In life there seemed to always be exceptions to some rules. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it did.

For Jethro, while he hated human males with passion, both Ducky and Tony were the only men he tolerated, but while he seemed to prefer the females, there was yet to be some big exception to that rule. Until now.

Ziva David liked to think of herself as a generally likeable woman. Not really a bad person, but she just had her own sense of right and wrong. If others had problems with her way of thinking and getting things done and cutting some unnecessary corners when they got in the way, well, that was their problem. Too bad this IA person did not agree with her and too bad they hadn't sent a man, for she was certain that it would have been easy to persuade him into agreeing that there was nothing wrong with her way of doing the job nor was it their business who she was dating. That's why she could hardly be blamed for storming out in the middle of the 'conversation' with that infuriating woman. Someone had gleefully called that conversation as her being sent to 'stand in the corner', which made no sense to her.

Still fuming, Ziva sat down behind her desk and observed her partner doing what he called working. With his feet up on another chair and a half-eaten Danish pastry hanging between his teeth, he was furiously typing something on his computer, using exactly two fingers. Honestly, how he managed to finish his paperwork before anyone else did, and every single time, it remained a mystery to her and everyone else with half a mind. Perhaps someone was helping him when no one was looking.

There was slight odor in the air, which made her think of an animal of some kind. A dog perhaps. One who desperately needed a proper wash. How odd, but it would explain the questionable looking silver hair on the man's clothes. Being more of a cat person herself, Ziva wrinkled at her nose.

Already temperamental after being yelled off by both their Major and the IA he-she person, and now done being ignored by him, Ziva rolled her chair in front of his desk. "What are you doing?"

Tony shook his head at her as he concentrated reading something with furrowed eyebrows, although he gave her some short mumbled answer, but with his mouth full there was not a chance she could understand any of it. Feeling that already buzzing anger inside her more than willing to strike, Ziva snatched the Danish Pantry from Tony's mouth and threw it over her shoulder, not caring where it went. She glared at his annoyed looking face. "Did your mother not tell you to never speak with food in your mouth?"

"No. Not exactly." And then he ignored her again, focusing on whatever had caught his interest on the computer screen.

Any smart person would've surely by now learned that when Ziva David was in a terrible mood, it was time to run and hide. You did not ignore her and you did not keep her away from any cases. They were partners, yes? Well, he clearly was not a smart man. She should not be feeling so surprised, but no other man could make her feel so bothered and angry all the time, usually at the same time, and yet he was perhaps the only male who had not fallen under her charms. There had to be something wrong with him.

"DiNozzo!"

Tony finally looked at her, but it was still with that same annoyed look on his face, as if he couldn't be bothered to spare even a time for her. How rude. He shook his head with a soft sigh. "Listen... I'm pretty sure I found something that could help me break the case, so can we do this later?"

She knew it was perhaps slightly foolish, but she wasn't going to really hurt him either, not with possible witnesses around—she was too smart for that—but it didn't matter what her intent was. All that mattered was that the moment when she grabbed the sharp pen and took a threatening pose toward Tony, she very nearly signed her own death warrant, unaware of the pair of blue eyes seeing it and her as a threat.

During the entire time, Jethro had remained under the desk, hidden, unless you looked down and from the right angle.

From the moment she walked in the room, Jethro had disliked the female. Her scent was unpleasant and it reminded him very much of his first human, the male. While there were no strong scent of alcohol on her, she smelled of danger, copulation, death and something terribly unpleasant that he could never really place. She also carried another smell on her that was very much like that of a bitch on heat. Jethro's nose twitched at the unpleasant mixture of odors bombarding his sensitive nose and he pawed his nose with a soft huff.

Then that strangely unpleasant female moved closer to his new human. He didn't approve it. There was something about her that woke up his every instinct and sense of danger and need to protect, to hunt and kill. The feeling was violent and primal. While he wasn't one to put his teeth into a human female, Jethro suddenly felt the need to do just that, but it was only after he saw her grabbing something pointy and got threatening toward Tony when he finally moved.

"What—?" Ziva barely got a glimpse of something moving toward her, something big. Had her training—which she held in high regard—failed, she would've found herself with big and sharp teeth in her arm, if not entirely without an arm. As it was, her instinct was to move away, which she did, but only just.

"Jethro! No!" Somehow Tony was already on the other side of his desk and kneeling on the floor, with his hands holding the collar of a... dog? "Bad boy." Somehow the way he said it didn't really convince neither Ziva nor Jethro that he really meant those words.

Ziva stared at them with narrowed eyes. Her heart was still beating wildly and she held her arm, feeling the ghost sensation of a warm dog breath against her skin. She didn't even know where the pen she'd been holding was. "What is that... that... that thing?"

Tony kept petting Jethro in a soothing manner, which reminded far too much of someone giving a dog an 'attaboy'. It took worrying amount of time, but Jethro finally calmed down enough to sit down and to no longer try eliminating the threat. He was still giving those scary looks however and whenever Ziva so much as moved an inch, the dog started growling. "I wouldn't even breathe right now if I were you." Tony gave her a look of a wise old man who was pointing out the obvious, but it didn't stop her from trying to move away every minute or so.

