Tim came back from the coffee run he'd sanctioned for himself after his meeting with Vance, feeling much more comfortable going that route instead of going back to that break room, he, ignored Tony completely and only offered Ziva a small smile of greeting as he silently walked in and immediately settled in back into his chair and got back to his work, not wanting to disrupt the quiet working atmosphere he'd come back to.

Seeing this deliberate snub while still smarting from Tim's earlier behavior, as well as being irritated by the younger man's seemingly self-important trip up to the Director's Office, Tony was quick to launch himself to his feet and over to Ziva's desk. "I need to talk to McGee alone."

"Tony, it is obvious McGee does not wish to talk to you. Why should I leave you alone with him?" She asked him quietly but with an unmistakable warning in her tone that she knew he had enough sense to take seriously.

"Because I'm not gonna do anything but talk to him, Ziva." He defended his intentions wapishly.

"Very well. But I will not leave him alone with you for you to pounce on him while he does not expect it. I will warn him first." She vowed as she got up and headed over to Tim's desk. "McGee, I am going down to check on Abby for a few moments. Gibbs has not come down from the director's office since he went up there some fifteen minutes ago."

Tim looked over at her in surprise. Why was she telling him all of this? Then it dawned on him. She was letting him know that he and Tony would be alone and that she was worried. "Thanks, Ziva. Will you ask Abby if she wants to throw her lunch order in with mine later on? I'll treat you both to lunch" He asked her quietly with a smile of appreciation, while deliberately making sure neither of them were letting this be anything but a normal conversation, with no reference whatsoever to what he would not talk about.

"Yes, McGee. I will. And thank you, that is very kind of you" She smiled, following his lead before she headed to the back elevator.

****NCIS****

Thanks to Ziva's kind words of warning, Tim knew what was coming next and even though he hoped he could remain firmly silent on the matter, he also knew how Tony operated. The Senior Field Agent loved to keep digging where he had no business nosing around until he got what he wanted, always operating under the misconception that he had an unalienable right to get what he wanted no matter what the cost to anyone. He was that burr under your saddle you just had to get rid of and the only way to get rid of this burr was to shut him up; which usually meant giving in and telling him exactly what he wanted to know.

Well, not this time. Tim wasn't about to let Tony unsettle him like he usually did. He'd had taken enough crap from the older man last week; for the last seven years if the truth were to be told and he wasn't about to take any more. Squaring up his shoulders, he heaved out a sigh and attempted to beat Tony to the punch. "I have nothing to say to you, DiNozzo. I'm here to do my job just like everyone else and that's it. So just leave me alone and we'll get through the day just fine."

Shocked not only by Tim's words and the bitterness in which they were spoken, but also because Tim had attempted to shut him down before he'd even gotten started, Tony remained silent for a long minute. The fact that Tim hadn't even looked at him while he spoke that way further shocked Tony, leaving him feeling like he was on shaky ground. A few short minutes later and the shock was gone and now the anger marched in. Tony's fists were soon clenched as he approached Tim's desk. Using one to support his weight on the desk, he leaned in towards Tim's personal space in an effort to keep the conversation as quiet as possible.

"You practically ruined mine and Gibbs' weekend, McWhiner! And now you're trying to turn this place into your personal soap opera with Abby and Ziva all worried about you and asking Gibbs to worry about you and asking me what I supposedly did to you. What is the big deal here, Probie? So you saw something you didn't like on Friday night, so what? Get over it!" Tony quietly ordered with steel in his tone.

"You done?" Gibbs quiet voice sounded in Tony's ear, filled with steel-laced anger so hot it nearly vibrated in the air around them.

Tony whipped around, "Boss! I didn't realize…." He stammered.

"You're done." The tone had sharpened dangerously, yet Tony pushed, too wound up and frustrated by the whole ordeal to back down easily.

"Gibbs, I'm jus…."

