Chapter Three
The doorbell rang and Jethro put a hand up. “Fill Abby in, Mac, and you do the same. I’ll get the food. You ordered extras, right?”
Mac nodded and Jethro walked out.
“You okay, Abby?” Mac asked softly.
“Better. I’m still concerned. But after talking to Ethan, I’m feeling a million times better. I told him next time he’s up here that I’ll take him out to dinner.” Abby looked Mac up and down, obviously checking out her boss’s man. “I really owe you, too. You didn’t have to do any of this. You don’t even know me. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me and my family.”
Mac shook his head, blushing a little. “You don’t owe me a thing, Abby. Jet and Kel have been telling me about you for years. I’m just glad to be able to help out. Ethan is a good guy. He’ll get to your parents and keep an eye on them.” He sighed, stretching.
“If those were my parents, I’d be halfway there now. If it was Jet or Kelly, I’d move heaven and earth to get to them.”
He noticed her giving him the once over and turned around slowly. “Want me to bend over?” She gave him a confused look. “Well, you’re obviously checking me out. Make it easy for you. How do you want me?”
"Was I being obvious?" Abby wasn't a girl who played coy, but she wasn't often caught. "How you are is fine, if I need to see anything else, I can move. I'm curious though. Have any brothers? Don't have to be younger. I dig older men. You said parents? Are they still married? I don't play with married men, but older doesn't bother me at all. You're out of the question; boss basically peed on you. So brother, father, maybe even a cute uncle would do just fine."
He chuckled, dropping into the seat next to her. “Yeah, you were.” Her honesty was a change from most of the women he dealt with. Outside of Stella and Aiden most of them played games. “Parents happily married, Dad is a dead ringer for Paul Newman. Sorry. no brother or uncles, but I do have some single friends. Lot of ‘em. Up in New York. Always looking for good people for the NYPD crime lab. I run it.”
Her eyes widened and he cocked his head. “What?”
“Did you tell Gibbs you were going to try to recruit me?” Abby had applied with New York City’s lab before she had met Gibbs and decided on NCIS. It was a state of the art lab, but she had gotten several suggestions about how to look more professional. She’d never wanted a job if it meant changing who she was. “I like where I am. I may not have the title, but I run the lab. I have a great team. Now if you have friends who don’t mind driving down here, I’m interested.”
“I can handle Gibbs, Abby. Years and years of experience.” She would have been an asset to the lab up north but the politics would crush her spirit. “I might be moving down here, but I’ll see what I can do about getting some friends down here.”
"Friends would be nice. You would be nicer. I have some friends in town myself. Other lab rats who are looking for good people. If you're interested I can put some feelers out. I'll leave your name out of it of course. Can't have anything getting back to your bosses before you're ready." It was something Abby could do to thank Mac for helping out with her parents. If he wanted the help that was.
He leaned in close. “Are you flirting, Abby? Because that guy out there? I’ve been his for a lot of years. You’re beautiful and spunky, but you’re not him.” He regarded her for a moment. “I’ll keep that in mind, Abby. Not sure what I might do.”
“No, not flirting. I wouldn’t poach my boss’s boyfriend, I’m not that kind of girl.” Abby was naturally a flirt, but she honestly hadn’t meant to do that with Mac. She was just trying to let him know she’d like to help him out. “I just know people in town is all. If you want to do the same thing you’re doing now, I can figure out who is hiring. If you want to do anything in the forensics field, I have contacts. That’s all it is, you did something really nice for me and I want to return the favor.”
Mac gave her a gentle smile. “I’m not without contacts too, Abby. Wonder if we have a lot of friends in common.” He ran a hand over her back. “You’re young and cute. You flirt with me any day of the week.”
“Just protect me from Gibbs, not sure he’d like me flirting with his hottie.” Seeing as they both worked in the same field, they probably did have some friends or at least associates in common. “It’s kind of amazing that we haven’t met before now, just outside of Gibbs. You’re right we run in the same or at least similar circles.”
“He’s okay with a little flirting, Abby. It’s the hard press that upsets him. And in New York, there’s a lot of hard press going on. I don’t get to a lot of conventions or anything like that, though I write an article or two a year for the journals. I’ve seen your name before.”
“I thought your name was familiar.” Now it made sense, she should have put it together sooner. “I just play at my research papers. If something strikes my fancy, I research it. If I get bored with it, well… I’m not all that interested in fame and fortune doing anything more than what I’m doing now.”
“Those who work, do. Those who don’t, research. The rest of us working stiffs are far too busy to write papers with any sort of regularity. That’s your schedule, right? Or does NCIS let you go soft and get bored.”
