Thanks for the wonderful reviews and encouragement to keep writing.
This is just a little fluff chapter...the character, Marshall, belongs to 90TheGeneral09...you can read more about him in this story "The Cadet". I'm just borrowing him because it works well with my timeline :) (I hope I did him justice in this chapter...writing another person's OC is daunting.)
Happy January 900th ...the longest, coldest, and snowiest month! How many more days until spring?
Happy Reading :)
Love Jenny Wrens
The paperwork in front of him seemed to breed like dust bunnies since he last looked at it. He'd been so out of sorts as of late that it felt difficult to get back into a routine. It didn't help that his Goth girl was sitting beside him boring holes into his head. Gibbs knew that Abby was upset with him for having McGee track her and drag her back to NCIS. He probably should have let her cool off in her lab but his first thought was putting her in time out. She wasn't a field agent and he despised it when she went off on her own. If it had been anyone else on his team, he would have smacked them into the middle of next week, but he didn't do that to Abby. Abby was different. She boasted to everyone that she was his favourite and Gibbs' probably couldn't deny it at times. He'd felt a special bond with her since the first day he met her. The trouble was she seemed to use that affection to take advantage of him. That he didn't like even a little. Abby rather enjoyed watching him smack Tony, and less often McGee and Ziva, from a distance and calling it his signature move, even employing it for her own good use once and a while.
Gibbs chanced a glance at Abby and had to bite back a smirk as she continued to glare at him with her arms crossed. Abby was really irritated with him. If he wasn't so equally annoyed by her, he might have found it as endearing as Janessa when she was upset with him.
"Boss, what should I tell Ducky about the evidence he sent to the lab?" McGee, covering the mouthpiece of his phone, looked sheepishly at Abby before continuing. "Uh, Abby isn't in her lab to sign for it."
Gibbs raised a brow, looking towards Abby.
"Don't look at me!' she snapped. "You're the one who's wasting everyone's time making me sit here."
Gibbs adjusted his reading glasses, ignoring Abby's outburst and looked back at his paperwork. "Send it to Forbes."
McGee's eyes widened as Abby's cheeks puffed out in rage. "Boss?"
"You heard me, McGee."
McGee proceeded to tell Ducky over the phone to send the evidence to another forensic scientist from another team. Things were slow so Gibbs knew it wouldn't be an issue. Other than the one case his team was working, NCIS was surprising and pleasantly slow, so much so that most teams were working on cold cases and enjoying the break to catch up on paperwork. Minutes later McGee stood to his feet and walked with a slight limp towards the water cooler across the room.
"What's a matter with your leg, McGee?"
McGee's face reddened and Gibbs saw him exchange a look with Abby before sitting back down at his desk.
"Nothing, Boss, just a little stiff this morning. I musta overdid it at the gym."
Gibbs turned a disapproving towards Abby, and she had the good sense to drop her chin guiltily. Gibbs shook his head envisioning quite a scuffle between his Goth girl and his agent in order to get her to comply. Abby wasn't a pushover in any sense of the word, and she had a difficult time bending her will to anyone, most especially McGee.
The familiar bing of the elevator rang in the back of his head as he forced himself to get back to work, continuing to ignore Abby a little longer. He only succeeded for a few seconds before he recognized the energetic voice of the youngest daughter ringing in his ears. With a quick glance to his watch, he realized with a groan that he had forgotten to get Janessa for lunch. He'd promised her that he would let her eat with him today. They had both made a point to make a special bagged lunch just for the occasion.
Looking up, the small blonde pixie came skipping around the corner and right up to his desk. She scowled at him while placing her hands on her hips.
"You forgots about me," she lectured disapprovingly.
Gibbs stood up and looked over the cubicle to see who had delivered his cherub. He frowned when he didn't see anyone with her.
"Forgot," he corrected, realizing he needed to spend a little more time fixing her wording before she began school in January. "And who signed you out?" He turned his chair sideways and opened his arms, bidding her to come to him.
Janessa rushed into his arms and hugged him, planting a kiss on his cheek. Then when she noticed Abby, she rushed to Abby as well and pulled herself up onto the Goth's lap with a happy giggle.
"Are you gonna eat with us too, Abby?"
