Are You Seeing What I'm Seeing? An Interlude
July 18, 2008
"Abby!" Tony called out into her seemingly empty lab. "Are you in here! We gotta talk about something."
Abby poked her head out from the next room. "I'm here, Tony!"
Tony walked into the next room to meet her, where she was working on filing some evidence.
"What's up, Tony? Is there an update in the case?" she asked, turning her attention to him.
"No, Abbs. It's about the thing we've been discussing...you know...the Jibbs thing," he said, wiggling his eyebrows when he said "Jibbs."
Abby gasped and took Tony by the shoulders, shaking them slightly as she spoke. "What? Did something else happen?"
"Oh, yes, it did," Tony affirmed while nodding his head. "And you're only one who will believe me when I say I'm seeing things that weren't there before. McGoo and Kate think I'm crazy and I'm sure the other 3 do too."
"Of course, Tony! I told you what Ducky told me about Gibbs and the Director's past relationship. There's gotta be something there again," she agreed with him, steeling herself for the story by sitting down. "So, what happened?"
Tony pulled up a chair and sat as Abby did. "It was nothing too big this time, just another coffee incident…"
20 Minutes Earlier
Tony had been sitting at his desk working on a case report. Ziva, Ari, and Michelle were traveling for a case in New Jersey, while the rest of the agents stayed in D.C. Tony could hear the clacking of McGee's keyboard as he typed something - maybe hacking? who knows? - and Kate was on a phone call. Gibbs was nowhere to be see, off doing whatever Gibbs did. When Tony heard the familiar ding of the elevator, out walked the boss himself, carrying not one, but two cups of coffee.
Tony immediately suspected who the other cup of coffee was for. Just as he thought this, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw his boss smile slightly as he looked up. Tony tried to subtly turn around to get a look at this interaction.
"Good morning, Agent Gibbs," the Director greeted Gibbs with a slight smile before walking down the stairs to meet him.
"Good morning to you, Director," Gibbs smiled back as met the Director halfway and handed her a coffee.
The Director took and sip and hummed in appreciation before smiling at Gibbs once again. She turned around to go back to her office and Gibbs followed. Once they were safely out of sight, Tony turned back around to address his teammates.
"Did either of you even see what just happened?" He asked, exasperated.
"What are you talking about, DiNozzo?" Kate responded quietly, putting her hand over the phone.
"Gibbs and the Director? That whole interaction?" Tony furiously whispered.
Kate simply rolled her eyes and got back to her phone call.
Tony threw his hands up in frustration and turned his chair, so he was facing McGee's desk. "McGoo?"
McGee sighed. "What do you want, Tony? I'm trying to work," he said.
Tony huffed as he quickly stood up. "Never mind, you both suck. I'm going to see Abby."
Kate waved her hand in dismissal as he took off while McGee just said: "Whatever, Tony."
"Okay, you're right, nothing too big, but that's definitely still hinky," Abby agreed after Tony finished retelling the events in the bullpen. "Gibbs doesn't smile a lot at work and when he does it's usually directed at me." She paused and looked directly at Tony. "No offense."
"Oh, none taken, you're absolutely right there, Abbs," Tony said.
"Oh, wait!" Abby exclaimed. "I forgot to tell you what happened last week!" Abby started waving her arms around excitedly.
Tony's eyes widened, on edge. "What, what is it? What did I miss?" He asked, scooting his chair closer to Abby.
"Well, I was up in the bullpen talking to McGee. I don't know where you or Ziva were, but you weren't there…"
Last Week
Abby had wanted an excuse to talk to her favorite field agent (not that she would share that with anyone), so she had been complaining to McGee about her problems with Major Mass Spec in the bullpen. Tony and Ziva were out, but Kate, Ari, and Michelle were all at their desks, seemingly unbothered by Abby's presence.
Abby and McGee had been talking for about 20 minutes when Gibbs walked in, heading straight for his desk.
"Hi, Gibbs!" Abby greeted, turning slightly so she was facing his desk more than McGee's.
"Any developments in the case, Abbs?" He asked, sitting down at his desk in the process.
"Not yet," she frowned. "Major Mass Spec is really on the slow side today." McGee reached up and lightly patted her shoulder in comfort.
"Well, then, what are you doing up here?" Gibbs said, looking up from his paperwork to look directly at Abby.
"I have to pass the time somehow, Gibbs!" Abby protested, throwing up her hands. "Yours is the only active case right now, so there isn't much to do while I wait!" She crossed her arms and scowled at Gibbs. "And what if I just wanted to see you guys? Is that a crime?"
It appeared as though Gibbs was about to answer, but before he could, the Director entered the bullpen.
"Certainly, she is entitled to come up here if she doesn't have any work, Agent Gibbs," she said, giving Abby a small smile. "She makes things a bit brighter, if you ask me."
