Jimmy Palmer looked up from filling out the requisition forms for Autopsy when the phone rang. He moved to pick it up, but sat back when Dr. Mallard answered. "Autopsy, Dr. Mallard speaking. Yes, yes of course Anthony. We'll be there. Perhaps you could send directions to Mr. Palmer? He does seem to get lost quite often. It reminds me of a young lad I once – ah. Of course. Yes, I will tell you the story another time dear boy."
As Dr. Mallard finished up the conversation with Tony, Jimmy started gathering the supplies not kept in the truck. As he turned to grab the kit, his cell phone chirped. Pulling it out, he stared at the name on the screen. Michelle? Why was she texting him at work, unless it was work related – maybe Tony had a cold he and Ducky needed to nip in the bud? He flipped the phone open to read the text. His jaw dropped as he read the short text. "Gibbs back. Ziva and McGee stood up for Tony. Tell Ducky please?"
"Mr. Palmer," Ducky was staring at him, "whatever is the matter?"
Jimmy shook his head for a moment, and then spoke. "Agent Gibbs is back. Mich – I mean, Agent Lee just texted me. He came back. Ziva and McGee stood up for Tony – I don't know why they needed to. She wanted me to tell you." Jimmy had a pretty good idea of why they needed to stand up for Tony, in fact, but he tried not to assume anything about the team; they tended to do very surprising things. I may have grown closer to Tony since Gibbs left, but I don't think I'll ever understand the team's relationship. I think Ducky once said something about siblings, only that's just . . .hinky with the sexual tension between Tony and Ziva. If Gibbs is back and they had to stick up for him, maybe I should have dinner with Tony sooner than Thursday. He'll see right through it but if I play it right, he won't mind.
Ducky shook his head, looking as confused as Jimmy felt, though with a whole helping more of disappointment. Jimmy was pretty sure that was aimed at Gibbs, though maybe a side dish was reserved for Madam Director. He was pretty sure she was trying to manipulate Tony into something, though he wasn't sure what. But if she wouldn't ask him straight out, then clearly it wasn't all above board. He put it out of his head for the moment; he wasn't going to get anywhere on that topic now (and he hadn't been getting anywhere with Tony on the topic either). "So what's the case, Doctor?"
Ducky smiled a little. "A young man in uniform with no id was found in Rock Creek Park. Preliminary cause of death is a gunshot wound, though Anthony did not mention where the poor man had been shot. He said he would send you directions, perhaps you could print them off before we go?"
Jimmy chuckled as his phone chirped again. "No need, Doctor. He's sending me step-by-step instructions – the first one says 'Leave Autopsy and get in the van. Take a left out of the garage. That means turn toward the driver's door.' I think we'll be just fine this time."
As they drove toward the crime scene, Ducky rambled on about something – Jimmy was tuning him out while he pondered his friend's dilemma. What can I do to help? At least McGee and Ziva stood up for him. I wonder if Abby would pull the security footage of the bullpen – oh God. Abby. Has anyone even talked to her about this? Will Gibbs even think to visit her in the lab? Not my problem. Except it is, because it'll be Tony's problem. Abby will tell him he's "not Gibbs," and Tony will shut down. Again. I know she doesn't know what it does to him when she says that, but she's an adult! She should know better. Argh! Not thinking about Abby and her reaction. I'll ask Tony if he wants to go out for dinner and a drink. Is there a game tonight? That might distract him . . . or we could catch a movie, though picking a movie for Tony is an experience I'd like to NOT repeat. So. Goals: get the details of what went down in the bullpen, gauge Abby's reaction, and ask Tony to hang out tonight – or soon. I can do this. Tuning back in to Ducky, Jimmy was alarmed to hear him making a comment about a "young man I once knew whose commanding officer left him in charge of a fiercely loyal unit." It was one thing to tell a story like that with Jimmy as the sole audience, but in front of Tony, it would not go over so well. In fact, Jimmy could picture the way Tony would tense minutely if he heard Ducky now, his shoulders just a fraction higher. He did not need to be reminded of what Gibbs had done.
