A day in the bullpen (minus Tony).
McGee stared at his computer screen with a look of great intensity on his face, his eyes bored into the screen and perspiration was forming on his brow. His mission was not all that complex, but he'd die if he failed now. He had been training and working for this moment for four months now and he was not going to be defeated now. He was only 2100 points away from beating his high score! All he had to do was get Helga the lightning camel to deliver the last of her packages to her awaiting customers and he would have beaten his four month standing record.
"No!" He moaned, he dropped his head onto the keypad and banged it over and over. Helga had failed her simple mission. "No! No! No!"
Ziva's eyes flickered up from her monitor to watch McGee punishing himself yet again, this was the third time this week he had put on this sort of show. She cast her eyes over to the probationary agent working diligently at McGee's old desk. McGee now sat in Tony's seat, but Tony's idle cardboard box of possessions sat on the floor beside him, cautiously reminding McGee 'Don't get to comfortable, McGee!' - Abby had written it on the side of the box.
"Lose again?" Ziva asked, picking absently at her lip.
"Yeah," McGee sighed "I went out on a limb and tried to send the blue packages early" He mumbled into the palm of his hand as he lent against the desk. Ziva frowned at him.
"What happened to your limbs?"
"Nothing." He mumbled, too disheartened to explain.
They drifted into silence, slightly broken by Ziva tapping her pen against her teeth.
"Quiet day" Ziva stated.
"Qui - iet day." McGee agreed drawing out the words.
The bullpen lapsed back into silence, the only noises coming from Agent Brig's keypad as he seemed to be working furiously at something. Ziva watched him as she leaned back into her desk comfortably.
They had only been there an hour and didn't have a case, they were just gradually sifting their way through some non-urgent paperwork and skimming over some old cases. Agent Brigs seemed to be working at the forlorn work like his life depended on it, Ziva had the sneaking suspicion it had something to do with proving himself to Gibbs, it's a shame nobody told him that wasn't the way to do it. Gibbs was in MTAC and there was nothing much to do but sit and wait for something tragic to happen to someone connected with the Navy, it was sad but it was true.
The silence was broken as the new agent dropped his hands from his keypad and looked up with an irritated expression.
"Shouldn't you two be working?"
Ziva and McGee's heads snapped up, Ziva raised an eyebrow and looked over at McGee, who tilted his head to the side.
"No." They said at the same time.
"We're meant to be doing this paperwork though? " He asked, throwing up his arms.
"Shut up, Probie" The two agents said at the same time once again.
"This is the Major Case Response team of NCIS, the leading team. Don't you think you should do more than make statues out of paperclips and practice throwing waste paper into the bin?"
Ziva and McGee looked at each other then at the younger agent who realized he was treading on uneven ground. It was true that they were not currently working hard but over the past weeks they had been working to make up for a missing agent even though Brigs was there, he hardly knew a thing of what to do. They spent their time explaining procedures and answering his obvious questions, then helping him catch up on all the work he had screwed up or missed. And now he was telling them that they were slacking off? Brigs tactfully shut up.
Nobody had mentioned it, not even Gibbs- but it seemed as though McGee had changed profoundly since DiNozzo's leave. As Tony would unintentionally begin acting like Gibbs when their lead agent was away, McGee had come out of his shell now he was not in so much danger, and silently taken the title of Very Special Agent Timothy McGee, taking on Tony's role. Ziva noticed it and had seen his confidence grow from the minute he had taken up at Tony's desk. It wasn't the boost in self esteem and confidence that annoyed Ziva though, it was the way he displayed his newly found poise by imitating DiNozzo-actions; things Tony did.
Tony had been out of the hospital for two months now, and absent from work for almost three. He wasn't expected back any time soon from the director, Vance had had long discussions with the affected team about new procedures and communication work-place lessons and lectures they were required to attend before Tony's return, which was indefinite in Vance's eyes. But Vance's eye's only.
Gibbs made his way to the bullpen brandishing a hot coffee, he was just about to enter when he heard Ziva's voice rising in anger.
"What McGee? Gibbs certainly does not have dead people stashed away in his closet!" Ziva was saying having risen to her feet, "I cannot believe you would suggest such a thing!"
"It doesn't actually mean he has a skeleton stored in his closet, Ziva. Calm down!"
"You just told me you believe Gibbs has a few skeletons in his closet, yes?"
