Special Agent Timothy McGee poked his head anxiously round the door leading into the largest conference room at NCIS headquarters. The room was often used for agency wide seminars and award ceremonies but today it was the scene of the first Annual NCIS Art Exhibition. The contest was to be judged anonymously and the entrants had been given ten minute time slots in which to bring their exhibits in without being seen.

It was 14.32 and, therefore, Tim's turn. Other people had been in before but, as Tim entered the room, he couldn't see any other offerings on display. Dr Rachel Cranston appeared from behind a screen at the end of the room and held out her hand – she had been chosen as the person to receive the entries as she had taken the Hippocratic oath of confidentiality and was also felt to be above taking part in the various pools and bets which had swept NCIS since the competition was announced.

She smiled a professional smile at Tim and cast an appraising look at what he placed in her hand.

'Name?'

'Timothy McGee'.

'It's a self portrait?'

Tim shook his head frantically. 'No, no ... my name is Ti ... but you know that, don't you. The er.. picture ...um... entry is called ... you know, I didn't know I had to give it a title. B..but that's not its name either.

'I'll call it 'untitled' then, shall I?' Dr Cranston took pity on Tim. Apart from anything else he had already used up eight of his allotted minutes. He nodded gratefully and left the room and made his way back to his desk in the bullpen. Tony, Ziva and Abby were already there having already made their 'deposits'. Not for the first time McGee wished he had been somewhere else on that fateful day ... doing something more pleasant, perhaps being struck down with stomach flu or practising self defence with Ziva

Flashback:

Gibbs swept into the bull pen and flung pieces of paper on the desks of his agents.

'Art competition next week in aid of NCIS Benevolent Fund. $20 to enter ... fill the entry forms in.'

Tony had opened his mouth to speak, already with an apologetic look on his face. Gibbs stared at him with his head slightly to one side. Tony shut his mouth and pulled out his pen,

'Filling in the form, Boss.'

Ziva began to wave her hand in one of her exotic gestures and also opened her mouth to speak. Gibbs turned his glare towards her. She also closed her mouth and picked up a pen.

'Of course.'

Gibbs turned his eyes towards McGee – who was already filling out the form. Gibbs smiled slightly and jerked his head back. Sometimes his job was FUN!

Present day.

Ducky had called it a 'three line whip'. Apparently it was something from the British Parliament which meant that all members of parliament were required to vote even if they didn't want to or were in the process of dying. Somehow Gibbs had invented an American version which required all members of his team to take part in the competition. That was why there so many people waiting outside the conference room/art gallery to see where their exhibits had been placed.

McGee was a bit late – he had been absorbed in defragging Gibbs' computer and hadn't noticed the time. When the program finished he felt a wave of satisfaction for a job well done which would, hopefully, mean that Gibbs would no longer feel the need to take a baseball bat to his innocent machine. The well remembered sound of wood against plastic sill sent a shiver through McGee. Now he looked up and saw that the office was deserted. He shot out of his seat and raced up the stairs to the conference room.

As he went in he spotted Tony standing in front of a picture and saw him lean forward to adjust its position slightly and then stand back with his head on one side as he considered the adjustment he had made. McGee took a moment to look at the picture and then blinked; perhaps his eyes were tired from looking at the computer screen. He rubbed them and looked again. He drew near to Tony in horror.

'Tony, have you gone mad?'

Tony looked round with a look of surprise.

'McRenoir, what's got your paint brushes in a bristle?'

Tim waved a hand at the picture. 'Abstract' would be a kind word for it – swirls of purple, orange, grey and luminous pink sprawled across the enormous canvas and met in a vortex of blacks and murky greens in the centre.

'It's awful.' Spluttered McGee, 'it looks like a child did it ... a child with a bag over its head. And that stupid title 'A vOiD 4'. What does that mean?

'Well,' said Tony calmly, ' I guess it's the fourth in a series of voids. And the kid can't have had a bag over its head – the lines are very neatly painted. I thought it had something about it'.

