AN: I was going to finish this story in one chapter but it would have been over 9000 words! I'll post the final chapter tomorrow – those of you who hate cliff hangers might want to wait until tomorrow and read both chapters at once.

Kate and Tim hurried into the squad room just behind Gibbs. Kate wondered why it was that Gibbs always seemed to arrive places ahead of her but always managed to be calm and composed while she was slightly breathless and uptight. In the unlikely event of Gibbs wanting to take to the catwalk as a male model he would be a serene and compelling presence; she was lost for a moment or two in a dream of Gibbs wearing a well-fitting designer suit with spotlights glinting off his silver hair.

"Kate?" said Tony breaking into her reverie.

The vision crumbled as Kate realised that Gibbs would be wearing a bemused expression as well as the elegant suit. "What?" she said.

"You looked … sort of lost," said Tony.

"Oh," said Kate. "I was thinking of …" she trailed off as she realised the impossibility of telling anyone what she'd been thinking of. "Are you all right?" she asked, partly to deflect attention from her and partly out of concern.

"Tilly started a new class at Day Care," Tony replied.

"And?" asked Kate.

"Every time she moves class she picks up different germs," said Tony nasally.

"And?" asked Kate again.

"And passes them on to us," said Tony sneezing into a tissue. Kate noticed that his waste paper basket seemed already to be overflowing with used paper handkerchiefs.

"Why's she moved into a new class?" asked Kate. She wondered if this was something to do with Faith 'moving on'.

"It's what kids do," said Tony in a puzzled voice.

Kate directed a searching look at Tony trying to work out whether there were any sinister undertones to what he was saying … or not saying but her thoughts were interrupted by the Director walking into the squad room.

"Good morning, everyone," he said. "I'd like you to meet Special Agent Leon Vance. He's joining us for a few days from our San Diego office. Leon, I think you already know Agents DiNozzo and Gibbs …" The new arrival nodded coolly towards Tony and Gibbs. "This is Agent McGee and Agent Todd. They are the probationary field agents on Agent DiNozzo's team."

Leon shook hands with Kate and Tim.

"I'm looking forward to being with you all," he said.

"Agent DiNozzo," said the Director, "Are you ready to go?"

Kate and Tim looked up in surprise. Tony sniffed and nodded, "Sure. Just waiting on my wife. She insisted on bringing in some cold remedies."

"Very well," said the Director, "Keep me informed."

"Er," said Tim, when the Director had left, "Where you going, Tony?"

"Conference in San Diego," said Tony, "Director was supposed to be going but he had to pull out."

"Wouldn't it have been simpler for Agent Vance to stay where he was?" asked Kate. She swallowed anxiously when Vance directed a quizzical stare at her.

"Agent Vance was already scheduled to be here," said Tony, "No point changing."

"And what's Leon doing here?" asked Gibbs.

"I'm observing the working of the team," said Leon blandly, answering before Tony could speak.

"You're in charge, Gibbs, while I'm gone," said Tony, "Agent Vance is supernumerary."

"I won't get in your way, Jethro," said Leon as he shifted a toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.

"I know," said Gibbs.

Tony looked at Gibbs and Vance and found that he was nervous. "Agent Vance," he said, "Why don't you put your gear at the desk by Agent McGee?" Vance nodded as he realised that he was being got rid of. "Jethro," said Tony quietly, "Play nice. Don't let him get to you." Gibbs didn't reply but Tony sensed the hostility. "Not in front of the children," continued Tony with a gesture of the head towards Tim and Kate. That forced a smile out of Gibbs and the atmosphere relaxed.

"Dada," came a voice from the elevator as Faith arrived with Matilda.

"Hello, sweetie," said Tony as he swept her up into his arms, "My little bag of bugs!"

"Don't call her that," said Faith, "It's not her fault."

"She doesn't mind," said Tony as he tickled his daughter's tummy.

Faith sniffed. Kate couldn't tell if it was because she had a cold as well or because she disapproved.

"Here's your medicine," said Faith holding out a paper bag.

"Thank you," said Tony.

"When will you be back?" asked Faith.

"Should be tomorrow," said Tony. "I'll let you know." He turned to Tilly. "Be good for Mommy, my little ba – bundle of joy!" He kissed her on the top of her head and handed her back to Faith as his phone rang. "OK. Be right down," he said as he ended the call. "Got to go. My ride's waiting." He grabbed his bag and hurried towards the elevator.

