Pain meds always made him feel a little off, but the morning had totally gone sideways when he'd opened the door to find his father standing on the front porch in full Dress Blues. The only real plus of the morning was that the old man was almost as off-keel as he was.
Barely even one-handed, he was rather limited in the kitchen, but Jethro had sliced up most of the fruit for Tia's favorite smoothies before he'd left for the Yard. That and the coffee cake Ziva had sent over would have to do. "You ready to eat, baby girl?"
"Yep. Is Grandpa going to eat with us?"
Tim winced. He'd been hoping the Admiral would storm off like he'd always done in the past. "If he wants too."
Gibbs had chopped up pineapple, peaches and mangoes, plus there were frozen strawberries and blueberries ready in the freezer. Wedges of cabbage were also in the fridge, ready to go. If he wanted to do a Hulk, then he'd have to manage to slice an apple in half and cut a slice of lime, but it would be worth it. "So, what's it going to be, sweetheart? You want Hulk Juice?"
Right on cue, Tiana grinned and looked at the Admiral. "I love Hulk Juice. It's mine and Papa's favorite, but Uncle Tony thinks it's scary. You're not scared, are you, Grandpa?"
Tim could say a great number of things about his father, but the man would never back down from a challenge, especially not from a child, so the answer wasn't much of a surprise. "If you and Papa are brave enough to drink Hulk Juice, I certainly can handle it."
Yeah, eventually his father would have choice words about his apparent lifestyle, but in the meantime, he'd enjoy making the older man squirm. "Three glasses of Hulk Juice coming up."
Sure enough, as he added each ingredient to the mixer, his father's eyes widened until they were almost comical proportions as he turned the blender on. By the time he was ready to hand over a glass he might have actually seen a flash of fear in the usually cold eyes.
"There you go, Sir, one glass of Hulk Juice."
His father gingerly took the glass almost as if he was expecting it to attack him before watching Tiana happily drink hers. She took a couple of large swallows before she stopped and grinned at him, a bright green mustache above her lip. "Try it, Grandpa, it's good."
The Admiral squared his shoulders and tilted his head slightly in acknowledgment. "Bottoms up." He took a small sip, then his eyes lit up. "Not bad, not bad at all."
-NCIS-
Coming up through the ranks, John McGee had never wasted time with any of the silly challenges that seemed to fill much of the downtime while at sea. There was a certain stature at being above such things plus he'd never had to worry about the embarrassment of actually losing one of the darn things. However, a challenge in front of his son, especially from a child, was something that he couldn't turn down. The loss of face would be too great. Besides, if a four year old could handle drinking whatever this concoction was, then he certainly could and this 'Uncle Tony' must have a rather weak constitution.
However, watching the spinach, cabbage and – was that kale – being tossed into the fancy blender made him a bit nervous. When the children were young, his former wife had fixed some awful dishes that he'd barely managed to choke down and he could see her trying something like this. Finally, the obnoxiously green drink was in his hand and he was stuck. Tiana seemed quite happy to drink it, but she was a child and therefore her taste was suspect.
Out of options, he gamely picked it up. "Bottoms up." Steeling himself, he took a small sip. It was slightly tropical and actually very refreshing. He took another sip and nodded. "Not bad, not bad at all." Timothy looked vastly amused, so he'd give him this round.
Three slices of some sort of coffee cake were set out on the island where they were eating and Tiana leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Auntie Ziva made it for us. She's not as good of a cooker as Daddy is, but we don't tell her that." John nodded, about to complement Tiana about not insulting someone's cooking when she told him the rest. "She's a ninja."
"A ninja?"
Tiana's head bobbed up and down. "Uh-huh, she got mad at Uncle Tony and told him she learned three more ways to kill him with a paper clip."
"Three more?" Tim wasn't correcting her so John wasn't sure how much was fantasy and how much was confusion. Instead, he was turning it into a math lesson, much to John's surprise.
"How many ways did she know before?"
Tiana's forehead scrunched as she thought. "Eighteen?"
"So how many does she know now?" Patiently, and with his partially bandaged hand, he helped her count up three more times.
"Twenty-one!"
"That's right. Very good, Sweetheart. Now let's finish our breakfast so we can go to the park before it rains."
"Okey-dokey." She fell silent as she became serious about eating. Finally, after she was finished and Tim sent her to play, John had to ask.
"Ninja?"
Tim gave a one shouldered shrug. "Former Mossad, close enough. She's well qualified to teach Tiana how to defend herself. First boy that steps out of line..."