"Uh, Doctor? Maybe it would be best if you didn't mention that story around Tony. He won't want to talk about it, especially at a crime scene, and if we push now, he'll never talk." Jimmy glanced over at Ducky to see him look startled, and then slightly approving.
"Well said, my dear boy. You are correct. Perhaps after the others go home I can invite him down for a cup of tea. . ." and Ducky was off again. Tony once told him that Gerald, Ducky's previous assistant, had often listened to music, or sports games while working with Ducky, and that it hadn't really seemed to bother the good Doctor at all. Maybe he should invest in a good music player – and an even better protective case. With his luck, he'd drop it in a cadaver the first time he brought it to work.
As they pulled up next to the NCIS truck, Jimmy forcefully set his thoughts aside. While he might not talk to the dead like Dr. Mallard, he agreed with him completely that the dead deserved just as much respect as the living. Now was not the time to worry about things that couldn't immediately be solved.
Ziva glanced over at where Tony was standing, interviewing the hiker who'd found the body. He was wearing what she privately referred to as his "perfect agent" mask – dedicated, focused, intense, just the right amount of forceful – and not that Tony was not all those things every day. It was just that usually his masks covered up the man she knew would never cross over the line between right and wrong. Tony, Ziva thought, had the strictest sense of right and wrong of anyone she had ever met. In one of Tony's movies, one of the characters said that another was "a good police." Tony is a good police, but he wears so many masks everyone forgets. I cannot blame him. My mask is, as Tony calls it, the crazy ninja chick, and people forget I have emotions. Gibbs has set the fox in the chick house. In the bird house? Gibbs has upset what little balance Tony gained for us. She set the marker kit down with more force than strictly necessary, and Tony glanced back at her, one eyebrow up. 'Need anything?' Ziva shook her head slightly and grinned. 'No boss. Sorry.'
McGee looked up from where he was sketching the scene. "Ziva?"
"Yes, McGee?"
He swallowed, looking more nervous than usual. Ziva thought she and Tony had teased that out of him. "Do you think . . ." he trailed off, looking more nervous. "I just think we've been hard on him. He didn't expect us to stand up for him! How could he not . . . Anyway, I was thinking that we could have a team dinner?"
Ziva flinched slightly. Her team dinner was one of the cruelest things she'd ever done to Tony, and she would always regret it. But McGee had a point. A team dinner would do all of them good. "Tony thinking we would desert him will not be fixed by one dinner. I think it is a good idea. We have been hard on him, and sometimes it was teasing and sometimes we meant it, but I do not think he could always tell the difference." Calling Tony insufferable in front of Gibbs and watching betrayal flash across his face before the joker mask came up, and praise from Gibbs that did not wipe the betrayal out of his eyes.
"Right," McGee said, face shuttered with his own painful memories, "team dinner. I'll invite Abby and Lee, if you'll speak to Ducky and Palmer. And we can invite Tony together, once everyone else agrees. Wednesday night? Or once the case closes?"
Ziva nodded. "Wednesday, I think. The case could drag on for too long." She paused, and then asked, "McGee, the fox is in the birdhouse?"
He looked up again to stare at her for a moment, and then laughed. "In the henhouse, Ziva. The fox is in the henhouse."
She grumbled under her breath about stupid American idioms, but kept her head down so he wouldn't see her grin. McGee looked far less troubled now. As she worked on setting out markers next to evidence, the probie crouched down to help her. Ziva knew she terrified Lee, and she almost felt bad about it – except she knew Lee needed to toughen up a bit, learn to think outside the box. She was worse than McGee was when she had started with NCIS, and McGee had the excuse of just having lost a partner, and nearly lost the other. Actually, now that Ziva thought about it, all of them had nearly died in the weeks immediately prior to her arrival. No wonder McGee had been so timid.
"Office David?"
"Call me Ziva, Lee," she responded. Maybe first names would help? No, she still looked scared.
Lee cleared her throat, "I was thinking that, since you are friends with the Director, maybe you could see if she would tell you what the hell she was thinking?"
Ziva felt as surprised at her language as Lee looked, though she was certain it did not show on her face that clearly. I guess all we needed to do to grow her backbone was threaten the team. "That is a good suggestion, Lee. I will see if I can get any information from her. I am unsure if she will tell me anything; her relationship with Gibbs is longer than hers with me."
