NCIS. Abby/Kate. 090. Home. *
Title: Ain't That a Kick in the Head?
Fandom: NCIS
Characters: Abigail Sciuto, Caitlin Todd, Tony DiNozzo, Jethro Gibbs, Timothy McGee, Donald "Ducky" Mallard
Prompt: 090 Home
Word Count: 1,763
Rating: PG13
Summary: Kate gets a concussion and needs someone to keep an eye on her.
Author's Notes: This one is totally for chiroho. Abby appears only in a phone call and isn't in a relationship with Kate at all. Since she makes an appearance, it still fits the fanfic100 regulations. :D So... um... to everyone who reads me for Kate/Abby, you may skip this one with my blessing ;-D
Little Damn Table
Kate and McGee took the back entrance, splitting off from Tony and Gibbs at the corner. Gun drawn, Kate lifted herself onto the back of the delivery truck and peered inside. No sign of the smugglers, so they all had to be inside. She motioned for McGee to get next to the garage door and joined him on the opposite side. They waited until they heard Gibbs call, "Federal agents! Drop your weapons!" before they slipped inside.
Gunshots, Gibbs yelling to put the weapons down NOW and one of the smugglers tried to slip out past Kate. "NCIS," she said, raising her gun so he could see it.
He looked like he was going to risk it for a moment before finally lifting both hands in surrender. She took his gun from him and ordered him to lay face-down on the ground. Patting him down for more weapons, she pulled out her handcuffs and linked them around the rung of a ladder bolted to the ground. "Sit tight," she said, stepping over him and headed back into the mix.
McGee was cuffing another suspect. She looked around for Gibbs, spotting him and Tony in the center of the warehouse flanking the table where the smugglers had been sitting. She started over, making it halfway to them before she heard McGee call her name. She turned and saw the top of the ladder she'd cuffed her man to. It was toppling forward, bringing with it half of a catwalk loaded with boxes.
She barely had time to cover her face before she was buried.
---
Ducky put his hand on her forehead, gently pushing her eye open farther. He shined a light in and she winced, fighting the urge to pull back. "Easy, Caitlin," he said. "If you're good, I'll see if I can find a lollipop for you."
She smiled and said, "I'll do my best, Ducky."
He smiled and stepped back, slipping his penlight back into his pocket. Gibbs appeared and Ducky said, "She'll be fine soon enough. She has a slight concussion which should be monitored, but other than that."
"Slight concussion," Kate said. "Not bad for having an entire shipment of drugs dropped on my head."
Ducky snickered and Gibbs smirked, patting Ducky on the shoulder. "All right, thanks, Duck." Ducky nodded and wandered to where Tony and McGee were. Gibbs stepped closer to Kate and glanced at the bandage on her forehead. "You sure you're all right?"
"I'm fine," she said.
"You have someone to keep an eye on you tonight? Make sure you stay awake?"
"I'm not eight-years-old," Kate said. "And this isn't my first concussion. I'll be fine."
He nodded. "Still, I would feel better if..."
"Gibbs."
He held up his hand and said, "All right. I'll call you to make sure you're okay. Okay? I'm usually up at three in the morning anyway."
She smiled and said, "Thank you, Gibbs."
He patted her shoulder and said, "Sit tight. We'll finish up here and then drop you off at home on the way back to the headquarters."
"I don't need..."
He stopped her. "You don't want a nursemaid, that's fine. But you're getting the rest of the day off. DiNozzo, McGee and I can handle booking."
"Fine," she said. "I guess I can find something to do for a night."
"Besides sleeping."
She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, wrapping her pinky around his. "I promise I won't sleep."
"Why can't you sleep?" Ducky asked.
"I-I have a concussion," Kate said slowly, wondering if her confusion was due to the head injury. Could she have imagined...
Ducky shook his head. "Sleeping shouldn't be a problem. However, you should be monitored, Caitlin. Just to ensure symptoms don't arise. Twenty-four hours should be enough. You will need to be awakened every two or three hours and examined."