'Gibbs is going to head slap you into next week when he sees it. He's taken this very seriously and you ... you've just made a joke out of it.'

'You're the one who let a computer program make doodles and then just printed it out Not sure that will meet the Boss's brief' came Tony's riposte.

'How do you know that?' asked Tim in a worried voice. He looked at Tony and one glance at the smug expression on his face told him that Tony had been guessing and he had been suckered again. Tim gathered his dignity around him like a tattered painter's smock and tried a comeback,

'Well, I am going now and I suggest you 'a void' Gibbs forever.'

He backed away and bumped into Director Vance who had come to stand behind them. The Director looked at Tim a bit more coolly than normal.

'Special Agent McGee, have you got something to say about this picture?'

Tim was loyal to his co-workers and bravely shook his head. He wouldn't drop DiNozzo into any more trouble than he was already in.

'No, Sir, no. I was just saying how colorful it was. I ...I'm going to go and look at the other ... um, I'm going now.'

Director Vance nodded and moved to stand behind DiNozzo.

'So, Special Agent DiNozzo, perhaps you could explain the meaning of this painting?'

McGee looked back and saw the two men still positioned in front of the picture. As he watched, he saw Tony give a respectful nod to the Director and then, he was sure he saw him wink at Vance. Tim decided to calm himself down by going round to look at the other exhibits. 'Carotid catastrophe', a large photograph in various shades of red and black did nothing to soothe him. Now, at least, he knew what Abby had been working so hard on.

He saw Jimmy Palmer standing in front of a picture. He looked at it closely. It looked like a painting by numbers kit from a craft store but the colors surely weren't those suggested by the manufacturer. What he assumed was the sky seemed to be green and the trees were red and the numbers were showing through. Jimmy looked miserable.

'is this yours, Palmer?' asked McGee. Jimmy nodded,

'I'm color blind and I got the numbers mixed up. Breena wasn't home when I started and I was in a hurry so couldn't check with her. And by the time she got home, it was too late. She did give me the title though'. McGee peered at the name,

'Color blind confusion'. Well, perhaps McGee's chances of winning had just gone up!

In another part of the room Gibbs and Ducky were standing in front of a canvass pained a pale blue. Ducky looked rather proud of it and Gibbs smiled when he saw the title,

''Duck egg blue'. Self portrait, Duck'?

Dr Mallard smiled enigmatically.

'Have you worked out which is Ziva's yet?'

Gibbs nodded towards a collage on the far wall.

'Think it's that one. Don't know anyone else would find a use for spent cartridges.'

'She does police her brass well, doesn't she?'

The two friends laughed and walked around the room to look at the other exhibits. They came to a halt in front of a watercolor. Painted almost entirely in shades of green with an occasional shot of yellow, it was a skilfully painted picture of a woodland glade as dawn broke. Gibbs and Ducky gazed at it in silence for a few minutes.

'Oh my,' said Ducky, 'that's rather fine, isn't it? We have an artist in our midst.'

Gibbs nodded in agreement. At that moment Abby came teetering over.

'Isn't it great? Normally I would have liked a bit more red and black but it's kinda soothing. Everyone's put a bid on it.'

DiNozzo joined the group.

'hmmm, it's not bad. I think I prefer A vOiD 4 though'.

Abby hit him on the arm and Gibbs directed a glare at him. Tony just quirked a eyebrow back at him but before he could say anything Director Vance called for everyone's attention.

'I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed to this first exhibition. I'd especially like to commend the unexpected enthusiasm shown by the Major Crimes Response Team and their 100% turnout. I'd also like to thank Special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs for agreeing , as his contribution, to make a frame for the winning exhibit. It's been interesting not only to see the entries but also to hear some of the comments being made about them. I'm thinking of recommending to SecNav that we introduce mandatory art appreciation classes at Fletc'. He paused and waited expectantly for a ripple of amusement at a rare directorial joke.

