Physical Scars, Emotional Scars
Author: Lawral
Pairing: McGee/Abby
Rating: FR15
Summary: Abby notices scars covering McGee's body and questions their origin.
Spoilers: Season 9
Notes: Taken from 2011 WEE unused prompts. Original prompt given by dreamsweetmydear.

Three months had passed since she'd come to him, not that he was keeping count. McGee wasn't even sure how it had happened. He'd gone down to do some work on Abby's spare computer after growing tired of listening to Tony and Ziva bickering over Ray's proposal. Why was it so important to Tony that Ziva accept the ring offered to her?

The pair had been working quietly side-by-side when Abby had suddenly turned and asked him to dinner. That was how it had all started- well, restarted- between the two. Abby was certain that Gibbs knew of their renewed relationship but McGee was to nervous to ask for a confirmation from their boss. That was the moment that he'd discovered the compromise on his Rule # Gibbs didn't ask about him and Abby, it wasn't technically lying, right? At least that's what he told himself.

Now here they were, laying in Tim's bed with the sheet wrapped around her naked chest as she lay next to him softly running her fingertips over his heated flesh. His heart still recovering from their escapade as she kept constant contact. They'd been together before and she'd seen him shirtless a few times but tonight she found something she'd never noticed before. The faint white lines that lay across his chest and upper arms were visible; the small, circular scars on his thighs were rough when she'd first felt them; the look in his eyes when she'd noticed the abnormalities in his form nearly broke her heart.

"Timmy?"

"Hm?" He said softly, looking down into her bright green eyes.

She traced his scars carefully, gently with her fingertips. "Tell me about these."

Her request had come so gingerly yet it still made his insides tense from the sudden flash of memories that filled his mind. Very few people knew about the origin of his scars; he never spoke of them, not even with Sarah. He was 16 when she finally vocalized an inquiry about the lines across his slightly tan skin one summer. It had upset him greatly and Tim had left his parents to explain; of course, the rest of that day was a total blank due to the car accident he'd gotten into only a few miles from home.

Tim sighed. "You won't like it."

Abby continued to run her fingertips over the slightly raised skin and looked down as if memorizing the location of every single imperfection. Tim trusted Abby; if he asked her not to mention what he would tell her to anyone, he was sure she would oblige. However, to explain would require recalling everything and that was the worst part. Tim had given up trying to forget the past long ago, it was forever a part of him.

"There is a reason why Sarah is so much younger than me." Tim started. "She doesn't even remember being an only child."

Abby's fingers stopped and she locked eyes with him. Questions suddenly exploded within her mind and it took every ounce of resistance to keep quiet, to allow him to finish his story.

"Tricia died when I was born, complications or something. Her father, Tim, took care of me until I was three or so. After cancer took him, I was given to Michael. Mike and Tricia were high school sweethearts but their relationship was rocky. He had abusive tendencies and was possessive." Tim sighed as his own memories began to emerge. "I wouldn't say he was the best person to raise a child. By the time I started school, the mental abuse was so great that I barely spoke, never made eye contact and my self-esteem was zero. I was so far behind that the other kids made fun of me."

Tears were already shining in Abby's eyes as she listened to his words and continued to softly stroke the pale lines. She could almost see the abuse her Timmy must have endured. Some of it was still left over: he was still shy around people he didn't know so well and the only time he felt superior was when it came to computers.

"Mike then took to physically beating me. It never really took much to tempt his temper. The first time he hit me it was because I had cut through the neighbor's yard from the bus stop. It was always worse when he was drinking; he would hit, punch and kick me for laughs then."

"Oh, Timmy," Abby squeaked in a soft whisper.

Tim looked down to her hand and how he was, at present, gliding down a rather long scar that spread across his chest in a downward diagonal. That was the savor scar, the one that finally saved him from the man that shared his DNA.

"That one, that's the one that saved me." Tim set his fingers next to hers, running his fingers across it by memory. "I was almost nine-years-old. Mike had been out of a job for six months and was spending his whole days drinking, when he wasn't beating me or his new girlfriend. I had come home from school and they were fighting. She was tired of his drinking and how he treated her and was also suspicious of the bruises she'd seen on me."

"She knew? And didn't say anything?"

"Mike was a controlling abuser. He went nuts when she accused him of abusing me," Tim sighed heavily. "Long story short- she was killed, Mike was executed and I was adopted by my parents."

"But what did he do?" Abby asked tentatively.

"I heard the police tell the doctors that she'd been stabbed fourteen times. He came after me, sliced my chest, before I locked myself in the basement. When he couldn't get to me, he tried lighting the place on fire. Firemen found me after a neighbor kid told them that I lived there too."

"Oh my gosh," Abby said. "Tim, I'm so sorry about what your dad did to you."

"He wasn't my dad," Tim instantly corrected. "My father is Admiral McGee. It took years of counseling and lots of work on their part to earn my trust but they understood completely. He may have been strict but it was a structure that I needed. I learned obedience and love. They got me into scouts to build my confidence and figured out that I was really good with electronics after they had to buy a third alarm clock." Tim chuckled softly. "The day I officially became Timothy McGee was the greatest day since Tim was alive. They dropped the middle name of Michael and I became their son."

"They gained a terrific son." Abby smiled.

"No, I gained a great family." Tim said before lightly kissing her cheek. "Two great families."