The Eva Chronicles

Smiling, Gibbs looked around the bullpen. DiNozzo was now in Israel, but he had his team back. He'd missed them more than he could say, even if he'd been a man of words. A disappointed sigh from across the aisle caught his attention. "Problem, McGee?"

"Not really, well, not anything to do with work."

Gibbs gave him the keep talking look and McGee shrugged, giving in. "Now that we're back at work, I'm house hunting again. That was my realtor, the inspector canceled on us."

"When were you supposed to go?"

"Tomorrow morning. She's trying to get someone else lined up. I don't know, maybe it's a sign that I'm not supposed to do this."

"Home of your own, that's an important step. Keep the appointment; I'll go with you."

"Really?" McGee had that surprised look that still made him look impossibly young. "Wow, thanks, Boss. This house has all been re-done, but there's something about it I can't put my finger on."

"Then a set of fresh eyes is just what you need."

"Yeah, that's what I was hoping. There's been one inspection, but he didn't seem that thorough."

"But you like the house?"

McGee hesitated, which threw up a red flag for Gibbs. "It's a nice house in a good neighborhood. It'll be a good investment."

"But?"

"Delilah likes it but I'd kinda hoped to find a house that wasn't quite that done. I mean, I don't want to do a full remodel, but it would be kind of nice to do the painting and that sort of stuff. You know, make it my own. Seems kind of a waste to paint something that's already been freshly painted." His computer dinged and McGee turned his attention to the search he was running while Gibbs thought about it. He'd never considered McGee the home improvement type, but the young man was growing, expanding, and Gibbs was glad to see it.

-NCIS-

McGee was in the middle of a battle when Skype pinged him, so he quickly killed the Orc and paused his game. "Hey, Tony."

Hey, McGee. I didn't wake you up, did I?

"Nah, I'm just playing some games to wind down. You okay? Is Ziva still all right?"

Yeah, I'm fine and so is Ziva now that people have stopped trying to kill her.

"That always helps." Tim watched Tony's guarded expression on the screen. "Tony, what is it?" He waited while Tony seemed to try and sort out his thoughts.

Being here with her, away from the job and the rules... not sure I can pretend anymore.

"About being in love with Ziva?"

You knew?

"How long have the two of us worked together? The three of us? Have you talked to her about it yet?"

We're dancing around it, getting closer though. Do me a favor, okay?

Tim was pretty sure what was coming. "Name it."

The threat might be over, but I haven't officially found Ziva. I want it to stay that way for a while. I've got plenty of leave still saved up, so it's not costing the agency anything extra and, and I think we need this time. Just the two of us, to sort things out before we come back to DC.

"Is she coming back to DC?"

Of course. She just needs to sort through some things first. Just cover for us, please.

The expression was earnest and DiNozzo rarely said please, so Tim found himself agreeing. "I won't say a word to anyone. Just be careful, okay? I'm not there to watch your back."

Thanks, man.

Tony reached forward to close the link, but Tim wasn't ready. "Tony, wait a minute. Is this a good time of the day for you?"

It's way early, but it's probably the only time of the day when I can talk by myself.

"So, this would be a good time to talk? Keep in touch?"

Yeah, sure, that works. Talk to you tomorrow?

"Tomorrow."

-NCIS-

Thanks for coming, Boss. I really appreciate it."

Gibbs just nodded as he sipped his coffee. It hadn't been required, but the cup waiting for him had been a nice touch. Sitting back, he enjoyed the ride. The house was in Maryland, but closer to DC than the tiny apartment McGee had been calling home since he'd joined the team. Pulling up, as McGee parked, Gibbs took his first look at the house. It was a farm style house on a small lot. Judging from the houses surrounding it, this had been the original home before the property was chopped up for the small subdivision.

The realtor was waiting for them and Gibbs smiled at the red hair. She didn't even wait for McGee to make the introductions, sticking her hand out as she came close. "Hi, I'm Amanda Jackson, you must be Jethro Gibbs. According to Tim, you're more knowledgeable than any inspector I could get to come in."

Grinning at the trust from his young agent, Gibbs grasped the back of his neck and lightly squeezed. "Not sure about that, but I'll make sure no one is leading him astray."

