A/N: This is the fifth story in my Road Trip series, and it's quite a bit darker than the others, much more in line with the first one than the stories following it. It's still a Tony and Tim road trip, but the background is darker and anyone reading should be ready for that.

If you're not familiar with the Road Trip series, it began following the season 9 finale with Dearing and so it's slightly AU since I've followed my own story line. It does include Ziva leaving, Tony leaving, and Tim and Delilah being together, but a lot of the details are very different. For instance, Tim and Delilah are married, but they have a son named Tommy (Thomas Allen McGee). At this point, Tim has his own team in the D.C. field office. Tony has his own team in Norfolk after a stint in Bahrain. I do recommend reading the other stories in this series, but you can probably follow with that much.

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own NCIS and the characters aren't mine. No money being made here.

The Loneliest Road
by Enthusiastic Fish

Chapter 1

Tony sat at his desk, staring vacantly at the now-blank monitor. He hadn't moved in a while.

"Tony?"

There had been a face on that monitor for three weeks. Three weeks and a million years.

"Tony, the computer is off."

Now that it was gone, he didn't even know where else to look.

"DiNozzo!"

He looked up and saw the concerned face of Chaz, the case agent at Norfolk.

"Tony, are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure, Chaz. Why?"

"Because you've been staring at nothing for about twenty-five minutes and it's worrying me."

"Have I?"

Chaz hitched one leg up on Tony's desk and looked at him.

"That was a hard case and everyone knows it. You don't have to pretend to throw it off. Your team won't think less of you and you're not fooling anyone anyway."

"I'm not, huh?"

"No."

Tony sighed and stared at the empty screen again.

"His face has been there every waking second and now that he's gone..."

"You should be feeling relieved. He wasn't all that good-looking anyway."

Tony smiled and leaned back.

"He got to me," he admitted. "Milan got to me."

"Then, you should take a vacation. It's not like you don't have the time coming," Chaz said.

"I wasn't the only one working on this," Tony said. "I'm not..."

"That doesn't matter. You were the lead and no one else was staring at him nonstop for three weeks."

Tony started to shake his head, wanting to claim he just needed a day or two when his phone started ringing.

"Just a second, Chaz." He answered. "DiNozzo."

"Tony, it's Delilah."

"Delilah?" Tony asked. "What's up?"

"If I start beating around the bush, you'll wonder why in the world I'm calling you in the middle of the work day. I'll just come right out and ask. If you can't, I understand. We'll figure something else out."

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked, now concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Is there any chance that you could take a vacation and get Tim to go with you?"

"Why? What happened?"

"I don't know, exactly. A couple of weeks ago, there was some case that had him working with Agent Gibbs. He was nervous about it, but something must have gone wrong. He came home from work shaking. He was literally shaking, Tony. I asked him what was wrong, but he insisted nothing was wrong. ...but Director Vance has him on leave and something about the way Tim talked, I think something went really wrong with the case and...and it has to do with Gibbs. I would swear to it, but Tim will not talk about it. Not to me, not to anyone. I even called one of his agents. She doesn't know, either...well, she knows the case, but she said that she wasn't supposed to talk about it. They're keeping the whole thing under wraps. Tony, I'm really worried about him."

"What are you hoping for?"

"A road trip. Tim said before that your road trips were always more than vacations. They were a way for you both to talk about things. Maybe he'll talk if you're there to get him out of the house."

Tony sighed and looked up at Chaz again.

"Well, it just so happens that I've been told I need to take a vacation myself," he said as Chaz grinned.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even think about..."

"No, it's okay. A vacation is a vacation. Give me a day or two, let me see what time I can take and where we might go. You want me to warn Tim that I'm coming?"

"No. He'll say no if you give him time. I think he needs to be shocked out of his funk, just enough to get him out."

"You keep saying get him out of the house. Is he really not leaving at all?"

