Me: La dee da! My muse is back once more! Who wants to celebrate?
Gibbs: ...
Abby: ...
Ziva: ...
Tony: I DO!
McGee: Ugh...
Disclaimer: Do I LOOK like a television producer/writer to you? I didn't think so.
"You need to relax," McGee insisted, offering the caffinated drink. It was Monday afternoon and things were going slow at NCIS. Abby shook her head and opened that game her husband used to play all the time before life got hectic and unpredictable-well, more unpredictable than it is now anyway.
"McGee, don't," Abby mumbled, searching her purse for some pills Ducky gave her last night that would abate some of the morning sickness, which had gotten more serious recently. Just as she got the pill bottle open, McGee suddenly grabbed her arm, causing white tablets to go flying everywhere onto the floor. Abby looked up in shock. Green on green. Soft on hard. Simple on complicated. What the...? She shook her head, clearing it.
"Are you pregnant?" he said accusingly.
"Tim-"
"Answer the question." The look in his face was frightening.
"I-I..." This was not how she wanted things to turn out. She wanted the news to make him happy, not angry. Or was it scared? She couldn't quite read the expression he now wore. The secrecy of her pregnancy definitely wasn't going well.
"What if I was?" she found herself asking.
"Then I won't find the need to drag you to a doctor and find out if you have cancer or something."
"Yes, I'm pregnant," Abby said. "Please, don't scare me like that. For a second, I thought you were going to-"
"Hurt you?" he finished, letting go of her arm and cleaning up the mess. "Abs, I'd never do that. You know that." She nodded, temproarily forgetting about memories of Hades and Steve and the curious matter of her cousin. The Caf-Pow! sat on the table to be hidden away later.
"I'm sorry I scared you earlier," McGee whispered some minutes later, pulling her closer to him. Abby felt a little thrill of relief tremble somewhere deep down. Yes, this was what she needed, the support. It didn't matter that Jewel was looking after their son, among with Ziva's triplets. At least not right now it didn't.
"We're having another baby," Abby murmured happily as McGee fiercely pressed his lips to hers.
"Keep it out of the office," a voice said. Abby rolled her eyes.
"Tony," McGee whined. "Can't we have a few minutes to ourselves?"
"Nope," he replied popping the 'p' obnoxiously in a classic Dinozzo way. "Listen, boss says to gear up, come on Probsters. I'm driving." He dangled the keys and grinned. "Hurry before Ziva claims shot gun again." McGee groaned, but followed him out, but not before tossing one lat desperate glance toward his very amused wife.
"Go," she mouthed, and then he was gone. She hid the Caf-Pow! before Gibbs could come in here and suspect things were different.
NCIS
"...that, of course, ended our relationship," Ducky added thoughtfully before realizing nobody was listening to him. "Time of death was approximately two and half hours ago. Now, Jethro, the cause of death is actually quite interesting of you must know-"
"Get on with it," Gibbs sighed, but inwardly smiled at his friend's endless supplies of tales. He had a story for every situation, and there were even stories for those stories. Ducky went on with a long technical explanation of what caused Denman's death, but Gibbs wasn't listening. He was more focused on McGee, who on the surface appeared to be normal. But as he walked away from the witnesses, there was a general air of distraction around him. Gibbs didn't like it when something was wrong. The silver haired man was determined to find out what was wrong with McGee, even if it meant dragging this case along like it meant nothing. Truly, the case wasn't all that important anyway. It was a general, easy to solve mystery they've done a dozen times over.
"Dinozzo," Gibbs barked, causing Tony to jump. "Help Ziva out with sweeiping the crime scene. Enough pictures for now. McGee, front and center." The ex-Probie obeyed at once, exuding more confidence than Gibbs had expected out of him. Then again, McGee had come a long way since his nervous, suttering Probie days all those years ago.
"Yes, boss?"
