Chapter Thirty Eight
Gibbs hated awards, but it wasn't that thought that kept him away from the award ceremony. He hurried up the front steps, unlocked his front door and frowned when he realized that the deadbolt was locked too. "Abbs..." he called through the small crack that the door opened. "It's me." Suddenly the door was pushed closed and he could hear the jingle of the deadbolt unlocking.
"Gibbs!" Abby pulled the door open and threw herself at him as soon as he stepped over the threshold.
Gibbs struggled under the sudden weight thrown at him and together they staggered toward the sofa. "You okay?"
"I'm okay now. But I was terrified earlier. I thought he was in my lab, I thought he was going to get me…" She snuggled against him. "I mean, I know I'm okay now, but it just brought up so many memories of Ari and Chip and that fan of McGee's books and…" she shuddered at the thought. "He got so close to us and we didn't even know it. He was watching me with that camera on the janitor's cart."
"I know." The fear that had been coursing through him when he thought their guy was targeting Abby had nearly choked him. He held her close and ran his fingers through her hair. "I know."
"Tony coming home soon?"
Gibbs nodded. "As soon as he's done pretending to be me and accept that award."
"Gibbs! You should really be the one accepting those. You've earned them."
Gibbs shrugged and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Don't need any awards for doing my job."
"You're a hero."
"Hardly."
"You're my hero."
He smiled and kissed her again. "Only award I need is you and Tony in my bed each night."
Gibbs watched as Agent Lee headed for the elevator. She had been useful in their latest case, but there was something about her that just made him take notice. She was quiet and shy, but it was the way she was so uncomfortable that made him feel uneasy. It wasn't like the rest of NCIS that held a healthy respect and kept their distance, she looked almost… guilty. Then, when Tony had found Langer's old badge, Gibbs knew it was too much of a coincidence to actually be one. Tony had headed home nearly an hour earlier. There was a big game on and he had pulled Gibbs aside to ask if he could head out on time (unless they got a case). McGee and Ziva were slowly trickling out and Gibbs was finally ready to leave. He pulled open his desk drawer and pulled out Langer's old badge. Once it was safe inside his pocket, he picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number.
The bar was dark and on the quiet side. It had been awhile since he, Tony and Abby had been there, but the bartender smiled and automatically reached for the bourbon. Gibbs smiled and took it gratefully. He took a sip as he pulled out Langer's badge and looked it over once more.
"You alone?" The bartender interrupted his thoughts.
"No."
The bartender glanced around to the near empty bar but said nothing.
As he waited, Gibbs left his drink for a moment and went to add the badge to the list of the fallen. So many familiar faces stared back at him and he swallowed hard against the memories that flooded his mind. He was just sliding back into his seat when a warm hand closed over his arm.
"Hey…"
"Hey Abbs."
Abby took the seat next to him and waved at the bartender with a smile.
He grabbed her usual beer and handed it to her. "Been awhile, this one's on the house."
"Sweet of you, thanks." She smiled gratefully and then turned to Gibbs once they were alone. "Tony?"
"Can't know…"
"Gibbs…"
"Let me explain first, then ask questions." Gibbs took his time, outlining his idea of making Abby look like a suspect in the disappearance of Domino. He hoped that making her look guilty would give them some working room to finally figure out what Michelle was doing.
"But why can't Tony…"
"I need his… I need everyone's reaction to be genuine. It won't be for long, just long enough for me to figure out what Lee is up to."
Abby nodded. "What do you need me to do?"
Tony had a horrible feeling about the day right from the start. He was furious with Gibbs for keeping him out of the loop about their so-called test. He hurt, and he knew Ziva was in pain with the way she winced every time she moved. He knew Gibbs had said not to fight back, but it went against Ziva's training. Once she let loose, Tony had followed her lead and now they were both paying for it. As much as he wanted to go home and stretch out on the couch, he had some words he needed to share with Gibbs in the privacy of their home – the idea of it being their home still made him pause briefly. But he couldn't think of any reason for Gibbs not to give him a heads up on what they were doing. But now, as Vance was ready to scan their hands and no doubt incriminate Agent Lee, he had a second moment of dread. He waited quietly as Vance moved down the line, scanning his hands, then Ziva's then Gibbs. He watched as he moved down the line toward Michelle, assuming that the scanner wouldn't go off until it hit her. When it beeped loudly over Abby's hands, Tony's head snapped up.
They were all in shock as Vance nodded to one of the guard and then slipped the scanner into his pocket. "I think we need to talk, Ms. Sciuto."
As soon as Vance had gone with Abby, Tony turned to Gibbs. "What… Abby isn't… she's not a terrorist. Do something!"
Gibbs stared after her, willing himself not to say anything with Agent Lee was still around. "We'll figure it out."
Despite her cold attitude toward Lee, Abby felt bad that the case had ended in her death. She felt even worse that Gibbs had been the one to kill her. She knew he'd had to do it, but she could see the guilt weighed heavily on him. Gibbs still needed to sort things out with Tony. The younger man was upset that he hadn't been included in all the plans, but he had relaxed and given Gibbs some space to deal with the fact that he'd had to kill Lee.