Lee looked startled, and then grinned slightly. It was startlingly close to a smirk. "I know you don't think much of my legal skills, but if she doesn't back down on replacing Tony, I could probably make a case to SecNav of favoritism based on a previous relationship. A previous relationship with her direct supervisor, who would now be her direct subordinate. Something along the lines of 'Despite Agent DiNozzo's excellent record as team lead, and his teams' disinterest in having him replaced, Director Sheppard seems convinced that Agent Gibbs should replace him, demoting Agents DiNozzo and McGee, and sending Probationary Agent Lee back to Legal. Agent Gibbs and Director Sheppard were in a relationship when he was her team lead, and it is apparent to the office that she is very interested in continuing that relationship.' It might help."
Ziva stared at her for a moment. What happened to the meek probie? Where did she go? "Thank you, Michelle. I will let you know if that is necessary. McGee could probably help us if we need to go that road."
He looked up as she spoke his name, clearly having been listening in. "Way to go, Probie! That's the type of thinking we've been trying to get you to do!"
"Are you corrupting my probie, McGee?" Tony grinned as they all looked up, startled. "What plans are you hatching over here?"
They all tried to speak at once, but McGee and Lee nodded at Ziva to continue. "We are planning to bring down the Director with the help of Lee's legal skills, McGee's hacking skills, and my skills in interrogation and intimidation."
Tony raised a single eyebrow in her direction. "Well, Zee-va! You certainly don't dream small. Back to the case. Tell me what you got."
Relieved that Tony wasn't going to press it, Ziva began her report. "I cannot tell you much about the body until Ducky gets here, but a preliminary viewing suggests that the victim was killed with a gunshot wound to the head. I cordoned off the area where the bullet might have ended up, as there is an exit wound. I will need help to do a full search for the bullet; the casing is not here. The victim struggled with the perpetrator, but there are no signs of struggle on the ground. There are two sets of footprints headed toward the victim, and two away, and I have marked those. There is a third set belonging to an injured party by the way they drag, and I have marked those as well. The clearing is otherwise clear of evidence, Boss." Ziva finished her report, and looked back at Tony. He was staring at the crime scene in contemplation, but turned back to her when she finished.
"Nice job, Ziva. Probie: murder scene or body dump?" Tony gave praise much more easily than Gibbs, and Ziva appreciated it. Tony had taught her almost everything she knew about being an investigator, and his praise in this area was important. She knew that she still had a long way to go before she was anywhere near his skills, but she tried to pay close attention to what he did at a crime scene – without, of course, letting him know she was modeling herself after him!
Glancing at the blood underneath the victim's head, Lee answered, "Boss, I think this is about half a crime scene. Well, no. I mean, it is a crime scene but." Lee paused and took a breath. "The shooting took place here, but I agree with Ziva. The victim struggled, as evidenced by his knuckles, and his bruises, but it wasn't here. So, it's a murder-scene, but we're missing another scene?"
McGee chimed in, "It's almost like the perp wanted the body found quickly. We're only about ten feet off a popular hiking trail here."
Tony nodded, looking distracted. "Has anyone heard from Ducky? I thought they'd be here by now."
Ziva shrugged. "I can go back to where we parked the van to wait for them, Tony. It is not a problem."
