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Armed with large cup of black coffee and a very large cup of Caff-Pow, Agent Jethro Gibbs made his way down to the lab, hoping to get a few moments alone with Abby before the Major returned to NCIS headquarters. Gibbs wanted to know just what Abby thought of the Marine Corps officer. What he found when he walked through the lab doors was something else entirely. Seated at a small workstation was Maj. Gwen Cassidy, diligently going through case files and making notes on her computer. Upon noticing Gibbs' arrival, the Major stood up from her seat and came to attention.
Gibbs realized quickly that this woman had protocol and procedure ingrained into her genetic makeup at this point, and he actually found it a little refreshing. Here was a Marine who actually believed in the old values of the Corps and showing him courtesies out of a deep respect instead of the fear he felt from most other Marines. As much as Gibbs hated having outsiders working within NCIS, he was starting to warm to this particular outsider, even though he was still withholding his judgment until he had a chance to talk to Abby about the woman.
"At ease, Major… No need for that when dealing with a lowly Gunny." Gibbs took another look around the lab, "Where's Abby?"
The Major relaxed her shoulders a bit before answering, "Uh, she was still sleeping on her couch when I came in, so I just closed the door to her office and got to work, S-Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs strained to look over the glass into Abby's office and found the peacefully resting, young, Goth woman curled up in a ball on her couch, with one, coal black pigtail hanging in her face. "Ah yes… Probably a good idea to let sleeping bats hang." The Major's face betrayed a hint of confusion, but she quickly hid it from further review. "So, when did you get here, Major?"
The Major took a quick glance at her watch and was surprised to see the current time, "More than an hour, it would appear… I had to drive today, and I wanted to miss the traffic in from Montgomery County, so I left early. Arrival time was 0615, Sir." She slipped once again, but at least it was not as frequent as yesterday.
"Montgomery County?… Seems like a long trip to be taking in to the Pentagon every day, Maj. Cassidy." Gibbs decided this might be the perfect opportunity for him to question the Major himself.
"It is, but it was more important for my husband to be close to work." The Major decided to play along with the impromptu interrogation. "I typically take the Red Line in to the city and the Yellow out to my office, Agent Gibbs."
"The Metro is a good thing for that… Husband, huh?... How long have you been married, Major?" Gibbs took a swig from his coffee cup in an attempt to appear non-chalant.
The Major cracked a small smile, "This June it will be eighteen years, Sir."
Gibbs choked on his coffee at her answer, "Eighteen years!" Gibbs wiped away the small bit of coffee that escaped his mouth and fell onto his chin, "You can't possibly be serious… With the same guy?"
This time the Major laughed out loud, "Yes, Sir… Same man, the whole time… We've actually been together for nearly twenty years, but we had to wait until I was eighteen before we could get married."
Gibbs just shook his head because he was having a hard time believing that someone like that could still exist in the world. "High school sweethearts and everything."
The Major struck a pensive expression, "Well, not exactly… Some people might have considered him in the 'taking advantage of a young girl' category… At least those that didn't know me, Sir." When Gibbs shot her a questioning look, she elaborated, "He was on liberty from the Academy when we met in Ocean City… I was there for a volleyball tournament and to visit some family. He and his buddies were there to watch the girls playing volleyball and my cousin introduced us. We obviously hit it off very well."
Gibbs processed all the info he had been given, "So, you were sixteen when you met. What year was he in at the Academy?"
"Well, let's see, he was first class when I started, so he had just finished his first year at the Academy when we met." The Major looked at Agent Gibbs and realized he was trying to figure out how old that made her husband at the time, "Which means he was about to turn nineteen when we met. Old enough to know better, but young enough it didn't matter too much, Sir."
Gibbs nodded his head in agreement, and worked out his next question as he drank from his cup once more. "Well, if he was an Academy man, does that mean there is another Marine at home, Major?"
"No, Sir… He's a Navy man, through and through. Much to the dismay of his father and the delight of his grandfather." The Major chuckled a little with her own disclosure.
