AN: *waves sheepishly* I am sooooooo sorry! This has taken an AGE to get up here! It's been like four months! All I can do is apologise! A lot has been going on for me in the last few months, I moved back from Canada to the UK, had a car accident, I bought a house...plus this chapter was so so so hard to write, I kept re doing it over and over again!
Anyhoo, it's here now! As always, love to hear your thoughts, good and bad! Hopefully it won't be a long wait for the next one!
BTW, this chap finishes in a really odd way/place but I really wanted to get something up for you guys!
Oh and blah blah blah, not mine! Duh!
Chapter 12
Previously:
"Here." He held them out as he walked over to her. "They're clean." She reached out for them gratefully and he moved to slide past her through the door way. He froze when her hand touched his as she accepted the clothing. She looked up into his eyes fixing his gaze. The narrow space of the doorway forced them closer to each other than they would have chosen at that moment in time.
"I missed you." Hannah whispered. She placed her hand on his stomach, her fingers playing over the defined muscles of his abdomen.
"You left me, Hannah, remember? You took the easy way out, you ran away instead of facing up to your mistakes. If you'd stayed maybe…maybe we could have worked things out, who knows." He took hold of her wrist and removed her hand from his stomach. "We have to get to the office."
The moment the pair stepped out of the elevator Gibbs could tell that something had happened between the two agents. Both Hannah's and Tony's faces held looks of thunder. As he approached his desk, Tony slipped his back pack from his shoulder and slung it into the corner behind his chair. Hannah stormed through the bullpen without a word heading for the back elevator to Abby's lab. Gibbs noted the too-large sweatpants and NCIS hoodie, no doubt borrowed from Tony. Gibbs waited until Hannah had rounded the corner before he spoke.
"Any problems last night?" he asked casually.
"Special Agent Kendry was right about the tail," Tony said without looking up from his keyboard. "They followed us from the moment we left the club and camped outside the apartment until about 0430 this morning."
"Not what I meant, Tony," Gibbs said quietly. The look Gibbs gave him registered with Tony, and he pushed his chair back and stood. Rounding his desk he headed for the main elevator. Gibbs followed after him, slipping into the elevator just before the door closed. Tony flicked the emergency switch, and the car ground to a halt, the lights diming slightly. Gibbs leant against the handrail and waited.
"I'm trying, Boss." Tony said quietly after a few minutes. "I am trying so damn hard…not to let her get to me." He ran a hand over his tired face. "But I just have to look at her…and everything, everything comes flooding back. I'm sorry about last night," He said sheepishly referring to his outburst heard by the entire team. "I shouldn't have brought it up."
"You're damn right you shouldn't have," Gibbs said breaking his silence. He saw Tony shrink a little under his gaze, "You can't drop the ball on this one, Tony." He breathed deeply, trying hard to keep his temper in check, "What we're gonna do, it's dangerous. I need my team…I need you to be at your best." He stepped close to his number two, "If you can't find a way to work with her…"
"I can do it, Boss," Tony said pulling himself up to his full height0, "I have to do it." Tony looked his mentor square in the eyes, "God, Boss, it's been eight years, why does it still hurt me so much?"
"I can't answer that one, Tony," Gibbs said softly.
"I would have thought after all this time…" he trailed off with a sigh. "Why did she have to come back?" he asked, "Why did she have to be assigned that case?"
"Maybe you can get closure from this. Talk to her, Tony, work it out," Gibbs gave him a nod of approval before flicking the switch and setting the car in motion again. They had both turned to face the doors when Tony felt the sting of Gibbs' slap.
"Ow! And that was for…?"
"Three hours of Ziva and her endless questions."
"Was she trying to find out why you and Hannah macked?" Tony asked with a smirk. "Made out," He explained embarrassedly when Gibbs raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Hey, Abby!" Tim called out as he rounded the corner into the lab. "Do you have the results of the tox screen on Lance Corporal Ashbury?"
