Later that afternoon, Allison smiles as she looks at her creation.
Perfect Chocolate Mousse cake with something special added to the mousse. At first Allison had planned on poisoning Gibb's and Leslie. But after giving the idea some thought she realized that Ari would appreciate something more sinister. She places the final cherry on the cake as her cellphone rings.
"Shalom Ari." Allison greets with a smile.
"Have you taken care of Gibbs?" Ari asks a bit impatiently.
"I am working on it." Allison says a bit annoyed by Ari's tone.
"I will be arriving tonight at 10:00pm." Ari calmly says.
"What? You said that I would have 5 days. It's only been a day." Allison says as she tries to figure out what to do.
"Well you have to do it tonight." Ari says.
"But it is already 4pm. That means that I will have to put my plan into action right now." Allison complains
"What is your plan?" Ari asks.
"I will go and see them at the hospital right now and I will……" Allison fills Ari in on how she is going to eliminate Gibbs. Ari smiles on the other side of the line as he listens to Allison.
Although Dr Johnson is reluctant, he agrees to discharge Gibbs and Leslie. Ducky, who has arrived back at the hospital promises to keep an eye on the two agents and to administer any medication that they may need.
"Abby, I need you to collect a few items from Leslie's place and bring them to my place and also stock up the fridge for us." Gibbs says as everyone goes stock still and stares from him to Leslie.
"What!" Gibbs asks as he glares back at everyone.
"It is just temporary, until my place gets sorted out." Leslie says by way of explanation.
"That means that I will be able to treat both of you without having to drive all around town. That's very considerate of you. This reminds me of a story I once heard about….." Ducky says thoughtfully.
"Ducky, later." Gibbs says effectively cutting Ducky's story short.
"Boss, I'll stay over at your place tonight just in case you need anything." Tony volunteers. "I'll stay too." Abby chirps.
"No. DiNozzo, Abby. We will be fine." Gibbs says sternly.
"I think that one of us should stay. What if something happens and Leslie or you need urgent medical attention." Ducky says as he nods his head. "Yes, one of us should stay." Ducky says thoughtfully. Then he looks up at Gibbs and says in a tone that broaches no argument, "Jethro either you stay in this hospital or one of us stays with you for the next few nights."
Gibbs just glares and accepts that this is the best he can hope for although what he really wants is to be alone with Leslie.
As Tony and Abby drive to Leslie's place to collect her stuff, they discuss Gibbs and Leslie.
"Did you see how he was kissing her when we walked in on them? Lips and hands everywhere!" Tony asks Abby remembering the scene they had witnessed when they had walked back into the ward.
Abby grins as she says, "They were pretty intense weren't they. I've never seen Gibbs so out of control that he was not aware of what was going on around him. I think that they are falling for each other and that is sooo sweet."
"Yeh, the only problem is I can not see Gibbs as sweet. To me he is anything but sweet. His Gibbs and his my Boss and with Leslie becoming so special and moving in with him, where does that leave the rest of us. I better still be the lead investigator on his team." Tony says with a frown.
"Oh, Tony, stop it. You'll always have a special place on Gibbs' team and in his heart. This thing with Leslie is about Gibbs falling love so don't feel so threatened." Abby admonishes.
"Yeh well, we'll see. Abby you know that we'll have to put our plans on hold for a while." Tony says.
"I know Tony. But we could still have some innocent fun while we're at Gibbs house tonight." Abby replies as she plants a wet kiss on DiNozzo's cheek.
Tony shudders as Abby continues to kiss down his neck.
"No, wait Abs. We can not do anything like this, especially not with Gibbs that close." Tony insists as he pulls into the parking lot and they proceed to collect a few of Leslie's things.
Once Gibbs and Leslie change into hospital scrubs, Ducky arranges for them to be wheeled out to his car. As Allison pulls her car into the hospital parking lot, she sees Gibbs and Leslie being assisted into a car by an older man. Damn it, what the hell is going on now? Allison wonders as she puts her car into gear and follows them. Allison keeps a safe following distance and pulls over a block away from where the other car pulls over. Then the old man assists the female agent as Gibbs proceeds to enter the house and switch on the lights.
"Nice place Gibbs." Leslie says as she walks in a bit out of breathe and leaning more heavily on Ducky's arm. Maybe I was a bit too hasty in leaving the hospital today. Leslie thinks as the pain in her side and back becomes worse.
