"She's insane!" Tony ranted as he paced back and forth in Abby's lab. "It was all fun teasing at first, and then she just went crazy!"

"You can dish it but you can't take it, huh?" Abby asked. She had spent the last few minutes listening to Tony recount his and Kate's recent confrontation. While she sympathized with Tony's feelings and felt Kate had said some things that were simply mean, one couldn't completely absolve Tony of any blame.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Tony, you know I love you," she said gently. "I love everyone. Well, I don't love bad people, but I love everyone here…though that Steve guy in the mail room gives me the creeps at times, so I don't know if I'd say I love him…but—"

"Abbs!"

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "My point is that while I love you, there are times when you can be a bit…well…mean."

"I am not mean!" he scoffed. "Some people just can't appreciate my humor!"

Abby fixed him with a look. "Tony, be honest with yourself."

"Fine," he said with a resigned sigh. "I'm sometimes…overly harsh. But I don't really mean anything by it!"

"And Kate didn't really mean anything by this. People say things they don't mean sometimes."

Tony pouted, though he knew Abby had a point. He often pushed the limit on taste and certainly pushed the patience of his teammates. "Yeah, I know she didn't mean it. Me jealous of McGee? Come on!"

"I know, it's so far fetched," Abby said sarcastically. "So what started this entire thing anyway?"

"Kate and McGee looked…cozy when I got in this morning."

"Cozy?"

"She was leaning over him and they were laughing about something."

Abby rolled her eyes at his observation. "Wow! Laughing? I hope he was wearing a condom!"

"Scoff all you want, Abbs, but there's something going on with them. At first I thought it was just them bonding over comics or something, but now I get the feeling they've got something more going on. Last week, I walked in and they were talking in hushed tones about something. They stopped talking when they saw me, but I could have sworn I heard something about having lunch together this past weekend."

That much made Abby pause. She couldn't imagine Tim and Kate meeting for lunch outside of work. Of course, this was only what Tony thought he'd heard, and he wasn't the most reliable person when it came to these things. "Even if they did, Tony, that doesn't mean anything. Friends can have lunch together without romantic ties involved."

Tony looked dubious. "I don't know, Abby. I get the idea that something's going on between them."

"So what if there is?" she asked as she suppressed her own slight envy. She wasn't going to allow herself to be jealous of Kate, even if she and Tim were having some sort of romance.

"Rule Number 12," he recited. "Never date a co-worker."

"Oh, like that would ever stop you! You know that if some cute girl with huge boobs joined up, you'd be on her like white on rice."

"Okay, point taken," he grumbled.

"Now you'd better get back up there to work before Gibbs comes looking."

Tony heeded her advice and begrudgingly returned to the squad room. It was quiet and somber, which was almost unheard of when they weren't actually working a case. Kate and Tim looked up as Tony re-entered. Tim looked to Kate, who ducked her head down guiltily. Tony noticed, feeling a twinge of satisfaction in knowing Kate felt awkward about their previous confrontation. But he wasn't going to be the one to break the silence. He'd let Kate do the apologizing.

Gibbs' phone rang, pulling everyone's attention away from thoughts of what had happened earlier. "Tony, we've got some guy who says he has information on the Hartman case," he said after hanging up the phone. "You and McGee go interview him."

Tony glanced at the young agent. "Maybe Kate and McGee should go, boss."

"And why's that, DiNozzo?"

"Just seems like they're more buddy-buddy and I'd just get on his nerves." He knew he sounded petulant saying it, but he didn't really care.

"Right now you're getting on my nerves!" Gibbs growled. "Now get your ass in gear!"

They had pulled onto the road in complete silence, a silence which continued for the entire trip there and a good portion of the way back. Tony had flipped on the radio to a talk station in an effort to avoid any conversation and Tim took the hint. Tony knew that Tim hadn't done anything wrong—it had, after all, been Kate who had gone off on the rant—but the probationary agent was the one with him right now, so Tony was going to take out any frustration on him. Besides, he still was convinced that this all stemmed from Tim and Kate's sudden blossoming relationship, whatever sort of relationship that was.

Tim tried to tough it out for the entire car ride, looking out the window as he let his mind wander. Unfortunately, his mind kept wandering back to the issue at hand. He finally snapped the radio off. "I'm sorry about this morning, Tony."

"Sorry? For what? Not your fault Kate can't take a joke."

"It's not that," Tim insisted. "She…she reacted in the wrong way, but it wasn't really because of you. It's just that…" He paused, unsure how into detail he should go. If he mentioned Peaches, it would bring a slew of questions as to how Tim knew Peaches and why he knew her. "Someone very close to Kate went through cruel teasing in high school for the things you were teasing her about."

Tony felt his grip on the steering wheel tighten. Someone close to Kate who was teased in high school for being a geek? How many geeks did Kate know? "And you know this how?"

"Because she told me."

He snorted. "Yeah, seems you two have been talking a lot lately, Probie."

"So? We're teammates."

"You're still a probationary agent," Tony said, over-enunciating the words as if a reminder to Tim that he was at the bottom of the team totem pole. He was angry and nothing made an angry person feel better than making someone else angry.

Tim frowned. "That doesn't mean I'm not on the team." He knew Tony was still sore, but he didn't appreciate the older agent taking it out on him.

"No, it just means you're on a different level than the rest of us."

"And what does that mean?" Tim asked, face reddening.

Tony grinned, recognizing that he had Tim right where he wanted. It was time to go in for the kill. "Face it, McBottomFeeder, she's out of your league."

"Out of my league? What is this, high school?" He could feel his patience waning.

"I'm just saying, buddy—"

"No!" Tim snapped. "I am not your 'buddy!' And you have no right to tell me anything!"

"Hey! Don't get pissy at me for explaining to you the way things work! The cold facts are that Kate is never going to want you! You're the sweet friend who gets a hug or, if you're lucky, a kiss on the cheek! You don't get to sleep with her! That's the way it is, so you can stop with this pitiful lovesick dog thing you've got going on."

Tim had no idea what Tony was talking about, seeing as he wasn't trying to sleep with Kate (though he wasn't going to deny that he'd had a fantasy or two regarding the notion), but it didn't matter. The very idea that Tony would tell Tim he wasn't just as good as any other guy—that he wasn't just as good as the other members on their team!—infuriated him. He'd had enough.

"You know, I can't believe you! I try to apologize for something that wasn't even my fault and you just can't let me do it! You have to just pelt me with mindless insults! After this morning, I thought maybe you would take a moment to look at yourself and think before you make comments! Obviously, I gave you far too much credit!"

Tony didn't respond to Tim's anger, spurring Tim to continue his rant. "I take it back. I'm not sorry. Everything Kate said was true."

Neither spoke as they pulled into the Navy Yard. Both slammed their doors as forcefully as possible when they got out of the car.

The mood had gone from awkward and tense to angry and downright strained.