Chapter 5 – Convincing Abby
Jon followed Gibbs into the elevator after changing back into his suit. He didn’t bother to put the jacket back on and just carried it over one arm with the tie tucked into a pocket. It was one thing to be formal for the President, but he never had a love for the suit and tie. The sooner he could get into BDU’s the better.
Now, he was just waiting for Gibbs to give him some kind of direction. Jon didn’t usually feel the need to talk to fill the silence, but Gibbs’ slightly hostile quiet was beginning to get to him. Instinctively, Jon knew that Gibbs was just testing him, trying to find his limits. But Jon had been away from that kind of bullshit for too long. He knew what he needed to do to prove himself to Gibbs, but he was finding it hard to care. He knew his limits and that was enough for him. But he never did the silent treatment well unless he was doing it to someone else…
But before he cracked, Gibbs broke the silence, “You get to convince Abby to come on this little trip the President has thrown together. Report to DiNozzo when you are done.”
Jon nodded, “I’ll need to take her to a secure location to brief her.” His brief observations of the building had found that NCIS was as well monitored as the SGC. Unfortunately, only Gibbs and Abby were cleared to know anything about Atlantis.
Gibbs turned and eyed him suspiciously, “MTAC?”
Jon turned a critical eye on Gibbs, “Please, secure...yes. Secure enough for the project...hell no.”
“And my basement was?” Gibbs retorted.
Jon grinned, “Yeah, after it was scanned.”
Gibbs held his eyes for a moment in a contest of wills. The elevator door opened and Gibbs broke contact first. “Fine. Just don’t take too long.” Gibbs strode out the elevator and down the hall towards the Forensics Lab. Jon quickly caught up and they entered the lab together.
A heavy gothic beat pounded through the lab, deafening everyone who walked in. Ms. Abby Sciuto was moshing in front of her computer in time to the music. Gibbs called her name once, before striding over to the stereo and unplugging it. The immediate silence was almost as deafening as the music.
“HEY!” Abby protested as she turned around glaring. Her angry glare immediately changed to a megawatt smile as she spotted Gibbs. “GIBBS!” she shouted in greeting as she ran over and gave Gibbs a hug. She gave Jon a curious look as she turned back to Gibbs, “What are you doing down here? I haven’t got anything running for you, do I?” she asked as she looked around at her machinery.
“No, Abs,” Gibbs replied with a crooked grin, “I brought you a present.” He gestured to Jon.
Abby turned and gave him her full appraisal. Jon flushed in embarrassment as she let her once over linger a bit longer than was necessary.
“No offense, Gibbs, but I prefer my men a bit older. Oh, he’s cute and all, but...I like my men a bit more...mature,” Abby said as she turned away from the pair. “Besides, it’s not my birthday. You don’t need to get me a present.”
“Well, I had to get you something for dragging you away from your lab,” Gibbs replied cryptically.
“What?!” Abby spun around eyes wide.
“O’Neill will explain everything. I’ll talk to you two later,” Gibbs turned and nodded to Jon with a suppressed smirk and left before Abby could corner him.
“Gibbs? Damn it. I’m not leaving...Don’t you remember what happened last time...Gibbs?” Abby called after Gibbs. She rounded on Jon, “I don’t want to hear it, mister. I DON’T LEAVE THE LAB. It’s a rule...or should be...” She suddenly stopped mid-sentence, “O’Neill? As in Jonathan O’Neill?” she stalked him from across the lab, with a distinctly predatory look on her face
“Uh...yeah. I prefer Jon,” he said and stuck out his hand in greeting.
Abby squealed and grabbed him in a huge hug, “Fingerprint Boy!” She released the hug only to latch on to his arm and drag him across the lab to one corner.
“I still prefer Jon,” he said again, sullenly.
Abby giggled and proceeded to pull out her finger printing supplies. “You are the best present ever,” she replied. “Gibbs has totally outdone himself.” She finished taking his prints and then dragged him over to another corner and pulled out a sterile q-tip, “Open wide.”
Jon pulled back and evaded the q-tip, “Hey, could you buy a guy dinner before sampling his DNA?” She pulled her arm back and giggled at his comment. “Tell ya what, I’ll let you take your samples...providing that you let me convince you to go on this mission.”
