There was a stench of confusion and incredulity hanging between Abby and Tony as Gibbs paced in front of them, clearly angry as all manner of hell. Tony was doubly confused, being more than accustomed to this brand of treatment, but puzzled as to Abby's subjection. The pacing went on and on within the shiny confines of the forensics lab, not even a radio playing to break the tense silence. Being more of an expert to the situation than he would like, Tony instantly saw Abby beginning to open her mouth to ask Gibbs a question.

She might as well drink a bottle cyanide and have at it.

He shot a darkly warning look that for the first time; she heeded and clamped her mouth shut.

And on the pacing went, until Gibbs felt he could pace no more and turned to face them.

Tony winced.

The last time he'd seen that fire in the old man's eyes he hadn't sat for a week. He racked his brains furiously but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what he'd done to earn the man's ire. He especially couldn't think of anything on God's green earth that Abby could have done to earn his ire. Placing two deliberate hands down on the shiny table that separated them, Gibbs leaned over it menacingly, his scowl nearly imbedded into his forehead.

"I am disgusted with you. The pair of you."

Two sets of eyes widened in confusion. Before Tony could eyeball her to the contrary, Abby had decided to inject some vocals of her own into the situation. "What?" she squeaked indignantly, "What did we do? How can you be disgusted with us when we don't even know what we've done? Or if we've done anything."

Tony focussed his eyes on the floor, horrified at her rookie's mistake.

Never, ever question one pissed off Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

If one pissed off Leroy Jethro Gibbs tells you that you're the sole cause of global warming, then you get your ass out there and apologise to the first polar bear you meet. You don't disagree, you don't challenge and you sure as hell don't speak with a tone of indignation. He didn't need to look up to see Gibbs' glare intensify, he felt the room chill around him as if one of those dementors he was reading about had entered. His mind wandered slightly. Gibbs would be a good Death Eater…not that he was bad or dark, just because he was simply terrifying.

He was jolted from that thought when the man's voice thundered around the room.

"Do not interrupt me when I am speaking Abigail," he snarled, and both apparent miscreants flinched at the use of her full name. "I am disgusted with the pair of you because you have behaved disgustingly. You have both behaved in a manner that frankly makes me want to send you both packing with a one week unpaid suspension to sit on. Does that answer your question Abby? Does that sound like I'm unsure as to whether or not you've done anything wrong?"

She didn't dare answer.

Tony thanked the Lord himself for her bout of common sense.

"I want you to explain to me, both of you, where I went wrong with you. I want you to explain to me, both of you, where I went wrong in impressing upon you the importance of teamwork. I want you to explain to me, both of you, where I went wrong in thinking that I had decent and reliable people under my command."

He spread his arms wide.

"I would like that explanation and I would like it now."

Silence met his words like a brick wall as both scientist and agent turned to each other in utter confusion. They'd both been in hot water with Gibbs more times than they'd like to remember, but he was never this cryptic about it. The horrible realisation dawned on Tony that whatever they'd done was so heinous, that he expected it to be at the forefront of their minds. He rampaged through his skull trying to find the transgression, but aside from stealing one too many candy bars from the machine, he was coming up empty.

Abby was in a similar boat.

Sure, she had maybe…sort of…kinda threatened the stupid delivery man that screwed up her shipment with a slow and painful death. But she hadn't meant it, and he had screwed up her delivery. Surely Gibbs couldn't know about that and even if he did, surely he couldn't care about that. Frustration welled within her as he stared at the two of them angrily, waiting for this miraculous explanation that neither could furnish.

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

His voice was low and guttural and it brooked no argument. Both winced at his words and looked at each other in desperation. As usual, it was Tony that stepped in to protect Abby from the brunt of the irate man's anger. "Uhh…Boss, to be honest…well to be honest, we're not sure what you're talking about." As Gibbs' glare became downright homicidal, he held up his hands earnestly. "Honest, Boss…we're not trying to get around you here, we honestly…we honestly just don't know."

Gibbs shook his head in amazement.

"Just when I thought I couldn't be any more disappointed in you, you go and tell me that."