Stepping inside, Gibbs saw immediately what Tim meant about there being nothing left to do. The walls were builder's beige, the new molding were stock and painted bright white. In the kitchen, every bit of original character had been stripped out and replaced with new stainless appliances and the same cabinets and counter tops that were in hundreds of newly built homes. If he hadn't seen the outside, he'd assume he was in any of the cookie cutter homes that filled the rest of the subdivision.

Setting his tools down on the counter, Gibbs started looking around. Every outlet in the kitchen was the newer style GFI plug, which he strongly approved of, so he opened the cabinet under the sink. New pipes were evident under there, but it was as good of a place to start.

As Gibbs peered through the hole, following the plumbing into the wall, he also watched McGee. He was walking around with the realtor, but he didn't seem all that excited. Gibbs realized that he wasn't either. The soul of this old farmhouse had been totally stripped away in the extensive remodel. He couldn't see too far into the wall without cutting the hole larger, but he'd brought a small mirror with him and that showed something he wasn't expecting. Just past the neatly cut hole in the cabinet back, the new plastic pipe connected to what looked to be a very old cast iron pipe.

Suspicious now, Gibbs looked back at the plugs. Rather than pull one of the GFI outlets, he moved to the plugs in the eating area right off the kitchen. He removed the cover off of one of the outlets. The receptacle was new, but he still wasn't convinced. A few more seconds with the screwdriver and the receptacle was in his hand. "McGee, you might want to see this."

"Yeah, Boss?"

Words weren't really necessary. The brand new plug had about six inches of new wires attached, before they were connected to what looked like the original, cloth covered wiring. "Plumbing's the same way. Just past where it's visible, it goes back to the old pipes. No way in hell any of this is really up to code."

They both looked over at Amanda, who was already on her phone. After listening to her ream out someone on the other end, Gibbs packed up his tools. McGee looked only slightly disappointed so Gibbs stepped closer. "Better to know this now before the place burns down around you."

"Thanks, Boss, you're right. I'll just keep looking."

"You want some advice?"

"Of course."

"A house is more than an investment. Find a place you love. If you're going to put that much money and sweat into a place, make sure it's worth it to you, not just your investment portfolio."

Ending her phone call, Amanda rejoined them. "Mr. Gibbs is absolutely right about that. Now that we can eliminate this one – and by the way, my manager is reporting this builder to the state – perhaps you want to consider the Tudor we looked at a few months ago. It's back on the market and I remember how much you loved that one."

When Tim hesitated, she picked up the keys. "Let me lock this place up while you think about it. We can probably take another look at it this morning. You were right about Mr. Gibbs being the best to look a place over for you."

While she turned off the lights and locked the doors, Gibbs and McGee went out to wait by Tim's car. "So, tell me the story on the Tudor."

"It... it won't work for me."

There was no mistaking the wistful expression on McGee's face so Gibbs dug deeper. "Why? Sounds like you really liked it."

"I did, I do. Everything but the location."

"Bad neighborhood?"

"No, it's a really nice neighborhood."

"Lousy commute?"

"No, the commute wouldn't be bad at all."

Gibbs frowned and stared as he tried to think what the problem would be. Eventually, McGee would tell him. It took just a few seconds before Tim sighed.

"People would probably take it the wrong way. I mean, Tony would just tease, but Abby will probably take it the wrong way."

It just took Gibbs a few seconds to put it together. McGee was talking about his neighborhood. "How close to my place is it?"

"We'd share a fence."

There was only one Tudor on the entire block. "Behind me? That big brick Tudor?"

"Yeah."

Gibbs thought about it. He hadn't realized McGee's house budget was that large, but it actually made sense. He'd spent over ten years in an apartment that was well under what he could afford, saving up to eventually purchase a home. "It's a nice place, good bones, needs some updating. I've been helping them off and on with maintenance since Harv had a stroke a few years back. Okay, let's go look at it."

Amanda looked pleased, already calling ahead as she walked to her car, so Gibbs climbed back into Tim's car, setting his tool box behind his seat. Tim glanced over at him several times as they drove before he said anything.

"You sure you wouldn't mind?"

