Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or anything associated with it. No money is being made from this work. Also, I messed around with the NCIS timeline. So, there will be familiar elements, they just may not be in the order, or context from the actual show. Additionally, this is an AU and slight crossover story. So, please, no attacks about how this didn't happen in the show, or that this character "would never do that." Finally, if you are a fan of Abby, McGee, Ziva, or Gibbs, be prepared for slight (but not continual) character bashing.
Fiction (n) – invention or fabrication as opposed to fact.
Chapter 2: Back in the Saddle
Abby was mad. No. Abby was FURIOUS. How dare Vance tear up her lab to make room from some new lady! Well, Abby was going to make it her goal in life to NOT talk to the new doctor. Honestly, didn't anybody tell Vance what happened the last time a director put someone in the lab with her. Also, what was Vance thinking bringing Tony back? He was a nuisance who couldn't man up and take responsibility when it counted. She was not going to take this sitting down. No, sir-ee Bob, she was not…
McGee was confused. To be fair, McGee was in a constant state of confusion. But this took the cake. A new team? Led by Tony? What was Vance thinking? The MCRT could handle Spirit Animal Specific cases. It's not like they saw a lot of them, but the ones they did see were pretty easy to close. Also, how was Tony going to work in such close quarters with Ziva? For that matter, how was he going to work in such close quarters with Abby? The last time Abby saw Tony, she had slapped him and put his name on a sex offender's list. Tony had gotten that all fixed…but still.
Ziva was scared. Tony was coming back. The removal of Talia from his care, and his lack of participation in Talia's life, had led to some major tension on the team. Tony handled it well, and avoided the team at all costs. The two had agreed to keep quiet about the real reason Ziva took guardianship of Talia back from Tony, but their silence on the matter had led to some pretty nasty assumptions. The most common one being that Tony didn't want Talia, that he was too immature to be a good father, and that he was more than happy to fob her off onto someone else. This was far from the truth. Tony had actually fought Ziva tooth and nail to retain custody of Talia, but once Ziva told him that she wasn't his, and had the paternity test to prove it, no court would grant him any rights. So he quietly backed off, and cut off all ties. Talia still asked about him sometimes, but she too was slowly forgetting about the man who had taken care of her for 6 months while her mother was "dead."
Gibbs was furious. What was Leon thinking?! NCIS didn't need a new MCRT. And NCIS especially didn't need a new team led by DiNozzo. Gibbs had lost all respect he had for DiNozzo when he gave Talia up. That idiot had a chance to be a father. Had a daughter in his grasp. And had let her go. And for no good reason as far as Gibbs could tell. No, Gibbs was not going to take this sitting down. If DiNozzo thought he could come in here and act like the clown that he was, Gibbs was going to put him in his place.
Tony was anxious. He had done something that he had never done before. He had been brutally honest. He had invited his entire team, plus Lisa and Jimmy, over to his house the Saturday before they officially began at NCIS, and he. Told. Them. Everything. He told them about Wendy. He told them about Jeanne. He even told them about Ziva (which had shocked the hell out of Jimmy, because even he didn't know the full story). He told them about his father. He told them about his money. He told them about his past with the mafia. He told them about Sofia—what she could do, and how dangerous she was. He bared his soul to the other six members of his team, and then he told them why. They were going to be dealing with lowlifes, with murderers, with rapists, and with the dregs of society, and he wanted to be 100% sure that they would have his back. He wanted there to be no secrets within his team. In return, his team was brutally honest with him and each other as well. By the time the last person had left (Jimmy), Tony knew which member of his team had been raped, he knew which member of his team had a previous drug addiction, he knew which member of his team had killed in cold-blood for no reason other than revenge, he knew about their marriages, their divorces, their sexual activities and proclivities, and in a surprising (and totally unwelcomed) turn of events, he even knew how to tell if Lisa was on her period. Again, totally unwelcomed, but he had asked for brutal honesty. He knew about their spirit animals (He'd have to keep an eye on Jenn's cat, William. That thing was the sneakiest enabler Tony had ever seen). He knew about their families. But most of all, he knew that come Monday his team would walk into NCIS and they would ALL have each other's back. So, yes, Tony was anxious. But it wasn't a nervous anxiousness, it was an excited one. He was, without a doubt, ready for whatever NCIS and his old team could throw at him. Sofia remarked that they were part of his "Den," his "family," and while Tony didn't think the team quite there yet, their dinner on Saturday had sure set them on that path.