Timothy McGee was shocked and awed. Somehow, he had no idea how, both Gibbs and Tony had been able to fall asleep. They were on a helicopter to the boot camp, and he and Ziva were both wide awake, unable to sleep. The CIA had reluctantly told them where the camp was and on the drive to the air strip Tony had filled them in on all the information he had about it. It amazed him, the way the senior field agent had been able to concentrate enough with Gibbs driving to relay the details, but it wasn't as impressive as what he was currently seeing. As the helicopter had taken off Tony had closed his eyes, subconsciously leaning against Gibbs, his head on the older man's shoulder. Rather than pushing Tony away Gibbs had smiled and followed his senior field agent's example, head softly resting on top of the younger man's. Ziva followed his line of sight and commented that it was a common skill in Mossad, being able to sleep on loud or shaking air craft, but that she had been unable to master it. She sounded disgusted at the fact and he offered her a weak smile, wishing for them to reach their destination quickly.
Gibbs and Tony awoke as the helicopter settled down in the clearing. Yawning and stretching Tony sent his boss an apologetic look and picked up two bags from the floor of the helicopter: they'd all packed an overnight bag for the trip. Once again McGee found himself shocked, Tony never helped with the gear and yet the other man had willingly lifted the heaviest case. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth McGee joined Tony in the clearing, balancing his own bag and the other two cases. Ziva and Gibbs joined them and McGee was further surprised when Tony took one of the evidence cases from him and handed it to Ziva.
"Eh Tony," McGee knew he probably shouldn't ask. "Don't I usually carry the cases?"
"Probie," Tony grinned, although it didn't reach his eyes. "We have to trek that way," he pointed to a dense corpse of trees. "Now if you think you can manage, feel free to try."
"Sorry Tony," he sighed.
The headslap was expected, "Don't apologise McGee."
"It's a sign of weakness," Tony finished for his boss.
Gibbs shook his head and gave a long suffering sigh as Tony began leading the way through the trees. Although not immediately noticable they were following a path. McGee found it tough going and was grateful that Tony had relieved him of some of his bags, knowing that he would have embarrassed himself if he'd had to carry all of them. By the time they cleared the trees McGee was exhausted, Ziva too looked tired, but both Gibbs and Tony weren't even out of breath. Giving their teammates a couple of minutes to catch their breath Gibbs led Tony to one side and began talking quietly, too quietly for McGee or Ziva to hear.
"You alright?" Gibbs asked.
"Yeah," Tony sighed. "I think so."
"You'll tell me if this becomes too much?" the older man checked.
"It won't," Tony smiled, it was a small smile but it was genuine. "I feel safe this time, better knowing that you've got my six."
Gibbs ruffled his hair, "always, you think they're ready to get going?"
"If they're not they'll just put it down to your second b," Tony smirked.
Gibbs chuckled quietly and they joined the others. Ziva was fine again but McGee was still struggling to catch his breath. Whilst joking about the other man having to get fitter, Tony covertly picked up the evidence case McGee had been carrying. They continued towards the base, McGee barely noticing the absence of one of his bags until they were almost there. Suspecting that Tony wouldn't want attention drawn to the fact, McGee decided to thank the other man when the others weren't around to comment. They finally reached the base.