---
Monday nights were Alex's favorite during the week. Every Monday Alex had a set dinner date with Gibbs. It wasn't a romantic dinner, just down time where they could talk about things other than work. With Chris gone, Alex hated eating alone each night.
This particular Monday, Gibbs was in charge of getting the ingredients and all Alex had to do was show up and help. As she happily pulled out of the driveway, she thought back to their first Monday night dinner
**Flashback/
Alex knocked firmly on Gibbs door and then she waited.
Gibbs was shocked when he opened the door to see Alex standing on his front step with two large grocery bags.
"I brought dinner" Alex walked past Gibbs in to the house "I figured since we're going to be working together now that I've lasted more than just two weeks like your last new agent, and that I will be trusting you with my life, maybe we should get to know each other." Alex paused in the entrance to the kitchen "May I?"
Gibbs nodded his approval, a little unsure of what exactly was happening.
"So it's nothing fancy, just a chicken. I thought I'd put it in the oven with a little rosemary and garlic, some potatoes and gravy and a salad." Alex busied herself looking for various pots and pans around the kitchen. She started on the chicken and then paused to look at Gibbs who was still watching from the doorway, a look of curiosity on his face.
"Those potatoes won't peel themselves, you know"
Gibbs allowed a smile to creep up on his lips and he stepped forward to peel potatoes. He couldn't remember the last time someone had made him dinner, well besides heating up a frozen meal in the microwave. He almost hadn't opened the door. The rest of the team knew he didn't lock his door and would've just walked in on their own, but it wasn't the time of year for Girl Scout cookies so curiosity had gotten the best of him and he had opened the door.
Alex had finished the chicken and had placed it in the oven and was chopping a tomato for the salad by the time he put the potatoes on the stove to boil. He watched the determination on her face as she chopped quickly, making sure to avoid chopping into her skin.
"You're good with a knife. I'll keep that in mind"
Alex winked "It sounds like you've said that before"
"I've got three ex-wives…"
"And yet, you still live. Amazing. I'm impressed."
Gibbs chuckled and gave her a light Gibbs-slap to the back of her head.
When the salad was finished she turned her attention to the second bag which she had left on the kitchen table. "I wasn't sure what kind of drinker you are. Well besides coffee, so I brought a variety" Alex first pulled two bottles of wine from the bag, a red and a white. Next was a six-pack of beer. After that she pulled out a bottle of sparkling water, a bottle of apple juice and a 2-liter bottle of coke.
"You sure cover your bases, don't you?"
"Well first I was just going to bring a bottle of wine. Then I was thinking, red or white? I know white tends to pair better with chicken, but you never know. Then I got to thinking that maybe you were more of a beer person. Then it crossed my mind that maybe you don't drink. I mean, I figure you to be a drinker. You do drink, don't you? I mean, I'm not saying I think you are an alcoholic, not that I would respect you any less. It's just that if you were an alcoholic, and I've put all this in front of you…"
Gibbs was entertained. It crossed his mind to see how long she'd keep talking, but dinner was nearly ready and he was hungry "I'll get the corkscrew"
Dinner was surprisingly relaxed. Gibbs talked a little about being a Marine. He could tell that hearing some of his experiences gave her a sense of ease about her boyfriend and his time overseas. He left out the nightmares and the pain, focusing on the brotherhood he felt with his fellow marines and the good experiences he had. Semper fidelis.
Alex described growing up on the west coast. How she had been a top soccer player at her high school, but a broken ankle during the first game had put her out for the rest of her senior season. She also mentioned that her parents were angry that she had moved to DC with Chris. They like him, but weren't happy at the idea of their only child living on the opposite coast, alone, while her boyfriend was overseas. Gibbs spoke fondly of the rest of the team. Alex smiled as Gibbs explained the head slap that worked so well.
At the end of the evening, after she had insisted on cleaning up, Alex started putting the unopened beverages into the refrigerator. "You can just have these, I'm not going to drag them all back out to the car"
"For next time" Gibbs offered.
Alex peeked around the refrigerator door with a wicked smile "You've got to let the food settle before you can commit to suffer through my cooking again".
