Author Notes: So I'm back. Hopefully I'll be posting on this series more frequently now that I've cleared the decks of my WIP ~ Rising to the Bait which had become something of an albatross around my neck. I've also finished my entry in the 2020 Quantum Bang thank goodness and plan on focusing on tags for a while. This one was written some time ago but there were edits to make. Hope you enjoy it.

It's been quite a while since I posted this and I'm not sure who I responded to re your comments/ feedback. Sorry about that but it has been a busy year. If I didn't reply, apologies and know that I fully intended to. In case I neglected to respond, I just wanted to take the opportunity to do so publicly for a couple that raise issues I think are worthy of more discussion. See my comments at the conclusion of the tag.

Series: There's Always Tom Morrow

Title: What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander

Episode: The Good Wives Club

Characters: Anthony DiNozzo, Ric Balboa, Tom Morrow, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Timothy McGee, Caitlin Todd, and Maria Gonzales (OC).

Tom Morrow had been home for almost two hours when his HR Manager Geneviève Taylor called to inform him that Special Agent DiNozzo had attended the ER 30 minutes ago. When he expressed surprise that she'd called him at home so expeditiously, she chuckled.

"When you asked to be informed if Agent DiNozzo had a work-related injury, I flagged his personnel file so if he was admitted to a hospital or attended an ER for a Workers Comp related injury, that I am notified immediately."

"Well I must say, that's remarkably efficient and conscientious of you, Ms Taylor. Do you have any details about the type of injury?" Tom queried.

"Not a whole lot, Director. Just that it was some type of head injury."

"Thank you again for your diligence, Ms Taylor."

As he was about to terminate the call, Geneviève spoke up bluntly. "Special Agent DiNozzo has had far too many work-related injuries recently, Director."

"Yes, I know," the director sighed. Not counting this instance, in the last 12 months he'd been chucked out onto the beltway in a body bag, torn ligaments from being tossed out of a plane, drugged and kidnapped by a crazed serial killer who dragged his unconscious body down into the sewer. He'd ended up bruised, bloodied and needing strong prophylactic antibiotics. All three injuries were the result of some damned poor choices made by agent DiNozzo's team leader, Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Tom wondered how he'd managed to collect a head injury today. More poor choices by his superior?

Discovering that his wife was planning on watching reality TV tonight, the NCIS director figured he wouldn't be risking divorce or death if he snuck out to the ER to check up on his young agent. Frankly, watching America's Next Top Model and a double episode of The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie was like asking him to hold his hand over a Bunsen burner in Abigail Sciuto's lab while she played her music at the same decibel level of a jumbo jet taking off. Even a visit to the hospital and drinking appalling coffee that was akin to oven cleaner was preferable to the popular reality shows which left him cold.

By the time he arrived, DiNozzo had already been admitted to the hospital and allocated a room. Luckily, it was a relatively quiet night but then it was the middle of the working week; weekends were always crazy. Tom located the room quickly and hearing voices inside, stopped short, thinking that it was the doctor or nurses and didn't want to invade his agent's privacy. He smirked, knowing that Gibbs would barge in regardless. He cared little for anyone's privacy except his own.

Without intending to eavesdrop, Tom recognised the voice of Special Agent Balboa coming from inside the room and couldn't help wondering what he was doing here instead of Tony's supervisor Jethro Gibbs. Ric was a good man but DiNozzo wasn't his responsibility. Deciding to remain outside the door, which, fortunately, was ajar, Tom figured he'd learn more by listening than he would by barging in and debriefing the stubbornly stoic man who'd insist he was fine. Special Agent DiNozzo might carry on like a baby if he incurred a minor injury, but if it was something serious, the complaining swiftly dried up.

"Okay, all joking aside, what happened, Tony? How'd you end up with another head injury?" Balboa gently tried to push him into giving a sitrep.

He heard a long-suffering sigh before DiNozzo replied, "When I found Petty Officer Swain, I made sure she was okay and reassured her that Chaplain Brett Evans was dead and therefore no longer a threat to her. Then I made a call to Gibbs on my cell and I was in the middle of informing him that I'd found her."

"So, what happened after that, Tony?"

"I don't remember anything much after that, Ric."

Tom scowled. He'd obviously been coldcocked which begged the question – what was his back up doing instead of watching his back?

He could hear the confusion in Balboa's voice too. "Okay, so what did your back up say happened next?"

"There wasn't one. By the time the team arrived, I was out cold on the ground, and Swain had my gun and was threatening to kill herself. The prevailing wisdom is that the petty officer had developed Stockholm syndrome. As far as we can determine, when I told her the chaplain was dead, I immediately became the enemy and she struck me over the head with a lamp."

"Why the hell didn't you have backup Tony? What were you thinking?" Ric scolded him firmly.

"Well Gibbs sent McGee, Cate and me off to search for Swain in one the ammo bunkers on the base and he partnered up with Special Agent Melankovic to search another one. As the senior agent, I couldn't let rooks like Todd or McGee go off on their own - not without back up and time was precious since we suspected he might have switched off ventilation to the victim. Three people searching together was overkill, especially since McGee and I both had sets bolt cutters, so I sent them off together to watch each other's backs. It made sense to split up so we could double the amount of ground we could cover in the limited time we had left."

He paused at that point and Tom decided that Balboa must have given him the evil eye, since he responded, "If someone is going to get hurt, better it be me as I'm the senior field agent. At least for now."

Morrow noted that DiNozzo sounded defeated and flat – perhaps his head was giving him pain, it must be aching if he lost consciousness. It seemed he'd acquired yet another damned concussion. Tom wondered why he hadn't been checked out at a hospital in Jacksonville and made a mental note to check into it with Human Resources.

"That's bullshit, DiNozzo." Ric protested. "There was no good reason for it to happen to any of you. Why didn't Gibbs get extra backup? You can't tell me that there wasn't another agent he could have borrowed or that anywhere on Jacksonville Naval Air Station, he couldn't find ONE sailor or Marine to help in the search. If you do, I'll call you a liar or a fool and you ain't no fool."

"Look, it's not Gibbs fault…" Tony started diffidently before Balboa interrupted him furiously.

"The hell it isn't! Gibbs is the team lead, the buck for the team's safety stops with him. Who the devil else should I blame, Tony. You? The victim? Just wait till I see him…"

"No don't…please Ric. I was being a jackass, acting like a jerk. I'm sure it was punishment and I deserved it. It wasn't his fault. It was mine." Tony pleaded with Balboa who backed off verbally, although Tom knew if Ric didn't tackle Gibbs about Tony's injury, then he sure as hell would.

"Come on Tony, I know you. You muck about at times. Yeah, you tease and play practical jokes in the bullpen but you don't screw around out in the field. Even if you did, which I don't believe for a second, that is no excuse. You didn't deserve to be left on your own or collect a concussion. No one does – you don't leave someone without backup – what if she'd shot you when you were down?"

"If you committed any terrible offence, Gibbs would have ripped you a new one or he'd put you on report. What was it you were supposed to have done that was so heinous, anyway?

"Told you…I mucked around in the office, reading The Good Housewives' Guide while the probie and Agent Melankovic went through transfers looking for males who were left-handed that had been in Norfolk. I told McGee it was research-that it went to the suspect's state of mind when really, I was just pissed off, so I was acting like a complete jerk because… ya know that's what they expect." He paused and Tom standing outside could hear the self-recrimination practically dripping off of him in his tone and word choice.

"And when we checked out Chaplain Evans place for clues," he continued cynically, "I watched his Ozzie and Harriet DVDs instead of helping them search the place. I wasn't acting professionally, Balboa. Plus, I did everything possible to get under Melankovic's skin. Purring at her and acting lecherous and in the last year I've had plenty of opportunities to perfect that schtick!"

He was silent and when he spoke again, he sounded mocking. "I let Agent Melankovic get to me. She reminded me of Cate with her smug superiority, thinking she was better and smarter than me and not even trying to hide her opinion, so I wanted to piss her off."

Balboa snorted at that admission and Morrow smiled grimly. While Tony was skilled at wrangling the savage beast aka Agent Gibbs, he was also extremely accomplished at pissing people off when he wanted to. The director had some idea of how obnoxiously he'd acted.

Tony told Balboa, "I do have to be fair though and say that she didn't make below-the-belt remarks, unlike our team profiler. It was more her attitude of extreme disgust when she was talking to me that got to me." He admitted, sounding dismayed.

