#spensy

“Yeah, boss. Stuck,” Tony mumbled. Stella looked over at the silver-haired man holding a cup of coffee. Stella thought she remembered Tony calling his boss “Gibbs” once. He was looking her over and then looked at Tony.

“We have a case,” he said. “Where’s McGee?”

“He called and said something about a flat tire,” Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. I was focused on the interesting noises in the background.”

“Snoop,” another man grumbled as he walked in, his hair sticking every which way. He put his coffee down before turning back and his gaze landed on Stella. He offered his hand. “Tim McGee.”

“Stella DiNozzo,” she said, shaking his hand. McGee glanced at Tony. “So, you’re Tony’s sister?”

“Yeah, now back off, Probie,” Tony snapped. McGee held up his hands and went back to his desk.

“Guys, case. Move it,” Gibbs urged. “We don’t have all day.”

“Rude,” Stella said under her breathe. Gibbs glared at her.

“You,” he said, pointing at her. “Out of my office. You’re distracting my team.”

Stella opened her mouth to retort but Tony cut her off.

“Stella, go,” he said. “This conversation isn’t over.”

“I already found a place, Tony,” she said. “I’m pretty sure it’s over.”

He glared at her as she got onto the elevator.

“I mean, why would anyone want to move here if isn’t for a job?” Tony grumbled as he responded to yet another text from Stella. He crossed his arms and leaned against the car the McGee was rummaging through. “She had a dream, McGee, and it was a damn good dream too. Now she’s giving it up to be near family.”

“Tony, that isn’t a bad reason,” McGee said as he stood up, a necklace in his hand. Tony rolled his eyes and took a picture of the inside of the car. His phone rang and he looked at the text. “Why are you so against this anyway? If you love her as much as you seem to, you should be thrilled that she’s closer.”

“I am,” he sighed. “I just… I want what’s best for her, McGee.”

“She’s a grown woman, Tony. She can make her own decisions,” McGee said, looking up at him. Tony looked down at his phone and ran a hand through his hair.

“You don’t understand,” he stated. “She was going to be a director. You should see some of the things she’s done. When she went to boarding school, she started making movies and videos. She was amazing at it. She came back to go to USC to major in film. McGee, she had it all planned out and yet she’s here giving up on all of that. I had my friend Callen look in on her. She graduated at the top of her class!”

“Tony, I’m sure she knows what she’s doing,” McGee stated. Tony groaned and texted her quickly. Before Tony could say anything else to McGee, Gibbs took his phone and called Stella.

“Tony, you’re not talking me out of this,” Stella said.

“It’s not Tony,” Gibbs stated.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “This is Gibbs, right? His boss?”

“Yes,” he said shortly. “You’re holding up my investigation by distracting Agent DiNozzo.”

“Well, let me make a formal apology over dinner tonight,” she said. Gibbs paused. That was… unexpected.

“Okay,” he replied once he regained his composure. He hung up and tossed Tony’s phone back to him. “Keep your mind on the case, DiNozzo.”

“Yes, sir,” Tony mumbled as Gibbs walked away.

“This is amazing,” McGee mumbled as he watched the video over Tony’s shoulder. “She did this when she was in high school?”

“Yeah,” Tony said proudly. “You should see her more recent stuff. She had the proper equipment so the video quality is so much better.”

“She is really good,” McGee said. “I can see why you would want her to pursue this.”

“Yeah,” Tony grinned as she scrolled through the videos. “Oh! This is a good one! It has Callen in it. He played a cop.”

He clicked it and it began. McGee subconsciously rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder as he watched and Tony was radiating with pride.

“What are you guys watching?” Stella asked. Tony smiled up at her.

“Just a few of your movies,” he stated.

“You’re what?” she exclaimed, walking around to look at the computer screen. She paled and quickly moved to turn it off.

“Hey, wait,” Tony said, stopping her. “This is the best part.”

“Tony, no. I’m turning it off,” she said, wrestling out of his grip.

“No, because McGee is watching it,” Tony replied, moving so she was trapped in his arms. “Aren’t you, McGoo?”

The only response McGee gave was the shush them. Tony smiled and, finally, the movie ended just as Gibbs walked up. He only raised his eyebrow at them and Tony grinned.

“Hey, boss. You missed the movie marathon,” he said. Stella pulled out of his grip and huffed indignantly as she fixed her hair.

“McGee, shouldn’t you be tracing the victim’s phone?” Gibbs asked. McGee stood up and walked back to his desk. Gibbs just glared at Tony, who looked at his computer and pretended he was doing something important.

“Are you ready?” Stella asked, turning to Gibbs. Tony’s head shot up and he glanced between the two. Gibbs smiled softly. He and Stella walked to the elevator and Tony just stared at them.

“What the hell?” he demanded, looking at McGee. “Are they… Did that… What?”

“Tony, I think you need to breathe,” McGee stated. Tony glared at him.

"So what's the real point behind this dinner?”

"Maybe I just wanted to say sorry."

