I fell behind and then I lost the file. Christmas chapter tomorrow. Promise!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Outfits on profile.
Tim and I hadn't gone to the restaurant last night as the new body had Gibbs work us late into the night. We decided to go out tonight (If we could get away from work) instead. We were sat in the bullpen and I was trying to figure out away to tell my dad I probably wouldn't be home for Christmas in 12 days if the work kept up like this. It was like Christmas was the killing period. My thought were cut off when I noticed Tony walking in with a bouquet of black roses in a vase.
"From Abby?" Ziva asked when she noticed. Tony gave a humorless laugh and sat at his desk.
"I thought this show was just mindless entertainment." Tony asked when he noticed Ziva was watching Boot Camp Babes.
"It's called research, Tony. And I'm merely looking for a lead." Ziva said trying to excuse herself.
"Well, this is only the beginning. Before you know it, you'll be sitting at home eating a large box of chocolates, watching the Food Network on your 50-inch plasma." Tony said leaning forward.
"We're not all so easily corrupted. Take McGee, for example. He's been raised in America his entire life, and he rarely turns the television on. Tell him, McGee." Ziva asked. Tony turned to face us. Well Tim but I was sat in his eye line.
"Yeah, tell him, McGee." Tony said. The look Tony sent Tim almost made me want to sit on the floor and hid.
"W-Well, uh... depends what you consider 'rarely'. I might watch 20 minutes here or there."
"Tell her what you do the rest of the time, Probie." Tony demanded of Tim.
"It's not TV." Tim insisted.
"He pretends to be a fairy in an online computer game." Tony said. I couldn't help but laugh.
"It's an elf lord." Tim said, like it made a difference.
"Whatever." Tony said doing the 3 fingered sign that matched..
"Keller didn't commit suicide,"he was murdered." Gibbs announced as he entered the room. "What the hell are you two doing? Find out why." he ordered when Ziva and Tony just sat there. Tony's phone rang and he picked it up.
"Hey, uh, I got to call you back." I looked at Tony with a raised eyebrow
"Boss, I think I might have something." Tim said standing up and walk to Gibbs' desk. There was a moment of silence before Gibbs spoke up.
"Are you waiting for me to guess... elf lord?" he tagged on the end causing Tony to luagh
"No. Sorry. Um, I was searching through Noah Keller's cell phone records." here he handed Gibbs a sheet of paper. "The night that he died, he received three calls. Two were from his business manager, the other was from Hannah Bressling."
"I've known Noah since high school." Hannah was saying "We used to sneak into the Limelight, like, every weekend."
"Limelight- that's, uh, that club in Chelsea." Tim said looking for confirmation
"Yeah. You been?" Hannah asked, I looked over at Tim with a raised eyebrow. Had he?
"Actually, no, I, uh... I saw it on Wild On. Sounded like it was a pretty exclusive place." he said sheepishly. I shrugged.
"Not to exclusive." I said, sharing a knowing look with Hannah.
"Even as a kid, Noah seemed to know all the right people. I don't think he waited in line his entire life."
"Money can be used to open doors." I said hoping she would take the hint.
"Oh, he didn't use his dad's money as a crutch." she replied, being a little less subtle then I had been.
"Really?" Tim said
"Yeah, everyone always assumed that he was popular only because he was rich and... that was the reason he dated models." Hannah said, readjusting her hair.
"I'm sure it didn't hurt." I said.
"No, women liked Noah 'cause he was charismatic and interesting. I mean, most guys that come from money are womanizers whose life revolves around their car."
"Were you and Noah ever an item?" I said, after sharing a look with Tim.
"We dated on and off for a couple of years, but... we sort of lost touch when he hooked up with Taylor." at least this girl had morals. Even if they were a bit out of use.
"When did he get involved with drugs?" Tim asked
"People say he got her started, but it's not true. They both made that leap together." Hannah said.
"Did you speak to him when he came to see Taylor?" I asked genitally. It was obvious she sill had feelings for him.
"No. He was, um, drunk and really upset. But I called him later that night just to make sure that he was safe. I just can't imagine why anyone would have wanted to hurt him." that solved that question.
We were getting into the car when Tim turned to me.
"You've been Spotlight?" he asked
"Once. 4 years ago for my friends party. Anyone who offers the right amount gets in. Some people just didn't know that and lined up. Same with most clubs." I said shrugging. Tim just shook his head.
I was sat in my living room with Jimmy waiting for Tim to arrive. I was wearing the dress I had bought with Leah. It was a skin tight black dress with a v-line neck that went into the shoulders, on both side. Being held up by a strap of material round my neck. I was wearing black high heel boots that had a zip up the front. I was wearing mascara and black eyeliner for make up. I had jeweled bows that had black hearts under them for earrings. I had a thick black bracelet on my left wrist a black. A black cropped cardigan and a black clutch that had my badge in. No doubt Tim as bringing his gun. A knock on the door started me. I gave a quick kiss in the cheek goodbye to Jimmy and answered the door.
"Hey." I said. He was wearing a black suit and tie. And he looked absolutely handsome.
"Hi." he said looking at my outfit.
