November 27, 2007
"Wait a second – McGoo, stop talking," Tony interrupted McGee.
McGee scoffed. "C'mon, Tony, what do you –"
"Shh," Tony cut him off again. "Who is that over there with the director?"
McGee, and Kate, who had joined them for their coffee run, looked over in the same direction as Tony.
"They look awfully cozy," Kate observed, raising an eyebrow.
The Director stood outside a Starbucks across the street from when Tony, McGee, and Kate were getting coffee. She was talking and laughing with a man and they were clearly flirting with one another. The man was quite tall and was wearing a nice suit, from what they could tell, and had short, well-groomed brown hair. As the three agents observed, the man eventually looked over their way.
"Does he look familiar to you guys?" Tony mused. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"
"You know, Tony, for once, I agree with you," McGee said.
Kate hummed in agreement. "I think we should tell Gibbs."
"Oh no, no, no. Not just yet. We gotta talk to Abby to see how to approach Gibbs without him giving us the head-slap of the century," Tony said, as he picked up the tray of coffees from the pick-up counter.
McGee followed suit by picking up the rest of their order and the three agents left the coffee shop to head back to the office. Kate quickly snapped a picture on her cell phone on the way out.
When Tony, McGee, and Kate got off the elevator on the third floor of their building, Tony quickly looked around for Gibbs.
"Oh good, Gibbs isn't here," he said as he walked into the bullpen, McGee and Kate right behind him.
"Is something wrong, Tony?" Ziva questioned. Ari and Michelle also looked up from their desks, confused.
"Conference room, now," Tony said. The team then followed him to the elevator, knowing exactly what he meant.
"What's going on DiNozzo?" Ari asked.
"We'll explain in a minute," McGee answered for him.
"But first, we need Abby and Jimmy," Kate said.
The six agents took the elevator down to Abby's lab, where Abby and Jimmy were analyzing results from a recent case.
"Perfect, you're both here!" Kate exclaimed as she walked into the lab. "C'mon, emergency meeting."
"What? What's wrong? Is everybody okay? Where's Gibbs?" Abby started rambling, as she took Jimmy by the arm and followed Kate back to the elevator.
Kate simply gave her a look that said "calm down" as they entered the elevator. Shortly after the doors closed, Tony hit the emergency stop button.
"Tony, will you please tell us what the hell is going on?" Ziva asked, clearly a little peeved.
Everybody else looked to Tony as well, waiting for an explanation.
"We saw the director with a man across from our favorite coffee spot," Tony said.
"Yes, and?" Michelle asked.
"The three of us had a bad feeling about it," Kate offered.
"A Gibbs gut feeling," McGee clarified.
Everyone instantly looked concerned.
"Any idea who he could be?" Ari asked.
"No. But I snapped a picture. Here," Kate said, pulling out her cell phone to show the group. Everyone passed the cell phone around, getting a closer look.
"Anyone recognize him?" Tony asked after everyone had seen it.
The team all voiced various versions of "no," looking at each other to see if there was anyone whose answer differed.
"Do you think we should look into this? He gives me, how do you all say it, the hibbie jibbies?" Ziva said, gesturing as she tried to think of the American expression.
"Heebie jeebies," Tony corrected. "And yes, we should. And then we should present what we find to Gibbs. I just wanted to consult with all of you first to see if you recognized him. And Abby," he turned to her to address her directly. "As Gibbs's favorite, I need you to help me break it to him."
Abby straightened up. "Yes, sir," she said in a slightly joking manner, saluting Tony.
"We should all be there," Michelle said. "Let him know we are all having a similar bad feeling."
The group nodded in agreement, except for Jimmy.
"I don't get it," he admitted, shaking his head. "How do you guys know he's bad news just by looking at a picture?"
"It's a special agent instinct, Palmer," Ari said. "It's just something you develop over the years."
"And because we work with Gibbs, we all have our own patented Gibbs gut," Kate added, smiling a little.
Palmer, although still a little confused, hummed in understanding.
The elevator fell silent for a moment, and they all just stared blankly at each other.
"SO," Ari said loudly, breaking everybody from their reverie. "When and how are we doing this?"
"Leave that to me," Abby said determinedly, once again standing up straighter, holding her head high.
They all looked at her for a moment before nodding in agreement. Tony then switched the elevator back on, letting Jimmy and Abby back into her lab. The rest of them tried to act casual when they got off in the bullpen, but failed to do so, as Gibbs looked at them suspiciously and shook his head.