"Ducky, I don't want to go to the hospital..."
"Not a medical examination," he said. "More like a quiz. Your name, where you are, what happened, what day it is, things like that."
"I'll do it when I call," Gibbs said.
"You'll call her every two or three hours?" Ducky asked.
"If I have to."
Kate closed her eyes and said, "Ducky, you said I'd be good to sleep for two or three hours. Right?"
"Yes, it shouldn't do any harm."
"So, a ten-minute nap in the back of the truck..."
Ducky smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "Rest, Caitlin."
She rolled her jacket up and used it as a pillow, leaning against the side of the truck and closing her eyes.
---
Kate was wavering in her resolve. It was only eight-thirty and she was already feeling the pull of her mattress. Her eyes kept trying to close while she was watching TV. Maybe if she was actually interested in what she was watching... She turned off the TV and stood, walking across the room to the bookshelf. The phone rang before she reached it and she snagged it, answering, "Kate."
"Abby! Is this how we're greeting each other now? Cause it could get annoying."
"Hi, Abby," Kate said, smiling. "I was just thankful for a way to stay awake."
"I thought Ducky said you could sleep...?"
"Yeah, but with no one to wake me up in two hours, I decided to just try and push through as much as possible." She stifled a yawn and said, "It's not going well."
"Sounds like it. You need me to come over?"
Kate smiled. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to take you away from anything."
"It's no trouble! But if you really don't want company..."
"I'll call you if I get desperate."
"Good enough," Abby said. "Get well soon, Kate. It's no fun at the office without you."
Kate nodded. "I'll do my best. Thanks for calling, Abby. It means a lot to me."
"You mean a lot to me! I'll see you tomorrow!"
Kate hung up before Abby could choke her up and wandered to the bookshelf. As she was choosing a book, someone knocked at the front door. She rolled her eyes and headed down the hall, preparing a speech for Gibbs on how she needed to be left alone and a phone call would've been fine and... "Tony?" she said.
He held up a pizza box, topped with a bag of rented movies. "Hope you like pepperoni!"
He was inside the apartment before she could fully comprehend that he was standing there. "What are... Tony!"
"Relax," he said. "I'm just here to play alarm clock." She followed him into the living room, where he put the pizza down and pulled the DVD cases from the rental store bag. "I got conked on the head my first year with NCIS and Gibbs sat up with me. So, I figured it was time to pay it forward. Which movie do you want to watch first?"
"Oh, God," Kate groaned, moving forward and taking the boxes. "I foresee a night full of wars, explosions, cowboys and..." She frowned at the first case. "Meg Ryan?"
Tony nodded. "It's not even the one where she gets nekkid."
"Wow, Tony," she said, going through the boxes. "I can't believe this...! Romantic comedies? You know where the romantic comedy section is at Blockbuster?"
He sat on the couch and put his foot up on the table. "What can I say? I'm a renaissance man!"
She kicked his foot down and looked at the pizza. "Pepperoni?"
"With sausage."
"Fine. You and the pizza can stay." She sat on the couch and looked at the movies. "Let's start with 'You've Got Mail' and work our way down."
---
Tony was at her side, hand on her shoulder and gently shaking her. "Hey. Wake up," he whispered.
She blinked at him and brushed her hair out of her eyes, feeling the bandage under her palm. "Oh," she said, sitting up.
"Yeah, you fell asleep. You know where you are?"
"Home. Caitlin Todd, January 8."
"You know the year, too?" he asked.
"3211."
Tony smirked and got up, moving back to his armchair. "You fell asleep in the middle of Garden State."
"What happened?"
"That kid from 'Scrubs' turned out to be a Terminator from the future, sent to assassinate the Star Wars chick."
Kate stretched. "Sorry I missed that."
"It was awesome," Tony said around a mouthful of pizza.
