[Twilight 2]
Tony's POV:
I walked down into Abby's lab, per Gibb's instructions to find somewhere to lay down and rest. When I walked in she had her back to me and was messing with one of her machines.
"Well hey there little lady." I called out in my best John Wayne imitation. Abby smiled, knowing exactly who it was.
"Tony!" she cheered as she turned around to greet me in her enthusiastic way.
"You're back I missed you!" she shouted happily and ran towards me. I smiled fondly at her, and waited for the traditional Abby Sciuto hug. Without warning she launched herself at me, effectively knocking what little wind I had out of me again. I let out a small grunt of pain as I struggled to regain my composure from the sudden attack. I hugged her back after a moment of hesitation and struggled to contain my whimpers. Tony DiNozzo feels no pain.
"Oh what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" She frantically asked grabbing my shoulders worriedly. I let out a deep breath before composing myself fully. Man, this being sick thing has really taken it out of me.
"I'm fine. I'm just a little sore, you know….from the explosion and all." I told her quietly, not completely lying. I was sore from the explosion…and me not staying on sick leave. Abby's eyes widened.
"I'm sorry. Do you want to sit down?" she asked, and gently started to lead me over towards her office space.
"Well I was actually thinking about lying down next to your little refrigerator thingy right here." I explained as I walked with her at a slow pace.
"Sure sure." She assured and walked into her office space. I sighed in happiness as I leaned up against the cold surface of the refrigerator. It felt so comforting.
"You can use Bert as a pillow." Abby told me as she handed over her stuffed hippo. I began to slowly make my way down and I smiled as I gingerly laid my head on the stuffed animal. *FART* My face scrunched up in confusion as I glanced at the animal beneath me. I know that didn't come from me.
"He's supposed to make that noise." Abby explained, holding in a giggle.
"You have a stuffed animal that farts?" I asked her dryly. I wouldn't put it past her but still.
"Yea it's cool huh?" she continued excitedly. I gave her a curious look. Cool isn't exactly the word I would use for it.
"Yea….in a disturbing way." I hesitantly agreed.
"So what did I miss?" I asked as he leaned back on the pillow again…..*FART* Gee that wasn't going to be annoying. Abby knelt down next to me.
"Gibbs has been cranky since you've been gone, I think his knee is bothering him again. And Claire broke up with her boyfriend, which I'm still trying to decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing." She explained rather quickly. Wait…..Claire broke up with Stephen? I looked up at her in mild surprise. She didn't mention anything about that. Is that why she's been all weird? I couldn't help but suppress the pleased smile that threatened to break across my face. I shouldn't be smiling; why do I feel happy about them ending the relationship? My hormones must be out of wack from the plague or something.
"Really? I guess it's a good thing then." I muttered under my breath, but apparently, Abby heard.
"Now why do you think that?" she asked, giving me a knowing smile. What is that about? However, I didn't want to elaborate on the subject.
"What? Nothing so, how about the case, Abby?" he asked her with a pointed look. She sighed but didn't press it.
"I got a glimpse of the bomb. It was definitely a pro job." I added.
"You are correct sir." She agreed. Abby jumped forward a little and unfolded her legs so she could lie down next to me.
"I've run 10 samples. The main electric charge is C4 with dead cord and blasting caps." She explained from beside me.
"So we should be able to trace the source of the manufacturer." I told her as we both stared up at the ceiling while we talked. I shifted my head a little so I could look at her. *FART*
"You would think so but no." she corrected. I scrunched up my face again. That's weird. There's no way that's possible.
"Abby, every military explosive over the last 20 years has had a tag installed for identification purposes." I told her.
"Yup but these don't." she answered me knowingly.
"So you're saying that this guy made this stuff from scratch?" I asked. Abby shook her head.
"No, the composition is the exact same as off the shelf." She assured. What?
"That's not possible, how is that possible?" I muttered in confusion.
"It shouldn't be possible." Abby agreed. The two of us watched as a third figure came into view.
"Oh its possible" Gibbs assured as he looked down at the two of us. I shifted again *FART*. My eyes widened nervously. That's embarrassing.
