Triskaidekaphobia

The first time it happened neither Tony nor Gibbs thought anything of it. Abby asked for weird days off all the time for some reason or another. She was always available by phone and would even come in if needed despite whatever activity she was doing. It never dawned on them that she requested February 13th, March 13th, May 13th, and June 13th off nor that there was a significance to it.

It started dawning on Tony when he needed Abby for something on November 13th and she wasn’t there that he hadn’t seen her in NCIS headquarters on any 13th day for the past year. This struck him as odd, so he brought it up with Abby the next day.

Abby stuttered and replied. “Noooo there’s nooothing wrong it’s just coincidence.”

Tony didn’t believe in coincidences and neither did Gibbs. Fully suspicious now as Abby only stuttered when she was nervous, Tony contemplated who if anyone he should discuss it with. “Should he just let Abby continue avoiding work on the 13th despite his suspicions that she had triskaidekaphobia. Is this something he should bring up with Vance or Gibbs or Ducky?” He thought to himself.

Leaving Abby’s lab without saying anything further, he decided to sleep on it and then maybe he’d have a better idea as to what if anything should be done. He decided to start with Ducky as the old man often had unique ideas that resolved a situation peacefully. Explaining his suspicions to Ducky, he then asked. “What should we do?”

“You, my dear boy, should do nothing. She is not harming anyone and until and unless she asks for help or it becomes a significant problem at work which is unlikely as it’s only one day a month, you should just let her handle it however she wants to. You can’t fix everyone, my dear boy, and you shouldn’t try.” Ducky sagely responded.

Tony thought about that and conceded the point, however, he wasn’t fully content with that. So that next time that she took the 13th off, Tony made a point of leaving a card on her keyboard so that it wouldn’t get damaged and she’d find it when she returned. The card was simple and to the point. It read “Even on days of 13, I am here for you. If you need someone to talk to, I am here. - Tony”.