NCIS; Abby/McGee; Celebration
TITLE: Happy birthday Miss Sciuto
AUTHOR: Sage Harper
FANDOM: NCIS
PAIRING: Abby/McGee
PROMPT: 01. Celebration
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 1,480
SUMMARY: After an eventful year for the team they enjoy a time of peace and revelry.
WARNINGS: Slight spoiler for Hiatus
NOTES: This is a prologue/introduction of sorts, to what will be the story arc of the rest of the fics for this challenge.
DISCLAIMER: All the good stuff belongs to Donald P. Bellisario et all, I'm just borrowing and will put them back when I've finished.
Gibbs didn’t think he’d seen so much purple in his whole life.
He wondered if one year olds even have a favourite colour, not that it mattered; because Abby had decided she did. So he just humoured her. Besides there was a chance Abby was right. Mothers know best, so they say.
“Jethro,” Ducky hollered as he walked into the kitchen of Gibbs house “oh, there you are.”
“Yeah, just topping up the chips,” Gibbs said, emptying the bag of cheesy corn puffs into a plastic salad bowl.
Ducky wrapped his arms around Gibbs’ waist.
“I know this is hard for you,” he said
“Oh really, have I got a neon sign over my head.” Gibbs quipped.
“Not at all, perhaps it’s only obvious to me. The children don’t know you so well.”
“Good thing too.”
“You’re thinking of Kelly,” Ducky said, as a statement rather than question.
“Ah hell Duck, not a day goes by when I don’t ... my life is so good right now. With you, and the kids, and everything; but then I remember and start thinking that, well maybe I don’t deserve it.”
Ducky sighed, holding his lover close. Gibbs had always been private person, only his lover knew the full extent of Gibbs’ grief over his late wife and daughter.
“The past can’t be undone, we all know that,” Ducky said “if anyone has paid their dues and deserves forgiveness it’s you.”
“You’re just saying that, because, I dunno. You should.”
Ducky frowned, perplexed
“Well yes, of course I should. It’d break the habit of a lifetime not to.” He took a step to the side, so that he could look Gibbs in the eye. “Letting life go on doesn’t diminish the past. I’m sure Shannon and Kelly would understand, and want you to be happy.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Gibbs kissed him “Thanks Duck, I don’t know how you always manage to say the right thing, but you do.”
“It’s one of my many superpowers.” Ducky picked up the bowl. “Now, let’s get back to the party.”
~oo0oo~
“I don’t know how you can eat that junk.” Ziva wrinkled her nose “It must be full of B numbers.”
“They’re called E numbers.” Tony explained, dusting the Twinkie crumbs from his lap “And I figure if they haven’t killed me yet that they won’t any time soon… Lo, sweetie, no, leave daddy’s beer alone.”
Lola Sciuto, the birthday girl, giggled and toddled on past. She was dressed in the deep purple fairy costume Tony had bought her, because he’d been curious to discover what ‘Goth baby clothes’ looked like so found the outfit at an online boutique and decided it was perfect.
“Tony,” McGee began with a sigh “I thought we’d had this discussion, about how you shouldn’t refer to yourself as …”
“Yeah, well I am,” Tony stated triumphantly. “And what exactly are you, in this scheme of things, Probie?”
McGee gritted his teeth, knowing it would be utterly inappropriate to argue today. He knew that the way things were, and DiNozzo just being DiNozzo, Tony would hold it over him forever. It had taken a lot of time and thought for McGee to come to terms with the situation, but eventually he had to put his emotions aside, let rationality win through, and was generally benevolent to DiNozzo. They had both made their choices. Tony wanted his freedom, the smorgasbord of willing woman. Whilst McGee … he had his own precious girls. So it didn’t matter really. It was just a name after all, and Lola’s boundless love could easily encompass two father figures, biological or otherwise.
“Hey, you all OK?” Abby asked, with her usual near unstoppable perkiness. Sitting down on the picnic blanket, it was an utterly perfect day for a garden party. Jimmy Palmer had noted they couldn’t have got a better one if they’d custom ordered it, as he stretched out in a deckchair trying to fend off Lola’s efforts to eat his glasses. Jimmy had never imagined himself to be ‘good with babies’, but he felt proud to at least be able to amuse one.
