In response to a review from rigger42, which, by the way, thank you for bringing this to my attention, Tony isn't so much intoxicated as just harbouring a lingering headache from his drinking the previous night. My intention was not to imply that he still had alcohol in his system, but it just seems that way to Gibbs after the previous night and Tony's rocky start to the morning. Even so, if a case arises (and I'm not too sure if it will just yet) Tony will not go out to the scene, both because of his drinking the previous night and because of a consequence after a problem on Thursday (which will be explored soon).

Tony walked out of the conference room and headed straight outside. He quickly found a secluded area that he could sit in while he calmed down. He sighed quietly before sitting on the grass and closing his eyes. The sun was warm on his skin, and he felt his headache easing the longer he relaxed there.

"Hiya Tony!" exclaimed Abby as she flopped down onto the grass beside him.

"What are you doing here, Abbs? You're not on call," said Tony once his heart slowed to normal.

"Gibbs asked me to run some tests. He also said I would probably find you here. Is everything okay?"

"I'm good. The sun is nice, and my headache is easing a little."

"Do you have a hangover? I can cure it for you."

"No hangover. Well, not anymore anyway. McGee and Ziva pretty much fixed that with their..."

"Their what?"

"Nothing. I just meant that they are happy, and it's contagious," lied Tony, though he knew that Abby would be able to see straight through it.

Abby nodded and changed the topic, sensing that Tony didn't want to discuss things any further. "What are you doing tonight? After work, I mean?"

"Probably eating alone and watching a movie. What are you doing?"

"Going bowling with the nuns. Sister Rosita has been nagging me to bring you. Do you want to come?"

Tony's eyes lit up at the thought of seeing his favourite nun and spending time with Abby. It had been a long time since the two of them had hung out without anyone else from work. "I'd love to, Abby."

"Great! We'll get dinner on the way to the bowling alley." Abby grinned excitedly. "Hey, are you still on desk duty?"

"Unfortunately. Gibbs said I can go back into the field on Monday, but two days of desk work is going to be boring."

"Why didn't you just tell Vance that it was Ziva who threatened that woman on Thursday? It isn't fair that you should be in trouble for something you didn't do. And, you tried to stop her. None of this is your fault."

"I'm the Senior Agent, Abby. Whether this is my fault or not, I'm still the one that will be blamed. Maybe not by Gibbs, cause he knows I tried, but Vance wasn't there. He didn't see anything that happened."

"It's dumb. But, I guess I understand. And, besides, if you're on desk duty, you have more time to spend in my lab with me!"

Tony laughed, which felt good after being miserable all week. "Oh, Abby. You're so sweet and innocent sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Abby asked, faking a hurt tone.

"Alright, most of the time then." Tony sighed. He laid back on the grass as well, allowing Abby to take his hand as he did so, until his phone rang and Ducky's number came up. "Hi, Duck."

"Anthony, I need a favour from you."

Gibbs was disappointed to hear the rest of what Tony had endured throughout the week. He couldn't understand why Ziva and McGee would be so cruel. It was one thing to joke around, and Tony certainly did that a lot, but interfering with work and causing danger or injuries was not a joke.

"Jethro, how may I help you?" Ducky asked as Gibbs entered autopsy, where he knew Ducky was taking stock of his inventory.

"I have a question for you, and I really need an honest answer. Please don't tell me that it's confidential."

"Does this have something to do with young Anthony?"

"It does."

"What can I help you with?"

"Tony mentioned that you helped him with some injuries on Thursday and Friday."

"Ah, yes. Anthony came in on Thursday afternoon after returning from a scene. He asked me to look at some bruising on his stomach."

"What was the bruise from? I know that he took a couple of hits from Ziva when he was trying to stop her from attacking someone. I didn't see her hit his stomach."

"I do believe that he was elbowed. And it was a hard hit. The bruise was quite deep, and I suspect that Anthony would still be slightly sore today."

"Why did he come in yesterday?"

"Again, it was after a scene. He had scratches covering his lower left arm; they were quite deep. I cleaned them and bandaged them for him. He mentioned while I was working that they were from a dog that had been let loose at the crime scene."

"You gave him a tetanus shot too?"

"That was a nightmare, although, I must say, Anthony was calm through the injection. I didn't have too much trouble getting him to comply with the shot. He was more afraid that he would get sick before the medicine in the shot worked."

Gibbs smiled. "Of course he was. What about Wednesday? Did he come in then?"

"No. He stopped me on the way out of work that night and asked me if it was possible to get sick if a rat touched him. I figured out what he meant by that, so I told him that he would be just fine, that he wasn't going to get sick. I don't know what brought that on."

"I do. Alright, thank you, Duck. I need to go and take care of something before this gets any worse. Thanks for looking after Tony, by the way."

"I'm always here to help, Jethro. Which reminds me, you are due for your next tetanus shot too."

"After I deal with this. I promise to come back down here," Gibbs said as he left.

Ducky nodded, then grabbed his phone and dialed Tony's cell number. "Anthony, I need a favour from you."

"What kind of favour?" Tony asked.

"I need you to make sure Jethro comes down before leaving work today for his tetanus shot."

"Of course, Ducky. I'll see what I can do." Tony said goodbye, then hung up.

"What does Ducky want?" asked Abby.

"Gibbs is due for a tetanus shot. I think that Ducky is worried Gibbs won't go and get it done."

"But you did. And you absolutely hate needles. Why don't you just tell that to Gibbs?"

"I did already. Ducky wants me to try and make sure that Gibbs goes down there today."