BACK FROM THE DEAD


"Well Tobias, I think that worked," Gibbs said, as he came down the stair to his basement.
"Do you think so Jethro?" Fornell asked, "I sure wouldn't want to do that again."
Gibbs grinned.
"Now that would be hard to explain – you committing suicide twice. Even our dumb mobsters would suspect that one!" he laughed.
Tobias joined in the laughter. He was leaning against the workbench, still dressed in his orange prison overalls.
"Here, I brought your clothes," Gibbs said, tossing a bag at Fornell's feet.

"Thanks, hey have you got anything to get this stuff off?" Fornell asked, wiping his face with his handkerchief, trying to remove the stage makeup still plastered over it.
"There's some paint stripper on the shelf." Gibbs suggested.
"I hear that stuff can ruin the complexion," Fornell answered, "Didn't any of your ex-wives leave anything?"
Gibbs snorted in disgust.
"I barely kept the house Tobias, remember," he said, quietly. He reached into his pocket and tossed packet of makeup removing wipes in the FBI agents direction. "Here, try these."
"You reckon these'll work?" Fornell eyed the packet suspiciously.
"I,know so" Gibbs replied, confidently. Fornell raised a questioning eyebrow.
"They're the same one's Abby uses" Gibbs explained, "Guaranteed to remove Goth makeup, should make light work of your death mask."

"It was good though, wasn't it?" Fornell asked, wiping his face with the wipes.
"First class performance Tobias" Gibbs replied, "Certainly fooled me."
"Not breathing was the difficult bit, I thought he'd see me breath."
"No chance" Gibbs took a wipe and gently cleaned away some makeup that Fornell had missed "He was out of that cell like a scared jack rabbit."
Gibbs reached up and brought down his 125% proof bourbon from the shelf and snagged two glassed from under the bench.
"A glass, I am honoured." Fornell commented as Gibbs passed him a glass, the last time he and Gibbs had shared a drink he had been relegated to drinking from the bottle once Gibbs had reclaimed his coffee mug.
"Well it's not often I drink with someone who's come back from the dead" Gibbs replied with a grin.
"Our mutual ex-wife excepted" Fornell replied.
"Agreed."
"Still think this place reminds me of a cell"
"Drink your bourbon Tobias."

END