AN: Life continues to be somewhat crazy, but I think is finally settling into the summer normal. Whatever normal is in 2020. My company announced that we're WFH until January, so my new goal is finishing what's turning into another epic by then. I've got vacation coming up and my goal is to get far enough ahead that I can post a chapter a week through a move I have coming in the fall. But if there isn't a chapter on a given week, moving chaos is probably why.
Chapter 9
After Tony and McGee left, Josh tried to settle into his reading. He figured he might as well start with criminal law, since he was still working for NCIS. He cracked open the book and started reading. He hadn't gotten more than a few pages in before he paused to pull out a pen, notebook and highlighters.
By the time he'd filled the third page of notes, his coffee mug was empty. He looked up, but most customers were still choosing the outside tables and the line at the register wasn't too long.
While he waited to get a refill, he rolled out his shoulders. Analysis all day yesterday and reading all day today was going to turn him into a hunchback if he wasn't careful. And probably more analysis on Monday, since everything he'd found so far was raising more questions than answers.
He ordered, paid, and headed down to wait for Sarah to hand him his coffee. She shifted and winced, but Josh knew better than to say anything.
"Did you scare my brothers off?" she asked him as she handed him his drink.
Josh laughed. "No, they'll be back later to meet Jimmy and Abby here. I think they were more worried you'd kick them out for stinking up the place."
Sarah wrinkled her nose. "They were pretty ripe."
"You have a break coming up anytime soon?" he asked.
She looked over at the clock. "Half an hour, maybe? Depends on how busy we get." Sarah was already working on more drinks, so Josh left her to it.
As he sat back down, he couldn't quite drag his mind back to studying though. Sure, he and Sarah weren't dating, not officially, but they weren't just friends either. The idea of going out to a club and possibly hooking up didn't seem as appealing as it did at Princeton.
Stop. Focus. Get some reading done before Sarah goes on break. Josh pretended he had Gibbs waiting for him to find an answer in the book and started reading.
He blinked as something jerked him from his thoughts. No, not something. Sarah, who had just sat down across from him.
"How's the studying going?" she asked.
He shrugged. "It's interesting to see from this side after a summer working on the law enforcement side," he said. "I won't be doing much criminal law, I don't think, since that's not the logical path to take if I'm headed to ONI."
"And are you always logical?" she asked, rolling one shoulder.
"Practical, at least," he said. "Or I try to be. Something I learned from my dad."
"It must be a Navy thing," she said. She leaned back in the chair, looking exhausted. Not that he was going to mention that.
"So, any idea what's going on with Ziva?" Josh asked. "I feel like I know just about enough to stick my foot in it, and I don't want to do that."
Sarah grimaced, her hand drifting down to rub her belly. "I do, but I'm not sure what she'd be OK with me telling you." She paused for a minute. "Can you…" She started again. "Damon mentioned that it was a case that triggered this, but he said I wouldn't want to know details. But you're not the only one worried about saying the wrong thing. What was the case about?"
Josh thought back to the beginning of the week, which seemed like years ago at this point. What case had they— Oh. That one. Yeah, this was going to be awkward. "The case wasn't anything special, a sailor who had been stabbed that we closed as soon as Abby ran the fingerprints on the knife," he said. "But—" Really, really awkward. "Before we knew that, we had to figure out if it was relevant that the sailor was into BDSM, and, um, some of the team had to explain what that was to the rest of us, and anything else is probably TMI."
Sarah had put her hands over her ears while he was talking. "Not listening," she said.
Josh laughed. "Yeah, to steal an Abby-ism, I needed a brain brillo after that whole conversation."
Sarah dropped her hands. "Wait, was Gibbs part of this discussion?" Her eyes widened. "Was he explaining?"
"No!" Josh's brain momentarily went offline. "OK, now I need another brain brillo," he said. "Anyway, Ziva thought the sailor had been tortured until … the people who did the explaining explained, so that's probably what triggered her."
"The people who did the explaining?" Sarah raised an eyebrow, just like her older brother did. "Now I am kind of curious."
Josh shook his head. "The entire team was there except for Vance, and I promise you, you don't want to start figuring out who has experience."
Sarah wrinkled her nose. "Which means Tim-" She stopped. "You're right, I don't want to think about it." She leaned forward. "So, were you one of the ones explaining or listening to the explanation?"
Josh could feel his face turning red. "Listening, definitely listening." He realized how that sounded. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with it, I've just never-"
Sarah started laughing. "It's OK, you don't need to prove anything to me," she said. "That was mostly just me messing with you."
Josh rolled his eyes. "Just for that, I should tell you. Then you can be as weirded out as I was." He shook his head. "I mean, you're used to their insanity, but I've spent four years thinking of Tony as the adult who helped me get my head on straight after my dad was killed, and the rest of the team as a bunch of cops who caught the bastard who did it. I've only known how weird they are for the past couple of months."