Abby shot a furious look in Tony's direction which he deflected with an exasperated clucking. Before he could open his mouth once more, the Boss had his hand in the air and he instantly heeded his silence. "Seeing as you both are so incredibly unaware of the reach of your own actions, I'll clue you in. Your teammate, your colleague and your supposed friend was viciously attacked by a dog on drugs today. Tim was mauled and placed in imminent danger by a temporarily feral beast, and he was wounded whilst trying to protect himself."

He sent a molten look across the table.

"Upon his arrival back to the Navy Yard, still in considerable pain…he was met by you, Abby, isn't that right?" She looked back at him with a slightly paler than usual complexion and nodded silently. "And would you mind describing to me, your immediate reaction to your friend's injuries and explanation of such?"

Abby stared for a moment, the words dying in her throat.

"I uhh…well, I was…"

"You were more concerned for the welfare of a dog that Tim tried to warn you was dangerous, than Tim himself. You were more concerned for the welfare of a dog that had done its level best to take McGee from this world. You were more concerned for the welfare of a dog that was a murder suspect than you were for McGee when you took his expensive jacket to give to the dog. You were more concerned with the welfare of the dog to even ask or offer to bring Tim to Ducky for a tetanus shot.

He took a deep, steadying breath.

"You were, in short, more concerned for the welfare of a German Shepherd you had just met than you were for Timothy McGee. Isn't that right? Isn't it also right that instead of caring in the slightest about his injuries, you berated Tim for defending himself? Isn't it also right that instead of wondering aloud would Tim's arm be his for the rest of his life, you were committing yourself to proving the innocence of the dog."

His gaze took on a glacial hue.

"Isn't that right?"

Abby floundered. She had never even considered what Gibbs was saying in the light in which he was saying it. Standing silently she opened and shut her mouth in distress. "I…" she eventually spluttered, "It's just when I saw the dog all shot and sad and everything I just-"

"Silence," Gibbs snarled, "I don't want to hear your excuses. I asked you for clarification, not self pitying rationale." He shook his head in such cold disappointment that tears instantly sprang to Abby's eyes, which he resolutely ignored as he turned to Tony. "And you," he growled, "My second in command, my main man. The guy I can trust to have my teams back when I am not there. How do you think you fared in this whole situation? Did you ensure that Tim had all the medical care he needed? Did you make sure to keep a careful eye on how he was doing over the course of the investigation, like a good superior agent should?"

He spread his arms wide in invitation.

"Well? Did you?"

Tony paled even further as he stared. He knew the man wanted answers, but he hadn't considered the question posed to him in the manner it was posed before. Chewing his lip, he shook his head and murmured a quiet "No, Boss." Dropping his head to the floor, the reason for Gibbs' rage suddenly became clear.

"No?" Gibbs echoed dangerously, "You didn't? Was that because you were too busy, on federal time, playing idiotic dog videos in the bull pen with the sole intention of freaking McGee out?" He arched a brow. "See, a little birdie tells me that that was exactly what you were doing, but I had trouble believing it." He placed a sardonically dramatic hand over his heart and raised his brows to a worrying level. "DiNozzo? That's what I said to my little birdie. "No no, you must be mistaken. Tony wouldn't do that to a friend who'd been injured, you're wrong."

He tilted his head in the younger man's direction, as if deciding which part of him would be best to shoot. "So was my little birdie right, Tony? Is that what you were too busy doing?" The bottom fell out of DiNozzo's stomach as he stood rooted to the spot. He knew he couldn't lie, but in that moment, to his shame, he desperately wanted to. The look on Gibbs' face was enough to induce a severe vomiting session as he slowly opened his mouth and sealed his own fate.

"Yes Boss."

Gibbs' glare would have been directly responsible for a devastating bush fire had he ever been inclined to visit Australia. As it was, it merely burned a direct hole in the souls of the two people in front of him. "Disgusting," he repeated faintly, "Absolutely disgusting. And just so we're clear, my little birdie isn't Tim. He's told me nothing. Probably something to do with loyalty, you two wouldn't understand." He fixed Abby with a damning stare and allowed his disappointment to freely colour his face. "What in the good hell do you have to say for yourself young lady?"