Kate rubbed her eye and said, "Aren't you tired?"
"I'm usually up this time of night anyway."
Kate yawned.
"So what's next in the marathon? A little Gwen Paltrow for ya?" He picked up one of the cases and said, "What's 'Bounce'?"
"You know, Tony," Kate said, pushing herself off the couch. She walked to the entertainment center and opened the cabinet door under the TV. "You've been so nice and thoughtful tonight... watching all these sappy movies... how about we watch this?" She held up a DVD case.
Tony dropped the Bounce case, eyes widening. "Die... Hard? The Ultimate Collection? You have the Holy Grail?!"
Kate shrugged and opened it, kneeling next to the DVD player. "What can I say? I love Bruce Willis. And who says a girl can't enjoy an action movie?"
"Not me," Tony said, grabbing the popcorn. "You rock, Kate Todd."
She returned to the couch and started the movie. Tony offered her the popcorn bowl. She took a handful and crammed it into her mouth.
---
The supervisor on the other end of the line said, "Attention, whoever you are. This channel is reserved for emergency calls only--"
Tony spoke the witty retort along with Bruce Willis: "No fucking shit, lady! Do I sound like I'm ordering a pizza?!"
Kate stirred and opened her eyes, realizing she'd somehow curled against Tony in her sleep. She started to move, but stayed where she was, just for the time being. "What time is it?" she whispered.
"Did I wake you up?" Tony said. "Sorry..."
"I'm sorry I fell asleep," Kate said, covering her mouth in an effort to hide her yawn. She realized Tony's arm was around her and that she really didn't mind it. She closed her eyes again, settling her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for coming over tonight."
"No problem," Tony said. "And, hey, since you're awake... what's your name?"
"Kate Todd," she breathed, already falling asleep again.
He nodded. "Correct. The year?"
"2004," Kate said.
"Two for two. Where are you?"
'Sitting on my couch, leaning against a man who is making me feel safe and protected, watching Die Hard,' she thought. Out loud, she just said, "Home."
Fandom: NCIS
Characters: Abigail Sciuto, Caitlin Todd, Tony DiNozzo, Jethro Gibbs, Timothy McGee, Donald "Ducky" Mallard
Prompt: 090 Home
Word Count: 1,763
Rating: PG13
Summary: Kate gets a concussion and needs someone to keep an eye on her.
Author's Notes: This one is totally for chiroho. Abby appears only in a phone call and isn't in a relationship with Kate at all. Since she makes an appearance, it still fits the fanfic100 regulations. :D So... um... to everyone who reads me for Kate/Abby, you may skip this one with my blessing ;-D
Little Damn Table
Kate and McGee took the back entrance, splitting off from Tony and Gibbs at the corner. Gun drawn, Kate lifted herself onto the back of the delivery truck and peered inside. No sign of the smugglers, so they all had to be inside. She motioned for McGee to get next to the garage door and joined him on the opposite side. They waited until they heard Gibbs call, "Federal agents! Drop your weapons!" before they slipped inside.
Gunshots, Gibbs yelling to put the weapons down NOW and one of the smugglers tried to slip out past Kate. "NCIS," she said, raising her gun so he could see it.
He looked like he was going to risk it for a moment before finally lifting both hands in surrender. She took his gun from him and ordered him to lay face-down on the ground. Patting him down for more weapons, she pulled out her handcuffs and linked them around the rung of a ladder bolted to the ground. "Sit tight," she said, stepping over him and headed back into the mix.
McGee was cuffing another suspect. She looked around for Gibbs, spotting him and Tony in the center of the warehouse flanking the table where the smugglers had been sitting. She started over, making it halfway to them before she heard McGee call her name. She turned and saw the top of the ladder she'd cuffed her man to. It was toppling forward, bringing with it half of a catwalk loaded with boxes.
She barely had time to cover her face before she was buried.
