This is another instalment in my 'Upside down MCRT' universe. I don't think you need to have read the previous two before reading this one. There's a brief summary of the upside down element below so if you don't want to know what happens in the first two stories – 'MCRT – Upside Down' and 'MCRT – Even More Upside Down' – please stop reading now.

The 'upside down' element is that Tony is team lead and Gibbs the Senior Field Agent. Tim and Kate are the junior agents with Tim having slight seniority. Tony is married to Faith Coleman and they have a daughter named Matilda. Tom Morrow is still Director.

The first part of this story is a twist on 'Bete Noir' – the episode in the first series where Ari takes Ducky, Gerald and Kate hostage. As with the previous stories in this 'universe' the time line and canon have been played with.

Director Tom Morrow sat pensively in front of the big screen in MTAC which had just gone dark. He wondered what the fallout of the last few hours would be. He heard the door to MTAC click open and shut and, hearing familiar footsteps hurrying down the stairs, guessed he was about to find out some.

"Director," said Supervisory Special Agent Tony DiNozzo.

"How's your team?" asked Morrow.

"That's what I need to speak with you about."

"Sit down," ordered Morrow. He waited until Tony had obeyed and then said, "OK, shoot."

Tony winced. "Been a bit too much of that, Sir."

"Yeah, poor choice of words. Go on."

"Gibbs is at the hospital. Although I swear that if I'd offered to close the hole in his shoulder with my desk stapler and clean it out with a slug of rotgut whisky he'd have told me to go ahead."

Morrow smiled and felt it was the first time he had done so in hours. Dr Mallard and his assistant Gerald Jackson had been held hostage in Autopsy and, Morrow didn't quite understand why, Special Agent Caitlyn Todd had also been captured. Tony and Gibbs had liaised with the Hostage Recovery Team to end the situation but Gibbs, Jackson and two members of the HRT had been shot.

"And Agent Todd?" he asked.

"I've sent her to the hospital as well. She and Dr Mallard claimed to be unharmed but I wanted them evaluated properly."

Morrow nodded his approval. He had already received a report about Gerald's condition from a Ducky who had been shaking with outrage.

"What do you want to do?" asked Morrow.

"Agent McGee and I will finish up the paperwork and then I want the team off rotation," said Tony.

"Why?" asked Morrow.

"I don't want Gibbs back in the field until he's fully recovered. He'd go with his arm in a sling if he had his way. Hell, he'd go out on crutches if need be."

"Hmm," said Tom.

"Kate needs time to come to terms with what happened," continued Tony, "And she'll need psychological support. I want to be sure she's got her head on straight before she handles a gun again."

"And Gibbs? Will he need psychological support?" asked Tom.

"That would be great," mused Tony. "But I can't see it happening. I mean, he'll go to the psych eval but we both know he can talk his way around that. I'll settle for him being back to physical fitness."

"Still leaves you and Agent McGee," said Morrow, "Why do I need to take your whole team off rotation?"

"I think McGee would benefit from time out," said Tony. "It was stressful today. Time out will help. We could assign him to cybercrimes for a few days; they're always angling to get hold of him. Might do his confidence good to be somewhere he excels."

"You saying he doesn't excel as a field agent?" said Morrow sharply.

"No, Sir, I'm not saying that at all. McGee is excellent but we all know he's brilliant with computers. I think it would steady him to do something he has complete control of for a short while."

"I see," said Morrow. "And how long do you think the team needs?"

Tony looked at the Director suspiciously at this easy acquiescence and suspected that it had always going to be granted but that Morrow wanted to hear Tony's reasons. "A week," said Tony. "I don't expect Gibbs to be back to full fitness by then but we can go back in the field without him."

"I'm sure he'll relish the prospect of being on desk duty when the rest of you go out," said Tom with a twinkle in his eye.

"I'll manage that," said Tony.

Tom looked at him speculatively and believed him. DiNozzo was renowned for his inventiveness in managing his team and usually managed to rein in even the obstreperous Gibbs.

"Agreed," said Morrow. "One week off rotation. On one condition."

"Sir?"

"Actually two conditions. If you decide you need longer, you let me know and we'll review the situation. I don't want you to be in any doubt about your team being ready to go back out there."

"Understood, Sir. Thank you." Tony rose to go.

"I said two conditions, Tony." Tony sank back down. "I want you to take the week off as well."

"What? I don't need any time off. I can catch up on paperwork," protested Tony.

"One week," said Morrow firmly. "It's about time you took that paternity leave you keep putting off."

"But …"

"Tony, you really want me to phone your wife and tell her that you refused to take the time off?"

"No, Sir," said Tony, caving as he recognised this master stroke. "A week of paternity leave it is."