"I know there's more than that. You're just like your brother."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"No."

"Well good. Now, I really want a beer. What about you?"

Gibbs’s lips quirked up slightly and he nodded.

“I could have a drink,” he said. Stella ordered two beers. Gibbs sipped his as he studied her.

“What have you been up to?” he asked.

“Nothing exciting,” she shrugged. “I just graduated and moved here so I'm in the process of finding a job.”

They talked for a while, mostly about her life in college. Suddenly, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and grinned.

“I'm sorry. I have to take this,” she said. She slipped away and Gibbs looked down at the bottle, frowning to herself. A few minutes later she came back with the last of the conversation.

“Goodbye. Yeah, I'll call you when I get settled in,” she hung up and sat down again. “I'm sorry. Just an old friend from LA calling to check up on me.”

Gibbs just nodded and it was quiet for a moment.

“It's getting late,” Gibbs said, standing up. “And I'm sure we'll both have a long day of dealing with Tony tomorrow.”

They walked out to his car and got in. He drove her to her apartment and walked her to the door. They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Gibbs cleared his throat.

“It was nice tonight,” he stated. Stella smiled.

“Yeah, I had a good time too,” she agreed. “I'm sorry about the call, by the way. He worries. We used to have a thing but there's nothing now.”

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. She smirked up at him.

“I think I need a real kiss, Gibbs,” she stated. He chuckled and leaned down to connect their lips. The kiss was sweet and both wanted more as they pulled away.

“Oh, yeah. No problem,” she said as she stood up. The others look at her. “We'll see you there.”

“Bye, Stel,” he said and hung up. She looked to the other as she put her phone away.

“We have to meet Gibbs at the docks. We've got a case,” she said. There were several nods and they moved to grab their jackets and leave.

They arrived at the docks and saw Gibbs talking to a police officer. He looked over and waved them over.

“So what do we got, boss?” Tony asked. Gibbs still looked at him and then gestured to something covered on the ground.

“See for yourself,” he said. Tony gave him an odd look and then moved towards it, bending down to move the covering. He stared for a moment before standing back up, looking a bit green.

“What is that?” he asked, looking towards the police officers.

“We have no idea,” one of them.

“But we have a witness that saw the suspect,” the other added. He pointed towards a young woman, who looked a bit dazed. Gibbs gestured for Stella to go talk to her.

“Where's Ducky?” Gibbs asked.

“I'm here, Jethro,” the older man said as he walked by McGee. “Was there a reason Tony looked as if he were going to lose his breakfast?”

“Why don't you take a look?” Gibbs said, moving to pull away the covering.

“Oh, my,” Ducky said as he looked at the pile of what looked like a melted pile of person. He looked back at Jimmy. “I think we're going to need a bucket, Mr. Palmer.”

Jimmy took one look at the goop and nodded, turning to leave, not seeming to get away fast enough. Tim looked thoroughly disgusted but took a picture of it nonetheless.

“We've got this and there's a body over there,” Gibbs said, pointing down closer to the water. “If you two…”

“We're on it, boss,” Tony said before he could finish and he and Tim hurried in the direction he'd pointed. Gibbs shook his head in exasperation.

“What can you tell us, Ducky?” he asked, looking down as the man examined it.

“It's human,” he said, not looking away. Gibbs rolled his eyes.

“Now can you tell me something I don't know, Duck?”

“I won't know more till I can run a series of tests,” Ducky said as he stood up. “Or it might be better for Abby to work with it since this isn't much more than human paste. I don't even think there are any bones in it.”

“Hopefully we'll have better luck with the next body,” Gibbs said with a sigh.

As they walked towards it, Stella was speaking with the witness.

“Wait-who did you see again?” Stella asked the shaken up women who sighed in frustration.

“Hunter Hayes. Country music singer. Very popular.”

“And you're sure it was him?” Stella asked the women, slightly amused.

“Yes. Five foot six with dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes.” The women sighed again as Stella wrote down the description.

“Do you have any idea why he would be in town?” She asked the women as Jethro approached them.

“He's having a concert here tomorrow night.” The women said, looking from Stella to the older man, who placed his hand on the small of her back comfortingly.

“Alright, well thank you for your cooperation. I think we got everything.”

“Boss, we've got a problem,” Tony said as he walked over. Gibbs sighed.

“What is it, DiNozzo?” he asked.

“There's some people here that keep saying they're from the FBI,” he explained, pointing in the direction of where McGee was talking with two men and a woman. He sighed and walked over.

“I'm telling you…” the shorter man began, only to be cut off by Gibbs.

“Oh god. Not you again,” he said with a groan. Dean looked over and smirked.

“Well well well. If it isn't Special Agent Jethro Gibbs,” he said. “I didn't expect to see you here.”

“What are you doing here?” Gibbs demanded.

“You're after a shifter. That's why we're here,” Sam answered. “I'm pretty you're gonna need our help.”

Gibbs sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

“We'll let you have a look,” Gibbs said and motioned for them to follow him. Alisha stopped and looked towards where Stella and Tony were still standing with the witness.

