Yankee White – "You Did What, Boss?"

Tony was putting in the finishing touches on his paperwork so they could wrap up their most recent case, one that had involved the poisoning deaths of two Naval officers and an attempt on the President of the United States aboard Air Force One. The case had been unusual, and had required Tony to go above and beyond, but since coming to work for one Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs almost two years ago, Tony had learned that there was no such thing as a "usual" case anymore in his world. He carefully adjusted his position, still sore from being unceremoniously dumped out of the trunk of FBI Agent Fornell's car on his butt in the middle of the Beltway. He supposed he could now add posing as a dead body to the list of crazy things he'd done since coming to NCIS. Tony smiled slightly at the thought, musing that the boys back in Baltimore would never believe him even if he tried to tell them that story. Lost in his reverie, he failed to hear his boss coming up behind him until…

"Dinozzo!"

"Yes, Boss!" Tony was only slightly startled, but recovered quickly. Gibbs had an uncanny ability to sneak up behind people, but Agent Dinozzo was finally learning to expect it. One of these days, he was going to learn to detect his boss' presence and beat him at his own game.

"When you wrap up your paperwork, I need you to clear everything out of the spare desk."

Tony was a bit taken aback by this order. Since Agent Blackadder had been let go, her desk had been used to collect everything from office supplies to cold case files they were working on. He'd gotten quite used to not only using the space as storage, but to there not being another agent stationed across from him.

"Something you aren't telling me, Gibbs?"

Gibbs paused ever-so-slightly, almost imperceptibly bracing himself, a gesture that would go largely unnoticed to anyone who didn't know him very well. Agent Dinozzo, however, would normally have caught the brief expression had he not been taken so by surprise at the directive he'd been given. Then, as nonchalantly as possible, Gibbs replied, "I offered former Secret Service Agent Todd a position on our team. She's gonna need to sit somewhere."

"You did what, Boss?" The younger agent really hadn't meant for his voice to squeak so much on the "what." In fact, he realized too late that he'd come across sounding more like a petulant child than an NCIS Special Agent just now. Gibbs merely fixed one of his famous stares on Tony, the one that indicated that his boss was not in the mood to repeat himself. In an effort to salvage what remained of his professionalism at the moment, Tony quickly nodded and added an even "I mean, I'm on it, Boss."

"Good. Going for coffee." With that, Special Agent Gibbs was heading for his part-time office, otherwise known as the elevator.

Tony sat there for a moment, trying to process the news he'd just received. Logically, he knew that he and Gibbs couldn't function forever as a two-man team and would eventually need to fill the opening created by the dismissal of Agent Blackadder. He also knew that Caitlyn Todd had the potential to be a good agent and partner, at least on paper. She had to be smart to be a Secret Service agent, adding to that her relatively young age and the fact that she was a female in a profession still dominated by males. It was certainly impressive. So, why did he suddenly feel so unsettled? Well, he reasoned, Agent Todd had also struck him as bossy, uptight, and somewhat humorless. And what was with Gibbs being so overly polite with her? Abby had noted that he'd even said "please" when asking her if he could tag along on Air Force One. Gibbs never said "please." This couldn't be good. He pushed down the other troublesome thoughts that were threatening to make themselves known, convincing himself that he was merely concerned about how Agent Todd would be able to adjust to being an NCIS agent and to working for Gibbs, who was certain not to maintain his former politeness with her for very long. He was just looking out for the team, that was all.

And he was disappointed. He'd always secretly hoped Gibbs would fill the open slot with a green young agent fresh out of FLETC, someone he could train, haze, take under his wing. Sort of like the "little brothers" he'd had in his college fraternity. Those had been the happiest times of his life, when he'd finally felt like he belonged somewhere, like he was admired, respected, looked up to, maybe even loved, in a way. It was a feeling he'd never really found again. People had always ended up letting him down. He had just started to feel a tiny bit of that sense of belonging again at NCIS, but now things were changing, and he was inclined to believe that Caitlin Todd was going to upset the apple cart. He had a good thing going with Gibbs and he didn't want to ruin it. Maybe he hadn't quite reached the place of "belonging," but at least he trusted the man, and after the disaster in Baltimore, that counted for a lot.

Still, he recalled with a mixture of relief and anxiety that his two-year anniversary with NCIS was coming up soon. And he still hadn't removed all of his personal belongings from storage yet. It was always good to be prepared.