"Faith and Baby DiNozzo will be grateful," said Tom.

"Yes, Sir," said Tony.

"FBI have taken the terrorist into custody," said Tom, "I've asked to be kept informed about what they find out." He saw Tony's questioning look, "And I'll let you know what they tell me."

"Thank you, Sir."

"I'm guessing you have some questions about how this situation arose," said Morrow meaningfully.

"Yes, Sir. Another reason for time out."

"I trust you'll keep me informed," ordered Tom.

"Yes, Sir. I'll let you know if there's anything you need to be concerned about," said Tony.

Tom nodded. He trusted that DiNozzo would tell him of any issues. "Go on," he said. "The sooner you get the reports written, the sooner you can go home. Tell Agent McGee to take the weekend off and report to Cybercrimes on Monday. I'll inform Agent MacGregor to expect him."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Give my best to Faith," said Morrow as he signalled to Tony to leave.

NCISNCIS

Tony was making breakfast for his daughter Matilda the next morning when the doorbell sounded.

"Stay there, sweetie," he said. "Don't touch anything." He hurried to the door, "Kate! This is a surprise."

"Is now a good time?" asked Kate anxiously.

"Come in," ordered Tony. "I just made a mistake. I told Tilly not to touch anything. That will have put touching something into her head. Come on."

Kate followed Tony into the kitchen, still asking if it was all right to come in.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief when he returned to the kitchen and found it, and his daughter, still in one piece.

"Auntie Kate," said Tilly happily. "Daddy's cooking pancakes."

"He is?" asked Kate in surprise.

"Hey," said Tony. "I can cook pancakes. Well, so long as we have pancake mix."

"I can make them," suggested Kate.

Tony was about to refuse her offer but, seeing her nervous tension, decided she might need something to do so he gave in, "Sure. Knock yourself out. Not literally, of course. We have enough injuries on the team as it is."

Faith came in a few minutes later and was surprised to see Kate and a mountain of pancakes in her kitchen.

"What's going on?" she whispered to her husband.

"I think it's therapy," he whispered back.

"I think we're going to be eating pancakes for weeks," she replied. "Hey, Kate," she said in a louder voice. "Nice to see you. Thank you for … er … making the breakfast."

Kate seemed to come out of a reverie and looked with shock at the pile of pancakes she had made. "Oh," she said. "Oh. No trouble. Um, where's the baby?"

"Sleeping," said Faith. The sound of a baby wailing came through from the family room.

"Perhaps not," said Tony. "I'll go get him."

"He does that a lot," sighed Tilly. "He cries, poops and sleeps."

"Matilda," said Faith warningly.

"But he's really cute," said Tilly. "When he's not doing that."

"Here he is," said Tony, showing the two week old to Kate. "Meet your Auntie Katie!" He sensed Kate's disapproval, "I mean, your Auntie Kate."

The baby had stopped crying; perhaps he had just been lonely and needed company.

"He's gorgeous," said Kate. "What's his name?"

"Jacob Erasmus DiNozzo," said Tilly proudly.

"Jacob Erasmus …," said Kate. "That's unusual."

"It's my grandfather's name," said Faith a little coolly. "It's a common name in Denmark."

Kate nodded as she remembered that Faith's mother was Danish.

"And it means beloved," said Tony a little goofily as he smiled down at his son.

"I'm going to school now," said Tilly becoming a little bored at the focus on her new brother. "'Cos I'm five."

"Do you like school?" asked Kate.

"Let's eat," said Tony hastily. His daughter tended to be vocal on the subject of kindergarten and he preferred his pancakes warm. Tilly looked mutinous for a moment or two but was appeased by her father placing two pancakes on her plate and handing her the maple syrup. "Not too much," he warned.

"Mommy and Daddy don't like it when I have a sugar high," Tilly said to Kate in what she thought was a confidential tone.

Tony wanted to know what Kate had come to talk to him about but was prepared to wait until they could have some privacy. He contented himself with munching his way through a stack of pancakes in the meantime.

"Oh," said Kate. "I forgot. I brought you something for Jacob."

Tony looked at her closely, wondering if this was true or an excuse for a visit. Faith took the package and opened it, "A St Christopher's medal," she said. "It's lovely. Thank you, Kate. Look, Tony."

Tony looked and decided to acquit Kate of making an excuse. The medal had clearly not been purchased on the way over.

"And I bought this for you, Tilly," said Kate.

Faith and Tony looked at Kate warmly. Tilly had, so far, been accepting of her brother's arrival but they appreciated anything which made it clear to her that she was still important.

"It's a purse!" said Tilly happily. "And it's shiny!"

"I thought you could bring it to school with you," said Kate.

