Notes:

- If you're unfamiliar with my stories At What Price or Finding Home, this story won't make much sense. While I'd love you to read them, you can instead look at my profile on fan fiction net under "Personal Canon", that will at least give you the bare facts of Tim's background, although Connections and The Letter deviate from it.

- This story is the second of two resulting from a question put to me by Aleta6 while I was posting At What Price. The question was what would have happened if Gibbs found Tim at the shelter or camp.

- Tony fans, as in At What Price, please be patient. No bashing but there are mentions of his canon treatment and attitude toward Tim McGee in the first couple of seasons. Overall, the McNozzo friendship prevails.

- Almost forgot, I've also messed with the timeline. Because it's fiction and I can!

Here we go, Alternate View #2:

Connections

Prologue

In the spring of 1986, after the deaths of their father and brother Patrick, Tim and Sarah McGee were abandoned by their stepmother, Natalie. Tim was 9, Sarah 3 when Natalie McGee put them on a bus that would take them from San Francisco, California to Bayopolis, a city in Maryland, on the East Coast. Although she told them her cousins would meet them at the bus station, there was no one waiting for the young McGees. While they waited for the non-existent cousins, Tim gradually realizing no one was coming, they met Geordie Perry, a 12-year-old orphan. At the end of the day, Geordie took them to the transient tent camp where he lived.

Weeks after their arrival in the city and still staying with Geordie, Tim rescued a 2-year-old boy named Robbie. His drug-addict mother, Ellen Brill, reluctantly agreed to serve as their 'shelter' mother, signing them into the homeless shelter each night. In return, Tim would take care of Robbie along with Sarah. Although he was too old to be part of the shelter 'family' and too young to stay there on his own, Geordie helped; he'd already become part of the little family. On the nights when Ellen showed up, Tim, Sarah and Robbie stayed in the homeless shelter near the transient camp where Geordie still lived. When she didn't show, the McGees and Robbie returned to the camp to share tent space with Geordie and three other boys. For three years, they followed this pattern as they struggled daily to survive.

Part One

Chapter 1

Three years later, 1989, Bayopolis, Maryland

Terrified, 5-year-old Robbie and 6-year-old Sarah boarded the bus that would take them to the hospital, holding tightly to Geordie's hands. Timmy, their Timpa was hurt and now they were going to him.

Robbie tried not to cry, they'd been sitting in the big room at the shelter, spelling the word 'park' together when a crazy man cut Tim in the back, really bad. He never wanted to spell anything ever again. Ellen, his mother, was there, she was in the sleeping room but she didn't come out to help with Tim or anything. He and Sarah remembered Dr. Kelly at the free clinic saying that pressure would help stop bleeding so they pressed down with their hands. The blood didn't stop coming so they sat on Tim's back, on the place where it was bleeding the most. Timpa was finally quiet and Robbie didn't know if that was a good thing but at least he wasn't screaming anymore.

Ms. Lu, one of the managers of the shelter, helped. She sent Larry, a big guy who could run fast, to the camp to get Geordie and Nate. An ambulance and the police arrived, making lots of noise with sirens and squawking radios, and took Timpa away. Ms. Lu said they couldn't go with him, which was bad; they always went with Tim unless Geordie was there.

When Geordie came in, he was red in the face from running so fast. Old Nate came in after him and Ms. Lu told them what happened. While she was talking, Barry, one of Geordie's tent mates, came in with Geo's suitcase.

It was close to dinnertime and Ms. Lu couldn't leave so she gave Geordie bus money to take the littles to the hospital. She locked their suitcases in her office, saying she would bring them to the hospital later. On the bus, they sat on Geordie's lap and Rob stood on the seat when it was time to pull the buzzer so they could get out.

Sarah was too scared to think or cry; she just hung onto Geordie and didn't protest when Rob pulled the buzzer. She wanted Tim and even though she usually felt safe with Geordie, now she didn't feel safe about anything. Hoping this was a bad dream, she closed her eyes really tight but when she opened them, she was still on the bus with Geo and Robbie.

