Reading Material

Reading Material

***

Gibbs rubbed his tired eyes with the heel of his hands.

It wasn't actually helping the headache that was forming - damnit, where were his glasses? - but it was making him feel slightly more productive against the pounding behind his eyes.

It wasn't that the latest case was particularly hard, no more so than their others, it was just that he'd run out of coffee over an hour ago and the line in front of him was huge. If he didn't like their coffee so much, he'd be almost tempted to go over the road to one of the fifteen Starbucks in the local area.

Sigh.

He was going to be here forever.

Well, for as long as it took them to serve six people.

Which was an eternity when you were suffering from withdrawal.

He let his mind wander as he waited, thinking over the facts and the evidence and what was in trace and what was still being processed. The plethora of images, files and figures flew through his brain as the line moved steadily forward.

The annoying shrill of his cell phone interrupted his musings. He snapped the offending little device open "Gibbs."

"Heeeeeeeeeey."

Gawd. She sounded like a wounded animal on crack. "Abs."

"Whatchya doing."

"Standing in line."

"You hate standing in line."

"I know."

Silence.

"What do you want Abs?"

"Remember Rule #1 Gibbs?"

He does, but is relatively certain that her rule number one is very different from his rule number one. Women. "What is it, Abs?" Gibbs shuffles forward as another caffeine addict is giving her hit for the hour.

"Don't forget the Caff-Pow!"

***

He brings her the Caff-Pow that she requested and she let's out a girly little squeal when he hands it to her, jumping up and down maniacally while her pig-tails fly around like helicopter blades.

"I have a gift for you too!"

"The results of the tests you were running on that bullet I gave you?"

"Better."

"A hit on that print?"

"Much Better."

He has his coffee, does it get better than that at the moment? "What?"

She hands him a book, smiling happily like a pleased child trying to gain a parents approval.

A book entitled A Hundred And One Uses For A Dead Cat. "Wow, Abs, I'm…" Horrified? Shocked? Slightly scared? "wow."

"You like it?"

"Sure I do."

"It makes for great bedtime reading. You have the strangest dreams!"

He couldn't even imagine.

Actually, he could.

That was… concerning. "Thanks."

"You are most welcome."

"I should get back to work." Before I try and set this book alight.

"Me too. I'm all caffeinated up and ready to rock."

Gibbs left, book in hand, before she could put the stereo on and deafen him more.

As he waited for the elevator car to arrive, he had the strangest feeling that she'd just played some sort of joke on him.

***