"What the heck was that about?" he asked no one in particular.
The team tried to conceal their nervousness as they all looked at each other from their desks, which they had returned to.
"Uh, nothing, boss," Tony said, electing to speak for the group. "Just had to address something."
"Is this about the case?" Gibbs questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh," Tony began, not knowing what else to say.
Everyone else looked at each other, trying to communicate what to do with just their eyes, and failed miserably.
"We are…" McGee started.
"Planning a surprise party!" Ziva blurted.
Gibbs sighed and decided to ignore the rest of them looking panicked. "For?"
"Jimmy!" Kate supplied.
"Yes, he…finally passed his night class!" Ari said.
"Since when is Palmer taking a night class?" Gibbs asked as he put his pen down and looked towards Ari.
"He was taking a class on self-defense!" Michelle made-up quickly.
Gibbs rolled his eyes, seeing that his team was terrible at lying to him, and got up to leave the bullpen.
"When you all are ready to tell me what actually happened, I'll be in MTAC," he said as he walked away.
The younger agents all let out a collective sigh of relief when Gibbs was safely up in MTAC.
"That was a mess," Ari said.
"Ya think?" Tony responded snarkily, at the same time Ziva leaned over and smacked her brother on the back of the head, Gibbs style.
After looking at each other once more, this time in defeat, they all sat down at their desks as they began their research on the mystery man and waited for a plan from Abby.
A few hours later, Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo sat at his desk, pretending to work. To his left, he could see McGee was actually doing work and couldn't believe he could focus on work in a time like this. Across from him, Kate looked engrossed in some file, but she was twirling her hair, a telltale sign she was bored and not actually that focused on the task at hand. On the other side of the bullpen, it sounded like Ziva was on a personal call, as she was speaking Hebrew, and based on the occasional wince from Ari, who appeared to be going through emails, it was not good. According to plan, Michelle was up in MTAC, making sure Gibbs came out alone. In the reflection of his computer screen, he could see Jimmy getting into position beside the stairs, acting as a lookout for the Director.
As he went to go open Tetris to start a game, Abby stormed into the bullpen, saluting Tony, which was the agreed upon signal.
"Albatross! Albatross!" he whispered, alerting the other agents.
As Tony, Kate, McGee, Ziva, Ari, and Abby gathered in front of the monitors between Tony and McGee's desks, Gibbs walked out of MTAC with Michelle close behind him.
Michelle saluted subtly, making sure Gibbs didn't see it, letting the other agents know they were in the clear.
As Gibbs walked into the bullpen with Michelle, the other agents made it look like they were discussing a case, but Gibbs instantly knew this was just a ruse.
"Okay, what the hell is going on with my team today?" Gibbs half-yelled, throwing his hands up. "And Abby, what part do you and Jimmy have in this?"
Jimmy could be seen looking embarrassed from his position by the stairs and Abby huffed in discontent. "Gibbs! We have something to tell you!"
"What?" He said, a little quieter, but still clearly annoyed.
Abby went to Gibbs and guided him closer to the monitors while Tony clicked, and a picture of the mystery man appeared on the screen. "Don't be mad okay? We're just worried," Abby said.
"Meet Petty Officer Bryce Benjamin St. John. McGee, Kate, and I saw him with the Director this morning." Tony explained.
Gibbs eyed the picture suspiciously as his team continued.
"Or probably known to the Director as Robert Connelly, which is the name on the credit card he used this morning at a Starbucks on New Jersey Ave," McGee continued, taking the clicker from Tony and bringing up pictures of the Starbucks in question and the receipt.
"Why do I know the name Bryce Benjamin St. John?" Gibbs asked, visibly agitated.
"He was a suspect in one of our old cases, boss," Tony picked back up. "From 2002, right after I joined NCIS."
"According to yours and Tony's case files, he was the suspect in the murder investigation of Ensign Kyle Murphy, but he had an alibi," Ziva read off of a file she was holding.
"Apparently you told him to stay in the area in case you had more questions, but he fell off the grid," Kate said.
"I remember him," Gibbs said. "We never found the killer."
"St. John's alibi was that he was at home watching TV with his dog at the time of the murder. A neighbor confirmed seeing him inside," Tony recalled.
"This was before the Director's time," Ari stated. "She probably had no idea she was putting herself in danger."
Gibbs put his head in his hands while the team looked at him, waiting for a response. No one saw Jimmy frantically waving from the side of the staircase, trying to signal that the Director was coming.
