I've been slacking this week! Well, what do you expect when it's your Aunt's birthday and your brother's graduation all in one week? That, and the fact that chapter five didn't get ANY reviews (I'm not gonna lie) made me slightly sad.
Also, I realized I didn't include Abby's reaction! How crazy is that? I will fix chapter five to include her reaction when I post chapter seven. I don't have enough time today, because I really should start getting ready for prom…
Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own NCIS, nor have I ever claimed to. That sucks….
Never The Same
After sitting at the diner for some time, the team all dispersed home. Tim was the exception, for he was waiting for Emma to get done cleaning and locking up.
"Hey, can we stop at my apartment before we go to yours? I need to grab a few things." Emma asked.
"That's fine." Tim responded, not paying attention. He had no idea how the night would go. He hadn't seen his daughter in 16 years and now she was staying the night at his place. What were they even going to talk about?
"Are you ok? You seem preoccupied." Emma observed.
"Yeah, my mind is just going a mile a minute, I guess." Tim grinned.
"I know what you mean. Sometimes Brynn or Henry will have to yell at me so I snap out of him." Emma told him.
"Gee, could that be because when you get preoccupied you go into your own magical land?" Brynn said sarcastically, coming up behind Emma.
"Not my fault!" Emma defended herself.
"Yeah, whatever you say Emmy. I'll see you tomorrow." Brynn walked out.
"You two seem close." Tim noted.
"Brynn has been my best friend since like first grade." Emma replied. "I'm ready to go. Let's roll." Emma strolled out. Tim followed her, thinking about how much Emma and her mom was alike.
/NCIS/
It was well past midnight when Emma finally decided she should head to bead.
"What? I demand a rematch! How did you even learn to play poker like that?" Tim wondered.
"One of mom's boyfriends worked at a casino. He taught me how to play." Emma explained, shrugging. Tim was quiet for a few minutes.
"Ems, how did your mom die?" Tim asked quietly.
"She had a brain aneurism, and she died in her sleep" Emma answered, fiddling with her thumbs. Tim nodded, understanding that she didn't want to talk about it.
"Well, I think I'm going to head to bed. Where am I sleeping?" Emma changed the subject to something much lighter.
"You can sleep in my bed, and I'll be on the couch." Tim informed her.
"No, I'll sleep on the couch. I don't mind." Emma insisted.
"That's ok. Just go ahead and sleep on my bed. And I hope you don't mind, but Jethro will probably sleep up there with you." Tim smirked. Jethro, who was lying on the couch, opened his eyes and looked tiredly at them. Emma laughed at the dog's obvious tiredness.
"Fine," Emma relented. "But I refuse to let Jethro have all of the blankets." Jethro started wagging his tail.
"Good luck with that."
/NCIS/
Luckily, Emma's professors gave her the next week off, considering she was a model student, so she ended up going to work with Tim.
The elevator doors opened up and they walked to Tim's desk.
"Well look who's here! It's the McFather-McDaughter combo!" Tony exclaimed.
"Hello Tony." Emma acknowledged him.
"Hello Emma." Ziva greeted her.
"Hey Ziva." Emma grinned. "It's nice to see you guys again."
"I need to come up with some nicknames for you." Tony mused. "Maybe I'll call you Shorty!"
"Tony, she's actually pretty tall." Tim reminded him.
"I see that Elf Lord, but out of the four times I've seen her, she wore short shorts three of those time, like she is today." Tony said. Emma, meanwhile, was laughing.
"What is so funny?" Ziva wondered.
"He called you Elf Lord." Emma panted between laughs. Tim rolled his eyes.
"We have a case. Dead sailor found in a dumpster." Gibbs appeared out of thin air.
"Oh, no. Again, Boss?" DiNozzo groaned.
"What are you groaning about? At least now you don't have to sit at your desk all day." Gibbs shook his head, before turning to Emma. "You can stay down in Abby's lab."
"Sweet, I like Abby."
Emma headed downstairs to Abby's lab before stopping at the doorway because of the loud music.
"Abby?" Emma called out. Abby turned and saw her visitor before turning down the music.
"Emma! What are you doing here?" Abby hugged her.
"Well I have the week off of school so I came to work with Tim." Emma replied, staring at the giant Caf-Pow! Cup by Abby.
"What is that?" Emma questioned.
"It's Caf-Pow! It will change your life!"