“Your lab techs have schedules? More than a phone call saying I need to be in the office? Maybe that would hold some appeal.” She’d never leave NCIS, at least not at this stage in her career. But it was tempting, and a negotiating tool for her next review. “Maybe sometime in the future, I can spend more time writing papers, but for now, I’m happy to be one of those working stiffs.”
“They’re on call, but yeah, we have schedules too. Come to the dark side, we have better funding and better equipment.”
“You don’t have Gibbs. Professionally that is.” Gibbs had hired her right out of college, and she wasn’t willing to leave her boss anytime soon. “I’m sure the dark side has all sorts of perks I can’t even begin to consider, but I’ve got it pretty good too. I’m his favorite; I get more time off than anyone else on the team. All I have to do is ask, no one else has figured that out.”
“He doesn’t play politics well enough for me to steal him away, not that I haven’t tried,” Mac admitted to her. “And yeah, I know you’re his favorite. He really likes you, Abby. And I hear you work that to every advantage.”
“I have been known to work it, but he knows that when it comes time to really settle down and do my job, I will.” Abby glowed, knowing that Gibbs didn’t hide the fact from his partner that she was his favorite and that made her a little more important. “He’s really important to me too. I could have gone to Kate or even Tony but I needed Gibbs to tell me that it was all going to be okay. He’s good like that.”
“He’s calming, he’s in control. I understand.” He did. He remembered those dark days when Jet had taken care of him in the wake of 9/11. “He’s been there for me too, Abbs.”
"It's what he does. He's Gibbs." Abby had never been able to understand why she felt so comfortable with her boss, but she trusted him with her life. "It's one of the mysteries of life, I guess."
“It’s what he does. He picks up the pieces and makes sense when nothing else does,” Mac agreed.
"And it's one of the reasons why we both love him. Anyone who can make sense of my life deserves a medal."
“Mine, too,” Mac said with a sad smile.
He looked up as Jet walked in. “You guys fight about the rest but the sesame beef is mine.”
"But Mac, I love sesame beef." Actually, Abby loved most Chinese food, but being told she couldn't have some made it worth fighting for. "Can't I have just a little? I'll share whatever is there that you want from my plate. I'm a killer with chop sticks, I'll even feed you."
“One piece, but that is all young lady.” Was she ever a flirt!
“Thanks, Mac. You can feed it to me, and like I said, I’ll return the favor.” Now that she had cleared up the flirting issue and Mac knew she wasn’t trying to get in his pants, she was much more comfortable with this little give and take. “Gibbs might like to see you play with someone else. I promise not to do too much damage.”
Mac sucked in a sharp breath and quietly excused himself. That hit way too close to home and he needed to get his equilibrium.
Jet watched Mac go, sighing. “Abbs, I don’t know if I should tell you this but…Mac’s wife. We were all really close. Incredibly close.” He didn’t say more; she was smart enough to connect the dots. “She died on 9/11 and it still cuts him pretty deep.”
Especially with the hurricane coverage, Jet should have assumed that it would come back on Mac. Maybe that was why he’d come down on the spur of the moment. “Let me check on him, Abbs. Get ya a beer too.”
“I didn’t know, you said he was married but…” She had blown it, really put her foot in it. “Yeah, beer sounds good. I’ll apologize when he comes back. Or if he doesn’t come back too, I understand. I really screwed that up.”
“You didn’t know,” Jet deposited a kiss on the top of her head.
“Still, shouldn’t have just run my mouth off like that.” Abby waved him away, knowing that Mac was going to need someone who wasn’t her. “Go, take care of him. I’ll be here when you two come back.”
He found Mac in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, staring off into space. “Hey.”
Mac sighed. “Don’t know what came over me, Jet. Shouldn’t have left like that.” It still hurt so damn much. He grabbed three beers from the fridge and met Jet’s eyes.
“No, maybe you shouldn’t have. But Mac, we all have our sore spots. Claire is yours, and, to a point, mine. I miss her, too.” Jet knew that they both felt guilty about Claire, that they couldn’t save the woman they were both in love with. “Abbs, she’s feeling really bad. You might not know this, but I do. She never would have gone there if she had known. All I had told her was that you had lost your wife. I should have given her more information.”
“I know. It’s our pain, Beautiful Boy. I don’t need to own it all my own.” He looked toward the den. “She didn’t know and you didn’t have to tell her everything. It’s okay. Just this coverage brings a lot back.” He ran a hand over Jet’s jaw. “Come on, let’s get back to your Goth.
“I didn’t tell her everything. Just gave her a brief overview and let her imagination run wild. She’ll end up fantasizing herself into a tizzy by time we get back in there. She’s pretty much into self entertainment.” That Abby now had a new fantasy staring him was a little disturbing, but if it helped her get through this, he’d allow it.
