Knights of the NCIS Table—Gibbs Chapter 18
Two hours ten minutes fourteen seconds, that's how long it's been since Gibbs last laid eyes on Laurie Fields. When they'd returned from Japan, the first place they'd stopped was NCIS. Vance had been there, as well as the MCRT. It's late enough in the day that Sarah and Donny are there waiting to give Tony a ride home.
Abby gives Gibbs an enthusiastic hug. When he doesn't respond with his usual Caf-Pow, she frowns at him. Gibbs ignores the frown and follows Vance upstairs to his office. Once Gibbs is out of sight, Tony motions for Laurie to follow him to one of the interrogation rooms.
"What do you want Tony?" Her voice is as exhausted as she looks.
"Nothing actually, just thought you'd like some privacy for a while. I have someone here who'd like to see his Granpa and figured he might be able to cheer you up too."
Laurie shakes her head no. All she wants right now is to decompress. The last two weeks are catching up to her fast. She looks at Tony who is eyeing her with concern.
"Can you get me to Holly's apartment? I just really need to see my friend right now."
Tony nods and gives a signal to the window for Tim to take her to Holly's. Tim is waiting outside the interrogation room with Donny and together the three escort Laurie to Tim's car.
Donny climbs into his car seat and waits for Tim to buckle him in. Once Tim has started the car and they are on their way to Holly's, Donny starts asking questions.
"Miss Laurie, what's Japan like? Where is Japan and why did Granpa Jefro go with you? Can you take me to Japan sometime? Will you come visit me again?"
In the front of the car, Tim glances over at Laurie who has closed her eyes. Not knowing if she's actually asleep or merely faking it, Tim tells Donny that Laurie will answer his questions another time.
"Okay Uncle Tim. Uncle Tim are you gonna marry Aunt Holly? She's really nice and I like her a lot."
Tim blushes and a quickly hidden smirk tells him that Laurie heard the question too.
"I don't know yet, Donny. I –I don't really know Holly that well yet. Umm I might eventually ask her out on a date providing her friend approves."
Laurie doesn't bother hiding her smile this time.
"I'll approve the date Tim. You've already shown yourself worthy of her."
In the back seat, Donny gives Tim a thumbs up and starts asking questions again. "Miss Laurie, why did Granpa go with you to Japan?"
Laurie thinks about her answer before replying, "The last time I was at your house, I said that I had to say goodbye to some people, do you remember? One of those people lived in Japan. Your grandpa came with me so that I wouldn't have to make the journey alone."
Donny nods and soon they are at Holly's apartment. Laurie thanks Tim for the drive and as she leaves the car, she hears Donny asking Tim for another story.
***
Back at NCIS, Gibbs is getting the run around from Vance regarding his latest journey. Gibbs lets the man rant before opening the door and saying, "I'll send you my report."
Vance stares at him and Gibbs glares right back. Deciding not to press the issue, Vance backs down and starts down the stairs. Abby is heading up and Vance knows that Gibbs is about to get yet another earful of reprimands. Vance decides that the visit from Abby will be punishment enough and that he doesn't need to implement any other reprimands on his assistant director.
Gibbs is sitting on the edge of his desk waiting for Abby to show up. He knows that the lack of Caf-Pow is going to irritate her, but since Laurie had teleported the two of them directly to NCIS's main gates, he didn't have time to give her his usual offering. Well, he could have but he knew that Laurie was tiring and wanted his team to make sure that she made it home all right.
Abby quietly shuts the door behind her. Gibbs is still sitting on the edge of his desk, arms folded over his chest as he waits for her to speak.
"Gibbs, why are you still hanging out with that person? She isn't worthy of you. She doesn't even exist prior to 1984. What do you know about her?"
"Abbs…" she ignores the warning tone in his voice as she continues.
"Seriously Gibbs, not only does she not exist, but it's like the information on her is all prefabricated. If you want to date someone else, I can understand, but not her Gibbs. She's not all that she says she is."
"You done?" Steel and anger are lacing his voice and icing his eyes, yet the Goth ignores it as she continues.
"No, I ran her DNA and she comes up as Classified, Top Secret. So does that person you asked Tony to investigate…that Dawes person. What kind of person is that Gibbs? Not someone you can trust if she's out of your clearance range."
Gibbs wonders what the Goth will say if he tells her that he's married to Laurie. A small quirk of a grin tugs at the corner of his mouth as he imagines the scene. Rather than give in to temptation, he stands up and escorts the Goth to the door shutting it firmly behind her. He no sooner locks the door behind Abby when Dawes teleports in.
"Didn't Hawk tell you that we're beyond your clearance level? Why is NCIS still investigating my cook/medic?"
Gibbs stares at her confused. Aside from when he'd told Tony to check up on Dawes, he hasn't asked for any other information on Laurie. That's when he realizes that Abby's gone too far. Dawes sees first the confusion then comprehension as he figures out what's been going on behind his back. Before either of them say more, there's a soft tapping at the door and a childish voice asking for entrance.
Gibbs opens the door and Donny walks into the room. Dawes has teleported out again, and the former marine breathes a sigh of relief. He picks up his grandson and carries him over to the desk where he sits down with Donny in his arms. Two minutes later, Donny is sound asleep, and Gibbs isn't too far behind.
***
Down in her lab Abby is tapping away on her keyboard, ignorant of the pissed off female standing behind her until she's shoved to the side. Her indignant, "Hey!" is cut off when she sees Laurie standing between her and Dawes.
"Move aside, I want to take her down."
"No, Dawes. I can't let you do that. Jethro relies on Abby's skills as a forensic pathologist. He needs her in the work force. It's a skill I don't have and don't want to learn if you end up killing her."
"I can kill just as easily as she can and leave less trace than she can."
"No. This is between Abby and me. I'm a big girl Dawes; I can fight my own battles." There's a silent communication between the tall blonde and her darker haired friend.
The shorter woman nods, and looks over at Abby who still isn't certain what Laurie's trying to protect her from. Seeing the trashcan in the corner Dawes lifts her sunglasses and glares at the unsuspecting object. It explodes and Abby finally understands that the trashcan could have been her if Laurie hadn't intervened.
***
The sounding of the fire alarm wakes Gibbs from his light doze. He looks at the little one in his arms, marveling at how some children can sleep through anything. He carries Donny down the stairs, meeting up with Tim, Tony Sarah and Ziva as they head for the exit. Outside in the lot, he looks around for Abby and doesn't immediately see her. He's heading for the stairs when Laurie and Abby appear beside him.
Abby starts towards him but he's moving towards the blonde, checking her over for signs of injury. That's when the Goth knows that Gibbs is serious about Laurie. She sighs when she sees the tender way he touches the other woman's face. She can't remember ever seeing that particular expression on his face when they were together.
Donny wakes up, and sees his grandfather touching Laurie. He reaches out to the woman who calmly takes him in her arms. "I likes you, Miss Laurie. Can we go home now?"
***
a/n: and so ends chpt 18…final chapter coming up…thank you all for reading and to my main reviewers, thank you for staying with me.
