WARNING: Contains non-consensual spanking of adults.

Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. I'm just borrowing them.

"The case is closed, DiNozzo. You were wrong. Happens to the best of us. Let it go. We have other things we need to do," Gibbs ordered, pointing at the list of phone numbers he'd just tossed on Tony's desk.

Tony sulked just long enough to earn a head-slap that prompted him to pick up his phone and start dialing. But there was no way he was ready to admit he'd been wrong. He had to get a look at that autopsy report for himself. They had to have missed something!

* * * * *

"Does Gibbs know you're doing this?" Duck asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tony shrugged. "What he doesn't know can't hurt me."

"Hmmm," the ME muttered disapprovingly. "Well, leave me out of it," he said as he turned back to the mostly dissected body on the table in front of him. A moment later, his phone rang. "Ah, yes. I'll be right up." He put down the phone and slipped out of his protective smock. "Mr. Palmer, continue without me. I'll be back in a few minutes. And Anthony, I'd suggest you get back to whatever it is you're supposed to be doing right now. I do not think it will be in your best interest to continue this goose-chase you're apparently on," he said warningly as the doors swished open and he exited.

"So, Palmer," Tony said with a mischievous grin.

"Ohh noo," Jimmy answered. "You're not dragging me into this either. I'm not putting my butt in the line of fire just so you can prove whatever point it is you're trying to prove."

"Come on, Palmer. I'll cover for you. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" Palmer shot him a look. "What?" Tony asked.

"I um, well, you know," he stammered.

Tony walked over to the table where Palmer was standing and looked at him closely. "What are you so afraid of, Jimmy?" he asked after a minute.

Jimmy coughed nervously. "I just…know things. That's all."

"What things?" Tony asked suspiciously.

"I heard what happened to you after the rather unfortunate fireworks incident," he finally answered, refusing to meet Tony's eyes.

It was Tony's turn to stammer. "Who…I mean, nothing…" He let out an exasperated sigh. "How did you find out about that?"

"Abby," Jimmy admitted.

"Abby…" Tony whispered through clenched teeth. "Well," Tony recovered quickly, "I wouldn't worry about that. It's not like he'd, well, do it to you or anything."

"Are you sure?" Jimmy asked uncertainly.

"Of course not, Palmer," Tony laughed, clapping Jimmy on the back roughly. "Now, give me what I came down here for so you can get back to your…ya know," he finished with a disgusted nod toward the body.

Jimmy studied Tony for a moment then sighed. "Ok fine, but you didn't get it from me," he relented and strode off toward the file room. A minute or so later, he returned and handed Tony a folder. "Just make sure you get that back before Thursday. Dr. Mallard always does a file audit on Thursday mornings."

"Thanks Palmer. I owe you one," Tony said as he slipped the file under his jacket. "On second thought, no I don't. Later!" And with that, he was out the door.

A few minutes later the doors swished again signaling Ducky's return. "Mr. Palmer, I trust Tony left without that file," he said as he slipped back into his smock.

"Uh, yes. Of course, Doctor," Palmer said not daring to look up from the duodenum he was carefully slicing into.

Ducky eyed his assistant. "Surely he wouldn't lie to me," he thought. "Would he?"

* * * * *

Tony slipped into the men's room and into a stall. He locked the door and leaned against it as he pulled the folder out from his jacket. He flipped pages quickly, making mental notes of the information contained therein. He stopped when he got to the fifth page – the toxicology report. A scowl spread across his face. "Crap!" he said out loud. "Gibbs was right. Again," he thought. The sound of the door opening made him jump. He quickly closed the file, stuffed it back inside his jacket and flushed, just for good measure. Keeping up the charade, he opened the stall door and walked to the sink to wash his hands. Gibbs stood at the urinal.

"Feeling shy today, DiNozzo?" he asked as he finished his business, pulled up his zipper, flushed and moved to the sink next to Tony.

Tony laughed uncomfortably and opened his mouth to give some sort of explanation.

"Ah, never mind. I was just joking," Gibbs laughed. "Where are you on that phone list?" he asked as they walked back to the squad room together.

"I'm about halfway through and I was…"

"What's taking so long?" Gibbs demanded. "We need to narrow that list down before Metro figures out that Smart wasn't a Marine. Once they do, we'll lose the case and I don't want to risk that. Now get back to your desk and get to work!"

"On it Boss," Tony answered, scurrying to his desk and picking up his phone.

An hour later, he was done with the list – and had no new suspects.

"I'm going out for coffee," Gibbs said as he swept through the bullpen. "DiNozzo, if you've finished with that list, go see what Abby's come up with on those fingerprints." He stopped at his desk long enough to pick up his phone. "Duck, I need to talk to you. Meet me in the lobby," he said then promptly hung up.

It was too good to be true. Tony was sure he'd have to wait until after hours before he snuck back in to return the folder to its assigned drawer in Ducky's file room. As soon as the elevator doors closed, he jumped up. "Going to see Abby," he said to McGee and Kate.

* * * * *

The elevator doors opened, and Tony quickly glanced around to make sure he was alone. The hallway was empty, so he slipped into Autopsy. "Palmer," he whispered loudly.

Jimmy turned around. "Tony, tell me you have that folder."

Tony slipped it out of his jacket and held it up. "Right here."

"Let's get it back in there. I'm so nervous my hands are shaking."

