Chapter Six

"She's smokin' hot." Tony leaned against the bar top and signaled for the bartender to come over.

"Of course she is - she is Gibbs' daughter. You would expect less?" Ziva ordered her beer and turned to Tony and McGee.

"Tony thinks anything that is female and has a pulse is hot." McGee grinned and ducked out of Tony's reach.

"Do not." Tony grabbed his beer. "Come on, Abby will be here soon. Let's grab a table." As much as he had fun with the idea of flirting with Gibbs' daughter, he had to push that away and focus on someone a little more important. Abby. He grabbed a second beer for Abby and a bowl of pretzels. The three found a booth in the back corner where they had a decent view of the bar, but it was still quiet enough they could talk without interruption.

"This place smells of red throats." Ziva complained as she slid into the booth, McGee sliding in beside her.

"Red necks," both Tony and McGee corrected. Tony continued, "We needed a seedy place like this to talk. It's the only place we don't run the chance of running into Gibbs or Ducky."

"We could have gone to my place, I am fairly certain Gibbs would not show up."

"What about the beer? And pretzels?"

"Grocery stores sell beer and pretzels, do they not?"

Tony was ready with a smart-ass response until he spotted Abby as she pushed through the front door and abandoned his reply in favor of waving her over.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I had to finish up some stuff in the lab." She hugged Tony before pushing him into the booth so she could sit on the outside. "So, why the hush-hush meeting at a seedy bar?"

"See?" Ziva waved her hand in Abby's direction. "Even she believes this to be a seedy bar."

"Zip it, Ziva." Tony shifted in his seat to face Abby. "What do you mean, why are we meeting? Have you hit your head and forgotten about the little surprise at work yesterday?" He'd wanted to get them all together the night before, but Abby had been at Ducky's and the rest of them had been stuck at work until late.

"No. I just… I don't know what there is to talk about."

"You think it's really them?"

"Tony, didn't you see Gibbs? Of course it's them. He'd know the difference." Abby took a long sip of her beer.

"Yeah, I've never seen Gibbs look so… happy, you know? Like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. Happy, happy." Tony regretted the words the moment he said them as a flash of hurt crossed Abby's face, so he wrapped an arm around Abby's shoulders.

"Personally, I find it rather odd that they suddenly show up in this way, as if maybe there is another motive for returning so close to the case being solved in Mexico." Ziva shrugged. "It just seems suspicious."

"Ziva, they came back now because it's the first time they've been safe to do so." McGee gave her a sincere look. "Their family was torn apart. Of course they would come back as soon as possible."

"This isn't Mossad," Tony reached for a pretzel. "Not everyone is out to get someone."

Ziva slapped his hand away from the pretzel bowl. "You think he got a DNA test done?"

McGee rolled his eyes.

Abby gently swirled the beer in her bottle. "I wonder how long he'll stay at NCIS."

"Has he said anything about leaving?" Ziva quirked an eyebrow.

Tony downed the last of his beer. "Think about it. He's been living a pretty work-driven life the past 18 years. He never spends his money, I'm sure he's got a large chunk of money saved up, plenty of vacation and sick days to cash in on. He's got Shannon and Kelly back now. Why would he want to work? He could build and sell boats if he wanted too. They could easily move back to Stillwater. Jack is there, Shannon must still have family there. What's stopping him from leaving?" It wasn't until he said the words that Tony truly worried that Gibbs would leave NCIS – that he would leave them.

"He has no reason to stay now," Abby confirmed.

"You guys, he loves going after the bad guys and working for the victims. I don't think he's ready to give that up yet." Tim tried to sound reassuring. He knew that Tony had come to see Gibbs as more than just a professional mentor, and that Ziva had put Gibbs in the position of father-figure, easily replacing Eli David. He didn't even want to think of what it would mean to Abby if Gibbs left – for good this time.

"McGee, the one reason he's been so driven to fight for the victims was to save people the pain of losing their family the way he did. He's got his family back now; he's not going to waste any more time with them." Abby finished her beer in a long swallow. "I don't blame him for that."

"But just because he has them back, doesn't mean he doesn't care about trying to keep others from pain." McGee countered.

"You think he wants to spend 12 hours at the office, run out on early morning calls, and work weekends when we catch a big case? He can't bring them to the office every day, and even if he did…" Abby wasn't sure she could stick around to watch their happy family moments, not for awhile anyway.

"And he certainly won't be putting his life on the line," Ziva added.

"I wouldn't mind that." Abby gave a sad smile. "Okay guys, sorry I can't stay long. I'm meeting some friends at a new club. I'll see you tomorrow."

