I was inspired by the song This Is Christmas by Kurt Smith
DISCLAIMER: I do not, nor ever will own NCIS
Anthony DiNozzo sat at his desk, looking glum. Well, he himself wasn't looking glum, but he was looking at someone who was obviously down in the dumps. Timothy McGee sat at his desk, with his head resting on his hand. He hadn't spoken a word all day. He clearly wasn't focusing on his work, as it took him twice as look to complete his usual nerdy computer hacking thingies.
Despite much inquirement from Abby and Ziva, the reason as to why McGee was so sad was still a mystery. Had he know that McGee was sad, Tony wouldn't have arrived to the Navy Yard early to put super glue on Tim's keyboard.
Just thinking about the prank brought about a pang of guilt that tugged at Tony's gut.
He remembered arriving at the Navy Yard early. He was so excited because The Hobby Lobby had started stocking the kind of super glue that dried slowly but stuck like none other when you touched it. He hadn't been able to super glue Timmy's keyboard since Robert's Craft Store had stopped selling it. (Tony suspected that Gibbs had something to do with it.)
Tony remembered how he sat at his desk and waited for the Probie to arrive for what felt like hours. But when McGee walked in…
Tim had such a sad look on his face. It was a solemn look. He didn't look up at Ziva or Tony once. Just stared at the floor with soulless, heartbroken eyes. Tony knew McGee must be sad, but he didn't warn him about the super glue. Tony didn't know why he didn't tell McGee. Perhaps he was just too excited. But whatever it was, Tony felt horrible about not telling him.
When McGee's fingers stuck to the keyboard, he didn't say anything. He didn't complain, he didn't make any comment about it. He just looked sad. Even more so than before. He was totally silent as he pried the glue off of his fingers.
Watching Tim like that made Tony feel sick to his stomach. He was so racked with guilt, he couldn't even bring himself to apologize.
Even now, Tim was just as sad. Abby was worried sick. She called Tony and Ziva down to her lab every five minuets or so to see if they knew anything. Even Gibbs was worried. Although he didn't show it, Tony knew. Gibbs loved all of his 'padawans' so to speak. And just because he didn't show it, didn't mean that he didn't care about them.
Tony watched poor McGee, trying to find a tell or something that might give him a hint as to what might of happened the previous night. So when Abby called McGee down to her lab, Tony took the initiative and searched through McGee's desk.
After much inquiry from Ziva, Tony found a calendar. Rifling through it, he found what he was looking for.
Camille.
The girl McGee met at the coffee shop three days before! They went on a date last night! He took her to some restaurant of some kind. Tony didn't have the attention span to listen to all of the details the day before.
Suddenly, Tony fit two and two together. He figured out what must have happened. Oh poor McGee! She must have went to the bathroom, and never came back. This had happened to Tony many times, and that was the worst rejection of all. Oh, poor McGee! No wonder he was so sad…
Half an hour later, McGee came back upstairs and sat down at his desk. Tony looked up and walked over to his partner, squatting beside him.
"Hey," Tony said quietly.
McGee didn't respond. He didn't even take his eyes off of the computer to look at him. He must have still been hurting inside because of the super glue.
Tony looked down, feeling guilty. "About this morning, with the super glue, I'm sorry. That was really immature and inappropriate of me to pull a stunt like that, and I'm sorry,"
McGee, again didn't respond or bother to look at Tony, but he lowered his head a little, as though accepting Tony's apology.
Seeing that McGee wasn't going to answer, Tony continued. "And about that girl, Camille… Look. I don't know what happened exactly, but from the looks of it, I'd say that she went to the restroom, and never came back,"
McGee looked down at the floor, confirming Tony's suspicion,.
"Hey, look man. I'm really sorry about what she did. I feel your pain. But you know, there's a lot of fish in the sea. And for a girl to be on a date with a guy like you, and does something like that, it just means that she's stupid. And doesn't see a great guy even when he's sitting across from her at a table. Either that, or she has stomach problems. And she's still in the bathroom," Tony said.
McGee cracked a smile but still kept his gaze to the floor.
Tony patted/ slapped McGee on the back. "So uh… I'm glad we had this… talk," He said awkwardly and went back to his desk.
After five minutes or so of typing, McGee turned to face Tony. "Tony, about what you said earlier, it means a lot," He smiled.
"What, about the girl?" Tony asked.
"No, about the super glue. But what you said about Camille, it means a lot too. Even more, actually. Thanks, Tony,"
"Anytime, Probie," Tony said standing up.
"Where are you going?" McGee asked, frowning.
"Abby's lab,"