"Kate guess what!" squealed Abby as she came rushing into the bullpen. Kate looked up, mildly concerned about how Abby was acting.

"What?" she asked, watching the excited Goth girl skid to a halt in front of her desk.

"The whole point of saying guess what is to get the person to guess," complained Abby, bouncing up and down on her toes.

"Fine, um…you got a new coffin?" she guessed randomly.

"Yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about," answered Abby, "Nigel's coming!"

"Uh, Nigel?" asked Kate. Abby sighed.

"You know the guy I met online, at that Forensics for the Freaky Forum. I told you about him, remember?" she reminded her friend.

"How can you be so sure that he's not some psychotic serial killer or something?" asked Kate, concerned for her friend's safety.

"I already had McGee do a background check on him," said Abby reassuringly, "He's a criminologist and forensic expert at the Medical Examiner's office in Boston."

"And he's coming here?" asked Kate.

"Yup," answered Abby, "on vacation. Gets here tomorrow, I offered to let him stay at my place."

"You did? You hardly know the guy!" Kate pointed out. Abby just shrugged.

"He sounded cool enough online," she said, "I'll be fine. I'm taking tomorrow off work to go pick him up. I figured I'd bring him by here if he's interested."

"As long as Gibbs is okay with it," said Kate.

"Oh, Gibbs Schmibbs, he'll let me get away with anything," Abby replied grinning.



Abby was waiting excitedly by the baggage carousel for Nigel to arrive. She had been careful to dress exactly as she had in the picture she had sent him, it was her favorite outfit anyway, a red plaid mini-skirt with a black skull and crossbones tee. Her four inch heeled boots were black, as was her petite dog collar, complete with inlaid stones between the spikes, which was careful not to cover up too much of her tattoo. Her pigtails bounced up and down with her as she rocked back and forth scanning the faces of the crowd for him. Finally she spotted him in the mass of people and began waving energetically. Noticing her, he waved back, and made his way over to her.

"'ello, luv," he said, giving her a quick hug, before stepping back and looking her over.

"Hey Nige," she said grinning wildly, and taking his bag for him. She loved the accent…

"You look well," he commented, smiling at her enthusiasm. They began for the exit.

"Thanks! How was your flight?" she asked.

"Oh, bloody boring, luv, but you know how it is," he replied. They got to her car and she tossed his bag into the back before climbing into the driver's seat.

"So, hows about we go by my place first, and then I have to get back to work, wanna tag along?"

"Sure, sounds like a plan, luv," replied Nigel smiling.


"So this is your apartment is it?" Nigel asked as they stepped through the doorway.

"Yup," said Abby, giving him the "grand" tour, "Through there's my bedroom and the bathroom, there's the kitchen, and obviously this is the living room. The couch is all yours, it folds out into a bed."

"You wouldn't believe how much I appreciate you letting me kip here," he said, setting his bag down on the couch.

"No prob, Nige," she replied, you ready to go?"

"Whenever you are, luv," he said. Abby found that he was really beginning to grow on her. His accent, his jokes, they were all so, well, attractive. She of course hid this from him, and they left for NCIS headquarters.

Chapter 2

"Wow," said Nigel when they entered Abby's lab, "Very impressive." Abby was about to respond when Kate entered the lab, carrying a tub of evidence.

"Good, you're back. We got a…" she trailed off, finally noticing the tall Brit, "Oh, hi, you must be Nigel."

"The one and only. And you are…" He shook her hand grinning in that smirky way that he had.

"Kate," she told him, smiling.

"Wonderful to finally meet you, I've heard so much for Abby," he said.

"Have you now?" asked Kate curiously, shooting a look at Abby.

"None, but good things," he assured her.

"Right…Abby," said Kate, finally getting back on track, "We got a case, a marine was found stabbed to death in a stolen car, parked in a public lot."

"Ooh, hinky," said Abby.

"Couldn't have put it better meself, luv," agreed Nigel.

"We-" Kate was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Gibbs to that lab.

"You throwing a party I didn't know about, Abbs?" he asked, staring pointedly at the pale man in his forensic's lab.

"Oh, sorry Gibbs, I forgot to tell you," exclaimed Abby, sweetly, "This is my friend Nigel Townsend. He's in from out of town, works as a criminologist and forensic expert at the ME Office in Boston. Nigel, this is my boss, Gibbs."

"Pleasure to meet you sah," said Nigel, "Abby speaks very highly of you."