"It's on my desk," The forensics specialist called out without removing her gaze from the eyepiece of her microscope.
"Thanks!" Tim called over his shoulder as he passed through the lab heading for Abby's office. The glass door hissed as it slid open, allowing him entrance. He rounded the desk and searched through the various sheets of paper until he found the one he wanted. As he straightened up to head back to the bullpen, a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Tim turned his head towards the ballistics room, and his jaw dropped.
Behind the glass beside the ballistics machine stood Hannah in a state of undress. Mid-clothing-change with her back to the window, she was unaware of McGee's presence. She had already pulled on a pair of tight black pants, a chain hung through the belt loops encircling her waist. Her back was bare, the only covering a few tattoos. Tim's mind flashed back a few years to walking in on Abby in the same state of undress. He watched as she reached to the desk beside her picking up a black tank top.
"TIM!" A cry from the outer lab caused Tim to jump, the movement sending papers from Abby's desk cascading to the floor.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait…" Abby careened through the door tottering dangerously on her platforms. "Hannah's…" She stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of her. Her eyes flicked between the mess of papers cluttering the floor around her desk, Tim frozen in place with his eyes wide open like a deer caught in the headlights, and Hannah, still oblivious to the situation owing to the soundproofing of the ballistics room.
"Tim?" Abby cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I…um…I was just…I'm sorry."
He dropped to his knees and set about gathering Abby's files from the floor. The Goth folded her arms across her chest and waited for him to finish the task. Looking up for a second she saw that Hannah had finished changing and had turned back to face the room. Seeing the commotion in the room, she shot Abby a confused look. With Tim still focused on collecting the papers, Abby was free to communicate silently.
-Sorry, I forgot you were in here.
-Was he watching me? Hannah asked, signing with a flourish of her hands in agitation.
-He's not a pervert or anything; he just gets a bit nervous around girls.
Grinning, Hannah silently opened the door to the ballistics room and tiptoed out to stand behind McGee as he picked up the last few sheets of paper. He stood and placed them on the desk looking at Abby guiltily.
"I'm sorry." he repeated, "I'll come back at lunch and re-file them for you."
"That's not your only problem," Abby said looking over his shoulder. Tim spun around and found himself face-to-face with Hannah. A few inches shorter than Tim, Hannah looked up at him, eyes narrowed and face stony.
"Were you spying on me?" she asked, outraged. Abby instantly recognised the act.
"What?" Tim yelped. "No…no, no, no, no, no, I wasn't…" he turned to Abby seeking help, "I wasn't spying. Abby, tell her, I was just coming in to get some test results."
"You're on your own, Timmy." Abby smirked.
"What, are you some kind of pervert?" Hannah continued her voice rising slightly, "You like to go round watching women change?"
"No! I didn't mean…"
"I bet you sneak into the women's locker room for a private show," Hannah stepped closer trapping Tim between herself and Abby. "How do I know you're not going to follow me home, peek in through the window while I'm showering?"
"I would nev…"
"I should report you for red light behaviour!"
McGee opened and closed his mouth several times searching for something to say in his defence. Before anything came to mind, however, Hannah leant to her right looking past him. Lifting her right hand, she signed to her old friend.
-That was fun. She grinned.
Abby couldn't help the snigger that escaped her lips. McGee snapped his head back and forth between the two as Abby signed back.
-Be nice to Tim, he's a good guy.
"You sign too?" Tim asked, his voice squeaking slightly.
-Are you two…? Hannah asked, ignoring Tim and raising her eyebrows in question. Abby chewed her lip as she regarded McGee for a moment, choosing her words.
-It was a while ago.
Hannah laughed as Tim continued to flick his gaze between the two.
-You and your geeks, Abby.