"He really isn't leaving. He's gone into the backyard with Tommy, but that's it. Not even to the park. He's just inside all day, mostly staring at the wall. I don't dare leave Tommy home with him because he's just so on edge...and yet, not doing anything. Tony, you know the kinds of things Tim's gone through before. This really scares me."

"Okay. It's almost the weekend. That should be enough time to figure something out. I'll be there, Delilah. I promise."

"Thank you, Tony. You have no idea."

"You can make it up to me later. Buy me dinner or something. Change Tommy's name to Tony in appreciation."

Delilah laughed just a little.

"Tim would never forgive me."

"Okay, okay. See you on Saturday or Sunday."

"Thanks. See you."

Tony hung up and looked at Chaz again.

"I guess I'm taking a vacation. Have you heard anything about some case in D.C.? Gibbs and McGee involved?"

Chaz sat back and thought. Every office had the person who just seemed to know everything. Chaz was that person at Norfolk. In fact, Tony had figured that out early on and cultivated a friendship with him, at first just to get in on everything going on, but then, after a while, he figured out why Chaz knew everything. He was the kind of guy who invited confidences. You had told him your deepest secrets before you even realized he'd asked you to do it. Tony had asked him why he was content just being a case agent, and he had just said that he had everything he wanted.

"I know there was something over there, but they were keeping it quiet. I haven't heard more than that."

Meaning that there was nothing more to know. If Chaz didn't know, no one at Norfolk knew. It had to be something big if it was being kept quiet and had two full teams working on it.

"Hmm... Well, I guess that's that. I'll put in the request."

"Where will you go? Some beach or something? Surfing?"

"Nah. We don't do that kind of thing," Tony said, smiling. "We'll go on a road trip. It'll just be figuring out which road to drive on. Something quirky and not normal. Any ideas?"

"Quirky and not normal? A road trip? Like Wall Drug or something?"

"Nope. We've already done Wall Drug. And the Badlands, twice. And Yellowstone. And Alaska was the last one."

"Have you ever gone on U.S.-50?"

"Highway?"

"Yeah. It goes from coast to coast something like 3,000 miles. If you're wanting a road trip, that would be hard to top."

"Anything to see?" Tony asked.

Chaz chuckled. "Yeah, Tony. The entire country. You go through eleven or twelve states and you end up in San Francisco. Probably, there's some stuff that's pretty empty, but you'll be going through the Rockies, Sierra Nevadas, Appalachians, and the Nevada desert. That part's called the Loneliest Road in America."

"Sounds...great," Tony said, doubtfully.

"If you've been to Wall Drug, you don't have any place to criticize," Chaz said. "But really, Tony, if McGee is that bad off, are you sure you want to have a vacation with him? You need a vacation, a real one. Not taking care of someone who's fallen off the deep end."

"Yeah, I know, but McGee's my friend. Heck, he made me an honorary uncle when his kid was born. If he needs help, then, I need to give it. If he'll let me. And maybe even if he doesn't."

Chaz smiled. "So you really are that sappy, huh? And you put on the facade of being this happy-go-lucky guy all the time."

"Why does it have to be one or the other?" Tony asked, smiling back. "You think a person can't be sappy and happy at the same time?"

"You know what I mean, Tony. You're just doing this to get my goat, aren't you."

"No. Chaz, Tim and I have been through a lot. I've been there for him. He's been there for me. If this time, he needs me to be there, then, it's just turn about. Now, I've got to put in my request for leave, see how long they'll give me."

"They'll give whatever you ask to you. I think they're just waiting for you to ask."

"Well, you'd know," Tony said. He turned back to his computer, momentarily dreading seeing Milan's face on the screen...before remembering that he wouldn't be there ever again.

"Just make sure you've got plenty of snacks," Chaz said. "Road trips are no fun without snacks."

"I know that. I'm a road trip expert."

Then, Chaz headed off to work, apparently satisfied that Tony was doing what he thought he should. Tony watched him go and then, he shook his head. Honestly, the prospect of a road trip was more appealing than it probably should be. A chance to get away from work, even if it was because of something serious, was a good thing as far as he was concerned.