“Hello again,” Tony said as she walked over. She looked up at him with a smile and then her eyes went to the witness.

“Hi. I'm Agent Johansson,” she said, shaking her hand. “Can you tell me exactly what you saw?”

The woman rolled her eyes before explaining exactly what she'd told Stella. Alisha just nodded and wrote it down in a notebook.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “You should probably get some rest.”

With that, they finally allowed the young woman to leave. She turned to the two NCIS agents and gave a warm smile.

“Long time no see, guys,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “I see nothing has changed.”

“And your hair is shorter,” Tony noted, crossing his arms.

“We haven't seen you guys for a while. Please tell me it's not another demon,” Stella said.

“Nah. It's just a shifter. Simple enough,” Alisha said with a shrug.

“Probably won't be as long as it's disguised as Hunter Hayes,” Stella pointed out. Alisha paused and then nodded slowly.

“Unfortunately. Lot more publicity than we're comfortable with,” the woman sighed. Gibbs approached the group, a small frown on his face.

“What have we got?” Stella smiled comfortingly at the older man, who already seemed fed up with the case.

“We may have a lead,” Tony said loudly. “A Hunter something or another.”

“Hunter Hayes.” Stella grinned.

“Well okay then. DiNozzo, Hill, go bring him in.”

“Excuse me.” Tony cut in, stepping in front of the woman protectively. “Any more and I’ll arrest you for harassing a federal agent.”

“Federal agent?” Hunter asked, looking between them as Tony flashed his badge as well. “What’s this about then?”

“We’re going to need you to come with us for questioning,” Stella said. Hunter immediately shook his head.

“I can’t. I have to rehearse for the show,” he said.

“Guess you’re going to have to disappoint some people,” Tony said. “Now, we can do this the easy way.” He held up some handcuffs. “Or the hard way.”

Hunter looked between them again and nodded slowly.

“The easy way,” he said. “I.. I really can't afford that bad publicity.”

Tony nodded and put the handcuffs away. He gestured for Hunter to go in front of them and exchanged looks with Stella. She looked more than a little star stuck.

“Can I ask what this is about?” Hunter asked.

“I'm afraid you're a suspect in a murder,” Stella explained. He turned to give them an alarmed looked.

“Murder? But I haven't even left the arena,” he said. “And when I wasn't here, I was at the hotel.”

“We believe you,” Stella said quickly.

“Stella..” Tony started.

“This is just a formality.” Stella told the blonde man as she gave Tony a look saying ‘shut up’. “You just need to come with us and talk to our boss. That’s all.”

__________________

“He’s never this late-”

“I’m never late. You’re all early.” I announced walking over to my desk, setting down my coffee cup, under the watchful eyes of Bishop, DiNozzo, and McGee. “What?”

“Nothing. We were just-” DiNozzo started.

“Just getting your things together. We have a case downtown. Let’s go.”

———————————

“Ex-naval officer Tim Cavanah,” DiNozzo announced as Duckie examined the body.

“It seems as though he received blunt force trauma in what may have been a confrontation,” Duckie announced as they loaded the body onto the stretcher before rolling it to the van.

“He worked at Spring Field High,” McGee said, reading his phone. “Abby said he was a PE teacher there.”

“Alright then.” I grimaced. “DiNozzo, you’re with me. We’re going to the school.”

___________________________________

“Alright, guys! Our next project is a short film!” I announced to the class, earning a groan in return. “Cmon guys! It’ll be fun! You get to pick your own genre and plot. It must be school appropriate. You can work in groups of four. I want you to have your ideas to me by the end of class.” I finished as the door cracked open and a man poked his head in. “Stella Marshall?”

“Yes?” I asked, making my way over to the door, stepping into the hall. “How may I help you?”

“NCIS. I’m agent DiNozzo and this is-” He pointed to a man as he stepped out of the way.

“Gibbs. Didn’t know I’d be seeing you here.” I smiled at the man, who grimaced.

“We need to talk to you about Tim Cavanah,” Gibbs stated.

“What about him?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.

“What do you know about him?” DiNozzo asked.

“He was just hired a few months back as the PE teacher. He didn’t really talk to anyone.” I told them. “Why? Is everything okay?”

“He was found dead this morning in the park down the street,” Gibbs announced.

“Do you know anyone who would have a problem with him?” DiNozzo questioned.

“No.” I shook my head. “He never talked to anyone.”

“Thank you for your time.” Gibbs frowned, turning around and heading down the hall.

“So-how do you know Gibbs?” DiNozzo interrogated, glancing behind him, watching Gibbs walk down the hall.

“I accidentally ran into him this morning.” I giggled quietly.

“So that’s why he-” He started but got cut off.

“DiNozzo, go talk to the kids,” Gibbs demanded, pointing to my classroom soon as he walked up to us.

“Yes, sir.” He nodded as he opened the door, slipping inside.

“So you’re a teacher,” Gibbs stated, looking past me down the other hall.

