Disclaimer: I have a purple-polka dotted cow that can fly and I live in cotton candy clouds. Nope! Just kidding! I don't own a purple cow that can fly, and I most certainly do not own any of the characters or anything that has to do with NCIS!

Author's note: Hello again, everybody! I just wanted to say thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! I hope that you'll excuse the way that I portrayed Gibbs in this chapter, because I know that he'd never respond to McGee the way that I portray he would like this on the show, I don't think. I just portrayed him like that so as to make the story a little more interesting and to give it a little more drama and seriousness. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy the rest of Chapter 3!

Chapter 3

Relieving Stressful Emotions

McGee trudged in dreaded silence towards Gibbs' desk.

Over time, throughout the years, McGee had come to know Gibbs better as a person rather than someone who was just his boss. McGee knew that Gibbs was a man of steel- you could see it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice. McGee had come to his own conclusions that although Gibbs had a hard shell on the outside, he was a man who had a soft heart on the inside. He knew that Gibbs was the type of guy who loved to get work done on time, and he knew Gibbs as a man who was strong, determined, courageous, and very stubborn at times. Gibbs was a strong leader who truly cared for each and every one of the members on his team. He would never take "No" for an answer.

And it was because of Gibbs' stubbornness to take no for an answer that McGee was scared. Well, not really scared, but just a little bit nervous. Okay, change that. Maybe he was really nervous.

"Well, here goes nothing. There's no way to avoid it, and I'd better get done and over with now instead of later. Maybe he'll show some compassion this time. Or maybe, just maybe, I can get him to smile instead," McGee nervously thought. By now he had reached Gibbs' desk.

"Um, ah, um…Boss?" McGee stuttered, clearly uncomfortable in the sight of Gibbs.

"Yes, McGee? Speak up, I can barely hear you. What is it?" Gibbs spoke in a low, threatening voice.

"I ah, was, no, I am uh…um…that is, I mean to say…" McGee stumbled through his words, trying to clear his brain of the fogginess that had suddenly engulfed it in the presence of Gibbs.

"What is it, McGee? Can't you see that I'm trying to work? What is your question? And spit it out! Loud!" Gibbs snapped back.

"I need your help to unlock my computer so that I can log in," McGee said sheepishly, facing Gibbs, his face turning a bright shade of pink.

Although McGee wasn't looking at Gibbs straight in the face, he could feel Gibbs glaring at him. Whatever chance he had at making Gibbs proud today had disappeared for McGee.

"What did you just say?" asked Gibbs, incredulous yet extremely frustrated at the same time.

"I said," McGee started nervously, his eyes looking at his shoes in front of him, "that I need your assistance to unlock my computer and give me access to log in. I didn't mean to cause you any more reason for delay today, Boss, but I fell for one of Tony's pranks and now I can't log into my computer because it has locked me out!" McGee cried in desperation, hoping to make his point clear to Gibbs.

"Whoa whoa, hold on there for just a second," Gibbs said.

Gibbs couldn't believe what he had just heard. McGee, the computer expert, who had a Masters Degree in Computer Forensics among many other degrees, was locked out of his computer. Never once in all of the eight years that he had spent working at NCIS with his team had McGee ever been locked out of his computer. This was definitely a first.

Gibbs needed to hear that one more time so that he could fully understand it. McGee, Gibbs' computer consultant and technology know-it-all expert, had fallen for one of Tony's pranks again and was now locked out of his computer. Out of all things, this was the event that was the least likely to ever occur at NCIS. Had it not have been for the timing, Gibbs would have started chuckling to himself out loud in laughter. But he couldn't laugh right now, because they had a case that they needed to solve, and McGee had just caused another delay and was wasting precious time that he could be using to help solve the case.

"Could you repeat that for me, please," Gibbs asked McGee with a slight frown on his face.

"I said that I need your assistance to unlock my computer so that I can log in and work on the case," McGee replied.

"I know that this is another delay, and I'm really sorry about that, but I couldn't help it this time. Tony unplugged the network cable to my computer and I didn't notice it until it was too late. So now, I need your help to give me authorization via through your computer to allow me to log in again," McGee finished.

Instead of laughing out loud, Gibbs frowned even more than he had before. He couldn't laugh at McGee now; there would be time for that later. Right now, he really needed to focus on getting his job done and making sure that they found a lead for the case. He couldn't deal with any more distractions or with any more delays. He needed to focus on finding that psycho maniac who killed that young naval cadet. This was a serious matter, a time to be working at maximum speed, and this was not a time for joking or delays. So instead of laughing, Gibbs started yelling. The stress had finally built up too much and was now being unleashed like a crashing wave upon poor McGee.

"McGee! How could you be so gullible?" Gibbs asked McGee absent mindedly with a bigger frown on his face.

Gibbs couldn't contain his emotions for the case bottled up inside him any more, and stopped struggling to contain them inside his head any longer. He needed to let his emotions out, and he was mad at McGee anyways.

"I can't believe that you are bringing this to me! During all of these years that you've worked at NCIS, you've had plenty of experiences with Tony's pranks, and you mean to tell me that you fell for one again today? Today of all days, McGee! This is the second time this week! We have a very important critical case to solve here!" Gibbs ranted.

