Camping with Gibbs 13/13
Yeah, it's finally done.
---NCIS---
"You okay, Tobias?"
The body had been removed and the crime techs had finally finished with the tent, but Fornell was still standing in the doorway, staring at the dry blood smears that covered most of the tent floor. He finally looked up at Ron Sacks. "Yeah, I'm fine. Barely a scratch on me, not like..."
Ron knew Fornell liked the kid. Honestly, Ron did too, but he'd never admit it. "Thought he was going to be okay?"
"He is, eventually, but look at this." Fornell shuddered as he looked at the blood one more time. "It could have been a whole lot worse."
"But it wasn't. Since when have you been so negative?"
Probably about the time he started thinking of Gibbs' two boys as he nephews, but he wasn't going to admit that to Sacks. "We finished here?"
"Yeah, I think so." Sacks looked over at Kyle, who was sitting in one of the agency sedans, head bowed. "You sure he's an innocent in all this?"
Fornell was sure, but it wouldn't be official until McGee could make a formal statement. "He killed his own brother to save a NCIS agent. I'd say that's a pretty good indicator."
Once the evidence and the camp were being packed up by the crime techs Fornell climbed in the front seat of the agency sedan. Kyle didn't look up until he felt the vehicle in motion. "What happens now, Agent Fornell?"
"Now we meet your lawyer at the Hoover Building and you make a complete and detailed statement on record and answer a few questions."
"I... I don't have a lawyer."
"Don't worry, kid. Jethro and I took care of it."
At the name, Kyle finally looked up, meeting Fornell's eyes in the rear view mirror. "Have you talked to him? How's Tim?"
"Gonna need some surgery, but he should pull through just fine - thanks to you." Pulling up to a red light, Fornell turned to look over his shoulder at Kyle, giving him a reassuring nod. "It might take a few days to sort everything out and gather all the evidence, but you're not really a suspect, okay?"
"Not a suspect, just a murderer."
"Hey." Needing to focus on this, Fornell pulled over to the side of the road. "I can't imagine what this must be like for you, but from where I'm sitting, you didn't really have a choice and you saved a good man. Just focus on that, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." However, Kyle didn't look or sound convinced. Fornell made a mental not to put a call in to Dr. Cranston when they got back to the Hoover Building.
---NCIS---
"Well?" Vance leaned over his phone even though the speaker would pick him up from anywhere in his office. Fornell's voice came over the line with a minimum of static.
The box contained over a dozen military grade encrypted flash drives. Any idea what's on them?
Vance glanced over at the SecNav standing across from him. "Highly classified military files. Beyond that..."
Let me guess. Above my pay grade.
"Mine too, apparently. We need the physical evidence from the break-in returned to us, Agent Fornell."
Understood, Director. You'll have it within the hour.
"Thank you, Agent Fornell. We will be waiting." Vance disconnected the call and watched her carefully for any reaction.
"Admiral Hofstadter has been less than forthcoming with me about what he's accomplished with his eighteen million dollar budget. I want to know exactly what information from his facility was compromised, Director Vance, and I want to know before he comes snooping around here looking to get it back. Who's your best hacker to get into those drives?"
"That would be Agent McGee, Madame Secretary, but..."
"Fine, get him up here now."
"I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Why not? Where is he?"
"At the moment? I believe he's being prepped for surgery. Agent McGee is the agent that was seriously injured this morning making sure that Moore didn't get his hands on those flash drives and the witness that could connect him."
"I see." From her tone, Vance could tell that she didn't understand, but there was nothing he could do about that at the moment.
---NCIS---
By the time the encrypted flash drives arrived in his office, courtesy of Ron Sacks, it was quite late. A call to the hospital told Vance that McGee was out of surgery, so after a quick trip home to see his kids, he drove down to the hospital.
According to the nurse at the desk, Gibbs was in with McGee, but DiNozzo was in the waiting room. Hoping to get a better update, Vance went in search of Tony. He found him snoring on one of the sofas, his face smushed up by a pillow. Another nurse came by with a blanket and shook her head.
"We didn't have the heart to wake him, poor dear."
Vance didn't laugh as the matronly woman fussed over DiNozzo, spreading the blanket out and tucking it around him, but it was close.
