A/N Thank you for all the love! If you enjoy reading this story, feel free to check out our individual stories that are currently available! "At What Price" by GottahavemyNCIS and "Trippin'" by HarmonFreak1.

Tim and Gibbs rode the elevator back up to the bullpen quietly, Gibbs' hand on the back of Tim's neck. While Tim was enjoying the warmth and support, he didn't know if Gibbs even realized he was doing it.

They entered the bullpen and caught Tony snooping at Tim's desk, sniffing at the pastry bag. Tim laughed, "Go ahead Tony, I bought them for all of you; I hope they're still warm."

"Maghee, are you all right, were you not just in a car accident or did I misunderstand what you said in the elevator?"

Tony stopped his pawing through the bag to stare, horrified at Tim. "No! Not your new car? Probie!"

Tim nodded, "Yes, Ziva and yes Tony. I was in a car accident, another vehicle spun out and right into me."

"Are you all right man, has Ducky checked you out?"

"Yeah, actually it was Jimmy, but yes, I'm all right, a little bruised and sore but nothing's broken and I don't have to go to the hospital or anything."

"Is your car totaled, oh no, you're here so you must have driven it here."

"It's not totaled but it's not drivable either. "

"Then, how…?"

Gibbs interrupted, "He called me, I picked him up, we watched the tow operator deliver his car to the garage, came back here, had Palmer check him out and now can we get to work, all of us?" While his tone was not quite as icy as the roads, his glare could have easily melted the ice outside.

Eyes wide, all three of the field agents hunkered down with their beverages and pastries, busily opening files and logging into their various computer programs. Gibbs sat back trying to remain his usual hard-ass self, but in truth he was very relieved that Tim hadn't been hurt any worse and he knew the car could be repaired. As he sighed and pulled a file from the top of his pile, his phone buzzed with a call out.

"Got a dead Marine, gear up! DiNozzo, you and Ziva take the van. McGee, you're with me, call Palmer, and see if Ducky's in; if not have him let Ducky know to meet us there, here's the address."

Tim grabbed the slip of paper from Gibbs as he called Palmer. He spoke and then hung up, grabbing his gear and his coat, running for the elevator and trying not to wince. He slid in just as the elevator doors were closing and tried to catch his breath before saying "Ducky just walked in, they'll both be there."

The group split at ground level, DiNozzo and David heading for the Van, Gibbs and McGee to the Agency pool sedans.

The crime scene was located in the middle of nowhere except for a few abandoned warehouses. As they parked, Gibbs looked to Tim and gently pulled on his jacket, "Hope you brought some warm clothes, Timmy. Looks like we're going to be spending the morning outside."

Digging into his backpack, Tim pulled out four hand warmers and handed two to Gibbs, "Here boss, I always keep a handful of these in my bag during the winter. I stick them in my coat pocket and if my hands start to get cold, I can warm them up."

Graciously accepting the gift from his junior agent, Gibbs waited as the air activated the warmers then stuck them in his pockets and squeezed Tim's knee, "Thanks."

Tim blushed, "You're welcome, Gib. Please do me a favor and don't tell DiWhiny that I have more in the car."

Gibbs' eyebrows hit the top of his forehead as he shot Tim a confused look, "DiWhiny?"

"That's my new nickname for DiNozzo. I guarantee we won't be out there for five minutes before he starts complaining about something."

Chuckling, Gibbs gave Tim's knee one last squeeze as he donned his ball cap and opened the car door. "You're being generous with five minutes, I give him three."

After he finished bundling up, Tim met Tony and Ziva at the van to collect the rest of the supplies they would need. Ziva already had one camera around her neck and started walking towards the scene when Tim approached. As he finished pulling on a pair of rubber gloves, Tony grabbed his sketchpad and turned to Tim, "Probie, get the other camera and let's get moving. I can't believe how freakin' cold it is out here, my balls are already frozen, wish the bad guys would catch a clue and wait to do their dirty deeds."

