Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS.


A/N - Okay, this is weird, there is no Baxter in this chapter. Think of it as a Baxter break.


Gibbs barged into Jen's office, with the rest of the team bundling in behind him like sheep.

"What's the problem?" he asked flippantly.

The small time delay between her phone call to Gibbs and him arriving in her office hadn't lessened Jennifer Shepherds' fury or her resolve to get to the bottom of the situation. She had finally managed to calm Baxter down to a point where he was at least able to have a coherent conversation with her. He, in turn, had immediately felt at ease confiding in her and had willingly poured out the whole story about his experience with the team. As he animatedly explained each incident, she could feel the anger grow steadily in her gut.

After much pleading, Cynthia had reluctantly agreed to take Baxter out for coffee and comply with her instructions to keep him occupied for at least an hour. She had smiled falsely as Baxter had embraced her once more, grateful that he'd been able to speak to her. Although she wasn't his biggest fan, she could not stand by and let her team leader blatantly disregard her explicit instructions on how the young man had to be treated.

Now, faced with the team, she knew that she had a job to do. She glanced quickly at Gibbs and then grimly eyed each of the team in turn.

"To say, I am disappointed, would be an understatement. To say, I was furious, would be a gross inaccuracy."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, "Well, can you 'say' then, what this is all about?"

She was about to snap back a response at his mockery when she forced herself to stop and think before she replied. Too often she had been in this position before with Jethro, when he had baited her verbally and she had let her uncontrolled anger lead her to say things she later regretted. Inevitably, in those situations, he would ultimately back her into a corner, giving him the advantage and she would be left feeling vulnerable and without authority. She had learned through experience that remaining cool and calm, at least initially, sometimes turned the tables and infuriated him.

She resolved to keep her anger under control and in doing so, ignore the cantankerous team leader for the moment. She set her sights squarely on the rest of the team,

"Officer David! I'm curious as to why you thought it was necessary to drive to the crime scene this morning like a Parisian taxi driver. And in doing so, had Baxter Murray thrown like a rag doll in the back of the truck!"

Ziva's eyes widened at the accusation, "I did not drive...it is not my fault the traffic was bad!" she protested.

"Oh, and I suppose it wasn't your fault when you pulled a knife on Baxter was it?"

Tony nervously laughed out loud, "You pulled a knife on him?"

Ziva huffed and folded her arms, "It's not as if I would have actually used it!"

"Yeah right," Tim added with a wry smile, "that so wouldn't fit your normal profile, would it?"

"Hey, McGee, stop it. Ziva wouldn't hurt anyone intentionally!" Abby said defensively as she whacked Tim on the stomach.

"Ow, Abby!" he yelped.

Jen chuckled sarcastically and glared, with astonishment at Abby,

"Abby, I'm so glad you agree that hurting someone intentionally is way out of line. However, from what Baxter has told me you obviously have a little difficulty in practicing what you preach. Perhaps you can explain, if you feel so strongly about hurting someone intentionally, why you ever thought it would be acceptable to forcibly remove a DNA sample without due process and without the consent of the individual!"

Abby grimaced at Jen's accusation and began to shuffle nervously from one foot to another,

"He upset me! Did you know he screwed up a crime scene? I mean, that is like a biggie, a certain 'no-go' zone activity!"

Jen simply continued to glare at her, making her even more nervous.

"I had to take a sample, Director! I needed to rule out his DNA! I didn't have a choice!"

"I think you did have a choice Abby! You chose to pull a clump of his hair out to get that sample didn't you? You chose not to use the most common method of sampling which is a cheek swab. One which is painless and effective! I think you knew exactly what you were doing when you made your choice!"

Abby could do nothing, other than glance quickly at Gibbs and then bow her head sheepishly. Jen's level of adrenalin began to creep higher and she narrowed her eyes dangerously at the older Medical Examiner.

"And then we have our own Dr Mallard. Frankly, Ducky, I expected more from you than to stoop to the level of immaturity, normally exhibited by these two," she said sarcastically, pointing in Tony and Tim's direction,

"And why you, of all people, would deliberately and without regard to that young man's feelings force him to endure a situation you damned well knew he couldn't cope with!"

"My dear..." Ducky began to protest, but was cut short.

"And you two! You have done absolutely nothing to help Baxter settle in and be part of the team. Instead, you decided to behave like a couple of schoolyard bullies!"

Tony and Tim gasped open mouthed at the accusation.

"We didn't do anything! Did we Probie?" Tony squeaked in protest.

"Leaving him to carry the kit! Not supervising him properly at a crime scene! Failing to lend a hand, when he was clearly in distress in the truck! Shall I go on gentlemen?" she snapped.

Gibbs huffed, tiring of the accusations being thrown at his team. He smirked as he stepped forward, raising his hand to halt her before she drew breath once more,

"If you're finished Jen."

"Oh, trust me, Special Agent Gibbs, I'm just getting started!" she growled.

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and folded his arms defiantly, titling his head slightly, a serious frown growing on his face. Her stomach flipped at the sight of his authoritative stance and she stood up from her desk and took up her position in front of him.

"I gave you a direct order that you had not to lay a hand on him. I specifically told you, no head-slaps!"

Gibbs raised his eyebrow, "Well, my crime scene, my rules!"

"An order is an order Gibbs, and you damn well know it!" she snapped.

The rest of the team looked on nervously at the mounting battle of wills playing out before them.

"Come on Jen, you know he shouldn't have been there in the first place! He's not even close to being agent material. He's not capable of being in the field physically or mentally, even just for a day!"

"I told you to treat him with kid gloves and you deliberately didn't step in when he was being treated horribly, even worse than a Probie!"

"Beneath a Probie!" Abby blurted and then slapped a hand over her mouth, immediately regretting what she had said.

"What?" Jen barked as she moved to stand in front of Abby, "Explain!"

Abby nervously eyed Gibbs, her mouth flapping wordlessly, "Uh...Gibbs said...uh..."

"Abby!" Jen growled.

"Gibbs said that was how we had to think of Baxter, as beneath a Probie. Get him to do all the jobs we would normally get a Probie to do," she whined, too scared to even look at Gibbs.

Jen laughed out loud, "Okay, I get it now; you and your team were way out of line, Jethro. But that's okay because you pretty much sanctioned the whole damned thing!"

Gibbs remained defiant, not yet willing to admit to his former Probie that he had been at the root of Baxter's poor treatment,

"Look, I can't help it if he's a weak little weasel! Now, I've a God-damned case to solve and that is my only priority right now, as it should be yours!"

He spun on his heel, heading for the door, beckoning the team to follow him with a flick of his finger. Before he could reach the door handle, she took in a huge lungful of air.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" she bellowed.

He froze, not turning around to face her. In the ensuing silence, she made a determined decision on what to do next.

It was time, she concluded, to stop the see-saw recriminations.

It was time, she realized, for consequences.

To be continued...