Unexpected Journey
The television set flickered off with a dimming of color tubes and lights and a sudden silence. Abby and Tony got up from their comfortable sofa cushions and stretched.
Tony set the remote down on the coffee table and started gathering their empty cups and the empty popcorn bowl.
"Wow!" Abby remarked, "I had forgotten some of those parts. This was almost like seeing the movie for the very first time."
Tony smiled his agreement, "Nothing comparable to ET has been created since, and probably will not be in the next several years. You call what we just had the honor of viewing a cinematic masterpiece of epic proportion."
"That was a good suggestion that we watch this one tonight, Tony." Abby commented, generously giving him all the credit for the choice. "I am going to go to sleep thinking about how cute little ET was."
She paused, and then held up a hand. "That's why I like him! Now I understand. ET reminds me of my Timmy."
Tony threw his head back and laughed with delight at that. "You hit the nail on the head. Timmy does look kind of like another creature."
Both began moving towards the stairs, cutting off the living room lamps en route.
Tony motioned to the house's upper level. "Go ahead, Baby Girl. I'll clean up the dishes tonight."
He smiled and she blew him a kiss as she headed for bed.
A minute later, though, she reversed herself and descended a couple of steps. Frowning, she asked worriedly, "Should we be concerned about Gibbs? Shouldn't he be home by now?"
Their boss had left around nine, just as they were settling in to their evening of cinema viewing.
Tony gathered the last of their movie watching dishes and shook his head. "No, you know he said he'd be very late tonight. He and Fornell wanted to get together to join forces for something. He's ok, Baby Girl."
That satisfied Abby, and she went on to her room.
Tony followed a few minutes later, tiptoeing quietly into his own room so as not to disturb Abby, whose own bedroom was across the hall.
He showered before he cut out his lights and crawled into bed, sighing in contentment as he snuggled deeply within the covers.
Sleep had barely overtaken him before a blast of harsh light woke him. Attempting to ignore it he turned groggily in his bed to the opposite side. He covered his head with one of the pillows to block the disturbance. The illumination brightened, though, and intensified, and suddenly his entire room was lit with a pulsing, all consuming glow.
He sat up with irritation then, resigned to the fact that he had obviously slept pretty hard through the night and had managed then to oversleep as a consequence. It must be mid morning by now.
Strangely, Gibbs hadn't come to make him get up, or sent Abby to wake him either.
His boss must be off his game. Maybe he and Fornell had stayed out later than usual.
Rubbing his eyes and yawning, he realized that a slight humming vibrated through the room and he looked around in confusion to pinpoint its source. In the corner, near the window, Tim McGee studied him, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Noticing that Tony's eyes had opened, Tim moved decisively towards him, and the closer he got the more Tony's bewilderment increased. The visitor certainly looked like Tim- it had Timmy's distinctive face, but in actuality, the body mirrored ET's.
Tony's eyes widened suspiciously. Though Tim certainly had never resembled a body builder, he certainly did not possess such a skinny torso or pathetically skinny arms.
Who was this? Was it Tim, or ET, or someone or something else entirely?
Tony scrambled to prop himself against the headboard, alert to the fact that he needed to have his wits about him.
Probie noticed his wariness, and witnessing Tony's alarm increasing by the second, he moved to stem it with reassurance. Reaching out a hand in a calming gesture, he spoke softly. "Don't panic, Tony. I'm going to explain everything to you in just a couple of minutes."
He raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders as a sign that he desired some type of acknowledgement, and Tony nodded, "Ok, I got it."
Then realizing that McGee would think he had frightened him, he quickly attempted to recover and set the record straight. After all, he did have a tough guy reputation to protect.
"I don't panic! You, on the other hand, conduct yourself with paranoia, vulnerable to a host of fears, McTimid."
McGee smiled broadly, his tone reminiscent of a parent with a toddler. "Good, then, Brave One- now you need to get dressed, though. Abby's already on the ship and we need you to hurry. We don't have that much time before Boss returns from Fornell's."
Tony didn't ask for details right then, but got up and quickly pulled on jeans and a sweater. "Let me run to the restroom a second and brush my teeth," he spoke as he grabbed shoes and disappeared into the hall. The excuse of brushing his teeth gave him a couple of minutes to get his thoughts into some semblance of order.
Returning within a couple of minutes, he walked hurriedly across the room to join his teammate, who stood beside the window.
