Someone was wanting the order of stories. I managed to lose the e-mail for which I am sorry. So for everyone's information this is the order of stories up to this point.

DiNozzo's A What?
Abby's Lab Rat (side to What)
Chained and Chaffed
Unnecessary Roughness
Pseudo-SEAL
His Name's Not Jethro. (side story just before the fire.)
Scars In Bars
American Heavy Metal
Balance
Team Building.

Betaed by Jake and Jordre.

Chapter ten

Abby stared at the sky; there was a front moving in which meant cold and rain. It was summer but that only meant it wouldn't freeze, she hoped.

"Um ... excuse me?" Flower eyed the pilot.

Abby shook her head. "He can't hear you unless you put the headphones on, and I'd advise against that. If we have questions, it's better to ask at the SAR command center.

Flower nodded. She and Bright were seated in the back. Abby had called 'shotgun' the second she'd hit the door.

Abby put on the head phones and asked, "ETA?"

"Ten minutes or so. They really going to be okay?" Jeremy knew that the men were trained, but he was worried that they'd underestimate the mountains; even experienced men did that.

Abby replied, "Yeah. Gibbs doesn't take anything for granted. It's one of his rules. And he's had real survival training. Tony too. Tim and Jimmy have had standard Boy Scout-type stuff, but they'll follow Gibbs and Tony. They'll be fine. Bet they show up in ... how many miles is it again?"

"About ten or fifteen. The trail turns back on itself so much I had a hard time measuring. If they cut straight down the mountainside they can cut off about five miles. But I hope they don't ... good way to break a leg."

Abby kept silent as the pilot was beginning his approach to the landing pad at the logging camp.

They were soon down. Jeremy did his shutdown checks while the EMTs gathered the three rescuees up and did health checks on them.

Abby was fine. Flower's blood pressure was up a bit and Bright was a bit dehydrated. Otherwise, they were fine, if a bit dirty and a lot smelly. Abby admitted that, if she didn't get a shower soon, she was going to do personal damage to someone.

Bright went one way and Flower and Abby went another. The ladies were met by an older woman in flannel and jeans. "Hey, there. Name's Lucy. You look okay. Eat or shower?"

Abby moaned, "Shower, please. There's no way I could possibly eat when I'm this dirty. And clean clothing. I don't care what it is."

Flower nodded. "Oh, please. Shower. And something clean. I don't care if it's a jumpsuit."

Lucy chuckled, a rich, friendly sound, "Okay, girls. This way. I've got you all set up. We've got a slop chest that you can pick from. No bras, but there's a couple of packs of underpants. Shampoo is Suave, so's the body wash." She turned on the master valve which started all the showers in the communal shower room.

Flower shook her head. "I don't care if it's lye soap, just as long as I'm clean again. But ... what's a slop chest?"

Lucy explained that it was just a box of clothing and such that they kept for people who came up short. "It's mostly lost and found stuff. Good stuff that someone lost. We usually donate it to Goodwill at the end of the season. I washed it all up just a couple of days ago. Help yourself."

Abby dropped her pack on the floor. "We've both got clothing, but it's all filthy, so I'll be glad of anything. Thanks."

Lucy nodded at a door. "Laundry facilities are through there. I'll do it for you if you like."

Flower started to refuse but Abby jumped in with, "Oh, please. I'll love you forever." She started stripping off. "Oh! Excuse me."

Lucy laughed. "Twenty years in the Army broke me of body-shy." She eyed Abby's neck. "Nice tat."

"Thank you." Abby tossed the last of her things on top of her pack and stepped into the shower. "Oh. My. God."

Flower followed suit and Lucy laughed at her moan of pleasure.

Lucy just picked up the packs and took them into the laundry room. She hoped they'd be able to sort their things, as she was just dumping everything into a pile, sorting by need and loading machines.

It didn't take her long to realize that Abby's things were mostly military surplus or wannabe, while Flower had definitely civilian. She sorted things by washing requirements and loaded up the machines. She was going to stay close in case either woman needed something.

