The next day, Ziva was sitting at her desk the next morning. She was making phone calls, trying to get in touch with people who knew the three men that were murdered eleven years ago. McGee wanted them reinterviewed. They would be speaking to Mrs. Richards again, as well as Jacob Talen's CO, though that would have to be done in MTAC since he was overseas.

"Ziva," Ralph called when she got off the phone.

"Yes, Jason," Ziva asked.

Ralph got up and approached her. "Look, I've noticed how you, the boss, and Abby have been really rattled by the impending arrival of these agents coming."

"Agent. Only one of them is an agent. The other is retired, and, we are not rattled. We are angry," Ziva corrected.

"This got to do with how things were when I first got here?" Brooks asked from his desk. He'd seen the pain and anger in his teammates when he first arrived. They didn't talk about it with him, but something hit them.

"It is complicated and personal. I am sorry, but we just do not like to dwell on it. I will just say that they were a part of our team and they left," Ziva said.

"I get it," Brooks said. He did understand. When you worked with someone for so long, especially in the field that they did where you had to rely on your partners to save your life at times, it created a deep bond. You couldn't just be colleagues. He knew he didn't consider those he worked with to just be colleagues. "Just so you know, we have your backs."

"Thank you, Connor. I should in turn warn you that things will be tense for the remainder of this case. Also, do not let Gibbs intimidate you because he will try," Ziva warned.

"You think he'll try to take over?" Ralph asked.

"Yes, that is a given. He will want control, especially since the original case was his," Ziva said.

"Well, screw that. It's our case," Brooks said.

Just then, Ziva heard the faint ding of the elevator. She turned in time to see Tony get off and send her a smile, which only increased her ire.

"That's not Gibbs, is it?" Ralph asked.

"No," Ziva answered.

"Ziva!" Tony exclaimed as he made his way over. "Good to see ya!"

"Tony," Ziva greeted curtly.

"How have you been? And where's the probie?" Tony asked as he looked around the area. He didn't see McGee anywhere and someone else was sitting at his desk. The director hadn't demoted him back to junior agent, had she?

"None of us are probies," Ralph spoke up.

Tony eyed him. "You're not my replacement, are you?"

"Wouldn't know. I don't know who you are," Ralph said.

Tony looked back at Ziva. "You didn't tell your new teammate about me?"

"No," she said simply.

Tony turned back to the man. "Anthony DiNozzo. I used to be in charge her, though it wasn't for long."

"Jason Ralph, and no, I wasn't your replacement," Ralph said before walking away from Ziva's desk and going to his own.

Tony looked at Ziva. "So McGee left?"

Ziva was getting angrier by the minute. Tony saw that the only desk for their team unoccupied right now was the team leader's and he deduced that Tim had moved on instead of considering that he may have earned his own promotion.

Just then, Gibbs got off the elevator and headed towards them.

"Boss! I mean, Gibbs. Good to see you!" Tony said.

"Yeah, you too, DiNozzo. Hey, Ziva," Gibbs said.

"Gibbs," Ziva greeted in the same tone she had Tony.

"Ziva, are you in like an incredibly bad mode?" Tony asked. He could hear the coldness and hostility in her voice, and that was when she actually spoke. She wasn't saying all that much.

"I have had better days. Anyway, you are here because there is a murderer out there and the case is connected to your old one," Ziva said.

"What do you mean that's why he's here. He's been here," Gibbs said.

"Um, actually, I haven't Gibbs. I transferred. I run a team in Rhode Island," Tony said uncomfortably. He wasn't sure how Gibbs would react to knowing he'd left the team after Gibbs had given him the reigns.

"You left? What the hell did you do that for DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked before smacking him upside the head.

Ziva had the urge to turn that question around on Gibbs. The only thing stopping her was that no part of her was inclined to defend Tony right now.

"I couldn't stay, and it's not just me. McGee's gone too," Tony defended.

"Good you're both here," Jenny said as she came down from her office.

"Hey, Jen," Gibbs said.

"Director," Tony greeted with a smile.

"Come to my office for a debriefing. Ziva, when he gets back, tell him to join us," Jenny said.

"Of course, Director," Ziva said.

The three of them immediately started walking up the stairs.

"I wish I could be a nat on the wall when they realize who has taken their place," Ziva said to herself once Gibbs and Tony were gone.

"You mean fly, right? You wish you could be a fly on the wall," Brooks corrected.

