It was several hours later when Gibbs stomped into the bullpen.
"Do we have anything new?"
DiNozzo looked up from his computer with a frown. "Nothing yet, boss."
"Why not? What about Abby, did she find anything?"
McGee, Ziva, and Tony exchanged awkward looks, having entirely forgotten about the tests Abby was running in her lab.
"I'll do it, boss.." Before anyone could respond, McGee was halfway to the elevator.
When the doors to the lab opened, he could hear Abby's music bellowing, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Abby?? Where are you??"
"Right behind you.." He turned, and sure enough, there she was, smiling.
"Did you find anything? Gibbs is looking for results, and we haven't found any." Her smile grew wider as she brushed past McGee to her workstation.
"And as usual, you guys are counting on me to find something. Lucky for you, I didn't let you down." Black polished nails flew over the keyboard and a few seconds later, an image appeared on the screen.
"Do you know what that is, McGee?"
"Security cam footage from the motel where we found Winchester, Abby. I brought you the tapes." There was a slight undercurrent of annoyance in his voice, since he needed an answer.
Abby noticed, but she wasn't about to let that dampen her enthusiasm. "Very good Tim, but what is that in the upper left-hand corner?"
He squinted. "The killer?"
"Exactly, McGee! He did a great job hiding his face the rest of the time, but from these two frames, I was able to use a series of algorithms to clean up the image and..." Her description was interrupted by a series of beeps as the ID appeared on the screen. "Our mystery man is Lt. Randall Simmons."
The name wasn't familiar to McGee. "Thanks, Abby. I'll bring you a Caf-Pow next time I stop by."
"So when do I meet your girlfriend?" Abby's question stopped him cold. He'd entirely forgotten about the fact that now he was juggling not one, but two fake girlfriends.
"I haven't talked to her yet."
"But you will, right?" Abby pressed.
"Yes, Abby, I--Wait, why do you care so much about this? You're the one who pointed out it wasn't even a real date.."
The brief moment of silence that greeted him was most decidedly un-Abby like. In fact, he might even have detected a moment of surprise in her normally unflapabble expression. But, as soon as he thought he'd seen it, it was gone, and she was back to her old self. "You're the one who came to me, Tim. If you don't want my help, that's all right. I won't tell Tony about the fact you have a possible nutjob for a---"
"Shh!" A quick visual check of the lab confirmed they were still alone, and his voice dropped.. "I didn't say I didn't want your help, Abby. I'm just surprised by your reaction is all."
"Because I'm concerned for a friend and the cheesy sitcom situation he's found himself in?" She punched Tim playfully in the arm. "That's nothing new.."
Suddenly, he realized something. "Wait a second...you don't think she's crazy at all, do you??"
Abby grinned. "No, I don't. You're a little too sensible for that. But, I do want to meet her."
"Sensible is just a nice way of saying boring, Abby. Besides, some people might say you were crazy." He teased.
"I would never say you're boring, Tim. Iin addition, I am a -lot- of things, but crazy is not one of them." Abby started making a list on her gloved hands. "I'm highly caffeinated, a forensic expert, what some people refer to as a goth-"
"What about working?" McGee and Abby had been so involved in their conversation, they hadn't noticed Gibbs entering the lab.
"Always." Tim did his best to keep his face blank while Abby shifted effortlessly back into forensic technician mode. "As I was explaining to McGee before you joined us, Gibbs, I've identified Winchester's murderer, or at least the last one to see her alive." Two taps on the keyboard and the same frames she'd shown McGee appeared on the monitor. "See him?"
"I do. Have a name yet?"
"Lt. Randall Simmons." She ripped a sheet from the nearby printer and handed it to Gibbs. "There's the rest of his information.
"Good work, Abbs. Let's go, McGee." As Gibbs turned to leave, Abby raised her left hand to her head like a telephone receiver. McGee nodded. He'd call Elliot, though by the looks of things it wouldn't be anytime soon.
--
Exactly six hours after leaving Abby's lab, Tim's phone rang.
"Hello,"
"Hey, Tim. It's Elliot, your fake girlfriend." The sound of her voice made him smile, but there was a slight pause before she continued. "I'm sorry about that. I wasn't expecting my dad to show up like that, it totally caught me off guard." Unbeknownst to Tim, Elliot had been planning what to say to him all day and it took her most of it to figure out how to say what she wanted to without sounding stupid.
"It's ok, Elliot. How are you?"
"Me? Tired..it's been a long day."
"I know what you mean."
There was another pause as Elliot wondered for the hundredth time whether he'd agree to see her again or if he was just too nice to tell her to go away. "I'd like to take you out for a drink since my dad kind of ruined coffee this morning."
"He's not coming, is he?" He was only half-joking, but no reason to tell Elliot that.
Elliot laughed. "No, he's not. He had to fly home this afternoon."
"Then yes, yes I will.."
"Don't tell me an NCIS agent is scared of a doctor.." she teased.
"If I remember correctly, you weren't too happy with the situation either judging by how you were squeezing my hand." He teased back.
"Fair enough. When do you get off work?"
Tim checked the clock. "I'm off in an hour."
"Works for me. Where do you want to meet?
"What about the same bar as before?"
"All right. See you there in an hour and a half, Tim."
"Ok, Elliot." There was a click, and she was gone. Rising from his seat, Tim headed back to the lab to tell Abby.
--
No sooner had she hung up the phone, then Elliot felt anxiety creeping up on her. This was an actual date, and she had awful luck with dates. She needed guidance, counseling, Carla. A quick search of the floor found her taking notes on a patient.
"Carla, what are you doing after work?"
"Sleeping." She raised a skeptical brow. "What do you need, Elliot?"
With a sheepish look on her face, she answered. "I want you to go with me tonight. I'm seeing Tim at the bar again. But it's a date now, and I'm nervous."
"Elliot, why are you nervous now? If he's met your dad and not run the opposite way, I don't think you have anything to worry about."
"Maybe not, but I'd just rather not go by myself." It may be stupid for her to feel this way, but Elliot had learned by now that resisting these urges just made things worse.
"Take JD."
"JD? I thought he was going drinking with Turk tonight.."
"He was. Turk's in the middle of surgery, and is going to be there for a few more hours. Besides, he can get his appletinis anywhere."
Elliot grinned. "Thanks, Carla.." Then, she raced down the hall.
"JD, wait!!" Five minutes later, Elliot had her wingman and JD had free appletinis for the night.
--
"So, what's the news?" Abby spun on her chair as Tim returned to the lab.
"We're going out for drinks at the same bar tonight after work."
"Is that a smile I see, McGee? You like her...don't you?"
"I barely know her, Abby."
She shrugged. "How long you know someone isn't what matters. Anyway, I'm going with you."
"Today?" He hadn't expected for them to be meeting so soon, and for some reason he found that disconcerting.
"Yes, today. It's perfect..I could use a drink myself." If Abby noticed Tim's discomfort, she didn't let on.
"I didn't tell her I was bringing anybody."
"So I won't be," She made air quotes with her fingers. "with you. I'll just be in the bar drinking."
"She's read the book, Abby. She might recognize you." Tim knew he was grasping at straws, and his words sounded desperate even to his own ears.
"We can't work at the same place and go to the same bar?" Her tone was amused. "I had no idea there were these kind of laws!"
Tim knew when he was defeated. "All right.." His agreement was greeted by Abby hopping off her chair and hugging him. When she saw the look on his face she laughed.
"It will be fun, Tim. Chin up. If not, we'll get drunk together afterwards, ok?"
He nodded.