"When I'm old and decrepit, it'll be nice to have someone around to pick my sorry ass up off the floor."

Gibbs was teasing, but McGee looked horrified at the idea. "Boss, you're going to outlive us all."

Shaking his head, Gibbs turned serious. "I've buried enough people I love. I'm not outliving you and Tony, that's for damn sure. If you want this house, go for it. I'll deal with Abby, all right?"

"Thanks, Boss."

If Gibbs had any doubts, they were dispelled as he watched Tim while they did a walk-through on the old house. He was smiling, trailing his hand over the doorways as they walked. Harv watched Gibbs watching Tim and tilted his head slightly. Gibbs gave a slight nod and joined him a few moments later.

"He's one of yours?"

"Yep, my youngest boy."

"Hope he makes an offer. We're wanting to be heading South pretty quick and he seems like a nice young man."

Gibbs looked over and saw Amanda pulling out a stack of papers from her briefcase. "Looks like you'd better start packing."

-NCIS-

Abby was hammering up siding at the Habitat for Humanity site when she saw a familiar figure coming close. "Gibbs, are you here to help?"

It was almost noon and Gibbs held up a deli bag. "Here to feed you."

"Aww, that's so sweet." She set the hammer down and bounced over to join him at the row of tables set up for the volunteers. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Need to talk, Abs."

"Umm, okay." She took a nervous sip of the CafPow he handed her and waited.

"Did you know that McGee's house hunting?"

Abby nodded and took the sandwich Gibbs handed her. "Yeah, well, he stopped looking when they resigned. I guess he's looking again."

"Found a place, too. A place he really loves and is looking forward to fixing up just the way he wants it."

"That's great... umm, isn't it?"

"He was going to turn it down, has been turning it down since he started looking the first time."

"Why? I mean, if he really likes the place..." Abby put the pieces together and realized why Gibbs was there on their day off. "Me?"

The tilt of the head was the only answer she needed and Abby sighed. "He's really serious about his new girlfriend. Her name is Delilah and she seems pretty perfect for him."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No." She didn't sound convincing at all and Gibbs just stared at her. Abby squirmed and blurted out the rest. "I don't want to lose my best friend, Gibbs."

"Then don't push him away, Abby. Be happy for the changes in his life because he's happy."

Abby nodded, obviously thinking. "Why did he think I wouldn't like the house he wants? It's not just because of Delilah, is it?"

"Nope." Instead of answering, Gibbs stood, kissing her forehead before he turned and left. Abby sighed again and started eating the sandwich Gibbs had brought her. She might have two of her three musketeers back so far, but things were always going to be different. It was time she grew up and accepted it.

-NCIS-

It had been a long, but productive, day but now it was time for what was becoming Tim's favorite part of the day as he sat in front of his computer. It was midnight his time, which means it was early morning there but Tony was already up and waiting, judging by how quickly the Skype call connected on his end. Tony looked good, he was getting a tan and the circles under his eyes they'd all gotten when Gibbs had been out there without them were finally gone. On the screen, Tony grinned at him.

Hey, McWorrywart, here I am.

Tim grinned at the familiar nickname and reached up to tap his own chin. "Too early to be shaving there, Tony?" In response, Tony rubbed at his own, slightly furry face.

Thinking about growing a beard, fit in better out here in the countryside.

"Does Ziva like it?"

Yeah, or at least she will once it gets past the prickly stage.

Tony laughed at his own joke and waggled his eyebrows as Tim just shook his head. They talked a few minutes about what Tony had done there that day instead of the official 'looking for Ziva' story line that was around the agency and Tim laughed.

"Wait a minute, she had you out there, picking olives?"

I'd rather pick olives than deal with the animals. What about you? How'd the house inspection go with Gibbs?

Tim leaned back in his chair. "It took the Boss a whole five minutes to prove that the whole 'remodeling' was fake. They didn't upgrade anything, just slapped new stuff right over the old. We rescinded my offer and my realtor has already reported the contractor to the state board."

Damn. So, now what? Back to square one?

The concern and anger on his behalf made Tim feel warm. "Now that you mentioned it, I put an offer in on another place and it's been accepted. We close in two weeks." There was no mistaking the surprise on Tony's face.

