Taking A New Direction

Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Summary: A new director, new team leaders, a new change of direction in the old history of NCIS. Established McGiva. AU.

A/N: Okay, am I the only one that thinks that McGee would be the perfect choice to take the director's office when the time comes? What if that actually happened? How would the rest of the team take it? How would the agency change? And more importantly, how would their relationships change?

A/N: This was originally supposed to be the plot for the You Are My Home series, but I wasn't happy with it then. I knew it'd come in handy someday.

He kissed her gently, wrapping his arms tight around her waist. He buried his face in her curls, nudging his nose against her neck as he pressed another kiss to her skin. She giggled, turning to look at him, a sleepy smile tugging at her lips. "Go back to sleep, ahvuti. It is still early, yet." He pushed himself up to check the time on the clock.

Oh-three-hundred.

He had two hours- hell, make it three, before he had to even consider getting up and getting ready for work. As he lay back among the pillows, she shifted, moving closer and pressing her soft body to his. Her arms went around his neck, and stared into his eyes. "What are you thinking, motek?" She whispered, her soft voice tenderly caressing her nickname for him.

"I think I'm gonna go in about oh-five-hundred. Get some things done before everyone arrives at-"

"Oh-seven-hundred." She finished, nodding. "Understandable. But until it is time for us both to get up, go back to sleep. It is going to be a long day, after all." She had already shifted back around and was yawning, her words becoming slower as she let sleep pull her back under. He chuckled, gently brushing the curls off her face before kissing her temple and wrapping his arms around her. But sleep, while it took her back under, refused him entry, and he soon got up, heading into the bathroom and starting the shower before stepping under the warm spray. Soon, though, he felt slender yet strong arms wrap around him from behind. He glance over his shoulder at her.

"I thought you were going to sleep a little longer." She shrugged, hands moving up to gently caress his pecs with her soft fingers. Sure, she had loved it when he was slightly chubby but now, with that trainer... well, she couldn't keep her hands off him, though she tried when they weren't alone.

"I was, but then you got up. The bed gets cold awfully fast, you know." She nipped gently at his ear, and he chuckled. "So, since you refuse to sleep, and I do not like to sleep without you there, what do you say we start the day off right?"


They arrived at NCIS a little after oh-five-hundred, steaming cups of coffee in their hands. He cracked his neck quickly, wrinkling his nose at the aggravation the tie caused, and as they stepped out of the elevator, he quickly undid it and pulled it off, wadding it up and stuffing the annoying article of clothing into his coat pocket. She stopped at the entrance to the bullpen, watching him. He met her gaze, confusion flitting through his green eyes briefly. "What's wrong?" She shook her head.

"Nothing." Then, she leaned over, pressing a kiss to his lips before he moved away and headed towards the stairs leading to the catwalk. She made her way to her desk, setting her things down before turning to watch as he moved down the catwalk towards the director's office. She gave him a proud smile, one he returned, before disappearing through the door.

Today was his first day as acting director of NCIS.

Once she had turned on her computer and gotten everything set up for the day, she got up, moving silently through the still quiet building- for it was only forty minutes past five- and headed for the stairs leading to the catwalk and the director's office. She stepped into the small ante office, and finding that it was empty, for his assistant, Nora, hadn't arrived yet, and so she moved quickly to the other door and knocked once softly, before opening the door and slipping inside.

She found her fiancé standing with his back to her, staring out the window, lost in thought. He stood behind the beautiful desk that Gibbs had made for him, in honor of becoming Director. The last remaining slabs of that wood, Gibbs had planned, was to be used to build a crib for when their first child came. Not surprisingly, Gibbs had made the majority of hardwood appliances in their home; the dining room table had been lovingly carved by the former Marine, from Mora wood from Guatemala; the bedroom set in the master had been made from black and white Ebony from southeast Asia, a perfect representation of the young couple soon to spend their lives together. Her gaze moved to the desk before her; the beautiful spalted Tamarind was a wonderful addition to the office; it fit the man she loved perfectly. Layer upon layer of black, ivory and yellow made for a gorgeous portrait upon the wood, and slowly, she reached out, running her fingers over it.