Abby’s eyebrow quirked and she grinned at him, her arm still wielding her q-tip, “Mission? I’m a lab geek at NCIS...I don’t do ‘missions’,” she replied with air quotes.
Jon sighed, “Alright, maybe ‘mission’ isn’t the right word. What’s the right cop word?...Case? Yeah, case. Let me convince you to go with us on this case. Deal?”
Abby giggled again. “Case,” she said, again using with air quotes. “Wow, did you get your decoder ring out of a cereal box?” She picked up her stuffed hippo and gave it a good squeeze. The hippo let out a farting noise and Abby grinned. “The answer is still no.”
Jon grinned at the farting hippo. Hell, where did one even find a farting hippo. “Look, I know you don’t usually leave the lab. But, we are going to be so far from DC that we can’t send the data back for you to look at. Agent Gibbs doesn’t trust anyone but you when it comes to the lab geek stuff. He needs you to come with us.”
“Gibbs needs me?” Abby repeated as she eyed him.
“Yes,” Jon replied, sensing that he was treading on thin ice.
Abby broke out into a huge grin, “Nice angle. So, where are we going?”
Jon hesitated then grimaced, “I can’t tell you here.”
She frowned at him, “Why not?”
He winced, “Because it’s classified,” he offered lamely.
She looked around, cocked her head to one side, and waved her q-tip like a wand, “We are deep in the heart of NCIS headquarters. I’m sure we are secure enough.”
Jon closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, “Yeah, deep inside a heavily monitored building where only you, Gibbs, and I are allowed to know the location.” He stopped and then smiled, “But, I know where we can go so I can tell you...you game?”
Abby eyed him up and down critically, “You really can tell me?”
Jon gave her the patented O’Neill grin, “Honest Injun.”
She responded to his grin, “Okay.” She stepped back up to him with her q-tip and quirked her eyebrow.
Jon sighed and opened his mouth. Abby quickly swiped the q-tip swab on the side of his mouth and then tucked it into a sample jar, humming to the Goth tune that had been playing earlier.
Once Abby had properly labeled and cataloged her new prints and samples. Then she went around the lab and checked all her machines before taking off her lab coat and hanging it up. Finally, she turned back to Jon, “I’m all ready. Let’s go.”
Jon grinned as he took in her full Goth attire. He was really starting to like Abby. Oh yeah, this was going to be good. “Bring your finger printing/DNA collecting stuff,” he said rubbing his hands together. He knew the perfect place to brief her and the best part of his plan was his ability to harass Jack at the same time.
“Okay,” she quickly collected her gear and then looked at him expectantly. “Well?”
Jon laughed, “Do you have somewhere...without cameras that I could make a call?”
She gave him a questioning look and then said, “Sure. We’ll use Gibbs’ conference room,” she said as she led him back to the elevators.
“Right...” Jon said confused, as he followed her into the elevator.
The elevator doors closed and Abby punched the emergency stop button and then looked at him expectantly.
“Here?” he said confused.
“Yup, the stop kills the power to the lights and...dun, dun, dun...the cameras,” she said in a deep comical voice.
He laughed and pulled out his special cell phone. “Here, hold this,” he told Abby as he passed her the locator beacon. Then he quickly dialed the SGC and had Walter patch him through to Carter on the Daedalus, “Hey, Carter...” he said smoothly, “Can you send me and a friend to Jack’s office?”
“Sure, Jon. Just give me a second...Ready?” Carter replied in a distracted tone.
“You betcha,” he replied with a wink to Abby. A second later they were both enveloped in white light.
The light faded and they were surrounded by machinery and computers. Abby continued to stare at the computers in wide eyed fascination while Jon turned and caught sight of Carter and an Asgard. He smiled and waved as Carter looked up. She eyed Abby’s clothing with a questioning look before asking, “Is he expecting you?”
Jon gave her a wicked grin, “Nope.”
She sighed, “Jon...” then just shook her head, “Fine, but remember that Dr Novak is the one who did you a favor.”
Jon’s grin widened, “Yes, Ma’am.”
Carter smiled back and they were once again surrounded by white light.
This time when the light faded, they were standing in front of a large cherry wood desk. Major General Jack O’Neill looked up and slowly took off the reading glasses he had been using to go through reports. He eyed the two new additions to his office and quirked an eyebrow at Jon.
