Chapter 10

"Gibbs, have you heard from Dabi lately?" Vance quietly asked.

"Yeah. She said she'd made a new friend and would be home soon," said Gibbs, looking at his boss suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because I just got a report from New Orleans and apparently Dabi managed to get herself involved in a murder investigation..." Vance explained as they headed for his office.

A moment later Tony, Tim, and Ellie jumped.

"What do you mean she went undercover to catch a killer?!" Gibbs was heard yelling.

Tim groaned, Ellie's eyes went wide, and Tony reached for the phone.

"Who are you calling?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Dwayne Pride. We'd better get the whole story, fast, or we're all going to suffer," said Tony.

"Because when it comes to the boss, if he's not happy, no one is happy, especially if it involves Dabi and the kind of stunt it sounds like she's pulled," said Tim.

"Tony DiNozzo here, King. Gibbs is yelling. Yup, Vance just told him. What happened? We heard Gibbs yelling something about Dabi going undercover to catch a killer?" Tony asked sweetly. He listened for a few minutes, his face going pale. "I thought she went to New Orleans to stay out of trouble! Right; she's a Gibbs and wherever a Gibbs goes, trouble is sure to follow. Thank you. Now I know I need to get out my combat helmet and flak vest for a few days." He hung up.

"How bad?" Tim asked.

"Pride is sending me a copy of the report," said Tony. "But the short of the long is it involves a murdered Navy sailor, a teenage prostitute, and a prostitution ring the New Orleans PD was investigating. Oh, and the prostitute is now Dabi's new buddy and in Witness Protection and heading our way under a new name. And Dabi helped."

"I can't wait to read that report," said Tim sourly.

A moment later, Gibbs appeared and stormed towards the elevators. No one dared to say a word. When Gibbs vanished into the elevator, Tim picked up the phone.

"I'd better warn Abby," he said.

"And Ducky," said Ellie, picking up her phone.

"And when Dabi gets back, she'd better explain herself," Tony groused.

Four days later, Dabi came home with a kitty carrier and a new friend. Formerly Kate Hart, now Anna Fowler, the five foot six brunette teenager would stay with Dabi for a day or two, until she could get settled in to a new job. Dabi had a lead on that, one that guaranteed Kate/Anna would never have to go back to her old ways and could learn a valuable skill that might help her achieve her own dream of one day owning her own bakery, just like Dabi.

As for Patches, she would be carefully checked out then, as soon as she was old enough, she would be spayed. Anna had fussed over the kitten during the whole flight.

Back in New Orleans:

Chris sat down, then suddenly bolted out of his chair, yelling in pain. He landed on the floor in a rather undignified heap, where he sat for a minute, rubbing his backside and silently swearing.

"What happened to you?" Brody asked curiously, trying not to laugh.

"Looks like my chair got shocked," Chris grumbled.

"You okay there?" Pride asked.

"I'll live, but I'm not sure what hurts more; my dignity or my ass," Chris said, getting up off the floor.

"I did see Dabi poking around your desk before she left," Brody admitted.

"And DiNozzo said he had his fair share of horror stories with regards to Dabi and her pranks," said Pride. "Seems the shocking chair is one of them."

"How do I deactivate it?" Chris asked. "I don't feel like getting a shock every time I try to sit down and it takes forever just to get a new chair broken in."

"Check under your chair for a small battery pack," said Pride.

Chris did and removed the small nine volt battery, placing it on his desk. Then he sat down cautiously in his chair and when it didn't shock him, he smiled in relief. Then he picked up his pen and clicked it.

Two minutes later:

"I have a score to settle with that kid," Chris groused, looking under his coffee cup and scowling. Underneath were the words "I'm a Douche". He had also gotten shocked by the pen, startled by the exploding snakes, and Brody had nearly choked on her drink when she'd seen the bottom of his mug.

"Oh, um, I think I saw Dabi doing something to your spare house key," Brody admitted.

