Disclaimer: In this economy I'm holding on to my handful of possessions with a vice grip. Tragically NCIS is not one of those possessions. It is the sole property of the creators, studio, writers, producers, directors, etc. Lucky them….

I consider myself lucky to be able to take them out to play for a while.

**Some dialogue is taken directly from the episode.

Warning: THIS STORY will CONTAIN NON-SEXUAL SPANKING; ABORT THE MISSION… DO NOT READ… TURN BACK NOW IF THIS ISN'T YOUR THING.

A/N: This story is a complete AU episode tag… based on the S5E: Dog Tags.

A/N: A stubborn Abby gets a little more 'daddy' Gibbs attention than she was looking for. Sit back, suspend belief and enjoy it as the fiction it's meant to be.

Author Update:

Life is still moving fast, but if you want to take a glimpse into part of life, please visit the links in bio and check out my books on Amazon. Even when I'm not writing here, I'm getting words on the page. Love & Light, Paige.

**NCIS**NCIS**NCIS**

She knew he was right. That was the most infuriating thing about being his partner and it stung even more as his boss. She was brilliant at diplomacy the functional mute couldn't master, but when it came to instincts regarding solving a case she knew no one did it better. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was the absolute best there was and if he knew there was more to dig for she had to let him. Doing the song and dance of covering for him was just a little harder in her current state of mind. No matter, he couldn't know about that, so she would put up her mask a bit longer and give him the time and space he needed to do what he needed. She also couldn't rush Ducky's results and news, so until it was time for her next call in MTAC Jenny thought she would visit Abby and see what all this doggy fuss was about.

It was a good thing she ran into McGee, before Gibbs did. Being in the elevator with him was still nerve wracking though. It amazed her that she was the damn director of the agency, but she always worried about what his reaction would be to her choices. He was bound to question why she was in the lab "working" his case. Every time the issue came up she had to back down and she knew this wouldn't be any different. Luckily, he was fixated on her more than the case or Abby. As usual the marine in him was laser focused on exactly what was going on with his people (yes, that would always be the way Jethro saw her) and scary or not Jenny had to summon all the strength she had to deny what he'd correctly deduced. Typical of their dance, honed over the years, she deflected and started the elevator back up. The moment she stepped off the breath she was holding seeped out in audible puffs.

What in the world was that girl thinking. First, there was running off to the base and coming across another body. Then, after being delivered back to the navy yard she opts to lock herself in her lab against orders. If being petrified of defying Jethro again wasn't enough to get her to act right, Jenny prayed that she could summon enough maternal instinct to get her to do what she was told. Thinking about maternal instincts made Jenny a little sadder than it should. It wasn't as though she'd given much thought to having children, but she also thought she had a lot more time to make a decision. Now, it seemed like the opportunity would never come. The last three years with Gibbs and the team was the closest she'd come to that family feeling. A husband and three kids. There was a time when the thought of that, with Gibbs, was always in the back of her mind. Now, she was just hoping the sense of family she felt was something Abby shared with her and that it was enough to get the girl to think and act sensibly.

"Go away, McGee!" Abby refused to turn around and acknowledge the knocking. She didn't know why he would come back knowing full well she wouldn't be opening the door for him.

"Abby!" Uh-oh. The director's voice filled the room, even over her music. Slowly rising up, Abby first went to turn down the music and then prayed she could convince Jenny to let her keeping working on doggy Jethro's innocence.

"Director."

"Do we have a problem?"

"Nope. No problem."

"Good. Then could you open the door."

"Thank you."

Okay, it was caving a little, but she couldn't very well just tell the director of the agency to bugger off. Abby stepped aside as Jenny entered and went straight to bending down in front of Jethro.

"He doesn't look very good, does he?" Jenny asked, petting the lethargic animal.

"You think it's because he knows he's on death row? That would put a damper on anybody's spirits. I suppose you're going to order me to give him up, huh?"

Jenny just looked up into the sad girl's eyes. Abby might lack impulse control and she was clearly out of line at every turn, but she had a huge heart that couldn't fathom a scenario where putting the dog down was acceptable. Maybe, just maybe, Jenny could use some of that blind faith.

"Is that what it's going to take?"

"If I had more time, I could prove that he didn't do it."

"You seem to be the only one around here who thinks so."

"So, what? So, what if I am? You have stand up for what you believe in. You have to stick to your guns until you can make a wrong right."

Both of their hearts were breaking, but for entirely different reasons.

"Sometimes things aren't so simple, Abby. Sometimes you can't control the outcome. Sometimes you have to look at the reality in front of you and accept it."

"I can't. I won't."

Bending down to comfort the despondent beast, Abby and Jenny focused on the animal for a moment. Jenny wasn't sure what she could say to convince the forensic scientist, that wasn't an ultimatum involving her job, to give up her crusade.

"He really doesn't look good does he?"

Jenny shook her head. Perhaps they would get a little reprieve. She helped Abby get the dog down to Palmer and Ducky.

"Ducky, I need help!" Abby barrelled into autopsy alone.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. He was acting funny and then he started coughing up blood."

"Get the x-ray machine, Mr. Palmer."

"Is he dying?" Abby was frantic. One minute she wanted to prove his innocence to save his life and now she wasn't even thinking beyond this moment. Only saving his life was important.

Ducky, couldn't lie to the distraught girl and he simply didn't have answers, yet. "I don't know."

"That's not a good answer!"

It wasn't often that he had cause to pull his own version of a Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but when he had to, Ducky could be equally scary and stern. Abby, he knew, wouldn't yield to anything less. So, he gave her what she needed. He got right in her face, as he put on his lab coat, and pointed right in her face.

"You, my dear, must calm down!"

Unbeknownst to him, Ducky and Palmer were saying a little prayer that whatever was going on with canine Jethro wouldn't result in his death. There was no way Abby was going to handle that well, at all.