"When you say somebody has a 'skeleton in the closet' it doesn't actually mean - "
Gibbs smiled slightly to himself as he heard McGee's voice explaining in pained exasperation, he chose this point to interrupt and enter the bullpen pretending he had heard nothing of their conversation.
"Who has a skeleton in their closet, McGee?" Gibbs asked casually and watched as his agent straightened swiftly in his seat, his mouth agape and his eyes darting to Ziva for help, she only narrowed her own. From the look on Gibbs's face he knew exactly who McGee thought was holding the skeletons.
"Uh.. No - What? Uh.. Nobody, Boss - I was just, er - explaining to Ziva here - "
"Save it, McGee. There's one in Fairfax"
"One what, Boss?" McGee furrowed his brow.
"Lieutenant Commander, found dead in his closet - Grab you're gear!"
McGee snapped a photograph of the dead sailor spilling out of a linen closet on the second floor of his family home, it was a particularity gruesome sight, the man had been stabbed in the eye with a wire hanger and then twice in the stomach with a knife. McGee stood staring at the body, wracking his brain and trying to figure out why this scene seemed so familiar.
"You alright Mcgee?" Ziva asked, tapping him on the shoulder gently. He looked worried.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine Ziva, I swear I've seen this before though. I could swear I saw this is a movie or something."
"Hmm," She muttered, a silence lapsed at the start of a familiar conversation, it was filled with thoughts of their missing partner.
"Halloween, 1978, John Carpenter. The murderer is murdered: stabbed in the eye with a wire and then in the gut with a knife."
A voice said behind them, they spun around to face a nervous looking Zach Brigs, he cast his eyes down and made a fuss out of pulling on his laytex gloves. The two agents gave him hard expressions and rolled their eyes at his words, he seemed to have genuinely upset them this time and he couldn't figure out why, all he had done was tell them the movie they were trying to remember. Why had they gotten upset over that?
"So, Uh - you just want me to, err - take photos?" Brigs asked cautiously.
"Yes, Brigs. That is your job, do the job that you have been doing for six weeks now. The same one you do every time we have a case, yes? Survey the crime scene and gather information, as you were trained to do." Ziva said to him slowly, as if he was a child.
"Uh yes, sorry Ziva, Uh - Agent David." He said fumbling with his camera.
The team looked up as Gibbs strolled onto the landing looking serious, he inspected the body for himself and turned to his agents, notebook in hand.
"What do we got? Brigs?"
The younger agent looked startled at the mention of his name and stared wildly at the scene, he had only just arrived and had hardly had anytime to look around and survey the room.
"Uh, well.. Boss, Sir I-"
"Ziva, McGee. What do you got? Does anyone have anything?" Gibbs impatiently interrupted Brigs's slow start.
"Lieutenant commander Jackson Crawford, 45 year old male, scheduled to head over to the Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan next week." McGee said skimming through his notebook and interviews. Gibbs nodded. Ziva started up where McGee left off:
"I talked to his neighbour, he lived here with his wife and two children for four years. His wife found him early this morning when she arrived home from her yoga class. She is being treated for shock outside now, she was too distraught to give me to much information when I spoke to her. Apparently their family car is missing- a Ford Focus."
"Good, Ziva-"
"Go check on the wife and bring her in for an interview." Ziva interrupted, already knowing what she was expected to do.
"Yep, McGee-"
"Get the wire and knife to Abby, finish up in this room and then put out a BOLO on the missing car."
"Good, Brigs?"
The younger agent stared at his boss before averting his eyes cautiously. He panicked inwardly, he had been trying in vain for the past few weeks to live up to his boss's expectations and impress him, which Ziva and McGee defiantly weren't helping with. He looked about the room.
"Take.. Photographs?"
Gibbs stared him down.
"Don't.. take photographs..?"
Gibbs stared harder, inwardly enjoying the discomfort he could bring with a simple look.
"Go.. do.. something.. Uh?
Gibbs couldn't let the agent suffer any longer, it was cruel yet funnily entertaining.
"Do your job Brigs, and quickly." He said as he strolled out of the room, Brigs sighed and leaned back onto the wall in relief.
"Yes boss!" He called after the intimidating lead agent.
It was frustrating having somebody as green as Zach Brigs on his team, it put him back to the time they had first taken on Tim McGee. Lucky Tim had grown a spine in the years that he had worked with them, DiNozzo speeding along the process. Gibbs wasn't fond of breaking into new agents and Zach almost seemed slower than the average one, not catching onto any ground rules and the blunt do's and don't s Gibbs had set. It was obvious that his two other agents were not helping out the Probie, probably for the same reason that he was torturing him so much, and the same reason he was fighting with the director every day over the new agent. They missed DiNozzo.