"Plus, I ate Melankovic's mixed nuts to piss her off and when she said it was a present for her sister, so I made a dumb remark about them being fattening and she told me her sister was anorexic. Made me feel horrible for being such a jerk to her." Tony told Balboa.

"Okay, so what did Cate say 'this time' that got you so upset with her?"

"Oh, I know I should be used to her by now but somehow she always seems to catch me with my guard down," he deflected. "Gotta stop being so weak and needy."

"What did she say to you, Dino?"

"She was profiling the killer. You know…the usual, broken family, probable molestation. Then McGee observed that he was trying to create the perfect relationship and she agreed. Said it was all about control for him.

"Then I opened my dumb mouth to join in on the discussion on the case. I observed that PO Figgus didn't live up to his expectations. It was obvious that she couldn't have since he abandoned her there to die in the cruellest way imaginable," he shuddered, sounding appalled before falling silent as they all contemplated what the petty officer must have experienced before her death.

Tom suspected that the case brought back images of a serial killer, Filipino barmaid last year who'd starved her victims to death to avenge her friends. She'd also abducted Tony and incarcerated him with two of the victims when he got too close. He made a mental note to speak to the NCIS psychologist about the similarities before he was cleared to return to duty.

Eventually, Ric prompted him to continue after it was clear Tony was going to ignore the question, "So?"

"So, then she lay into me! Said, why was I sure you'd understand that part about her not living up to expectations, DiNozzo?"

Tom heard a swift exhalation before Balboa responded fiercely, "Whoa that's totally out of line, man, not to mention insubordinate of her. Don't let her get to you."

"Not sure if she was talking about me with women or she was talking about my failure to meet Gibbs expectations," he admitted dispiritedly, and Tom raised his eyebrows at that confession. What the hell was going on?

"What were you so pissed off about, Tony?" Ric inveigled gently, getting back on track. "C'mon, you know that you'll feel better if you get it off your chest, kid."

Tom was surprised that Tony was being so forthcoming about his feelings. He normally had that emotional mask of his very firmly in place. Perhaps the concussion had scrambled his usual defences.

He heard Tony sigh and he sounded so miserable.

"It's dumb, Ric."

"It's not dumb if it upset you. Just talk about it…it always helps to talk -don't bottle things up."

Tom heard a huffing sound that he took to be submission. "Fine, whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you, though. It is completely juvenile and dumb!"

Balboa said, "Gimme."

"When we were out at Norfolk to investigate PO Figgus' mummified remains, Gibbs introduced Cate, McGee and then me last of all to Lieutenant Commander Willis, who oversaw base security. Cate reckoned the order of Gibbs' introduction of his team didn't have anything to do with rank or seniority. She claimed that it was based on the level of intelligence and general competence."

Tom cursed mentally at his team leader for his propensity for mind-fucks and the profiler who had tickets on herself, unjustifiably in his opinion. Morrow was seriously regretting letting her join the MCRT – had since almost the first case. After her egregious behaviour that saw her resign from the Secret Service to pre-empt her firing as the POTUS' protection detail, he'd expected her to be a little more humble and thankful that they'd thrown her a lifeline. Instead, she had taken it as her due, was arrogant and thought she knew better than agents who'd worked as investigators for years. They could teach her a lot if only she'd get her head out of her ass and listen to them.

"And I guess she's right about it because even though I was the one who found the trap door in the base housing leading to the bunker where the body was, Gibbs took Cate and McGee down to the crime scene and told me to wait for Ducky. He treated me like the probie instead of his senior field agent."

And the most experienced investigator on the team, Tom finished silently.

Balboa was trying his best to put a good spin on it. "Maybe with the introduction with Willis, it was simply a mistake. Like he introduced you in order of how you were standing, Tony. Don't read too much…"

"Rocky," DiNozzo interrupted him, "Don't you think I thought about that already? Cate was standing on the right of me, I was in the middle and McGee was on my left. So, it wasn't about how we were standing. It was meant to be an insult. To tell me I'm the least valuable person on the team."

Morrow scowled and a nurse passing by, scurried past, giving him a weird look. He couldn't help feeling furious though. To a civilian, both incidents (the introductions and making his SFA wait for the ME) might seem insignificant but not to law enforcement professions who operated on a quasi-military structure. No to mention that he'd been addressing someone from the military, where rank and chain of command was the basis of their ability to function effectively.

In Morrow opinion, like Tony, he didn't see it as an insignificant slip-up, especially when both instances occurred within mere minutes of each other. And Gibbs, there's-no-such-thing-as-a-former-Marine, never did anything without having an ulterior motive. That said, Tom didn't understand - why the putdown?

It wasn't punishment since DiNozzo hadn't been in his bad books before that. Was it just another one of his petty and vindictive mind-fucks, particularly since it was the first official case for the MCRT since Timothy McGee had joined the team? Tom wouldn't put it past him!

"C'mon Dino, its McGee's first case as a probie. You can't honestly believe Gibbs thinks he's more competent than you?"

"Not about my belief, Ric. I know that he does. Gibbs offered McGee my spot on the team when I was drugged and left in the sewer that time when the Marines were turning up dead. Plus, we all know he's smarter than me," he argued with the senior supervisory agent stubbornly.

"Maybe about computers and technology but you've got a masters degree too. All supervisors do and yours is in a vocationally relevant area, Dino. Criminology is impressive – especially since you studied part-time while you were on the job in Baltimore and DC." Ric reminded him.

"Yeah, maybe Ric, but it wasn't at some fancy college. Georgetown isn't Johns Hopkins or MIT. Gibbs was going around bragging about McGee's degrees on the first case we worked at Norfolk, long before he even join the team. I bet you any money the Boss hasn't a clue where I did mine."

Tom huffed. He didn't like the dejected tone in DiNozzo's voice. He was going to do something to fix this mess and he guaranteed that Gibbs was not gonna like it, either. It was no way to run a team, damn it!

He grinned evilly. Oh, he already had some creative ideas about the re-education of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Meanwhile, it seemed Agent DiNozzo, wasn't done sharing yet.

"So, after that, I guess I was feeling quite touchy when Gibbs sent both of us off together to interview the victim's family, and I was acting like a jerk about the radio. But when McGee went and blurted that out, I kinda freaked out and it dialled my obnoxious DiNozzo button about ten miles to the north of the centre."

He chuckled mournfully, "You know that I can be incredibly insufferable when I want to piss people off," he admitted bluntly. "I guess it also didn't help my paranoia any when Special Agent Melankovic was all over the green little probie like a rash and treating me like I had leprosy."

"Whoa there. Back it up a little. What did McGee blurt out that threw you so bad?"

Tom mentally congratulated his senior supervisory agent for asking the crucial question. He'd zeroed in on that admission, too.

"Oh...well, he said that he wasn't after my job; that I was Gibbs right-hand man. When I asked him if Gibbs told him that, he said no but the boss said good things about me. So, stupid idiot that I am! I asked him to repeat the good things the boss had said about me and then he ummed and aahed then finally volunteered that Gibbs said that at least my case report was on time for once."

Balboa must have looked bemused because Tony slipped into lecture mode and began explaining.

"Okay, I admit that it doesn't sound that bad on the surface, pretty par for the course where Gibbs is concerned to damn me with faint praise. But you see Roc, it was Tim's initial statement that kicked me in the gut. One of the things I studied was Content Analysis and Statement Analysis. We used it a lot in Philly and Baltimore when I was a cop. Sort of a sub-specialty of profiling. You know how when someone's lying, they'll often look down and to the left, while if they are recalling a real memory they look to the right?"

There was a pause that Morrow assumed was due to Balboa nodding, although of course, hovering outside he couldn't see it.

"Well, it's a bit like that, except that the analysis focuses on verbal tells instead of non-verbal ones."

"How so, Dino?" Ric asked him curiously.

"Well, intuitively, we do basic content analysis all the time when we question suspects. Statement qualifiers can be a tell that someone is being deceptive. For instance, they'll often qualify the statement by saying 'as far as I recall,' which is a classic in people who are trying to lie. And then there's my favourite example, 'please, you have to believe me.' Anyone who demands you have to believe them is going to set off alarm bells with an investigator if they're worth their salt and make you distrust them.

"Then there's swapping tense or changing pronouns during the account. For example, if they're not supposed to know that the murder victim is dead, but they keep slipping and using past tense talking about the dead person – it can indicate they know the victim is dead. And of course, as any cop or fed already know, someone who has a clear conscience doesn't just blurt out that they didn't kill their wife without being accused of it first. If they do, then we get interested in them real fast."