"I'll take my chances. See you next Monday"
/Flashback **
Alex pushed Gibbs door open and found him in the kitchen. He was getting ready to make hamburgers. "You're late"
"Gibbs! By like 4 minutes" Alex took her place next to him after washing her hands, and started to mould the raw beef into hamburgers.
"Nice patties"
Alex laughed and did a little shimmy "see something you like, Gibbs?"
Gibbs reached across where she was working; his body close to hers, to reach for the cheese "I was talking about the beef, Lex" his voice was a low whisper.
"I know. I'm good with raw meat" she matched his whisper before tossing her head back in a loud laugh.
Gibbs shook his head and his famous Gibbs-smile washed over his face as he couldn't hold back a laugh. He didn't know how she did it. One minute she was oozing sexual appeal, and the next she was laughing up a storm. She was hard to figure out.
These dinners had become a routine. Every Monday at 6pm Alex would be letting herself in to Gibbs house. Sometimes she brought the supplies with her, or on some days Gibbs would have everything ready. Work was a topic that never came up. They spoke of sports and the weather. Alex teased lightly about his failure to keep up with the latest in technology and like every other Monday dinner, she promised that one day she would buy him a real TV compared to the 20 year old little box down in his basement.
"I don't need a TV"
"Gibbs" Alex sighed disapprovingly "Everyone needs a TV, and a DVD player. Ooh, then we can watch movies!"
"Lex, I don't watch movies"
"That's because you don't have a TV or DVD player, obviously. Everyone watches movies, Gibbs." It was a downhill battle and Gibbs knew it. It was only a matter of time before he was forced to buy an over-priced TV he'd only watch when she was around, and by the sounds of it, a DVD player would soon replace his old VHS player that was boxed up next to his old TV. He didn't know why he still had it, he had long since boxed up and gotten rid of the old VHS's that had belonged to his daughter. They sat quietly for awhile, sipping their beers and enjoying each other's company.
Gibbs was impressed with her strength. When she had return to work, Alex had set aside her pain only to be knocked down again by the death of Kate. With both blows so close to each other, he had been certain she would break down. He could tell that she still had bad days, but slowly the number of good days out-numbered the bad days. Although she was good at hiding her exhaustion, he could tell when she hadn't slept well, if at all, the night before.
After the dishes had been done they moved to the sofa in the living room to have cup of coffee.
"You know, I'm here. If you need to talk"
Alex kept her eyes on the hot coffee in her hands "I know"
They were silent again. Alex sighed. "I wish you had a TV in here. We could be watching CSI Miami right now"
Gibbs smiled "Why would you watch that crap?"
Alex shrugged and renewed her promise "Gibbs, I'm going to get you a TV"
"Yeah, okay" Gibbs replied sarcastically. It was a discussion they had every Monday. He thought nothing of it.
On their next Monday night dinner Alex was unusually silent. She was reading the instruction manual to the new flat screen TV she had bought him.
---
She knew his memory loss wouldn't be permanent, she refused to believe it would be, but even it if was, she would re-introduce herself to Gibbs and they would simply start over. There was nothing else she could do. The explosion had left the team visibly shaken as they fought to re-group and solve the case that put Gibbs in the hospital. Jenny had been the first to arrive at the hospital. She had used her contacts at the white house to get into the restricted area where they were still assessing the damage. Abby arrived second and her endless ramble and Goth looks had persuaded the nurse to allow her to follow in Jenny's footsteps. Alex was next to arrive, slightly buzzed from the birthday party she had been at. Not drunk enough to be sloppy, but had the courage to think she could actually take the doors off the hinges the way she threatened before the nurse pressed the button for the doors to open.
The team took turns keeping a silent vigil, waiting for their boss to wake from his coma. When we finally woke, the phone call from Ducky letting them know that he was awake, but had no memory of the team was just as heartbreaking as the original call that he was in the hospital.
Gibbs frustration grew, as much as he didn't want to be this 'Agent Gibbs' he supposedly was, he couldn't deny the love he felt from the group of people who visited him regularly, feeding him stories of the past years, stories that he found himself wanting to remember more and more.
Alex left Gibbs in Ducky's capable hands on Friday evening. She knew that Gibbs was being released, but she had plans for the weekend, and as much as she wanted to put them on hold, being away for a few days would help her to regroup and pull herself together before returning to work on Monday.