"I'd, take a break before you say something you're really gonna regret, if I were you, DiNozzo." Gibbs interrupted the younger man before he could make things worse.

"Didn't realize you were gonna add runnin' interference for him to your list of ways to let him come between us, Gibbs." Tony's tone was quiet yet completely bitter, bordering on disrespectful as his eyes flashed angrily even as his fists curled with agitation.

"Now, DiNozzo." Gibbs warned angrily, his tone still barely quiet while his eyes left no doubt he was even more pissed than he had been a moment ago.

Tony turned and stalked from the squad room, disappearing around the corner without so much as another word.

Left behind with the still working Tim McGee, Gibbs was momentarily struck speechless. Wanting to talk quietly to Tim and Tim alone, he'd chosen to come around the back side of the squad room after his meeting with Vance. He'd still been reeling from finding out what the young man had done for him and Tony in deleting that taped evidence, as well as taking the blame for the need to tamper with it in the first place, when he'd come back down the stairs.

He'd heard every single spiteful word that had come out of Tony's mouth just now and it had taken every ounce of self-discipline not to give his Senior Field Agent one heck of a head slap. Somehow, he'd held himself in check and gone with the element of surpise, not only with his presence but with his quiet words of unmistakable anger and warning. Now seeing his youngest agent still trying to act like he hadn't been in tune with what had just happened, the boss was frustrated. How was he supposed to be able to get anywhere with Tim like this?

Before he could think on things any longer, Ziva returned to the squad room and went straight to her desk, getting back to work with whatever she was working on at her desk. Not wanting this to get away from him any further, Gibbs approached Tim's desk, determined to at least thank him for everything he'd done, both over the weekend and upstairs in Vance's office this morning.

"McGee." The boss' tone was deliberately quiet and bordering on sympathetic in hopes of garnering Tim's cooperation.

Tim was still reeling from the tongue lashing Tony had just given him and in all seriousness, was fully expecting the same from Gibbs. The Team Leader's timely intervention just now and unmistakable anger at Tony had surprised the hell out of him and left him speechless. Even though Gibbs was known as the functional mute, it unsettled the resident geek even further that the man stood there for so long, silently contemplating something before approaching Tim's desk and speaking his name.

With his ingrained manners still firmly attached to his character, Tim had no choice but to look at his boss, once his name had been spoken. It didn't, however, mean he had to speak to him. After all, right now, he had no clue what to say. He hoped like hell that the boss would not ask him any questions. Tim didn't feel like answering any right now. All he really wanted to do, was get back to work so this day would move on and he could go home and get away from all this craziness.

Once the young man looked his way, Gibbs found himself struggling with what to say to him. Where should he start? What did Tim need to hear the most right now? He wasn't good at this stuff, never had been. With his luck, he'd screw it up even more; make matters worse. Well, at the very least, they could try to talk things out, especially if he gave Tim carte blanche with the conversation in the privacy of Gibbs' 'office'. Finally, he tried to get things rolling the best way he knew how. "Need to see you in my office."

Maintaining eye contact, Tim asked quietly "Does this have anything to do with a case or my work?". The question was completely unexpected, causing even Ziva to look up in surprise. With her excellent hearing, she'd caught what he'd said as well.

"No, it doesn't." Gibbs told him honestly, once he'd gotten over the surprise of Tim acting out of character like this.

Continuing to look Gibbs straight on, Tim spoke with quiet confidence. "Then we don't have anything to talk about, do we?." Unwilling to be rude, The young man forced himself to hold the boss' gaze until he was given the answer that would allow him to get back to work. Sure enough, Gibbs gave him that one quick nod of agreement he needed and Tim turned back to his work while the boss paused there for a short minute then turned and went back to his own desk.

A stunned Tony had stood on the outskirts of the squad room a moment ago, a mere couple of feet from the divider behind Tim's desk. He'd come back out of frustration and the need to know exactly how his lover was going to handle Tim becoming out of control like this. Feeling the heat of anger suddenly directed at him, he looked up over the divider, only to find the man in question glaring at him enough that Tony knew it was time to get back to work.

