Tony slipped out of his car and cast a trained eye over the scene in front of him. He could see the NCIS van in the distance. Deciding to regroup with his own team before meeting their old counterpart, he ambled towards their vehicle. Rapping on the window and putting an effective end to the blazing row that was raging between Breslin and Murphy, he stepped back to allow them to clamber out. Stretching loudly, Lakes turned a tortured gaze in Tony's direction.

"We've been camped out here for at least five hours."

Rolling his eyes, Tony ignored the complaint and worked quickly in his mind. "Ok, we're now officially on a joint op here with NCIS. This is a courtesy for them; they don't have to allow it so tread carefully. The team on scene is my old unit, so there's a little leeway to work with. Forensics will run through NCIS, if you receive any resistance on that, you let me know straight away. Liaise with them, but run everything through me first."

He paused for breath.

"Lakes. I want you on prints, Breslin on photos and Murphy…do your best with witness statements. This area isn't known for cooperation with anything even smelling of law, but smile that smile of yours and try and bring something back." He ran a hand through his hair as he foresaw the mammoth obstacles that could potentially spring up in their path and not for the first time wished he'd left well enough alone. The three stared at him for a moment, clearly aware of his unusually charged vibe, before nodding in synchronisation and splitting up. Staying where he was for a moment, Tony took a deep breath. He could see Tim in the distance, crouched low over a covered corpse, in deep conversation with Ducky. Bishop's blonde hair bobbed and weaved in the distance, as she diligently dusted for prints. Palmer weaved about in the distance.

He took another breath.

He'd made the effort to stay close with the rest of Team Gibbs, and it was an effort that was returned tenfold. However, he hadn't known that those efforts had remained a secret from Gibbs, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. Logically, he sensed that they had kept the information to themselves in order to keep the peace. He'd never ask them to choose sides, or anything equally childish, so he had no problem with that being their reasoning. However, the slightly hurt side of him provided a different explanation. Were they ashamed of their continued association with him? Just like Gibbs was? Were they just too kind to sever ties with him, just like their leader had?

He shook his head at himself with a forced firmness.

He was being ridiculous.

Yet he couldn't quite dissuade himself of the nervousness in his stomach. He had continued to be a part of his old team's lives, in a personal capacity. This would be his first foray into dealing with them in his professional capacity. Taking in a deep breath, he realised the advantage in meeting with them before Gibbs came on scene. His team were moving closer to Tim and Bishop and he instinctively knew they would be better received of the bat of his introductions. Ducky and Palmer were too far ahead to notice him as he walked swiftly onto the scene, but McGee and Ellie instantly straightened up at the familiar figures approach.

"Hey guys," Tony said simply, with a small, but genuine smile. "Looks like my team and I are gonna be gate crashing for a bit, if that's ok?"

Silence greeted his words, as the two NCIS agents exchanged expressionless glances. They instantly pieced together the pieces of the Naval puzzle and saw how they slid snugly into the Vice jigsaw.

A second later, a pair of toothy grins answered him.

"Of course," Tim agreed with a small laugh, "If you think you can keep up that is. Wouldn't want to show you up in front of your new team now, would we?" Ellie's laughter in response to McGee's gentle needling instantly put Tony at ease as he shook his head with a grin. "Just because you're Very Special Agent Timothy McGee now, doesn't mean I can't still knock you on your ass," he quipped, before turning to Ellie. "Similar sentiments to you, my dear Bishop."

Both merely rolled their eyes at him, but both experienced the same, sharp pang in their guts.

They missed him.

They couldn't remember the last time they had laughed so easily in the field.

Bishop opened her mouth to retort when the loud crunching of wheels on gravel drew away her attention. The looks on their faces as they looked behind Tony at the approaching vehicle left the visiting agent in no confusion as to who was arriving. He closed his eyes as the engine cut off and looked directly at McGee and Bishop, the amusement fast fading from his eyes. "Go," he urged quietly, "I'm not here to cause any trouble. You guys can ignore me when he's here, I understand." He thrust a chin over their heads. "Go on, you don't need the hassle of being seen to consort with me."