Monday afternoon Alex decided that memory loss was no reason for a Monday night dinner to be skipped, whether he remembered it or not. At 5:59pm Alex pulled up to Gibbs house, grocery bags full of food on the seat next to her. Somewhat reluctantly, Alex turned off her car and slipped the keys into her pocket. She slowly trudged up to the front door and hesitated. Should she push the door open like usual, or should she knock. She didn't want him to be alarmed at someone just walking into his house. She shrugged and pushed the door open. He'll have to get used to us just walking in, that'll never change, she thought to silently to herself as she stepped inside.
Tapping the door shut behind her with her foot she paused to listen for movement in the house. "Gibbs?"
Gibbs stepped through the kitchen doorway, "Its 6:01. You're late"
A smile spread across her face "You remember?"
Alex watched as Gibbs disappeared back into the kitchen, "Not everything. I feel like there are still pieces missing, but more or less I guess I remember. I've got a roast in the oven, that's ok, isn't it? I don't remember if there are any foods you don't like"
"It's perfect"
---
When Gibbs left, announcing his retirement to Mexico two days later, it didn't make Alex sad. It made her furious. While Abby sat quietly in her lab, squeezing farts out of her stuffed hippo with tears rolling down her cheeks, Alex was at the shooting range. His memory loss she could handle, his abandonment she couldn't.
She kept her emotion out of the office. While the others found Tony insufferable, Alex tried to be supportive. It was true, he had molded himself to fit what Gibbs had been, but she knew he was just trying to keep the team from falling apart.
Alex found herself spending more and more time in the director's office. They would chat, discuss work-related cases and occasionally Jenny found herself recalling some of the missions she had been on with Jethro. Alex wasn't trying to pry into their past life as agents together, but both women found it comforting to talk about him without actually talking about him leaving.
When Gibbs returned to help Ziva, Alex thought for a minute that their team would finally be whole again, only to be rudely awaken when he had left again without so much as a goodbye. So when he returned for a second time, Alex refused to let thoughts of their complete team enter her head until the morning they found him back at his desk, after the case had been solved.
Tony, Ziva, McGee and Alex stood in the hallway and watched as he put things back in their place on his desk, like nothing had happened. They played rock-paper-scissors to figure out who would approach him and ask. Alex lost.
Cautiously she approached his desk. She waited until he looked up before speaking "Are you back?"
"Yes"
"For good?"
"Yes"
"Ok then" her voice was cold. She turned and nodded to the others and then sat at her desk.
By the time the team was ready to leave for the evening, things had warmed up a bit in the office. They avoided the subject of Mexico like the plague, and team had let out a collective sigh of relief when Gibbs had declined to join them for lunch at a café down the street.
Gibbs caught Alex by the arm as she passed by, on her way to the elevator to go home for the night "We missed dinner on Monday. How about dinner tonight to make up for it?" He watched as hurt flashed in her eyes, but was relieved when she nodded yes.
"Ok, I'll get supplies"
"I'll see you at six then" Alex pulled her arm free and walked to the elevator.
Alex arrived at 6pm sharp. She wanted to be excited that life would return to the pre-explosion days, but she held back. She wasn't interested in disappointment.
Inside she found Gibbs making a chicken stir-fry. She didn't say anything, just took her place beside him and started chopping vegetables. He stopped and turned to her "I wasn't leaving you and the team" Alex stopped chopping, but the knife remained in her grasp as she turned to look at him. He saw that she was angry and suddenly he realized that he should've waited until the knife was safely in the dishwasher before approaching the subject of his short-lived retirement in Mexico. He was fairly certain she wasn't the first woman stand before him with a knife in her hand. He was sure that ex-wife number two would've done the job, had she not run off with her lover. She must've read his expression, because her eyes dropped to the knife in her hand before she placed it on the counter. He held his breath as she stepped closer to him, her face inches from his. It wasn't what he expected, but he wasn't surprised when she slapped him, hard, across the face.
"You left us. Instead of fighting until the very end, you walked away from us and quit. So yes, you left us"
"I don't have any excuses. I was running away from memories that I didn't want to remember. I should've known that memories are the one thing that you can't escape in life. You know how I feel about apologies"
"You don't believe in them"
"Except when it comes to friends, so I'm sorry"
Alex felt the anger leave her body as she stood on her toes to wrap her arms around her boss' neck. Gibbs hugged her back "Jen said you've spent a lot of time at the shooting range. Can shoot a fly off the wall at 200 yards?"
