SIX MONTHS LATER

"You OK, McGee?" asked Gibbs brusquely as the helicopter came into sight of the USS William McGonagle.

"I'm fine, Boss," replied Tim gloomily.

"Could've fooled me," said Gibbs.

"I'm fine now," clarified Tim, "Might not be once we get on board."

"Suck it up," ordered Gibbs, "This shouldn't take long. Interview Petty Officer MacGregor about the alleged assaults … and take it from there."

"I know it's breaking a rule, Boss," said McGee hesitantly, "But I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Not spotting that MacGregor had been transferred to the McGonagle. We didn't need to have gone to Norfolk first."

"Huh! Just make sure you get it right next time," said Gibbs. "And we hitched a ride on this helo … didn't waste too much time. And this way he won't have got word we're on the way."

"Yes, Boss. Thank you, Boss," said McGee as he swallowed another Dramamine.

"Welcome aboard, Special Agent Gibbs, Special Agent McGee," said the Ensign who was waiting for them. "This is a surprise!"

"You should never be surprised by a visit from NCIS," said Gibbs sternly.

"No, Sir. The XO is waiting for you."

Gibbs would happily have gone straight to see the hapless Petty Officer but knew that wouldn't be happening. "Lead the way," he ordered.

Ensign Tomlinson led them to the XO's cabin and flung the door open. Gibbs and McGee walked in and then stopped short,

"Tony!" said McGee.

"DiNardo!" said Gibbs.

"Er, no, Sir, this is Commander DiNozzo," said Tomlinson helpfully.

"It's OK, Ensign," said the XO. "You can leave us now."

There was a note of command in Tony's voice that McGee had never heard before; somehow, he wasn't surprised that the Ensign hopped to obey.

NCISNCIS

Two hours later, Commander DiNozzo and Captain Caspar Treadgold watched the helo leave the William McGonagle with the NCIS agents and Petty Officer MacGregor on board.

"Well," said Treadgold, "That was interesting. I thought Gibbs would blow a gasket. Care to explain?"

Tony looked ruefully at Captain Treadgold. "It's a bit difficult to explain, Sir," he said, "A previous assignment …"

FLASHBACK – 6 MONTHS EARLIER

"You sure about this?" asked Mitchell Gillespie, Head of the Office of Naval Intelligence, as he looked at the report written by the Under Secretary for the Navy and Assistant Director Vance.

"Absolutely, Sir," replied Tony. "It's the best way."

"I guess," said Gillespie, "Although it's a pity in some ways. They don't seem to have formed a good opinion of Special Agent 'DiNardo'."

Tony shrugged, "Doesn't matter."

"Still, you want to give me your spin on what happened?"

"Yes, Sir. You know that my brief was to protect Special Agent Gibbs …"

"Sure, I gave you that assignment … although I'm guessing that it wasn't what you expected when you came on attachment to the Office of Naval Intelligence?"

"No, Sir. And I didn't expect it to last more than 2 years."

"You were a good fit," said Gillespie. "Your father being a police detective and all … meant you knew something of what it meant to be a cop."

"Yes, Sir," said Tony.

"And when I got word from SecNav that he was worried that Agent Gibbs was a target for revenge and wanted some way to protect him … seemed a good idea at the time. He knew the ornery so-and-so wouldn't stand for any protection detail, so it had to be done in another way."

"Yes, Sir," said Tony again.

"So, tell me how you did it."

"Basically, I tried to make sure that Agent Gibbs didn't go lone wolf at all and that meant heading him off sometimes."

"So … the case where recruiting officers were being targeted?"

"Didn't seem a good idea to have Gibbs roaming around outside with his rifle. Safer to keep him inside the office. I managed to give him the impression that I didn't want to have my hair cut and that I was anxious about being a sitting duck," said Tony.

"So, you decided to be the one who'd be first to confront the sniper?"

Tony shrugged, "That was my assignment, Sir."

"And the Jeffery White case … where you ended up being chained to him?"

"With all due respect, Sir - that was a dumb-ass plan from start to finish. To have worked properly it needed much better tracking technology in place. I tried to persuade Gibbs to abandon it as a non-starter, but he wasn't having any of that, so I enlisted Agent Todd's help in persuading him that he wasn't the right person for the job. I couldn't risk him being out of touch like that. And it didn't hurt that I'd given them the impression that I was estranged from my father."

"Yeah, that was a good touch," said Gillespie, "Gave you an alibi for not being in touch with your folks."

Tony grimaced, "Although I hope my Mom never finds out that I 'killed' her off … not when I was going home nearly every Sunday for one of her roast dinners!"

"And don't worry, I won't tell your father that he's a shady businessman who neglected his only son!"

"I appreciate it, Sir. And I'm guessing that David and Nicky wouldn't be too pleased to know that I'm an 'only' child. Siblings can be touchy about things like that!"

"And the sting to catch the ATF agent?"

"Same again really. Persuaded Gibbs that I should go in first … I think Assistant Director Vance bought that I wanted the assignment because Agent Stone was an attractive blonde. And then I managed to make Gibbs think that the meet with the alleged weapons buyers would be more dangerous that being on patrol outside."

"Good work," said Gillespie, "And the case of the missing Gunnery Sergeant?"

"Gibbs was going through one of his obsessive stages …"

"One of them?" grinned Gillespie.

