No one had taken the news easily. To say that the it had brought the entire world to a halt wouldn't even have been an exaggeration. It was a lot to swallow. And it was inevitable that some would react to the strange and world-altering revelation more gracefully than others...

But that didn't mean Gibbs wasn't surprised to hear that his senior field agent had locked himself in a supply closet.

In all it took him over an hour and the promise that Ziva and McGee weren't watching to coax DiNozzo out into the light. And if he looked a little paler than normal under his tan, at least his usual cocky grin was back in place. Even if it didn't completely meet his eyes.

His other two agents were diplomatically silent when Gibbs returned to the bullpen with Tony following closely on his heels. Though, that might have been because their attention was still focused on the frantic debates showing on the plasma. Gibbs kept a close eye on Tony as they all watched, and though the younger man was still tense, Gibbs had a feeling he was probably going to be okay.

Though he was forced to reassess that when DiNozzo's composure broke completely, pressing hands over his face as he dissolved into a fit of manic giggles. Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"Problem, DiNozzo?"

He was rewarded with a strangled "no, boss", made completely unconvincing by the continued shaking of the agent's shoulders. Gibbs glanced over at Tony, raising an eyebrow. Dropping his hands, DiNozzo gestured helplessly at the woman on the screen. As unusual as the whole situation was, there was nothing about the spokeswoman-a Ms. Flanagan-that Gibbs found particularly funny.

Then, with a final choking snort, he DiNozzo managed to blurt out, "I see dead people!"

McGee's brief laugh burst out sharply, and even Ziva's lips were pressed tightly with the tremendous effort to keep a straight face. Gibbs just rolled his eyes and counted to three in his head before giving DiNozzo the smack that they all knew was coming. Oddly it seemed to calmed the agent down like nothing else had.

"Get back to work."

Turning sharply, he headed for the elevator. It wasn't until the doors closed that he allowed a smile to show on his face.

Maybe the world was never going to be the same, but some things never changed.