"Is there something going on that I need to know about?" the Director called out as she descended the staircase.
Everyone looked up in surprise, except for Gibbs, who looked like he was about to rip someone's head off. Upon noticing Gibbs's expression, Tony's eyes widened, and he motioned to the team to back away slightly.
"What were you thinking, Jen?" Gibbs yelled as the Director walked into the bullpen.
"Excuse me?" she scoffed.
"Flirting with some random guy you've just met? Someone who could put you in danger?" Gibbs's voice grew louder as he approached her.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she raised her voice as well. "And how is who I choose to speak to while getting coffee any of your business?"
"It's my business when it puts you in danger, Jen!" Gibbs continued to shout. The younger agents, Abby, and Jimmy, who had joined the group, looked on in disbelief.
"I repeat, what are you talking about? How is talking to a man at a coffee shop putting me in danger?" the Director asked heatedly.
Gibbs barely suppressed his rage as he pointed at the screen. "This man is a suspected murderer, Jen! You need to watch who you're talking to!"
"Agent Gibbs!" she screamed. "You are out of line! And that's Director to you," she snarled and then leaned in closer to him. "We will finish this later," she muttered furiously.
The Director shot Gibbs one last glare before retreating to her office. In the sudden silence, Tony noticed that the entire office had been interrupted by the boss vs. boss screaming match.
Gibbs said nothing as he walked out of the bullpen and disappeared into the elevator.
"Uh," Ari mumbled.
The rest of them stood with their mouths practically hanging open, waiting for the bullpen to resume business as usual.
They all looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"I got nothing," Tony finally said, breaking the half-circle they had formed and walking back to his desk. His coworkers all followed suit, with Abby and Jimmy going back downstairs, feeling shocked at what they had just seen.
As everybody seemed to get back to work, Tony began to wonder if he had ever seen his boss and the Director have that big of a fight. He decided that no, he hadn't, and wondered if he should have even brought it up.
Abby hadn't ever seen Gibbs this mad. And she was scared. So scared that she braved the trip to autopsy to talk to Ducky, the only one who had missed the big blowout, 3 days afterwards.
St. John ended up not being much of a threat. He was guilty of something – selling Navy secrets and money laundering – but not murder. It turned out he had no idea who the Director was and that she had a connection to NCIS. He simply saw a woman he found attractive and wanted to talk to her.
Regardless of this revelation, Gibbs was still mad and completely overreacting, in Abby's opinion. She understood that he was scared someone he cared about was in danger – he'd acted the same way when she herself had been in danger in the past – but it was never to this extent.
Abby was explaining her thoughts to Ducky as he finished an autopsy. "I just don't get it Ducky. He was just so mad. I wish you had been there to see it, so you would know just how mad he was, cause honestly, I don't think I can describe it. His face was basically a tomato and he and the Director were screaming so loud I'm surprised you didn't hear it down here." Abby let out a huff of air. "And he won't let it go! Not even after we proved the guy didn't even know who she was! There was no threat! And the Director is tough. She can take care of herself." Abby crossed her arms as she finished ranting and pouted her lips.
Ducky waited a moment to ensure she was finished speaking. "Abigail," he began, "I do wish I was there, so I could properly assess the situation, but at the same time, I'm glad I wasn't, considering how bad you all have said it was. I can only think of one reason why Jethro would react in this way and that's…well, I'm not sure I should tell you." Ducky avoided Abby's gaze as he put down his instruments.
"Ducky!" Abby pouted. "You can't just say that and not tell me what it is!"
Ducky took a deep breath. "Alright then, but I'm sure Jethro wouldn't appreciate you telling me this, so it goes no further than this room."
Abby symbolically zipped her lips and nodded so Ducky would go ahead.
"When Gibbs and the Director were partners back in the 90s, I believe they had a very close relationship," Ducky raised his eyebrows, emphasizing very.
Abby stared at him for a second before realizing what he was implying. "Ohhhhh. Wait, really? That's crazy! Gibbs and the Director?" She hummed in thought.
"He's always had a thing for redheads," Ducky mumbled to himself.
"What, Ducky?" Abby questioned.
"Oh, nothing, dear, I was just saying I wonder if there are any residual feelings of that closeness. Feelings that would explain this overreaction." Ducky said, going back to his work.
"Well, this does make sense now." She paused. "Thanks, Ducky! You're the best!" She blew him a kiss as she got up and walked out the door to return to her lab. Whatever Gibbs's feelings, she hoped he would be over it soon, as she hadn't gotten a Caf-Pow! since this whole thing went down and she was starting to go through withdrawal.
