"I'm sick of him. I'm sick of him and everything to do with him. He's always doing this. Last week it was my keyboard covered in glue, the week before that he replaced all my pens with wasted ones and the week before that he told everyone in HR that I was a recently released psych patient. To be approached with caution and never alone. Always with a damned chaperone. Makes time off requisitioning sort of tricky. And you still blame me for standing up for myself? How is that fair? How?!"

"McGee, you aren't listening to me. What I'm telling ya is that-"

"Tony is your favourite and he has unqualified free rein to do whatever he likes to me, and I have to smile through it? Yeah, I got that from the whipping you just gave me for having the cheek to defend myself and-"

"I did not 'whip' you and you damned well know it. But if you don't watch your tone you'll find out what a whipping really is, real soon. Look, McGee, I get it. Tony can be…immature, at times. And I should have stepped in when your stupid prank war escalated. I didn't and that's my bad. I thought it would sort itself out and it didn't. But you're jumping to all the wrong conclusions here. You're assuming that I'm not going to be talking to Tony about all this and you're assuming that you're the only one whose godamned feelings are all bruised and what have you."

"First of all, Tony doesn't even have feelings. Second of all, I didn't do anything to hurt him so it's-"

"Dammit, Tim, don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you. You know I heard what you said to him. About how if he was such a good Agent why doesn't he have his own team by now? Because he called you Probie? That's why you're in here first. Tony behaved like a child and he's going to be dealt with, I promise you that. But you, Tim, you were malicious and you said what you did out of spite, not petty childishness. DiNozzo's been a pain in the ass the last week or so with the pranks, I know that. But he's never set out to hurt you where it matters. What you said to him? Tim, that was low. It was low and it was beneath you and I can see I need to clue you in a little about what's what. Tony-"

"Boss, that's not fair. How can you say-"

"Tony was once offered his own team, not so long ago. In Rota. By Jenny. Total autonomy, his team and his rules. No strings and no restrictions. For his age, it was a pretty damned impressive promotion and had he taken it, he would have excelled. But he turned it down. And not because he didn't want to live a life of sea, sand and sun. And not because he didn't think he was ready to be the Boss. And not even because he was afraid of the change. He turned it down for me. And you. And Abbs, Ziva, Duck and Jimmy. I was just back from Mexico, my head was still all over the damned place and he knew that I wouldn't have been able to handle running this team, at that time, without him. He knew that it would have fallen apart and what would have become of all the people on it, was an unknown. So, he turned down that possibly once- in- a- lifetime offer for me, for this team. That's why he's still an SFA and not SSA. Not because he doesn't rate his own team, not because he doesn't have what it takes, but because he didn't turn his back on the old for the new when he knew the old couldn't take it."

"I…what?! Jesus…. I didn't know…. he never said…. not once…."

"You know Tony'll tell you what he had for lunch a thousand times a week McGee, but he'll rarely tell you something about himself that counts. That's just who he is and you know that. Or you did, or I thought you did…one or the other. So that's why he walked away from you and that's why you're in here. You were below the belt, McGee. I know he's a lot of things, as we all are, but he doesn't deserve to hear that kinda crap from you. Same way you don't deserve to hear any kinda crap from him, either. Like I said, I'm going to be having a…conversation with him in a minute, and this stupid prank war will never see the light of day again. But the reason I was so pissed with you is because I don't care if you two tear the heads of each other, you do not tear each other down like you tried to do with that sort of comment. You're partners. He puts his life in your hands on a daily basis and you put yours in his. I can't have real animosity between ya. I just can't, Tim. D'ya understand that much at least?"

"Boss…I…. of course, I understand that. God, I feel like an asshole now. I shouldn't have said what I did. I regretted it the minute it was out of my mouth and when I saw the look on his face. I was just so angry with him for screwing with me all the time that yeah, you're right, I wanted to hurt him where I knew it would sting the most. Maybe I really am an asshole."

"Asshole? No. Human? Yes. Tim, I know Tony tests your last nerve. I know that. And like I said, I'm going to rein all that crap in when I talk to him. There's a pair of you in it. You're not more to blame than he is and he's not more to blame than you are. What you said was a once off, if it wasn't…we'd have been having a very different conversation. But it was and we just need to forget about it now. I'm going to remind Tony that for now, he is the SFA and that means he has to be the more responsible one around here. Don't know how the hell I'm going to manage that, but I'll try. All I'm asking for you in return is that you use that brain of yours to think before you speak. Fair enough?"

"Yeah, Boss. That's fair enough. And…I'm real sorry. I'll apologise to Tony when…uhh, I see him."

"You'll be seeing him real soon, McGee. Lots of seeing time ahead for you two."

"Boss?"

"You can go now, Tim. You'll see what I'm talking about soon enough. It'll either make or break you two, but if I know something about anything I'd say it'll be the making. If not, I'll break the two of you geniuses' skulls against each other until you play nice. Now go on, get. I need to get this sorted before I'm old and grey. Close the door on your way out and go home and grab some rest. You're going to need it. Oh, and Tim?"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"It wasn't Tony that spread that rumour around HR. Apparently you upset Mad Mary when you wouldn't take her daughter to dinner like she suggested. Repeatedly."

"Boss! C'mon, her daughter is…she's…. well, I mean…"

"I know, McGee. Trust me. How do you think that rumour about me and Leon got started?"

…

A/N: Ok, so this was something I wanted to try. I sometimes feel that my stories are too "description heavy" and lacking in dialogue. So, I wanted to have a go at a 100% dialogue based one-shot. Thoughts?

Inks x

….