Abby's scowl turned into a smile. "Thank you, Director! I aim to please."
"Headed home, Director Shepard?" McGee asked.
"I am, Agent McGee. Just thought I'd check on the team before heading out. Looks like you're hard at work to me," she said.
Ari gave a thumbs-up without looking away from his computer, while Michelle and Kate both nodded in acknowledgement before resuming their work.
Gibbs closed the file he had open and got up from his desk. "I know your car is in the shop, Jen. I'll take you home," he said, grabbing his keys out of his desk.
"That's very kind of you, Agent Gibbs," she smiled and followed him as he walked towards the elevator. "Goodnight, everyone," she called back before leaving the bullpen.
A chorus of "goodnights" rang out as the four agents and Abby all replied.
As soon as Gibbs and the Director were out of earshot, Abby addressed the bullpen. "Did that seem weird to any of you?"
Groans of disapproval were heard from Ari, Kate, and Michelle. Abby shook her head and turned back to McGee, putting her hands on his desk. "McGee?"
"Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to me, Abbs," McGee replied as Abby frowned. "Not that I want you to go or anything, but I do need to go through our victim's expense reports."
Abby patted McGee's back reassuringly. "I know, McGee. Thanks for letting me complain for a bit at least."
"Of course," he said, giving her hand that was still on his desk a reassuring squeeze.
Abby smiled and made her way back down to her lab. She definitely needed to tell Tony about this.
"And I was right, Tony!" Abby shouted. "Something was weird! I checked when I got back to my lab and the Director's car was most certainly not in the shop." She pulled up her records from the week previous.
"You hacked the Director's records?" Tony asked, eyeing Abby suspiciously, but getting a better look at the computer nonetheless.
"I just wanted to know what was going on! But now I'm more confused than ever," she admitted. "Tony," she said, putting both her hands on his shoulders. "We gotta tell Ducky what we've been seeing. Maybe he can make sense of all this."
"Are you sure, Abbs?" Tony asked. "What if he tells Gibbs we were asking a bunch of questions?"
"He won't, I'm sure of it. Ducky and I are like this," she crossed her fingers together to symbolize their relationship.
Tony considered her words for a moment. "Okay, Abby, you're right. We should ask Ducky." Abby pumped her hands in the air in excitement. "But, before we go, what was that with McGoo you were talking about? Were you two having a little moment there?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Abby blushed. "No, Tony. What about you and Ziva? How is she?"
Tony stood up quickly and grabbed Abby's arm, getting her up as well. "O-kay, this conversation is over let's go see Ducky!" Abby laughed as Tony practically dragged her out of the room.
Ducky paused in thought as he considered the two stories his friends had just recounted to him. Obviously, he knew the truth about Gibbs and the Director, but he couldn't share that with Gibbs's team, no matter how curious they were.
"That is interesting, but I'm sure Gibbs is just being a good friend," Ducky finally said. "He and the Director have been friends for many years, as I'm sure you two know, so I'm not surprised he has done these things for her. And doesn't he bring you all coffee occasionally?" He said, directed at Tony. "And, Abigail, he frequently brings you Caf-Pow!, does he not?"
Abby sighed. "I guess you're right, Ducky. He does bring me Caf-Pow! all the time."
"He has brought us the occasional coffee, Ducky, but we haven't even told you the best story yet," Tony grinned.
Abby's face lit up. "Wait, are you talking about the office incident? That's the most suspicious of everything!"
"Alright, Ducky, get ready cause this one's definitely a doozy…"
April
Tony was by himself in the bullpen for the first time in ages, and honestly, it was a weird feeling.
He had been deep in some case files and before he knew it, hours had passed, and everyone had gone off to one place or another. He couldn't say he was surprised, as the latest case had been quite grueling. They had just spent the last several days looking for a missing pregnant Navy Lieutenant and the case did not end well. After several dead ends in leads, the team unfortunately could not get to her in time, finding her dead in an embankment just yesterday. The Lieutenant's wife was devastated, and it hit the team hard as well. Tony had been coming over the case files to see if he had missed anything.
He figured the rest of the team had gone off to keep themselves distracted. Not everyone was open about this case affecting them, but Tony wasn't Senior Field Agent for nothing. He knew everyone was hurting and he wouldn't be surprised if at least a couple of them were out blowing off some steam. He was only a little offended no one asked him to join them.
The sound of the elevator interrupted his thoughts. In walked Gibbs, who Tony thought was probably also affected, but of course Gibbs would never show that. Gibbs gave Tony a small nod of acknowledgment before continuing upstairs, probably heading for MTAC or the Director's office. It was only when Gibbs had passed him that Tony noticed the food container Gibbs was holding in his right hand. Couldn't be going to MTAC then, no food allowed in there, he thought.