John snorted out a laugh, which surprised both men. "You might need a bail fund instead of a college fund."
"If the kid's smart, he'll be more worried about the rest of the family."
Now that they were alone, he could ask. "Including Papa?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." Tim gave him a hard look and for a moment it was like looking into a mirror.
"You are not gay, Timothy."
"Why? Because it's not the Navy way? Because no proper McGee has ever stepped outside of what society thinks is normal?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Life is difficult enough without inviting that sort of trouble."
"What sort of trouble, Dad?" John was pretty sure that if his arm hadn't been strapped down, Tim's hands would have been waving. "You think I should keep pretending to be something I'm not, just to keep the gossip away?"
"I know you have dated women, Timothy."
"Yeah, I have. I've dated lost of women. I even dated a professional cheerleader, but none of them have ever made me feel like he does."
John pinched the bridge of his nose. "I did not need to know that."
"I'm not talking about sex; I'm talking about in here."
He looked up just as Tim thumped his chest. Apparently, this was more than just scratching an itch, at least in Tim's eyes. "Surely there's a woman someplace that could make you feel that way or at least be a proper mother to Tiana."
Oh, that was the wrong thing to say as the last shade of intimidation John had over his son seemingly disintegrated. "Grace is, and will always be, Tiana's mother. I'm not going to take away the one person alive that loves her as much as I do, just to replace him with someone with plumbing that you approve of."
"You said it yourself, Timothy. Grace has only been dead a short while and now this, this man." John sighed in frustration. He didn't even know the name of the man that had apparently turned his son and he was pretty sure that wasn't something Tim was ready to share with him.
-NCIS-
As soon as Tiana left to play in her room, and he'd given her the look to stay there until he called, Tim braced for the battle he knew would come. Luckily, Jethro's name hadn't come up yet and he made a conscious decision to make sure it stayed that way for a while.
The two of them knew that their age difference and the fact that Gibbs was his boss at work would be an issue for many people, so there was no need to add that to the fire right now. Let his father rant and rave about him being with a man, any man, first.
-NCIS-
"Umm, Sir?"
Clayton Jarvis looked up from the file he was reviewing before his meeting at the Pentagon. His assistant had an expression on his face he'd never seen. Something between shock and worry. "Yes, Charlie?"
"Admiral McGee took a day of personal leave, plus the weekend, Sir."
"Really?" He'd dangled some hints in front of John McGee, then learned how serious the rift was between he and his son. No further discussions with the senior McGee had strayed into anything personal, but he'd had his assistant keep an eye out for anything unusual with the Admiral.
"Yes, Sir. Caught a transport to Norfolk, then up here first thing this morning. Instead of using a Navy car and driver, he insisted on being dropped off to get a rental car. From there, I don't know where he went."
Jarvis closed the files and stuck them in his briefcase as he stood. "Oh, I'm pretty sure I do. Come along, Charlie, we have a detour to make after we meet with the Joint Chiefs."
-NCIS-
"You've never dated men, Timothy. Why start now?"
"In other words, I never brought a man home to meet the family. Gee, I wonder why?"
John was pacing, trying to keep his voice low for the child's sake. "Was it that Grace? Did she introduce you to the homosexual lifestyle?" Much to his shock, Tim burst out laughing. "I do not find this amusing, Timothy."
Tim got very serious, crossing his arms as best he could while his voice went hard. "San Diego, Andy Richards."
San Diego, he'd had a brief stint there while Timothy was in high school. Less than a year, hardly worth moving the family cross-country, but he'd done it. Executive Officer aboard the Kitty Hawk before he'd made Captain and had his own ship. Executive Officer under Captain Vincent Richards, whose son had been a star athlete in high school, but struggled with some of his classes.
"You were supposed to tutor him."
"I did. We had a lot of fun with anatomy."
John could feel his blood pressure climbing. "You do realize you just outed him? His father..."
"Was at the wedding when Andy married his husband a few years ago. Now he's spoiling his twin grandkids rotten. Andy finally had to put limits on how much money Grandpa can spend each month on them." Tim picked up his coffee cup and headed back into the kitchen. "I'll let you think about that for a moment."
John nodded and absently sank down on the large sofa. Vincent had been a good friend, a friendly ear when he'd gotten his first ship. They'd been close, but drifted apart when Vincent retired the moment he qualified for full retirement pay. He'd been what John considered a man's man, his son an absolute chip off the old block.
