step by step
An NCIS fic collection
by mew-tsubaki
- ^-^3
imagine: miscellany 22—s20e17 (this post on the sideblog: 714178454075129856/ parknight-imagines-miscellany-22-s20e17)
tags: pre?Parknight, s20e17
- ^-^3
She and Torres return with Mateen Jamaah in cuffs—after all, just because he's begging for their help one second doesn't mean they can ignore the fact that he was building a bomb the second before—and the tension remains thick in the bullpen, even with their prime suspect in custody.
Knight glances at Torres with a frown, though, which he either doesn't catch or he ignores, since the cocky agent and McGee escort Jamaah through the room and the back corridors to an interview room. That leaves Knight to catch Parker up.
Parker waits (he always waits, for her). But when she takes an extra moment, one more than usual, his stare lingers and he stands from behind his desk. "Knight?"
"Oh, sorry." She shakes her head. "Uhh… Three armed suspects. They got away and didn't leave us much evidence." Knight glances at her bag, which she set down at her desk minutes ago. "I have some shell casings for Kasie, but—"
"Knight."
Knight's attention returns to him, and she notes that Parker makes an effort to close the case folder in front of him. He exits his desk, too, to stand before her. He frowns and his shoulders drop half an inch.
"Normally you're a cool customer under pressure. Technically, under literal fire," he amends. He purses his lips and raises his eyebrows. "But you seem…jumpy. Something happen?"
She pauses and smiles automatically. "Nothing I couldn't handle."
Parker shakes his head. "Didn't say you couldn't." He pauses. "I'm all ears, though."
Knight's smile wavers. "You…probably wouldn't understand."
He shrugs and sits on the edge of his desk. With one hand, he gestures towards her, as if inviting her closer or giving her the floor. "Then make me understand," Parker says simply.
It's not the gesture but his words that make her heart skip a beat. He's not assuming to know anything or saying he understands from a clinical point of view—Parker wants to hear it from Knight, in her own words. So… She swallows a lump in her throat and admits, "…it felt all too familiar, this close call."
"How so?"
"Picking up Jamaah, being surrounded by his materials. Then taking cover and Nick stupidly shooting back when those perps showed up. I just." She squeezes her eyes shut tight for a split second. "I've been in that moment countless times for someone who's not a bomb tech." Knight exhales and glances at Parker, locking eyes with him since his eyes are trained on her.
His eyes briefly drop to her hands before returning to her face. "But you're no longer in that moment. You're here."
"Yeah."
"It's a tough thing to accept over and over again, isn't it?"
Knight nods. Her smile feels more genuine now, though brittle. She wrings her hands, one in the other, and laughs (just once, to expel her nervousness from the evening). "I'm sure you had your fair share of crapfests while at the FBI."
"Mm," he mumbles. Then Parker does hold out his hand, and he shakes it until Knight places hers in his, and he holds her hands until the shakes fade away. "Nothing quite like what you experienced during your REACT days, but I'll share some stories with you sometime."
And, when he holds on a little longer (when the shakes are long, long gone), Knight's smile doesn't feel brittle anymore when she drops her shoulders and says, "I'd like that."
- ^-^3
S20e17 actually had some nice highlights for me, but that shootout scene had to be rough for my angel. She rly needed some Parker-exposure therapy afterwards. Also for YearoftheOTPEvent on tumblr (belatedly, for March: "make me" & acceptance).
-mew! -w-