A/N: So it's been a long while between tags but I have a good excuse. This year I've been working on my Quantum Bang story and submitted the final draft last week. This one isn't overly long and stylistically it is different from the last few tags, probably because I wrote it a long time ago, back in 2016 I think, which seems like a lifetime ago. So after four drafts of my 2021 QB fic, I've dusted this off and proofed it again and added a coda because I can't help myself - I compulsively tweak my stuff. Trying to get my head around the next couple of tags in this series, Call of Silence and Heart Break. I'm doing research for a sequel for a fic that I want to write and I have another idea for a crossover story. Just how many of these will be written (aside from the TATM tags) remain to be seen, although I hope they all are. Thank you for all your comments even if I didn't have time to reply - I do appreciate them.

Series: There's Always Tom Morrow

Chapter Title: Heaven Has No Rage Like Love to Hatred Turned

Episode: Terminal Leave s02e06

Characters: Tom Morrow, Caitlyn Todd, Tony DiNozzo, Tim McGee, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Abby Sciuto

Director Morrow had been notified that the MCRT had returned following the conclusion of the case involving the protection detail of naval aviator on terminal leave. Lieutenant Commander Micki Shields, an Iraqi war veteran targeted by terrorists and additionally, in a case of appallingly bad luck, her husband's jealous ex-lover. Fortunately, both threats had been neutralized and the Commander and her family were unharmed. All in all, it was an excellent result, and it was nice for NCIS to have a happy ending for a change. Happy endings were good for morale.

Of course, while the case was over and all that was left for the MCRT was to finish up the reports and make sure any evidence was properly logged and paperwork up to date, the director was not so lucky. He still had a major headache to deal with. Well two, to be precise. Both of which were issues caused by Hurricane Gibbs as he flattened everyone who got in his way or that he perceived might even be thinking of getting in his road.

The FBI Assistant Director had filed an official complaint about Gibbs' behaviour, alleging that he threatened Special Agent Lina Reyes from the CTD, wilfully destroyed FBI equipment/evidence, interfered with her investigation, threatened national security, and harassed her in her office. Unfortunately, this was pretty standard fare whenever Gibbs was forced to work with other law enforcement personnel. The man did not play well with others.

The second headache was potentially a lot more serious and would be much trickier to deal with. He had received complaints of intimidation of the suspect by Gibbs and Ducky from Roland Moore's defence attorney, claiming that they had forced his client to watch an autopsy so he would see what awaited him after they arranged for him to 'commit suicide.' He was even now, recanting his confession, claiming it was obtained under extreme psychological duress. Frankly, Tom was incredibly surprised at Mallard. He thought the ME was smarter than that, more ethical than that but honestly, he wasn't that shocked at Jethro behaving like a loose cannon. The man believed he was a law unto himself – and he would be the death of him.

Several hours later he decided to stretch his legs and decided to wander down to the bullpen and chew the fat with his agents. Several of the teams were out and he exchanged a few words with team leader Balboa although his team was trying to find a missing six-year-old son of a Marine Lieutenant. It was looking like it might be a disputed custody case but until it was confirmed, they would assume the child was in danger and act accordingly. So, he left them to it.

Knowing that the MCRT was completing paperwork and reports on the Shields case, he decided to join them and compliment them on their excellent results. Especially Agents DiNozzo and Todd. They had managed to avoid shooting an intruder who only later they'd learnt was Jen Shields' boyfriend. A very foolish young man who'd snuck into the Shields' house regularly, and seemingly decided it would be a good idea to do so again while armed federal agents were guarding the family. A fine example of the arrogance of youth.

If Todd or DiNozzo had shot the little jerk, the director knew they would have been devastated and overcome with guilt, even though Gibbs trained his team to shoot to kill. If the dumbass kid had been shot, the haters would have been quick to blame NCIS but if anything happened to the family, they'd have bating demanded their badges. Sometimes, you just couldn't win.

Tom, who had kids and grandkids personally thought the two Shields children needed a damned swift kick up the butt for acting so damned snottily to his agents during the case. They were just trying to save their ungrateful little asses. Sure, he got that it was hard for the children of service personnel but that didn't excuse the disrespect that they'd dished out for his team who quite literally would take a bullet for them.

