Gibbs slid in between the two doors just as they closed. He flipped the switch. The elevator stopped and the emergency lights came on.
Tony just looked at him for a second before he turned to the wall behind him and slammed both his fists against it as hard as he could. The walls of the elevator shook.
“WHERE? On WHAT planet would that be considered a joke?” Tony asked, turning to Gibbs the hurt and anger evident in his voice.
Gibbs shook his head, unsure what to say. He was as shocked by Tim’s and Ziva’a statements as Tony was.
Tony stood with his arms crossed over his chest for a few moments trying to calm down before he finally spoke. “Just so you know if you keep Mr. Motherboard and Ms. Mossad out there, you will be looking for another Senior Field Agent.”
“What makes you think…?” Gibbs started.
“I know Vance asked you for your opinion, your input.” Tony explained.
“I only need one agent on my team, so your resignation is NOT accepted.”
“Morrow didn’t like having a two-man team, what makes you think Vance will.”
Gibbs smiled. “At this point Tony, I don’t give a damn what Vance wants. I am more concerned about keeping my team, you, intact.”
Tony returned the smile. “I see we’re Batman and Robin.” Tony paused. “You just want to wear a cape.” Tony paused again. “What is that, some sort of unfulfilled childhood-hero-worship thingie?”
That earned Tony a head slap.
“Shutting up, Boss. Tony said, rubbing the back of his head.
“Your resignation is NOT accepted and I am going up to see Vance.” Gibbs flipped the switch and started out the door. “Do not leave the building.” Gibbs ordered and then exited the elevator.
Tony and Gibbs parted ways. Tony went down to the gym. He was glad to have the place to himself. He went into the locker room and changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He took the time to tape his hands before starting his workout. He began working on the punching bag.
Tony had been working out for about 30 minutes when Tim showed up. He stood watching Tony for a few minutes before either spoke.
“What do you want, Tim?” Tony asked, still punching away at the bag.
Tim knew Tony was serious. He rarely ever called Tim. “I…I just…I’m sorry.” Tim said finally.
Tony turned and looked at him. “Sorry!” He paused, fuming. “I could have died! You could have been dressing all in black and going to my funeral right now! Would sorry be enough then?” Tony paused again. “Would Gibbs accept that from you? Would Abby?”
McGee shook his head and Tony went back to his workout. Nobody spoke again for a few minutes.
“I…”
“My friends wouldn’t treat me like that, Tim. Plus you have a professional obligation to me. What did I do to you to make you hate me so much?”
“I…I don’t hate you. I….” Tim started.
“You could just do my job better than me. You’re such as hell smarter, at least YOU think so.” Tony said, turning to look at him.
Tim stared at Tony, surprised.
“You think I don’t catch all the little slights you make about my education. You think I don’t catch all the references you make about your vastly superior education.” Tony said, emphasizing the last three words of the sentence. He then paused. “Just because I didn’t say anything doesn’t mean I didn’t catch it. I did. I caught them all.”
Tim still stared, processing what Tony was saying.
“Maybe you should take a little time, Timothy…” Tony said, snidely. “…and read the requirements for my position.” Tony said still hurt and angry. “Never mind that, I’ll tell you, Masters or equivalent. I have a masters degree.”
“A masters degree?” Tim was having trouble believing his ears. “I’ve seen the Ohio State Alumni….”
“It’s not from Ohio State.” Tony said. “And it’s not in Physical Education.” Tony added, just for clarity.
“Tony, I….”
“I called for backup three times, Tim, THREE TIMES! Your ‘little joke’ as you called it cost you a friendship, a job, and could have cost me my life. I hope it was worth it to you.” Tony paused. “There is nothing you can say that will help. We are no longer friends, if we ever were. And I don’t trust you.”
McGee attempted to speak, but nothing came out. He was devastated. He felt like the floor had dropped out from under him.
“Just so you know. I recommended you be terminated.” Tony admitted. “But, if you’re lucky, Director Vance will keep you and give you a one-way ticket to Cyberville.” Tony had written his recommendations that morning and had sent them up to the director. Vance hadn’t, as far as Tony knew, made an official decision yet.
Tim didn’t want to go to Cyber Crimes. He didn’t want to leave Team Gibbs. But, most of all, he hated what Tony had just said to him. Being told that they were no longer friends and that Tony no longer trusted him was just like a stab to the heart.