“Oh. My. God.” Abby exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement. She turned to Jon holding out the locator beacon, “This is the coolest holographic generator ever. I mean, the detail in the computer room with the blonde and the Roswell alien was pretty cool, but to see General Foxy’s office. Did Tony tell you I had a crush on him?” she rambled on while trying to take in the room and ogle Jack.
“Um…” Jon tried to start, “It’s not a hologram.”
“Really?” Abby said in a disbelieving tone. “If it’s not a hologram then what is it?” she challenged, clearly feeling that her position was solid.
“My office,” Jack replied clearly amused. He carefully closed the folders on his desk before leaning back and watching the pair.
Abby let out a squeak and jumped at the sound of his voice. She instinctively stepped behind Jon clutching her kit to her chest.
“Jon?” Jack asked in a firm tone.
“Jack,” Jon replied with a grin as he watched his older double.
Jack sniffed, “Care to explain?” he prompted, gesturing to Abby.
“Oh…” Jon replied as if it slipped his mind, “Disclosure, yada yada, the usual, ya know?”
“Ah…” Jack said in understanding. “So you brought her…here?”
“Well, yeah,” Jon goaded, as if this was the most obvious place to take her.
“He’s really real?” Abby asked quietly behind him.
“Yeah. Go ahead and poke him,” Jon replied.
“Hey!” Jack protested as Abby stepped out from behind Jon to do just that.
Abby walked around the desk and eyed Jack warily before carefully reaching out and poking him in the arm. She gave him the biggest smile and then dropped into his lap for a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. She jumped up and dropped her kit on the desk in front of him. “You are so much cuter than your AFIS photo,” she stated as laid out her supplies.
“What?” Jack asked even more bewildered than before.
“Of course, your mug shot was pretty hot. But it had the whole bad boy feel to it. Now open,” she instructed holding out another q-tip.
Jack snapped his jaw shut and tried to back away from the q-tip wielding Goth girl, “Jon?”
Too late, Abby darted forward and swabbed the inside of his mouth. She had the q-tip tucked back into a sample jar before Jack could protest.
“I wouldn’t fight her. She probably won’t stop until she has her samples to test. Will you?” Jon asked with a cheeky grin.
“Nope,” Abby replied with a smile while tugging on one of Jack’s reluctant hands.
Seeing Jon laughing at him, Jack finally relented and allowed Abby to take his fingerprints.
“I’m assuming there’s a reason for all this,” Jack stated waving his ink stained fingers at Jon.
“Uh, yeah, kinda, sorta…” Jon dissembled.
“Of course,” Abby replied with a grin. “I plan on finding out why you two have identical finger prints. You do know how impossible that is, right?”
“She does have clearance, doesn’t she?” Jack asked Jon pointedly.
“Stop talking about me like I’m not here…It’s rude,” Abby said with a frown while crossing her arms and stomping her foot.
“Sorry, where are my manners,” Jon apologized with a sassy grin, “Jack, may I introduce you to Ms. Abigail Sciuto, NCIS’ foremost forensics expert, and my new teammate. Abby, Major General Jack O’Neill, Director of Homeworld Security, general pain in the ass, and original holder of the DNA.”
Abby’s eyes widened as she took in that last statement, but she held herself back and gave the general a deep curtsy, “General.”
Jack inclined his head politely, “Ms. Sciuto.”
Jon clapped his hands loudly, “Alright. Now down to business. Abby, I’m sure you are curious as to how we got here.”
“I still say it’s a hologram…a really, really, cool interactive hologram…” Abby replied as she snooped around the room.
“But it’s not. It’s a really cool alien transporter,” Jon replied casually.
Abby spun around and gaped at Jon, “Alien…you’re not just saying that are you?”
“Nope,” he replied with a smile. “That Roswell alien you saw is actually an Asgard. His name is Hermiod. He’s been helping us out by upgrading several of our ships’ systems.”
Abby sank down into the nearest chair in shock. “But…but…wow!” Then she round on Jack with an accusing finger, “I knew the Air Force was in on the cover-up.”
Jack frowned, “Which cover-up?”
“The one were the aliens are abducting people for weird tests…cow mutilations…and…and crop circles and stuff…” Abby said winding herself up. “Oh, my God. You aren’t going to erase my memory or anything are you?”
