A clean shirt, dark blue with a European cut was hanging in the bedroom when the smell of frying meat and eggs woke Tim. Wondering where it came from, he stumbled to the bathroom to find not only a clean towel waiting for him, but his usual toiletries were on the counter. Feeling more like himself, he jumped in the shower and started his morning routine. Dressed, he headed downstairs.

"Good morning." Gibbs used the spatula to point at the bottle of Tylenol sitting next to the coffee maker and Tim gave a slight grunt as he went straight for the bottle. Three beers wasn't enough to give him a hangover, but it did give him a nasty headache that a hot shower hadn't cleared.

"Thanks, Boss." After downing two tablets and most of a cup of coffee he looked around. "Do you know where my phone went?"

The spatula was now being used to dish up breakfast so Gibbs pointed with his elbow and Tim found his phone on the bookcase, plugged into a charger and ready for him. He wasn't sure where Gibbs had come up with an I-phone charger, probably the same place he'd come up with a fresh shirt in the style Tim favored. Abby always said the man was magic and sometimes Tim actually believed it. "Thanks, Boss."

Fully charged phone in hand, Tim joined Gibbs at the table, checking his messages which eliminated his good mood. Five text messages, two voice mails and a video message, all from Delilah. He was still staring at his phone when Gibbs nudged him. "It's up to you. Do you really want to hear what else she has to say?"

If he'd been alone, he'd have probably buckled and gone through every message no matter how much it hurt him. Instead, he deleted all of them without opening them, then blocked her number. "No, I don't." To prove his point that he was going to be fine, Tim dug into his food.

-NCIS-

"You're here early." Hoping to be the first one in, Ellie stopped and stared at Tony who was engrossed in his work already. He looked up, apparently as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

"Yeah, gotta finish this report before the Boss gets here. Otherwise, he's going to have my hide. Let me guess, you too?"

Blushing, Ellie shrugged as she set her bag down on her desk. "Jake got home last night so I didn't want to stay late and finish."

That got Tony up and on his feet. "Oh, yeah? So did he bring you back anything nice from his trip?"

"As a matter of fact, he did." Smiling, Ellie took out a handcrafted glass paperweight and showed him. It filled her hands and was quite heavy. Inside the clear glass ball was a delicate looking butterfly made of swirls of colored glass. Tony didn't seem as impressed as she'd hoped.

"A paperweight?" He spent two weeks away from home and all he brought you back was a paperweight?"

She really didn't expect him to understand. "I collect paperweights and not only is this from a new, up and coming glass artist, it's a swallowtail butterfly. We saw one on our first date."

Tony made an abortive cheering motion. "Umm, go, Jake?"

"Yes, go, Jake. A girl likes to be reminded that the man she loves remembers little details. You should remember that, Tony. Just like Tim remembers that Delilah's favorite cartoon is Betty Boop. We were both there when he bought her that little ceramic Betty Boop last week." Still smiling, she set the paperweight on the corner of her desk where not only could she see it, but anyone walking by would see it, too.

-NCIS-

Betty Boop? So that weird little doll with the big eyes had an actual name. Now Tony was glad he'd kept his mouth shut when McGee bought the thing. He never understood why women were attracted to odd little things and was glad that Zoe was above all of that. At least he thought she was. Crap, had he missed some vital clue? Was there a window on those sorts of things?

He'd better figure it out because they had a date tonight. Flowers were safe. She liked flowers. Didn't she? Roses, he'd bought her roses before and she seemed to like them. At least she was very – appreciative – when they got back to her place that night.

Somebody mentioned a code once. Each color meant something different. Was it Ducky that talked about it, or maybe it was McGee? Abby? Whoever it was, it was someone that talked a lot. He did remember that. Somebody he tended to tune out eventually so it was probably McGee. Or Ducky. He was pretty sure if tuning out was involved, it wasn't Abby. One did not tune out the Mistress of the Dark, not if they wanted to keep all of their vital bits attached and functioning. Sidetracked, he was getting sidetracked. Zoe, roses – if he wanted to order them, he needed to get away from prying ears for a few minutes. Report finished, he sent it to the printer and jumped to his feet. Ellie looked at him strangely.