Geordie kept his eyes on the street as the bus rolled forward, afraid of missing their stop, holding onto the kids and trying not to think about his friend and the blood on the floor and the kids. Ms. Lu helped Sarah and Robbie wash their hands, arms, faces and change their clothes before they left. She said people would stop them otherwise. Geo could feel the little ones trembling as he held them on his lap; he was just as scared even though he was much older. He didn't exactly know why but Tim trusted him with his little sister and the little boy he took care of, who he called his little brother. But now he didn't know what to do. Take them to the hospital and then what? How was he going to take care of all of them? He tried to think what his dad would tell him to do if he were still alive and that gave him an idea.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The bus stopped right in front of the hospital and Geordie and the kids scrambled off, the little ones still holding onto Geo. They went in the Emergency Room entrance, asking for Tim at the front desk, remembering to call him Tim Brill instead of Tim McGee, saying they were Tim's sister and brothers. Ellen Brill, Robbie's mother, was their 'shelter' mother and her name was on Tim's records so for today they were all named Brill. The nurse asked where their mother was and Geordie lied, saying she was at work, trying to get a ride to the hospital. The nurse looked doubtful but the Emergency Room was at capacity and she was crazy busy. Telling them Tim was in surgery, she gave them directions to a waiting room.

When they got to the waiting room, there was no one else in it and there was a pay phone. Geordie had enough money left from the bus fare money Ms. Lu gave him to make the call he'd thought about. He looked in the phone book hanging from the shelf by the phone. He sighed in relief when he finally found the number he wanted.

Keeping an eye on the littles, he quickly dialed the toll-free-800 number, happy to hear the dime drop back into the coin well. With the rest of the change from the bus fare, ten cents more meant they could have a snack later and still have enough to take the bus back to the shelter. When there was an answer, he gave his real name and reported the attack. The guy who answered the phone said he had to put him on hold for a minute, not to hang up.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

At NIS, Boss's phone rang and his junior agent grabbed his gear, ready to roll on a case. Boss listened, asked a few questions and told whoever it was they'd be there in about an hour. When he hung up, he rolled his eyes at his overeager Probie, standing there with his gear bag. The other member of the team was out taking witness statements for a death ruled a suicide; it was just the two of them.

"Yeah, need your gear, we've got a young kid, supposedly a Navy dependent, who was stabbed in a homeless shelter; that'll be an interesting conversation with Bayopolis PD. I'm gonna grab one of Stover's agents to work the crime scene with me while you head to the hospital to talk with the kid who called it in."

His junior agent, Jethro "Probie" Gibbs, frowned, "A kid called it in? Where are the victim's parents or guardians?"

Franks growled, "That's why you're gonna talk with the kid, Probie. You're good with kids."

Gibbs headed for the elevator and their assigned sedan. Asking for additional help, Franks was assigned a young agent named Rick Carter. Fresh out of college, FLETC and 10 months into his probationary year, he was well thought of and would be more than ready for his promotion to junior agent. He'd worked with Franks' team before and passed muster, not an easy thing to accomplish.

Even with Franks' crazy driving it took them 80 minutes in the thick of commute traffic to reach the hospital where Gibbs was dropped off. It took him awhile to locate the kid but eventually he was sitting in a waiting room with a young teen and two little kids, both about his daughter's age. He introduced himself, showing his badge and ID. The older boy, Geordie Perry, examined both closely before looking up and studying him. Finally, he asked, "Are you a Marine?"

Startled, Gibbs nodded, "Yes, in the reserves."

Geordie nodded, "My dad was a Marine sergeant. I'm going in as soon as I graduate from high school."

Gibbs gave him a half smile; this was good news, a connection. He started to ask a question but stopped when a hungry tummy rumbled. All three of the kids looked like they could use a good meal, several good meals.

Gibbs knew these kids were scared for the kid who'd been hurt and the two little ones were still scared of him. Only the older one seemed determined, of what he didn't know. He sat back and looked at them. "The nurse downstairs told me your brother is going to be in surgery for a few more hours. I don't know about you three but I'm hungry, it's close to my suppertime. Would you have dinner with me?"

Sarah shook her head, "We don't have any money."

Geordie pulled out twenty cents, "This is what we don't need for the bus fare back to the shelter. We'll get something from the vending machine and share it."

Gibbs pretended to think, "You know, I don't think NIS would mind paying for your dinners tonight. After all, Sarah and Rob are Tim's sister and brother so they're Navy dependents too. And Geordie, I'd be honored to buy dinner for the son of a fellow Marine - if you'll allow it."

The two little ones looked at Geordie, pleading looks on their faces. He nodded, "All right, Agent Gibbs, that'll be fine, thank you." As they walked through the waiting room doorway, he whispered another "Thanks" to the agent. Gibbs wasn't sure why, whether it was for making up reasons to buy them dinner, for honoring the son of a fellow Marine or maybe for staying with them.