"There something you want to tell me?" He had glanced at his phone in the car. Abby made him promise to keep the pregnancy a secret for now, because she wanted everyone to find out naturally. Of course, given the circumstances Rylan had been concieved, it was only natural for her to want such a thing. She didn't want more attention than was necessary on her pregnancy. He could give her that much at least.
"No, sir."
"Alright, then." Gibbs nodded, though McGee looked strangely gaurded for some reason. He decided to let it go. For now. He'll find out eventually what was wrong with the young agent.
NCIS
"Yes!" Daniela crowed as they left the hospital. At long, long last, she was free! She asked her mother if she could go off with Nate on her date. Jewel quickly agreed, but Adien was strangely quiet as she ran off to where her best friend waited. Lately nobody had heard anything from Stacey, which Daniela found odd but didn't mention.
"What's wrong?" Jewel asked.
"We have not been married long and already our daughter is growing up," Adien said. "I want us to raise a child from scratch."
"I've...thought about that too," she said quietly. "And I think you're right. You are my husband now and you need that sense of fatherliness in raising a little girl, not an almost teenager. I'm up to it at any time."
"What about right now?" Adien slurred.
"The children are in the car!" Jewel protested. She had the liberty of watching Abby's son Rylan and Ziva's triplets Taliah, Maria, and Jane. All four of them proved to be a handful, but she was still getting used to this routine of having the babies throughout the day until they were old enough to be put in a day care.
"Alright, then," Adien sighed regretfully. Daniela and Nate walked off to a nearby ice cream store, oblivious to their surroundings. Jewel let down her gaurd as well, not noticing a shadow slip into a car that was suspiciously close to the MCRT's car used for transport between crime scenes.
NCIS
"I want shotgun!" Tony whined as the trio headed for the car.
"You already drove," Ziva said simply. "Now it is my turn and Tim deserves a chance in the passenger seat."
"Boss!" Tony called. "Who deserves to have shotgun, me or McGoodyTwoShoes over there?"
"Ziva," Gibbs replied. "I'm driving, you have shotgun."
"What?" McGee clambered into the back, uncomplaining as always. He didn't care where he sat in the car as long as it didn't end up causing any disasters. He hoped that Abby was doing well without him.
"Why so quiet?" Tony asked as Gibbs started the car. McGee just shrugged.
"Worried about Abby," he said finally. It was an honest answer that didn't reveal a thing. Tony nodded in understanding and let the subject drop after that.
"We're being followed," Ziva said after a time. Gibbs allowed an inconscpicious glance at the rearview mirror. For the past several miles, a dark mini van was behind them, not taking any other turns or side roads.
"Got your gun?" he murmured. Ziva nodded ever so slightly, as if they were being watched. "Good. Keep it handy." Gibbs suddenly spun the wheel, sending them all off into the grassy ditch off to their immediate right as the mini van sped along, roaring right past them.
NCIS
Jimmy Palmer strolled into the lab and strangely found it empty. He had some important news to tell Abby, but couldn't find her for some reason. She was always in here, and when she wasn't something was wrong. He stood there for a minute, confused. Maybe he just didn't see her. He looked around once more, calling her name. There was no sound but the music that was always played in here. He tried to calm his nervously thrumming heart, but Michelle...she would be disappointed if he didn't do as was asked. Abby wanted to be the first to know everything.
"Oh, hi Jimmy!" Abby said in the doorway. "Was there something you needed?" Jimmy turned to look at her. Something had been different lately. He couldn't tell what. He shook his head, forgetting the news. It suddenly didn't seem so important anymore.
"I'll-I'll just go," he stuttered, leaving the lab. "Sorry to bother you." Something was different all right, and he was going to find out.
NCIS
"Report," Gibbs said gruffly, hiding back a cough from their crash landing. He had oh so smoothly crashed the lovely dark blue 2007 Mercedes into a silo that belonged to a barn. Just their luck, this silo was filled with grain, and the whole front was buried in the stuff.