Abby wasn't worried about Flower saying something about her tattoos, she figured the woman had enough sense to at least keep her mouth shut. Flower did. She noticed but didn't look, in the way of people used to communal living. She asked, "Pass that body wash when you're done, will you, Abby?"

Abby squirted a handful out and passed it over. "Oh, man, I'm so glad to be clean. Amazing how much you miss the simple things. Like a potty."

Flower agreed, "Me too. I'm so not a bear. The woods are lovely, but I like a real ladies' room."

Abby started on her hair, remarking, "I'd settle for a military-style port-a-potty."

"True. Even an oriental squat is better." Flower finished washing, wrapped a towel around herself and went to the slop chest to rummage for something to wear.

They found things to wear, Abby grabbing a pair of jeans, Henley, and flannel shirt while Flower had to settle for jeans, a flowered shirt, and cardigan. Underwear was problematical, but Abby happily took a pair of boxers with skulls on them; Flower sighed over the choice of boxer briefs or tighty-whities.

When they were finally dressed, they went into the laundry room to find Lucy just putting things in the dryers. She looked them over and smiled. "Well, you look a hundred per cent better. Come on, I'll take you to the mess."

.

Meanwhile, on the mountain, Gibbs and party were trotting along at a good pace.

"AJ, we makin' good time?" Gibbs had his opinion but was, more and more, checking with Tony. Their skill sets were similar, with a few exceptions that made them a very well rounded duo.

"Yeah, real good. Let's stop just a sec so I can check the GPS and map. You do a compass and map and we'll compare."

They did their checks and came out within a half mile of each other.

Gibbs pointed, "If we cut that switch back, and that one, we can cut an hour off our time."

Tim offered, "We better look before we make a decision. If it's just a scramble down a hillside that a truck or something couldn't make, we do it. If it's really rocky or loose, take the long way."

Tony nodded. "My thoughts exactly. And while we're stopped ... Jimmy, time to redistribute your stuff. You're carrying too much for the pace we want to set."

Jimmy just nodded his agreement; he was beginning to feel the weight. "Okay, sounds good to me. I've got three modules that weigh about ten pounds each. If each of you takes one, that'll put us all at about the same load. But ... why don't we cache the whole mess, except for our fanny packs? Take only a poncho, food, water, and minimal medical gear. We're looking at three to five hours with the load, two to three without."

Gibbs smacked himself in the head. "Damn it. Stupid me."

Tony did the same. "Really. I'm so use to being in the asshole of nowhere that I didn't even think of that. We're within yelling distance of civilization, no one's going to shoot at us, and we're ... Here, give me that." he reached out for Tim's pack.

Tim and Jimmy both handed over their stuff, except for what they really wanted with them. Gibbs climbed up a tree and hoisted everything up. He tied it to a limb and scrambled back down. Then he carefully marked the location of the cache on his map, for later retrieval of their gear.

Jimmy asked, "What I'd really like to know is, why haven't they driven up for us?"

Tim answered that one. "Look at the excuse for a road. The base camp is probably out of operation until the trees grow back. No equipment. They came up in choppers or big trucks that can't get through. They were probably expecting a bunch of scared civilians, huddling around a scrap of fire. So they were ready to take us all out by chopper, not wheels. So ... let's put wheels under this bitch and go."

They took off again, taking only about five pounds of gear; a bit of food and water, maps and such, and dry socks. They also kept their ponchos with liners.

None of them even thought about the distance as being too far, or too hard. The only easy day was yesterday, and tomorrow was going to be a bitch. So they trotted on, taking shortcuts, after looking them over carefully and checking with both maps to be sure they weren't going toward a cliff.

They were about halfway down the mountain when it started raining, cold, drizzly stuff that crept down their necks despite the poncho hoods.

Gibbs eyed the sky and said, "Well, thank you so much."

Tony, Tim, and Jimmy silently agreed. But they kept up the pace.

