Deep Lacerations: Chapter 31

After the excitement of her first week as the CID liaison to NCIS, Special Agent Sonja Gracy was surprised when the next three months passed without major incidence. There were cases—many of them, in fact—and while she still occasionally got scolded for spending too much time analyzing the body or retreating into "Doctor-speak", as DiNozzo called it, with Ducky, the entire team had to admit that she picked up most of the finer points of crime scene analysis and interrogation in those three months. She had pulled her Sig from her holster more times than she would like to contemplate, had worked far too many hours for a single mother, and put up with more childish behavior from DiNozzo and David than she did from her own children, but Gracy wouldn't have traded those three months for anything. She was respected, she was a member of a team, and for the first time in over a year, she was feeling herself moving forward.

Special Agent Tony DiNozzo frowned slightly as he followed Officer Ziva David into the bullpen one morning, trying to figure out what felt wrong about the situation. Gracy had beaten them in, which was hardly unusual—he could count on one hand the number of days she had been late during her three month tenure. Gibbs wasn't at his desk, but there was a long list of places he could be, with the coffee shop at the top of said list.

"Morning, Ziva, Tony," Gracy said with a smile as she glanced up to see the two agents. Suddenly, DiNozzo figured it out.

"Today's the day, isn't it?" he asked, feeling surprisingly sad about that fact. He guessed after working with one liaison for almost four years that the idea of losing another after only three months seemed a bit strange. "They're shipping you back to CID this morning."

Gracy smiled slightly. "Something like that," she said as she checked the drawers again for something she might have left behind. Her brown shoulder bag, usually tucked underneath her desk, was now sitting on top, open as she packed up the few things she had brought with her.

All three heads turned toward the elevator expectantly as Special Agent Tim McGee stepped out and began walking toward them. DiNozzo had to admit that the probie was looking pretty good for himself, but then waved it off, attributing it to the four hours a day of work conditioning and physical therapy he had been getting for the last six weeks. He stared hard at the elevator doors, willing them to open again, revealing their boss before Gracy had made the official hand-off and left the building. If she made it out of the building without the two of them saying goodbye… He had to quickly hide his smirk. He didn't know what was going on between those two—probably nothing, considering the fact that they were both professionals—but to quote Abby after one of her trips to the bullpen: "I can't stand all the staring!" He knew that she was referring to him and Ziva as much as Gibbs and Gracy, but still. The whole situation was strangely reminiscent of when Kate first joined the team, although the conversations were completely different. He couldn't recall Gibbs and Kate ever getting into a discussion about pre-school or the proper amount to spend on a friend's birthday present.

"Welcome back, Agent McGee," Gracy said with a smile, the first to greet the returning teammember. "I'll be done with the desk in just a minute."

"Take your time," McGee said politely.

"Yeah, take your time," DiNozzo echoed. "Take as much as you want. Oh! How about if you stay, and we send McGee over to CID. I think we can all agree that that would be a decision that would benefit all of us."

"Very funny, Tony," McGee replied, rolling his eyes.

"I don't think my superiors would be all that happy with that arrangement, either," Gracy said. "Not that you're not a great agent, McGee, you're just not really what they're expecting."

"I understand. Oh, those books are in the bottom drawer."

"Oh! I completely forgot." Gracy reached into the bottom drawer to remove two copies of Rock Hollow. "These will be the best Mother's Day gifts ever. Thanks, McGee."

"The McNovel?" DiNozzo asked with a frown. "Best Mother's Day gifts ever? And why two?"

"Mother, mother-in-law," she replied, holding them up in turn. "Or mother-in-law, mother. I'll be sure to check the signatures before wrapping them up. They're both huge Thom E. Gemcity fans." DiNozzo gave a disapproving sigh and shook his head, but didn't comment. "Well, I think that's it," Gracy finally said, glancing around the desk. She slung her bag over her shoulder. "Thanks, guys. It was a good three months."

"Take care of yourself," DiNozzo said, surprising both Gracy and himself when he gave her a large hug.

"You too, Tony," she replied. "And don't forget to swim with a buddy." They both chuckled about that as she pulled away. She gave Ziva air kisses on each cheek before also giving her a hug. She whispered something in German in the Mossad officer's ear before separating. She gave them another smile and small wave as she headed for the elevators. "I can't really say that it was fun, but…I guess parts of it were fun. Goodbye, Tony, Ziva, McGee." She turned to leave when McGee's voice stopped her.

"Gracy. I think you forgot something." She turned back just in time to see something silver flying through the air, reaching for it reflexively. She opened her palm to see the pair of dogtags Colonel Hauser had given her before they realized how he was involved in the case.

"Thanks, McGee," she said softly. The smile she gave him before turning back to the elevators was almost bittersweet. She was just reaching for the call button on the elevator when the doors opened, revealing a coffee-toting Gibbs. Instead of stepping out, he stepped back, letting her in, before hitting the button for the parking level. "And here I thought you were trying to avoid me on my last day," Gracy finally said after a moment of silence.

"Nope," Gibbs replied. Aware that it was a short trip down, he hit the emergency stop button, earning him a raised eyebrow and another moment of silence. "You did good, Gracy," he finally said. "You turned into a half-way proficient crime scene analyst by the end."

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess I learned from the best," she replied sarcastically. "Thanks, Gibbs, for everything."

"Well, maybe we'll be working together on something at some point."

She shook her head slightly. "Not unless you're being transferred to Pearl," she said. He looked confused for a second. "I've been assigned to the Pacific Region, stationed in Hawaii. We're moving in a week."

"Oh," he said, somewhat surprised, and somewhat hurt that she hadn't mentioned anything.

"It was rather sudden," she said, as if reading his mind. "Everything went through just last week." She continued speaking when he didn't say anything. "It's a good assignment, really. I think the kids will like Hawaii. Maddie's already getting serious about her swimming, and it's not like there's any shortage of that out there. And I've been looking into buying a house. A real house, with a backyard to play in, not just another condo."

He nodded. "They made a good choice," he finally said. "You'll do a good job out there." He reached forward and started the elevator again. "Goodbye, Sonja." She was surprised that the kiss that he placed on her lips was soft and almost sweet. She wasn't surprise that he tasted somewhat like coffee.

She pulled away as the elevator doors opened, a smile still on her face, the smile that he had seen more and more over the last three months, the one that actually reached her eyes and left the promise that someday, maybe someday soon, she would be capable of being truly happy. "Take care, Jethro." She turned back once as she walked off toward her car, seeing him still standing in the elevator, looking after her as he took a sip of coffee.

And then she was gone.