“I am. I was working on an assignment when I bumped into you-” I paused, laughing slightly. “Which I’m sorry about.”

“It’s fine, really-”

“Let me make it up to you.” I smiled. “Coffee? Saturday?”

__________________________________

“What do you have?” I asked walking into the office, Bishop and McGee making their way to stand in front of the briefing screen.

“Well, Tim Cavanah was an ex-navy captain who took a job at the school a few months back,” McGee said, pointing to something on the screen.

“Stella told us that. Give me something more.” I deadpanned. My phone vibrated in my hand, Stella’s name popping up on the screen. “Go for Gibbs.” I flipped open the phone, answering it.

“I found something in Cavanah’s office that might interest you.”

“I’m glad someone has something.” I smiled. “I’ll be right there.” I closed the phone before turning to Bishop. “Grab your things. We’re going to the school.”

__________________________________

“What’d you find?” Gibbs asked, waking into my office with a cup of coffee and a blonde woman.

“Cavanah left his laptop on his desk and with a little digging by Molly, we found a series of emails from what seems to be a woman wanting to meet up with Cavanah.”

“And that’s so special why? It’s just a woman.” The woman frowned.

“They were supposed to meet last night. At the park.” I smiled, turning the computer towards them so they could see the screen.

“Molly is working on trying to find-”

“I know who sent the emails!” Molly, the purple haired science teacher announced, entering my office through the connecting door. “Makaylah Chamberlain.”

“Who?” Gibbs asked, his face twisting In concussion.

“Cavanah’s teaching assistant.” I frowned, Gibbs smiling slightly.

“Where is she now?”

“Probably with a class.” I shrugged.

“I’ll be back.” He smiled before leaving the room.

“So you are-?” I started, turning towards the blonde woman who Gibbs had left in the room.

“Bishop. I work for Gibbs.” She answered. “And you are?”

“Stella. Stella Marshall.” I smiled, extending my hand to her, exchanging a handshake.

“So you’re Stella. Tony was talking about you back at the office.” Bishop smirked.

“Good things, I’d hope.” I looked down at my heels, cheeks heating slightly.

“Well he said you’re the reason Gibbs was late this morning, and that takes skill.”

“I’m sorry?” I questioned, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion

“It’s a good thing- promise.” She smiled. “He’s never late.”

“Well then-” I laughed quietly.

“You know, I should probably go see if things are going alright.” She frowned. “I’ll see you later.” She said before leaving Molly and I alone in the room.

“So what was that about?” Molly questioned, taking a seat on my desktop.

“I don’t know, honestly.”

____________________________________

“What have you got Abbs?” I asked, entering her lab. Abby turned and smiles widely before talking.

“Well Tony told me about Stella and I think-” she started.

“I mean with the case.” I scowled.

“Right.” She turned towards her computer and typed something in, a bunch of graphs popping up on the screen. “Tim Cavanah left the navy after being injured overseas.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes. I found some hairs on his jacket and I’m just waiting for the results which should be ready-” her computer dinged, a smile stretching across her face. “-now.” She hit a few keys before a profile popped up on her computer. “Jacob Aguilar. Ex-Army chief.”

“Thank you, Abby.” I smiled, kissing her cheek before making my way towards the door.

“Wait! Gibbs!” Abby called, making me turn around. “Is she cute? Stella?”

“Bye Abby.” I smiled, shaking my head slightly as I left the room.

_________________________________

"Stella, who's that guy that keeps popping up around you?" Alisha, the English teacher and my best friend, asked as we sat, eating lunch in my classroom with Molly.

"His name is Gibbs." Molly smiled as she took a bite of her salad.

"Hmm. And how did you meet?" Alisha smirked, cocking her head to the side as if she was waiting on some big news.

"I bumped into him this morning." I shrugged as a knock arose from the doorway.

"Stella?" Bishop asked, sticking her head into the room.

"Hey Bishop, what's up?" I smiled, jumping down off of my desk.

"Gibbs wants to talk to you." She smiled.

"Okay, I'll be right there." I smiled at her, earning a nod in return.

"Well that a weird way to request a booty call." Molly stated flatly before laughing last loudly.

"You're such a child." I shook my head before leaving the room, walking a few feet down the hall to where Bishop, DiNozzo and Gibs were standing with a very eccentric looking woman and a man that could honestly be Alisha's twin brother.

"Stella, this is McGee-" Gibbs smiled slightly, pointing to Alisha's doppelgänger. "And this is-"

"Hi I'm Abby!" The eccentric woman exclaimed, extending her hand to me. "I've heard so much about you!"

"Oh really?" I laughed, shaking her hand slightly. "I didn't know you'd tell everyone about how I bumped into you. Not exactly an exciting tale." I smiled at Gibbs.

"One worth telling." DiNozzo coughed, getting elbowed in the side by Gibbs.

"We need to get into Cavanah's office. Can you show us where it is?" Gibbs asked, annoyance etched on his face.