Biting his lower lip to keep from laughing, Tim looked at Gibbs to see if he'd heard. Judging by the smirk on his face, he had and Tim flashed two fingers at him, they'd both been wrong, two minutes was all it took! Tim took the camera out of the case, checked the batteries, hung it around his neck and rushed to catch up with the rest of the team.

As they walked around the front of the M.E.'s van, they encountered a very gruesome scene. Tony, Ziva and Tim all came to a stop, horrified at the amount of blood that laden the crisp white snow. Pools of it collected in the dips of snow and were bubbling like lava pits. The victim was lying on his back, his face nearly dismembered. His nose was hanging on by a thread of cartilage; an eyeball lay on the ground beside him while deep scratches and puncture wounds littered his entire body. They all took a collective deep breath and trudged toward the victim determined to maintain their composure in front of other law enforcement officers on scene.

Tony and Ziva walked to one side while Tim began taking pictures from the other.

"Ten bucks says Probie tosses his cookies on this one." DiNozzo joked with Ziva until the back of his head received an angry slap.

"Leave Tim alone, DiWh…Nozzo." Gibbs growled as he glanced over at his junior agent who appeared to be taking this much better than he was. He would never openly admit that his stomach was queasy and he might be the one to lose it. He was the boss; the tough Gunnery Sergeant who had seen more than his fair share of mutilated bodies. Gibbs turned his head; gagged and threw his hand over his mouth while walking towards Tim. The acids in his stomach were gurgling, he was sweating and he knew if he didn't do something to take his mind off it soon, he wouldn't win the battle. Miraculously, when he got closer to Tim, his symptoms started dissipating.

When Gibbs came to stand near him, Tim stopped taking pictures and turned to face his boss. He did not look good, his face had a green tint and a bead of sweat ran down his temple.

He stepped closer to the older man and whispered, "You okay? You're not looking so hot right now."

Gibbs made eye contact with him and shook his head. Looking around to make sure nobody was watching, Tim quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed. It was a small gesture; however, when their hands made contact it felt as though a jolt of electricity went through his body. "Try to take some deep breaths, boss." While Gibbs followed Tim's instructions the younger man tried to reassure him, "I know its horrifying, try to think happy thoughts."

Tim's puppy dog eyes and swollen bottom lip were hard to resist and soon Gibbs found himself daydreaming about pushing him down, jumping on top of him and exploring every inch of his toned body with his lips and tongue.

"Gib!" The younger man whispered trying to regain his attention.

He looked up to see Tim staring at him, chewing on his bottom lip with a concerned look on his face, "Everything okay? What were you thinking about?"

Mentally admonishing himself for allowing those thoughts to interfere with the investigation, Gibbs shook his head, "Nothing, I'm feeling better now. Just needed a few minutes to compose myself, c'mon we got work to do."

Shrugging his shoulders, Tim followed him to join the rest of the team. Ducky and Palmer had just finished their initial assessment allowing Tim and Ziva to step even closer to take pictures, while Tony stood by. Tim had the fingerprint scanner, so with Ducky's permission, he gently lifted one of the un-mutilated fingers and pressed. Before he could get a word in, Tony was again complaining, "Hurry up, Tiny Tim, it's damn cold out here!"

THWACK

"OW, what was that for, Boss?"

"Quit your damn whining, DiNozzo or I'll give you something real to whine about!"

Tim finally had a chance to speak, "Boss, this is Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Kroudle; stationed at Quantico his home is just a few blocks from here."

Gibbs knelt close to the body, his eyes scanning from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. "TOD, Duck?"

"The liver probe is telling me he's been dead for 2 hours, Jethro."

"Cause of death?"

"Jethro, you know very well I won't know that until we get him home and on the table!"

"I know, Duck, just trying to lighten the mood; this is a pretty gruesome scene."

"Yes, I must say it is. How is Timothy's stomach holding up?"

