Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS.
The tension was high outside of the NCIS conference room where they had been ordered to gather. They each reflected with silent speculation as to the purpose of their meeting as they patiently waited for Gibbs arrival.
Tony paced up and down nervously, his brow furrowed as he racked his brains trying to think about what he had done, or not done, that would warrant being summonsed by Gibbs.
Tim leaned against the wall. Perspiration trickled down the side of his face as he worried over what he possibly could have done to be included in whatever Gibbs was going to chew them out about.
Ziva watched out of the window, calm and expressionless. A shred of nervousness niggled in her stomach. She tried not to think about what Gibbs was going to say. There was no point in worrying. Whatever she had said, or done, that had met with his disapproval, would soon be accounted for. The consequences of whatever she was going to be blamed for, would inevitably be carried out. She found a sense of comfort in that inevitability.
Abby drummed her fingers along the wall, totally naive and calm about facing Gibbs. She brightened the hallway with a smile.
"So, I guess everyone is wondering why we are here huh? What's everyone thinking? What have you been up to Tony?"
He gasped in response, "Me? I've done nothing Abbs! Really, this time I can't think of anything that I've done, or not done."
His mind raced and all of a sudden he gulped and stood bolt upright, "You don't think he found out about the dentist thing do you?"
Tim and Ziva provided reassuring gestures and Abby looked confused,
"What dentist thing? You never told me."
He chuckled nervously, "The..uh...dental appointment I had last week, was actually with one of my college buddies, who is actually a dentist by the way. He's...uh, leaving the country for a couple of years, so, technically I had an appointment with the dentist. It's just that it involved more drinking than...uhm...drilling!"
Abby's eyes widened, "God! Tony! If Gibbs finds out...he'll like...knock your teeth out permanently!"
Tim folded his arms, "He can't have found out anyway, because we wouldn't all be involved. It's got to be something that we've all done."
There was silence as minds continued to wander and search. It was soon broken, as Gibbs appeared stern faced, and walked straight ahead, smashing the door open and striding into the conference room. They followed in like sheep and stood quietly watching Gibbs take in a deep breath and then look at each of them in turn.
"We have an assignment. The Director has issued an order, for all of us to attend a two day International Investigators Conference. We leave tomorrow evening."
He steeled himself not to grin at the audible sighs of relief. Staring at them firmly, at their wide and exicited eyes, he continued,
"The Conference is being held..."
A deep breath followed, before he completed his sentence, "...in London."
Abby let out a squeal of delight and he tilted his head to the side and raised a warning eyebrow at her. She responded by slapping a hand over her mouth in an attempt to remain calm as he continued to speak.
"I've forwarded on all of the details to your email boxes, but I wanted to go through a few rules, before we go through with this."
Tony sighed and let his shoulders droop. Ziva rolled her eyes.
"Uh...you mean rules, in addition to your normal rules boss?" Tim enquired.
"Yeah McGee, some ground rules. That was we are clear and there is no excuses when we are in London."
Tim nodded his head and listened intently.
"Okay, first up, I want all of you to remember that you are representing this Agency during this trip. That means no goofing off DiNozzo and no physical violence Ziva."
He turned his attention to Abby and Tim,
"It also, doesn't mean acting like kids on Christmas day, when you two see any new gizmo or whatever they are trying to sell us. Are we clear?"
Four heads nodded dejectedly and Tony muttered quietly.
"What was that DiNozzo?" he growled,
Tony gulped, "Uh...just...uh...wondering what your take on goofing off was, huh, what my...uh...limits...were...kinda."
Gibbs rubbed his brow, "It means Tony, that you think before you consider playing any pranks, or pulling one of your stunts, or chasing skirts. Trust me, I guarantee, if you do not behave like the perfect little NCIS agent, there will be severe consequences."
Tony paled as Gibbs continued,
"That goes for all of you! My gut says this is one bad idea. The Director's got this half assed notion that it's gonna be good for us. Well, my DI used to say the exact same thing just before he had us run for ten miles in the rain at zero five!"
Abby frowned, "But Gibbs, it'll be such an adventure! We'll be like ambassadors for NCIS! We will fly the flag for Naval Criminal Intelligence! We will make sure that everyone in England knows our names and what we stand for!"
Gibbs rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm, "That's what I'm afraid of Abby, everyone in England knowing NCIS for all the wrong reasons. Especially when you guys don't think before you act and end up shit creek without a paddle."
Tony stood tall and stuck his hands in his pockets,
"Don't worry boss! As Senior Field Agent, I'll make sure that we stay on the straight and narrow and we do not let you down!"
Gibbs raised his eyebrow slowly and simply stared.
"Okay DiNozzo, I'm glad to see you taking your position seriously."
Tony smiled and then gulped as Gibbs narrowed his eyes at him dangerously.
"It's good to know whose ass I'm going to take it out on, when any of you do let me down."
"But boss, when I said," Tony replied wide eyed, but was interrupted as Gibbs raised his hand to silence him.
"The details are in your email box, we leave tomorrow evening. Now, I suggest you read up on our schedule, because that's what we're going to be sticking to. To the letter."
Abby raised her hand and he exhaled, "Yes Abby?"
"When you say 'our schedule' and 'to the letter', there will be time for us to do some other stuff won't there? I mean it would be a shame to go all that way and not see some of the tourist attractions. It's London, Gibbs; it's like a major European capital!"
"You're not tourists," he replied sternly.
"Well, I for one would like to see the Tower of London," McGee smiled.
"Cool McGee! We could go on the London Eye! It's this huge Ferris wheel and you can see for miles!"
Tim winced, "I don't know Abby that's a little too high for me. You know me and heights!"
"Perhaps we could spare some time to attend one of their theatres. London has a reputation for the number of theatres it has," Ziva added.
Tony beamed excitedly, "We could go see Grease! That was such a classic movie, I remember it being shown at Christmas when I was a kid and I remember drooling over that scene with Olivia Newton John in those black leath...OW!"
Gibbs fixed the team with a serious glare after his hand collided with the back of Tony's head.
"We are not deviating from the schedule! Can I remind you that we are attending an Investigators Conference? We are not on some God-damned vacation! There will be no tourist attractions or theatres or black leather of any kind. Do I make myself clear?"
They all quickly nodded and then with a nod from Gibbs, exited the conference room. Tony closed the door behind him and sighed. Abby threw her arms around him.
"Tony, as Senior Field Agent I think you should get Gibbs to lighten up," she whined as she burrowed her head into his neck.
He huffed as he gently lifted her and held her at arms length. He then stood for a few minutes, staring at the glum faces of his co-workers, before slowly beginning to grin. Casually, he placed his hands in his pockets.
"As my good friend Sean would say, I sherve at the pleashure of Her Majesty the Queen, so prepare to gear up people, becaushe Shpecial Agent DiNozzo, Anthony DiNozzo, ish gonna make shure we have shome fun in Her Majesty land!"
"YAY!" Abby squeaked as she spun around and skipped towards the elevator.
There was a renewed sense of excitement as the team bounded back to their desks. Everyone was eager to find out more about their trip, and happier that they would be able to work some fun into the schedule. Even if it had to be done behind Gibbs back.
In the conference room Jethro Gibbs stood motionless and silent. His Marine training immediately kicked in and set his mind racing through various worse case scenarios. He visibly shook himself from his train of thought and headed towards the door.
"As long as they've got decent coffee, I'll be fine," he muttered.
To be continued...