Chapter 2


A/N: I'd like to thank everyone for any/all reviews! Makes me so happy. Hope you enjoy my story.

Tony pulls up rather slowly to the spectacularly large house of the Mallards. He jerks the car to a halt and instantly notices another car already parked in the spacious drive-way. He almost suppresses a lame laugh.

Pssh. The probie must be eager to please... He rolls his eyes and sluggishly gets out of the car to grab his things. He was NOT looking forward to this so called 'Protection detail'.

He had been assigned Protection Detail to Ducky's mother a long time ago... but he never would have thought that he'd be forced to it again.

As he goes to close the trunk of the car, he suddenly becomes aware of the few people standing on Ducky's doorstep/porch area. He blinks as he recognizes Gibbs, Ducky, and of course... McGee. They were in a small circle with Ducky chattering on and on about his expectations of this 'housekeeping' job.

Tony merely snorts as more distaste clouds his emotions.

Ziva must be taking her sweet little time to get here.. Heck, I don't blame her though. He thinks to himself before lifting his backpack onto his shoulders. He then starts trudging up to the already-accumulated group.

Ducky immediately notices his presence and beckons the Senior Agent forward. "Anthony! Dear boy, I am ever so grateful that you all have agreed to do this." The ever faithful Dr. Mallard gives a welcoming smile and both Gibbs and McGee turns to look at their new arrival as well.

"Glad you could make it DiNozzo." Gibbs almost loosens a smirk at Tony's disdain for doing this. McGee on the other hand only grins smugly at his down-looking friend. "Cheer up Tony! Ducky won't be long! Actually, he just finished telling me of his accomplishment on gaining the privilege to speak at Harvard." McGee gives an impressed look back at Ducky, and Tony only perks his head up a bit. "What? Harvard?" He questions.

Ducky shrugs out of modesty. "It's nothing much. Just a few speeches to be given is all." He then gestures back into his household- the door parted for the agents who would be keeping an eye on the place. "My mother is watching Jeopardy at the moment... yes, her favorite it would seem. She unfortunately insisted on not coming out to meet you all for an unknown reason." Ducky mildly gives an exhale before nodding at McGee. "I hope she doesn't give you all too much trouble."

McGee only shakes his head though. "No way. Never Mrs. Mallard?"

At his remark though, Tony only feels like clenching his jaw out of disagreement... but he keeps his cool. Ducky lastly points to the inside of his house again and informs the agents, "I've left a list of things you all should more than likely complete. It's a step by step procedure. Can't be too hard to understand."

Tony and McGee only go to share a look with each other. It is then when another car pulls up- rather quick as well. The car jerks to an abrupt stop and instantly out pops the pretty Israeli agent. She waves at everyone before going around the car to get her things.

McGee smiles at how everyone was here now. He turns to Ducky next and gives him a reassuring look. "We'll take care of everything Ducky. And we'll do everything on your list."

Gibbs only nods at the Probie while Tony continues standing there with a blank expression.

Next Ziva finally joins the team at the foot of the steps- her dark brown hair shining within the evening sun. "Shalom Ducky, I am reporting for duty and I am glad that I can help." She gives him a friendly smile and Ducky returns her greeting with a chuckle. "I-I can't express my gratitude, honestly-" The Doctor attempts to start thanking everyone yet again but Gibbs finally cuts in and gestures towards the watch on his wrist. "Don't wanna be late, Duck. Might as well get going."

Ducky takes a breath before finally conceding. He gives a nod. "You're very right Jethro. Take care everyone, and don't forget to continuously let the dogs out! Err, Tyson may give you a little trouble at first because he's stubborn and doesn't like to get his paws dirty from-"

"Duck!" Gibbs throws his arms out and almost even gives a smile at his old friend.

"O-Oh, right." Ducky then adjusts his bow-tie before starting down the steps at last.

Ziva and McGee turns to watch their colleague go- however, Tony on the other hand is already staring into the large house through the parted doors. He swallows as he begins having flashbacks of when he had to watch over Ducky's mother for him... Why couldn't he get these thoughts out of his head? Perhaps things would be different this time... And he knew that Ducky really needed the help at the moment.

"Take care! We've got everything under control!" McGee's voice calls out as Ducky goes to climb into the seat of his ever-so-regal Morgan.

Once the good doctor is finally down the driveway and out of sight- Gibbs finally turns to his team and gives them a look of exceptional expectation. He nearly exhales.

"I hope you three can really pull this off..." These are his first words.

Immediately Tony gives his boss a look of bewilderment though. He practically gapes. "B-Boss? Us three? W-Well what about you?" he couldn't believe it. Was Leroy Jethro Gibbs seriously about to leave him here alone? With only McGee and Ziva?!

Ziva is just as confused. She furrows her brow and crosses her arms. "Yes, I thought you would be helping with the protection detail?"

