This is AU and messes considerably with canon and time line … but I hope the characters are still recognisable.

"Jethro," said Tom Morrow to the man who sat opposite him in the Director's office. "How you settled back in?"

"Fine," said Gibbs. He didn't think that Morrow was really interested in his agent's feelings about returning to his home after many months in Europe. In fact, Gibbs had been surprised to discover how much he'd missed his house with all its locked up memories and he found himself hoping that his next posting would be in DC.

Morrow's lips twitched with amusement although he was fair-minded enough to know that he would have been uncomfortable had Gibbs favoured him with a detailed account of his emotions during his recent posting.

"You did good work in Europe. You and Shepard," praised the Director.

Gibbs contented himself with a nod.

"But SecNav is uncomfortable with that type of mission," continued the Director. "He would prefer that sort of work to be carried out by other agencies."

Gibbs shrugged and took a sip of coffee.

"And, in any case," said Morrow, "there's a limit to how long we can expect agents to work under the pressure you and Jenny have had. It was time for you both to come back."

"Back?" queried Gibbs.

"In a manner of speaking. Shepard is being posted to NCIS in Bahrain. She'll focus particularly on relations with our Israeli friends. It's a good move for her. I wouldn't be surprised to see her as Director one day." He paused and looked closely at Gibbs; there had been rumours about how just how closely he and Jenny had worked and he wondered if there was any regret about their working partnership being broken.

"She's ambitious," said Gibbs neutrally.

Morrow realised that was all he was going to get so carried on. "SecNav has authorised the setting up of a new team in Washington. Based at the Navy Yard. A Major Case Response Team."

"What will it do?"

"Take the lead on Major Cases," said Tom with a twinkle.

Respect for his Boss prevented Gibbs from saying, "Duh!" but his expression betrayed him nonetheless.

"Many agencies and police departments have them," relented Morrow, "They take responsibility for particular types of case. Murder, large thefts, espionage, threats to national security. You know the sort of thing. It seems to work well. Highly trained and highly focussed agents given the best facilities and support. I want you for the team, Jethro. Is it something you'd be interested in?"

"Sure," said Gibbs. "Who else is on the team?"

Morrow looked at his watch and grimaced. "Got another meeting to go to. Come back tomorrow at 08.00. I'll introduce you to the other people I have in mind." He stood to indicate the interview was over. He stretched out his hand, "Good to have you back in DC, Agent Gibbs."

"Thank you, Sir," said Gibbs equally formally as he shook the Director's hand.

"Meet downstairs," ordered the Director, "Mitcheson's old area. It's where I propose to put the new team. I'll take you all for coffee."

The promise of coffee reduced Gibbs' customary grim look and he nodded appreciatively.

NCISNCIS

Gibbs was cheerful as he walked into Chris Mitcheson's old office space the next day. He had enjoyed his work in Europe but was looking forward to this new challenge. His happiness dwindled a little when he saw the other people waiting.

A fresh-faced tall, blond man jumped to his feet as he saw Gibbs approach. Gibbs noticed that he was older than he first appeared and was probably in his late twenties.

"Morning, Sir," he said.

"Don't call me 'Sir'," said Gibbs automatically, "I work for a living."

"Oh," came the reply, "I didn't know. I didn't want to imply that you don't … don't work for a living, I mean."

"Keep it down," moaned the other person waiting.

Gibbs swivelled his eyes towards the speaker. Unlike fresh-faced Blond man who was dressed smartly and tidily this man was dishevelled, his hair was a mess and he needed a shave. He was also far from being fresh-faced as he was pale with dark shadows under his eyes as Gibbs saw as he momentarily lifted his face from his hands and gave him a feeble wave,

"Hi!" he said before putting his face back in his hands and groaning.

All Gibbs' feelings of propriety were offended and he was about to deliver a cutting rebuke when the Director came down the stairs.

"Good," he said, "I'm glad you're all here. Follow me, please. I've arranged for refreshments to be served in Conference Room 1."

Blond man almost stood to attention at Morrow's words and hurried to obey. Gibbs made to follow but then noticed that Dishevelled man appeared to be taking a nap, "Hey!" he thundered, "Director gave us an order!"

"What?" came the bleary reply as bloodshot eyes were lifted up once more. He gazed around dazedly and then spotted Morrow and Blond man striding away from them. "Oh," he acknowledged, "Oh, OK." He got to his feet and began to walk wearily after them. Gibbs restrained himself from ordering him to pick his feet up and move but did, rather pointedly, walk swiftly and straight-backed ahead of him.

"Gentlemen," said Morrow when they reached the conference room. "Help yourselves to drinks and pastries."