The only problem occurred when they took one of the agreed-upon shortcuts. It turned out to be very slick in one place and they all fell. Or rather, Jimmy fell and took the rest of them with him, bowling ball style.

He'd been at the end of the line which put him highest on the hill. He slipped in a small summer spring and fell into Tim, Tim fell and slid into Tony, who flailed a bit then slid on his ass right into Gibbs. They all wound up at the base of the hill, laughing their asses off. They were muddy and soaked, but no one was hurt beyond some bruised dignity. They scrambled to their feet, checked their GPS and maps, and headed off again.

.

Abby was happy to find that the mess was filled with people. Most of the men and women who'd come up to do a foot search were still here, waiting for transport back down the mountain. She and Flower were greeted with whistles and cheers. Abby bowed, smiling, then went to the line to get some breakfast. The people offered to let her jump the line but she refused, saying, "No, thanks. You've all come up here to help me; I can wait. Just don't eat it all." This was met with laugher by the group.

Flower didn't see any reason to wait and calmly jumped the line, earning herself a look from Abby. She took her tray and went to sit down; people moved around so she could have a chair at the main table.

Abby, on the other hand just found an empty place at a side table and asked, "Can I sit here?"

"Sure. Park it." The man smiled at her then offered, "Don't worry about your friends. Too bad we can't get up the mountain for them, but they'll be okay until the weather clears."

Abby smiled around a mouthful of pancakes. She chewed and swallowed, then told the ranger, "I'm not. They'll be down before we know it. I'm expecting them in less than four hours. The only reason we were going so slow was Flower, Bright, and I aren't in shape to travel fast in any terrain. They're all SEALed up." At the ranger's puzzled look she explained. "Not sealed like ... like seal a box. SEAL like Navy. Only, Gibbs is a Marine, retired, but still."

The whole table had been hanging on her explanation. You could see shoulders relax and worried expressions fade away.

"Well, now, that's good to hear. If they're all trained, they really have it made. I bet they're holed up somewhere, warm and dry, waiting for us to come get them. We're bringing up some ATV's; that road is more overgrown than road."

Abby got a look at his name tag then said, "Ranger Wilson, they'll be here in less than four hours. I bet. They're not going to sit around to be rescued, no offense to you; they'll rescue themselves and look very satisfied about it."

The conversation continued while Abby made friends with the whole table.

Flower, on the other hand, thought the men at her table were very standoffish, the women as well. She was just too 'city' for the people. They were polite, made sure she had what she needed, but kept their distance a bit. She'd started out by complaining about the heavy food, wanting fruit and tea, instead of what was offered. She soon shut up, not knowing how to fix what she'd inadvertently broken.

Bright, who was also sitting at the table, eating bacon and eggs, just sighed. He had had hope for Flower but it seemed she hadn't really learned anything. She'd just taken hints from him, or Abby, and gone along to get along, as the saying went.

He shook his head sadly, some people would never learn, but he had her notes and his. She'd already begun redacting hers, but he could read that shiny ink through the marker. It just made him sad.

The man sitting next to Bright patted his shoulder. "It'll be okay. Don't worry. She'll either think about whatever it is and get over it, or she'll wind up marginalized. You'll see to that, I think." He reached down the table. "Have some more coffee."

Bright nodded. "I'm going to have a bit of a conversation with my supervisor, then another with NCIS HR people. Hell will be raised. Things will change." He smiled. He was the senior trainer and his word carried weight. Not a whole lot, but, he hoped, enough.

He returned to his food with a slight smile. He was hoping for great things; he'd be satisfied with change.

They were soon ready for their drive down the mountain via a company van. Bright and Flower were glad to go. Abby flatly refused, returning to the mess hall instead. She was a bit disgusted to realize that both Bright and Flower hadn't thanked anyone for doing their laundry. She scrupulously thanked Lucy for her clean clothing then tucked everything back away.

.