"I want her home by 11:30 or I don't want her home at all." Jimmy called from the living room.
I laughed and grabbed my keys and phone from the table by the door. We made our way to the elevator and Tim took my hand. The drive there had been full of carefree conversation. We had arrived at the restaurant but who should we see siting at the table in the window but Tony. Tim grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a bush. Wide eyed we shared a look.
"I think I saw a pub down the road." I suggested. We slowly crawled our was past the window and ran back to the car. We pulled up outside the pub laughing. We walked in and I went to find a booth in the corner while Tim went and got drinks. He came back a few minutes later with two beers and a bowl of chips.
"Not the best first date." Tim said shrugging.
"Hey! This is the third date. Technically." I added on the end at Tim's look.
"Okay. The movie at yours..." Tim trailed, leaning forward
"The meal I cooked that we had on your floor..." I added, leaning forwards as well.
"Then chips in a pub." Tim finished with a chuckle. "Not the best record."
I shrugged and took a chip leaning back into the booth. Tim copied my actions.
"I sent my book to a publishers." I said, picking up my beer and just holding it and picking at the label. It gave me something to do while talking.
"Really? What did they say?" Tim asked. I spared a glance up to see him looking at me with interest and slightly proud.
"They seem to like it." I said, a small smile made it's way to my face.
"That's good. What's it called?"
"They don't like the title, but they were thinking something along the lines of 'High-School Mystery'" I said shrugging.
"But you don't like it." Tim said confidently. I shrugged.
"How's your book coming along?" and just like that I had managed to changed the subject. And looking back I can see that Tim knew what I was up to all along.
The next the morning while Gibbs and Tony watched Ziva in the interrogation, Tim and I were down in Abby's lab.
"This is the final wardrobe of Taylor Shane." Abby said walking around the table that held said clothes.
"Could not imagine a worse way to go." Tim said shaking his head.
"I could." Abby contradicted.
"She planted herself on a barbed-wire fence. What could possibly be worse?" Tim said, tightening his grip on my hand.
"My top three are falling into a wood chipper, drowning in lava, and being eaten by a shark." Abby said.
"G-Guessing you've thought about this before." I stuttered wide eyed.
"On and off for the last 25 years."
"You know, I read a statistic that says you're more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a shark." I said, letting go of Tim's hand and walking around the table.
"Not if you're a seal." Abby said cheerfully.
"What do we have, Abs?" Gibbs asked as he walked in.
"I broke down the origin of each and every stain on Taylor's clothes. Most are blood, mud, rust, and sweat." Abby said, moving her hands around as she talked.
"Most?" Gibbs asked
"Yes. This stain here," she said turning the collar over, "Under the collar, has traces of PCP mixed with formaldehyde, sodium and nicotine."
"Tobacco." Gibbs said.
"Yep. The PCP wasn't laced in the Klowny Cake. It was laced in this." she said holding up a tobacco tin
Ziva had investigated McMannis and we found out that he too had been poisoned. We had all been summoned down to Abby's lab.
"This is what I would call some serious snuff. The Staff Sergeant's chew was laced with 400 milligrams of PCP. A typical hit for a user would be between seven and ten milligrams."
"I knew that dude could've have taken me if he wasn't juiced." Tony said.
"Oh please. He's a marine and your..." I gestured at him, causing him to scowl.
"What are his chances, Abby?" Ziva asked.
"Depends on how much PCP he ingested. How long was he dipping?" Tony and Ziva shared looks that told us a long time. "That long, huh? Let's just hope he has better luck than Taylor Shane."
"Okay, great." Tim said entering the lab. "Thank you. Staff Sergeant McMannis is stable at Bethesda. Still in critical condition." he told us hanging up the phone.
"Any prints?" Gibbs asked Abby.
"I was able to lift two latent prints. One matches Staff Sergeant McMannis..." Abby said, moving to her computer and bring up the prints.
"And the other?" Gibbs asked, standing in front of her computer.
"No owner yet. But it does match a print lifted from Noah Keller's syringe."
"Whoever killed Taylor, killed Keller." Ziva said.
We were walking through the floor later that evening and Tim and Tony were arguing again.
"Tony, it's a matter of opinion. How can I be wrong?" Tim asked
"Exactly. It's a matter of you having the wrong opinion." Tony said.
"That doesn't make sense I said, shaking my head.
"Why don't you two just agree to disagree?" Ziva asked.
"I don't agree to that." Tim said as we went behind the desk and picked up our stuff.
"Boss, the director's new hair, you like the way she cut it short?" Tony asked sitting down.
"She cut her hair?" Gibbs asked
"Never mind." Tony said. One by one we walked past Tony to the elevator, leaving Gibbs and Tony in the bullpen.
"You know I was once asked to model." I said, staring straight ahead at the elevator doors.
"What!" came the cry of my two team-mates.
"My first year at G.W.U. we went out drinking and this agent came up to me and my friends offering us a job. We were trying to turn him down but he thought we were playing hard to get. So I went 'we would love to, but look at that', pointed over his shoulder and while they were distracted we ran away." I finished with a shrug, getting into the elevator. Tim and Ziva stared at me, mouths open, wide eyed at my little tale.