The Red Haired Woman
Chapter 2
A month into her new assignment she had become an accepted member of the team. She brought an even keel to the team it hadn't had before. Where Gibbs was slow to offer encouragement and quick to anger, she offered a smoother approach to encouraging and helping her teammates and tended to miraculously alleviate Gibbs' bad moods. The men on the team immediately took to her. Tony of course was quite flirtatious and tried desperately to impress her. She took him to lunch and encouraged him to tone down his outrageousness. It was not going to ever get her into his bed, and while she enjoyed the movie and sports banter, she did not enjoy the constant anxious sexual strutting. She could tell he had been recently hurt, or had recently hurt someone else, or both, and she could be his friend if he needed someone to talk to. She knew most men compartmentalized their feelings about their job from their friends. But she could actually be a very good friend if he would let her. By the time they left their lunch on the bistro sidewalk, Tony had completely changed the way he treated her. It wasn't all about him anymore. He opened doors politely and even his gait was different. It took days for some people to noticed, but Gibbs noticed a more relaxed Tony and a stronger relationship between Chanel and Tony immediately. He felt a twinge of jealousy, but dismissed it. He needed his two senior agents to work well together, and Tony's constant disrespect towards Chanel had to end, or he would end it for them. It looked like Chanel had taken care of the situation in her own graceful way.
McGee was easier to work with. Chanel shared his love of all things computing and was an equal to him in that. That provided Gibbs three star players on the computer front and he welcomed the addition. Chanel also recognized the talent McGee had demonstrated in his mystery novel, albeit a bit too purple prose for her taste, she had enjoyed some of the grittier aspects. She told him she thought she should write the sex scenes in his next book. He was holding back too much and things could get much hotter. He was intrigued and not entirely due to his interest in strengthening his book.
Abby was a tougher case. She continued to be very distraught over the loss of Kate, and to have a beautiful woman with a secret past join the team was painful. Abby, despite the rules, had tried to access Chanel's files every way she could and was blocked at every turn. Chanel continued to be professional and allow Abby her time to grieve. They shared an interest in forensics, and both had higher level degrees in the subject so they could talk about that. Chanel was also interested in some of Abby's clothing choices to add to her repertoire. Abby eventually promised to take her shopping and they tentatively agreed to a girl's day soon.
Chanel became used to the comings and goings of the team. They'd get a call out and head out in either cars or the van. Gibbs had been right about needing jeans or pants because the crime scenes were terrible on clothes. Gibbs discovered her skill at sketching the scenes. She could quickly draw a scene with complete detail and measurements in such detail it almost looked like a photograph. After that, she was always on the sketch detail.
One morning the team was called out to the motel at the navy yard. The discovery had been made by a couple checking in. For the first time, Chanel actually gagged at the stench and the images before her. Some sadist took human remains and sliced them into luncheon meat sized pieces and laid them out across all the furniture and bed. She concentrated on her sketching and not on the stench and inhumane aspects before her. She soon finished, and Ducky soon recovered all the pieces and drove away. She went out to the car and started drawing from memory pictures of Afghanistan, pictures of Gibbs, pictures of the Special Ops guys, anything to draw her mind away from those images. She had a feeling these pictures might stick with her like the images from the movie "Seven" which given all she had seen in her relatively short life, was saying something. Gibbs came up quietly behind her, even though she could sense his presence. She always knew where he was, even when he was nowhere near her.
"What are you doing?"
She didn't even turn around to look at him, just showed him the pictures. First he looked at the pictures she had just finished. He felt a pleasurable jolt go through him when he saw his picture prominently displayed on the page. He saw Afghanistan, her Special Ops team, which spurred a little jealousy. Then he flipped to the page before it and saw the image of the room they had just left perfectly drawn. It had obviously disturbed her and hence the next page of drawing… places and people she found comfort in.
Gibbs sighed, asking a question he already knew the answer to. "Are these your Special Ops bodyguards? And Afghanistan? I understand why you would find comfort in your friends, but why Afghanistan?"
She smiled slowly and turned to face him, leaning against the car, allowing him to be very close to her, seriously invading her space. "The men on that page are men who make me feel safe, cared for. I do take comfort in them, even when they are not around, like the Special Ops guys, or unavailable like you. I take comfort in the rocky snow covered terrain of Afghanistan I suppose because I spent so long there. I made a lot of friends there, both on my team and Afghanis. That scene in that room was extraordinarily disturbing. In all the things I have seen in my violent life that is one I will not forget easily."