"I'm caught up, so I'm going for coffee. Back in a minute." Barely taking the time to pull the report off the printer and set it on Gibbs' desk, he dashed for the elevator.

-NCIS-

"Thanks, Boss, I appreciate your help with, well, everything."

Gibbs just gave a nod. Other than Ziva, he'd never referred to any of them as his kids directly to them, but he believed they knew. "Glad I could help, Tim. Now, if we don't catch a case, why don't you take an extra few minutes at lunch and go see your old man. Show him you're okay."

He waited, not breaking eye contact, until McGee finally nodded. He understood why the younger man was so timid about expecting anything from his father, so he just kept encouraging. "Good, he's worried about you."

Reminder said, he exited the car, McGee right behind him. After signing in, they came face to face with Tony.

"Hey, Boss. Hey, McGee. I'm on my way for coffee. Report's on your desk, Boss." All in one breath and he was out the door with McGee and Gibbs staring after him.

"What was that all about?"

Gibbs shook his head and watched for a minute more. "He's ordering flowers for his new girlfriend and doesn't want any of us to know about her yet." He enjoyed watching the surprise and wonder on McGee's face.

Upstairs, Ellie was typing and munching like mad. "Hey, Gibbs, Tony -"

"Went for coffee, I know. His report's on my desk, where's yours?"

Looking flustered, she stared at him for a second before punching at her keyboard. "Sending to the printer now, Gibbs."

Gibbs turned enough that she couldn't see the amusement on his face. "Good. Nice paperweight, Bishop. Jake bring it back from New Mexico?" He looked back to see the stunned look on her face as her mouth hung open. Yeah, some days it was good to be boss. He sat down at his desk and started reading DiNozzo's report, hiding his grin behind the folder when he heard Bishop talking to McGee.

"How does he do that?"

"Abby says he's magic."

"Magic?"

Gibbs didn't have to look to 'see' the enthusiastic nodding of McGee's head. Yep, definitely good to be boss.

-NCIS-

A mix of coral and orange roses ordered, Tony walked back into the building, coffee in hand, just as an Army colonel was signing in.

"I'm Colonel Fielding and I'm here to see Agent Timothy McGee."

Tony took a second glance, he'd recognize those eyes anywhere, even on a different generation. "Colonel Fielding? Delilah's father?" He turned to Henry. "I'll take him up."

"Thanks, Agent DiNozzo. I'm kinda shorthanded here this morning."

Henry satisfied, Tony held the elevator open for the Colonel. "Tim didn't mention that you were coming by for a visit."

"No, I'm sure he didn't."

There was something in the Colonel's tone that caught Tony's attention, but before he could figure out the problem, they arrived on their floor and the Colonel quickly stepped off the elevator and Tony rushed to catch up. "Is there a problem, Sir?"

-NCIS-

Final reports now in his hand, Gibbs stood to go upstairs. "Cold cases, both of you. Let DiNozzo know when he gets back."

Half way up the stairs, movement caught his eye. Turning, Gibbs saw a dress uniform, heavy on the medals, heading directly for McGee. Tim seemed to recognize the man and quickly stood.

"Colonel Fielding."

Crap. Knowing how bad this could turn, Gibbs reversed direction, but he wasn't quick enough as Fielding picked up the paperweight off of Bishop's desk and swung at McGee.

Tony was only a few steps behind Fielding and managed to grab his arm before he could deliver a second blow but McGee went down hard and didn't move.

Gibbs wasn't gentle at all as he slammed Fielding against a desk and cuffed him. "You're under arrest, Fielding."

"Damn it, do you know what he did? Do you?"

