Journey Series: Ellick

Day 764

Day 764 since he'd left, Ellie was suddenly stabbed. She ran out of ketchup and prawn chips, and Normallacy crumbled. It was late into the night of the 764th day. They had a case. Not time-sensitive by any means, but she was avoiding the emptiness of her apartment. She went to the drawer to retrieve a bag of chips. It was empty. The bareness of the drawer stabbed her straight through the heart. She slowly closed the drawer. In a fog, she made her way to the breakroom. She feebly attempted to buy something from the vending machine. But the machine would not release the snack. Frustrated, she punched the pinpad. "Come on," she growled. Pain radiated through her fist. But it wasn't for that reason that she found herself struggling against tears. 

Someone grasped her shoulder. She turned to face him. Gibbs. His grey eyes pierced hers. After a moment, he asked, "Alright there Bishop?" "Yeah," she said. He frowned. "You can't lie to me, Bishop." Softer, he said, "You shouldn't have to lie to me, Bishop." The tears came, hot and ready. "I miss him," she whispered. "Go home Bishop," Gibbs said. Shaking her head vehemently she said, "Don't make me go home, Gibbs." "Don't make me get Vance to order you," he retorted, "Go home, get some rest, and get a hold of yourself. You can't afford to be off your game." Sniffling, very ashamed of having cried in front of Gibbs, Ellie said, "Okay." As she turned to leave, Gibbs once again grasped her shoulder and whispered quietly in her ear, "He'll be back. He just needs time to realize that the best answers have always been right here in front of him."

Ellie drove home in shock. But after the shock wore off, her mind began to analyze, just in case she had misread something. But she hadn't. Gibbs knew. If anyone else did, that didn't matter. What did, the most important thing of all was that Gibbs approved.