"How was your date?" Sam's sleepy voice asked from one of the motel beds as Dean turned on the light and closed the door.

"It wad great. Thanks for cutting it short," Dean scowled, making his way to the unoccupied bed.

"You're just going to go to bed?" Sam sat up in the bed, his hair sticking up on the side of his head and resembling antlers.

"Do you want details of something? Should I tell you what I ate for dinner?" Dean started undressing; taking off his jacket, button up shirt, pants and shoes before climbing into bed with just his boxers and undershirt on.

"I just want to know how it went. You haven't been on a date since...Well, you know," Sam said.

"You can say his name, Sammy," Dean mumbled, shifting on the bed so that he was turned away from his brother.

"I know. I just, I don't know, don't want to confirm that… Cas is, well, you know," Sam awkwardly ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"It's already confirmed! He chose Crowley over us again! It's done. Cas is with that bastard demon and there's nothing we can do about it," Dean said sharply.

"Dean…" Sam said softly.

"Just go to bed," His brother replied.

And so Sam did.

He laid back down, readjusting his pillow so that he was comfortable before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Dean soon followed suit, closing his eyes and also heading into slumber. He only prayed that he wouldn't have any nightmares.

He had enough of those in the daytime.

Tim took a deep breath as he pulled up to Gibbs's house.

The lights were out, but Tim knew that the man inside was still awake.

Hell, he didn't even know if Gibbs ever slept.

Tim hand hesitated to turn the car off and climb out.

Was this really a good idea?

What if all Gibbs did was yell at him? What if he told him how terrible of an agent he is? What if Gibbs told him how much more he liked Tony and Ziva over Tim?

Tim shook his head and turned the Porsche off.

He had to think positive.

This was most likely just a casual work related meeting. Tim had probably just made a typo in a report and Gibbs merely wanted to correct him and show him his mistake.

Yes, that was all.

Climbing out of the car, Tim pocketed his keys and ran a hand though his hair, ruffling it so that it stuck up in certain parts.

It didn't look like he hadn't brushed his hair in a week, it just made it seem like he had, well, ruffled his hair.

"Come on, Tim. You can do this. You're a federal agent. Your boss shouldn't scare you," He took a deep breath as he walked up to the front door and knocked.

Silence.

Maybe he wasn't home? Tim prayed for that to be true.

But then he remembered that this was Gibbs. And Gibbs never makes a meeting without the intention of being there. Especially considering that the meeting was at his own house.

Tim was so caught up in his personal thoughts that he didn't notice the door opening. Nor did he notice the sharp blue eyes that were looking at him with an intense stare.

"When the door's unlocked, you're welcome to just walk in," A surly voice growled, shaking Tim from his thoughts.

"I k-know. I just didn't realize that I was allowed to do that," Tim replied softly, looking down slightly at Gibbs and taking a small step backwards.

"Why wouldn't you be allowed?" Gibbs asked, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded against his chest, blocking the 'NAVY' on his sweatshirt from view.

"Well I'm not Tony or Ziva, sir," Tim said.

Gibbs glared at the 'sir' but let it pass.

"I know you're not Tony or Ziva. That doesn't mean you can't come in without knocking, Tim."

Tim didn't reply. He just looked down at his shoes.

"…Tim, come on. I've got a boat to sand and I could use an extra set of hands," Gibbs turned on his heels and disappeared into the dark house.

Tim looked up and followed him in, closing the door behind himself before catching up to Gibbs and following him down the stairs to the basement.

There was a half finished boat in the middle of the room and it smelled like sawdust and alcohol.

"Gibbs," Tim said softly and accepted the sandpaper his boss handed him.

"What?"

"Wh-why am I here?" Tim asked as set the sand paper down on a nearby table and sat down on the stairs behind him.

"You tell me," Gibbs replied.

"I don't know, boss. I just don't know why you would invite me over to your house. I mean I can understand you inviting Tony over. Just not me. It's never me…" Tim looked down at his shoes again, his shoulders drooping.

"I invited you over because of that text of yours that I read. The one from that 'Dean'," Gibbs explained as he walked over to Tim, pushing his slightly so that Gibbs could sit on the stair beside him.

"I don't understand why that would bother you," Tim said.

"It bothered me because I don't know who Dean is. And I'm used to knowing everything about my agents," Gibbs spoke in a low tone.

"But why would you care about anything that involves me?" Tim looked up, turning his head so that he could look directly at the man next to him.

"Tim, you are a part of my team and you are a damn good agent. I care about you because you're part of the family, kid," Gibbs lifted his arm and put it across Tim's shoulders.

"I…Thank you, Gibbs," Tim smiled at him and he could feel a heavy weight being lifted off his chest.

Gibbs didn't hate him. He cared about him. Gibbs said he was a part of the family.

And that's all Tim needed. That's all Tim ever needed. He had just always wanted to hear it before he truly believed it.

"So, tell me about this Dean," Gibbs winked and squeezed Tim's shoulder, causing Tim to smile again and begin to ramble about Dean.

Hey guys.

Sorry for the long wait. I've been busy and due to a bad review, I lost my motivation for a few days..

But, I'm back now. And updates should become more regular.

I realize that Gibbs didn't really sound like Gibbs and Tim didn't really sound like Tim.

They are just very complex characters and it's difficult to get their dialogue to sound like them.

Well, reviews are amazing.

Thank you for reading and I'll see you soon(hopefully) with a new chapter!