Chapter twenty-three
Tony paused briefly outside the psychologist’s office, straightening an imaginary crease in his blue silk tie before he entered. He glanced around. It looked like any other waiting room he’d been in. Creamy walls, a few prints, the run of the mill magazines. He found a seat by the far wall and picked up something to read while he waited.
His mind drifted. Gibbs had an appointment with Dr North at 11. He wouldn’t be able to come with him this time, but Ducky had promised to go. As his personal physician, he had legitimate reasons for being there, which was something Tony couldn’t claim. They had decided to lie low, not rock the boat further by requesting time off. Until Shepard made her move, there weren’t much else they could do. She was probably awaiting the report from this session, anyway.
He felt strangely calm, and knew that was down to Jethro. And the rest of the team. The way they had gone out of their way to help him through this was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
The inner door opened and a woman in her thirties invited him in. Tony extended his hand and introduced himself before sitting down in the chair offered. He was careful not to do his usual routine, flirting and joking his way out of difficult situations.
“Special Agent DiNozzo.” She looked at him evenly. “You are aware of the intention behind this meeting, I presume.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he replied. “Director Shepard wants to ensure that I am fit for active duty.”
“How do you feel about undertaking this evaluation?” She leaned back in her chair, clearly expecting him to express some degree of dissatisfaction.
“I don’t have a problem with it, Dr Lynley.” The psychologist waited, but continued when Tony didn’t elaborate.
“The evaluation will consist of two parts,” she continued. An interview, and a questionnaire, an initial psychological evaluation where we review your past medical history, your past psychiatric history and your current situation. Together, this will give me an impression of your mental health status.”
She rested her hands on top of a black file, probably containing his background information, supplied by the personnel office at the agency.
“I understand,” Tony replied. “Will you be starting with the interview, or do you want to conduct that on the basis of the questionnaire?”
The doctor seemed momentarily thrown by his cooperation, or maybe Tony was just doing some wishful thinking. He refocused, studying the woman in front of her. She was leafing through a file in front of her, and he took the opportunity to examine her closer.
She was a petite brunette, reminding him vaguely of Kate. She looked just as professional and cool as she could. Striking blue eyes that looked like they could see through his carefully constructed defenses, met his. He wondered briefly what her relationship with Shepard was.
“I’d like to start with the questionnaire.” She slid a couple of forms out of another file and began her interview.
The initial questions were strictly routine. His name, age and marital status. She then went on to the reason why he was there in the first place.
“Your Director has expressed a certain concern regarding your relationship with your superior. She is worried it might affect your ability to perform your duties in the field.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that,” Tony held her gaze.
“How would you characterize your relationship with Special Agent Gibbs?”
“Gibbs and I have a strong working relationship. I trust him with my life on a daily basis. I find it is only natural for us to become close. We do spend some time together socially, on occasion, as a team. I believe this is something most teams do, to bond.”
He paused, collected his thoughts for a moment.
“We’ve all rallied around Gibbs since his injury, helping him out. We take care of our own, as Gibbs sometimes says.”
“Do you consider him family?”
“No.” Tony folded his hands in his lap. “I am sure you’re aware that I’m estranged from my own. Family is not something I associate positive feelings with. My teammates are my friends. I can rely on them in the field and in my personal life. “
“So Gibbs is a personal friend?”
“We’re on friendly terms, but he’s also my boss.“
“Could you elaborate a bit on that, please?”
“It means that we share a meal once on a while, maybe watch a game, that sort of thing.”
“And with the rest of the team?”
“Abby and I have movie night, and we may all share a drink on a Friday night if we’re not on call. McGee has his own hobbies and Ziva, well, I’m not really sure what she does for fun.”
She hesitated, but didn’t pursue that particular line of questioning. She looked back at her form.
“Is there a history of mental illness in the family?”
“My mother was in therapy, but so was half of Long Island in the 80s. It was the fashionable thing to do,” Tony smirked. “I’m not aware if any mental illness in other family members, no. No one has been hospitalized as far as I know.”