She looked up at him, gnawing nervously on her lip.

"I just…didn't realise. When you say it now…it sounds awful."

"Because it is awful."

She nodded morosely.

"I'm sorry Gibbs, I'm…really sorry."

He shook his head in distaste.

"Why are you apologising to me?" he demanded. "It wasn't me that was mauled by a dog when I was just trying to do my job. It wasn't me that was treated like dirt on the sidewalk by my so called friends and teammates. It wasn't me that was forced by sheer manipulation and outrageous childishness to take that dog home with me."

His voice thundered the last line of his rebuke and Abby actually shivered at his tone.

"Oh, did you think I didn't know about the cherry on the top of your ScrewTim Sundae?"

She had the good sense to hang her head and keep her mouth shut.

Gibbs began his pacing anew.

"I cannot believe you two. I actually cannot believe it. The fact that you would treat someone who would do anything, for either of you, so disgracefully is just beyond me." He fixed Abby with a glare. "I get that the dog was innocent and that you love dogs, but you still behaved like nothing more than a spoiled, self centred little brat and in this exact moment, I'm ashamed of you." He moved to stand in front of Tony as Abby's eyes spilled over with hot tears at his scalding rebuke. "As for you, I'm embarrassed to call you my second in command right now. Have you ever known me to not give a rat's ass, about any of you being injured?"

Tony shook his head as misery clung to his every pore.

"You're damned straight you don't," Gibbs practically yelled, causing the younger agent to flinch. "Because that is not how a good agent conducts himself, and it sure as hell isn't how a good man conducts himself. You are a good man, so that means you deliberately chose to act like a buffoon and for that alone I'm disappointed in you. You've let me down, Tim down, and yourself down. I hope you're proud of yourself Agent DiNozzo, cos I know I ain't."

Tony dropped his head to study his shoes as the rebuke tore through his gut.

Gibbs stared pacing once more.

"Both of you have an appointment at my house." He glanced at them. "Look at me." Two heads instantly snapped up with a sweeping reluctance. "Both of you have an appointment at my house," Gibbs repeated, in a now deathly calm tone that just oozed trouble. "And trust me when I tell you, neither of you are going to be sitting for a very long time. I am going to absolutely tear the both of you up." He focussed a sharp gaze on Abby. "And that thoroughly includes you missy, don't think you're going to be getting away any lighter than Tony is."

He scrubbed his face in agitation.

"Eight pm, not a minute later. Is that understood?"

Two thoroughly pale faces looked at him in absolute horror, with a slight squeak escaping Abby, before they nodded in tandem. Gibbs breathed deeply for a moment as he stared at the pair, before glancing at his watch. "McGee is going to be coming through those doors in about five minutes. I want an explanation given to him, an apology given to him and an offer to make amends in any way he deems fit. Is that clear to you?"

Again, both heads nodded in tandem.

Gibbs glared at Tony, before turning a much colder gaze to Abby. "As angry as I am with your little partner in crime here, you're the one who I find most disappointing. You disobeyed me so many times on this case I can't even count, but we will be going through them all later. You seem to think that you can flout the rules and put your wants and needs above everyone else's and get away with it. Well, that ends now. Your behaviour towards Tim has shown me just how tougher I need to be with you. You're like a five year old that wants everything she sees and doesn't care about anyone in her way and I have had it. You've disgraced yourself on this case and I want your full cooperation in putting it right."

He glowered.

"Is that crystal clear?"

Abby stared at him with tears pouring silently down her cheeks and nodded.

"Answer me with words this instant."

She gulped.

"Yes Gibbs."

He nodded curtly and descended into silence as the wait for Tim begun. Both Abby and Tony fidgeted in his oppressive presence but he did absolutely nothing to ease their anxiety. It was practically unheard of for Abby to be crying in his presence and him not moving heaven and earth to make it right. However in the current moment, it was all he could do not to pull her promptly over his knee and thoroughly redden her backside for her.

