Chapter 2

N/A : Chronology changes : Gibbs married Shannon in 1982 and they had Kelly the same year, not in 1984. Shannon and Kelly died in February 1987.

In this story, Tim is born in May 1981, instead of 1977. He's four years younger.

The story starts in the timeline of season four, a week before "Cover Story" Episode, so in 2007.

N/A #: Thanks to my beta jerseybelle for her work.

N/A: Thank you for all the people that left me reviews! It's great and gives me the will to give you back the best I can. Now, I had a review that suggested to me that Tim was coming off too much as a victim. Well, I can see your point, but for everything that has been done to McGee on the show, in canon and for the way that even 10 years later, he's still not view as an equal and is still Abby's back-up guy when she screw up, for the way Dinozzo so casually dismissed the role McGee had when they all went to rescue Ziva, for the way Ziva handled him when she was trying to avenge her father's murder, for the way Gibbs said and did nothing all those years… well Tim is a victim. I think it's clear for everyone that the reason he hasn't quit his job is because he loves it and think he can learn so much more.

But the fact that Tim was a victim is not the main of this fic. Sometimes all it takes for a victim to stand up is someone right behind to catch him if he fell. What matters is that in Crescendo, Tim is not going to be a victim anymore. He's going to be a survivor and then a warrior. But those changes take time, so bear with me.

I had another review who warned me that if this was going to turn into a bashing story, the person will stop reading. To that, I can only say, that the word "bashing" in many fandom is extremely ambiguous. I find myself wary of some fics Gibbs/Dinozzo because every time McGee is described as a jealous, cunning or arrogant geek. I'm going to try to put my characters into perspective, but I cannot forget that in canon, Abby is the kind of person who favors a dog before a friend. Or that Tony glued Tim's fingers to his keyboard. Like I said, perspective.

So no, This ain't gonna be a Bashing fic but some characters, Gibbs included, are gonna need a long introspection about their action concerning our Tim.

I will post one chapter per week and if there is a delay, I will tell you.

Last thing: you can find this story with ARTS, about the characters, Canon and OC like Nico, on AO3, (link in my profile).

Ok, enough with the heavy. Enjoy.

At the last moment, Tim changed his mind and went for his car keys instead. He drove and drove until he was out of Brightwood where he lived. He finally slowed down and realized he had driven himself to Shaw. He parked his car in a safe spot and decided to take a walk. Never mind the fact that it was past two in the morning. The streets were not empty and Tim decided to follow the few people he saw and found himself in front of a very beautiful club.

The façade was very modern and yet looked oddly warm and inviting. Two heavy wooden pillars stood on each side of an elegant, sophisticated without being too luxurious, entry. The walls were painted in a deep brown color and had fine bands of esoteric motifs decorating them. The motifs were clear blue and gave an interesting contrast to the dark black wood of the entry pillars.

Tim raised his eyes to the vibrant green neon sign of the club: Crescendo.

He watched as an impressive number of people for such a late hour, went inside the club, all of them wearing relaxed and happy faces. He felt a pinch inside his chest. What wouldn't he give to be as carefree as those people were right now? He sighed and shook his head. He was about to walk away when he heard a voice.

"Pal, you look like your best friend died. It's ruining the mood."

Tim turned around and whatever retort he had on his lips died immediately. A young woman was standing in front of him. Without a doubt the most beautiful woman he had ever met. She was purely exotic; she was obviously mixed, her hair was a mass of light brown curls with some dark blond highlights in it and her brown skin gave her a very mediterranean appearance. However, her dark skin enhanced her piercing blue eyes quite nicely, Tim thought as he met her gaze.

"Pal?" she repeated the warm amusement from earlier still present in her tone.

Tim's eyes snapped from her full lips to her dancing blue eyes. He felt his own lips move into a smile.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I was…uh… ruining any mood. Erm… I wasn't aware there was a mood in the first place…"

Great, he was starting to ramble like he did every time he was in front of a woman that he thought was way out his league. And this girl definitely was. She wasn't even in Dinozzo's league so… he was cut out of his depressive thoughts by a warm chuckle.

"Pal, of course there is a mood! There is always a mood around Crescendo, what mood it is just depends on the day, I guess."

"Oh?" Tim asked reluctantly tearing his gaze off the woman and looking at the entrance of the club. "What is this place? It's the first time I heard of it."

"It's a jazz club, a soul music club and a blues club. It also happens to be a restaurant."

Tim's eyes immediately lit up and he turned back fully to face the girl who looked at him with a smile.

"Really? Awesome! I'm a big fan of everything touching jazz and blues myself! What kind of artist play here? Do you have live performances? Did someone play tonight?"

The girl, whose eyes had widened progressively as Tim fired his enthusiastic questions, let out a happy laugh and Tim couldn't help but admire her once again, forgetting to be embarrassed,.

"You, my friend, really are a fan, aren't you? Well I'm glad you found us! Now, here is what it is. When the club opens we set the tables for the restaurant and we play the grand classics of all jazz, soul and blues music, like Cab Calloway, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins and such and then, when midnight comes, we start the scene. During the month, we have a lot of great artists coming from the all over the world, performing their original songs and doing covers they loved. Tonight we had Corentina Jackson and next week we're having Taj Mahal. We also have local and regional performers, big or small, that come to give a little bit of their soul on scene."

Tim gaped at her, eyes bright and cheeks red with excitement.

"You had Corentina Jackson tonight? And you're having Taj Mahal next week?"

The girl looked up to him, a big happy smile on her lips. "Yep."

"I think I love you."

The second the words escaped his mouth, Tim turned bright red and waited for the ground to swallow him or the girl to call him a creep, but all she did was to throw her head back and laugh.

"Pal, I've been told I'm very loveable but I think you've got crush on Crescendo instead."

Tim felt himself relax and laughed with her. He nodded and stuck out his hand to her.

"My name is Timothy McGee. It's… very great to meet you," he managed sincerely.

The girl's face softened and she shook his hand firmly. "Well, the pleasure is all mine Timothy. I'm Nicolleen Serror, but all my friends call me Nico."