They got food, Gibbs making sure each of the kids had a full plate with plenty of protein, vegetables and two cartons of milk each; adding extra rolls, apples, oranges, Jell-O cups, juice boxes, packets of crackers and cheese and anything else he saw that they could take with them. When he paid, he asked for three take-away boxes and the cashier smiled as she handed them over along with a carry bag.

Sitting at a table in a quiet corner, the kids attacked their food hungrily. Gibbs stopped them when he thought they'd eaten enough.

"Why don't we take a break from eating and talk about what happened today? I have boxes so you can take your food with you."

Three pairs of eyes looked up at him, reluctant to stop but Geordie knew he was right, if they ate everything on their plates they'd get sick, their stomachs weren't used to this much food at once. Or in a week. He nodded at the kids and they sighed, putting their forks down.

Gibbs put his down as well, "All right. Were all three of you there when Tim was hurt?"

Geordie shook his head, "I wasn't."

"Ok, so Sarah and Rob, you were there?" Two nods. "Can you tell me what happened?" Two lower lips trembled and he spoke softly, "What were you doing before it happened?"

Sarah answered, "We were working on spelling, with James, Tiffany, Heather, Billy and Duarte. We were sitting at one of the big tables and Tim," her chin wobbled as she tried not to cry and Geordie pulled her in for a hug. His big eyes full of unshed tears, Rob looked at the NIS agent as he continued the story, "Timpa was working in the kitchen. He gets extra food for us when he does that. He was getting plates and stuff out for dinner and giving us spelling words. We were spelling the word park."

Sarah nodded, "P-A- and then the bad man grabbed Tim and cut his back with a knife."

Robbie was crying but kept talking, "Timmy screamed, it musta hurt really bad because he never screams when he's hurt, he never even cries."

Sarah continued, "Some of the grownups grabbed the bad guy and we went to help Tim. He was screaming and there was blood and Robbie remembered that you're 'sposed to put pressure on a cut, the doctor told him that when he cut his finger. He's gonna be a doctor."

Robbie nodded, "We tried with our hands but it wasn't enough so we sat on him. We didn't know what else to do."

"You sat on him?"

"Uh huh. On the cut. It was really long so we sat next to each other and then the grownups helped but they didn't sit on him."

"That was smart! Do you remember what the bad guy looked like?"

Sarah nodded, "Big, like Nate at the camp but not Nate, he's nice. He was scary with yellowy eyes, black hair and his face was fuzzy. He was drinking coffee and watching us. Mrs. Jameson, that's Billy and Heather's mom, was sitting with us and she didn't like him. She kept saying she was going to ask Ms. Lu to throw him out, but she's not allowed to if they're not doing anything wrong."

"You said some of the grownups grabbed him?"

Robbie nodded, "Yeah but when we were sitting on Tim, I saw the bad guy hit Mr. Garrett and then he ran out the back door, almost knocked Ms. Lu down, that's when they started helping us." He added as an afterthought, "He had a funny looking nose."

"Can you describe it, Robbie? My boss is at the shelter now talking to people so we can find him and put him in jail; it might help if we told him about his nose."

Robbie ran a finger down his own nose and then down Sarah's. He looked up at the agent who swallowed a sigh and lowered his head so the kid could feel what his nose felt like. "His nose wasn't straight like ours and it had a bump…here." The little boy tapped Gibbs' nose just below the bridge.

"That's good, kiddo! I'm going to phone my boss to tell him. Black hair, yellowy eyes and a crooked nose with a bump, that's really good kids."

Sarah felt good that they were helping catch the guy that hurt Tim, but it didn't make Tim any better so then she felt bad again. She scrunched her face as Gibbs continued talking. "When my team comes to get me, we can take you back over to the shelter."

The little kids shook their heads violently, "No, we can't leave Timpa!"

"But it might take the doctors a long time to fix him."

Geordie caught his eye, "I'll stay with them, Agent Gibbs. They're used to me."

Rob and Sarah were trying very hard not to be even more scared. Now they had to worry about Tim and about being taken away by this guy, maybe even given to the CPS people.

Gibbs saw their fear but didn't say anything about it just yet. He looked at Geordie, "The hospital won't let you stay all night."

"Then they'll stay with me. It's what Tim would want anyway; they normally stay with me if he has to be somewhere he can't take them."

Gibbs frowned, "I'll stay with the three of you until your brother is out of surgery." Geordie opened his mouth to protest but nodded instead; he was wary of the federal agent but he knew they needed an adult to help and he'd lost hope that Ellen, Rob's mother (and right now ostensibly Tim's, Sarah's and his), would show up.