Blond man made himself a peppermint tea, selected a bran muffin and asked the Director what he wanted. Gibbs took two cups of black coffee and watched with disapproval as Dishevelled man took a coffee and added cream and four sugars.

When everyone was settled, Morrow looked around and began,

"As you know, SecNav has decided to set up a Major Case Response Team. You have each indicated that you would be willing to be its first members. I consider that each of you would bring a useful skillset to the new team. One of you has seen service in the Marine Corps as well as some years' service with NCIS," he paused. Blond guy's eyes moved to Gibbs' haircut as he worked out who was the former Marine. Dishevelled guy's whole attention seemed to be concentrated on stirring his coffee.

"One of you has had a … varied career in a number of police departments as well as having worked for this Agency for four years. And then there's Stanley our new recruit who comes to us having spent some time as a Senator's aide. I think that will give us a good range of experience," continued the Director.

Gibbs took a thoughtful gulp of his coffee as he considered that perhaps he should have pegged Dishevelled guy as a politician. He'd have to buck up his ideas if he wanted to be a NCIS agent; coming in to work having been partying all night was not a good start.

"Agent Gibbs," said Morrow, "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Gibbs turned a wounded look on the Director. This smacked of touchy feely stuff and was one of the reasons he avoided conferences and seminars like the plague.

"Gibbs," prompted the Director.

"Jethro Gibbs," said Gibbs, "Marine sniper. Joined NCIS few years back. Just back from a posting in Europe. Which is classified."

Tom sighed, "And … anything else you care to share? Any other skills?"

"I speak Russian," said Gibbs.

"Hobbies? Interests outside work?" pushed the Director who seemed to be having rather too much fun.

"Woodwork," said Gibbs grudgingly, "And sailing." He drained his first cup and started on the second with an air that suggested he didn't want to be interrupted again.

"Burley," said Tom, "As Gibbs did. But feel free to speak in longer sentences if you wish."

"Yes, Sir," said Blond guy. "Stanley Burley, Stan … well, I was aide to Senator Chong for three years …"

"What?" said Gibbs involuntarily.

"You know the Senator?" asked Stan.

"No," said Gibbs in apparent revulsion at the slur of suggesting he knew a politician. "You're the politician?"

"No, Sir. I mean, no, Agent Gibbs," said Burley, "I was, but not now."

"So, you're the cop," said Gibbs to Dishevelled man who yawned and said, "Good to meet you," before returning his attention to his coffee.

"Carry on," ordered Morrow.

"I was at Harvard before becoming an aide," said Stan, "I majored in Earth and Planetary Sciences and played football."

Dishevelled guy looked up from his coffee with the first look of interest he had displayed that morning.

"Thank you," said Morrow, "I should say that Agent Burley came third in his class at FLETC."

Gibbs nodded. He preferred hands-on training in the field but he recognised that this was an achievement.

"DiNozzo," said the Director, "your turn."

Dishevelled guy, now revealed to be called DiNozzo, yawned, "DiNozzo. Phys-ed major at Ohio State. Police departments in Peoria and Philadelphia and then moved to Baltimore where I made detective and lieutenant before the Director poached me to come to NCIS. Played football and basketball. Oh, and I like to go to the movies sometimes."

This time the snort came from the Director. "You'll learn that Agent DiNozzo is understating the case when he talks about movies," he said drily. "OK, gentlemen, introductions over. Here's what I propose: ten days for you to get acclimated to one another, find out your strengths and weaknesses, organise your work area and then I'll put the MCRT on rotation. Any questions?"

"No, Sir," said Gibbs, "I think we'll need to work on physical fitness first," he looked sternly at DiNozzo who was looking forlornly into his empty cup.

"That will be for Agent DiNozzo to decide," said the Director, "I won't be getting involved in the details of the new team."

"Sir?" asked Gibbs.

Morrow stood up, "Special Agent in Charge DiNozzo, I think we've got a good team here. Congratulations but I'm sure you know there's going to be a lot of people watching you all."

DiNozzo dragged himself to his feet. "Thank you, Director, we won't let you down."

The Director nodded and walked to the door, "This room is yours for the rest of the day if you need it. Good day, everyone."

DiNozzo slumped back into his chair and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Gibbs took the opportunity to come to terms with his shock. The Director had never said that he would be leading the new team but Gibbs had broken one of his rules and taken it for granted especially when he had seen his new co-workers who were all considerably younger than him.

"Look," said DiNozzo, "why don't we call it a day? I understand Agent Gibbs has only recently returned to DC: I'm sure he has chores at home to catch up on. Stan, you only finished at FLETC yesterday and you probably need to sort out your new accommodation. We'll start again tomorrow."