"Uh- sure." My smile faltered slightly as I nodded. "It's this way." I spun on my heels, heading down the hallway quickly, leaving the group a few feet behind me.

"So-" The eccentric woman, Abby, started, jogging up to my side. "What's your favorite romantic comedy?"

"What?" I asked, stopping in my tracks.

"I get the feeling you're a Valentine's Day girl. Am I right?"

"I don't know what you're-" I began walking again, edging closer to Tim's office.

"What about food? Gibbs loves Italian."

"Uh I like Mexican." I frowned.

"Darn. Do you like mysteries?"

"When I'm not living them." I told her as I stopped in front of a door. "Here you go." I unlocked the door, throwing it open before stepping away, allowing the team to enter the room. Gibbs walked over and stood next to me, examining his team as they shuffled through the office.

"I'm sorry about Abby. She's a little-" he started.

"Nosy." I finished with a scoff.

"I was going to say caring, but that works too." He chuckled.

"So her interrogating me about my favorite romcoms and food is her being caring?"

"She's a little insistent. I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you. Dinner? Tonight?"

"Sure." I nodded. "Abby'll be able to tell you where to make the reservation," I smirked before turning around and making my way back to my classroom.

_________________________________

“Well, I should get going,” I said soon after Stella left. Molly just waved as she finished eating. I gathered my things and left the classroom. I wasn’t paying that much attention, not really expecting to run into anyone. Of course, I had to physically walk into someone and have papers fly everywhere.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” he said as we both crouched to gather the papers.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said and stood up, fixing the papers in my hands. He held out the ones he had grabbed and I took them, straightening them. I looked up at him and smiled, holding out my hand. “Alisha.”

“Tim,” he said, shaking my hand.

“So, you’re with NCIS, huh?” I smiled.

“How’d you guess?” he asked. I pointed to his hat and he smiled sheepishly. “Oh, right.”

I giggled and his smile grew slightly.

“So, must be interesting work,” I stated.

“It’s something alright,” he agreed with a chuckle.

“Hey, McGoober!” someone shouted from behind him. He rolled his eyes, turning to face the other man.

“What is it, Tony?” he called back.

“Quit your flirting. Gibbs wants you,” the man, Tony, shouted back. “I suggest you get over here now.”

“I’ll be there in a moment,” he called.

“Don’t embarrass yourself, Timbo,” was the reply. He sighed and said something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “I’m gonna kill him.”

“I guess you have to go,” I smiled.

“Yeah,” he smiled though he was obviously disappointed. I put the papers on the floor (not like they weren’t already dirty) and pulled a pen out of my pocket.

“May I?” I asked, gesturing to his hand.

“Uh, yeah,” he said, holding it out. I wrote my number on his hand, adding a heart for good measure, and smirked up on him.

“Rub that in Tony’s face and call me to tell me how he reacted,” I told him.

“I will,” he laughed. I picked up my papers.

“I’ll see you around, Timmy,” I said. He rolled but chuckled as he turned to go and I walked the rest of the way to my classroom with a smile.

-----------------------------------

Stella was distracted as the final bell rang and I couldn't blame her. From what I saw, Gibbs was an attractive man.

“Hey, earth to Stella,” I said, snapping my fingers in front of her. She blinked and blushed, turning to look at me.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Thinking about your date, huh?” I smirked. She rolled her eyes.

“It’s not a date,” she said.

“It sounded like a date,” I replied.

“Well, it’s not,” she said. I laughed and she hit my arm. “What about you? I saw you talking with McGee, I think was his name.”

“I gave him my number,” I shrugged. “And he obviously hasn’t called.”

“Well, maybe he’ll call soon,” she smiled.

“He won’t…” I began but my phone rang. I looked down at the unknown number and then answered. “Hello?”

“Hey there, Alisha,” someone said. I heard someone in the background and some scuffling. “This is Tony. I’m sure you remember me, the devilishly handsome NCIS agent.”

“I’m pretty sure the ‘devilishly handsome’ one was named Tim,” I smirked. There was a pause and someone laughed.

“Well, that just hurts,” Tony said. “But, anyway, Tim was wondering if you’d like to go out for coffee.”

There was a muffled shout of “Tony!” and then some more scuffling.

“Hi, Alisha,” Tim said, sounding kind of breathless.

“Hi,” I said in amusement.

“So, coffee? Tomorrow around lunchtime?”

“That would be great,” I said.

“Great. I’ll see you then,” he said.

“Goodbye, Tim,” I laughed. I hung up and looked at Stella. “Well, looks like I got a date too.”

“It isn’t a date!” she shouted.

"I'm not sure." Gibbs laughed- almost nervously- as he leaned back in his chair. "I haven't done this in a long time."

"Done what?" I corked my head to the side.

"Had dinner with a beautiful woman."

------------------------------------

"I can't believe you." I laughed, taking a sip of my wine.

"What can I say? It seemed like a good idea at the time." Gibbs laughed, taking a sip of his beer.

"Excuse me, sir-" the waitress started, walking up to our table, "the restaurant is closing in a few minutes."

