Tremendous thanks for all the reviews and alerts! Special thanks to Nyre and other guest reviewers to whom I can't respond directly. This is an awfully quick update for me... absolute earliest I can get the next one out is next weekend and it might take longer than that. This one's unbetaed, so any remaining mistakes are all mine.

2: Discovery

Finding the Fox

Abby watched as Tony stared at the fox he'd finally admitted was Gibbs, dismay clearly visible on his face. She looked at Gibbs, who was looking back at Tony; if it was possible for a fox to look both compassionate and apprehensive at the same time, Gibbs was doing it very well.

"Oh, Tony!" She launched at him, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. "It's going to be alright. We'll get him back."

Tony returned the hug, then shifted his feet until she let go. "How, Abby? I don't know where to even start. And what's going to happen when Gibbs doesn't show up for work? We've got the Baldwin case to worry about. Do we tell Tim and Ziva?"

They both turned to look at Gibbs, who stared back at them. No one moved for several seconds, until Gibbs finally huffed out a breath and lay down on floor underneath the desk, pointedly no longer making eye contact with either of them.

Abby's brow furrowed as she looked at him, then cleared. "Call Timmy, tell him you're working with me and that Gibbs is following up on a lead. Give him and Ziva something to keep them occupied… we're going to do some research." She moved around the desk and sat down, typing furiously.

Tony looked dubious, but he pulled out his phone and made the call, hanging up on McGee's questions. He sighed heavily, looking at the fox again for a long moment before pulling a chair over to the desk. Gibbs got up and jumped onto Tony's lap, startling the man, and from there to the desk.

Abby grinned at him, then turned her chair to face Tony and looked at him intently. "All right. I need to know everything. Tell me how you found Gibbs."

Tony sighed, glanced at his boss, who appeared for once to be very interested in the story, then sat back and started talking.

"Boss?"

Tony stepped in through the front door, shaking his head yet again at how easy it was to get into the house. "Hey, Gibbs! What's up with not answering the phone? Rule 3, remember?"

The front hall and living room were dark, so he walked into the kitchen. The door to the basement was open and the light was on. That meant the boat, again. Tony sighed. "Man needs a social life," he muttered, heading for the stairs. "I'm serious, Boss! That whole 'do as I say and not as I do' routine stopped working for me a very, very long time ago… you've met my dad!"

He started down the steps, pausing halfway when he couldn't see anyone. "Gibbs? You here?"

The sudden eruption of noise from under the boat startled him so badly that he drew his gun without thinking about it. There was a banging and scrabbling sound, with muted hissing, growling and higher pitched noises that reminded him of cats fighting.

Tony made his way carefully down the stairs, flinching at some of the louder sounds. There was still nothing in sight; he steeled himself as he approached the boat, then cautiously bent over to look underneath.

Fabric was whirling around under the boat, pant legs and sleeves flailing this way and that while something seemed to be caught up in it. There was a ripping sound, and suddenly a smallish to mid-size grayish-black dog – no, a fox – stood staring wildly around, its fur sticking up all over the place, its blue eyes wide.

The fox stared at Tony, who stared back. Then the fox moved toward Tony, but it was a hesitant, uncoordinated movement, and the fox stumbled several times before reaching Tony's side and leaning against him, shivering slightly.

Tony had no idea what to do. It crossed his mind that maybe the fox was rabid and he should shoot it, but something about the look in its eyes made him hesitate. The animal didn't look crazy, it looked confused and maybe a little scared. The fact that a fox would approach him for comfort was surprising, but Tony decided to take it at face value; he holstered his gun, and felt the fox relax against his leg.

"Easy now," Tony said quietly. "You just, um… yeah. I'm gonna take a look around."

He straightened up and surveyed the basement. Open bottle of bourbon, check. Jar containing a small amount of said bourbon, check. Small pile of mixed nails and screws next to the jar, check. Tools laid out by the boat, check. A new pile of sawdust near the tools, check. Gibbs' clothes under the boat, check. Gibbs himself under the boat, no check.

Tony stared at the pile of jeans and shirts, then crouched down further and went to take a look. Gibbs' jeans, a t-shirt with a long sleeved shirt underneath it, check. "That's Gibbs' stuff, alright. No one else would dress like that. So where the hell is he, and why did he leave his clothes here?"

There were no signs of a struggle, except for the struggle the fox had gone through to get out of the clothes. Tony turned to look back at the fox, who was carefully walking around, apparently watching his own legs moving. Almost as if he was figuring out how to walk…

"No." The word was forceful, definitive, and the fox looked up at Tony right away.

