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He continued, "So that first time I returned to my apartment after we wrapped up the case, completely exhausted, and found the complex had no electricity. It was cold, too, really absolutely bitterly cold, and had been snowing for most of the day. Remember the Irvin case?"
Abby nodded brightly and added, "Oh yeah, we had what amounted to a blizzard then."
"Right, so that was the case and that's the setting. As it so happened, Boss decided to stop by because I didn't answer my cell, and he had heard about the outage. He'd already called you at the convent and found everything worked there, so you were safe. Kate, Ducky, and Gerald were fine, too. I didn't answer the phone because I had left it in the car. But that's neither here nor there. He showed up at my place, saw that there was no heat and no electricity, and commanded me to get to his house within an hour with clothes to last for a few days."
Tony took a breath. "Actually, the first night went smoothly. I got the room I have now, except back then there was nothing in there but a bed. There weren't even curtains on the windows or anything. No one would venture to accuse Boss of secretly longing to earn a decorating degree."
Abby smiled. "I remember those dreary old days with the house just looking stripped. He must have just packed up everything that reminded him of Shannon and Kelly. Seeing daily reminders probably proved really painful for him. Back to your story, though, I remember the dearth of anything but the basic essentials in the early days of the House of Gibbs."
"Exactly, you know what I mean, all right. Anyway, as it turned out, he made me welcome in his terse, gruff, Marine sniper way. I tried not to annoy him too much, but the television provided the only entertainment, and with no cable then, you can imagine how bored I would get. Plus, the weather socked us in, and I couldn't go out and play at all."
It was not difficult to imagine life with a bored Tony, and Abby shook her head slowly. "Wow- the surprise is that Gibbs didn't end up killing you before you ever went back home."
"Hey, it surprised me, too! I really tried not to be a nuisance, but obviously, I failed at that. When my neighbour finally called and alerted me that the electricity had returned to the apartment, I headed home. When I told Gibbs, though, that I was leaving, do you know what he said?"
"Tell, tell!" demanded Abby, eagerness in her voice.
Tony grinned, "He set down his coffee cup and informed me that my visit had reminded him of having a preschooler underfoot, and that he had almost reached the point of spanking me."
Abby burst out laughing, and Tony joined her as they collapsed with mirth against the cushions.
Finally getting himself back in control, Tony finished, "Then he hugged me and told me that I always had a place to stay with him."
"Ok, then it ended well for you, Anthony, all in all." Abby leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"Hey, but do you want to hear about the second time I stayed?" Tony looked at her questioningly, his eyebrows raised.
"I do, I do!" Abby squealed, and hugged her knees to her chest.
"If you want me to regale you with part two, otherwise known as the First Visit Sequel, we need to make some refreshments. Supper finished a long time ago, and I am hungry." Tony stood up and pulled Abby up with him.
She began rummaging in the pantry when they got to the kitchen, calling out possible goodies for their repast. They finally settled on popcorn and hot chocolate, and Abby started the microwave with a bag of their favourite popcorn brand.
Tony headed to the basement and jogged down a couple of steps until Gibbs came into view. The older man looked up questioningly from the boat and regarded Tony warily. The fact that he had not heard fighting from upstairs could prove misleading, and Tony might have appeared to tattle on Abby, or to defend himself ahead of time from future tattling by Abby.
Instead, Tony called out to him, "We're making popcorn, Boss. Want some?" Tony peeped under the railing and grinned.
"No, thanks, Son-" he smiled at his senior field agent and felt calm restore itself to his nerves.
Tony turned and made his way back just in time to grab the cups of fragrant cocoa from Abby and then carry them to the living room. She followed with an overflowing bowl of popcorn.
They arranged themselves on the cushions once again. Tony popped a handful of the buttery kernels into his mouth and continued his narration.
"The second time I sought shelter in this abode the boiler had just blown in my building. It was cold then, too, and snowing, but the snow didn't stick on the ground. Even though there was still no cable in the House of Gibbs, I could at least go outside and work off some of my energy."
Tony stopped a moment to gather his thoughts, and impatiently, Abby prodded, "Keep going!"
She poked him in the leg with her big toe to emphasize the need for him to continue post haste.
He chuckled and settled back against the sofa arm, then propped his legs in Abby's lap.
"Well nothing too traumatic transpired the first couple of days, not until that weekend. There was nothing- and I do mean nothing- in the backyard back then. Remember that it took a while before he let me get the basketball hoop out there? You were the one who made him agree to the picnic table and the outdoor furniture after that. So the closest place to play basketball back then was at that park."
Tony pointed in the general direction of the closest park, several blocks from the residence.
"We had Friday off that week, and supposedly Saturday. However, there was a witness coming into port Saturday afternoon and Boss had scheduled us to go interview him that afternoon for our current case. Thursday night I had a hot date with Cheryl Clarke, and Gibbs warned me not to stay out all night when I left. Of course I agreed, but as it turned out, he and I had different interpretations of the translation of all night."
He stopped and spent a couple of minutes sipping the hot chocolate, which had finally cooled enough for them to enjoy.
Abby used the break to run to the bathroom. Returning, she flopped down on the sofa and predicted, "I bet you stayed out too late and Gibbs blew a gasket."
"Something like that," Tony acknowledged. "I got home at four, and he tore me out of the frame. He fussed and yelled so long that I thought he would go hoarse. When he finally finished I felt like a little kid. After the verbal lashing, I was so reticent to bring on more trouble that I didn't even leave the house all Friday, and knocked myself out doing chores, trying to get myself into his good graces. So Saturday found me just chomping at the bit to go play."
The sound of Gibbs coming up the basement steps had both of them scrambling to get their feet off of the coffee table before he saw. When he peeped in on them, both were quietly munching popcorn, and the parent side of him relished the view of the two sitting peacefully together, not quarrelling whatsoever. He couldn't help the look of pride that the scene evoked for him.