Standard Disclaimer still applies; not Beta'd
This story ended up being a bit longer than I originally intended...I loved the reviews and feedback I got from it, so Thank you!
6
"What you got, Abs?"
"Nothing yet," she admitted. "Major Mass Spec is still running samples and I'm working on tracking the computer info now."
He nodded, "McGee said your computer wasn't available earlier."
"How like him to whine and complain when he doesn't get a chance to show off his MIT degrees," Abby huffed.
Gibbs looked at her, unable to hide the surprise he felt at he words and tone, even with the warning he got from Tony. The McGee he knew wasn't like that at all. What was even more surprising was that this was Abby, McGee's self-proclaimed best friend saying that.
"McGee didn't complain," he felt honor bound to defend his agent, even to one of his favorite people. "He just said that it wasn't available when I asked if he had anything on it yet."
"Oh," Abby stated softly.
"Abs?" he questioned, even more concerned at her quietness.
"It was unavailable to him," she admitted
"Just him?" he asked, looking directly into her eyes. "Why?"
"Because I can track down that information just as well as he could," Abby declared. "He might have all those fancy degrees, but I'm the forensic scientist and this is my lab."
"Abby,"
"I'm telling"
"Abby."
"you he sh-"
Gibbs' sharp whistle made Abby pause and look at him. "Gibbs?"
"Abby, I don't know what's going on between the two of you and frankly, I don't care. The two of you don't have to always get along, but you do need to be professional. Keep your private life out of the office and never let it interfere with a case again," Gibbs ordered, before turning and storming out of the lab, leaving Abby standing in the midst of her lab.
"But it's not part of my private life and it involves the office," she muttered once she overcame her shock of having Gibbs yell at her.
7
"Boss, I got something," Tim called later that night. As usual when working on a tough case, everyone was burning the midnight oil at the office.
"This from those forms I signed?" Gibbs asked. Tim nodded and then began explaining what he found, what he thinks it means, and what else they need.
"I don't know if Abby found anything to support it," Tim concluded, hoping Gibbs wouldn't send him down to check.
Gibbs smirked, as if he knew what his agent was thinking. After reviewing the new information, he sent Tony and Ziva to follow up on Tim's information while he turned to the only other agent in the room.
"What's going on, Tim?"
McGee startled at the rare use of his first name. "Um, just that," he said pointing to the screen. "Haven't found anything else," he admitted.
"I meant with you and Abby." Eyes narrowed as they looked at the younger agent, "Why didn't you tell me about Abby?"
Tim shrugged and looked away, "Nothing to tell."
Gibbs' hand twitched as if longing to reach out and slap something. Clenching it into a fist, he asked, "And her computer being unavailable."
Another shrug, "I had no idea what the problem was," he admitted. "I didn't even know that she was mad at me until Tony mentioned it. Hell, I still don't know why."
Gibbs was slightly shocked at his agent's language, especially since they were in the office. "Figure it out and set things straight. I never want to hear of something personal interfering with a case again."
Tim snorted.
"You got something to say?"
Tim looked up and met his gaze, "I'm not the one with the issue. I even asked her if we could put whatever it was aside to figure out this case, all she said was that she didn't trust me," Tim stated morosely, before standing up and adding, "But since you won't take my word for it, I'll head down and see what she has."
8
"Abby," Tim asked, knocking on the lab door.
"You again," Abby stated, before muttered, "I knew I should have closed the door."
"Gibbs wants to know what ya got," Tim responded, ignoring the slight and entering the lab.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, "I didn't say you could enter," she huffed.
"Really, Abby?" Tim asked, as remained in the doorway, "Can you just tell me what you found so we can close this case?"
"I could," she replied smirking, "If I trusted you."
"Abs,"
"Miss Sciuto to you, I'm only Abby or Abs to my trusted friends."
Tim exhaled, he really didn't need this. "Just tell me what you have."
"Nope. This is sensitive information pertaining to a case, it wouldn't do to inform a liar about it."
"Are you ever going to tell me what's going on?"
"With the case, nope."
"With why you are so ma-pissed at me," Tim corrected.
"I told you, you're smart enough to figure it out."
Tim stared at her, knowing that she was stubborn enough not to give in, usually he was as well, but in this case, well, the case had to come first. Not to mention that he was getting a bit fed up with Abby's attitudes. With a sigh, he turned around and left heading to the elevator, not noticing the slightly opened stairwell door. Once in the elevator, he punched the button for the lobby and picked up his phone to call Gibbs.