"Are you ready now?" McGee asked solicitously.
"Yeah, I guess I am," Tony responded. "Where are we going, though, Tim?"
"No questions right now, Tony, ok? All will be explained to you soon." McGee's voice was firm, and Tony reached out to touch him.
McGee seemed to understand. "You want to know why I look like an extra terrestrial." Taking Tony's right hand, he placed it upon his own left shoulder. "I can assure you that this is real- my real body. I am real and standing beside you."
Tony snatched back his hand and then chided himself for his own rudeness. He smiled shyly. "Sorry-"
Tim nodded, then motioned towards the window. "We are going out that way, through the opening."
Tony started to follow, then questioned nervously, "You said Abby's out there all ready?"
"Yep-"
"Ok, but what about Boss?"
Tim sighed impatiently, "Tony, quit being such a scaredy cat. You will join Abby in two minutes. As for Gibbs, well, you know that sometimes we have to keep secrets from him, for our own survival and best interests. Come on, and I will look after you, I promise."
Tony bristled at that, "You, McBaby? I don't think so! I have spent years protecting you and watching out for you, not the opposite- not the other way around, with you looking out for me."
"Ok, ok, it doesn't even matter in the circumstances. Are you with us on the quest, or not? Decide quickly."
Tony turned a triumphant gaze his way, then gingerly stepped through his window.
Instantly the noise increased to a rock concert level and Tony felt himself begin to spin, though his body did not go topsy turvy at all. He closed his eyes for a few seconds to gain control over his equilibrium, and waited until the noise stopped and silence engulfed him before opening his eyes.
"What is this?" he whispered, trying to orient himself in the strange surroundings, trying to make sense of what he saw.
Definitely he stood in the control cabin of some type of transport.
"This, Tony Dinozzo, is my spacecraft," McGee answered in the tone one would use to teach a new concept to a school child. "Take a seat, please."
Tony managed another stunned look around, then swallowed and sat quietly, gazing from one focal point to another.
With some relief, then trepidation, he discovered that Abby sat across from him in an overstuffed chair which matched his own.
Could she be in danger?
Was he in danger?
Would their very own McGee cause harm to them in some way?
Tony shuddered and focused upon the probie agent. Tim sat in a seat evidently reserved for the captain, the driver, and had his hands on the steering control as he peered through the windscreen into the blackness beyond.
Abby spoke at last, her voice high and excited, "Thanks for finally allowing me to indulge in my fantasy space journey, Timmy! I am in awe. How long will the excursion take?"
That caused alarm bells for Tony. "Wait, what excursion is this? We don't need to go anywhere except back inside. Boss will slap us senseless for disappearing on a spacecraft! There won't be enough words among the three of us to save ourselves from his wrath."
Tim turned from the controls and removed his headset, allowing it to rest against the nape of his neck. He smiled indulgently, "Inside where?"
"Our house- I mean Boss's house. He will freak if he finds we have disappeared. Plus, he expects me to watch out for Baby Girl and not let her get hurt."
"Perhaps, but I can not possibly just jettison you out at the moment. Look around you- we have sailed past the Milky Way."
Abby's eyes widened and she clapped eagerly, "Wow! I did not realize we had begun to travel. This is so wonderful! Look out there- I do not see anything except stars."
"As it should be," Tim reassured, turning to gaze out of the front windshield and replacing the headphones.
Abby and Tony looked questioningly at each other. He raised his eyebrows, and she giggled.
Tony didn't disguise his suspicion, "Did you set us up for this?"
She smirked, "Kinda sorta, I guess."
"What does kinda sorta mean?" he demanded, mimicking her voice.
"Ok, I told Timmy I wanted to find out his MOAS, his Mother of all Secrets. Actually, I started trying to guess it the very first day that I met him. Remember how mysterious he appeared?"
"I do not. Timmy does not make a lasting first impression on anyone. I remember him as naïve and gullible, but mysterious? I don't think so," Tony grumbled.
"What about Deep Six? He hit us broadside with that one. Even Gibbs didn't know that Tim had authored a novel and had gotten it published," Abby pointed out.
"What does this have to do with the book?" Tony leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. "Say? How does the book tie into this?"
"It doesn't," Abby responded. "I just meant to remind you that our Timmy comes to us in multiple, complex layers."
