Tony and Ziva were both back at their desks in the bullpen. Tony was extremely irritated. He was already on edge with Gibbs being missing, as well as the director, and now McGee seemed to have appointed himself lead. Well, alright, the deputy director actually did that, but McGee probably angled for it.

Ziva looked over at Tony. He had been in an awful mood since they left the lab. Well, he, and the rest of them, had not been in the best of spirits today at all for obvious reasons, but Tony had gotten worse since the events in Abby's lab, where it had become apparent that McGee had at least been put in charge of the case. Unlike Tony, Ziva did not care that McGee was in charge. It did not matter to her who led as long as they found Gibbs and Jenny. Tony should not care either.

Tony looked at his watch. "I guess McGee is still up talking with the bosses."

Ziva huffed at the bitterness in his voice before getting up and approaching his desk. "Get over yourself, Tony! Who cares who is in charge? Who cares who is getting the information? Who cares about your ego?"

"It's not about my ego!" Tony snapped as quietly as possible. Alright, maybe it was a little. He did feel slighted that his probie was put in charge over him, but that wasn't the only reason he was upset, or even the main reason. "McGee isn't qualified to lead this case, or any case. He's never led a case before."

"That does not mean he can't. McGee has shown a lot of initiative so far with this investigation," Ziva said.

Tony scowled at once again being reminded that McGee was the one who thought to inform the deputy director. "I would've thought to clue in the deputy director eventually."

"We did not have time for eventually. McGee's quick thinking bought us time when we probably already did not have any. Who knows how far back it would put us if McGee had not acted so quickly?"

"Well, excuse me for finding it hard to think straight after finding out that my boss was attacked. Excuse me for taking that hard," Tony said with a glare. He kept his voice quiet, but the anger in his voice was evident.

"We are all taking it hard, Tony. Do not act like you are the only one who cares!" Ziva said just as harshly.

"I'm not saying I am, but it's different for me. It's certainly not the same as it is for McGee," Tony said. He didn't even mean that as an insult. He just didn't believe McGee, or even Ziva, were as close to Gibbs as him.

"You do not know how McGee feels. Just because he managed to keep his mind clear enough to figure out a game plan does not mean he cares less than you. When we got to the crime scene, McGee looked ready to pass out, and he has not looked much better since then. McGee is just as worried as we are," Ziva said.

"All I'm saying is that maybe he's not as upset by it as me, and that's why he can think clearly," Tony said.

"You cannot just simply give him credit for his excellent work, can you?" Ziva said.

"Can I have everyone's attention for a minute?" a voice called out.

Tony and Ziva both looked up to see McGee standing over the railing on the director's floor. Everyone in then bullpen looked up, and those walking by on the upper floor stopped to give McGee their attention.

"A memo will be going out to everyone in the agency shortly, but I wanted to let as many of you know as I could myself," Tim said. He wanted to let his team know personally first, but he didn't think he had much time before the memo went out. "Many of you have noticed that Director Shepard has been out the building all day. Some of you already know this, but for the rest of you, Director Shepard and Special Agent Gibbs were sent on an emergency assignment by the Secretary of the Navy sometime last night."

"When did he learn to lie?" Tony asked. He'd noticed it earlier with Hall too. McGee had lied pretty believably, and he was now too. Tony would believe him if he didn't know better.

"He's always known how to lie. Now, listen!" Ziva whispered harshly. Gibbs had told her that McGee couldn't lie, and she knew he meant it as a compliment, but Ziva never bought that. First of all, she knew McGee had lied before, as she'd seen his dossier. Second, anyone could lie. They just needed the right reason.

"The nature of their mission is classified and there's no telling how long it will last," Tim continued. "Unfortunately, Deputy Director Vance, who would normally act as Director under these circumstances, is also leaving for a mission, and all other assistant directors have other duties to see to and cannot come to DC.

There were murmurs of concern around the building, presumably all wondering how NCIS could continue to function with no director.

Tim cleared his throat. "Pursuant to the orders of the Secretary of the Navy, I will be acting as Director until either Director Shepard or Deputy Director Shepard or Deputy Director Vance wrap up their missions."