"Why is this thing here?" Ziva asked calmly, when all she really wanted was to scream out those words and show the dog who was the alpha between the two of them. Foolish perhaps, but she liked to think of herself as a generally likeable person and to be rejected in such a violent manner by this beast might have hurt her feelings just a little.

"It's a dog, Ziva."

"That is not a dog."

"Sure he is. Can't you tell?"

"I do not—!"

Jethro growled again and Tony let out a suffering sigh. "Ziva. Jethro. Stop it. Behave. Both of you. Now... Ziva, listen carefully. Jethro here is a police dog—I think—and he saw you as a threat. What you did or didn't almost do, it doesn't matter. All he saw was a stranger trying to attack me."

"I will have him dead. He is not safe."

And you are? Tony wanted to ask, but he smiled mildly and gave her a hard look. "I'm sure you don't want to do that. Pretty sure it's easy to prove my word against yours. Sorry, Jethro. Our."

"I do not care. I will find a way. That thing tried to kill me. I am sure I have people who can prove it." Looking around for confirmation, Ziva was disappointed to notice that the people who were there, they were either too absorbed in their work or were doing their best to pretend they didn't see or hear anything. That one screaming criminal didn't help either.

"Did he now? All I saw was him taking that pen from you."

Ziva blinked slowly and only then she saw the pen she'd been holding. It was on the floor, in two pieces. Still, she knew it had not been the pen this beast had tried to get. It had been her arm. "You are lying."

"Am I now? Why would I do that?" Tony asked absently as he was now more focused on the dog than her.

"Listen—!" she started, but took a step back when Jethro growled again.

Tony smiled faintly, with something like amazement on his face as he shook his head at the dog. "I'll make sure he won't come after you. Don't make any sudden moves. Move away and leave slowly. Very slowly. Might be better to not turn your back on him either."

"This is not... I work here."

"Not right now, you don't."

Swearing that this was not the end of this, Ziva muttered something in a language Tony didn't understand and she very carefully did not stomp her way out of the room, with constant growling behind her.

"Shh... She's gone now. Good boy, Jethro," Tony murmured softly as the two of them watched after the woman, until she was gone from their sights.

Jethro seemed unhappy, but he finally moved back under the desk, once he no longer saw or smelled the threat.

"Yeah. I know... There are times when I'd love to bite her as well." Tony sighed as he stood up and rubbed his aching neck. Time to get back to work and hope he hadn't lost his trail of thoughts, which had almost led him to the first proper lead on the case. But first, where was his Danish Pantry..?

Hours later found Tony feeling desperate. "Jethro... Please... Eat," he begged as the dog once again ignored the offered food. Jethro hadn't even moved from under the desk, which seemed to have become 'his spot', and only left when Tony did.

Tony was now on a short break and knowing that although he might not much care for it, he had to feed the dog, so he had gone on his way to buy some special treat for 'protecting' him earlier, but much to his disappointment the dog didn't even look at it. It wasn't surprising since Jethro had just lost his owner and there was still time before not eating became life threatening, but it still was starting to unnerve Tony who had no idea what to do. "You're scaring me...

Spending several minutes staring quietly at the dog who hadn't shown any real signs of life since the Ziva episode, Tony pursed his lips. He couldn't do this. He probably shouldn't do this. How he had even thought he could, he had no idea. Arrogance? Or just plain foolishness? Whatever it had been, he hadn't realized he'd probably need to take time off from work and live someplace else, just to get the dog back among the living. He simply did not have that kind of luxury with his work.

"I can't do this and I need to focus finding the one who took your owner from you. I'm sorry. I failed you... I could keep trying, but that wouldn't be fair to you... To be honest, I've always wanted a dog, but I can't be selfish and keep you only because of some stupid childhood wish."

Jethro moved his eyes and watched Tony taking out the thing humans talked to, which made those irritating sounds. When he spoke, the young human sounded defeated. Jethro didn't like it and he finally raised his head.

"Ducky... I hate to ask, but... Could you do me a favor?"

Since Ducky was someone Jethro was used to and the man would know how to deal with someone like Jethro, it seemed only right thing to do, which was why Tony left the dog at Ducky's place until they could figure out something better and hopefully permanent. Although Ducky kept giving those disapproving looks when he thought Tony wasn't looking, but this was best for everyone. Tony knew that, so he refused to give in to the feeling that he was making a mistake. He blocked it away and refused to even think about the dog while he was working on finding the one responsible for murdering Shannon. Finding and catching criminals were the things he was good at and this was the least he could do.

Jethro was safely locked away in a place that was familiar, but it was also terribly lonely. Shannon used to bring him there and he'd always hated it, but somehow this time worse than before since there was the understanding that this time she would not be coming back for him. Jethro knew from experience that there was no way for him to get out of that room without help, so he took his usual spot in the corner and felt that dark feeling of depression wrap him into even tighter hold now that he didn't have that young human distracting him from the worst of it. There was his favorite food and water near him, but they remained untouched.