Jon and Jack chuckled. Jack raised his hand in an appeasing gesture, “No. We don’t do that sort of thing. And if we didn’t want you to know…then you wouldn’t have been selected for the Atlantis case.”
“You mean Atlantis is real too?” Abby said in shock.
Jack turned to Jon, “Haven’t you told her yet?”
“No, I was saving it for a secure location. They have NCIS Headquarters wired as heavily as the SGC,” Jon replied sitting down next to Abby.
“Well, if I have to watch that damn tape again, we can at least have cake.” Jack hit his intercom, “Janelle, I need cake and coffee for three.”
“Yes, General,” the intercom squeaked back.
Jon hopped up and put in a DVD in the player tucked into the corner of the room. “I can’t believe you actually convinced Daniel to do this video,” Jon commented.
“Why? He was sick of being called into every new disclosure briefing and losing a day of playing with his rocks.” Jack smiled, “Actually, he was surprised that he didn’t think of it sooner.”
The video started showing Daniel standing in front of the Stargate, “Hello. I’m Doctor Daniel Jackson and behind me is a Stargate. It was originally built millennia ago by an alien race…”
The office door opened as the DVD played and Jack’s secretary brought in the cake and coffee. Abby quietly accepted her piece of cake, while her eyes were riveted to the screen absorbing the information. After being shushed several times, Jon gave up trying to talk to Jack and just watched. Jack went back to his reports and emails. Jon shut the video off after Daniel had completed the section about finding the original Stargate in Egypt and a brief summary of the first Stargate mission.
“Well, what do you think?” Jon asked the awed girl.
Abby continued to stare at the wall, “I think I need to know why you brought me here. ‘Cause this…” she said gesturing to the TV. She turned her eyes on the two, “This is a lot…”
“Yeah,” Jon started. “The President has asked Agent Gibbs to do an investigation into a Marine Lieutenant who is currently listed as MIA. Gibbs is the family advocate for this case. This Marine was stationed in Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy. Of his current team, only you and Gibbs were able to pass the security checks. I was assigned as additional support.”
Abby gave him a disbelieving look, “You’re a kid. How could you possibly help?”
“I only look like a kid. I’m actually that old geezer’s clone,” Jon said pointing back to Jack.
Jack looked up from his reports and glared over his glasses, “I’m not even going to dignify that with a reply.”
“Clone?” Abby scoffed. “I don’t think so. We are years from human cloning.”
“Yeah, humans are. But the aliens figured it out years ago,” Jon quipped with a smile.
“What?” Abby said. “You are honestly trying to get me to believe that you…he was cloned by aliens? Do I look that stupid?”
Jon smiled, “I never said you were stupid. I even gave you samples to test. That’s why the fingerprints match. The DNA will match too. Trust me, this…” he said gesturing to his body, “was not my idea.”
Abby glared at him and stood up and started to pace the office, thinking hard. “Alright,” she said, “assuming you are correct, that still doesn’t explain how you can help Gibbs and I. Sharing DNA just isn’t enough.”
Jon watched her closely and finally relented, “The aliens that perfected this cloning process…” Jack snorted across the room. “…do not reproduce the normal way. They clone a body and transfer their consciousness into the clone. I don’t just have Jack’s DNA. I also share his memories up until when I was cloned. Anything he could do…” Jon said pointing at Jack with a grin, “I can do better.”
“Better?” Jack shook his head in disbelief.
“Better,” Jon quipped pointing to the glasses.
Jack sighed tiredly, “Just you wait, your time will come. First the knees and then the back and finally, the eyes.”
Abby just continued to stare at the two of them in disbelief, shaking her head.
“Would it help if I told you about his first crush in 3rd Grade?…Little Nancy Spencer…” Jon said with an evil grin.
“Hey,” Jack protested. “That is so…NOT cool.”
“Or what about that time at the Cubs game where…” Jon continued.
“NOT. COOL,” Jack interrupted.
Abby finally giggled at their antics before finally relenting, “I’m not saying that I believe you, but…I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt…for now.” She gave them both a shy smile, “I’ll go…providing that I get to meet a real live alien.”
Jon grinned, “Oh, that…is a given.”
“Welcome aboard,” Jack said with the same quirky grin.
--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG
TBC
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