The murmurs got louder. Many expressed shock while others expressed outrage at a young agent being promoted to the top position of the agency.

Tony and Ziva were among those shocked. Tony could not believe this was happening. It was like he was in some bizarre, yet vivid, dream. There had been a point when he wondered if McGee was Acting Director, just from the way he was acting, and how he was being treated by the deputy director, but he figured if that was the case, it would last for maybe a day, not indefinitely, which was what McGee was implying. It sounded like the deputy director would be gone for weeks, and there was no telling when they'd find the director and Gibbs, or what condition they'd find them in. It could be a long time, and in that time, McGee would be in a position he was completely unqualified for. Tony thought putting him in charge of the case was bad, but this was completely ridiculous.

"I understand how unusual this situation is. I certainly wasn't expecting it, but rest assured, I will do everything in my power to get NCIS through until Director Shepard returns. Thank you. Ton…. DiNozzo, David, please join me," Tim said. As he started to call for them, he realized that he would need to be profession when addressing them publicly, which meant calling them by their last names. He was the director now after all.

Still in shock, Tony and Ziva started towards the stairs. Tony finally started to express his disbelief when he reached the top floor and McGee. "What the hell, McGee? This has got to be the most insane idea I've ever heard."

"Thanks, Tony. I appreciate that," Tim said sarcastically as he led the way towards Jenny's… his office.

"Look, I don't mean any offense by it, but you are not qualified for this," Tony said.

"You're preaching to the freaking choir, Tony," Tim said in a hushed tone before entering the outer office of the director's office. He stopped at Cynthia's desk. "Cynthia, please don't let anyone through until we're finished."

"Yes… Director," Cynthia said. She'd been informed of everything just before the announcement.

Tim shuddered as he continued into the next room. He was never going to get used to being called 'Director'. It was what he was temporarily, but he could still hardly believe it.

"How did this happen, McGee?" Ziva asked when they were in the director's office. She was just as shocked as Tony, as well as a bit concerned, only because McGee was thrust into this role with no training at all.

"And why? What are you thinking, McGee? You can't act in the director's place," Tony said.

"I didn't have a choice, Tony. No one asked me if I would like to do this. It was an order," Tim said before going over to the desk and sitting down behind it.

"You're saying you didn't want this?" Tony asked skeptically. He found it really hard to believe that McGee was that opposed to becoming the freaking director.

Tim looked at his coworker as though he grew another head. "You think I angled for this? Are you crazy? Even if it was my ultimate goal to become Director someday, in what way would it be a good career move to angle for the job five years after becoming an agent, when I barely have the experience to be Senior Field Agent?"

"I do not mean for this to sound disrespectful. I have the utmost respect for your abilities, McGee, but why did they do this?" Ziva asked as she took one of the chairs in front of the desk.
Tony sat in the other.

Tim sighed. "There weren't a lot of options. Vance really is going on assignment, and SecNav doesn't want anyone else finding out about the director and Gibbs. If he appointed another director, they'd have to be read in. He's worried about the possibility of a leak, as well as, of course, what might happen if the public finds out."

"He thinks it's an inside job?" Tony asked. That pissed him off. He hated the idea of traitor inside NCIS. Traitors were one of the worst kinds of scum.

"He's not sure. He's considering it because Je… Director's Shepard's address isn't listed. So, the choice for Acting Director came down to two people. You or me, Tony," Tim said.

"Then why you?" Tony asked. If those were the two options, he felt like he should be the obvious choice, given that he was the most qualified agent. Not that he wanted the position, but he did want to know why they went for McGee instead of him.

"You really want me to answer that? Well, from what I gathered from Vance was that they expect me to act more professionally than you. They think I take things more serious," Tim said. Vance had specifically mentioned Tony's childish behavior when they spoke.

"Hey, I take the job seriously!" Tony snapped with a glare.

"I know that, but how you act in this office, even when not on an active case, that holds weight. It leaves an impression," Tim said. He always felt like Tony might be hurting his career by acting the way he did. Agents around the office might accept it as the way Tony was, but others who could affect promotions would see it differently.