"That…..that's just the stuffed animal boss." I assured. I turned my head towards Abby. *FART* This was not helping my case.
"Right Abby?" I asked for backup.
"What stuffed animal?" she playfully asked. Ha Ha very funny. Gibbs leaned down and helped Abby stand back up.
"Abs are you sure these explosives aren't traceable?" Gibbs asked as he lead her over to the computers.
"Um so far but I'm still checking." She told him as she went back over to her computers.
"What about the detonator?" he asked.
"Also weird. The electronics are all simple but there's no serial number on anything, it's like it's been sanitized." She explained. I decided that this was a good time to start the long process of getting up. *FART*
"Let's go DiNozzo we've got problems. Someone's trying to kill us again." Gibbs casually told me as he made his way out of the lab. I took in a sharp breath as I straightened up and handed Abby her hippo back. He has to be joking, right? What are the odds that someone tries to kill us back to back times?
"I don't think he meant that literally." I told her as I trotted off after my boss. Abby pursed her lips worriedly and hugged her hippo in comfort *FART*.
Claire's POV:
Up in the bullpen Kate and I were reading up on the officer's files while McGee finished up a phone call.
"Ok thanks sergeant, we'll still….uh…..need a copy of the dispatch tape." McGee hung up the phone as Gibbs walked in, followed by a sluggish Tony. He was still feeling rough but the man was too stubborn to go home.
"Boss, according to state police the 911 call was…" McGee began but was cut off.
"Anonymous?" Gibbs guessed.
"Yes, it was also…"
"Untraceable" Gibbs finished again and started working on his own computer. McGee looked at him in confusion.
"Um…..yea there sending a tape of the call over." McGee quietly finished. He looked over at me and mouthed 'how?', still curious as to how Gibbs already knew everything. I just shrugged my shoulders. How was I to know the mystery that is Gibbs.
"Kate tell me about the lieutenants." Gibbs told her. She walked over to join the rest of us.
"They're both pilots Gibbs." She told him before standing up and walking to the big screen behind him, where the info was pulled up.
"Lt. Curtis Jansen is an instructor in Pensacola." She began.
"What's he doing in Virginia?" Gibbs asked and turned to look at the photo.
"According to his unit, he was on leave visiting his friend, Lt. Dean Westfall." Kate listed off and turned to me for the rest.
"He's also from Pensacola but over the last few months has been at the TAD proving grounds in Maryland." I read off.
"Proving grounds?" McGee asked.
"It's where they test new military equipment and technology Probie." Tony quickly told him.
"Maybe they used Westfall's prints to access the base." Tony suggested.
"I already checked Tony, none of Aberdeen's systems require finger prints or palm scanners." I told him with a frown.
"What was he working on there?" Gibbs asked.
"Classified." I told him. Gibbs gave me a look. Well that was the wrong answer. I sheepishly looked down, already knowing what he wanted.
"I will find out." I assured quietly.
"What's going on boss?" Tony asked, just as confused as the rest of us.
"The car didn't have any military decals and the lieutenants were wearing civvies." He pointed out.
"And the 911 caller specifically said it was two dead sailors." McGee added on in realization.
"They wanted NCIS to investigate the scene." I continued, following the train of thought.
"Why?" Kate asked.
"The same reason they rigged that car to explode Kate." Gibbs told her before walking out.
"We were set up. So, someone really is trying to kill us?" Tony asked worriedly.
"Yea…and they came pretty damn close." Gibbs told us easily. Well, isn't that just peachy.
...
Later that night Kate, McGee and I were over at her desk munching on some Chinese takeout. McGee glanced over at Tony who was lounging back in his chair with a blank expression. He had been awfully quiet today.
"Do you want some?" McGee offered. Tony slowly tilted his head to look at us.
"No thank you." He dismissed and went back to his blank expression. McGee shared a look with the two of us.
"He passed up free food." he commented worriedly.
"Maybe he is dying." Kate joked.
"Well I haven't had much of an appetite lately Kate. On account of having the pneumonic plague." He pointed out with a 'duh' tone and shot a pointed look her way.
"Yea I know Tony, I was there. You don't have to keep bringing it up every five minutes." I told him tensely. The whole thing already shook me up, there's no need to be constantly reminded that he almost died.
