Did NCIS: Origins‘ Gibbs creates Rule 12 because of his feelings for Lala? Austin Stowell think so.

“There’s a reason people who work together sometimes end up together. It’s that they understand each other,” Stowell, 39, says exclusively Us Weekly. “There’s a lot of Lala in Gibbs and vice versa that they see a bit of a mirror image. But they’re both very stubborn.”

Stowell noted that the chemistry between Gibbs and Lala (Mariel Molino) couldn’t have gotten any worse time.

“At this point, we’re still just months after Gibbs lost his wife and child. Even though those feelings are creeping in, he’s probably silencing them and feeling like he shouldn’t have those feelings,” the actor explained. If his wife and daughter were still alive, he would be with them. It’s only because of their death – their murder – that he blames himself for even being in the position and interacting with the people he’s with.”

NCIS: Origins follows a young Gibbs — a role originates in Mark Harmon — years before the events of NCIS. The new series picks up less than a year after Gibbs’ wife and daughter were killed. In Season 1, Gibbs starts a new job as a special agent at the NIS Camp Pendleton office still dealing with the aftermath to lose his family.

“The chaos that’s probably causing him (is obvious). (This week’s) episode was a good example of that, where you see Gibbs and Lala get physically intimate for the first time and have to work together,” Stowell told Us. “That’s where their bond is made. When you go through experiences with another person — especially ones where you have to overcome a certain endeavor and succeed — it can be a really bonding memory for the two of you. That event can be the catalyst for something more.” “

Despite Gibbs and Lala’s obvious tension, the potential couple is “very aware” of the fact that they are colleagues.

“It wouldn’t be a good idea. Rule 12, we haven’t seen that rule written yet. It might be in (Gibb’s) box, I’m not sure,” Stowell explained of the list Gibbs created for himself. “But he might have had no reason to write that rule if he was already with (his wife) Shannon. So there may be some changes to the rules.”

NCIS fans already know that Rule 12 states that Gibbs “shall never date a colleague.” Stowell doesn’t know if that’s where the story is going, but he has no doubt that Gibbs really cares about Lala.

“Certainly his attraction to Lala has as much to do with who she is as a person as her aesthetic value,” he continued. “He sees something inside her that lights him up.”

Stowell has a lot of thoughts about where NCIS: Origins could go – but he has no inside information.

“In the beginning, the writers’ room let know certain overarching stories that might play out. But what (creators) Gina (Lucita Monreal) and David (J. North) have said from the very beginning is that they wanted to write for us and get to know us and see what works when we film. So I think we inform them about their own characters as we go episode to episode,” he noted. “I don’t have many episodes ahead of me. And we still have crimes to solve and memories to revisit. There will be certain events in the coming episodes that are incredibly important to the story of NCIS and to the story of Gibbs that I’m very excited to share with fans of the show.”

Stowell could not contain his love for opportunity to star on NCIS: Originsshare, “Having NCIS the universe continues to grow and to be a part of this canon now is truly amazing. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of. I just didn’t expect to love it as much as I do. And believe me, I love all the characters I play. It has only become so important to me because I can feel how important it is to other people. I like that people can look at Gibbs and say, “That’s a real person.”

He added: “The fact that I’m playing a character who’s dealing with her own mental health issues – something that’s very near and dear to my heart – and how to overcome those issues or certainly how to face them. There’s reason after reason for me to love this and to feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I feel like this was meant to be.”

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While reflecting on the show, which received a full season order, Stowell credited the entire cast and crew for NCIS: Origins‘ ongoing success.

“That’s what I think makes our show so special and that’s what drew me to it in the first place. It all starts with our roadmap—these scripts and this incredible writing—that we’ve gotten from David and Gina, who were writer in the program at NCIS for 20 years, he says. “They’re taking arguably the biggest risk out of all of us because we’re all probies. The whole cast is probies. But (the creators) were the ones who came from the mothership, who had a responsibility to tell a story that the fans would love.”

Stowell was immensely proud of the effect it had NCIS: Origins have hadadding, “The fact that David and Gina went out of their way to do and create what I believe is a network-changing story, I can’t thank them enough for that. Personally, this is a character that I jump out of bed to play morning. I’m very honored to be named Gibbs. I didn’t think it would mean so much to me. I’ve grown so much as a person in the past five months biggest fan now. It’s a dream job.”

NCIS: Origins airs on CBS Mondays at 10:00 PM ET and is currently streaming on Paramount+.