The smile on his face faded when he saw McGee, however. Instantly sobered, he slipped inside the room, on the opposite side of the bed from Gibbs. "Please tell me he's better than he looks."
"Yeah, docs seemed pleased so far. They'll move him to a regular room in the morning."
"That's good." Vance looked down at McGee again. "The SecNav was a little upset that McGee was out in the field."
"He's a field agent, Leon."
"I know, Gibbs. He's also the only agent we've got that I would trust with the level of encryption on those flash drives. She didn't come out and say it but you could tell she was wondering why we would risk him out in the field."
Gibbs leaned back in his chair and carefully straightened his leg. "What makes him so good with the computer crap is the fact that he's out in the field. The other geeks I've ever had to work with are so..."
Vance couldn't help it, he really couldn't. "Geeky?" The glare he got was worth it and he let a smile slip through as he stepped away from the bed. "Don't worry, I won't let him get shoved behind a desk, not for longer than necessary. He can deal with the encryptions while he's waiting for his medical clearance. Anything I can do for you before I head home?"
"Nah, I'm fine." Gibbs lifted a cup to show that it was still half full. "Nurses are keeping me loaded up with the good stuff."
Vance wasn't surprised. "Get some rest at some point. We'll need to do a debrief tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'll swap out with DiNozzo in a few hours, then we'll be in after Ducky and Abby get here in the morning."
---NCIS---
"Hey, Boss, how's he doing?"
Gibbs looked up at Tony slipped into the room. He looked better, more rested, but his hair wouldn't be winning any style points at the moment. As a hint, Gibbs smoothed down his own hair as he straightened up in the chair. "Vitals are good. We're just waiting for him to wake up. How are you feeling?"
"Stiff, sore, hands ache a little bit. Could be worse. You?"
Gibbs carefully moved his foot off the stool and onto the floor, slowly bending his knee and flexing his shoulder slightly. "Stiff, sore, knee aches a bit. Could be worse."
Tony didn't roll his eyes, but it was a conscious effort. They might have bantered further, but a low groan from the bed caught their attention.
"Tim, son, can you hear me?" Another moan and Gibbs leaned closer while Tony stepped out to get a nurse. "That's it, kiddo, let's see you open those eyes for a minute."
By the time his eyes cracked open, Tony was back and leaning over Gibbs' shoulder, letting the nurse check him from the other side. "Hey, buddy, good to see you awake again."
"Okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine, just a little scraped up. You're going to be okay, too."
"Kyle?"
"You protected him, Tim. He's fine."
The nurses had a few questions for him, which he answered dutifully, but it was obvious he was fading fast. Once he was out again, this time in a natural sleep, Gibbs realized how exhausted he was. Tony saw it, too, and tilted his head toward the door. "I've got the next shift, Boss. Sofa's pretty comfy."
Nodding, Gibbs let Tony help him up before trading places with him. He watched Tim snuffle and settle deeper into his pillow before laying a hand on the sleeping man's head for a moment. Satisfied, he shuffled out the door. The blanket was still on the couch and Gibbs was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
---NCIS---
Now that he had his partner all to himself, Tony settled in to watch him sleep. The bruises on his face had darkened even more over the last few hours, highlighted by the bright white of the soft neck brace. There hadn't been a spinal injury, which they were profoundly grateful, but a soft tissue strain from the kick to the head. The thick bandages over the knife wound to his shoulder left the blankets lumpy even after Tony had smoothed them down.
"Heart like a lion, man. That's you."
As he settled in to wait, Tony realized that he was thirsty. Gibbs had left his coffee on the table and Tony actually eyed it for a moment, but settled on the safer option of the room temperature water in the pitcher.
---NCIS---
The smell of fresh coffee woke Gibbs and he realized that the sun was beginning to come up outside. He opened his eyes to find the cup being waved under his nose. It wasn't Ducky, but Rachel Cranston standing in front of him. He reached out for the cup even as he struggled to sit up.
Rachel's laughter always reminded him of Kate. "Good morning, Gibbs. Agent Fornell thought you might need this." Once the cup was in Gibbs' hands, she set the carrier down on the nearby table and removed a second cup from it, leaving one more still wedged in the cardboard holder. "How is Agent McGee doing?"
