Authors Note: Hey guys, here is another stand alone piece I wrote for my friends series. You should give her stories a read.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Tim McGee or any other NCIS characters mentioned in this story, nor do I own the rights to the song. Bella belongs to Kristi, and Kendall and Taylor belong to me.
Song: You Were Just Here by Jo Dee Messina
I woke up at 5 a.m.
Hearing your voice again
But it was just the TV
Coming from the other room
It just doesn't seem real. It's been a week, and she still expects him to walk through the door. Rolling over she notices the time on the bedside table, and sighs. She still has an hour and a half until she has to get their children ready for school.
She looks over at the empty space next to her, and she swears she can still smell his scent. Her hand gently grazes the pillow next to her; closing her eyes she can make out the small indentation where his head laid.
Your half empty coffee cup
Is sitting right where it was
I almost moved it last night
She has to keep herself busy; otherwise she will go crazy. She has to keep it together, if not for herself than for their kids. Standing from her place on the couch, she walks into the kitchen and gets a sink of dishwater ready. She places the dinner plates from days past into the soapy water, glasses and other things, turning to the table she reaches out for the coffee mug sitting at Tim's place at the table.
Stopping herself before she grabs it, she drops her hand and a fresh batch of tears form in her eyes. She pulls out the chair that is to the right of Tim's and covers her face with her hands. She lets her mind wander to only a week ago; the last morning that Tim spent with her and the kids.
But it didn't feel right
It's too soon, it's too soon
It still feels like
You were just here
-One Week Ago-
You were just holding me
I was alright
"Kendall, Taylor get down here you need to eat before the bus gets here!" Bella calls out to the seven year old girls. She smiles at the feel of her husband wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Good morning, love."
He kisses her cheek, "Morning. The girls will be right down; they're getting their shoes on as we speak.
Pouring him a cup of coffee, she nods, and hands it to him, "Just as long as they get their breakfast before school, I'm good."
Tim nods, and leans into kiss his wife. The pair break apart upon hearing their girls, "Eew, yuck!"
Bella laughs, "You girls just remember this when you're teenagers, deal?"
"Deal," the girls say in unison.
I never would have believed
That you'd go away
That you could just disappear
When you were just here
All she remembers from that day is the echoing of gunfire coming from Tim's direction. Running to her husbands' side, she shakes her head, "No, come on Tim. Open your eyes!"
Tony comes rushing over, feeling for a pulse but not getting one. He holds Bella as she fights, "He's gone, Bells."
She shakes her head and beats on Tony's chest, "NO! He can't be! Wake up, Tim, wake up!"
Tony pulls out his cell and calls for Ducky to bring the truck, and Palmer. He is trying to calm Bella, and mourn the loss of his friend. "Shh, Bella. I'm here."
She forces her way out of Tony's arms and falls onto Tim, "Baby, please wake up, I need you."
The calendar on the wall
Doesn't miss you at all
It still says you'll be there
With us all on Christmas eve
This year's Christmas is going to be tough. The girls still don't fully understand why Daddy isn't home; none of them are really in the spirit. Glancing at the calendar, she has written down the day she has to go pick up Tim's family from the airport; but she just can't bring herself to want to celebrate the holiday that has always been a favorite of the McGee family.
The picture you hung last week
Keeps staring back at me
There we are still laughin'
Like nothin' ever happened
"Look, this is the perfect place," Tim says, as he gets the step stool out of the closet.
From her place on the couch, Bella looks up. Tim is hanging up the latest of their family portraits. Tim sitting on the floor, Bella in front of him and the girls laying on their sides all smiling into the camera. It took forever to get the girls to cooperate long enough to get a decent shot, and finally they get one towards the end of the session.
Bella smiles, "It's great, love. I still can't believe they were so uncooperative. They're never like that."
After hanging the picture, Tim sits next to Bella on the couch, "Yeah, they told me that Abby gave them a handful of candy-each."
"That sounds like Aunt Abby to me," Bella says with a chuckle.
I still feel you in the air
It's not fair, it's not fair
Coming back from the memory, a gush of warm air blows past her. Taking in a deep breath, she can almost smell Tim's cologne. "Tim?" she whispers, her eyes closed, and an image of him fills her head.
She must be going crazy.
"Mommy?" a tiny voice asks from the doorway.
Opening her eyes, she looks down and is met with one of her daughters, "Kendall? What's wrong sweetie?"
Kendall walks over to her mother, her little green eyes bloodshot from crying, "I miss Daddy. I had a dream and he was in it and when I went into your room he wasn't there."
Holding her daughter close to her, she kisses her head and smoothes out her hair, "Sweetie, I miss him too."
"It's not fair!" Kendall all but shouts, "Why did he leave?"
Bella shakes her head, "I don't know, baby."
I reach out and you're not there
But I still feel you everywhere
No matter how much I try
Or how hard I cry
After calming Kendall down, and tucking her back into bed, Bella walks down the hallway to the room that used to be hers and Tim's. Climbing into the bed, she turns to face the side that Tim always had. She reaches out and feels nothing but cold sheets.
The funeral is in the morning, and she's not sure she'll be able to hold herself together. She can barely look at the photos of him, and looking into the green eyes of their twin daughters just about kills her. She cries so hard she makes her self ill, hoping that he will walk through the door and take her in his arms telling her that everything is fine.
"I love you, Tim; I'll miss you every day."
It still feels like
You were just here