"Right," said Gibbs, mildly impressed, "He can stay, but get to work."

"Thanks!" squealed Abby, taking the Caff-Pow! out of his hands and hugging him. Kate and Gibbs left the lab.

"So that is the infamous Gibbs," commented Nigel, looking after the older man.

"Yup," said Abby, rifling through the box of evidence, "He's not so bad. You wanna help me with this?"

"Love to," answered Nigel, rubbing his hands together excitedly, "So where I get the body and the bullet, you get…"

"Not much more than that this time," said Abby, once she had finished unloading the tub, "We've got the knife, our man's personal effects, and an unidentified white powder, found in the car. If you wanna see the body, you'll have to visit the Duckman."

"Who?!?"

"Ducky, our ME, one floor down, the door that says "Autopsy". Go see him, I'll start these tests," she told him.

"If you insist luv," he said grinning. She rolled her eyes and fluttered her fingers at him to go.




"Hello?" asked Nigel as he stepped through the doors into Autopsy.

"Can I help you?" asked Ducky, not looking up from the body on the table.
"Dr. Nigel Townsend, a friend of Abby's," he introduced himself, "I'm looking for a, uh, ‘Ducky'."

"You've found him," said Ducky smiling, "I hope you don't mind, but I'm…" he trailed off, gesturing to the open body with messy hands.

"Completely understand, I work at the ME Office in Boston," said Nigel.

"Do you?" asked Ducky, looking up at him with interest.

"Yeah, I'm the forensics expert and criminologist," said Nigel, beginning to enjoy the respect he was getting, being as, uh, different as he tended to be. Although, he reminded himself, these were the people who had hired Abby.

"And how is our fine Dr. Macy?" asked Ducky good naturedly.

"You know Garret?!?" asked Nigel incredulously.

"I know a lot of people…" said Ducky winking.

"Right," said Nigel smiling, "So how much do we know so far?"

"Well, seeing as you're helping Abby," began the elderly ME, "We know he was stabbed three times, but none of them were fatal-"

"He bled to death," finished Nigel.

"It would appear so, but not in that car-" explained Ducky.

"So the body was dropped there," said Nigel.

"Exactly, there was also an abundance of the mysterious white powder in his lungs; we're still waiting for a tox scan though," added Ducky.

"A druggy?" asked Nigel.

"It's definitely possible, we'll know more aft-" but Nigel's cell had begun to ring.

"Sorry," he said, gesturing towards the door as he pulled out his phone.

"Go ahead," said Ducky, turning back to the body. Just before the automatic doors swooshed shut behind him, Nigel heard Ducky mutter to the body, "Seems like a nice young fellow." He smiled.

"Nigel," he said, answering the ringing cell.

"Hey Nige," said a female voice.

"Jordan! What's up?" he asked cheerfully.

"Oh, nothing, just calling to see how vacation's going," she said.

"Everything's fantastic, met a bunch of nice people…" he trailed off.

"Who is she?" asked Jordan exasperatedly.

"Who?" he asked.

"The girl, you've obviously met someone," she pointed out.

"Have not," he denied.

"I bet it's that girl you're staying with, A-, A-, Ashley?"

"Abby," corrected Nigel, a little too quickly.

"So it is a girl!" she accused.

"How's everyone there doing?" he asked, changing the subject quickly.

"What's she like?" asked Jordan, changing it right back.

"Fun," he said, "eccentric, brilliant, spontaneous, Goth, but we're just friends."

"Right," she said, "well I have to go. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Would I ever? Oh, and tell Dr. Macy I met an old pal of his," he said.

"Okay," she assured him.

"Bye," he smiled as he hung up. How did she always know?

Chapter 3


"How's it goin' luv?" he asked when he entered the lab. Abby had turned her music up and was now spinning in her chair, sucking at a mostly empty Caff-Pow.

"Luv?" asked Nigel again, a little louder. Abby jumped.

"Oh, sorry Nige," she said.

"Not a problem luv," he said pulling up another chair beside her, "Find anything yet?"

"No, not a thing," she said, frowning, "The powder is thus far still a mystery, the knife is clean, and there's nothing on his clothes, wallet, keys or anything. What'd Duck say?"

"He most likely bled to death, but there's a bunch of our mysterious powder in his lungs," said Nigel, "What about his shoes?"

"Already checked," said Abby, "Nothing to help us find out where he's been." A machine in the corner began to beep, and Abby rushed over to it.

