NCIS

Chapter 2

"McGee." Gibbs called from his desk while looking down at his computer.

"I know, boss." McGee sighed frustratingly. Back on a drug trafficking case with no leads. Five suspects, none of them directly tied to the known drug dealer, only to their victim. McGee had just been attacked by a german shepherd at the victim's house, but even the twinge of pain from the bites wasn't what had him upset.

He was glad to be away from that dog, but he was especially glad to be away from Abby. He drove into the garage with hour-old bandages from Ducky's treatment, and all she cared about was the mutt who attacked him.

"Boss," Tony piped up. "We've already been through all this. I mean, I got no leads; Ziva's flirted with every seaman on the base; and McGee's watched a hundred hours of 'Petty Officer Junction.'"

"Hundred and fifty, actually," McGee chimed in, reminding himself of the additional headache he was in for.

"Go back to Pax River and talk to the other dog handlers," Gibbs ordered.

"See if one of them barks. I know…" Tony said, sparing no doubt in his tone, while he and Ziva grabbed their gear.

Gibbs walked over to McGee's desk, quietly saying, "Hey McGee?"

"Yeah?"

"You ok?" Gibbs had a way of asking if someone was ok, while somehow telling them that they'll be ok and making them believe it.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, boss." McGee lied. Physically, he knew he was ok, but his mind was reeling from his run-in with Abby.

He logged into his computer, and saw a message waiting in his chat window.

ScruffyLookin: Hey there, been a few days. How are you?

McGee was still upset. He wasn't sure how to explain what happened without going into more detail about his job, and he wasn't sure if he even wanted to, even to Scruffy. His neck and left arm ached where he had been bitten.

Elflord: Really not a good time. Bad day with work.

ScruffyLookin: Aw, I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone. But if you need to talk, I'm here.

Elflord: Thanks.

McGee got to work re-watching old footage. After about an hour, he kept losing focus, thinking back to what happened with Abby. How could she just disregard him like that for a dog she saw for one minute? Was that really their relationship? He got up to get coffee, then coming back another thought crossed his mind. What if Abby was right, and he was wrong? What was he supposed to have done when 80 pounds of furry muscle and teeth came after him for blood?

He looked around, he was by himself in the bullpen. Tony had already tried convincing him he'll get rabies. Ziva was more interested in McGee's well-being, but he wasn't sure if he should go to her about problems with Abby. He looked back at the chat window on his computer. He needed to get this off his chest if he was going to be of any help.

Elflord: Hey. Still around?

McGee waited for a response. Scruffy was pretty quick to respond, but it was the middle of the day. He just hoped he hadn't rubbed him the wrong way. About 10 minutes later, the window chimed.

ScruffyLookin:Hey, yeah what's up? Sorry, was on a roll with something and didn't notice my phone going off.

Elflord: No worries. I want to ask you something but I don't know if it's a sensitive subject for you or not. You like dogs, right?

ScruffyLookin: Love them :D remember you asked me what I thought about you getting one?

"Crap," McGee swore under his breath.

ScruffyLookin: Why? Did you finally pick one? Pics!

Elflord: I got attacked by a dog today.

ScruffyLookin: OMG are you ok?! WTF

"Was that so hard?" McGee whispered to himself, thinking about Abby. To her credit, she did ask if he was ok before completely ditching him for the dog.

ScruffyLookin: Did you go to the ER or a doctor at least? How bad is it?

Elflord: No, we had an ME on site that fixed me up. Just a few bites, some stitches and bandages.

'An ME? How will I explain that one?' he thought.

ScruffyLookin:Are you in pain? Did you take any medication? What do you mean 'ME?'

Elflord: I'm ok, don't worry, just a little pain here and there. ME is our medical examiner.

ScruffyLookin:What exactly is it that you do that gets you attacked by dogs yet having a medic on standby? Does this happen often?

Elflord: It's kinda complicated…

ScruffyLookin: I'm getting that.