Tony continued to glare at him. "Yeah? And doesn't acting like an insecure kid have the same impression? You really think you can do this? Even if you learn the job and can excel at making the important choices, what happens when it comes to sanctioning someone? Hell, what if you have to fire someone? You think you can do that, Probie."

"I will do what I have to to keep NCIS afloat until the director returns. This conversation's over. I'm sorry you feel passed over, but I don't have time to go at it with you over it. Let's be honest anyway, you don't want to be where I am," Tim said.

"He is right. You would be itching out of your skin," Ziva said.

"Crawling. I'd be crawling out of my skin," Tony corrected.

"You admit it," Ziva said triumphantly.

"I was correcting you, Ziva. But, yes, I admit it," Tony said. He truly didn't want to be Director, not now or any time in the future. He enjoyed field work. He did not want to be behind a desk. It just bothered him that a younger agent was thought to be better than him.

"Good, then we're moving on. You're gonna get what you wanted, Tony. The case is yours. My first order of business is up both your clearance levels, so you can access any files you need. Then I'll make sure the body Metro found is transferred to NCIS custody. I want to be kept in the loop. If you find anything, I want to know about it," Tim said.

"Fine," Tony said before getting up and heading out of the room without another word.

"Do not listen to him, McGee. He is acting like a child," Ziva said.

"He's not wrong. I'm not qualified for this, and I don't want it. I am useless behind this damned desk!" Tim said, yelling the last part a bit. He didn't want to have to be running NCIS while the people he cared about were missing and hurt. He wanted to be out there searching. He wanted to do something to find Jenny and Gibbs.

"McGee, you are not useless. If it had not been for you, we would be hours behind. We have access to those files because you called those that needed to know what was happening. I know you wish to be active in the investigation, but just because you cannot does not mean you are useless. You will pave the way for us to do what we have to. You will keep NCIS going so that we me may continue to investigate," Ziva said. She could understand why he would feel useless, but he was not. They could not do what they needed to without him.

Tim hadn't actually thought about that. All that occurred to him was that he couldn't be involved in the actual investigation because he'd be too busy running the building. He supposed Ziva was right, but only if he managed to succeed. "Unless I fail."

"You will not," she said confidently.

"How do you know. This is nearly impossible for someone with my current experience and qualifications. I don't even know where to start," Tim said.

Ziva looked at her friend straight in the eye and made sure the only thing she conveyed in her eyes was her belief in him. "Because you have already prevailed in things no one thought you could. You survived when many would have believed you'd be defeated."

Tim closed his eyes sadly, realizing that she knew more about him than anyone else at NCIS. He wasn't that surprised though. He'd suspected when he found out she had a file on everyone. "I wondered if you had the truth about me in the dossier you compiled. I never wanted to know for sure though. I was afraid of what I'd see when you looked at me."

"The only thing you would've seen is admiration," she said.

Tim finally opened his eyes again. "Admiration? What is there to admire?"

"Your strength. I do not know what happened to you, and I do not wish to make assumptions on it. I will also not ask you about it because if you wanted anyone to know, you wouldn't have hidden it," Ziva said.

"Thank you," Tim said. It was nice to hear that after the conversation he had with Abby after she found out a truth about him. Unlike Abby, Ziva understood the importance of privacy.

"As I said, I do not know what happened, but I know that you were near death. No one expected you to live, and if you did survive, you were expected to be too damaged to function. You proved everyone wrong," Ziva said.

"You attribute my survival to strength?" Tim asked in disbelief. He never saw it that way. He never felt strong. In fact, he saw it as the exact opposite. He was helpless. He couldn't do anything for himself or anyone he loved. He felt weak. He'd always credited his being alive on luck. Whether it was good luck or bad luck, he had still yet to decide.

"Yes. You survived because of strength. You will prevail again because of that strength. You will prove everyone wrong," Ziva said before standing up. "I want to assure you that I will never tell anyone what I know."

"I know. Thank you, Ziva," Tim said. He knew he could trust Ziva, and that was before he knew for sure that she had his complete file. He knew she was not one to reveal someone else's secrets.

Ziva nodded and headed for the door.