Tim stared at Tony’s back for a few moments after Tony turned his attention back to the punching bag. Tim then quietly left the room.
Tony finished his workout and quickly showered and dressed. Ziva was outside waiting for him.
“Agent David.” Tony replied, walking towards the elevator to go back to the bullpen.
“Tony, I….”
Tony turned to her. “Don’t tell me you’re sorry.”
Ziva opened her mouth to speak, and then she closed it.
“I know I’m a pain, sometimes. I know I can be hard to deal with, sometimes. I know I talk too much.” Tony said. “I know all that, but I didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”
“I am truly sorry.”
“I don’t give a damn, Ziva. I just don’t care.” Tony turned and began to walk away..
Ziva reached out and touched his arm to stop him. “We were wrong. What we did was wrong.” Ziva admitted.
“They stabbed me as soon as I stepped foot in the house, Ziva. They found the microphone, ripped it off my chest and destroyed it. Luckily I was unconscious for that part. While that knife was still in my chest, one of the guys wiped it clean of his prints. That was when I came around again. They dumped me out like I was a piece of trash. They needed to dispose of the body. I was still alive, Ziva, and they knew it.” Tony stared at her. “I called for backup. I called three times.” Tony paused, his voice shaking. “I called you three times, Ziva. What you two did to me was absolutely inexcusable.”
Ziva could hear the pain and the hurt in Tony’s voice. She removed her hand from his arm. She wanted to say something, anything that would help. She wanted to put her arms around him, to comfort him. But she didn’t think he would allow her to do that. And she knew there was nothing she could say that would matter.
“I recommended to Vance that you be terminated. But I don’t think that will happen. I think you’ll be spared. Vance is not a stupid man. He’ll keep you and put you on an anti-terrorist- middle eastern-Mossad-Jihad thing. You’ll be fine.”
“I do not want to leave this team. I do not want to leave you.”
“The director makes the final decision.” Tony said, shaking his head.
“Tony….”
“I can’t trust you, Ziva. I just don’t trust you. I cannot work with people I don’t trust. This is not a job to take those kinds of risks in.”
“I would never….” Ziva started, a little surprised at how Tony’s words had wounded her.
“You turned off the radio.” Tony said. “I don’t know if you get what that means. You left me alone. I was a beat cop before this, Ziva. There is one simple rule in the cop word, ALWAYS have backup, always. You never know what you will encounter out there. You never know, for sure, how a situation will turn out. You ALWAYS have backup.”
Ziva didn’t know what to say.
“You or McGee might as well have taken the knife and stabbed me yourself.”
“That is not fair, Tony.” Ziva pleaded. “It was a quiet neighborhood. A quiet residential neighborhood, like something out of a Norman Rockefeller painting.
“It’s Normal Rockwell, and it doesn’t matter. You were my backup. You were supposed to be there. You weren’t. I called you three times. I could have died out there. I can’t forgive you for that. I don’t care how tired you were of hearing my voice, you don’t turn off the radio. That was my only communication with you.” Tony shook his head. “You don’t get it or you don’t care, maybe both. Just leave me alone.”
Tony turned to walk away again, and this time Ziva let him. She finally realized what he meant. She had not, in her Mossad training, learned to depend on others. It was a new concept to her. She had learned that working at NCIS meant depending on her fellow team mates. The concept of team mates was new to her also. On her Mossad missions, she was, of course, used to depending on herself. She had to. Most of the time she was the lone operative and the success of failure of said mission depended solely on her. She had had to have a chance of attitude and mindset when she joined NCIS. It took her a little time to realize and to believe people would be willing and would follow through with looking out for her. It was not that she didn’t think she was worthy, it was just that she was not used to operating in that fashion. She also found it surprising how quickly Tony had trusted her. He had, of course, waited for Gibbs, it had seemed to her, to give the ok. When Gibbs trusted her, Tony trusted her also.
Ziva had seen the pain in Tony’s eyes and realized, now, how deeply she had wounded him. She had never intended for that to happen. She wanted to go after him. To apologize, but she knew it wouldn’t help.
“Tony?” Tim said after running into Tony again, this time in the hallway on the 3rd floor.
Tony just shook his head and kept walking.
Tim reached out and grabbed his arm. “I am truly sorry for what I did to you. I realize I made a huge, horrible mistake.”