"This is crazy." Tony moved out from under the boat. "There has to be another explanation. There's a perfectly logical reason why Gibbs is apparently naked and nowhere to be found, and why there's a fox in his clothes. I just have to figure out what the hell that is."

The fox walked over to Tony and sat down carefully in front of him, looking up at him with the same blue eyes Tony'd looked into a million times before.

"You are NOT Gibbs."

The fox snorted and let out a peculiar whine. The sound cut off quickly, though, and the fox's ears drooped sideways as it sighed and moved next to Tony again.

"It's not possible. This is some sort of weird prank. Not really Gibbs' style, though… Ziva and Tim. They put him up to this. Or they took advantage of him being out for the night… maybe he's got a new redhead." Tony looked around the room again, ignoring the low grumble coming from the fox. "Okay, that's an awful lot of trouble to go to, and I'm surprised they'd treat any animal like that, stuffing him into Gibbs' clothes… and how did they know I'd decide to come over in the middle of the night to talk about the case?"

The fox whined again. Tony looked down at it… at Gibbs' eyes in a fox's body.

"Alright. Let's say, for the sake of argument, you're Gibbs. Which you aren't." Tony paused and stared at the fox, who stared back. "What the hell, Boss? Who gets turned into a fox? Are you a werefox or something? Wait – it's not a full moon. Oh, god, now I sound like Abby."

Tony sat up straight, thinking hard. "Abby. That's it. If anyone knows enough crazy stuff to figure out where you came from, it's Abby. And she can use her science stuff to figure out how to get rid of the crazy stuff." Tony nodded decisively; get to Abby - that was the solution. He looked down at the fox, who looked up at him. "Alright. Ground rules. You don't bite me. You cooperate while we sneak you into the building." Tony closed his eyes; for a moment there he could have sworn the fox nodded at him. "Great. I'm talking to a fox who's impersonating Gibbs. I'm going crazy. Damn it, Boss, where are you? I need one of those head slaps."

The fox snorted again, then began walking around some more. His coordination seemed to be improving.

"Can you manage the stairs?" Tony asked, not entirely seriously.

The fox looked at the stairs, then headed for the bottom step and tried to move his legs to start climbing. Tony watched for a moment; after the third failed attempt to coordinate hind legs with front ones, Tony gave up and moved forward, reaching down to gather the fox into his arms. "Wow, you're heavier than you look." He moved quickly up the stairs, a part of him admiring the softness of the fox's fur. "Can kinda understand why people want to make coats out of this stuff, B-" He shook his head. "You are NOT Gibbs."

The fox rested his head on Tony's arm and sighed.

Tony sat forward and looked seriously at Abby. "Did that help?"

Abby pursed her lips. "Maybe a little." She turned to look at Gibbs. "Did you fall asleep under the boat?" Gibbs nodded, which looked rather strange. "You were still human when you fell asleep, weren't you?" Another nod. "Tony woke you up, right? And you freaked out." Gibbs hesitated, but nodded again, his ears pinning back a bit as he did so.

Abby smiled and reached out to scratch behind his ears again; Gibbs ducked. "It's okay to freak out, you know. Most people would."

Tony didn't say anything; he just watched the exchange closely.

Abby turned to him, letting her hand fall back down to the desk. "How'd you get him in the building?"

Tony shrugged. "I wore a long trench coat through security, carried a bunch of files in one arm… Gibbs hid in the coat, kinda gripping on with his claws."

Abby grinned. "That's so cute!"

"Huh?"

"You were snuggling!"

Tony and Gibbs glanced at each other, then quickly looked away. "Abby…"

"No, that's okay. You guys can continue living in denial."

"Again I say, huh?"

Abby rolled her eyes, then shook her head. "Never mind." She pushed her chair back to its original spot in front of the computer. "I have work to do. Gibbs can stay here and hang out; you get back up to Tim and Ziva. Can you keep them from asking too many questions?"

Tony nodded. "Call my desk phone soon. We'll pretend you're Gibbs; that should throw them off."

"Cool! I can do my Gibbs voice. I feel like I'm an undercover agent or something… do you guys feel like this all the time? Cause it's an awesome rush. A little subtle, but enough to make a statement." She popped out of her chair and pushed on Tony's chest. "Go on, get upstairs. Gibbs will be fine here. We'll work on a communication system, and he can keep improving his coordination, although he's doing pretty well already. Do you think all his Marine savvy helped with that? Never mind, you need to go. I'll call you when I find something. Oh, and bring him something to eat!"

Tony left the lab and headed for the elevator, thrilled to be able to experience normal for a while. He glanced back into the lab after he stepped into the compartment. Abby was typing furiously and apparently talking to Gibbs, who was watching Tony as the doors closed.