"I'm fine, thanks Ducky." Tim reported as he walked up to the M.E. "Boss, we've got all the photos and done our perimeter search. Tony's interviewing our witness, the person who found him."

Pointing to the awning above them, Tim continued, "I'm sure some of our evidence was lost because of the snow, but the awning managed to save some of it. There's an odd streak of blood leading away from the victim over there. We also found some weird prints, not quite sure what…AHHHCHOOO…'scuse me, I don't know what caused tha… AHHHCHOOO…sorry again." Tim turned away, looking for a tissue. Palmer, smiling sympathetically, handed him a pocket pack of them.

"Timothy, if my assumption is correct, the damage to the body may have been by some sort of large animal and the allergens left on the body are likely what is causing your allergic reaction. Best to step back, dear boy."

"DiNozzo!"

"Yeah Boss?"

"You and Ziva take the van back with our evidence. McGee and I are heading over to the victim's house."

"Got it Boss."

"You got the ID?"

"Yeah."

"Good, then after you leave the evidence with Abby, get working on contacting his Commanding Officer, family and friends. I want a full report when I get back."

"Sure Boss."

Carrying what evidence they'd found, David and DiNozzo climbed in the NCIS van, Tony in the driver's seat, and carefully backed away from the crime scene, crunching through the snow.

The other two waited until the body was loaded onto a gurney and into the M.E.'s van, then walked toward their car, nodding to the M.E. as Jimmy in the driver's seat proceeded slowly through the snow drifts.

"Think we'd better go check out that house, Tim, before the roads get much worse. You ok?"

"Yeah Boss, now that I'm away from the dead body, it's not as bad."

"You did good, not sneezing on the body. Don't know what Ducky would have done to you!"

Looking at his boss, Tim saw the twinkle in his eyes and they both chuckled. Getting into the sedan, he buckled up and Gibbs, for once following the laws of physics, drove at his less than normal maniacal speed toward the home of the late Staff Sergeant.

After stopping for a fresh coffee, they headed in the direction of the Staff Sergeant's house. The closer they got the seedier the neighborhoods became and Gibbs couldn't ignore the churning in his gut as they turned the corner onto Kroudle's street.

"Nice neighborhood," Tim muttered earning a chuckle from Gibbs.

"I could have sent you back with Tony and brought Ziva with me."

Peering out the window, looking for the correct address, Tim suddenly turned towards Gibbs, "I'm right where I want to be."

Gibbs nodded, as his mouth became bone dry even though he just had a sip of coffee. Trying to ignore the spark he felt every time he made eye contact with Tim, he pointed out the window. "It's just up ahead. Appears to be the nicest house on the block."

"Yeah, like that's saying a lot, boss."

"It could always be worse, Timmy."

Tim scoffed, "Just remind me to get a tetanus shot once we're done here."

It wasn't until they pulled up to the curb to park that they noticed the front door was wide open. Throwing the car in park, Gibbs scanned the perimeter then spoke; "We'll treat this as a crime scene until we determine otherwise.

With one hand already on his holster, Tim responded, "You want me to call for backup?

Shaking his head, Gibbs turned to face his young agent. "I…I…" Damnit, Jethro! You can't even make eye contact with him anymore without making a fool of yourself. We're working a case and you can't allow your feelings to get in the way! Although look at those inquisitive green eyes, that pouty bottom lip and…

Tim was beginning to worry; he had never seen Gibbs this way before and wondered if he'd said something wrong. One minute Gibbs is talking to him and the next minute he's stuttering and incomprehensible.

"Boss?"

"Boss? You okay?"

Following Tim's second attempt at breaking Gibbs' trance, the older man finally snapped out of it. Running a hand over his face, Gibbs responded, "Where was I?"

Sighing, Tim responded, "I'm not sure, where were you? I asked if you wanted me to call for backup and the next thing I know you're in some sort of daze.

Pulling himself together, Gibbs took another sip of coffee, "Don't think we need more backup, I'm comfortable with it just being the two of us. Nobody I would rather trust with my life, Tim."

