Climbing into the SUV exactly at seven they headed off for the day. McGee was recapping from the previous day for Tony's benefit, and as he finished, Gibbs added, "We pulled the info from the Navy database you wanted last night, there's not much, but you might see something we don't since you know the area. McGee."
Tim stared at his boss in surprise for a moment before he pulled himself together. Taking the cue from Gibbs that these people were to be given the benefit of the doubt he passed the single sheet forward.
"There're only three crewmembers of the Astoria who have family in the entire state, two are close enough to be possibilities and the third may have made arrangements to meet here. But I really doubt we'll find anything, none of the three are on the Commander's list as friends of Douglas."
Blair eyed the list carefully.
"I think you're right, Agent McGee, but stranger things have broken cases. I'll make some calls when we get to the station since all three are outside our jurisdiction."
At the station, Blair pointed the group toward security so they could get visitor passes while Jim headed to the bullpen. Waiting outside the door, Sandburg sighed at the man nearing him.
"Well, well, fagboy's all alone. Can you manage without your big, bad protector?"
"Go away, Henderson, you don't want to give our guests a bad impression of us, do you?"
"I heard they're Feds, I'm sure they agree with me."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. I would never base my opinion of anyone's competence or ability on that single fact. And I'd send any member of my team who would to the FBI."
Around the corner Jim heard the comment and smirked. Sticking up for Blair went a long way toward putting the man in Ellison's "Good Fed" book. He wasn't there yet, but Jim suspected it was only a matter of time. He'd come back down because the intense bonding session of the night before left him with a desire to stay near his Guide. It always did and this time he didn't need to ignore the wish. Their guests were his responsibility as much as Blair's and Simon hadn't been in his office anyway.
He nodded at Gibbs, who was heading back into the security office, as he walked up behind Blair.
"Hi, Jim, Simon not upstairs?" Since no one was around and the occupants of the security office were otherwise occupied, he allowed himself to relax against Jim for a few minutes.
"No, Rhonda said he wasn't back from a breakfast meeting. That's one reason I never want to make Captain. It seems like all you do is go to meetings and deal with paperwork." Jim rested his hand on Blair's shoulder; he craved more contact, but restrained himself. Intense bonding carried its own hazards; it built a desire for more bonding, which started a never-ending cycle. While the Sentinel and Guide didn't mind that idea, Jim and Blair realized it would never work. They did scatter time off during the year to let their alter egos play, especially after they realized the more they bonded, the deeper they were connected.
Finally, Blair pulled back.
"I've got an idea I want to check out, can you call on those three families and play tour guide for awhile?"
"If I must." Jim loathed losing contact.
"You must." Blair squeezed his arm in understanding. "Keep an eye on Agent DiNozzo, this has the potential to mushroom quickly. Warn Simon if you get a chance." With one final squeeze, he headed down the hall. Jim, careful not to zone, followed the heartbeat until the foursome exited security.
Shepherding the group upstairs, Jim pointed out the important areas, like restrooms and the break room.
"And finally, here's Major Crimes. Rhonda has us set up in a conference room down the hall. Oh, and if you want coffee I suggest you avoid the break room and ask Captain Banks, he keeps the real stuff, not that sludge everyone else drinks."
Simon would growl at the loss of his stash, but that was just too bad. He'd dumped the Feds on Jim after all. Despite his growing respect, he wasn't about to forget that little fact.
"Where's Detective Sandburg?" Ziva asked when she noticed the conference room was empty.
"He said he had an idea he wanted to check into."
"Care to share with the rest of us?" Gibbs growled when Jim didn't continue.
"Don't know what it was." He was testing the older man shamelessly. He recognized in Gibbs a fellow control freak and wanted to see how he'd react to Blair's shotgun investigative technique.
Seeing Mount Gibbs near eruption, McGee jumped in.
"Hey, Boss, didn't you want to talk to Commander Abrams yourself?"
"And isn't the director expecting an update?" Tony added. They were both used to diffusing Gibbs' anger during joint investigations since his diplomacy and tact were nonexistent.
Jim took his first good look at the other Sentinel that morning. He seemed much more in control, but Jim also recognized the knife edge DiNozzo was balancing on. Even with McGee's presence Jim knew the control would continue the slide downhill until the problem was addressed.