Chapter 1
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
It was bright, sunny and warm; a beautiful spring day in DC. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was in a considerably good mood. It’s almost the weekend. They wrapped up their last case the day before and were in the process of getting caught up on the paperwork. The team hadn’t caught a case yet and they weren’t on call for the weekend. He’s got a truck load of new lumber that he could play with, so life was good - well, sort of, if he succeeded in ignoring that pang of longing whenever he looked across to the desk of one Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo.
He snapped out of his little reverie when the barista placed the red eye he ordered in front of him. He grunted a muffled thank you and left the shop.
Get a grip, Marine. Ain’t gonna happen, so stop moping about it. He tried to tell himself as he strolled out of the patio area, passing by people who sat out just enjoying the nice weather.
It was when he was walking through the parking lot of the Yard that he sensed he was being followed; his Marine spidey-sense was on high alert. He stopped dead in his track, and turned around to scan the perimeter only to find nothing.
Gibbs frowned. He must’ve been more stressed out than he thought he was, because he’s obviously imagining things. Maybe it’d be a good idea to let everyone take an early day, he shrugged as he thought to himself, and resumed his track back to the office.
And then something at his feet nearly tripped him, and caused him to spill half his coffee down his shirt and onto the ground.
“What the…” Gibbs shook his hand to get rid of the wetness, and then looked all over his pockets for a handkerchief he knew he had to wipe himself off. That was when he noticed it.
Yes. It. The reason for him nearly having a close encounter with the asphalt.
At first he couldn’t quite tell what it was. And then it started moving. Underneath the mop of leaves, twigs and fur was a pair of big brown eyes and a big wet nose.
“How the hell did you get in here?” Gibbs frowned - dogs weren’t exactly allowed in the Yard. It looked like a stray, but it was too comfortable around humans to be a stray. The dog simply nuzzled his pant leg and looked at him with its big eyes.
Gibbs nudged the dog out of the way and continued on, but the dog got up and followed him. Gibbs stopped and turned around. “Shoo! Go.” Gibbs hissed and pointed, but the dog just sat down and refused to budge. He stared at the dog, and the dog stared back at him.
Gibbs liked dogs. He still remembered the stray that would always walk him home from school when he was a kid. Jack wouldn’t let him keep it, but he’d always save up scraps of food for the mutt anyway. This is clearly something for animal control to handle, but those eyes…
He ran a hand across his face. This is ridiculous. He’s having a staring contest with a dog.
“Fine,” if it wanted to follow him, then so be it. The dog would probably run off before long. He was sure that security would at least be able to keep it from entering the building.
He strolled into the NCIS building, cleared security and, after checking that the dog didn’t seem to have followed him in, breathed a sigh of relief. That was until he heard a squeal of delight from behind him.
“Gibbs!” it was Abby. “Where did he come from? He is so cute! He followed you back here?”
“Abs, what are you talking…” Gibbs turned around, only to find Abby hugging and playing with the walking bush of leaves and twigs. “Oh for Christ’s sake, who let the dog in!?”
“Uh, no one, Agent Gibbs,” the nervous security guy stuttered out.
“Then how the hell did it get in here?” Gibbs snapped. “Never mind, don’t answer that. Abs, take it back outside!”
“But Gibbs!”
“It’s filthy and it’s dirty, and who knows what kind of disease it’s got?” Gibbs growled. “Take it outside, and leave it there.”
“You mean if he gets cleaned up and checked out he can stay?” Abby completely and, in all likelihood, intentionally misunderstood Gibbs’ orders. “Come on boy, Abby will give you a bath, clean you up, and take you downstairs to get checked out by Jimmy. Then you get to meet my friends. They’ll love you!”
“Abby…”
“No, Gibbs! This poor pup is lost, if not abandoned, and we need to help him!” Abby pouted, and the dog just looked at everyone with those big brown puppy eyes, tail wagging like a metronome.
Damn! Gibbs cursed under his breath. He had a hard enough time saying no to Abby’s puppy eyes, let alone two sets of them.
“Fine! But keep it in your lab, don’t let the dog wonder around,” Gibbs finally said, exasperatedly.
“Awesome! Thanks Gibbs!” Abby gave Gibbs a big hug before she led the dog toward the garage.
Gibbs sighed and shook his head as he went for the elevator to head up to the bullpen. He’s going to have to call the shelters to see if they have room.
---
The rest of the day passed as normally as it could, by NCIS standards anyway. It was as if the bad guys had decided to take a break - no major case came in, so by 1600 everyone was goofing off, waiting to leave.
Gibbs knew something was off as soon as he left the Director’s office after wrapping up the week’s briefing. There was laughter coming from the bullpen. He looked down as he got to the stairs, and found the reason why.
“Hey, Tony, I think he likes you!” Ziva was desperately trying not to laugh, as she sat at the edge of her desk watching the madness in the middle of the bullpen.
“Maybe Tony can take him. I’ve got Jethro at home so another dog is out of the question,” McGee chimed in, his voice wavering with hints of a serious case of the giggles.
“Ooh! Good idea, Timmy!” Abby exclaimed while jumping up and down. “Now he just needs a name.”
“Before you guys get carried away, can you please get the dog off of me?” Tony was pinned solid by the dog, which was licking madly away at Tony’s face and hands.
Gibbs scowled at the presence of the dog, but at the same time he had to try very hard at hiding the smirk that was threatening to creep up his face when he saw Tony being ‘ravished’ by the large dog. He made a loud whistle, and the dog immediately backed off, trotting over to Gibbs and sat down obediently.