Tim continued to look between the two, waiting for one of them to explain the sudden hilarity. Hannah looked at the confused man, his questioning eyebrows rising so high they were in danger of disappearing into his hairline. "He's is quite cute," she said smiling at McGee. "I'll give you that. Did you guys do it in the coffin?" She continued addressing her friend. "Uh….sorry…'boxed sofa bed'." Hannah said, her fingers raised and wiggling in quotation marks.
"I'm just…um…" Tim gestured to the door behind him with his thumb. "I'm gonna…" As he backed towards the door, his leg connected with the corner of Abby's desk and once again sent the stack of papers cascading to the floor. Abby closed her eyes against McGee's stammers of apology and simply raised an arm pointing towards the door. His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, Tim rushed out through the door without a backwards glance.
"Poor guy," Hannah said with a laugh, "Has he always been that awkward?"
"He used to be much worse," Abby told her as she scooped up the fallen papers and tossed them unceremoniously onto her desk. "Now, it's just Gibbs that makes him nervous…well…and you."
"Oh, come on, I was just having a little fun."
"I know that, but Tim didn't. He's sensitive, and he can be a little slow to the mark sometimes when women are concerned." She turned and headed back into the first chamber of her lab, "Besides, I'm still kinda mad at you." She climbed into her chair and returned her attention to her microscope.
"I know, Abbs, I'm sorry." Hannah watched the Goth let out a little sigh before she turned back to face her.
"I can't stay mad at you." Abby swept her old friend into her arms for yet another bone crushing hug. "Now," she said, pulling away and placing her hands on her hips, "tattoo time!"
"Tattoo time," Hannah turned her back towards her friend, allowing her to see the inkings she had acquired over the years and looked back over her shoulder.
"You got the flower!" Abby squealed excitedly, spinning on the spot for Hannah to see her own six-petal flower placed a few inches down from her neck. She whipped back around and peered inquisitively at the line of markings trailing down her spine. "Hebrew?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"What does it say?"
"Just something about my mom," Hannah said, quietly grateful that Abby did not probe her for further information. "You…" she deflected the attention to Abby by turning and taking a gentle hold of both Abby's hands and turning them palm side up to see the inside of her arms, "…you've had loads done. What's the meaning behind this one?"
Before Abby could answer, there came a cough from the doorway. They both looked up to see Tony leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe.
"When you two have finished swapping artwork," he said with a bored tone as he picked at a hangnail. "The director wants to see us. Twenty minutes," he added, looking pointedly at Hannah before he backed out of the door and headed for the elevator. "Oh, Abby," they head him call out, "Why don't you ask her about the one she had removed?" The familiar ding of the elevator announced the car's arrival and Tony's disappearance. Hannah turned back to Abby to see her eyes roaming over her body, checking the tattoos she knew of one by one.
She gave a small gasp and grabbed Hannah's upper arms giving them a quick push. Hannah winced as the turned on the spot; Abby's fingers had gripped over the bruise left by Tony the night before. She felt Abby's cool fingers lift the hem of her top.
"No!" Abby sighed.
"I had to, Abby." Hannah said softly. "I couldn't look at it anymore." She shivered as Abby ran her fingers over the area on her lower back where the tattoo had been. The skin, she knew, was still slightly discoloured. The laser technician who had removed the tattoo had told her to expect some coloured pigment to remain. Hannah hadn't minded in the least; she would be happy enough for the image to be no longer discernable. "Tony still has his," Hannah whispered more to herself than to Abby. She dropped her head to her chest and closed her eyes.
Abby stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Hannah, hugging her from behind. "You need to talk to him," she said softly resting her chin on Hannah's shoulder.
"He doesn't want to listen, Abby," Hannah pulled herself from Abby's embrace and gave herself a small shake. "I better go," she said, offering her friend a jovial smile, "Don't want to piss off the Director so early in the day." She gave Abby's hand an affectionate squeeze as she turned and headed out of the lab. Just as Hannah rounded the corner almost out of view, Abby saw her lift a hand and swipe a finger under her eye.