Gibbs took a long drink before he answered her. "He woke up last night. Knew where he was and what had happened. Be a slow recovery, but he'll be fine. Not that I'm complaining about the coffee delivery, but what are you doing here? You talked to Fornell?"
"He brought me in last night to evaluate Kyle and be his advocate. No matter what the circumstances, killing your own brother is never an easy thing." She shrugged and took a sip of her own coffee. "He's finally sleeping, so I thought I'd stop by and see how your team is doing before I head home."
"Prosecutor isn't going to be filing charges, is he? Looked pretty cut and dried to me. Moore would have killed him and McGee if Kyle hadn't stopped him." Gibbs didn't want to leave the hospital quite yet, but he'd go knock some sense into a DA if necessary.
Rachel hid a smile behind her cup. "Fornell didn't seem too worried, but he is being very careful to make sure everything is done following procedure."
"Good." If he'd had anything else to say on the subject, Tony's arrival stopped it. "Everything all right?"
"Yeah." Tony honed in on the cup that Rachel was lifting up for him. "The surgeon came by and wanted to examine him so they asked me to step out. "Thanks, Doc, this is great. You remembered the hazelnut."
"Of course. So how is Agent McGee?"
"Colorful and hungry. That reminds me, Boss, are we really going to build the firepit as a surprise for Tim?"
"Sure. Won't be able to do much until we heal up a bit, but we can get it planned out and the materials bought in the meantime."
"A firepit?"
Seeing the curious look on Rachel's face, Tony launched into a detailed description of the food McGee had fixed for them while on the case, ending with his and Gibbs' plan to surprise McGee with a fire pit at the house so he could continue to hone his skills and expand his repertoire.
"With the two of you as willing guinea pigs?" Rachel couldn't quite hide her smile. "So, have you got it planned out yet?"
Gibbs gave a shrug as he finished his coffee. "What plan? You dig a hole and line it with bricks." Tony nodded in agreement at first, then shook his head.
"What size? It needs to fit his cooking grate - or maybe we should get a second grate so he doesn't have to lug his back and forth."
While they were debating, Rachel pulled out her tablet and opened it to her favorite website and did a quick search. "Here, maybe this will give you some ideas.
Gibbs blinked at the option while Tony immediately took the offered tablet. "Oh, these are nice. Look at that one, Boss. He could cook a lot of food on that."
"That is nice." Rachel took the tablet back and tapped on the picture Tony was drooling over. It enlarged and she tapped it again which opened a new tab with an article about the firepit Tony had picked out. "Detailed instructions, too."
This time Gibbs took the tablet from Rachel and started swiping and looking. "That's nice and big, DiNozzo, but I want something a little more finished looking. Something that looks permanent."
They were still looking and debating options when Abby and Ducky arrived. Ducky only said a quick hello before going back to meet up with McGee's doctor and Abby seemed nervous and a little withdrawn, which caught Rachel's attention.
While the two men were still debating firepit options, Rachel moved over to sit next to Abby. Gibbs was watching closely, but kept Tony occupied as to not interrupt. He was hoping that Abby was feeling guilty for jumping to conclusions the day before about McGee. Understanding the silent request, Rachel gave him the slightest of nods before sitting down.
"How come you're sitting all the way over here, Abby? That's not like you."
"I..." She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before shrugging. "I kinda put my foot in it yesterday and Tony's pretty mad at me."
"Oh?"
"I didn't get why McGee had to be saved by the witness he was supposed to be protecting."
Rachel had heard hours of details from Kyle the day before. "Abby, he did protect the witness, he almost died protecting him."
"Yeah, I know that now. I, umm, I saw the crime scene pictures. There was a lot of blood. It's just that McGee's not supposed to get hurt."
"He's an agent, just like Tony and Gibbs. His job is just as dangerous. Don't you think it's time to admit that and worry about him just as much as the others?"
He lip caught in her teeth again, Abby nodded. "Tony really jumped on my case about it."