Abby hugged the little girl close. "I didn't bring my lunch today, Nessie."
"That's alright. We made a HUGE," Janessa spread her arms wide, "lunch today cuz me and daddy gets really hungry. You can share some of my sandwiches. I gots a peanut butter and banana one." Janessa slid off her knee when she spied the lunch cooler behind Gibbs' desk. She quickly opened it and fished out her sandwich. Opening it, she offered half her sandwich to Abby. Gibbs helped the little girl situate herself on a little stool he'd stashed away on his shelf for such an occasion.
"You didn't answer my question, Ness. Who signed you out of daycare?"
Janessa took a large bite of her sandwich. "Towe." She managed to say through the thick mouthful of peanut butter trapping her teeth and lips.
"Finish chewing please before you answer me. Where is Tony now?"
Janessa made a dramatic display of chewing her food until she swallowed. "He was talking to a lady so I gots on the alligator by myself."
Almost as if on cue, the elevator opened and Tony rushed into the bullpen only to look very relieved when he saw Janessa eating her sandwich beside Gibbs.
"Lose something, DiNozzo?" Gibbs hit him with a hard look.
"Sorry, Boss. YOU, little monster," he pointed at Janessa, "should have waited for me."
Gibbs cupped the little girl's face in his hand sternly. "Next time, you wait for Tony to escort you to the bullpen, understand?"
Janessa's eyes widened a little and she nodded. "Sorwy," came her peanut buttery reply as she quickly bit into her sandwich again.
"Thanks for remembering to grab her for me, Tony."
Tony smiled. "No problemo." He winked at Janessa and wandered over to his desk.
"DiNozzo, heard from Ziva?"
Tony sat at his desk. "Riley's been detained awhile longer for one last psychiatric assessment, but she doesn't think it should take much longer."
Gibbs frowned. "What kind of assessment?"
"Ziva didn't say, but she didn't sound concerned so I'm assuming it's a routine thing before being released. Has his mother been notified yet?
McGee stood up to grab his own lunch. "Mrs. Janssen should arrive within a day or two. She needed to make some provisions for her business."
"I hope you were cryptic, McGee."
"I did my best, Boss. She was somewhat distressed when I mentioned we had Riley in custody at NCIS. I assured her that he wasn't under arrest or anything like that but that we required her immediate presence."
"Is Riley Aimee's friend, daddy?" piped up Janessa whose big ears were perked up to the conversation.
"Yep. He's coming to NCIS, so we can help him just like he helped Aimee."
"That's good. Aimee says she likes him a lot."
"How's the sandwich?"
Janessa took another large bite and smiled, giving a thumbs up.
Gibbs smirked and messed up her hair playfully, and then he took another look at his Goth girl who was being uncharacteristically quiet. Abby chewed slowly on the sandwich that Janessa had shared with her, but Gibbs knew she was still simmering in her anger with him. They'd have to duke it out eventually before he got any peace for the day.
Gibbs rose to his feet. "DiNozzo, can I trust you not to lose Janessa for an hour while Abby and I have a little chat?"
"Sure, Boss. C'mere, Monster, you got anything good in your lunch?"
Janessa picked up the cooler and carried it over to Tony's desk. "Papa Jack made some chocolate chip cookies. Want one?"
Gibbs headed towards the elevator stopping to grab a cookie and apple out of the cooler. He looked towards Abby and nodded his head in the direction of the lift then walked away.
XxXxNCISxXxX
Gibbs arrived at Abby's lab and ripped the "gone for the day" sign off her door. Using his key, he let himself into her lab and walked into her office. He figured she'd take her sweet time getting there so it would give him some time to make a much-needed phone call. His gut churned a little as he dialled knowing that the person on the other end would have some choice words for him. A pleasant but official voice greeted him and Gibbs explained the nature of his call only to be placed on hold to see if it would be accepted. Gibbs half expected it would not.
"Marshall," said a gruff voice. Gibbs grimaced, hearing the justifiable ire in man's voice.
"We need to talk," was all Gibbs said.
There was a brief silence before the expected surging Tsunami hit. Gibbs listened and waited patiently for the man to blast him thoroughly and completely. Gibbs had known Marshall wasn't going to be exactly pleasant when he discovered Gibbs had been nosing around Parris Island, questioning Riley's platoon. It wasn't a surprise nor was it undeserved so he didn't interrupt. After several minutes, however, the General fell silent.
