Abby was too uncomfortable on the ride, despite the pillow, to notice that they weren't driving to the NCIS headquarters but instead to the crime scene, the scientist's lab. Before she could ask what was going on, she noticed the scientist's mother there. She was about to tell Gibbs what she thought about this emotional accosting when he smacked her bottom, hard. "Don't make this harder than it has to be. Be respectful and genuinely listen, okay?" All she could do was nod and rub her bottom. At least she did not have to sit down right away.

The meeting had gone better than either of them expected and she had found some comfort. She still believed that the scientist was awesome and not delusional and would do all she could to bring her justice but the question of 'at what cost' convinced her to not go on any more solo adventures. On their way out, she instinctively reached out to Gibbs and he wrapped an arm around her as they walked, giving her all the comfort she needed.

As she opened the car door and saw that pillow, she hesitated but Gibbs smiled at her and said he was proud of how well she had handled that conversation. They drove to NCIS in a comfortable silence interspersed with small talk. Once they got there, he hugged her again and said, "please behave. I'll pick you up in the evening. Have a good day!" She smiled and went into her lab.

Gibbs wondered if he had done the right thing and his interventions were working when he went to Abby's lab and she beamed, "Gibbs, I've made progress!" As he heard her and the joy and sincerity in her voice, the smile on her face, he expressed, "Music to my ears, Abs." As she explained what she had found, her eyes looked around, and hands instinctively reached for the caf-pow he would normally bring but fell back down, disappointed. Gibbs didn't miss that look and before rushing out with the information, he leaned in to kiss her forehead as he reminded, "I'm sure you haven't forgotten the no caf-pows part of the punishment and certainly not all the appointments your backside has with my hand. Please don't do anything stupid. You're doing fantastic so far." Abby just nodded and Gibbs knew that all he could do was hope for the best.

Abby really tried to focus on work and not think about caf-pows but her brain refused to cooperate. She knew that the team was out I'm the field and that it would take but a minute to get a caf-pow and then she could take her punishment a lot more stoically and all would be well. Having convinced herself of this, she went to grab a caf-pow but as soon as she was about to take the first sip, she heard, "Abigail, I hope you're not disobeying the no caf-pow rule on the very first day of your punishment." She knew she was caught and in big trouble. But she knew that Ducky had a soft spot for her and decided to try to use it. She rushed up to Ducky and enveloped him in a hug as she said, "I'm so sorry, Ducky. I really wasn't deliberately disobeying you. I just wasn't really thinking clearly. I'm so sorry if I hurt you. It wasn't my intention at all."

Ducky loved the goth with all his heart but knew that she was playing him for sympathy and after she had so deliberately risked her health again he simply could not let her get away with it. He grabbed her arm and walked her to the autopsy. The man who could never stop telling his stories, this time simply said, "Bend over the table, Abigail." "Ducky please no. Gibbs already gave me the belt this morning and he will be spanking me again at night. Please I can't take any more. Please Duck-man?" Ducky wondered for the millionth time how Jethro deals with this on a regular basis. He made a mental note to check in on his friend, this episode must be very emotionally taxing on him too.

With Abby, he simply held her arm and bent her over the autopsy table. He gave her five hard swats which had her squeaking at each one and said, "if you hadn't tried to wheedle and manipulate and disobey, this is where I would have stopped." Then he continued giving her 15 more heavy spanks which had her sobbing." He grabbed a bottle of water, directed her to a corner and said, "I want you to stand here, think about your behavior and drink all of this." Now he understood why Jethro needed so much Bourbon.

He spotted Jethro in the elevator and pushed the emergency button. Despite everything, he smiled, "Always wanted to do that." Then continued, "Jethro, I assume you're going in search of Abigail. She isn't in her lab, she's in the Autopsy. I caught her trying to get a caf-pow. Then she tried to emotionally manipulate me and outright disobey. I gave her 20 hard spanks with my hand, and made her stand in the corner and drink a bottle of water. And now she's never going to talk to me again." Jethro could see that Ducky was hurting. He said, "Come on Duck. First you don't need to tell me all the details. I trust you to discipline her and it clearly looks like she needed it. If anything you've been very generous and I'm sure Abby whining to you about my punishment had something to do with it. And Duck, I give her much harsher punishments on a regular basis. Trust me she'll come around. She knows that all of us just want the best for her." "I do hope so, Jethro."

When Ducky entered Autopsy, Abby knew she had to do all she could to make sure that Ducky did not tell Gibbs so as soon as she heard him say, "Abigail", she stated without turning around, " Ducky. I'm so sorry. I have learnt my lesson. No more caf-pows for a week. I promise. And I finished this bottle of water and I'll drink a lot more water. Please please can we keep this between ourselves? Please Ducky?" When she heard the low growl of "Abby" she turned around and her worst fear came true as she saw Gibbs standing there. She didn't know how to face him so she lashed on Ducky, "how could you do this to me? And here I thought that you love me and would protect me. But I guess I don't have a family here after all." Gibbs saw red. He really did not want to punish Abby's bottom right now so he looked around and spotted a wooden ruler. He took a few quick strides towards Abby and growled, "hold your left hand out". Abby shrunk into the corner and put her arms under her armpits saying, "no please" as Ducky said, "Jethro, is that really necessary?" But Gibbs was out of patience. He grabbed Abby's left hand and gave her 5 hard strokes then repeated the same with her right hand. She was back to her full sobbing state now. "Apologise" Abby tried but her body was racking with sobs. Gibbs waited a minute then said again, "now". Abby took a few breaths and muttered, " I'm sorry Dr. Mallard." "Abby" he warned. "Dr. Mallard, I'm sorry that I disobeyed your orders and that I trusted you and told you how I felt and asked for your help. I promise you it won't happen ever again." Ducky was really hurt. He loved being called Ducky so Abby using the formal Dr Mallard was harsh and the talk about trust and help, even though he knew was coming out of her anger, pain and fear, it bothered him nonetheless. But he could also see this going downhill very quickly if Jethro kept punishing the girl so he quickly walked to her and enveloped her in a hug. She tried to fight him but he held strong and she eventually settled into the hug and whispered, "what have I done, Ducky?" He whispered back, "re-lived a day from your teenage years perhaps?" She gave him a weak smile, he patted her on her back and said, "Abigail, as punishment, you will write 2 essays, each of 2000 words with your hand, with a pen on paper. No electronics involved. One will be on how and why caf-pow can be harmful to health and how you will regulate that and the second one on why one shouldn't emotionally manipulate their family. Please behave. This is hard enough. Don't make it worse." "I'll try" and she hugged him again. Finally when Jethro cleared his throat, Ducky pulled out of the hug, patted her one last time and walked out saying, "Don't kill her." The last thing he heard was a growled mutter, "no promises!"