“Come on, people, let’s get a move on,” Gibbs said, rattling off an address. “McGee, you’re with me. Tony; Ziva; Maggie; meet us there. Noah, the director needs to see you,” he paused, grabbing his coffee. “Get there as soon as you can, Diamond,” he added, rushing to the elevator.
Noah took the stairs two at a time, then knocked on Director Shepard’s door.
“Come in,” she called. “Have a seat, Agent Diamond, we need to talk.”
“Yes ma’am,” he answered, taking the seat across from her desk. She met his eyes, and smiled.
“Thank you for coming, I know you have a crime scene to get to,” she said. “I wanted to speak with you and Agent Sullivan openly about something. Gibbs would only let me have time with one of you in the middle of an investigation, so…”
“What did you need?” he asked, curiously.
“When you were first transferred here, NPID briefed me on the nature of your experiences with the preternatural,” she explained. He nodded in understanding. “I decided not to share that personal information with the team at that time. Now that you and Agent Sullivan have settled in and found a place in our NCIS team, I think it is time we disclosed the information to the rest of the team.”
Noah nodded, “We were under the impression the team would be briefed upon our arrival. I’m surprised you waited as long as you have.”
“I didn’t want to share your ‘secrets’, so to speak,” she added, “until I knew for certain you would be staying. Others may not realize it, but I am very protective of my team,” she said seriously. She paused for a moment for effect. “I’ll arrange a conference ASAP,” she said smiling. “Thank you for your time.”
“Thank you, Director,” he said, rising to leave. “Let me know if there’s anything you need.” He winked on his way out the door, causing her to laugh.
She shook her head, thinking of how well these two fit in here at NCIS. She had wondered if Diamond and DiNozzo would butt heads, but they seemed to have developed a grudging respect for one another. Maggie and Abby had struck up such a fast friendship; the rest of the team couldn’t help but love her as well. All in all, she couldn’t imagine better additions to the team than Noah and Maggie.
* * *
“So, things are going well with Tony?” Abby asked Kate. They hadn’t spent as much time together since Abby had been dating Tim and Tony was finally ‘seeing’ Kate.
“Oh, yes,” she said, her face glowing. “Except…” she said, mournfully “I’m trying to figure out when to tell him it can’t last forever.”
“Awwww, sweetie, come here,” Abby said, embracing her friend. “Do you have any idea how long you can stay?” she asked.
“It’s not like I have a guidebook,” Kate laughed. “I’ve spoken to others like me, and they tell me that once I make things right, it’s never much longer.” She shook her head. “It’s going to be like losing me all over again,” she said, thinking of Tony. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Aw, no it won’t, hon,” Abby said, rubbing her back. “I think the worst thing for Tony was that you never said you loved each other. Now you’ve said the words, you’ve talked through everything, you’ve made love…” she said, nudging her friend with her elbow and wagging her eyebrows.
“Stop it, Abby,” Kate said, giggling through her tears.
“I’m just saying, it will be easier this time, as long as you give him time to prepare for it,” Abby said matter-of-factly.
“Oh, sweetie, you always make me feel better,” Kate said, hugging her friend.
“Is this a private party, or can anyone join,” DiNozzo asked, entering the lab. “What’s wrong, babe?” he asked, kissing Kate on the forehead.
“We need to talk,” Kate said seriously. “Tonight,” she added, patting him on the thigh. “Get to work, DiNozzo,” she said, in her best Gibbs impression.
“On it, Boss,” he responded, stealing a kiss. He turned to Abby, who was watching them, smiling, with her head cocked to the side. “McGee is uploading some info for you and the forensics from the scene are here,” he said, indicating the bag he brought in with him. “You might want to hurry,” he added, “Gibbs is in one of those ‘moods’. Hopefully Ducky will have the bullet fragments soon, as well.”
“Thanks for the heads up, Tony,” Abby said, kissing him on the cheek. “Now get outta here,” she slapped him on the butt.
* * *
Maggie cocked her head to the side, listening. She had followed the suspect’s trail a long way, and had definitely located the house where he had been living. The entire place smelled of him. The house seemed deserted. She began wishing one of the others had been able to keep up with her. It was difficult to search a location on all fours. She was fortunate to find an open window. Her tail swished as she made her way from corner to corner, searching for some clue to the suspect’s identity. She heard a car pulling up outside. He was home, and she was alone. She made her way to the back bedroom and jumped back out the window through which she had entered. She made a break for the tree line; she would have to come back later with backup.
* * *
“Where is she, Diamond?” Gibbs demanded.
“I don’t know, boss” he responded. “When she starts tracking a suspect, I usually lose her. She’s very fast, you know,” he explained.
“I thought you had some way of staying in touch with her,” Gibbs said, frustrated.
“She’ll be fine,” Noah answered reassuringly. “She always is.” Just as he finished speaking the words, the elevator opened and Maggie stepped out, wearing nothing but a child’s t-shirt that said “Princess” across the front with the matching pink shorts. To say the clothes were too small was more than an understatement. Noah laughed out loud. The others didn’t know how to react. McGee and DiNozzo were openly staring, mouths wide. Maggie blushed, not bothering to explain.
“I’ll just go change…” She grabbed a change of clothes from her desk.
“Wait?” Gibbs said before she could go to the bathroom to change.
“Yes sir?” she asked.
“What did you find?” he questioned, frustrated at having to ask. Maggie blushed, again.
“I found the house where he has been living. I was looking for a clue to his identity when someone pulled into the driveway. I had to leave quickly to keep from being spotted. People tend to shoot first, and then ask questions, if you know what I mean,” she explained.
“The address?” he continued pulling information from her.
“Oh, here you go,” Maggie said, jotting everything she could remember down on paper. She included the address, the layout of the house and the make and model of the vehicle that pulled up as she was leaving.
“Good job,” Gibbs said. “Now go change clothes,” he said with a sideways smile.
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.