The two stared at him for a moment, decidedly unused to the seriousness of his tone.

"Get out of it," Tim eventually ground out, in an undercurrent that caused Tony's eyes to widen. "I'm not about to be told that I can't talk to you, not by Gibbs or by anyone." A catch in DiNozzo's throat that he would rather die than admit manifested at his once upon a time probie's words. Not knowing what to say, he nodded quietly, unaware that everything he wanted to say was splashed in his eyes. Turning to Bishop in an attempt to force her at least to heed his warning, she shook her head as a car door opened in the background. "What he said," she muttered firmly, throwing her gaze in McGee's direction. "I don't care what abbreviation you wear on your field kit these days, you're still one of us."

The catch in Tony's throat instantly grew to golf ball proportions.

He had just swallowed it down, when the familiar footsteps appeared right behind him. Before passing right by him. Blowing past his once most trusted colleague and friend, Gibbs uncerimonously stood between Tony and his two agents. Blinking as the back of his old boss utterly obstructed his view, DiNozzo barely suppressed a sigh. "You two," Gibbs growled, his back vibrating with clear ire. "You're not being paid to stand around and chit chat with outsiders. Move it. I want prints, photos and statements in my hands in the next thirty god damned minutes, or you'll regret it."

A sticky moment instantly ensued.

Tony was battling with himself. Hearing the disparaging way in which Gibbs spoke to McGee and Ellie set his teeth on edge. And yet, when he had been on the team, it had never bothered him. Hearing it without the veil of inclusion, it sounded so damned aggressive he felt his fists ball at his sides. There was just no need for it. No matter how much even Lakes drove him crazy, he always spoke to him like he was a frigging human being, not a piece of road kill. Knowing it wasn't his place to interfere, but desperately wanting to, he was stuck in a painful case of inaction.

McGee and Bishop, for their part, were instantly on edge.

The term "outsiders" rang around each of their brains with garish impunity.

Taking a deep breath, Tim threw a subtle look in Ellie's direction, as they both turned on their heel. Biting his tongue was getting harder every day for McGee, and he nearly managed it in the current instance, until he saw the satisfied expression cross Gibbs' face at their compliance. Ensuring Ellie was shielded by his back, he didn't hide the disgust from his own face as he faced his boss with dignified courage.

"You should know that as far as we're concerned, Tony will never be an outsider, Gibbs."

With that, he turned fully and walked swiftly away with Bishop at his side. Before his former boss could turn around, the visiting agent quickly pulled his jaw back off the floor. It hit him in that moment just how very much McGee had come into his own over the years. A burning sensation of pride swept through him, which was quickly replaced by a familiar pained confusion. Tim was to him, what he had been to Gibbs. In a million lifetimes he could never imagine turning on McGee like he had been turned on. The pain that he kept at bay for so long was lapping him now, before increasing from lapping to dogging as Gibbs slowly turned to face him.

Before either of them could say a word, Lakes, Breslin and Murphy suddenly melted to Tony's side. "Uhh, Tony?" Grace began hesitantly, feeling a brick wall of animosity between her own boss and whom she correctly garnered to be Tony's former superior. "We're having trouble getting authorisation for search warrants for the other brothels. The scene here seems to be pretty well tied up, and if we're sharing forensics, we thought it would be more efficient to go and check the other properties?"

Jerking out of his reverie, Tony nodded at the suggestion but before he could verbalise it, he was interrupted.

"There will be no sharing of forensics. The samples already collected are NCIS property, and the analysis of such will not be shared with outside agencies. Understand lady?"

The tone that was used and the expression that crossed every members of his team's face in response, set Tony's blood alight. Controlling himself with difficulty, he breathed in subtly. "That's a good idea, Breslin," he praised softly, "you and Lakes go and check out the other brothels for linking evidence. Put some more pressure on legal, I'll put a call in soon to speed things along. Murphy and I will finish up here."