"Yes, Sir," said Burley agreeably.

"What about you?" asked Gibbs slightly less agreeably.

"What about me?" asked DiNozzo.

"What's your excuse for needing to finish early?"

DiNozzo looked puzzled but said, "I had a long night. See you tomorrow. 09.00 in our new squad room."

"But," said Gibbs, "Crime doesn't wait, you know. We should be getting ready."

"Thank you for pointing that out, Agent Gibbs," said Tony, "Tell you what, as you're so anxious to get moving, why don't you work on a PT schedule for us? It seems to be an area you're interested in."

"Right," said Gibbs.

DiNozzo stared at his new agent for a moment or two but then his eyelids drooped heavily and he gave it up. "I need coffee," he muttered, "And sugar. Lots of sugar."

Gibbs picked up his coffee and stalked out. Burley hesitated for a few seconds and then followed him.

"I'm looking forward to working with you, Agent Gibbs," he offered.

Gibbs turned to look at him and softened when he saw his obvious goodwill and sincerity. Stan reminded him of a half-grown Labrador puppy. "Yes," he said, "Me too. See you in the morning."

NCISNCIS

Gibbs was working on his boat that night when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Wow," came DiNozzo's voice, "You weren't kidding when you said you like woodwork and sailing! Have to hope you're into conjuring too."

"What?" asked Gibbs.

"How else are you going to get this thing out when it's finished?"

"I'll manage," said Gibbs brusquely.

"Sorry," said DiNozzo, "I come barging in and start criticizing you. I didn't mean to be rude. I did ring the doorbell and I knocked but you didn't answer and the door was open."

"Doorbell doesn't work," said Gibbs. "Door's always unlocked."

"I see," said DiNozzo in a tone of voice which suggested he didn't really.

Gibbs was used to this reaction and he looked as DiNozzo gazed somewhat bemusedly around the basement. He noticed that his new Boss looked a bit livelier than he had earlier in the day and seemed to have found time to shave and change clothes.

"Can I do something for you?" asked Gibbs.

"Yes," said DiNozzo ruefully, "I don't think we got off on the right foot this morning. I'm Anthony DiNozzo. People call me Tony."

Gibbs nodded. He had spent some of the day doing his own form of research into Tony and discovered that he came from a wealthy family and been privately educated. The scholarship to Ohio State and a career in law enforcement didn't quite gibe with that background but nobody had been able to suggest a reason for that. DiNozzo hadn't stayed much longer than two years at his first two police departments but seemed to have left on good terms from all of them and had stayed with Baltimore for four years.

"I'm looking forward to working with you, Agent Gibbs," said Tony.

Gibbs gazed back blankly. He thought this showed that Tony hadn't read his file; nobody looked forward to working with him. Tony returned the stare, half of him expected Gibbs to reply with a polite 'me too' but the other half (which had read the file) was more realistic. He changed tack.

"What you think of Stan?" he asked.

"Too early to say," said Gibbs before deciding that perhaps his new Boss deserved something more. "Seems eager."

"Reminds me of a Labrador puppy," said Tony thoughtfully.

Gibbs' head jerked up at this observation. Perhaps there was more to this guy than he'd thought.

"Well," said Tony, "I'd love to stay and chat but I've got places to be. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," said Gibbs as his temporary goodwill dissolved in the face of Tony's social commitments.

"Nice place," said Tony approvingly as he took one last look around the basement, "Your very own man-cave!"

"Man-cave," muttered Gibbs as Tony trotted up the stairs, "What's wrong with calling it a basement?"

NCISNCIS

Tony was already in the new squad room when Gibbs arrived the next morning.

"Morning, Agent Gibbs," he called out cheerily.

"Morning," said Gibbs. He directed one of his penetrating stares at DiNozzo but he seemed to be well rested this morning although Gibbs wasn't sure that his jeans and sweatshirt were suitable attire for a senior NCIS agent.

"Choose which desk you want, Agent Gibbs," said Tony. "Then I'll arrange for the It department to set up your computers."

"Computers?" asked Gibbs, "You mean as in more than one?"

"I know," agreed Tony heavily, "I thought one would be enough but apparently when the Director said we would be well-equipped he was talking about computers."

Gibbs sighed.

"Not much of a computer guy, I guess?" said Tony sympathetically. Gibbs shook his head. "Me neither," confessed Tony. "I've been doing some work out of Norfolk. There was a young guy there who's a real computer geek …"

"Freak?" queried Gibbs.

"Matter of opinion, I guess," said Tony, "But I said 'geek'. Anyways, I've got my eye on him for our team. He's the greenest thing that's not a vegetable I've ever seen but he's eager."