"Really?" I asked, flipping my phone over to check the time 10:55. "Oh wow. It's really late. I should get going." I gasped, standing up. Gibbs mimicked my actions, standing up and paying the bill before leading me outside. "I had a nice time tonight, Gibbs." I smiled.

"You can call me Jethro." He smiled, a small breeze blowing past us, causing me to shiver. "Oh- here." He shrugged off his jacket before laying it on my shoulders.

"Thanks Gibbs." I grinned, making him laugh and shake his head. "I should get going." I smiled down at my feet, scraping my heels on the pavement slightly. "I'll see you sometime soon, I suppose." I smiled, leaning up and kissing his cheek lightly before turning and making my way towards my car. "Good night Gibbs."

"Good night Stella." He waved as I climbed in my car before walking to his own.

----------------------------------

“So how did it go on the ‘not date’?” Alisha asked the next day. I rolled my eyes and laid Gibbs’s jacket over the back of my chair.

“Oh, is that from Gibbs?” Molly asked. “Did he let you wear it out of his house this morning?”

“Molly!” I exclaimed and the other two laughed. “And if you must know, he let me borrow it because it was cold. He’s coming to pick it up later today.”

“Couldn’t wait that long to see you, could he?” Alisha giggled. I rolled my eyes.

“He just needs his jacket back,” I said. “Nothing else.”

“Sure he is,” Molly smirked.

“Did you get a goodnight kiss?” Alisha asked.

“I kissed his cheek,” I shrugged.

“What a shame,” Molly sighed. “He was that bad, huh?”

“He was a perfect gentleman, actually,” I frowned. “He was a bit old fashioned but it worked for him.”

“How flattering,” a smooth voice from behind us said. I grinned and turned to Gibbs. “Hi, Stella.”

“Hi, Gibbs,” I smiled.

“Ah, Gibbs,” Molly smiled. She held out her hand. “I’m Molly, Stella’s friend.”

“Pleasure, Molly,” he said, shaking her hand. “And you must be Alisha. Tim’s talked about you.”

She smiled pleasantly and they shook hands.

“Here’s your jacket,” I said, handing it to him.

“Thank you,” he smiled. He glanced at Molly and Alisha with a raised eyebrow and I smiled sheepishly.

“I think they’re expecting us to kiss,” I whispered.

“Ah,” he chuckled. He looked over at them once more and leaned in, kissing my cheek. “There. Hopefully that’ll be enough.”

“Hopefully,” I giggled.

“Ladies,” he nodded and left the room.

_________________________________________

I walked into the office just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation.

“Gibbs is late again,” McGee said.

“Do you think he took her home?” DiNozzo asked.

“No way,” Bishop scoffed.

“Gibbs is too much of a gentleman,” Abby said, her feet propped on my desk.

“This is why you're my favorite, Abbs,” I said. They all practically jumped and Abby got to her feet.

“Gibbs! How was the date!” she exclaimed.

“Calm down,” I said, laying my jacket over my chair. “It wasn’t a date.”

“Of course it was,” she smiled. “Come on, Gibbs. Give me the details.”

“Yeah, boss,” DiNozzo smirked. “How did it go?”

“Does it really matter?” I asked. Bishop frowned and stepped closer.

“Abby, do you smell that?” she asked, turning to look at her. I raised an eyebrow as Abby leaned forward to smell. Her eyes widened in a way I didn’t think was possible.

“Oooh,” she grinned. “That’s perfume!”

“Totally called it,” DiNozzo smirked. “Gibbs totally got some last night.”

“Can you grow up?” McGee asked though he looked slightly shocked.

“I did not sleep with Stella, Tony,” I said. “I went to get my jacket from her this morning.”

“Aw, Gibbs. You gave her your jacket?” Abby grinned. “I knew you were a gentleman.”

“Did you give her a goodnight kiss, boss?” Bishop asked, looking genuinely curious as she crossed her arms. I rolled my eyes.

“We have a case to solve,” I said.

“It can wait,” Abby said, crossing her arms in the way that I knew she would persist until I gave in. “Now, tell us how it went.”

“We talked and ate,” he frowned. “What more is there?

“And a kiss goodnight?” she pushed, a hopeful smile on her face.

“I got a kiss on the cheek,” I said. “Then I kissed her cheek this morning when I got my jacket.”

Abby squealed and Bishop looked like she wanted to.

“Oh, you’re moving fast for someone so old-fashioned,” Tony said. I rolled my eyes.

“Now, that we got my personal life covered, we have a dead naval officer,” I said. “Abby?”

"Stella, get in. I'm taking you home." He instructed, helping me into the seat. He closed the door before going to the other side and climbing in, taking off in the direction of my house. We drove in silence until he reached my house. "Stay here." He muttered before getting out and coming over to my side. "Here." He offered me a hand, helping me get out safely. We walked up to my door and I unlocked it, taking a step inside before turning to him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled. He leaned down, placing a kiss on my cheek before backing up. "Good night Stella."