The two assigned agent's stared at him silently for a moment.

Lakes, casting an unimpressed look in Gibbs' direction, raised a brow. "You sure, Tony? I can stay…if you need."

All the irritation he had ever felt with the agent who most reminded Tony of a younger version of himself melted away. "I'm sure," he smiled calmly, "if you leave now, you won't get too bogged down in traffic. Report back to me in an hour if you're still having a trouble with that warrant. With a body attached to the case, it shouldn't be too much of a hold up. Go on, Murphy and I will meet you two back at the office."

Grace and Lakes nodded in tandem, before departing for the car. Training an eye on Murphy, Tony threw his gaze in the direction of the uncomfortably crowded scene. "Carry on as you were," he commanded quietly, "I'll give you a hand in a minute." It was immediately clear that his remaining agent had the same reservations about his boss being left alone with a thunderous looking NCIS lead. Assuaging those qualms with an expressive look, Tony was relieved with Murphy nodded and departed.

But not before shooting Gibbs a look of instinctive dislike.

Such a look was returned with a resounding force, causing Tony's fists to ball up once more.

As soon as Murphy was out of sight, the forensics war raged once more. "I don't know if I'm using words that are too complicated for that thick skull of yours, DiNozzo, but I'll try once more. You and your little minions are not going to be copied into our forensics investigation. You want something analysed? Then you use your own lazy ass hands and your own toy store facilities to run it. Is that finally making sense to you now?"

Tony raised a thoroughly disdainful brow.

"If you have a problem with shared forensics, as is joint investigation protocol, then you should speak to your director, Agent Gibbs. Until then, Vice will proceed through NCIS lab resources, whatever your personal opinion on the matter. And by the by, you should know…I'm not going to stand for any of your snarling shit being directed towards my team. So keep a civil tongue in that head of yours if you have reason to speak to my people. We clear?"

Gibbs felt a supercilious smirk spread from his lips.

"Your people?" he echoed lightly, "The simple looking ones? The ones that address you as Tony? With that kind of respect on your team, anything I say shouldn't be an issue." He shrugged his shoulders. "Though I guess I can spare them a little kindness. Putting their lives on the line every day under your ahh…leadership, probably takes its toll."

It was with pronounced difficulty that Tony kept his hands firmly to himself. Thrusting them into his pockets for safe keeping, he met Gibbs' gaze with a scorching one of his own.

"You know, they did address me as Boss in the beginning," he retorted coolly, "But something about that term makes me sick to my stomach these days, so I asked them to stop."

Gibbs wasn't fast enough to hide the flinch that crossed his face.

Tony felt that same savage pleasure at his pain that he had experienced in that disastrous basement meeting. Gibbs quickly recovered with a scowl that would sour milk. Looking at his former second with the distaste only he could muster, he shook his head in contempt. It didn't take a body language expert to know that the pair were once again close to blows. So wrapped up in their own controversy were they, that they didn't notice the sudden and decidedly different tinge the haze of voices around them had taken on. Or the raised cacophony of panic that was beginning to ring out.

Gibbs took a deliberate step closer to his antagonist, teeth bared in a snarl.

"You smart mouthed little-"

The gunshot came out of nowhere.

….

A/N: In relation to a guest review about Tony's being called sir: I agree, it's not him, so I've changed it! I just didn't want the team calling him boss, so that seemed the most common second option. But I think them addressing Tony as Tony is very…Tony-ish, so thank you! In relation to another review that pointed out discrepancies in the composition of the Vice team, thank you! The Irish justice system has absolutely no federal element, so I admit to being unfamiliar with the nuances. Basically I just wanted a team for Tony that was similar in size and scope as his former team, and Vice just came to mind after watching some show or other featuring them. I'm just going to leave them as they are for the sake of the story, but I appreciate the differences. Thank you all for your feedback, I so appreciate it! J

TBC

_Inks.

….