Antidote
Summary: Not part of my 'Lessons' series. Tim has been acting awfully smug lately, and someone knows just how to respond to that. Spoilers for Toxic.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm just playing with them.
A/N: This isn't part of my 'Lessons' series and bears no relationship to the larger plot arc developed there. It's just a knee-jerk response to Tim's insufferable smugness in Season 6, and his behaviour in Toxic in particular.
Tim glanced at the basket of cleaning supplies with his name on it – literally – and looked back at Abby in astonishment. She couldn't be serious! He had degrees from Johns Hopkins and MIT and she wanted him to get down on his hands and knees and scrub the floor?
Ok, maybe his attempt to follow her instructions had been a bit of a disaster and had made a bit of a mess, but it wasn't as if she would have to clean it up! They had people for that. So, this couldn't even be explained as a common courtesy thing. It was pure vindictive humiliation.
Well, he wasn't going along with her little game.
He rounded the workbench in a couple of strides and reached for the remote that Abby had used to lock the door. She tried to snatch it away, but he knew exactly where to find a ticklish spot that made her squeal and tuck her arms into her sides, relaxing her grip on the device. Tim plucked it from her hand and quickly keyed in the code.
The door swung open, and Tim stepped into the hallway without a backwards glance at Tony and Palmer, who were both diligently scrubbing away.
He found himself face to face with Gibbs.
'Boss!'
'Get back in there, McGee.'
'But, Boss... Abby... I... uh...'
'Move it, McGee!'
Tim retreated back through the door through which he'd almost made his escape.
'DiNozzo, Palmer, you're dismissed.'
The two men looked up at him in surprise. The sight of Gibbs's face was enough to persuade Tony that that was definitely an order, not a suggestion, and he scrabbled to his feet. Palmer hesitated a moment longer, but his instinct for self-preservation finally kicked in and he realised that he didn't want to be caught in the middle of whatever was about to happen. The two men scurried out of the lab without a backwards glance.
Abby was glowering at Gibbs, annoyed that he'd vetoed her plan to teach her colleagues not to mess with her lab.
'Nice try, Abbs, but I'll take it from here.'
'But, Gibbs! I...'
'I know. Go on.'
With a final, smouldering grumble, she left, leaving Tim alone with his boss.
'Boss, I...'
'Zip it, McGee. Abby's not the only one who thinks you need an attitude adjustment.'
'But, Boss...'
'I told you to zip it! Now, you're a damn good agent, or you wouldn't be on my team. But there's a difference between confidence and smugness, and you seem to be having a bit of trouble figuring that out lately. And you seem to need a reminder that being part of a team means working together, not acting superior to everyone around you.'
'I'm not...''
'You are, McGee, so I'm going to take you down a peg.'
Tim paled.
'Oh, God... are you taking me to the gym?'
Gibbs chuckled.
'No. The Corps has much better ways for dealing with an over-inflated ego, than wiping the floor with you in the ring.'
Tim blanched even whiter.
'Uh, Boss... I'm not a Marine...'
'No kidding, McGee. Doesn't mean you can't learn a thing or two about how the Corps does things.'
Tim was feeling decidedly uneasy about this.
He watched as Gibbs gathered up Abby's baskets of cleaning supplies, stacking them neatly on a table in one corner of the room. At least he was getting out of having to wash the floor, he thought.
Gibbs stepped around a last bucket of water that was still in the middle of the floor and came to a stop right in front of Tim.
'Now, you are going to scour this lab from top to bottom. I don't want to see a single speck of dust, anywhere, by the time you are done. Is that clear, McGee?'
Tim just looked at him, mouth open, horrified.
'If you don't like how I discipline my team, McGee, I'm sure the Director would be happy to move you back to cybercrimes. Probably even give you a team of your own, down there.'
Tim shook his head furiously. He'd grown to like being in a leadership role, but he'd missed the field work. And he'd missed working with his friends. He'd even missed working for Gibbs. It wasn't just the prestige of being part of the Agency's leading investigative team. There was something about this gruff ex-Marine that commanded his respect and loyalty, as well as a little bit of fear. He wasn't going to give all that up.
His shoulders slumping, he sighed and turned away. He took a single step towards the tidied-away cleaning supplies, wondering why Gibbs had bothered.
'McGee.'
He turned back to his boss, his eyes widening in horror at the sight of the object in his hand.
Swallowing hard, he reached out and took the toothbrush.