Hauling ass down to Abby's lab before she and Cate could brew up any more trouble, Gibbs wished he had more time to think through what he was going to say to them, but he had a meeting with the Director and Sec Nav and would probably be late for it as it was. Though people in general never ceased to surprise him, he was rather dismayed at finding out that his lab Goth and team profiler had teamed up to harass his SFA into submission once they found out he wasn't seeing things from their point of view.

He knew that they had all grown accustomed to DiNozzo's easy-going nature, and the fact that he rarely showed his darker side, saving that energy for putting into difficult cases or surly criminals. And he of all people was guilty of forgetting that even though Tony kept the lid slammed down tightly on his emotions, he was one of the most sensitive people Gibbs had ever known.

Besides what Gibbs himself had gleaned from DiNozzo in Baltimore, he had given Ducky Tony's entire work and personal background dossier, and asked for a psychological profile of the kid. He hadn't really liked the information that the M.E had given him, and was prone to not wanting to believe it, but that wasn't really an option. Ducky had assured him that although personality flaws abounded in the young man, not the least of which included self-worth, abandonment, insecurity and anger issues, none of those deep-seeded concerns were likely to make the boy to unravel under pressure and cause a catastrophe involving life and limb.

Gibbs kept all that information to himself and in the back of his mind, constantly walking the tightrope of giving too much or too little attention to Tony's needs and vices, and occasionally mentally head-slapping himself for bothering to worry about it in the first place. DiNozzo was his senior field agent, not a special needs child, and it wasn't Gibbs' job to keep track of Tony's every emotional clue. But the general well-being and morale of the team was Gibbs' responsibility, and he could always tell himself that that's what he was tending to when he made sure DiNozzo was fed and healthy and not wallowing somewhere back in his shitty childhood due to some nasty case that couldn't help but start picking the ragged scars off the kid's emotional wounds.

This time it wasn't a case that had done it, but his own surrogate family, on a mission to snag a favored field office worker for Abby's dating and possible torturing delectation. What the hell had they been thinking, trying to go behind Gibbs' back to do it, and then trying to force Tony into submission by poking him on his tender, barely healed spots? It had backfired on them, and they had ended up poking the bear, too, in the process; this time there was no way to point the finger at DiNozzo and let him take the heat, no matter how they would insist that 'Tony had started it." Gibbs was going to end it, and now, and he was hot enough under the collar with them that he didn't need to steel himself against Abby's plaintive cajoling, or Cate's big pleading brown eyes. Tony's own wounded orbs had burned through Gibbs' resolve at staying neutral about the whole affair.

When he stormed into Abby's lab and found the two of them with their heads together and Tim McGee blithely sipping a coffee on a stool nearby, they really didn't know what had hit them. McGee's head shot up first, his face a perfect impression of a rabbit looking up to see a Jack Russel terrier ready to snap his neck and send him sailing. He had experienced some of Gibbs' wrath involving suspects and others foolish enough to cross the Gunny, and never expected having it rain down on his own head. He dared a quick look over at Abby and Cate, and was only marginally relieved to see that they were just as terrorized as he was. What the hell?

"McGee, go get yourself some coffee." Gibbs growled.

"B-b-but I – I -" Tim stuttered, ready to announce the obvious to the man that he already had coffee, but was nearly melted to the stool by the man's furious glare. "G-g-got it, Gibbs, coffee. Gone. Now." was all he could manage. Any other time that might have brought a tight smile from Gibbs, but not computer tech slid silently out behind the man, as if by running silent, the sniper wouldn't know he was even there.

"Gibbs, what's the matter, is Tony hurt, did something happen?" Abby asked in a panicked voice. "Tell me!"

"Why would you even care, Abs? And yeah, something did happen to him, but I'll get to that in a minute!"

"Gibbs!" Abby protested, grabbing his arm, but he pulled out of her grasp, surprising both her and Cate.

"Tell me what just happened here, Abs. Tell me McGee didn't all but pee his pants when I just looked at him like I was gonna take a swipe at him."