With Gibbs in the basement and Tony on the couch, Abby busied herself tidying up, making coffee and sorting out something for them to eat. Gibbs wasn't likely to leave the basement for a while, even with an injured hand keeping him from working; he was down there to sort through his thoughts.
"Coffee?" Abby held out a cup, perfectly sweetened to Tony's liking.
"Sometimes I wish I didn't love him so much, you know?" Tony took the coffee and brought it to his lips.
Abby frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" She sat next to him and curled her feet under herself, turning to face Tony.
"Nothing," Tony shook his head. "I just… I'm tired of being left out of important information. His personal stuff… okay, I get it, but for work? I'm supposed to be his number one. I can't watch his back if I don't know what's going on. Maybe… maybe things would have ended differently if I had known from the start what was going on with Michelle. Instead he's down there with a busted finger, wallowing in guilt over having to kill someone who was only trying to save her sister."
Abby reached out to take one of Tony's hands. "You can't be upset with just him. I agreed to go along with it. I could have told you."
"Nah, you're probably the only one who would never go against what Gibbs' says. It's okay."
"No it's not," Abby shook her head. "It's okay if you're mad, but it needs to be at both of us. Of course I love him and follow the rules. But I love you too. And I make my own decisions, Gibbs doesn't make them for me."
"I know." Tony stretched out and rest his ankles on the coffee table. "Why don't you try and coax the bear from his cave. I'm not… mad, but we should talk about it and get it over with."
"Ok." She leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose and then got up. She left the coffee upstairs and headed down to the basement. Gibbs looked up as Abby approached and offered a forced smile. "Why do you do that?"
"Do what?" he asked.
"You smile, even though it's obvious you're upset." She moved closer and brushed her finger tips over his forehead. "You don't have to hide the pain."
Gibbs pressed a kiss to her palm. "I can't help it, seeing you makes me smile; even when I hurt."
"How's your hand?" Abby picked his hand up and brushed a gentle kiss over the bandage.
"I'll be fine."
"Wasn't what I asked."
"I know."
"Come talk to Tony. I know you don't say sorry, but… he needs to hear it from you as to why he wasn't included in your plan."
Gibbs frowned. He knew he needed to talk to Tony. It hadn't been fair to keep him in the dark. But at the same time, he'd done what was necessary to catch a criminal – a threat to the country. "Okay."
Abby was surprised to see how easy it had been for her to get Gibbs to agree to talk to Tony. She had assumed he'd want longer in the basement, but was pleasantly surprised as he followed her up the stairs. "I'll give you some time to talk…" Abby headed upstairs to tidy up around the bedroom and give them some time alone. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but every so often she could hear Tony's voice rise and then she would hear nothing for a few minutes. Occasionally Gibbs' calm voice floated up the stairs, but otherwise there was no indication of how their conversation was going. Once all her clean laundry was put away, she moved on to the bathroom. She gave them a good twenty minutes, then, hearing nothing but the low chatter of the TV she headed down the stairs.
Pausing halfway down, Abby smiled at the sight. Gibbs was stretched out along the sofa with Tony cradled between his legs, resting against his chest. He was using his uninjured hand to flip channels and Tony had his injured hand held between his, the heat of his palm no doubt soothing the ache of the injury. She was about to turn around and let them just continue to have some time together when Tony lifted his head and saw her.
"Hey…"
"I see your talk went well."
Tony grinned at her and held out a hand toward her. "Join us."
"One of these days we're going to break Gibbs' couch and that'll be an awkward explanation." She moved to sit in front of the couch, leaning her back against it and tilting her face up to smile at Tony.
Tony laughed. "Oh come on, the best way to lie is to tell the truth… or something. I'd just tell McGee that Gibbs had me bent over the back of it and he'll leave it alone."
She couldn't see it, but she heard the sound of Gibbs' hand on the back of Tony's head.
The holidays approached faster that Abby had anticipated. Like usual, Thanksgiving at Ducky's was one of her favorites. They had been lucky enough to be off duty, so their weekend had been uninterrupted. The team gathered at Ducky's – each person bringing something to share. They ate, drank and shared stories. Even Gibbs had been in an especially good mood. Then, moving to the living room they all lounged around watching football. McGee had to leave early for a second dinner with his family. When Gibbs and Abby left (under the pretense that he was driving her home), Palmer was asleep on the couch. Tony was taking Ziva home before heading back to Gibbs'.
The tradeoff for having Thanksgiving off was that they were required to work the Christmas holiday. They were allowed Christmas Day off barring no urgent cases, but for the entire week surrounding Christmas, NCIS was working with the bare-minimum, only Gibbs' team in the office.
Abby didn't mind working over the holidays. It meant that she got to be with her favorite people. It wasn't like she wouldn't be with Gibbs and Tony anyway, but having Ducky, Ziva and McGee within reach for Christmas hugs was also nice.