The captain interrupted their analysis of him, swiveling in his seat to point towards the right side of the spaceship, "Focus over there, now, because we have passed Saturn and skirted Neptune. Look quickly and you will see those famous planetary rings from a distance. I get a thrill myself every time I pass them."
Abby and Tony followed the command, and both stared transfixed at the world outside of their enclosure. Nothing could prepare or hint at how this universe actually appeared when encountered.
They drank in the sight, trying to memorize all of the nuances of the beautiful scene.
Tim turned back to the controls, made some adjustments, and the ship altered course a bit.
Tony and Abby resumed their conversation.
"Why does Timmy have a body like E. T.'s?" Abby asked in a whisper, pulling gently on one of her pigtails and then twirling it around a finger.
"How would I know the answer to that, Abby?" Tony hissed in reply. "You are the McGee expert. You tell me."
"Hmmm…" Abby studied her friend's back. "I guess I will ask him later."
With that, both settled back against their luxurious cabin chairs, moving until they were seated comfortably. The arms of each one held controls to activate either a massage, soothing heat, calming chilled air, or gentle tickling applications for the occupants.
Tony persisted, "You still didn't tell me how you arranged this, Baby Girl."
"Actually, I can not take credit for booking this tour. You remember when you stayed back to finish cleaning the kitchen after the video finished?"
Tony nodded. "I do."
"Well, when I got upstairs I took my shower, and just as I settled into the bed, there was a really loud knock on my door. I thought you had finished cleaning and wanted to say good night, but it was my Timmy. He motioned for me to follow him, and he led us right through your room and out your window. I had actually just gotten seated when he appeared again with you."
Abby had chosen the heat feature for her chair and drew her knees up in her seat and wrapped her arms around her legs. She rested her chin on her knees and regarded Tony thoughtfully.
"Ok," Tony answered, satisfied with the explanation. He too, rearranged himself, working the controls and leaning into the chair's massage.
Before they could begin another conversation, Tim stood up and removed his headphones. He walked back over to both of them and grinned broadly. "What can I get you?"
Tony laughed uneasily, and Abby attempted a smile.
Neither answered, suddenly a bit wary of this unfamiliar Timmy McGee.
Tim instantly sobered. "Hey, you have nothing to concern you. You should know me well enough now to realize I will never harm you."
Abby glanced around nervously, "Uhm….Timmy, I don't mean to be a backseat driver, but don't you need to get back to driving the ship?"
Tim nodded thoughtfully, "It's quite all right, Abby. I put it on auto pilot, so it's actually fine. I wanted to have a chance to visit with you two. It's not any fun having guests if I don't get to socialize when you are with me."
With that, he took a seat across from them and leaned his head against the chair's back as he swiveled gently from side to side.
His passengers attempted to mask their nervousness and glanced at each other for reassurance.
Abby frowned as she suddenly thought about what Gibbs would say if he discovered that the three of them had been gallivanting all over space.
Tony seemed to have read her mind, because he frowned and glanced out the window, craning his head to find Earth in the middle of the galaxy.
"Ok," Tim directed, taking charge of the conversation the way he had taken charge of the journey and their participation in it. "You probably want to fit together the puzzle pieces. That, I understand, knowing that I am in the company of a top notch special agent and a gifted forensic scientist."
He ended with a chuckle, hoping to ease their concern.
"Are you a good guy or a bad guy?" Abby spoke tremulously.
Before McGee could formulate a response, Tony added, "Tim, are you a man, or are you an alien?"
An uncomfortable silence followed, and all three shifted nervously in their seats.
Tony tried to elaborate. "I mean, or I guess, we just need to know who our partner teammate has honestly been for the last few years. Right? That is a reasonable concern for us."
Tim nodded thoughtfully and rubbed his chin. "Right, of course you do, and you deserve an explanation from me, yes."
Tony and Abby waited expectantly, but the pause stretched to a point where it reached the unbearable level. Tim obviously did not know quite how to proceed with a reasonable explanation which would satisfy his friends.
Abby spoke next, softly addressing him. "Does Gibbs know, Timmy?"
"Know what?" McGee attempted to produce a huge grin, but it fell short. He looked self conscious, instead.
"I am asking if he knows that you are not Timmy McGee, the probie baby he hired."
"He's still that," Tony corrected with a smirk. "He will always be the itty bitty baby probie at NCIS."
McGee rolled his eyes as Abby giggled, and that broke through some of their self conscious musing. A bit of the awkwardness among them vanished.