They all agreed that they were fine, better than fine. And McGee watched, with a smile, as Lola danced along. That was really the only way to describe how the little girl moved. She had her mother’s sunny nature. If there wasn’t music, well then Lola found her own rhythm. Abby reached forward, hugged her daughter close as McGee planted a kiss amid her raven curls, then let her go on her merry way.
“I like this song,” Abby told McGee as he put an arm around her.
“But it’s Dolly Parton.”
Lola’s adoration of country music was as inexplicable as it was fanatical. So in the interest of not wanting to ‘crush her spirit’ Abby and McGee had learnt to tolerate it, though they drew a line at yodelling.
“Yeah, I know … it’s kinda growing on me. Maybe I’m going soft in my old age.”
He kissed her “I guess we both are.”
Lola trotted back toward the group, triumphant at having found Gibbs and Ducky. She had latched onto them from day one, and for their part the older men doted on her like the grand daughter they had always seen her as.
“Lola, why don’t you go and sit with mummy?” Ducky suggested “Then I’ll take your picture.”
It secretly bothered Ducky that Lola’s name wasn’t short for anything, so he couldn’t naturally lengthen it. However over the year she had evolved various nicknames; so Ducky contented himself with ‘Lola Kate’, derived from her middle name. Or Gibbs’s favourite, ‘Lola Bug’.
Lola obliged, happily sitting in her mothers lap. Beaming at Gibbs, whilst he stood behind Ducky as the picture was taken.
“Can you take my picture too, Uncle Ducky?” Emily, Tobias Fornell’s ten year old daughter, asked.
Tobias was a senior FBI agent, but Gibbs could still be his friend. If anything Tobias was the closest friend he had, besides Ducky of course, so it had been natural to invite Tobias along to the party; and the others also enjoyed his company when he wasn’t ‘on duty’.
“Of course my dear,” Ducky snapped the shutter mid curtsey. Emily loved to make a little show for the camera, she felt ordinarily posed photographs were boring.
“Here, Emi” Tobias handed over the wrapped gift he had retrieved from the car. “Why don’t you give this to the birthday girl?”
“Ooh yay, presents, my favourite part.” Abby exclaimed. Possibly more excited that the girls, though she swore she’d only had one Caff-Pow.
Having torn off the paper, Lola hugged her new rag doll and gave Emily a dribbly kiss by way of thanks. The girls did not see each other as often as they’d like, but were still good friends. Emily almost thought of Lola as the little sister she had always wanted.
The other gifts were an assortment of toys, and more practical gifts. With the general consensus being that the adults appreciated the college fund Ducky had begun more than Lola would for a good few years. McGee had bought in the entire series of ‘baby Einstein’ DVDS, joking that they needed to start her young at being a geek.
Oh and the cake of course, or rather a tray of brownies with chocolate icing. Nobody quite understood why Abby had decided on that, but it worked. Lola was simply content to blow out the candles, and smear crumbs and frosting everywhere she could reach.
Then the rest of the afternoon passed in a blissful blur of dancing, eating, laughter and fun.
~oo0oo~
Some hours later, after the party. Gibbs and Ducky sat together on the couch, sipping whisky and sorting through the digital pictures on their camera.
“I swear Emily looks more like her mother every day,” Gibbs commented, without the usual bitterness he usually devoted to his second ex-wife.
“Well aside from her being blond, rather than a red head.” Ducky noted.
“May we always be thankful for small mercies.”
Then they came to the final picture, one that Emily had insisted on taking herself.
It was a group shot; Lola in the centre, star of the show, sat in Abby’s lap. Abby flanked by McGee to the left, and DiNozzo. On McGee’s side were Ziva and Palmer. Then on DiNozzo’s side Gibbs and Ducky themselves.
“What a sign of the times,” Ducky began “a little girl with her mother, two fathers, honorary uncle, honorary aunt too though I don’t suppose Ziva would admit it.”
“Not to mention the gay grandpas.”
“Indeed, we all make quite the picture.”
Gibbs considered the image more closely. The warmth, closeness and caring between them shining through. Their smiles genuine. All the strife, complications and history suspended for a moment in pure celebration of life.
