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.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Nigel has some thinking to do, after he has a theory and a call from Lily.