And the second reason number that the two agents deserved to be praised (and he knew that Gibbs would rather eat his own crap than mutter a good job, especially to DiNozzo) was for their extremely quick reflexes that saved the Lieutenant Commander when they were out jogging. When the second attempt on her life was made, their quick thinking meant that no one was injured and that was another excellent outcome. Cases like this showed why Todd had been on the Presidential Secret Service detail and while he was not her biggest fan when it came to her profiling abilities, Tom was perfectly happy to acknowledge her contribution and experience in this protection detail. DiNozzo had equipped himself superbly too, according to reports he was the first one to spot the danger. The man had excellent situational awareness.

Intending to tell them both how please he was with their work on the case, the director came up alongside the partition and heard Todd and McGee laughing so he decided not to interrupt them. He knew only too well that once a case was over, especially a high profile one with the amount of stress they'd all been under, it was healthy and normal for them to let off steam. He had no wish to cramp their style. They had Gibbs as a boss, and he wasn't a fan of high spirits.

"Y'know, DiNozzo sure sucks at relating to kids. It was so funny when Willy told him he wanted his sunglasses and he's all flabbergasted and well yeah dude, but you can't have these." McGee was chuckling. "How come he sucks so bad with kids? I got along fine with Willy – he's a great kid."

"How should I know why he sucks so bad at it, Tim? But you know what the best bit was Gibbs coming in and ripping them off Tony and giving them to the kid and then Willy thinks Gibbs is super cool." Cate grinned. "And that kid was so laughing at Tony. It was great – I wanted to kiss Gibbs for that."

"And what about Tony, he was standing there like a stunned mullet and he couldn't do anything because it was the boss that swiped them, so he didn't dare call Gibbs out. And Willy knew it and that kid was super smug, lording it over him. I wish I'd filmed it so I could watch his expression over and over, it was priceless. I'm sure it would go viral on YouTube," McGee said petulantly.

"Yeah, but that temper tantrum he threw in the car was pretty awesome too. 'Polarized lenses, impact protected, raked-back curvature… They were special order, boss.' Cate parroted back his complaints.

"And then the boss tells him, 'I don't ever special order.' Like it's a sign of weakness or something to special order," Tim chortled.

I think Tony really did want to throttle you when you told us, 'Isn't that funny. Neither do I.' But instead, he had to settle on yelling at you that it wasn't funny."

"Yeah, but you know, I thought it was pretty damned funny. Although it was even funnier when you told him, 'I always special order,' as you put your sunglasses on. But that final remark of yours just cracked me up, Cate. It was brilliant. 'Bright day today.' Oh, man, he was mad." McGee laughed at his senior field agent's misfortune spitefully.

The pair looked at each other and collapsed into fits of laughter and Cate was still giggling about Tony's obvious anger over the loss of his special-order glasses when she noticed Director Morrow standing there, listening to their conversation.

"Hallo Director. Is there something I can help you with?"

"No, Agent Todd. I just wanted to congratulate the team on a job well done protecting the family. Your work and DiNozzo's were outstanding, Cate. No dead boyfriend, and for that I am eternally grateful – the paperwork would have been a real bitch," he said seriously."

The two agents chuckled obediently at the Director's attempt to be humorous before he caught them off guard with his next comment.

"I just hope the little punk got the fright of his life," he said with an uncharacteristic degree of vindictiveness. "Plus, you two foiled the second attempt on the Lieutenant Commander when she was out jogging. Extremely good job all around!"

Tom noted the shocked looks on the two junior's faces and smiled. Praise was a rare commodity where Gibbs' team was concerned. Some might say it the equivalent of an archaeologist's Eldorado. To which Gibbs would likely snort dismissively, "Yeah, fools' gold!"

Nevertheless, their shock at receiving praise from their superior swiftly morphed into pleasure, tinged with pride.

"Where are agents, Gibbs and DiNozzo?" he asked them.

Tim, who was normally tongue-tied around the director replied. "The Boss is on a coffee run and DiNozzo went down to see Abby in the lab, Director, Sir."

"I see. Thank you. Oh, and Probationary Agent McGee, I'm Director or Sir. No need to use both salutations together."

He turned and headed towards the elevator, entered it purposefully and pressed the button to go down to the lab.

He was surprised to find it was bereft of the arhythmic cacophony of discordant, ear-splitting noise which Dr Abigail Sciuto in all seriousness called music. And McGee was correct. Special Agent DiNozzo was seated on a stool squinting, which Tom surmised, meant he had a headache. Of course, the fact that Abby had just asked him if he wanted some Advil for his head and he'd accepted might have been a small clue too.

Never let it be said that the director wasn't on the ball. Ace investigator!

When he noticed Morrow's presence, Tony quickly masked his pain. Standing up like a soldier at attention and grinning, although Tom could tell it was forced, he asked, "Were you looking for me, Director Morrow?"

