Aftermath

A rich person has many treasures; a wise person treasures many friendships.

Driving back from the Navy Yard, his radio on slightly louder than usual, Gibbs tried to focus on the road ahead of him and not on the events of the day.

The day had been... he could only describe it as everything falling together perfectly. Jenny and Ducky had fed his caffeine addiction all day, each seemingly oblivious that the other was supplying coffee. Abby had given him the biggest hug he could ever remember receiving. Tony, McGee and Ziva had put their mini-feuds on hold for the day and produced an astonishing amount of paperwork – so much that they had all been able to go home early.

He couldn't imagine working at NCIS without them. Together, his friends – even though he might glare at them, he still considered them friends – made everything worthwhile. Occasionally he would fight the urge to headslap the lot of them, but he valued their companionship.

He pulled up outside his house, still deep in thought. It took him a few moments to remember to lock his car before he headed towards his house. For a second, he wondered why he bothered to lock his car door but not his house.

Probably because he planned to shoot any intruders.

He had taken two steps into the hallway before he froze. Something was wrong.

Less than a minute later, he was reaching for his cell phone. His house was clear. Literally. Someone had robbed him.

Coffee.

Coffee.

He sat bolt upright in his chair, almost knocking it over in the process. The fresh smell of coffee filled the air. His mind kicked into gear, reminding him of the previous night – discovering the robbery, calling Metro, dealing with the rookie cop sent to investigate, being told to stay away for the night as the crime scene guys worked their magic, coming back to the squad room to deal with some paperwork…

He must have fallen asleep. And right in the middle of the squad room as well. It seemed he had lucked out – it was still dark outside and none of his team were yet present.

But a certain redhead was perched on his desk, waving coffee under his nose. He glared at the smirk on her face; clearly she found this amusing.

"Got anything better to do, Madam Director?" he growled, reaching for her coffee. Unsurprisingly, she pulled the precious liquid away from him and sipped it herself.

"Is it wrong for me to check up on an employee whose house was broken into last night?" she smiled innocently. "Although I should point out that locking doors generally keeps people out."

"That's what a gun's for," he countered, making another swipe at her coffee.

She merely reached behind her and handed him a second cup. "We'll get whoever did this," she promised.

He did not bother to answer, knowing she was right. When Abby found out about this, she would put all her effort into getting a result…

He froze.

"Who's telling Abby?" he asked, suddenly wondering if he should make a run for it. The Goth was going to panic.

"Not me." She slipped off her desk and tried to make a rapid exit.

"I'm not calling her!" he yelled after her retreating form.

She didn't look back, instead climbing the stairs to her office. He suspected the door would be locked even if he ran after her. Sighing, he picked up the phone. If Jenny wouldn't call the Goth, he could order DiNozzo to do it.

Stepping off the elevator, his third coffee of the day clasped tightly in his hands, he slowly made his way over to his desk.

Everyone's reactions to the news of the break-in were predictable. Tony had stuck his foot in it, Ziva had quietly offered to torture whoever did it, while McGee had volunteered to install a home security system at the weekend. Suspecting that Jenny would hear about it if he didn't agree, he had thanked McGee and spent the rest of the morning working out where he could place locks in his house.

He had been surprised that Abby had not come by, until Tony had mentioned she was due in court this morning. He had been even more surprised that she hadn't tried to contact him.

Settling down in his chair, he placed his coffee to one side and began to tackle the paperwork in front of him. The piles of paper never seemed to end and he swore he spent half his life dealing with them.

The elevator dinged and he heard DiNozzo's groan before he worked out why. Abby charged at him, pulling him from his chair and wrapping him in a hug he was sure would kill him. Somehow managing to pat her on the back as reassurance, he tried to pry her off him.

Luckily she let go of her own accord.

"Gibbs!" she squealed. "I was so worried about you! Who would dare break into your house? Except Tony but I don't think that counts because he was rather drunk at the time and Ziva did dare him to do it –"

Tony cut her off. "Abs? Please don't get me fired."

"I know you can take care of yourself," Abby continued, seemingly oblivious to Tony's request. "But I'm still allowed to worry about you. I would have come straight out to see you after Tony called but I wasn't sure if you would be in the police station or if you'd checked into a hotel somewhere, or maybe even if Mommy had allowed Daddy to stay over, and I wanted to call but I thought they might have stolen your cell phone as well and I know you never check your emails –"

"Breathe," he advised her. "I'm fine, Abs."

She sighed before hugging him again, although thankfully not as tight as the previous time. "I'm going to get Metro to hand over the results," she announced. "And I'm going to figure this out. We'll get him, Gibbs. And if you're not staying with Mommy – which would be a shame because she could protect you; I mean I've seen her on the range and she's just as good as you are – you can always come and stay with me."

Gibbs nodded his thanks at her, having already decided he was going home tonight. Telling Abby would probably result in her handcuffing him to her again, so he kept quiet.

She smiled happily as she left, bouncing on her way. He made sure she had stepped onto the elevator before he turned to DiNozzo and glared.

"Ziva made me do it!" his Senior Field Agent immediately claimed.

He resisted the urge to sigh. This was going to be a long day…