"Tony," called Faith.

"What?" he asked. "Oh. Sorry," he hastened back and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"Come on, sweetie," said Faith as she marched towards the stairs leaving the remaining members of the MCRT looking at one another in concern.

NCISNCIS

That afternoon, McGee, Kate, Abby and Ducky gathered in Autopsy.

"So, I heard," said Abby, "That they're going to appoint a new Assistant Director based in San Diego."

"That's where Tony is," said Tim as he thought aloud. Kate jabbed him with her elbow. "Ow," he asked indignantly, "What was that for?"

"For saying the obvious, Timothy," said Ducky, "But, Caitlyn, you should refrain from using your elbows in that manner. It is surprising what severe injuries can be caused by such blows. I remember a case where someone suffered a ruptured spleen when his enraged spouse elbowed him in the midriff. It is true that she did have unusually pointy elbows – her olecranon was the most prominent I have ever come across. And, of course, he had just been in an automobile crash which had inflicted some damage. Nevertheless, she did undoubtedly add considerably to her husband's injuries. I am sure that he had annoyed her greatly; I confess that he was a most tiresome person but I consider physical assault to be reprehensible. There was a time, you know, when Jethro was prone to deliver head slaps to junior agents but I managed to dissuade him from that practice by showing him a most informative video of the consequences of repeated blows to the cranium. I must see if there is a similar one for elbowing."

Tim rubbed his stomach, "Please do, Ducky."

"No need," said Kate hastily, "I'll remember."

"Excellent," said Ducky with a benevolent smile. "Now, where were we?"

"Timmy was telling us that Tony is in San Diego," said Abby, "Which we already knew."

Tim rushed to his own defence, "I was about to say that Tony is supposed to be there for a conference. Do you think it's something more? Is he checking the place out?"

"I have to say, from a medical standpoint," said Ducky, "That the Californian climate might be more beneficial to Anthony's lungs than the air of Washington. I couldn't help but notice that he was rather wheezy before he left."

"That was because of Tilly," said Kate. "She'd passed on some germs to him. That's why he was sneezing."

"Possibly," conceded Ducky. "I have frequently noticed that parents of young children do suffer considerably from the germs that their offspring bring back from the places in which they congregate. But I think it is possible that Anthony would suffer fewer side effects from those germs if he lived in a more congenial climate."

"But what about the air quality?" asked Abby worriedly, "Ozone levels can be bad. That's not good for lungs."

Kate could see that Abby and Ducky were about to launch into a spirited discussion about the pros and cons of San Diego for the DiNozzo respiratory system so decided to divert them, "And why is Vance here?" she asked.

"Well," said Abby, "If Tony moved on … perhaps Vance would take over?"

Kate and Tim looked at one another, wondering if this would be a good or bad thing.

"But wouldn't Gibbs get the job?" asked Tim.

"I'm not sure that Jethro would want it," said Ducky. "I believe he would have taken the job if it had been offered when the MCRT was established but I think he has come to see that being second in command is a better fit for his talents."

"That may be so," agreed Kate, "But what if Vance was the lead? Gibbs might not mind being Tony's second, but how would he feel about Vance being in charge?"

"Agent Vance is keen on technology," said Tim thoughtfully. Vance hadn't been with them long but had already had a long discussion with Tim about the team's IT skills and resources.

"You mean you want him to be team lead?" asked Kate with an alarming reflex jerk of her elbow.

Tim prudently moved out of range. "No," he said. "I was just saying. Tony and Gibbs are similar in the way they view technology." He sighed plaintively. "Agent Vance would be different. And Gibbs might find that difficult."

"And you wouldn't?" pressed Kate.

"Technology isn't bad," said Tim. "But I don't want Tony to leave."

"Me neither," said Kate, "I like things as they are."

"And Gibbs doesn't seem to approve of meal breaks," said Tim practically.

Kate looked glum, "And what was it you were saying about Faith moving on?" she asked. "What was that about?"

"I'm buddies with someone who's joining JAG. Commander Coleman is teaching one of their courses. He said that she doesn't seem to have any new cases assigned although there's only a couple of months left on the courses. Says that's unusual," said Tim.