Balboa agreed that it was most definitely a red flag for him, then he said, "Okay, so you felt that when McGee said he wasn't after your job he was deceptive."

"Well, yeah, because I didn't accuse him of stealing it - he volunteered that statement. So if he wasn't thinking about it, why did he say it? Maybe he wasn't trying to convince me, perhaps he was trying to convince himself that he wasn't after it, which means he's in denial about it. Not sure which though. Either way, he has designs on my job."

There was a brief pause, Morrow thought he was trying to figure out how to explain or maybe he was in pain.

"One of the principles of statement analysis or SCAN, as it's sometimes called, is that the more language someone uses to explain, the greater the chances that a person who is trying to hide something and that they'll trip themselves up. Keep them talking and they will trip themselves up. They'll reveal that they are lying or sometimes, even what they are hiding.

"And that's why I called him out on the assertion that I was Gibbs right-hand man. When I made him defend his statement, McGee couldn't do so, indicating that he was probably lying, and he doesn't think I'm important to the team at all or Gibbs didn't say it at all."

Tom scowled, or another explanation might be that Gibbs had been making disparaging remarks about him to McGee, as he did when Agent Todd joined the team and he told her to ignore DiNozzo's orders. If either of them had experience as field agents or investigators or Tony wasn't the senior filed agent and a highly-skilled investigator, it MIGHT be understandable for him to say that. Not okay, but it was Gibbs yet in this case, it was just plain idiocy.

"Maybe when you're feeling better, we can get together and you could give me more information on statement content, Dino. I can see how it could be useful during interviews or reviewing written statements. But meanwhile, tell me who it was it that identified Chaplain Evans as the suspect?"

"Um, I did, purely by chance when I went to make photocopies of the transfer files from Norfolk files after Gibbs expressly ordered me to when I was going to get McGee to do it."

Tom nodded, it was a probie job, along with gassing the truck, dumpster diving, carrying the gear and a myriad of other duties that Todd and McGee should be performing. Gibbs thought it was amusing to make his senior agent do them, even though they had junior agents who should be doing the grunt work. More mind games, god damn him!

"Uh-huh. So, who figured out where Swain was being held, Dino?"

Tony chuckled cynically. "Do you need to ask? Abby and the gunny. Abbs blew up the 'wedding photos' and Gibbs recognised it was an ammo bunker."

"Where'd you find the photos?" Balboa asked curiously.

"Oh, we found them at the chaplain's place. Would you believe that the killer liked to hide stuff inside his record player? I did it too when I was a kid."

"So, let's see if I got this straight, you found the entrance to the tunnel in Norfolk?"

"Yeah."

"Despite deliberately being a dick, you narrowed down the list of suspects to Chaplain Evans and it was you who found the photos that were pivotal in locating the victim, alive and well. Plus, you also found Petty Officer Swain. I'd say that that was a pretty damned impressive effort DiNozzo and even if they don't say it out loud, Todd and McGee would be impressed too."

"Ha, I doubt that, Ric. McGenius told me I was a lot like the serial killer. He doesn't respect me or my position. Neither does Cate." Tony was quiet for a bit before he asked, sounding flat, "Hey Ric…I'm tired, do you mind if I take a nap now?"

"Knock yourself out, Dino. Oh oops! Poor choice of words. Sorry."

Morrow rolled his eyes at Balboa gaffe, but it might be Balboa's attempt at injecting some levity into the situation. As he pondered this possibility Balboa stuck his head out the door and cocked an eyebrow at the director.

"You planning on staying out there all night?" He queried.

"You knew I was out here?" Tom asked.

"Yep, but Tony didn't. The pain meds they gave him to help with the pain left him vulnerable to suggestion. A suggestion that he talk about what had him so uptight, which you heard?"

Yes…thanks, Balboa. Good job! Now, how about you and I go and get some of that oven cleaner hospital brew which is trying to impersonate real coffee and you tell me what you're doing here instead of Agent Gibbs and what the doctors said about DiNozzo's head injury.

A short while later, Tom sat in the hospital canteen with his agent sipping on bad coffee and nibbling on a slightly stale cheese Danish, staring at the institutional beige coloured walls, and scuffed green linoleum flooring. Looking closely at Balboa who looked tired and more than a little out of sorts, he cocked an eyebrow at the man.

"So, what are you doing here instead of DiNozzo's supervisor?"

Ric shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you could say the mafia gave me the heads up." When he saw Morrow's alarm he chuckled. "Keep your hair on, um oops, Director. Keep digging holes for my mouth to fall into tonight."

Director Morrow raised his eyebrows and gestured to Balboa to get on with it.

"So, anyway, I was talking about the Blue Mafia. Once a cop and all that jazz. When Tony lost consciousness at his apartment his neighbours called the paramedics, who notified the cops when they saw who it was. And a cop called me since Tony and I play a pick-up game of ball with some of the Metro cop's coupla times a month, that's if we're not working on a case. Good stress relief and Tony's a good guy to hang around with. Helps to improve relations with the LEOs too, after Gibbs pisses them off." He smirked and Morrow did a mental eye roll.

Tom wriggled his butt around, trying to get comfortable in the worlds' most uncomfortable seats. "Been meaning to say that I appreciate you taking over from Chris and keeping an eye on DiNozzo."

Balboa looked self-conscious. "I think he must have had some sort of premonition, Sir. Asked me to watch the kid if anything ever happened to him. He was fond of Tony. Said he wasn't nearly as tough as he pretended to be. Pacci was a damned fine man, you know."

Both men were silent as they remembered the fallen agent.

"And Chris was right, DiNozzo is getting his self-confidence shot to shit, Director. Funny thing is, I'm beginning to feel pretty-damned protective of him, too. Which is surprising, especially since he's a seasoned cop and agent. Never expected that."

"Professionally he's tough, Ric but not tough when it comes to all the interpersonal stuff. Do you know what happened tonight?" Tom demanded.

Ric looked askance at him, "How do you mean, Director?"

"Why wasn't someone watching him if he lost consciousness? Surely he should have been on a concussion watch." Tom growled, still smarting because this head injury occurred all due to his agent not having someone watch his back in the field, again. Gibbs had a helluva lot to answer for.

"Cops said his elderly neighbour knocked when he got home and asked him if he could change a light bulb for her. According to his neighbours, he's done it before…anyway, he blacked out and fell off the stepladder, so she called 911. As to injuries, according to the doc, they want to do a CT scan in the morning, and they'll keep him under observation for tonight. He sprained his wrist and bruised some ribs in the fall but it could have been worse, Sir," Ric told the director since Tony had been injured on the job, the director was within his rights to know the extent of his injuries.

"Okay…good. But why isn't Gibbs here? Isn't he Tony's medical proxy?"

"Ah well, no, not anymore. The hospital said they tried to contact his current one but didn't have any luck."

"Who is his proxy?" Tom asked curiously. "And do you know when he removed Gibbs?"

"It was last May, I think. Around the time he was drugged by the serial killer and locked up in the sewer. He was acting off for a long time after that damned case."

Yeah that was when Gibbs told him he was irreplaceable and in the next breath told McGee he was sorry he couldn't have Tony's job since he wasn't dead, Tom recalled. Sometimes the team lead of the MCRT could be a genuine prick, Tom concluded disgustedly.

"And his proxy is someone called Alphonso D'Abruzzo, but they say they can't contact him. Maybe he's an uncle or a cousin? I'll run a check on him."

Morrow nodded. He was pretty sure that Tony didn't have any relatives by that name. He had to do something about this situation. Gibbs was supposed to be watching Tony's six, but he was doing a crappy job of it. What he needed was a boot up his butt.

Just because the SFA was an experienced field agent, didn't mean that he didn't need someone watching his back. When he was undercover that was often inevitable, but it was completely unnecessary when he was working on the MCRT, especially now they had four members.

He also needed to do something about building up DiNozzo's confidence that had been beaten down ever since the major case response team went from him and Gibbs as partners to a trio and now a quartet. Suddenly, the order of the day was treating him as either the class clown or whipping boy – take your pick depending upon which day of the week it was or Gibbs' mood. He had a couple of ideas about directions he could go but he'd sleep on them overnight.

In the meantime, Gibbs had been negligent when he didn't insist on his agent being checked out by a doctor, but knowing Jethro, he'd have been in a tearing hurry to get back to DC. Not that it was an excuse, but that also didn't relieve the two other agents of their obligation to ensure he received medical assistance. Backing up a teammate didn't just extend to being out in the field, either. Cate had enough experience in the Secret Service to know that damn it, even if McGee didn't. None of the team was watching out for Tony's welfare at all.