"I'll be right back." Gibbs says as he makes his way to the kitchen and starts the coffee machine.
"Let's get you up to bed." Ducky says as he sees the strain on Leslie's face and he starts leading her towards the stairway.
"Ducky, could we sit down here for a moment." Leslie whispers, indicating that there is no way that she would be able to tackle a flight of stairs right now.
Ducky leads her to the couch and tells her to lie down as he starts to examine her. She is flushed and out of breath. Her pupils are dilated and her pressure is low.
"You should have stayed in the hospital. You and Gibbs are just too stubborn." Ducky murmurs as Gibbs returns to the living room.
"Is she okay, Ducky?" Gibbs asks his voice laced with worry, as he sees Ducky preparing a hypodermic syringe.
"I'm fine. Just a bit out of breath." Leslie sighs, trying to minimize how bad she's feeling.
"Leslie your blood pressure is down and you are in pain. So you are anything but fine my dear." Ducky says as he swabs she forearm and Gibbs takes a hold of her hand. Leslie grimaces as the needle penetrates her skin squeezing Gibbs' hand. "Sorry dear but that should relieve the pain and boost your pressure." Ducky says as he starts to pack his equipment away.
"Thanks. Now all I need is some decent food." Leslie says as she continues to lie down and hold onto Gibbs' hand.
"That can be arranged." Ducky says as he makes his way to the kitchen. Gibbs stares worriedly at Leslie. She smiles, whispering, "I'm fine," as he places a gentle kiss on her forehead. Just then the door bell rings and Gibbs makes his way to it wondering why Tony doesn't just walk in since he knows that the front door is never locked.
"Mrs Keys. What are you doing here?" Gibbs asks wondering how she knew where to find him.
"Agent Gibbs. I'm sorry to bother you. May I come in?" she asks.
"Sure. How did you know where to find me? Or that I would be at home?" Gibbs asks feeling a prickling sensation on the back of his neck. Her being here makes no sense.
"Oh, I called the hospital and they said that you had been discharged and Agent DiNozzo gave me your address." Allison lies as she walks further into the living room and sees Leslie stretched out on the couch.
"Are you Agent Burnett?" Allison asks as she approaches the couch. Leslie nods and Allison kneels next to the couch and says with tears in her eyes, "I am so sorry about everything that Samuel did to you!"
"It's okay. It's all over now." Leslie says as she sits up slowly. Something about this woman makes her feel uneasy.
Allison wipes her tears away and turns to Gibbs, "I know that there is not much that I can do to make up for the pain that Samuel caused you and your agents. But I needed to do something, so I made this Chocolate Mousse cake for you. It was meant for you to have in hospital as I know how appetizing hospital food can be. I hope that you will enjoy it and once again I am sorry about everything." Allison says as she hands the cake over to Gibbs and then makes her way out the door.
"Who was that?" Ducky asks as he arrives out of the kitchen with two cups of steaming coffee. Gibbs closes the door and places the cake on the coffee table and takes a cup of coffee from Ducky. Leslie smiles her thanks as Ducky hands her, her cup of coffee. The medication Ducky gave her seems to be taking effect as Leslie realizes that the pain in her shoulder and side has subsided and is only evident every time she moves.
"That was Allison Keys and she brought this cake over for us as an apology for all that Samuel did to us." Gibbs says as he sits down next to Leslie.
"Oh, that is a bit strange. I don't believe anyone has ever brought you a cake as a peace offering after you have killed one of their kin." Ducky says as he eyes the cake. "It does look quite appetizing doesn't it. Would you like to have a slice?" He asks as he stands up to get a knife and a few plates.
"Not for me." Leslie grimaces, "I don't think that my stomach can handle all that mousse."
"Me neither." Gibbs says as Leslie leans back against his good side and he kisses her forehead.
"Suit yourself. But I am a sucker for Chocolate Mousse so I'll just have a small slice if you do not mind."
"Go ahead Ducky. I hope that Tony and Abby are on their way back here with something more substantial for dinner." Gibbs says as Ducky enjoys a large slice of cake.
Back in her car, Allison calls Ari and says,
"They have been discharged from the hospital and are at Agent Gibbs' house. I have delivered the special cake. I will return here at 9:30pm and await your arrival. Now that they are out of the hospital, we can change our plans and make this much more enjoyable for you." Ari smiles as Allison cuts the call and drives off.
