Spells

Gibbs walked into the living room with a kerosene lamp that created distorted shadows of him on the walls. He set it down carefully on the coffee table, and thoughtfully regarded Tony and Abby, who sat curled on the couch.

"All right, this should work until bedtime," he explained.

"Boss," Tony spoke, "remember the last time the power went out the electric company did not get it fixed for hours."

"I realize that, but we have plenty of light with this thing." Gibbs sat down in his usual chair and raised his eyebrows.

"I don't know about that," Abby grumbled. She rearranged herself to sit crosslegged on the sofa and continued, "You still haven't shared a good reason with us why Tony and I can't at least have our own candles."

Worried that Jethro would react irritably to her comment, and not wanting to anger the man, Tony quickly clarified, "She said that all by herself, Boss. I didn't put her up to saying it, so if you get mad, target Baby Girl."

Abby turned a scathing look his way, then threw a pillow in his direction.

"Thank you for sharing that, Tony, and Abby, if you throw anything else, I will make your next few days miserable ones, Young Lady." His tone had changed to his firm paternal one, and he focused his gaze on her expectantly. She nodded her acceptance.

He continued, "For the last time, you two don't get to light anything in the house at all- ever, or for any reason. Why, you ask? My decision might have something to do with the fact that the last time Tony took a lit candle to his room, he managed to set fire to part of the curtain."

Tony's head snapped up guiltily. "Well, Boss, but I…."

"Furthermore," he focused on Abby, "the last time I allowed you to have a candle upstairs, you set fire to those aroma branches or dirt or whatever they were and we didn't get the smell out of the house for a week."

"Gibbs, those were herbs, sage and rosemary mostly, and I just used a few leaves- not whole plants. Quite a number of people believe in the healing power of herbs. You are the only person in the entire world who hasn't heard of herbal therapy, or herbal remedies." Abby defended herself with a scowl.

He ignored the observation and looked around at the living room, awash in a soft semi -illumination. "So, the reason you two do not get the privilege of having candles in your rooms harks back to the fact that I simply do not trust you- at all."

Tony smirked and rubbed his hand through his hair, "Great explanation there, Boss-"

Abby smiled also, but decided to add more to her defense. "You act like it's voodoo or something. It's actually just using natural plants and ingredients from the environment."

Tony leaned forward eagerly, his elbows resting on his legs. "Wouldn't it be wild if we could actually make some voodoo spells?" His childish excitement made Gibbs smile.

"We could give these incredible powers…." Abby's eyes lit and she twirled one of her pigtails. "Like, we could just enhance or embellish qualities of some of the people we know."

Tony sat back and scrunched further into his cushion. "Go for it, Baby Girl!"

Abby laughed, "Ok, so we furtively visit the voodoo woman and get a vial with magic qualities and power, and then we secretly put a drop or two in our target's food or drink."

"I've got it," Tony offered, tapping his forefinger against his forehead. "I know our starter person. So, we go down like nothing is up to autopsy, and stealthily sprinkle the powder or potion or whatever it is into Ducky's cup of tea."

Even Gibbs grinned at that visualization. Enjoying the collaboration, he leaned back in his seat and interlaced his fingers at the back of his head. Seeing Tony and Abby working together, collaborating, always pleased him.

Abby picked up the next part, narrating dramatically. "Though known already as a man of many words, Doctor Mallard suddenly put an all new spin on the word loquacious. First, he developed the power to speed up his spoken delivery. That led him to contend for superiority with the renowned Guiness, in its world record competition and recognition for the fastest talking man in the world. The NCIS hometown favorite, Ducky, won, despite unbelievably stiff competition! Once his name and fame established his superiority, world leaders started calling. Realizing that his speech delivery had no comparison, they fought to hire him to deliver their political speeches, realizing that their future success lay not in the power of the sword, but in the power of the language."

Abby pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them before she continued. "Presidents and Monarchs battled each other to win sole control of the good doctor, and their contention quickly turned from military skirmishes to out and out wars. The entire planet battled for Dr. Donald Ducky Mallard, until finally, only two countries were left standing- Scotland and the United States. Citizens of both countries deluged the good doctor with private and public pleas to choose their homeland. Scotland felt the native son should honor it, while America insisted the adopted son have loyalty to it. The good doctor realized with an overwhelming, claustrophobic sadness that sometimes he simply spoke too much. No matter what he said from that point, someone would get hurt. He swore a vow of silence, and never again did he engage in conversation, either with the living or with the dead, from that day forward."

Abby stood up and bowed. "That, my favorite men, is the parody of one Donald, Ducky, Mallard."

Tony and Jethro clapped, and then Tony volunteered. "Ok, let me take the next one." He licked his lips in anticipation and then regarded Abby quizzically, looking for clarification. "We spoof the natural talents, right?"

"Right," Gibbs affirmed instead, propping his elbow on the arm of his chair, then resting his head against his hand.

Tony looked around the room with narrowed eyes, and then faced his audience gleefully. "So, this is Boss, and I say that we disguise the concoction in one of his innumerable cups of java."

He grinned at Jethro and adopted the voice of a television newscaster.

"The potent Gibbs stare known throughout the NCIS agency increased a hundred fold after a sip of his coffee early one morning. Accustomed to his incredible talent already, no one found it amiss that he used his lethal stare for instantaneous behavior modification. However, out in the field that day he stopped a fleeing fugitive in his tracks, mesmerizing him in one spot until the team could apply handcuffs. His next feat occurred as the team made its way to the car with the prisoner in tow. Sounds of police sirens grew louder and louder and in the distance Jethro Gibbs witnessed a car attempting to flee police. As the suspect got closer Boss aimed a Gibbs stare its way, right through the windshield. That took care of the problem, because the suspect hit the brakes and slid to the side of the road, parked, put his hands above his head, and waited for the officers to take him into custody."

Tony held his arms up to demonstrate, then renewed the satire. "It impressed the witnesses on the street, and they ran up to question him, but Special Agent Gibbs refused to answer and the team returned to headquarters instead. Later that day he stood in the cash register section of a supermarket interviewing the manager, who had the unhappy experience of discovering a murdered Marine on the store's doorstep early that morning. The volume of noise in the store increased as the clock ticked, and preschoolers in the checkout lanes increasingly staged tantrums to obtain candy within their reach at the checkout sections, despite the negative responses of the parents.

The manager had an unbelievably more difficult time of having his answers heard above the meltdowns of the little ones. Then Jethro Gibbs took matters into his own capable hands. He trained his steely gaze on one checkout lane and then another, not stopping until every little one regarded him and instantly became stunned into silence. Their parents looked the superman over with both pleasure and gratitude."

Abby laughed out loud at that, and Tony smiled at her joy. He leaned over and pulled one of her pigtails before resuming the tale.