Jimmy walked over to Gibbs. "I just want to let you know, Agent Gibbs, that I have very good reflexes, when it matters, and I won't let you fall."

Gibbs just stared at him for a moment. "You don't have to call me Agent Gibbs, Palmer."

"Yes, sir, Agent Gibbs- I mean Gibbs."

Gibbs let out a deep breath, shook his head, and walked a few steps away from Jimmy.

"Okay," Troy began, "Ziva, Jimmy and Tony, you three stand in the front. Abby, Gibbs and Tim, you three will be catching first, so you obviously stand behind them."

They all got in their lines and got ready to fall or catch.

"I will go down the row," Troy continued, "And one by one, when I count to three, you in the front will fall backwards. It's not really all that complicated. I'll start over here with the ladies."

Troy counted to three and Ziva fell back. Abby caught her perfectly.

"Yay!" Abby said happily once Ziva stood back up. She clapped her hands, then gave Ziva a hug.

Troy moved over to Jimmy and Gibbs.

"Ready?" He asked.

Jimmy nodded. "Yes, I am very ready. I trust Gibbs completely and I am not afraid to fall back-"

"Just fall, Palmer," Gibbs said, cutting him off.

Jimmy fell back and Gibbs caught him, then quickly put him back into a standing position.

Troy sighed. "Okay, well, I didn't count to three, but he caught you so… whatever." And lastly he walked over to Tony and Tim.

"Let's wait until I count this time, okay?"

"I swear if you drop me, McGee, I'll-"

"You'll what? Fill my bed with itching powder? Throw mud on me? Glue me to something? Treat me like you do every other day of the week?"

"Stop finishing my sentences, McObnoxious."

"One," Troy began to stop the argument that was already starting, "Two, three."

Tony hesitated for a moment, then he fell back. He squeaked just as Tim caught him, afraid his expensive blue jeans were about to be covered in dirt.

"You're such a baby," Tim mumbled as he lifted Tony back up.

Tony smiled slyly as he turned towards Tim, "Well, you best get in front of me cause it's time for you to put your life in the baby's hands."

Tim took a deep breath as he moved to switch places with Tony. The others all switched places as well and Troy moved back to Ziva and Abby.

He smiled. "My favorite group. You ready Abby?"

"Totally."

"One, two, three."

Abby fell back and Ziva caught her with ease.

She helped Abby back up to her feet and, by Abby's lead, they high-fived. "We rock, Ziva!" Abby said happily.

"We do make a good team," Ziva agreed, smiling as well. She may have started out in a bad mood, but things hadn't been that bad so far. And she liked the fact that she would get to spend more time with Abby and less time with only all men.

Troy moved onto Gibbs and Jimmy. "Should I even start to cou-"

Gibbs fell back. Jimmy wasn't ready and came so close to not catching him, but his "very good reflexes" kicked in and he caught him just in time.

Gibbs quickly got back up and walked off to stand by Ducky, never saying a word.

Jimmy sighed in relief. For a few seconds he thought his life was going to end. Just imagining Gibbs falling on the ground- and it being his fault- made him cringe.

"And onto the bickering brothers," Troy said as he walked to Tony and Tim once more.

"Tim, do you trust Tony?"

"If you mean out in the field, when our lives are at stake, do I trust him to have my back? Yes. If you mean in this particular exercise… Absolutely not."

"Okay," Troy replied with a nod. "One, two, three."

Tim tightly closed his eyes and fell back, his heart racing. Tony caught him and Tim opened his eyes.

Tony didn't immediately help him back to his feet. Instead he stared over Tim and made a "Wah" noise, like he was a baby.

Tim rolled his eyes then got himself up and walked away.


11:00am

After they had been given another break to unpack and look around, Joe called them back to meet out front.

"What terribly annoying thing are we doing now, Joseph?" Tony asked.

"Um, my name's short for Joel… not Joseph."

"Oh, well, still. Same question, Joel."

"We're going to do an exercise called 'One Truth'. Two people will stand face to face and tell one positive truth about the person they're looking at. It has to be something that you've never told the other person, at least not directly. I've already got the teams picked out so, when I call you, line up and stand facing one another."

"How are you gonna do it when there's not an even amount of us here?" Jimmy asked.