Wow, that was fast. You're really grinning, too. How'd you find it?

"Actually, it was one of the first houses I looked at, back before Parsons ever showed up. Fell in love with the place the second I stepped inside."

Then why in the hell didn't you snap it up back then instead of looking at all those other places?

Looking back, it really was kind of silly. "I was worried that people would take it the wrong way. It's in the same neighborhood as Gibbs."

Yeah? If Tony was surprised by that, he didn't show it. So, it's not one of the fifty houses you dragged me through? Tell me about it.

Encouraged, Tim started to talk. "It's actually on the street behind Gibbs. Two story, English Tudor style with the brick and the beams, got a basement...

Gonna start building a boat down there, Timmy?

"Not that kind of basement. It's mostly finished. Apparently the homeowners' son had a rock band that played down there back in the day. I'm thinking rec room and home theater."

Ohh, man cave. Cool, we can get Gibbs out of his basement and into yours. How big of a screen can we put up?

Harv had been using a walker and his wife a cane, so Tim suspected that neither one of them had been down in the basement very much in recent years while well-meaning relatives stacked boxes down there in anticipation of the upcoming move to a warmer climate. "Not sure exactly. Right now it's pretty much a maze of boxes, but there's got to be a big wall down there someplace we can use. There's even a fireplace down there. Plus three on the main floor."

Wow, how big is this place?

"Not counting the basement, it's over thirty-seven hundred square feet."

Damn. You sure you can afford it? Isn't that like, almost twice as big as that farmhouse was?

"Yeah, it's really big, but the last time it was updated was back in the eighties. Like Gibbs said, it's got good bones and it's been maintained well, but some of the colors..." He shuddered at the memory of old carpet that covered up the original hardwood floors. "Money-wise, it ended up being a little less, but I'll have to put in a lot of sweat to make the place shine again. The upside is that I get it the exact way I want when I'm done."

And you'll get home remodeling lessons from Gibbs. That'll be fun to watch.

Tim rolled his eyes. "Funny, Tony. Good morning, and tell Ziva hi from me."

Good night, McGee.

-NCIS-

Across the ocean, Tony was still smiling, his face reflecting in the now dark screen. He'd been able to tell that Tim hadn't been all that excited about the farmhouse, trying to convince both himself and Tony that it was a good, solid investment. This house, on the other hand, brought out a passion in his friend that he rarely saw.

It would seem strange to have two of his favorite people living so close to each other, but McGee was much better about having him under foot for no reason than Gibbs was and turning that new basement into a proper man-cave would be a great project for the three of them. He heard a noise behind him and turned in time to see Ziva lean against the door frame, wearing a smile and nothing else.

"How is McGee?"

"He's good." Tony never told her many details and she never pried into their sometimes strange relationship.

"Good, then come back to bed for a while. We do not have to be up for hours." Smiling, she turned back to walk into the bedroom, making a showing of swaying her ass as she did. Tony didn't have to be asked twice.

-NCIS-

"Morning, Boss." Smiling, Tim set a cup down on Gibbs' desk. "Thanks for the help and the reality check yesterday. Tony's really happy for me. I think he's already checking out home theater set-ups for the basement."

"So, no boat?"

"Nah, I'll leave the boat building to you." Tim was still holding a big red cup and held it up for Gibbs to see. "I'm going to go downstairs and say good morning to Abby." Gibbs just nodded as he enjoyed his coffee.

Stepping out of the elevator, Tim took a deep breath before walking to the lab. Abby's current favorite band was playing, actually blasting through the speakers, and she was bouncing along as she calibrated her babies for the day.

"Hey, Abs."

"McGee!" It was almost a squeal as she rushed him and gave him a hug. Tim managed to not lose the CafPow and handed it to her as soon as she let go. "Oh, thanks, I so need this today. I've got to review the lab work for all the cases from the last six months, unless you and Gibbs can manage to snag a new case today. But enough about my hatred of paperwork, I heard you bought a house finally."

She didn't seem too upset so McGee relaxed and teased her a little bit. "So, did a little mouse tell you?"

"No, it was a silver fox with blue eyes. Now come on, spill. Tell me all about it."