It was just a matter of how much time he could finagle. Six thousand miles was quite a lot of driving, and he doubted that the highway would have a 75 mph speed limit. Of course, they could come back on the interstate and shave off some time. Probably, they'd need two weeks. He definitely had personal days he could take, but that would be pushing it, even considering his situation. If Tim was on leave already, he probably had the time.

Well, there was nothing to do but ask. If they couldn't get enough time, all they had to do was just not go as far.

He'd get this done as quickly as he could.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim was sitting on the couch, staring at nothing. His mind kept circulating among fury and fear and grief and regret. He had asked Vance to let him come back to work, but Vance had refused, saying that the investigation wasn't finished and he needed some time off anyway. Two weeks so far.

"Daddy! Outside!"

Tim tried to ignore the churning in his stomach at his son's words. He heard Delilah roll into the room and he knew what she was going to say.

"Tim, could you please take Tommy outside? Please?"

Tommy came running over to him and grabbed his hand.

"Daddy! Outside!"

"Please, Tim?"

"Okay."

Tim stood up and let Tommy drag him out of the house. He blinked in the morning sun and picked up one of the balls that Tommy liked. He could almost catch. He was good enough at throwing that Tim had to watch to keep from getting a ball in the face. Tommy could throw, but he couldn't really aim.

"Catch, Tommy!"

Tommy lifted up his hands, ready to catch. Tim tossed the ball to him gently. Typically, the ball fell through his hands to the grass, but he picked it up and eagerly threw it back. Tim caught it and smiled as Tommy started clapping.

"Okay, Tommy. Let's count."

Tommy laughed and copied Tim as he counted.

"One. Two... Three!"

Tim tossed the ball back to Tommy who dropped it to the grass again.

"Yea!"

Tim heard the doorbell and considered going inside to save Delilah the trouble of answering it, but then, he decided against it, choosing to focus on his son. He didn't want to see anyone. He barely wanted to see his own family right now, so any other visitor wasn't welcome as far as he was concerned.

It all reminded him of...

He looked down and realized that he was clenching his hands into fists.

Then, suddenly, a ball hit him in the face. He jumped and looked at Tommy who laughed and flung his hands up in the air.

"Yea!"

"Tommy, you're supposed to warn me," Tim said, feeling the churning calm down a little in the face of his son's glee. He could even smile.

Tommy ran over to him and patted his face.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yes, that's better. Thank you, Tommy."

Tommy gave Tim his trademark slobbery kiss and then picked up the ball and ran back. This time, Tim was ready when the ball came flying at him and he caught it.

"Hey, Tommy! Nice throw!"

The unexpected voice startled Tim and he turned around just as Tommy made a beeline for the door.

"Tony! Tony!" he shouted.

"Tony," Tim said, in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting," Tony said. "Hey, Tommy. I could use a big hug."

Tony picked Tommy up and got a tight hug. Tommy grunted with the effort of hugging Tony as hard as he could. Then, Tony put him down and looked at Tim.

"Visiting?" Tim repeated. "Why?"

"Well, that's not the kind of response I would think for a visit from a beloved friend."

Tim looked behind Tony at Delilah and raised an eyebrow. She looked unrepentant, which told Tim that she had asked Tony to come.

"Well, I'm not really in the mood for visitors, Tony. Feel free to talk to Delilah, though."

He got to his feet and started inside. He didn't get very far. Tony grabbed his arm.

"Don't do this, again, Tim," he said, in a low voice.

The anger that was always churning in his gut boiled over.

"If you're here to speak for Gibbs, don't bother, Tony! I'm not interested in hearing it," he snarled and pulled his arm away. Then, he stalked into the house, not looking at Delilah since he knew she'd be disappointed in his reaction.

He got into the living room and heard Delilah comforting Tommy who was probably upset about his dad being angry. Tim felt bad about that and it calmed the anger down.

"Tim, wait," Tony said from behind him.