"Well, we've solved the case of the mysterious powder," she said, "It's a combination of drugs here, we've got meth, marijuana, cocaine, even a bit of angel dust."

"I don't get why people insist on taking so many drugs. That's bloody stupid," said Nigel.

"He must have been pretty insane after taking that lot," agreed Abby.

"Enough for someone to kill him?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said staring at the results and thinking hard. At that moment, Tony came in.

"Don't know wha- Who are you?" he asked once he caught sight of Nigel.

"Tony!" said Abby, head-smacking him, "Don't be rude!"

"'S alright luv," said Nigel, "Dr. Nigel Townsend, criminologist and forensic expert at the ME office in Boston."

"Right, Special Agent Tony DiNozzo," said Tony, shaking Nigel's hand and feeling rather outsmarted by the two experts in the room.

"He's here on vacation, we met online a few months ago," explained Abby.

"Oh, so you two are…" Tony trailed off.

"No!" said Abby and Nigel simultaneously.

"We're just friends," said Nigel.

"Right," said Tony, dropping the obviously touchy situation quickly and handing Abby a fresh Caff-Pow!, "So what have you got for me?"

"Not much," said Abby, "Our mystery powder is a combination of drugs though, cocaine, marijuana, the whole nine yards."

"So he was a druggy?" asked Tony.

"Yeah, that's generally what it means when you find a whole bunch of drugs in a guy," said Abby, exasperatedly.

"I better go tell Gibbs, good work Abbs," he said.

"Nigel helped too," Abby called after him, but he was already gone.

"Only a bit, luv," said Nigel, and Abby gave him a hug.

"But you still helped," she said.



"Hey guys, Nige and I are going out to lunch, you want us to bring you back something?" offered Abby as she and Nigel walked into the bullpen. McGee looked up interestedly, but Kate answered their question before he could ask his.

"No, we're good," she said.

"Okay. Oh, McGee, you haven't met him yet have you?" said Abby, "Nigel, Tim McGee. McGee, Dr. Nigel Townsend," she introduced them.

"Dr.?" asked McGee.

"Criminologist and forensic expert," explained Nigel, grinning embarrassedly.

"Well, we'll be off then," said Abby, and linking arms with a fairly surprised Nigel, she led him back to the elevator.

"Are they…" asked McGee, staring after them.

"Supposedly not," answered Tony.

"Right," said Kate disbelievingly.

"Supposedly not," answered Tony.

"Right," said Kate disbelievingly.



"So where are we going, luv?" asked Nigel, grinning and putting an arm around her waist. It was a risky move, touching her like that, but she didn't shy away. She was like a fizzy drink; he'd had a taste of her bubbly personality and wanted more.

"I don't know, it's your vacation, you choose," she replied.

"Whatever you want, luv, my treat," said Nigel, holding the door for her.

"Thanks," she said, "but that's a dangerous offer."

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"There are some pretty expensive places in town," said Abby, grinning.

"You are evil, luv." He grinned too.

Chapter 4


"Hey Abby, where's Nigel?" asked Kate, when she saw her friend enter the bullpen.

"Sightseeing," replied Abby, sitting down on Kate's desk to chat.

"So are you two together yet?" Kate blurted out suddenly.

"What?!?" asked Abby.

"You're so into him, I just figured by now you'd be together," explained Kate.

"Nigel isn't into me, even if I am into him," protested Abby. Kate's jaw dropped open as she stared at her friend incredulously.

"Not into you," she repeated, "Not into you! Where have you been? He's totally into you!"

"Really?"

"Well, yeah, duh! Exhibit A, he's always calling you ‘luv'-"

"He calls every girl that," interrupted Abby.

"Nope, only you. Hasn't said it to me once," said Kate.

"So?" said Abby, clearly in denial, "He's got a nickname for me, big deal."

"Exhibit B, did you not notice when he put his arm around your waist earlier?" asked Kate incredulously.

"Bu-" began Abby, but Kate cut her off.

"Exhibit C, did you ever wonder why he came down here in the first place? I say he's had a crush on you since you met and he wanted to come see you in person," she finished. Abby was stunned for a moment.

"Oh my gosh, you're totally right," she said eventually, "I gotta go call him!" Without another word she dashed off to her lab.



Nigel was roaming around the DC area on his rented motorcycle. It really made him miss his own bike. He meandered through the crowded streets, his thoughts completely on Abby. He felt his cell vibrating in his pocket, and pulled over to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Nige," came a familiar voice.