"Big, four bedrooms. Solid, but I should probably buy stock in a home improvement store because it needs a lot of updating." So far she still seemed okay so he hit her with the rest. "And Gibbs is going to be one of my new neighbors."

That seemed to stop her in her tracks for a moment. "Really? Like, how close?"

"Umm, real close."

"Can you actually see his house from the one you're buying?"

Both places had a lot of trees in their back yards, but from the upstairs bathroom window, there actually was a partial view. It would be even better when the landscaping plan he was working on was put into place. "Yeah, kinda." Much to his surprise, she squealed again and threw her arms around him, knocking him back a few feet.

"Oh, McGee, that is so great."

"It is?"

"Yes. The next time he's being stubborn about letting us help him with something, we can all crash at your place and keep an eye on him."

Tim didn't think that would actually work well in real life, but he wasn't going to argue with her about it. "Yeah, umm, okay."

Abby pulled back and started drinking down the CafPow. "So, do you have a move-in date yet? When does escrow close?"

"I get the keys the Friday after next, move in that weekend."

"Wow, that's fast."

"Yep. They're in a hurry and I'm pre-approved. All we have to wait for is the title company to finish the documents."

"Cool." Abby snapped off a slightly crooked salute. "Weekend after next, I'll be there, ready to work."

Returning to the squad room, McGee found Gibbs smirking at him. "Looks like you survived."

"Just fair warning – next time Abby thinks you're doing something you're not supposed to be doing, she's planning on spying from my place. In fact, she's planning on everybody staying at my house to keep an eye on you."

"I can buy curtains, McGee."

That just made Tim laugh. "Jethro Gibbs inside a decorator's store. That..." He seemed to realize that he'd been on the verge of teasing his boss. "I'm sure you have excellent taste, Gibbs."

Gibbs didn't answer, but he did hide his lower face behind a file he was now carefully reviewing.

-NCIS-

It was now the middle of the week and the paperwork was all caught up so Gibbs was trying to find a cold case that they could actually make some headway on. Having the team temporarily down to just the two of them had given him a chance to get to know his quiet junior agent better, but they were both getting restless from sitting at a desk for eight plus hours a day. The one in his hand from Vance looked promising, a possible drug smuggling case aboard the Naval Support Activity's Northwest Annex in Chesapeake.

If nothing else, the drive would get them away from the Yard for the better part of the day. "Grab your gear, let's go."

Once they were down in the parking lot, Gibbs handed the file to McGee. "Read up while I drive."

They were still in DC when Gibbs noticed a sudden change in McGee's breathing. Looking over, the young man seemed to be on the verge of some sort of panic attack. They were coming up to an exit and Gibbs quickly left the freeway and pulled into the parking lot of a closed business, putting the car into park. "McGee?"

"I can't..." Tim took a deep breath, obviously trying to control his breathing. "I can't be on this case, Boss."

"Why?"

"The base commander, according to Balboa, he wasn't very cooperative. Seeing me will just make it worse."

"Why?"

"He, umm, he, let's just say that I'm really not his favorite person."

There was something suddenly very fragile about McGee, which was the only reason Gibbs wasn't demanding a straight answer. Judging from the ages, it was entirely possible that Commander Avery may have crossed paths with a very young Timothy McGee while his father was deployed somewhere. No matter what, his gut was screaming. "You and he have a history?"

"Please don't be mad at me."

Gibbs wished they were back aboard the Yard where he could have sent a discreet message to Ducky for help. "I'm not mad, Tim. Just tell me who he is to you."

"He is, was, my father-in-law."

Gibbs shut off the engine. "You were married? That's not in your file."

"Neither was your marriage to Shannon." Tim seemed to freeze as he realize what he'd just said, but Gibbs understood what wasn't being said.

"Talk to me, Tim." He waited and eventually Tim started talking.

"Sam and I grew up together. I was the youngest by a couple of years, but since I got moved up in school, we were only one class apart. We were best friends for a long time and then we were more."

Gibbs was suspicious, but needed confirmation. "Sam as in Samantha, or..."

"Samuel. Samuel Eric Avery. Both of our dads expected us to go to the Naval Academy. I got a scholarship, enough to pay for college, that was my way out."