“We sure do, Duck”
AUTHOR: Sage Harper
FANDOM: NCIS
PAIRING: Abby/McGee
PROMPT: 01. Celebration
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: 1,480
SUMMARY: After an eventful year for the team they enjoy a time of peace and revelry.
WARNINGS: Slight spoiler for Hiatus
NOTES: This is a prologue/introduction of sorts, to what will be the story arc of the rest of the fics for this challenge.
DISCLAIMER: All the good stuff belongs to Donald P. Bellisario et all, I'm just borrowing and will put them back when I've finished.
Gibbs didn’t think he’d seen so much purple in his whole life.
He wondered if one year olds even have a favourite colour, not that it mattered; because Abby had decided she did. So he just humoured her. Besides there was a chance Abby was right. Mothers know best, so they say.
“Jethro,” Ducky hollered as he walked into the kitchen of Gibbs house “oh, there you are.”
“Yeah, just topping up the chips,” Gibbs said, emptying the bag of cheesy corn puffs into a plastic salad bowl.
Ducky wrapped his arms around Gibbs’ waist.
“I know this is hard for you,” he said
“Oh really, have I got a neon sign over my head.” Gibbs quipped.
“Not at all, perhaps it’s only obvious to me. The children don’t know you so well.”
“Good thing too.”
“You’re thinking of Kelly,” Ducky said, as a statement rather than question.
“Ah hell Duck, not a day goes by when I don’t ... my life is so good right now. With you, and the kids, and everything; but then I remember and start thinking that, well maybe I don’t deserve it.”
Ducky sighed, holding his lover close. Gibbs had always been private person, only his lover knew the full extent of Gibbs’ grief over his late wife and daughter.
“The past can’t be undone, we all know that,” Ducky said “if anyone has paid their dues and deserves forgiveness it’s you.”
“You’re just saying that, because, I dunno. You should.”
Ducky frowned, perplexed
“Well yes, of course I should. It’d break the habit of a lifetime not to.” He took a step to the side, so that he could look Gibbs in the eye. “Letting life go on doesn’t diminish the past. I’m sure Shannon and Kelly would understand, and want you to be happy.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Gibbs kissed him “Thanks Duck, I don’t know how you always manage to say the right thing, but you do.”
“It’s one of my many superpowers.” Ducky picked up the bowl. “Now, let’s get back to the party.”
~oo0oo~
“I don’t know how you can eat that junk.” Ziva wrinkled her nose “It must be full of B numbers.”
“They’re called E numbers.” Tony explained, dusting the Twinkie crumbs from his lap “And I figure if they haven’t killed me yet that they won’t any time soon… Lo, sweetie, no, leave daddy’s beer alone.”
Lola Sciuto, the birthday girl, giggled and toddled on past. She was dressed in the deep purple fairy costume Tony had bought her, because he’d been curious to discover what ‘Goth baby clothes’ looked like so found the outfit at an online boutique and decided it was perfect.
“Tony,” McGee began with a sigh “I thought we’d had this discussion, about how you shouldn’t refer to yourself as …”
“Yeah, well I am,” Tony stated triumphantly. “And what exactly are you, in this scheme of things, Probie?”
McGee gritted his teeth, knowing it would be utterly inappropriate to argue today. He knew that the way things were, and DiNozzo just being DiNozzo, Tony would hold it over him forever. It had taken a lot of time and thought for McGee to come to terms with the situation, but eventually he had to put his emotions aside, let rationality win through, and was generally benevolent to DiNozzo. They had both made their choices. Tony wanted his freedom, the smorgasbord of willing woman. Whilst McGee … he had his own precious girls. So it didn’t matter really. It was just a name after all, and Lola’s boundless love could easily encompass two father figures, biological or otherwise.
“Hey, you all OK?” Abby asked, with her usual near unstoppable perkiness. Sitting down on the picnic blanket, it was an utterly perfect day for a garden party. Jimmy Palmer had noted they couldn’t have got a better one if they’d custom ordered it, as he stretched out in a deckchair trying to fend off Lola’s efforts to eat his glasses. Jimmy had never imagined himself to be ‘good with babies’, but he felt proud to at least be able to amuse one.