Pulling out of the hug, Alex left her hands on his shoulders and looked him square in the eye "and don't you forget it". With a laugh she moved back to chop the last of the vegetables.
---
On the exact date, a year after Chris died, no one expected Alex to show up for work. In fact they were surprised when she stepped out of the elevator, mocha in hand chatting cheerfully on her cell phone. Snapping her phone shut as she plopped down in her chair she announced, "My friend Ellie, she's pregnant. She even knows who the father is!"
Tony burst out laughing. He had heard stories of Ellie and her promiscuity during her college years. Gibbs couldn't hold back a chuckle, McGee just rolled his eyes and Ziva smiled. Abby rounded the corner and paused when she saw Alex at her desk. Alex noticed her and smiled "Ellie is pregnant!"
"Does she know who the father is?"
"Yep!"
"Whew, well congrats to her!"
Gibbs broke in the conversation "Lex, should I be worried that you are hanging out with someone who is 'lucky' to know who the father of her child is?"
Alex nearly choked on her mocha "Oh Gibbs, promiscuity isn't a communicable disease. I won't catch it by hanging out with her" Tony stretched out in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk and tucking his hands behind his head. "If it was, I would've caught it long time ago working with DiNozzo. And then I would've slept with McGee."
"HEY!"
"DiNozzo! Get your feet off the desk. Get to work. All of you."
Abby scurried back to her lab and everyone busied themselves in their paper work. One by one they'd glance up occasionally checking for any sign that being at work was too much for Alex. She could feel their eyes on her, and it took all her strength not to shout at them to just ask if they had any questions. She knew exactly what day it was, and she knew exactly where she wanted to be. However, being on display was not part of the deal. Luckily it wasn't long before a phone call came in, and the team was out the door.
It wasn't a hard case, they had found the suspect hiding next door and although he wasn't armed he had been able to put up quite a fight. In the end Alex was tired and hungry and in no mood for dealing with a criminal with attitude. She hadn't dealt much with him at the crime scene, but she had seen the bloody nose he had dished out to Tony and gash above McGee's eye before Ziva had brought him down. When they brought him through the bullpen towards interrogation Alex looked down from above, standing next to Jenny after briefly filling her in on what had happened. Gibbs looked up. She contemplated the relationship between her boss and her boss's boss. No one was really clear on what had happened in the past. She could sense that there were some sort of feelings still involved, but she couldn't figure out how deep they ran.
Gibbs locked his eyes on hers and Alex read the slight nod and moved towards the steps to see what he wanted.
"Yeah, Gibbs?"
"I want you to do the interrogation"
"But…?"
"You can do it. You could use the release. Just don't kill him, please"
"I'll see what I can do" Alex took the files he was holding out for her and made her way to the interrogation door. She took a deep breath and walked in, shutting the door firmly behind her.
Jason Clark looked up and down Alex's frame and smiled. "So, first they send me the sexy, er, good cop, then they send me bad cop?"
"Awww…" Alex cooed "I've never been called the nice cop before. Thank you" She took her place across the table from Jason and sat quietly.
"I'm not talking. You won't make me"
Alex pulled her pocket knife out and examined the blade. The rest of the team watched from behind the window. Confused looks passed between them. This was more Ziva's type of interrogation. She watched the light reflecting off the blade and from the corner of her eye she watched Jason. His eyes grew bigger the longer she played with the knife. She drew the blade down her pointer finger on her left hand. As the blade got to the tip of her finger she pressed a little harder. Suddenly a red spot appeared.
"What the hell is she doing?" Gibb's hissed. He had expected her to yell and scream, perhaps even tip his chair over. Or else she would've charmed him to the point where he didn't know he had confessed until after she left the room. The sight of her tracing her skin with a knife and the sight of her blood, however little, was unexpected.
No one answered.
Again, Alex could feel the lasers reaching her back, coming from Gibbs eyes but she continued. Alex held her finger at eye level and looked at the growing spot of red. He voice was low and steady "You know, this, this is life right here. Without this, you are nothing. You are a cold dead body down in autopsy that feels nothing. Spill enough of this and everything is over. Have you ever thought of exactly how much you need to spill? See?" Alex held her finger closer to Jason. She could tell the sight was making him ill. "I mean, this drop? It's nothing compared to what's still inside. But where is the fine line of life? And Death?"