The bottom line was that anytime someone lost consciousness, for any reason, especially a head injury, they should get checked out at a hospital where there's access to the CT scans, x-rays, and other tests that should be done on someone who possibly has a concussion. While he just knew that Gibbs would try to shift the blame onto DiNozzo for not getting checked out, saying the agent insisting he was fine, that was bullshit. It should never be left to the injured person to get medical care after a head injury because the injured person's judgment can be impaired. In the end, it was Gibbs' responsibility to make sure Tony got medical assessment before they got on the military transport and he didn't.

The fact was that it wasn't always safe to travel with a concussion. Also, Tom knew that manifestations from the head injury could just as easily presented themselves during the flight, and there wouldn't have been immediate access to medical care. If Tony had taken a turn for the worse once they'd taken off, the plane would have had to divert and make an emergency landing. That would have taken too much time and greatly delayed Tony getting urgent medical treatment.

Tom hoped that Tony was going to be okay. Gibbs broke several of his own damned rules today. So, it was high time it was pointed out to him. Bluntly, since he didn't do subtle!

It was clear to Tom that Gibbs also needed to do a refresher first aid course. He grinned evilly. Perhaps he'd make him attend the next training course run for baby SEAL medics, as a patient, when Agent DiNozzo was fit for duty and fill in as team leader.

~o0o~

Gibbs looked at the empty desk catty-corner to him in the bullpen with ill-disguised impatience. It was ten long days since they'd wrapped up the case of the sicko serial killing chaplain who'd chained up his victims in wedding gowns and finally, left them all to die. They'd managed to save the last victim, but she was a wingnut, attacking DiNozzo when he was calling to report that he'd found her and give Gibbs their location. He'd lost consciousness at the scene but in his typical fashion, had insisted he was fine, and he'd had plenty of concussions, after all. Gibbs was feeling pissed off that he'd been attacked and he'd have to fill out a form on the incident to keep those damned harpies on HR off his back, so he'd been happy to accept DiNozzo's word that he didn't need to see a doctor and move on.

The annoying truth was that it would never have happened if he'd had back up, as Director Morrow had pointed out so damned eloquently even while he was royally tearing him a new one for not giving him back-up. Tom had emphasised that Gibbs knew full well that McGee, Tony, and himself had been given bolt cutters. He'd sent his three agents off to check out a different ammo bunker to himself and agent Melankovic. Given the dire nature of the search, plus the fact that Tony would want to maximise their chances of finding the PO in time to save her life and there was no way he would ever let the two inexperienced agents go off on their own, it was inevitable that he'd opt to be the one without backup. It was a no brainer or it should have been to a former NCO Marine!

Tom knew that and so did Gibbs, yet he still saw fit not to give him back up from all the military personnel available on the base. Morrow pointed out that it was not the first time Jethro failed to have his senior field agent's six and as a result, he'd gotten hurt on those occasions too. Told him that if the shoe were on the other foot, DiNozzo wouldn't have let him go into an unknown place where there could be unfriendlies, without someone watching his six. Tom wanted him to think about why he was so damned cavalier when it came to Tony's safety and stop doing it.

Director Morrow had put an official caution in his file but that didn't faze Gibbs. He knew it was a fair cop and besides, it wasn't the first black mark and it probably wouldn't be the last either. There was no excuse for leaving an agent without back up and he couldn't explain why he did it to DiNozzo. Nor why he was so casual with his welfare when he got pissed at other agents if their underlings ever got hurt on their watch. He knew he should have made sure Tony got checked out and he also knew he should have been on concussion watch because it was far from his first rodeo. Again, he could offer no reason why he hadn't acted appropriately.

Morrow pointed out quite harshly but fairly that it was SOP that a loss of consciousness for more than two minutes duration required an employee to visit the ER to be checked by a doctor. As Tony was knocked out and didn't wake up until after the team had managed to talk Swain down, way more than 2 minutes had elapsed. At least 5-10 minutes had passed as the team had to make their way to his location and then they had to deal with Swain.

Furthermore, since Tony had lost consciousness for longer than 2 minutes, he shouldn't have been moved or allowed to move, and an ambulance should have been called to take him to the ER. As Morrow took great pains to explain, anyone who had first aid training would know that with any head injury, there was also the risk of a neck or spinal cord injury. So, it was best to be safe and not move the patient and let EMTs immobilize the patient and take them to the hospital by ambulance. A person who wasn't trained in judging head injuries should not be trying to determine the severity of a concussion him or herself. It should always be left to trained medical personnel to make that evaluation.

Then to compound his idiocy, according to Morrow, DiNozzo had flown back to DC without medical clearance. Then he'd permitted DiNozzo to drive himself home when they got back to DC which he quite clearly shouldn't have done. Tony could potentially have lost consciousness and injured or killed not only himself but other people on the road.

As a result of him failing to follow basic first aid training, not to mention that it was also NCIS health and safety regulations for field agents, DiNozzo had lost consciousness later that night and ended up with further injuries. He'd been rushed to the hospital, but Gibbs wasn't informed about until he came to work the next morning and discovered DiNozzo had removed Jethro as his medical proxy.

Why had he done that? Didn't he trust him anymore and what had prompted the change? It had been Ric Balboa who'd been with his agent, not Gibbs and that stung.

In the end, Tony ended up spent a couple of days in the hospital on drugs to reduce his brain swelling, which they felt the flight home from Jacksonville had worsened. His agent was still out on sick leave and Gibbs couldn't wait for DiNozzo to return to work today. It had been a long ten days without the mercurial agent to buffer his bad moods with the rookies.

Frankly, Jethro was fed up with having to explain every little thing to Cate and McGee. They didn't anticipate, just waited for him to tell them what he wanted. They didn't make intuitive leaps or pluck leads out of nowhere when the search ran dry, unlike DiNozzo. Cate was bossy, ordering the probie around and McGee didn't like it at all. He kept telling her he'd been first in his class at FLETC and he knew how to conduct a search better than she did.

Jethro was so looking forward to Tony coming back so he didn't need to be bothered by all their crap. He prefered to leave the day to day training of the junior agents up to DiNozzo because he had a lot more patience. So, it was a bitter blow to the team leader to be called into the director's office and informed that Tony was on an extended leave from the team. It seemed that he was undertaking some special missions for Morrow, but the director refused to tell him what they were.

Jethro had protested bitterly that Tony belonged to him, he'd found and recruited him, and Gibbs needed him on the MCRT. Tom told him, very politely but firmly, that he had a new agent in Timothy McGee, so there were three of them to carry the load. Then he simply reiterating that Tony was needed elsewhere. Morrow also rightly pointed out that DiNozzo and himself had coped as a two-agent team for more than a year. So Morrow told Gibbs that he was confident Gibbs would manage with McGee and Todd to back him up.

Being Gibbs, he wouldn't accept that brushoff by the director since he was used to getting his way in all things related to his team. He'd demanded to know what was so damned important that Tom had to steal DiNozzo away without consulting him first. To which he'd been told, very decisively this time, that it was need-to-know, and Gibbs didn't! When he all but shouted at Director Morrow that he did need to know, because if his agent was doing undercover work then Gibbs needed to know that someone had his six, Tom had smiled at him patronisingly. The director informed him that unlike Gibbs had done, he was watching Tony's six and that was all Jethro was entitled to know. No amount of his tantrums had persuaded the director to reverse his opinion – he was an impenetrable brick wall.

That naturally didn't improve Jethro's temper at all, which wasn't exactly good to start with and after ten days, Cate and McGee were looking pretty ragged around the edges, dealing with him without the benefit of DiNozzo's buffering. And it only got worse. Much, much worse!

The first week after Tony failed to return from sick leave as expected, they muddled along without him, like they had when he was out on sick leave, but it was taking its toll on all three of them. They'd caught a basic garden variety domestic homicide (the wife did it) and then a suicide. Gibbs felt Tony's absence as he'd struggled with a probie McGee and a near probie Todd.

Funny when Tony was around, he hadn't noticed just how green Cate still was. Sure, she'd picked up the basics of crime scene investigation, but he was realising that she was incredibly inflexible, unable to think outside the box. DiNozzo had been banging on about how when she connected emotionally with someone, she lost all perspective in trying to prove them innocent but until now he hadn't realised how much of an issue it was. She'd even steered him on the wrong track several times, much to his amusement…NOT!

