CONSENSUS OF OPINION
By
Ashleigh Anpilova
DiNozzo is gathering opinions as to whether Ducky will persuade Gibbs to go on holiday.
An established relationship story.
Written: November 2007. Word count: 1,144.
"Yes or no, Ziva?"
"Yes or no, what, Tony?" She looked at him carefully.
"Will Ducky persuade Gibbs to go on holiday with him?" Tony asked patiently.
Ziva frowned. "I do not see why not. After all they are a couple, are they not?"
"Yes, but that isn't the point."
"Then what is the point, Tony?"
"McGeek, come here."
McGee sighed, but obeyed. "Yes, Tony?"
"You tell Ziva."
"Tell her what?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't you two ever listen to me? No, don't answer that," he added hurriedly. "Tell her about Gibbs and holidays."
"Ah," McGee said. "Gibbs and holidays." He smiled knowingly.
"What?" Ziva said. "What?" she demanded, a moment later when neither Tony nor McGee answered.
Finally McGee, after a quick look around him, said, "Gibbs doesn't do holidays."
"What do you mean, does not 'do' holidays?"
"Ziva, how long have you worked here?" Tony asked.
"Approximately two years."
"Exactly."
"What do you mean 'exactly'?" She started to sound angry.
"In those two years, Ziva, have you ever known the boss take any time off?"
Ziva frowned. "Well now that you come to mention it, apart from the months he was in Mexico, no. He has not."
"And," McGee added, "In the eighteen months before that, I've never known him take time off either."
"There you are, then. Ducky won't win. He won't persuade Gibbs to go on holiday. No way."
Ziva tilted her head to one side and frowned again. "I do not know," she said slowly.
"Well I do."
She ignored Tony. "In every relationship there has to be balance, no? Give and take, if not a relationship cannot survive. Gibbs cannot always get his own way, otherwise Ducky would not –"
"Ducky would not what? Hey, guys." Abby bounced up to the group and beamed; Palmer was trailing along behind her. "Well, what wouldn't the Duckman do?"
"According to Officer David, who is, of course such an expert in these things . . ." Tony took a step back as Ziva glared at him and hurriedly continued, "Ducky and Gibbs wouldn't still be together if Gibbs always got his own way."
"Gibbs doesn't always get his own way," Abby said firmly.
Tony just looked at her.
"He doesn't," Abby insisted, "Does he, Jimmy?"
Palmer shook his head. "No," he said. "Agent Gibbs often –"
Tony ignored him. "So you reckon Ducky will persuade Gibbs to go on holiday then, do you?"
"Gibbs is going on holiday?" Abby sounded surprised.
"Hah! See, you don't believe it."
"How do you know anyway, Tony?" McGee suddenly asked.
"I overheard them talking about it. Well sort of," Tony added.
"So you do not know? You are merely guessing."
"No, Ziva. I'm using my investigative skills, piecing together all the evidence, considering it, and –"
"Guessing," Abby and McGee said together.
Tony frowned. "Let's say I'm right. Is Ducky going to win? Will he persuade Gibbs to go on holiday?"
"Yes." Ziva spoke decisively.
"Yes." Abby's tone was less decisive.
"McGeek?"
McGee hesitated for a minute; the other three looked at him. "I think he will, yes." He spoke slowly; his tone lacked the decisiveness of Abby's and Ziva's.
"So do I," Palmer added. His tone was firmer than McGee's.
"Any of you care to place a bet on that?" Tony looked around the group.
Abby, McGee, Palmer and Ziva looked at one another.
"Come on," Tony wheedled. "Ten dollars each. What have you got to lose?"
"Ten dollars?" Ziva answered.
Tony cast a withering smile at her. "Not so certain now are we, Officer David?"
She glared at him. "Very well. I will bet you ten dollars that Ducky will persuade Gibbs to go on holiday."
One by one the others followed her lead.
Tony rubbed his hands; this was going be like taking candy from a baby. Maybe he'd – "Oh, hey, boss," he called as Gibbs, followed by Ducky and, to Tony's surprise, Fornell strode into the squad room. The fact that Gibbs was wearing a suit, and Ducky's own suit wasn't one Tony had seen him wear before, added to his surprise.
"Special assignment, boss?" he asked.
Gibbs stared at him.
"Well it's just that you're wearing a suit and you don't often . . . Not that there's any reason why you shouldn't wear a suit. It's just that you're . . . Hey, Fornell, FBI and NCIS working together on this one, are they?"
Fornell's stare was almost identical to the one Gibbs wore.
Ducky, standing between Gibbs and Fornell, looked slightly amused.
"Maybe I'll just . . . Yeah, I'll do that." Tony turned and started to move towards his desk.
"DiNozzo."
"Yes, boss."
"What you can do is tell me why you're all talking and not working."
"Er. . . Camp fire?" Tony said hopefully. The stare became more intense. "Well, we were just . . . That is . . . We –"
"Palmer!"
"Yes, sir, Special Agent Gibbs, sir?"
"You tell me."
Palmer's stare swiveled back and forth between the two groups. "Er, yes, sir. Spec –"
"I believe I know what the children were discussing, Jethro." Ducky's gentle tone interrupted Palmer, who visibly sighed with relief.
Gibbs turned and glanced down at Ducky. "You do, Duck?"
Ducky smiled. "Oh, yes, my dear. Anthony, why do you not simply ask Jethro?"
Tony was trapped. He knew that. He'd known it from the moment Gibbs had appeared. He swallowed hard, braced himself, looked at his boss and asked, his tone as nonchalant as possible, "Did Ducky persuade you to go on holiday, boss?"
"Nope," Gibbs said, and walked towards his desk.
"Yes!" Tony cried. "That's ten –"
"Didn't need to. I'd already arranged it. Although," Gibbs paused in the process of turning off his computer and looked at Ducky, "Is a honeymoon technically a holiday, Duck?"
Ducky beamed. "Oh, yes, Jethro. It most certainly is. Indeed the dictionary describes is thus: 'a holiday taken by a newly married couple' as well as 'spend a holiday after one's marriage'. So yes, a honeymoon is technically a holiday. Unless of course, we are going to play semantics and Anthony is going to insist on –"
"Duck." Gibbs interrupted him gently; Ducky merely smiled.
"In that case, DiNozzo, you owe them ten dollars each."
"But boss –" Tony started to say. Then it suddenly hit him. "Did you say honeymoon?"
"Yep. Well," Gibbs asked, as he strode towards the elevators, accompanied by Ducky and Fornell. "Why are you lot still standing there? Ceremony's in half an hour." The doors to the elevator pinged open and Gibbs ushered Ducky inside and, followed by Fornell, joined him.
As the doors closed Tony, Abby, McGee, Ziva and Palmer just stared at one another.
"Well," Abby demanded, after a second of two of inactivity had gone by. "You heard Gibbs. Move now!"
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