Curious, Tony turned off his computer monitor so he could watch Gibbs in the reflection. Sure enough, Gibbs turned into the hallway that led to the Director's office. Well, he deserved to blow off some steam, too. The food was probably from Gibbs's favorite diner, as it seemed like he always got take out from there after the real rough cases.
Tony sighed and turned the computer monitor back on, getting back to work. Sure, everyone else may be off doing something more fun, but sometimes Tony just needed to concentrate on something work related to keep himself from going crazy.
Slowly over the next hour, his teammates filed back into the bullpen. Ziva and Ari arrived first, laughing softly about something. They had probably gone to get lunch at the bodega around the corner. They really liked it there for some reason. Ziva said hello to Tony and gave him a soft smile, which he returned, before sitting down at her desk. Ari simply nodded his head, which Tony acknowledged with a nod of his own.
Then came McGee from the direction of Abby's lab. Of course, he would go to Abby if he needed comforting. Those two were suspiciously close, which of course he teased both Abby and McGee about all the time. McGee didn't say anything to anyone, he just sat down at his desk and stared blankly at his computer monitor. Tony was about to ask him if he was okay when Kate and Michelle walked in. Michelle had a smile on her face, so they had probably been down in autopsy talking to Palmer and Ducky. Kate saw the pained look on McGee's face as soon as she saw him and beat Tony to the punch.
"McGee?" she said softly, approaching his desk. "Are you okay?"
McGee's head jerked toward her and his eyes widened in surprise. They seemed to soften a little when he realized who was speaking to him. "Yeah," he sighed. "This was just a hard one."
Kate frowned and moved to give the younger agent a comforting pat on his shoulder. "I know, Tim."
"We all know," Ziva said, standing up and crossing to McGee's desk, putting a hand on his other shoulder.
Tony smiled softly at the site of his friends comforting each other before getting up from his desk and joining them, putting a hand on Kate's shoulder. She moved it off to link her free arm with his and put her head on his shoulder. Ari and Michelle joined in as well, with Ari guiding Michelle over so he could put one arm each around her and his sister.
They all just stood there for a moment, everyone's eyes falling shut as they took comfort in each other's presence. None of them noticed when Gibbs walked into the bullpen, the Director right behind him.
"All of you, go home. That's an order," Gibbs said.
Everyone's eyes snapped open suddenly, and they all looked to Gibbs and the Director. None of them moved.
"You heard what he said," The Director addressed them. "All of you, go home. I don't want to see any of you back here until Monday."
This got them moving. They all went back to their desks to retrieve their things. It was only then that Tony realized Gibbs had been up with the Director for over an hour. He couldn't help but noticed that the Director's hair was slightly messier than it was when he saw her earlier that day and that Gibbs seemed much more relaxed than when had passed him an hour ago.
The team all walked out of the elevator together, Tony and Kate once again linking arms. Kate dragged McGee into it as well, so all three agents were linked together. Ari, Ziva, and Michelle laughed at the surprised look on McGee's face as they all got into the elevator together. As soon as the doors closed, Tony spoke.
"Did you guys notice anything weird about Gibbs and the Director?" he asked.
"Honestly, as soon as he said, 'go home' I completely zoned out," Ari admitted.
Ziva lightly punched her brother in the arm as Kate muttered "typical."
"Hey," Ari pouted, causing Ziva and Kate to both chuckle.
"I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary," Michelle said. "But I have to admit, I'm with Ari on this one." Ari smiled at her and gave her a fist bump.
"We've all had a long few days," Ziva said. "We deserve a break. But no, Tony, I did not see anything unusual."
Tony looked to McGee and Kate, who both shook their heads in agreement with Ziva.
The elevator doors opened and let them all out onto the ground level. As they all filed out and into the parking garage, the agents separated and went to their respective cars.
"Get some rest, guys, we've earned it," Tony shouted across the garage. He got mostly no response, but McGee quietly said "Thanks, Tony" before getting into his car.
As Tony got into his car, he thought back to Gibbs and the Director. Something was definitely up there, and he knew just who to talk to about it.
"Aww, Tony," Abby said as Tony finished recounting past events. She hugged him. "I forgot how sad that case was."
Tony wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug. "Yeah," he sighed.
Ducky looked the two of them, feigning confusion. "Anthony, Gibbs and the Director were barely in your retelling of events. How was what you saw so significant?"
"Ducky," Tony said, eyeing the medical examiner as he broke away from the hug. "The changes in them were small, but they made a difference. Gibbs was just so relaxed when he told us to go home. And that was weird."
"I agree with Tony," Jimmy piped up from the other side of the room, where he had been cleaning up. "If Agent Gibbs was as relaxed as you say, that is definitely not something that happens often."
