a/n - Short, but it really needed to break here. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, you guys make my day.
Giving in to his craving for something sweet, McGee made his way to the vending machines in the break room, only to come face to face with Abby, who was getting her afternoon CafPow. He straightened up and walked past her to the candy machine. "Abby."
She hesitated, but didn't say anything as she picked up her drink and prepared to leave. Tim finally gave into his frustration with her attitude. "Damn it, Abby, can't you once just be happy for me?"
"Why Gibbs?" She spun around, almost losing her drink. "Of all the men you could have experimented with, why him?"
"This isn't some sort of experiment, Abs. Do you think I'd go through everything that has happened to me just if I was curious about having a male lover?"
That stopped her cold and she chewed her lip as she stared at him, knowing he was right. "I guess not, but you're not gay, McGee."
"I believe the term is bisexual." They both jumped as Ziva spoke from the doorway. "Now, Abby, could you help me with the videos of the vandal? There's no image of his face, but maybe we can determine his height. You can do that, yes?"
She could, but so could McGee. Nevertheless, at least it was a chance to do something. "Sure, show me what you've got." Abby followed Ziva out to the squad room, leaving Tim to get his chocolate fix before retreating to his own desk.
-NCIS-
Looking back at the damaged cars one last time, Gibbs let himself into the house, ruffling Jett's ears as he walked through the entryway. "Hey, boy, your daddy is not going to be happy with me. You go do your business while I change my shirt, then it's time for me to face the music." He opened the door and watched the dog scamper out before turning and taking the stairs two at a time.
Gibbs didn't consider himself overly domestic, but he recognized a stain that would wreck a shirt if it wasn't pretreated soon. Once he'd changed into a clean shirt, he took the other one downstairs to the laundry room. As he finished spraying it, he pulled his phone out and hit the speed dial. He'd get the repairs started on the car first and maybe that would make it easier to admit to Tim what he'd done.
-NCIS-
Tony really hated reporting to the Director, but with Gibbs away from the office the responsibility to update Vance on the Sutton case fell to him. He was just finishing when Vance's phone rang. Since Pamela was excellent at screening his calls, and he recognized the number, Vance picked it up. "DiNozzo's here, so I'm putting you on speaker. Did you and Fornell find anything?"
~Need the repair shop to come back and get McGee's car.~
"Gibbs?" Vance frowned at the odd request, glancing over at Tony's equally puzzled face. "What's wrong with the car? Was there a problem with it?"
Leaning against the desk, Tony spoke up. "Yeah, Boss, McGee approved the repairs, and everything looked fine."
~I... Iforgotitwasinthedriveway.~
Vance frowned as he tried to understand. "What was that, Gibbs?" On the other side of the desk, DiNozzo started to grin as he mentally translated the comment and what it meant.
~I forgot the damn car was in the driveway, all right?~
Vance and Tony grinned at each other as Vance, too, realized what that probably meant. "You ran into McGee's car, didn't you?"
~Yes, Leon, alright, I clipped the corner of Tim's car.. Happy?~
Biting his lip, Vance didn't dare look at DiNozzo. "Define clipped." They could hear the long sigh before Gibbs spoke.
~It's going to need a new tail light, and probably a new bumper and some work on the edge of the trunk and on the side...~
Vance shook his head. "Hell of a clip, Gibbs."
"Man, Boss, Probie's going to kill you." Tony didn't even try to hide his laughter.
~Ya think, DiNozzo?~
Being the Director meant staying in control, but Vance was struggling more than he cared to admit as he bit his finger. "Is it drivable?" Another sigh could be heard.
~Just tell them to send the damn tow truck back.~
The dial tone echoed through the office as DiNozzo started laughing harder and Vance joined in.
-NCIS-
Disgusted, Gibbs stared at his phone after he closed it. "Not funny, DiNozzo." A knock on the door distracted him from his next call and he opened the door to find Mildred Brewer, nervously wringing her hands.
"Jethro, I'm so glad you're home. I just got back from my volunteer work and someone's been in my backyard, walking through my flower beds."
Gibbs frowned at the implication. "Show me what you saw." He followed Mrs. B through her gate and into her backyard. The elderly widow tended her garden constantly and he couldn't imagine any of the neighborhood kids trampling through her flowers. She led him to the long raised bed adjoining the fence between the yards and he saw what she was talking about. Adult sized footprints in the mud led up to the fence. A muddy smear on a wooden board set off his internal alarm and he quickly grabbed the top of the fence and pulled himself up. Nothing was on the other side of the fence currently, but something had attracted Jett's attention, judging from the amount of doggie foot prints in the mud on that side of the fence. Gibbs dropped down rather than risking damage to the fence. Just as he was circling around to the gate to his own yard, his phone rang.
-NCIS-
Tony was bouncing with glee as he came down the stairs, skidding to a stop in front of McGee's desk with a wide grin. "Looks like you're not getting your car back after all, McGee."
Frowning as he thought back to what the shop owner had said, Tim turned to face DiNozzo. "Didn't the window gasket come in?"
"Oh, it came in, all right." The grin grew wider. "Your car was delivered right on schedule, just like you reminded Gibbs at lunch today."
"Okay..." Trying to figure out what Tony was getting at, Tim almost missed Ziva's words.
"Tony, just tell us before you burst." She could tell he was about to explode. "After all, it's not like Gibbs wrecked the Porsche, he wasn't even driving it."
DiNozzo started laughing. "He didn't need to be driving it, Ziva. Sorry, Probie, the Boss forgot your car was going to be in the driveway."
"You mean he..."
"Oh, yeah."
Hands pressed against her mouth, Ziva started giggling while Tim was already on the phone. "Jethro, are you all right? I don't care about the damn car, are you okay?"
Off to the side, at an extra desk, Abby listened to the exchange. Knowing how careful McGee was with his Porsche, his reaction to the news that Gibbs had wrecked it stunned her.