Tilly seemed to sense what her parents were about to say, "Thank you Auntie Kate. It's cool."

Tony and Faith sighed as their little girl used this grown up word but tried to look brave.

"Thanks, Kate," said Tony. The door bell sounded again. "It's like Grand Central Station here today."

"I'll go," said Faith, "You stay here with Jacob."

A few moments later, Faith returned with McGee. Tilly was out of her chair in an instant and running towards the new arrival, "Uncle Gee!" she squealed. Tim was, for a reason Tony could not understand, one of Tilly's favourite people and, as ever, he looked both embarrassed and pleased at Tilly's delight.

"Uh," he said. "Is now a good time?"

Faith wondered why anyone would think breakfast time in a house with a five-year-old and two-week-old was a good time to call in unexpectedly but she was used to the eccentricities of Tony's team so she simply smiled and pointed to the pile of pancakes, "Come in," she said. "Kate's been cooking."

"She has?" asked Tim in puzzlement. He looked at the stack, "She has."

"Sit down, Tim," said Tony. "As you can see, we have plenty."

Tilly drew Tim to sit down next to her and, sign of great favour, handed him the syrup bottle. "Not too much," she said warningly, "You don't want to get a sugar high."

Tim nodded gravely and poured a moderate amount on his pancakes and began to eat. After a few minutes, like Kate before him, he seemed to think he needed an excuse for being there.

"Is that the baby?" he asked.

Tony stared at him.

"Of course it is," said Tim, "I mean, I knew it was. It's obvious. I mean, it's small and … babyish."

"Yes," said Faith, "He is."

"Of course," said Tim hastily. "He. Him. He is small and …"

"Babyish," supplied Tony. "I think you covered that already."

"What's he called?" asked Tim.

"Jacob Erasmus," said Faith.

"Erasmus – that's unusual," said McGee.

"It was Faith's grandfather's name," said Kate. "It's popular in Denmark. It means beloved."

"Good recall," praised Tony. "Anyone would think you were a federal investigator."

"Um," said Tim. "That's … nice. Oh, I brought you something for … him." He handed a parcel over to Faith as Tony was still holding the baby.

As with Kate, Tony had to acquit Tim of buying a gift on the run, when Faith opened the gift to reveal a soft toy – a green and blue striped cat.

"It's made by the same company that made Floopy," explained Tim. Floopy was a pink and yellow spotted dog which had been Tilly's most treasured companion and which Tim had found a replacement for when the original had been lost. "I thought … Jacob … might like it as much as Tilly liked Floopy."

"Great thought," said Tony, wondering if Tim had thought to buy two so they had an automatic spare. It had been three years since Tilly had lost Floopy and he still remembered the sleepless nights that had resulted. Faith dangled the toy cat over her son's face but he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"And I got this for you, Tilly," said Tim handing her a package.

She tore the wrapping paper off and looked at the object blankly,

"It's a kaleidoscope," explained Tim. "You look through this end. And twist the other end."

Tilly looked distinctly underwhelmed but, under the watchful eyes of her parents, knew she had to be polite and so she did as directed. Her face lit up, "It's so pretty," she said. "Thank you, Uncle Gee. Daddy, Mommy – look!"

Faith and Tony had to take turns in looking through the kaleidoscope and in persuading Tilly that Jacob was too young to appreciate its beauty.

"I'm glad I'm old," said Tilly wisely. "Babies miss out on so many things."

The adults bent their heads over their pancakes to avoid Tilly spotting their smiles. Tony had a warm feeling as he recognised the merits of his team.

"So," said Faith, "I'd better leave you with your team, Tony. So you can begin your paternity leave," she said pointedly.

Tony smiled serenely. "It's OK," he said to Kate and Tim. "We'll go into the study. Unless you still need some pancakes?"

Tim and Kate followed Tony out a little sheepishly and began to apologise once more. Tony knew that could continue for some time and cut them off, "It's OK. What do you need?"

Tim and Kate looked at one another uncertainly and each seemed reluctant to speak. Tony realised his error; they needed to see him separately. "Kate," he said, "Faith needed to speak with you. I forgot. Why don't you go and ask her? I'll have a quick word with Tim while you're gone." He trusted that Faith would think of something to ask Kate and turned his attention to Tim. "What's up, Tim?"

Tim was still able to surprise Tony at times and this was one of them. Normally he tended to take time to come to the point when dealing with personal matters but today he seemed to recognise that time was precious.

"The Director told me that I'm reassigned to Cybercrimes," he said.

"That's right. Temporarily reassigned," said Tony.

"You're sure? I mean, it is just temporary?" asked Tim.

"I'm sure. I asked the Director to take us off rotation. Gibbs will be out for a while. I wanted Kate to take some time."

