From the author's desk: This is something I wrote yesterday for a challenge on the NFA Forums. I had originally started a story that sent Tim away from home while Abby is in the third trimester of her pregnancy, and at some point I just opened a blank document and began working on this one instead. Frankly, I think this flows much better than the other story.

This is a possible sequel to my story "In This Corner of the World." It is not necessary to have read that first.

I hope you enjoy it! Be warned, this is pure, shameless fluff. Please see a dentist for cavities.

Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters are the property of Donald P. Bellisario and his associates. This was written for non-profitable entertainment purposes only.

Warning!: Slight spoilers for the following episodes: Season 2 – "Missing", Season 7 – "Endgame", NCIS: LA Season 1 – "Random on Purpose".

Vows
by dreamsweetmydear

The small church is hushed as sunlight streams through the stained glass windows at the front, casting an ethereal glow over the altar where the priest waits with Tim and Tony, his best man.

The pews aren't packed full, but everyone that matters is there, which is all the bride and groom wanted—his parents and sister, her mother and younger brother, his wife, and their little girl, who comes down the aisle scattering white rose petals along the red carpet. Near them sits the Director and his family, and all around the room friends and well-wishers are scattered in the pews.

Tim gives a nervous smile as his sister comes up the aisle on the arm of Jimmy, his only groomsman (because the Best Man is the Best Man, and so the category Groomsman does not apply to him at all, or so Tony says), and she winks at him and mouths the phrases "Good luck" and "You'll be fine." Next comes Ziva, Abby's maid of honor, dressed in a beautiful wine red gown, and she too gives the groom a smile of encouragement.

Tim gives his best man a nudge to remind him to close his mouth before he swallows a fly, and grins at the man's discomfort. Tony catches himself and pretends that didn't happen. Jimmy just rolls his eyes behind his glasses at both of the men standing next to him.

And then the music changes, and the groom watches transfixed as Abby walks down the aisle on the arms of both Gibbs and Ducky. The Boss' eyes are suspiciously bright, and Tim is sure that he is thinking of his own little girl, lost to him so long ago.

Abby is beyond beautiful, and Tim is sure that if he were a cartoon, his jaw would be sitting on the floor right now. In the light streaming through the church windows, she seems to be aglow, her ivory white wedding gown complemented by a wide, deep red and black sash, a ruby choker around her neck, her hair pinned up, and accented with red roses, while her mother's lace veil trails behind her. In her hands, she holds a bouquet of red, white, and black roses.

His eyes lock with hers, and she winks at him. The she mouths the words "no shoes."

It takes all his effort not to burst out laughing, because he was there when she was arguing with her mother, his sister, and her maid of honor about what shoes to wear.

The shoes she had bought would most likely be returned on Monday.

And now, she is in front of him, and after the music fades out, the priest begins.

"Who gives this woman to this man?"

"We do," Gibbs and the ME say together.

The bride hands her bouquet to her maid of honor, and the Boss and Ducky place her hands in his.

"You hurt her, McGee, there's a whole team here that'll be out for your head," the Gibbs threatens him, eyes hard.

"And I'll be happy to say it was an accident in my report," Ducky adds in good-naturedly.

The groom gulps. "Yes Boss!"

There's a smattering of laughter in the audience, and there's a slight grin on the older men's faces as they pat his shoulders and then go to take their seats by Abby's mother.

And then the priest begins to speak again, though Tim isn't really paying attention, too caught up in the twinkle in his bride's cat's-eye green eyes, and slight crinkling of her nose as she smiles while the pastor reads off the scripture they'd chosen for the ceremony.

But finally, they hear their cue. "The bride and groom have chosen to say their own vows today."

Tim turns to Tony, takes the ring held out for him, and turns back to his bride. He takes a moment to savor her bright smile and the angelic glow surrounding her as the streaming colored sunlight reflects off the white of her clothes before he begins to speak.

"There was this one time, when we first started dating and I was still driving up from Norfolk to see you, that you got annoyed with me because I wouldn't let you cook dinner because I wanted to, and even more frustrated when I spent the whole day in the kitchen and almost set the stove on fire. But then your face lit up when you realized I'd made fried chicken with candied sweet potatoes and a side of macaroni and cheese. I think that's when I realized that I was in trouble—"he grins as she bursts out laughing, and the audience behind them also titters in amusement "—because it hit me that I was willing to do anything to keep making you smile like that."

He pauses to gather his thoughts before continuing. "I told you when I proposed to you that I love you for everything you are, and everything you aren't. I love you for keeping me from being too serious, I love you for bringing me down a few pegs when my head gets too big. I love it that you love it when I talk geek." Their co-workers from work start laughing. "I love that you don't wear J-Lo Glo, that you burn cookies, that you aren't domestic, and that your least favorite place in the house to clean is the kitchen. I love that you are my best friend."

