Plus One
An NCIS oneshot
by mew-tsubaki
Note: The NCIS characters belong to Donald P. Bellasario, not to me. *ASDFGHJKL* Did e15 rly give us all that wonderful content or what?! 8D Read, review, and enjoy! *Note: Set after s19e15, "Thick as Thieves."
- ^-^3
Despite the jitters in the bullpen a few minutes ago, Knight's and Jimmy's nerves settled in his car on the drive partway across town to the wedding hall. Although, truth be told, if anyone had asked her, Knight would confess hers rather had settled after changing into her dress in the ladies' room back at headquarters.
"Is this the first right?" Jimmy asked abruptly, pulling her from her thoughts.
Knight dug her phone from her clutch and brought up the directions with the map attached before glancing at the street sign. "Yep. Turn here."
"Huh," he said while they waited for a pause in the traffic. "And you said the place was—"
"Formerly the Liberty Suite Hotel. Now the Liberty Sweet Function Hall—'for all events,'" Knight tacked on with a tiny roll of her eyes at the dumb name change.
She spied his awkward smile out of the corner of her eye. "I meant that it's really only about fifteen minutes away from NCIS," he said.
"Oh."
They both laughed, though, when he caught her eye. "You're really not a fan of weddings, huh, Jess?"
She sighed and fought the urge to run a hand through her styled hair. "I'm down for a good party," Knight clarified. "I just…hate it when the party's every last detail is overly laden with subliminal messaging." She paused and gave him a little nod. "Thanks again, for accepting my invite at the last possible minute."
Jimmy grinned. "It was worth McGee's and Torres' teasing." He paused, a pinch forming between his eyebrows. "Or was it? Those two…"
"Oh, turn left after the second light here."
"Ah, thanks."
"And nah, let them be childish." Knight shook her head. "For all my groaning about weddings, we'll have a great time, Jimmy. You're good company, my friend. Besides, who doesn't have a great time at weddings except jilted ex-lovers who were accidently put on the invite list?"
He chuckled at that. "Point taken."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, interrupted by the occasional direction or correction given by Knight the closer they drew upon the wedding hall. And, the closer they got, the denser the traffic became. The ceremony would begin shortly, with or without all guests present, though Knight preferred showing up so she'd appear in photos later, lest she hear about it through the Knight family grapevine.
Jimmy pulled into the parking lot and circled twice until he found a spot on the outer edge of the lot. "We're cutting it a bit close," he said, urgency in his voice as they hustled from the car.
"Just think of it as training for if you ever decide to switch career tracks and join us in the field," Knight quipped as they speed-walked to join the dregs of the small crowd being funneled inside.
Her remark made him do a double-take. "What?! Oh, please, no. FLETC would eat me up and spit me out…!"
His reaction brought a smile to her face, which was good. It was easier to wave at family members and familiar-ish faces whose names she couldn't recall with a smile on her face.
Knight and Jimmy followed the stream of guests into the second-largest hall at Liberty Sweet. The friends grabbed a pair of seats a row in front of what was certainly the back but not close enough to the middle and situated themselves between a half-awake neighborly woman and the beaming, bubbly Jensens, who were Knight's "cousins from the Midwest, thrice-removed!" Even without asking, Jimmy made good use of his observational skills and promptly put himself between Knight and the too-cheery couple. She poked his arm with her clutch and gave him a nod of thanks as the ceremony began.
It was…all right, she supposed? Knight had been to weddings before. This one, at least, had a smaller wedding party, so they got through the ceremony faster and moved into Liberty Sweet's gigantic reception hall in short order. Although Knight felt caught unawares when it was time to stand and applaud the newly married couple as they walked down the aisle ahead of everyone else. Jimmy had to nudge her to stand in time with everyone.
Jimmy peered at her quizzically but said nothing. He merely offered her his arm once more and waited with her until they had an opportunity to head to the reception.
"That was surprisingly short," Knight remarked as they made their way to table twenty-three by the ice sculpture of lovebirds and flowers.
But Jimmy shook his head. "Not really? Your cousin, Barbara, read her vows really quickly, but her new husband had an essay in his hands," he pointed out with a chuckle.
She blinked. "Did he? I didn't notice."
Jimmy opened his mouth to comment but changed his mind, shaking his head. "Well, the worst part's over, right?"
Someone tapped then on a microphone, causing awful feedback to ripple throughout the room. Then they spoke into it, their voice sounding distorted, "GOod eVENing, KNIGHTS and mcQUEENs!"
Jimmy ducked his head with his fingers in his ears until someone killed the mic. "I'm so sorry for jinxing us."
"Don't look now, but I think there are also more people here than were at the ceremony," Knight groaned after a quick scan of the room.
And then the music started.
Once more, Jimmy and Knight shared an empathetic look. "At least dinner comes first!" he reminded her.