Swallowing hard, John tried to put his thoughts in order. He'd always made sure he ran a clean ship. Harassment was never allowed, even in the days before DADT was lifted. But this was his son. This time it was personal.
"I don't understand it. I have never been attracted by another man."
Tim walked back in. "See, that's the difference between us. Gender isn't what I find attractive. It's not what attracts me to someone."
"So, if this man you're involved with..."
"If he woke up in a woman's body?" John nodded at the question, glad he didn't have to verbalize it more than he had. "I'd still feel the same way about him. Yeah, sure, it would be easier if he were a she. I'm not naive, Dad, but he's worth it."
"I don't..." John tried to figure out exactly what he was feeling.
"Before you say anything else, just so you know – this relationship might be fairly new, but he's been an integral part of my life for ten years now."
It was unspoken, but the promise that he'd lose if he tried to force the issue was loud and clear. After staring at him long enough to make him squirm – and just when did his son learn to do that – Tim walked down to Tiana's bedroom. "Sweetie, you ready for the park?"
"Yay, can I drive my car?" She had come flying out of her room and was now looking up at her father with an expression that John realized he wouldn't have been able to say no to.
"Did you remember to have Uncle Tony plug it back in for you after you drove it the other day?"
Her little topknot of hair bounced as she nodded vigorously. "I remembered, Daddy."
"All right, let's go get your car." Tim pointed at the dog bed in the corner and the large German Shepard laid down, staring at them. John couldn't get over how well trained he was.
Curious, John followed close as they went through the utility room and into the garage. In one stall was a Lexus SUV and the other held a Porsche convertible. In between was a tiny, battery powered Ferrari. "Obviously being an agent pays more than I thought; or does one of these belong to Papa?"
"Nope, both mine."
"The Ferrari's mine. Uncle Tony bought it for me." Tiana was obviously very proud of her toy car and she was almost bouncing in place as Tim painfully bent down to unplug it from the power cord. John found his feet moving before he fully realized it.
"Here, let me unplug it. You need to watch those ribs, Timothy."
Tim stared at him in shock as he bent down and removed the cord before carefully winding it back up and hanging it on the hook next to the wall plug. John wanted to be amused by his reaction, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd helped his son in any way.
He also wanted to say something, but the words didn't come and then the moment was gone. Tim pushed the button for the automatic garage door opener and gently reminded Tiana about the rules for when they were crossing the street. John watched and listened as Tim patiently talked about traffic and staying right next to him until they got to the paved walkway at the park, mentioning her safety and how hard it would be for the drivers of the full sized cars to see her if she wasn't next to a grown-up.
It took a minute for John to remember anything from Tim's childhood that would compare to that moment. The closest he could come was the hour long lecture he'd given his son after a near collision between his bicycle and a drunken sailor driving on the wrong side of the road. Looking back, he couldn't even remember if he'd actually checked to see if his son was okay first.
Beaming, Tia drove out onto the driveway and stopped to wait for them. Once John joined him at the doorway, Tim activated the controls for the door once again and they stepped through before it closed. Leaning closer, Tim whispered in his ear. "She's getting better, but watch your feet."
"She's not as bad as your sister, is she?"
"Even Ziva's not that bad."
"The ninja is a lousy driver?" Somehow, that amused John a great deal.
"After all the years in this country she still drives like she's avoiding IED's and chasing terrorists – and that's just to go get coffee. Director Shepard even made her take a re-certification class."
"Did it help?"
"She learned where all the speed traps are. Director Vance is threatening to make her take it again." Tim shrugged and started walking down the driveway. "On the upside, when she drives a suspect back to the Yard, they're usually ready to confess by the time she parks."
"Efficient."
They both fell silent as they walked across the street and part way down the block to where Tiana could drive up onto the sidewalk on the other side, while she happily chattered away. As he'd been warned, John had to take a few side steps to protect his highly polished shoes, but she was actually doing pretty well.
They walked the paved loop in the park twice, not saying much to each other as Tiana chattered and kept up a running commentary as she told John about every flower and squirrel in the park.
As they came up to the split in the path once again, Tim spoke softly to his daughter, telling her to take the right hand side, the one that would take them back to the sidewalk. John watched and listened, waiting for a temper-tantrum, but she happily agreed. Tim didn't yell, didn't give an order, but she listened intently to every word he said.
a/n - Glad you guys like this one. Next chapter goes up on Thursday. I've also got the one-shot sequel to Their Slut going up today. Very M rated, just so you know.