As the elevator doors slid to a close, Leroy Jethro Gibbs took a deep breath. To be honest, he'd been nervous about telling Tony that Agent Todd would be joining their team, and even now he would not necessarily say that the revelation had gone particularly well.

Anthony Dinozzo was the most promising agent he'd ever had on his team. He was also by far the most difficult to figure out. Oh, he'd known from the beginning that there was a lot more to the young man than the frat-boy image he showed to the world. For one thing, he hadn't really adopted the frat-boy persona fully until he actually showed up for work officially at NCIS. When Gibbs had worked with him in Baltimore, he'd been a bit different, but that was before discovering the partner he'd trusted was dirty and the woman he'd loved hadn't loved him back enough to spend the rest of her life with him. The change in him was noticeable immediately to Gibbs, who initially thought that the kid just needed a change, along with some time. Now, however, the older man realized that it was likely that neither of the first two versions of Tony Dinozzo he'd encountered had been the "real" man. Tony had a mask for every situation, hiding a multitude of insecurities and Gibbs had a feeling that in two years' time, he'd still barely scratched the surface.

When they'd lost Blackadder, Gibbs knew they'd eventually have to fill her spot, but he had delayed it, rejecting every "probie" Director Morrow had offered him. He was tired of going through short-term agents, and he wasn't adding anyone else to his team that he hadn't at least personally approved. Handpicking Dinozzo had worked out exceptionally well and he secretly hoped that, in time, a similar opportunity would present itself. Meanwhile, Dinozzo had done an admirable job adjusting to the increased workload, coming in late nights, working weekends, all without more than a cursory complaint. They had actually functioned remarkably efficiently with just the two of them, but it wasn't fair to Dinozzo to expect that for the long-term. Contrary to his reputation, Agent Gibbs really did want his agents to have a life outside NCIS. It was enough to have a team leader who spent his nights in his basement with a bottle of bourbon, but Dinozzo was still young. He should be living his life, meeting women, someday settling down and having a family. He was not about to be the one to take that opportunity away from the younger man.

However, he'd also known instinctively that Dinozzo wouldn't see it that way. From Tony's reaction, he surmised that he'd been right. While Tony was a master at schooling his expression, Gibbs was beginning to learn that he could read the younger man's true feelings in the brief moment of initial reaction. And in that moment, before the well-rehearsed "On it, Boss" he'd eventually received, Gibbs hadn't liked what he saw. He read the expression as a mixture of fear, insecurity, and even hurt.

Now, interpreting the meaning behind Dinozzo's fleeting expressions was something Gibbs hadn't quite mastered. He'd guessed at the source of the hurt pretty easily. Tony was hurt that Gibbs hadn't asked for his opinion. He was probably right about that, Gibbs conceded. With his years in law enforcement, Tony probably would have had some valuable insight, but really he was under no obligation to consult with his subordinate on his hiring practices, was he? He'd decided he wanted Caitlyn Todd on his team almost immediately. He liked her spirit and her fearlessness in standing up to him. Tony had displayed those same qualities when they'd first worked together. He started training her in the finer points of investigating without her even realizing why at first, sharing some of his "rules," teaching her about how to handle a crime scene, handle evidence. How convenient that she'd had to resign from the Secret Service. It had certainly made things easy for him. It was a bit troubling that she'd broken the rules, but he'd make Rule 12 crystal clear for her. After her last experience, he had no real concern that she'd be ready to try a relationship with a colleague anytime soon anyway.

The fear, the insecurity he'd seen on Tony's face – that bothered him much more. Dinozzo was a trained investigator, one of the best he'd ever worked with. And in addition, he had a talent for putting pieces together that no one else could see. His mind made the connections that needed to be made to tie together seemly unrelated facts, and he was better at this than anyone Gibbs had ever worked with. Agent Todd, on the other hand, was a profiler. Their skills were complementary. Couldn't Dinozzo see that she was no threat to his place on the team?

Tony was a professional. He'd get over this. Still, there was a nagging in Gibbs' gut, one that reminded him of Dinozzo's propensity to cut ties and move on every couple of years, before he got too close. And Tony's two-year anniversary was fast approaching. He hadn't quite gotten out in time in Baltimore and had been deeply hurt, and Gibbs had a feeling that experience, still somewhat fresh in Tony's mind, would further work against his efforts to encourage Tony to put down his roots with NCIS. If he sensed a problem, even an imaginary one, that may be enough to send him looking elsewhere.

