TONY

"Looks like we have intruders this morning. What should we do about that, Sam?"

The voice sounded a lot more friendly than the words might otherwise have suggested.

Tony never slept as well as he'd like when he had to cram his six foot and change frame into a couch that wasn't designed for restful sleep. How McGee managed it he couldn't imagine. Maybe his partner had a higher tolerance for being folded in half, but Tony was absolutely and definitively not a couch guy.

Gibbs was different, of course - Tony was fairly certain that Gibbs perversely slept better when he was uncomfortable. Trust him to be the exception.

At any rate, even if he'd perceived a threat, he wasn't in a fit state to do more than wheeze at it like an asthmatic geriatric. "Hello?" he managed, as he forced himself into something approximating upright.

There were two figures staring curiously down at him. One built like the Terminator (ex Special Warfare if Tony's practiced eye was any judge), and the other paradoxically more scary looking even though he wasn't nearly so physically intimidating.

"Sleeping beauty awakes," said the smaller guy.

The other one laughed. "Don't know about that, G. The kraken, maybe."

"That's a low blow, Sam." He turned his attention back to Tony. "Take no notice of Sam, he's grouchy when he hasn't had enough sleep."

Sam muttered something under his breath about whose fault that was, but his partner ignored him. "So I guess you're with the team who've come down from DC. I'm Callen, this is Sam Hanna."

Callen held out a hand and Tony shook it dutifully, still feeling a little at sea and not quite awake. "DiNozzo. Tony DiNozzo."

Sam chuckled. "We know. We've been expecting you."

"Oh. Okay." Tony valiantly resisted the temptation to make a Bond joke, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the last traces of sleep. "God. What time is it?"

"8 in the morning." That was McGee, and Tony was shamefully pleased when he glanced over to see that his partner looked as bad as he felt.

"Where's Gibbs?"

"Still asleep back there."

Tony frowned. Gibbs sleeping in? "You're joking."

"Nope. Out like a light." Callen smirked.

He's probably had prior experience of Gibbs' sleeping habits. Tony shook his head. "Wow. I guess these couches must be really uncomfortable."

Callen and Sam both looked at him strangely. "What?

"Uh... Just a theory of mine."

Sam raised an eyebrow. It was a very Gibbs expression, but on Sam it looked more amused than pissed. For such a big guy, he had a surprisingly gentle face.

McGee came over to the couch Tony was on. "If you guys are back, does that mean...?" It took Tony a moment to realise where Tim was coming from, and then it hit him again. Kate. Alive. Unbelievable, yet true.

"Nate's debriefing her in the boat shed, and her sister's down there, too. Figured she'd need a little time to adjust." Callen's tone was matter of fact, but Tony was pretty sure he could spot a poker face when he saw one. "This all happened pretty quick."

"She prob'ly needed some time to recover from the flight, too," grumbled Sam.

"Yeah, Europe to the West Coast can really give you jet lag."

"It's not jet lag, it's G lag. The energiser bunny here was practising his Slavonic languages on her the whole way back." Sam rolled his eyes. "If I wasn't sworn to guard and protect, I'd have wrung your neck and thrown your scrawny ass in the Atlantic."

"I love you too, big guy."

"Watch out or I'll throw you off the climbing wall and tell Hetty you slipped. She's beaten you so many times, she'd believe it."

"You have a climbing wall-?"

"-That little old lady beat you on it?"

Callen grinned. "Don't let Hetty hear you call her that, not if you want to live."

"Shall we give 'em the tour?" Sam looked at his watch. "Nate's not gonna finish up for a while."

"What do you guys think?"

Tony stretched out his back. "If the tour includes coffee and a restroom, you can count me in."

"Yeah, you could use a little freshenin' up," said Sam with a cheeky look that suggested he was joking... mostly.

"C'mon, McSmelly. I think he means you. You still smell like wet dog."

"It wasn't my fault about that pothole yesterday-"

"Don't worry about it," said Callen. "At least you smell better than Monty."

"Even Deeks smells better than Monty..." Sam and Callen were still bantering as they walked away, and Tony beckoned McGee to follow.

"Who's Monty?" Tim whispered.

Tony shrugged. "No idea. Just roll with it. I need coffee."