Tony grinned back but didn't reply directly, "He was in a real hurry … not just because we needed to find Atlas quickly but because he wanted to get back to the hunt for the guy who'd taken Kate and Ducky hostage in Autopsy. I knew there was a possibility he'd want to go off on his own to get results …"

"… so, you decided to beat him to it?"

"Yes, Sir. With me being out of the office, it meant that he'd be with Agent Todd most of the time."

"Huh … and then the case with the plague envelope. What was that about?"

"I was surprised Director Sheppard went with that one," admitted Tony, "But when I saw the envelope with a SWAK … I guess my gut kicked in. Seemed an unlikely thing to send to our team; normally mail like that would go to the team lead so I thought I'd better intercept it. Not so sure that was a good idea but I'm younger than Gibbs so, who knows, I might have saved his life? Who knows what would have happened if he'd caught the plague … although as he says he's never even caught a cold it's possible the bugs would have wilted and died on impact!"

"Well," said Gillespie, "You seem to have convinced Vance that you were mostly looking for a simple and safe life … except when your libido got the better of you. And I'm guessing you could have slanted lots of the cases like that?"

Tony grinned in acknowledgement, "I suppose. There were some cases where I managed to manoeuvre Gibbs into taking a less active role … or where I managed to stand in the way."

"Like the time when you got pushed out of an airplane?" asked Gillespie drily.

"Seemed a good idea for me to go along with him on the aircraft," agreed Tony. "Confrontation thousands of feet above ground never seemed a good idea. Although it meant that I had to pretend to do some basic jump training beforehand … give him his due, I don't think he'd have taken me up if he hadn't seen me doing that."

"No, your parachute training with the Navy didn't show up in your NCIS file," said Gillespie.

"Would've spoiled the cover," said Tony.

"And was it deliberate that you rubbed Director Sheppard up the wrong way?"

Tony frowned, "Not really. It was just keeping up my profile of being slightly inappropriate with women … I think if I'd stuck around she would have approved of me more … eventually."

"But you think it's time to go? I could get this report reviewed and overturned if need be," said Gillespie.

"It's been two years," said Tony. "And I think things have changed."

"How so?"

"Agent Todd being killed. I knew that she'd look out for Gibbs when I was off doing something else."

"And you don't think her replacement would do that?" asked Gillespie in surprise.

"Well, Sir … Agent Todd was ex-Secret Service, so I knew she'd been vetted thoroughly – hell, they probably knew who she stole cookies from in kindergarten. I knew she could be trusted absolutely."

"Again," said Gillespie, "Wouldn't her replacement be the same?"

"I don't know, Sir. I think Director Sheppard wants to bring Officer Ziva David in from Mossad as a sort of liaison. And …"

"And?"

"We're not going to be able to vet her as thoroughly. And, while she seemed to get on well with Gibbs, well – we can't expect her to be as loyal as Agent Todd was." He held up his hands, "I've got no reason to suspect her … but it's a different situation."

"I see that," said Gillespie, "But someone's going to have to go in your place … how will they manage, if you can't?"

"You know, Sir," said Tony hesitantly, "I don't think you need a replacement for me."

"What? Explain."

"Sir, if someone was after Gibbs they could have done it months, years ago."

"You mean even with you being around looking out for him – being 'on his six'?"

"Absolutely! The guy doesn't lock his doors, and anyone can wander in freely. If someone was really out to get him – they'd just plant a bomb in his basement or walk in and shoot him. I really don't think anyone's after him. If they were, he'd be dead ten times over."

"Huh … well, I'll talk to SecNav about it," said Gillespie. "He's grateful, you know – he thought it better that he didn't show up for the review … wasn't sure he'd be able to keep a straight face or stop himself from jumping in to defend you!"

"Thank you, Sir."

"Very well, Commander DiNozzo – we'll let Special Agent DiNardo be reassigned somewhere obscure and return you to the US Navy. I understand your next posting has come through?"

"Yes, Sir – XO on the USS William McGonagle. We sail in two weeks' time."

"Well, thank you for everything, Commander. I hope you don't think the assignment was a waste of time – seeing as you don't think Gibbs needed protecting in the first place."

"Oh, he needs protecting, Sir but it's from himself! And it wasn't a waste of time; I learned a lot about leadership techniques."

Gillespie decided not to ask what exactly he'd learned about leadership techniques.

END FLASHBACK

"I've got time," said Captain Treadgold, "And anything that makes someone like Gibbs nearly explode must be worth hearing about."

Tony grinned at Captain Treadgold, "How long have you got, Sir? It's quite a story … and I guess it's classified … But I can tell you it was a relief to be able to get a regulation hair cut when the assignment ended!"

Meanwhile, on the helo, Gibbs and McGee were trying to figure out how Agent DiNardo had transformed into the authoritative Commander DiNozzo. Gibbs could, at a push, accept the explanation that it had been some sort of assignment on behalf of the Office of Naval Intelligence, but he struggled with the subtle differences between the amiable DiNardo and the commanding DiNozzo. His new Senior Field Agent was good but didn't seem to push back as much as DiNardo had …

Gibbs rubbed his elbow absentmindedly: he had banged it chasing a bad guy the previous week. That was something else strange, he thought – he seemed a lot more accident prone since DiNardo … DiNozzo left.

AN: I've put the characters back in the box – the right way up!