A few people were hanging around out in the lumber yard, waiting for a way back, or just gossiping. One man raised his head then yelled, "Everyone ... shut up! I hear something."

It was faint and indistinguishable, but definitely human voices, chanting or singing something.

As they came closer, the chant changed but it was still hard to understand.

Finally a man said, "My God, they're singin' cadence. What the ...?"

Abby popped out the door, cheering madly.

Just then, the group of men topped the crest of the ridge and began the descent to the camp.

They were moving faster than anyone would have thought possible, unless they were Spec Ops of some sort.

It wasn't long before they marched right up to the porch of the mess. Tony called, "Hey! Anyone looking for us?"

They were immediately swarmed by EMTs, Sheriff's Deputies, and Rangers.

Tony tried to resist the man who insisted on pulling his shirt off but failed when Gibbs smacked his hands and said, "Just go with it. They see what they see."

He shrugged to help the EMT get his shirt off while saying, "Okay, okay. But no puking ... seriously."

The man who'd pulled off Tony's shirt gulped and whispered, "Oh, shit." His partner poked him and shook his head. There were a few gasps as people got a good look but no one said anything and Tony ignored them.

Tim just grumbled, "If you take it off, it's staying off until I get a shower. And could we maybe take this inside, it's gonna rain again." This was supported by renewed drizzle. The EMTs dragged everyone into the mess.

Abby trotted behind, grinning. She crowed, "See! I told you." Several people agreed that, yes, she had told them.

Each man was taken to a table then surrounded by an EMT team who did a quick assessment. The general diagnosis was; wet, muddy, hungry, and tired. The cure was prescribed as: shower, dry clothing, and lots of food.

One of the rangers took the four men to the shower room and offered them the slop chest.

Tony just dropped the shirt and blouse he'd been holding and started stripping off, Gibbs, Tim, and Jimmy joined him. The whole pile of clothing disappeared, as one of the men had just announced, "I'm taking all your shit to wash. Any objections, holler now." No one hollered, so he took everything in a huge basket and went to do wash, military style.

They were just finishing their showers when they heard Remy yell, "I don't give a flying fuck. Where is he, damn it?" followed by rapid footsteps.

Remy charged into the showers, grabbed Tony in a bear hug and announced, "I don't give a damn how womanish I look. You're not so much as takin' a shit without me there to smell it. Seriously."

Tony pushed him off gently. "Okay, man, okay. Just let me get dry and dressed."

Remy gave Tony a towel with a sheepish expression on his face. "Well, okay. But ... really ... fuckin' crashed? How the hell do you get yourself into this shit?"

"No idea. Just lucky, I guess." Tony laughed lightly but his expression told its own tale.

Dean and Cosmo were also there, standing by for their turn. After manly hugs all around they went to the mess.

Since Abby had alerted them that showers were over, the cooks were at their stations, ready to make more food. Since the breakfast service was over they'd agreed to 'burn to order'.

Tony eyed the different stations, said, "Yes, please," and waited.

One of the cooks started waffles, while another asked, "Eggs?"

Tony just grinned and said, "Over easy, if it's no trouble."

It wasn't and he was soon served with eggs, bacon, sausages, waffles with syrup and butter, hash browns and biscuits.

The cooks realized, as they made Tony's food, that no one was going to be particular, so they just made massive amounts of everything and started serving. They didn't even make them go through the serving line, they just brought everything to the table in big stainless steel pans.

Gibbs sat at the head of the table; everyone else settled along the table and waited. Gibbs served himself then handed the pan to his right. "Pass it back and forth across the table. I do not want Tim and Cos shorted." He grinned at Abby. "You, on the other hand..."

No one said anything much about that, it was one of Gibbs' standard warnings. No one took offense and no one took more than their fair share. They could always get more if they wanted it.

Tony moaned softly. "Did not realize how much I missed eggs. Man these are good."

Gibbs broke his own rule and mumbled around a mouthful of sausage. "And toast. Gimme." He held out a hand for the plate of toast that was making the rounds.