"And from that you worked out that she's moving on?" asked Abby.

"Well …" began Tim.

"Huh," huffed Kate, "I wouldn't have thought she'd have been the type."

"What type, Caitlyn?" asked Ducky.

"To throw up her career to follow her husband," said Kate.

"Well …" began Abby.

"Hey!" came a stentorian bark from the door, "What you doing down here? Having afternoon tea?" It was Gibbs who had noticed that his co-workers had gone missing and had tracked them down.

"Sorry, Gibbs. I mean, not sorry," said Tim.

"We were just checking something with Ducky," tried Kate. She looked at Gibbs' irate expression, "And we're on our way back. Right now!"

"Good idea," said Gibbs.

"I think I'll go too," said Abby. "Major Mass Spec gets lonely without me. And you never know what the guys might get up to if I'm not there to keep an eye on them. Bye, Ducky. Thanks for the … well, thanks."

Ducky was the only one unperturbed by Gibbs' arrival. "Not enjoying Leon's company, Jethro?" he asked knowingly.

For answer, Gibbs simply grunted and grimaced before striding out.

NCISNCIS

The MCRT didn't get called out to any cases while Tony was away but Gibbs found Leon's presence irksome: he didn't have a notebook in his hand but gave the impression that he was monitoring the team closely. Gibbs resorted to giving the team extra PT and then taking them out to the shooting range to practise. Kate and Tim both came back with holes through their ball caps.

"Quit complaining," ordered Gibbs as they made their way back to the office. "Could have been worse."

"How?" whined Kate.

"You could have been wearing the caps when the holes got shot through," said Gibbs.

Kate stared at Gibbs. "That's sick," she declared.

"And probably against safety regs," put in Leon drily.

Gibbs snorted his opinion of safety regulations but didn't reply preferring to stab the button on the elevator instead. Kate and Tim exchanged anxious looks as they wondered what Gibbs would decide to put them through next.

"Welcome back," called Tony as they spilled out of the elevator. He found his heart lifting as he saw the beams of pleasure on the faces of the junior agents.

"You're back!" said Tim. He then winced as he realised he'd stated the obvious once more but fortunately Kate was in too good a mood to jab him.

"Good conference?" asked Kate as she directed a piercing look at him as she tried to divine what he had really been up to.

Tony shrugged.

"You sound better," said Tim.

Kate frowned at McGee; she didn't want to encourage thoughts that San Diego would be a healthier place for Tony to live.

"Got a good night's sleep," said Tony, "That's a novelty for me." His co-workers nodded understandingly; they knew that Tilly was still not sleeping through the night and that things had been worse since she had lost her pink and yellow spotted toy dog. "Picked up some donuts as I came through the airport," he continued. "Help yourselves." He looked a bit more closely as Kate and Tim dumped their gear. "What happened to your caps?" he asked.

"Gibbs," said Kate and Tim in unison.

"Ah," said Tony, "Next time you should tape his coffee mug to the target. Guessing you didn't catch a case since yesterday?" Gibbs shook his head. "Could have done cold cases," said Tony. He looked at Gibbs' expression and continued, "But it's always good to keep up on the shooting range."

Gibbs nodded, "And some of us definitely need the practice." He stared at Tim and Kate who hurried to find something else to do.

NCISNCIS

Kate stopped off for coffee on her way home that day. She was about to get it to go when she saw Faith Coleman sitting in the window. She saw an opportunity.

"Hi," she said, "Mind if I join you?"

"No, of course not," said Faith. "How are you, Kate?"

"I'm fine," said Kate but with a worried frown.

"You don't look fine," said Faith.

"Well, I guess I'm anxious," admitted Kate, "About a friend of mine."

"Oh?"

"I think she's doing the wrong thing but …"

"But it's easier to see that than to tell her?" suggested Faith.

"Exactly," said Kate. "She's done very well in her career. Very highly thought of. Who knows how high could she go?"

"And why's that a problem?"

"She's going to give it all up."

"Why?"

"To follow her partner. He's being relocated," said Kate with a sigh.

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's pandering to outmoded gender stereotypes," said Kate hotly. "The little woman following her man whenever he clicks his fingers. It's like being in Victorian England. She's worked so hard to get where she is and now … it'll all be gone."