---
Ducky put his hand on her forehead, gently pushing her eye open farther. He shined a light in and she winced, fighting the urge to pull back. "Easy, Caitlin," he said. "If you're good, I'll see if I can find a lollipop for you."
She smiled and said, "I'll do my best, Ducky."
He smiled and stepped back, slipping his penlight back into his pocket. Gibbs appeared and Ducky said, "She'll be fine soon enough. She has a slight concussion which should be monitored, but other than that."
"Slight concussion," Kate said. "Not bad for having an entire shipment of drugs dropped on my head."
Ducky snickered and Gibbs smirked, patting Ducky on the shoulder. "All right, thanks, Duck." Ducky nodded and wandered to where Tony and McGee were. Gibbs stepped closer to Kate and glanced at the bandage on her forehead. "You sure you're all right?"
"I'm fine," she said.
"You have someone to keep an eye on you tonight? Make sure you stay awake?"
"I'm not eight-years-old," Kate said. "And this isn't my first concussion. I'll be fine."
He nodded. "Still, I would feel better if..."
"Gibbs."
He held up his hand and said, "All right. I'll call you to make sure you're okay. Okay? I'm usually up at three in the morning anyway."
She smiled and said, "Thank you, Gibbs."
He patted her shoulder and said, "Sit tight. We'll finish up here and then drop you off at home on the way back to the headquarters."
"I don't need..."
He stopped her. "You don't want a nursemaid, that's fine. But you're getting the rest of the day off. DiNozzo, McGee and I can handle booking."
"Fine," she said. "I guess I can find something to do for a night."
"Besides sleeping."
She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, wrapping her pinky around his. "I promise I won't sleep."
"Why can't you sleep?" Ducky asked.
"I-I have a concussion," Kate said slowly, wondering if her confusion was due to the head injury. Could she have imagined...
Ducky shook his head. "Sleeping shouldn't be a problem. However, you should be monitored, Caitlin. Just to ensure symptoms don't arise. Twenty-four hours should be enough. You will need to be awakened every two or three hours and examined."
"Ducky, I don't want to go to the hospital..."
"Not a medical examination," he said. "More like a quiz. Your name, where you are, what happened, what day it is, things like that."
"I'll do it when I call," Gibbs said.
"You'll call her every two or three hours?" Ducky asked.
"If I have to."
Kate closed her eyes and said, "Ducky, you said I'd be good to sleep for two or three hours. Right?"
"Yes, it shouldn't do any harm."
"So, a ten-minute nap in the back of the truck..."
Ducky smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "Rest, Caitlin."
She rolled her jacket up and used it as a pillow, leaning against the side of the truck and closing her eyes.
---
Kate was wavering in her resolve. It was only eight-thirty and she was already feeling the pull of her mattress. Her eyes kept trying to close while she was watching TV. Maybe if she was actually interested in what she was watching... She turned off the TV and stood, walking across the room to the bookshelf. The phone rang before she reached it and she snagged it, answering, "Kate."
"Abby! Is this how we're greeting each other now? Cause it could get annoying."
"Hi, Abby," Kate said, smiling. "I was just thankful for a way to stay awake."
"I thought Ducky said you could sleep...?"
"Yeah, but with no one to wake me up in two hours, I decided to just try and push through as much as possible." She stifled a yawn and said, "It's not going well."
"Sounds like it. You need me to come over?"
Kate smiled. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to take you away from anything."
"It's no trouble! But if you really don't want company..."
"I'll call you if I get desperate."
"Good enough," Abby said. "Get well soon, Kate. It's no fun at the office without you."
Kate nodded. "I'll do my best. Thanks for calling, Abby. It means a lot to me."
"You mean a lot to me! I'll see you tomorrow!"
Kate hung up before Abby could choke her up and wandered to the bookshelf. As she was choosing a book, someone knocked at the front door. She rolled her eyes and headed down the hall, preparing a speech for Gibbs on how she needed to be left alone and a phone call would've been fine and... "Tony?" she said.
