony," he says, his eyes returning on hers, as he hands her back the sketchpad.
"Yeah, they would, but apparently Tony didn't see him well and this is a lot easier for me than having to tell Abby so she can reconstruct it on the computer."
He nods in understanding. He knows it's a lot easier for her to draw from memory than try to explain to someone else how the person she saw looked. Plus she enjoys drawing and he knows that the past month she hasn't had a lot of time for this.
She gets back to her drawing and he looks around the lab, trying to figure out what Abby wants and why she called him down here. His gut is telling him that this has nothing to do with the case.
His eyes land on Kate as she finishes the drawing and an idea comes to his head, one that he doesn't know if he likes. His fingers tap a random rhythm on the desk impatiently until her hand covers his, making him stop and look at her.
The moment her eyes connect with his she raises her eyebrows in question. She knows he is thinking something and she is certain it isn't a good thing.
"What is it?" she asks, putting her pencil down once more.
"I think this is a set up," he states, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"A set up?" Amusement is evident in her tone and a small smile finds its way to her lips.
He looks pointedly at her, eyebrows raised and she shakes her head.
"You really think so."
"Well, this is Abby we are talking about," he points out with a shrug "Bet there is a camera somewhere in here," he says jokingly but the moment the phrase leaves his lips they turn to look at each other.
They try to think if they said or did anything incriminating the time they've been down here alone but nothing comes to mind. It was a normal conversation between colleagues, nothing more nothing less.
They should have figured out that she would try something like this; she's been trying for the past month to catch them in the act, make them admit that they are in a relationship but so far she hasn't been lucky. They can both feel they are under scrutiny every time they are in a room together, she always expects them to slip. They are always careful at work though, always professional. Their personal relationship has never affected their work and they plan on keeping it that way.
"Would it be bad if she knew?" she asks suddenly and he looks at her in surprise.
Truth is he's been contemplating the idea of telling someone for quite some time now but he never brought it up. Apparently she has been thinking about it too. As he thinks about it a bit more, and knowing that Kate is actually ok with it, he comes to the conclusion that he really wouldn't mind, but before he can say anything though a voice catches their attention.
"Gibbs, you came!" Abby exclaims suddenly.
"Yeah, Abby, and you weren't here," he tells her, sounding a little irritated.
"Kate was here," she says as she walks to her computer, presses a few buttons and brings something up on the big screen.
"Kate didn't call me though, did she?" he says as he moves to where she is, waiting for her to explain what she has found.
"Not while I was here," she tells him with a smirk making him sigh in frustration.
"Abby," he draws out her name impatiently and she signs for him to calm down, the smirk never leaving her lips.
He signs back that he doesn't have time and he needs answers now.
"That's not polite you know," Kate tells them as she stands up from the desk, drawing in hand, before she gives it to him.
Abby apologizes in sign language making Kate smile in amusement and Gibbs shake his head, trying to hide a smile of his own. He takes the drawing and inspects it closely for a few moments before nodding in acceptance and returning his attention to the screen.
He looks at her expectantly and Abby turns to her computer, bringing up several pictures for them to see.
"He is very good; I have to give him that. But I am better!" the two agents smile at her statement, a look passing between them that of course doesn't go unnoticed by Abby. The corner of her lips rise slightly but she recovers quickly and continues with her explanation.
"Exhibit A: a cinema ticket. You know what's good about that particular cinema? It has cameras inside which bring me to Exhibit B! This is the tape from that particular night that our suspect claims to have been there. I looked at every single face in there and our suspect wasn't one of them. I did find our dead Lieutenant though," she says and with a few strokes on the keyboard the video comes up on the screen and they see Lieutenant Peterson with someone they both recognize immediately.
"Wait Abby, freeze it right there and zoom in at the man sitting on her right," he instructs, both he and Kate moving closer to the screen.
"You know this guy?" she asks, studying the picture closely.
"Nope, but I want to find out who he is," he replies and he hands her the drawing Kate finished only minutes earlier, depicting the man that is currently on the screen.
"Run facial recognition, maybe we'll get lucky. I want a name and I want it as fast as you can!" he orders before he starts for the door, motioning for Kate to follow him.
"Wait, wait, wait! I've got something else to show you!" The two agents stop at her request and turn around again, exchanging a knowing glance.
"I thought the blood test was going to take some time," he says but the moment he meets Abby's eyes he knows this has nothing to do about the case. There is a mischievous glint in her eyes that Kate notices too.
"Exhibit 1, different case, I don't want to mix it up with the previous ones," she muses as she brings one photo on the screen that causes them both to stop and just stare.
There, on the screen, is a photo of them from last night when they were at Kate's favorite café. They are sitting close together, his right arm draped casually over the back of her chair, her hand resting on his thigh, her body pressed against his side as she whispers something in his ear. There is a soft smile on his lips as he listens to what she says, one that rarely graces his lips when he is at work.
"Artistic, don't you think?" she asks with a wide grin but they both stay silent, eyes glued on the screen.
Abby observes them closely, the grin never leaving her lips. They are busted and they know it. The best part is that they are not trying to make a lame excuse to get out of this. For now at least…
"Is there an Exhibit 2?" Gibbs asks, his face neutral, not betraying his thoughts.
"Actually no… my friend was kind of in a hurry," she replies with a small shrug "Plus this one is great!" she says excitedly, almost jumping up and down in joy.
Kate tries to hide her smile, her friend's excitement almost infectious, and Gibbs notices of course. His blue eyes find hers wanting to see if she is alright with this. Her small smile is enough to convince him that she is more than okay with Abby knowing and, if he is honest, so is he.
"You are not denying this, are you?" her smile gets even wider if that's possible as her eyes dart from Kate to Gibbs.
"Nope…" Gibbs replies with a shake of his head and one last glance at Kate.
Before they can say or do anything else Abby squeals elatedly and throws her arms around them both, wrapping them in a bone crushing hug.
"This is so awesome, I'm so happy for you! It's about damn time!" she exclaims happily.
"Abby we need to breathe…" Kate says making Abby pull back.
"Sorry, I got kind of-"
"Excited?" he finishes for her and she nods vigorously.
"Ok, time to get excited for the case. I need answers," he instructs.
"But… but… I need details!"
Kate chuckles and places her hand on her friend's shoulder comfortingly.
"Later Abs," she promises making Gibbs look at them with a frown.
She takes her sketchpad and grabs his arm with her other hand, pulling him towards the elevator.
"You have one hour!" he says, letting Kate pull him along and leaving a grinning Abby behind them.
"Yes!" they hear Abby's triumphant shout as the elevator doors shut behind them making them both chuckle.
She is the one who pushes the button to stop the elevator this time and he quirks an eyebrow questioningly.
"You ok with this?" she asks seriously.
He smiles reassuringly and pulls her to him, his hands on her hips holding her close.
"Yeap," he tells her and kisses her lips softly. "It's Abby we are talking about," he states simply.
She smiles as her hand rests on his chest, over his steadily beating heart. He places one last kiss on her lips before pulling back.
"Let's get back to work."
"Ok boss," she says with a smirk as she presses the button.