"What happened?" asked Maggie.

"Things didn't entirely go to plan," admitted Tony. They were sitting in the waiting room at Bethesda hospital to which Tony had brought Maggie an hour or so before. "McGee was hiding in the control room at the warehouse. We figured that the bad guys would head there but we thought we'd get them before they made it. McGee was the backstop."

"And?" asked Maggie.

"They came in through a door we weren't watching properly," sighed Tony, "they were up the stairs before we clocked them. Your husband made a last attempt to refuse to disable the security system."

"Typical Roy," said Maggie with an attempt at a smile.

"Typical Marine," agreed Tony. "Anyway, that didn't go well. McGee had no choice but to try and step in. Which also didn't go well. There was a struggle. Next thing we knew, your husband had fallen down the stairs."

Maggie grimaced and shredded the tissue she was holding in her hand. Tony nodded, took it from her and handed her a fresh one. It was the fourth time he had replaced her handiwork.

"Tim did well," continued Tony, "played for time. Managed to look intimidated and said he could do the security system. We could hear him on our earwigs. Sounded real convincing."

"And did he?" asked Maggie.

"What? Disable the alarm? Yes, he did. But as soon as he'd done it 'Oscar' put a gun to his head."

"And what happened next?"

"Like I said before. You can rely on Gibbs. He took the shot and killed Oscar. Not a shot I would have wanted to take, in the dark from that distance. Gibbs always has our six."

"But Agent McGee was shot?" said Maggie.

"Yep. Oscar was down but his 'co-workers' fought back. There was a firefight. Tim got hit in the crossfire. He'll be all right, it's not serious."

"Mrs Clark?" came a voice from the door. Maggie and Tony looked up and saw a doctor walking towards them.

"Yes?" she replied, automatically standing up.

"I'm Dr Nally, I've been treating Mr Clark. Your husband is going to be fine."

"Thank God," breathed Maggie. She sat down again quickly.

"He has a concussion and a broken leg. The leg will need to be pinned so we'll be operating in a few hours. He may have to stay in hospital rather longer than he wants!"

"He giving you problems?" asked Maggie.

"We're used to it," smiled Dr Nally, "sailors and Marines aren't always the best of patients."

"Can I see him?" asked Maggie.

"Of course. We'll be giving him a pre-med soon before taking him down to surgery but he's awake at the moment."

"I'll come with you," said Tony, "I'll drop in on McPatient before heading back to the Navy Yard."

"You're going back?" said Maggie.

"Got to start on all that paperwork," grimaced Tony.

"Won't Agent Gibbs be doing it?"

Tony started to laugh but realised he didn't want to give more substance to Maggie's suspicions about Gibbs. "Sure," he said, "he'll be doing something."

"Where is he?" asked Maggie. "Is he already at the Navy Yard?"

"Probably," said Tony vaguely even if he suspected that Gibbs was in his basement brooding over what had happened that night.

Dr Nally coughed politely and Maggie realised that he was still waiting for her.

"I'm sorry," she said, "please, I'm ready now."

It turned out that McGee and Royston Clark was in adjacent cubicles. A nurse was in with Tim so Tony waited outside. He saw Maggie go in to her husband and take his hand.

"Margaret," said Roy, "do you know how Gordon is?"

"Gordon?" asked Maggie.

"Um, PFC Mathers," said Tony, "the Marine Mr Clark has been helping."

"How is he?" asked Roy.

"He'd doing well," said Tony, "came out of hospital a couple days ago. His CO is looking into what he did. He may be facing some disciplinary action."

"I'll talk to Major Donaldson," said Clark, "see if we can get it all squared away. Gordon didn't do anything wrong. Admittedly he was going to but he saw the light."

"This is Agent DiNozzo," said Maggie, "he and his team have been looking for you. And looking after me."

"Thank you," said Roy, "Why did you need looking after, Margaret?"

The nurse came out of Tim's cubicle at that moment and Tony gratefully took the opportunity to beat a tactful retreat. Somehow he thought Roy and Maggie needed some time alone.