McGee waited for a little while, not sure if he wanted to cross that line. He trusted Scruffy and Scruffy obviously cared, but some part of him was still a little scared to take that next step, so he went around it.

Elflord: Well anyway, my friend at my office thinks that I was wrong in defending myself. She's making the dog out to be the victim in all this even though I'm the one that got attacked. Literally, she just brushed me and the fact that I was attacked aside because the dog is more important.

ScruffyLookin: Seriously? Wow. Was it at least her dog? I mean that I could kind of understand but still… How badly was the dog injured?

Elflord: No. Never even knew the dog until today. Minor injuries, he's already back up.

ScruffyLookin: What? That doesn't make any sense. What happened that actually got you attacked?

Elflord: I can't really say. But I'm pissed because my friend just immediately dropped me like chopped liver.

ScruffyLookin: Wow. And she's your friend? Not just colleague but friend? Like legit friends?

Elflord: Yeah. I mean, kinda ex too, but we've been friends since.

ScruffyLookin: WTF?

ScruffyLookin: I'm sorry, I don't mean to speak wrongly of your friend but that is some serious bullshit. I get wanting to protect animals, but seriously, priorities! Has she always been like this?

Elflord: No

As McGee hit enter, he had to reconsider that. Abby always did seem to get her way, but her way usually seemed to be the right way anyway. He was rarely against Abby, but she was rarely against him too.

Elflord: It's not really come to this before. We've kinda always been in sync.

ScruffyLookin: Are you taking some time off to recover? Some time and space would probably do you good.

Elflord: No, I really have to get this done. I have some space from them but we're still in the same building.

ScruffyLookin: Damn, you're dedicated. You're probably one of those types that needs to be dragged out of work, aren't you? Lol

Once again, Scruffy made McGee smile.

Elflord: Haha no, it's just really important.

ScruffyLookin: Well I hope your boss and at least other coworkers appreciate you. You deserve it.

Tim blushed and tried to hide his smile from the compliment.

ScruffyLookin: Seriously though, are you going to be ok?

Elflord: I think so. Just a bit rattled. Need to figure out how to fix this.

ScruffyLookin: Can I offer some advice?

Elflord: Please

ScruffyLookin: It sounds like you care about this girl enough that this argument is really bothering you. I'd give you both some time and space to cool down, but then I'd directly confront her. Peacefully, but directly. She wronged you, and she needs to prove she's your friend.

Elflord: I don't know.

ScruffyLookin: Why?

McGee wanted to take his advice, but this was Abby. Once her mind was made up, there was no changing it. What would that mean for their friendship?

Elflord: It's just complicated.

ScruffyLookin: Is it? Or are you just worried she may not be able to prove it?

McGee was taken aback. That crossed the line. He closed the window and returned to the surveillance video. It was nice to vent to Scruffy but he could not be more wrong about his relationship with Abby. He had no idea. How dare he make him doubt that Abby did care? He ground his teeth, staring at the screen looking for any lead on the case. He knew it was probably rude to just shut him off like that, but he wasn't in the mood to care. Scruffy was wrong.

He heard footsteps coming towards him, looked up, and saw a woman in uniform walking straight towards him. She was a little shorter than him, and had red hair braided neatly to keep out of her way. She wore some makeup, but not too much as to clash with her fatigues. Grateful for the distraction, he paused the video.

"Can I help you?"

"Petty Officer Erica Perelli, dog handler, Pax River." She responded in perfect soldier tone, like it was a reflex.

'Oh great, another dog person that'll probably blame me.' McGee cleared his throat and stood up ready for another lecture.

Perelli narrowed her eyes at him and said, "You the one who shot Hanson's dog?"

"Uh…" McGee stammered. 'Here it comes.'

She moved his collar to see the bandaged bite wound on his neck. "Looks like he bit you pretty bad," she said moving down to examine his left hand and arm where he had been hurt.

McGee blushed a little bit under the unexpected contact of the Petty Officer's hands, and was relieved that she didn't seem to be the lecturing type. He figured at least part of today didn't have to be a total disaster. If Abby and Scruffy wouldn't be on his side, maybe Perelli would.

