Chapter 12
Gibbs and Abby entered the lab together, silent and hurting but side by side, their steps keeping time with each other. They both stopped as they saw McGee asleep over the computer desk, his hands still resting on the keyboard, his head beside it. Abby turned and looked at Gibbs noting the concern in his eyes, at odds with the scowl on his face; she placed her had on his arm
"Shsh Gibbs, he hasn't moved from that chair all day, trying to crack the info we need, whoever it is has covered their tracks really, really well. Send him home Gibbs, lets all just go home" she said sadly, the days events finally beginning to catch up with her, Gibbs sighed and nodded as he crossed over to McGee's chair
"McGee!" he said loudly in the sleeping agents ear, McGee woke with a start, nearly falling off the chair except for Gibbs's hand catching him and holding him steady
"Go home McGee" he said curtly, his eyes narrowed in what looked like anger but in fact hid his concern.
"But Boss…" McGee started, his hand waving at the computer, fear on his face at being caught sleeping
"Go. Home. Now." Gibbs ground out "You are too tired to be worth a damn, go home, sleep and be back here early" Gibbs said, reaching over and turning the monitor but not the computer off. McGee looked at Gibbs for a moment and then nodded, before turning the screen back on and starting the process ofshutting down.
"Yeah Boss" was all McGee said.
Gibbs turned and crossed to Abby, "When McGee leaves you come upstairs to me" he told her firmly his hand resting briefly on her shoulder, and then he turned and looked at McGee
"Make sure you accompany Abby" he said not waiting for a reply as he left. Abby watched him go, smiling at how mean he must have seemed to McGee but knowing that the gruffness hid the caring Jethro, the man who's desk diary in the den at home had all of their birthdays marked on it.
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Gibbs entered the bullpen to find only Kate at her desk, Tony no where to be seen
"Where's DiNozzo?" he growled as he passed Kate, heading for his desk and the messages and files neatly piled on it
"He's gone back to Flynn's house Gibbs; he wanted to look around again, see if there was anything we had missed before" Kate told him as she crossed to his desk
"Flynn's wife has disappeared; there is no trace of her anywhere, except that when she went she withdrew $3,000 from a checking account in her maiden name, I don't think he killed her, I think she did a runner, her disappearance tallies with a missing person report of a young Goth girl who still hasn't been found" Kate told him "I think she could be Flynn's first victim and the wife found out and ran" she concluded
Gibbs took the sheet Kate handed him and strained to read it
"Good work Kate" he said handing the unread sheet back, "I don't think the wife knew of the payout on Abby, time frame is wrong,but its still worth trying to find her" he said more to himself than to Kate, who stood silent. Gibbs looked up at her
"Go home Kate, get some rest, there's not a lot more we can do tonight, but be here early" he said catching sight of Abby and McGee entering the bullpen, Kate smiled at him and turned to get her things, pausing to smile at Abby and McGee
Gibbs turned and watched Abby cross and talk to Kate for a moment, then the two women embraced and Kate left, Gibbs smiled as he reached for his phone. As he waited for Tony to answer he watched Abby walk towards him and sit on his desk, a wicked smile on her face as she toyed with the pens on his desk
"DiNozzo" he heard on the other end his mind distracted by the fact that Abby was now sucking her finger, her eyes never leaving his, a wicked grin on her face.
"Yeah Tony, what have you found" he said, tearing his eyes away from Abby, his grin telling her he knew her game, his hand signing 'Be Good'
"Nothing much really boss, I just wanted to check around again with a fresh eye, there's a couplea things I'm bringing in but I'm not sure there important" Tony said on the other end
"Call it a night Tony, bring the things in with you tomorrow and we will see what we have then" Gibbs said rubbing his neck tiredly, noticing out of the corner of his eye Abby jumping down from her perch and then her fingers were batting his out of the way and she was massaging the knots away, it took all of Gibbs's strength not to moan out loud at the magic her fingers worked on his stiff neck
"Ok boss, see you in the morning" he heard Tony say before Gibbs shut his phone with a snap and moving away from Abby's fingers
"Let's go" he said not looking at her, knowing she would be grinning for ear to ear
"Yes Sir, Boss man" she smart mouthed back, skipping to the lifts ahead of him, through the now empty bullpen
"Let's get Chinese tonight" she said as he reached her at the elevator just as the doors opened.