One of the cooks brought yet another plate of toast, along with a huge jar of grape jelly. "Forgot the jelly. Here you go." He put it down and got himself out of the way of the grabs for the jar.

Tony got it first and dug out a spoonful; he plopped it on his plate then passed the jar across the table. Everyone took some, with a bit of an argument between Dean and Cosmo about who ate more.

The jar made a second pass when the cook's helper brought out a tray of biscuits. The butter was in a large crock and they emptied that too.

It wasn't long before the food was all gone. The cooks folded up the kitchen and turned off the stoves and ovens. The head announced, "Okay, people, kitchen is closed. Everyone find transport back down the mountain." He then went to lock the back door and do his checklist.

Tony leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Well, that was good." He stood up easily. "Let's get our asses off this fuckin' mountain."

As they were headed out the door a man called, "I got your stuff, where do you want it?" It turned out that he'd ridden his ATV down from the top camp and gotten their stuff on the way down.

Gibbs thanked him and said, "Just dump it in a pile, we'll sort it in a few."

They joined a line just outside the main office and found out that people were being taken down the mountain in Kaiser Jeep M35A2's, referred to as deuce and a half's― each truck was capable of carrying two and a half tons of cargo, or thirty-five passengers. It was the sort of truck every army movie ever called a troop carrier.

As the company seemed to have sent every truck in the state, they were soon on their way down the mountain. They'd refused the offer of a chopper ride as wasteful of fuel and air time. It would also have meant they'd have had to wait breakfast; everyone had agreed that breakfast was more important.

The ride down the mountain was accomplished in short order.

Tony hopped out of the tailgate and started handing packs out. Gibbs took his with a grin. Abby gave a silly curtsey. The rest of the group just took their packs and lined up.

Tony nodded. "Okay. Let's get the flock out of here."

Abby eyed the crowd at the Ranger Station with disfavor. "Is there some way to avoid all that? I want to go home." She was whining and didn't care one bit.

Gibbs glanced around then pointed. "There. Let's go." He led the way to a side door of the station and knocked.

It popped open quickly and a ranger let them right in, saying, "Get in, quick. Don't blame you for not wanting anything to do with that goat rope."

Tony shrugged. "We just want to get home to DC. Help a fella out?"

The ranger nodded. "Sure. We're just glad to see you back down the mountain. Any idea what the hell happened?"

Tim shook his head. "Nope. And no hope of finding out without our phones."

Ranger Davis shook his head. "I heard about that bit of stupidity. What the fuck were you thinking?"

Jimmy answered that one. "That Director Vance threatened all our jobs if we didn't cooperate. Last time anyone gets my phone ... or my gun. Lucky we didn't have to turn them over too. Stupid, ass-kissin', squirrel-huggin' jackwad."

Gibbs blinked for a second while Remy asked, "Vance or one of those Life Style Advisors?"

Tim interjected, "Either, both, don't give a fuck."

They had reached the Head Ranger's office by now. He was snickering a bit as the hall had echoed like crazy. Their complaints had been heard all over the building, as none of them had bothered to keep their voices down.

They grumbled a bit more, with Tim describing Flower and Bright, rather unkindly, as passive-aggressive PC Nazis and tree-hugging, squirrel-kissing dingbats.

Remy added 'flaming liberal craptards,' and Cosmo offered, 'Head-up-ass liberal anal-retentive jackwad'.

Abby managed, 'entitled, self-satisfied numbskulls' before they all started laughing.

.

Ranger Martin took the call with relief and called the phone tree to let everyone know that the group was all safe. He was also happy to hear that they were all in good spirits. He wasn't that happy to hear that they were avoiding the press. That meant that he had to make a statement.

He sat down to write up a statement. He'd read it to the radio over the telephone and hope it would be good enough. He doubted that. There was way too much publicity, but he did think having anyone in that group of men on TV wasn't a good idea. He decided to include the fact that they needed their appearance kept secret in case they needed to go undercover again.