McGee tried putting on his 'just-doing-my-job' voice. "I've been bitten harder," he said confidently.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"By dogs - I love dogs." He was stammering, and could feel he was about to blow it.

Her eyes softened, and she smiled. "What kind of dog do you have?"

"Uh, I don't. Yet. But- but I might… will… soon, very soon" 'If they don't attack me.'

She looked at him, seeing the obvious flush in his face and his lower lip quivering with nervousness, and she smiled.

"You'll soon get some work done, McGee?" Gibbs appeared out of nowhere, breezing over to his desk, coffee in-hand.

'Never thought I'd be happy to have Gibbs sneak up on me,' McGee thought to himself. "Hey, boss. Uh, this is Petty Officer Perelli. She is here to…" his voice trailed off. Despite having just been attacked, he didn't relish the thought of a dog being put to sleep.

"To collect the dog, sir." She completed for him. "Sorry to say he has to be put down. I wish there could be another way, but it's Navy Policy in fatal dog-mauling cases."

"Boss, I can take Petty Officer Perelli down, if you'd like."

Gibbs nodded and left the bullpen with a look on his face that could only read 'good luck.'

Perelli chuckled at the silent departure, turned to McGee and said, "You can call me Erica."

McGee smiled and turned to lead her towards the elevator. "Timothy."

NCIS

McGee stood in the elevator with Perelli on their way down to the lab. He wasn't too pleased to have to see Abby, but the sooner that dog was gone, the sooner they could smooth this over. He was sure Abby could be reasonable. Scruffy didn't know Abby at all, much less as well as McGee knew her. Besides, even if they weren't talking to him, at least he might get a date with Erica.

"You should probably know," he warned, "Abby, our forensic scientist, has become a bit attached to the dog."

"How attached?"

McGee tightened his lips and looked over as if to say, 'be ready.'

As the elevator door opened, he noticed the music sounded muffled instead of having its usual blaring clarity. They walked into the lab, seeing Abby and the dog in the back with the sliding door closed. As they got closer, the dog looked up at them, but Abby kept her eyes locked on her computer screen. They reached the door but the motion sensor didn't open it. McGee was surprised at first, and waved his arm at the sensor, and even tried to push the door to the side, but with a frustrated sigh came to realize Abby jammed it shut. He knocked on the door, and the dog stood up and barked.

"Pay no attention to him, Jethro," Abby's voice cut through the music with obvious spite.

'Oh god,' McGee thought. 'She named it. And named it Jethro. Now she'll never get rid of it...'

"Abby, open the door." McGee tried not to shout, but had to be loud enough to carry over the music.

She clearly heard him, but with a smug smile she ignored him.

"Jethro has to go know." Even saying that name felt weird. "Abby!"

"I can't hear you, McGee," she called, not looking up.

"If you can't hear me, why did you answer?" This was getting ridiculous.

She looked away for a second, calculating, then got up and turned her music up even louder.

McGee looked over to Perelli as if to say, 'See?' Turning back, Abby was staring at him with fire in her eyes.

"I am not opening the door until Jethro is proven innocent!"

"Abby, do not make a scene!"

"Too late, McGee, I am in FULL scene mode!"

McGee was losing his patience, and Abby was much too happy about it.

"You can't stay in there forever."

Again, with a smug smile, she said, "I'm fully stocked on both Caf-POW! and kibble. I'm good for at least a few days." She pointed towards the small keg of Caf-POW! and to an open bag of dog food.

'Peacefully, but directly.' Scruffy's words echoed in his head. They were well past 'peacefully,' and McGee snapped.

"Are you serious right now, Abby? This dog attacked me, and this is the choice you're making?!" He shouted this time, and he gave the door a frustrated kick. Jethro rose up and snarled at him, making him jump back. He looked at Abby's face, and she was quite pleased with herself. That stung more than the bites in his arm and neck. She was being beyond stubborn, and pushing away everything all for this dog, including him.

'Scruffy was right. Dammit.'

