A highly aggrieved Special Agent Gibbs stood in front of three key members of his team, valiantly fighting the urge to headslap them all into their forties

"No. The answer is no.

No, we don't have enough information to go on.

No, we don't know what direction it could take.

No, we don't know how dangerous it would be.

No, we don't have adequate resources to effectively control it."

So for the final time, the answer is no. Now, the next one of you people to question that no is going to be very sorry, are we all finally clear?"

Letting this soliloquy echo sharply around their allocated confines, Gibbs glowered silently at his collective and obstinately stubborn dream team that were amassed before him. The team stared back, uncharacteristically resolved and clearly on the tipping point of revolt.

Gritting his teeth, he observed that Tony was still clearly sulking with a pronounced pout. Tim was shaking his head in the exasperation that only an MIT grad could muster and Abby, of course was on the proverbial edge of a full blown Sciuto meltdown.

It was his precious lab rat who spoke first, simply because, as they all knew, she was the only one who could survive it unscathed.

"But Gibbs" she whined producing her patented poodle puppy eyes. The eyes that usually melted the gruff supervisory agents well hidden heart. "We can do this. We all know we can. You don't even have to help, we'll do it all ourselves. Won't we guys?" she added, elbowing her two male counterparts sharply in the ribs for emphasis.

Wincing slightly, DiNozzo and McGee obediently shook their heads in agreement. Tim had the good sense to rapidly stop his head based movements of acquiescence when the steely gaze of one irritated SA Gibbs fell upon him. Tony, however, did not and therefore yelped loudly as the sharp head slap the older man quickly dished out filled his sense void for him.

Fixing his team with his trademark glare once more, the now slightly red faced Gibbs ground out in careful enunciation, making sure every syllable was heard by his three headaches.

"In case any of you three have developed some kind of neurological deficit in the last hour, or in Tony's case, the last thirty years, I'm going to repeat this for the very last time. None of you, and I mean none of you, are permitted to work this case any further. I am passing it to the feds. They are better equipped to deal with it, and in case you lot hadn't noticed, it's what's best for the case that matters and not your egos. Now, this is the end of this discussion."

Continuing to glower at his now slightly abashed people, he added a scathingly sarcastic "any questions?"

When the three heads had the good sense to finally shake in the negative, he barked out orders concerning the handing over procedures to the FBI and stood rooted in his spot just long enough to watch his field agents and lab tech scatter to their respective posts. Satisfied that his team had deigned to finally obey him, he turned on his heel and stormed out of NCIS headquarters in search of soul soothing coffee.

Taking a few moments to savour the high levels of caffeine consumption and the relatively serene scenes of the Washington DC based afternoon, the now slightly calmed man closed his eyes and sighed. He knew he had been a bit hard on his three miscreants, but their safety always came first. They were too young and eager to appreciate that fact, whereas he, being much older and wiser was not. He snorted derisively at his own summation of himself and his team. In fairness to his point of view, managing his team really was like dragging three headstrong kids out of unsafe tree houses at times.

Stretching out on his park bench perch, he understood their desire to retain the case. They had known the victim in brevity, and he was as decent as they come. The case was technically was theirs, it fell into their jurisdiction. The victim was a marine. A naval officer, and therefore one of their own. The desire to bring about some kind of justice burned inside of the seasoned agent, but he could not, and would not let that be brought about through the expense of his agents.

Reaffirming his decision, he concluded that the FBI would do just as good a job in tracking down the suspect and apprehending him, without the same level of risk, given their sheer man force and resources. His forehead crinkled in disdain as it always did when he considered the atrocious differences in state funding the two agencies received. Sighing, he called time on his coffee break and made his way wearily back to the naval base.

Striding back into his teams bull pen, he was further mollified at the sight of his two boys sandy brown heads bent over the files he'd allocated. Abby had presumably retaken residence in her lab. Settling himself behind his own desk and reluctantly starting into his own pile of files, he eventually became so engrossed in them that he uncharacteristically missed the sporadic and furtive glances that were currently being shot across the desks between his two agents.

As the day drew to a grateful close, and with no active investigation on the books Gibbs stood up at just after six and ordered Tony and Tim to wrap up for the day, which they did rapidly.