"It's not every day you escape the clutches of the black death Claire." He continued with emphasis.
"It's a life changing experience." He told us. Now he's just being dramatic. Kate and McGee gave him odd looks as he rattled on.
"How so, Tony?" McGee asked. Tony gave him a small glare.
"Ask Claire….she was there." He countered sarcastically. Ouch, there's no need to take it out on me. It's his own fault that he's stuck feeling crappy at work. Just then Gibbs walked into the bullpen.
"Hey I wanna know what Westfall was doing in Aberdeen by the time I get back." He told us and rummaged through his desk.
"Where are you going?" Kate asked as we watched him curiously.
"Out." he answered vaguely. Well that's helpful.
"McGee, I want a reason why someone would chop off his hands." Gibbs instructed and walked over to the group.
"Tony…" Gibbs snatched McGee's food out of his hands and set it on Tony's desk.
"Eat something." Gibbs ordered gently and walked out. I held back a smile at Gibbs' soft side. As he was walking away he made eye contact with me and nodded towards Tony. I nodded in understanding. 'Make sure he isn't stupid and actually takes care of himself'. McGee scrunched up his face as he finished up the last bite he had in his mouth before his food was taken away. Tony slowly reached out and grabbed the box, looking a bit green as he peered down into it. He really wasn't feeling food at the moment. With a sigh, I walked over to my desk and grabbed some Advil and a bottle of water. I walked over to Tony's desk and held the pills out to him. He looked up at me and smiled sheepishly as he took them out of my hands.
"Thanks." He muttered quietly. I just sent him a small smile in return.
"Sorry for my comment a minute ago." He muttered as he swallowed them with the water.
"It's ok. You're always an ass when you're sick…..well more of an ass than usual." I told him cheekily. Tony gave me an unimpressed look but couldn't fight off the smile.
"I'm not sick." He protested with a grumble. Without another word, I walked back over to my takeout food and smiled when I saw Tony start to pick at his stolen meal. My heart warmed at the sight of him going back to normal. Maybe getting keeping things the same between us wouldn't be as hard as I thought…..for now anyway. After a few minutes of small talk, we all decided to get to work on what Gibbs had told us. After all we had no idea when he would be back.
...
McGee paced around the center isle of the bullpen in thought. Kate was on the phone and Tony was munching on his new food while I was perched on the edge of his desk…just watching McGee pace.
"Why take someone's hands?" McGee asked to no one in particular. That was the question of the hour.
"Trophies?" Tony suggested.
"Then why leave the other lieutenants?" McGee countered. Fair point.
"If he's chopping hands off I don't think we can expect him to be rational McGee." I chimed in. Tony was picking through his food and analyzing every piece warily, but at least he was eating something.
"We've got trouble." McGee told us as he watched someone walk out of the elevator. However, none of us were looking that direction.
"What was your first hint?" Kate asked sarcastically.
"The two dead bodies downstairs or the explosion McGee?" Tony added dryly, making Kate chuckle. Noticing his gaze, I followed his line of sight and my brows rose in surprise.
"I think he means FBI trouble." I corrected. Tony and Kate's expressions dropped as they whipped around to look at Fornell who was walking towards us.
"Fornell?" Kate asked as he approached.
"Must be in worse shape than we thought." Tony muttered under his breath. I glanced back at him and smiled in amusement.
"Where's Gibbs?" Fornell immediately asked as he glanced around the room.
"He's not here." I told him.
"Where is he Agent Conners?" He snapped. I narrowed my eyes a little but didn't retaliate.
"He's out, try him on his cell" I told him calmly.
"I did, he's not answering." Fornell told me.
"What's going on?" Tony asked as he watched the interaction. Fornell glanced around the room.
"Ari Aswari is back in the country." He told us. You could feel the tension that immediately flooded the room. I had heard about what happened a year ago with Kate in the autopsy. This was just added to my own stories with the devil. We had some disagreements when my undercover work led me to team up with Mossad on a couple occasions. To say that we don't get along well is a major understatement. Tony immediately sat up in his chair, while the others looked at Fornell in alarm.
"You let that psycho back in the states without telling us?" Kate asked him heatedly.
