Tony DiNozzo flipped his phone shut, staring at it in disbelief as he replayed the conversation he'd just had in his head once more for good measure.

"DiNozzo"

"Tony. You still plannin' on goin' to that game tonight?"

"No, Boss. I gave my ticket to a buddy of mine who wanted to take his girlfriend for her birthday. Why, what's up?"

"McGee."

"What's wrong with him? Something wrong with our newest man of the tribe?"

"Baby's fine. McGee could use the company. Matter of fact, probably could use the lot of ya's."

"Team Night at McGee's?"

"Good thinkin'."

"It's almost a weekly thing now, anyway." His Senior Field Agent reminded him.

"That's right. Good idea, then."

"What's goin' on, Boss?"

"Not mine to tell, DiNozzo."

"But you do know."

"Make sure he eats, will ya?"

"Sure, Boss."

"Oh, and if you do get him drinkin', Tony, you call me."

"Sure Boss. Wait, are you tellin' me to get him drunk?"

"Not what I said, DiNozzo."

"Ah. I get it. Don't worry, Boss. I got this."

"I know."

The click on Gibbs' end of the line hadn't been a surprise as much as the conversation itself had been. Probie needed the team but it had nothing to do with Christopher? On top of that, Gibbs was worried that Tim wouldn't eat and worried that the guy would get sloshed if he got to drinking tonight?

Hell, the fact that the boss was worried and not even trying to hide it was enough to get Tony's feet moving. Blowing out a deep breath, Tony glanced at his watch. It was still early enough in the evening that he could still catch Ziva, Jimmy and Abby and get them to drop their plans to be there for their teammate and friend. Picking up his phone, he dialed the most important number first.

"Yeah, I'd like to order three large pizza's…Wait, better make that four."

****NCIS****

Watching her son's Team Leader put his phone away after hearing his end of the conversation with his Senior Field Agent, Meg McGee frowned. "You really think Tim will want his team to keep him company tonight?"

"He will." Gibbs reassured her calmly.

"There was a time that I would have sworn that you didn't know my son at all." Her quiet words shocked him since he hadn't been expecting them.

Still he did what he could to keep his face from showing any emotion as he answered her. "And you would've been right – before he found out about Christopher." His voice carried a touch of regret as he looked her straight on.

"That was the turning point? Sounds like before you had that in common – you were comfortable not knowing him as a person." She surmised sadly, her eyes filled with as much sadness as her tone.

"Yeah. That's about the size of it." He admitted quietly as he glanced at her before sending his eyes across the street to his agent's house, seeing the lamp in the living room window come on.

Seeing where the older man's eyes were fixed, Meg couldn't help but smile softly. "And yet my little boy has always trusted you with his life on the job." She observed almost dryly.

Gibbs nodded silently as he drank his coffee. Settling back against the porch swing, he huffed out a breath and answered her. Almost reverently. "I know."

"Thank you for not letting him down, Leroy." She smiled at him with a mother's gratitude.

"Oh, I've let him down plenty, Mrs. McGee." The Team Leader was quick to admit so she wouldn't keep him on the pedestal she seemed to have him on.

"Not to hear him tell it." Mrs. McGee smiled softly.

Gibbs found it hard to swallow around the sudden lump in his throat. With the heart-wrenching weight of Tim's trust in him being handed to him on a silver platter like this, he suddenly felt almost too small for the task. Blinking hard to clear his vision, he cleared his throat and did what he could to get them both past this moment. "You've already told me happened tonight. Is there anything else you think I should know that might help?"

Now it was Mrs. McGee's turn to be speechless for a moment. Here was a man who not only worked with her son, but guided him and protected him in the dangerous job they had and now he was asking for her help to help him on a personal level, too. Blinking away her blurred vision, she finally spoke. "Well…."

***NCIS***

With one phone call from Tony, the team was soon on their way to Tim's house as if they'd been called by the boss himself. Tony and Abby arrived at nearly the same time and parked in Gibbs' driveway, one behind the other; each getting out and waving to the man when they saw him sitting on his porch with Mrs. McGee. Having suspected the boss would be close by, the Senior Field Agent had come prepared and now proceeded to take the top box off the stack of pizza's he pulled out of his car and set on the trunk before he bounded up the porch steps with it. "Here ya go, Boss. Hello, Mrs. McGee."

"Hello, Tony." Tim's mother greeted him with a soft smile as she also greeted Abby who'd joined Tony on the porch.

"Thanks, DiNozzo." Gibbs offered gruffly as he accepted the pizza and set it down so he could turn and embrace Abby while giving her his trademark kiss on the cheek."Hey, Abbs."

"No problem, Boss. Well, guess we'll go terrorize the probie now." Tony glibly threw out there with a grin too wide to miss as he waited for Abby to get her standard gestures of affection from the boss.

"DiNozzo." The boss' unspoken warning underneath the growl didn't go unnoticed as both Tony and Abby grinned before heading back down the steps and over to their teammate's house.

***NCIS***

"Is it just me or was that strange, Abbs?" Tony asked as they walked down Gibbs' driveway together

"Maybe." Abby replied right away. "Definitely different. Although technically, the definition of different has changed for us since Timmy became a daddy, so, I'm not even sure 'different' is the right word, either, still..."

"Abby! Focus!" Tony growled only half-serious as they crossed the street and traversed Tim's driveway where Ziva and Jimmy were just getting out of their cars. "You're right, but still, Gibbs and Probie's mother talking after the boss called for us to come keep the probie company and to make sure the geek eats?

"Perhaps McGee has had some bad news delivered to him, Tony." Ziva solemnly entered the conversation without any humor in her tone as the former two young people reached the new arrivals.

"Whatever it is must be bad for Gibbs to suggest McGoo probably needs all of us." Tony revealed.

"What else did he say when he called you, Tony?" Abby asked worriedly as she bit her bottom lip in apprehension.

"That it wasn't his story to tell." Tony replied. "Typical Gibbs."

"Typical or not, Tony. It sounds serious." Ziva surmised as they approached their teammate's door.

The Israeli raised her arm and reached for the doorbell, only to find the door being opened for them already by a tired looking but curious Tim, holding an awake and happy Christopher who immediately chortled at the sight of them, the sound of which brought smiles to all their faces