"Only to tell you that you and Todd did a good job on protecting the Shields. Your excellent senses, situational awareness and quick reflexes saved the Lieutenant Commander from the second bomb. You prevented that dumb little punk, Liam, from making the biggest mistake of his life, too. He's damned lucky he wasn't shot as an intruder. I'm going to invite that young man down here with his parents and I intend on reading him the riot act."

Tony looked uncomfortable and the director realised it wasn't from the headache, it was praise he'd received. It was something he didn't seem to know how to deal with it which was sad.

.

"Oh, thank you, Sir, but it was Special Agent Todd, Sir. She's the team's protection professional." He frowned a little as he looked at the floor uncomfortably.

"She was great with the daughter too, unfortunately, I struck out with Willy Shields. He hated me, though McGee and he were great buds."

Morrow knew that Tony was really bad at accepting praise, he figured it was a hangover from childhood because according to his security clearance, he never received any growing up. Never having learnt to deal with it appropriately, he always brushed it aside, assuming he didn't deserve it. It was the ultimate irony since he craved it constantly but didn't know how to deal with it when he got it.

All the more reason he should get practise dealing with it now when it was warranted but that wasn't likely with Gibbs as a boss. Tom sighed as he realised that while Tony was adept at dealing with all of Jethro's shit, it didn't mean that it was good for him to do so.

"Tony, trust me when I say you done good! And confidentially, just between the three of us," he regarded Abby and winked. "I'm mighty relieved to know that you didn't bond with young Willy Shields. From sitreps and what I observed in MTAC, Willy was an obnoxious little berk that needed a swift kick up the butt daily. I know it is difficult for children of serving military families, but both of those kids were insufferable. If you want my opinion, I think you deserve a medal for putting up with him – I think I'd have throttled him."

Tony looked as if the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders at Tom's observation about Willy. Morrow smiled at Abby who uncharacteristically had been silent through the conversation and he made to leave.

"Oh, and Tony, a little birdie told me you lost your sunglasses while working the protection detail. With your photosensitivity and tendency to suffer debilitating headaches, NCIS consider them to be necessary equipment for you to do your job. Seeing they were special order and paid for out of your own pocket it is only fair that NCIS replace them for you. Can't have you missing work now, can we? Please put in a requisition order for their replacement ASAP and send the payment details to me personally so I can approve them."

After he'd gone Tony turned to the Goth scientist. "Okay, how the hell did Morrow know about my shades? Did you blab, Sciuto?"

"Tony, I'm no squealer. It wasn't me. Maybe he's like Gibbs and Santa. He knows when you've been naughty or nice. Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound."

"That's Superman Abs and stop making me laugh… hurts my head. Well, I guess those two chuckleheads upstairs have finished laughing at my expense. Better go finish my paperwork and chase down the minor little detail regarding how the hell a soccer mom was able to build a bomb out of fertiliser and a garage door opener."

"You think she wasn't working on her own?" Abby bit her lip because how come that hadn't occurred to her or anyone else.

"I don't know Abs, but you can't tell me that it's a normal skillset for a suburban mom. Maybe she had a previous life as a chemical engineer, was in the armed forces as an explosive expert or she was trained by Mossad or a sleeper for a terrorist cell but what if she wasn't anything more than your average cheating suburban housewife? How would she be able to build a bomb?"

"Maybe she downloaded how-to instructions off the internet," the forensic scientist suggested.

Tony shrugged, "Maybe but until I investigate and know that for sure then the case isn't closed. It would be negligent and unprofessional to ignore such massive red flags just because the bomber died in such a cliched bitch-fight over a cheating husband."

Abby nodded. "Yeah, your right but what if Gibbs closes the case?"

Then I'll work it in my own time, it wouldn't be the first time, Abby."

She nodded. Tony was a gifted investigator who looked at things from an out of the box perspective that Gibbs with his sniper focus often lacked. And really, if soccer mom hadn't built the bomb and someone else did, and they killed again, that would not be a good look for NCIS. Not to mention how bad they would all feel about it with the benefit of hindsight.

"Thanks for the Advil." He hugged her and left the lab.

As he reached the door, she told him, "I'll leave my futon out in case you need it."

DiNozzo nodded, smiling briefly, acknowledging that he was planning on staying in the office until he got the answers to the important questions about who built the bomb that almost killed Commander Micki Shields, Cate, and himself. She would stop and pick up some breakfast in the morning because when he was super focused, he often forgot about eating. Something that Gibbs highly approved of but he was the only one.

