Tim went back downstairs after leaving the director's office. His agents were all at their desks working. Ducky was gone, probably having gone back to Autopsy. "Ziva."

Ziva looked up from her desk in time to McGee walking towards the elevator. He beckoned her towards him when she saw him. She immediately got up and headed towards him.

Tim stopped when they reached the elevator. "You're not gonna like this."

Ziva sighed, having already figured out what her boss and friend would tell her. "They are coming back, aren't they?"

Tim nodded. "Yeah. The director wants their input on this case."

"I do not like it, but I already figured it would happen. Ducky and I were discussing it while you were upstairs," Ziva said. She really did not like this. She did not want them back. It took them a while to get past Gibbs and Tony walking away with barely a goodbye. They had moved on. She did not want them coming back and disrupting what they built, and they would. At the very least, they would try to take control of the team, a team they were no longer a part of, while they were there. "Must this really happen. Tell Jenny we can handle this without them."

"I did, it didn't work. Truthfully, she's probably right. Gibbs had rule thirty-eight for a reason," Tim said.

"We are not following rule thirty-eight, are we? Why do I even still remember Gibbs' rules?" Ziva asked. Rule thirty-eight was 'your case, your lead'. She did not want to give up their case to the two people who left their team.

"Absolutely not. They're not a part of this team, so that rule doesn't apply to them. We will work with them because it's what's best for the investigation, but this is our case. I'm not letting anyone usurp this investigation. And you still remember Gibbs' rules because they made us the agents we are. I may not agree with all of them, but most were useful," Tim said.

"Yes, I suppose that's true. After all, I will always adhere to rule nine," Ziva said with a smirk as she touched the knife attached to her belt.

"I know you don't want them here. I don't either. It took a lot for all of us to pick up the pieces after they left and I don't want to have to do that again," Tim said. It wasn't really that they left. That hurt a lot, but it was always going to happen. He wasn't naive enough to believe they'd be a team forever. Someone was always going to leave. It was the way they left. It was abrupt and pretty uncaring. Gibbs left with somewhat of a goodbye, but not much of one. He said a few things and then took off for Mexico. None of them talked to him again. Tony had basically just left after informing them that he was transferring. He didn't even give them an explanation, and again, there was no contact afterwards. Actually, Tim was more angry at Tony than Gibbs in some ways because Tony saw what Gibbs abrupt retirement did to the team. He felt it himself, yet he could still do it. Honestly, if Tony really wanted to leave, Tim could understand, but not in the cold way that he did. It was cowardly and cruel.

"We need to solve this case quickly," Ziva said. She wanted them gone as quickly as possible.

"Agreed," Tim said before hitting the elevator button. "Head back to your desk and go back to what you were doing. Let's get them in and out as fast as possible."

Ziva nodded and walked away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked into Abby's lab with a Caf-Pow. He needed to tell Abby about Gibbs and Tony. It wasn't going to be a happy conversation. Abby had been really hurt when both men left, especially Gibbs. Out of everyone's relationships on the team, Abby and Gibbs had been the closest.

Tim saw Abby by the DNA computer. He went over to the stereo and shut the music off before even bothering to alert Abby to his presence.

Abby turned around as soon as silence filled her lab. "Hey, McGee."

"Hey, Abs," Tim said as he approached her.

"You brought me a Caf-Pow. You never bring me Caf-Pows. Well, okay, you do sometimes, like my birthday, but not like on a normal day, like Gibbs would because you run a tighter ship. Well, not like you're meaner than Gibbs because you're so not. You're much more patient than him and you listen more, but you don't pick favorites like he did with me. Well, actually, I think you do have favorites. I think Ziva, me, Ducky, and Jimmy are closer to you than the others. Which is expected because we've known you better. But you don't show that while we're working. You don't give preferential treatment like Gibbs did with me," Abby rambled.

"Abby," Tim said gently to try to bring the rambling to a halt.

"And that's great, McGee. You know I didn't like it at first, but not being favored so much has made me a better person, so it's good. But you're bringing me a Caf-Pow now and it's not a special occasion. Is someone hurt?" Abby asked.

"No, no one's hurt. I brought you a Caf-Pow because I have to tell you something that you won't like. Our latest case is connected to a cold one. You may not remember this, but Christopher Talen's brother Jacob was killed eleven years ago with two others. The case was Gibbs'. He and Tony worked it and were unable to find the killer. We believe the two cases are linked, that Lieutenant Talen's killer was the same guy that killed his brother and the other two," Tim explained.

"No," Abby said, having already figured out what he was trying to tell her.

"Abby…"

"Timmy, I totally respect you as the bossman, but I need you to get out of here so I can pretend this conversation didn't happen," Abby said before turning away from him.

Tim took a step towards her and gently grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn back to him. "Abby, I realize you are unhappy, so am I and so is Ziva, but you have to deal with it."

"They left! They don't get to just come back!" Abby said angrily. Five years ago, she would've given anything for Gibbs and Tony to return. She had been so hurt when both of them left. But they didn't come back. They didn't even keep in contact. They were supposed to be a family, at least they were in her eyes. They clearly weren't in Gibbs' and Tony's because family members didn't abandon each other.

"They won't be here long, just until the case is finished," Tim promised. He knew it wouldn't help though. Hell, he'd even told the director that it might make it worse. Tony and Gibbs coming back and leaving again could just cause them to relapse to five years ago.

Abby sighed. "They're going to come in here and try to pretend like nothing's changed. They're going to take charge of the investigation and…"

"Oh, no, they're not. I will not let them," Tim said firmly.

That made Abby smile a little. Oh, no, McGee would not let them. McGee was much different now. He had no problem telling someone where to go, even someone like Gibbs. She would pay money to see that confrontation, as well as Gibbs' face when he realized that McGee was the one to take his desk. "Things will go back to normal once the case is over? You promise that?"

"I'll do my best to make sure of it," Tim promised.

"I'm not following anyone's orders but yours," Abby said.

"No, you're not," Tim agreed with a smirk before handing her her Caf-Pow and heading back towards the elevator. Fo