“I’m glad you realize your mistake, Timothy.” Tony turned to walk away shaking Tim’s hand off. “I truly am.”
McGee felt like he had been struck, the formality of it all. Tony never, ever called him Timothy. He rarely called him Tim. He watched Tony take a couple of steps before he spoke. “I didn’t realize you were so….”
“You didn’t realize I was so smart.” Tony said, finishing his sentence. “What? You would have not thrown your education up in my face every chance you got or you would have respected me?”
The words stung. But Tim recovered quickly. “I wanted to be YOUR Senior Field Agent, Tony, not Gibbs’, yours. I respect you, Tony. I…. ”
Tony shook his head. “No…no, you don’t.” Tony sighed. “I teased you, picked on you to try to toughen you up. To help you develop a thick skin to be able to do this job affectively.” Tony shook his head again. “I had no idea my method would have produced such resentment. That was truly an unwanted side-effect.”
Tim just stared for a moment, trying to process what Tony was saying. The pieces were starting to fall into place. He a smart guy, he was really pretty dense sometimes. “Tony, I…”
Tony turned and looked at him for a second before he spoke. “You don’t have to worry about Senior Field Agent. You will be Bossman in Cyberville. That’s a hell of a lot better than Senior Field Agent.”
McGee just stared at Tony, unable to speak.
“I cannot have people on my team who don’t respect me. I can’t make you respect me. There is no magic switch I can flip to make that happen.”
Tim stared to speak, but Tony stopped him. “I WON’T work with people I don’t trust, so if you were to become SFA. It would be of someone else’s team.”
“The Director’s made his decision?” Tim asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“Later today, I have been invited to attend the meeting.” Tony said and then walked off.
Ziva met up again also with Tony. He started to walk away from her and she blocked his path.
“What can I do for you, Agent David?” Tony asked.
“Give me a chance to apologize.”
“I did.” Tony replied and tried to go around her again and again, she blocked his path. “Look, you make a lousy dance partner and I have better things to do.”
“Just listen to me, please.”
“I’ve made my recommendations….”
Ziva shook her head. “This is not about your recommendations. I will take whatever assignment/punishment I am given gladly.” Ziva said. “I just wanted to thank you.”
“OK.” Tony said. She had his attention.
“When you rescued me in the desert, I…I sounded ungrateful when we were first reunited. I was not. I was thrilled to see you and McGee. I just couldn’t see anyone risking their lives for me. It, as I have been taught, is better to think of the interests of the group, not the individual. The live of an individual is meaningless….”
“Not to that person. Not to his family, his friends.” Tony replied.
Ziva nodded. “Yes. I learned that from you. I had been told these things about Americans, about the value of the individual. I never really believed it. You risked your lives for me. I…I just could not understand. I…it took me time to sort it out, to come to terms with what it actually meant. I just…thank you.”
Tim and Ziva were called up to Director Vance’s office nearly an hour later.
The director invited Tim and Ziva to sit. He acknowledged Gibbs and Tony as they entered the room and took seats in the back.
“Agent Timothy McGee and Agent Ziva David…” The director said, addressing them both. “…I have read the incident report and I have read Agent DiNozzo’s recommendations and have heard Agent Gibbs’ input on the matter.” Vance paused. “This was not an easy decision to make, despite your grievous error in judgment and flagrant disregard of procedure and protocol. I have decided to reassign you both. Agent McGee, you will be in Cyber Crimes. Agent David, you are going to be part of a new anti-terrorist group here at NCIS. Assignment change effective immediately. You are also, however, on probation. You will be probationary agents for a period of one year, starting tomorrow. This will mean a cut in pay and a decrease in responsibility. You will be fired, effective immediately, if you receive a bad report of any kind during your probationary period. You will not be allowed to plead your case and you will never be employable by this agency again.” Vance paused again. “Do you understand?”
McGee and David nodded stiffly and were dismissed.
Tony and Gibbs smiled and left also.
THE END
Author's Chapter Notes:
What SHOULD have happened to Tim and Ziva.
Chapter End Notes:
I was asked to write a sequel to my story and I guess my muse flew the coop, because I just could not do it. Well, she returned and she bought words-a-plenty. I am not sure if the director could impose the conditions on Ziva and Tim that he did, but I liked the conditions and hope they work for you too. I gave Tony bonus education. I think he is a smart guy even if nobody else thinks so.