Answers

It was after 8 p.m. when Tony jogged down the stairs into Gibbs' basement. Abby was sitting on the floor against the workbench, with Gibbs curled up near her, just out of petting distance. Tony set the pizza box and the bag balancing on it down on the bench, along with two beers he fished out of his coat pockets. Gibbs watched, growling low in his throat when Tony's eyes met his.

"Hey, we caught a break in the case! What did you want me to do, send Ziva and McGee out on their own to deal with a Marine who's already killed two people?"

Gibbs stared at him for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"That looks weird, Boss."

Gibbs just turned to look at Abby, who was typing away on her laptop.

Tony popped the cap off one of the beers and held it out to her. She took it without looking and sipped at it, still focused on the screen.

"How'd you get a signal here?"

"Leeching off the neighbors," she replied happily. "It's for a good cause."

Tony shrugged. "Whatever works." He dug into the bag, pulled out a styrofoam carton, opened it, and set it down on the floor. "Rare meat, Boss. Went to that deli you like, got a hamburger without anything on it."

Gibbs got up moved to the container, sniffing at it for a moment before starting to eat.

Tony looked back at Abby. "How'd you sneak him out?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Draped him around my neck like a scarf. He kept his eyes closed and played dead. Security guard thought it was pretty cool."

Tony shook his head. "I'm surprised he went for it."

"It was that or put a collar and leash on him."

Gibbs looked up from his dinner, laid his ears back, and showed a glint of very white teeth.

Abby pouted. "Come on, Gibbs, it's not like I tried it! And you would never bite me… would you?" She held out her hand; Gibbs leaned forward and licked it once before going back to the food.

Tony downed a third of his beer, stuffed half a slice of pizza in his mouth, then joined Abby on the floor. "You said on the phone that you found something."

She nodded. "Yeah. I think I got it figured out. Good thing it was a slow day today, 'cause I don't think I could have focused on anything but this." She looked thoughtfully at Gibbs. "I mean, Gibbs as a silver fox is really cool, but I want the real thing back."

Tony nodded. "Me too. Ziva's getting pissed about being kept out of the loop about what he's doing."

Abby reached out and smacked his arm. "That's not the only reason why you want Gibbs to be human again!"

Tony sighed and looked down at his beer, picking at the label. "Of course not, Abs. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this, that's all." He watched Gibbs finish his dinner, then looked at Abby. "So, what did you find?"

"A tree spirit."

"A what?" Tony glanced at Gibbs, who was now sitting up very straight and watching Abby intently.

"A Native American tree spirit. I was looking for legends about people turning into animals in their sleep… that's not as common as you might think. In mythology, I mean."

"Good qualifier."

"I thought so. Anyway, it turns out that there are some shared themes about tree spirits, and the powerful ones are able to do things like turn people into animals as a punishment for wrongdoing."

Gibbs grumbled, and Tony lifted an eyebrow. "What did Gibbs do wrong? And where's this tree spirit?"

Abby pointed at the boat.

"You're not serious."

She nodded. "Yeah, I think I am. For the tree spirit to be powerful enough to do this to Gibbs, he had to be sleeping close to it."

"So, what… this tree spirit doesn't want to live in a boat?"

Abby shook her head. "I don't think it's that. The fact that Gibbs uses hand tools probably makes any self-respecting tree spirit happy. I think it's where the tree came from that's the problem."

"Okay."

Abby clicked a few keys on her laptop, then swung it around, showing them both a picture of a mature tree. "This is a spruce tree, and that's what Gibbs is using for this boat."

"He learned how to talk?"

Gibbs leaned over and poked Tony hard in the arm with his nose.

"Ow! Watch it, Boss, that thing's pointy!" Tony rubbed his arm. "I think I prefer the head slaps."

Abby grinned. "No, he didn't learn how to talk in this form. But we settled on a good old-fashioned code; one yip for no, two for yes."

"Makes sense." Tony scrutinized the picture. "So, we're dealing with the spirit of the spruce tree that Gibbs is using to build his boat."

"Not of the tree, in the tree. The spirit lived in the tree, and it wants to go home."

"And turning Gibbs into a fox is going to make that happen how?"

Abby shrugged. "Motivation?"

Tony laughed and shook his head. "Alright. So how do we find out where this tree came from?"

"Already done." Abby smirked at him. "Gibbs showed me where he keeps his receipts for his wood-working. I called the lumber yard, and they said the tree originally came from a stand of spruce about nine hundred meters up Mount Washington. I did some more digging… logging isn't legal there. So whoever cut down this tree to sell it basically stole it."

