Filler and tag for "Caught on Tape."

I thought Gibbs was disproportionately harsh with DiNozzo in this episode, so I came up with an alternate explanation here that we didn't really get from the show, but it fit in nicely with where I wanted to go with the tag.

And I just want to say "thank you" again to everyone who takes time to review, and also to the many who don't review but continue to read this series. I'm still having a great time writing these, and hope you are continuing to enjoy reading!

"Pride"

Gibbs returned to the dimly-lit bullpen under the assumption that all of his agents had left for the evening, but one glance at the lone figure lingering near his desk told him otherwise. He could plainly see that Tony's posture was stiff and defensive, even if he couldn't yet see his face clearly enough to identify the emotion. Clearly the younger man was angry, but then again, so was he.

Under normal circumstances, when DiNozzo lingered after-hours to speak privately with his boss, he politely deferred to the older man to begin the conversation. On this particular evening he was not feeling so courteous.

"Clearly I've done something to offend you today. The problem is, I've been racking my brain and I can't seem to come up with what that is, exactly, so I guess for once you're gonna have to talk and spell it out for me," Tony spat out in a clipped tone.

It had been quite some time since his agent had been angry with him. But Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn't about to back down. Getting less than two inches from Tony's face, Gibbs whispered threateningly, "Think harder."

Tony's eyes narrowed at the challenge. He honestly couldn't come up with anything he'd done that would make Gibbs this ticked off at him. Sure, he'd made the comment about the older man wearing Ben Gay lately. And yes, perhaps he had actually used the term "old man." But it wasn't like the Lead Agent to take a joke so personally. Not to the point that he'd made Tony clean up the interrogation room after a particularly nasty suspect had….well, he didn't even want to think about that anymore or he just might puke.

And the head slap a few minutes earlier in Abby's lab had been accompanied by an unusually serious threat that Tony needed to quit "blanking up," as his boss had so eloquently phrased it. But all he'd done was try to make out the words on a video taped conversation between two potential suspects. He hadn't said anything to his knowledge that was all that bad. In fact, he'd goofed around a whole lot more without even a head slap. So obviously he was still missing something.

Sensing DiNozzo's bewilderment, the older man decided to offer him a clue. "Agent McGee? Poison ivy? Is this starting to ring any bells, DiNozzo?"

The light of realization began to spread across Tony's face. "You think that was on purpose?"

The surprise on the younger agent's face was genuine, and Gibbs began to reevaluate his thinking. Was it possible he'd made a false assumption? "You tell me. I send the two of you off to Shenandoah together, he comes back with poison ivy and you don't. That goes beyond hazing, DiNozzo, and you know it."

The anger remained on Tony's face, but now it was mixed with both hurt and disbelief. "So you just assumed. Well allow me to enlighten you. I tried to tell your poor, innocent, put-upon Probie about the poison ivy, but since Mr. MIT knows everything, he wouldn't let me. So I decided to let him learn a lesson the hard way. A tactic I learned from you, by the way."

Gibbs studied his agent for another long moment eye-to-eye before realizing the younger man was telling him the truth. With a brief nod, he backed away to a more comfortable, and less confrontational, distance. It was the closest to an apology that Tony was going to receive.

"So he didn't believe you or…" Gibbs prodded in a far gentler tone than before.

"Or, he didn't even give me the chance to get the words out. He pretty much interrupted me and let me know he didn't think he needed any words of advice or teaching from me," Tony offered with a humorless laugh. "If it had been the first time, maybe I'd have tried harder. But it's becoming a habit, Boss."

The Lead Agent rubbed a hand over his eyes and sat down, preparing to get to the bottom of whatever new issue had sprung up between his two male agents. Or, perhaps more accurately, the stubborn old issues that refused to go away. "What do you mean by 'habit?'"

Responding to his boss' body language, Tony made himself more comfortable by leaning back on his desk and folding his arms. "I mean that anytime I try to tell him anything, explain what an acronym means, give him advice on how to deal with a new situation, he interrupts me and lets me know in no uncertain terms that he doesn't need or want my help. And when I confronted him a few days ago, he flat-out admitted that the only time he'd come to me if he had a question would be to ask where he could find either you or Kate."

This earned a frown from the older man. "That could be dangerous in the field, DiNozzo."

"Yeah, Boss, that's exactly my point. It's why I let him do things his way. I just didn't think he'd react so…spectacularly…to the poison ivy. I'm itching just looking at him. Mine wasn't anywhere near that bad."

Gibbs allowed himself a fond smile at the memory. "Maybe not, but the message still got across."

"You mean the one about not letting myself get distracted when processing evidence at a crime scene? I'd say that's one I haven't forgotten. I'm surprised you didn't make it into a new rule." Tony had still been new to Gibbs' team and trying desperately to impress a lovely blonde witness he had wanted to interview. Instead, his boss had given the task to Blackadder, so Tony had resorted to showing off in an attempt to get the young woman's attention. He'd wondered why no one from the local law enforcement team that had initially responded had yet examined the evidence that was buried a few feet away in the greenery, but it had given him a wonderful opportunity to play the hero. Making a dramatic show of "finding" the uncovered evidence, he'd charged straight through the bushes without closely examining the area. And Gibbs had just stood there and watched him do it.

"The thing is, though," Tony continued, "I've never disrespected you. I do listen to what you tell me, even when it seems like I'm not. McGee does the exact opposite of whatever I tell him."

"McGee's not you." Raising his eyebrows and catching Tony's eye, Gibbs playfully added, "And you're definitely not me."

