Disclaimer - I do not own NCIS
"Uh….Gibbs, it isn't what it looks like," Tim spluttered
"Is that a fact McGee…..on your feet….NOW!"
Within a few seconds both were standing upright, Tony picked a paper clip from McGee's head and he swiped his hand away.
"You had a paper clip in your hair!" Tony snapped.
Tim scowled, "Leave me alone!"
"Fine, have your paper clip back!" Tony barked as he slammed the paper clip back on Tim's head.
Another scuffle of flailing arms began and Jethro Gibbs frowned as he stretched out both arms and gripped hold of an ear in each hand.
"Oooowwww! Boss, aaaaooowww…that hurts!!"
"Aaaarrrgggh! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!...boss please!!"
The squeals continued as the two agents were dragged back to the bullpen. Gibbs continued to keep hold of them as he turned them to face the broken plasma screen.
"I want an explanation," he said coldly
"Aaarrrggghhhh….it was McGee's fault boss…ooowww….can't you let go for a second?"
"It was not my fault….oww! boss haaaa….that really hurts!"
Gibbs eventually let go of their ears and whacked them both upside the head.
"McGee explanation now!"
Tim held his ear gently, tears almost spooling from his eyes.
"T..Tony and I were playing football, he threw it at me and I….uh…..missed the catch and it kind of….uhm…..broke the plasma screen."
Tony narrowed his eyes and pouted as McGee continued to spill the beans.
"He uh….then decided we should make a run for it and we ended up in the supply room and then he started to make fun of me and…well…I uh…things got a little out of hand."
Gibbs inhaled deeply, "DiNozzo?"
"Probie was his usual geeky self, matching the motor skills of a pre-schooler and has unresolved issues about handling some home truths about himself!"
Gibbs once more whacked him across the head,
"DiNozzo, if you realized how much trouble you were in I'd doubt that you'd continue with the wise-ass comments."
Tony gulped and stood stone-faced.
"The two of you will share the cost of the repair to the screen and you'd better hope that it can be repaired else you'll be financing the cost of a replacement."
Both boys groaned at the impending cost to their wallets and watched as Gibbs lifted up the small football, "I assume that this Ohio State football belongs to you DiNozzo?"
"Umm….yes boss."
Sticking his hand into his pocket Gibbs withdrew his knife and flicked his wrist revealing the blade which he stuck into the football immediately deflating it.
"This is a federal building, not a football field. If I have to remind either of you two of that in future, it will not be a football that will be drop kicked it will be you out of this building. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes boss."
"As crystal boss!"
Gibbs placed the football in the trash and then started to head back towards the supply room.
"With me!" he growled and Tony and Tim quickly followed his lead.
Tim swallowed hard as he surveyed the damage in the supply room and bit his bottom lip nervously as he kept an eye on Gibbs reaction.
Gibbs beckoned them both into the room with his finger.
"I want this place squared away by 1900."
Tony and Tim nodded sheepishly, having already accepted the fact that they were bound to have been asked to clear up the mess that they had made.
"And you will put to the side anything that has been broken or cannot be used so that we can add the cost of the replacement to that for the plasma screen."
Tony frowned, "you're going to charge us for a broken pencil?"
Gibbs stared.
"Ok. Broken stuff to the side. Got it boss!"
"Do any of you need to use the head?" Gibbs asked lightly
"Uh…no," they both responded with a quizzical look.
"Good!" Gibbs said with a smile, "Because you don't leave this room without my permission. You set foot out of here without my say so and you'll regret it."
Two nodding heads acknowledged the warning and Gibbs returned to his desk.
Tony sighed heavily as he looked at the task ahead of him.
"I guess we best get on with this Probie."
Tim grunted a reply and started to right one of the shelves.
"Gimme a hand to lift this!"
Tony sniggered, "Guess you didn't do weightlifting at High School either!"
Tim scowled and folded his arms defiantly, "Tony, I don't want to do this either, but we don't really have a choice. Now we either work together and get this done before seven o'clock or else we continue arguing and end up spending the night drowning in pencils. Personally I want to have a life after seven o'clock."
Tony opened his mouth to respond to McGee's last remark, but sighed instead, and raised his eyes to the ceiling and dropped his shoulders in defeat.
"Ok Probie, let's get this done."
At 1859, Jethro Gibbs reached into his desk drawer and took a small object from it and placed it discretely in his pocket and headed for the supply room. When he got there he found that every box of pencils and carton of marker pens and stacks of paper had been neatly returned to the shelves. He noticed a small pile of broken stationery to the side and smiled.
"We're done boss," Tony said with a weak smile.
Gibbs smirked and removed the white handkerchief from his pocket. Without a word he wiped the top of the shelf and inspected the white piece of cloth.
"What is this?" he said with a cold voice.
"Uh…it's a little dusty in here boss, the shelves are a bit…..uhm….dusty," Tim explained nervously.
Gibbs remained stern faced, "I would say that this place is not squared away."
Tony's jaw dropped, "You never said anything about cleaning!" he squeaked.
"You're done for this evening. I want the two of you in here at 0530 tomorrow ready to clean this room from top to bottom and that means the shelves and everything on the shelves. Do you understand?"
The shoulders and heads of both agents drooped with disbelief.
"I said do you understand!" Gibbs barked,
"Yes boss!" they both replied in unison snapping their heads up.
As Gibbs turned and headed back towards his desk he smiled at the mumbled groans coming from the two errant agents.
Tony leaned against the wall and put his head in his hands, "Remember your rubber gloves for tomorrow Probie, it's going to be a long day."
"I don't do bleach Tony, I'm allergic! I get all blotchy! My skin can't take this and the fumes from that stuff really affects my breathing, he can't really expect us to clean the entire room does he?"
Tony nodded, "he means the entire room McGee, the entire room."
To be continued...