Alice Story part 2

Grace Period

"The secret is to keep front shoulder in as long as possible. Both eyes stay level on the pitcher. Weight is back, and you track the ball... and you wait. It's all about concentration," Gibs informs me. He is standing in the batting cage without a helmet. I am standing on the other side of the batting cage so that I can't be hit by a ball. As he explains this to me he takes a couple of practise swings. Then a ball comes haltering towards Gibbs who swings and hits it. The next several balls he also hits without missing one.

"You know your cute ass is on display when you hit the balls," I inform Gibbs making him miss a ball, resulting in me laughing at him. I feel bad so I say, "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to ruin your concentration. Just thought you had a right to know."

"No. it was a lousy pitch," Gibbs promise me making me node.

"Still sorry... wrong time to tell you."

"Like that ever stopped you."

"True."

"Come on, in to the cage," Gibbs orders me making me pout as I grab the helmet Gibbs got me. I put it on before walking into the cage. I walk over to Gibbs who wraps his arms around me, showing me how to hold the bat... he explains as he goes, "This end here. It goes up."

"Thanks. I thought you might hit it with the little end."

"All right... you can try that but it doesn't work... inside of our feet shoulder-width apart. Slightly bend the knees. Hands together, knuckles lined up," Gibbs orders me as he kicks my feet into place and sitting me up to hit the balls.

"Do you teach everyone, everything this way? Seems like how I learnt to sand a boat too," I state.

"Yeah. Fast or slow?"

"Which one is easier to hit?"

"Okay, slow it is," Gibbs says as he sets the ball pitchers speed before moving over and leaning on the fence behind me, still out of the way of any balls I'll miss. The first ball flies out and hits the fence behind me. "Alice, you've got to swing to hit it."

"Right," I mumble as I watch the balls coming towards me and I swing hitting the first ball. The next ball I swing for and miss. I miss the next four or five balls, but I hit the one after that... with my fingers on the grip making me drop the bat in pain.

"Alice, are you alright?" Gibbs asks me as he moves over to me while turning the machine off and grabs my hands.

"That hurts," I hiss because my right hand fingers really hurt and are already swelling.

"Sorry baby. I didn't think you get hit by a ball," Gibbs mumbles as he checks my hands but I rip my hands away from him when he touches my fingers.

"Ow," I hiss in pain making Gibbs place a kiss on the top of my head.

"Sorry baby... let's put some ice on that," Gibbs whispers to me as his phone begins ringing. He answers it while leading me away, "Yeah, Gibbs... Yeah, I'll be right there."

"Whose dead?" I ask Gibbs when he loses all his colour in his face and I know that look in his eyes. I saw it when Kate died and when Pacci dead... I hope to never have to see it again but I know I will. I just hope who died didn't suffer, no plague or torture. Just a quick, humanin death.

"Two of Cassidy's people," Gibbs informs me as we walk past Mann who is batting without any trouble. He leads me into the office where he gets an ice pack for my hand. We then walk out to the car and drive to NCIS.

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"Her men weren't so lucky," Ziva informs Tony in the squad room as we arrive. Ziva is wearing Roy's running hat, a green off the shoulder shirt and a dark purple singlet. McGee is wearing his normal suit. Tony looks like a normal person for a change. Gibbs has changed into a set of jean but besides that he is in his weekend clothing, he only changed his pants because it's not a good idea to wear sweat pants at a crime scene.