He held up a pizza box, topped with a bag of rented movies. "Hope you like pepperoni!"
He was inside the apartment before she could fully comprehend that he was standing there. "What are... Tony!"
"Relax," he said. "I'm just here to play alarm clock." She followed him into the living room, where he put the pizza down and pulled the DVD cases from the rental store bag. "I got conked on the head my first year with NCIS and Gibbs sat up with me. So, I figured it was time to pay it forward. Which movie do you want to watch first?"
"Oh, God," Kate groaned, moving forward and taking the boxes. "I foresee a night full of wars, explosions, cowboys and..." She frowned at the first case. "Meg Ryan?"
Tony nodded. "It's not even the one where she gets nekkid."
"Wow, Tony," she said, going through the boxes. "I can't believe this...! Romantic comedies? You know where the romantic comedy section is at Blockbuster?"
He sat on the couch and put his foot up on the table. "What can I say? I'm a renaissance man!"
She kicked his foot down and looked at the pizza. "Pepperoni?"
"With sausage."
"Fine. You and the pizza can stay." She sat on the couch and looked at the movies. "Let's start with 'You've Got Mail' and work our way down."
---
Tony was at her side, hand on her shoulder and gently shaking her. "Hey. Wake up," he whispered.
She blinked at him and brushed her hair out of her eyes, feeling the bandage under her palm. "Oh," she said, sitting up.
"Yeah, you fell asleep. You know where you are?"
"Home. Caitlin Todd, January 8."
"You know the year, too?" he asked.
"3211."
Tony smirked and got up, moving back to his armchair. "You fell asleep in the middle of Garden State."
"What happened?"
"That kid from 'Scrubs' turned out to be a Terminator from the future, sent to assassinate the Star Wars chick."
Kate stretched. "Sorry I missed that."
"It was awesome," Tony said around a mouthful of pizza.
Kate rubbed her eye and said, "Aren't you tired?"
"I'm usually up this time of night anyway."
Kate yawned.
"So what's next in the marathon? A little Gwen Paltrow for ya?" He picked up one of the cases and said, "What's 'Bounce'?"
"You know, Tony," Kate said, pushing herself off the couch. She walked to the entertainment center and opened the cabinet door under the TV. "You've been so nice and thoughtful tonight... watching all these sappy movies... how about we watch this?" She held up a DVD case.
Tony dropped the Bounce case, eyes widening. "Die... Hard? The Ultimate Collection? You have the Holy Grail?!"
Kate shrugged and opened it, kneeling next to the DVD player. "What can I say? I love Bruce Willis. And who says a girl can't enjoy an action movie?"
"Not me," Tony said, grabbing the popcorn. "You rock, Kate Todd."
She returned to the couch and started the movie. Tony offered her the popcorn bowl. She took a handful and crammed it into her mouth.
---
The supervisor on the other end of the line said, "Attention, whoever you are. This channel is reserved for emergency calls only--"
Tony spoke the witty retort along with Bruce Willis: "No fucking shit, lady! Do I sound like I'm ordering a pizza?!"
Kate stirred and opened her eyes, realizing she'd somehow curled against Tony in her sleep. She started to move, but stayed where she was, just for the time being. "What time is it?" she whispered.
"Did I wake you up?" Tony said. "Sorry..."
"I'm sorry I fell asleep," Kate said, covering her mouth in an effort to hide her yawn. She realized Tony's arm was around her and that she really didn't mind it. She closed her eyes again, settling her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for coming over tonight."
"No problem," Tony said. "And, hey, since you're awake... what's your name?"
"Kate Todd," she breathed, already falling asleep again.
He nodded. "Correct. The year?"
"2004," Kate said.
"Two for two. Where are you?"
'Sitting on my couch, leaning against a man who is making me feel safe and protected, watching Die Hard,' she thought. Out loud, she just said, "Home."