The radio station was very happy to cooperate with the rangers on the whole thing, since they'd been granted an exclusive. The TV stations weren't that happy, but settled for the hourly anchors reading the statement then discussing the whole thing to death.

.

Gibbs eyed Tony. "Okay, AJ, how the hell do we get out of here without getting mobbed? I hate reporters." He peeked out the window at the milling crowd.

Remy thought for a moment then said, "We just walk out the back. There's a bus there. I bet we can get the Rangers to drive us somewhere."

It didn't take long to make arrangements with the local airport for an airtaxi to take them to Helena. From there, they'd get military transport back to DC.

Abby bitched and moaned about the lack of facilities on the C-130. Tony snickered then said, "Yeah, it's bad, but think about this ... there's no bushes in the Sandbox ... or the Rockpile."

Abby snorted. "I know there's some."

Remy laughed, "Very damn few. And they're usually booby trapped."

There was general laugher and some comments that led to Abby pouting, for about two minutes.

Tony went off into the depths of the airport. He returned about ten minutes later to say that they were lucky, in one way: they had a ride. But it wasn't leaving for four hours. So they did what everyone military did on a layover: they slept.

It didn't take them long to get to the hangar where they were to board. Tony spoke with someone, then led the way to a corner. "We can flop here until takeoff."

Gibbs got out his sleeping bag and spread it on the floor; Tony put his on top of it. Remy opened his and held it in his hands while Gibbs flopped down on the doubled bags. Abby watched this with interest. Gibbs patted the bags, "Abby. Here." She stripped off her boots and lay down beside him, snuggling up happily.

Tony took Abby's other side, then Remy lay down next to him, tugging the other bag over them.

Tim and Jimmy doubled their bags and lay down on that with Dean and Cosmo. They covered with another sleeping bag. They all used their packs as pillows. Ignoring the clatter and chatter from around them, they slept until their flight was called.

"Excuse me, sirs. Excuse me, you need to wake up." The loadmaster kicked Gibbs' feet gently.

Gibbs opened one eye, reholstered his sidearm and jabbed Tony in the ribs. "AJ."

Tony groaned, "Awake. I am. Really."

Everyone got up and started putting up their sleeping bags. The loadmaster politely ignored having a 9mm pointed at him and said, "When you're done you can board. There's no other pax on this run until St. Louis. We might be rerouted to Chicago, but I doubt it. Need anything like the head or anything, do it now." He hurried off to finish his duties.

Abby sighed, "I'm going. How long is the flight?"

Tim frowned. "About five ― six hours, since we're stopping once. Unless we get rerouted."

Jimmy scowled, "Why aren't there more passengers?"

Remy shrugged. "Who knows? We're goin' the wrong way? No one wants to ride with the load, whatever it is."

Cosmo nodded. "It's all good. Plenty of floor to stretch out on. No one trippin' over your feet."

Dean nodded. "Too right."

They were interrupted by a voice yelling, "Get your fuckin' asses on board."

They shouldered their packs and trotted to the door. Tony boosted Abby up and the rest of them just made a long step into the doorway. An airman pointed, "Put your shit there. We've got 12 web seats set up, take your pick. Be ready for taxi and takeoff in ten." He saluted, then hurried off to do something or other.

Tony just kicked his bag under a seat and plopped down. The rest followed suit, except for Abby who had to investigate the seat. She was settled in place by a voice yelling, "Ma'am, sit the fuck down. We can't taxi until you do."

Abby just jumped up, waved to the man and sat down. Gibbs helped her fasten her seat belt. They began taxiing the second she was settled.

Abby loved flying, as a general rule; she did not like tourist class. When she flew, she paid the difference between business class, which NCIS would pay for, and first class. This, however, was entirely different. "Yay! We're in the air. But ... I didn't get to potty before we left."

Gibbs eyed her with disgust. "What the hell, Abs. You went before we left the terminal."

