Morning came too early for McGee, but he got up anyway and started his morning routine. As usual, he was dressed and ready to go with 20 minutes to spare. McGee got his cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table.
One thing he learned less than a week working on Gibbs' team was that if he wanted to FINISH a cup of morning coffee, he better do it at home because there was no guarantee he'd be able to finish it at his desk.
He used the 20 minutes to drink his coffee and catch up on any reading he had. Non-computer reading that is. He'll spend enough time on the computer at work, and he liked the old-school feel of savoring coffee and a newspaper in the morning as way to wake up and get the brain going. Although it was never a print version of a newspaper. He absolutely hated the way the ink rubbed off on his fingers and stained his table.
This morning's reading was the John Hopkins quarterly alumni magazine. The cover picture was one of the renovated buildings. Tim didn't remember it from his days at the school, but the headline identified as one of the School of Medicine buildings and Tim rarely was in that part of the campus. He flipped through the pages and skimmed through the president's message to the alumni. And the message from the Dean from the School of Medicine thanking the alumni magazine for focusing on the school for this issue (and of course, the obligatory 'don't forget your alma mater and donate' comments from both of them).
Tim actually read the articles about the school's involvement in various research projects. He recognized the names of his former professors assisting in the technical analysis in the project. He turned the page and put his coffee cup on the page to hold open the magazine when the phone rang.
After assuring the caller that he wasn't upset by the wrong number, he went back to his coffee and magazine. Five minutes left.
The page was a two page spread of "where are they now" for half a dozen alumni. Tim turned the page without reading any of them. He turned back when "DiNozzo" registered in his brain as one of the names on the page. Even though it wasn't anyone Tim knew, it would maybe give him some ammunition to use when Tony because overbearingly annoying. Something along the lines that "the other DiNozzo went to John Hopkins" Tim thought.
~ ~ ~
Anthony (Tony) DiNozzo is a 1995 graduate from the School of Medicine. He came to John Hopkins after doing pre-med at Ohio State. Tony went into the field of Trauma Medicine, and has practiced in hospital emergency rooms in Peoria IL, Philadelphia PA, Baltimore DE, and is currently is employed part-time at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (known locally as Bethesda Hospital) in Bethesda MD. Tony took an unusual career path and is also in law enforcement. He is currently employed full-time as a Special Agent by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) in Washington DC.
~ ~ ~
Next to the write-up was a 2" high picture of Tony smiling up at McGee.
Tim choked on his coffee.
An hour later Tim walked to his desk at NCIS headquarters. He knew he must have driven to work, because he always drives to work, but if asked, he couldn't have said anything about the drive this morning. He was too busy trying to figure out how Tony managed to get included in the John Hopkins alumni magazine. Some kind of joke obviously. It had to be. Tony only ever talked about his OSU degree in Physical Education. Not pre-med. Maybe there's some overlap, anatomy classes maybe? But still. A Phys-Ed degree isn't the same as pre-med. Besides, why would Tony hide that he's a doctor?
Tim absently greeted Tony and Kate at their desks and settled into his own. Tony was on the phone and Kate didn't seem inclined to talk this morning. Something for which Tim was decidedly grateful for. Tim pulled up the John Hopkins website and found an entry for an Anthony DiNozzo in the 1995 School of Medicine alumni listing. Interesting. So whoever helped Tony with the magazine joke- and it had to be a joke- also updated the website.
When Tony hung up the phone, Tim couldn't help himself. "Ok, Tony, which of your frat brothers work at John Hopkins?"
Tony looked over at Tim, surprised at the question. He thought for a minute and shrugged. "None that I can think of. Why?"
"Really? So how do you explain THIS?" Tim waved the magazine at Tony. Tim had shoved the magazine into his backpack on his way out the door this morning. Tony came over to his desk to see what Tim was waving around. Kate looked at the two men, and after a minute's hesitation got up and joined them.
"THIS!" Tim repeated, holding the magazine open to the "where are they now" pages.
"Oh, that. I didn't think it was coming until the fall issue. Cool. When did you get this?" Tony pulled the magazine out of Tim's hands.
"What did you do? Spill coffee on it?" Kate asked with a touch of amusement in her voice as she tried to read the page. "School of Medicine??" she said, the disbelief clear in her tone.
"Exactly my point, Kate," Tim agreed.
"What's the problem? I was there. I graduated. They contacted me a few months ago about it. What's so hard to believe?" Tony asked, closing the magazine and looking at his two teammates.
"John Hopkins."
"Emergency Room Doctor."
Tim and Kate said simultaneously.
"Yes. Right. You get 100 points in reading comprehension, " Tony said with a grin. He tossed the magazine back on McGee's desk.
"Does Gibbs know?" Kate asked. Privately, she agreed with Tim that this was some kind of elaborate joke.
"Do I know what, Agent Todd?" Gibbs asked smoothly as he walked into the bullpen. Kate shot Tim a death glare. Being put on the spot by Gibbs was his fault.
"Oh. Um. Tony's in Tim's magazine..." she started to say before TIm interrupted. "It's the John Hopkins alumni magazine, Gibbs. It came a few days ago, and ... um, right," Tim stumbled over his words when he saw Gibbs' glare aimed his way. Tim cleared his throat, "it has Tony listed as an alumni, and we," gesturing at the other two agents, "were just talking about it."
Gibbs nodded, "and you wanted to know if I knew that Tony was a licensed doctor and a John Hopkins graduate?"
The three agents stared at him in varying degrees of surprise.
"You knew?" Tony asked.
"Well, yeah, DiNozzo. NCIS did do a full background check when you were hired. And I do read all the notices HR sends about the agents under my command, including notice of a second job."
Kate blinked in surprise, "why didn't you say anything?"
Gibbs quirked an eyebrow, "because I haven't had any reason to send DiNozzo undercover as a doctor. Yet." He fixed a level look at the three agents. "Don't you have any work to do?"
They all mumbled affirmatives and scrambled back to their desks. Gibbs shook his head watching them. "Amazing," he muttered behind his coffee cup.
Author's Chapter Notes:
McGee finds out first.
Chapter End Notes:
(I have no connection to John Hopkins, and have no idea what kind of info they put in their alumni magazine. Or even if they have a print-version of an alumni magazine. Just go with it, please, ok? Thanks)
In Chapter 9 of the Doctor DiNozzo story, Tony tells Tim that he (Tony) was at John Hopkins a "few years" before Tim. And using the dates in the Gap Theorem (which was Jackie's 'starting point' story for Doctor DiNozzo) I'm using 1995 as Tony's graduation date at John Hopkins
In Chapter 9 of the Doctor DiNozzo story, Tony tells Tim that he (Tony) was at John Hopkins a "few years" before Tim. And using the dates in the Gap Theorem (which was Jackie's 'starting point' story for Doctor DiNozzo) I'm using 1995 as Tony's graduation date at John Hopkins