As payback, he made her do all the messy, dirty probie jobs like gassing up the truck, dumpster diving. At one crime scene, he ordered her to crawl around on her hands and knees searching for ballistic evidence out the back of a notorious nightclub where people went to vomit or take a piss when the bathrooms were all full. She'd whined and complained that she wasn't the probie and shouldn't have to do all the shitty jobs, so he'd reminded her that when she was the probie, she'd complained so much that he'd made DiNozzo do them. She'd still bitched and moaned about it, but usually behind his back to McGee but she did it.

By the second week, post-DiNozzo's sick leave coming to an end, when Tom informed him that Tony was still on special assignment, Gibs threw a major tantrum. It was spectacular consisting of stomping, growling and yelling but the director was implacable. Tony would not be returning this week – perhaps next week. He just wasn't sure yet.

It was damned frustrating because the director had never interfered with his team like this in the past. He increasingly took out his anger and frustration on his team, driving them harder and longer but no matter how hard he pushed them, they were continually disappointing him.

Gibbs tantrums took a turn for the worse when the MCRT caught a particularly nasty case of a Navy Lieutenant Commander's family, who were all found deceased. His wife and three children, aged fifteen, twelve and seven died from gunshot wounds to the head and the Lt Commander John Trinder had disappeared. And as if that weren't enough to make Gibbs crazy, there was a second crime scene. Mrs Trinder's parents had also been shot in their home in Virginia. Jethro had gone stomping in to see the director, demanding that he needed DiNozzo back and he needed him NOW as he had two different crime scenes to process and a missing sailor to locate.

Tom had sized him up and observed that he'd handled big and complex cases in the past when it had only been himself and Tony. The director told Gibbs said that he had Cate and McGee, so Morrow was confident that the three agents would do just fine. After all, they were the MCRT - the premier investigative team in the DC office.

Gibbs had been furious that Morrow didn't get it, shouting that McGee was still green as grass after only a couple of cases on the team and Cate had only a year on the job, so she still had a helluva lot of learning to do. He yelled that she'd get too emotionally involved in this one, even if she had the field experience. No, he insisted that he needed a highly trained agent to run the second crime scene investigation. He needed Tony, plus apart from all the evidence that needed collecting and processing, they also had to find the husband, who was a probable suspect in five homicides. Bottom line, he'd asserted angrily, it was far too complex a case to run the investigation without DiNozzo.

Director Morrow stared at him intently for several moments before he nodded. "You're absolutely right, Gibbs. Your team can't run this case without DiNozzo."

He pressed his intercom and asked Cynthia to get Agent Balboa. After the initial feeling of triumph when he thought he'd won when Morrow had agreed with him, Jethro felt confused. What did Ric have to do with Tony being on a special assignment?

A couple of minutes later, Balboa was standing in Tom's office looking curious, too.

"Agent Balboa, we have a complex case that's looking like it might be a murder-suicide, we have a primary crime scene with the wife and three kids and a secondary one with the grandparent, also shot and killed. Lt Commander Trinder's whereabouts aren't known at this stage but he is either a victim or a suspect. I want you to run the primary crime scene since his agents are both inexperienced and Agent Todd will get too emotionally involved with the victims and we need clear heads on this one. Gibbs will run the secondary site with the grandparents. This is a joint investigation but since your team is at full strength you'll be point for the case. Any questions?"

Ric pulled a face, no doubt not looking forward to having to work with Gibbs. "No Sir. I'll… go brief the team." He nodded to Gibbs and shot out of the room like a scalded cat.

Gibbs slammed his hand down on the desk. "I'm more qualified to run the investigation that Balboa, Dir-ect-tor."

"That's true, Jethro but as you so coherently pointed out just now, the rest of your team has less than 13 months field experience between them, with DiNozzo away on assignment. The team is only as good as the sum of its parts and yours lacks the expertise and experience to run such a complex case such as this one. Thank you for drawing it to my attention, " Morrow said firmly and Gibbs found he couldn't disagree with his reasoning. He didn't like it though.

Morrow nodded his dismissal. "Good luck on this one Agent Gibbs – it looks like it's a nasty one."

So, extremely pissed off, he'd stomped downstairs and driven to Virginia in a foul mood, making certain the team was as green with the speed at which he'd driven as they were still green as field agents. The irony of getting there so quickly was that there was only so much he could do until Ducky arrived, but he'd gone to the primary crime scene first. The MCRT had to sit around and wait.

If DiNozzo wasn't off running stupid damned errands for Tom Morrow, he'd have sent him to Virginia with a couple of TADs and he'd have been at the primary scene instead of Balboa's team. He hated sharing investigations with other teams, even from NCIS, but even worse, he hated not being the lead agent. After all, he was the senior supervisory agent of the MCRT. It should be his investigation.

Consequently, it had been a trying week and when the case was finally closed, Balboa's team had located Lt Commander Trinder's body in his car in the Shenandoah State Park with a garden hose attached to the exhaust pipe and him dead inside. Cate had insisted that there must be foul play, as she's spoken to his parish priest who had known him for years. She insisted that suicide was a mortal sin and as he was a good Roman Catholic, he'd never have killed himself. At which point in the discussion, Maria Gonzales, Balboa's SFA and a Roman Catholic like Todd, had dug up the statistics for suicides in people who were practising RC, shocking the crap out of the closed-minded profiler and making her look rather foolish.

It had been a difficult case emotionally for all of them – him because it awoke memories of Shannon and Kelly that he tried to keep buried. For Cate, because she didn't seem to retain a distance from victims or sometimes even the perps (Ari and his kind eyes) and when Ducky ruled Trinder's death a suicide she'd taken it particularly badly. Maybe she needed to attend mandatory counselling to try to resolve her personal biases about suicide and people who were Catholics.

McGee hadn't been a whole lot better; he still got queasy at crime scenes and hadn't yet managed to create the professional distance you needed to be able to deal with horrific and gruesome scenes and not miss evidence. This one saw him puking his guts up when he sent him in to take photos of the victims and the bedrooms where the crime had taken place. He'd ended up contaminating the scene. leaving Gibbs to tear his hair out and tear the probationary agent a new one, leaving him a stammering nervous wreck.

Dealing with such a heinous case, Gibbs kept looking to Tony to play a joke or lighten the atmosphere with a rambling monologue about a movie, but the bullpen was deathly silent. Well, apart from the occasional sharp words or the petty arguments from his two probie agents as the tension continued to build up. Come Friday afternoon after working all day on cold cases, he was glad to see the back of them both. With no cases pending and the MCRT not rostered on over the weekend, Gibbs was looking forward to a weekend working on his boat and come, Monday, the return of DiNozzo.

Except that Monday, 0800 saw him back in Morrow's office to hear the crappy news that unfortunately, something had come up, again. Although Tom didn't seem all that cut up about it, even if he said he was sorry. But the point was that the director told him DiNozzo would be gone for another week, and no, Gibbs didn't need to know what was so important that HIS team was having to cope with a man down.

"You're the one that kept on at me to build a four-man team, Director," Gibbs fired back.

Tom considered his argument, and said, " Good point, Gibbs. Would you like for me to organise a TAD for you?"

Gibbs grumbled a bit but said he wanted Cassie Yates, who used to work on Chris Pacci's team back in the day and Morrow had rejected that idea. I'm sorry, Gibbs, but she's undercover on a joint drug-op with the DEA. However, there's a couple of probationary agents in the pool you could pick from."

Jethro hastily declined the offer – he was already up to his neck in rookies. He didn't need another.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I need an experienced TAD to do the heavy lifting. I don't need another probationary one. Takes too long to explain everything and they don't anticipate my needs. It's quicker and easier to do it myself. I don't teach, Tom."

His language in describing DiNozzo's role on the team hadn't gone unnoticed by Morrow. He'd never once referred to him by his rank though, which was extremely unfortunate for Gibbs since Tom had no intention of bringing Tony back until he did.

"Yes, well it isn't all that easy to find TADs who are experienced, I'm afraid," Morrow told him. "I'm presently having all sorts of trouble finding someone who can fill in for our SFAs when they need to go on leave or attend compulsory training courses. It's a nightmare – let me tell you," he confided sadly.

"A good SFA is worth their weight in gold, Gibbs. Well, if you change your mind about the TAD, let me know and I'll arrange it."

So, once again Gibbs had stomped off downstairs as he contemplated another week – at the very least without Tony. He didn't like it – not one bit and he seemed unable to change the director's mind, either. The irritated leader of the MCRT desperately needed coffee, and when he arrived at his favourite coffee shop, he decided that instead of his usual two cups. he'd better get three. Better make his order three large ones!