“Any history of substance abuse?”
“On my part or my family?”
“Well, both. I need to get as full a picture of you as well as your family as possible to write my report.”
“My father used to drink a fair bit when I was growing up, but I don’t know if he can be regarded as an alcoholic. My mother used sleeping pills, but nothing else that I’m aware of. I don’t think she was dependant on them, but then again, kids don’t always know the whole story, do they?”
He sighed. “Look, I moved out when I was 18, Dr Lynley, and there’s been very little contact since. All my information is therefore out of date.”
“And how about you, Agent DiNozzo, is there a history of substance abuse in your past, or present, for that matter?”
“I’ve never done drugs and I don’t drink much. I don’t suppose you’ll necessarily take my word for it, but a drugs test should confirm it, if you wish to.”
She cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. “You say you moved out. Would you call that an accurate description.” Dr Lynley was tapping her pen against the writing pad in front of her. Tony wondered briefly whether the question was considered significant or if she was just fidgeting.
“No, my father threw me out at the end of my senior year at high school. I refused to follow in his footsteps and he did not accept that decision. He also cut me out of his will.”
“Is that the only reason why he threw you out?”
Tony looked at her, wondering how much Shepard had disclosed. She could know it all. If not… He decided to answer with caution; go with what he knew was common knowledge.
“As I said, Dr Lynley. I’ve had limited contact with my family these past years. I can’t be certain of my father’s motives.
“Would you say you’ve formed a strong bond with Special Agent Gibbs?”
“Yes, I have.”
“A stronger bond than you have with your own father?”
Tony raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. “I have barely spoken to my own father for twenty years, Dr Lynley. I would think my “bond”,” he used his fingers to make quotation marks, ”with Gibbs is much stronger. But it is a different bond. I don’t want him to be my father.”
“What do you want him to be?”
“What he already is. A strong leader, loyal, trustworthy.”
“You keep returning to the concept of trust, Agent DiNozzo.”
“I guess I do. When we’re out there we need to trust each other implicitly, Dr Lynley. We have each other’s six. Without that trust, the team cannot function. And if the team does not function, we don’t solve our cases.”
Dr Lynley did not pursue the matter further, just made another note on her yellow pad and continued. She glanced at her form again.
“Do you have a history of mental illness; Agent DiNozzo?”
“No. That would have been in my files. Naturally, I was down when my father threw me out, but not clinically depressed. I didn’t require medication or anything like that.”
“How did you cope?”
“I had my friends and my studies. It wasn’t easy, but I had a small trust fund that put me through college. I went to Ohio State where I majored in Phys. Ed.” He looked at her, “I’m sure that’s in my files, too,” he smiled.
“After a while I had to realize that I wouldn’t make it as a pro, so I decided to pursue a career in law enforcement. I worked as a cop at various departments for a few years before Gibbs recruited me to NCIS.” He shifted a bit in his chair, trying to get more comfortable.
She focused on his career at the agency.
“You’ve lasted considerably longer at this agency than previously. Why is that?”
“I found something I really enjoyed doing, and a boss who believed in me. Gibbs has taught me all I know about being a federal agent. I love what I do, and I work with people I care about.”
“I see in your file you’ve been injured on several occasions.”
“I have, yes.”
“Does that make you afraid?”
“In the field, you mean? Not afraid, no, but we do have to be cautious.”
“So your injuries are not the result of recklessness?”
“There’s sometimes the element of risk and chance in what we do. But, no, I don’t do this for the thrill of the chase, or the chance to push boundaries.”
The interview went on for another hour. They kept coming back to his family and his relationship with Gibbs. A valid interrogative technique, Tony smiled inwardly, to check whether his responses were consistent and accurate. In the end he felt they had touched every topic possible. Finally, Dr Lynley closed the file in front of her.
“Thank you, Special Agent DiNozzo.”
“Did I pass?” he smiled, knowing full well she would not give him a reply.
“I will inform you and your supervisors of my findings as soon as I have my report ready.”