“I should have realized that this would be upsetting you. It’s not the same but the destruction and despair is.” Jet knew how Abby was feeling, watching it on TV and not knowing what was happening. He’d driven up to New York, but he couldn’t allow Abby to do that. “We need to keep her mind off of things. I’m thinking we invite her into a puppy pile, and turn off the TV. We must have something around here she’d want to watch that isn’t CNN. Your friend, he’ll call when he has information. She doesn’t have to watch and see if she can find her family in the crowd.”
“Chinese and a puppy pile. Is this an anything goes sort of thing, Jet? Do you want to play with her or can you resist? Because I need you, Beautiful Boy. You’re sleeping at my side tonight, Abby or no Abby. And if I need you, we’re having sex, Abby or no Abby. She can watch; she can join in. Don’t much care, long as the timing and feelings are right. But Jet, we need each other.”
“If we tell her that, she’s going to want to join in. Mac, she’s great but she still is a wild child, and given the chance to go into something even temporary she is going to want to take it.” The thought of Abby in bed shouldn’t have been as appealing as it was turning out to be. “Let’s play it by ear. I don’t want us to make a decision and then regret it. With some woman we don’t know, it would be fine. Not with Abby.”
Mac shrugged and then nodded. “Let’s bring this party upstairs then. You get her and the food, I’ll bring the beer and my cell.” Beer and sympathy, it was a strange way they did things. “Give me two minutes to get comfortable.”
He went upstairs, undressing and pulling on some pajama pants and a T-shirt. Kelly had a bunch of movies here, including the last couple of James Bonds, and he popped one into the DVD player. Due to the crumbs in the bed problem, Jethro had rigged a folding table that went bedside and Mac put the drinks on it, then stretched out on his side of the bed and waited.
Jet found Abby staring at the TV, the food almost forgotten. “C’mon. Mac’s waiting for us in the bedroom. You’re going to get to experience a Gibbs/Taylor tradition, the puppy pile.”
“Do you invite every stray that shows up on your front step into your bedroom?” Abby didn’t turn away from the TV, continuing to watch the news report. “If you two want to go and do something naughty, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine here with Wolf Blitzer, he and I, we’re going to be very good friends when all this is said and done. You can go have sex and I’ll be fine down here, Boss. You’ve already done so much for me.”
“No, just the special people, the ones we like. And puppy piles are about friendship and good food not about sex. If I have sex with Mac, I know well enough to send you down here. Raised a kid, I remember.” He pulled her hand up. “Come on, Abbs.”
“Yeah, but your kid is warped.” Abby wanted to fight, to stay and watch the news, but she knew Gibbs wouldn’t allow that once he made up his mind. “Food and friendship. Sounds like something I could use, and two cute guys in bed with me. That sounds pretty darn good.”
“Too bad you can’t tell anyone.” Jethro helped her scoop up the Chinese, rebagging it. “Upstairs, first door on the right.” He went into the kitchen and got the cooler, putting in the rest of the beer and some ice, and towed it upstairs.
Mac gave Abby a nod when she walked in. “You want the middle? I’d kind of like him in the middle. That way I don’t have to reach over you to tickle him.”
"Oh, that sounds exciting. I can take the end, but I don’t mind the middle." Mac looked better out of the jeans he had been wearing earlier. Definitely didn't look all repressed now, his hair was a little mussed and it really worked for him. "Whatever you two are comfortable with. I'm just kind of along for the ride."
“Take the end for now then.” They’d fucked earlier, but hadn’t actually spent any time together. It had been raw primal need, not of the nudges and touches that might have been a little girly but worked for their relationship. And now Mac was itching at least for a kiss. And having Abby there, well, it could get him hard if he thought about it.
Mac handed her a beer, grinning as Jet brought the cooler in. “There better not be any bourbon in there.” As soon as Jet was on the bed, Mac playfully pinned him down, kissing him deeply, passionately, dragging his fingers through Jet’s hair and making love to him with his mouth, very aware that Abby’s complete attention was on them.
When they broke apart, they were both panting. “Been needing that, Beautiful Boy.” He traced a fingertip over Jet’s lower lip. “Ready to eat, you two?”
"Oh, I'm ready to eat, just not sure if Chinese is what I have a craving for." Watching Mac and Gibbs was hot, and Abby was having a hard time keeping her hands to herself. “Who needs chopsticks when I have hot men who can feed me and who I can eat off of."
Mac chuckled but his cock jumped at the idea.
"Abbs, that wasn't an invitation exactly." Jethro wasn't embarrassed, but he wasn't sure where Mac was taking this. He was very much in the back seat and letting his lover drive.