"I thought NCIS would be the best place for you to meet Riley. I know you'll want to ask him some questions with a JAG lawyer present."
"Doesn't matter, Janssen isn't our problem anymore; he's yours," Marshall groused, his irritation still coming across strong.
"Think this will affect him enlisting when he's of age?"
Marshall was silent again. Gibbs wasn't sure what the man was thinking, but it hadn't been the first time Gibbs had rendered the man speechless where Riley was concerned.
"From what I heard, Gunny, the kid should already have his EGA and be at SOI with his fellow Marines; he damned well better re-enlist when he's of age." Gibbs smiled thinking that if he had anything to do with it, Riley would enlist again. Hell, Gibbs planned to be there when the kid received his EGA.
"How's he holding up, Gibbs?"
Gibbs sighed but remained quiet allowing his silence to speak for him. He knew Marshall would be able to read so much more from his sigh than any words he could say.
"You stirred up a veritable hornet's nest, you know that, Gunny? Adams isn't going to know what hit him by the time I'm through."
Gibbs was counting on that. He hoped Marshall nailed the bastard to the wall. The Marines needed good men not broken kids. Adams' kind of training wasn't needed and never was.
"The kid's expected to arrive here this afternoon. What's on your docket?"
Gibbs could hear some shuffling of papers and waited patiently for the General to clear his schedule. If Gibbs knew the man the way he thought he did, Marshall would want to put all this behind him as soon as possible. The heat was probably close to unbearable at Parris Island. The military hated scrutiny and the sooner it was dealt with the better. A story like Riley's would not look favourably on them and Adam's abuse would only serve to worry parents of future recruits. It was bad press all around.
"I'll be in touch," the man said and ended the call.
Gibbs smirked. Marshall and he were similar in their communication styles, short, to the point and never wasted any words.
As he dropped his cell phone into his jacket pocket, he caught sight of Abby entering her lab. She glanced in his direction but proceeded to her computer and pretended to work. He leaned his head onto his hand and watched her, partly in annoyance and partly in amusement. Abby was an interesting woman, and yes, he did acknowledge that she was a grown woman, despite what Jenny thought. Jenn always accused him of treating Abby like a child. He admitted sometimes he could be overprotective. Most would think his affection for the Goth was inappropriate, but to him, it was purely paternal love that he felt for her. Abby drank up every bit of it too. With both her parents passed away and being so far from her extended family, it made Abby alone and vulnerable. It had just been natural for Gibbs to tuck her under his wing.
He rose to his feet and wandered out to Abby. "I'm the one who should be irritated, Abbs, not you."
Abby narrowed her eyes and scowled but didn't look at him.
"I said no and I meant no."
Abby turned her glare onto him. "You didn't listen."
"I didn't need to. You're not a field agent."
"I know that Gibbs, and I never said I was going out into the field now did I? Of course, you would have known that if you had listened to my request but you didn't."
"Abbs, you belong in your lab."
Abby huffed and turned back to her computers. "Fine, whatever."
Gibbs sighed and took her by the arm gently so she was facing him. "Keep up this attitude with me and I'll write you up. You don't leave NCIS on a work day without a signed form and you know it. You broke the rules, Abby."
Abby pulled away and reached into her pocket, handing him a form. "I have a signed form."
Gibbs took it and looked to see Tony's signature. He felt his annoyance grow.
"I don't need your signature; any SFA's signature will do," she said, smugly.
"Abby!"
She glared at him. "Tony listened. You didn't."
Gibbs crumpled up the paper feeling manipulated in much the same way as he had when his daughter used to go to Shannon after he'd told her no. It felt a little like déjà vu. He felt his palms grow itchy so he clenched his hands together to ease the feeling a little.
"What was so all-fired important that you would ignore me and go to Tony?"
Abby shook her head. "I will send my report to Tony."
"Abigail!" This time he was exasperated.
She looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Will there be anything else I can help you with today, Gibbs?"
"Yes, you can go sit your ass down in your office right now!" Abby's eyes widened a little when Gibbs raised his voice at her. He didn't do it often but when he did, he meant business. She stood staring at him, almost like she was debating arguing but then quite literally stomped to her office and sat down.