As Ducky finishes his slice of cake and he compliments how good it is, the doorbell rings.
"McGee?" Gibbs greets as he opens the door.
"Boss, Tony asked me to bring over the pizza's as he was sure that you and Leslie would be hungry." McGee says. As he steps inside the aroma of the pizza fills the living room.
"McGee that smells divine." Leslie smiles, glad that the food has finally arrived as watching Ducky eat the rich cake was making her feel nauseous. Gibbs makes his way to the kitchen and returns with plates and cutlery to find Leslie taking a bite of a steaming hot slice of pizza. Her eyes are closed and she moans out her delight. Gibbs grins as he sits down next to her and proceeds to take a bite out of a slice of pizza himself.
As they finish eating the pizza, Gibbs notices that Ducky looks a bit dazed. Ducky suddenly feels lightheaded and disorientated. His mouth is surprisingly dry and he can not keep his eyes open.
"Ducky are you okay?" Gibbs asks as he stands up and walks over to where Ducky is sitting. Ducky stands up and immediately collapses.
"Ducky!" Leslie shouts as McGee and Gibbs turn him over.
"What is it Ducky?" Gibbs shouts, as he removes the older man's bow tie and unbuttons the first few buttons of his shirt, fearing that the older man may be having had a heart attack.
Ducky stares at Gibbs for a second and manages to whisper, "drugged…… poison…… cake" and then he passes out.
"Ducky!" Gibbs shouts as he feels his neck for a pulse. He sighs in relief when he finds a strong pulse. Just then Tony and Abby walk in. Tony knows that Gibbs never locks his front door and so he does not bother to ring the bell.
"What the …." Tony says as he drops Leslie's clothes and takes in the scene before him.
"Ducky?" Abby shrieks as she runs forward placing the grocery bags on the floor.
"McGee, get Ducky to the hospital. Abby, analyze his blood and look for poisons and drugs. Also take a piece of this cake and test it. Get the hospital to do the same. Allison Keys brought this cake over and Ducky passed out after eating a slice of it." Gibbs says as Tony and Abby help McGee to get Ducky into the car. McGee and Abby rush to the hospital.
"Allison Keys. That means that she is involved. Boss we need to call in back up. She's hoping that you will eat that cake and pass out and then …." Tony says as he walks back into the house and tries to make sense of what just happened.
"Then she will get to us and maybe the one calling the shots will also come to finish the job himself. We need to get Leslie out of here." Gibbs says as he looks at Leslie, regretting that he did not send her back to the hospital with McGee.
"No, they are after both of us. We need to bring this to a close and they will be expecting both of us to be passed out. If I'm not here they will think that something is wrong." Leslie says
"Damn it, Leslie's right Boss. I'm going to call Fornell and tell him to get his men over here so that we can be ready when these bastards arrive." Tony says as he gets onto the phone.
"They need to be well hidden DiNozzo and they are not to make a move until we know that all the players are here." Gibbs warns and Tony nods his head.
An hour later, Fornell, Gibbs and Tony finalize their strategy to bring this case to a close. Gibbs is worried that Leslie might be injured again but she refuses to be taken away to a safe house. Just then Gibb's phone rings and he answers, "Gibbs!"
"Boss, Ducky is going to be fine. It was Rohypnol, the date rape drug that causes a blackout that lasts for between 4 to 8 hours." Abby says.
"Good work, Abby." Gibbs says about to cut the call.
"Wait Gibbs, McGee has more." Abby says as she hands the phone over to McGee and Gibbs waits impatiently.
"Boss, I've managed to trace the phone number and the caller." McGee says. "The line was cleverly rerouted through 6 different exchange systems, 4 of them offshore and then re-directed through…...
"McGee, the short version!" Gibbs growls with annoyance.
"Sorry Boss, the phone number belonged to Allison Keys." McGee stutters.
"So she was the one pulling the strings all along." Gibbs says and wonders how he missed that link.
"She must have thought that you would die in the explosion and that's why she led us to the factory on the outskirts of town. She might have succeeded if Leslie had not made a run for it." McGee surmises.
"Get me everything that you can on Allison Keys including all her phone records." Gibbs says as he hangs up and fills the rest of the team in on what they have so far. Then they proceed to set up Gibbs house for the final show down.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.