The case was particularly hard for Abby. The lovable goth always poured herself completely into her work but this time she was very close to the boundary between herself and the navy scientist. She was getting lost in the labyrinths of the dead scientist's dark brain and everyone around was getting worried.
Abby was standing in autopsy, talking to the cadaver when Ducky spotted her.
"Be careful, sometimes they talk back."
"Ducky, I was just… I just wanted to take another look at all the writing and equations on her arms." Abby tried to keep her voice neutral, to not give away how much she was hurting but she always wore her heart on her sleeve and Ducky knew immediately but chose to play along.
"One thing I can assure you is that she will be right here tomorrow morning. Go home. Get some rest." Knowing that the best chance of Abby leaving was if he left too, Ducky walked out of Autopsy, deliberating if he should give Jethro a call about this but choosing to give Abby the benefit of doubt.
Abby knew that she should listen to the good doctor and go home but she just couldn't get herself to do it. She had to solve this case. She had to figure out what had happened to the Navy scientist. So she pressed the button for her lab on the elevator and made up her mind for an all-nighter.
By the time morning arrived, Abby had some clues, not breakthroughs but good clues like how the code didn't matter, she needed to crack the scientist and she would do that by following her path and schedule. Luckily for her, McGee was the first one to come into her lab and she begged him to go along with her. He was reluctant, Abby was clearly not thinking straight and hadn't slept but he had never really learnt how to say no to her. And thus the two of them went out on their field trip.
After getting no closer to solving the case, not even a clue by mid-day McGee was frustrated and wanted to end this but Abyy insisted on taking the bus ride that the scientist took every day. While they were arguing, before he knew what happened, Abby had entered the bus and the doors closed, leaving McGee behind on the sidewalk. McGee was shocked, then groaned. Gibbs was going to kill him. But the best bet to save himself would be to track Abby down and he needed his computer to do that so he would have to go back to NCIS and face the bear. He clearly remembered the episode with Abby's ex-boyfriend and stalker when he had left Abby by herself in the apartment to grab her toothbrush and the stalker had gotten to her, Gibbs had taken away his chair and made him kneel down at his desk. He shivered thinking about what the boss would do this time. Even a concussion-causing head slap would be unlikely to cover it this time.
When Gibbs heard the elevator ding, he looked up expecting Abby and hoping to check in with her but saw Tim, whose face looked like he had seen a ghost and his father-radar immediately picked that something was wrong.
"Where is Abby, McGee? "
"Boss she, ... I… "
"Sometime today, Tim" With the possibility of something wrong with Abby, Gibbs' patience had dwindled further.
"Boss she ditched me and got onto a bus. I don't know where she is. I came here to track her."
Tim expected the head slap but was shocked by how hard it was. "What are you waiting for? "
It was hard enough to work with Gibbs around but working with him looking over his shoulder right now was terrifying McGee and when he realised that Abby had switched off her phone, his brain conjured up images of medieval kings who believed in shooting the messenger.
"Boss, no pings around where she left me. She must have turned off her phone."
"McGee, she did not just vanish into thin air!"
Gibbs knew it wasn't really Tim's fault. This was all on his favorite Abby. Oh he was going to make her regret this as soon as he hugged her once he found her safe. He walked out of the bullpen for coffee because he would have started shooting people without it.
It was a long, hard day where the team tried to keep working on the case while simultaneously being worried about Abby's whereabouts.
"This is the last time that we're sending you two out on a field trip." Tony's fear and worry was getting channelled as anger towards Tim.
"Dinozzo!" Gibbs growled. Tim felt bad enough already for something that wasn't even his fault and he didn't want to referee a squabble between these two.
Suddenly McGee chimed, "Boss, Abby has turned her phone back on. I'm getting an accurate location now." Ziva came in with security footage from the mall which clearly showed the scientist talking animatedly with an empty booth. They had concrete proof of her delusion. Always tuned to Abby's feelings, Tim asked, "who is going to break this to Abby?" Tony was still angry and said, "I nominate you." Before McGee could react, Gibbs stated, "I'll handle it." The elevator pinged as Ziva said, "Someone will have to figure it out soon enough" As Abby entered the bull pen.
"Gibbs! Gibbs! Whirlwind of a day. Can you guess? Let me tell you. I found the scientist's college mentor and we talked poetry and he made tea.."
"Abby" How he wished she would listen.
"And there is a Mr K. We just have to find him."
"Abby!" He shouted, to get her to focus.
"You raised your voice to me. You never raise your voice to me."
"Abby, it's her delusion." And he turned to the screen which played the footage from the diner.
Abby watched for a few seconds and finally said, "I was wrong" and paused as the bullpen was silent as a morgue "about you. You just don't understand. Nobody does." And Abby walked away in a huff.
Everyone was shocked. Nobody spoke to Gibbs like that and lived to tell the tale. But will Abby, the favorite, be the first? Gibbs was shocked to react too. Finally he followed her but went down another set of stairs to Ducky for some much needed advice.
"Duck, you got a minute?"
