------------"The First Time"------------
story by R. O. Knight
based on the hit television series "NCIS"
Created by Donald P. Bellisario
Sunday went by fairly quickly. Gibbs and Abby went to church, and then went out to eat for lunch.
When they got home they decided to do a little yard work. Well actually Gibbs did yard work while Abby did some house work and brought Gibbs lemonade when he got thirsty.
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Monday was hell for Gibbs.
Sure everyone was happy to see him back working at NCIS again. They even commented on his mustache.
But he spent the day trying to get reacquainted with everything and everyone. Ducky even seemed a little distant as it were.
Gibbs' first day back on the job saw him and his team already on a new case, involving a Petty Officer who was suspected of killing his "business" partner.
Tuesday was about the same. Tensions began to run rather high, as the team chased the Petty Officer who, it had become quite clear, was on the run.
On Wednesday things came to a head. Tensions were lessening, because now the team (especially Gibbs) had blown off some of their steam.
The squad room was particularly busy at about 3:30 in the afternoon.
Gibbs sat at his desk watching McGee working hard on his computer. Ziva and Tony were out--supposedly tracking down a suspected killer.
Tony had done a great job with the team while he had been away. To Gibbs, at least that much was clear.
Ring! Ring! The sound of Gibbs' desk phone snapped him out of his deep thoughts.
"Gibbs." He answered his phone.
"Hey Gibbs!" came Abby's cheerful voice over the telephone line.
"I've got something for ya!"
"I'm on my way." Gibbs replied hanging up the phone and leaping up from his desk.
"McGee!"
"U-uh Yeah Boss?" McGee answered.
"If Ziva and DiNozzo get back before I do, send them down to Abby's lab."
"Right Boss." McGee answered quickly returning to his computer screen.
Gibbs knew he needed to make one special stop before going down to Abby's lab. The Caf-Pow! machine.
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Gibbs entered Abby's lab, Caf-Pow" in hand, to find her bobbing and swaying to her music--which was turned up LOUD.
"Whatcha got for me Abs!" Gibbs had to yell to be heard over the loud music.
Abby spun around to see Gibbs standing behind her--Caf-Pow in hand. "Gibbs!"
Abby quickly picked up a remote sitting next to her computer and hit the mute button for her stereo.
"Sorry about that."
Gibbs handed Abby the Caf-Pow, which she took and immediately slurped down at least half of it right there on the spot; or at least that's what Gibbs figured it to be.
"I've got the results from the ballistics test you asked me to run on Petty Officer Garrets' service pistol." She said with a big smile.
"And?" Gibbs asked impatiently.
"And...See for yourself." Abby exclaimed cheerfully pointing towards the big plasma screen.
Gibbs walked over and stood in front of the big plasma screen as Abby pressed a few keys on her keyboard and two images appeared on the plasma screen.
The two images were of two used rounds.
"I compared the slug that Ducky pulled from our dead scuba divers' body with one that I personally fired from Petty officer Garretts' service pistol and got a match...they are definitely one and the same Gibbs." Abby informed Gibbs cheerfully.
"Good work Abs." Gibbs said with a smile as he walked over and placed a kiss on Abby's cheek.
Just then Tony stuck his head through the door.
"Hey Boss." Tony greeted Gibbs.
"Did you get'em?" Gibbs asked.
"Sure did Boss...he's waiting for you up in interrogation." Tony informed his newly returned boss.
"Unless, of course, you want ME to take this one." Tony said with a grin and then a wink at Abby.
"No thanks DiNozzo, I'll handle this one." Gibbs said as he walked past Tony and headed for the elevator.
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In observation Tony and Ziva watched as Gibbs strolled into interrogation as calmly and as casually as he could.
Tony and Ziva stood in the darkened observation room watching Gibbs attempt to break yet another poor dirt bag.
"This guy has been on Gibbs' bad side since this whole thing started. This isn't going to be pretty." Tony observed.
"Agreed." Ziva said.
"Do you think he suspects?" Ziva asked quietly.
"Suspects what?"
Ziva whacks Tony on the back of the head, hoping to jog his memory.
"Ow!" Tony yelped. "Oh That."
"Don't think so, but I wouldn't put it past him." Tony said with a grin.
"Now that Gibbs is back though, I think we should take things to a more covert level." Tony whispered to Ziva with a smirk.
Ziva grinned at Tony and nodded her approval.
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Gibbs sat the table, a folder in front of him, right across from Petty Officer Garrett.
"Care to explain to me why your gun and the gun used to kill Marcus Brown are one and the same?" Gibbs asked quietly, a stern look spread across his face.
"Someone else could stolen my gun and used it to kill Mr. Brown...sir." Garrett replied calmly.
"Good. Very Good." Gibbs said with a grin.