That week, with Tony on assignment, they worked another case that tried his patience to its absolute limits and beyond. Of course, his temper was on a noticeably short fuse but all he could do was hope that whatever the hell Morrow had Tony doing, he'd finish it up early and be back next week. Gibbs honestly didn't know how much longer he could last before he shot McGee or Cate. It seemed that because McGee had graduated top of his class at FLETC and he'd been an agent out at the field office at Norfolk for a year that he considered he was more qualified, more senior than Cate in all but the most minor of technicalities - namely that he'd joined the team after Todd did.

His claims about being top of his class prompted Gibbs to check up on Tim's FLETC record since he'd been more focused on the probie's computer accomplishments when he added him to the team. His long hours on the computer had helped track down Ari Haswari (so Gibbs could put a bullet in the bastard's shoulder) which had earned Tim a spot on the MCRT. Jethro had only taken what amounted to a cursory look at his FLETC record, until now.

Given the probie's less than sterling hand-to-hand skills, with Cate putting him on his ass without even breaking a sweat, and his mediocre firearms abilities, Jethro was dubious of his so-called outstanding performance…unless FLETC had lowered their standards dramatically. So, he made a few calls, talked to former students (now agents) and an instructor, and found out that while McGee had indeed finished top of the class, it wasn't the whole story. According to his course coordinator, midway through he'd been ready to quit because he was struggling with some of the subjects, although not the computer courses, obviously – those he'd aced.

A fellow student, Jim Nelson had taken him under his wing and helped him to graduate. So not as impressive as McGee would have everyone believe and Gibbs wondered why he was so all-fired negative about accepting help from DiNozzo, who had years of experience when McGee had no problem accepting Special Agent Nelson's help to get through.

Cate, on the other hand, felt that her six years as a Secret Service agent plus a year working under Gibbs on the MCRT meant that she had seniority over McGee. Incredibly, she believed that it exceeded DiNozzo too, despite her lack of law enforcement and investigative background. Right now, he'd gladly swap both agents for a couple of FLETC candidates, since he strongly doubted that he'd get the attitude and lip that had been his misfortune to endure lately.

Jethro had been suitably unimpressed when Cate started bossing him around too and telling him how he was feeling. Oh, he was gonna blow soon, he could feel it rising, along with his blood pressure.

What sparked the eruption was when they caught a case where there were damned jurisdictional issues. Chief Petty Officer Christy Burroughs was eating lunch in a downtown café when a dirtbag walked in and held up the place. What a dumbass – who held up a café unless you wanted deli meats?

Christy had tried to tackle the robber after he shot and killed a young father, accidentally they assumed. She'd been shot too and was in a critical condition, but Metro PD wanted the case since the young guy killed was the nephew of the Chief of Detectives. Gibbs insisted that jurisdiction belonged to NCIS because of CPO Burroughs but Metro Chief of Police asserted that a dead civilian trumped a wounded sailor and Director Morrow agreed.

Which left Gibbs working in a joint task force with the cops and he hated working with LEOs. To be honest, he hated having to deal with them on any level. He usually depended on DiNozzo to liaison between NCIS and the cops when they had no other choice but to work with them. They were always bitching about probable cause, banging on about wanting to obtain warrants for every piddling little thing and playing by the rules.

Quite frankly, it pissed him off. There was only one set of rules Jethro was concerned about following and those were his rules.

Working this case with Metro PD turned out to be even worse than expected because one of the detectives was Andy Kochofis. He'd worked with them before and when he didn't see Tony, he'd asked if he'd had finally come to his senses, accepted one of his numerous job opportunities and left Gibbs.' team All the other cops at the scene had had a good chuckle about the thought of DiNozzo leaving the MCRT since Jethro wasn't popular with the LEOs. When he'd tersely informed the cop that Tony was on special assignment, he nodded and then he'd started raving about what a great cop and detective DiNozzo was.

Gibbs had forgotten they'd worked together during the Major Kerry murder and then the fiasco of the Suzanne O'Neil case too. He was trying very hard not to think about the fact that he didn't know when he was getting DiNozzo back on the team, so he didn't welcome the reminders about how great he was. The junior agents weren't too keen on hearing about how top notch DiNozzo was either since apparently, they both thought, erroneously, that he wasn't nearly as good or intelligent as they were. Seriously, Gibbs had no idea that they were so damned delusional.

When they finally closed the case successfully, Jethro was pleased, even if they ended up catching up on paperwork the rest of the week. At least they were free of the annoying LEOs and it was just Cate and McGee he had to put up with. They were more than enough but at least when the arguing got too bad, he could always duck out and go for coffee.

The lead agent could hardly wait for DiNozzo to return. Morrow had better get him back by Monday – he needed to have him back. It was plain stupid to say that Cate or McGee could fill in for DiNozzo. Why couldn't Morrow understand that? Even dumbass Metro cops knew how good he was

As he expected when he demanded his agent back, Tom informed him he would be gone for another week, at least, maybe more. And when he'd demanded to know what he was doing, Morrow smiled and pulled out the same lame bullshit.

"Sorry, Gibbs. It's need-to-know, and you don't, I'm afraid."

Damn it, what the hell was DiNozzo up to? Of course, he needed to know, he owned his ass. Not Morrow!

Meanwhile, this week tested him in ways that he hadn't been yet. A fraud case that the fraud team could have handled and a threat to cripple the internet which saw McGee spouting forth techno-crap at a zillion miles an hour. Thank the gods that it was a hoax and that they figured it out and charged the dirtbags because he was seriously ready to kill the geek by that point. Jethro felt like his head was gonna explode!

Dragging both of his unfortunate agents off to the range, he drilled them mercilessly before showing them how it was done, wiping the floor with them. Next, he let Cate grapple with the probie, while he sat drinking coffee and watched the bloodbath, feeling calmer than he had all week. Todd was justifiably cock-a-hoop following her brutal demolishment of McGee's dignity – what was left of it.

Then he took great personal satisfaction in taking on Cate and showed her that she might have protected the President, but he was a badass Marine who could and did kick her butt. Oh, it was so glorious!

He then proceeded to show the techno wunderkind that although he might have graduated at the top of his FLETC class, he could kick his ass in seconds without breaking out in a sweat. Whipping both of their asses on the mats and the firing range calmed his savage beast somewhat. It also entertained the other teams, too he'd discovered in the past few weeks, believed they were too arrogant by half. Not surprising then that there was a lot of jeering and catcalling amongst the voluble spectators. Some brought popcorn!

Despite the distraction and his displacement therapy of beating the crap out of his luckless agents, he was still in a bad frame of mind, unfortunately. If he was honest, Gibbs was super pissed off with the director and not just because he'd appropriated his best agent either and wouldn't give him any indication when he might get him back.

No, it was that Tom had decided to break with longstanding protocol and that just didn't sit right with Gibbs. He felt like someone slapped him with an old stinky fish, just to humiliate him and he didn't appreciate it.

As a federal agency, they often had a stream of so-called VIPs coming to NCIS for fact-finding missions, for example, their overseas counterparts would visit and call in to pay their respects or compare notes on issues that affected them all. Not to mention what Gibbs called the 'Ass Kissers' from the Hill who'd show up, especially around budget time and expect everyone to bend over and lick their boots. Tom often got stuck escorting the VIPs plus the wannabe VIPs around and anyone who was in the bullpen would get introduced to these idiots and have to make nice.

In the last few weeks alone, they'd had an Australian Admiral, a senator's aide who served on a Senate Appropriations Committee, a Portuguese General and a minor Royal from Great Britain he'd never even heard of – the Earl of Ulster, Alexander Windsor. Not that he gave a rat's, but it seemed that Alexander Windsor was 25th in line to the throne. And last, but not least since Gibbs rated him slightly higher than the senator, a journalist doing a story on SecNav, had all traipsed through the bullpen and the building asking dumbass questions and wasting everyone's time.

The first time it happened, Jethro put it down to a momentary lapse in protocol. Anyone could make a mistake, but then it happened a second time and he'd given the director the evil eye and Morrow looked chastened and nodded. The third time it happened though, with the Earl of Ulster, Gibbs realised it was a deliberate slap in the face. Morrow when introducing the team had announced Cate first, then McGee and him last of all.

Anyone not familiar with Military protocol might fail to see the seriousness of the snub, but not Jethro. Gibbs was a former Marine after all and he knew damned well that when presenting people to VIPs - be it a team or a platoon, protocol dictated that you didn't start with the privates, you went with the commanding officer and then down the hierarchical ladder until you reached the lowest-ranked individual. You NEVER introduced the CO last.

