Chapter 1: Envy
Abby sat in her lab, spinning in the stool at the table that hosted an assortment of evidence that different teams dropped off to her. She knew she should be working on processing them, but took the time to sit and wallow in her emotions.
Her friends got to go out and investigate scenes, but was also glad because Gibbs always managed to find her good evidence. Sometimes she just wanted to see the scenes and evidence untouched, undisturbed by everyone’s trampling on the scenes. In that she was jealous as she sat in her lab waiting.
That was hard too, the waiting. Sometimes the team would be out for days before coming back to her while she waited in her lab. She could go home and wait to be called, but that wasn’t her style. Abby will wait for them, as she always done before. In the waiting, her envious thoughts began to nag at her before consuming her causing her to feel the need to snap at the first person that came through that door…until she saw the Caf-Pow in the man’s hand greeting her.
Chapter 2: Gluttony
McGee sat at his computer ignoring Tony’s nagging comments about how Gibbs ordered him to do this round of copying and calls himself. Sighing, he just stared at the screen in front of him.
It was like his bank account was laughing at him. Sure Tim’s books were successful and he did earn a nice amount from their sales, but he was foolish. He had been too excited at his sudden popularity that he went and bought too many new gadgets and toys, starting with his Porsche.
Now, those royalties were gone and he was back to living off his NCIS earnings, check to check like before. He could almost hear his parents in his head, scolding him for counting his eggs before they hatched.
Sighing, he closed out of the window and turned back to Tony, deciding to him his teammate when he found Tony looking at something online. Suddenly, McGee’s own eyes lit up as he leaned over his friend’s shoulder to get a better look at the ads for the new Wii that was about to come out soon.
Chapter 3: Pride
Pride is an evil companion. Gibbs knew that well enough. However, not even he could fight it. His pride in his team, his friends, his family always led him down into dangerous territory. Always trying to keep his professional distance, but these men and women always got to him and he was proud of their dedication.
It was when that pride came to back to bite him in the ass with a vengeance. Suspects, and the confirmed guilty, had a sense of his emotional link to his team and knew that it was that pride that would be his downfall.
Abby’s stalker, Tony’s many accusations of murder, Ziva being framed for terrorist acts, and McGee’s protection of his sister during her investigation. Boone was keenly aware of this weakness and used it. Lucky for Gibbs, he failed and got the chair. One bad guy down and now the question was how many more will there be?
Chapter 4: Lust
Being Director had his advantages, but its disadvantages as well. Jenny stood at the railing that overlooked the bullpen below where her lead investigation team worked diligently. However, her eyes were focused on the silver haired man on the phone that sat at his desk.
Professionally, he was out of her reach – just as he was supposed to be in Paris when they worked the same team. The thoughts and memories would not escape her and they continuously flashed before her eyes every time his name was mentioned or he simply looked back at her, masking his own emotions that she had a strong yearning to know.
She could almost feel his skin against hers, the smell of his sweat mixed with hers in the heat of passion, entangled in one another’s arms as they laughed together to work the sheets that knotted around them. Paris.
With a sigh, Director Shepard gripped the folder she held and turned to enter MTAC, missing the turn of the man below that looked up at her retreating back with the same desire hiding behind his own eyes.