"Hey, Tim," he said cheerfully, "hey, that's one impressive bandage you've got there. You do know that Abby will go into Florence Nightingale overdrive when she sees you?"

"I know," said Tim in a tone that held both pleasurable anticipation and fear in equal measure.

"You did good, Tim," said Tony in a more serious tone, "you almost had me convinced that you were going over to the dark side!"

"Almost?" said Tim, "why only 'almost'?"

"Because I know you," said Tony, "you would never go over to the dark side."

"Oh," said a mollified Tim, "you did good too. Brought down two of Oscar's goons."

Tony shrugged, "wouldn't have needed to if we'd spotted that door and had eyes on it," he said discontentedly.

"It happens," said Tim.

"Is that a McRule?" asked Tony.

"More of a fact of life," replied Tim.

NCISNCIS

Two days later Tony rang the doorbell of the Clark house.

"Tony!" said Maggie, "this is a pleasant surprise."

"Brought back the stuff you left at my apartment," said Tony holding up a small bag.

"Come in," said Maggie, "you didn't need to come all this way."

"I'm on my way to Bethesda," said Tony, "need to run over your husband's statement. Thought I'd take a detour. Can I give you a ride later? If you want to go visit?"

"The insurance company has given us a car," said Maggie, "so I'm mobile again. Can't imagine how long it's going to take to get the claim sorted out though. They're saying PFC Mathers wasn't an authorised driver … and he wasn't exactly in a fit state to drive. But what was he meant to do?"

"I've had experience of difficult claims," said Tony, "let me know if I can help."

"You seem like a careful driver," said Maggie, "why have you had trouble claiming on your insurance?"

"That's a story for another time … or times," said Tony as he followed Maggie into the family room. He looked around him noticing the difference from the last time he had been there. Maggie spotted this.

"Oh yes," she said, "Roy is the tidy one in the house. Sit down."

"No," said the house-proud Tony bravely, "it's fine. Lived in. Cosy." He moved a pile of magazines so he was able to sit down on the couch.

"Tony," said Maggie, "I think I owe you an apology."

"You do?"

"Or rather, Agent Gibbs. Perhaps I've been too critical of him. I spoke to Roy about it and he said that everyone has their own way of command. Agent Gibbs' methods may be out of style at the moment but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're wrong. And you all seem to be thriving on it. So, I'm sorry if I caused you any … discomfort when I spoke about the way you all work."

"No problem," said Tony, "and nothing to apologise for." He smiled. Maggie had turned to go into the kitchen so didn't notice: if she had seen his expression she might not have been convinced by the smile.

NCISNCIS

"Where did this come from?" asked Gibbs a few days later when he returned to his desk to find it covered with muffins.

"From me, Agent Gibbs," said Maggie from her position at Tony's desk.

"Yeah, we thought we'd check this time that we were allowed to eat them," said Tony cheekily.

Gibbs shrugged, not rising to the bait.

"Maggie made us ginger and lemon muffins," said Tony.

Gibbs withdrew the hand that had been stretched out towards the cakes.

"Don't worry, Agent Gibbs," said Maggie casting a disapproving look at Tony, "I made coffee and walnut and cinnamon ones too. Tony told me you don't care for ginger. I mean, ginger flavour."

"Thank you," said Gibbs in a tone of voice which suggested that Tony was narrowly avoiding a head slap. "Appreciate it."

"They're great," said Tim coming to select a cake, "just what the doctor ordered."

"I wanted to thank your team for all their hard work," said Maggie.

Tony looked at her askance but nobody else seemed to notice her slight emphasis.

"Just doing our job," said Gibbs, "your husband is a good Marine."

"And what is going to happen to PFC Mathers?" asked Maggie, "Roy is still very concerned about him."

"He's being very helpful," said Bishop as she deliberated over which muffin to pick, "and it doesn't seem that he'd done anything criminal. He stepped back from the brink. I think he'll be OK."

"That's good," said Maggie, "and Roy will do his best to keep him on the straight and narrow."