"What do you need, Ziva?" He asked softly, not taking his gaze off the darkened sky outside. She stopped, head snapping up as she pulled her hand away.

"How did you know it was me?" She crossed her arms over her chest and moved around the desk towards him. Finally, he turned to her.

"I know you, Zi. How could I not? You're my-" He stopped, reminding himself that he would soon get to use that term for her, but not today. "my fiancée." He reached out, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. She chuckled, reaching up to cradle his face in her hands.

"What is it, motek?" She whispered softly, searching his green eyes. He sighed.

"I just... I'm nervous." He pulled away from her and turned to the desk, running his hands over the soft wood. She laid a hand on his shoulder, understanding.

"Because it is your first day as acting director." He nodded. "I see." She moved beside him, gently moving his coffee aside and perching on the edge, tilting his head up to meet her gaze. "Talk to me, Tim."

"What if everyone realizes that I'm not cut out to be director?" She sighed deeply, thinking.

"Timothy, if you were not cut out for the job, you would not have received the job. Vance would not have stepped down after Jackie and my father's deaths if he did not feel that you were the best fit for the directorship. Neither he nor Gibbs would have groomed you for the position if they did not think you could do it." When he went to shake his head, she reached up, taking his face in her hands and holding it still to look into his eyes. "I believe in you, Tim. We all believe in you, now you just need to believe in yourself." He sighed, rolling his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her sweetly.

They were so lost in their own small world that neither heard the door to the office open, and only looked up when Nora stammered an apology. "I... I am so... so sorry... Sp... Special Agent David... Di... Director McGee... I... I didn't know you were..." Tim chuckled softly, as Ziva blushed and buried her face in his shoulder, never releasing his face.

"It's all right, Nora, please, come in." The young woman scampered inside, holding the files out to Tim with shaking hands. He gave her a reassuring smile as he took them, setting them on the desk, asking, "What are these for, exactly?" Nora swallowed, glancing at Ziva. She had only heard stories about the exotic Israeli, and the stories scared her.

"The... the files for the new agents that Agents Gibbs, DiNozzo and..." Her eyes shot to Ziva, before she whispered, "David, are supposed to choose from." Tim nodded, remembering Ziva mentioning something about needing to pick her own team members now that she was leader of her own team. Since Vance had stepped down, there had been some major changes coming to NCIS; first and foremost being the MCRT.

With Tim leaving the team to take the director's position, Gibbs saw the shift in power as the perfect opportunity to give his two remaining agents teams of their own, and had even agreed to take in new recruits and train them, as long as he remained team leader- something Tony, Ziva and Tim had been adamant about. And so Tony and Ziva, now both Team Leaders- at Gibbs' insistence that Ziva was ready to lead her own team, for she'd watched and learned carefully under both Tony and Tim, despite her only three and a half years as an agent- had to go through the task of choosing their teammates, under Tim's watchful eye.

He looked up from the files, watching as Nora shifted nervously from side to side. Deciding to take pity on the nervous young woman, he nodded that it was fine for her to return to her desk. "Oh, Nora?"

"Yes, Director?" Tim stopped, forgetting briefly that she was addressing him. Ziva's gentle slap of his cheek forced him to remember, and he turned back to his assistant.

"Go out and make a quick coffee run." She nodded, heading for the door.

"What would you like, Director? Agent David?" He shook his head, meeting Ziva's eye.

"None for us, thank you. For you. You'll need the caffeine fix today." She gave him a grateful smile before disappearing. Without saying a word, Ziva pressed a kiss to his lips. Then, she pushed the files aside, checking the time. They still had a few minutes before others began to arrive to start the workday, and perched lightly on the desktop. Wrapping her arms loosely around his neck, she searched his eyes, saying,

"See? You are already starting to be a wonderful director." He gave her a small smile. "Now, where were we?"