"Ducky? He works for NCIS."

Tobias glared at the coroner before turning on his heel and yelling for Sommers to get their plane ready to go. Bastards. NCIS was a sore spot. Every time he heard the name, he remembered that damned phone call.

---

"Fornell." Tobias focused on the lab reports on his desk as he waited for the caller to speak.

"Fornell, this is Gibbs," the caller identified himself. Tobias leaned back in his chair, all thoughts of interstate drug trafficking forgotten.

"Diane told me you were territorial, but somehow I didn't think I'd be hearing from you directly." Tobias couldn't help but grin. He'd never met his fiance's ex-husband, but he'd heard a great deal, both from her and from others in the Bureau who'd had to work with him from time to time. Apparently, Gibbs didn't like to lose.

"Don't worry, it won't happen again. I only called to warn you." That was more surprising than the fact of the phone call itself.

"You threatening me, Gibbs?" He didn't sound threatening, but one thing Tobias had learned over the years was that the dangerous ones didn't always appear dangerous. Diane didn't talk much about Gibbs but when she did, Fornell didn't like what he heard. Their breakup had been messy, apparently, but Diane seemed to have taken all her anger out on pictures. The box of photographs he'd found in her bedroom with someone cut out of them pretty much told the tale.

"That's rich. No, I'm not threatening you. I called to warn you about what you're getting yourself into. Diane's a vindictive bitch at best. When she walks, and she will, she'll take you for everything you own and probably hit you with some of it on the way out. If you're dead set on marrying her, go ahead, but I've got two pieces of advice; get separate bank accounts because she will clean you out if you don't."

"I'll be sure to take that under advisement, Gibbs. What's the second piece of advice?"

"Learn how to duck." With that, he hung up, leaving Tobias grinning at the man's audacity. Probably a good idea to not mention the conversation to Diane. Tobias grinned at his own good fortune and went back to his lab results.

---

"How's your butt?" Tobias couldn't resist needling DiNozzo, or as Tobias preferred to think of him, the smart ass who'd closed the plane's door on them.

"Still bouncing on the beltway." DiNozzo grinned at him and Tobias had to hand it to him. The man could have just punched him, and from that grin, he probably still wanted to, but seemed to be willing to try and let it slide. For now. Tobias didn't harbor any illusions, though, DiNozzo probably wouldn't forget.

Tobias chuckled and continued to the elevator. He turned his back to the doors while he waited and caught another glimpse of Gibbs as he spoke to Agent Todd. He was still kicking himself for letting NCIS get the better of him, but he was having a hard time holding on to his animosity toward his ex-wife's first ex-husband. Gibbs hadn't said a word about Diane, not even an "I told you so". He'd been all business and Tobias had to hand it to him, Gibbs' people were good. More than a little odd, but good. "Natural causes" was a COD he could live with. The elevator dinged and Tobias got on. He'd wait to call this case closed until after his M.E. saw the reports. If he didn't agree, then NCIS wouldn't have a leg to stand on when the FBI requested the body for further tests.

---

"Federal agents working in unison with the Secret Service were able to foil a terrorist attempt to assassinate the President while he was on board Air Force One. The body of the terrorist is being delivered to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, where FBI forensics experts will endeavor to identify him."

Tobias walked away from the reporters, still fuming inwardly. The press coverage was good for the Bureau. It made it look like they'd been the ones to save the president, but it was a lie. He knew it and he knew Gibbs knew it. Tobias gave the statement to the press because he'd been ordered to, but he didn't have to like it.

Damn it, he liked Gibbs. He didn't want to, but Tobias felt a certain kinship with the man that had nothing to do with having been married to the same woman. Gibbs had been one step ahead from the moment he'd boarded the plane in Wichita. He and his smart ass agent had hidden in plain sight and Tobias hadn't suspected a thing. There were plenty of senior agents who would never have allowed themselves to be mistaken for an M.E.'s assistant. That hadn't been about getting one over on the FBI. It had been all about getting the job done. They were, Tobias thought, more alike than not and it galled him to be party to the Bureau's grandstanding.

It was times like this when Tobias wondered just how bad it could be to work for ATF. No, he wasn't that pissed off at the Bureau. Or at himself, for that matter.

On the other hand, maybe NCIS was hiring.