"I happen to enjoy having a sense of humor," Tony defended. Seeing the beginnings of a glare forming in the other man's features, he clarified, "Not that you don't, Boss. Yours is just…different. And believe it or not, I do realize some of this is my fault. But I'd never do anything to put the Probie in danger. I'm trying to help. You know, for once he actually listened to me on something after Erin Kendall was murdered. I thought we were getting somewhere, but now we're right back where we started."

"If you wanna be recognized as the Senior Field Agent on this team, DiNozzo, you're gonna have to fix that."

"How? Even with the poison ivy, I'm not sure anything's getting through."

"You're gonna have to figure that one out on your own, DiNozzo. And before you think about arguing with me, just remember - I already had to figure you out. With no help from you."

"Hey!" Tony squealed, feigning hurt feelings. "I'm a simple guy, really, Boss."

But Gibbs' expression said otherwise.

Dropping his case, Tony asked, "Could you at least steer me in the right direction?"

"Make him take you seriously. By actually being serious."

I was afraid it would be something like that.

After a moment of contemplation, Tony replied, "Thanks, Boss. But next time, could you maybe ask me what happened instead of demoting me to janitor?"

Gibbs responded with a soft half-smile, and if Tony hadn't known the older man better, he may have sworn he saw just the slightest hint of remorse.

It had been over a day since his brush with the poison ivy, and Tim McGee was still thoroughly miserable from head to toe. At least the case is over. Maybe we can all leave on time today for a change, he thought hopefully as he got off the elevator.

The moment he entered the bullpen, he heard it, but couldn't quite believe his ears or his eyes. There was a tiny, mangy dog behind Kate's desk, and it was growling viciously at him. McGee hated dogs and had since childhood. Kate and Abby, however, thought it was the funniest and most adorable thing ever.

"McGee!" Abby scolded. "I think she's afraid of your rash…"

"Well that's just great, Abby, but what am I supposed to do about it?" he asked grumpily.

Kate picked up the dog affectionately. "It's okay, Toni. McGee's not gonna hurt you."

"I thought you said it was a female dog," Tim pointed out. "Her name is Tony?"

"She yappy and annoying, even if she is kind of cute. I thought it was appropriate," Kate smugly responded with a smile in the direction of her decidedly not amused partner.

"Figures," McGee grumbled as he wandered over towards his desk.

This made Toni start barking rather loudly, attracting notice from the entire bullpen. Kate could feel her boss' eyes on her.

"You know, Gibbs, maybe I should take her home."

"I think that would be a good idea," the Lead Agent responded, his patience with the pup wearing thin.

When Kate and Abby cleared the room, Gibbs abruptly announced that he had a meeting in MTAC, and Tony found himself alone in the bullpen with a very grouchy and uncomfortable Probie. Try as he might, McGee couldn't quite keep himself from scratching.

"Keep that up, Probie, and you're gonna get an infection," Tony advised.

"Can't you just mind your own business for once?" McGee barked back.

"It seems to me that that's the attitude that got you into this mess to begin with," DiNozzo replied petulantly.

"And I suppose I'm gonna be hearing about it for the rest of my NCIS career. Next you're going to tell me, what, all about what to do for poison ivy cause you learned all about it in one of your stupid phys ed classes?"

Tony was no longer able to hold in his temper. Standing up, he informed the younger agent, more loudly than necessary, "No, I could tell you what to do for poison ivy because I've had it before myself. But you wouldn't listen anyway, would you? Because you obviously think I'm stupid. Well let me tell you something, McGenius. I don't have a fancy degree from MIT, but I have something you don't and it's called life. I've lived more of it than you have, and I've lived a lot more of it as a cop than you have, and if you were as smart as you think you are, you'd shut up every now and then and realize that you still have a few things to learn. And maybe there are a couple of things you could even learn from stupid jock Anthony DiNozzo."

McGee was stunned by the tirade, having never felt the brunt of Tony's anger before. All he could get to come out was a clumsily stammered, "I – I don't think you're stupid. I just don't know when to trust you."

The Probie appeared genuinely frightened and the older agent felt a surge of guilt. He knew he could've handled that so much better, and he was also reasonably certain that when Gibbs suggested being serious, he hadn't meant for Tony to go off on the younger man in the middle of the bullpen.

Tony ran his hands through his hair in frustration, then abruptly opened his desk drawer and took out a bottle of something. He marched it over to McGee's desk but stopped suddenly when he noticed the younger man's eyes had widened in fear and he'd quickly scooted his chair backwards as Tony had gotten closer.

"I'm not gonna hit you, McGee," Tony said incredulously.

The younger man relaxed slightly, but still eyed him with suspicion.

With a calculated effort, DiNozzo slowly set the bottle down in front of the other man. "Try this."

"Vinegar?" McGee asked hesitantly.

"Apple cider vinegar. It helped when I had poison ivy. If you can find baking soda around here, I've heard you can mix them together to make a paste. If not, just the vinegar should help until you get home."

As Tony walked back to his desk, McGee, feeling slightly bolder, asked, "You keep a bottle of apple cider vinegar in your desk?"

Taking a deep breath and praying for patience, DiNozzo answered, "No. I brought it in this morning. I've had it in my desk all day, but I wasn't sure if I should or even wanted to try to help you anymore. Or if you'd even take it from me."

McGee debated for a moment, but in desperation got up and grabbed the bottle, going in the direction of the men's head.

"You're welcome, Probie," Tony said sarcastically.

"Thanks," the younger man reluctantly mumbled.

Once alone, Tony buried his head in his hands.

He couldn't decide whether things between himself and McGee had just gotten better, worse, or maybe more than likely just a little bit of both. But one thing was for certain - things were very complicated.

And that wasn't likely to change soon. If ever.