Alex paused again. He wasn't sure what freaked him out more. The sight of blood or the fact that crazy person was sitting feet from him with a knife and had already cut herself. No telling what she would do to him. Before she could continue Jason confessed.
"Sucker" Alex whispered as she exited interrogation. Her team was standing in the hallway as she exited.
"What the hell was that all about?" Gibbs growled. He was irritated about her speech on life and death.
"What? I got him to confess! Now, if you'll excuse me. I need a Band-Aid"
Gibbs had started to follow, but Tony placed a hand on his shoulder "Boss, it was nothing. She's emotional today. Leave her be."
It was late by the time Alex returned from Abby's lab. The office was nearly empty. For some reason she had taken the stairs and she was glad she did. She heard quiet talking as she rounded the corner. Ziva was sitting on Tony's desk holding an icepack to his nose and using her fingers to brush his hair back. Alex stood back and watched the two. It was a rare tender moment, not something that happened often in the NCIS office.
It reminded her of when Chris had come home from a friendly football game with his friends. He had a black eye and they had curled up on the sofa together. She had held the ice to his face and massaged his shoulders.
She blinked back her tears and turned to exit through the stairs but bumped into Gibbs. "You ok?" His voice was soft. He knew how she felt.
"Yeah, just need to get through tonight and I'm golden"
"I'm here for you if you need to talk"
Alex rolled her eyes in mock sarcasm, "Yeah, because that always works so well for you".
She saw him wince. She hadn't meant for it to come out so harsh. She reached out and squeezed his hand, "but thanks. I know. I'll see you tomorrow."
Gibbs nodded and moved for her to walk past him.
Walking into her living room Alex shivered. Lately she felt like she could feel Chris more and more. It wasn't a comforting feeling. It left her exhausted and moody. Both of which were hard to control at work". After changing into track pants and a t-shirt, Alex settled on the sofa and picked up the phone and dialed.
"Hello?" Rose Duncan was laughing when she picked up the phone. Alex could hear the sound of other chatting in the background.
"Rose? It's Alexis"
Rose gasped into the phone. "Alexis!" Alex noted that the chatter had stopped in the background. "Alexis dear, how are you?"
"I'm, I'm fine, and you? I can't believe it's been a year already"
"hmm, dear? Oh yes, I guess you are right. It has been a year. We are doing… we're doing well, honey. I wish we'd hear more from you. How is life at NCIS?"
"NCIS is good"
"Tell me dear, are you seeing anyone these days?"
"No Rose, you know how busy I am at NCIS. No time for that"
"Oh, yes. I remember you were always off running around catching bad guys or down in that lab playing with DNA with your friend Abby. How is she, by the way?"
"Abby is good"
"And the rest of the team?"
"They are good as well. Anyway, Rose. I just thought I'd call. I need to get going. Take care" Alex hung up before Rose had a chance to say anything. Had she really not taken notice to the one year anniversary of her son's death? Alex had been close to Rose, she had called because she figured it would be soothing to hear her voice. She could've called her own parents, but they were still waiting for her to move back to Seattle. They didn't see why she'd want to stay on the east coast without Chris. He was the reason she'd moved there in the first place. She didn't need to hear the list of reasons she should move back.
Pulling a sweatshirt over her head Alex grabbed her purse and headed to her car. She drove around, going nowhere in particular, just circling through town listening to the radio. Deciding she didn't want to go home, she headed in the direction of Ziva's place. She did a u-turn in the parking lot when she spotted Tony's car parked next to Ziva's mini cooper. She was sure her friends wouldn't mind, welcoming her in knowing she was a wreck inside, but it just wasn't something she was willing to interrupt.
She could try Abby's place. But she didn't really want too. Abby was like the energizer bunny and that's not what she needed at that moment. McGee? Nah, he was a good friend, but tended to be uncomfortable in these kinds of situations. He was probably busy at his typewriter anyway.