"Good night Gibbs."

____________________________________

Gibbs walked in and looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. He didn't say anything as he sat down.

“So, Stella said you two went out again last night,” I remarked. Both Tony and Tim snapped their heads up to look at him.

“You went on another date?” Tony asked.

“It wasn’t a date, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said as he opened the folder on his desk.

“Two ‘not dates’, boss?” Tim asked.

“Stella says they weren’t dates,” I shrugged. “I would believe her but…”

“Why is everyone so nosy?” Gibbs mumbled to himself. He looked up at us.

“So what did you do?” I asked.

“DIdn’t she tell you?” he asked.

“Nope. She was still asleep this morning,” I stated. “Whatever you did last night wore her out.”

He rolled his eyes as the other two snickered.

“If you must know, we went to a bar, we talked, I drove her home, and gave her a kiss on the cheek,” he said. “Then I went home and went to bed.”

As he spoke, my phone vibrated. I glanced down at it.

From Stella: Alisha, I think I kissed Gibbs!

My head shot up and Gibbs looked at me with a raised eyebrow

“You kissed?” I explained. He looked shocked.

“Well, she was drunk,” he began. “And she kissed me. That’s about it. Nothing else.”

“Really?” I exclaimed. Tony and Tim both seemed shocked as well.

“I wasn’t about to kiss someone who didn’t have control of themselves,” he stated. “If she was sober, I might have.”

____________________________________

I watched the kids as they set up for their projects and smiled as I continued reading over the scripts.

“Stella,” someone said. I looked up at Makayla, who was staring at me with a scowl.

“Yes?” I asked, handing inching toward my phone. She pulled her hand up and I was staring down the barrel of a gun.

“Don't move,” she growled. The kids were frozen. I saw one try to pull out their phone but Makaylah snarled at them and they stopped.

“You're helping them. You want them to take me away,” she said, sounding near hysterical. “All I wanted was the job. It would have been so easy but then they had to get in my way. And now you are with that man and you're helping him get rid of me.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“You told them it was me!” she shouted, her hand shaking, but it wasn't from nerves. She was insane. I saw Gibbs slip in behind her and I saw DiNozzo out of the corner of my eyes as he approached behind the kids.

“Makaylah put the gun down,” I said. “You don't want to hurt anyone.”

“Yes I do, Stella,” she snapped. “I'm going to kill you and these children and then I'm going after that silver-haired bastard of a boyfriend of yours.”

“No need to go after me,” Gibbs said as he stepped between us, his gun trained on her.

“Get out of the way, you son of a bitch,” she snarled.

“You'll shoot her if I do,” he said. She growled and went to pull the trigger. Before she could, Gibbs grabbed her wrist and twisted it until she dropped the gun. She hissed and bit him.

“Let go of me,” she snapped when that didn't get the result she wanted. He twisted her arm so it was pinned to her back and clapped a handcuff on her wrist. Soon, DiNozzo was dragging her off while she screamed and cussed.

"I can't believe you!" I exclaimed, making Gibbs turn around and frown.

"I just saved your life!" He countered.

"You're an idiot!" I shouted, slapping his shoulder. He looked surprised as I grabbed him by the collar, pulling him into a long kiss. "But thank you," I whispered when we pulled apart.

"Uh- Boss?" DiNozzo called, ruining the moment.

"What DiNozzo?" Gibbs groaned, turning to face him.  

"We have a case to wrap up."

__________________________________

I sighed and leaned back in my desk, rubbing my hands over my face.

“You okay there, boss?” McGee asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “It’s just the case was very stressful.”

“Sure,” DiNozzo mumbled. He glanced at me. “Well, at least you finally got that kiss from Stella.”

“Gibbs got a kiss?” Abby squealed as she walked up, bag over her shoulder. I rolled my eyes.

“Is all the paperwork done for the case?” I asked.

“Yep,” DiNozzo said. “Done and filed away, boss.”

“Makaylah is behind bars and it doesn’t look like she’s getting out anytime soon,” McGee said.

“So...”

“I’m not telling you about my love life, Abby,” I frowned.

“Who said she was going ask you?” DiNozzo frowned.

“If you want to know about McGee’s, go somewhere else,” I said.

“She never said she wanted to know about McSex’s love life,” he stated.

“Excuse me?”

We all looked over at where Stella was standing. I leaned back in my chair as she walked over.

“Stella, what are you doing here?” I asked. She smiled a little sheepishly and glanced at the others.

“Come on. Let’s give them some privacy,” Abby said, grabbing their arms and dragging them towards the elevator. They didn’t even bother pushing a button.

“So, uh, what can I help you with?” I asked.

“I was just going to ask if I could take you out as a thank you,” she smiled.

“Like a… date?” I asked. She smiled and pulled me into a kiss.

“Yes, Gibbs, a date,” she said when we pulled away.

“Oh my God,” McGee said.

“She kissed Gibbs,” DiNozzo added.

“Gibbs kissed back,” Abby said, sounding terribly happy. Stella giggled slightly and I smiled.