Ducky turned around to address Jimmy. "Oh, not you too, Mr. Palmer." He got up from his desk and approached a stiff, which had been temporarily abandoned when Tony and Abby arrived.
Jimmy frowned but got back to work. Abby's shoulders slumped and Tony threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "Thank you, Autopsy Gremlin. At least someone believes us."
Ducky huffed, turning back around. "It's not that I don't believe you two," he claimed. "I just don't think Gibbs would appreciate you analyzing his personal life this deeply."
Abby stood up quickly. "You wouldn't tell him what we said, would you?" She asked, a slight panic in her voice. Tony stood up as well, looking equally panicked.
"Of course not," Ducky assured them. "Just make sure he doesn't realize how closely you are observing his behavior."
Abby pouted slightly before plastering on her trademark smile. "Ok! Thanks, Ducky! Bye!" She called out as she dragged a startled Tony out of autopsy. Ducky chuckled as they left.
"Alright, Mr. Palmer, let us get back to it, shall we?" Ducky said, beckoning Jimmy over.
"Of course, Dr. Mallard."
Later that night, Ari, Ziva, and Michelle arrived back from New Jersey. As soon as they came in, Tony texted Abby, as they had planned to talk to their friends about the Director and Gibbs as soon as they got back.
"Hey, guys, Abby wants everybody down in her lab," Tony said to the team as he closed his phone.
Ziva arched her eyebrows as she set her stuff down at her desk. "Is everything alright, Tony?"
Tony cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah, she just has something she wants to tell us all at once."
Kate stood up from her desk to comply but narrowed her eyes at Tony. McGee sighed and gave Tony a similar glaring look before standing up as well.
"Alright, well I am heading down, we do not want to keep her waiting," Ari said, running his fingers through his hair and making his way towards the lab. Michelle nodded in agreement and followed him.
"My brother is right for once," Ziva teased. "C'mon, McGee." He fell into step beside her and they left the bullpen.
Tony looked at Kate, now the only one left other than himself. "C'mon, Katie," he called with a smile.
Kate rolled her eyes. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?" She said, grabbing Tony forcefully by the arm.
"Ow!" he protested.
"Oh, it doesn't hurt, you big baby, let's go," she snarked, leading him towards the lab.
Abby and Jimmy were already waiting for the agents when they arrived. Abby was standing at her computer station with a devilish grin and Jimmy stood a bit to her left, looking confused.
"Abby? What are you up too?" Michelle asked, amusement evident in her voice.
"Look guys, we gotta talk about something," she said, before putting up several pictures of the Director and Gibbs up on her big screen.
"Why are we looking at pictures of Gibbs and Director Shepard?" Ari questioned, albeit moving closer to get a better look.
"Abby, how did you get these? Did you hack into the security system?" McGee asked sternly, approaching her and giving her a 'what did you do?' look.
"No comment, McGee," she responded. "Do you guys not see it?"
"See what, Abby?" Kate spoke.
"Yes, what are we supposed to be looking at?" Ziva added.
"Don't you see how close their standing to each other in all these pictures? And haven't you noticed their odd behavior?" When no one said anything, Abby turned to Tony. "C'mon, Tony, help me out here."
At the same time, Ziva and Kate said, "of course you're involved in this." They then turned toward each other and high fived.
"Yes, I'm 'involved' in this," Tony retorted, glaring at the two of them. "My Senior Field Agent senses have been tingling whenever they're together lately. There is something going on there." He moved to stand opposite Abby in front of the big screen.
"Is this why you called an emergency meeting Abby?" Jimmy asked, moving closer from his place in the corner. "I already heard all this today."
"I know, Jimmy, but if it's an emergency meeting, everyone has to be here! I won't leave anyone out!" Abby insisted. Jimmy nodded, seeming to accept that answer, before going to stand next to his girlfriend, who smiled and linked arms with him.
"Abby, we see where you're coming from, but myself, my sister, and Agent Lee have all just returned from out of state. We are tired." Ari said. As if on cue, Ziva yawned.
"Yes, we apologize, Abby, but can we resume this another time?" Ziva asked.
Abby crossed her arms. "Fine. Okay. Everybody go home and sleep. But don't think I'm just gonna drop this," she assured them as they all left the lab.
McGee gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before following his team members out, causing Abby to blush.
"So that's nothing, huh?" Tony asked when everyone else had left, smirking.
"Shut up, Tony!" Abby shouted. "We're best friends, he's just being nice."
Tony walked over and kissed Abby on the cheek as McGee had done. As Tony had thought, she did not have the same reaction as being kissed by McGee.
"That's what I thought," Tony laughed as he left Abby in her lab.
When his back was turned to her, she stuck out her tongue at him. Even if he teased her about McGee though, at least they were on the same page about "Jibbs." There was definitely something there, no matter what everyone else said.