"And Sam, what was his way out?"

Tim shook his head. "He wanted to keep the peace, so he went to Annapolis. Once he was in, he couldn't just drop out, he'd have to pay back the equivalent of his tuition, but some things happened and he said he wasn't going to live the lie anymore. He – let himself get outed."

Gibbs thought back to the policies back then. An officer in those circumstances would have been asked to resign his commission. A cadet... "Let me guess, he was forced to quit, but they didn't go after him for tuition to keep everything quiet."

"Pretty much. He was ready to take his final exams and they let him do that if he agreed to work as a private DoD contractor for the same five years the Navy would have required of him. His family is practically Naval royalty, like mine, so that kept things quiet. Vermont was the only place in the US that had civil unions, so we eloped the week after it was settled."

Gibbs was sure that there wasn't some husband still hidden away, so that couldn't have been the end of the story. "What happened?"

Tim rubbed at his eyes for a moment. "After I finished my bachelor's degree and was working on my masters, he was invited to join a team that was going to be working in Europe for a few years with NATO. We talked about it and decided to take it. I found a university there that I could transfer to so I could finish my masters. I'd have to take a few of my classes over, but it would have been worth it. Parts of Europe were a lot more accepting back then; the Netherlands was even allowing same sex marriages by that point.

"We had to be in Europe by the middle of September of 01, so we arranged to fly out of LaGuardia. Our two grandmothers were the only members of our families that really accepted us, so we went to visit his grandmother. She, umm, her office..."

"Oh, McGee." Gibbs had already put the pieces together, but he was praying that he was wrong. He laid his hand on McGee's shoulder in silent support as the other man struggled with the words.

"Her office was in the World Trade Center. She didn't have a window, we didn't see it coming." The pressure against his shoulder increased and Tim gratefully reached up and grabbed Gibbs' hand. "There was just this noise, this God-awful noise that you could feel and the building shook and stuff was flying through the air. We were far enough below the actual impact point, but the debris... By the time I got up off the floor and the emergency lights kicked in... Sam... Sam was... most of his head was just gone.

"I think that if we'd been alone, I would have stayed and let the fire take me."

Gibbs silently nodded, swallowing hard. That was something he could understand. "His grandmother?"

"Hurt, too hurt to make it out on her own. I had to leave him there to get her out."

"That's what he would have wanted." As soon as the words were out, Gibbs wanted to headslap himself. Empty platitudes, no matter how well meaning, were something he hated. "Doesn't help, though, does it?"

Tim was biting his lip so hard, Gibbs was afraid it was going to draw blood. Finally he shook his head. "No, she died anyway, so it was all for nothing."

It wasn't all for nothing. It kept McGee focused and moving long enough to escape the inferno that had been closing in on him, but Gibbs knew that Tim wouldn't see it that way, not while he was reliving the memories. "Commander Avery still blames you."

McGee blinked and Gibbs could see the moment that his mind shifted back to the present. "Yeah, for everything. If I hadn't been involved with Sam, he would have been a fine Naval officer, upholding the family honor."

"Sam made his own choices."

"Last person that told Commander Avery that ended up with a broken nose."

Gibbs wasn't afraid of Commander Avery, but he wasn't about to put his agent in such a position. "Things are different now, but how did this get past your background check? Did you..." He knew McGee had the skills to do it, but Tim shook his head.

"DADT was still in effect back then and Director Morrow almost didn't hire me because of it."

"Because you were gay?" That got a ghost of a smile.

"Bi, actually. I guess that helped because I had to agree to only date women and never mention my past – relationship – to anyone."

"Morrow had no right to make those kinds of demands."

Tim shrugged, but didn't argue. "Women didn't remind me of Sam. It was easier to bury it rather than deal with sympathy from strangers every day."

That also was something that Gibbs understood all too well. "I'll send the case back to Balboa but what do you want me to tell Vance? He won't hold you to the same restrictions, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but after all this time it's just easier to only date women. Besides, Delilah and I are getting pretty close."

"Close enough to let her decorate your house?"

"Not that close." Tim finally chuckled and Gibbs could feel him start to relax. "Besides, her decorating skills suck."