step by step
An NCIS fic collection
by mew-tsubaki
- ^-^3
imagine: miscellany 12—s20e5…again (this post on the sideblog: 701490763760074752/ parknight-imagines-miscellany-12-s20e5again)
tags: s20e5, established!Parknight, AU
- ^-^3
Germany. Of all the places, it had to be on the other side of the ocean…Germany.
They've got a pressing case breathing down their necks and yet Director Vance still insists on attending that conference against everyone's advice. Under regular circumstances, McGee might volunteer to go with him, Knight would sigh about the sights she'd see instead of working, and Torres would regale them all with anecdotes of past operations from that area, surely.
But these are the circumstances they've got, that Vance was attacked in his own home and the rest of the team will remain in the U.S. to work the case from here and hold down the fort because Parker will dog his heels whether the director likes it or not.
It all happens too quickly. One moment, they're all half-awake in Vance's living room, stepping carefully to avoid the broken glass and other debris. The next, Vance and Parker have left the country, leaving Knight and the others to focus on the fruitless break-in.
Germany's nine hours away. It's not as though Knight doesn't have anything to keep her busy or distracted, but she definitely notices the absence at the desk to her left while those hours tick away.
By the time the day's over and she and Torres have done enough teasing McGee at being director-for-the-day, Knight's ready to go home and hit the hay early. But she's a mere two steps from her car when her phone chirrups with a text:
-Arrived safe and sound.
Knight smiles, and the weight in her chest lessens for the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, since they arrived at Vance's house. Her thumbs tap back:
-Shouldn't you be working and not texting? ;)
Three little dots appear, and Parker's next message comes faster than she thought it might:
-Trying to check in, but Vance is chatting up a friend first.
Her eyebrows rise. Parker always likes to pretend he doesn't participate in gossip, but he's got a roundabout way of divulging the juicy bits, she's noticed. Although, the scoop on their director aside, his text carries a hint of envy, maybe…a bit of longing? Knight smiles at the thought of what his yearning pout must look like. She replies:
-Hang in there, Alden. A dose of long-distance won't kill you.
This time, he takes longer to answer. But it's clear by his response that he's torn between honesty and sardonic humor:
-…it might. That or Vance trying to shake me or this case—I've got options.
But his dark joke makes her laugh, and Knight shakes her head at his resigned attitude, wondering as she heads home if Parker will spend every waking second parked outside Vance's door during their trip…or if, perhaps, he'll spare her a minute for an overseas pep talk.
- ^-^3
Revisited this ep again bc when I'm told Parknight had v little interaction in an ep…well, this is where my mind goes. XD (Altho may I just point out that Knight's expressions when Parker clearly was gonna get up to smthg over that MTAC call? Priceless.)
-mew! :')