"I'm fine," Ziva called out, trying to get the door open, but finding there was so much grain in the way it was like trying to open a brick wall. She settled with shooting the window, causing glass to fly everywhere, but at least there was a way out. Gibbs easily ducked under the deadly sharp edges of what was left of the right window. Tony rolled his eyes and opened his own door with ease. The silo had also landed onto the roof and rolled off., causing a large dent on McGee's side.
"I'm great," Tony said as he helped his wife out of the car. McGee quietly echoed him and also stepped out of the vehicle. Gibbs checked under the hood, after removing all the infernal grain of course, and discovered the engine to be too smashed for any sort of repair.
"Looks like we're walking," Gibbs announced. "It's a good ten miles east from here." Tony groaned and Ziva commanded him to be quiet or she was making him carry her the whole way there.
NCIS
"Have you noticed anything different about Abby?" Jimmy asked later on in autopsy. Everything was prepared to begin the all-too-familiar process.
"Not exactly," Ducky answered, but even as he said it he remembered that day Abby had fallen ill so suddenly. Then again, perhaps what Jimmy had to say was unrelated to that moment.
"Are you sure?"
"No," Ducky said honestly. "Abigail did fall ill one day a couple weeks ago but did not tell me the possible cause of her sickness. I would have questioned her about it at the time, but unfortunately at the same time we got a case that was rather unexpected."
"I hope she isn't sick or something," Jimmy continued, thinking of all the reports he had heard of Abby running our of her lab unexpectedly.
"I hope so as well, Palmer. Now, we need to get started on this autopsy. Jethro should be back soon, with the way he drives sometimes. I remember last week..." Ducky continued on with his story with much enthusiasum as a temporary distraction from the possibly worry that something could be wrong with Abby.
NCIS
Meanwhile, Abby was alone in her lab, missing Rylan but not wanting to complain to even Bert who was the greatest listener of all next to Gibbs. But Gibbs wasn't here. He usually was back by now, but something was wrong. She turned to leave the lab, feeling another round of morning sickness. She stopped suddenly when she saw Steve standing there. Nausea forgotten, she stared at him in shock. His presence was of no concern, but the gun pointing at her gut was certainly something to be afraid of, though she did her best not to show it.
"What...what are you doing here?" Abby asked breathlessly as the bout of nausea began to pass.
"I came to end this," Steve said, his eyes boring into hers. "I came for...revenge."
"Hades?" He nodded.
"I don't want you to die, but Hades was my friend-"
"But you never knew the real Hades," Abby argued. "He was completely crazy and a sadist on top of that. That is never a good mix." Steve shook his head, starting to get angry.
"He wasn't crazy!" Steve insisted, sounding like a child in denial about Santa Claus not being real after all.
"Oh really? Would you call someone who enjoys every scream, every moment that blood flowed to the ground, every tear, normal?" she asked in a low voice. Steve continued shaking his head, refusing to believe it, but realiazation began to dawn. The gun shook, but otherwise showed no sign of being lowered.
"But, but-the notebook-the...I-" Steve sounded close to tears now. Show no pity, Abby thought. He plans to kill you eventually. And then you'll lose Rylan, the unborn child, and McGee forever, in permenant darkness...
"You're going to die." That she knew. Abby thought fast. The Caf-Pow! still sat in her mini fridge, but it was all the way across the lab. She backed up toward it, remaining steady eye contact and not changing her expression in the slightest.
"Where are you going?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes.
"I'm just getting a drink," Abby replied honestly. Omitting a part of the truth was the most effective way to lie to someone without seeming suspicious. She reached behind her, the fridge now open along with the drink.
"Go on, drink it!" Steve demanded. "Have a little fun in your last moments on earth!" His hand was shaking violently. He didn't want to be a killer. Abby tossed the Caf-Pow! in his face, reminded of the time she got an assistant in her lab once upon a time. She found some rope, which came quite handy in tying him to the table leg very tightly.
"You can do whatever you want to me," Abby said, looking down at him, "but never hurt my unborn child."