"Gibbs"
"Hey, um, Abby wants to see you to tell you what she found."
"What did she tell you?"
"She wants to show you herself," Tim evaded answering his question.
"Are you still down there?"
"I…no, I'm gonna go get a coffee," Tim replied, really needing one after the confrontation with Abby, Miss Sciuto, his mind corrected.
"Okay. Get back to the bullpen as soon as you can, Tony and Ziva might have more information."
"Right, Bo-" Tim started to reply, only realize Gibbs had hung up on him.
9
"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" Abby cried, as the older man walked through her lab doors.
"Abs."
"Found something," she smiled at him, launching into an explanation.
"Uh huh," Her silver fox nodded.
She frowned, "No questions?" she asked in surprise.
Gibbs shook his head, "Nope. What you found supports what McGee discovered."
"What did McGee discover and how?" she asked, eyes narrowing, answering before Gibbs had a chance to reply, "Let me guess, Mr. MIT used one of his many degrees to find out the answer."
"McGee did his job," Gibbs replied, implying that some people hadn't, "and used other methods when your computer was unavailable to him.
"What's going on, Abby?" he asked.
"Nothing, just protecting my lab, evidence, and clues as usual."
"From McGee? I thought you trusted him."
"I did, when he trusted me, or rather, when I thought he trusted me. We were friends before he joined the team, he should have told me. But he didn't, so I don't, can't trust him, not since I found out he's been lying to me, to us all this time."
"McGee lied?" Gibbs questioned in shock.
"From the day we met him," Abby confirmed sharply.
"About what?" the older man asked before holding up a hand to prevent her from answering. "No, don't tell me, I'll ask him," he said as he headed towards the door.
Abby snorted, "If he hasn't said anything all this time, why would he admit to a federal offense now?"
Her words had the desired effect of stopping Gibbs in his tracks, "Federal offense?" he repeated, turning to face the scientist.
Abby smirked and nodded. When Gibbs continued to the lab door, Abby followed, firmly closing the door behind him.
What could McGee have lied about that not only had Abby so upset, but could also be considered a crime?
10
"You know she's really pissed at you, right?" After Gibbs finished talking with Abby, he decided he too needed a coffee. By the time he returned to the office, Tony and Ziva had returned with additional information. Gibbs knew it wouldn't be long before the case really heated up. This meant he hadn't had any opportunity to discuss the situation with Tim, until now.
"I...what?" Tim asked, groaning that Gibbs is now even more involved. "I told you I found that out earlier from Tony. She hasn't said anything to me other than the fact that she's not mad, she's pissed. Did she tell you why?" came the perplexed reply from the younger agent.
Gibbs stared at McGee before looking around the bullpen. "With me," he said, heading down the hall to a conference room. Tim followed behind him, hesitantly entering the room.
"Boss?" a soft, hesitant voice spoke the worried words.
"She's convinced you lied to her, to all of us since the day we met."
Tim frowned, "Lied about what?"
"Didn't tell me, figured I'd get it from you."
Tim was confounded, "I can't think of anything I lied about, especially not since the day we met."
Gibbs eyes him suspiciously, "She stated that it was a federal offense as well."
"I…what? No, boss. I would never," Tim protested, hoping his boss would know he was innocent. "I definitely don't know what she's referring to," Tim closed his eyes, what was going on. Did he upset Abby in some way and this was her twisted idea of revenge?
Gibbs nodded and gestured for McGee to sit, "She seemed especially upset because of the relationship the two of you shared before you joined the team. Could it be something personal like that?"
Tim shrugged, "I don't see how. She knows practically everything from my past. I told her about my past relationships, I didn't lie about anything."
"No marriages or engagements? Intimate relationships that might have resulted in progeny?"
"No!" Tim denied vehemently. "There's no way I could hide the fact that I had a child from you guys. No marriages or engagements, either," he added, before pointing out, "And if there was, that wouldn't be considered a crime."
Gibbs snorted, he was proof of the last point.
"Besides, how could that be considered lying to the team? To all of you?"
"Hmm," the older man mentally reviewed his conversations with Abby, "She also seemed upset about MIT."
Tim sighed, "She always is," he admitted. "And I admit that I'm proud that I went there and graduated with the GPA and degrees I did, especially at such a young age."
"Degrees?"
Tim blinked, "Well, yeah, Bachelors in Computer Programming and Masters in Computer Forensics."
"Thought it was just the master in computer forensics," came the surprised response.
