"I know you did, but you talked to me. He had no way of knowing what a kid, because no matter how mature you are, you were a teenager, would do. I'm not saying that he couldn't handled it better. That is one of Mr. Vail's faults. He can get slightly like Cooper, forgetting that there are people behind the ideas, forgetting that there was a teenager who needed a certain guidance from people who had experience. He should have explained that he wasn't dismissing you. He should have walked you through the process. Those are his faults, and I'm explaining them to you, because you are still young." He put an arm around John and squeezed gently. "Because I know you can do so much no matter where you decide to live in, and because a leader is supposed to see things from so many angles that you wonder if it's even possible that there are so many different possibilities"
He smiled. "I think Dom got excited by the idea, assessed the risks, and then forgot that the information came from a teenager who didin't know how we do things at NCIS, who couldn't have known that the first meeting would have never happened unless there were discussions prior to that. He understands, but he gets in his head and goes full speed ahead, which is the other reason I'm explaining. He will go even faster now, and you will be there to put the breaks. If you can't do it directly, you speak to Deeks or me. Plenty is done behind the scenes."
He pulled his arm away, still smiling. "I'll tell you a secret. I hope you never have to follow that particular order either, but it's time to create backups of backups. Too many things can go wrong, and we don't even have the four people that got us here in the first place. Too many new people, untrained and untested people."
Despite the headache, he chuckled. "John, it's never a bad thing to think ahead. You certainly won't hear me complaining. As long as you remember that the best laid plan is one allows for flexibility. But, yes, it is a good idea and if you go to your dimension and don't find what you're looking for, you can return to us and we can still dispose of the machine." The rest was easily solved. "I'll send an email out tomorrow morning, give them a day to back up whatever they haven't backed up and you'll have them on Wednesday."