Sarah snickered. "Oh, don't make me laugh again or I'm going to pee my pants." She stopped and dropped her head to the table. "I did not just say that out loud." Her voice was a little muffled by her hands.
"Don't worry about it," Josh said. He hesitated, then reached over to put a hand on her arm. "If you want, I can pretend I didn't hear it."
She turned her head so one eye was looking at him. "Yes, please." She sighed. "But I do need to make a pit stop before my break's over." She sat up and put her hands on the table, pushing herself to standing. "Thank you for telling me — and not telling me."
Words from earlier in the week echoed in Josh's ear. "Yeah, um, can you pretend I didn't tell you?" he asked. "Because I kind of promised I wouldn't because of the whole TMI issue."
"I have already forgotten we had this conversation," Sarah said. She winced and rubbed her side. "Stop kicking," she said, but Josh could tell she wasn't talking to him.
Sarah walked away, and Josh breathed a sigh of relief. A little bit of him had wondered if this was another thing Sarah and McGee had in common, like their snarky streak.
And he really needed to stop thinking about Sarah and sex because they'd said they were tabling that conversation until the spring and he should not be the one to bring it back up. Wait, should she even be having sex while she's pregnant? Josh squeezed his eyes shut. He really should not be thinking about that because that was completely inappropriate to ask.
Think about something else. Like the cold cases. Yes, that was a good topic. If Tony, McGee, Jimmy, and Abby were going to come in this afternoon and possibly brainstorm, he should figure out what he could add.
There were definitely some common threads to the cases. A few agents' names popped up multiple times, and all of them had been stationed in California. Josh flipped to a new page in his notebook and started scribbling things down. He needed one of them to explain more about how NCIS agents moved around. Most of the team had been at the Navy Yard for a while, from everything he'd gathered, but then that one agent yesterday — Burley — had been reassigned and it sounded like he was going to be reassigned again in a few months. So it wasn't like the Navy, where postings only tended to last a few years, but it wasn't like there was no movement, either.
Could there be something to find based on where the agents had been assigned? Josh started writing more questions. Hopefully Abby and the guys would be able to make some sense of them.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
The last time Gibbs had spent any time on the front porch for no reason was back when his girls were around, but he found himself sitting on the wooden swing with a beer staring out into the street. A scrap of notebook paper with measurements penciled in and a few sketches sat next to him.
He tipped the bottle back, the same Mexican brand he'd drink in the cantina with Mike back during what Tony persisted in calling his margarita retirement. Not his favorite, but he had a couple of bottles left from the last time the team had been over.
He could swing by the lumberyard today, pick up what he needed. Better to start now and not have to worry about rushing at the end.
Eileen's car pulled in next door, and she got out. Her ponytail and gym clothes explained where she'd been. She waved, and he lifted his bottle in response.
"Is that the 'I just finished cutting the grass' beer, or do you prefer to drink first while convincing yourself to cut it?" she asked when she walked over.
Gibbs looked around his yard, the grass not even close to shaggy, and lifted one eyebrow.
"It's not bourbon," she said. "And you don't seem like the beer type to me."
Gibbs shrugged. "Good game?" he asked.
"Some one-on-one, but I might have found a team to play with," Eileen said. "She's a Navy wife, too, although I didn't ask where her husband was stationed."
"Around here, likely either Anacostia, Bethesda or the Navy Yard," Gibbs said. "The Naval Research Lab is mostly civilian, and it's just Marines at 8th and I."
She nodded. "New project?" she asked, pointing to the paper next to him.
He gave a short nod.
"I thought you'd finished everything for the baby," she said. "None of the girls are the flower type." She raised an eyebrow, and now Gibbs knew where McGee got that from. "Or is this for a lady friend?"
"Friend, yes," Gibbs said. "No lady. They're poppies." He gave a half-smile at the reaction Mike would have to somebody thinking he was a woman.
"Oh," Eileen said. "As in an 'In Flanders fields the poppies blow,' kind of project?"
Gibbs didn't say anything.
"This is somebody the kids know, and you don't want them knowing, isn't it?" Eileen said. She paused. "Jack?"
Gibbs shook his head.
"Oh, thank goodness," she said. "But it is somebody the kids know."
He nodded.
"My lips are sealed," she said. "But if you need to talk…"
Gibbs gave a short laugh.
"You know what I meant," she said, but without heat. "We're right next door, and with as many things as I'm sure the kids don't tell us, we can promise we won't tell them."
He lifted his beer in a salute, then drained it. "Appreciate it," he said. After she'd headed home, Gibbs went inside. He had plenty of time for a trip to the lumberyard after lunch. Better to get this done before Jack returned from his visit to Stillwater. He'd called yesterday to say that he and Cal had almost finished working out the details so Cal could run the store and work toward buying it from Jack.