"Why am I doing this?" Alex whispered quietly to herself. She drove, almost on auto-pilot until she pulled up to Gibb's house. In some ways she was jealous of Gibbs. When he had lost Shannon and Kelly, he had someone to focus his anger on. He hunted down the bastard that took his wife and daughter. Alex didn't have that. She wished she did. She thought it would make her feel better.
Gibb's latest fling, Hollis Mann's truck was parked outside. "Jesus Christ. Tonight isn't my night, is it?" She didn't care for Hollis. None of the team really did, but it was Abby and Alex that would go as far as saying they disliked her. She hadn't really done anything to them, but when she spoke to them, she spoke as if she was above them and that bothered them. They knew Director Sheppard wasn't a fan either, but she wasn't around for the office gossip, so they weren't sure what caused their falling out.
Alex was quiet as she shut her car door. Since she didn't care for Hollis she didn't care if she threw a wrench in their plans. She had no intention of knocking, but hoped that Hollis would at least notice her car parked outside. Making Hollis feel, even slightly flustered was a small victory in Alex's book. Brushing away a wet leaf from Gibbs front step, Alex sat down and looked out over the neighborhood. She wasn't sure how long she had sat there, long enough to see most of the lights in the other houses turn off and a drunken teenager sneak in unsuccessfully as Alex could see the parents were waiting by the door.
Alex smiled. She hadn't had to sneak in. She would simply tell her parents what time she would be home and that was it. No discussion needed. She was pretty good at hiding intoxication as well.
Alex had never been fond of any of his flings, but that's usually what they were, flings. A few dates and then they usually fizzled out. Alex didn't have the best track record with his possible love-interests…
**flashback/
"Last time I'm going to tell you, don't answer my phone, use my computer, read my mail, look through my purse, scan my PDA or touch my cell phone. Ever!" Kate shouted at Tony.
Tony lifted the phone to his ear, "and an extra side of hash-browns" placing the phone back in the cradle, he continued "Just so we're clear, Kate, I didn't do any of those things, zero, zip, nadda"
"Then how did you know where I went for breakfast?"
Tony tried to play cool before McGee broke in "Logo on your coffee cup in your wastebasket"
"Anyone invite you into this conversation, probie?"
"You looked through my trash?" Kate was livid.
"Did you say it was off limits, huh, did you?"
"Why do you do these things?"
Alex rounded the corner "He was sharpening his investigative skills…"
"Hey, that was very Gibbs like, how'd you do that"
"You're loud, DiNozzo" Gibbs followed behind "Grab your gear, we've got a dead sailor"
Dion Lambert had been heard by a telemarketer, when the line went dead, the telemarketer had freaked and called 911. There was no body at the scene, but the amount of blood was alarming.
During the investigation Gibbs had met Karen Wilkerson. McGee and Tony thought she was hot, in a sort of school-teacher type of way, but a red flag had popped up for both Kate and Alex.
"Personally, I think she walks like a man" Alex said two days later as she paced in Abby's lab. It was Saturday and Gibbs had given them the day off, but something just didn't sit right so Abby and Alex were putting in extra hours.
"Ooh, maybe the boss man is into that sort of thing" Abby giggled as she tapped a command into her computer. When the computer beeped a few minutes later they both stared at the screen.
"So basically, whoever shot him was smoking Llamas" Abby said
"Llamas… where have I seen those"
"I don't know, we should call Gibbs, I haven't gotten a match on the DNA, but it says it's a woman. But she's not in the system. Where is he anyways?"
"Its Saturday, he's… oh, sick, I know where he is" A light bulb went off "He's with Karen. I'll pay them a visit"
As Alex drove to Gibbs she knew she'd have to play this carefully. The door was open, as always, but rather than walk normally, Alex stuck to the floor board she knew were silent. Quietly she opened the door to the basement, they were down there. She couldn't see them, but she knew. Here goes nothing, she though as she started down the stairs.
"Oh that's disgusting, Gibbs" Alex said stomping down the stairs. Gibbs was leaning into Karen, kissing her against the frame of his boat "Get a room"
Gibbs pulled back but didn't show embarrassment. Karen blushed. "It's my basement, Lex. What do you need?"
"We've had a break in the case"
"A break?"
"Yeah, Abby and I were in the lab all night trying to figure this out"
"and…. You plan on telling me?"