Knight mustered a grin, recalling the one she'd worn earlier. Jimmy was right, of course, but live music, gourmet steak, and decadent desserts weren't going to change the fact that, once they let loose, her family and family's friends were extremely capable at turning this reception into utter chaos. Knight found herself halfway through her meal with her cheek cupped in her palm, watching it all and not quite absorbing the scene before her eyes.
"I think I get it now."
His voice spooked her. Knight jolted and dropped her fork on her plate and— "Wait. Where's my steak?"
Jimmy gestured to the wait staff weaving around tables throughout the hall. "They cleared the entrées about ten minutes ago, Jess. You'd stopped eating a while ago, so I thought it was okay for them to take it. Sorry. Should I have stopped them?"
Knight pouted and stared at the slice of chocolate cake in front of her. She answered after a bite, "…no, I guess not." She glanced at him. "You were saying?"
He raised a curious eyebrow above his glasses and repeated, "I think I get it now. Why you were desperate, not wanting to come here alone."
She half chuckled, half groaned at herself. She wondered if Torres had let slip that she'd even tried roping Sawyer into tagging along. "I was sort of in dire straits…"
Jimmy tipped his head out towards the crowd gathered on the expanding dance floor, as more tables were pushed out of the way to make room for certain people's extravagant moves. "You've got quite the extended family."
She scrunched up her nose but couldn't disagree with his assessment as she watched the scene's details, too. "Yeah… Knights don't really know when to quit?" she offered.
"Did you want to dance?"
"Um, not yet. I think I'll pick at my cake some more first, if you don't mind."
He nodded. "Whenever you're ready."
Knight smiled, but—with another lull in conversation—she found herself poking at what was on her plate once more. She took another bite, but the cake was surprisingly dry.
Jimmy cleared his throat then, which got her attention. His own dessert was gone and he was half through his second glass of water, his champagne barely touched. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Something on your mind tonight, Jess?" he asked.
She went to assure him nothing was, but Parker's mixed bag of expressions and behaviors from the last few days flashed to the forefront of her mind. Knight hesitated and switched gears. "Just the case," she settled on, rubbing the back of her neck. She leaned her elbows on the table, definitely done with food for the night.
He nodded. "Well, I still appreciate that you invited me. And I apologize for calling this a date earlier."
Knight blinked. "What? Why? Friends can go on dates without it being weird, Jimmy. Don't worry about it."
"I know, but…" His smile dimmed; it was faint, but the lights in the reception hall were glaring and highlighted the tiniest change so well. "It really is different, without Breena," Jimmy admitted. He absentmindedly fingered his bare ring finger as he scanned the room and then leaned back in his chair. "I see everyone here enjoying themselves, and all I can think is that this is a place I should be enjoying with her, you know? I can't even bring myself to dance yet."
Suddenly she felt guilty for turning down his dance earlier. But not every dance was meant for two people. "…not even one Chicken Dance, for Torres?" she gently encouraged with a smile.
Jimmy laughed. "Maybe. But only if you promise to capture it on video and send it to Victoria to prove that her dad has got moves."
This time, she laughed with him. In spite of the heavy turn, the atmosphere between them felt better, or perhaps she felt lighter—who knew? Regardless, a talk with Dr. James Palmer never did anyone any harm.
After a moment of watching some guests do or attempt the Hokey-Pokey, Jimmy bumped her shoulder with his. "So we now know why I'm not on the dance floor. But what about the mighty Agent Knight? It seems as if your mind's mostly been elsewhere for the evening."
"What? It hasn't—" She scoffed when Jimmy settled her with a dry look.
"Is the case really all that's on your mind? In the car, during the ceremony, throughout dinner, and even now—you look as though you've got something to say…but I have the feeling it's not to me."
Once more, Parker flashed in her head. Damn Jimmy for hitting the nail on the head…! Not that Knight was going to admit it. Entirely. She sighed and returned his knowing smile. "Gimme a minute, then?"
"Take all the time you need," Jimmy insisted.
Knight gave his shoulder a squeeze of thanks before excusing herself from the table. She left her jacket inside with him, figuring a quick duck outside would settle her nerves. After all, this was just—just an itch she had to scratch. That was all.
Right?
She stopped questioning herself and took her phone from her clutch once she was on the small staircase leading up to Liberty Sweet's main doors. She dialed Parker and held the phone up to her ear. In case a wind picked up suddenly or a nosy family member walked out, Knight decided against using speakerphone.
"Hello?"
She hadn't expected him to answer on the first ring! "Uh! Parker, hi."
"Knight. Is everything all right?" There was a pause, briefly, as if he checked the time. "Shouldn't you be enjoying a reception by now?"
