A/N: Well I was pretty much overwhelmed with the response to the "first" chapter of this fic, (thank you SOOOO much, by the way) and was convinced to write a second chapter. Many were hoping for more of sick Gibbs, but the Muse was not feeling me on that idea. Instead, she came up with this, not even she can resist Gibbs in 'father' mode :) Enjoy. -pj

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Gibbs took the address Abby provided, which was the break in the case they'd been working toward all week, and handed it to McGee, who was standing on the other side of the work table, trying to keep his distance from his two pale-faced, red-nosed and shaky colleagues.

Tony sneezed and Ziva cringed, handing him a cloth handkercheif she pulled from her pocket.

"Tanks Ziba," he muttered and blew his nose loudly, causing everyone to wince. When he tried to hand it back Ziva jumped away as if afraid of being burned.

"Keep it," she said, taking another step back, "I insist."

Tony shrugged and shoved the newly acquired hanky in his pocket. Gibbs sent McGee and Ziva off to check out the address, which the two were more than happy to do if it got them out of 'germ transfer range', and turned back to the two remaining members of his team.

Abby sat on a stool bent over the keyboard in front of her computer, her head laying heavily on her folded arms. Tony was leaning his forehead against the cool refrigerator door on the other side of the room with the heals of his hands pressed against his eyes.

"You two should be home in bed," Gibbs echoed Abby's words to him last week.

"I'd love to, Boss," Tony said, his retort only half a second slower than it would have been usually, "but Abby keeps turning me down."

Unable to muster the energy required to look up and scowl, Abby was satisfied to hear a telling hand-to-head smack followed by a clearly startled ow!

"How can you hit a sick man, Boss?"

"You wouldn't be sick if you'd just do what you're told, DiNozzo."

"But Boss, Abby started the whole thing!" Tony was whining outright, his aching muscles and pounding headache having rid him of all motivation not to do so.

"I did not!" Abby's voice came out low and hardly audible, a sure sign her sore throat was still in full force.

"Did too," Tony shot back.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did-"

"Don't make me smack you again, DiNozzo," Gibbs stepped between the two and glared. Tony backed down immediately, unwilling to even make decent go at standing up to Gibbs in his weakened state.

"Sorry Boss," he mumbled, and slumped back against the refrigerator again, allowing his eyes to drift closed as the soothing coolness of it penetrated his shirt.

A few moments later the sensation of a hand on his forehead caused his eyes to snap back open again and found Gibbs frowning at him.

"What?"

Gibbs merely turned and went to Abby, who was back to being half asleep on her computer keyboard. He reached out to touch her exposed neck and hissed involuntarily, she was even warmer than Tony.

Abby turned her head and blinked up at him, eyes glazed and red to match her nose.

He sighed heavily. They both really did need to be home asleep, but he didn't trust either to drive at the moment. McGee and Ziva were out picking up that suspect and Gibbs was going to have to get a confession out of him when they got back. He thought briefly of Ducky, before remembering he was in England at his Alma Mater getting a lifetime achievement award.

He looked back at Abby and Tony, Abby's eyes having drifted shut again and Tony sighing contentedly at the coolness of the refrigerator.

He'd just have to find somewhere to keep them until he could drive them back to his place later. Not that he was overly eager to have them spend the weekend with him again, but leaving them to fend for themselves for two days in their current condition was even further down on the list of things he wanted to do, so he figured it was really the only option.

He turned and headed deeper into the lab, toward Abby's office, "alright, c'mon you two."

Abby lifted her head slowly and then slid off her chair, dutifully following Gibbs into the next room. Tony pulled himself off the refrigerator as she passed, what little energy either had had been burned off during the previous childlike disagreement.

"Lay down," Gibbs pointed to Abby and then the futon she kept shoved under a desk in the corner. As she slowly obeyed, he went to retrieve Bert from her desk and dropped it down beside her and looked at Tony, "you too."

Tony looked aghast, "why does she automatically get the bed?"

Gibbs pursed his lips and smacked the junior agent again, though in a rare act of mercy, his hand hardly connected with his head. Even so, the message got across and Tony quietly dropped to the floor. But before he could lay back on his farting pillow, Abby's arm darted out and snatched the stuffed animal and crushed it to her chest.

"Bo-oss," Tony exclaimed petulantly.

"Abbs," Gibbs reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. Abby ignored him and curled further around the animal, clearly not intending to let it go and it farted in response to her affections.

Tony raised his eyebrows at Gibbs as if to say 'Aren't you going to do anything?'

Gibbs clenched his jaw and did an about face, marched back over to the desk, retrieved a different stuffed animal, marched back and thrust it out at Tony.

"Um, Thanks Gibbs," Tony said quietly and reached out to carefully take the black bear, sensing he and Abby had just about pushed their reluctant caretaker to the limit.

Gibbs waited impatiently as Tony moved from one side to the other and rearranged the bear under his head several times before deciding he was comfortable. He noticed Abby shivering, even with her black pants and long sweatshirt, and striped his jacket to drape it over her slight form and made a mental note to try and find them some blankets somewhere.

He was kneeling between the two, both on their sides facing one another with their eyes closed in an attempt to get some much needed sleep. On impulse, he reached out to smooth Abby's hair from her forehead and then, before he could stop himself and much to his own embarrassment, did the same to Tony.

Neither said anything, for which he was sure he'd be eternally grateful, but the action did seem to ease the lines of pain and tension on their faces.

"I'm going to have Palmer bring you guys something to drink and check on you in about an hour, ok?"

Tony grunted and Abby gave a slight nod. Gibbs stood and waited until their breathing evened out somewhat before turning to leave. As he knocked off the light and wondered how much of that medicine crap he still had at the house left over from last weekend, he smiled to himself.

He was kind of looking forward to the long weekend that lay ahead.

"You're snoring, Tony," Abby complained quietly.

"No I'm not," Tony responded, his voice laden with sleep.

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are-"

Gibbs rolled his eyes and left the lab.

A very long weekend indeed.

END (for real this time)