A/N: It might be clear from last year that I'm not much of a fan of Valentine's Day. And my broken arm isn't helping matters.

Forget Me Not

Timothy McGee did not always enjoy Valentine's Day.

A day for couples to show off. Given his usual single status in February, it only made him depressed. Especially watching Tony prance around like he was God's gift to womankind from January onwards. Thankfully their fearless leader always had something to say – or rather do – about this form of behavior.

When he was seeing someone, he understood the joy of the day. A special day to remind a certain someone that he cared deeply. Ever the gentleman, flowers and chocolates sprung forth from his wallet, not to mention the obligatory candle-lit restaurant in the back end of beyond.

He wasn't entirely sure what his teammates did on this of all days, with the definite exception of DiNozzo who told everyone, including the night janitor, the most intimate details. Gibbs simply didn't talk full stop. Whether he was seeing someone or not was up to speculation. Ziva, meanwhile, preferred to act all coy and say nothing, teasing her partner with her silence.

And Abby. She shared her happiness with the world, keeping certain details to herself but making sure that she showed everyone she loved them as well. She bought gifts for everyone; Tim had already seen the small pile of chocolates she had smuggled into her lab over the past week. He may have stolen a few…

Not that she minded. Their relationship had been going from strength to strength for a long time, despite their desire to keep it quiet to prevent Gibbs coming after him with a baseball bat. Abby wanted to break the news to him gently – in her words, "When Mommy's standing right next to him, he's in a good mood, and Mommy and I can tackle him to the floor to stop him from killing you if he takes it badly."

On the other side of the coin – or possibly squad room – Tony and Ziva had finally realized they were perfect for each other and acted on it. For some strange reason, Gibbs was only glaring at their antics and not scrawling Rule 12 onto every surface in a five mile radius. Tony reckoned it was because el jefe was afraid of Ziva's assassin skills, while Abby had merely smiled and whispered to Tim that it was a good sign that Daddy was back with Mommy.

Tim was caught in the middle. Tony liked to show off and was very open, while Ziva made sure he somewhat behaved himself. And he could put up with a lot, but not Gibbs declaring war on his teammates. Perhaps Abby was wrong about Gibbs' love life; perhaps the Director had ordered him to put up with Tony and Ziva for the sake of the agency.

"Good morning, McGoo!"

Tony's cheerful greeting jolted Tim out of his thoughts, but he decided to be polite. After all, today was Valentine's Day and everything was running smoothly so far.

"Good morning, Tony," he replied. "Having a nice day?"

Tony's grin grew wider. "And why would I not be? The sun is shining, my ninja chick is caught in traffic somewhere and Leroy Jethro Gibbs is not around to witness how late I am."

"Don't forget Valentine's Day," Tim pointed out.

Tony froze.

"I've already given Abby her black roses," the younger agent added. "Don't tell me you forgot."

"It's the thirteenth today," Tony whispered desperately.

"Nope, definitely not."

"Stop messing me around," Tony pleaded.

Tim simply raised an eyebrow.

"You're kidding me!" Tony cried towards the heavens. "How could I forget? I haven't got Ziva a –"

"Have not got me a what?" Ziva inquired, appearing out of nowhere and dropping her rucksack onto her desk.

Tony paled. "It's the thirteenth," he tried.

Ziva glared at him. "You forgot?" she began.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs had not enjoyed Valentine's Day for close to twenty years. With the exception of a memorable few years in Europe, he generally ignored the date.

Once, a lifetime ago, it had meant something to him. A lot to him. In Europe, with the only person ever to mend his broken heart, he had found himself enjoying traditions long since abandoned. But stateside, with a parade of women who had meant nothing to him, the date had passed by often without him realizing.

There was no chance of that this year. Not when his old partner would kick him out of her bed if he forgot.

And so he had snuck into Jenny's office early in the morning to leave a small stuffed hippo on her desk. Abby had performed her magic and made the poor thing fart. He knew Jenny had been eyeing Bert for a while and this was the best way to avoid a hippo-napping.

Tapping the side of his coffee cup as he waited for the elevator to get a move on, he wondered how long it would take his team to work out just how relaxed he had been for the past few months. Tony and Ziva were still too scared that he would separate them to pay much attention. McGee was dealing with a few deadlines and probably ruing the day he'd first put pen to paper. Only Abby, his favorite, his most perceptive, had figured it out despite his lack of confirmation. And they had an unspoken understanding – she wouldn't spread the news everywhere and he wouldn't kill McGee.

Not that he would in the first place, but Abby was nervous and wanted reassurance. Now if McGee was ever stupid enough to hurt her…

The elevator finally jolted to a halt. Deciding to ask Jenny to get the engineer to look at the metal cage, showing possible signs of abuse due to his emergency stop habit, he stepped off and into Abby's lab.

The quiet of the elevator contrasted with the heavy beat pounding inside the Goth's domain. Ignoring her, he stalked over to the CD player and switched it off.

"Hey!" she protested immediately.

He walked back over to her side, handed over the precious Caff-Pow and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day, Abs."

Her face lit up. Pulling him into one of her trademark hugs, she proceeded to squeeze the life out of him.

He let her, aware this day was special and not willing to break her heart by asking her to ease up.

Eventually she let go, returned the kiss to his cheek and sipped on her beverage. "I have no evidence for you, my silver-haired fox," she informed him. "But you don't have a case either so I guess we're good. Did Mommy enjoy Baby Bert?"

He smiled, not willing to tell her anything and yet not willing to lie to her either. He was fairly sure his gift had put him back in her good books after an argument with the FBI the previous day.

"Someone didn't forget today," she beamed. Spotting the dangerous look on his face, she clarified her previous statement. "McGee got me roses so don't kill him."

"Who?" he asked, still not completely happy.

"Tony," she grinned.

He grinned back at her. "Ziva?"

"Tony may have met with an unfortunate fatal accident not long after mentioning this to Ms David," Abby admitted. "I'm busy destroying all the forensic evidence."

He grinned, sipped his coffee and headed for the elevator. He would have to make sure he didn't end up with a case while Abby worked. At least he remembered the date…