Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Huh, that is ironic. I wasn't even aware it was Father's Day- I don't observe it much since my father passed away in '01.

Thanks to Gottahavemyncis, Sazzita and Reader for reviewing 1.

Vance sent Tim home, telling him to take the week and get things settled- the funeral arrangements, the calling of family, the insurance policies, the settling of the assets. Reluctantly, he went, grabbing his gear and then taking his sister's hand. "Come on, Sarah. Sarah, come on!" The others in the bullpen watched as Tim wrapped an arm around the college student's waist and walked her to the elevator.

"Tim-" But only Sarah looked back as they headed to the elevator; the rest of the team stood in the bullpen entrance, watching as they stepped into the elevator-

And heard the beginnings of an argument.

"We have to tell Aunt Siobhan."

"Aunt Siobhan hated Dad, Sarah, you know that!"

"But she's Mom's little sister!"

"If we tell her, you know how she'll react! She always thought Dad killed Mom as it is-"

"It wasn't true! She overdosed!"

They heard no more as the doors finally closed and the box moved down to the ground floor. Both Tony and Ziva turned to Gibbs, expecting him to know instantly what was going on between the siblings, but he just shook his head, as confused as they were. "What... what happened, Boss?"

"Admiral McGee died." The three turned to see Vance come down the stairs.

"When?" Ziva asked, eyes widening, as suddenly, Sarah and Tim's reactions made sense- Sarah, the grieving daughter, and her brother, the one who denied any feeling towards the death of the man who'd brought him into the world.

"This morning, oh-six-hundred. Had to inform Agent McGee when he got here, and had my assistant call Waverly, and ask Sarah to come down so Tim could explain what happened. I've given him the week off to get everything in order and get his head on straight. And I don't want to find out you three have been trying to persuade him to come back to work until he's gotten everything settled, understood?" Tony and Ziva nodded, and after a moment, Gibbs did as well. Once Vance was satisfied and had returned to his office, Tony and Ziva returned to their desks. Gibbs slipped out for coffee, and eventually, Tony headed down to the break room to get something out of the vending machine. Realizing she was alone, Ziva slowly set her pen down and got up, wandering over to Tim's desk.

If anyone ask, she'd just say that she was looking for a pencil.

She slid her hands along his desk, studying the space that surrounded McGee's desk, and once she was sure no one was looking, took a seat in his chair. Instantly, his scent enveloped her, and she relaxed.

Coffee, sunshine, and typewriter ink. So distinctly, uniquely Tim.

Her gaze wandered over his desk; it looked exactly like hers, save for the little touches he'd added. Besides the phone and computers they all had, he had a few photographs, taken over the previous summer, when he and Sarah had gone down to Australia to visit their cousins for two weeks.

One photo showed the pair sitting on the hood of a jeep, somewhere in the Outback, probably having just come back from a hike. Sarah wore a wide-brimmed hat and Tim had a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes; the white halter and light blue shorts Sarah wore and the grey t-shirt and tank kakis Tim wore only emphasized the sun-kissed tan both had received. In the second photograph, the siblings were at their cousin Emma's home, out in the backyard, obviously enjoying the weather. All dressed in bathing suits, Tim and his cousin Jake, were trying to throw Sarah into the pool- Tim had ahold of her shoulders and arms, and Jake her legs. Sarah, in her purple bikini, was helpless to break free. They were both cute photographs, but the ones that had Ziva laughing silently were the last two.

In one, the cousins were at Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras- one of their cousins, eighteen-year-old Amy- was openly gay, and had dragged her cousins and siblings to the festival- and somehow, Sarah had climbed onto her brother's shoulders. She was holding a sign that read, 'Sexuality, like race, shouldn't matter in love'. Tim was holding onto her ankles, and Amy was on her knees in front of her cousin, dressed in a bright pink tutu and a low-cut bustier crop top holding the rainbow flag that had become the symbol of the LGBT community. On either side of the small group, Jake and Emma stood, also holding flags. All wore multiple necklaces of varying colors and were grinning.

And in the second, the two were lounging in the grass in Emma's backyard, with their cousins. They had either just been swimming or were just lounging in the sun, since they were either in bathing suits or regular clothes. Tim was lying on his stomach on the blanket they'd spread out, most likely having just gone for a swim, and he was resting his chin on his arms. But what Ziva found so funny was the fact that Tim was being sat on- Amy and Sarah were straddling his back, dripping wet from their swim- Sarah in her purple bikini, and Amy in a red one- grinning at the camera as they pinned Sarah's older brother down. Emma sat beside them in a blue bikini, giggling at the spectacle. And Tim had just managed to lift his head, and he had an expression on his face, as though both girls were boulders crushing him. Ziva chuckled softly; she could just imagine Tim's response to being sat on.

"You two weigh a ton!"

After a moment, she turned her gaze from the photos, turning to the small bookshelf behind his desk. A few books resided on it, mainly classics- Bronte, Du Maurier, Alcott, Rushidie, to name a few- as well as a few little trinkets he'd picked up over the years; her gaze landed on a matryoshka doll of the Russian Imperial family- something Tim had picked up when he and Sarah had gone to St. Petersburg with Penny the winter before. Slowly, she reached out, picking up the doll. As she moved to open it up, revealing Alexandra, she felt someone watching her, and quickly turned, the doll still held in her hand. "Gibbs, I-"

"Back to work, David. And leave McGee's matroyshka doll alone." She quickly did as told, though as she sat back at her desk, she was determined to open that doll and reveal the empress, the duchesses, the Tsarevich. And maybe, in doing so, she could do the same to Tim, and get him to open up to her.