"How could you have been given the team leader role while Gibbs is in court?" McGee asked for the hundredth time. "I'm way more dependable and qualified than you are, DiNozzo!"

"Only an idiot would put another idiot in charge of the main MCRT, Tim," said Kate. "Don't worry about it, Gibbs will be back soon, and then he'll see just how much of a mistake this is."

"That's just it, isn't it," said Tony in a flat tone. "You all think I'm stupid, that I don't know anything- that I can't know anything if you don't. Well, guess what? I know more than both of you combined."

Tony stood up and collected the file he had been reading. He ignored the looks of disbelief on his team's faces as he headed for the elevator, laughter from several other agents ringing in his ears.

By the time Tony had reached the courtyard outside the NCIS building, tears were beginning to slide down his cheeks. He was very hurt this time. He had thought that he was respected by the two other agents on the team, but he now understood that he was wrong. They only tolerated him because Gibbs was around, and they were afraid of getting into trouble. They both thought he was stupid.

"Hi, Tony," said a woman's voice as he continued to walk towards a secluded area of the yard. "Don't tell me you've forgotten about me."

Tony didn't look up. He knew who was talking, knew she would follow him to his little hideaway. He knew that she had probably picked up on his pain, too.

"What's going on, Tony?"

Tony sat on the park bench in his quiet hideaway before looking up at his friend. She was as beautiful as the first time he had met her almost two years before, the only difference being the look of concern on her face.

"Hi, Paula," said Tony quietly as he looked away again.

"What happened? I have honestly never seen you cry before."

"I'm fine." He wiped away the tear tracks on his face, knowing that he couldn't really hide it.

"No, you aren't. Talk to me, Tony." Paula Cassidy gave him an encouraging smile. For all the arguing and teasing the two did, she still very much cared about Tony. It was like having a younger brother to look after. "Who upset you?"

"Why does everyone think I'm stupid?" Tony asked suddenly, surprising Paula.

"Err… I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about, Tony," answered Paula in confusion.

"It's not just McGee and Kate- they voiced what everyone is thinking. Am I really that stupid?" he rambled without hearing Paula.

"Tony, stop." Paula grabbed Tony's hand and squeezed it to get his attention. "You are not stupid, regardless of what anyone thinks or says. You are one of the smartest people I have ever met. You just tend to put up a front around the people that aren't close to you, a front that makes you seem like you're an irresponsible clown. When they see the real Tony DiNozzo, they'll be begging you to forgive them."

Tony actually smiled a little at Paula's words. "Thanks, Paula," he said, "I'm glad you stopped by when you did."

"I was coming to see Gibbs. I just happened to notice you walking in a hurry out of the building."

"Didn't anyone tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Gibbs is in court this week. He's a witness in a murder case."

Paula suddenly realised why people were now choosing to call Tony stupid out loud. "And you are running the team, aren't you?"

"I'm supposed to be. It's a bit hard to do when your team think you're an idiot."

"Well, why don't we go back inside and show them who's stupid?" Paula asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"What are you planning?" Tony asked cautiously.

"You'll see…" she replied with a cheeky grin.

Tony walked into the bullpen a few minutes after Paula. He had stopped off at a bathroom to wash his face once Paula had convinced him to go back inside, and he was now curious about what Paula was planning to do. He was surprised to find that Abby, Ducky and Palmer were also up in the bullpen, and his mind started to wander back to the misery he still felt at the back of his mind. Were they also thinking he was stupid?

"Hey, Tony, come and see this," said Abby gleefully. She grabbed his hand and pulled towards Gibbs' desk.

One look at the rest of his team told Tony that he didn't need to worry about being humiliated again- they looked upset and hurt.

Serve them right, thought Tony automatically.

"What do you think?" Paula asked after a couple of minutes. "I had Abby help me put this together."

Tony looked at the screen behind Gibbs' desk again, this time taking in what he was looking at. He couldn't help smiling when he saw that Abby and Paula had put pictures of the four team members on the screen, each with writing beneath it. He carefully read what was underneath Gibbs' picture.

Team Leader- MCRT; Masters Degree in Criminology; former Marine sniper

Tony was impressed with his boss' degree, but he already knew the rest, so he moved on to read what was underneath Kate's photo.

Junior agent- MCRT; Diploma in Criminal Profiling; former Secret Service (fired)

Next came McGee's photo, and Tony was delighted with what he read:

Probationary agent- MCRT; former NCIS Cyber Crimes agent (transferred); Computer Sciences degree- Johns Hopkins; Criminology degree- MIT

The final photo was of Tony, and, even though he knew what was there, he read it anyway.

Senior Field Agent- MCRT; former Baltimore PD detective (resigned); former Peoria PD officer (transferred); former Philadelphia PD officer (transferred); Criminology degree- Johns Hopkins (online); working towards Masters Degree in Criminology (online); Phys. Ed. Degree (Ohio State University); Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice (online)

"Did we cover everything, Tony?" asked Paula.

Tony didn't speak, he just nodded. He was shocked that they had done this, but he was also relieved. Nobody could ever say that he was stupid after seeing the screen, and he had a feeling that nobody would ever call him stupid again.

"Th… Thanks, Paula. Thank you, Abby," said Tony after a moment. "I really appreciate what you've done for me today."