"Do you blame him?" Rachel waited until Abby looked up at her. "Think about it from his side. He was there, he heard the shot. Probably didn't know if Tim was dead or alive until they got there, probably still didn't know then either." Abby nodded, but didn't say anything, so Rachel kept talking. "Imagine finding your partner, one of your best friends, unconscious, bloodied, with multiple knife wounds and a possible spinal injury. Imagine hearing the details about how hard he fought to protect someone else, even injured like that. Imagine having your own painful injuries and being stressed and exhausted and scared that your best friend could die. Now imagine hearing someone who should really know better question what he did."
Another nod, but this time Abby stood up. Rachel watched as she crossed the waiting room to sit next to Tony, tucking herself up against him and squeezing his arm. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it the way it sounded last night."
He kissed the top of her head. "I know, and I'm sorry, too. I jumped all over you instead of telling you what happened."
Gibbs gave them both an approving smile before moving away to let them finish sorting it out. Abby smiled back at him before returning her attention to Tony. "Then tell me now, okay? Starting with why Gibbs in on Pinterest."
Tony laughed and started at the beginning, when they'd decided to show the old timers how modern men camped and the look on Fornell's face.
---NCIS---
"So, that's it, I'm free to go?"
He'd managed to drag it out until he was sure Kyle wouldn't do something stupid to himself. As he spoke, Fornell glanced over Kyle's shoulder at the closed door. "Pretty much, at least for now. The DA hasn't officially closed the case, but that's basically just a formality at this point. As we continue to investigate your brother's involvement with smuggling and organized crime, we may have some more questions about some of his early contacts. As for now..." Fornell smiled as he heard Sacks arrive back to the outer office. The man wasn't alone. Seeing the expression on Fornell's face and the direction of his attention, Kyle turned just as the door opened.
"Daddy!"
Leaning back in his chair, Tobias watched the happy reunion. He might have stepped outside of normal channels and overreached his authority by threatening a long drawn out investigation against the soon to be ex-wife's boyfriend, but it was worth it to see Kyle with his arms wrapped around his three children.
Arms full, Kyle turned enough to look Fornell in the eye. "Thank you."
~Fin~
A/N - Oh, yeah. There's some honkin' big threads still dangling. This series will be mostly fun, but with enough plot to hold the various stories together. Thanks all.
---NCIS---
"You okay, Tobias?"
The body had been removed and the crime techs had finally finished with the tent, but Fornell was still standing in the doorway, staring at the dry blood smears that covered most of the tent floor. He finally looked up at Ron Sacks. "Yeah, I'm fine. Barely a scratch on me, not like..."
Ron knew Fornell liked the kid. Honestly, Ron did too, but he'd never admit it. "Thought he was going to be okay?"
"He is, eventually, but look at this." Fornell shuddered as he looked at the blood one more time. "It could have been a whole lot worse."
"But it wasn't. Since when have you been so negative?"
Probably about the time he started thinking of Gibbs' two boys as he nephews, but he wasn't going to admit that to Sacks. "We finished here?"
"Yeah, I think so." Sacks looked over at Kyle, who was sitting in one of the agency sedans, head bowed. "You sure he's an innocent in all this?"
Fornell was sure, but it wouldn't be official until McGee could make a formal statement. "He killed his own brother to save a NCIS agent. I'd say that's a pretty good indicator."
Once the evidence and the camp were being packed up by the crime techs Fornell climbed in the front seat of the agency sedan. Kyle didn't look up until he felt the vehicle in motion. "What happens now, Agent Fornell?"
"Now we meet your lawyer at the Hoover Building and you make a complete and detailed statement on record and answer a few questions."
"I... I don't have a lawyer."
"Don't worry, kid. Jethro and I took care of it."
At the name, Kyle finally looked up, meeting Fornell's eyes in the rear view mirror. "Have you talked to him? How's Tim?"
"Gonna need some surgery, but he should pull through just fine - thanks to you." Pulling up to a red light, Fornell turned to look over his shoulder at Kyle, giving him a reassuring nod. "It might take a few days to sort everything out and gather all the evidence, but you're not really a suspect, okay?"
"Not a suspect, just a murderer."
"Hey." Needing to focus on this, Fornell pulled over to the side of the road. "I can't imagine what this must be like for you, but from where I'm sitting, you didn't really have a choice and you saved a good man. Just focus on that, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." However, Kyle didn't look or sound convinced. Fornell made a mental not to put a call in to Dr. Cranston when they got back to the Hoover Building.