The next day, Tom had Cynthia, his personal assistant put a copy of the payment details for DiNozzo's replacement sunglasses on Jethro's desk with a request for payment ASAP. The director made sure to do it while he was out getting his morning coffee and had organised for HR to call DiNozzo down there on a ruse, so he wasn't caught in the crossfire when Gibbs exploded.

The director knew that it was only a matter of time before Gibbs came storming into his office but that's why he got paid the big bucks. Truth to tell, he was relishing the confrontation. Sure enough, Cynthia didn't even get to announce him before Gibbs stormed in, bombarding him with his presence, throwing the invoice with a request for payment down on Tom's desk. Tom idly wondered if now might be the right time to suggest to the Almighty Gibbs that he attend anger management classes.

"What the hell is this, Tom? 300 dollars for a pair of sunglasses? How freakin stupid do I look? I'm not paying for these, just because DiNozzo is vain enough to waste good money on a pair of sunglasses he could pick up for twenty at Sears. He wants to wear fancy shades - he can pay for them himself," he growled at the director.

"He did pay for them, you asshat… and then you stole them from him to give to a spoilt little brat. Just because Willy Shield is kid doesn't automatically make him a nice person or entitled to DiNozzo's property, Jethro." Tom fired back.

"Yeah, but he pissed DiNozzo off, and made him look stupid, so what's not to like?" Gibbs snarked.

Tom saw red at Gibbs hubris and his lack of remorse, So, much for Gibbs precious rule – especially Rule 1 – never screw over your partner. The display of utter disrespect which he'd had the misfortune to witness by Todd and McGee in the bullpen yesterday demonstrated that it wasn't the first time he'd broken that rule either or they would have known how inappropriate it was. What an bastard and hypocrite Leroy Jethro Gibbs was!

If anything, it made Morrow even more determined to make him pay for his actions. "Gibbs, in this case, I've had to defend you to the FBI for your outrageous and utterly inappropriate behaviour towards a federal colleague, since you can't or won't play nice with the other agencies. I've had to have your back for allegations by lawyers of intimidatory tactics with a suspect, and you're damned lucky that it's his word against yours and Dr Mallard. But there better not be a next time because it will cost us the case."

He scowled furiously at Gibbs who didn't even bother to look repentant. That made him even more pissed off – Jethro was such a prick at times!

"Since Ducky supports your version of events, I had no choice but to back you up… this time. However, I'm not convinced either of you are being truthful about what went on in Autopsy. What possible reason was there to take the suspect down there in the middle of a post-mortem because I'd love to hear it, Special Agent," Tom growled at him, shaking his head in exasperation and he wondered if he wasn't getting a stomach-ulcer like Stan Burley.

"But… I can and will make you pay for your disgraceful highhanded behaviour to your agent in taking Agent DiNozzo's sunglasses off him to give to a child, an extremely undeserving one at that. You just fed Willy Shields' sense of entitlement, which needed no assistance, I might add. Since you took them, you can pay to have them replaced out of your own pocket as they weren't damaged or stolen in the course of him doing his job."

"So DiNozzo came cryin' to you about his fancy glasses? Well, tough shit! I'll fork out for a normal pair. I'm not paying for a damned special order to make him look good."

"Yes, you will Gibbs. If you've bothered to ask or read his file properly, you'd know that in addition to 20/10 vision he is extremely photosensitive and suffers bad headaches. He special ordered those sunglasses on medical advice but pretends that they are a fashion item since he hates to admit to having any weaknesses. You should damn well know that about him."

Tom glared at the belligerent supervisor agent. "I wonder why he's so terrified of seeming weak. Why he'd prefer that you all think he was vain rather than thinking he need special order lenses to do his job… and what does that tell us both about the team dynamics? Think about that, Jethro," he chided him steely before continuing to tear him a new one.

"Be that as it may, even if they were simply a fashion accessory, your actions were completely out of line. You purloined his personal property in front of a room full of witnesses, so you WILL pay to have them replaced. Perhaps hitting you in your hip pocket will make you more inclined to think about your actions in the future, Senior Field Agent."

"That's Senior Supervisory Agent, as you well know, Tom."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Gibbs," he warned him sharply. "Not set in stone, ya know."

Morrow decided that Gibbs was starting to get extremely pissed off with him if the vein pulsing in his forehead just above his eye was anything to go by. Tough shit… Jethro was going to get some payback for the huge headaches he'd given him on this case.

"I was doing him a favour. Helping him make friends with the kid. DiNozzo sucks at relating to kids," he argued antagonistically.