Chris' eyes went wide and he dove for his spare house key, kept in the top drawer of his desk. Pulling it out, he saw traces of white putty on it and a nasty thought came to his head. Swearing vengeance against a certain red-head girl, he tore out of the office, heading for his apartment.

Brody just looked at Pride and grinned.

"What did she do?" Pride asked.

"Absolutely nothing," said Brody. "She said that the best joke of all is the one that never came, to quote a certain M.A.S.H doctor. He's going to tear his apartment looking for a prank she never pulled."

"He's going to strangle her the next time he sees her," said Pride. "I'll warn Gibbs."

Washington, D.C.

After his conversation with Vance, Gibbs had not been happy with Dabi, but once he read the full report, he had calmed down, reasoning that Dabi was not known for saying 'no' when it came to helping her friends.

Jake Ambrose would be brought to justice, along with his two partners-in-crime. The one that had tried to grab Anna, he was being charged with assault and attempted kidnapping and Pride was sure the D.A. would have plenty more charges to tack on before long.

As for the prostitution ring, Pride had added a note that the undercover that Dabi and Chris had met was continuing to provide inside information and the NOPD was sure they'd be bringing that particular ring down soon.

Then Gibbs read the letter of commendation from the NOPD and saw that Dabi was being awarded a Medal of Courage for her actions in successfully defending a citizen of New Orleans against a member of a prostitution ring. Tony would later swear his boss' chest swelled to twice the usual size.

As for Anna, Dabi got her a job with an Italian bakery. The owners were an Italian couple, Emmanuel and Marta Bianchi, who had immigrated to the states as children, and shared a love of baking that had been passed down through their respective families.

The couple were friendly rivals of Kranz Bakery and Dabi knew they had an empty loft above the bakery.

When Dabi spoke to them about Anna and explained the situation, they agreed to her deal.

"The deal is I pay half of Anna's wages for three months," said Dabi, later that day. She was seated next to her father's desk, enjoying her coffee. "After three months, if they think she's fitting in and doing well, they take over the wages completely. If she screws up and goes back to her old ways, she's out completely. As for Patches, it seems they're having a bit of a mouse problem anyway."

"What did Anna say?" Gibbs asked.

"She's just ecstatic to have a real place of her own and a real job that doesn't involve sexual favors," said Dabi.

"Good. Now, mind explaining the diamond ring on your hand?" Gibbs asked.

Dabi smirked, flashing the three-stone ring at him. "It belonged to Leo's gram. We haven't set a date yet, but it's a promise for one day. Seems she got on his case about it while I was away and even gave him the ring. She wants grandbabies and thinks I'd be just perfect for that particular role."

"What did Leo say about that?" Gibbs asked, holding Dabi's hand long enough to examine the ring. It was a nice ring, with one large stone and two smaller stones set on either side of the larger stone. It was set in a nice gold band that had a worn look to it, suggesting it was as old as Dabi and Leo were suggesting it was.

"Said babies were in the picture, but it would happen when we were both ready and right now, we were both making sure any of our children actually had a shot at a good future," said Dabi. "I happen to agree at this point in time."

"Good to know."

"Good to have something to hold on to, though," she admitted. "Especially after that business with Eric."

"True. Have you been able to come to terms with what happened?"

She gave a small smile. "That side of me, it's part of me, but I control it, not the other way around. I killed that guy because I had to, not because I wanted to. I can't guarantee it won't happen again, but I can do my damndest to make sure it doesn't. I'm a fighter, Dad; I always have been. I just know how to do it better now, especially when it comes to protecting the ones I care about."

"That's the best part."

Then she grinned. "But I might need protection from Chris LaSalle if he ever comes to Washington. After what I did to his desk and what he's gonna think I did to his home..."

"I know. I got the call from Pride just after you left New Orleans."

"How loud?"

"Seems LaSalle knows some pretty colorful cuss words, and they're all aimed at you."

Dabi grinned even wider.

The End... for now...