---NCIS---
"Well?" Vance leaned over his phone even though the speaker would pick him up from anywhere in his office. Fornell's voice came over the line with a minimum of static.
The box contained over a dozen military grade encrypted flash drives. Any idea what's on them?
Vance glanced over at the SecNav standing across from him. "Highly classified military files. Beyond that..."
Let me guess. Above my pay grade.
"Mine too, apparently. We need the physical evidence from the break-in returned to us, Agent Fornell."
Understood, Director. You'll have it within the hour.
"Thank you, Agent Fornell. We will be waiting." Vance disconnected the call and watched her carefully for any reaction.
"Admiral Hofstadter has been less than forthcoming with me about what he's accomplished with his eighteen million dollar budget. I want to know exactly what information from his facility was compromised, Director Vance, and I want to know before he comes snooping around here looking to get it back. Who's your best hacker to get into those drives?"
"That would be Agent McGee, Madame Secretary, but..."
"Fine, get him up here now."
"I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Why not? Where is he?"
"At the moment? I believe he's being prepped for surgery. Agent McGee is the agent that was seriously injured this morning making sure that Moore didn't get his hands on those flash drives and the witness that could connect him."
"I see." From her tone, Vance could tell that she didn't understand, but there was nothing he could do about that at the moment.
---NCIS---
By the time the encrypted flash drives arrived in his office, courtesy of Ron Sacks, it was quite late. A call to the hospital told Vance that McGee was out of surgery, so after a quick trip home to see his kids, he drove down to the hospital.
According to the nurse at the desk, Gibbs was in with McGee, but DiNozzo was in the waiting room. Hoping to get a better update, Vance went in search of Tony. He found him snoring on one of the sofas, his face smushed up by a pillow. Another nurse came by with a blanket and shook her head.
"We didn't have the heart to wake him, poor dear."
Vance didn't laugh as the matronly woman fussed over DiNozzo, spreading the blanket out and tucking it around him, but it was close.
The smile on his face faded when he saw McGee, however. Instantly sobered, he slipped inside the room, on the opposite side of the bed from Gibbs. "Please tell me he's better than he looks."
"Yeah, docs seemed pleased so far. They'll move him to a regular room in the morning."
"That's good." Vance looked down at McGee again. "The SecNav was a little upset that McGee was out in the field."
"He's a field agent, Leon."
"I know, Gibbs. He's also the only agent we've got that I would trust with the level of encryption on those flash drives. She didn't come out and say it but you could tell she was wondering why we would risk him out in the field."
Gibbs leaned back in his chair and carefully straightened his leg. "What makes him so good with the computer crap is the fact that he's out in the field. The other geeks I've ever had to work with are so..."
Vance couldn't help it, he really couldn't. "Geeky?" The glare he got was worth it and he let a smile slip through as he stepped away from the bed. "Don't worry, I won't let him get shoved behind a desk, not for longer than necessary. He can deal with the encryptions while he's waiting for his medical clearance. Anything I can do for you before I head home?"
"Nah, I'm fine." Gibbs lifted a cup to show that it was still half full. "Nurses are keeping me loaded up with the good stuff."
Vance wasn't surprised. "Get some rest at some point. We'll need to do a debrief tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'll swap out with DiNozzo in a few hours, then we'll be in after Ducky and Abby get here in the morning."
---NCIS---
"Hey, Boss, how's he doing?"
Gibbs looked up at Tony slipped into the room. He looked better, more rested, but his hair wouldn't be winning any style points at the moment. As a hint, Gibbs smoothed down his own hair as he straightened up in the chair. "Vitals are good. We're just waiting for him to wake up. How are you feeling?"
"Stiff, sore, hands ache a little bit. Could be worse. You?"
Gibbs carefully moved his foot off the stool and onto the floor, slowly bending his knee and flexing his shoulder slightly. "Stiff, sore, knee aches a bit. Could be worse."
Tony didn't roll his eyes, but it was a conscious effort. They might have bantered further, but a low groan from the bed caught their attention.