"Some random guy looking to make a buck cuts down a tree where he shouldn't, Gibbs buys the lumber to make a boat, and ends up a fox in D.C. who's supposed to bring a tree spirit back to New Hampshire?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Tony drank the rest of his beer and reached for another slice of pizza. Abby and Gibbs watched while he ate. He chewed methodically, his eyes unfocused while he thought. He finally swallowed the last of the pizza focused on Abby.

"How, exactly, does a fox bring a tree spirit to New Hampshire from D.C.?"

"That's the interesting part!" Abby leaned forward excitedly, her hands moving as she spoke. "Gibbs needs to take a piece of the spruce tree with him; it doesn't have to be big, just enough for the spirit to hitch a ride. We've already figured out which planks are from the tree in question, so all we have to do is cut off a piece. Then he goes to Mount Washington, buries the wood, and plants a spruce seedling in that same stand of trees, making sure the roots touch the wood. After that, he should turn back into the Gibbs we know and love."

Tony stared at her for a moment with narrowed eyes, then looked at Gibbs, who had that slightly amused expression again. "And how, exactly, does a fox travel from D.C. to New Hampshire while carrying a block of wood?"

Abby frowned at him. "I would have thought that was obvious, Tony. You have to take him there!"

"Me?! Why me? Why can't you go? I hate hiking."

Abby pouted a bit. "I'd like to go, Tony, really. But Gibbs is going to need protection. There's a big black market fur trade, and silver fox is in demand. He needs you on his six. Oh!" Her eyes sparkled suddenly. "Think of it like a fairy tale… Gibbs has been transformed, and he needs you to change him back! You're like his champion, Tony!"

Tony glared at her. "Fairy tales usually include princesses. Ow!" He rubbed his arm again and transferred his glare to the fox. "Come on, Boss, cut that out!"

Abby's expression turned a bit wicked. "At least it's not one of those fairy tales that require you to kiss the princess… well, prince, in this case, to break the spell."

The glare moved back to Abby, who grinned at him, completely unrepentant. Tony shook his head, then looked at Gibbs. "No offense, Boss, but I don't really feel like kissing you right now."

Abby's eyes widened. "Does that mean you feel like kissing him at other times?"

"What?! Abby!"

Gibbs tilted his head and looked at Tony, his expression clearly curious. Tony pointed at him. "Stop that." He turned to Abby. "So all I really need to do is take a piece of wood, get a spruce seedling and some of Gibbs' clothes, then drive him up to Mount Washington, go for a walk, plant the seedling, and then Gibbs is back to normal and we come home."

Abby wrinkled her nose. "I'm not sure it'll be that simple, Tony."

"Of course not."

"Everything I've read about tree spirits indicates that they need to see some form of penance… I think you'll need to do some serious hiking and camping… more than just a day trip."

Tony shook his head. "No way. I'm a city boy. I don't know anything about camping and all that… what about McGee?"

Abby shook her head. "You're Gibbs' second-in-command, Tony, and his friend. Plus, you found him. I think it has to be you."

Tony groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "This sucks."

The room was silent for a moment, then Tony felt a pressure against his leg. He raised his head to see the fox now lying on the floor next to him, his head resting on Tony's leg.

Abby stared at him. "How can you turn him down, Tony? Gibbs just said please!"

Tony stared down Gibbs. The blue eyes certainly had a questioning look in them. Tony took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I've got your six, Boss."

Gibbs sighed quietly, and tension Tony hadn't really noticed before left his body. Tony was tempted to reach out and stroke the soft fur, but he thought better of it.

They all sat quietly for a moment, then Tony straightened up suddenly. "How the hell are we going to get the time off? I can't just go to Vance and say, 'excuse me sir, but Gibbs and I need to take about a month off to go hiking in New Hampshire to make a tree spirit happy, and Gibbs is sorry he can't put in an official request, but he's a fox and can't type."

Gibbs got up on all fours, and they all stared at each other. Then Abby shrugged. "You're going to have to tell him the whole story."

Tony and Gibbs looked at each other, then let out almost identical groans of dismay.

Author's Note: I did some research; there are tree spirits in Native American mythology, but I don't know if they'd ever turn people into foxes or any other animal. I also don't know what kind of wood Gibbs uses to build his boats, but I did a little more research and found that wood like spruce and cedar are supposed to be good for boat-building because they take glue well without having the oils to repel the epoxy and are often relatively knot-free. A little more research gave me the info about spruces growing in the White Mountains… and no, I don't really think someone could cut down a big tree in a national park and get away with it.