"He was helping us uncover an Al Qaida cell in the DC area." Fornell told her as explanation. What makes them think that bastard can be trusted with something like that?! Tony looked at him like he was insane, sharing my thoughts.
"What do you mean supposed to Fornell?" Tony asked warily.
"We now think he's here for more personal reasons. He's planning on killing Gibbs." He told us reluctantly. Now I was really mad.
"What made you think that letting Ari back in was a good idea. I'm sure you could have found someone else!" I practically screeched at the FBI agent, effectively losing my cool.
"How do you know Ari?" Fornell asked, giving me a cold glare.
"That's what I was wondering." Tony chimed in. I took a second to glance around and noticed that all four of them were giving me odd looks. I would have thought they hacked into my file by now. I guess not. I took a breath to compose myself.
"We had to collaborate with Mossad for one of my undercover jobs. Ari was part of the group I worked with. Long story short, the mission took a bad turn and I blame Ari for every second of it. We had a disagreement on protocols and some good people got killed for his arrogance." I told them with a blank face. I'd rather not elaborate more than I needed to. Or else I would go on a rant right in the middle of the office. They all seemed to sense that I was done on the subject and we got to working on more important things….. Like finding out where the heck Gibbs was.
3rd Person POV:
At a downtown café, Gibbs walked out holding his staple cup of coffee. He paused a moment as he sensed a certain presence. Without a word Gibbs glanced over to see a man sitting casually at one of the outside tables, his yellow motorcycle helmet perched on top of it. Ari Aswari set down his newspaper and stared back at Gibbs. Slowly the agent walked over and sat down across from the Israeli man, not saying a word.
"Washington is so lovely. Especially this time of year. Don't you agree Special Agent Gibbs?" Ari casually asked as he swirled his cup of tea around. Gibbs just stared back at him icily from his spot.
"Not much of a conversationalist are we?" he quipped, un-phased by the coldness from Gibbs.
"I am mostly waiting here, Ari." Gibbs told him with a slight eye roll.
"Oh for what?" Ari asked with upbeat curiosity in his tone.
"A reason to shoot you again." Gibbs answered easily. Ari gave him a slight smile, still keeping up the façade of ignorance.
"Someone tried to kill my team today. I'm thinking it was you." Gibbs continued.
"You wound me Gibbs. If it was me, they'd be dead already." Ari told him with a devious smirk as he took another sip of his tea.
"You're still coming in with me for questioning." Gibbs told him as he leaned his arm on the table to stare down Ari.
"Unfortunately I've made other arrangements for the evening." Ari countered.
"It wasn't a request."
"I know" Ari told him and leaned forward so he wouldn't be overheard.
"That's why I took the precautionary of planting an explosive device under one of these tables." He informed the agent. Ari looked over Gibbs' shoulder and waved kindly at a family at another table. The little girl smiled back and waved, unaware of the possible danger she was in.
"If you be a good NCIS agent, I might even tell you where." Ari turned back to Gibbs.
"What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked him.
"An Al Qaida cell is planning an attack on Washington and I'm here to stop it." Ari told him while glancing around.
"Yea? What's the target?" Gibbs asked, not fully buying the story.
"I don't know."
"Where's the cell located?"
"I wish I knew." Ari casually played off the questions.
"You're doing a hell of a job for a Mossad double agent." Gibbs complemented him sarcastically.
"I can however gain access to that information. But it comes at a price. One you may not be willing to pay." Ari told him easily, unaffected by Gibb's comment.
"Try me." Gibbs insisted.
"Al Qaida sent me here to conduct my own mission. It's a test. I pass, and I'm allowed into the Washington cell." Ari explained. Gibbs said nothing.
"They want me to kill you." Ari answered the unspoken question. Gibbs still said nothing, just staring at the man in front of him.
"You don't seem surprised." Ari noted.
"It means I'm doing my job." Gibbs told him. Wanting people to kill you was just part of it.
"Yes and in order for me to do mine…..you have to die." Ari countered with a fake apologetic tone.
"I wonder, what would you do in my position?" Ari mused.