Gibbs hadn't seen DiNozzo recently, Tony hadn't reacted well when he realized that Gibbs had been watching out for him. Tony had visually begun trying to re-prove himself the moment he had noticed the unusual attention and care Gibbs was trying to show his distressed agent. He had taken on the tough guy act and immediately hidden all ailments and signs of weakness which included not taking his medication when in the presence of his boss, and refusing rest. Gibbs had sensibly taken Ducky's hint when he had politely voiced the reaction Gibbs's attention had earned from the senior field agent, and backed away a little bit.
Gibbs mentally shook himself, his mind had been drifting like that a lot lately, he was at a crime scene and there was a job to be done. He needed to get into the right frame of mind and focus on the task at hand.
The team cleared up the crime scene and interviewed everybody available before taking their evidence and following Dr. Mallard's autopsy van back to NCIS. Brigs, Ziva and McGee all drifted back to the bullpen to start up on their research while Gibbs headed out to buy a coffee, catching some time alone while his team worked on the case and Abby and Ducky were still processing. He had gotten into the habit over seven years, of disappearing at about this time for his seventh coffee, it was around this time that his team rushed into their usual childish facetiousness while they competed to gain the information which would gain the most praise from their boss.
He returned, coffee in hand to find the bullpen in productive silence. It had been such a forced habit over seven years of working with DiNozzo, he expected to have to waltz in, deliver a grounding Gibbs-slap or two to settle his team down and waste a minute getting them to focus. He couldn't get used to Tony's absence and it was almost chilling walking into such a productive workspace.
"Anything?" He asked, walking up to the wide screen beside McGee's desk.
The team proceeded to brief him in on the information they had gathered, McGee and Ziva fought to deliver theirs first before looking at him in anticipation. They still hadn't heard Brig's findings. Gibbs turned his back on the two other agents and looked expectantly at Brigs.
"Uh, yes. Sir - " Brigs said, reading Gibbs's expression.
"I spoke to two of Crawford's colleagues, said he had no obvious issues with any other work-mates except for a Daniel Pears. Apparently the two got into an argument over a mutual friend outside of work- Bonnie Sampson about a month ago. Spoke to the station manager and Pears hasn't checked in since Monday, Boss. Bonnie Sampson works at Stacy&Sue's shoes in Fairfax, I couldn't get much from the two colleagues but apparently Pears and Sampson broke up at the beginning of the year after a long-term relationship, Crawford and her started dating about three months ago. I guess that's a motive? I ran a background check for Pears, looks as though he got into some trouble in West Verginia last year for getting physical with a complaining neighbour. I've put out a BOLO on Pears- I uh- hope that's okay, we've got no hits on the Ford Focus."
Everybody continued to look at the probationary agent, putting him on edge. This was the first time Brigs had managed to spit out a considerable amount of useful information without asking for assistance or reassurance. He would usually stop mid sentence and glance around at the team, as if to check he wasn't about to loose his job for saying something wrong. He had obviously out done the other two agents on the unofficial information completion, they stood watching him with narrowed eyes. Had Tony been there, being the one bold enough to mutter what they were all thinking internally. Ass kisser.
The three agents watched their lead agent in anticipation for his response, each holding their breath for slightly different reasons.
" Yeah? You didn't think to bring Bonnie Sampson in?" He asked heading to his desk. McGee and Ziva breathed out slightly, Brig's shoulders sagged.
"I'll do that now, Sir"
"Yep, and stop calling me 'Sir'"
"Yes, sorry Sir, Uh - Gibbs, Boss"
Brigs's ongoing quest to gain his boss's acceptance seemed pointless, he had thought he had gained something and gotten somewhere with his last piece of work but his boss had hardly battered and eyelid. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration and picked up the phone to call Bonnie Sampson in.
He had heard of Anthony DiNozzo around the office before, everybody knew who was on the Major Response Team. He had worked two floors down from his current team but had seen the senior field agent from a distance on a couple of occasions. The first time Tony had been standing, one foot pressed firmly into McGee's stomach and his two hands tugging roughly at McGee's keypad which had somehow become super glued to McGee's his fingertips. The other time Brigs had ventured onto the unfamiliar floor he had been one to witness Tony standing boldly on his trembling desk, hollering for everybody's attention as he had misplaced his wallet.
