"Agent Jackson," the white-haired man called from across the gym.

When Percy looked up from the punching bag he was attacking, the man gestured him over. He stilled the bag and took off his wraps as he walked over to him and stood at attention. "Yes, Sir?"

The man half-smiled and said, "At ease, Marine."

Percy relaxed, bringing his hands back to his front, and said, "You're Gibbs, right? What can I do for you, Sir?"

"You're working my case, Jackson," Gibbs announced. "Starting now."

Percy followed Gibbs into the bullpen. He was still in his workout clothes and his tanned, scarred arms were still on full display.

"Sir," he tried again, dogging along after Gibbs, who hadn't explained anything. "I don't understand. I'm just a probationary agent."

Gibbs ignored him again and instead began fiddling with his computer, focused enough to bother with the technology.

"Agent Gibbs!" Percy shouted, shocking everyone in the bullpen. The rest of Gibbs' team, who until that point had attempted to be surreptitious, began openly staring after he dared yell at the most fabled and frightening man in NCIS.

"Sir," he corrected himself at Gibbs' sharp glare. "I would like to know why you assigned me to your case. I'm as green as can be, and your team is the best. Why am I here?"

Finally, Gibbs said something, "You're a Marine Corps Captain. Upon entering the Inactive Reserves, you joined NCIS and broke every physical fitness and combat training record FLETC had. While in the Marines, you were written up for mouthing off to a superior officer enough times that it almost cost you your promotion."

Percy glared, and it was almost as chilling as the Gibbs' stare.

"But that's not why you're here," Gibbs continued. He pressed a key and an autopsy photo of a wrist with a dark brand of the letters 'SPQR' followed by a simple dove and ten lines. He came around the desk and grabbed Percy by the arm, who jumped but didn't pull away. "You're here because the first time you were written up, it was for this brand being exposed. The same brand that that dead Marine has."

Percy pulled his arm back, exposing his similar brand of 'SPQR' followed by a trident to the rest of the team, and stared at the image on the screen. "Is that Michael Kahale?" he asked.

"Yeah," one member of Gibbs' team, a nerdy-looking blonde man, said. "Petty Officer Michael Kahale was stabbed to death last night at 0200 hours."

The nearest chair to him was Gibbs' desk chair, and Percy sat down heavily in it. He rubbed his hands down his face and sighed. "Di Immortales. Michael was a good guy. What happened?"

"We're still figuring that out," another man said, offering his hand. "Tony DiNozzo."

"Percy Jackson," Percy supplied, shaking his hand.

A blonde woman walked around her desk and asked, "How did you know Petty Officer Kahale? I'm Ellie Bishop."

Since everyone around him was standing, Percy stood too. He absent-mindedly fiddled with his wedding ring as he explained, "We went to the same summer camp when we were teenagers. The branding was a rite of passage."

"What kind of summer camp lets kids brand each other?" Ellie asked, mildly horrified.

Sheepishly, Percy said, "A poorly disguised reform camp with basically no adult supervision."

Getting back on track, Gibbs demanded, "When was the last time you spoke to Kahale?"

Percy took a minute to think before saying, "My last leave before entering the reserves. So... six months ago? We were both visiting camp. I mean, we weren't really friends, but he was a good guy and I respected him."

"Why were you visiting a summer camp?" DiNozzo asked, leaning back against Gibbs' desk. "You're what, twenty-five?"

"Twenty-six." He looked even sadder as he said, "They were having a memorial service for a kid who went to camp with us."

"Where were you last night at two am?" McGee asked sympathetically.

"Oh, wow," Percy said, realizing that they had to eliminate him as a suspect. He nodded and said, "I was actually here, down in the gym boxing. There's bound to be security footage."

Gibbs said, "There is. I saw it." Everyone looked at him, but he didn't say anything else.

"So that's why Gibbs let him on the case," McGee said with a look of understanding.

Percy shook his head and turned serious. "Do you have any leads? Where was he stabbed? Does his father know?"

And they went to work.

It was an ex-boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend of Michael's fiancé had stabbed him. At camp, they'd always said it would take a Laestrygonian to take Michael down, but in the end, all it took was an angry man and a drunken ambush.

"Jackson," Gibbs barked as he strode through the bullpen.

Percy was holstering his side-arm and throwing his duffle over his shoulder as he said, "Yes, sir?"

"I'll see you here at nine o'clock sharp tomorrow," Gibbs said.

Surprised, Percy asked, "But Sir, isn't the case over?"

"I'm sure we'll have a new one tomorrow," Gibbs said as he entered the elevator. As the doors closed, he added, "And it's 'Boss.'"

The next morning when everyone arrived, there was an extra desk in the bullpen pushed up against Bishop's.

"What's with the desk?" Tony asked as he came in.

McGee sat down at his own desk and said, "I don't know."

With a great clattering, Percy ran into the bullpen, holding a cardboard box and duffle bag. "Oh cool," he said, setting the bag and the box down on the new desk. "I'm not late."

"I should hope not," Gibbs said as he walked in, making Percy jump and Tony laugh.

Bishop walked off the elevator and saw Percy at his new desk. "Oh, are you joining the team?"

"That's what I've been told," he said with a smile.

"Ooh," Tony sang at Bishop. "We've got a new probie, Probie."

Bishop smiled at Percy and said, "Guess we can share the jobs no one wants."