Gibbs followed, closing the soundproof doors behind him. His hands found his hips as he walked up and stared menacingly down at her.
"Okay, so make no mistake here. This is me, Gibbs, speaking, not Agent Gibbs. This is totally and completely off the record…just one pissed off dad talking to his daughter. Catching my drift here?"
Abby swallowed, looking a bit more remorseful.
"What the hell is going on with you? Since when did my 'no' become a subject for debate?"
Abby chewed her bottom lip. "It hasn't, Gibbs."
Gibbs lifted a brow. "Oh, really? Then it wasn't you who went off on her own after I said no?"
Abby squirmed but remained quiet.
"You know damned well that I'm within my rights to write you up for insubordination. But you think I wouldn't do that and you're probably right; however, that doesn't mean I'm not perfectly okay with dealing with you another way off the record." He narrowed his eyes menacingly.
Abby worried her bottom lip further until Gibbs couldn't take it any longer and gently released it from her teeth.
"I'm sorry, Gibbs."
Gibbs softened. "What's eating at you?"
"Why didn't you listen to me, Gibbs?"
Gibbs sat on the edge of her desk. "Because I don't feel like you need to be out traipsing around when I have perfectly good field agents for that. Why couldn't McGee go research your hunch? Why did it need to be you?"
She shrugged. "Maybe it's because everyone else is so preoccupied…"
Gibbs understood. "Everyone meaning me."
Abby lowered her head but didn't deny it.
Gibbs scrubbed a hand across his face. In some respects, Abby was right on the money. The last couple of months, everyone had been preoccupied with the girls, David Brody and now Riley. But, really, nothing changed at NCIS; there was always something that kept them preoccupied and often it was personal for one or all of them. But Gibbs knew he'd been so preoccupied that he hadn't spent much time with Abby at all. He knew she understood but now that things were dying down, Abby was making herself known.
"Abby, what can I say? It's not the first time and it won't be the last. That doesn't change the fact that you can't go over my head or beside my head or whatever you want to call to get your own way. This is what I have an issue with right now."
"Okay, okay, you're right. I was mad you weren't even listening to me. Usually, you at least have the courtesy to listen."
Gibbs took her by the shoulders and shook her light-heartedly. "Don't take out your anger on me by risking your job because next time, you just might be written up and not by me; could be Jenn who catches you next time. Is that what you want?" Aby shook her head." Yah, I didn't think so. If you're mad at me, tell me or send hate mail like everyone else does."
Abby frowned and looked up at him in concern. "People send you hate mail? Gibbs! That's terrible!"
Gibbs chuckled and kissed her forehead.
"Am I forgiven?" asked Abby, looking a little worried.
Gibbs kissed her again. "Always, but next time don't be surprised if you find yourself on the receiving end of your own customized Gibbs' slap."
Abby stood to her feet, looking at him with adoration once more. "You wouldn't."
Gibbs narrowed his eye at her. She was probably right. He couldn't see himself ever really smacking her, but he'd never say never. It wasn't the first time he'd been tempted to pull her over his knee. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," he threatened.
Abby considered it a moment and then launched herself into his arms. Gibbs pulled her into a tight embrace. He knew he needed to learn to better balance spending time with his older girls and with his younger girls. While Ziva wasn't prone to attention seeking behaviour, Abby most certainly was. He was beginning to think the whole morning had just been about that. Abby's way of seeking some one-on-one attention from him.
"What are you doing Sunday afternoon, Abbs?"
Abby pulled away and cocked her head to look at him suspiciously. "Nothing, why?"
"I sure could use some help sanding…" Abby grimaced which made Gibbs laugh. "Kidding. I'm kidding. Will you take me bowling?"
Abby's face brightened up. "Really?"
Gibbs nodded. "I took Aimee once and she beat me. It was humiliating. I need some tips for next time."
Abby hugged him again. Gibbs kissed the top of her head. Maybe things would be okay in Abby-land for a while if he just remembered to make time for her too.
"So, Gibbs, I had this brilliant thought last night…" began Abby as she proceeded to drag him out to her main computer. Gibbs followed his Goth sunshine girl out to the computer shaking his head.