Using the pay phone, Gibbs called his boss at the shelter and passed along the information about the attacker's description. Franks grunted, "That's more specific than any of the adults here. Except for one woman who was sitting with the kids, she said something about the nose and hair. Any news?"

He pulled the door to the phone booth shut but kept his voice soft anyway. "No and the kids won't leave until they know how Tim is. Can't say I blame them, they're at risk until we catch this guy."

"Stay with 'em."

"On it, Boss."

"Probie, didn't you used to be a foster parent?"

"Yeah, still am. My wife and I are certified, we've only had one kid for a few days though."

"All right, I'm gonna call that McKinna woman we worked with on the Hammacher case and see if we can get the three kids officially put in your custody as foster children. And Timothy too when he's out of the hospital. I'll call the Yard and have someone bring a car for you and a security detail to stand guard once the kid's out of surgery, until we find this bastard. The mother isn't around…the Ellen Brill person. Looks like she disappeared right around the same time as the slime ball."

Gibbs' eyes widened as Franks' words hit him, he and Shannon were gonna have custody of these three? And the brother? For how long? He opened his mouth to say something to his boss when Franks wound down but thought better of it. They needed protection and the shelter was obviously not safe; he figured the camp the kids mentioned would be even worse and whoever the so-called mother really was obviously wasn't reliable, could even be part of the attack.

Instead of protesting, he said, "I'll discuss it with my wife. Boss, they'll need their things. The manager has the suitcases for all four kids. Geordie mentioned one of his friends brought his to the shelter so the manager, the kids call her Ms. Lu, could lock them in her office."

"Ok, we'll get 'em to you. I'm gonna call for the car and security, we'll be done here by the time they get to the hospital."

"And Ms. McKinna at Child Protective Services."

Franks hung up and Gibbs called his wife who answered cheerfully, "Hi hon, coming home soon?"

"Not sure, Shan. We have a situation…" He told her about the kids and his boss's idea that they take the 3 kids in as fosters and include the 4th one when he was released from the hospital. She agreed although she had no idea where they were going to sleep. The little girl could sleep with Kelly, she guessed they could share her bed tonight and the two boys could share the bed in the guest room. They'd get more organized tomorrow but she and Kelly needed to do some grocery shopping before Jethro came home with the new kids. As far as finances went, they knew they'd be paid for the kids' care, that wasn't an issue. She shook her head, it wouldn't be an issue even if CPS didn't pay; the Gibbs family would find a way.

Gibbs stepped back into the waiting room. "Got a new plan. I'll stay with you as I said and when your brother is out of surgery another agent will stay with him to keep him safe and the three of you will come home with me. My wife and I are foster parents; my boss is squaring it with CPS now."

The little ones weren't sure how they felt. They'd always heard that CPS and fosters were a bad thing. Although Geordie would be with them so that was good and they felt like Gibbs was a good guy; it was good someone would stay with their Timpa. But were they ever coming back? Sarah asked and Geordie nodded, that was his question too. They all had school here for one thing and it was only Tuesday. He said that and Gibbs nodded. "I'll talk with our case worker, you'll be with us for a few weeks at least; we'll get your schools squared away tomorrow so you'll start at the schools near our house on Thursday and only miss one day. Tim will come home with us when he's well enough to leave the hospital. For tonight, we'll go to our house and tomorrow we'll come back here to see Tim. After we hear what the doctors say, we can start making better plans."

Geordie finally found his voice, "Where do you live?"

"In Arlington, Virginia; not too far from here. We have a four-bedroom house with a backyard. You'll have to share and we probably won't be very organized tonight, we'll figure it out tomorrow."

Sarah looked at him, "Do you have kids?"

Gibbs smiled, "Yes, my wife Shannon and I have a little girl named Kelly who's 5 years old."

Robbie grinned and Gibbs smiled at the gaps between his baby teeth, "I'm 5 and Sarah's 6!"

Gibbs patted his head. "Kelly will like that! So…what can you tell me about your family?"

Sarah shrugged, "Our dad and brother Patrick died. Our first mom died a long time ago."

He nodded and they sat quietly for a few seconds until he realized none of them was going to say any more without prompting. Finally, he asked, "What was your father's name, Sarah?"

"Commander Dan McGee." She spoke carefully, telling Agent Gibbs what Tim had told them even though she didn't know what some of the words meant and she said them slowly. "Tim says he was the executive officer of the Enterprise. Our brother's name was Patrick; I don't remember him."

"What happened to them?"

Sarah shrugged, "They got in a wreck when somebody hit our dad's car. Timmy got thrown out and was hurt really bad." She looked up, "That was before we came here; I was pretty little."