"But I'm OK," said Tim.

"Of course," said Tony. "But it was a stressful few hours for all of us, coming after a few hard days catching that terrorist at Norfolk. I thought a few days in Cybercrimes might be good for you."

"You did?"

"Sure. You know that Agent MacGregor would have you there full time if he could. Sometimes it helps to do something different for a few days. Especially if it's something you excel at."

"But I'm coming back?" asked McGee.

"Absolutely," said Tony firmly.

It looked as if Tim was going to ask for further confirmation but he bit back his uncertainty and simply nodded.

"You did well, Tim," said Tony. "Locating all that duplicate evidence for us to take down to Autopsy. Couldn't have done it without you."

"Thanks, Boss." Tim clearly wanted to ask once more if Tony was sure but he straightened his back and nodded firmly. "I'll be going then," he said.

"See you in a week," said Tony. "In the squad room."

Tim grinned and allowed himself to be shown out. Tony took a breath and steeled himself to go fetch Kate who he felt might be a more difficult nut to crack. He paused at the door to the kitchen where he saw Kate cradling Jacob. Faith heard his approach and shook her head slightly to indicate that he should not say anything.

"Tilly," he said instead, "You want to go feed the ducks?"

This was one of Tilly's favourite things to do especially if she could do it with her father. She had only known her brother for a few days but she already knew that it was not wise to make a noise while he was sleeping so she nodded and whispered, "Can I put the sweetcorn in my new purse?"

Kate heard the whisper and looked up from gazing at the baby, "Why sweetcorn?"

Tilly got the superior look on her face that she adopted when telling grownups that they were wrong, "Bread is bad for ducks, Auntie Kate. But they like sweetcorn. And grapes. And oats. But it's sweetcorn today."

"Don't put it in your new purse," said Tony, "it'll make it go icky."

Tilly nodded, went to collect the corn and then stroked Jacob's cheek gently in farewell. She grabbed Tony's hand and they left.

"Don't bang the door," said Faith. "Too late," she said as the door slammed shut. Fortunately, it seemed that Jacob had begun to get accustomed to DiNozzo noise and he didn't wake up.

NCISNCIS

Tony and Tilly came back half an hour later having fed the local ducks their healthy snacks. Fortunately, or possibly unfortunately, they had been the only visitors to the water so Tilly had not had the opportunity to educate anyone else on the right and wrong things to feed the birds.

"Where's Kate?" asked Tony when he arrived home to find her car gone and Jacob back in his crib.

"She went home," said Faith.

"Just like that?" asked Tony. "I thought I was going to have to destress her."

"Never underestimate the healing powers of holding a sleeping baby," said Faith with a hint of smugness.

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Well, so long as they don't spit up or fill their diapers. That takes the shine off the experience."

"And Jakie didn't do any of that?"

"Jacob," corrected Faith although she had little hope that her son's name wouldn't get shortened.

"Jacob," said Tony obligingly.

"No, he didn't do any of that. He just slept and occasionally opened his eyes and yawned. It was rather adorable."

Tony sighed pleasurably in a way that he had never expected to do before he had children. "And that fixed her?" he asked.

"For the moment," said Faith. "What happened?" Tony had arrived home very late the previous day and had said very little apart from mentioning that he was on paternity leave for a week.

"There was a hostage situation at NCIS yesterday. Kate, Ducky and Gerald were held in Autopsy. Jimmy Palmer's on vacation so Gerald was standing in for him."

"Are they all right?" asked Faith.

"Gerald got shot. So did Gibbs when we moved in to end it. But we caught the intruder. FBI have taken it over now. They took statements from us all yesterday."

"How is Gibbs?"

"As it wasn't a silver bullet it didn't kill him," said Tony. "He'll be fine. I asked the Director to take the team off rotation for a week. McGee's going to Cybercrimes for a few days."

"I see. And you're concerned about Kate?"

"There may be some problems. It shook her being held hostage."

"Understandable," said Faith. "Is that all there is to it?"

Tony looked at her fondly. "There's your lawyerly instinct at work. You really should do criminal work, you know – you'd get the truth out of the witnesses with one question!"

"I'll stick to what I'm doing," said Faith. On leaving JAG as a Lieutenant Commander she had joined a DC law firm where she specialised in employment law.

"You probably did better with Kate than I would have," said Tony.

"Why?"

"She admires you," said Tony. "Feisty career woman. You're sort of a role model for her."

"And you're her Boss," said Faith.

"When she lets me be," said Tony self-deprecatingly.

"So, what else is going on with Kate?" asked Faith as she returned to her previous question.

"I think there may be some issues to address," said Tony. "With both her and Gibbs"