"Tim, son, can you hear me?" Another moan and Gibbs leaned closer while Tony stepped out to get a nurse. "That's it, kiddo, let's see you open those eyes for a minute."
By the time his eyes cracked open, Tony was back and leaning over Gibbs' shoulder, letting the nurse check him from the other side. "Hey, buddy, good to see you awake again."
"Okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine, just a little scraped up. You're going to be okay, too."
"Kyle?"
"You protected him, Tim. He's fine."
The nurses had a few questions for him, which he answered dutifully, but it was obvious he was fading fast. Once he was out again, this time in a natural sleep, Gibbs realized how exhausted he was. Tony saw it, too, and tilted his head toward the door. "I've got the next shift, Boss. Sofa's pretty comfy."
Nodding, Gibbs let Tony help him up before trading places with him. He watched Tim snuffle and settle deeper into his pillow before laying a hand on the sleeping man's head for a moment. Satisfied, he shuffled out the door. The blanket was still on the couch and Gibbs was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
---NCIS---
Now that he had his partner all to himself, Tony settled in to watch him sleep. The bruises on his face had darkened even more over the last few hours, highlighted by the bright white of the soft neck brace. There hadn't been a spinal injury, which they were profoundly grateful, but a soft tissue strain from the kick to the head. The thick bandages over the knife wound to his shoulder left the blankets lumpy even after Tony had smoothed them down.
"Heart like a lion, man. That's you."
As he settled in to wait, Tony realized that he was thirsty. Gibbs had left his coffee on the table and Tony actually eyed it for a moment, but settled on the safer option of the room temperature water in the pitcher.
---NCIS---
The smell of fresh coffee woke Gibbs and he realized that the sun was beginning to come up outside. He opened his eyes to find the cup being waved under his nose. It wasn't Ducky, but Rachel Cranston standing in front of him. He reached out for the cup even as he struggled to sit up.
Rachel's laughter always reminded him of Kate. "Good morning, Gibbs. Agent Fornell thought you might need this." Once the cup was in Gibbs' hands, she set the carrier down on the nearby table and removed a second cup from it, leaving one more still wedged in the cardboard holder. "How is Agent McGee doing?"
Gibbs took a long drink before he answered her. "He woke up last night. Knew where he was and what had happened. Be a slow recovery, but he'll be fine. Not that I'm complaining about the coffee delivery, but what are you doing here? You talked to Fornell?"
"He brought me in last night to evaluate Kyle and be his advocate. No matter what the circumstances, killing your own brother is never an easy thing." She shrugged and took a sip of her own coffee. "He's finally sleeping, so I thought I'd stop by and see how your team is doing before I head home."
"Prosecutor isn't going to be filing charges, is he? Looked pretty cut and dried to me. Moore would have killed him and McGee if Kyle hadn't stopped him." Gibbs didn't want to leave the hospital quite yet, but he'd go knock some sense into a DA if necessary.
Rachel hid a smile behind her cup. "Fornell didn't seem too worried, but he is being very careful to make sure everything is done following procedure."
"Good." If he'd had anything else to say on the subject, Tony's arrival stopped it. "Everything all right?"
"Yeah." Tony honed in on the cup that Rachel was lifting up for him. "The surgeon came by and wanted to examine him so they asked me to step out. "Thanks, Doc, this is great. You remembered the hazelnut."
"Of course. So how is Agent McGee?"
"Colorful and hungry. That reminds me, Boss, are we really going to build the firepit as a surprise for Tim?"
"Sure. Won't be able to do much until we heal up a bit, but we can get it planned out and the materials bought in the meantime."
"A firepit?"
Seeing the curious look on Rachel's face, Tony launched into a detailed description of the food McGee had fixed for them while on the case, ending with his and Gibbs' plan to surprise McGee with a fire pit at the house so he could continue to hone his skills and expand his repertoire.
"With the two of you as willing guinea pigs?" Rachel couldn't quite hide her smile. "So, have you got it planned out yet?"
Gibbs gave a shrug as he finished his coffee. "What plan? You dig a hole and line it with bricks." Tony nodded in agreement at first, then shook his head.
"What size? It needs to fit his cooking grate - or maybe we should get a second grate so he doesn't have to lug his back and forth."