"Good thing he's already dead," Tony laughed, gesturing to their deceased guest.

The two men went into the file room and missed the sound of the dinging elevator. And the swishing doors. When they exited a few seconds later, they came face-to-face with an angry Gibbs and an angry Ducky.

"Does this look like Abby's lab to you, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked pointedly.

"Uh, no boss, I guess it doesn't," Tony answered, looking around and feigning surprise.

"What the hell are you doing down here?" came the predictable question.

Tony glanced sideways at Jimmy. "I, uh…"

"I think I can tell you exactly what he's doing down here, Jethro," Ducky said as he pushed past the two younger men and into the file room. A few seconds later he reappeared with a folder that he flopped down on the empty autopsy table in front of Gibbs.

Gibbs picked it up, looked at the label and glared at Tony. "I told you this case was closed. I meant it."

"But Boss…" Tony protested.

"DiNozzo, enough! I told you to let it go and you disobeyed me. And what were you even doing taking files out of there?" he asked angrily gesturing toward the file room. "You know those files are off-limits."

"Ah, Jethro, if I'm not mistaken, I believe Tony was not the one who took the file from that room. Isn't that right, Mr. Palmer?" Ducky said, turning to Jimmy, who had been busy pushing himself against the wall hoping to disappear into it.

"Uh…um…"

"Spit it out, Mr. Palmer," Ducky said, looking at his assistant over the top of his glasses.

"Yes Doctor," Jimmy croaked out.

Gibbs looked between Jimmy and Tony a few times then at Ducky. "The two of you, go wait in the hall. I need to have a word with Dr. Mallard."

Tony and Jimmy practically tripped over each other trying to get out of the room. Gibbs laughed in spite of himself. Once the doors were closed he turned around. They were looking in the windows, so he turned his finger in a circle ordering them to face the far wall. When they had complied, he turned slowly and looked at his old friend.

"Well," he began, "we've got a bit of a situation here, don't we?"

"Yes we do," Ducky answered, clearly unhappy. "That young man lied to me, Jethro."

"Which one?"

"Mr. Palmer. I asked him point blank if he gave the file to DiNozzo and he said no." Gibbs had never really seen Ducky angry before. Annoyed, yes. Slightly perturbed, a few times. But angry? This was a first.

"What do you want to do about it?" Gibbs said casually, privately enjoying the sight of his friend so worked up.

Ducky stopped mid-fume. "Well, I don't know," he said, switching into analytical mode. The sudden change in demeanor made Gibbs smile. "What are you planning to do to DiNozzo?"

Gibbs shrugged. "He disobeyed me. So I suppose he and I will have our usual conversation."

"Has that proved effective at all?" Ducky asked.

"Eh, to a point," Gibbs admitted. He sighed. "Tony's impulsive. Sometimes it's an asset – more than once, his impulse has been good and has gone a long way toward solving a case. But, sometimes, he goes astray," he shrugged again. "I don't know, Duck. I'm a little torn on this one. Obviously, his gut was still churning. I don't want to discourage him from following his instincts in the future…"

"But?"

"But he did deliberately disobey me. And I can't ever let him think that that is acceptable."

"And you don't think he knows the difference?" the psychologist asked.

"Yeah," Gibbs grinned. "He knows."

"So what do you think I should do?" Ducky asked, returning the grin.

"He's your assistant, Duck. That's up to you," Gibbs answered.

Ducky began pacing the length of the room. "He's never lied to me before. I know Tony can be very persuasive. But he lied to me…" he continued his internal monologue externally for several moments as Gibbs looked on amused. He finally turned to Gibbs. "I don't suppose it would be fair for you to punish DiNozzo so harshly while Mr. Palmer gets away with being assigned menial tasks for the rest of the year."

"Are you sure?" Gibbs asked seriously.

"Yes," Ducky answered with a sigh. "Go ahead."

"Oh no, Duck. He lied to you, not me. He's your responsibility."

"Jethro, I can't. I don't…" Ducky trailed off.

Gibbs looked at him in confusion. "You've never spanked anyone before?" he asked, a little surprised. Then it hit him. "No, I guess you wouldn't have." He nodded. "Well, it's not like it takes a whole lot of skill. Ever used a small ax to chop down a sapling?"

"Well, yes, as a matter of fact. Mother didn't like the small growth of trees at the back of the property, so I spent almost a week cutting them down. But what does that have to do with this?" he asked.

Gibbs grinned again. "Same motion."

* * * * *

Out in the hallway, Tony and Jimmy were fidgeting.

"This is bad. Really, really bad. Tony, this is really bad!"

"I know Palmer. Now knock it off."

"But this is bad!"

"I know!" Tony hissed.

"What's going to happen?" Jimmy asked, rocking furiously on his heels.

"Well," Tony answered, "I don't know what's going to happen to you, but we both know what's going to happen to me."

"You don't think…"

"I don't know, Palmer. Now will you shut up so I can think?"

A few minutes of near-silence followed. Tony could hear Palmer quietly whispering "This is sooo bad' under his breath. Sooner than either of them wanted, the doors swished open.

"DiNozzo, with me!" Gibbs ordered. Tony and Palmer turned around. "Palmer," he continued and nodded toward the double doors.

Tony and Jimmy exchanged glances as they went in opposite directions to their fates.