He looked over at Perelli, and muttered "Sorry" before turning to go to the elevator.

"Don't worry about it. I'll come back once this mess is cleared up," she said. She glanced at him on the elevator back up, but McGee only nodded and didn't feel like talking. He'd ask her out another time.

After Perelli left, McGee sat at his desk in the bullpen, thinking of how Abby was just making everything worse. Even if Gibbs went down there to tell her it was time to give up Jethro, she'd probably dig in her heels, which would damage THEIR relationship next.

But then again, Gibbs has been a father figure to them all, especially her. Maybe she would listen to him. McGee's head was spinning again. If Gibbs is the father figure, who is he? What is his relationship to Abby? Brother? Friend? Ex? He thought they were sort of in that space between friends and siblings, but this was just insulting.

'She wronged you, she needs to prove she's your friend. Or are you just worried she may not be able to prove it?' Scruffy's words echoed again.

McGee sunk his head into his hands. 'Why did he have to say that? Things would've been fine if he hadn't pushed it.'

'Really?'

He resigned himself to defeat. 'No.' McGee brought up his chat window, and saw Scruffy was online. He needed to talk to him.

Elflord: Hey

He waited a few minutes hoping it would be read. Nothing. He went back to the surveillance videos, every minute checking the status window. When it finally said "Read," he stopped the video, waiting for a response. Scruffy's status icon changed from the green 'online' to the grey 'offline.' McGee was alone.

NCIS

Tim sat at home, staring at his computer screen. He got up several times, getting dinner, a drink, tidying one last thing, all before inevitably finding himself sitting in front of that computer, afraid to open Scruffy's chat window. Neither one of them had said anything since Tim's message earlier. Tim sighed and turned to his typewriter, but the words he felt like typing weren't meant to just be on paper for his eyes only, they were for somebody.

'You've never even met the guy,' he heard in Tony's voice.

'But you trust him, and you don't simply give out trust.,' he heard in Ziva's voice.

"Oh great." He dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling, speaking to himself. "I'm that guy with the angel and demon on his shoulders."

He looked back and gained the courage to click on the chat window. It was still empty, only now Scruffy's status showed as online. It was now or never, so he started to type.

Elflord: Hey, I'm sorr-

Scruffy's message came in while Tim was typing.

ScruffyLookin: Hey, I'm sorry if I overstepped earlier. I kinda figured I went too far when you just dropped.

Relief spread through Tim seeing the message.

Elflord: No, don't be. You were right, and I didn't want to listen. I'm sorry I shut you out like that.

ScruffyLookin: No, I shouldn't have assumed anything about your friend. It wasn't my place.

Elflord: You had my back, and that's more than I can say about her.

ScruffyLookin: So you're not mad?

Elflord: No. I was, then I realized I was being a jerk and just covering for her again.

Elflord: Thank you

ScruffyLookin: Good. I felt bad all day. I really like you and didn't like the idea of pissing you off, especially after you'd just been attacked and needed a friend.

Elflord: Don't worry about it, we're still good :) I really like you too. It's weird, I barely know you but I still feel more comfortable talking to you about some things than my other friends.

ScruffyLookin: Really?

Elflord: Yeah.

ScruffyLookin: Me too. There's something I've kinda wanted to do, but I wasn't sure if you were interested.

Tim flushed. He wasn't sure where Scruffy would go with this. It felt like they just had their first fight like a couple and just made up. He kinda liked the subtle flirts, but they had never really openly talked about it. Plus, Tim had never actually been with a guy, and especially something developing over the internet? How far was he comfortable going? What was he willing to reveal to what anyone else would call a stranger?

But then again, this guy did just prove he had his best interest at heart, and he did like him. He wanted to share and be a little more personal, but where do they draw the new line? They hadn't exactly pushed it before. Then Tim figured that if Scruffy does turn out to be some Fatal Attraction kind of guy, at least he had defenses. He decided to take a chance.

Elflord: What?