The other three waited until Abby was out the door before speaking again.

"Her heart is broken."

"What?"

"C'mon McGoo, I know you haven't broken many women's hearts, but Ziva is right, her heart is broken."

"She and Gibbs weren't dating," McGee's voice went up slightly. "Were they? I mean, I know they were close, but they weren't dating, we would've noticed."

"No, doesn't mean they weren't in love. It was pretty obvious on Abby's part. And seeing as she's been the only one he hasn't pushed away, he has to have feelings for her." Tony grimaced. "Why do I think this is about to get messy? I think I need another beer."

Ducky decided he would at least have the decency to let Jethro know he was stopping by rather than just showing up. To his surprise, Gibbs didn't protest.

"Come on in, Duck." Gibbs welcomed him in. "The girls are out back."

"Wonderful." Ducky made his way through the house and out the back door, pleased to see an extra chair out for him.

"Doctor Mallard." Shannon stood to hug him, Kelly following suit. "Wonderful to see you again."

"Please, call me Ducky."

"Should I put some water on for tea?" Gibbs stood in the doorway. He always kept Ducky's favorite tea on hand, along with Tony's hazelnut creamer and a complete set of toiletries for Abby. He found it easier to keep a few of their favorite comfort items on hand for the times they needed a place to crash or unwind after a tough case.

"Thank you, but no. I don't intent to stay long."

Gibbs just rolled his eyes and took a seat. Ducky never intended to stay long.

"Jethro said he's worked with you the longest, and he has had nothing but wonderful things to say about you and the rest of his team." Shannon smiled. "It's good to hear."

"It's a wonderful group of people."

"We've heard bits and pieces from Jethro, but will you tell us about them? Kelly and I are just trying to get to know everyone and catch up with Jethro's life."

"Ah yes, quite the group of people." He glance over at Gibbs to make sure it was okay that they discuss the people in his life. With a slight nod from Gibbs, Ducky continued. "Besides me, Abby has worked with Jethro the longest. I recall when she was hired…" Ducky thought a moment, a smile on his face. "He yelled at her, and she was the first person at NCIS to yell right back. Eventually he brought her a Caf-Pow! in lieu of an apology. She said something along the lines of 'it will take more than one Caf-Pow to make up for your rude behavior.' He's been bringing her those drinks ever since. Everyone loves her," Ducky continued. "But at the same time, we're all a little afraid of her. The things that woman could do with forensics is beyond me."

Gibbs smiled.

"Then, we have Tony. He arrived six-months after Abby. Jethro was irritated by his frat-boy mentality, but with a few well-timed slaps to the back of the head, he's mellowed out and turned into one of NCIS's best agents. We've had a few other agents, none quite fit on the team until Kate." Ducky gave Gibbs a sad smile.

"Kate?" Shannon asked. "I don't think we've met her."

"No, you haven't. She was sadly killed in the line of duty almost six years ago; a hard loss for us all. Not long after Kate joined, we got Timothy McGee. He has grown by leaps and bounds since joining Jethro's team. He was rather insecure, but has grown to be quite a competent agent, has he not?"

Gibbs nodded his agreement. There was no point in trying to get a word in, Ducky was quick to continue.

"Lastly we have Ziva David." Although he said he would give the short version of the story, it took Ducky nearly 20 minutes to explain how Ziva joined the team – left – and rejoined the team again. He wrapped up his speech with a brief introduction to his own assistant, Jimmy Palmer.

Before Ducky could continue again, Gibbs interrupted. "You staying for dinner, Duck?" It was nearly 7:30 and his stomach was growling.

"Oh, no thank you. I'm afraid I should get going. It was wonderful to spend time with the three of you."

"We appreciate your visit." Shannon stood to hug the doctor.

"I'll walk you out." Gibbs held open the back door and then followed him through the house. "How…"

"She came to me in confidence, Jethro. Don't ask me to break that. I won't betray her trust."

"I know, I'm not asking you to." Gibbs sighed.

"Good."

"But she… she's okay?"

"The last few weeks have been difficult. On everyone. She's exhausted, she doesn't eat enough and she drinks too much caffeine. Much like someone else I know."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "We're headed to Stillwater for the weekend."

"Oh, how wonderful. I can't imagine how happy Jack will be to have the three of you."

"Yeah," Gibbs smiled. "But keep an eye on Abby for me, will ya?"

"Of course. Have a wonderful time in Stillwater, and be sure to give Jackson my best."

TBC…

All you peoples worried about Abby driving home while exhausted. Would I really put poor Abbs in a car crash like that? Shame on you. ;)