The Initiation

This is I suppose set very loosly at the beginning of Season 3. It is just a bit of silliness and not meant to be taken too seriously. There will be spanking of adults in later chapters, so if that isn't your cup of tea, this probably isn't the story for you. For the rest of you, I hope you enjoy it :)

Chapter 1

There was something about her that Abby still didn't trust. She couldn't quite put her finger on it...Well there WAS the fact that she'd just swanned in here like she could just replace Kate... like nothing had ever happened. AND the fact that Gibbs and Tony seemed to be all totally impressed with her 'ninja skills'. Abby rolled her eyes to Mr Mass spec. Not to mention that McGee hadn't stopped prattling ten to the dozen about how everything she did was soooo wonderful. Wonderful...pffffth. Sure. That's why she fell in the fountain. VERY impressive. Not. Of course, McGee had fallen in the fountain too, but Abby was able to put THAT information into another compartment of her brain where it suited her. This Ziva person was cold and ...and...not family like at all. Bottom line, she wasn't Kate...and she never would be. "There's no way she'd fit here. No way at all." at Abby said spitefully.

Not realising that she'd actually been talking out loud, she was startled when the ninja in question cleared her throat behind her.

"Oh...Zi-va DAVID." Abby said, pointedly pronouncing her name wrong with narrowed eyes. Hostility was seeping from every pore as she sized up this new...replacement.

"Ziva Da-VID." Ziva corrected. She knew damn well that Abby knew how to pronounce her name. She was brilliant in her field, Ziva had read her dossier and she knew this. But she also knew that she had recently lost one of her best friends, so she was prepared to give her a little leeway...for now. Abby shrugged.

"Whatever." She said as she swung back to her machines, her pigtails whipping wildly across her face. Ziva almost laughed out loud. She looked more like a petulant teenager than a Forensic Scientist.

"Abby...: she started to say. " I think I may have got off on the wrong foot." She said, trying to make amends, although what for she had NO idea. Abby grinned sarcastically.

"You mean when you fell into the fountain." She said with a chuckle.

"I was PUSHED into the fountain...as was McGee!" Ziva said pointedly. Abby shrugged again.

"REALLY." she said slowly. "You probably hung onto him to SAVE yourself." That was it, Ziva's resolve to stay calm left her.

"Of all the spoilt...rude...IMMATURE..." she started.

"Are you calling ME IMMATURE?" Abby said, hands on hips. "YOU! Who can't even walk a straight line with out falling into a DUMPSTER or a FOUNTAIN!" Both girls were so hot under the collar that they didn't here the ding of the elevator.

"HEY!" Gibbs boomed. "What the hell...?"

"She started it Gibbs!" they both said at once like a pair of kids caught fighting by the headmaster.

"JUST STOP!" he yelled again loudly. "Now I don't know WHAT it's gonna take, but fix ..." He waved his hand between them. "This, before I fix it for you. If the Director says she stays...then she stays." He said looking directly at Abby with that look that made her tummy flip, and not in a good way. Then turning to Ziva he said. "If you're gonna stay here... you better find a way to get along, because I can't... no I WON'T work with a team at war. If you continue to act like a pair of bratty teenagers, I'll treat you like bratty teenagers." Abby's face went pink and she looked down as Gibbs stalked back to the elevator. Ziva looked on with confusion.

"What...does he mean?" she asked.

"You don't wanna know. Believe me." Abby said. Reluctantly she choked out the necessary words. "Sorry...I guess it's just.." Ziva held her hand up.

"I am sorry too." She said. She watched the indecision on Abby's face. Abby tilted her head. "I am here to do a job...but I do not want to be Kate. You can trust me Abby."

"I want to... it's just...hard." she said looking at Ziva sideways. "If only there was some way I could be sure..." Then her face lit up.

"You know what you need Ziva? A good old fashioned initiation." Abby said as she grinned widely, her eyes sparkled mischieviously as her complex mind perused the endless possibilities. "Mmmm. Yep, that's exactly what you need." Ziva looked at her sceptically.

"Is this a common practice here?" she asked. Abby nodded enthusiastically. It is now, she thought

"Yep." She said. "If you wanna be part of the team you have to pass an initiation. This is how it works." She said as she started to fill Ziva in on the first part of her plan... "We'll start with Jimmy."

Ziva really was not sure that this seemed like the right thing to do, but she desperately wanted to fit in here and she could see right from the outset that getting on Abby's good side would be advantageous to that end. Anyone could see how spoilt Abby was. What she wanted she got, and if she could not win her over Ziva knew that she would not find it easy to be accepted by the others. So against her better judgement, once Gibbs had told her to leave for the day, Ziva snuck inside autopsy carrying her backpack that was heavily laden with the supplies that she had bought at the discount store. After checking that the room was empty, she pulled out the fridge drawers one by one and carefully emptied a bag of marbles onto each highly polished metal shelf, before carefully closing them again. She quickly snuck out before she could be seen and then went back to the lab to wait with Abby while they watched on the monitor for the results.

It had been an easy prank to set up because Abby was familiar with everyone's little habits and she knew amongst other little chores, that Ducky always had Jimmy wipe down each shelf carefully each night before they shut up shop so to speak.

Both girls stood by the monitor waiting impatiently for Jimmy to complete his late afternoon rituals. Abby sighed as he painstakingly wiped down each table and straightened his desk. It seemed that every time he went to open one of those drawers and her tummy flipped in antisipation, he would change his mind and find some other menial task to perform. Even Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Jimmy come onnnnn!" she mumbled irritably. Abby grinned at her and then they both almost missed it, but managed to turn back to the screen just in time to see Jimmy pull out the first shelf. As he yanked the heavy drawer towards him he leapt with surprise at the tiny coloured glass balls that rolled off the shiny table and scattered onto the floor, rolling under every table, desk, chair, crook and cranny. Jimmy pursed his lips and shook his head. This was going to take forever and there was no way it was going to be just one drawer, he thought with exasperation. He felt like he was on some bad game show trying to pick which shelf to open next. After randomly choosing, he yanked open another drawer and the same thing happened. More marbles and more mess. Ducky was going to love this, he thought sarcastically. Better try and get it all cleaned up before he came back to check he supposed. So poor Jimmy started opening one drawer after another, dodging the marbles as they cascaded from the fridge. Finally when he had opened and closed the last drawer, he sighed and retrieved a bucket from the back room.

About ten minutes later Ducky ambled into the room to find his harried assistant on his hands and knees trying to scrape what seemed like hundreds of marbles into a bucket while stopping the ones that had already been captured from escaping. Without missing a beat, Ducky walked over to the hat stand, reached for his scarf and draped it around his neck and then plopped his hat atop his head. He then turned to Jimmy and said drolly.

"You may pack up your toys and go home now Mr Palmer. There's a good boy." He patted him on the head as he walked towards the elevator. Oh Abigail, Ducky thought with a grin, what mischief are you up to now?

TBC