"Patience oh fearless leader, it's been a long night. I'm stressed. Can I bum a smoke?" Alex nodded to the pack of cigarettes sticking out of Karen's purse.
"Sure, of course" Karen handed her a cigarette before placing one between her own lips. Hmm, this'll be easier than I thought, Alex mused. Gibbs looked at Alex curiously, she didn't smoke, but she was obviously up to something. He decided to let her play her game a little longer.
Tentatively Alex brought the cigarette to her lips and waited as Karen pulled her lighter out to light it.
"So… a break?" Karen asked, lighting her own cigarette.
"Yes"
"You know who did it?"
"Not for sure, we've still got some tests to run, but I think we're getting closer" Alex turned to her purse.
"Lex, did you come here to tell us that you think you might know AFTER you run some tests?"
"Basically" Alex turned to face them again, "Yes" she said with the cigarette hanging out of the corner of her mouth. She had now put on a pair of gloves and held an evidence bag in one hand. Alex stepped forward and dropped her cigarette into the mug that Karen had been drinking bourbon from. "The DNA we found on the cigarettes shows that the shooter was a woman. We also narrowed down that the brand was Llamas, and they aren't very common around here, yet, it seems to be your brand of choice. Now, for his sake, I hope this doesn't match what we've got" Alex pulled the cigarette from Karen's lips and dropped it in the bag.
Gibbs watched silently.
With the evidence tucked securely in her purse Alex walked back over towards Karen and spit into her drink "Uh that was gross. How do you smoke those things? Anyways, don't go far. I'll be in touch" Alex caught Gibbs eyes before starting up the stairs. She stopped and dug through her purse before tossing a pack of gum at Karen "Chew on this, smoking kills" she paused and thought for a moment "but I guess so do you"
/flashback **
Alex was still lost in thought when the front door opened slowly "Lex, what are you doing here?" Gibbs peered down at the woman on his front step.
"Sitting"
"Why here? Why are you on my front porch?" Gibbs shut the door behind him and took a seat next to Alex.
"There was a bum sleeping on my local park bench?"
"You could've come in. My door is always open"
"I know Gibbs, you really should lock your door, you've got drunken teenagers running through the neighborhood, especially over in that house" Alex pointed "But you've got company. And trust me; I'm fine sitting out here. I just don't want to be home. I don't want to be anywhere really, but your front step is better than home"
"I meant that my door is always open for you to come in. It doesn't matter if I've got company, Lex. You can always come in" Gibbs wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.
"Right"
"Jethro what are yo-" Hollis stepped out on the front step.
Gibbs felt Alex tense. She didn't pull away, but her back tensed. "Alex is out here, I think she could use some company"
"Alexis, honey you should've called" Hollis tried her best to sound soothing.
Gibbs held back a smile as he could practically feel Alex rolling her eyes. He knew she objected to being called Alexis, and calling her both Alexis and honey was the equivalent of calling her a small child. Hardly audible to him, he heard her reply "I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth".
"C'mon. Let's get you inside"
Alex stood to face Gibbs "No. Thank you. I'll call Jenny" Then turning to Hollis she added, "The director". She knew that of everyone in NCIS Hollis disliked director Shepard the most.
Hollis feigned interest "Oh, there you go. Call Jenny, a great idea"
Alex walked down the steps and perched on the hood of her car with her back to Hollis and Gibbs who she had left standing on the front porch. It was late, but she knew Jenny would be awake. Before she had been able to say anything Jenny had simply said "Come on over, I'll put some hot water on".
As she pushed off the car she looked back to see Gibbs still standing on the front porch. She had hoped he would've gone inside. The rebel within wanted nothing more than to leave a little scratch on Hollis' truck, that, she decided, would have to wait.
Gibbs looked hurt as she drove away. And he was. Out of everyone he knew that he was the only one who truly understood her pain. And just when she would get close to understanding that he truly understood and wasn't just another person to tell her everything would be ok, she'd leave. When he went back inside he was put off by Hollis' attempts to lead him upstairs. He shrugged her off and went down to his boat.
Jenny was waiting by the door when Alex showed up.
"Where were you?"
"Gibbs."
"Hollis?"
Alex nodded, "She called me Alexis and then she called me honey".
"Bitch"
Alex muffled a laugh.
"Well, she is"
"I know" Alex accepted the mug of hot cocoa.