SUMMARY: Sequel to "The SecDef Cheats." Lt. Col Cassidy moves in to NCIS and this will mean for Abby in the long run. McAbby, Drama/Romance/Angst
RATING: T - Adult subject matter, rare mild language, killer smooching.
A/N: Sorry, had some personal stuff come up and I hadn't had time to edit through the chapters I finished last weekend. There should be a steady progression of chapters coming after this one. Thanks for hanging in there with me!
REVIEWS: I am always trying to improve my writing, so all constructive criticism is welcome. I would also like to thank you in advance for any reviews you might wish to leave. They really are a great boon to a writer's ego and gives you a huge incentive to live up to your expectations.
Chapter 12
Hunched over a microscope, Abby was diligently processing a group of samples that Tony had brought her the night before. He had dropped the samples off late, and Abby knew that Gibbs would be expecting the results first thing in the morning, so she decided to keep working until they were done. Evidence from the murder of a sailor was not something that should wait for clock punching.
When she had gotten started, she assumed it would only take her a few hours and then she could be on her way, but that assumption had proven wrong when she started having trouble isolating the different elements. She had kept going, working to make the isolation stick and doing her best to get all of the samples processed in time.
As she transferred the slide from her most recently completed sample to the tray she finally looked at the watch on her wrist and then yelped. "Crap, crap, crap, CRAP!" She was about to hit the twenty four hour mark and then she would lose the use of her computers and she needed them to finish her work.
Abby ripped off her gloves and started biting on one of her fingers as she tried to formulate a plan for getting around her new restrictions without letting the Colonel know what she had done. The only answer she could come up with was to call Tim. If anyone could get by the Colonel's programming it was Timmy.
She had the phone in her hand, the number being dialed when, "Agent McGee is not going to be able to help you with this."
"Colonel!" Abby was frozen in her tracks and dropped the phone in the process.
"How many more samples do you have to run?" The Colonel moved to stand beside Abby at the workstation and began to look over her progress.
Abby worked to regain her composure and then pointed to the pending slide tray. "Just two more and then I need to get the report ready for Gibbs." She took and deep breath and then tried to explain, "I didn't want to let these wait and then I had some trouble with isola-"
"This is a murder case, Dr. Scuito… I understand the urgency in getting this information into the right hands." Abby visibly relaxed at her reassurance and then the Colonel took a seat behind the terminal. "Now, give me the results so far, and I'll get the report started while you finish up the processing."
She watched as the Colonel brought up a hidden menu and keyed in a special code which stopped the countdown clock which had begun on Abby's terminal. Her fingers immediately began to strike at the keys in a machine gun rhythm, and Abby felt like she should say something to the woman, but she was beaten to the punch. "C'mon, we've got a lot of other work to do this morning, so let's get this one in the bag."
Abby returned her attention to the slides and her microscope and then just had to ask, "What other work?"
"We got approval to start interviewing for support staff. So unless you want me to start hiring a bunch of spit and polish types to keep you busy, you better help me weed through the resumes." Abby looked up from her microscope with her mouth hanging open.
"Less gaping, more processing… I only have the morning to spare." The Colonel betrayed only the smallest hint of a smile as she continued inputting the data from the other samples.