ScruffyLookin: …

The chat window expanded to become a video call request. Tim's mind raced back and forth, 'Do It' and 'Don't Do It' shouting louder and louder. He was risking a lot of privacy, but then again so was Scruffy. His heart was pounding. 'He's trying to prove he's your friend.' Tim shut him out earlier, and didn't want to do it again. He hit "Accept."

The windows populated with Scruffy's live image, and they were silent as they quickly absorbed each other's details. He had a full jaw with a short but full dirty-blonde beard, matching his dirty-blonde short hair, which was styled into a small faux-hawk. His cheeks were full and flushed, pulled back in a nervous but excited smile. His eyes were deep blue and expressed his excitement more than the smile. His face was kind and gentle, but firey and alive.

"Hi, I'm David."

"Hey, I'm Timothy. Tim."

David bit his bottom lip and blushed, which also made Tim blush in return, and they both grinned like idiots. David shifted in his seat, and Tim saw that he had a bar in his left ear and a ring through his right. Abby would get a kick out of them, but he could see Gibbs tugging on them if Tim ever had them. He also noticed a small silver chain necklace, but couldn't see the pendant weighing it down. David was a bit stocky, but had biceps of someone who worked out in spare time. Biceps had never done anything for Tim before, but upon seeing this man he felt a stirring in his groin. Just under the hem of his right sleeve, he saw the tips of what looked like a tribal tattoo reaching down the muscle from his shoulder, and on his left was an intricate celtic band.

The silence was deafening as they each observed the other, both seemingly satisfied with what they saw and what they were expecting, until David's eyes caught the bandage on Tim's neck.

"Oh my god, are you sure you're ok?" His voice was soft, but intense with worry.

Tim was confused. He had totally forgotten about the bandages, but then saw David's hand go up to his own neck.

"Huh? Oh I'm fine, it doesn't really even hurt anymore." Tim kept smiling. This was comfortable, they'd taken a step and it seemed to work. Hoping to hear his voice again, he replied, "How are you? How was your day? You've kinda heard all about mine already."

"Well not quite as bloody as yours, though I did accidentally burn myself pulling pastries out of the oven."

'Ah, a baker, then.' Tim thought to himself, saying."Aw, you ok?"

"You got assaulted by a raging Shepherd. I got glanced by a hot oven rack, and you're asking me if I'm alright?" They both chuckled for a minute. Tim liked him. "Naw I'm fine, happens a lot. Just run it under cold water then steal some chocolate icing when no one's looking," David said, remembering it fondly. "Plus it distracted me from tracking my car."

"Oh right! Where is it?" Tim was excited about someone else's car. Yeah, he definitely liked David.

"Still on dry land on the other side of the pond, but they should be loading up the ship in about… four hours. I half expecting to see it covered in scratches by the time it gets here."

"I can already see you running in slow motion towards your car while cheesy music plays."

David's jaw dropped in mock disgust. "Well I think we now know who's not getting a ride, ever."

Tim was relieved that his humor was jiving well with David, and things seemed to be going along smoothly.

"When I got my Porsche, I wouldn't even let my sister in it. My coworker loves cars, and I don't even let him near it." Tim loved seeing Tony's jealous looks over that car.

"Considering what you've told me about that him and cars, that seems like good self-preservation."

Tony's last car, a 1966 Mustang, was blown up during a cover operation, though Tim said a tree fell on it. His car before that was a 1990 Corvette, but Tim did tell David the truth that it had been stolen and crashed.

They chatted until almost 0100 about everyday things. David revealed that he lived in a suburb of Philadelphia, and owned a small bakery. Tim enjoyed getting to know him better but they each kept certain details hidden. Tim told him that he worked for the government as an investigator, but didn't say which branch or his exact position. He never told anyone he dated exactly where he worked, and David didn't ask, but he was satisfied knowing that he at least was surrounded by people who were good at their jobs, especially Ducky for when things went sideways.

"Jesus, it's 1 AM already?" David yawned.

"Wow, I really need to get some sleep. Gotta get this case closed." He looked down, thinking of having to confront Abby again tomorrow.