"Why does she say she's doing it?" asked Faith.

"Says it feels like the right thing to do," said Kate. "But one partner's career shouldn't be more important than another's, should it?"

"No," said Faith thoughtfully. "It shouldn't."

"I mean," said Kate, "Women have worked so hard to get equal treatment. They shouldn't give in within their own homes. Otherwise it's all for nothing."

"You're right," said Faith. "Partners should give and take equally."

"And when you think that women often take a career hit because of having children. It's really not right that men think their work comes first," said Kate.

"You've obviously thought about this a lot," said Faith. "Your friend must be grateful."

"Who?" asked Kate. "Oh, yes. Yes, she's grateful. Or she would be … will be when I make her see where she's going wrong."

"She's lucky to have you," said Faith gazing at Kate.

Kate blushed. "Thank you," She looked at her watch, "I'd better be going."

"I enjoyed our talk," said Faith. "You've made me think."

Kate nodded in satisfaction.

NCISNCIS

"Everyone runs teams differently."

Kate had, unusually, beaten Tim and Gibbs into work the next day and she heard Tony talking to Vance.

"You have to find your own way of doing it," Tony continued before stopping when he saw that Kate was standing by her desk. Vance nodded and moved away. "Good morning, Kate," said Tony. He saw that Kate was scowling, "Or perhaps not?"

"What?" said Kate.

"Your smile is upside-down, Agent Todd," said Tony.

"Oh. It's Marty. In Dispatch. I've threatened to report him for sexual harassment," replied Kate.

"Why?" asked Tony. "I mean, what's he done? Apart from piloting some new ways of answering calls – which should be more efficient? And I'm guessing that's not the reason you're thinking of reporting him?"

"You mean you haven't noticed how he behaves towards women?"

"You think I'd have ignored him behaving inappropriately?" asked Tony.

"No, of course not. I meant …"

"Because despite what you seem to think, Agent Todd, I'm not sexist," said Tony in an icy tone.

"No. No, I don't think you are," amended Kate. She was annoyed with herself for taking out her frustration with Marty on Tony but grateful at least that Tony wasn't calling her Special Agent Todd.

Tony favoured her with a hard stare but was diverted by Gibbs and McGee arriving.

"We have a new case," he announced. "A conservator at the Naval History and Heritage Command was shot last night on her way home. She's in a critical condition at Georgetown University Hospital."

"Why didn't we know last night?" asked Gibbs bristling at the thought they hadn't been brought in sooner.

"Metro PD didn't know the connection with the Navy until a couple of hours ago," said Tony. "They called us in when they found out. Gibbs, take McGee and go to her house. Metro are still there; they'll hand over the details to you. Here's the address. Kate, you and I will go to the hospital. Agent Vance, do you want to come with us?"

Vance nodded and they all went off on their various assignments.

Tony, Kate and Vance were unable to speak to the victim, Moira Radetzky, at the hospital so visited her place of work on the Navy Yard. By the time they got back to the squad room, Tim and Gibbs had also returned.

"Report," ordered Tony.

"Not much to report yet," said Gibbs. "It was dark when she was shot. Nobody saw anything, just heard the shot and ran to help. A dark coloured van was seen driving off but no licence plate."

"I'm getting hold of security footage," said McGee, "But I don't think there were any cameras nearby."

"She's still unconscious," said Tony, "But the doctors are hopeful of a recovery. We went to the museum where she works. Her co-workers seem to like her, seemed genuinely shocked anyone would want to hurt her."

"Do you think it could just be a random attack?" asked Kate.

"Could be," said Tony. "Start doing background on her. Gibbs, check with Metro. See if there have been any other attacks in the area."

"Can I help?" asked Vance.

"Tired of watching, Leon?" asked Gibbs.

"Yes," said Vance simply. "I like to be doing something."

"Help Tim," suggested Tony choosing to ignore any tension between Vance and Gibbs.

Vance nodded and went to check with Tim on how far he'd got. They were quickly absorbed in a technical discussion about how best to get pictures of the crime scene area.

After a couple of hours Gibbs got some information back from Metro.

"A cleaner from the Navy Yard Chapel … Sophia Marten … reported to Metro that she'd been shot at a couple of days ago," he said.

"And you didn't hear about it before?" asked Vance with exaggerated surprise.

