Trauma Queen: A NCIS Fanfiction

Chapter Fourteen

"Are you excited for tonight?" Abby asked, entering the bullpen. The whole team was here and I honestly didn't want Tim to know I had a date. If I didn't mention it, maybe Abby wouldn't either.

"Yeah, very. A little nervous, but I'm sure it'll be fine. Do you want to see the dress?" I smiled, whipping out my cell phone.

"Of course I do!" When I showed her the picture, she gasped. "You're going to look gorgeous in that! Oh I can't wait to hear all about it!"

"All about what?" Tony asked, listening to our conversation.

I was about to respond when Abby did instead. "I set her up on a date tonight!"

I blushed when Tony stared at me. "A date?"

I nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. It's not a big deal. It's just some guy Abby knows, no one I've actually met yet."

"I hope you have a great time," Tim interjected. "I also have a date tonight."

Tony put a hand to his heart. "McGeek, I'm so proud of you. Is she hot?"

Tim laughed. "I actually don't know. Ziva set me up with one of her friends she thinks I would like."

I looked at him. "You also have a blind date? That's so funny. I'm sure you'll have a great time!" I smiled, even though I was jealous. As excited as I was for this date, I would've much rather gone on a date with Tim.

Tim's smile also looked forced when he thanked me. I gathered my coffee and followed Abby down to her lab, where I'd be helping her for the rest of the day.

"Can't you tell me anything about this guy?" I asked her when she set me up with our petty officer's laptop. I was in charge on analyzing its contents and looking for anything suspicious.

She sighed. "All right fine. Ask me what you want to know and I'll tell you only if it doesn't give too much away, okay?"

I laughed. "What does he do for a living?"

She smiled. "Computer stuff. He's a really smart guy. You two are alike in that department."

"Where does he live?"

"Also in DC. He's got a small apartment to himself. It's really nice." She smiled to herself as she analyzed some blood samples for a toxicology scan.

I tried to think of other questions. "What are his hobbies?"

"He loves to write. He also plays MMORPGs online."

"Wow Abby. You really picked my exact dream guy." I laughed. "An intelligent but cute nerd."

"I set you up with the male version of you." She stuck her tongue out at me and I threw my head back in laughter. She wasn't wrong.

I spent the rest of the day analyzing the computer, sorting through files and looking through his social media and email. This guy seemed to live a very boring life. He was an online chess player and wasn't married to anyone. He had a few documents on his computer related to his work, but nothing stood out to me. He barely sent any emails that weren't related to work and he had a bland MySpace page. He was twenty years old so I would think he would have been more intriguing.

"Damn," Abby said loudly.

I stopped what I was doing and immediately turned to her. "Did you find something?"

She nodded furiously. "What do you have Abby?" I heard Gibbs's voice come through the lab and his footsteps walk quickly to where we were sitting.

"How do you always know when I have something? Gibbs you must be psychic or something." She clicked open a mass spec analysis and a mix of chemical compounds came up. "Our petty officer had enough fentanyl and ketamine in his system to kill a water buffalo when he died. And that could mean two things. He was either poisoned or he was doing some kind of drug that was laced with these compounds."

My eyes went wide. "People lace drugs with ketamine and fentanyl?" I was shocked. Those were incredibly heavy drugs.

She nodded. "Yeah. Apparently it increases the high you get when you lace it into marijuana. But anyway, he had no history of drug use so I'm going to guess that he was drugged."

Gibbs gave Abby a kiss on the cheek. "Good work Abbs." He turned to leave.

"Wait! I'm not done yet!" Abby smiled when Gibbs turned around with a look that told her to hurry up. She typed something into her computer and a photo of a naval officer came up on the screen. Seaman Roman Pierce. "I found his fingerprints all over our petty officer's clothing. So either he had something to do with it, or the two of them were getting cozy before he died."

"Thank you Abby. Do you have-"

"Address is 317 Maple, Norfolk. He's on leave to visit his sister." She handed Gibbs a post-it note with what I assumed was the address. He rushed out of the lab and Abby turned to me with a smile. "Go home Naomi. Go get ready for your date. It's nearly six already. And you've got to be there in two hours!"

I looked at my watch, gave Abby a hug, and hurried home. There was no way I was going to be late for this date.

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I checked my makeup one last time before I left the bathroom. I had done a brown Smokey eye look and neutral lipstick to make my features stand out. My blonde hair was slightly curled and it always made my brown eyes pop. I really did like the way I looked, and I hoped my date did as well.

I slipped on a pair of brown wedge heels and grabbed my purse before walking out the door and down to the cab I had called a few minutes ago. I wasn't going to walk the twenty minutes of La Bella Nota and I sure as hell wasn't going to drive; I wanted a glass of wine and I fully intended to get it.

I arrived at the restaurant and stood outside for a few minutes before I went in. It was just before 8 and I didn't want to be exactly on time. I paced up and down the road, trying to get my nerves out. I was an awkward girl and didn't know the first thing about going on dates. I never knew what to talk about or how to act. And I was definitely not a natural flirt.

I finally mustered up enough courage to go through the door. Abby had told me the host or hostess knew that it was a blind date and to tell them that I was there for exactly that. The hostess was a girl in her teens and had way too much makeup on and way too short of a dress. She smiled at me when I approached. 

"Hi, do you have a reservation?" She had one of those really high pitched voices.

"Um, my friend set up this blind date so..." I mentally slapped myself for being so awkward.

"Oh yes! Your date is here already." She motioned for me to follow her towards the tables. "And may I just say he's very cute."

I laughed. "I hope. I'm really actually very nervous. I've never done something like this before."

She smiled at me. "Don't be nervous. Your friend requested a table in a back corner of the room so you two could have some privacy. No one's going to even notice you two."

"That's comforting. Thank you."

She turned a corner and pointed to a table all the way in the back right corner of the room. "He's right there." I followed her finger and my heart stopped. I couldn't believe Abby did this.