Title: Faint.
Author: Taisa Prongsie.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Donald "Ducky" Mallard / Abigail "Abby" Sciuto / Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Summary: Abby doesn't want Gibbs and Ducky to worry, so she tries to keep her symptoms to herself.
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: Ducky, Abby & Gibbs (as with the rest of the NCIS team) are not mine.

----

Abby knew that what was going on wasn't normal, though she fought against the faint feeling that was trying to overtake her. Leaning against the metal frame of her desk, she carefully evaluated the rest of her physical symptoms: her heart was racing faster than usual (Maybe it's just panic creeping in..., she thought), her hands were a bit clammy, and it was quite possible that she had a fever on top of all this.

While attempting not to fall over, Abby grabbed a large glass of water from the fridge in her office. Drinking the cool beverage, she muttered "Great" while pouting slightly.

"What's great, Abbs?" a deep yet horribly distinctive voice inquired from behind her. (Uh-oh.)

Pretending to pass it off as nothing, Abby shrugs the phrase off. "Gibbs! It's just great – well, not great, considering I was being sarcastic – that you came down and I don't have any results for you. Unless you're doing that psychic thing where you know something before the computers do – do you?"

Making a fatal error in judgement – one that the Special Agent immediately picked up – the usually caffeinated forensic scientist attempted to go over to her boss, but wobbled half a second into the walk.

Catching her, Gibbs shook his head. "I do know something, and you – young lady – are going to elaborate on what I don't know." His voice was firm but worried. "Understand me, Abbs?" To which she nodded emphatically, before her superior brought her over to her desk and sat her down.

"Considering your jump at my entrance, your penchant for looking left during your story, and your sheepish smile I catch every time something is going on, I could figure it out. The wobbling doesn't help much, Abbs. What's going on?" Gibbs leaned down and looked her dead in the eye.

Once again, Abby began to pout: she knew she was a bad liar, and there really was no point in lying to Gibbs. Groaning miserably, "I don't know Gibbs. I just got really dizzy out of nowhere. I'm faint, my hands are clammy, I'm jumping between being hot and cold, and," she placed Gibbs' palm upon her pale forehead, "I think I have a fever."

"Abby, you're burning up. I'm calling Ducky."

"No! Gibbs! But then he'll worry!"

"Abby, the man worries about the two of us enough without us being sick. If you let him check you out, he will be less worried because he'll know the course of treatment."

Sighing petulant, a very soft voice responded, "Fine..."

----

"Yes, my dearest Jethro?" the Medical Examiner questioned as soon as he picked up his cell phone.

"Hey Duck. I kinda called for an Emergency..."

"Oh my, is everything alright?!" The fear in his voice instantaneously registered. "Are you okay? What about the kids – our Abigail?"

"Calm down, Duck. It's nothing to that magnitude. Abby's sick, and we need you to give her a little check up."

"Oh, good. Well, not that Abby is sick, but good that nothing serious happened. What are her symptoms, my dear?" Not waiting for much adieu for his two loves, Dr. Mallard pushed his best friend for more information while getting ready to head back to the office.

"Apparently she's dizzy, faint, weak, clammy, going from hot and cold, has a fever of 100 degrees, and has developed a headache since I've been here."

"Give her some orange juice, I will be right over."

----

The elder gentleman walked into Abby's lab mere minutes later.

"Ducky!" Abigail squealed.

"Hello my dear, how are you?" Ducky smiled at the black haired girl before him. Walking by Jethro to get to the girl, the shorter man gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Icky... can you make me feel better, Duckman?"

"Oh my dear, I will certainly try." He kissed her on the cheek as well.

Getting to work immediately, Ducky took her vitals lying down, sitting, and standing. , The Medical Examiner asked his beloved forensic specialist a series of questions after noticing a spike in both blood pressure and pulse when standing. The doctor had a few ideas, though he suggested a urinalysis to check the concentration before diagnosing her officially.

"I know it isn't the most fun procedure, my love, and if you would feel better, you can actually do the test yourself."

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind, Duckman. I'll give you the results in a few?"

"Of course, my dear. Jethro? Shall we leave our Abigail for a few moments?"

"Abby, we'll only be outside, if any strange sounds occur, don't think for a minute I won't storm through that door."

"I know, Gibbs." She hugged him with a hint of a smile on her face.

----

Luckily, Abby managed to take care of herself with the two men outside of the room. Doing what was necessary, she eventually brought the data to the machines and analyzed the results. Indeed, there was something wrong: her bodily fluids were highly concentrated. Even she knew what that meant: she was horribly dehydrated.

Ducky and Gibbs came into the room when the results came up.

"Ah, my dear, my hypothesis was correct. You're severely dehydrated. Unfortunately, the fastest way for us to fix that is through an IV. I keep a few in the office, God forbid anything should happen to the team. I'm pretty certain my clients wouldn't notice one way or another, I'm afraid." He chuckled morbidly, causing both Gibbs and Abby to smile.

"Can't I drink two litres of water instead? Maybe?" Abby squirmed in her chair.

Gibbs wrapped an arm around Abby. "You know this is the best thing for you, and you're bound to feel better when you're done. Plus, Ducky wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

"But... I hate needles."

"I know, my little lotus blossom. I would hold your hand, but I need both of mine to administer the IV, so Gibbs will have to do that."

"No problem, Duck." He smiled at Abby. "You'll be fine. I promise."

----

A few hours later, with no complications whatsoever, Abby was back to normal. Ducky carefully withdrew the IV from her hand, and Gibbs once again, held her free hand. With a quick bandage, and a hug, the three were able to head out of the building.

With Ducky driving in his Morgan, the two others spent the night at Reston House, curled up in Ducky's bed. Leaning on his chest, Abby looked up at him and smiled.

"You're the best, Ducky."

"Oh, my love, you give me too much credit," he smiled.

"No, she doesn't, Duck," Gibbs grinned.

"Mm, I beg to differ, but I love you both the same."

At last, Ducky reached over to kiss Jethro before the two men kissed Abby goodnight.

"Goodnight my loves."

"Goodnight, Ducky."

All three fell asleep in the evening glow, content to know all were in perfect health once again.