"Come on, we are done here. I'll take you back to the base." Gibbs voice was gruff as he leaned across her body. His arm brushed against her, but not enough to be an invitation. She knew he was dating Col. Hollis Mann, and as always she respected a relationship already formed.
"You don't want me to ride in the van?"
"Would I have mentioned it if I did? I'm standing here holding the door open for you, are you going to get in?"
She looked deep into his eyes and felt the electric shock she always did and wondered if he felt it too. She slipped gracefully into the bucket car seat with her pack and sketch pad. He closed the door and got in the other side and started to drive away.
There was silence in the car, until he finally asked, "Why do you find me unavailable, Chanel?"
She smiled slightly. "There are so many reasons, Gibbs. You are intent on maintaining your privacy, which I can appreciate, but it does make you a hard man to get to know. I know the boss. I walk around behind you fixing hurt feelings, explaining what you want, making people feel better after you scream at them. Your head slaps are your way of paying attention to them, although I seem to be immune to that sort of attention. You are always extra respectful to me, opening doors, bringing me coffee, you are always watching my back. But that is all at work. It's the man behind the head slaps and the coffee I want to know. But that man is currently attached to Col. Mann. Hence the reason I find you unavailable."
The drive continued in silence after Chanel explained herself to Gibbs until he finally pulled into the parking space at NCIS. He sat still, not making an effort to get out of the car. "I know you follow behind me smoothing my rough edges. The team seems to run better. Somehow you do it without taking away my dominant leadership, and yet the team listens to you and respects you. I appreciate it. I don't head slap Abby but I do kiss her on the cheek. I don't head slap you because I think I might get my hand tangled in your hair and never let go. Same reason I don't kiss you on the cheek. Abby is like a young girl to me and everything is completely innocent, at least on my part. I would not be able to say that for you. You go on with the others, I'm going for coffee."
She let him leave without taking the last word from him. She was pleasantly surprised at what he had revealed. It must have been really difficult for him to say anything at all, so she was going to enjoy the words and take everything at a snail's pace.
By the end of the day, the team had discovered the TRO Abby had filed against a man named Mikel. Gibbs went ballistic, Abby cried, everyone was upset since they were just now finding out about Abby's stalker and the lengths by which he would bring her into a crime. He had staged the whole scene at the motel to drag NCIS out. She went to stay at McGee's for the night and Mikel found her there. Then she decided to stay at the NCIS building and he found her there, scaring her out of her wits this time. Chanel finally spoke up against the hysterics going on in the lab.
"SILENCE!" she yelled. "Everyone needs to just calm down. Mikel is in custody and Gibbs will interrogate him. Meanwhile, Abby and I are going to my home. We'll get some sleep, definitely sleep in, play dress up in the morning, and be in around lunch. She can then make her court appointment."
Tony was panicked at the thought of losing both Abby and Chanel. "She has to be safe. Is your place safe? She doesn't know how to shoot or protect herself at all. Can you cover both of you?"
"Tony, first of all breathe. Secondly, I am aware of what she can and cannot do, and personally I am horrified none of you have taken the time to teach her to defend herself with weapons and not just her superb wits. It is only a matter of time, as demonstrated today, when she will come against a bad guy. If she will let me, I will teach her multiple defense skills so she can rely on herself and not one of you to ride to her rescue. Thirdly, after the White House, the Pentagon, and the Capitol Building, I'm taking her to a virtual Fort Knox. She will be absolutely safe. And fourth, Tony and the rest of you for that matter, I can defend all of you single handedly, with your weapon of choice," Chanel paused and looked to Gibbs. "Now Gibbs, Abby is about to drop from exhaustion. Can I take her home now, please? Do you want me to take her to her court presentation?"
"We'll get a Federal Marshall to take her to the courthouse. We'll see the two of you here by noon."
Abby jumped up, excited to see Chanel's digs, and get out of the tension-filled room. "Bye- guys. See you tomorrow."
Chanel just waved haphazardly at all the men but gave a special smile at Gibbs before she left.
He caught her smile, looked at her regretfully, and asked her to call him when they were home safe. She returned the slightly sad look and nodded her head as the elevator doors closed.