Tim stopped, but he didn't turn around.

"I wasn't coming here to talk about Gibbs. I haven't talked to Gibbs in weeks."

"Delilah called you."

"Yeah. She's worried, and so am I if this is how you're acting."

"What do you want?" Tim asked.

"To go on a road trip. I've had a rough few weeks and I need some time off. You're apparently not working. What do you say?"

"I don't want to go anywhere."

"I think Delilah wants you to."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because she's already packed your stuff."

Tim turned around and saw Tony's usual grin. But now, with him focusing a little bit more, Tim could see a shadow in Tony's eyes. He had said things were rough.

"I really don't want to go anywhere, Tony," he said, but his voice was tired and he knew it.

Tony walked over and shook him just a little bit.

"I really think you need to. We both need some time away. If Tommy was a little older, I'd say we could take him with us, but he's a bit young for a road trip. Next time."

"When would we leave?"

"As soon as I can drag you out of the house. All my bags are packed. I'm ready to go," Tony said, almost singing.

Tim raised an eyebrow again.

"Are you serious?"

"Yep."

"Where would we go?"

"Highway 50 all the way across the country. Three thousand miles there and three thousand miles back."

"Six thousand miles? That'll take forever."

"I have two weeks off, and I'm guessing you have plenty of time, too."

Tim grimaced and looked away.

"Not by choice," he said, softly.

"I didn't think so."

"So you're just wanting to reproduce the first time, huh? Me being forced to take time off and you forcing me to go on a road trip."

"As I recall, you needed it last time, too," Tony said, pointedly. "In fact, as I recall, you spent the next five years thanking me for it."

"Maybe I've reconsidered," Tim said, but his heart wasn't in it.

Tony could clearly tell. He smiled.

"Come on, Tim. A road trip is no fun to do alone. I need someone to do half the driving."

"You'll trust me to drive this time?"

"As long as you promise not to kill us."

"I make no promises," Tim said, his stomach starting to churn again.

Tony's smile faded and Tim knew he could tell that he'd inadvertently touched a nerve.

"Please, Tim. Come with me. I don't have any real stops in mind. We'll just stop when we want to until we get to San Francisco. Then, we'll drive back on the interstate which will be faster."

Tim looked back at Delilah who had come into the room, Tommy sitting on her lap. If it was just himself, he would tell Tony to forget it, but it wasn't just him anymore. He had other people in his life. He walked over to Delilah and Tommy and knelt down so that he was at eye level with his son.

"Tommy, did I scare you?"

Tommy nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry. Will you give me a hug?"

Tommy instantly reached out and Tim took him from Delilah and hugged him tightly, feeling the grief anew, the grief that he hated because it always led him back to anger.

"Tommy, I'm going to be gone for a little while. I'll miss you while I'm gone. Okay?"

"Okay," Tommy said.

Tim knew that Tommy probably didn't really understand, but he had to say the words anyway.

"I love you."

"Love you!" Tommy said.

Then, Tim kissed Tommy on the cheek. Tommy gave him another slobbery kiss and Tim set him down. He looked at Delilah and touched her cheek. Then, he stood up and walked by Tony into the bedroom. There was indeed a packed bag sitting on the bed. He opened it up and then pulled out a few extra things to put into the bag.

"Tim?"

He didn't turn around.

"What, Delilah?"

"Please, don't go away mad."

"I'm not mad at you."

"But you are mad."

"I'm sorry, but what I'm angry about isn't going away. It doesn't matter if we drive 3,000 miles or 10,000 miles. That's not going away."

Delilah rolled up close to him and took his hand. She squeezed it tightly.

"Tim, I love you so much. I just want you to be who you are, not this silent stranger living in the house. I'm afraid that I'll lose you to whatever this is."

"Two weeks," Tim said. "I'll see you in two weeks."

"Call me. Every night."

"I will."

Then, Tim walked by her and up to Tony.

"I'm guess I'm ready to go."

"Great! Let's go!"

They left the house.