All too soon, the doors swooshed and a confused looking McGee meandered through.

He glanced at all of them, but when he saw Abby's tears he flew to her side. Grasping her arms in his gently, he wiped away the trickle of tears in concern. "Hey," he muttered quietly, "What's the matter?" He looked around the room at large. "What's going on?" He was unaware that his kindness towards Abby had made an already charged situation all the worse. Tony felt an ion guiltier, Abby nearly exploded with regret and Gibbs became even more frostily furious.

"We're here to discuss Tony's and Abby's behaviour towards you on this case, Tim," Gibbs explained quietly. "The behaviour you never told me about. The fact that both of these friends of yours have treated you like dirt under my watch and what's going to be done to rectify that." Horror struck in Tim as he turned to face Gibbs with a furiously shaking head. "Boss," he spluttered, "No…listen, you know how Abby is with dogs and Tony…well he's Tony…its fine, it's-"

"Not fine," Gibbs interrupted gently. "Do you remember how hard I came down on you and Ziva when you pulled that radio stunt with Tony?" Tim's face paled as he remembered the conversation at Gibbs' house and nodded, recalling his inability to sit for a very long time. "It's the same thing, Tim," Gibbs continued simply, "It's the same thing." He glanced meaningfully at Tony and Abby. "Now, I think both Abby and Tony have something they want to say to you."

Tim turned instinctively to the pair, but it was Abby who spoke first.

"I'm so sorry Timmy," she whispered, regret ringing in every syllable. "I was so selfish…all I cared about was Jethro." She glanced frantically at Gibbs. "Not you…I mean I do care, but I mean…" His flashing eyes cut her off and she turned nervously back to Tim. "I'm really sorry. I let you down as a friend and treated you in a way you would never treat me. I…hope you can forgive me Timmy, I really do, even if I don't deserve it cos' I love you, you know I do…I…"

She trailed off, her eyes filling with tears once more, words for the first time failing her.

Her silence was used by Tony as he cleared his throat meaningfully.

"I let you down," he murmured with such seriousness that McGee stared. "As a friend and as your senior agent, personally and professionally, I let you down and I'm sorry. All the time's I've been injured you've always been there to make sure I don't go too nuts on my meds, and when you needed me to be on your six…I acted like I was six." He held out a hand to Tim, who instinctively took it. "I'm sorry McGee, it won't happen again."

Tim felt like he was floating in a disembodied form in an alternate universe.

Truth be told, Tony's and Abby's actions had stung. A lot, more than a lot. But he thought it would be just be best forgotten about. But hearing them say the words made their actions a lot clearer and he found within himself a righteous sense of anger, tempered only by their sincerity. Clearing his throat he released Tony's hand and stepped back, looking at Gibbs. "Can I go now?" he asked quietly, suddenly feeling the need to be alone quite acute. Placing a warm hand on his shoulder, Gibbs raised a brow.

"Just one more minute and then you can go. Now, McGee, is there anything that you have to do…that you don't want to? You know, something around here, or something at home that's not fun, that you've been putting off…something you don't find entertaining in the least. Anything like that hanging about?"

McGee stared in a rather stupefied way before nodding slightly.

"Well…yeah, I guess," he murmured, "I mean my apartment needs to be painted, my landlords been having a conniption about it, but I'm useless at all that kind of DIY stuff." Gibbs tilted his head at Tony. "DiNozzo, your next weekend is going to be spent in its entirety painting McGee's apartment and any other…DIY things he needs doing. It's going to be done without complaining and with a smile. If I hear otherwise, you'll wish you'd never been born. Is that clear?"

Tony gulped.

"Yes Boss."

Satisfied, Gibbs turned back to Tim and spoke in alarmingly gentle voice.

"Anything else?"

Suddenly seeing the light in the dark, McGee nodded eagerly.

"There is a mandatory basic computer teaching class run by the agency. It runs every two months and the teaching agent is picked at random. I was picked for next weekend's one, and it's super boring. Plus I was hoping to go back to an MIT alumni weekend at the lakes…" Gibbs nodded pleasantly, waiving an airy hand, not unlike a genie in a lamp that had just been happily rubbed.