"Kill myself." Gibbs immediately answered. Ari laughed at the blatant hate Gibbs was showing. It reminded him of another agent that he had interacted with. She was almost as bad as Gibbs.
"Sadly that's not an option. That's one part of my religion that I won't subscribe to." Ari told him as his laugh quickly died off.
"I could help you out with that." Gibbs suggested smugly.
"A kind offer for sure. I also have one for you." Ari proposed.
"I'm listening." Gibbs told him.
"You have 24 hrs. to find and eliminate the cell. If you fail…" Ari trailed off, knowing that he understood the implications.
"I appreciate the heads up." Gibbs told him.
"It's the least I could do." Ari answered smugly and slowly stood up.
"How's Caitlyn by the way? I have thought of her often since my last visit." Ari quipped, knowing he would hit a nerve. But he didn't stop there.
"And you have a new agent. Claire. Give her my best, I'm sure she'll be glad to hear from me again." He added. Gibbs had looked up her file and knew about all that happened. He didn't have to get her part of the story to know that Ari was on her hit list.
"Go near them, and I don't care what government agency Is watching your back….I will kill you this time." Gibbs told him with a deadly glare on his face. No one touched his team. Ari nodded.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." He responded and picked up his helmet off the table. Ari calmly made his way over to his bike that was parked on the other side of the fence.
"Where's the device?" Gibbs called out.
"Oh…I almost forgot. I lied, there is none." Ari told him before covering his face with the visor of his helmet and driving off into the night. Gibbs stood and watched him ride out of sight before he turned back and analyzed the tables around him. He could see through all of Ari's bull and knew there was still a device. He would never pass up a chance to kill Gibbs. The agent peered down at the table he was sitting at and on a hunch leaned down to look under it. There he found a bomb that was ticking away with 30 seconds left. Immediately he ripped the device off and sprinted down into some abandoned alleyways. He glanced down to see 6 seconds left. With a burst of speed, he ran and threw the bomb into a large dumpster before turning for cover. Almost immediately the bomb went off and Gibbs dove for the ground, covering his head reflexively.
Tony's POV:
"…please call me back." I finished and hung up the phone. Gibbs has been gone for too long and with Ari on the loose, who knew what could happen.
"That's 20 messages I left, we should look for him McGee." I insisted worriedly.
"Look for who?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the bullpen casually. McGee, Claire and I lept out of our seats and walked towards his desk.
"We've been calling you for the last hour boss." Claire scolded. She was on edge about the situation too.
"Well yea, my ringer thing got turned off." Gibbs told her as he set his cell on the desk. I shot an annoyed look at McGee. Of course, it was something dumb like that.
"You're never going to believe who's back in town." I tentatively informed. Might as well let him know now.
"Ari." Gibbs answered easily.
"Ok maybe you will." I muttered in confusion.
"Fornell said that he's…he's here to…" McGee started.
"Kill me." Gibbs answered for him too. The three of us looked down at Gibbs questioningly.
"I know, I just had coffee with him. "Gibbs told us as if it was something he did every day. We continued to stare in slight shock, still unsure of what to make of the whole situation. Surely he was going to elaborate on that. Or not, judging by his silence.
"So….what happened?" I started, hoping for the explanation. Gibbs looked up to shoot me a sarcastic glance.
"He tried to kill me." Gibbs told him in a 'duh' tone. Claire and I glanced at each other. Was that it?
"Have we found out what Westfall was doing in Aberdeen yet?" Gibbs asked, apparently done with the topic.
"Uh boss aren't you going to elaborate a little bit first?" McGee suggested.
"Well yea McGee, I'm alive. Now tell me about Westfall." Gibbs argued irritably. Guess the meeting didn't go well.
"Uh…well he was only attached to Aberdeen. He was actually working with a separate contractor out in Maryland, Danmore Avionics." Claire told him, still stunned at how calm Gibbs was about the whole almost killed thing.
"Doing what?" Gibbs asked.
"Testing field service modules or something like that. I have no idea." I answered with a 'who knows' tone. I mean really, I don't know anything about all that technical stuff.
"FBI sent a team over to investigate their security." I continued.
"The FBI?" Gibbs asked.
"A lot has happened in the last hour boss." Claire told him matter of factly.