He nodded, shook her hand and said his goodbyes.
******
Jenny Shepard glanced at her watch. 10.30. She had given up focusing on the latest threat assessment report. There were more localized threats to be taken care of. DiNozzo should have completed his Psych. Eval. by now. She wondered briefly how deep a hole he had dug himself into. She had carefully chosen the psychologist examining him. They’d worked together on a number of occasions, and she knew if there was anything to be found, Dr Lynley was the person to do so.
Smiling slightly, she glanced out her window, taking another sip of her latte. This was shaping up to be a really good day. In a couple of days, DiNozzo would be gone, and she could get another agent into the team, one that would suit her needs better. She put down her cup and took a closer look at the flowers delivered to her this morning.
An explosion of colors decorated one corner of her desk. It even had a whimsical silk butterfly buried among the flowers that made her smile every time she looked at it. She’d been on a date last night. The card that accompanied the bouquet wasn’t signed, but had a line from a poem written on it, that her date had quoted as he dropped her off. She wasn’t a Shakespeare aficionado, but even she’d recognized sonnet 18.
She’d met him at a coffee shop she sometimes went to near her house a few days ago. He’d struck up a conversation as she tried to choose a cake to accompany her espresso. Handsome and charming, she’d decided to go with the flow for once, let her guard down. They’d gone to an art exhibition at the National Gallery. It was a long time since she’d enjoyed herself so much.
She was called into MTAC, but paused briefly to look into the bull pen below. Ziva and McGee appeared to be hard at work, both immersed in their respective cases. A faint ping signaled the arrival of the elevator, and Abby stepped out, went over to McGee and placed a couple of files on his desk, said a few words and disappeared again.
‘At least the kids are on their best behavior,’ she smirked, knowing full well some of it was for her benefit. ‘Let them have their fun,’ she thought, ‘playtime’s nearly over.’ She looked at Ziva, bent over a file, wavy hair flowing around her shoulders, partly obscuring her face. Ziva’s betrayal was hard to accept.
As if the young Mossad officer could read her mind, she lifted her head. Dark eyes met Shepard’s, as Ziva seemed to be looking straight into her innermost thoughts, before refocusing on her work. Shepard turned away. The way Ziva had betrayed her still made her furious. When this was over, she would arrange for her return to Israel.
She took a deep breath. Not much longer now. Her pager went off, forcing her to refocus. Dr Lynley’s cell. MTAC had to wait. She returned to her office, asking Cynthia to hold off her briefing for half an hour.
The psychologist answered right away. Jenny put her on speaker phone. She was too agitated to sit still.
“So, can you give me a preliminary report, Elisabeth? What’s your first impression of Agent DiNozzo?”
“I’m sorry, Jenny, I can’t declare him unfit for duty. He came across as a rational, competent man, aware of his strengths and limitations. I don’t quite understand why you want to relieve him of duty.”
“Damn it, Liz, he’s got you fooled. He’s a master at seduction, and he’s famous for his way with women. Are you sure he didn’t use his so-called charm on you?”
“Quite the opposite, actually. He was very professional.”
“He played you, Liz. Surely you can see past his pretty façade?”
“Now you’re just insulting me,” Dr Lynley replied, sounding slightly exasperated.
“I need you to find something I can use to get rid of him, Liz. He’s a liability to the agency. If you can’t find something, look again.”
“You’re not saying what I think, are you?” Dr Lynley sounded incredulous.
“Don’t play coy with me, Liz. You know exactly what I’m asking you to do. If there’s nothing to be found, make something up. I need him gone.”
With that she cut the connection and slumped into her chair.
******
A few stories down, a dark haired woman picked up a little hammer and put a tiny nail into the lid of a small pine coffin sitting in front of her.
“Strike one.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony meets the psychologist and Shepard awaits the results.
Chapter End Notes:
Thank you all for reading my story :)
Thanks to Oygunn for your help and encouragement :)
Hilde
Thanks to Oygunn for your help and encouragement :)
Hilde