"Always Jethro. From the look on your face, I'm deducing something is up with Abby?"
"Yes, she is far too drawn into the case. And has now crossed the line by putting herself in danger and being unteachable all day!"
"Jethro, so she's back in one piece? Thank God."
"At least for now."
"This time I cannot argue with you about your methods of discipline. Also, you should know that last night I found her talking to the cadaver and asked her to go home and get some rest but instead she pulled an all-nighter. I don't want to keep her up later than necessary, she needs her rest but let her know that I am not happy about her treating my order as a suggestion."
"Will do, Duck. But Ducky I'm not sure. She absolutely needs a sharp reminder about safety and that she's not a field agent for heaven's sake but in the state she is in, I don't know how receptive she will be to that lesson."
"As Nietsche said, when you stare into the Abyss, the abyss stares back at you."
"Duck, I want her back."
"And you will get her. Jethro, as you very well know, with Abby you have to be consistent with consequences. I am so glad and relieved that she is back safe but you need to deal with her before she gets any more such ideas whose ending might not be so amenable."
"I understand Duck. But I'm really not looking forward to this."
"When do you ever? Hurting our kids, the ones we love the most and wish to protect with our own lives is one of the most painful parts of being a parent. But it is a duty nonetheless. With the hope that one day they will realise how true the saying of it hurts me more than it hurts you is"
Gibbs snorted, "yeah I dream of that day. Thanks duck!"
Gibbs climbed the stairs and went into Abby's lab. He had expected her to be blasting music and working frantically but had hoped for once that she had done the sane thing and gone home to get some rest.
"Hey Abs" he didn't want to start with a confrontation.
She ignored him.
He shut off the music.
"Hey! I was listening to that. I don't have any update for you yet Gibbs. I literally came in 10 minutes ago."
"And whose fault is that?"
She huffed and turned back to her computer.
"Abby, shut off your machines. Pack up. You have 10 minutes."
"I want to follow this lead and then when I'm done I'll leave. You are free to go home and get your beauty sleep. I can't, not till I've given justice to this scientist."
"Abs, you don't have to do this alone, we're a team and we'll solve this case. And to do your part, you need to be healthy. I know you didn't sleep last night either. So no arguments, you're coming home with me."
"Fine. I'll leave. But I'm going to my own apartment."
"Abby, I know you're hurting and I'm trying very hard to be patient but I am hanging by a thread. I have been worried all day, not knowing where you were and you haven't even let me hold you yet. If you wish to sit again this month, I'd advise doing as I say. Now move."
"No. And it's outside work hours so you can't order me anymore."
And that was all Gibbs could take. He bent abby on the table beside her computer and started giving her quick, full strength swats. "This is just to get you to co-operate. You have full punishments for being unreachable, putting yourself in danger, ditching McGee, being insubordinate and disrespectful lined up, not to mention punishment from Ducky for not going home last night like he asked and risking your health with so many caf-pows. So let me know when you've had enough of this and are ready to listen."
Soon enough, all her emotions and worries and fears caught up to her and Abby started sobbing. As much as Gibbs wanted to continue to be stern and keep spanking till Abby apologized and started packing up, he knew that he couldn't do that. He stopped spanking and started rubbing her back. "Let it out. It's okay. You're okay." He remembered a night from long ago with Kelly similarly being stubborn and willfully disobedient and the back rub finally getting her to calm down and talk to him. He hoped and wished that the same magic happened again but as soon as Abby realised that the spanking had stopped, she pushed away from him and shrugged his hand off.
"If you're done, I need to get back to work now." Gibbs groaned internally. Normally Abby would have given in long before now. He absolutely hated the idea of breaking her. But for her own safety it had to be done. She had to learn.
Gibbs held her harm and pulled her to her office desk. He bent her over it and slipped out his belt. He wanted to get this over with quickly so that he could get Abby to rest and so decided to up the ante. When she heard the belt coming out, Abby panicked. She started struggling with all her might but Gibbs was much stronger and kept landing licks to her backside with absolute precision. Finally, not seeing another way out, she said, "Gibbs you're hurting me. You were supposed to protect me and keep me safe."
Gibbs' lips twitched. "That is exactly what I'm doing Abs. Keeping you safe from yourself."
Then Abby said something which was so uncharacteristic of her but then again going to extremes to get her way was typical Abby. She said, "I'm so glad Kelly isn't alive. You're a Brute. She would be miserable being your daughter." Gibbs was shocked. He had gotten all sorts of pleas and swear words from his team by now but none of them had ever stooped so low. And his favorite, Abby saying it, it broke something in him. She regretted her words as soon as they came out and she backtracked, "I'm so sorry, Gibbs. That was way out of line. I should not have said that. I'm sorry. Please say something." He just threaded his belt back. Finally, he looked up and said, "if you're really sorry, do as I say. Don't fight me. I don't have any fight left." Abby just nodded and started turning off all her machines. She was ready to leave in 5 minutes and they silently walked to the elevator, neither touching the other which felt so wrong.
