"Hi Gibbs," Abby said a couple hours later, flouncing over and perching on the edge of his desk.
"Abby." Gibbs looked up from a report he was reading. "What are you doing up here?"
"What?" she pouted. "Don't want my company?"
Gibbs sighed. "Always love your company Abs, just wondering why you're not in your lab."
"I'm bored." Abby announced. "There's nothing to do in my lab since you forbade me from doing experiments with super glue."
"People lose layers of skin when you play with super glue Abs," Gibbs reminded her calmly. "One of these days it might not grow back." He sat back in his chair. "Why don't you go see how Ducky and Palmer are doing?"
"Already been there," Abby stressed. "They're doing inventory. I finished mine last week. Ducky always leaves it to the last minute and then complains the whole time about the bureaucracy responsible for his misery. I can only listen to so much of that before I have to leave. Even Jimmy was looking for a way out." She looked up thoughtfully. "I guess I could try to come up with a way to spring him from Autopsy without Ducky noticing, but I think it would involve a catapult and maybe some dynamite."
Gibbs put his hand over hers. "I think we'll just leave him there Abby. Safer for us all that way."
Abby looked mildly offended that Gibbs didn't like her idea.
"It's not much more exciting up here Abbs," McGee put in, hoping to make her feel better. "No case yet so today is just another catch up on paperwork day."
"At least there's other people up here," Abby pointed out. "There's Gibbs and Tony and..." she frowned. "Where's Ziva?"
Tony looked up. "She went up to the Director's office a few minutes ago. Didn't say why."
"Ooh, Gibbs! Can I go up and see the Director too? We can all have girl talk or something."
"I don't think Ziva does girl talk," Tony informed her as Gibbs answered.
"No Abby, you can't go see the Director. She's probably busy."
"Well, can I at least take Timmy down to the lab with me? Bert isn't being good enough company today. We can...defrag my computer system or calibrate my machines or something. Please?" she begged.
Gibbs didn't always want to look like a pushover when it came to Abby, even if the whole team knew she was the favourite. Still, it probably was pretty boring down there in the lab all by herself. And since assistants were out of the question, he finally gave in.
"Fine. But I want you back up here when I call, got it?" He stared at McGee.
"Got it Boss," McGee grinned, eager to be doing something that wasn't paperwork.
"Abby," Gibbs called after them, "do I need to remind you of the rules?"
Abby rolled her eyes. "No Gibbs, I remember."
She turned to Tim as they walked out. "So Timmy, can you get me a Caf-Pow? I haven't had one yet. Another hour and I won't be able to keep my eyes open."
"Maybe you should try actually sleeping sometimes Abby," McGee said, tugging on one of her ponytails affectionately.
Their voices faded down the hallway.
"How come they get to play and Ziva gets to go hang out with the Director and I'm stuck here with y-" he stopped when Gibbs' eyebrows rose. "With all of this paperwork?" Tony finished quickly.
"Because DiNozzo, Ziva never turns in her reports late and McGee gets more done in two hours than you get done in two days."
Tony turned his eyes back to his computer. He could hardly argue with that. Still, it wasn't fair.
NCIS
Ziva walked into Director Shepard's outer office.
"Hello Cynthia. Is the Director busy?"
"Not at the moment Ziva," she answered. "Go on in."
"Thank you."
Ziva knocked on the door and stepped into Jenny's office.
She looked up from the paper she was signing and smiled, glad to see the other woman. "Ziva! What can I do for you?" Then she continued. "Let me guess. Jethro is grumpy because you don't have a case and someone needs to make him behave?"
Ziva shook her head. "Not this time Jenny. But I have been thinking."
"About?" Jenny prompted when the agent fell silent.
"The agents here," Ziva shrugged, "are trained well enough I suppose, but they do not all know how to fight."
Jenny looked confused. "I'm not sure what I can do about that."
Ziva's eyes lit up. "But I am. Why do we not stage a...training exercise for Gibbs' team and whoever else is around? We can do it in the training gym, on the mats. Just a...demonstration of our skills. No fighting to get hurt."
Jenny shook her head and removed her glasses. "Ziva, I'm the director of NCIS. I'm not a field agent anymore."