Gibbs ignored the interruption. "They investigated but couldn't find any evidence of a shot being fired," he said. "They thought the sound of a shot might have been a car backfiring. Woman seemed embarrassed by the whole thing. Metro decided there was no more action to take."

"Might just be coincidence," said Tony. "Sorry, I know you don't approve of them, Jethro. OK, gather round." He wheeled his chair to the centre of the squad room and gestured to the others to join him.

"What's going on?" asked Leon bemusedly.

"Tony likes to have campfires," said Gibbs. "Thinks it builds teamwork."

"And what do you think, Jethro?" asked Leon.

"Works for him," shrugged Gibbs.

"When you're ready, gentlemen!" called Tony.

Gibbs and Vance hurried over. In truth, however, there was little to campfire about. It was possible that the two incidents were linked but there seemed no reason for either of the women to be victims and the team could not see that the two women knew each other.

"Go home," ordered Tony after a few minutes. "We can't do any more today. We may be able to speak to Moira tomorrow. And we'll speak to Sophia as well."

NCISNCIS

Three days passed with no breaks in the case. Moira Radetzky had not yet regained consciousness. When pressed, her co-workers remembered that she had mentioned being annoyed by a man she had encountered on the Navy Yard but she had not gone into any details.

The team had been unable to question Sophia Marten about the possible attempted shooting as she had gone on vacation to Florida. Tony had spoken to her supervisor at the Chaplaincy.

"Sophia has been jumpy for a few days, Agent DiNozzo," said Claud DuPont.

"Why's that?"

"She said that someone had 'made advances' to her and was unhappy when she turned him down. Sophia's very shy, you see. Very gentle. And she found the whole thing upsetting. Then when she thought she'd been shot at … and the police officer who attended implied she was mistaken and was being a bit of a nuisance. Well, she didn't take it very well. She decided to take her vacation early."

"Do you know who the man was?" asked Tony.

"Afraid not. I think it was probably someone on the Navy Yard. Sophia doesn't have much of a social life, you see, so I think work is the only place she's likely to meet people. I tried to be supportive but, in the end, I thought going on vacation was the best thing for her."

"I see. When's she due back?"

"Next week."

The team had checked security footage of the Navy Yard but couldn't find any footage of men approaching the two women. They had revisited both crime scenes and found nothing. Tony made a decision,

"We don't know there are two crime scenes. We've hit a brick wall. We'll just have to wait until we can interview Moira or Sophia." Tony scowled in frustration; he wanted to be doing something. "OK," he announced, "We've fallen behind on PT. Down to the gym!"

As they emerged from the changing rooms Tony heard Leon say to Gibbs,

"You up to sparring with me, Jethro?"

"Actually," said Tony quickly as he caught sight of Gibbs' slow and predatory smile, "Gibbs needs to put me through my paces. Why don't you grapple with Kate, Agent Vance? She'll tell you about when she protected the President."

"She already has," said Vance with unexpected humour, "Many times!"

Gibbs set McGee to running on the treadmill and then went with Tony into the boxing ring. After years of sparring with Gibbs, Tony was usually able to hold his own but on this occasion he was distracted and Gibbs made easy work of him. As he took him to the floor for the third time, Gibbs noticed that Tony was watching Vance and Kate.

"You're not concentrating," commented Gibbs.

"Yeah," gasped Tony, "I'm just not sure it was a good idea to set Kate up to murder Vance."

"Protecting your investment?" inquired Gibbs.

"What?"

"Or should I say 'your replacement'? Want to make sure he's fit to take over?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Tony loftily. His phone rang, "Saved by the bell," he said as he answered it.

Gibbs wandered over to where Kate and Vance were warily circling each other. Tim sensed something was up and came over to watch as well. Kate was distracted by their approach and Vance took her down.

"We've got a call out," announced Tony. He walked towards them, "PT is over."

Vance looked at Gibbs, McGee and Tony in surprise as they froze for a moment: their eyes were fixed on Kate as she lay on the floor with her feet pointed towards Leon standing in front of her. Kate's co-workers gasped as her legs shot into the air … and she did a kick up to land on her feet in front of Vance.

Tim, Gibbs and Tony breathed out in relief. Vance looked askance at their reaction but shrugged as he went off to change.

