HERE'S THE SECOND CHAPTER. AFTER THIS, IT WILL BE A WHILE BEFORE ITS UPDATED.

~NCIS~

Sarah laid a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Tim." She bit out, so angry that she was afraid to say anything else.

Tim looked up and saw the woman—his boss's daughter—that stood in his kitchen archway and immediately stood up. "Did we wake you up, Kay?" Tim asked, using the name he had given her when she refused to go by Kelly or use the name that had been on her Mexican paperwork. He went to her and placed his large, calloused hands on her slim, still to thin, shoulders. "I'm sorry." He apologized, ever the gentleman.

Kay pushed her brown hair out of her face and looked into Tim's eyes. "Is—is everything all right?" She asked uncertainly, glancing at Sarah then turning her eyes back to Tim.

Sarah snorted at the inanity of that question. No, everything wasn't all right. She seriously doubted anything would be all right,ever,again.

Tim turned to cast a glare at his sister. "Everything's fine, Kay." He said, facing her again. "Nothing to worry about." He forced a smile. "Go back to bed." Tim said encouragingly. "You need your rest." He hoped that she would. He knew that it was unkind but he needed a hour or two to himself. An hour or two without arguing with his sister about what to do or who to tell. Just a little time to get his bearings straight. A little time without the weight of four lives on his shoulders. Without having to make decisions for both him and her.

Kay looked at Sarah uneasily. "I wasn't asleep." She said hesitantly. "You weren't here." Kay dropped her icy blue eyes, not looking at either of them.

Tim sighed. If that wasn't proof she wasn't getting better he didn't know what was. Kay still refused to sleep until he was home. When he had first brought her back from Mexico Tim had had to take some time off to recover from the injuries he had suffered at Paloma Reynosa's hands and to settle Kay in. During that time he had got into the habit of laying with Kay. After many restless nights, Tim found that it was easier to just lay beside her so that he could sooth her when she had her nightmares. Now, she wouldn't even consider going to sleep unless he was there. Though Tim would never admit it, it also helped him. So many times he would close his eyes only to find himself in that dark, dank little cellar, hanging from chains hooked to the ceiling, at the mercy of Paloma Reynosa and her brother. Tim forced himself not to get lost in the memories that were still so fresh, even though it had been many months since that time. "I had to work late, Kay." Tim explained. "We caught a case."

Kay took a step closer to Tim. "You didn't call."

Tim sighed. This had been told to her before. "I can't always call, Kay."

"I know, Tim." Kay said in a tiny voice.

Tim felt two inches tall. Kay had a way of making him feel like he had just kicked a puppy sometimes. He squeezed her shoulders reassuringly and sighed. "I'm sorry." He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Next time, I will find a way to call you, even if it's only for a few seconds." He smiled. "I promise."

Kay smiled back at him. "And I promise not to get upset if you can't."

Tim gave her sad smile and drew her slowly to his chest. It was a promise that she had made before. A promise she had broken before. A promise that had been given, and broken, so many times that he had given up all hope of it ever being kept. Just as Tim had given up hope of many other promises made, being kept. The promise that Kay had made to work on getting better, the promise she had made about going to a therapist, the promise she had made to tell Gibbs. It had been a while since Mexico but she was still in almost the same place as she had been. Tim gently pressed a kiss to Kay's brown head then pushed her away from his chest. "Go lay down, Kay." He said, searching the familiar ice blue eyes. "I need to finish talking to Sarah and then I'll come to bed."

Kay studied him for a minute then nodded. "Alright." She said. Kay looked over Tim's shoulder to where Sarah stood. "Goodnight, Sarah."

Sarah nodded, not speaking, afraid of what would come out if she opened her mouth.

Kay left the kitchen for the bedroom, leaving the brother and sister standing in silence. After a few minutes, Tim jerked his head towards the door. As Tim followed his sister out of his apartment, he resigned himself to another sleepless night.

