Gibbs looked up, his attention caught by the hopefulness in McGee's voice. The tedium of cold cases was starting to wear on them all; a lead, any lead, would be a welcome break.
'Ok, let me take down that address...' Tim was saying, reaching for his pen holder.
His hand closed around a pencil. Glaring in disgust at the broken tip, he exchanged it for a mechanical version.
Click. Click-click. Click-click-click-click-click-click-click.
Tim threw the pencil down on his desk and tried again, this time choosing a ballpoint.
'1...9... uh... hold on a second...'
Tim scratched furiously at the notepad, trying to get the ink flowing.
'McGee!'
When the younger man looked up, Gibbs lobbed one of his own pens towards him. Tim caught it easily, nodded his thanks, and turned his attention back to the phone call.
Gibbs shook his head slightly, leaning back in his chair. It wasn't like Tim to not be prepared to do his job, and, if anything, he tended to be a bit obsessive about keeping his desk organised. Not as bad as that JAG lawyer Tony liked to tease, of course, but...
Gibbs interrupted his own train of thought by leaping to his feet and crossing the bullpen in a couple of quick strides. Seizing Tim's pen holder, he quickly confirmed that all of the pencils were broken, and neither of the two pens he tried would write. Tim was just hanging up as he finished his examination.
'Uh, Boss...?'
Ignoring the confused look McGee was sending him, he turned towards his senior field agent, who was trying hard to look innocent.
'Ow! Boss...'
Tony rubbed dramatically at his head.
'Check that out with McGee,' he ordered, nodding curtly in the direction of the memo pad. 'And knock off the pranks,' he added, before moving off to the head.