"Like I said," said Gibbs, "good Marine."

He looked at his watch and Maggie took the hint.

"I must go," she said, "things to do. Roy is coming home from the hospital at the end of the week."

"Give him our best," said Ellie.

"Thank you, it was a pleasure to meet you all." She hugged Bishop and McGee and shook Gibbs' hand. She went to embrace Tony but he said,

"I'll walk you to your car. Make sure you get through security OK."

A few minutes later as they walked towards Maggie's car, Tony said,

"Is everything OK?"

"Your investigator's gut at work again?" asked Maggie.

"Always. Occupational hazard."

"I've been thinking about what I said to you. About not seeing the situation you're in because you've got used to it … or you're too close."

"Maggie …" began Tony.

"No, let me finish. And I realised that I was being hypocritical when I spoke to you about women suffering domestic abuse."

"You mean … are you telling me that your husband abuses you?" Tony stopped walking in shock.

"No!" said Maggie, "no, Roy would never hurt me."

"Phew," said Tony, "then what?"

"I didn't lie to you, Tony when I said that I love Roy. I do. I was worried the whole time he was missing."

"But?"

"But I realised that perhaps I don't like him very much."

"What?"

"His life is the Marines. I come a very poor second. You were there when I saw him at the hospital. His first thought was for that boy. Which is admirable but it leaves me a long way behind."

"But …" said Tony.

"His life centres around the Marine Corps and he expects that mine will too. And it has, for years but now I've had enough. I want more from life."

"Like having takeout and eating on the couch?" said Tony.

"Not necessarily," said Maggie, "I think the Thai food gave me indigestion! But you're right in a way, I want some freedom. I enjoyed having the house to myself while Roy was in the hospital. I guess I should feel guilty about that but I decided not to. I'm entitled to my own way of life."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to Oman."

"Excuse me?"

"A friend of mine from college days is running a dig there. Oman was on a trade route from Mesopotamia. They're doing excavations to see what was being traded."

"That sounds ... really …" Tony trailed off.

"Dull?" suggested Maggie with a twinkle.

"Let's just say I'll wait for the movie to come out," said Tony.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Maggie firmly, "I'm rusty and out of date but Rissa says that all hands are welcome."

"How long will you be gone?"

"About three months. I've arranged for Roy's cousin Clara to come and look after him. She can't wait. She adores Roy … and she's never really liked me."

"What does Roy say?"

"Roy is always calm. Like I said, he never loses his temper. He just says that if that's what I want that's what I should do. I don't think he believes it really," said Maggie a little sadly.

"He'll miss you," said Tony.

"That's kind of you but I don't think he will. Clara will look after him. Probably keep house better than I do. He's not home much, I don't think he'll notice I'm not there."

"And what happens once the dig is over?"

"Who knows? Another dig? I may find that I miss Roy so much that I can't live without him. He may be right and I just need my fling."

"And what if you find you can live without him?"

"Divorce perhaps. I have a dream of opening a cake shop. Perhaps somewhere near my children. I'd like to see more of my grandchildren. I don't know, Tony. I'm just opening my hands and seeing what falls into them."

"Wow," said Tony, "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, Tony. I'm almost grateful for all this trouble; it opened my eyes to what was going on. And I think if I hadn't tried to lay down the law to you I wouldn't have noticed what was happening to me. But I am sorry if I caused you any distress. That wasn't my intention. I can see how much you care for Agent Gibbs."

"I know," said Tony, "and you didn't. Cause me distress. But you did make me think. And I wondered if we would have thought to keep eyes on that door if we hadn't been too tired."

"It's done now," said Maggie, "and …"

"So I went to see Director Vance …"

FLASHBACK - EARLIER THAT DAY

"DiNozzo," said Vance, "my secretary said you had booked an appointment. Come in. Sit down."

"Thank you, Sir," said Tony.

"Good work on that drugs heist," praised Vance, "you all did well."

"Thank you, Sir."

Vance waited a few seconds before saying, "I believe it was you who requested this meeting, Agent DiNozzo."