Mac cocked his head to Jet, smirking. He yanked his lover’s shirt off and speared a piece of sweet and sour pork, trailing the orange sauce over Jet’s stomach. “Never one to turn down a great idea.”
He lowered his head, licking the sauce off in slow sweeps of his tongue, breathing in Jet’s scent, the heat radiating off him. “You hungry for some sweet and sour, Abby?”
“I would rather have some of that sesame beef you want to hoard, but yeah.” Abby lowered her head flicking her tongue against the taunt skin of Gibbs’ stomach. “But if you’re willing to share the rest of your meal, and your man. I guess I can’t complain.
Mac chuckled, looking up at Jet. His eyes were hooded, the desire shining. Mac scooped up some sesame beef and paced it on Jet’s abdomen. “Go ahead, Abby. Have a taste.”
"Ohhhh, this is the best Chinese I've had in a very long time." Abby let her tongue trail over her boss’s stomach, tracing the muscle definition. "I get a six-pack on top of my food, not a bad way to spend the night."
Jet groaned when Mac started teasing his stomach. He was getting really turned on and having Abby here, her tongue dipping into his navel. “Mac…”
“Yeah?”
“Mouth. On me. No teasing.”
Mac chuckled. “Not yet. Gotta kiss the Goth first.”
Abby looked up and licked her lips in invitation. "Sounds like a fun new party game. Does that mean we get to play kiss the Gunny next?"
“Yeah,” Mac said on a strangled sound. The heat was radiating off Jet’s body; his body was firming. Ignoring Jet for the moment was a hard task, but he was up to it.
He cocked his head, looking at Abby, those scarlet lips and pale skin, her expression challenging. He moved in close, nudging her mouth with his. When she opened under him, he kissed her gently. He’d let Jet be the passionate alpha tonight.
Abby moaned. She hadn't expected to find this when she showed up on Gibbs' porch, but it was nice and enough to keep her mind off of other things. Pulling back, she grinned at Mac. "You have great lips. Soft and warm, but not all slimy. You're definitely kissable."
“Thanks, I think.” He kissed her again, more deeply this time, mouth moving over hers slowly. He took her hand and placed it on Jet’s abdomen, close to his hardness. “If you want to play, you can,” he said, breaking away from her lips. “He’s so sexy when he loses control.”
"You sure you want me to do this? I understand if you change your mind. I would understand if I couldn't share this way, with someone who you hardly know." When Mac didn't make any move to change his mind, Abby took it as consent. She hadn't heard more than a moan out of Gibbs, but she had to make sure. As her hand hovered over her boss’s cock, she looked up at him. "Last chance Gibbs. I'm willing, are you?"
“Please,” he whispered, eyes wide, body raging. This was different from Claire and they’d both needed that. “Take what you want, Abbs. Unless you’re scared.”
Mac chuckled, hearing the challenge in his lover’s voice. He yanked Jet’s shorts down. “Have a good look, Abby. Tastes as good as it looks.”
“Bastard,” Jet muttered, a chuckle in his voice.
“Your bastard,” Mac slid up, stroking a hand through Jet’s hair. “Let her work her magic, Beautiful Boy.”
Jethro just groaned, lifting his head, looking down at Abby.”
"Mom always said I shouldn't have dessert before dinner." Abby ran her fingers over the velvety hardness of her boss’s cock. "But I never believed that and I think that you're going to be a main course on top of dessert. You do like it on top don't you Gibbs?"
“Top, bottom, just stop talking and do something.” Seeing her so close, her fingers barely touching him was frustrating. He wanted and needed so much more.
“Like what you see, Abby?” Mac asked in an undertone. He knew Jet’s body as well as his own. He reached down, rubbing a fingertip under Jet’s cock head, right where the littlest pressure drove him crazy. “Tease him here and he’ll be leaking in less than a minute, especially if you pull it between your lips and flick it with your tongue then drill your tongue into the slit.”
“Don’t tell her all my secrets, Taylor.” Somehow he was naked while Mac and Abby still had clothes on.
“I like what I see. And what I’m hearing. Your secrets are safe with me, Gibbs. No one would believe me anyway.” Abby licked at the hard cock under her fingers, savoring his taste. “All of you is safe with me, Boss. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you.”
Jet chuckled. It was true. The only living people who knew about him and Mac were Mac’s parents and now Abby.
“Not hurting, Abbs. Feeling damn good.” He motioned Mac up for a kiss, closing his eyes and savoring this moment. For now, their entire world was within these four walls.
Chapter End Notes:
Say tuned for Book 2, which brings the action to present day and brings Tony in!