For fear of Gibbs' wrath - or even mild disapproval - few of the NCIS team had done much dressing up for Halloween. Oh, a few people were sporting festive pins or jewelry, and the irrepressible Tony had shown up in a pirate costume, but it was basically business as usual.
The auburn-haired young woman entering seemed to have complied with this to a fault, Kate thought idly; if anything, her crisp blouse and navy skirt were a little too conservative. Frowning slightly, she tapped the stranger on the shoulder.
And stared. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Tony snap to attention as well, going so far as to lift his eye-patch for a better look.
The woman only grinned in the face of their scrutiny, offering a jaunty wave as she boarded the elevator. "Happy Halloween, guys!"
Once the doors had closed, there followed several moments of silence. "Well," Kate managed, "You can't say that Abby doesn't know how to pick a costume."
The eye-patch fell back into place, as did a smirk that looked quite appropriate to the buccaneer's garb. "True. And by the way, I knew it all along."
"Knew what?"
"Her hair. It had to be red under that dye. How else do you explain her and Gibbs?"