Rank had its privileges, of which respect and recognition of achievements, experience and skill featured highly. He'd worked hard to get where he was, and he deserved to be treated with the respect he was due. Jethro was puzzled and infuriated about the failure to observe protocol. The director was usually a stickler for observing it, until quite recently.

When it happened again today with that smug journalist, he'd been ropable, and he decided that when Tom had finished up his calls in MTAC he was going to call him on his disrespectful actions. As Morrow exited the major threat assessment centre (MTAC) some 40 minutes later, Gibbs was up from his desk and sprinting up the stairs as fast as his bum knee would let him. Catching Tom as he entered his outer office, Jethro called out and Morrow turned, a strange almost self-satisfied expression on his face.

"Jethro, what can I do for you? If you're looking for a sitrep on DiNozzo, I've got nothing."

"There's something else I wanted to discuss, Director."

"Fine, come in then and have a seat."

In his typical, bloody-minded Leroy Jethro Gibbs fashion, he remained standing, so Tom sniggered and sat down. Gibbs couldn't believe his ears. The director dared to snigger at him – what the hell was going on?

"So, Agent Gibbs, what seems to be the problem?"

"Director, you broke protocol when introducing my team. I should be introduced first as the CO or lead agent and then the rest of the team introduced in order of seniority, with the most junior member acknowledge last. It's a protocol that reinforces the chain of command and working as we do with the Marines and the navy, they expect it. Why are you suddenly ignoring a long establish convention which is also agency protocol?"

Tom regarded him with an air of amusement, although Jethro didn't think there was anything funny about it. "Ah, I see. Well as you point out, it is rather old fashion convention. So I thought perhaps in an attempt to be less anachronistic and create a more inclusive feeling amongst the staff, it wouldn't hurt to dump that stuffy old protocol. Besides, I have it on good authority that people think it ought to be phased out in favour of introduction order based on intelligence level and or competence."

"Where did you hear that crap? With respect Director, that is a bad idea." Gibbs told him, his tone belying the purported respect.

"Military stakeholders wouldn't appreciate or understand that logic and it wouldn't reinforce the chain of command which is an essential tenet in law enforcement too. Rank has its privileges, principally respect and obedience. Little things have a huge importance in establishing a Chain of Command and supervisors are entitled to be respected – they worked hard for their positions."

Tom nodded. "All highly valid arguments, Gibbs. Chain of command and respect is crucial to the functioning of a team. I'll give due consideration to your arguments. Now if you excuse me, I must return a call to Mrs Morrow."

As Gibbs left the director's office, bemused about Morrow motivation and outlandish rationalisations, he missed his boss chuckling, "My guess - we'll be having another little chat tomorrow," as he exited the room.

It was Friday afternoon and Gibbs' sharp ears heard Balboa and his SFA Maria Gonzales mention DiNozzo on the way to get a coffee in the break room. Curious about why they were talking about him, he followed them in and poured himself a cup of coffee, which was pretty suspicious behaviour considering he only drank the NCIS swill when he was desperate, but he didn't want to look like he was eavesdropping on their private conversation. Fortunately, Ric and Jason didn't seem to notice him though.

"You said that DiNozzo sent you an email today? He alright?" Ric asked casually with a smirk at Gibbs' back as he made himself a cup of instant coffee.

Gonzales had to work hard not laugh when she realised that he'd inadvertently used Caitlin Todd's dandelion and chicory coffee substitute. She hoped he'd take a big swig of the beverage in her presence.

Maria rolled her eyes exaggeratedly at her team leader but verbally played it straight. "Oh yeah, he's more than alright. He sounds like he's doing great – sent me a couple of photos. I'll show them to you when I'm back at my desk, but I have to say that he sounds like he's in no hurry to return to DC." They both saw Gibbs' back tense up and they exchanged mischievous winks.

"Hey Boss, what do I gotta do to get be made senior field agent TAD in Marseille, Naples and Rota? I'd give my eye teeth…" Gonzales whined theatrically as Gibbs poured the coffee down the sink, much to her disappointment.

Balboa and his 2IC started chuckling as Gibbs went storming out of the break room and it was no surprise to either of them that he headed straight for the stairs that led to the up to the director's office and MTAC. And you didn't need to be a rocket scientist to predict that Jethro wasn't going to the multiple threat assessment centre.

Ric grabbed his phone and quickly texted the director: Storm Alert! Hurricane Gunny about to hit. Force ten!

Pocketing his phone, he looked over at Maria. "Well, that was fun. Honestly, how does Tony seem?"

"He sounds good, Boss. Do you think he'll be back next week?"

"Up to the director, Gonzales." Balboa didn't mention it, but he knew that Director Morrow was planning on making Gibbs sweat a little longer. He'd decided to send the SFA at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii to do an advance law enforcement seminar into organised crime and racketeering. Tony was going to be TAD as his replacement, lucky bastard!

~o0o~

Tom Morrow was trying to keep his head above water. His philosophy re the never-ending paperwork which came with his job was if you stopped treading water, the undertow would drag you under and drown you. Every chance he got, even if it was just a spare five minutes, he used it to catch up on paperwork, the bane of every director's life.

As Morrow reviewed a case file before sign off on it, he got a text message from Balboa and chuckled. He'd know Jethro for a long time and he supposed they could be considered friends, as much as the emotionally closed-off man could have meaningful friendships with anyone after he lost his family. That said, the man could truly try the patience of a saint. And one thing was certain, Thomas Morrow was in no way a saint!

Less than sixty seconds later Hurricane Gunny arrived, and Tom could have sworn that he could seem steam pouring out the agent's ears, mouth and nose like in those old Warner Bros cartoons. His facial expression thunderous, Gibbs wasted no time in beating about the bush.

"DiNozzo's super-secret mission is TAD for senior field agents in Naples, Rota and Marseille? You take my senior field agent away from the major case response team to fill in for other SFAs? In what universe is that logical or fair to make me cope without him? What the hell was the point, Tom?"

"The point, Gibbs, was that I needed an experienced SFA who could fit into a team easily and take over for the senior field agent, settling in rapidly, since they were just short deployments," Morrow said archly. "His field experience is invaluable alone but his undercover ability to fit easily into groups makes him worth his weight in gold in settling into teams swiftly."

Morrow stared at Gibbs sternly and said, "DiNozzo is super skilled at sizing up people and training them."

"Robbing Peter to pay Paul is a genuine dumbass strategy, Tom. I need DiNozzo here, not gallivanting around on someone else's damned team." Gibbs stormed at him angrily.

"Really, Jethro? I didn't think it would inconvenience you at all."

"What the devil does that mean, Director?"

"I was just taking a leaf out of your book. Rule # 5 Don't waste good."

Gibbs glared at him dangerously. "You saying I'm wasting good, Tom?"

Morrow shrugged. "If the shoe fits."

"Bull. Shit. Dir- rec-tor!"

"So, explain to me why you never refer to DiNozzo as your senior field agent? Explain why at the crime scene in Norfolk when dealing with the head of base security you introduced the team as Cate, McGee and DiNozzo last."

"He came running to tell you that Tom?"

"No, he didn't tell me, Gibbs," Morrow said truthfully since technically he told Agent Balboa and he'd overheard the conversation. There were other people there and they talk. You know how it is. And don't try to tell me that it meant nothing since just yesterday you were at great pains to convince me that protocol introducing team members from highest rank to lowest was an important component of team discipline and instilling respect. You're a damned hypocrite -you demand respect, yet you're perfectly happy to undermine DiNozzo's rank," he growled.

Tom shook his head in disgust. "Is it any wonder the probie agents don't respect him when you can't practise what you preach? Ever heard of the Golden Rule – I think it is very apropos, Jethro."

'You set me up with that protocol shit, damn it!"

'Oh no, I do believe you did a damned good job of hanging yourself, Agent Gibbs. "I just supplied the rope," Morrow smirked maliciously, knowing he was pissing off the furious agent even more. "What's good for the goose is also even better for the gander, I'd say," he told a fuming Gibbs before changing course.

"But let's return to the question of you wasting DiNozzo's skills and experience. My memory may not be what it used to but wasn't it an unwritten but immutable rule that the investigator that finds the lead runs with it?"

"Still is." Gibbs all but snarled at him.

