So sorry for the delay. I suck and I admit it freely.
"Abigail Sit down." Ducky tells her firmly. "Now as I was saying, Jennifer has a few bumps and bruises from the seatbelt and three small cuts from flying glass. No stitches at all, she will be sore but she is fine."
"Thank you, Dr. Mallard." Will tells him as he sighs with relief knowing that his wife is not too badly injured .
"You're welcome young man, I take it you're William? She said you would be out here."
"Ducky, please?" Penelope says softly.
"Derek is fine, same as Jennifer, his bruises are a little bit more pronounced as the impact of the cars were felt in the front more. Anthony is fine, no head trauma or major injuries he did dislocate his shoulder his chest is a bit sore from the airbag, other than that he is well. Bradley is with him now just to double check for any chest and rib trauma. I have already given him a serious tongue lashing for being so foolish, and I promised that once he's in perfect health I am going give him a longer one, foolish boy. Alright, now I want Penelope to follow me to Jennifer's room, I don't think you would mind using the room, how does that sound my dear?"
She looked at him in confusion, "I'm sorry Ducky I don't understand, use her room for what?"
Ducky looked at her and exhales softly, "Penelope, you do need stitches don't you?"
After a quick glance down she shakes her head, "Oh, no. Thank you but no. I can go over to urgent care now that I know my team is fine. I appreciate the offer Ducky, but its going to be like two maybe three stitches."
"Penelope dear child, I'd do it here if I thought this room was clean enough. And I doubt that it is only three stitches from the amount of blood on that towel. Come along now." he tells her as he guides her back to the treatment rooms.
Abby began to get seriously irritated as Ducky led Penelope away behind closed doors, and Gibbs shared a smile with Hotch. The men being who they were knew that they had better things to do than continue to be hostile to one another. Gibbs was willing to bury the hatchet and Hotch understood this just from his being here.
Twenty minutes later Ducky opened the door and stepped out, the team followed him like good ducklings would follow the older duck.
Tony simple says. "Hotch." As they stop, he waits for the repercussions he knows are to come.
"Already talked to the local police, they were four car lengths behind him. The suspect had already run through four red lights and hit two other cars. You're not in trouble so to speak. Did you happen to tell your passengers to brace themselves before you steered into truck?"
"He did, Hotch, It was perfect the way he maneuvered the SUV. Couldn't have done it better myself." Morgan answered.
He watches as Will takes JJ into his arms then kiss her gently on the cheek, brushing some hair away from her face. "I suppose the reports can wait until Monday." Hotch says.
"I'm glad you didn't get hurt to badly DiNozzo." Gibbs tells him without any hesitation.
"Thanks Gibbs. But why are you here? Not that you need an invitation."
"It was past time that I stopped being a. ."
"Stubborn jackass." Ducky suggest.
Gibbs glares as Ducky then nods his head in capitulation.
Running feet could be heard getting closer then come to a complete stop once the person was in front of the group. "I saw the news, I had one of the nurses call her husband, he's a cop, to find out which hospital Are you all alright?" Savannah asks as she looks from one of them to another lastly letting her eyes rest on Derek.
"They are fine young lady.. may I ask who you are?" Ducky answers
"Ducky let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Savannah, she's a doctor like you, only she's a surgeon.' Morgan tells him.
"I'm pleased to meet you young lady. Please call me Ducky." He tells her then offers her his hand.
"Well I'm hungry and in need of coffee, Kitten's place is the closest we can go there. After we make coffee we can send out for food. You coming Gibbs, your team is more than welcome to join us." Rossi says.
"I don't have any furniture for anyone to sit on." Penelope admits to them.
"Why not?" Reid asks.
"Haven't been home long enough to go shopping. The office and the bedroom are done I have a dinette set in the kitchen, that's it."
"No problems we can go shopping later. I'll help you." Rossi tells her.
With Jack and Henry in school no one had to worry about getting back for babysitters, so they were free to go. They did have to double and triple up for the ride to Penelope's home.