“Wow, Boss, that’s impressive. Gotta teach me how to do that one of these days!” Tony said as he got up from the floor, wiping his dribble-covered face at the same time with a tissue he stole from McGee’s desk. “Eww! That is just gross!”
“Aww, Tony, I think you need to take him home. He obviously likes you,” Abby grinned at Tony. “What are we going to name him?”
“No one’s naming anybody,” Gibbs said sternly. “I’m taking it to the pound.”
“You can’t do that! Gibbs! They’ll put him down!” Abby exclaimed, looking horrified.
“Maybe someone’s looking for him?” McGee offered. “Could just be a lost dog.”
“He’s got no collar, and I’ve already scanned him - no chip either,” Abby’s shoulder slumped as she replied.
“Well, I can’t take him. My apartment doesn’t allow pets, especially one this big,” Tony sighed as he said. He didn’t want the dog to end up at the pound either, but he couldn’t take the dog, no matter how bad he felt about it. “Probie, don’t you-”
“WOOF!” the dog made his presence known, and trotted over to Tony, sat down in front of him and looked up.
“Uh…” huh? Tony frowned. “Probie, you know anyone-”
“WOOF!”
“Probie?”
“WOOF! WOOF!” the dog barked happily, circling around Tony’s feet.
There was a very brief moment of silence before Abby, McGee and Ziva began to giggle uncontrollably. Even Gibbs couldn’t help but let out a few chuckles.
“Looks like you got another team member, Gibbs,” Ziva managed to squeal out between fits of laughter.
“Hey! Maybe Gibbs can take Probie!” Abby had a light-bulb moment. “He’s got a yard, and he’s great with dogs!”
“Abby!” Gibbs almost growled. “I don’t have time for a dog.”
“Come on, Gibbs. How can you say no to this face?” Abby hugged ‘Probie’ around his head, and tilted his head to look at Gibbs. “Plus you can always get Tony to help you, right? ‘Probie’ here loves Tony!”
“What!? Abby!” now it’s Tony’s turn to protest.
“Please? Tony? Gibbs? I don’t want to send him to the pound,” Abby almost begged.
“Oh all right, as long as it’s ok with Gibbs. I’ll help,” Tony sighed. He really couldn’t say no. He would’ve taken the dog if his living situation allowed for it.
“Gibbs?”
Gibbs sighed. “The pup can stay. But you’ll do the bulk of the work, DiNozzo.”
“Yay! Thank you guys!” Abby wrapped her arms around her two most favorite guys, and squeezed tight before kissing them both on the cheek.
---
Take naps, and stretch before rising.
Gibbs ended up sending his agents home early, seeing as they weren’t getting any useful work done at all after he’d allowed the dog to stay. They deserved it after the hellish week they just had anyways. McGee and Ziva left just now, and Tony had volunteered to go give Abby a hand with something before he himself would leave.
The dog - he should really start getting used to calling him Probie now, since it was the only thing he would answer to - was lying on his side beside Tony’s desk, fast asleep.
Gibbs had to admit that Probie was a handsome dog, after the crusted layer of debris and mud was cleaned off his coat. He had a fluffy thick layer of white and grey fur that was just long enough to cover his eyes most of the time - how he was able to see where he was going was a complete mystery to Gibbs. Abby had proudly proclaimed that, after much discussion and research with Palmer, Probie was a Bearded Collie. Basically the ‘Shaggy Dog’, as Tony put it.
Gibbs wondered what the dog was dreaming about, if dogs dreamt at all. What in the world did he get himself into? But then deep down he knew he didn’t want to say no either way. Probie wasn’t some walking piece of evidence, or an unusual suspect, like their previous encounters with dogs on the job, and, if he was honest with himself, the dog was a playful sweetheart. Kind of like Tony. He smiled to himself at that thought.
“Guess I’m stuck with ya buddy,” Gibbs muttered as he walked over to Tony’s desk and knelt down to pat the dog. It was kind of amusing how Probie had taken an instant liking to Tony - Tony didn’t normally fare well with most animals and small children. Probie’s bushy tail began to tap the floor with a steady rhythm like a drumbeat at Gibbs’ touch. He raised his big furry head and bent over to lick Gibbs’ hand before getting up and stretching his large frame on the floor.
“You two seem to be getting along,” Tony’s low tenor sounded behind the man and his dog. Gibbs could hear the smile in his voice. “You need a hand getting Probie here settled?”
‘Should be ok on my own’ was the response he should’ve gave, but his mouth had a mind of its own. So Gibbs replied with a small curl at his lips as he looked up behind him at Tony. “I wouldn’t mind a hand, if you’re offering.”
“All I ask is beer and pizza afterwards,” Tony returned with an easy grin as he moved over to pat the fuzzy head, kneeling down all too close to Gibbs.
“Deal.”
---
TBC
Story Notes:
This is written in response to rose_malmaison’s ‘If a dog was the teacher’ fic challenge :) Originally, I wanted to write a series of drabbles, but I forgot that you shouldn’t feed plot bunnies after midnight… *facepalm*
Author's Chapter Notes:
A dog follows Gibbs back to the Navy Yard. Madness ensued.
Chapter End Notes:
This is written in response to rose_malmaison’s ‘If a dog was the teacher’ fic challenge :)
Originally, I wanted to write a series of drabbles, but I forgot that you shouldn’t feed plot bunnies after midnight… *facepalm*
Thanks to silvertales for the speedy beta!
Originally, I wanted to write a series of drabbles, but I forgot that you shouldn’t feed plot bunnies after midnight… *facepalm*
Thanks to silvertales for the speedy beta!