"But Gibbs, what does -"

"Did he or did he not turn green at the thought of having to walk by me to get out of this room."

"Well, yeah, Gibbs, but you scared him half to death coming in here like that and descending on him like some drug-crazed Grizzly bear!"

"Think about what you just said, Abs. Is he really suited to staring down a drug-crazed perp, or seeing the results of what one of them did? You think that's fair to him to make him think it's nothing but a video game and he can slay the bad guys with his computer?"

"Gibbs, no-o-o-o!" And there was the whine, the tone that begged the man to see the error of his ways, see things her way. Well, she had had plenty of time to learn the skills at the foot of the master, Gibbs thought to himself, though he never had to resort to any sort of whining.

"Don't go there, Abs, I'll do more than just slap the back of your head!" He ignored her shocked, wide-eyed look, and forged on. "You are so determined to have him here in D.C that you've got yourself and him convinced he's the right fit for a field agent on my team, despite Tony warning you against it!"

"Tony doesn't like him and he's jealous! He just thinks he's going to be replaced by McGee and -"

"Do you really believe that, Abby? That Tony would think I would toss him out and put a computer geek in his place cause I'm tired of how clueless he is with technology? That's what the hell the Cyber Crimes unit is for, they don't do our jobs and we don't do theirs! Does being a forensic scientist qualify you for field work, Abs? You proficient with hand guns? Know how to diffuse a hostage situation? Able to chase a suspect five blocks through foot traffic and not lose them? You're a bright girl, think about what you've been trying to accomplish with this, and if it's really in everyone's best interest. And when you're done, you think back on what you said to Tony when he wouldn't play by your rules!"

Abby and Cate exchanged guilt-filled looks, both knowing that in the heat of the moment, they had said pretty hurtful things to someone who had never been anything but protective and supportive of them.

They looked back at Gibbs, hoping he was done with the screaming, as they were feeling guilty enough already. But Gibbs' eyes locked on Cate's, and she knew by the disappointment showing in them that her share of it was going to be even worse. But he didn't scream at her, just bore into her with displeasure and a tinge of sadness mixed with the disappointment. She cringed inwardly, never having seen that in this man's countenance, and hoping to hell to never have it directed her way again.

"He adores you, Cate. You can do no wrong in his eyes, even though he knows you're not perfect. You know he looks at you like a big sister, both of you. But he expected you to know better about who is really suited for our job, and you know damned well there aren't very many folks out there who are.

And for you to encourage Abby and McGee into believing otherwise and then turn on him when he was trying to be the voice of reason is stupid beyond belief to me. Not sure what either one of ya was thinking."

"You're right, Gibbs," she answered with quiet repentance. "I let myself get carried away trying to help Abby, and just thought he was being a spoiled sport."

"Spoiled sport or spoiled brat, Cate? Cause when it comes to putting the best interests of his team, his family first, I don't know anyone who does it better than Tony. He may squall about nobody getting his lunch order right, but he would never go out of his way to stop either one of you from getting something that was good for you or someone close to you."

He looked back to Abby and set his glare on her.

"And if for some dumb reason you still don't believe what I'm telling you, you need to know that while you two were behaving like spoiled asses yourselves, he was talking to Ron in Cyber Crimes arranging for McGee to get the next slot open there, something that by the sounds of it, neither one of you even bothered thinking of yourselves."

Abby and Cate traded dumb-struck glances. Gibbs could tell that he was hitting it out of the park with them.

"What can I say, sometimes little brothers are a lot more intelligent than they seem, even if they are just dumb jocks instead of MIT grads. You figure out how to make this up to him, and I mean good, and I mean now. When I screw up with him, I fix it myself. Don't expect me to do your job just cause I got a lot of practice at it."

With that he turned his back on them, and barely acknowledged the quiet, but sincere, "Yes, Gibbs." as he left the lab. He felt better having chastised them, but the real measure of his 'talk' would be how they fixed things with Tony. He'd find out for himself when he got some good food and a couple of beers into the kid and got him to tattle on the girls.

TBC..