Not 30 minutes later, Ducky was finishing up the autopsy, chuckling when thinking of his conversation with Abby. She really was such a good friend, always thinking of others and how she could help them and hurting along with them when she couldn't.
He was just shutting the compartment where his latest body was being stored when Gibbs rushed in. Before he could even turn around, Gibbs started talking.
"I don't know how to explain it to her, Duck."
"Whatever do you mean, Jethro? Are you referring to the Director?" he asked, turning around to face Gibbs.
"She doesn't know that…I…can't let anything happen to her," Gibbs admitted, looking down and seeming embarrassed at showing emotion.
"Ahh," Ducky said. "So, my suspicions were correct then. Being around her again has brought old feelings back to the surface, has it not?"
Gibbs sighed. "I can't say you're wrong, Duck."
Ducky nodded. "Well, then, Jethro, I suggest telling the Director what you are feeling before this fight of yours gets any worse. From what I heard, it was quite the doozy."
Gibbs nodded his head slightly. "Thanks, Duck. Don't know if I can do that right now though." He started walking out the door as quickly as he came in.
"You never know, she might feel the same way!" Ducky shouted as his friend left.
"Oh, dear," Ducky mused to himself. "I really have played quite the counselor today. Perhaps a treat is in store for all this advice I've doled out." Ducky smiled to himself as he grabbed his coat and hat off the hooks by the door. As he left and got in the elevator he thought about getting his mother's favorite take out and bringing it home to her. After all, why not share his treat with someone he loves?
In spite of what Ducky may have thought, Gibbs did think about going to Jen's and apologizing to her. He had gotten as far as her driveway before deciding he couldn't do it, not today at least.
Now, he was predictably working on something in his basement. His latest project, a canoe, was nearly finished. His mind registered the sound of his front door opening and he sighed as he knew whoever it was would find him in his usual workspace and interrupt him.
He was sanding one of the oars when Jenny entered the basement and started to descend the stairs.
"How dare you!" she shouted, practically stomping the rest of the way down the stairs.
Gibbs huffed in exasperation and dropped his project on the workbench. "You really want to do this again?"
"You're damn right I do," she said as she stopped only a few feet in front of him. "You made a huge scene at the office. What's terrible is that I can't say I'm surprised, and I know it isn't the last time you'll do it. I just can't believe you would insinuate that I can't take of myself. You know better."
And he did, really. He thought of their time in Paris. She was one hell of an agent. Extremely athletic and agile and sharper than a tack. He trusted her with his life. He remembered the connection they had: it was instant. As soon as they first met he knew she would cause trouble in his life. It was only a matter of time before they connected on an intimate level.
"Well, do you have anything to say for yourself, Jethro?"
He looked up at her and the expression on her face made his steely façade dissipate. She was angry, clearly, but more hurt than anything. Hurt that her former partner and lover did not trust her to do her job and sniff out danger when it was present.
Jenny noticed the change on Gibbs's face. "Jethro?" she questioned, a worried tone creeping into her voice. She moved closer to him to get a better look at his expression.
"You don't understand, Jen," he said quietly, with a rough edge to his voice.
Jenny crossed her arms. "I don't understand what? Enlighten me, Jethro."
"You, putting yourself in danger? That's not okay," Gibbs said, raising his voice slightly. "I just," he paused and looked away from Jenny. "If something ever happened to you, I would…"
Jenny's eyes widened in surprise and she tilted her head to look up at him. "You what, Jethro?"
Gibbs hadn't realized he had moved even closer to her within the last minute or so. There she was again, in front of him, looking so vulnerable. He suddenly remembered how long it had been since he had truly seen her, past her Director face that she put on every day, past the wall she had put up since Paris.
"Aw what the hell," he muttered, before closing the small gap between them and kissing her.
A small gasp came from Jenny, but she clearly wasn't protesting. Before he knew it, he was being pushed up against his workbench as their lips locked together again and again and her hands came to rest around his neck.
"I've missed this, Jethro," she said as she pulled back slightly, a smile on her lips. "Doesn't mean you're forgiven though."
He chuckled. "Oh, yeah? How can I make it up to you then?" His hands moved to rest on her hips.
"I can think of a few ways," she replied before diving back in for another kiss.
He hadn't pictured his night ending with sex in the canoe, but who was he to complain? Although he wasn't looking forward to telling Ducky, as he would definitely gloat.