Disclaimer: In this economy I'm holding on to my handful of possessions with a vice grip. Tragically NCIS is not one of those possessions. It is the sole property of the creators, studio, writers, producers, directors, etc. Lucky them….
I consider myself lucky to be able to take them out to play for a while.
**Some dialogue is taken directly from the episode.
Warning: THIS STORY will CONTAIN NON-SEXUAL SPANKING; ABORT THE MISSION… DO NOT READ… TURN BACK NOW IF THIS ISN'T YOUR THING.
A/N: This story is a complete AU episode tag… based on the S5E: Dog Tags.
A/N: A stubborn Abby gets a little more 'daddy' Gibbs attention than she was looking for. Sit back, suspend belief and enjoy it as the fiction it's meant to be.
**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**
Abby knew she had to stay with the newly found evidence. Pulling a second runner would be… Well, she thought, it would outdo the other questionable actions of the day big time. Jethro was pacing his dig site with the occasional glance back at the human who'd been caring for him. Giving him a pat as he passed her on each go round she kept her eyes toward the road. She wasn't exactly sure how many more get out of jail free cards she had with Gibbs, but if she wasn't out yet this would certainly do it. Seeing the van approach with Ducky and Palmer the trouble magnet Goth knew her time was up.
The semi-quiet heavily wooded area was about to be all abuzz with activity. She guessed the good thing was that she wouldn't be alone in the event the killer did decided to visit the scene of the crime. McGee's sedan pulled up right behind the van. Ducky was approaching, preceded by the heavy crunching sound of dry leaves under foot, as she watched Palmer and Tim both unloaded gear.
"Abigail. What have you gotten yourself into my dear?" Ducky shook his head as he looked into the hole at a set of partially covered bones. He could tell the ground around it was hard and he would need to unearth the carcass in a most delicate fashion. "You can let him know he needn't stand watch any longer."
"Come here Jethro. Look Ducky we're gonna head back to the lab. Now that you're here there really isn't any reason for us to stay."
"Oh, I think there is."
"Geez McGee don't sneak up on people! It's probably what you did to poor Jethro that made him attack."
"Yeah, that's what made him attack. The fact that he's an attack dog probably had nothing to do with it!"
"Stuff it McGee…" It wasn't that she wanted to fight with McGee, but right now he was an easy target for her pent up nerves and anxiety.
Tim couldn't work up a Gibbs worthy glare, but he was pretty sure his feelings on the matter were being adequately conveyed. "No since in running Abs. He already knows you're here and sneaking away will only make things worse."
"McGee I said put a sock in it. I know. I wasn't going anywhere except out of Ducky's way."
"Um-Hmm!"
Tony and Ziva had far too much sense to say anything about the death journey they had taken. They'd passed the flight line, which had been their earlier destination, and headed to center of base a little, beyond the residential area where they'd encountered their first body. When they were headed to the woods behind the buildings off the main drag Tony took a glance over his shoulder at Ziva.
"So, um Boss you want me to get Abby out of there right away. I mean clearly she'd never contaminate evidence, but I know you don't want her here…"
"Abigail and I are going to have a little chat and then I will make sure she gets back to the lab without incident. I can't imagine what was going through that girl's head. She has got to stop getting obsessed and going off on these little missions."
"Well, Gibbs you have taught us to go with our gut and you have to agree Abby must feel very strongly about things."
Tony didn't even attempt to mask his horror at that inexplicable method of rationalization Ziva was taking. He turned around in his seat fully to stare at his partner in utter disbelief.
"She is not an agent. She doesn't work off her gut. She works off of mine, ESPECIALLY in the field. Clearly I've been too lenient. I tried to give her some leeway, but damn it she has gone too far. We don't even know which one of those Marines is guilty."
"Well, good news is we were with all of them, so…"
"Not the point DiNozzo."
"Absolutely right boss." Tony went back to facing forward as his boss pulled up to the scene in front of Ducky's van. Grabbing their gear Tony and Ziva lead the way toward their teammates. Neither said a word to Abby as they passed, but Tony did offer a scowl that was definitely competition for the one McGee delivered earlier.
"What'cha got Probie?"
"So far nothing note worthy. I've gone out about ten feet to see if there were any foot prints, but there are so many there's no telling who made them or when."