"Like a green Labrador," suggested Gibbs.

Tony beamed at this unexpected joke, "Exactly! I think we need some sort of computer nerd. You and I aren't going to be up to speed and I don't think it's Stan's specialty either."

"Where is he?" asked Gibbs looking at his watch which showed at 09.05.

"Here," said Stan hurrying in, "Sorry, I'm late."

Gibbs opened his mouth to deliver his normal bon mot about apologies but stopped when he realised it was Tony's job to deliver rebukes. Tony cocked his head in enquiry.

"I found a new place yesterday," said Stan a little breathlessly, "It took me longer to get here than I thought."

"You'll know tomorrow," said Tony after a slight pause.

"Yes, Sir," said Stan, "It won't happen again."

Tony nodded. Almost despite himself, Gibbs found he was impressed. The words had been bland and the gaze benign but there was something behind both that suggested that Tony would not tolerate any more tardiness.

"Agent Gibbs," said Tony, "You were going to work up some plans for our PT. Have you got anything for us?"

"Yes, made a start. Need to do some evaluations to fine tune it," replied Gibbs.

"OK," said Tony, "Let's get to it. Come on, Stan."

Burley looked slightly terrified at the thought of being 'evaluated' by Gibbs but showed his mettle by nodding calmly. Gibbs grinned a feral grin and Tony smiled benevolently at them both before leading them towards the gym.

Half an hour later Gibbs had to admit that his new co-workers were fitter than he'd expected although, as he looked at them both sprawled breathless and sweaty on the mats, he felt they had a way to go before they reached his standards.

"You need to work on your stamina," he told them.

Stan managed to catch his breath, "Don't we have cars to chase the bad guys in?" he gasped. "How far do you expect us to run after them?"

Tony huffed a laugh, "I chased someone down for two miles once," he said. "They got away in the end. Guess I needed someone like Agent Gibbs as my personal trainer."

Stan looked depressed at this and sank back to the mat. Gibbs bent over him with a sympathetic look and patted him on the shoulder. Stan looked at him hopefully but the hope drained from his face when Gibbs announced,

"Hand to hand! Want to check your fighting skills. And before you ask, I know you've got a gun. You don't get to shoot all your suspects."

Tony groaned but rolled to his feet and extended a hand to help Stan up.

"I'll go first," he said, "take the edge off Agent Gibbs."

Stan nodded gratefully and tottered over to a bench to watch Gibbs and DiNozzo sparring. DiNozzo was once again better than Gibbs had expected but he didn't stand much of a chance against Gibbs' superior skills. As he hit the ground for the tenth time he looked up at Gibbs and said ruefully,

"I sure hope you're not going easy on me!"

Gibbs gave his version of a smile. "You've got some skills," he acknowledged, "And that was a sneaky trick with your left foot."

"Usually works," said Tony glumly.

"We can work on it," said Gibbs. "Burley! You're up!"

Tony took his turn watching and observed that Gibbs didn't try to prove he was better than Stan but was testing him to see where his strengths and weaknesses lay and took care not to undermine him too much. Not that he let Stan put him down on the floor. At the end of the session Stan knew very clearly that Gibbs was the better fighter but he didn't feel demoralised by the experience but rather determined to get better. Tony acknowledged that it was well done by Gibbs. He stood up and clapped his hands.

"OK," he said, "we'll break for lunch. Agent Gibbs, I suggest we do an hour's PT first thing each morning. You draw up a schedule for us."

"OK," said Gibbs.

"And for yourself," said Tony, "You don't want to get fat watching us sweat."

Gibbs nodded.

"Back in the squad room at 13.00," ordered Tony, "we're going to the shooting range this afternoon."

In deference to Gibbs' history as a sniper Tony let Gibbs take the lead in putting them all through their paces at the shooting range although he drew the line at Gibbs putting Stan's phone on his target.

"I want to be able to contact you all at any time," he said, "So, no putting bullets through your cell. That won't wash as an excuse."

"Never be unreachable," murmured Gibbs.

Once again Gibbs was pleased with the standard of Stan and Tony. He thought that Stan needed more practice away from the rarefied atmosphere of the range but suspected that Tony, over these short distances, was probably as good as himself. Gibbs thought he might give Tony a run for his money over long distances but had to concede that there weren't many times that a NCIS agent needed to be a sniper.

Tony was pleased with the first full day of training. Gibbs seemed to have enjoyed showing them what to do and Stan had begun to relax a little: Tony hoped the sense of being a team was beginning to grow …

AN: it seems to me that shows and movies often have a youngish leader with a grizzled older person acting as second – I thought it would be interesting to explore that dynamic and have Tony as lead and Gibbs as his second in command.