"Well, if Dr. Mallard doesn't mind, I was going to have him go twice."

"I don't mind at all," Ducky replied. "And you can call me Ducky."

Joe nodded. "Alright, Ducky. You and Gibbs will be together first, then you and Jimmy. The other two groups are Tony and Ziva, and Tim and Abby."

"I am supposed to say something positive about him?" Ziva asked, pointing at Tony, as they all got into their right spots.

"Yes, you are," Joe replied. "I'm sure you can think of something."

"You do not know him like I do."

"You're not a huge ray of sunshine either, ninja chick," Tony replied.

"Okay, I was gonna start with you two, but I'll give ya a minute." Joe walked over to Ducky and Gibbs. "Who wants to start?"

"I will," Ducky answered.

"Alright, go ahead."

"Jethro, you are a very strong and determined man that anyone would want on their side. I am proud to call you my friend."

"Thanks, Duck."

"You are most welcome, Jethro."

"Alright, Gibbs," Joe said, "Your turn."

Gibbs looked at Joe, "Yeah, I got that." He turned back to Ducky. He hesitated for a moment. He wasn't the type to just announce his feelings in front of a group of people. "I know that no matter what, you are the one person who would never judge anyone. You always give the benefit of the doubt."

"That is very kind, Jethro."

"It's the truth, Duck."

Joe smiled. "See, that wasn't so hard. Now, Gibbs, you can stand over there and Jimmy will take your place. I'll come back to you two in a moment." He walked back over to Tony and Ziva. "You guys ready?"

"I suppose."

"Oh yeah."

"Okay. Whoever wants to go first… go."

"Ziv-ah, I, uh, have never doubted your ability to kill, and I think it's kinda hot that you know how to murder someone with so many different small household items."

"Thank you, Tony. I think you have a good sense of humor- when you're not being disgusting."

"I think Tony already knows he's a funny guy," Joe replied.

"Yes, but I have never told him that."

"That's very true," Tony agreed. "Tyvm, Zee."

"I have no idea what that means, but I will take it as a compliment."

Joe moved over to Tim and Abby. "Go ahead you two. Whenever you're ready."

"Timmy," Abby began, "You're a very reliable friend that I can count on for anything."

"And she does mean anything," Tony added.

Tim gave Tony a death glare and Gibbs smacked the back of his head. "Shut up, DiNozzo."

"Yes, Boss."

Tim cleared his throat and focused his attention back on Abby. "I always liked that you can make the worst of days better. You always know how to cheer me up."

Abby smiled. "Thank you, Timmy."

"You're very welcome, Abbs."

And finally, Joe made his way to Jimmy and Ducky. "Would you like to go first, Jimmy? Since Dr.- I mean, Ducky, went first last time?"

Jimmy nodded. "Sure. Um, Dr. Mallard, you are an amazing teacher who has never lost faith in me, even when I sometimes lost faith in myself. Thank you for that."

"You are very welcome, Mr. Palmer. I feel very lucky to work with such a smart and eager-to-learn young man. You are a fine worker and an even better man."

Jimmy smiled widely. "Aw, thank you, Dr. Mallard."

"My pleasure."

"Alright," Joe said with a smile. "I think that went well. Why don't we all go to the cafeteria and make some lunch?"

"You want Tony to help with the cooking?" Ziva questioned.

"We will all be helping," Joe replied.

"I hope you have a fire extinguisher."

"We're going to be making sandwiches."

"Still…"

"You're such a turd, Ziva," Tony said as they all began walking towards the cafeteria.

"Do not call me a turd, Tony."

"I already did."

"Will you two be quiet?" Tim asked in an annoyed tone.

"Who brought you into this, McInterrupt?"

"I brought me into this."

"Your mistake."

Joe stared at them as they walked off. He shook his head… "These are some weird people."


So, the answers for the "Who said what" thing (from the last chapter) is:

Jimmy- Okay.

Gibbs- Mhm.

Ziva- Whatever.

Abby- Yes, sir!

Ducky- Of course.

Tony- Yeah.

Tim- Sure.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :) Tell me if you think it's moving along too slow or anything. Thanks for all the great reviews! :D

Also, I wasn't going to have Gibbs do that fall, I was gonna have him make Jimmy do it twice... but the thought of him just suddenly falling backwards made me laugh so I kept it.