[Location: Live Wire] [Also: Text]The shop that never sleeps

[abigailsciuto]

Abby flipped over a sign to alert the outside world that she was open for business. It had taken about a month of planning and getting everything in order, but it seemed well worth it. Looking over her shoulder at her handywork, Abby had to grin as she reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone. With a few punches on the keypad, she sent off a

Comments

hope this is okay

[herfatherseyes]

Over in one corner of the store was Talia. She had been eager for the place to open up, as soon as Abby had told her about it. The little girl, was trying to help her set up, but she had grown distracted waiting for people to arrive. Instead she had pulled out a children's puzzle her father had given her and was working on putting the pieces into place.

When she saw Abby was done with her text message she hurried away from her puzzle to take Abby's hand.

"Come play now!" Clearly, work was lost on the child.

ksjdlfkjs Duh!

[abigailsciuto]

Abby had barely had the time to slide her phone into her pocket before Talia was grabbing her by the hand. She laughed and snatched the young girl up in her arms. Grinning, Abby gave Tali's tummy a good tickle.

"Play? Play?! But if we're playing, I might forget to give you your surprise."

<3

[herfatherseyes]

While things with her dad still sometimes felt unfamiliar, her friendship with Abby was exactly like it was back home. They did things just like they did back there, even if the lab wasn't the same.

At the mention of a surprise, the six year olds eyes went wide and a grin stretched across her face. "A surprise!?" The puzzle was forgotten now, because the surprises that Abby gave her were always some of the best in the world.

[abigailsciuto]

Talia made it easy for Abby to be a great aunt, even if she never remembered being one prior to her stay in El Dorado. Regardless of who the kid belonged to, she was just a sweet little girl who made Abby's heart melt on a regular basis. Carrying her over, Abby sat Talia down on the counter top and held up one finger.

"Don't move a muscle. I'll be right back." She ducked into the back, rummaging around until she returned with a mini apron and a name tag, which not only had Talia across in Abby's handwriting, but also had the nifty title of Assistant Manager just below. "I'm gonna need a lot of help around here. Think you're up to being my second in command, soldier?"

[abigailsciuto]

Abby turned at the sound of his voice and nearly tackled him in a hug.

"Gibbs! You made it! I've got a pot of coffee with your name on it. Just have a seat at the counter. Or in a booth. Whichever." She was clearly hopped up on Caf Pow - or just excited. Or possibly both.

[abigailsciuto]

With a pleased smile, Abby turned around to fetch Gibbs his first cup of coffee. She bopped happily behind the counter and poured him a rather large cut. Serving Gibbs coffee was of course the easiest, since she knew better than to put anything in it. Carrying the mug in careful hands, Abby brought it over dutifully and set it in front of him. Since the shop wasn't very busy, she slid into the other side of the booth and waited expectantly for him to try the coffee.

[arobinhoodtype]

Live Wire, caffeine, and hanging out with Abby. What more did Shane need to know? Amused, he set aside the book he'd been reading and left his room, following the directions to the shop. Shane stopped out front, looking up at it, and shook his head with a small grin.

Yeah, this seemed about right. After all, it left Abby with her own permanent caffeine fix. What could be better? He pushed open the door, looking around as he walked in. "Abby?"

[abigailsciuto]

Abby was crouched behind the counter when she heard her name. Popping up with a handful of napkins in one hand, and a stack of cups in another, she grinned.

"Shane! You made it!"

[arobinhoodtype]

Shane jerked when Abby popped up out of nowhere, turning fast and laughing a little. "Yeah, it wasn't too hard to find." He nodded, and looked between the cups and the napkins. Apparently, she was busy. "You need any help over there?"

[abigailsciuto]

"No, I've got i-" Just before the last of her sentence could get out, the cups began to wobble at the top of the stack. "Oh god. Oh god." She tried to straighten it out but gravity was working against her. Soon, there was a sound of paper cups falling to the ground. Abby winced.

"Oops." She bent down and started to collect them. "Sorry! I'll be right with you."

[orumad]

Caffeine? Dawn was so there in a heartbeat. True, it was likely that Buffy would blow a gasket if she knew her already excessively energetic sister was looking to consume mass quantities of caffeine. And sugar, if sugar was available as well.

It was a new business too, and that got the gears in Dawn's head turning. She did have an awful lot of free time on her hands. Free time that could be better spent doing something productive. Well, more productive. There was only so long she could sit and read and research.

The younger Summers popped into the shop, taking a cursory look around. Oh yeah, she was definitely going to like it here.

[abigailsciuto]

Abby, like any dutiful shop owner, had noticed the new customer immediately. She was wrist-deep in sugar packets, however, so she simply called out a cheerful greeting.

"Hello! Welcome to Live Wire. What can I get for you?" Abby carefully dislodged herself from the inventory and put her hands on her hips, looking more than happy to be exactly where she was.

[orumad]

Dawn grinned at the cheery greeting. A good idea and very friendly, this place was scoring major points on the Dawn scale. She turned to the woman.

"That depends. I have two questions. One," she said, folding her arms across her chest, "what's the most unique thing you offer? Like, something I could never ever get somewhere else?"

[abigailsciuto]

Abby arched an eyebrow. "Feeling brave, sport?" Abby held up a hand. "Don't answer that, just have a seat." She ducked into the back and came back out a few minutes later. In her hands was a cup of something hot a steaming. Abby had been experimenting with harnessing the power of a caf pow and mingling it with the comfort of a hot drink. Flavors had been fun to tinker with as well.

"I call it Hop Apple Cider." She set it in front of the young woman and stepped back. "Oh, and you had another question?"

Because he totally needs to be experimented on more...

[mcgoogle_ncis]

McGee had been in on many parts of the plan. She'd tried multiple caffeinated combinations on him before opening, and he'd helped Abby with some of the construction aspects of the job--he had a few smashed fingers and paint-spattered t-shirts to show for it.

He didn't need directions to get to the shop but he still came in looking like a customer scouting out a potential place to hang out before or after work. And with the paces that Detective Lassiter was starting to put him through, he probably could use a pick-me-up, but he wouldn't let that show.

He couldn't help grinning a little as he approached his friend, "Whaddya got for me, Abs?" --the same words Gibbs would say back home when looking for a forensic result, but with a somewhat reversed meaning.

[abigailsciuto]

Abby had spotted Tim walking up before he actually entered, so she'd quickly started the process of making him something delicious and sweet. By the time he was inside and at the counter, she turned, holding out a big cup of... something, and she wasn't saying what.

"For El Dorado's finest." She said, because she really was proud of him for getting on the force. Gibbs, Tony, and McGee needed work like that, and she was happy that they were doing what they did best. She figured she could always do what she did best as more of a freelance thing - since she wasn't expecting a whole lot of murder going on in the city.

McGoo needz moar caf pow iconnage... ;)

[mcgoogle_ncis]

Tim accepted the offered drink, blushing a little and ducking his head as he responded, "I don't know about that, Abs. It's only been a couple of weeks since I started and I get the feeling that Lassiter isn't all that impressed with me," he frowned and took his first sip of the drink Abby gave him. Mmm, just sweet enough, and with the faintest hint of spice... "although I haven't been fired yet--you went with the Aztec chocolate, huh?" Yes, she'd had Tim try a lot of flavors before the grand opening.

He took another pull on the straw, then licked his lips and smiled, "I like it. Goes well with the ..." he raised an eyebrow, peering into the clear lid as if it would give him the answer, "What fruit is that?"