A little too rapidly.

"Going somewhere special? McGee? DiNozzo?"

The two innocent looking agents turned to him and shook their heads sycophantically. Tony, as per his form, took the lead from the nonplussed McGee.

"No boss, just been a long day is all and Magnum and a cold beer await" he shrugged in easy explanation. "I'm sure McGee has a computer program to spend the night with as well" he added in his usual mocking of his co worker.

Seemingly satisfied with this explanation, Gibbs gave a swift and dismissive nod and watched as the two agents scarpered for the elevator, engrossed in deep conversation. Sighing, the older man realised he was just too tired to try and figure out what juvenile pranks his two boys were up to and merely hoped he wouldn't have to deal with it at a later date.

Gathering up the rest of his belongings and with a mind full of a new design pattern he anticipated on working out on his latest basement contained boat, he made his own way out of the now darkened and quietened communal office area. He didn't, perhaps as a testament to his tiredness, note that both McGee's and DiNozzo's cars were still in the staff car park and therefore both agents must still be in the NCIS building. He drove quickly out of his space and began the journey home, thankful that a tedious and tension filled day had finally come to an end.

As Tony and McGee waited for Abby to return to her lab, Tim tried in vain to keep a handle on his nerves as he assessed their current situation. Even the light punch Tony landed on his shoulder and his admonishments to quit being such a wuss couldn't stem the trembling that had begun radiating through his clammy palms.

"Will you cut it out McTwitchy?" the senior of the two agents eventually spit out in exasperation, not willing to admit he was every bit as nervous and second guessing of their current predicament.

"I can't Tony, we lied to him. A flat out, direct, face to face lie. We're dead. We're so dead they need to come up with a new medical term for dead." McGee dropped his head in his arms in frustration, furious with himself that he'd let Tony and Abby talk him into this madness. This clearly suicidal madness.

"We didn't lie McGee, we just…well, we just kinda…. technically we didn't lie."

Even as the words left his mouth, Tony felt it dry up. They had lied. If there was one thing that Leroy Jethro Gibbs didn't tolerate from his people, it was lying. No matter how big or small and no matter what the reason, it was a hallmark no-no. Tony also mentally chastised himself for letting Abby sweet talk him into this, and for then pressuring McGee to come aboard the death train. He was the senior agent, and if Gibbs found out about this, he would be the one who would be held most severely to account and would therefore suffer the consequences the most.

He was jerked out his self pitying reverie by the bouncy arrival of one Abigail Sciuto. "Hey guys" she greeted brightly, "ready to get this show on the road?"

Deciding to put an end to this before they could all be legally slaughtered by a Gibbs type abattoir, Tony cleared his throat apprehensively. It wasn't easy to say no to Abby, she had…ways.

"Abby, about this" he began apologetically, "I think it's best if we call it off. Lets allow the feds to do their thing, they'll get there without or without our help and its best if it's without, Gibbs would seriously do his nut if he found out, ok?"

As the crestfallen expression fell across the gothic lab techs face, Tony winced, but resolutely adopted what he fervently hoped was a firm disposition.

"Ok, if that's what you think" she mumbled quietly.

Tony nodded his head vigorously, "it's for the best Abs" he reassured her and beckoning with his head to the seriously relieved looking McGee, began to make his way out her lab and home, sweet Magnum PI hosting home.

As the two men reached the door, they were stopped in their tracks by a short vocalisation behind them.

"Guess I'll just have to go on my own" the wounded Abby had muttered sadly.

Spinning around, DiNozzo all but squealed in horror.

"What? What do you mean, go on your own? Are you crazy?" Turning around to McGee for support, he threw his eyes up in frustration when he saw that the junior agent was capable of no more than the gaping expression he was currently proffering.

"Yes Tony, on my own" the young technician said firmly. "You guys might be too chicken to do your jobs, but I'm not."

It was Tony's turn to gape.

"Chicken?" he eventually spluttered in indignation. "This has nothing to do with being a chicken Abby, this is to do with proper procedural protocol and maintaining strong interagency relations" he concluded in a very un-Tony like tone, and with an equally uncharacteristically sage jerk of his head.