Her heart broke when she learned about Ned Quinn. To have lost everything – his family, his home, the life he knew all because of serving his country was something that she knew hit home for Gibbs. He might not have come back a drug addict, but he had lost his family, the life he had known and in a roundabout way, his home. He still had the physical house, but it had only been an empty shell of reminders for many years. While Tony and Ziva were out looking for Quinn, Abby carried up eggnog for both Gibbs and McGee. She smiled as she thought back to Jimmy. They'd had to load him into a cab and Ducky had paid in advance, asking him to make sure that Mr. Palmer had made it inside the front door.
She approached and held out the eggnog to each of them. She knew Gibbs wouldn't drink it – he never did at work, but she wanted to offer anyway. She held out the cups and McGee took his right away. She stared at Gibbs, giving her best puppy-dog look, but he return glare never faltered. She held the eye contact, but held out the second cup to McGee. He was quick to take the second. No one else had the balls to say no to Abby.
When the elevator dinged and McGee when to meet Ned's daughter, Gibbs pulled Abby into a hug. "Merry Christmas, Abbs." It was a rare show of affection at work, but no one ever question any affection shown toward Abby. He pressed a kiss to her temple and then gently nudged her away to talk to Melissa Quinn, Ned's daughter.
She knew she was wrong to listen in, but when she heard that Melissa wanted to see her father, Abby knew she had to make it happen.
Gibbs knew he owed Abby an apology. He had snapped when he found out that Abby had interfered and tried to bring Melissa to Quinn when he said he didn't want to see her. But as he sat in his car, watching as Melissa opened her home to her father, he knew he'd been wrong. He had told Ned that if he had one wish in the world, it would to be able to hold his daughter one last time. And as the words came out, he knew that Ned had to at least try to rebuild a relationship with his daughter. As soon as the door closed, Gibbs looked down at the drawings Ned had done of the team. Each drawing was spot on with every detail. He knew he was letting Abby down by not being there for the Christmas movie in MTAC, but he had every intention of making it up to her. But before he could do that, he had a phone call to make.
He hadn't spoken to his father since they had been in Stillwater. He wasn't even sure if he was home, but…
"Hello…?"
"Hey… Dad."
"Son? Is everything… okay?"
"Yeah," Gibbs let out a gentle sigh. "Just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas."
There was a long silence and then Jack let out a small sigh of relief. "Merry Christmas, son. You have plans?"
"I do. Spending it with… friends. You?"
"Yeah. Was at dinner with the Wilson's. You remember them?"
"I do. Look dad, I don't have much time to chat now, but… I'll call you over the weekend."
"I'd like that."
Gibbs could hear the smile in his voice. "Take care."
"You too."
It wasn't much, but it was a start. He was saddened at the surprise in his father's voice over the call, but it only motivated him to make more of an effort. While his anger hadn't been misplaced, over the fact his father had brought a date to the girls' funeral, the anger had lasted too long.
He debated on going right home, waiting for Tony and Abby there, but the movie had only just started, and as much as he owed his father in making an effort, he owed it to Tony and Abby as well. The security guards looked at him curiously as he scanned his badge to get back in, but wisely said nothing. The movie was loud, so he slipped into MTAC unnoticed. Ziva, Tony and Abby sat in the front row, while Ducky, Jimmy and McGee sat in the second row. Ducky noticed him first, but kept quiet as Gibbs moved around the back and then came down the side to pick the chair beside Abby. She squealed happily making everyone else laugh. Tony glanced over and offered the large bowl of popcorn and Ducky slipped a small flask down the row.
It was a movie he'd seen more than enough, but with the way he could hear Tony quote almost the entire thing, it was worth the time he was able to relax. As the credits rolled, people started to excuse themselves.
"You came!" Abby wrapped her arms around him as the door closed behind Ducky, leaving the three alone.
Tony pulled the disk from the DVD player and approached, risking a quick kiss to Gibbs' cheek. "Thought you'd head home after dropping Ned off."
"Thought about it," he said. The because I didn't want to be alone didn't need to be said.
Abby smothered a yawn against Gibbs' shoulder. "Can we go home now? I'm exhausted."
"I was thinking the same thing," Tony agreed. "I say we go home and crash. Make our own Christmas dinner tomorrow and open presents then."
"Sounds good."
The three headed to the squad room to pack up what they needed before heading back to Gibbs. They each had a car in the garage, so they split up and headed home. There were a few things to get done around the house, and although the mood was light, Gibbs could tell there was something weighing heavily on Abby's mind. He suspected it had to with the Quinn family.
"Abby…"
"I know I was wrong to push into their business, even though I was right in the end, but I was thinking… Gibbs, if I had one wish for myself, I would want to talk to my dad. I miss him every single day and you still have yours and I'm worried that you're wasting so much time, even though I know how he upset you and-"
"Abby-"
"No Gibbs, just listen… call him. Please. You don't have to be all sappy or anything like that, just… wish him a merry Christmas. Please, for me."
Gibbs stepped closer and pulled her into a hug, brushing his lips across her forehead. "I already called him."
"You did?" She looked up at him, her eyes wide.
"I understand Abbs, if I could have any wish, I'd want to hug my daughter again. Told Ned that. Realized that maybe my father had the same wish about me."
"So you called…" she murmured.
Gibbs nodded. "I did."
TBC
Hopefully not as long between chapters – been dealing with non-stop headaches and it really impedes my ability to focus.