Tony was surprised that Gibbs liked him. It was a nice surprise, though. Tony was actually thinking of giving up law enforcement for a different career when Gibbs had called and told him he was needed at the Navy Yard. He had been unsure about going, since there had been no explanation accompanying the request, but Tony was now glad that he had listened and gone. He was practically being granted a new start, a clean slate with Gibbs' job offer. All he had to do was some extra training, and that would be a cinch.

"Excuse me, sir, may I help you?"

Tony smiled at the young woman behind the desk. He was standing inside the 'New Agents Applicants' office inside the NCIS building, where Gibbs had pointed him to.

"Hi. I'm Tony. Agent Gibbs told me to come in here," said Tony.

"Of course. Give me a moment, and I'll have your paperwork ready for you to fill out. You may have a seat on the couch if you like."

Tony shrugged and sat on the indicated couch as the woman pulled some papers from a printer behind her. He figured that Gibbs must have already said something to the woman, because she seemed to know exactly who he was and why he was there.

"Here you go, sir," said the young woman as she handed over a clipboard with the paperwork on it and a pen. "Please fill this out and give it back to me when you are finished. Take your time with it."

"Thank you," said Tony with another smile as he took the clipboard and read the first section.

The first section was simple and took just a couple of minutes to fill out. It was his personal details- name; date of birth; gender; and things like that. Then he moved to the second section- this section was asking for a detailed list of his qualifications. Tony hesitated. He was never comfortable bragging, and normally only listed what he required for his job. But, today was different. Something about Gibbs made Tony want to be completely honest. Everyone usually ridiculed him for being smart. Would Gibbs be that way too?

"Excuse me?" said Tony after stepping up to the desk.

"Yes?" asked the woman.

"Would it be possible for me to speak to Agent Gibbs before I finish filling this out?"

"Of course. Give me a moment, and I'll call him for you."

"Thank you." Tony returned to his seat and skipped over the second section.

By the time Gibbs arrived, Tony had finished filling out the application form. He had signed and dated it, but still needed to fill out the second section.

"DiNozzo? Is there a problem?" Gibbs asked.

"I have a question," said Tony.

"Okay."

"The qualification section. What qualifications do I need for this job?"

Gibbs frowned. "I want you to write all your qualifications down."

"What if they aren't related to the job?"

"Put them down as well. Don't leave any out." Gibbs smiled a little. "I know that you're smart. If you're worried about people knowing that, don't be. Most people at NCIS have qualifications that don't relate to their jobs. It's normal around here." Gibbs thought for a second, then asked, "how many qualifications do you have?"

Tony went red. "Uh… a few…"

"I meant, how many do you have? As in, the exact number. And, don't get embarrassed around me, DiNozzo. I couldn't care less what qualifications you have, so long as you do your job, and do it well."

Tony smiled a little. "I have seven."

"All related to policing?"

"No."

Gibbs smiled. He was impressed. "Write them all down. I want to see what you know."

With a small sigh of relief, Tony smiled a smile that lit up his entire face. "Okay, Gibbs. I can do that."

Tony set to work on the final section of his application. He quickly wrote down every one of his qualifications, then handed the papers to the young woman behind the desk.

"Good luck, Mr DiNozzo," said the woman as she put the papers into a scanner. "You should know by the end of the week if you have a position in NCIS."

"Thank you." Tony gave the woman another of his brilliant smiles and stepped out of the office.

Two Days Later

Gibbs was completely taken aback by the information in front of him, as well as what he had just been told by the director. Tony had definitely gotten a place at NCIS, and was currently starting his shortened training course at FLETC. But Gibbs had not anticipated the requests that were now piling up with his to have Tony on his team. Word had gotten out that Gibbs was hand-picking someone for his team, so everyone just assumed the person was good and had also put in for this new agent. None of them had the information that Gibbs had, but it certainly wasn't stopping them from fighting for Tony.

"Hey, Gibbs," said Gibbs' only remaining team member.

"Stan. What can I do for you?" Gibbs asked as he flipped Tony's application form to the qualifications section.

"I heard we might be getting a new team member."

"Not might, Stan. I plan on having him here in two and a half weeks."

"Mind telling me his name, at least?"

"DiNozzo."

"That cop you met in Baltimore last week?"

"The very same."

"What is it about him that has you hooked? You've never picked anyone for your team before."

"He's good. Damn good. And he's smart, too. He's great at undercover work, but he knows how to joke around at the same time. He has a healthy balance in his work life, Stan."

"What are you reading?"

"His qualifications."

"How many does he have?"

"Seven. At least, that's what he told me. I suspect he has more, or is at least studying for more."

"Seven? That's a lot, Gibbs. How old is this guy?"

"He'd be in his late twenties, according to his birth date."

"Wow. He must be pretty smart then. What are his qualifications?"

Gibbs smiled as he looked down the list Tony had written. The qualifications were varied, and clearly showed where Tony's interests lay.

"Here," he said. "Read it for yourself." He handed a paper to Stan.

Stan let his mouth drop open in shock as he read, then re-read, the list in Tony's application. The qualifications were indeed varied. He had to read them a third time, and it still seemed unreal. The list, which was clearly in Tony's handwriting, stated:

I have the following qualifications-

Masters in Criminology

Physical Education Degree

Teaching- Music Degree

English Literature Degree

Applied Mathematics Degree

Discrete Mathematics in Computer Science Degree

Numerical Analysis Degree

A/N: The degrees are made up. I do not know what degrees Tony has in the show, but these are the ones I have chosen to give him.