Abby merely snorted in derisive laughter at his words.

"Interagency relations? Don't you mean it's about relations between your butt and any seating position you might like to partake in Tony?" she teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

DiNozzo flushed and looked away in embarrassment; he hated being taunted about his many, many discussions with their boss that resulted in him sitting very gingerly for a few days afterwards. He felt Tim shift uncomfortably from foot to foot, clearly thinking of his own conversations with an unconventional Gibbs.

"Easy for you to joke Abs, being the princess has certain advantages that Tim and I could only dream of" he shot straight back.

The scientist had the grace to look slightly abashed, readily admitting that she got away with murder. Gibbs had only ever come as close as threatening her with the same treatment he regularly dished out to his two field agents, and even that was in response to severe provocation on her part.

"Sorry Tony" she said good-naturedly, holding up her hands in defeat.

"I am going to go through with this though, with or without you guys." Her chin was raised in classic Abby defiance and Tony knew with the same degree of assurance that he knew his own name, that there was both no stopping her and no way was he letting her go alone.

Sighing in defeat, he silently groaned at his senior agent-ship. If Gibbs found out about this, he could only hope the older man would give him time to draw up a last will and testament.

"Fine" he ground out in frustration. "Fine, I'll come with you."

Turning to face the muted McGee, he jerked his head towards the door in direction. "You go home now probie, there's no need for us all to die."

Tim faltered in his muteness, but with apparent effort managed an impressive, "home?"

"Yes McGee home. Like you know, ET go home and all that" replied Tony in flippant exasperation.

The junior agent looked on agape for a few moments, a war of self preservation and team loyalty raging inside him. When his mouth eventually battled gravity and returned to its usual position, he shook his head firmly.

"No way Tony. No way. If you two are going, I'm going too."

Tony fought the urge to infringe on the copyright of their bosses headslap and reach out and smack the probationary agent silly.

He settled for grinding out between his teeth, "don't be stupid McMartyr. I can handle this alone; I will make sure nothing happens to her. Go home."

Tim merely stared at him in quiet resolve and Tony threw his hands up in the air in now well versed defeat.

"Fine! Fine, let's all go. We can make a night of it" he muttered angrily.

Abby cleared her throat, having been essentially ignored as the fraught dialogue was exchanged between the two agents.

Both men turned to look at her questioningly.

"It's just…well, it's just we should get going if we're going" she explained in bright tones, completely oblivious or uncaring as to the degree of rule breaking the trio were about to embark on.

Tony nodded his head stiffly but wished fervently that Ziva wasn't away on leave. Having every member of their team out of bounds and in harm way was beginning to make him feel queasy, and the tough Mossad agent would have been a welcome addition to their now negligible, at home and in bounds team.

The car ride to the site of their impending doom was relatively jovial considering the scene that had unfolded not thirty minutes ago at the lab. Abby's easy banter and Tim's social ineptness was causing Tony to relax somewhat and rekindle his earlier enthusiasm for the plan they had quickly concocted when Gibbs had departed in a foul humour, presumed to be in search of coffee.

Upon reaching the site that they had lured the suspect to, through Abby and McGee's technical brilliance, they cautiously unloaded their gear and themselves from Abby's hearse and crouched down in an already scouted out position. An hour or so passed, and each team member was beginning to feel the effects of their uncomfortable position.

"Why is nothing happening?" a field work experience lacking Abby hissed to Tony in annoyance.

"Oh gee Abs, didn't I tell you? I secretly warned the suspect we'd be here and it was probably best for him if he just toddled on home, but I thought we could enjoy the scenic views anyways" he hissed straight back.

As Abby opened her mouth to retort, an equally fed up McGee intervened.

"Can it guys" he muttered in irritation, and for once he was heeded and silence resumed enveloping the three in its heavy presence once more.

Another twenty or so minutes snailed by, and Tony had all but opened his mouth to call the whole fiasco to a close but was categorically prevented from doing so as the air was suddenly full of gun fire from unidentifiable shooting sides and the roaring sirens of law enforcement officials pierced the night sky.

