Directed by Alrick Riley
Written by Gina Lucita Monreal
Torres breaks protocol when a witness to an NCIS case is wanted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Also, Abby, Bishop and McGee try to woo prospective new landlord Anthony DiNozzo Sr. into giving them Tony's old apartment.
Tropes:
- Anti-Villain: The ICE officer is there to deport the witness to the NICS case, but he's not a bad person; he doesn't have a choice in the matter and like Team Gibbs he's just doing his job.
- Bittersweet Ending: Ultimately, the team has no choice but to hand the witness over to ICE, but Gibbs gets him a good lawyer who can help him fight for his right to stay in the United States, so there's a good chance that he won't be deported.
- Continuity Nod:
- Tony and his daughter Tali are still in Paris, having decided to live there indefinitely.
- McGee tells DiNozzo Sr. that he is now engaged to Deliah, who he proposed to back in "Love Boat". It's also the reason why Torres gives the couple the apartment, as they will need the extra space much more than he does.
- Also, the reason for Tony's apartment being so cheap compared to everywhere else around it (it was the crime scene of a gruesome triple homicide) gets referenced to newcomer Torres. He says that for the asking price, he could get over it pretty quickly.
- Ear Worm: Bishop tells Torres to turn the car around and drive to Ohio so Medina can say goodbye to his mother before he is deported. Torres refuses, and Bishop unleashes her folksy rendition of "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain".
- Karmic Jackpot: For his good deeds with the witness Torres is rewarded with Tony's apartment (he gives it to McGee, as he and his fiancee will need it more).
- Knight in Sour Armor: Torres doesn't want to go all the way to Ohio just so the witness (who will be deported to Mexico as soon as they get to DC) can say goodbye to his mother. He changes his mind when Bishop and the witness threaten to sing all the way to DC and once he meets the witness' mother he covers for the witness, stays for dinner, and even leaves him alone with his cell phone to make a call because when he met the witness' mother "it became personal" — precisely why he didn't want to go to Ohio in the first place.
- Remember the New Guy?: When Senior resorts to pulling names out of a hat, the lucky recipient is Torres. Senior has no idea who he is because he has never met him.
- Special Guest: Robert Wagner returns as Anthony DiNozzo Sr.