Gibbs was stressed out beyond the max. In a week's time, the team still hadn't been able to come up with any evidence or find any clues that would lead them to the identity of the murderer. He was mad. He was mad that an innocent person, a kid for God's sake, had been brutally murdered. On top of that, the murderer was an expert who hadn't left any traces behind for the team to follow. The murderer was good. Darned good. That left the problem of finding the murderer's identity, something that was clearly not going to be easy to find.

Gibbs reflected on his mind. He'd taken the case on Monday, today was Friday, and they still didn't have a single danged lead to follow. As if that wasn't enough, McGee had arrived late today, wasting precious minutes that could be spent trying to find the identity of the murderer. Although he didn't want to admit it, Gibbs needed McGee to work his hardest today so that he could use his brain and attempt to at least find a lead for the team to follow. And now, here he [McGee] was, standing right in front of him, telling him that he couldn't log on to his computer. Great. Just great. Another delay caused by…McGee! Again! Seriously! When would that agent take his work seriously and realize that this case was more important than anything else?

To say that Gibbs was mad would have been an understatement. He was furious! Gibbs couldn't keep his emotions for the case bottled up inside of him any longer. He needed something to yell at that would absorb all of his anger and wouldn't yell back. And unfortunately for McGee, that "something" or someone that Gibbs was needed to yell at just happened to be McGee himself.

Gibbs continued yelling his frustration in an absent-minded rage, unaware that he was yelling directly at point-blank range at McGee.

"I can't believe that you are locked out of your own computer. Aren't you supposed to be the smart person on this team? I would have to think that you would be more aware of Tony's pranks by now. Do you ever think before you act, McGee? I mean, how could you have missed that unplugged cable wire?" Gibbs started out talking to McGee in his normal voice, but that slowly increased in volume.

"Don't you have a Master's degree in computer forensics? Isn't that what you're on my team for? To be smart enough to operate that darned piece of technology and find the leads to the case?" Gibbs continued.

"Have you even been able to find any clues yet, McGee? You should've had something by now, damn it! What's taking you so long? Can't you do any better than this? You've failed, McGee! I can't be any more disappointed in you than I am right now!"

Gibbs was on a roll now. No stopping now. No turning back.

"Now is not the time for distractions McGee! Stop delaying this case any further and get to work! You've done enough damage already as it is today! Just get back to work. NOW!" Gibbs yelled.

"Yes, Boss," McGee answered with a pain-filled voice, one that was barely even audible at all. His face was a dark shade of red, and his head was angled down just enough so that he could look at his shoes instead of having to deal with the furious expression that was on Gibbs' face. He could feel the tension throughout the rest of the room as he looked up at Gibbs with a look of hurt and self-doubt in his green eyes and then trudged slowly but meaningfully back towards his desk. He didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say. He could feel Tony and Ziva staring at him, but he didn't care. He was hurt by Gibbs' words, deeply.

McGee had really done it now. He had made his Boss become mad at him, he had made Gibbs yell at him, and he couldn't stop the repeated echoes of his harsh words in his mind.

McGee had disappointed his Boss, which was worse than suffering through a million of Tony's pranks or being putting up with being called Tony's pet peeve nick names for him for a week. Actually, McGee was already used to being continuously addressed by Tony's nicknames for him for weeks at a time. In fact, there probably never was a day that Tony had called McGee by his full name when he was at work. But still, disappointing Gibbs felt like a knife twisted in the stomach for McGee. How could he have been such a failure today?

What had he done to make Gibbs so upset? There was no way that he would be able to impress Gibbs like he had planned today, and now there was no way that he was ever going to be able to make it up to him. There was no way that he would ever earn favor in the sight of his Boss again- had he ever gained a sight of favor in his boss's eyes? Did Gibbs even care that he, Timothy McGee, was a living human being and had emotions as well?

"Come on, McGee, snap out of it!" McGee chided himself mentally. "You know that Gibbs does care for you, even if you make mistakes sometimes. Remember that time when Jethro attacked you and Gibbs asked if you were alright? Heck, he even gave you the day off, don't you remember? And what about that time when Sarah was accused of murder and you almost quit your job trying to protect her? Don't you remember how he asked you to come back? How he convinced you to come back to your job and persuaded you not to quit? Don't you remember how concerned he was for you and how he understood why you made the choices you made? Come on, McGee! You know better! Gibbs does care for you; he's just really upset right now," McGee thought.

McGee thought that Gibbs didn't even know what he was talking about anyways. Over the last week, McGee had stayed behind after everyone else at the office, working his head off staring at the screen in front of him, trying his best to find some possible clue for the team to follow in the morning. McGee had stayed at his work until his eyes were watery, or until he was so tired that he couldn't fall asleep. (Generally, for the last few nights in a row, he had driven home around 2 am in the morning and had fallen asleep at 3.) No, Gibbs didn't even understand the amount of time and work that he had put into this case, and it probably wouldn't matter if he knew anyways. McGee pondered the possibilities of what might have occured had he defended himself from Gibbs' accusations- Gibbs might have gotten even more mad than he was already.

