The Grass Could be Greener
Preface:
Switch
Rossi: "You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice, will prove instead to be the greatest investment you will ever make." – Gordon B. Hinckley
It was a Saturday night at the BAU, Hotch had called them all, but told them that they wouldn't need their go-bags. This was a meeting Recall, not a case. The room was quiet, the whole office was still, no one was there this late on a Saturday unless they were ordered to be, which the BAU had been. Everyone wondered what was so immediate that it required Hotch to call everyone back in from an all too infrequent weekend off, just for a meeting. The feeling of apprehension and excitement was only heightened by the fact that the only times this had ever happened before, had heralded either the departure of one team member, or the adding of a new one. They were all gathered around the round table in the conference room, but Hotch had yet to join them. They each shot questioning looks at each other, each wondering if any of the others knew what this was about, but each of them was just as confused as the others. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Hotch came in.
"Good Evening Sir, what's going on?" Garcia asked apprehensively.
Hotch's only direct reply was an: I'll explain in a moment Look.
"Thank you all for coming. The Joint Chiefs have made the decision to create a program in which two teams from different agencies will swap agents for two weeks at a time. We have been chosen and ordered to participate. Beginning Monday, one of us will report to NCIS's DC field team, and one of them will be here with us. They've told me that they've tried to minimize disruption by matching the agents they switch at the same time in terms of skill set and personality. Reid, you'll be first… Starting Monday you will report to SSA Gibbs at NCIS." Hotch explained.
"Gibbs…?" Rossi asked in surprise. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"
"Yes?" Hotch answered questioningly.
"You know him or something Rossi?" Morgan asked.
"Um yeah… he's a marine… I was actually his Commanding Officer in basic training… hard to imagine the skinny little wise ass I used to know as a Unit Chief at the head of a team of federal agents… but I actually haven't seen him in twenty three years… He's a good guy, smart, no nonsense…no real patience for bureaucracy or politics, but he can sniff out bad guys faster than a bloodhound…last I heard he was injured and spent nine days in a coma…he woke up after he'd already rotated home and that was the last I ever saw of him."
"Sir do we really have to do this?" Garcia asked.
"Garcia this goes higher than the director, we don't have a choice."
Meanwhile at NCIS…
Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, Kate, Abby, Ducky, and Palmer were having a discussion of their own, about what the next few months would be like.
"When was this decided?" Ducky asked.
"Apparently they've been sitting on this for a while, figuring out how it's all gonna work and which teams they were going to match with which. Now that they've made their decision, it's happening."
"What do you mean they're going to switch us?" Tony exclaimed, at the end of a similar meeting facilitated by Gibbs.
"Wait, so who is switching whom?" Ziva asked, not quite grasping what was going on.
"For the next two weeks, one of us will join the behavioral analysis unit, and one of their agents will take that person's place on this team."
"But that's ridiculous…" Ziva replied.
Gibbs nodded in agreement. "And above my pay grade, Vance's too. We don't have a choice. It's about building interagency relationships and cooperation. Higher Ups seem to think we'll all work better if we learn from each other and learn to cooperate. The first switch started on Monday…" he replied frustrated.
"Who's going first? Abby asked.
"McGee, on Monday you report to SSA Hotchner…" He said, answering Abby's question and giving McGee his marching orders at the same time.
Abby hugged McGee possessively in response, resting her chin on his shoulder. She gave Gibbs a please don't make him go look.
"Not my choice Abby…" Gibbs replied.
"It's just for two weeks though right?" Abby asked.
"Unless the current case on either team when the two weeks is up lasts longer than that." Gibbs explained. "If the case takes longer then they stay in their current positions until that case closes, then they go home and bring the next switch pair back with them." Gibbs answered.
"So that's it?" Tony asked, half expecting yet another rug to be torn right out from under them.
"That's how it works… now go home. Get some sleep… McGee, see you in two weeks, hopefully, the rest of you, I want you in by six-fifteen on Monday…" Gibbs ordered, and the meeting dispersed.