Gibbs only shifts on his feet though. He shrugs before finally drawing the conclusion to this nightmare. "Nope. Just you three." He pauses before continuing, "I have to maintain some things back at the office. Besides, you all are cut out for this. Right?" He flashes McGee a look and the Probie only avoids the higher-rank agent's gaze.

"W-Well I-I did tell Ducky that we could manage..." McGee almost hangs his head out of shame. Suddenly this whole thing had a new outlook to it. Without Gibbs, who would be keeping the order? Who would be in charge?

But deep down... everyone truly knew how this was going to play out. Nobody wanted to face the facts.

Gibbs slowly turns and lands his gaze on Tony next. The Senior agent swallows hard and feels like disintegrating on the spot.

"DiNozzo will be in charge while I'm not here. I expect everyone to maintain order and do this right for Ducky." The boss finally asserts his conclusion to this assignment and then files his steely eyes over the rest of his team.

Ziva only frowns out of objection though. "B-But Gibbs! Perhaps I should be in charge? Because Tony-"

But she is cut off from a quick glare.

She grumbles and clenches her fists together. "Nevermind."

McGee and Tony just look to each other and Gibbs simply gives one last firm nod at the begrudging team. "I'll be by sometimes to check up on things but I mean..." He pauses for an eerie moment before leaning into the cluster of agents. "Come on guys. This is easy. Just do a good job." He looks at them as if they were kids who were being expected to color inside the lines of their coloring pages...

How much more did he have to say to get his agents' confidence up?

What could possibly go wrong here?

He points inside and also adds, "Remember, Ducky even left a list of what to do. Just follow the instructions. You'll be fine."

And then, without further words of encouragement- Gibbs finally decides to head down the steps. He starts for his NCIS government issued car and all the while Tony, Ziva, and McGee just turn to look at each other.

Could they really be expected to do this with 'Tony DiNozzo' as their substitute leader for the time being?

McGee lets out a small sigh before finally breaking the ever-lasting silence between the three of them. "Okay. So first thing's first; we should head inside and decide our rolls."

The probie sounded like he had been thinking things through already and both Ziva and Tony just turn to blink at him.

"Rolls?" Ziva questions bleakly.

"Yeah, like... someone should be responsible for watching Ducky's mother for a bit, and someone else can watch the dogs. And the last person can be in charge of keeping the house clean and in order." McGee finishes his proposition with a raise of his eyebrows as in 'Why not?'

"Later on, we can simply trade off?" He adds rather thoughtfully.

Tony however only scowls at the Probie's idea. He scoffs. "Excuse me? Whose in charge here? You or me?" The Senior agent clearly didn't like being told what to do and McGee only rolls his eyes. "Hey, it was only a suggestion?"

"Yeah, well, I'm in charge here. And I say we just go inside and do what Ducky's list says and... go from there." DiNozzo wavers his gaze from the frowning McGee to the silent Israeli. Nobody really seemed keen on 'agreement' at the moment.

Finally though, Ziva just runs a frustrated hand through her curly hair. She sighs before looking to Tony. "Perhaps we will just look at the list then, yes?"

At this, McGee only throws his hands out- though he doesn't persist in arguing.

"Good. It's settled." Tony nods at the woman as suddenly a low growl comes from the direction of the doorway.

Instantly, the three agents turn to see one of Ducky's Corgis standing at the entry- its dark eyes glistening.

McGee quickly looks to Tony and raises a baffled eyebrow. "So uhh... Does anyone know which one this might be?"

The dog continues growling and even gives a sharp bark before turning and disappearing back into the large interior.

Ziva shares a look with Tony before the agents finally advance and enter the house. DiNozzo leads the way in- and cautiously glances around the rather glamorous-looking home. If one thing was for sure, Ducky's mother had some good taste in house-picking... their home was huge!

The team admires the house for a moment- even though they've all seen it before. McGee then turns and closes the large doors; which instantly causes for the sound of pattering paws to become existent.

Tony nearly jumps as suddenly all of Mrs. Mallard's Corgis comes rushing around the corner- their small stubby tails wagging furiously.

McGee and Tony both share a small uneasy look before the Probie tries to address the 'welcoming' dogs. He attempts a smile at them. "Oh uh, hey there boys!... A-And girls?" McGee blinks at the dogs before awkwardly moving behind both Tony and Ziva...

Ziva only raises her eyebrows at the two before turning her attention back onto the dogs. "Wow. That is a lot of Corgis."

After another brief minute of a silent face-off between dogs and agents, Tony finally gains the nerve to set his bags down onto the foyer's floor- and upon doing so, this causes for one or two Corgis to come and sniff the bags conspicuously. The Senior agent quivers uncomfortably before slowly turning to his co-workers behind him. "Find the list. We're gonna need it."

A/N: Stay tuned for more! Wonder how the agents will handle this haha.

Also, I'd like to seriously thank everyone for the kind reviews so far! Makes me so ecstatic!