He takes Abby's left hand and guides the ring onto her ring finger. "I love you, Abigail Scuito, and with this ring I promise that I will do my best to be patient, to keep you safe, to keep you happy, to give you everything that I can give you, to cherish you, to stick by you through rough times, good times, and everything in between, and to be the kind of man that you are proud to call your other half."

If Tim isn't mistaken, Abby is squinting her eyes the way she does when she doesn't want to cry and she spends a few seconds just staring into his eyes, her lips turned up into a soft smile, before she takes the ring from the best man and takes the groom's left hand her own.

"For the longest time, I was so sure that I was going to be a bachelorette for my whole life. I could probably have given Tony a run for his money when it comes to the number of people we've slept with. By principle, I should score better than him anyway, simply because I'm cuter. Sorry Tony." Laughter bubbles around the room as Tony gives a mock offended "Hey!" in response to the jibe at him.

The bride grins for a moment longer before becoming serious again, and she pierces him with her bright-eyed gaze. "And then I met you, and we dated for a bit. And I remember being annoyed with you when you asked where we were going with our relationship, though I'll admit the way you did it was kinda sweet, if a bit cheesy. I called you insecure, because you needed to know where we were going, and I really didn't want to think about it, and didn't see the need for the definition. And after we broke up that time, it was something I came back to every now and then, and I couldn't figure out why I'd been so uncomfortable with what you wanted."

She squeezes his hand gently, and he squeezes back, encouraging her to go on. "The more guys I dated after that, the more I compared you to them, and realized that they were all lacking. After all, we were always seeing each other at work, and outside of work. You're my best friend, and spending time with you was and still is a joy for me. But then you'd meet someone you were interested in, and we wouldn't spend as much time together, and I'd get jealous because even then, when we weren't dating, I considered you mine. And then I'd think back to that argument about where our relationship was going, and I'd get confused. I didn't get it.

"And then you almost got killed by your girlfriend, and I realized that if I'd lost you that day, there was a good chance I wouldn't have recovered from that loss. And a few months later, when I was drugged motionless by that creep in Los Angeles, and I thought I was going to die, the image of you and me arguing over how to optimize the speed of our motorized wheelchairs popped into my head, and I realized I wanted you back, that with you, I could do commitment. But you'd changed. You weren't quite the same guy I'd met seven years earlier. You'd grown up, and if I was serious about getting you back, then maybe it was time I grew up too. Because I couldn't take it if I hurt you again, and the worst way I could hurt you was by not being serious about you."

Not losing eye contact with him, she begins to guide the ring onto his left ring finger. "I love you Timothy McGee, because you make me want to be a better woman, because you make me realize that growing older isn't such a scary thing. I love you because you're the only one who's ever been able to really match me in my strengths and balance out my weaknesses, and because you don't ask me to be anything other than myself. You accept that I probably won't be able to make you a home cooked meal every night you come home from work, you accept that I don't always react to things linearly, that my thought process goes all over the place. I love you because all you want is for me to be me, but you're happy to tell me when I'm out of line when I need to hear it.

"With this ring, I vow to do my best to make you happy, make you smile, make you laugh. I promise that I will love you even when we're old and wrinkled and gray. I promise to keep trying to grow and learn together with you as we progress through life, to be faithful, to be honest, even when I'm not sure how to explain what I'm feeling, to give you the comfort you need when things are rough, to protect you when I'm able to, to give you everything I can possibly give and nothing less, to face each day together with you, at your side, because without you, I'm not complete."

Tim blinks rapidly, the wet blurriness refocusing into the face of the woman he loved, and squeezes her hands with his as he listens to the pastor's final words.

"With the power vested in me by God and the state of Maryland, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

He leans in, and she meets him halfway, their lips meeting in a passionate lip lock that feels electric and garners many catcalls and cheers from their friends and well-wishers, and a hearty clap on the groom's back by the best man. "Atta boy, Probie!"

When they break apart, Tim is sure the smile on his face is just as ridiculously big as the one Abby is giving him.

The pastor places a hand on his shoulder and then Abby's, and the two of them turn to face the audience as Abby places her left hand into the crook of his right elbow. Behind them, priest softly clears his throat before speaking one last time.

"It is my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Timothy McGee."

Ahead of them, the double doors of the church are swung wide open, lit so brightly by the midday sun that the portal glows, as if waiting for them.

As Tim guides Abby down the aisle, he catches her glance, and watches as the corners of her eyes crinkle as she smiles up at him. He smiles back, and gives her left hand a squeeze with his left.

Together, they reach the doors of the church, and step out into the light of their new existence.