The team was surprised that she hadn't added any color or artwork to the walls, yet. They were painted a creamy white and the floors were a honey colored hardwood, clean lines, but nothing that screamed Penelope.
She pulled out the coffee bean grinder and the beans handing them over to Rossi, then put the kettle on for a pot of tea.
Then she places a plate on the island with cut up veggies the women dig in after Kate opens the veggie dip.
"The women are eating rabbit food what are we going to eat." Morgan asks.
"Rabbit food, until we order, there's enough food for all of us. You like eating fresh vegetables don't you, Derek?" Savannah asks holding out a carrot stick for him.
"Love them I can't get enough of them." Derek says as he takes the offered carrot stick.
"I thought so." Savannah replies as she smiles sweetly.
"I know I might be off base here, but I thought that Penelope and Morgan were together. I mean.. ." Kate starts to say.
Penelope looks at Derek and laughs as the rest of the team chuckles. "I guess I should explain. We've always been slightly inappropriate in our conversations with each other."
"Slightly?!" Reid squeaks.
"Okay we've always over the top, in fact we hold the record of the most mandated meeting for sexual harassment classes."
"But why?" Abby asks.
"Because it's fun and because I love her." Derek answers as he takes a cherry tomato .
"We became best friends right from the start. I know you guys at NCIS chase really bad suspects, but some of the unsubs that we have to find can make yours look like a kid stealing candy from a baby. We go after the worse of the worse, not a nice thing to have to deal with."
"It's more than that. You two aren't telling everything." Gibbs.
Derek looks at Penelope and shrugs his shoulders. "Tell them, I already told Savannah."
"About eighteen months after I was asked to join the unit."
"You were asked to join, you didn't apply?" Tim asks in shock.
"Yes, I was recruited. Anyway Derek asked me if I would like to go out and celebrate signing my new contract. I told him yes, lunch then the arcade he could win me a stuffed bear."
"I went to pick her up at noon, but she didn't answer. I knew she was there I could hear her making noise." Derek tells them.
"That's when he broke in, did he bust down he door? No, he used his credit card to jimmy the lock."
"You learn a lot off things walking a beat. Just ask Tony?" He shares smiling at them.
"I plead the fifth." Tony says softly.
"So do I." Will adds a knowing smile.
" Hearing the noise of the door opening I came out getting ready to swing a baseball bat."
"She looked funny as hell standing there holding that bat in the air. That is until she dropped the bat then ran back to the bathroom to puke."
"I told him to leave that he would get sick that we could go out some other day. But he told me to stuff it. He handed me a clean facecloth. Then he helped me get into bed, he put a wastebasket and a glass of water next to me then he told me not to move. Then called his mother."
Hearing chuckles from Tim, Abby as well as Kate and Reid. Penelope makes a sour face.
"His mom is a nurse, he was just out of his element, we've all seen him face down a suspect and bust down a door without a seconds hesitation. But me being sick, well he needed help."
"I admit it she was so sick, puking and running a fever. I've never seen anyone but junkies puke that much."
"You did a good job, went beyond the call of duty Derek. Bringing me water and ginger ale. you even made me toast. He wasn't even mad when I missed the toilet and puked on him. Thank goodness he had his go-bag in his car."
"What did you do?" JJ asks.
"It was late past midnight I was trying to sleep on the couch. But she was shivering and her teeth were chattering so loudly I thought she was going to break them. I brought her some aspirin then climbed into her bed, held her as she shivered trying to make her feel better, her fever broke around dawn."
"An admirable thing to do young man." Ducky says just as he puts the cozy back on the tea pot.
"Like I've always said you're one of the good ones Derek, except when you're bitching at me."
"What did he say to you?" Rossi asks hearing this he is getting a better understanding of the dynamics of these two.
"He told me to go shower, when I came back out I found that he had changed the sheet on the bed and made me a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, and a great cup of hot tea. While I ate he ordered me to move that my apartment wasn't in a safe neighborhood that breaking in with just a credit card proved just how bad it was."