"But you have not forgotten how to fight just because you have this office." It was a statement, not a question.
"No..." Jenny's resolve was weakening, Ziva could tell. She leaned closer and placed her hands on Jenny's desk.
"Between you and me Jen," Ziva reminded her, "we have skills these agents will never learn in basic training. It will be good for them to see how others can fight, to show them what can be learned."
"When were you thinking about doing this little 'skills display'?" Jenny asked, and Ziva knew she'd won.
"Today."
Jenny checked her agenda. Nothing urgent was scheduled for her afternoon, just her session with Kristyn later. Finally she sighed. "How about two o'clock? I'll send out a memo to the various team leaders that whoever is available can come to the training gym then."
"Do not put our names on the information Jen," Ziva suggested, "let it be a surprise when everyone gets there."
Jenny looked pointedly at her friend. "I hope you're not planning to embarrass me in front of my agency Ziva. I may have gotten a little rusty in the last couple of years."
"Just remember to block and duck Jen, the rest will come naturally." Ziva turned around and walked out of the office. "See you at two," she threw back over her shoulder.
Jenny looked at the clock. In a few hours life was about to get a whole lot more interesting.
NCIS
An hour later a messenger laid a sheet of paper on Gibbs' desk. The header read, From the Office of Director Shepard. Below, there was the title, Attention All Team Leaders: Training opportunity in downstairs gym at 1400 today. If your team is not already working on something, please bring them then.
He looked over at Ziva and she smiled slightly. So this was her plan. He could only imagine "training opportunity" had something to do with the skills they had discussed earlier. Gibbs raised his head and announced the afternoon's plans to the rest of the team, which basically included Tony, since it was Ziva's idea. Not that anyone else would hear that.
"Heads up," he said. "We're now scheduled to be in the training gym at 1400."
Tony grinned. "Anything to not be doing paperwork." He caught Gibbs' eye and stammered. "Not that I have a problem with doing paperwork. I love paperwork. Paperwork is..." The stare coming across the room at him cut Tony off. "Getting back to work Boss."
Tony eyed Ziva. "I'm not being your partner if we're working out. You'd hurt me just because you think it's funny."
Ziva glanced at him suspiciously. From the moment he'd dragged himself into work, she'd been waiting for Tony to bring up what happened last night. But he hadn't and now she wanted to know why.
"I will only hurt you if you give me a reason to Tony," she said at last.
Gibbs picked up the phone. "Hey Abs, put McGee on, will you?" He waited while she handed the phone over.
"Got something Boss?" McGee asked.
"Training gym, 1400 today. Bring Abby if she's interested. See if Ducky and Palmer want to come as well."
McGee was confused. "You want Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy to train with us?"
"It's a skills demonstration McGee. Just ask them!" he said, hanging up the phone.
NCIS
Three hours later, Gibbs' team (minus Ziva), was assembled in the training gym with a few other agents from their floor. All other teams had been unavailable to come. At exactly 1400 hours, the door to the change room opened and out came two fit women, clad in black, with their hands and feet wrapped. Though one was brunette and the other a redhead, both wore their hair pulled back in tight french braids, the ends of which were folded and tied close to their heads.
Ziva took her place in the center of the large mats, looking for all the world as if she'd done a demonstration like this hundreds of times. Perhaps she had, as Mossad's finest. Jenny stood slightly behind Ziva and to her left.
"Thank you for coming," she began. "Today I, with Agent Shepard," she said it out of reflex, thinking back to the days when she and Jen had been partners. But it felt right so Ziva didn't bother to correct herself, "will show you the kinds of training you may come up against in the field as you track down those who could have received their education with groups like Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, or Hamas."
With that introduction, she faced Jenny, who still did not look sure about this. Even so, she put up her hands, getting in the defensive position. Gibbs watched his wife closely. He wasn't sure if drastic measures were the only way to teach Jenny again what she already knew, or if this entire endeavour would backfire on them by bringing up memories unwanted of when she wished she'd fought in the bunker.
But regardless of what happened in the next few minutes, Gibbs knew one thing for sure, he'd never seen Jenny this needy and unsure. She had to build her self confidence back up and the best way he could think of was to show her what the rest of them knew - that she was a competent and highly trained agent. And she'd prove it by fighting their best.