A/N: Not mine though I wish it were.
There was a day when everyone looks back on their life and decides if they had fulfilled their hopes and dreams. One such day occurred recently for Timothy McGee. He reflected back on his childhood, while not so ideal to many, was one of the best things that happened to him. If it weren't for the fact that he had been pushed to become something, he would not be sitting in this chair today.
He looked back on his career and everything that had happened. He met the people that would become his surrogate family. They watched his back as he watched theirs and they were the closest to him. He was grateful to everyone who had helped him along the way. There was nothing better than a family who appreciated him and encouraged him to do his best.
Tim looked back on the day when he was officially welcomed to the team. The double headslap was almost comforting when he realized he was being accepted onto the team. Of course the teasing from Tony took years to abate. Nothing in this world could change how he felt about his life.
Tim thought back on everyone. Tony and Ziva had married almost fifteen years ago now and they still loved each other just as much as the day they got married. Though it had taken nearly 3 years after they admitted to each other they loved each other to get married. His godson Matt was a handful but it was expected when his father was the forever prankster. Matt's sister Kali was almost the exact opposite. When people first meet her, they usually thought she was a McGee and not a DiNozzo.
Tony himself had mellowed a bit as his life progressed but the one thing he never would change was the way he teased Tim with his McNicknames. Every time Tim went to visit, Tony never failed to have a new nickname in use. Of course McGoo remained one of his classics and Tony would probably never stop using it until the day he died.
Ziva had changed little as well. She still threatened to kill Tony with a paperclip weekly. Their marriage had done nothing to change the dynamics between them except to give everyone a valid reason for their fighting. However, now that they were married, they no longer bickered and teased about relationships. Instead they teased and bickered about their relationship.
Gibbs had finally retired three years ago when he was almost fatally injured in a car crash. Both his legs had been broken and a few ribs as well. He had lost his memory for a short while also due to a severe concussion and after that many of his reflexes had slowed down. He still consulted on cases when needed but now mostly took care of the children he considered as his own grandchildren.
After almost 30 years at NCIS, Ducky had succumbed to age and passed away in his sleep. That had been last year. Ducky had worked up to the day he died. Though only part time for the last five years to spend more time with his surrogate grandchildren. He entertained them with his stories and even though most of them would probably not be remembered by the kids, Ducky's love for them would be treasured for a lifetime.
Palmer became head medical examiner when Ducky changed over to part-time. The loyalty he had to Ducky and to NCIS prevented him from leaving even though he was plenty qualified to be head medical examiner. His life having progressed much faster than the rest of the team's with less pressure on him early on. His three children were all in college or had graduated already.
Tim's mind then wandered over to Abby. Their relationship had progressed again after Tim was almost killed in a shootout. Abby's revelation after nearly losing Tim led to a short courtship before she was pregnant and they were married. Now his oldest child was graduating high school and on her way to Yale. Leah had inherited the brains of both her mother and father and was planning on working for NCIS when she graduated as well. His son was two years younger and while intelligent had different aspirations from his sister. Alex wanted to go into the filming industry, not to become an actor but a renowned director whose films and documentaries would change the world. He wanted to change the way people saw things and hopefully make the world a better place though entertainment.
Life at NCIS had changed drastically too. Three years after Dearing blew up NCIS, Tim had left for a stint as agent afloat. His seasickness had been abated during that time by an almost constant intake of motion sickness medicine. Once his six month tour was over with, he had returned to headquarters but had not returned to Gibbs's team. He led a program that trained agents to be more proficient with the electronic side of investigations. Many of the agents who came to NCIS had plenty of field experience but very little in the cyber world. With the record the MCRT had while Tim was on the team was unbeatable, it had declined a bit after Tim had left. It led to the realization of how important it was for agents to be able to investigate in the field and online.
Tony never left Gibbs's team. He had the experience necessary to head a team of his own and had been offered the chance several times. It was only when Gibbs retired that Tony took over the MCRT. His case record was only second to Gibbs's in his first three years and it looked as if with Tony leading, they would have the best record of all time soon. Nothing seemed to get in the way of Tony's investigation and any roadblock in his way was quickly eliminated. Ziva became Tony's senior field agent, but kept steadier hours than Tony. She limited her time at NCIS to a standard work week so she could take care of their kids and home. Even with the fewer hours and more responsibility, Ziva was still able to keep up with her work and home life.
After Abby and Tim married, Abby finally agreed to having an assistant around to help and to take over when she wasn't available. It took more applicants than Tim cared to remember for Abby to find someone that she approved of. Many applicants hadn't lasted a day in Abby's lab before they went up to the Director to resign. It was finally when Tim reminded her that they still hadn't gone on a honeymoon that Abby lowered her requirements of the assistant.
Karen was just as competent as Abby was and maintained the lab just as Abby liked it. There was nothing to complain about with Karen and she was quickly accepted into the quirky little family at NCIS. The only thing that they teased her about was that her husband worked for the FBI.
"Hey, Timmy. What cha thinking about?" Abby stuck her head into his office.
"Not much. Just how our lives have changed in the last few years. You know, I would never have imagined myself sitting in this chair when I joined NCIS. Apparently Gibbs was planning on this almost right after I joined his team. Vance got in on it too when he came in."
"I know. Almost everyone knew where you were headed, Timmy. I think the only person who didn't know was you. Why do you think Tony never left. He knew you would need someone who would still tease you even if you were his boss." Tim looked surprised at her response. He knew after all the years of working with Tony that the man teased him like an older brother would tease a younger brother but he hadn't realized how much Tony was looking after him even though it had been over a decade since they were on the same team.
"Also, there is the fact that you were on the fast track to this seat. Once Vance figured out what Gibbs was trying to do he set almost everything in place for you to become his successor. He made you take an agent afloat position since it's a requirement of all agents even though you had gotten away with not doing it for a long time. He purposefully didn't put you back on Gibbs's team because you needed the experience of supervising a large number of people. Plus he wanted to show the Secnav that you had the brains and skills necessary for the job. Nothing you've done since starting on Gibbs's team has not helped you get this seat. You deserve it, Timmy. You worked hard and exceeded all the expectations you were given. You know when Vance set up the training program, he only expected you to train one member per team to become sufficient in cyber investigation. Now some branches have whole teams that are sufficient in both the physical and cyber investigations because of you. You even taught Gibbs to do more on the computer than just check his email. You know how much of a feat that was Tim? The people in cyber crimes had tried to do that for years and you did it within months. You're a natural born teacher and you only needed to be helped a little to become a great leader. Now let's go home. We have to get ready for Leah's graduation party tomorrow."
Tim sat there a moment more contemplating what Abby had said. He knew that a lot of people put more trust in him than he did himself and after hearing what Gibbs and Vance had been planning from almost the very start of his career gave him a warm feeling inside. He stood up and took a look around his office. Not much had changed between the time Vance was director and when Tim moved in except for the photos sitting on his desk. Besides the portrait of him, Abby and their kids, he also had a few family portraits with his entire adopted NCIS family. He looked at the most recent one, taken just a month before Ducky had died. At that moment, Timothy McGee knew that he had exceeded everyone's expectations including his own. Life was good.