He nodded again, and Ziva left. As she hiked back, her thoughts returned to the bullpen, and she grew angry. Who does he think he is, to barge back in here like that? I said I had been abandoned by fathers twice, but I am not the only one. Gibbs is – was, maybe – Tony's big brother and father rolled into one. My dossier on Tony was as complete as Mossad could make it, but I know there are pieces missing. Hawai'i was not the first place Tony's father forgot him, it was just the longest. Tony could, and even now will forgive Gibbs for leaving like that because he is Tony and he has always kept the peace between us and Gibbs, always deflected his anger. He will probably even forgive him for returning like this, eventually. I cannot. Tony does not think he is worth fighting for. He will be angry because Gibbs left and hurt Abby, because he came back and hurt me, because he demoted McGee rudely and kicked Lee off the team, but he will not be angry at Gibbs for leaving him, for demoting him, for only saying 'You'll do'. Ziva's muscles were tense, and she found herself falling into a walk that she tried not to use here; stealthy and sly, full of power and grace. When Tony called her the ninja chick, it was a gentle reminder she did not need to be deadly here, with these people. She knew the others thought she had a potential for deadliness, for violence, but Tony knew it. He knew it because, although she'd never truly seen it, Ziva was certain he carried that same deadliness in himself. He played it off with the play-boy mask, the joker, the clown, and McGee and Lee could not see through it. Gibbs used to see through those masks, but he doesn't anymore. Has not since he got blown up. I think this is what I am most angry about. Tony is maybe the best of us, and he is the best undercover operative I have ever met. He lets me see through the masks so I know I am not alone in this. If he did not want me to see through them, I would not know they were there. Gibbs knew this, used this, appreciated it, but he does not remember now. If he did, he would not have demoted Tony like he did. Or tried to. Tony isn't demoted until he hears it from the Director. Lee was right; I need to speak with her.
Ziva's musings carried her all the way back to the trucks, where Ducky and Palmer were pulling supplies out. "Ah! Ziva! Would you be a dear and help Mr. Palmer and myself carry this out to the scene? We did not get lost once; Mr. Palmer did an excellent job navigating. I must congratulate Anthony on his directions."
Palmer rolled his eyes in Ziva's direction. She smiled, and answered Ducky. "Of course I will help you. Tony was beginning to get worried that his directions did not solve the problem and sent me to wait for you."
She and Palmer picked up the gurney, and they set off back down the trail. Ziva considered filling them in on the crime scene, but decided that could wait. "Ducky, McGee and I thought we should have another team dinner. Maybe you have a suggestion for where we could eat? Palmer, you are invited as well."
Ducky glanced at Ziva, and she knew what he was going to say before he said it. "I assume Anthony is to be invited as well?"
"Yes, Ducky. I have always felt terrible about that. McGee and I thought we might have an easier time convincing him to join us if everyone else was going to be there as well. McGee is asking Lee and Abby." Ziva smiled at Ducky to let him know there were no hard feelings. "Palmer, what about you?"
He grinned at her. "I'm in. I was already planning on taking Tony out tonight. I mean, not out out. Just dinner and drinks. As friends, I mean."
Ziva laughed. "Yes, Palmer, I know what you mean. I will not bite if you talk to me. You do not need to be tripping over your words always."
He ducked his head, blushing. "Officer David, I was wondering – Michelle texted me that Gibbs was back. What happened in the bullpen this morning?"
Ziva scowled and her body tensed up again. "Gibbs returned. And moved everyone's things to their previous desks, without notifying us, or asking Tony. Tony told Lee to move the stuff off her desk and sit down, and asked the rest of us to write up our reports. Gibbs did not move. To save Tony from having to ask him to do so, McGee and I pointed out that he was being rude, and should move. McGee threatened to transfer to the FBI if Gibbs was truly demoting them like that. I asked him how he expected us to trust that he had our six, when he would not trust us to have his." She shook her head. "I am sorry, Ducky. I know he is your friend, but I cannot believe that he could do this to us, or to Tony."
Ducky shook his head. "Jethro may be a friend of mine, my dear, but that does not excuse his behavior. I am afraid we will all be in for a bit of a rough ride while he finds his stride, and our Anthony will bear the brunt of it. It will, I think, hurt him the most, but he will also work tirelessly to keep Jethro from hurting the rest of us, no matter his feelings."
Palmer burst out, "If you all would stop comparing him to Gibbs, it would help! He thought you all wanted him back. Abby is the worst, with her picture wall and 'training' Tony, but none of you have made this easier for him." He cut himself off, and glanced at Ziva apprehensively.
Ziva wanted to shout at Palmer, but only because he was right – and she knew it. They had treated Tony terribly. "You are right, Palmer. It is why we want to take him to dinner as a team. We were wrong, and we know it, but we cannot change that now. All we can do is do better in the future." I apologize, Tony. You are not Gibbs, but it is a good thing. I should have told you the second part as well. I will make it up to you.