"Hey Bug, what's going on?" he asked.

"Word in the morgue is you've got yourself a girl," said Bug.

"Is Jordan spreading that around?" asked Nigel smiling.

"So it's true?" asked Bug.

"Well, I have found one, just having trouble wooing her," explained Nigel.

"Well, good luck with that," said Bug, "just figured I'd call and see how everything's going."

"I-" Nigel began, but someone was beeping in, "Love to chat Bug, but my Mistress of Darkness calls, bye!" And he hung up on him.

"Hello?" he answered Abby's call.

"Hey Nige," said Abby.

"What's up, luv?" he asked.

"It's just…I was…are we together…officially, I mean," she struggled to ask.

"Not officially, luv," he said with apparent ease, "Would you like to be?"

"Well…yeah, actually I would," she said hesitantly.

"Okay then, Abby, would you go out with me?" he asked, his voice hiding his nervousness.

"Sure," she said happily

"Good, it's settled then, luv. Would you mind if I came over there. DC's actually bloody boring," he asked.

"Sure, I could always use the help," she said.



Twenty or so minutes later, Nigel was back at headquarters. Gibbs had also arrived at the building at the same time. They both stepped into the elevator, Gibbs heading for Autopsy, and Nigel for Abby's lab. It was an awkward ride, with both men staring straight ahead of them, avoiding the gaze of the other.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you," said Gibbs coldly, not taking his eyes off of the wall in front of him.

"What?!?" asked Nigel, looking over at him.

"If you break her heart, I will murder you," repeated Gibbs, not looking at the other man. Nigel was stunned. The elevator doors opened, and he stepped out.

"Good to know," he said, looking back at Gibbs. Judging by his eyes, he wasn't kidding. Part of Nigel was touched by how much Gibbs cared about Abby, and part of him was nervous, with good reason of course. He tried to shake off this uneasy feeling as he entered the lab.

"‘Ello luv," he said and she looked up at him, noting empty hands, "You look disappointed to see me."

"No! I'm not disappointed," she said giving him a hug, "I'm just out of Caff-Pow!"

"Caff-What?" he asked, confused.

"Caff-Pow," she said, waving the empty cup, "I run on these babies. Everybody brings ‘em to me when they want stuff."

"I'll remember that, luv," he said smiling, "Find anything interesting?"

"No, we've hit a complete dead end," she said, "We don't have a suspect, all our leads came up dead, we're stuck." Nigel was examining the crime scene photos.

"What if it's a suicide?" he said suddenly. Abby gave him a weird look, "No, listen luv, what if, he was so high off of all of his drugs, he tried to commit suicide."

"But Duck said he didn't bleed to death in that car," protested Abby.

"Wait for it, luv. Then he failed, and O.D.ed," finished Nigel grinning.

"We got the tox screen back though, none of the drugs were high enough dose to kill him," argued Abby.

"Not alone, luv, but all together…" he said. Abby jumped up.

"Of course, you're a genius," she told him.

"I know," he said smugly.

"I gotta go tell Gibbs." She kissed him quickly on the lips, before running off, leaving him dazed, before he ran after her.


By the time he had caught up with her, she was already in the bullpen telling everyone his theory. He hung back, not wanting to but in, and watched as the team jumped to work to prove this new idea. He watched as Gibbs thanked her gruffly, and as Tony told her ‘good work'. She of course gave all the credit to him, only for her friends to insist that it was her great taste that solved the case. They all care about her so much, he thought. His cell rang, interrupting his musings.

"Hello?" he answered distractedly.

"Hey, it's Lily." The sound of her voice snapped him back into reality.

"Lil, nice to hear from you," he said, genuinely happy to hear
from her, "How are things going?"

"Oh, quiet without you," she answered , "How's DC?"

"Great," said Nigel truthfully, thinking of Abby.

"Jordan says you've met someone," Lily told him, her smile clearly audible.

"I've met lots of people," said Nigel slyly.

"You know what I mean!" said Lily, "You're not thinking of leaving us, are you?" Nigel paused, the thought hadn't really occurred to him.

"No…I-I could never leave the morgue, you know that," he said, sounding unsure.

"Good, but it sounds like you've got some thinking to do," she said, "Enjoy you're trip!"

"Bye," he said hanging up. He did have some thinking to do.

Chapter 5

When Abby got back to her lab, Nigel was spinning in a chair looking pensive.

"Whatcha thinking ‘bout Nige?" she asked, pulling up a chair next to him.

