The (Wow-She-Writes-Sometimes) Author's Note

So this is an idea I came up with ages ago after watching 'Silver War'. I absolutely adore the scene where the guys experience Ziva's driving for the first time, and I honestly think from their expressions that they had never been so terrified in their lives. So I decided to take it from McGee's point of view and some of the stuff he'd been through. This has been a work in progress for a long time, so hopefully someone out there likes it. It was left in my unfinished fic file for while because I dread uploading things! Spoilers for the following episodes at least - Chained, SWAK, Twilight, Kill Ari Part I, Kill Ari Part II, Silver War.

Summary: Timothy McGee had felt fear in his life. But nothing like this. Nothing even compared to this. He knew this wasn't what some people would call, an 'irrational fear'. It was justified.

Disclaimer: Don't own NCIS, McGee, or any of that jazz.

A Different Type Of Fear

Timothy McGee had felt fear in his life. But nothing like this. Nothing even compared to this. He knew this wasn't what some people would call, an 'irrational fear'. It was justified. When he saw Tony with a terrified expression next to him, yelling at the top of his lungs, he knew this type of fear was justified.

But different. He'd never felt any fear like this before.

It wasn't like being shot at. Not at all. And not too long ago Tim had been hiding alongside a car to stop that damn drone from flying, when a terrorist from the warehouse took a shot at him (than again, if it wasn't for that terrorist than Ari might've had a different target to Kate that day, as Tony quickly pointed out).

"We're NCIS Special Agents McGee - there's a chance one of us might die every time we walk through the door."

The fear he was feeling was different to that he felt when he saw Tony slowly walk towards him later that day, his face splattered with crimson red blood. That dread as Tony tried to calmly explain that the blood on his face was not in fact his own, but Kate's. That Kate had taken two bullets; one fatal.

"Not at all Probie. In fact a little mortuary putty here and she'll be good as new… course she was having a bad hair day. Right about here? Because a full metal jacket will put a hole the size of a grapefruit right about there!"

The fear going through McGee's system at the moment was not the same as that he felt when he was afraid of seeing Kate's body either. The anxiousness of seeing his colleague lying on one of Ducky's metallic tables in the morgue, with only one thin sheet to cover her modesty. Seeing the neat, hole in her forehead, and the mess that had become of the back of her head.

'It could be Small pox, Bubonic plague, cholera . . . Foot powder, face powder, talcum powder…"

The fear he felt now was different to that dread he felt while he awaited to see what substance DiNozzo had possibly managed to almost infect all of NCIS with. In his nervous state, McGee had been able to think of plenty of examples.

"The blood tests came back negative."

"Sweet."

"Not for DiNozzo."

Of course, the tests had cleared everyone but Tony, who had only succeeded in giving himself pneumonic plague. McGee hadn't seen Tony during the worst of it, but he had seen him afterwards - pale, sickly, quiet. It had been extremely unnerving, but not as hard as hearing that someone had actually been infected - with something that killed people in the Dark Ages.

"We have an undercover agent who is missing, he's risking his life."

That was the second time in a manner of weeks that Tony had managed to make McGee… worry about him. Not that he'd ever say that to Tony's face, but when he had vanished while undercover with Jeffrey White... He had panicked. He did feel like he'd miss Tony. As much as Tony annoyed him, he knew that Tony did care about him and vice versa.

"You're getting in the way."

And of course there was that same day, how petrified McGee was when he had to talk to the Deputy Secretary of the United States. Even more so when Gibbs told him that he had to tell her to 'stick it'. Did Gibbs realise who he was talking to? Where would McGee manage to get the courage to do that?

"Stick it! Thank you Ms Deputy Secretary of State our conversation is now over."

But he had the courage. He did do it. And the action earned him numerous things. It had earned him a round of applause from all the technicians in MTAC, a formal complaint to the director from the Deputy Secretary of State but most importantly, a 'good job' from Gibbs.

No, those fine examples of anxiousness and dread was not the same as this full blown fear.

Looking back momentarily, Tim knew where he went wrong. Ziva had began teasing Tony about his intense dislike of the Civil War, and McGee had opened his big mouth and let slip it was because of DiNozzo senior. He knew Tony was going to get him back for that. Family was a touchy subject for the senior field agent. But than not long after, McGee made an even bigger mistake, one that made the already bad situation even worse.

"What about you? Your father, Deputy Director David what's he like?"

As soon as Tim mentioned Ziva's father, things got out of hand. The speedometer rose, and so did the fear.

It was a different type of fear, one he'd never felt before. McGee was genuinely terrified for his life. The blaring car horns, tires squealing and Tony's matching screams told Tim that his fear was indeed well placed. Not even Gibbs' driving could top this. But once the terrifying journey came to an end, the fear became something else.

"How about this: slow down or I'll puke on you."

McGee had never seen Tony vomit before. Not at any crime scene (a boast McGee himself couldn't make) or not even when Gibbs drove. But amazingly, Tony's promise to Ziva for her to slow down or he'd puke on her was half fulfilled. Tony did eject the rest of his lunch. Tim just happened to be the one unlucky enough to be in the way. And to make matters worse, when Tony decided he should drive, McGee got the honour of sitting in the seat previously occupied by Tony, but still occupied by his stomach contents.

Yay? Nay? My first post since St. Patrick's Day! (Hey that rhymes!) I felt the quotes were a nice touch, and tried to keep them as close as I could. My first McGee-centered piece, hope I didn't go too astray! My next piece is titled 'The After Effects' and will be, like my first NCIS fic, plague centred! Oh and I don't ever recall Tony vomitting other than that scene but if I'm incorrect - it's just a technicality. If you haven't seen the clip that inspired this fic, search 'A Ziva Driving Experience' on Youtube.

Until next time,

Little Squirt.