Grinning back, Percy said, "Guess we will."

He began setting his things on his desk. It was the basics, a stapler, and pencil cup and the like, and also a few photos. One was of Percy with a middle-aged Samoan woman, a man with salt and pepper hair, and a nine-year-old girl. Another was him and a different blonde woman on their wedding day, and the last one was Percy when he was in middle school with another boy, who hadn't been fully in focus in the photo.

Tony came up behind him and snatched the wedding photo off his desk. Percy whipped around, but Tony just turned the photo back towards him and said. "So you're married? Who's the lucky lady?"

Percy smiled and took the photo back. "Her names Annabeth. She's amazing."

"Ah, young love," Tony crowed. "Still starry-eyed and head over heels."

"How long have you guys been together?" Bishop asked. "Jake and I have been married for eight years."

Taking a moment to do the math, Percy said, "We've been together for ten years, but married for four."

McGee came over and joined the conversation, asking, "So you guys were high school sweethearts?"

"Something like that," Percy said.

Gibbs interrupted their 'gossiping with the new guy' time and said, "Less chit-chat, more case reports."

Tony spun back around to his desk and said, "Welcome to the joys of paperwork, Probie."

The first time Gibbs tried his signature slap on Percy, it went badly.

He and McGee were messing around at McGee's computer when Gibbs came up behind them and slapped the back of both their heads.

Before anyone else could react, Percy grabbed Gibbs' wrist and spun around, twisting it painfully.

"Oh my god!" Percy dropped Gibbs' wrist like hot coals and backed up. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it was you, boss." He was horrified and incredibly apologetic.

The rest of the bullpen, not just the MCRT, was staring. They were galled that someone had dared to lay their hands on Gibbs.

"Jackson-" Gibbs began sharply while holding his wrist, but Percy cut him off.

"I'm sorry." He backed up, fleeing to the stairwell and down to the basement.

Dr. Donald Mallard entered his lab with a spring in his step, ready to prepare the unfortunate Petty Officer Kahale for his journey back home to Hawaii. Much to his surprise, there was already someone in the lab.

A young man in a blue t-shirt and khakis was standing in front of Kahale's drawer.

"Hey, Michael," he said. "It's Percy. I know we never really were friends, but you're the person here I've known longest, and I'm sure you would understand. Those wars messed all of us up." He stopped and pressed his forehead against the cool metal cabinet. "I think I ruined a good thing."

"I'm sure it can't be as bad as you think, my boy," Ducky said, announcing his presence and walking over to his desk. "You're Perseus, aren't you? Gibbs' new probationary agent."

Percy jumped and turned around, but relaxed when he saw it was just the doctor. "Oh! Yeah, that's me. You're Doctor Mallard, right?"

"Call me Ducky," he insisted. He sat his bag down and began unpacking for the day.

As he walked over, Percy said, "I hope I wasn't intruding."

"Not at all," Ducky assured him. "I come down here just to talk to them all the time. What is it you think you ruined?"

"Oh..." Percy trailed off, looking guilty. "I kind of attacked Gibbs."

This surprised the ever unflappable Ducky. "What on earth do you mean?"

Percy looked even guiltier and wouldn't meet Ducky's eye. "He slapped the back of my head, which I guess is something that he does. And I just reacted and grabbed his wrist and twisted it."

Ducky laughed.

"Well, it took long enough for someone to do it!" He chuckled. "He's been doing that for years, and it was only a matter of time before someone took offense."

Percy nodded cautiously and said, "Okay, but I think you still get fired when you hurt your boss."

Ducky scoffed and said, "If he tries any such nonsense, I'll ream him a new one."

With a smile, Percy said, "Thanks, Ducky."

When Percy walked back into the bullpen, Gibbs was at his desk.

"Agent Gibbs," he said, striding towards him.

Gibbs looked at him coolly and said, "Yeah, Jackson?"

"If you fire me, you're wrong."

Still, Gibbs showed no visible reaction. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Percy said resolutely. "If you read my file before you hired me, you know that I have PTSD. You surprised me and hit me. You should have expected that reaction."

The rest of the MCRT was gobsmacked. Not only had Percy attacked Gibbs, but he was now telling him off.

After a long moment of staring, Gibbs said, "I was never going to fire you. When I choose someone, I expect them to stick around. Are you going to stick around?"

Percy smiled and said, "Yes, Sir."

Percy met Abby the second day after he joined the team for good. He had heard so much about her and how nice she was, so their first meeting came as a shock.

"I don't like you," she announced when she saw that it was him walking into her lab.

Taken aback, Percy stopped in his tracks and said, "What?"

"You hurt Gibbs," Abby explained, crossing her arms and staring at him. "So I don't like you."

Immediately, Percy's guilt returned in full force. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. He just surprised me and I reacted."

Abby glared at him skeptically. "You really didn't mean to hurt him?"

"Of course not," Percy implored. "I didn't know it was him. I just got hit and then I was back in a war. I don't even know why I'm telling you all this."

For another moment Abby stared at him. Then she cried, "You poor thing!" and wrapped him in a sudden hug.

She squeezed him tightly, and he felt a little like a deer in headlights before he hugged her back, not quite as tightly. After a moment, she pulled back and said, "Okay, I like you."

Percy smiled and said, "Thanks, I like you too."