If someone had told me ten years ago that I would count an egghead computer geek among my friends, I'd have said they were full of it, that they obviously didn't know me. It's not that I'm a snob or anything, I just had never wanted to keep company with anyone other than guys like me; jocks and frat boys and the such. If I were being honest with myself, I'd say that part of it is that I don't like being outdone and that being around braniacs can often times make me feel inferior. But I prefer not to be honest with myself, so I'll just say I didn't want to tarnish my image with the ladies by befriending people of the geekish nature.
Then I met McGee.
I still remember arriving at that crime scene and seeing the kid. He was obviously a newbie, someone who'd never actually experience that sort of thing before (not that I'd seen too many bodies shoved into barrels of acid and almost completely eroded). I'd done my duty as a full-fledged senior agent; tricking him into staying all night, poking fun at him, making sure he knew his place on the totem pole. His getting that tat on his ass surprised me, admittedly; I hadn't though he had the guts. But I guess that's one thing you can really say about McGee. When he wants something, he does whatever it takes to get it.
Growing up, I never had any siblings to keep me company. I didn't even have any close cousins. I was always jealous when I saw my friends' little brothers trailing behind us, begging us to take them along, to include them. Those guys took it for granted, but I wanted nothing more than to have a younger brother who would look up to me that way (while I, of course, teased him mercilessly and pretended I didn't want anything to do with him).
So I took the kid under my wing. Oh sure, from the outside it may not look like it, but imagine if we were about twenty years younger. It'd look like nothing more than a typical big brother-little brother relationship, right? I mean, amid all of the taunts, the head slaps, and childish pranks, I'm there for him when it really counts. Who else showed up at his apartment that night after her shot Benedict to cheer him up? I confided one of my most embarrassing secrets in him, something that no one else at NCIS knows, not even Gibbs. And all for the sake of being a good friend.
I'm not perfect; I don't pretend to be. I admit I sometimes take the kid for granted, sometimes take things too far, but McGee's never walked away from this friendship (though he's threatened to a few times), so he obviously doesn't mind it too much. Because I bring something to the plate too; I showed him the ropes, I protected him when he needed it, and I pushed him to become the best agent he could (though some may not have appreciated my methods). If I hadn't cared about him at all, hadn't seen in him even the smallest bit of potential, I wouldn't have even bothered, wouldn't have invested the time and effort into him that I did. I would have just left well enough alone and waited until he inevitably quit or was let go.
Besides, McGee's good for things, and I don't just mean when it comes to doing all of that computer stuff, either (though that's probably his best use). He's got a good eye for details, has a great memory, and he did save my life once (not that I wouldn't have climbed over the ledge in that parking garage eventually, of course, but having him get there to help me meant I didn't have to exert as much energy). I'll admit he gives more than he gets. He's also very trusting and very eager to please, two traits I've been known to take advantage of.
Our friendship (if you'd call it that) is a strange one. He's not like my frat brothers, the kind of guy I'd go on Spring Break with or who I'd call on to go clubbing on a slow night. Usually when we hang out after work hours we're with the others—Ziva, Abby, sometimes Ducky and Palmer. It's mostly bar visits and potluck dinners at someone's house. He's not the kind of guy you can grab a few beers with while you watch the game or the kind who's going to swap sexploits with you. He's just the kind of guy who'll grab a cup of coffee with you after a long day and who'll let you vent when you need to.
Maybe it's weird, but I think I like this kind of friendship more.