He had no idea how he was supposed to live up to DiNozzo's record and reputation. He was brought into the team to help fill the missing agent's position. All that he had heard about Tony from around the workplace was that he was a charming yet childish, prank-pulling though an extremely potent and capable agent with a reputation of success.
This mystery man seemed to have it all, from what he had heard from across the building. He was successful with the ladies, was successful with his occupation and had somehow, with methods Brigs only dreamed he could discover, been successful in unlocking Leroy Jethro Gibbs's respect, trust and loyalty.
From the minute the new agent had sat himself down at his desk he knew that he would never be accepted in this team, he was just keeping the seat warm until Tony's return, they were pretty much his instructions and everybody knew it, he was a temporary, a substitute and soon he would be returning from the glamour of the highest team to the quiet, computer-plinkning labs a few floors below. Brigs had almost been excited on being told of his reassignment before he really thought in depth about the situation. He was an inexperienced agent being moved to a high pressure team, a replacement for a renound agent with a list of gold stars on his chart. His happiness shifted when he had realized what it would have meant for DiNozzo, while he was getting pumped for a new occupation DiNozzo was re-teaching himself to function with a vital sense down. Seeing the faces of his new team on his first day, it was almost as if he was their constant reminder.
Gibbs sculled the last of his coffee before heading down to Abby's lab, he'd given her enough time. He glanced up as somebody slipped into the elevator beside him, Ziva looked up hesitantly.
"Gibbs" She said as the doors slid shut.
"Ziva?"
She looked at him seriously, her brown eyes met his and they both held a steady gaze. A moment passed before she broke the eye-contact and stared about the elevator while she gathered her thoughts, then looked back at her boss who was still watching her closely. He could see her internal battle with feelings and questions and watched as her mind sorted out how to string them into sentences. Ziva's eyes glanced about the space, she had slipped into the elevator on sudden impuse, but now she was here she didn't know what to say. She swallowed and opened her mouth.
"I was just-" She started, slightly put off by the fact Gibbs hadn't blinked since the doors had slid shut. "I was just wondering.."
It seemed only a moment ago she had her thoughts and questions straight and laid out in her mind.
"I know." Gibbs stated, turning to face the doors.
"Well.. I don't know." Ziva stated, suddenly frustrated. Gibbs looked her in the eye with a questioning expression even though he knew where she was heading.
"We've been dealing with an incompetent agent for months, Gibbs. None of us are co-operating or getting along, the team is struggling socially with each other. Not to mention struggling in our efficiency with handling the work-load, Brigs hardly knew how to file an evidence report! It is affecting our ability to work sufficiently as a team together, having the potential to directly influence the quality of our work, I -"
"I know, Ziva."
"And I still don't know."
"He'll be back soon, Ziva. Hold on." The elevator dinged but they both remained where they stood standing in silence.
"He'd better be, the both of them have me just about 'flopping my pig'!"
Gibbs's lip twitched slightly, he pulled it back into place and stepped out of the elevator, he could feel Abby's music pulsating through the floor.
"What?" Ziva asked suspiciously.
"Nothing." He stated matter-of -factly, Abby clomped up to the two in her platform shoes, her pigtails swishing; she was clutching a large unidentifiable egg shaped object and was looking extremely excited about it. Ziva held up a finger to Abby who was just about to open her mouth and turned back to Gibbs.
"What?" She asked, not letting it drop.
"Flipping my lid." He said, referring to her mistaken idiom.
Abby wrapped an arm around Gibbs and hugged her strange object a little closer, reassuringly patting him on the back.
"Oh, Gibbs! It's alright, sometimes we all feel that way every once in a while. I find the best thing for when I'm about to loose my marbles is camomile tea! I also know all these awesome relaxation techniques in my crystal healing sessions, we can try some this afternoon with some aroma-therapy, I find YlangYlang oil particularly relaxing when I'm upset..."
Ziva watched as Abby lead Gibbs into her lab, her eyes narrowing in confusion. Gibbs shot a quick look at her over Abby's shoulder. Not being able to make much sense of the situation she thought it best just to retreat back to the elevator.
Please review? Please?
Forgive my lateness- wow, total mind blank!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for the reviews, I love you all!
NOW: I am staring at a fat internet add on the fanfiction site as I type this. I've seen it quite a few times already. Whats it saying about fanfiction users when the advertising on this site is entitled 'Geek2Geek' and goes on to say 'YES, Geeks should be appreciated'. HMMMM?
I rest my case