Friday

Three weeks after Carly broke the ice and invited Gibbs out to dinner, the entire team once again found themselves at Salvatore's Restaurant. The best place for pizza and pasta closest to the office and run by a true Italian that liked to see people eat.

"Can you believe that guy? He actually thought he could get a lie past Gibbs." Agent Lee was laughing so hard she could barely speak.

"No, what was funny was the look on his girlfriends face when Ziva warned her if she hit her one more time, she wouldn't be conscious for long." McGee added.

All but Gibbs were laughing at the foolish man that had tried to run a scam for "charity" to benefit the Marines. Sure, Gibbs was smiling about it but he still found it hard to believe the scam had been going on for five months and no one had thought to check who or what was cashing their checks. The only reason they caught on when they did was a family member of a fellow Marine wanted to know why they weren't asking for donations. The MP's were notified and for some reason called in NCIS to look into it. They had been slow so the Director agreed to let her best investigators do all the work. Within two hours Abby and Carly had managed to track the witless Marine to his girlfriend's apartment. In the end, the girlfriend had been the one to suggest the plan. Their only saving grace, if you wanted to look at it that way, was the Marine had kept all the money in a bank account, so every victim received full compensation for their aggravation.

Carly stretched and looked down at her watch. "Wow. 10:30 already? It's been fun, but I have to go." She told everyone and threw down her money on the table.

Abby stood as well. "We'll see you guys in the morning." When they started to walk off Tony asked, "You two are going somewhere without us?" All he got in response was an amused look. "You two aren't together, together, are you?" He tried again.

At that, Carly had to laugh, a low, sensuous sound that turned the heads of several men in the restaurant. Placing her arm around Abby she questioned him, "Wouldn't you love it if we were?"

Other men in the restaurant were nodding and Tony looked shocked. Gibbs smiled at that one.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

What Tony didn't know that Gibbs did, was that Abby and Carly were going to a party. The two women didn't even know he knew. The signs were all there: Abby had her hair down, Carly's was pulled back at the nape of her neck, Abby had her hooded coat and Carly had her plain black leather jacket. There was only one worry that Gibbs had and that was how much damage and heartache those two ladies would cause on a night out.

He was in his basement working on his boat when his phone rang. He grew concerned when the caller ID showed Abby's number.

"Gibbs."

"Gibbs, it's Abby." She said sounding fuzzy. "Carly and I are at this party and we can't find our car. Hey, I can tell him…."

"Gibbs, it's Carly. Sorry to bother you at home…."

"What's going on, Carly?" "Well Abby decided to mix her Red Bulls with vodka, don't ask me why I think there's a guy involved."

"There is not." Abby shouted at the phone.

"She's cute when she's drunk and indignant, Gibbs. Anyway, we drove my car and now it's gone. I thought Abby was calling the police, but I should have known she's call you first."

"Where are you?" Gibbs asked, already walking out the front door towards his car.

"That's the funny part." Carly started.

"Carly." Gibbs growled in warning.

"We're like two streets over from your house. Abby just told me this. We could walk over…."

"No. I can hear the noise from here; I'll be there in a minute. Go ahead and call the local PD so they can put out a report for your car."

"Sure thing, boss." Carly said and then realized he had hung up on her.

"Someone's gotta teach that boy phone etiquette." Carly said and dialed 911.

By the time the cop's arrived, the party had died down. Gibbs arrival put a damper on everyone's party mood. Abby had sobered up as she hadn't been too terribly bad to start with and was vowing never to drink alcohol again. Carly gave her statement to the police and Gibbs drove them home.

"Thankfully, I had my purse with me so they didn't get any of my ID's or credit cards." Carly was babbling, trying to keep from being nervous. Abby was safe at home, but she still had another ten minutes in the car alone with Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Once she realized she was babbling, she pressed her lips together.

Gibbs turned right at the traffic light and bit back a smile. Carly was nervous to be alone with him. "A 1967 Shelby GT500. What made you buy it?" He had to ask.

Carly rolled her eyes. "It looked good in the movies Gibbs." When he didn't respond, she added, "You know the remake of the 1970's movie where they boost cars."

"I've seen it." Gibbs informed her.

In surprise, Carly said, "Maybe you get out more than everyone thinks."

At that, he laughed out loud and Carly looked at him, surprised even more. Before she could comment, they were at her apartment. "Thanks for the lift, bossman." She told him, picking up the nicknames Abby used for everyone.

"How are you going to get to work on Monday?" Gibbs asked before she could jump out the car.

"Abby will pick me up."

"Good enough. Good night, Carly."

He waited till she was safely inside before leaving. And once more, he laughed at her reaction to his knowing about a "recent" movie.