"Where's Fornell?" Gibbs pressed.
"MTAC" I answered. Gibbs stood up with a sigh.
"Make the ringer thing work." Gibbs ordered McGee as he tossed the cell to him and walked up the stairs. We all stood there a moment, making sure he was all the way upstairs before we dared to talk again.
"Is it me or did he take the whole Ari situation really well?" McGee quickly asked us. I nodded in agreement and smacked my lips.
"I would say he's looking forward to it." I suggested. That had to be the explanation.
"Looking forward to what?" McGee asked nervously.
"Finally getting to kill him." I told him easily.
"Not if I get to him first." Claire muttered before walking back over to her desk.
Claire's POV:
Gibbs had been told to sit out on this case and to let the FBI handle Ari. Kate was put in charge of Gibb's protection. Was he going to hate this…..most definitely but it was in his best interest so all of us were on board with it. It was kinda amusing to watch Kate get into her zone, since this is what she was specially trained for.
"In his home, two teams 6 hour shifts, alternating every ten minutes." Kate rambled on, going over the protection detail schedule with Tony, McGee and I who were standing around her desk.
"Outside I want a mobile foot patrol and two observation posts." She continued.
"Gibbs is not going to like that." Tony told her with a warning look.
"Well screw what he likes, Tony. I'm not going to let that psycho get within 5 miles of Gibbs." She sternly told him, making me smile.
"McGee I need full audio and video surveillance inside and out. I need it all to tie back to MTAC." She continued on.
"You got it Kate." McGee nodded.
"Go home, its late." Gibbs told his us as he walked into the bullpen. Like that was going to happen. Even if I wanted to sleep, Kate would murder me first.
"Gibbs, I don't think we're going to be going home." I corrected.
"I'm sleeping here. I do not need an army of agents staying up all night watching me build a boat." Gibbs told me as he pulled out a blanket from one of his file drawers. He sat down at his desk, ignoring the stares from the four of us. Gibbs was too important to all of us so there was no way we were letting him be alone when some psycho was trying to kill him.
"You won't leave the building?" Kate asked him knowingly.
"If I do I'll call you." Gibbs assured her. Kate just narrowed her eyes at him. Gibbs wouldn't willingly call anyone on his phone, let alone along to tell Kate that he's going out. None of us moved from our spots.
"Go, go home. Get some sleep." Gibbs waved us off insistently.
"First thing in the morning we're going to check out Danmore Avionics and find out what the FBI missed." He told them. All four of us continued staring him down skeptically.
"Go." He urged again with a wave of his hand. We all glanced around at each other in silent conversation.
3rd Person POV:
That night everything was dark and quiet as the building was closed for the night. Gibbs sat at his desk, scouring through all the crime scene photos. After a few minutes, he got up to stretch his legs. He smiled thoughtfully at McGee who was wrapped up in a blanket and asleep in his chair. Next he walked over and looked down at the two lounging behind Tony's desk. Tony and Claire were watching a movie on his computer when they both dozed off. Claire's head was leaning on his shoulder while Tony's head was lying comfortably on top of hers. The two were a bit comical with their feet propped up on his desk, the computer monitor between them. He held back a chuckle at their predicament and the content smiles on their faces. At least Tony had one when he wasn't letting out a snore. Gibbs wasn't stupid or blind. He knew that they liked each other more than simple friends. The two idiots would take forever and year to ever admit it, especially Tony, he was dense when it came to women. Finally, Gibbs walked over towards Kate who was curled up on the floor behind her desk, fast asleep. He knelt beside her and gently pulled her coat over her shoulders as a blanket. They all wanted to stay with Gibbs to make sure he remained safe. They were all a family and even though Gibbs was indifferent when they were around, he truly did care for them. And they all cared or him just as much. Once he had checked up on all his agents he strolled over to look out through the giant window by their office space, just pondering about everything that had happened.