"No problem. Abby, you will take McGee's class this weekend. If you have any spare time left over from the class, you will help Tony in painting Tim's apartment. The same rules apply, if I find that you've done anything with less than your best enthusiasm, you're going to be one very sorry young lady. Is that abundantly clear to you?"

Abby mirrored Tony's gulp.

"Yes Gibbs."

The team leader clasped McGee firmly by the shoulders and smiled at him. "You can go now if you want McGee. I know we're only on report write up's now, so you can split yours in two and leave them for Abby and Tony to complete in their own time. You go an take the rest of the day and enjoy yourself. You're on the switchboard…what is it? Tonight and tomorrow?" Tim nodded slowly, amazed by the turn of events. "I'll cancel that," Gibbs went on magnanimously, "The only thing is…I'm going to need to provide cover…"

He glanced pointedly over at Tony and Abby who groaned inwardly. "I'll take tonight," DiNozzo offered bravely, knowing that a ten pm start time was going to be hell on earth. The switchboard chairs were far from comfortable. Gibbs shook his head. "Nope, I don't think so," he contradicted quietly, "Abby will take tonight, Tony, you will take tomorrow night. Is that understood?"

Both heads nodded in miserable unison.

Gibbs clapped his hands together and all three other occupants jerked in surprise. "Great, that's settled then." He pushed Tim gently in the direction of the door. "Go on McGee, divide up those reports for these two and get the hell out here. Enjoy the day." Looking utterly bewildered by the turn of events, Tim gave a sort of half wave at Tony and Abby before making his way to the door. Gibbs stopped him by clearing his throat. "I almost forgot," he said quietly, "I don't want you going away the impression that Tony is going to get off any lighter than you did for something similar." He gestured at a silence DiNozzo and Sciuto. "These two aren't going to find sitting fun for a long time, and these two are not going to be treating anyone like you were treated for a long time. You have my word, ok?"

Tim stared at a flushed and embarrassed Tony and Abby with a mixture of sympathy and apathy.

"Yes Boss."

He turned to leave, before turning back again.

"Don't be too hard on them?"

Gibbs grimaced.

"No promises."

Knowing when he could push no more, Tim shot another mixed look at the pair before sweeping from the room. As the doors swallowed him up, Gibbs pivoted to them once more and they braced themselves for another scalding rebuke, but his voice when he spoke was more neutral. "That was good," he praised quietly, with an underlying reluctance he was pushing through, "Your apologies were good."

Tony and Abby didn't know how to respond that and so they said nothing.

Gibbs sighed.

Sometimes, it really, really sucked to be the Boss.

"I know you two didn't think through what you were doing and that if you had done, you wouldn't have done it. But I expect better from you. This is not how I trained you to be, boy…if I treated someone like that under Franks I'd still be looking at chairs funny. It might seem to you like I'm making a thing out of this, but you both need taking back into line. Do you understand that much at least?"

There was nothing but sincerity on their faces as they answered him in the affirmative.

"I'm sorry I let you down Boss," Tony muttered, knowing the apologies rule was dispensed within moments like these. "I'm sorry I let Tim down, it won't happen again." Abby cleared her throat and spoke nervously. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I let my own selfishness and short sightedness get in the way of my job and my friends. It won't happen again."

Gibbs stared at the two for a moment, the pit of fury in his gut dissipating some.

"Good," he murmured eventually, "But I still expect you two no later than eight pm. This is a lesson you two need to remember for a very long time and I'm going to see to it that you do. I cannot and I will not have this kind of behaviour. You two are so much better than this and you know it." He raked one last gaze over the pair of them before nodding a dismissal and turning to march to the door. Hovering the doorframe for a moment, he turned back to them and quirked a brow.

"And absolutely no butt cooling cream is to be made, Abby. First and final warning."

….

A/N: Just my take on the many takes of the Dog Tags saga. Hope you enjoyed.

_Inks

…