~NCIS~

Tony DiNozzo looked up anxiously when the elevator dinged, but slumped in his chair when the mail clerk got off. His Probie was late. Really late. And Tony was...concerned, even if he wouldn't ever admit that out loud. Tim had not been himself for a while now. Coming in late more times than not or showing up a few minutes before the day started where he had always been the first there—besides Gibbs, of course—and leaving the second he was given the all clear. Tim hadn't gone out with them after work for months and the one time Tony had went over to Tim's apartment to try and get him to do something over the weekend, Tim had stood in the doorway and wouldn't even let him in the apartment. And it wasn't even that Tim had closed himself off and wouldn't associate with them. He flinched whenever anyone touched him or even got too close. He had lost more weight, becoming rail thin. And he wasn't sleeping. They all could see that. And he was becoming increasingly short tempered. The worst thing, though, was that a couple of times when Tim had been surprised by them, Tony had thought he saw fear in his Probie's eyes. Tony had wanted to reach out, question Tim about what was wrong, but there had been something about in his partners' demeanor that warned him his overtures wouldn't be appreciated.

Tim had changed and not for the better. He did what his job required and nothing else. He didn't go out of his way for anyone—not anymore. The sympathy that Tim had always had, not only for the victims of crimes, but also for the criminals, had vanished, leaving contempt, and, sometimes, downright indifference in it's place. Tony didn't know which one honestly bothered him more. And he was making the kind of mistakes that Tony expected out of, well, a probie—and not a seasoned agent. There was also something wrong between Abby and him. Nothing really overt, but everyone could tell that they were just... not... what they once had been. Yes, Tim had changed—and the changes disturbed Tony on many different levels.

The elevator dinged again and this time the man that was in Tony's thoughts rushed out when the doors opened. Tony breathed a sigh of relief and then stiffened in alarm at the tiredness etched on Tim's face and the even darker circles under his eyes. This was the worst that Tim had looked in a while.

"I am so sorry!" Tim said, hurrying to his desk. "It won't happen again!" He promised, dropping his pack and pulling his chair out.

Tony sighed at his words. Because it would happen again, of that Tony was certain. "No need to apologize to me, Tim. I'm not the boss."

"No, but Gibbs isn't here and you are my Senior Field Agent." Tim said, sitting wearily in his desk chair. He hadn't got any sleep last night, just not for the reasons he had suspected. Kay had started having real bad cramps about twelve. Tim had finally managed to convince her to go to the hospital about five. He hadn't wanted to leave her but he had to come to work. He wouldn't lie about why he needed to be off and Tim couldn't tell the truth, so he had called Sarah and left for work.

Tony sighed again. That was another thing that had changed. Tim had started treating Tony like … well like a boss. He treated Tony like he respected Tony's position above him. It wasn't that Tim had exactly disrespected him before. Tim had just treated him like Tony had treated Tim—more as a friend...brother... then as Senior Field Agent and Junior Field agent. But that was gone now and Tony missed it. It was like...like they weren't even friends anymore and Tony didn't even know what he had done that was so bad to cause Tim to not even want to be his friend anymore. Tony was scared that they were losing him, but he seemed to be the only one who noticed anything was wrong.

Tony was wrong in his assumption that he was the only one who had noticed there was something wrong with McGee. Ziva had noticed, too, and she found the changes in her teammate disturbing, also. She couldn't understand how a man such as Tim, a truly good, honorable man, a man with such compassion, such kindness for his fellow human beings could change so completely. But she, like Tony, didn't know how to reach out again to Tim after her first overtures had been rebuffed. She watched with concern as Tim tried to focus his tired eyes on his computer screen and wondered what had happened to end a friendship that she had truly cherished. They were just co-workers now. Just people who worked in the same office and what bothered Ziva the most was not only didn't she know why everything had changed, she couldn't even pinpoint when it had changed.

Gibbs walked into the bullpen from a meeting and his lips thinned when he saw his junior field agent. McGee looked worse then he had yesterday and Gibbs hadn't thought that was even possible. He had resisted talking to the younger about his poor performance on the job but he wouldn't be able to keep from doing it much longer. It had gotten to the point where Gibbs was afraid to send McGee out into the field. He was worried that McGee would either end up shooting himself or someone else. A certain level of fitness—in mind as well as body—had to be maintained to be an effective field agent. McGee hadn't been on that level for sometime now. Gibbs continued onto his desk, wondering what he was going to do about it.