"Oh, nothing, luv," he said, putting aside his thoughts and smiling, "How's the case?"

"Great, all thanks to you," she said, "Duck was able to tell from the knife angles that he stabbed himself, and from the tox scan we could tell he did over-dose. So you were right!"

"That's wonderful luv," said Nigel.

"Yeah, the whole team's going out for dinner to celebrate, you'll come, right?" she asked, hopefully.

"I wouldn't want to but in-" protested Nigel.

"But you practically solved the case for us!" exclaimed Abby, "You have to come!"

"I…well, okay, but just for you luv," he agreed finally.


In the end they went to a local pub. Nigel felt rather awkward, like a fifth wheel amongst the group of tight friends. He sat back and watched them talk together, drinking and laughing. It reminded him so much of his own co-workers, of how many long nights they had spent at Max's after long cases and stressful days.

"Nige?" her voice took a moment to break through his musings, "Nigel, still with us?"

"What? Sorry luv got distracted. What were you saying?" he asked.

"We were about to leave, you coming?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry," he said getting up and throwing a few bills on the table. He grabbed his jacket and they walked arm in arm out of the pub.

"The night's still young," commented Abby, "You wanna do something?"

"How about a movie at your place," suggested Nigel.

"Okay," she nodded. Nigel hadn't had anything to drink, so they both climbed onto his bike, and rode to her apartment in the chilly night air.


Half an hour later they were on her couch, eating popcorn and, after arguing about which one, watching a movie. It was a mutual favorite, a horror film. They were sitting close together, sharing a blanket.

"I love you, Nigel," she whispered softly in his ear.

"I love you too, luv," he answered smiling. He pulled one of her pigtails playfully, and she threw popcorn at him. They settled back down, just in time for the climax of the movie. Abby jumped and let out a half-scream, despite the fact that she had seen the film numerous times. Nigel laughed at her and hugged her close.

"‘S okay luv," he said almost exasperatedly.

"I know, she answered softly, "you're here." Nigel didn't know what to say. They both remained silent until the movie was over. As the end credits began to roll, Abby turned the TV off. She settled back down against him, enjoying the warmth of his body against her own. He put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his chest. They sat like that, not speaking a single word, for what felt like an eternity. Finally, after several minutes, she sat up and kissed him.

Such a passionate kiss had never been made. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed back. She put all other thoughts aside and poured all of her love, all of the happiness he had given her, into that kiss. By the time they had pulled away for breath she was laying on top of him. She dove back down for another long and furious kiss, and found her hands fumbling at the buttons of his shirt. Unexpectedly he pulled away.

"No," he said, gently pushing her off of him and sitting up, "No, I can't do this, luv." She sat up too, looking concerned.

"What is it Nige, what's wrong?" she asked, looking up into his eyes, where she saw a mixture of confusion, sadness, and love. He met her gaze full on.

"I love you Abby," he began, "you're wonderful, brilliant, witty-" she tried to interrupt, "Let me finish," he said, "You have a great life, a great job, and great friends who care very much about you, luv, and I could never take that away. Being here, with you, and away from the morgue, has made me realize how much they care for me and how much I care for them in return," he was on a role, no stopping now, he thought, "In this day, this one day, three of my friends, of my ‘family', have called to see how I'm doing, if I'm happy, and truth be told, I am happy, with you, but it can't last. If we ever wanted something serious, something…long-lasting, I would have to choose, between you, or my family at the morgue, and if I didn't choose, you would, and I could never let you leave the people who love you. You mean the world to them, and to me, and I'm not letting you lose what you have here. This probably sounds clichéd, but I can't be with you, because of how much I love you," he finished awkwardly, not knowing how to proceed. Abby said nothing, stunned by this speech.

"Maybe I should just go," he said, his heart broken by her non-reply. He stood to leave, but she grabbed his hand.

"No," she said, "I understand," she pulled him back down onto the couch, "It's cool really, I'm touched, but…we can still be friends, right?" Her voice was hopeful, yet somehow vulnerable.

"Of course luv," he assured her, "I will always be here for you, always be your friend." The tension in the air seemed to dissipate once he had spoken those words. Abby smiled and Nigel felt a grin flash across his own face, too.

"Good…but why didn't you just tell me sooner?" she asked.

"I didn't wanna break your heart," he said, looking over at her, "and your boss said he'd kill me if I did." Abby began to laugh, and Nigel joined in. Things were going to be just fine…