While they were debating, Rachel pulled out her tablet and opened it to her favorite website and did a quick search. "Here, maybe this will give you some ideas.
Gibbs blinked at the option while Tony immediately took the offered tablet. "Oh, these are nice. Look at that one, Boss. He could cook a lot of food on that."
"That is nice." Rachel took the tablet back and tapped on the picture Tony was drooling over. It enlarged and she tapped it again which opened a new tab with an article about the firepit Tony had picked out. "Detailed instructions, too."
This time Gibbs took the tablet from Rachel and started swiping and looking. "That's nice and big, DiNozzo, but I want something a little more finished looking. Something that looks permanent."
They were still looking and debating options when Abby and Ducky arrived. Ducky only said a quick hello before going back to meet up with McGee's doctor and Abby seemed nervous and a little withdrawn, which caught Rachel's attention.
While the two men were still debating firepit options, Rachel moved over to sit next to Abby. Gibbs was watching closely, but kept Tony occupied as to not interrupt. He was hoping that Abby was feeling guilty for jumping to conclusions the day before about McGee. Understanding the silent request, Rachel gave him the slightest of nods before sitting down.
"How come you're sitting all the way over here, Abby? That's not like you."
"I..." She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before shrugging. "I kinda put my foot in it yesterday and Tony's pretty mad at me."
"Oh?"
"I didn't get why McGee had to be saved by the witness he was supposed to be protecting."
Rachel had heard hours of details from Kyle the day before. "Abby, he did protect the witness, he almost died protecting him."
"Yeah, I know that now. I, umm, I saw the crime scene pictures. There was a lot of blood. It's just that McGee's not supposed to get hurt."
"He's an agent, just like Tony and Gibbs. His job is just as dangerous. Don't you think it's time to admit that and worry about him just as much as the others?"
He lip caught in her teeth again, Abby nodded. "Tony really jumped on my case about it."
"Do you blame him?" Rachel waited until Abby looked up at her. "Think about it from his side. He was there, he heard the shot. Probably didn't know if Tim was dead or alive until they got there, probably still didn't know then either." Abby nodded, but didn't say anything, so Rachel kept talking. "Imagine finding your partner, one of your best friends, unconscious, bloodied, with multiple knife wounds and a possible spinal injury. Imagine hearing the details about how hard he fought to protect someone else, even injured like that. Imagine having your own painful injuries and being stressed and exhausted and scared that your best friend could die. Now imagine hearing someone who should really know better question what he did."
Another nod, but this time Abby stood up. Rachel watched as she crossed the waiting room to sit next to Tony, tucking herself up against him and squeezing his arm. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it the way it sounded last night."
He kissed the top of her head. "I know, and I'm sorry, too. I jumped all over you instead of telling you what happened."
Gibbs gave them both an approving smile before moving away to let them finish sorting it out. Abby smiled back at him before returning her attention to Tony. "Then tell me now, okay? Starting with why Gibbs in on Pinterest."
Tony laughed and started at the beginning, when they'd decided to show the old timers how modern men camped and the look on Fornell's face.
---NCIS---
"So, that's it, I'm free to go?"
He'd managed to drag it out until he was sure Kyle wouldn't do something stupid to himself. As he spoke, Fornell glanced over Kyle's shoulder at the closed door. "Pretty much, at least for now. The DA hasn't officially closed the case, but that's basically just a formality at this point. As we continue to investigate your brother's involvement with smuggling and organized crime, we may have some more questions about some of his early contacts. As for now..." Fornell smiled as he heard Sacks arrive back to the outer office. The man wasn't alone. Seeing the expression on Fornell's face and the direction of his attention, Kyle turned just as the door opened.
"Daddy!"
Leaning back in his chair, Tobias watched the happy reunion. He might have stepped outside of normal channels and overreached his authority by threatening a long drawn out investigation against the soon to be ex-wife's boyfriend, but it was worth it to see Kyle with his arms wrapped around his three children.
Arms full, Kyle turned enough to look Fornell in the eye. "Thank you."
~Fin~
A/N - Oh, yeah. There's some honkin' big threads still dangling. This series will be mostly fun, but with enough plot to hold the various stories together. Thanks all.