Warnings: Spoilers for "Shalom", Tony is kind of a jerk lol

A/N: Hi everyone! Here is that Tony/Gibbs confrontation I mentioned in the last chapter. Let me know what you think! Hope it lives up to expectations!


"You look like a crazy hobo, Jethro," Jenny tossed at him, vehemently. "Drinking too much of that hooch Franks puts away?"

"Since when do you care what I look like, Jen?" Gibbs threw at her, angrily. "I want to know why NCIS isn't helping Ziva. This is not how I trained my team."

"It's not your team anymore," Jenny stated, bluntly. "You left Special Agent DiNozzo in charge. And I ordered him not to get involved. Unlike you—Tony can follow orders."

Gibbs wondered what had happened to her over the years. She had always had somewhat of a temper but in the fifteen minutes he had been in her office, he was seeing just how much that anger had taken over her personality. "The Tony I knew wouldn't turn his back on his people. Sure he's following those orders, Jen?"

Jenny glared at him and ran her hands over her perfectly tailored business suit. "Yes. I'm sure he is following orders. He was in here just last night informing me that he found Ziva hiding out at your house."

His jaw twitched. When Gibbs had arrived at his house, Ziva had informed him that Tony had just left. When he inquired why Tony wasn't sticking around to help, Ziva informed him that he had refused. Jenny must have really whipped his former senior field agent good if he was walking away from helping out a teammate. "She didn't do it. She thinks she's being set up by the supposedly dead Mossad officer she saw at the scene just before the explosion."

"Then she should go to the FBI," Jenny answered, coolly. "There is nothing NCIS can do for her."

"I don't get you, Jen, you fought with me tooth and nail over adding her to my team and now… you're not going to help her?"

"My job is to protect the integrity of this agency."

Gibbs stood and squared his shoulders on her. He hated it when she went all politician on him. "And the word of your agents be damned, right?"

Jenny raised her chin in defiance. "If Ziva was set up, the FBI will find evidence of that. But she has to stop running from them."

"Running? She had no choice but to run!"

"She could have called me or Tony first! She chose to call you!"

"Oh, so this is about your ego being bruised not about the integrity of NCIS!"

"Um, am I interrupting?" Tony suddenly asked, stepping into the office. "Cynthia said you wanted to see me when I came in."

Jenny shifted her glare off of Gibbs and turned towards Tony, a forced smile settling on her face. "No. Of course not, Tony. Please… come in."

Tony entered the room and shut the door behind him. His green eyes made contact with his former boss' blue ones and the fury inside of them made him wish he had spiked his morning coffee. "Sorry I'm late, Director. Overslept."

Gibbs took a deep breath. "Maybe you can explain to me why I'm here and not making a teak hot tub on a beach in Mexico?"

"Me? You should have asked Ziva that question," Tony snapped. "She's the one that called you—not me."

"She told me you wouldn't help her," Gibbs spat at him. "I thought I taught you better than that DiNozzo? I thought I taught you to never screw over your partner! To have her back!"

"Of course she told you that," Tony scoffed. "You never could resist a damsel in distress. She knows that Gibbs! She's playing you!"

Gibbs felt like smacking him and not on the back of the head. "Are you suggesting that I don't know when someone is lying to me?"

Tony set his jaw. "I'm saying that you tend to throw up blinders when it comes to women—especially Ziva. The truth is I did offer her help. I figured out that she went to your house and I went and offered to help her, knowing that it could cost me my career. She didn't want it. Apparently, she doesn't trust NCIS or me or even McGee enough to ask for help. Guess I can see why—you didn't exactly boost their confidence in me when you left. That one hurt, Gibbs. You'll do? After all those years I worked with you surely I deserved more than a you'll do."

Jenny could see that remark hurt but typical Gibbs he slammed a steal mask on and made sure that Tony didn't see how much it hurt. "We could sit here all day and lay blame on one another," she said. "Never the less, Jethro, you are no longer an employee of NCIS… I cannot stop you from helping Ziva. But… if the FBI comes asking around if I've seen you… then I'm going to have to tell them."

"Yeah, yeah to protect the integrity of NCIS," Gibbs grumbled, fixing his eyes on Tony. "Am I done here, Jen?"

Tony wasn't surprised when Gibbs didn't wait to get approval to leave, he just left, slamming the door shut behind him. Licking his lips, he glanced at Jenny. "So… I'm guessing that you didn't bring it up that you haven't filed his retirement paperwork yet."

Jenny shot him a look. "He came in here ranting and raving about how I was leaving one of my agents high and dry. And then you walked in…"

"And what should I do about Ziva?"

"Either Ziva or Jethro contact you or anyone else on the team… notify the FBI."

He wasn't sure he liked it, but Ziva had turned down his offer to help. Tony nodded his head. "Yes, ma'am," he replied before leaving. With a heavy sigh he started back towards the bullpen, not at all startled that Gibbs was waiting for him. "I thought you went to help Ziva?"

Gibbs eyed the former senior field agent with a bit of distaste. "When did you become an ass kisser, DiNozzo?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb. The agent I left behind wouldn't have let her push you around like that."

"Jenny isn't pushing me around. I can take care of myself, Gibbs. You don't have to worry about me."

"You're different. You wouldn't have taken no for an answer four months ago."

"People change in four months, Gibbs."

The former marine squared his shoulders at Tony. "When I said you'll do I meant you were the best one for the job, someone that wasn't going to play into their hands, always dig for the truth whether or not people liked you digging. The man I saw in there… was not the man I left behind. What the hell changed?"

Tony clenched his fists at his sides. "You left. You didn't even say good-bye, didn't give us any reasons as to why. One minute you didn't even know my name and then in the next you were handing me your badge and gun and saying 'you'll do'. I've spent four months busting my balls keeping this team together! And now, the moment Ziva is trouble… instead of calling me… she calls you… obviously all those months I spent working on team building meant squat to her! What gives, Gibbs? Am I supposed to be happy to see you back? Want me to go down there and throw you a party?"

Gibbs watched the angry storm clouds raging behind Tony's eyes. "I came because a friend asked for help. I would have done the same for you."

"Oh? Really? I called you how many times for advice—you never returned one call!"

"Because you had to forge your own path, Tony!"

"Yeah, yeah," Tony said with a wave of his hand. "Whatever. I know once you help Ziva you'll be back on a plane to Mexico without so much as a good-bye."

"I don't know what you want from me, DiNozzo," Gibbs stated, angry, tired, confused. "Just tell me, damnit!"

Tony felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was from dispatch. "Don't have time. Call out. You know how those go…" he snarked, flipping the phone open and asking where his team needed to be. Without so much as a look in Gibbs direction, Tony went to gather his team and head out.