"Anything on the body little Miss-Investigator found." Tony tossed his head back in Abby's general direction.
"Very funny DiNozzo." Abby hissed in his direction. She was only giving him the side-eye as her full attention was on an angrily approaching Gibbs. This was not a good Jethro at all.
"Really? Cause I gotta tell you I haven't found anything funny about this situation since the call came in."
"Gibbs." Wow, it was a LOT easy to be brave when you weren't staring into the eye of the storm.
"What the hell were you thinking Abby? This has to be one of the most unbelievable stunts you've ever pulled. This doesn't even make sense. I had no idea you hated your job so much."
"Gibbs how could you say that. You know how much I love my job."
Taking hold of her arm and pulling her out of hearing range from the rest of the team Leroy Jethro Gibbs let her have it.
"Really, you love this job so much that you've spent an entire day doing everything in your power to lose it. What is the Director supposed to do when she hears about this little escapade? Should she just excuse it? Should we all just overlook the blatant disregard you've shown and disrespectful way you've handled this case? What do you want from us Abby?"
Gibbs was determined to not shift his course even though she was currently looking at him with eyes starting to mist over with tears.
"Gibbs I'm…"
"Dry it up young lady and don't you dare make this worse by lying. We both know you aren't one bit sorry for anything you've done. You're only sorry you got caught and that I won't make it easy for you to get away with anymore of this nonsense."
"I was going to say I didn't mean to cause so much trouble. I'm just trying to save Jethro's life."
"Right now I think your time would be better spent worrying about saving your backside. The second we're done here you and I are going to have a little private chat, where I'm sure I'll be able to convince you that your place is in your lab and not in the field."
The rest of the team was focused on the task before them, but they all knew Abby was getting the tongue lashing of the month. Even Tony hadn't been this reckless in the last few weeks. No one said a word or gave voice to what they all knew was likely the result of her little field trip. Hearing the last bit of what Gibbs said to her as he walked away made Tony shudder. Gibbs could be the most convincing person he'd ever known.
Calling out questions to his team and overseeing Ducky's excavation Gibbs worked on cooling off. Sure Jen wouldn't likely fire her, but the fact that Abby gave zero thoughts to the consequences of her actions is what really had him fuming. She'd taken a few moments to pull herself back together and then rejoined the group a few feet from Gibbs. To an outsider it might seem insane to want to be so near the man who was clearly two seconds from throttling her, but she knew he loved her and wanted her safe most of all. She was certainly still keyed up over Jethro, but she knew she owed Gibbs a major mea culpa.
"DiNozzo."
"Yeah Boss." Tony moved in a bit closer to see what his boss wanted.
"You and David head back. Dig into the story of every member of that squad and have something for me, when I get back."
"Ziva! Let's go. We got a hall pass." The two quickly packed up and quickly made their way back to the sedan they arrived in. Ziva made a reach for the keys from Gibbs, but Tony snatched them from her. "I'd like to make the return trip without having to clutch my seatbelt the whole way.
McGee was still tense with Jethro being anywhere near him. So, as soon as the dog barked he jumped at the chance to reprimand.
"That dog should have a muzzle on it Abby."
"Put a muzzle on yourself McGee. It's not he like he shot you."
Gibbs just leaned in and gave her a look. She couldn't possibly have forgotten their conversation that quickly. He knew he had to get her out of there before all out war broke out between her and McGee. Understanding how sensitive Abby was in general Gibbs knew she wasn't being at all insincere about wanting to see justice done, but this blind attachment to this dog contrary to all the evidence was out of character. Abby loved animals, but hadn't had one in all the years she'd been at NCIS and although she would pour over it she was usually one to respect evidence and go where it led. She was approaching this with the same blind faith she'd given DiNozzo when he was accused of hacking off a woman's legs. It was time to reel her in regardless of this dog's guilt or innocence.
"McGee! Load your gear and anything collected with Ducky and Palmer. I need you to drive Abby's car back."
"What?" Abby looked up from petting Jethro. "Why is McGee driving my car?"
"You and the dog are riding back with me."
"Oh," looking around the area at who was left of her team she got the feeling they all knew why she was going off for ride and chat. Not one of them looked the least bit sympathetic.
~~Stay Tuned~~