'I'm also grateful to Dr Rachel Cranston for agreeing to be a neutral curator of the exhibition. Dr Cranston has also been looking after the sealed bids which have been made by people wishing to buy the exhibits – that money, as well as the entry fees, will be going to the NCIS Benevolent Fund. SecNav chose a winner earlier on this afternoon. He wanted to be here himself to make the announcement but he was called away to the White House so I'm going to ask Special Agent Gibbs to make the announcement of the winner.'

He handed Gibbs an envelope. Gibbs, reluctantly, put on his readers and opened the envelope. He smiled when he saw what was inside.

'SecNav has chosen an outright winner and also wants to make special mention of another entry. I'm going to announce the title of those two entries and then ask the artists, whose names I don't know, to go and stand beside their paintings. The winner of the prize for best exhibit in the inaugural NCIS Art Exhibition goes to the painter of 'Greenshades'' and Gibbs pointed to the delicate watercolor. There was a round of applause.

'SecNav's special mention goes to 'A vOiD 4' for its daring and er.. dynamism'. A cheer was heard to come from DiNozzo and vigorous clapping. McGee sighed.

'Now, please, will the artists in question go and stand by their paintings.'

There was a moment of stillness as everyone waited to see who were the winners. DiNozzo walked up to 'A vOiD 4' and paused there. Then he moved away and went to stand, with an embarrassed look on his face, beside 'Greenshades'. And then, to everyone's amazement, and McGee's complete chagrin, Director Vance went and stood beside 'A vOid 4'.

The room was suddenly filled with cheers and laughter. Dr Cranston called over the noise,

'Everyone. I'm very pleased to tell you that we've raised $14342 for the Benevolent Fund. Lots of bids on the exhibits . The highest bid was $1000 for 'Greenshades' and I can tell you that there was a bid of $250 for 'A vOiD 4'.

Special Agent DiNozzo found himself the centre of much admiration. With Gibbs's gaze on him, he felt compelled to turn down all the offers to be his model should he wish to move on to painting from life.

Afterwards, in the bullpen, his team gathered around him.

'Why didn't you tell us you can paint?' asked Abby.

'I haven't painted for a while. You remember when Ziva and I went to Paris?'

Knowing nods and nudges confirmed that everyone remembered and had their own views of what had happened on that trip.

'The witness we were escorting told me that my photos all looked like crime scene photos and well, that hurt. But I didn't think the Boss would like it if I started making my crime scene photos all fuzzy round the edges and artistic ...'

'Damn straight.'

'But I thought that, as I'm a crime scene sketch expert, I must be pretty good at drawing so perhaps painting would be something I could try without compromising my work. And so I did,' Tony shuffled in embarrassment, 'and er ... actually found it quite relaxing.'

'Why did you let me think you'd painted that other monstrosity?' asked McGee.

'I didn't really McMistake. You jumped to that conclusion all on your ownsome. Don't worry, I'm sure the Director will come round eventually.'

'Yeah, sure, after he's sent me to Fletc for art appreciation classes.'

'I think it will be sooner than that McFidget. When he finds out that you bid $250 for 'A vOid 4' I'm sure he'll be a fan again. And it'll fit real well with your decor.'

McGee opened his mouth to protest and then closed it. He realised that Tony had fixed things perfectly. And he was surprised to realise that he didn't mind that Tony had turned out to be the artist he was ... somehow it was reassuring to find that Tony still had hidden depths to be discovered.

A little later, Gibbs and Tony were alone in the bullpen.

'So, painting's relaxing is it, DiNozzo?'

'Sure, Boss, a bit like building a boat in the basement. Lots of hot women in my painting class too ... it's all good'.

'Hmmm ... and it wasn't recommended by your 'therapist'?'

'How did you know that, Boss?'

Gibbs just gave an enigmatic smile.

'So, who's the lucky person who gets one of your frames on 'Greenshades'?'

'That'd be me.'