Abby was fuming pissed. No one on the team had called her or stopped by since her week of suspension had started. She'd never felt so alone before, in all her years at NCIS. This was horrid and impossible. She hated every minute of it. Four days of isolated silence and hours to fill with no desire to do anything that would fill them. She'd tried going out with her friends and bowling with her Nun friends, but nothing was easing this feeling of being deserted and abandoned by the people who were supposedly her friends.

Finally, on the Friday morning of her 1st week of suspension, Abby couldn't take it anymore. She didn't understand why she hadn't even heard from Ducky. He was supposed to be her friend no matter what. So what was up with that? Picking up her phone, she called the M.E.

"Dr. Mallard."

"Ducky."

"Abigail. How nice to hear from you, my dear! How have you been?"

"You haven't called me or come to see me all week. Why not?" Abby asked sadly

"I'm afraid I've been quite busy, my dear. Work has been far from quiet and has made for the need for early evenings of rest. How are you?"

"Alone. Abandoned, Neglected. Without friends that are supposed to be my friends." Abby ranted.

"Those same friends, I suppose are the very ones who have been placed in an tenuous position of having to do their jobs as well as that of their missing team mate and with a temporary lab technician who is less than pleasant, Abigail. I had rather hoped that you would have used this time to thoroughly examine your motives and your actions and the consequences which could have resulted and even those that did instead of thinking of ways to remain angry at the very people who have had to deal with the repercussions of your own actions." Ducky gently admonished her.

"I know, Ducky. I know I have to figure out some stuff, but does that mean I have to be left out in the cold?"

"Abigail, Gibbs' team is quite busy working two cases. I'm afraid no one has any time of anything of a personal nature right now. You know very well that this is how things often happen with this team."

"Yeah. You're right. Okay. Thanks, Duck man."

"You are quite welcome, my dear. Would you like me to tell them you were asking after their welfare?"

"No thank you, Ducky, not unless they care enough to ask. Thank you anyway. Hey, can we do dinner soon?"

"That would be lovely, my dear."

"Thanks, Ducky."

The Friday morning of the first week without Tim and Abby on the job was a quiet one filled only with the sounds of keyboards and phones being used in the typical march through case information and rehashing of facts just to make sure their cases were iron clad. Both Tony and Ziva were less than thrilled to be there yet again without thier missing teammate. Neither of them had much to say outside of the cases they were working hard to put to bed.

By ten Tony and Ziva were practically squirming to get outta there and call it a weekend. With both cases wrapped up, the only thing left to do was thier case reports. Neither one of them wanted to be stuck here on Saturday morning doing reports. And so they buckled down and got theirs done with rare silence and even more rare speed.

Gibbs knew something was up and despite his sour mood spurned by the chaos that this whole Mexican trip had created and the now severely damaged relationships between himself and his missing people, he found himself wishing his steadily working agents now drenched in silent antsy-ness and abject cooperation, would just come out with whatever was on their minds. He knew it most likely had to do with McGee and only gave him more reason for wishing they'd talk to him.

The trouble with that stupid traffic ticket had seemed to just filter away after he'd dropped into Vance's lap. But that didn't erase the fact that he knew Vance's assistant was hiding something from him. Nor, did it erase the fact that he'd had the chance to hear Tim out and possibly even get through to him that he was needed here where he not only made up the missing link of the team, but was happy and thriving; and he'd blown it; not just once, but twice.

Suddenly feeling the wave of anger at his own ineptness at handling his uncomfortable relationship with McGee, Gibbs took himself out for a fresh coffee. As he returned, he found himself walking back to an empty squad room. Knowing his agents probably had escaped to Ducky's domain in search of the M.E.'s compassionate ear, Gibbs headed that way. His anger had shifted course in his trip to get coffee and he now found himself angry once again at his missing agent.

McGee should have called him and informed him about what had happened in Mexico as soon as he'd gotten them out of that situation with the drug cartel. Maybe it was a good thing that Vance had handled this because Gibbs probably would have torn a strip off McGee's hide for not telling him about it. And what the hell was he thinking, keeping his mouth shut with the ridiculous idea that he was protecting Abby? Sure the kid had carried a torch for the Lab Rat; hell everyone knew that. But this was beyond ridiculous! This was foolish and stupid!

Gibbs stepped off the last step of the stairs he'd taken instead of the noisy elevator and entered Autopsy. His agents were so wrapped up in their lively discussion they never even heard the 'whoosh' of the doors or noticed he'd joined them.

"…think McGee needs to hide this from Gibbs? I mean, it can't really be as serious a problem as he thinks it will be?" Tony was asking.

"Anthony. While I'm glad that Timothy has confided in you, I do wonder if it was such a good idea to have done so. Didn't Timothy tell you that it was the trust and honesty he was not willing to jeopardize with you and Ziva that led him to tell you exactly what was going on with him? Were you listening when he told you his reason for accepting this harsh consequence to his decision? Why then would you not try harder to honor his wish for this not to become public knowledge?"

"I know, Ducky, but he already talked to you and he asked me to tell Ziva so I'm not exactly telling anyone that McGee hasn't already let it."

"That's not necessarily true, DiNozzo." Gibbs said calmly from the doorway. "Somebody wanna tell me what the hell's going on?"

Tony straightened up and slid Ducky an apologetic look before he turned and looked his boss straight on and answered his question. "Sorry, Boss. No can do. I'll be getting back to work now." Tony tried to make a quick exit but found himself blocked by Gibbs who wasn't letting him off this easy.

"Start talking, DiNozzo." Gibbs ordered with enough bite that there was no doubt his temper was rising.

"Jethro, let the boy be! He cannot tell you what he is not free to do so." Ducky admonished the team leader.

"Well, somebody better tell me what the hell's going on!" Gibbs demanded.

"Gibbs. It is something only McGee can tell you. That is his right." Ziva answered calmly with a bit more explanation.

"His right? Kinda think he lost the right to make that choice when he screwed up his career in a useless attempt to protect Abby's career, don't you?" Gibbs bit out angrily.

Tony suddenly shoved his way past Gibbs in a rise of anger he let show in his tone as he vehemently whispered the answer to the boss' statement as he passed him. "It's not Abby's career he's trying to protect"

Gibbs reached out and snagged Tony's arm, stopping the younger man in his tracks. "What the hell are you tryin to say, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked with his own voice laced in steeled anger.

"Just what I said." Tony's voice was leveled with matching quiet anger but loud enough to reach across the room to Ducky as he once again answered Gibbs' question.

"It's not Abby's career he's protecting. It's yours!"