"Uh, no. I wanted a degree in Computer Forensics, and thought it would be best to get a Master's in that," he paused and shrugged as he explained. "I could've gone straight into the Master's program, but decided that obtaining a bachelor's from them in Computer Programming couldn't hurt. I mean, who wouldn't want to take extra computer classes at MIT?" a gushing Tim explained to an amused Gibbs. "I figured it would also help me with the Masters and a job here at NCIS."
"Could that be what she's talking about?"
Tim frowned, "Shouldn't be. She knows that I have two bachelors and masters degrees."
Gibbs frowned, as he reviewed what Tim had just said, what he meant, "Two bachelors and a masters degree?
This time it was Tim that frowned, as he corrected, "Er, no, two bachelors and two masters."
With a sigh Gibbs asked, "John Hopkins?"
"Yes," Tim confirmed, rushing to explain. "I received both a bachelor's and master's degrees from them as well, but in Biomedical Engineering."
Gibbs looked at him, trying to keep the shock off his face, "You had two bachelors and two masters before most people earn one?"
"Uh, well, yeah, maybe. I don't know," Tim hedged before admitting, "I was 23."
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Boss?" the shocked boy responded sadly.
Gibbs stood and started pacing, "God, Tim, I knew you were smart, but this…You could be doing so much more than being Tony's patsy.
"This is what I wanted," Tim quietly admitted, "Working as a field agent for NCIS. I know I didn't have what it takes to go the regular route," at Gibb's inquiring gaze, Tim waved a hand towards him, "Marine, military background," then towards the door, "Secret Service, spy, Phys Ed major and Cop. No way would I be accepted with my geek background, but as a field agent, an investigator, it could, does come in handy. Most of my education was done with this in mind. That's why I chose the majors I did, why I kept adding degrees. I wanted to be seen as invaluable to NCIS when I applied."
Gibbs sat back down and met his agent's gaze, "It worked," he stated calmly, dryly before the two fell silent.
"And Abby knows about these degrees?"
Tim nodded vigorously, "I know she does. Um, I thought you did as well," he admitted.
Gibbs huffed, "Saw the Bachelors from John Hopkins and the Master's from MIT listed, didn't think there were more, so I didn't read the rest of your file. I like to judge people on what I see, not what I read," he explained. "Plus it's not often someone so young has more than that."
Tim inclined his head in understanding, "Um, Boss, I'm pretty sure most of the team doesn't know the extent of my education, so if you could not mention it…" Tim trailed off, knowing that his point was made and hopefully understood.
Gibbs nodded, hiding his smirk at that request, "And you're sure about Abby?"
"I'm sure," Came the confident reply. "I know that we've talked about them, plus their in my file, so yeah, she knows."
Eyes narrowed, "And how would Abby know what's in your file?"
"You're kidding, right?" Tim snorted, before noticing Gibbs' glare. "Oh, you're not. Um, well, the one system I never hacked into, never needed to was NCIS. Abby does that routinely, especially after Vance separated all of us last year."
"And you never mentioned this before now," he stated, glare not diminishing.
"Would it have mattered? Abby does what Abby wants to. Yes, you might've been able to rein her in, but she would just make sure no one else knew about her habits and hobbies."
Gibbs just shook his head and left the conference room.
Tim watched him leave before standing up to follow suit, "Guess we're done," he snorted.
Yeah, so this last bit is where I added to McGee's history/education. Below is the timetable I used/created.
September 13, 1978: born (From an NCIS fansite)
September 1994-June 1998 Attended John Hopkins full time at 16 (took some classes their while still in HS); received BS & Masters in Biomed Engineering (the bachelor's degree is cannon, I'm still kinda wondering why he chose that)
September 1998-December 2001, Attended MIT, received BS in Computer Programming; Masters in Computer Forensics (I know he didn't necessarily need the Bachelors, but come on, can you see him not taking all the computer classes he could at MIT or earning another bachelors from them?)
I know, it's a tight time table, but I earned by bachelors in 3.5 years (no summer classes or night classes and I usually worked 2 part time jobs during the school year) including one semester as a student teacher, and I am no where as smart as Tim. I also know that if you ask, you can 'test' out of some classes. I think McGee would take advantage of this, why sit in boring classes if you already know the material from a previous class? Also, if you have advisor's approval, you can take more than the standard 6 classes in a semester. And I'm sure Tim took classes during the summer, I mean, seriously, what else would he do, spend it at the beach? He seems pretty driven, eager to get out on his own.
6-5-18