***NCIS***

Somehow, that simple yet unexpected decision of Tim's along with the Team Leader's choice to respect that decision, quickly returned things to as near as normal as they could be, given the circumstances. Gibbs knew his youngest agent at least well enough to understand that 'normal' was what Tim was after; what he needed. With that in mind, he'd scowled at Tony while glaring at him over the divider, once he'd realized his Senior Field Agent was over there eavesdropping, letting him know that while it was time for him to get his ass back to work, this issue of Tony's earlier behavior, was far from over between the two of them.

Wanting to do what was best for his team, overall, as well as what he could to help Tim through what had to be a difficult morning, given what the young man had already put himself through to protect the team's unity, Gibbs refused to deal with Tony now. He was loath to call any more attention to the problem, choosing instead, to table it until he and Tony could talk without witnesses or even creating a scene by leaving together for any reason. Gibbs knew that Tony probably figured the situation was over and done with; but he'd find out differently, later on today. Gibbs just hoped the young man would handle it well and not hold Tim responsible.

Tim was grateful that Gibbs didn't challenge his unusual refusal to do as the boss had directed; grateful and shocked. He couldn't help but notice there was a different look in the man's eyes since he'd come back from the Director's office, too. He just wished he could figure out what that look was about because Tim had always hated not knowing what the man was thinking; especially when it had to do with Tim, himself. Mentally shrugging it off as something about the man, he'd never understand, he got back to work, reading through the ten year old cold case open in front of him, his hands and eyes alternating between the case file and his computer while he ran fresh searches for information.

***NCIS***

Before they realized it, the morning hours had slipped away, making room for the lunch hour to slide on in. When Gibbs sounded the call, Tim and Ziva together broke off from their work and while the young woman issued the standard 'good bye' to colleagues that weren't accompanying her, Tim remained silent as they headed down to get Abby for lunch. Neither Tony nor the Team Leader moved to get up or even stopped working for the first ten minutes.

Tony was shocked when Gibbs stood suddenly and walked out around his desk, heading out of the squad room past Tony's desk. But what surprised the younger man even more, was being called to go with him.

"With me, DiNozzo." Gibbs ordered in his normal tone while he kept moving forward toward the elevator.

Sharing the elevator with other employees of NCIS, left no room for discussion on the way down to signing out for lunch and so it wasn't until they'd reached outside and began walking towards the sandwich shop that sat on the corner two blocks up, that Tony opened his mouth to ask the burning question.

"What's on your mind, Gibbs?" Tony's voice was quiet and compassionate, genuinely concerned for not only his boss, but his lover.

With his hands in his pockets, Gibbs stopped and turned to face Tony, his less than happy mood evident in his features. "Security Footage." he quipped, hoping his normally bright Senior Field Agent would get the point quickly and get over himself in this matter. Frankly, he was fed up with Tony's self-serving attitude, especially after watching Tim try so hard to do everything he could to take care of the evidence and then go back to all things normal. Tony needed to be taking lessons from Tim on this one; they all should.

Before either of them could say anything else, Tony's cell phone rang, disrupting not only the mood of open communication, but also the flow of conversation. With a quick apology, Tony dug his phone out and answered it.

"DiNozzo. …What?...No, I…okay, I'll be right there." Snapping his phone shut, Tony offered an aggravated explanation. "Evidence Lock Up's doing their monthly auditing. According to them, I owe them an explanation or two and they want it now." Turning on his heel without waiting for a reply, Tony headed back toward the building. What the hell did they mean he hadn't signed in some evidence?

Gibbs watched his agent walk back toward the building, aggravation of his own building up at this chance to talk about the mess that needed to be worked through, being stolen from him. Damn it! Now, I'll have to find a way to get through to him later - and hope like hell he doesn't make things worse before I get the chance!