Written for the NCIS drabble challenge 492 plant.
"What's the problem Abby?" Tim McGee asked as he hurried into her lab. She had phoned him up in the bullpen and told him that she had a problem that he needed to fix and she needed it fixed now. He had wondered what it was that she couldn't fix herself, she was rather gifted with computers, even if she didn't have all his knowledge of them.
"This McGee, this is the problem." Abby spoke, pointing at an object on the table.
"Abby, it's a plant. How is it a problem?" Tim asked, wondering if he had stepped into the wrong lab for a minute.
"I know it's a plant McGee, but what do I do with it." Abby replied.
"Most people put them in a corner or something, and make sure to water it, and it will continue to grow." Tim explained, completely confused, Abby knew all about taking care of plants, better than he did. "Who gave you the plant anyway?"
"Balboa's team, it's evidence." Abby responded absently as she continued to stare at the plant as if it was the biggest conundrum she had ever faced.
"If it's evidence process it Abby." McGee told her, wondering if maybe she needed to visit Ducky as she seemed to be acting out of the ordinary.
"I have McGee, I have all the tests necessary running, but now what do I do with it." Abby answered her eyes flicking from the plant to Tim and back again.
"You do what you normally do." Tim spoke calmly, "Put it back in its evidence bag, fill in the details on the log and treat it like you do the rest of the evidence." He looked around at the other items she had already worked on and replaced into their bags and wondered why the plant was so different.
"That will kill it McGee." Abby protested. "Putting it in the bag will mean it will die, but I can't put holes in the bag because that will break the chain of evidence, I can't water it for that reason either, so the plant will die."
"You need to follow procedure, maybe your tests will show that the plant isn't a factor in the crime and you can take it out of the bag again." Tim told her, holding the bag for her to place the plant into. "The plant should be fine in the bag while your tests are running.
"I hope your right McGee." Abby told him as she gave in and placed the plant back into its evidence bag.
Tim made a hasty retreat from the lab as soon as he could, not wanting to be there when her machines gave the results in case it meant that the plant needed to stay in the bag. He hoped he was right and the plant would be fine, he also hoped that the plant was just something insignificant to Balboa's case, otherwise dealing with Abby would be problematic when the plant died.