She was oddly flattered that he recalled her plans; considering everything that had happened, she would've given him a pass for being hyper-focused on his own issues the last few days. "No, no, I'm good," Knight assured him, an easy smile forming of its own accord on her face. She caught sight of her reflection in the building's glass doors and whirled away from them as she continued, "I'm good, Jimmy's good, the wedding was fine—my cousin only tripped once going up the aisle." She sighed. "The reception's bonkers, though."
Silence on Parker's end. He could be offering her the floor; they could have a poor connection; he could be distracted as she originally thought. It was anyone's guess. And it made her tense, just a bit, as she dwelled on why she wanted to call.
"You still at the office?" she asked. "Or did you head home? I'm guessing, after today, you and Billy are, um…a bit sick of each other…" Dammit. Was it just her or was there just no good way to broach the subject?!
But maybe she hadn't stuck her foot in her mouth or overstepped, since Parker did that soft, amused scoff-chuckle of his on his end. "Ah…yeah, no. Billy and I—we'll be good. Thanks for checking in, though, Knight."
She furrowed her brow. "You sure? I've watched you the last couple days, Parker, and—"
"No, honest." He paused; there was a dull tapping sound, like his finger on his desk or perhaps on the steering wheel. "If it'll reassure you, I'll ask Tess to set an extra place next time I go over to Billy's for dinner, yeah?"
Knight gaped at the pavement in reply. She didn't have to turn and face the glass doors to know how red her face was. She hadn't meant to score a dinner invite…!
"Hey, it's quiet on your end—party not all it's cracked up to be?" Parker asked, bringing Knight back to her senses.
"No, it's—" Her shoulders sank and she glanced behind her, thinking of the exhibition where she'd left Jimmy. "Well, it's all right," Knight supposed.
Another scoff-chuckle. "I told you, deejays are never as good as a real band."
That sticking point of his made her snicker. "Actually, there is a real band. You missed your chance, Parker," Knight joked.
"Oh. A damn shame."
She blinked. Wait, what?
Another beat of silence passed between them as she tried to comprehend his reply, because— Surely, he didn't—? And yet— Knight pulled her phone away for a second, squinted at it as if she could analyze Parker through the device, and decided to test the waters a bit, to see if she were reading between the lines correctly.
"You also missed the great reveal," she added, "Jimmy and me in our evening finest." She shrugged, faking at being casual which helped steady her voice. "McGee and Torres got their jokes in before we left, but even they were floored."
"…I see."
Knight's shoulders fell. So she had misread him. She did her best to stifle her sigh, figuring she'd worn out her conversation with Parker for the night. "Well, I—I just wanted to check on you. So goodni—"
"Knight. Text me the address."
This time, she couldn't withhold her surprise: "Wait, what?"
"Just text me." And he hung up.
Well, that had caught her off-guard! And yet, despite their chat, she refused to get her hopes up, even as she went ahead and texted him Liberty Sweet's address. She'd learned so much about him the last several days, and yet still Alden Parker boggled the mind.
Knight waited for a couple minutes. But the wait was pointless. No one pulled in to the lot or even lingered on the street. It was rather quiet out here despite the party going on inside. Speaking of which—
She ducked back inside. She spied Jimmy still at their table, but he was tapping his foot along with the music and eyeing the dancing crowd, looking as though he might join, after all. The sight made her glad and made her feel a little less guilty when she collected her jacket from the back of her chair. "So, I might have a ride home. Kind of. Maybe?" she told him.
He beamed at her. "I take it your call went well?"
"We're about to see."
Only then did that usual Dr. Palmer worried furrow form between his brows. "Uh, Jess…"
"Don't worry, Jimmy. If anything changes, I'll call you. Scout's honor."
He gave her one of McGee's more skeptical looks. "You were a Girl Scout?"
Knight snorted. "Okay, you got me there. But the sentiment's the same." She glanced out over the dance floor. "And, if I might make a recommendation… You can shut down any invasive conversation with my family by going into the nitty-gritty of Autopsy. But I'd suggest asking my cousin Tara for a dance—the blonde in the purple floral dress. She's stress-free fun like me, but more so." Knight pointed the cousin in question out before giving Jimmy an encouraging wink and a hearty pat on the shoulder ahead of leaving.
Back outside, though, Knight tamped down her excitement. The same as before, there were no new cars in the lot. She nearly cursed, heading for the street-side exit to check there. And that was when she spotted him.
Parker had parked across the street. He actually stood outside the car, leaning against his door, his arms crossed casually while he waited. But his arms slipped free and his mouth fell open, seeing Knight walk towards him. "…wow," was the first thing out of his mouth.
She grinned, glad she hadn't put her jacket on yet. So funny—McGee, Torres, even Jimmy had had the same reaction to her. Yet somehow it felt different, hearing Parker express his amazement. "So, what's this?" Knight prodded, one hand on her hip and the other gesturing grandly to him and his car.