_______________________________________

I glanced at my phone to see a text from Alisha: Date running longer. Sub for me.

I smirked and walked to her classroom as the bell rang.

"Okay, class! Ms. Marie has been held up in a meeting, so I'm going to cover for her."

_______________________________________

I looked up as McGee walked into the office. Well, he more swaggered. I frowned as I studied the state of his clothes.

“Where have you been?” Gibbs barked.

“Sorry, boss,” McGee said. “I got… caught up in something.”

I let out a laugh and he glared at me.

“Yeah, caught up in something,” I chuckled.

“What are you going on about, Tony?” Gibbs asked. I gestured towards McGee to answer but he just raised an eyebrow.

“Come on, boss,” I frowned. “You really have to know this. The clearly messed up hair and frumpy clothes.”

“This have a point, DiNozzo?” he asked, obviously less than impressed.

“I mean, he obviously got farther than you did and they only went out for coffee,” I said. Both eyebrows raised and he stood up, walking past my desk and whacking me with the folder in his hand as he walked to the elevator. I glared at the doors as they closed and then turned to McGee, who was tense.

“So, how was it?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter, Tony,” he said. I snorted.

“Come on. Give me something,” I said. “Where was it? Your house, hers? The car? The bathroom? Her classroom?”

“You won’t ever know,” he said, giving me a look that screamed for me to shut up.

“I bet it was in the car,” I said, leaning back. “I mean, you are way too ruffled to have actually been anywhere spacious.”

He just rolled his eyes. I wonder how long until he just yells at me.

“I’m proud of you though, McGoober,” I said. “Got all the way and it was only the first date. I knew you would lose that gentlemanly charm eventually.”

“Tony, will you just shut up,” he snapped. Well, that took longer than expected. “You’re just jealous that I got some and you didn’t.”

“If you want to believe that,” I shrugged. He smirked as he went back to whatever nerdy thing he was doing on his computer.

_______________________________________

The bell rang loudly, excusing the class to leave the room. I gathered my things leaving the room, passing Alisha on my way down the hall. "How was the date?" I asked, her face turning red quickly.

"It was-uh-good." She stuttered.

"You slept with him, didn't you?" I smirked, crossing my arms.

"What? No!" She exclaimed defensively.

"I've known you for years. I can tell when you're lying." I laughed. "Get to class. We'll talk after school."

-------------------------------------

The classroom was loud as my students discussed their upcoming project. I sat at my desk, typing out a project proposal when someone knocked on the door. "I'll get it!" One of the students shouted, making me laugh. "Ms. Marshall! There's a man here for you!"

"Thank you." I smiled, looking up from my computer to see Gibbs standing there with two cups of coffee. "I'll be back in a moment," I told the kids before stepping out of the room. "Gibbs." I smiled. "For what do I owe the honor?"

"I figured you'd like some coffee." He smiled in return, passing me a cup. "I heard you had an extra class."

"Thank you." I smiled, taking a sip.

“Is that all? Just thought I would like some coffee?” I smirked. He chuckled and glanced at the classroom door. I turned and heard giggling.

“More people expecting a kiss?” he asked.

“Probably,” I smiled, turning back to him. He cleared his throat.

“Actually, I was wondering if you would like to go out for dinner?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow and he just smiled.

“Like a date?” I asked. He nodded.

“Maybe you could show me how to work a smartphone,” he said, his lips quirking into a joking smile. I giggled.

“Uh, I'd love to,” I said. The smile widened slightly. Before he could say anything his phone rang and a look of irritation crossed his face as he pulled it out.

“What?” he snapped into the phone. There was a pause as the person spoke. “Alright. I'll be there soon.”

He hung up and looked at me apologetically.

“I have to go. I'll see you later,” he said. I smiled and leaned up to place a kiss at the corner of his mouth.

“Goodbye, Gibbsy,” I said. He looked both amused and insulted by the nickname before he left.

------------------------------------

"A bar?" I laughed, walking up to Gibbs, who stood outside a small corner bar with a smile. "This is different."

"I figured you could use it, after the day you've had." He smiled in return, opening the door, allowing me to step inside. The bar was almost empty as Gibbs and I took a seat at a booth, quite rock and roll playing to drown out the quietness.

"My day was pretty great, actually." I smiled at him as a man walked over with two drinks, setting them on the table.

“Oh?” he asked, smiling.

“Yeah,” I smiled. “I mean, I subbed for Alisha but they were okay.”

“Sounds interesting,” he said. I laughed.

“Yeah. Alisha had coffee with one of your team,” I explained.

“I know. He was late,” he said, the look on his face looking like he knew exactly why. I giggled.

“Anyway, most of my class turned in scripts for their short films and most of them are very good,” I stated.

“A short film?” he asked. I nodded.

“Filming is going to start tomorrow. We’re going to be using the auditorium so they have more space. It’s sure to be interesting,” I said. He tilted his head in interest. “You could.. stop by? If you wanted, of course.”