Gibbs wasn't quite sure what to do. So he decided to pay a visit to the person he often turned to when faced with an interpersonal dilemma. When he returned from his coffee run, he'd pay a visit to Ducky.

Steaming hot coffee in hand, Gibbs strolled through the automatic doors into autopsy where his friend and colleague sat studying a case file.

"Oh, hello, Jethro. I suppose you've come to fill me in on the newest addition to your team?"

"Let me guess. Abby told you."

Ducky let out a small chuckle. "Yes, Abigail is quite excited by the news. I believe she said something about 'girl power.' It seems she already has big plans for Miss Todd and herself."

"At least things are starting out better this time than with Dinozzo." Gibbs never learned exactly what had taken place between Abby and Tony during their first meeting, but he had spent a fortune in Caf-Pows trying to convince the forensic scientist to give his new agent another chance. It was rare for Abby to form a negative first impression of anyone, but when she did it was nearly impossible to change her mind. To Dinozzo's credit, while he had a unique ability to annoy and anger people, he also had an equally unique charm when he wanted to. Somehow, he'd managed to not only earn a second chance from Abby, but to become one of her favorite people. Yet another puzzle about Dinozzo he was still trying to solve.

"Speaking of Anthony, I am quite curious as to how he responded to the news."

"Didn't say too much, Duck."

"Hm. I must say, I am rather unused to hearing that particular complaint in regards to our Anthony. You, perhaps…"

"Yeah, well, I guess I didn't really give him a chance to say too much."

"Well, what did your infamous gut tell you?"

"That he wasn't too happy with me," Gibbs sighed.

"Oh, I very much doubt that he is upset with you. The young man looks up to you a great deal. I would surmise that he has some doubts about Agent Todd. And of course there is the young man's persistent insecurity, of which I know you are well aware."

"Do you have doubts about Agent Todd?"

"Well, no, not about her ability. Perhaps a few curiosities pertaining to how her presence will affect our little family. Ms. Todd will not hesitate to disagree with either Tony or with you, Jethro. And I am not quite certain as to how she will react to Dinozzo's sometimes rather juvenile antics. She is used to a very different working environment. It will likely take some adjusting for everyone."

"I don't like 'yes men'"

"Or 'yes women''?

"You know what I mean. Dinozzo wasn't afraid of me either and he's worked out ok."

"Yes, for the most part, I'd say better than just 'ok.' But you remember how competitive Anthony was when you had other agents on your team. He seems to have a deep-seated fear of being outdone, or worse yet, replaced. And you know how much importance the young man places on your good opinion. Agent Todd's background must be somewhat troublesome for him. She isn't a trained investigator, but she certainly isn't a Probie, either."

"She's a profiler. It's a different skill set, one we could use. I'm not lookin' to replace anybody."

"I, of course, know that, Jethro. But however irrational, Anthony has a need to be your best agent at everything. I am afraid he fears becoming irrelevant to you."

"You know, he's never taken all his stuff out of storage."

"Really?"

"That's between you and me. He has no idea that I know that."

"Oh, you can trust me Jethro. I won't breathe a word of it. Do you think he is considering leaving us?"

"I really don't know, Duck. He does have a history. I thought I might be getting him to trust us, but I can't keep us a two-man team for much longer. Morrow is breathing down my neck to fill that position and I want to have a say. Agent Todd has a lot of potential. I can't hurt my team because my agent might get his feelings hurt."

"No, of course not."

"You know how lousy I am with touchy-feely stuff. Any suggestions?"

"Do nothing."

"Seriously, Duck? I came all the way down here for that?"

At this, combined with the expression of dismay on Agent Gibbs' face, Ducky smiled and replied, "The worst thing you can do is to start to treat Anthony differently. You know how uncomfortable he gets when he believes you are being too nice to him, and if you are any harsher, well, that would be unbearable as well I'm afraid. And you don't want to drive away Agent Todd before she even begins."

Gibbs looked unconvinced so Ducky added, "Have a little faith, Jethro. Perhaps it will all work out even better than you'd hoped."

A frustrated Gibbs turned to leave, muttering to himself about how Dinozzo should have come with an instruction manual. At this, Doctor Mallard sadly replied, to no one in particular, "Ah, Jethro, I fear there has never been anyone in that young man's life who would be qualified to write one."