"Let me tell you what I think." Gibbs said pulling some photos from the folder.
Petty Officer Garrett straightens up and clears his throat.
Gibbs pulls each photo out one by one telling a story with each one.
"You and Mr. Brown found the wreck while out diving while you were on shore leave."
Gibbs pulls out the next photo.
"The two of you found the wreck and the gold."
"What if we did?" Garrett asks rather rudely.
Gibbs just grins at Petty Officer Garrett.
"You had to leave on duty, but when you came back you found out that your PARTNER had gotten a little greedy."
"So you confronted him and asked him where he stashed the loot.'
Gibbs pulls out the third photo.
"Things got a little ugly didn't they, and you killed him."
"Then I'm guessing you tried to cover it up and make it look like a diving accident." Gibbs continues.
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Out in the darkened observation room Tony and Ziva watch intently as Gibbs suddenly begins a shouting match with Petty Officer Garrett. The match goes on until finally Garrett confesses.
"Well that didn't take long at all, now did it?" Tony grins looking over at Ziva.
"No it did not." Ziva says in agreement with Tony.
Gibbs suddenly walks into observation, unseen and unheard by Tony and Ziva, and walks up behind them. He gives them both a quick whack on the back of the head.
"Ow!" Ziva yelped.
"Ow! Boss!" Tony yelped.
"I assume you two enjoyed the show?"
Neither one said anything for fear that they might get hit again by their boss.
"Good. Book him." Gibbs said as he turned and strolled back out the door.
"Well you heard the boss, let's book'em." Tony said with a grin.
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It was nearly 10 minutes after 5:00 when Gibbs strolled back into Abby's lab after having just finished writing up a report for the day.
Gibbs knew what would come next. He had said and he had done some things that he shouldn't have done. Especially to the woman he loved.
He had upstaged her among other things, and after Petty Officer Garrett had eluded them for the fourth time that day, he had yelled, unintentionally, at Abby in a fit of rage.
For most of the day she had put on a brave face and tried to act like it didn't bother her; but Gibbs knew that it did. And he hated himself for making her feel that way.
"Abs..." Gibbs started as he strolled into the lab.
Abby was sitting at her desk in the next room, her head resting in her hands.
Gibbs walked over into the next room.
"Abs...it's time to go." He said softly.
Abby looked up at him and the look that Gibbs saw in her eyes showed that she was furious with him, but she was also hurt most of all.
Abby got up, grabbed her coat and purse, made sure all the equipment was turned off, turned off the lights and the two of them strolled out of the lab towards the elevator.
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In the car on the way home neither of them said anything for most of the ride.
Abby finally couldn't take it and decided to speak up.
"You yelled at me." She said calmly yet sternly.
"I know Abs, and-" Gibbs tried.
"Don't "Abs" me right now, Jethro."
Gibbs decided right then and there that it would just be better if he let Abby vent.
"I was fine with everything else, because I understood why--you were having a bad day." She continued.
Gibbs inhaled a deep breath bracing for what he knew would be the worst part of this rampage.
"But then you yelled at me."
"You yelled--at me."
"You hurt my feelings Gibbs." Abby said choking back the tears, and determined not to cry.
"Why?" Abby asked.
Gibbs wasn't sure what to say or even if he should say anything at all.
"Why Gibbs?" this time demanding an answer.
"I-I don't know." was the only answer he could think of at that moment in time.
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When they stepped through the front door of Gibbs' place it was apparent that things had taken a turn for the worse. They had somehow ended up in full-fledge argument mode before they pulled into the driveway.
"It's always about you isn't it!" Abby screamed at Gibbs.
Gibbs wasn't sure how they ended up where they were in this conversation, or even where that was exactly.
Abby stormed off towards Gibbs' bedroom.
"Abby wait-" Gibbs tried to follow.
Abby spun around her eyes filled with tears, and brimming with hurt and disgust towards Gibbs. That image of Abby burned itself into Gibbs' memory and began to tear his soul apart.
Gibbs watched as Abby stomped off into his Bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
Gibbs stood there staring at his bedroom door for a moment.
"I love you Abby Scuito." Gibbs said softly.
Gibbs then turned and headed for the kitchen where he through off his overcoat, grabbed a small glass, and a bottle of whiskey and then headed for the basement.
------------To Be Continued In "The Make-Up"------------
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs' first day back on the job is very stressful, he even yells at Abby which he doesn't mean to do; but in the end tensions and emotions run high leading to an unpleasant confrontation between Gibbs and Abby. "But you don't have to take my word for it..." LOL.
Chapter End Notes:
This is Chapter Five of my series "Together". I am so glad/happy to have made it this far with my series and hope that you guys will continue to tune in for more updates and also that you guys will continue to enjoy reading. God Bless and Good Reading