Tom shook his head in disgust. Surely Gibbs didn't expect that pathetic excuse to fly with Tom, did he?

Giving him his patented don't be a fuckhead glare reserved for dressing down dumbass agents, he snorted. "I'd be worried if Tony had got on well with a little jerk like that one. Willy Shields is an arrogant entitled brat who urgently needs an attitude adjustment. Don't try to sell me your bullshit, cuz I ain't buying it, Gibbs. The case was over – there was no need to build rapport.

"You wanted to help him out, you should have had his six and told the kid, 'Tough, you can't have them,' or you could have offered him yours if you wanted him to have sunglasses. My guess is Willy would have laughed his ass off at you if you'd offered him your pair since you're such a skinflint, you always buy the cheap shit. And you will be paying for the glasses, Special Agent Gibbs – one way or another."

"What the hell does that mean, Morrow?" Gibbs growled at him. "Sounds like a threat."

Morrow laughed cynically, "Not a threat if I intend to follow through," he said mildly.

"You either pay up or I'll suspend you for two weeks without pay for stealing the property of a subordinate. I'm not bluffing… go on and try me."

Gibbs shot him a stare that had been known to melt probie agents like the Wicked Witch and a bucket of water in the Wizard of Oz but hell, Morrow was no damned probie. He gave him a measured glare in return. He hadn't gotten to the top of the food chain without developing a titanium backbone and a thick hide!

Apparently, he decided he'd lost this round because Gibbs growled, "Fine. I'll replace the friggin glasses."

He strode to the door. The director let him reach out for the door handle and said, "Oh, and Jethro, a word of advice. When you decide to break the law and steal something that doesn't belong to you, don't do it in front of witnesses. Todd and McGee thought it was so funny about their superior's sunglasses that they were telling anyone who happened to be in the bullpen about it, including me. One more thing, do not give DiNozzo a hard time about this or I will give you a hard time – perhaps attendance at a sensitivity training course. I've heard about a great one being run in California that focuses on aura cleansing, that would be right up your alley. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Gibbs barked, slamming the door on the way out and then slamming the outer door too.

"That's good because they also recommend colonic irrigation and no coffee either," he said to the empty office. "Starting to think that your anger might just be due to impacted crap. Coffee enemas are supposed to be good for that too."

The director rose and poured himself a coffee to celebrate. It wasn't often he got the upper hand against Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but the idiot had left himself wide open this time to get his ass handed to him. Sipping his coffee, he smirked.

Ah, the taste of victory was sweet even if he drank his coffee black with no sugar!

Coda

As he finished his coffee, relishing a rare one-upmanship of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, he saw an email from Senior Field Agent Anthony DiNozzo informing the NCIS director and Cc'ing Special Agent Gibbs and FBI Agent Lena Reyes that upon further investigation of Greta Boyen, there was no logical explanation based on her background check of her and her family to explain how she was able to build an IED, that at college she'd completed a degree in English Literature. DiNozzo had spoken to a contact at the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Division, specifically the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Centre (TEDAC) TEDAC with interagency authority to recover, receive, exploit, and analyse IEDs used (or intended for use) by terrorists against U.S. interests. DiNozzo thought they might have uncovered a sleeper cell and Tom thought he was probably correct.

It looked like it might a case proving once again that Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned. And how incredibly cliched was that!

The End

End Notes:

IED – Improvised Explosive Device.

I guess it is obvious that I found all three of the adolescents in this episode to be snot-nosed little brats that needed to lose their privileges. I didn't think they were funny or cute.

I found it disturbing that Ducky would take part in the Gibbs interrogation of the suspect, although Gibbs not so much. He seems to think that the end always justifies the means and that he's untouchable. God Complex much? And he and Ducky both had the hide to call Tony a narcissist! Classic case of projection if ever there was one.

As to why Tony is the one investigating the giant plot hole about how did Greta Boyen build an IED – well it couldn't be Gibbs, or he wouldn't have been playing mind games with DiNozzo on the way back to the office if he believed the case was still active – not post Ari. Cate and McGee were both green agents and neither agent was an investigator, nor would they go against Gibbs' decision that a case was closed even if they were aware of the inconsistencies, However it is canon that Tony had continued to investigate the death of terrorist Abin Tabal who had supposedly died of an apparent suicide in S06 e24 Semper Fidelis after Director Vance prematurely ordered the case closed. He was the only professional investigator on the team and a former detective, plus he'd shown that he was prepared to ignore orders when he thought they were wrong, even if it came from the director.