Instinctively flinging out one arm to pull Abby and Tim down the ground, he reached wildly for his own weapon even though from the sounds of the artillery being used his own handgun was hopelessly ineffective. Craning his neck he saw that the law enforcement officials were the feds. Led by none other than Fornell. As the gun fire came to an end, he craned his neck further and saw that the suspect they had been chasing being led out in chains, flanked on either side by severe looking federal agents.

"Christ" he muttered, running a frantic hand through his hair. Crouching down he relayed this information in a whisper to his two frozen counterparts. Watching as their complexions paled, he knew they were thinking the same thing that had caused him such spasms of worry. If Fornell caught them here, the jig was up and they would have effectively stabbed a sleeping bear with a very sharp stick. An already irritable Gibbs shaped bear.

Trying his best to get a handle on himself, Tony assessed the situation with an experienced agent's eye. Every exit from their vantage point was now manned with FBI personnel. He felt his stomach churn when he realised they had been too busy bickering to hear the agents move into place and to react. Just as he was about to raise his pounding head up once more, a light suddenly blazed into his eyes completely obscuring his vision.

A gun was then trained on him, and at the yelp of their tormentor, two more federal agents raced to the side of their teammate and placed each of their guns in the faces of both a trembling Abby and a wildly gesticulating McGee. The oldest of the three FBI agents that were pinning down the three NCIS representatives called hastily for his boss, ignoring Tony's frantic attempts to communicate their own law enforcement position.

As a clambering Fornell made his way to his people, Tony bit down hard on his lip, willing himself to wake up from this nightmare. Tasting the rusty seeping of blood, he desisted and settled for merely wondering haphazardly if he'd been a good enough person to gain entry to heaven. As the curled lip of the now arrived FBI boss penetrated his vision, he groaned audibly.

"Oh dear, oh dear DiNozzo, this is not good is it?" the seasoned agent crooned sarcastically, the laughter evident in his tone. Turning to his men, he issued clarification as to who the three forlorn looking trespassers were and barked orders to round them up and bring them to FBI in house lock up.

As the three of them began to protest in unison, the elder agent chuckled in response. "Oh no you lot, you honestly think I'm going to miss your Gibbs's face when he finds out about this? Oh no, not a chance."

With that he trotted off in the direction of his own transport, chortling to himself as he went. The fierce rivalry that existed between himself and Jethro Gibbs making his findings of the night even sweeter than the capture of a murder suspect. He snorted when he realised, that when his NCIS counterpart was informed of the capers of his agents, he may well be on another murder suspect chase.

An hour or so later, the dishevelled and morose trio sat clustered together in a tight and cramped holding cell in the austere buildings that housed the FBI. Tim and Tony slumped, with their heads in their arms and Abby looking straight ahead biting her lip in nervous anxiety.

The pitch perfect hearing bestowed upon Abby allowed her to hear the less than dulcet tones of their boss first, frantically she nudged the two mute men beside her into alertness. From the cringing looks that crossed both of their faces, they too had caught the growling tone of one SA Gibbs.

It became apparent as the voice drew closer, that he was being accompanied by a shamelessly gloating Fornell. As the two men came into view, the three caged reprobates drew a collective breath as they saw the thunderous look etched in every line of their supervising agents battle worn face.

As they approached the holding cell Fornell chuckled when he saw the ashen expressions on the kids' faces when they saw their boss. Knowing exactly what would befall his own men if they ever pulled such a stunt, the FBI boss turned to the NCIS agent and said in a mock tone of severity.

"Now Jethro, I really must expect you to a keep firmer hand on your people. I mean to say, you don't see any of my men running amuck around your crime scenes do you?"

As the former marine shot him a look of death, he chuckled wholeheartedly in response. Signalling to the lock up clerk to let the three silent agents free from their confines, he clapped each of them on the shoulder and wished them well as they exited slowly. With a final assurance that the FBI would devote its full cache of resources in hunting down their supervising agent should he commit murder against them, he set off to his own agencies business.

The three recent parolees stood silently stock still, in a line in front of the seething Gibbs, with not even Abby daring to look their boss in the eye.

