McEureka - Part 1

Paperwork. It made a nice change of pace for a little while after spending a week running from one suspect to the next and nerve racking hours glued to a computer screen waiting for one of her many searches to ping with a result. But change of pace and nice rest aside if Tony hit her with a spit covered ball of paper one more time she would stuff the whole copying machine down his throat and and see how he dealt with that amount of paper.

She heard it. The quick gust of air as the paper ball escaped the straw and then 'splat' as the extra soggy paper pellet landed wetly against her cheek. It even stuck for a moment before gravity did its thing and it fell onto the desk in front of her to replace the full stop on one of the documents she was working from. She looked at it like it was an alien from another planet before shifting her body and flicking offending paper with a fingernail back at her teammate.

Tony didn't even notice, too busy taking aim at Ziva. By the look of barely held tolerance on the other woman's face Tim realized that if she just sat back long enough Ziva would be the one introducing Tony to the copier. Or a paper clip. Tim was still quite fascinated with the idea of death by paper clip…

Ziva held out longer than Tim thought she would. Three more paper balls had gone flying through the air towards her. Two hitting their marks and one flying of to hit the partition board at her back.

While she had been expecting it - Ziva was quite predicable when it came to her responses to Tony's immaturity - Tim still jumped when Ziva's hands slammed down onto her desk at the same time she pushed her chair back and stood. Braced on her desk she looked ready to pounce over the furniture for Tony's throat.

While Tim jumped Tony very nearly fell out f his chair with fright. Tim couldn't stop the smile. He never learned. Or maybe he was like a little boy pulling a girls pigtails working along the idea that any attention was good attention.

Sadly before Ziva could paper clip Tony, Gibbs came stalking towards his desk - where had be come from? He had been summoned to Vance's office over half an hour ago - and leaned over his computer.

She winced as he hit the keys violently and almost slammed the mouse onto the desk top. It had been sticking on and off for a while and she had been meaning to fix it but with one thing and another a moody Gibbs from a sticky mouse was preferable to the wrath of Gibbs being aimed at you for squandering your time during a case. Hearing the mouse connect again with the desk she was rethinking her decision.

Her boss stood, the wire connecting the mouse to the monitor the only things stopping it from sliding off the edge of the desk as she pushed it away in open disgust.

"Director's office, now,"

Tim quickly saved her files and stood with Tony and Ziva. Honestly the man had then trained better than circus dogs.

They followed him up the steps.

Gibbs looked angry. A usual state of things after being called to the Director's Office. They had all exchanged looked when their boss and strode from the bullpen. The case had gone well. They had got to the bottom of the pharmaceutical smuggling (in what Tim thought was record timing). They hadn't even had to shoot anyone! So he couldn't be getting into trouble for anything… Well…anything to do with this case anyway.

"What you are about to be told is Top Secret,"

They had just signed non-disclosure agreements (the kind that read 'tell anyone and we will KNOW and you will spontaneously combust at our leisure') and the Director was being the most serious Tim had even seen him.

Tim exchanged looks with Ziva and Tony. None of them quite happy when it came to anything labeled 'Top Secret' they all remembered far to well the utter mess of the case involving the 'research' ship, Chimera. It had not sat well with any of them to know that despite not knowing if they were off the ship, it had still been blown out the water. She could still hear the explosion in her head and feel the slight heat of the blast on her skin when she thought of the case.

It wasn't the kid of thing to fill you with confidence.

None of them had been on their best game either when it came to the 'Black Ship'.

Tony was freaking out about rats and plague viruses. Ziva - despite her kick-butt-and-take-names attitude - had been a bit jumpy (Mossad training about open mindedness or not). Tim was sure she had flushed her stomach lining down the toilet thanks to her sea-sickness.

Ducky and Gibbs had been the only ones to keep it together but even they had been a little…off.

Tim quirked a brow.

Huh. So, surprisingly enough, this case was dealing with a legitimate Top Secret research project.

She was standing to the side, scanning through the files that had been handed to Gibbs by the Director. Gibbs of course had handed them straight to her while he launched into some matcho-crap display with the Director.

She blocked it out. She had listened to it countless times before and knew it rarely shifted. Gibbs was basically letting it be known that he would stand on as many Top Secret toes as necessary to get the job done Tim rolled her eyes as she turned to the next page, when Gibbs got like this he would do everything but pee on the evidence, showing that the case was his and not the Directors.

She scanned the page. Huh, marines were involved in the testing phase. That was were they were involved then. Testing must have gone very bad.

The argument continued in the background.

Blah blah blah. My case, Leon. Blah blah blah. Put another team on the case then. Blah blah blah I don't play nice with others. Blah blah blah unless their spunky red heads then I might think about it. Blah blah blah. And so it went.

Tim froze.

She had just turned over the the last page, the premise for the research was quite fascinating and would be ground breaking if it could be pulled off, when she scanned to the end of the document.

She had to blink and then look again.

That scrawled signature at the bottom of the page. The signature giving the official go-ahead. She recognized it.

Tim looked bellow it and her mouth went dry.

Nathan Stark.

"Are you coming, McGee,"

Tim snapped the file shut and spun, her eyes wide in her head.

The conversation had finished and everyone had left the room, except for Gibb who was standing at the door waiting for her.

"Oh, yes, sorry boss," she shot towards the door and he left seeing her approaching.

A throat clearing behind her had her slowing before she reached the still open door.

"Agent McGee,"

She turned.

"Um, yes sir," she looked at the director who was eying her hands.

"The file," he smiled.

The file?

She looked down, following his gaze and blushed the the tips of her ears.

Oh dear.

Tim nearly tripped over her own feet to get to the desk and return the folder.

"Sorry, Director," she squeaked.

"Quite alright, Agent McGee," she dropped the file on the table and backed away, "A bit over my head I'll admit but fascinating all the same,"

Tim slowly raised her head to meet his eyes. There was a gleam there that told her he was being sincere. She smiled shyly.

"Yes sir, if they are successfu-"

"Today, McGee," Gibbs voice bellowed from outside.

Tim floundered slightly, her mouth opening and closing small noises escaping.

"On you go, Agent McGee," the Director jerked his head towards the door.

"Yes sir, thank you sir,"

"McGee!" snapped Gibbs again.

"Coming boss," she called back, flustered as she dashed from the Directors office, only just remembering to stop and close the door softly behind her.

Hi darlings!

So to give you guys who aren't really diggin' the Batman fic a little something to read I thought I would start the next collection :)

This first installment will be a mash up with A Town Called Eureka. Anyone seen that show? It is great fun. I splurged on the boxset last summer and binge watched a disc a night until I got to the end. Fantastic fun! And I think that our Tim is smart enough to have a passing knowledge of the secret town ;).

Anyhoo. I'll stop boring you guys.

I hope you are all staying safe and have a good week ahead :)

Take care. x