They all agreed that they were fine, better than fine. And McGee watched, with a smile, as Lola danced along. That was really the only way to describe how the little girl moved. She had her mother’s sunny nature. If there wasn’t music, well then Lola found her own rhythm. Abby reached forward, hugged her daughter close as McGee planted a kiss amid her raven curls, then let her go on her merry way.
“I like this song,” Abby told McGee as he put an arm around her.
“But it’s Dolly Parton.”
Lola’s adoration of country music was as inexplicable as it was fanatical. So in the interest of not wanting to ‘crush her spirit’ Abby and McGee had learnt to tolerate it, though they drew a line at yodelling.
“Yeah, I know … it’s kinda growing on me. Maybe I’m going soft in my old age.”
He kissed her “I guess we both are.”
Lola trotted back toward the group, triumphant at having found Gibbs and Ducky. She had latched onto them from day one, and for their part the older men doted on her like the grand daughter they had always seen her as.
“Lola, why don’t you go and sit with mummy?” Ducky suggested “Then I’ll take your picture.”
It secretly bothered Ducky that Lola’s name wasn’t short for anything, so he couldn’t naturally lengthen it. However over the year she had evolved various nicknames; so Ducky contented himself with ‘Lola Kate’, derived from her middle name. Or Gibbs’s favourite, ‘Lola Bug’.
Lola obliged, happily sitting in her mothers lap. Beaming at Gibbs, whilst he stood behind Ducky as the picture was taken.
“Can you take my picture too, Uncle Ducky?” Emily, Tobias Fornell’s ten year old daughter, asked.
Tobias was a senior FBI agent, but Gibbs could still be his friend. If anything Tobias was the closest friend he had, besides Ducky of course, so it had been natural to invite Tobias along to the party; and the others also enjoyed his company when he wasn’t ‘on duty’.
“Of course my dear,” Ducky snapped the shutter mid curtsey. Emily loved to make a little show for the camera, she felt ordinarily posed photographs were boring.
“Here, Emi” Tobias handed over the wrapped gift he had retrieved from the car. “Why don’t you give this to the birthday girl?”
“Ooh yay, presents, my favourite part.” Abby exclaimed. Possibly more excited that the girls, though she swore she’d only had one Caff-Pow.
Having torn off the paper, Lola hugged her new rag doll and gave Emily a dribbly kiss by way of thanks. The girls did not see each other as often as they’d like, but were still good friends. Emily almost thought of Lola as the little sister she had always wanted.
The other gifts were an assortment of toys, and more practical gifts. With the general consensus being that the adults appreciated the college fund Ducky had begun more than Lola would for a good few years. McGee had bought in the entire series of ‘baby Einstein’ DVDS, joking that they needed to start her young at being a geek.
Oh and the cake of course, or rather a tray of brownies with chocolate icing. Nobody quite understood why Abby had decided on that, but it worked. Lola was simply content to blow out the candles, and smear crumbs and frosting everywhere she could reach.
Then the rest of the afternoon passed in a blissful blur of dancing, eating, laughter and fun.
~oo0oo~
Some hours later, after the party. Gibbs and Ducky sat together on the couch, sipping whisky and sorting through the digital pictures on their camera.
“I swear Emily looks more like her mother every day,” Gibbs commented, without the usual bitterness he usually devoted to his second ex-wife.
“Well aside from her being blond, rather than a red head.” Ducky noted.
“May we always be thankful for small mercies.”
Then they came to the final picture, one that Emily had insisted on taking herself.
It was a group shot; Lola in the centre, star of the show, sat in Abby’s lap. Abby flanked by McGee to the left, and DiNozzo. On McGee’s side were Ziva and Palmer. Then on DiNozzo’s side Gibbs and Ducky themselves.
“What a sign of the times,” Ducky began “a little girl with her mother, two fathers, honorary uncle, honorary aunt too though I don’t suppose Ziva would admit it.”
“Not to mention the gay grandpas.”
“Indeed, we all make quite the picture.”
Gibbs considered the image more closely. The warmth, closeness and caring between them shining through. Their smiles genuine. All the strife, complications and history suspended for a moment in pure celebration of life.
“We sure do, Duck”