Waiting
The team had decided that it would be pointless to try to sleep, and equally pointless to try to work, so they had all decided to crash at the biggest place that any of them had - Abby and Tim's house.
In spite of nobody having much of an appetite, Palmer took it upon himself to order take-out, both he and Ducky insisting that they had to eat sometime if they were to do Gibbs any good at all. Abby headed into the kitchen to make coffee, while Tim rummaged through the linen closet for extra blankets and pillows - if they were going to have a massive NCIS sleepover, they might as well go whole hog on it, he figured. Anyway, the team really did need to be together tonight, even if all it meant was being in the same room.
Tony channel surfed until he found a classic movie channel, and Ducky headed into the kitchen to assist Abby in the "proper" way to make a decent cup of tea.
When the coffee had been made, and the tea was steeping to Ducky's satisfaction, and the take-out had been delivered, they all settled in to the living room. Kate curled up on one end of the big couch, with Tony sitting next to her, trying to find an appropriate distance. He didn't want to piss her off by getting in her space, but he also felt a need to be close to her tonight. Kate seemed to sense that, however, and the feeling was mutual, because she didn't complain as she normally might have, when Tony inched closer to her.
Abby and Tim settled in on the loveseat, curling up together in the casual closeness that the others had all become accustomed to seeing from them. Ducky took the big easy chair recliner, putting his tired feet up, and Palmer took the other end of the couch that Kate and Tony were occupying, folding his legs under him.
After they had eaten, and they realised that the movie wasn't being watched, they turned off the tv, and began to settle into an uneasy conversation. They were all too worried about Gibbs to get into anything very involving, but they also recognised the need to distract one another while they waited for news.
When a gentle but steady snoring was heard coming from the easy chair, Palmer silently got up and retrieved a blanket from the stack that Tim had deposited on the floor next to the coffee table. Taking a cue, Kate arose from her spot on the couch, and helped the young morgue assistant drape the covering over the older man. No sooner had they accomplished that small task, than Abby noticed that Tony had also drifted off to sleep. She gestured to Kate, who smiled slightly as she retrieved another blanket, and tucked Tony in herself, settling down a little closer to him than she normally might. As she herself drifted off, she slowly fell over towards Tony, coming to rest gently against his soundly sleeping form
Abby settled back, snuggling down against Tim's chest, and allowed herself to drift off, soothed into slumber by his steady, even breathing. One by one, the team was claimed by their exhaustion.