As he surveyed his three meek looking, soon to be dead and buried, agents the infuriated team leader sought to get a handle on his temper. Forcing an inordinate amount of air down his windpipe he willed himself to make some kind of a verbalisation.

Levelling his senior agent with a stare that penetrated the deepest layers of the boy's soul, he was rewarded when the paled Tony felt the gaze and looked up in trepidation. Fishing around in his pocket, Gibbs pulled out his car keys and threw them, none too gently, at the abashed DiNozzo who managed a fumbling catch.

"My car is out front. Bring these two with you. I need to make sure there's no official blowback from this. Move it, now."

With that he strode off without a backwards glance in the direction the recently vacated Fornell had taken. Ducking his head in defeat Tony began the walk to Gibbs's car with Abby on one side and Tim on the other. The three of them bundled into the back, none of them particularly wanting to be any closer than necessary to a murderously furious boss.

About half an hour elapsed, that involved copious amounts of fidgeting from all three passengers. No one spoke, any speech was now considered redundant. Tony lay slumped in the right corner, silently cursing himself for the whole debacle, if he'd been any kind of senior agent, none of this would have happened.

Each one of them flinched when the driver's door was suddenly flung open, and Gibbs slipped in behind the wheel. Clicking his fingers for the keys, he snatched them from Tony's outreached hand and without a word roared his car into life and squealed out onto the main road. He spoke not a syllable and no one dared to ask where they were going, partly in deference to the man's justified anger and partly because they all had a sinking feeling as to where this car was going to bring them.

Their well founded fears were confirmed when Gibbs drove straight past the turn off that led to naval base and continued instead in a straight path. Ten tense minutes passed and the old modelled car eventually swung into the obsessively well maintained residence of one SA Gibbs.

Killing the engine, the elder man quickly exited the car and walked briskly to Tony's side and wrenched the door open. Physically taking Tony by the upper arm, who knew better than to protest, he forcibly removed the boy from the back seat and jerked his head at the other two gaping miscreants to follow. Gulping somewhat, they did so without delay.

Tim watched as Gibbs propelled Tony through the front door and felt increased guilt. Tony was going to get the worst of this due to his position as senior agent, even though he and Abby were equally to blame. Stiffening his resolve to inform Gibbs of his equal part in the whole escapade, McGee placed a comforting arm around the clearly trembling Abby and gave her a gentle squeeze and guided her into the house and shut the door quietly behind him.

As they entered the familiar living room, they cringed as they saw their boss place a still silent DiNozzo face first firmly in a corner. Tony didn't protest or fidget, but stood there with slumped shoulders and bowed head. Turning around to face his other two migraine causing charges, Gibbs reached out and took McGee firmly by the arm and placed him in a corner opposite Tony. Tim had the good sense to take his lead from the co operative Tony and didn't utter a syllable in protest.

Seemingly satisfied that his junior agent was going to be compliant, the elder man released the grip on his arm and turned to face his lab technician who was remarkably paler than usual. Crossing the room he also took a hold of her arm, albeit a much softer grip, and placed her also without words being spoken, face first in the last available corner the room offered.

Moving to the centre of his living room, Gibbs looked around and sighed, feeling the weight of all his years on the planet. All three of his people were slumped in their respective corners, looking the pinnacle of contrite misery. Knowing that he was in no position to be fair in dealing with any of them he cleared his throat and spoke in a low growl to the room as a whole.

"I need time to calm down, before we are all going to have a little chat. I'm going to leave the room for a while. You will not move. You will not talk. You will not even breathe with any greater a degree of force than is strictly necessary. Is that clear?"

As three heads nodded in miserable unison, he turned sharply on his heel and made his way back to the basement he had been so rudely jerked from by a laughing Fornell. As he closed the door behind and him and descended the stairs to his favourite haunt, he was calmed somewhat by the familiar scent in the air of freshly shaved sawdust. Picking up his sanding belt he viciously attacked the grain of his newest boat in an attempt to work off some of the anger that consumed him.

He closed his eyes as he thought of the danger his hard headed, stubborn, disobedient trio had put themselves in. One wrong shot, one wrong round from either side in the fire fight and he could have received a very different call from the FBI. He growled to himself as Fornell had explained how they had intercepted some…technical whatsit that turned out to have been designed by McGee and Abby with the intention of luring the suspect to that location, which was owned by the Navy but had long since fallen into disrepair.