"Nice one, Kate," said Tony approvingly. She nodded knowingly in response.

"Where's Tony?" asked Kate when she joined her co-workers in the garage a little later.

"Stopped off in Dispatch for a minute," said McGee. "He wasn't sure he'd taken the details of the call out right."

"Could've phoned them," pointed out Vance.

"He was walking past when he thought of it," said Gibbs. "And the callout's not urgent. He likes to drop in sometimes. He thinks …"

"… it builds teamwork," supplied Vance ruefully.

"What you waiting for?" demanded Tony as he arrived. "Come on. No time for chitchat!"

Leon and Gibbs grimaced in a rare moment of accord as they encountered this example of unfair leadership.

"Where we going?" asked Gibbs as they all piled into the van.

"Rock Creek Park," said Tony. "Report of someone in navy uniform behaving oddly."

"Oddly?" queried Tim.

"Might be drunk or under the influence of drugs. In full dress uniform and singing national anthems of the world. Oh, and he's wearing female full dress uniform," added Tony.

"I'd say that was odd," agreed Kate.

"And it's a nice day for an outing," said Tony optimistically.

Five seasoned NCIS agents didn't take long to recognise that, however oddly the man was behaving, he wasn't wearing an authentic navy uniform. It turned out that he'd over indulged at the office fancy dress party the night before and hadn't stopped drinking some fifteen hours later. The MCRT handed him over to the Park Rangers, called Dispatch to let them know the callout had been a false alarm and headed back towards the Navy Yard.

"So this is what a Major Case Response Team does, is it?" asked Vance.

Tony shrugged. "We'd get bored if we hung around waiting for the big cases," he said. "If we're free, we take our turn in other things. Oops, here we go again," he said as his phone rang. He listened to the message, "Yeah. OK, we can go to that."

"Where to?" asked Gibbs who was driving.

"Ivy City. Just off New York Avenue. Report of a break in at a warehouse."

"Why is that us?" asked Kate.

"Apparently the Navy are using it for temporary storage," replied Tony.

With Gibbs at the wheel it didn't take long for the team to arrive at the storage facility.

"Doesn't look as if there's anyone here," said Gibbs as they pulled up.

"No," agreed Tony. There was no sound of any alarm and there were no vehicles nearby. "Kate, Gibbs, you go right. McGee, you're with me. We'll go left. Agent Vance, stay here. Keep a look out for anyone coming out."

A few minutes later Gibbs and Tony were back at the truck with nothing to report.

"Where's Kate?" asked Tony.

"I sent her up on the roof," said Gibbs. "Thought she might get a better view from there."

Tony nodded in approval. "I sent McGee out to the road in case there's anything parked there." He and Gibbs looked around in frustration at another fruitless call out. "Agent Vance," said Tony, "We do sometimes get real cases!" He laughed and then his expression changed, "Damn!" he swore and he ran towards the building.

Gibbs and Vance took off after him but Tony was fast and was scaling the fire escape before they got there. "Stay there," he ordered.

Kate was standing on the roof looking for evidence that anyone had been there.

"Kate!" shouted Tony as soon as he got to the roof. "Come here! Now!"

"I think I've found something," said Kate.

"Agent Todd," called Tony as he strode towards her, "I said, come here."

"But I've found something," said Kate.

"That was an order, Todd," said Tony.

Kate suddenly realised there was something different in Tony's tone of voice and she started walking towards him. "There's no need to …" She trailed off as she saw both the glare and the worry on Tony's face.

"Quickly," said Tony. He gazed around and something seemed to catch his attention. "Down!" he bellowed even as he launched himself at Kate and forced her to the ground.

Kate heard a gunshot and then felt the breath leave her body as she hit the floor and Tony landed on top of her. She was stunned for a moment or two. "You can get off now," she panted. "I'm fine. Tony?" She pushed at his body but there was no movement. "Tony!" she said more insistently. As she continued to call his name she saw Gibbs and Vance approaching cautiously.

"There was a shot," she said.

"We heard," said Gibbs grimly. "You OK?"

"Yes," said Kate. "But Tony isn't answering me."

"Stay down," said Gibbs gently. "Let me see what's going on. Leon, call EMT."

"Is he all right?" asked Kate trying to squash a feeling of panic.

"He's unconscious," said Gibbs. "His head is bleeding."