"Doesn't make any difference, takeoff always makes me have to go." Abby fished around in her ruck for a bit. "Ok, now all I need is a corner." She waved her Biffy, then trotted off to find a corner. An airman pointed to a spot behind a pallet then stood between Abby and the main part of the hold. When she was finished, he held a bio-hazard bag open for her to 'make her deposit'. "Thanks so much." Abby grinned at the airman.

Airman Jones decided to just ask. "Ma'am, who are those men?"

Abby pointed and explained who everyone was. "We crashed in the middle of WTHC. It's a long story. Now we're headed back to DC. Coffee?"

Airman Jones grinned. "SEALs and a Marine, plus three feds? You bet. Be about fifteen."

"Come get me when it's time and I'll help you carry it. Bet they're asleep as soon as they have a cup." Abby trotted back to her seat, pigtails bouncing.

While Abby had been taking care of business, Gibbs had settled back in the web seat, belts fastened, and gone to sleep. Tony and Remy were also asleep, leaning on each other like kids. Cosmo was reading a paperback that he'd bought in the terminal. Tim and Jimmy were frankly sacked out, stretched out across the aisle; Dean had disappeared. Abby wasn't too worried, he couldn't go far.

It wasn't long before Dean returned, flopped down by Cosmo and started snoring.

Abby shook her head. She wondered how the hell they could all snore like asthmatic truck drivers, except for Gibbs, and not get themselves killed. She decided it didn't matter, they managed. She didn't realize that they only fell that deeply asleep when they felt safe.

Airman Jones nodded to his buddy to go ahead of him, seeing a gun pointed at his sergeant's face was too close for him. They carried the coffees in cardboard trays, all black, with packets of sugar and powdered creamer on the side.

This wasn't something that was usually done, but the complement of pax was so small that it didn't seem fair to take coffee to the cockpit crew and leave everyone else out.

Abby nodded to the men. "I'll wake Gibbs, just give me a sec." She accomplished this by poking him in the thigh with her toe. "Gibbs. Coffee."

Gibbs sat up, held out a hand, accepted a cup and settled in his seat. "Thanks."

The two airmen handed around coffee then went into the cockpit to give the last of the cups to the flight crew. Everyone settled in a seat to drink their coffee, enjoying the hot drink and a chance to relax.

After coffee everyone went back to sleep, Abby included. She just flopped down between Dean and Tony and curled up. Gibbs tossed a blanket over the three of them then put his feet on the seat across the aisle and nodded off himself. One of the airmen told his friend, "They look like a pile of puppies."

His friend replied, "If the puppies are Rottweilers. I'm not wakin' them up. You do it."

"Bet when the time comes we don't have to."

And they didn't. They landed in St. Louis, only to find that the plane was rerouted to Dallas, TX. Tony refused to deal with a reroute that far out of their way so they caught a different flight and settled in with screaming kids, frazzled mothers, and exhausted men. As Remy philosophically remarked, "Same ol', same ol'." No one managed to get much more sleep, but the flight was only two and a half hours, takeoff to landing, so they settled into a circle and played cards. Abby cleaned them all out, to much bitching and complaining from the SEALs, except for Tony, who'd advised them not to play with her. "Poker face, man, poker. Woman is as bad as Gibbs."

Tony and Gibbs had both refused to play, but they'd kibitzed, offering bad advice and groaning over hands after they were played.

The landing went as all landings do, and the plane taxied to the hangar. Everyone scrambled to get off, except for their group. They stayed in place until the plane was nearly empty, then they got their rucks and headed for the door. The hanger was chaos as mothers attempted to corral their children and said children attempted not to be corralled. The people in the military waded through this mess with long-suffering expressions on their faces, headed home, or outbound to some sandy wasteland.

Gibbs ordered, "Form up." Everyone scrambled to get into line, two wide; except for Abby, who didn't have a clue. She giggled a bit when Gibbs grabbed her arm and tucked her into the group next to Tim. They reformed, then headed off, dodging the crowd by cutting along the outer walls.