McGee had failed, though. He had failed to do anything right today and he had failed to make his Boss smile. Hopefully he would be able to find some sort of a lead today and prove himself to Gibbs that he was not a failure, and that he did work hard, and that he would always be willing to do anything for his Boss or the rest of the team even if he hurt himself in the process.

As McGee sat back down at his desk, he didn't choose to wallow in self-pity. He decided that he would work non-stop today until he found a lead. He was determined to make Gibbs proud. He was determined to encourage the rest of the team today by not making any more mistakes and by finding a lead. He would prove himself today. He had to. He just had to. And like Gibbs would do, Timothy McGee decided that tonight, for a change, he would not take "No" for an answer.

As Tony and Ziva watched McGee, they saw McGee head for his desk looking like a kicked puppy abandoned in the rain. His usually bright, cheery green eyes had darkened in color, and the cheeriness and optimism that could generally be found in them had disappeared. One look at McGee was all that Tony and Ziva needed to see to know that McGee was hurting. But then, almost as if in the blink of an eye, they saw McGee sit up straight at his desk and tall in his chair and they watched as he tensed his shoulders but then let them relax. They saw McGee lift up his face to face his computer, and they saw him stretch his arms across his desk and begin to type. Those eyes that were once filled with guilt were now filled with determination. McGee lifted his eyes to his computer screen, and after inhaling and exhaling a breath deeply through his lungs, he began to type.

Ziva and Tony stared at McGee. How could he get back to work so quickly when he was obviously hurting inside? Why didn't he yell back at Gibbs when Gibbs had yelled at him? They both already knew the answer to the last question. McGee had a lot of respect for Gibbs, and the rest of the team, but that didn't mean that he couldn't yell back at Gibbs. McGee was a caring, compassionate person by nature, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't stand up for what he believed was right. Why didn't he yell back at Gibbs and defend himself? Perhaps he had probably thought that yelling at Gibbs wouldn't help to solve the case. They both knew that McGee had a lot of respect for his boss, and, for that matter, the rest of the team. They were both worried for McGee now; he shouldn't have had to listen to Gibbs yell at him so harshly. Why didn't either of them defend him? Gibbs had no excuse to get that mad at McGee just because he was mad at the case. Tony made a mental note to himself that he would have to talk to Gibbs about his anger issues later.

To Ziva, it seemed like McGee had deliberately allowed Gibbs to yell at him… and then it clicked inside of her mind. McGee was trying to prevent Gibbs from getting angry at the rest of the team. Poor McGee! He had such a big heart, trying to perform a subtle act of kindness for his teammates by allowing Gibbs to get mad at him instead of the rest of them. Ziva should have known Timothy McGee would do something like that. She felt terrible when she realized that she didn't stand up for him, though. No one on the team, especially McGee, should be told that they were a failure.

As the two of them continued to stare at McGee, they wondered what he was thinking at the moment. Tony wondered if McGee purposely allowed Gibbs to get mad at him and wondered how he could be so determined to work his hardest for the man who had just yelled and criticized him so cruelly. And how did he recover so fast? Tony stared across the room and shared a look with Ziva. She seemed to be concerned for McGee. But why wasn't he concerned? At first he thought that it was funny to see Tim's reaction to his network cable being unplugged, and then go ask Gibbs to give him access to log on, but Tony had never meant for McGee to face an unusually angry Gibbs and be insulted so much like he just was a few minutes ago. Heck, Gibbs should've been mad at him for pulling the prank instead of McGee! Tony realized that he needed to apologize to him later. Tony hadn't meant to make Gibbs go all furious and mad at McGee and start yelling at him. he had only tried to make it so that McGee would embarass himself somewhat. In all honesty, he truly hadn't meant to get McGee in trouble.

Ziva wondered how McGee felt inside, and why he was so determined to continue working even harder than before when Gibbs had just yelled at him. She decided that she would ask him later. Right now, she needed to work on the case. But later on, she would apologize to McGee for not coming to his aid when he was being yelled at and then she would approach Gibbs and express her displeasure at his cruel behaviour towards McGee.

McGee was mad at himself. Why hadn't he yelled back at Gibbs? Although he highly respected Gibbs as his boss and as a team leader, he could've at least defended himself when he was being yelled at. Gibbs' words hurt him deeply, but he decided that there would be time to pay attention to them later. As McGee continued to type, he decided that he wouldn't stop looking for any leads no matter what, unless it was an emergency, or unless Gibbs had something else for him to do. As he typed, he thought to himself, "I won't stop typing until I've found a lead. I am going to make Gibbs smile today, and I am going to find a lead today. I won't stop typing until I do so. I just won't stop typing…"

Maybe today could still be a good day after all.

But that wasn't going to be. If only McGee knew what was in store for him later on that evening...

Author's note: And so we end Chapter 3! Did you catch the last line's warning? Ba Ba Ba Bummmm...! Hint, Hint, Foreshadowing! (Cough) (Cough) I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed reading it! Hopefully I will be able to update Chapter 4 soon.