"And your coworker friend? With the dog?"

"Yeah. She's…" he trailed off, not sure what to say. He didn't want to spoil a good evening.

"If you say this isn't like her, eventually she'll come around. Let her know how you feel, and if she's really your friend she'll be sorry that she hurt you."

Tim looked at David. He seemed to really care. He almost seemed to be protecting yet encouraging Tim. It made Tim flush a bit.

"I'll try. Good night, David."

"Good night, Tim."

They both lingered for an extra few seconds, looking at the other, then disconnected.

NCIS

McGee successfully avoided Abby for most of the day, instead burying himself in only the most critical parts of the leftover video surveillance of the flight crew, which didn't give any leads. On the plus side, he didn't have to swab the entire C-130 and take prints. On the negative side, he was still without anything to do but go over footage that he's almost memorized frame-for-frame by now.

He heard the thudding of heavy boots heading towards the bullpen, and their rapid pace could only mean one person.

"McGee!" Abby was bouncy and excited, and was also carrying a jar with 'Jethro' scribbled on it with her. "Jethro is fine. I'm taking a collection for flowers." She opened the jar and tipped it towards him, with her smug smile still spread wide.

"Why would I give flowers to a dog that attacked me?"

"Um, maybe because dog is man's best friend. Or maybe because I am a forensic scientist, and I could boil you from the inside out and never leave a trace." She thrust the jar at him.

'Enough of this crap.' "You know what, Abby? Do it. Go ahead, boil me. I have no reason to help that dog and certainly no reason to help you."

Abby was shocked, and took take a step back. Her smug smile was nowhere to be found. "Wh- What do you mean, McGee?"

"What do you think?!" he said, slightly raising his voice, his pent up tension from the last couple of days boiling to the surface. "You've treated me like crap and acted like a child for the last two days, all because of a dog. You instantly dismissed me. It was an insult to our entire friendship. You were supposed to be my best friend. I don't even know what to think anymore." He huffed turned back to his computer.

Abby stood for a moment, completely silent. After a few seconds she whispered, "McGee… I'm sorry."

He looked up at her, wanting to believe it, but a whispered apology was just not enough. He turned back to his computer.

Seeing that he was still upset, she took a moment to really look at him. The bandage on his neck was pretty large; and she knew if the bite had been much deeper and if Ducky hadn't gotten there quickly, he could've died. She also looked at his arm, still bandaged and swollen. She put down the jar, sat on the edge of his desk and gently lowered her hand on top of his bandaged one, brushing her fingers over the bandage without pressing on them. Tim decided to let her.

"This looks like it really hurt," she said quietly.

He nodded.

"Timmy… I'm really sorry. I should've been there for you."

He could tell she meant it this time.

"It's just…" her voice started to crack, "dogs can't stick up for themselves. And if I can't, who will?"

"Abs," McGee put his other hand on hers. "Whenever we're on the same side, it always works out. Why couldn't you trust me?"

"You were going to let that woman put Jethro down."

"I was doing my job."

"This was more important to me than the job."

"You still could've done better."

She lowered her head. "I know. I really am sorry."

They stood up and hugged, both relieved that things could get back to normal.

"He really is a good dog, McGee."

"Oh, alright…" He took out $20 and put it in the jar.

"Thanks!" She closed the jar and kissed McGee on the cheek as Gibbs walked into the bullpen.

"McGee," he said in his usual 'give-me-an-update' tone.

McGee proceeded to update Gibbs on the limited surveillance data they had while Tony and Ziva returned from sweeping the C-130 for evidence. They finally got a lead from the tip of a boot knife that Jethro had swallowed and Ducky retrieved. Cross-referencing eventually pointed to Petty Officer Perelli, the redhead that McGee had failed to flirt with not 24 hours ago.

"Evidence locker, McGee. Get log 421," Gibbs ordered, turning to leave.

'Alright! No more damn surveillance, everything's right with Abby, everything… well everything's NOT right with Erica but they are with David, and I'll never have to worry about that dog again.'