Gibbs couldn't quite imagine the store without Jack behind the register, but it sounded like he still planned to go back every month for a week or so. He said it was to give Cal a break, but Gibbs was pretty sure Jack just wasn't ready to let the store go, not quite. Or maybe he wanted to make sure he had a built-in break from his son. Having Sean and Eileen next door had given Jack enough company that he didn't talk Gibbs' ear off, but they were two stubborn men who'd been living alone a long time, and were set in their ways.
Jack would want to know what Gibbs was building in the basement. Hell, keeping this a secret wasn't going to be easy. Mike, I'm not ready for this.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
Ziva let Damon take her hand as they walked from the car to the coffee shop. It was a little thing, but something simple she had not really ever allowed herself before. Only when playing a role undercover.
"They have a couple of board games in that back corner, on the shelf," Damon said. "I think Scrabble is one of them if you want to play." They rounded the street corner to the front of the shop. He held the door open for her, and Ziva did not tell him not to bother. For once, she could just relax and not keep pushing to show she was not weak.
Once inside, she answered his question. "That would be nice," she said. "We must have it at home, for Tony and McGee did not take the board games when they moved, but I have not played since our last game night."
"I'm not a Scrabble expert, but any time you want to play, let me know," Damon said.
She nodded and looked around. "I see Josh," she said, smiling. "I should be surprised, but I am not."
"I'm actually surprised he's the only other person here," Damon said. "It seems like everybody has been a regular here since the evil ex got us in the habit." He stood at the end of the line. "Your usual?"
"The jasmine tea today, I think," Ziva said. "Hot, not iced." She looked around. "I shall get a table, if you do not mind."
"I'll be over with the drinks in a minute," he said.
She nodded and headed toward the seating area, but did not disturb the studying intern. She remembered too well the focus she had needed while studying for her citizenship test earlier in the year. There was a small, round table in the corner near the armchairs and couch where they had sat the night she, Damon, Abby and Jimmy met when Damon had first returned. It was against the wall, but pulled out a bit, she and Damon could sit next to each other and both could see the room. That was one reflex she knew she should keep. They all had it, even McGee, though she could recall when he did not.
Damon joined her a few minutes later, but he was not smiling.
"Something is wrong?" she asked.
"Not wrong," Damon said. "Sarah told me Tony and McGee were here earlier, and they're meeting Abby and Jimmy back here at some point this afternoon, but I don't know when." He hesitated. "She didn't know, but said Josh might. I can go ask him, if you want to make sure we leave before that."
Ziva thought for a minute. "No, I should be able to handle that," she said.
"There's no 'should' to this," Damon said.
She puzzled over his words for a minute. "Oh," she said. "No, I did not mean it that way. I meant I think I will be all right." She sighed. "English is a most confusing language sometimes."
"You're sure?" Damon asked. "You don't have to conquer everything this first weekend."
Ziva stopped to think, really think. "I am not certain," she said after a minute. "And I expect one thing they plan to discuss is what you told them, which might be awkward with me here. But I would rather see Abby here in a place where I can leave if I need to, than at a game night, or something else where I cannot." She thought through the possibilities again. "You should, perhaps, let Tony and McGee know we are here, but tell them I am not asking them to change anything on my account." She met Damon's gaze, but also tried to determine if she was being truthful with herself. She believed so, but she would not truly know until she saw Abby. Still, she should do this. If she was not ready, she could leave. And she would have something to tell Dr. Rojas on Monday.
For now, she pushed the idea aside and let herself inhale the fragrant steam from the jasmine tea. She was an American woman, out on a date, and she had nowhere pressing to be.
~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~
Sarah looked at the clock. Only twenty minutes and she could clock out. She stretched, trying to relieve the ache in her— Oh, no. Today did not need him.
She pulled out her phone and texted Josh, then tucked it away before anybody could see. By the time Evil Josh and his good buddy Brandon were at the register, she was innocently making drinks. She looked over toward where Josh was sitting and he was looking over, cell phone propped against his stack of law books. He smiled at her, but she didn't dare smile back. He was not getting dragged into this if she had anything to say about it.
She focused on the orders in front of her, knowing as soon as it came up which was his. Sarah was precise, making his drink perfectly. He wasn't going to get any reason to complain.
As soon as she finished, she set them on the counter and called out their names.
"Hey, Sarah," Brandon said. "I haven't seen you-" He stopped. "I guess it's been longer than I thought." He stared at her.
"What are you-" Josh stopped, gaping. "I guess I'm not the only one who moved on quickly," he said after a beat, snark threaded through his voice.
Sarah couldn't resist rolling her eyes. "Cheating on your girlfriend is not 'moving on quickly,' it's the reason I dumped your sorry ass," she said. She turned to Brandon and smiled, knowing that he wouldn't see through it the way Tim did. "I agreed to be a surrogate for my brother and his husband," she said, adding the McDNA line that had made Tony laugh earlier.
"So you're a brood mare now?" her ex said.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," she said. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I have drinks to make." She pivoted and headed back toward the register. As she wiped down the counters, during the lull, she could see the jerk and his friend leaving, drinks in hand. Good.