Claire's POV:
The next morning, I was stirred from my peaceful sleep by someone moving underneath me. Wait I stayed the night at the office. So why was there someone under me. Tony and I were watching a movie and then…..Tony….oh crap. My eyes immediately snapped open and I glanced over at what had been moving. It was Tony. I fell asleep on his shoulder. Calm down…not a big deal right? I mean we used to do this all the time, so it's nothing to freak out about. Yet my heart is still going a hundred miles an hour. Oh god I hope he can't feel it or hear it beating out of my chest, that would be so embarrassing. Well so much for not being a bid deal. Of course it's a big deal! I just fell asleep with the guy I like. Keep it together, Claire! I took a moment to calm the internal battle that I had going on in my head. Tony wasn't going to think anything of it so I should act like it wasn't a big deal. That would tip him off and I wasn't ready for the emotional confrontation just yet…..or ever for that matter. Thankfully he was still asleep, at least that's what I assumed from the light snore in my ear. I started to shift a little so I could make my way out from under his head. Not that I totally noticed how we fit together almost perfectly, which made me smile a little inside. Tony slept like a rock anyway so the chances of me waking him up by my movement was small. Finally, I was able to wiggle myself out from under him. However, with the removal of my head for his pillow his head jerked forward and woke him up abruptly. I muffled a giggle as I watched him spaz out and flail around for a moment as he woke up. The noise directed his attention over towards me and my heart fluttered a bit at the lazy smile he shot me.
"Mornin' "he mumbled out while stretching his back.
"Morning sleeping beauty." I joked, gesturing to his bed head. Tony glared at me sleepily.
"You're one to talk." He pointed out. My smile dropped and I quickly ran a hand through my messy hair.
"I guess we fell asleep during the movie." Tony told me as he clicked on the computer screen indicating that the movie was over. It was over a long time ago. I don't think we made it very far into it anyway.
"It was my favorite part too." He whined childishly. I let out another giggle.
"Don't worry Tony, it's not like we haven't seen it a hundred times already." I pointed out. Tony threw me an offended look.
"It was a classic and one can never watch the classics too many times." He told me pointedly. I just nodded along in amusement. We both laughed a little and glanced around the room. Gibb's stuff was still here but knowing him, he's been up for hours and showering or something right about now. McGee was also gone, hopefully to get some coffee. Lord knows I'm gonna need that to get through the day. The only other person left in the office was Kate, who was curled up on the floor behind her desk. I noticed that she was fidgeting around in her sleep, almost as if she was having a bad dream. Sharing a look with Tony, we made our way over to wake her up. I knelt down next to her and started shaking her shoulder gently. Kate jerked awake.
"Gibbs" we heard her whispered urgently. Kate quickly stood up to look over at his empty desk while Tony and I shared a surprised look.
"You dream about Gibbs?" Tony asked.
"What?" she asked, still a little out of it. I watched as it took her a second she processed what he had said. Kate wasn't exactly very alert first thing in the morning. A few nights of sleepovers and all night drinking dates with her and Abby can attest to that.
"No, god no." she told him as she flattened down her bed head.
"You said his name." I pointed out.
"No I didn't." she countered.
"Yes you did." I told her. Kate stared at me a moment before looking back at Gibb's desk. She still wasn't fully awake and was slow to process things, which made it funny.
"What's going on?" McGee asked holding four coffees in his hand.
"Kate dreams about Gibbs." Tony told him easily. McGee blinked.
"Oh, what was it about?" he asked in amusement. Gibbs walked into the bullpen with a white t-shirt instead of his usual work shirt. Perfectly fine like I knew he would be. I smiled a little as I saw Kate relax once she saw him.
"No I didn't dream about Gibbs." Kate told them adamantly, now that she understood what was being implied.
"She screamed his name." Tony told McGee. McGee's eyes widened and his mouth twisted into a smirk.
"Really?" he marveled. Tony shook his head hastily, while I eagerly reached for my coffee. Kate rolled her eyes at the three of us and walked over to Gibbs as he pulled out a sweater to put on.
"Look if you want to check out the defense contract with us today, you're wearing a vest." She ordered and handed him a bulletproof vest. Gibbs looked at her for a moment and reluctantly pulled his sweater back off so he could strap the vest on underneath.
"I can live with that." He told her.
"That's kind of the point Gibbs." I told him with a smirk. Gibbs shook his head at me and the rest of us started to get ourselves ready for work.