"Yes, Sir."

"And I'm guessing it wasn't because you just wanted to sit in that chair and look at me?"

"No, Sir."

"Well?"

"I've been looking at the vacancy list."

"Yes?"

"And I'd like to be considered for the Special Agent in Charge post in San Diego."

"You would?"

"Yes, Sir."

"May I ask why, DiNozzo?"

"I think it's time, Sir. I think it would be good to step away from the MCRT."

"You know that it's only temporary? While Gonzalez is out on maternity leave?"

"Yes, Sir."

"And that she fully intends to return to her post once her leave is up?"

"Yes, Sir. I understand."

"I'm afraid I don't, Agent DiNozzo. I didn't figure you'd ever leave Gibbs' team. What's happened?"

"I've been on Agent Gibbs' team for nearly fifteen years, Sir. I think it's time for a change."

"A change?" said Vance drily.

"Agent Gibbs is a fine agent," said Tony carefully, "but I think it would be good to get experience of another environment, to try other ways of working."

"I see. Have you had a falling out with Agent Gibbs?"

"No, Sir."

"This is rather sudden, isn't it?"

"The recent case … well, let's just say that it opened my eyes to how the MCRT works," said Tony.

"The case went well, didn't it?" said Vance.

"It had a successful outcome, yes."

"But?"

"But, Sir?"

"Oh, believe me, Agent DiNozzo, I'm an expert in knowing when a 'but' is coming."

"I wonder whether the outcome might have been achieved in a different way."

"Different?"

"A way which didn't involve McGee and Mr Clark being injured and there needing to be a shootout."

"Is there anything I should be aware of about the case?" asked Vance.

"No, Sir."

"The guilty people were apprehended?"

"Yes, Sir. I just feel it would be good to get experience of working in a more … collaborative way."

"You mean a way that allows reasonable rest and food breaks and which doesn't involve being shouted at?" said Vance.

Tony chose not to answer that, "I found my methods worked well when I was temporary team lead," he said, "San Diego would be an opportunity to put them into practice again."

Vance stared at Tony for several seconds and then came to a decision, "Very well," he said, "I will have orders drawn up for you to be Special Agent in Charge in San Diego. Temporary Special Agent in Charge."

"Yes, Sir."

"There's no guarantee that you will be able to return to your current role," Vance warned.

"I understand."

"Although it will probably take six months before Gibbs even starts considering a TAD."

"Thank you, Sir," said Tony, "I appreciate the opportunity."

The Director stood and offered his hand, "Congratulations, Special Agent in Charge. And may I say, I think you are doing the right thing. Time to step up, Tony."

Tony nodded and left the room.

END FLASHBACK

"Wow," said Maggie when Tony had finished telling her about San Diego. "PFC Mathers has got a lot to answer for, hasn't he?"

"I guess," said Tony, "do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"I don't know," said Maggie, "any more than I know if I'm doing the right thing. What do you think?"

"It feels right," said Tony, "scary but right. It's like you and your husband. I respect the hell out of Gibbs but I don't think I like him much now. And I'm not sure I agree with his methods. Time for a break. Time to think the unthinkable: life without Gibbs!"

"I'm sure he'll miss you," said Maggie.

"Perhaps," said Tony. "I wish he was a bit more like your husband."

"What? House-proud?"

"No. Never losing his temper! Gibbs hates change. I'm not sure how he's going to take the news."

"That's not your problem, Tony," said Maggie gently, "time to live your life. It'll be fine."

"Yeah," said Tony doubtfully, "you have met Gibbs, haven't you?"

"It'll be fine," repeated Maggie, "and I expect regular updates from San Diego!"

"You bet," said Tony, "you're my partner in crime. And this is all your fault, you know!"

"Guilty as charged," said Maggie, "and I've never been so happy to be guilty!"

AN: thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in this story. Maggie and Roy are mine but the others belong to someone else. They're all back in their boxes although McGee is a little crumpled round the edges and Tony is looking, temporarily at least, for another box!