He correctly surmised that the rest of their idiotic plan was to arrest the suspect themselves on a ridiculous trespass charge in a moronic effort to claim jurisdiction back from the feds, and secure an NCIS conviction. After he had explicitly told them to drop it, they'd created an even more reckless idea than the one he'd shot down. Squeezing his eyes tighter against the thoughts of an interagency death or serious injury notice call, he pressed with increasing pressure on his sanding efforts and eventually his raw anger began to trickle into a diluted justified and useful anger.

Upstairs, the unfortunate team had taken their bosses stern words to heart and had not opened their mouths, each lost in their own thoughts. Tony was currently continuing to berate himself for his self confessed hopeless lack of leadership. Tim was fighting an internal battle about never being able to say no. Abby felt the tears prick her eyes as she thought of how much trouble she had dragged Tony and Tim into.

They didn't want to do it, and she had forced them too by resolving to go on her own. If it wasn't for her, none of this would be happening and two of her favourite people in the world would be happily going about their Friday evening, and she would be at home researching different uses for her own blood in carefree pre weekend bliss.

Pressing her head against the cold wall in front of her, she wished wildly that she could run up the stairs and lock herself in the guest room that was now essentially hers and the boy's could flee to the safety of the other guest room, that was essentially theirs. She closed her eyes in guilt as she thought of everything Gibbs did for them, always giving them a place to crash when some drama or other popped up in their lives and they needed him.

A significant time frame passed, and they were eventually jerked from their silent considerations by the sounds of their boss arriving back into the room. No one was brave enough to turn around without being prompted and therefore they all remained where they had been put, albeit with slightly tensed postures.

Gibbs surveyed the room once more and was assured that he was now in a position to be fair to his team. Issuing a bark for the three mutes to go and sit on the couch, he was slightly mollified when both of his boys took a perhaps unconsciously protective stance beside Abby, planting her firmly in the middle of them. All six eyes were rooted firmly on the floor.

Moving to perch on the edge of the coffee table that was placed in front of the sofa, he glowered down at his three regretful looking charges.

"Eyes up." The two words seemed to echo around the comfortable room.

All six eyes came slowly up and upon the now calmly intimidating Gibbs.

Fixing Tony in particular with a glare, he slowly launched into what would be a highly unpleasant team talk.

"Now Tony" he began, in an alarmingly genial tone "I have a fairly good idea of what you three pig-headed, disobedient, children decided to do tonight. However, I'd very much like to hear it from you, if you'd be so kind."

"Of course" he continued in his oddly avuncular tone, "you are all apparently labouring under the delusion that you somehow no longer have to follow my direct orders, so do feel free to stay quiet if you prefer."

With that he folded his arms across his chest and waited with an air of uncharacteristic patience as his senior agent silently writhed in front of him, clearly racking his brains for an acceptable answer to his question.

Tony winced as he felt his torso clench in protest against the hammering his heart was raging upon his rib cage. Licking his dry lips in trepidation, he wildly cast around his mockingly empty mind for an explanation of their actions that wouldn't sound like a suicide note in vocalisation.

He came up empty.

Completely empty.

They were dead.

Forcing himself to meet the steely blue eyes that were bearing down upon him, he reluctantly began to stammer and stutter his way through the factual events of their ill fated field trip. The more he talked the more he felt the intensity of his supervising agents gaze upon him.

Drawing his explanation to an end, he immediately dropped his gaze to the floor, with a final and regretful " that's….well, that's what happened boss."

There was complete silence for a moment as the ghost of Tony's explanation seemed to penetrate every square inch of the room.

Gibbs purposely let the tension build palpably before answering Tony's accounting of events.

When he did speak, it drew a collective wince and fresh squirming from the sofa based trio.

"I have never been so disappointed in each and every one of you."

"Tony, you stay exactly where you are. Tim, Abby, you get yourselves up those stairs and go straight to your rooms.

When the three stared at him in united misery and failed to move, his voice rose for the first time.

"Now."