Tony rubbed his hands over his tired face as he leant his elbows on the handrail outside MTAC. He could have done with a few more hours sleep last night. He had lain awake on the couch for hours, his mind mulling over the events that had led to Hannah's departure. He looked out over the bullpen; McGee had just arrived and handed a coffee to Ziva. Seconds later, Hannah stepped out of the elevator and stalked over to her discarded bag in front of Gibbs' desk. She stooped and rummaged inside before pulling out her gun and badge. As she straightened up to clip her gun to her belt, McGee held out a cardboard cup. She took the cup with a grin and slid past him giving him a winning smile. Tony watched, astonished, as she brushed a hand across his abdomen. He saw a faint pink tinge grace McGee's cheeks as he watched her move to the foot of the stairs.
"You have to let it go, DiNozzo."
Tony turned to see Gibbs closing the door to MTAC behind him. Gibbs regarded his agent for a moment, before stepping closer and looking him dead in the eye. "If you can't work with her tell me now. I can pull you out; it's not too late." he said softly.
"Yeah, it is, Boss."
"What's too late?" Hannah asked as she ascended the last few steps and catching the end of the men's conversation.
"You," Tony said playfully turning away from Gibbs and throwing Hannah an exasperated look. "The director wanted us here five minutes ago."
"Yeah, well I'm here now." She followed Tony as he led the way through to Cynthia's office, who waved a hand and told them to go on in.
"You wanted to see us, Director?" DiNozzo said as he politely rapped his knuckles on the door to announce their presence.
"You're late," Vance said without looking up from the file he was perusing. The agents filed into the room, Gibbs closed the door behind them.
"It's my fault, Director," Hannah admitted. "My apologies, I was down in the forensics lab catching up with Abby, I lost track of time."
Vance looked up from the open file on his desk and studied Hannah for a moment, "Special Agent Hannah Blake." Hannah gave a polite nod. "I've been reading up on you," Vance said as he closed the file in front of him. Hannah looked down at the manila folder and sure enough, saw her name typed on the front jacket. "You have quite a file," Leon said, holding it up to show her its thickness, "There are some good things in here."
"Thank you, Director."
"But I'm curious,." Vance leant back in his chair and latched his fingers across his stomach, "Reasons for your sudden departure are not stated in you file. As I understand it, you had brought about a successful result in a difficult undercover op; yet a few hours later you handed in your letter of resignation with immediate effect."
"It was a mix of reasons sir, some professional, some personal," Hannah said quietly as she shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously under the Directors scrutiny. She felt extremely aware of both Gibbs and Tony's eyes on her, the two of them knowing well the reasons for her departure.
"Was there a reason for calling us up here, Director?" Gibbs asked pointedly.
"William Greaves, I want a sit rep," Vance looked expectantly at Hannah.
"We have an op underway, sir," she offered.
"As I understand it, you have been in the club four months and have gotten nowhere."
"Agent Blake and her team have established themselves well within the club and have blended in with the rest of the staff and performers," Tony stepped in on the defence, "That in itself is a vital part of any deep undercover mission." He looked across at her with a 'you're welcome' smile on his face. It quickly disappeared however at the glare on hers.
"Greaves is extremely careful in what he says and does in front of certain staff," Hannah said turning to Vance. "We've made numerous attempts to plant bugs in his office and inner quarters, but there's always someone around. We've had some really narrow escapes."
"And in the meantime, five men have been killed. Do you even have any evidence that it was one or more of Greaves' men?" Vance asked with his eyebrows raised.
"No." Hannah told him flatly, "And we didn't know about the murders until after they had happened"
An uncomfortable silence fell over them all as Vance stared at Hannah. She tried hard not to shift nervously under his scrutiny.
"I want this case brought to a close," he said finally, turning to Gibbs, "You're pulling rank on this."
"With all due respect, Director, this is my case, I'm a lead agent just like Gibbs, I am more than capable of solving…" Hannah interjected.