They reached a clear area just outside the hangar and Gibbs called a halt. "Ok, people, we need to figure out how to get out of here. AJ?"

Tony shrugged. "Up to you, Boss. I have to make a call and get accommodations or I'm gonna be rackin' out in a ditch."

Gibbs grunted, "Think I forgot? Not a chance. You an' Tim'll be with me until you figure something else out. Come on. We'll just have to find a taxi bus."

It didn't take them that long to find one, all they had to do was call for a shared van from one of several companies. Tim did the honors with a burn phone that he had purchased in St. Louis. The van showed up in about twenty minutes; the driver grinned, "Sorry it took so long to get here. I had to go through inspection, but it would have taken longer if I wasn't in the area anyway. Where to?"

Gibbs gave Abby's address then told the driver his; Jimmy gave his address. They all got into the van and settled in quietly. They were all tired, the flight had done them all in.

Gibbs mumbled wearily, "Crash."

Tony agreed, "So right."

Abby, seated in the front with the driver, whispered, "When we get there just pull in. I'll sneak out. Don't lean over them or shake them when you get to Gibbs' place, just tell them they're home." She slipped him a twenty then snuggled down to close her eyes until they got to her place.

.

Abby trotted up her steps and unlocked the door; she was so glad to be home. She dumped her ruck on the floor by the door and stripped as she headed for her bedroom. A trail of clothing told its own tale. She grabbed an old 'Property of the Marine Corps' t-shirt off the back of the door, dragged it over her head and fell into bed. She was asleep before she finished dragging the covers up.

.

The drive from Abby's place to Jimmy and Ducky's took about fifteen minutes by the back ways and shortcuts the driver used. Jimmy climbed out and headed for the front door, greeted by Ducky with a smile and a pat on the back. It was obvious that Ducky had every intention of giving Jimmy a poke and prod. Jimmy smiled wearily, nodded at something Ducky said and disappeared behind the red door of the town house.

.

Gibbs started awake, causing Dean to flail in his sleep. The driver stepped back and called, "It's okay. We're just home. Wake up."

Tony grumbled softly then opened his eyes. "We there?"

Remy grunted, "Yeah," then scrabbled for his ruck.

The driver announced, "Everyone out. I'll hand out your stuff," but no one really listened to him. They just grabbed the nearest ruck and headed for the door. Gibbs slipped the man a twenty and followed. Tony used his Navy-issue credit card to pay the fare and followed.

Gibbs dropped the pack he was carrying on the floor by the door, shucked his boots and headed for the stairs. "Couch, recliner, take your pick. We'll sort sleeping tomorrow. Night." The rest of the residents of GHQ dropped their packs, shucked their boots and followed Gibbs up the stairs.

Tony and Tim knew exactly what Gibbs meant and didn't do more than shove a bit. Tim wound up in the recliner he liked best, while Tony got the couch. They also shucked boots and belts, unzipped and unbuttoned until they were comfortable, then fell asleep. They didn't wake up when Gibbs came back down five minutes later with blankets and pillows. He covered them, tucked pillows under their heads and ambled back up the stairs.

Ten minutes later the house was filled with the soft snores of six weary men.

notes:

I know even a small plane wouldn't be allowed to take off with only the pilot, but I've seen small companies get away with all sorts of things because no one is checking up. Just go with it.

And I'm posting this just because I love it.
The Lord is my Pilot, I shall not drift. He guides me across the dark waters. He steers me in deep channels. He keeps my log. He pilots me by the star of holiness for His name's sake. Yea, though I sail 'mid the fenders and tempests of life I shall dread no danger for He is near me. His love and care shelter me. He prepares a harbor before me in the homeland of eternity. He anoints the waves with oil, my ship rides calmly. Surely sunlight and starlight shall favor me on my voyages and I will rest in the Port of our Lord forever.

Marine smile, SEAL smile - cut throat