Tim could feel his cheeks flush and he immediately dropped his gaze, focusing on his lap. Gibbs' piercing blue eyes are breathtaking; what I wouldn't give to taste every inch of his mouth. Tim thought to himself, while licking his lips until a soft head smack startled him.

Looking up he grinned sheepishly before apologizing, "Sorry, boss. I think that accident this morning has, uh, …" Deciding to quit while he was ahead, Tim was relieved when Gibbs smirked and opened the car door.

"You're not the only one. Let's go we're losing light."

Shouldering his backpack Tim quickly exited the vehicle and followed Gibbs quietly up to the house. They flanked each side of the doorway, when Gibbs nodded Tim entered with his gun drawn, shouting out the customary "NCIS!" Spreading out, Tim took the right side and Gibbs the left of the small rundown bungalow. After clearing his side of the house, Tim headed back to meet Gibbs in the family room. The house was a disaster; trash littered the floor, old worn out furniture was placed sparingly around the house and an ancient heater was tucked away in the corner.

"Nice and cozy." Gibbs teased as he walked over to shut the front door.

Tim looked around disgusted, "How could someone live like this?"

"Question for another time, Tim." He paused then pointed to the window, "It's starting to snow again and I don't want to be stuck here all night. You start going through his laptop, while I scavenge through the rest of the house."

Because the door had been opened for an extended amount of time, the house was just as cold as it was outside. Tim rubbed his hands together trying to warm them up. "Boss, it's freezing in here. Do you think we can turn on that heater over there?"

Gibbs shrugged his shoulders and pushed the heater out to the center of the room. "Wow this is old; I remember my dad used to have one of these in his store to save on his electric bills." He tinkered with it for a moment, eventually finding the power switch and flipping it on.

"It won't produce too much heat but it's better than nothing."

Tim moved one of the chairs in front of it, sat down and opened the laptop to begin scanning through it. It didn't take him long to crack the password and he soon found himself delving into his work. Gibbs started in the kitchen, searching through mounds of scattered papers looking for any clues as to a motive for the Staff Sergeant's murder. After the papers appeared to be a dead end, Gibbs began digging through drawers and cupboards determined to find any evidence to aid in their investigation. Once he felt he hadn't overlooked anything in the kitchen he decided to check in with Tim to see if he was having better luck.

Coming out of the kitchen, he stopped and stared at his junior agent, deep in concentration. Gibbs' heart skipped a beat as he admired Tim from afar. His brow was furrowed as his beautiful green eyes skimmed back and forth while he worked. His pouty bottom lip was tucked safely inside his mouth as he chewed on it. It took all of Gibbs' self restraint not to pounce on the younger man and claim him.

Snapping himself out of his reverie before he was caught, Gibbs cleared his throat causing Tim to stop what he was doing and look up. However, unknowingly or perhaps knowingly, Tim wasn't making it any easier on the older man as he flashed a smile that brightened the drab, dreary house.

Occasionally glancing between his boss and the computer, Tim asked, "Find anything that explains how or why Kroudle ended up dead?"

Gibbs shook his head and moved behind Tim to get a look at the computer screen, "Nope, nothing. What about you?"

Sighing and leaning back in the chair, Tim responded, "I'm going through his financials now. In the last three months he deposited two money orders for 25,000 dollars each in addition to his paychecks from the Navy."

Tim got goose bumps as Gibbs leaned over, their heads practically touching as the younger man pointed out the evidence on the screen. After inhaling Gibbs' scent, Tim expected it to give him comfort much as it had during his enforced second childhood. But instead of giving him comfort he felt aroused and suddenly a whole lot warmer.

"Any way you can trace the money orders?"

Tim squirmed in his seat when he felt Gibbs' warm breath tickle his ear. "Umm, well, uh, I c..c..can t..try." He stuttered trying really hard to maintain his composure.

Gibbs smirked, realizing he may not be the only one who was developing feelings for one another. He grabbed Tim's shoulder and squeezed, "I'm going to search the rest of the house while you continue here."