"You have been dragging this case out for too long, Agent Blake," Vance spoke over her, his tone forceful, "Finish it."
Sensing the finality of the conversation, Gibbs opened the Director's door and waited for the agents to file out. Hannah turned silently and headed towards the exit, Tony a step behind her.
"Agent Blake, one more thing," Vance called to her, "Whilst in this building I expect you to adhere to the Field Agent dress code; you are not Miss Sciuto."
"Yes, sir."
Gibbs noticed the slight bite to her words. Without another sound Hannah strode past Gibbs and through the door with Tony following suit.
"She's a good agent, Leon," Gibbs said, hanging back for a moment.
"That's still to be seen," Vance retorted, "Close this case, Gibbs." With a terse nod, Gibbs followed after his agents. As he exited Cynthia's office, he found the pair arguing as they descended the stairs to the bullpen.
"I was just trying to help," Tony said defensively to Hannah.
"I don't need your help, DiNozzo. I don't need you to defend me."
"Look, the director's a hard-ass; we've all been on his radar at one time or other."
"I don't want to hear it," she snapped as they reached the mid landing. Their raised voices had drawn the attention of Ziva, McGee, James, and Owen.
"Come on, Hannah, I'm just trying to…"
"No!" Hannah spun to face him. "I said I don't want to hear it! I don't know…what you're trying to do but you made it perfectly clear last night that there is…nothing," she gestured with a finger between them, "Nothing…anymore." A movement in the corner of her eye alerted her to their audience. "I need to speak to my team."
She descended the last four steps and headed for the conference room. James and Owen shared a look with Ziva and McGee before following her.
Tony squared himself, then made for his desk. He ignored the expectant glances from the two agents standing in front of his desk.
"That is it?" Ziva was the first to break the stalemate, "I cannot pretend that I did not see or hear that. Abby will not tell us, neither will Gibbs." She gestured at the lead agent descending the staircase from MTAC, "What is going on, Tony?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Zee-vah," Tony hissed his elongated version of her name.
"Tony, talk to us!" Ziva exclaimed, her frustration making itself clear. "We are your friends and your partners; you trust us as we need to trust in you."
"There is nothing, Ziva," he said with a growl as he pushed back his chair and stalked away in the direction of the men's room. Before Ziva had a chance to pursue him further, Gibbs had slipped past her and was hot on his agent's tail.
By the time Owen and James reached the conference room, Hannah had already poured herself a coffee and was pacing back and forth, nursing it in her hands. Owen closed the door softly behind them, and the pair waited for Hannah to speak.
"Uh…Hannah?" James questioned after a good ninety seconds had gone by.
"Hmm?" Hannah looked up mid-step.
"You wanted to speak to us?" he prompted. She nodded, more to herself than to her team.
"This is no longer my case," she said simply, "Gibbs is taking over the lead…Directors orders."
"What, just like that?" Owen vented, "Hannah, we're been working this case for months!"
"Exactly, it seems the director doesn't think we're capable. I'm starting to think Gibbs doesn't either," she added as an afterthought.
"Hannah, what's going on?" James asked with a sigh. "You and Agent DiNozzo...something's going on."
"It's nothing," Hannah said dismissively, as she pulled out a chair at the table and slumped down into it.
"Hannah," James pulled out the chair next to hers and sat down. He reached out a hand and placed it over her holding her coffee cup. "We're your team; we come to you with our problems. Why can't you come to us?" he asked softly.
"It doesn't work like that, James," she moved his hand off hers, "I'm your boss."
"Hey, you've never pulled rank on us before! Don't start now."
"It's starting to affect you, Hannah," Owen added, "I've never seen you lose it with anyone like that."
"DiNozzo's not just anyone," Hannah said with a small laugh, "He has a knack of treading on your last nerve." At her team's continued expectant glances, Hannah gave in, "None of what I tell you leaves this room…"
AN: Thanks folks!