"The type of insect does not matter. I just wish I could be there."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Gibbs and Tony were seated at the table in the director's office. "So the Talen case was originally yours, that's why I asked you both to come back."

"We'll solve it, Jen," Gibbs assured her. There was no way in hell he was going to let it go cold again. He hated that it had the first time. He didn't want to let it go. Morrow had to threaten to fire him if he didn't put it away. It had been cold for months and Gibbs still wanted it done. The only other case he'd been that worked up over was Ari. There had been others he'd taken personally, but those two were the worst. The Talen case got to him because there were little to no leads. He'd never had a case like that before or after.

"Gibbs, you're here to help, but this is not your case. This case belongs to the current MCRT. Their team leader is in charge and you will either follow his lead or leave. Agent DiNozzo, you will follow him, period. You don't get the option of leaving," Jenny informed them both.

Gibbs just glared at her. There was no way in hell that was gonna happen. This was his case. He wasn't letting some guy that had his desk for a few years take over.

"Director, this was our case. We know everything about it. We worked it for months. Let us finish it," Tony said. They deserved to finish this case after how hard they worked eleven years ago. It certainly shouldn't go to some agent who knew nothing about it.

"Went cold with us. You think you're gonna get better results with someone else?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, we're a little arrogant, aren't we, Jethro? This agent has my complete confidence," Jenny said. McGee had exceeded her expectations. He'd used everything he'd learned from Gibbs and Agent Logan and reached his potential. He'd become an agent who was not going to let either of the men in front of her push him around when they tried. That was part of the reason she was keeping him as case lead. He would keep Gibbs and DiNozzo in line.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, causing Jenny to smile a bit. She was looking forward to this. Both these men would be shocked. She'd known Gibbs a long time and she'd never seen him shocked. "Come in."

Tim walked in a second later and closed the door. "Sorry I'm late, Director. I got held up in MTAC."

Jenny waved off the apology and motioned for him to sit down.

Gibbs and Tony looked at their probie in surprise. They both thought he'd left, just like Tony did, and neither of them understood why he was present for this meeting.

Tim took a seat at the far end of the table.

"You didn't miss anything important, McGee. I was just informing Gibbs and DiNozzo how their visit here will work," Jenny said.

"Hold on, why was McGee called back too. Don't get me wrong, Probie, It's good to see you, but this started before you became an agent," Tony said.

"What makes you think I needed to be brought back?" Tim asked.

"Well, you're not with the team anymore. Some other guy's at your desk. Why'd you transfer if you weren't leaving DC?" Tony wondered.

"Later. Let's get back to the case," Gibbs said.

"That works just fine for me. We found Jacob Talen's brother Christopher yesterday. So far no real leads, except that the Lieutenant seemed to believe he was close to finding his brother's killer. We think he was killed by the same guy. We've already started looking into the old case, but we could use your help with that, since it was your case," Tim said.

"Hold on, 'we'?" Tony asked confused.

"That's right, meaning my team," Tim said. Then he waited, knowing he was going to end up shocking both men.

"Y...Your team?" Tony asked before dropping his mouth wide open. The way he said that made it very clear that the team was his. He was in charge. That just didn't make sense to Tony. McGee was a good agent, but he wasn't the leading type. He simply didn't have the backbone to lead.

"You're in charge?" Gibbs asked, equally surprised. LIke Tony, he saw the same probie they'd had on their team five years ago. He was now a leader? He sat in Gibbs' desk. Nothing could surprise him more than that.

"Yes, to both your questions," Tim said.

"Special Agent McGee has head up the MCRT for three years. As such, the Talen case is his. Both of you will work under his watch, following his lead. Is that clear?" Jenny asked.

"You can't be serious," Tony said in shock. It was hard enough to believe that McGee was Team Leader, but he was also expected to take orders from his probie? "Look, man, no offense, but I trained you."

"That is immaterial, Agent DiNozzo. Agent McGee is in charge. Deal with it," Jenny said in an icy tone.

Gibbs wasn't saying much because it didn't matter. The case was his and he'd get McGee to hand over control. He was sure McGee was good at his position because he wouldn't have made it three years otherwise, but this was his case.

"Don't worry, Director. It will be fine. I can handle things from here," Tim told her. Oh, he held no delusions. He knew he would be fought, but he would also fight back. Gibbs and Tony would learn very soon that he was no longer the stuttering probie that could be pushed around.

"I know you can, Tim. You're all dismissed," Jenny said.

The three men got up and headed for the door.