"How little?"

She shrugged again but Geordie spoke up, "Sarah was three and Tim was nine."

Gibbs looked at Geordie, wondering how he was connected. Geordie caught the look, swallowing before adding his own history, "My mom died when I was 6 and my dad died while we were staying at the shelter, about 4 years ago and then I moved to the camp. I met Tim and Sarah at the bus station here their first day, when Tim realized nobody was coming for them, they'd been abandoned."

"Have you been on your own since your dad died?"

Geordie nodded, "Until Tim and the kids came along; they kinda made me one of the family. And I have friends; there are four of us who share a tent."

"Are they orphans too?"

Geordie's eyes widened in horror, he hadn't meant to rat out his friends so CPS could swoop in and take them away. The foster kids around here had horrible things happen to them; they were always being moved around, separated from their brothers and sisters, most of the ones Geordie knew wore old clothes, were hungry and sometimes bruised and he knew a few who'd been abused, they weren't any better off than the shelter or camp kids.

Gibbs shook his head, "I won't mention them if you don't want me to." He paused, "Are there other kids on their own at the camp?"

Geordie shook his head, "No, everyone else has an adult."

"What about the shelter?"

"Kids can't stay there without a parent or guardian."

"Huh. Who is Ellen Brill?" Rob, who'd been half-asleep, opened his eyes wide at the mention of the woman who'd nearly abandoned him, only admitting his existence after Timpa rescued him from a busy city street.

Geordie looked at him and then at Gibbs, "She's Rob's mother. When she showed up at the camp three years ago, Tim made a deal with her. He'd take care of Robbie if she'd be his and Sarah's 'shelter' mother. Kind of like a foster mother, but only when the shelter's open. She just had to show up at the shelter every afternoon so they could go in and she signs their report cards, paperwork for school, stuff like that."

He looked hard at Gibbs, there was more to tell but he didn't want to say it in front of Robbie and Sarah. Tim told him Ellen rarely slept at the shelter, she was usually gone by the time the kids were asleep. She'd say she was going to get a cup of coffee in the kitchen and take off for the night. Tim didn't care as long as they weren't thrown out. He usually managed to scrounge money from her pack while she was in the bathroom, otherwise she wouldn't contribute at all to the welfare of her own child. And Geordie was afraid Gibbs would ask why they weren't all in foster care already.

Gibbs gave Geordie an almost imperceptible nod; he understood there was more to say, probably not in front of the little kids. They waited in silence, Sarah and Rob curled up on either side of Geordie, sleeping fitfully. Geordie jerked awake when the door to the waiting room creaked open and two men entered. The older of the two nodded to him, glanced at Sarah and Rob and then motioned to Gibbs. Stopping long enough to quietly introduce his boss and colleague to Geordie, Gibbs and the older man left the room leaving the other guy, Agent Carter, behind.

"No news from the docs yet?"

"No, Boss. Last time I checked, I was told it would be another two hours; that was about 90 minutes ago."

"Poor kid. You get something to eat?"

"Yeah, we all did, in the cafeteria."

"Probie, that ain't real food!"

"Way they tore into it was more of any kind of food they'd had in a while."

"Kids should not have to live this way, not in the US, not anywhere!" Franks paused, working to tame his anger and frustration, "We finished the crime scene and the one credible adult witness, Mrs. Jamison, and her kids are on their way to the Yard to see the sketch artist. Gonna put them up at the Navy Lodge tonight and give them a ride back here tomorrow; shelter doors will be closed for the night by the time she's done. You figure out the Navy connection yet?"

"Yeah, Tim's father was a commander, Dan McGee, XO on the Enterprise. Killed in a wreck three years ago with another brother; the little girl says Tim was badly hurt then and from what Geordie said, Tim and Sarah were abandoned afterward."

"Three years ago, wonder if it was before or after the Carrier Strike Group moved to Norfolk. Woulda been some sort of inquiry."

Gibbs absorbed the information, knowing he would be digging through files for the Commander's case and then realized he had that information. "From what the older boy and the sister said, they were in California."

"Before the move then – think the Big E was at NAS Alameda. All right, I'll check into it after we catch the crooked nose bastard. Ms. McKinna approved you taking the kids. When we give her their real surnames, she'll start a search for any relatives. You might have them with you for a while, Jethro. What'd your wife say?"

Gibbs nodded; he'd figured that out already. "That we wouldn't turn down the chance to help these kids. We'll be all right. Might need some help when Tim gets out of the hospital."