"Let me guess, his father was in the Army?" Gibbs smirked at the notion of a family dealing with that rivalry.
"God no!" Her exclamation surprised Gibbs, "The Captain would have sunk his own ship if he ever thought a daughter of his was gonna marry an Army grunt. No, his father was a Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant… Part of the 1st Marine Division, 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment during Korea and at the opening of Vietnam." The Major had become much more relaxed during her conversation with Gibbs, so she had let her guard down a bit. "And the Captain was part of Adm. Halsey's group out in the Pacific, but he finished out his Naval Career at Naval Station Ingleside in Texas. And true to his word, he's going to outlive us all: the Captain recently celebrated his ninety-second birthday." The pride in her words was very clear to Gibbs.
"Sounds to me like you're pretty close with his family, Major." Gibbs was still on his fishing expedition.
"Very much so, Sir. And he to mine… In fact, our families spend more time with each other than they do with us anymore. Our Dads keep trading fishing trips back and forth, and our Moms are usually tagging along; they just stay ashore. And J.T.'s folks just bought some property not far from mine, and my brother's are going to build the house for them." As Gibbs sat down in Abby's chair, the Major re-took her own seat. "We have really been very fortunate, in that respect."
"Sounds like it." Gibbs decided the questioning about her background was over, and it was time to get down to business, "So, how close are you to giving us that profile, Maj. Cassidy?"
Quick to follow the change in conversation, the Major picked up another file and set it next to the computer, "Probably take me the better part of today and tomorrow to get through all the case files, agent notes and transcripted testimony. So, that gives me until the end of the week to finish out my profile. Leaves you with a solid week to make headway in finding the UnSub, Agent Gibbs."
Her last term struck Gibbs as familiar, but he was not able to put a finger on it, "UnSub?"
"Oh… Sorry, 'Unknown Subject.' Nasty terminology I picked up from working with a few F.B.I. trainees back in my grad school days, Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs just nodded, "I thought it sounded familiar, but I just couldn't quite place it… So, you think it will take you the rest of the week to get your profile together?"
The Major looked up from her work again, "Well, honestly, Sir? No, I don't… I might even have something for you by tomorrow, but I always cushion my deadlines. Better to come in under the deadline than over it in the Corps, Sir. But I don't have to tell you that."
Gibbs shook his head because the Major was obviously finding it difficult to drop the "Sir" business, so he had formulated a compromise, "Look, Major… I'm not accustomed to ANYONE calling me 'Sir', let alone an officer… How about we try using ranks and see if that doesn't make it easier on both of us?" He saw a glimmer of acceptance and gratitude from the Major. "Since you obviously have a need to remember my service, how about you just call me 'Gunny?'"
The smile once again crossed the Major's face, "I think that would be just fine, Gunny." She took a deep breath, "And I apologize for slipping up on the 'sir' thing… Between growing up in a proper Southern home, and spending my entire adult life in formal military environments, it is really hard to drop, Gunny."
And that was the final piece of the puzzle that Gibbs had been searching for: the Major was from the South. That explained the whole thing for him; the high level of respect for everyone (but especially for him), the family history of service, the Academy and the Pentagon. All of those things lumped together created a person who was simply incapable of not using "sir" and "ma'am" on a constant basis. "Not a problem, Major… Just glad we could clear that up. I would have hated having to take a swing at you… Especially, after I heard about your fight record at the Academy from Master Sergeant Jowarski." Gibbs tipped his coffee cup at the Major as he was leaving the lab, and then pointed at the conspicuous, giant plastic cup he left at Abby's workstation, "Make sure Abby gets that when she wakes up, Major."
"Roger that, Gunny."
The Major shook her head and chuckled at the exchange she had just been a part of here in the lab. Perhaps this joint operation would not be as bad as she had thought in the first place.
As she finished that thought, an obviously tousled Abby came out of her office, clutching the door frame with both hands as she precariously leaned out of the office, "I smell caffeine."