"Well, I—" He tried clearing his throat. He took another breath, too, and scratched his beard. But Parker quickly decided he was through the hemming and hawing. "I wanted to correct a few things," he admitted. His eyes dipped for a second before he averted his gaze. "Such as seeing you in your dress. I thought I might sneak in a dance, but." He chuckled and shook his head. "I look like a bum beside you."
But Knight waved his assessment off. "Oh, please. Trust me. At this hour, your attire's top-tier amongst my party-hardy family."
"No, I mean—" Parker stood straight and gestured to his scruff mostly.
But that only made her chuckle. She patted his scruffy cheek without thinking. A second later, her brain woke up as she realized the intimacy of the motion.
He merely raised his eyebrows in response.
Knight withdrew her hand but otherwise stayed put. "You weren't home, then?" she asked after a beat.
Parker shook his head again, a more subtle move this time so his eyes didn't move from hers. "No, I was on my way back to the office, thinking of wrapping up unfinished business. That's when I got your call." He motioned to the venue with a jerk of his chin. "Palmer gonna mind that I whisked you away?"
"Nope. He needed this night out in a different way than I did. And I—" Knight shrugged. "What can I say? My mind was on a certain agent who revealed a lot of himself the last few days, even when he thought no one was watching." She paused, trickling some of her concern into her next words. "I was worried about you."
"So you've said. …thank you," Parker added, visibly softening when Knight didn't budge. "Those crazy days are behind me, I guarantee that, you know."
She raised her eyebrows. "Really? Because a little bit of crazy isn't that bad. It tends to get the job done around here—or haven't you met our team?"
They laughed. It was something genuine, too, from Parker, more than a version of his chuckle. And seeing him laugh was infectious, made any remaining tension from their phone call dissipate. "Ah, jeez," he exhaled, still grinning. It could've been the joke that had him grinning; it could've been the extra half a step she'd taken towards him while they laughed that had him grinning. As usual, it was anyone's guess. But his eyes were back on hers.
And it was that last detail that Knight liked most. "Besides…the occasional impulse makes you turn around for the last dance, right?"
He didn't even blink. This was the more cautious side of Parker, ever the calculating man, waiting until he had all the data.
So Knight supplied the necessary information he was missing. She slipped her free hand into his with a smirk.
Better than describing that zing of electricity on her end was seeing it in Parker's expression. The man had a decent poker face, but even he couldn't hide how his eyes moved in reaction to her touch. Not to mention he unconsciously stood just that much straighter, closer to her. And his smirk matched hers.
None of this would've ever been conveyed over some damn phone call.
"Well," Parker began, his eyes leaving Knight's face only to trail over her shoulder and down her arm to their joined hands, "if we aren't going to go inside and dance, we sure as hell can't dance in the middle of the street, Knight."
She laughed as he walked backwards and around to lead her to the passenger side door. "You have a place in mind then, Parker?"
"Yeah, I might have one in mind, so hop in."
- ^-^3
8DDD OKAY, SO. First! Regardless of favs or who you ship, I think we can all agree that e15 was a lot of fun and just felt like good ol' NCIS. That writing! Where has that been!? Like, the last several eps have been quite good and I'm? ;w; *so emotional rn lol* Second: This is, like, the 3rd wedding I've written in about a week, across only two fics, and I'm sick of them already. XD IRL I've only been to…two weddings? And one was an Indian one? IF KNIGHT WANTS A PARTY, THAT'S A PARTY! But also I'm much more used to writing weddings of the Wizarding variety, so. Yeah. Anyway! I wanted to end on a kind of suggestive note bc why tf not? XD There were sooo many instances of her literally watching over him in "Thick as Thieves," hence my brain was writing this fic htg as I was watching this ep, even tho I kinda saw the wedding date scenario play out as it did. I just? Their chemistry is so good? Funny thing, too, is I feel they lack the struggle of power dynamics present in other boss–subordinate ships (a type I've written a few times in other fandoms), bc Knight, despite technically working for Parker alongside McGee and Torres, was coming from a team leader position herself, sooo. Yeah. I just love Knight, love Parker, love Parknight. (I'm also still crying over Jeena, kthxbai. I know it's "been a yr," but literally no one should ever feel pressured to find new love if you've lost a spouse or partner? Like, that's not a requirement to be happy or anything? I just want Jimmy Palmer to be happy, my precious Autopsy Gremlin. TT-TT) OKIES! There was another passing line in e15 that inspired me, so I'm whizzing off to write YET ANOTHER Parknight. And I've seen a little activity on my Parknight stories—pls come talk to me! Leave a review! Comment! Or just msg me! There's nothing wrong with liking this ship or expressing interest in it! :'D And I get so, so happy when someone expresses delight over my writing. -w-
Thanks for reading, and please review! Check out my other NCIS fics if you liked this. And, as with my other NCIS fics, show your support via tumblr with a reblog~
-mew-tsubaki XD