"So you moved." Gibbs guess.
"I moved, it was safer for him, he wouldn't have to worry about me being there anymore."
"That's it? That's why your so close?" Kate asks.
"That and we talk, we talk a lot. There is a line we've never crossed it and we never will. For me he's a brother and prince Charming over protective friend all rolled into one."
Hearing a knock on the door Will slips away only to return a few minutes later. "Food's here." he says coming into the room.
Once everyone was settled on the floor in the living room, eating. Gibbs can't help but look at the dollhouse that is being built.
"It's a beautiful dollhouse that you have here, it's bigger than most that I've seen.
"It's was a special order kit, I wanted lots of rooms and a wrap around porch. It's not really a Victorian it's what they called it. It is beautiful isn't it?"
She knew about Gibbs and his love for woodwork, spending time with Tony she just listened as he talked about his past. As much as Tony says he wants to remove Gibbs from his life she knows that he won't. Gibbs is too much of a good friend to just brush off. He might be a bastard, but he is one of the good guys and will always come if called.
"I can't spend as much time as I would like on it and the roof and trim on the outside is taking me forever all those small parts and individual shingles."
"Do you have any furniture for it yet?" Will asks.
"Just one piece a miniature baby grand piano, it was a gift."
"Penelope, could I please use the restroom." Abby asks.
"Down the hall second door on the left."
They continue to eat and talk sharing war stories as it were. When Abby comes back with a bounce in her step Penelope can't help but hold back a smile. Abby has peaked into her office that is the only reason she can think of that would make Abby bounce around like a kid on crack.
"Your office, I peaked I hope you don't mind. I couldn't help myself. You have a kick-ass system. I saw four monitors on the desk and two on the wall. They were all going the feed is incredibly fast. Are you running a special program?"
"Nothing special, I always have the system running when I am home and that is normal speed for me."
"I find that the FBI likes windows, do you like it." Tim asks her.
"I don't use windows agent McGee, I like Linux it suits my needs."
"But Linux is."
"An adequate program."
"Oh God. I take back everything I ever said about you just being a techie for the FBI."
"Timmy you should see her office it would make you drool. I love the art work too.
I would have never thought that some one like you would like to frame playing cards."
"Those two pieces of art were gifts from an old friend. He had them made for me, if you look closely it's my face on the face cards."
"What cards?" Gibbs asks.
Abby wipes her mouth with napkin. "They are gorgeous Gibbs, the Queen of Clubs and the Queen of Spades, all hand drawn in black ink with gold trim, must have cost your friend a bundle."
"You would be amazed at the friends she has, she has more connections than Rossi here." Hotch tells them. "Surprisingly very few of them say no to her when she needs a favor."
"That's because I smile and make cookies."
"I just have to ask why is Fornell the only one that can call you Penny." Reid asks her in between bites.
"Because.. ."
"Because she did the impossible and found a doll for Emily when she was little, a doll that no one could find anywhere. Since then she has been my lucky Penny." Fornell says as he walks into the bare living room.
"How did you?" Gibbs asks.
"Door was unlocked, you would think with these many agents someone would think to lock the door.
"I made sour cream cookies last night, if you want some with your coffee." She tells them as she stands then heads for the kitchen.
Tony reaches into his suit coat pocket and pulls out a small rectangular box. He places the box on the floor where Penelope was sitting, without saying a word he just smiles and takes a sip from his water bottle.
The women in the room pass a look it's not ht right size for a ring, they frown as they continue looking at the box. The men meanwhile just continue with the conversation they were having.
Penelope put the tray down on the floor that held a pot of coffee and a plate of cookies.
Sitting on her knees she picks up the box and opens it. She leans over and kisses Tony on the cheek thanking him for the wonderful gift.
"What is Penelope my dear?" Ducky asks from his chair that Rossi had brought in from the kitchen for him.
"A piano bench, Ducky. Look it opens and there is tiny sheet music inside. It's a perfect match for the piano, that he gave me."
All eyes turn to Tony, but he is looking only at Penelope.