"And yet when Tony found the entrance to the tunnel where PO Figgus was found, you stated in your report that you left him up top to wait for the ME and took Todd and McGee down to process the crime scene. That IS wasting good, not to mention it is humiliating for him and telegraphs to the rookies that you think that all he's good for is probie work. Call me stupid but with a case that was as disturbing and as bizarre as this one was, I'd want my most experienced agent checking out the scene to make sure it's safe.

"Even if DiNozzo hadn't found the entrance, I'd still have wanted him getting the first look at it since he's an experienced homicide detective and he has an eagle eye, not two rookies. I'd have wanted him processing the scene to maximise my chances of finding the killer.

Looking furious, Gibbs snapped at him, "Cate's a profiler."

"Okay, I'll grant you that one," Tom conceded, "If you'll concede that she's a lame one based upon her performances thus far on the MCRT and what about McGee? That was what – his SECOND case on the team as a field agent?

Tom glared at the supervisory agent mockingly and gave him a gimme gesture with his hand. "How do you explain that? I honestly want to know what possessed you when you decided to give the probie's job to your highly trained SFA and the SFA job's to a green probie?"

"Stops DiNozzo getting too cocky and gives McGee a boost of confidence."

"Well, seeing that you saw fit to give him probie work and you don't think he's valuable enough to get someone to watch his six, I figured you wouldn't miss him. I, on the other hand, can put his skills to good use, and I did. He helped solve half a dozen cases in the last three weeks and gave the teams he worked with some decent leads on about ten cold cases, too." Tom stated proudly.

"You telling me, how to run my team, Director?"

"Hell, yeah, Gibbs. Me boss, you underling. When I see a resource being ignored or under deployed, I have an ethical obligation to Congress and the taxpayers to step in and make sure they are getting value for money. Ensure we're fulfilling our mission statement to the best of our capabilities. Plus, he needs to be able to do his job, not worrying about your petty mind games and the constant attacks on him by the team.

"The relentless assault on his abilities, intelligence and education will end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy if you're not careful. Or else you'll lose him. He's already hinting that he wouldn't mind staying on as a TAD since the last three weeks have boosted his self-confidence dramatically, making him feel needed and respected. That's not something he gets from you or the junior agents."

"He belongs to me, Tom. And my agents don't attack him."

"He belongs to the agency and last time I checked, it's MY agency, so he's my agent," Morrow said dryly. "Think maybe it's time you saw someone about your delusions, Jethro. If you don't see the attacks, the insubordination and the contempt your junior agents show DiNozzo, then you need a nice little vacation in the Bethesda Psychiatric ward."

It's called banter, Director. It doesn't do any harm, besides, DiNozzo gives as good as he gets."

"I knew your eyesight was failing but I didn't realise you were going deaf too. Sure, Tony teases Todd and McGee but he doesn't call them stupid or incompetent or a pig. He never questions their competencies – he's respectful of their specialties."

"Some days Todd makes personal attack after personal attack. Hell, even when the discussion is case orientated she never lets a chance go by to stab him about his shortcomings and like you, has an unerring knack for finding all his vulnerable spots. I get complaints constantly from other teams about the vitriol and the negativity down on the bullpen floor.

"McGee essentially told your senior field agent he was like the serial killer who was chaining women up and leaving them to die. He also expressed the opinion that you see DiNozzo's only redeeming quality is that he managed to get a report in on time once. I hope that isn't the case, but honestly, I'm not sure, anymore. It is little wonder that after only a few days in the field, your probie thinks he's smarter than his senior field agent?"

He shot a poisonous glare to his agent. "Fix it Gibbs or I will," he promised grimly. "And I'll be protecting my best asset, not mollycoddling ones who may show potential. A bird in the hand."

Gibbs didn't take kindly to Morrow's threats. "Did your secret source tell you what an ass DiNozzo was being when we were down in Jacksonville Naval Air Station?' he snapped.

"Oh yeah, in technicolour, Gibbs. Perhaps he was taking a leaf out of your book, like when you go off to get coffee. Or he just thought if he was being treated like a naughty probie he might as well act like one. That's why I sent him off on assignment since I have no intention of it becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"He needed a sense of purpose and to know someone had faith in him. Fair warning, if I see him being wasted again then DiNozzo is mine and you won't get him back again. That includes not putting him in dangerous situations with no one to watch his back unless you get prior approval. I won't lose him because of your laissez-faire attitude to your own damned rules. Hint time, dumbass - I'm talking about rule # 1 and rule # 15."

Gibbs gave him the infamous ice blue steely glare, but Tom wasn't fazed. As the director, he couldn't cave at the first sign of pressure or he'd be out of a job.

"I said… Special Agent Gibbs that you use him or lose him. Are we clear?"

"Crystal clear, Director." Gibbs snarled at him sullenly and Tom was reminded of a truculent teenager.

"When do I get MY SENIOR FIELD AGENT back again?" he queried, emphasizing his SFA sarcastically but the director saw it as progress that he was finally acknowledging Tony's seniority for a change.

"Oh, I have already committed him to TAD at the Pearl Harbour office for a week to fill in for Special Agent Owens." Quelling the angry outburst, he confided, "Think yourself lucky that you finally acknowledged him as your SFA, you jackass. If you hadn't, I'd have sent him to London and Singapore, too.

In the meantime, the team is on cold cases as of today. Hopefully, that will give you a chance to get your house in order, for him to come back to. Last chance, Special Agent Gibbs – I'm not bluffing. Don't blow it."

As Gibbs stomped off in disgust, heading towards the door, Morrow let him go until he put his hand on the doorknob.

"Oh, Special Agent Gibbs."

He turned around to make eye contact with the director with reluctance. "Yeah."

"I'm ordering you to gas up the MCRT truck every day for the next month. If I find out that you have been palming it off on your agents – and I will find out – then I'll assign that job to you permanently. Are we clear?"

Gibbs stormed over to his desk so he could glare down at him. "That's probie work, Director," he objected in disbelief.

"And yet, you always make DiNozzo gas the crime scene truck. So, I've decided to test out your techniques to find out if they are effective. You see, I have an agent… a team leader who I'm concerned may be getting a bit too cocky for my taste, so I decided to give him a probie job and see if it works in helping him get his head out of his ass. Who knows, it might become a new agency training technique," Morrow deadpanned, enjoying Gibbs' expression of outrage.

"It's damned humiliating to have the SSA doing probie work. Bad for discipline!"

"Well, I guess that might be the case. I'll tell you what, Gibbs, when you have completed the assignment, I'll expect a detailed report from you about the pros and cons of your technique. Let's call it the What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander Training Strategy? I'll look forward to reading it and forwarding it on to the Human Resources Department, too."

The End

Notes:

SCAN stands for Scientific Content Analysis

Major Kerry was the football carrier in Yankee White who Secret Service Agent Caitlyn Todd was having an affair with and when Gibbs learned about it, she tendered her resignation from the Secret Service for breaking Fraternisation Regulations.

BTW does anyone know who (or what) Alphonso D'Abruzzo is without Googling it? Virtual Tim-tams for anyone who does.

Re my response to comments: To ballinore, thanks for such articulate commentary courage and heroism. I totally agree with everything you say, and I'd commend readers to take a minute or two to read what you wrote about personal responsibility and standing up for what it right.

To Nightstalcer, I particularly wanted to address your point that the show would be boring if everything was done completely by the book. I don't see why it would need to be boring. You pointed out often you haven't even been aware that something was inaccurate, so it didn't impact your enjoyment one way or the other. AFAIC, a competent screen writer should be able to write entertaining episodes regardless. It's laziness, like they chose to go for the lowest target for cheap laughs i.e. the whole head slap, which is childish slapstick, or the oh so funny NOT running joke about Tony kissing a transgender female. The humour is too often cruel and generally perpetuating of stereotypes, usually at the expense of minorities. When they finally wrote in a character who was gay, he was a dorkie bumbling fool who wasn't real bright. Why not just use a cisgender character who was dorky, and none to bright? They chose to go for the lowest common denominator, and I think they frequently treated viewers with disdain more often than not. An example where they got the comedy right was the wonderful Victoria Mallard – it was a shame she wasn't utilised more.

Plus, if you claim that your show is a police procedural – it doesn't seem like an unreasonable expectation that it will be about police procedures, not ignoring them. If you want to break rules and do illegal stuff, call the show something else like a SciFi, a comedy, parody, drama or dramedy. By the same token, the writers could break procedures if they want to heighten dramatic effect or provide humour (although there are plenty of other ways of doing so too) but at least if you are making a police procedural show that actions have consequences. Maybe it's just me though so I'd be interested in what other people think.