No trusting himself to say anything, Tim nodded as he watched Gibbs walk towards the bedrooms. When he was out of sight, Tim slumped down in the chair and took a deep breath. Knowing Gibbs would expect more evidence by the time he returned; Tim didn't have time to address his feelings and focused his attention on the laptop once again.

It wasn't until an hour later when Gibbs finally emerged from the back bedrooms. He was holding an evidence bag that had a few napkins in it with notes scribbled on them. Looking up from the laptop, Tim questioned, "Find anything useful?"

"Not sure it's useful, but it's something, anyway. Notes scribbled on napkins, I see some numbers, maybe a phone number, but don't know about the rest."

"Mind if I take a look, Boss?" Gibbs glared at him; then nodded.

"Looks like…argh, I can't read these either, except for the numbers, you're right, that is a phone number. Maybe DiNozzo's magnifying glass will help. Or see if Abby has anything in the lab that can decipher these."

"Good idea, at least we got a phone number, I'll call it in to Ziva, she and DiNozzo can start working on it."

Tim, realizing the man did not have his reading glasses with him, took out his notepad and re-wrote the phone number in rather large digits. He handed it to Gibbs without looking, pretending to concentrate on the laptop screen. Gibbs grabbed it with a grunt and turned away, his cell phone in his hand.

Tim heard buttons being punched several times, accompanied by some snarls and growling. He wanted to laugh but feared for the life of the phone and then realized that it had been Ziva's turn to carry a spare phone in her gear in case, or rather for when Gibbs broke his. If this one was killed, they were down to one phone; his and he did not want it harmed.

Turning, he touched Gibbs' hand, the one holding the phone and tried not to jump at the jolt that surged through him at the touch. He gave himself an almost imperceptible shake, "Here Boss, let me try."

Gibbs had also felt the jolt and was not only dry mouthed but having an even harder time than usual coming up with words. He mutely handed the phone over to his agent, still holding the notepaper with the phone number tightly in his hand. Tim pressed the call button and nothing happened. He tried Ziva, same thing. He then tried his own number with the same result.

"Cell service is down, Boss, must be the weather."

"Great, so now what?"

"Well, I can try to send an e-mail, see if we can get through that way."

"Good, Timmy, send it from your laptop though, not Kroudle's."

"Yep, just take me a second to switch out here…"

Tim quickly retrieved his laptop and set it up; after a couple of attempts he was able to get online. He opened an e-mail to DiNozzo, using the subject line: "From Gibbs… (cell phones are down)". Gibbs dictated a brief order with the phone number, to trace the number, look at the calls and investigate what they could. Sending the message, he logged off and started packing up Kroudle's laptop and the evidence bag Gibbs had gathered.

They headed out to their sedan, careful to close the door to the house, and were a bit alarmed at the amount of snow that had accumulated in the short time they'd been inside.

"Boss, think we'll be able to get back to the office?"

"Ah yeah, Tim, I've driven in worse." Gibbs tried to reassure McGee although he was wondering the same thing. Gibbs slid into the driver's seat and started the car, warming it up, while Tim took the ice scraper and brushed the snow from the top of the car, windows, front and back windshields and the side view mirrors.

Then he brushed himself off before he slid into the passenger seat and buckled up. Gibbs, nodding his appreciation, reached over and brushed off some snow that Tim had missed on his jacket, at the back of his neck. Gibbs let his hand linger for a second, his agent was too cold, they needed to get this car heated and be on their way. When Tim was settled in, having paused for a second to enjoy the nicely warm hand at the back of his nec…jacket, he nodded at his boss. Putting the car into gear, Gibbs carefully accelerated towards the street. They moved along for about half a block before hitting a nasty patch of ice and, although Gibbs fought, as only he knew how, the car began spinning out of control. This reminds me of riding the Teacups at DisneyWorld was Tim's last thought; they both gasped when they saw a very large tree coming their way.