"Yeah, and I also know what she did." Gibbs hauled Fielding upright and shoved him toward two of the agents that had arrived. "Put him in a holding cell. Nobody talks to him except me." Fielding contained, Gibbs circled around to where McGee was laying. Bishop was with him, already on the phone, summoning an ambulance, then Ducky.

Tony was staring at the scene. "Boss, what the – what did McGee do to Delilah?"

"Nothing." Not giving out any more information than that, he dropped down to check on McGee himself. He was moving now – slightly – but didn't seem aware of his surroundings. Gibbs gently tapped the uninjured side of his face. "McGee, you back with us yet?"

McGee groaned, then stilled. Gibbs quickly checked his pulse, relaxing slightly when he felt the steady thrum against his fingers. "You're going to be okay, kiddo."

Ducky and Palmer arrived at the same time as Vance so Gibbs stepped back to give Ducky room and update the Director, who'd already heard the basics.

"Gibbs, what is an Army officer doing attacking one of our agents?"

Tony spoke up before Gibbs could. "Not just any officer, Sir. That was Colonel Fielding."

"Fielding? As in Delilah? What in the hell did McGee do to piss off her old man like that?"

Gibbs groaned as the last possibility of keeping the situation private was dashed. "Let's talk about this in your office Leon." Behind them, Ducky stood and Gibbs turned back for a report. "He going to be okay, Duck?"

"He's drifting in and out of consciousness and I suspect a fracture of the zygomatic bone. A CAT scan will tell us how bad the damage is and if it will require surgery. Worst case, he could lose vision in that eye if it's not treated properly and quickly."

The elevator dinged and two paramedics rolled a stretcher out toward them. "Go to the hospital with him, I'll be right behind you."

"Well, of course, Jethro."

Vance stepped closer to Gibbs as the stretcher was rolled back to the elevator. "I at least need the short version before some four star general demands to know why I've got a colonel locked up in my brig."

Moving the discussion to Vance's office was going to take too much time. "My office?"

"Fine."

They had to wait a few moments until the elevator came back up. Tony slipped in with them at the last moment; Gibbs glared at him, but didn't say anything. As soon as the elevator started moving, Vance flipped the switch. "I try not to get involved in my agents' personal lives, but when things go this wrong, I don't have a choice, Gibbs."

Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose, hating the fact that he had no choice but to break a confidence. "Okay, but this goes no further than you and the team for the time being."

"For now."

It was as good as he was going to get. "How long ago did McGee go to Dubai to visit Delilah?"

DiNozzo was the one to answer. "Like eight, nine weeks ago."

"Yeah. Delilah's pregnant."

"So that was the Colonel's version of a shotgun wedding?"

Gibbs ignored Vance's question for the moment. "Problem is that the dates don't add up. She's closer to fifteen weeks."

Vance stared at him for a moment. "It's not his."

"Nope. He confronted her, she confessed. Next, she tried to guilt him and then bully him into marrying her so she wouldn't lose her position in Dubai."

"So, why doesn't she get the real baby daddy to marry her if she's so desperate?"

"Probably because he's already got a wife."

Tony had been quiet since Gibbs told about the pregnancy, but now he exploded. "What? She was having an affair with a married man and stringing McGee along?"

"Yep."

Vance thought about how the Colonel reacted. "So her next step was to go crying to Daddy? Trick him into putting pressure on McGee?"

"Maybe. Probably. Doesn't matter to me as far as the Colonel goes. He blindsided McGee without ever saying a word. He didn't come here to talk him into anything. When I get back from the hospital, we'll find out exactly what she thought she was doing."

"Gibbs."

He knew exactly what Vance was going to say. "Fielding can sit in holding for a few hours. I promised the Admiral that I would make sure Tim was all right."

"It wasn't your fault, Boss."

"His father asked me to look out for him, to make sure Delilah didn't hurt him any more than she already had. First time I step away from Tim, that lunatic cold-cocks him with a two pound chuck of glass. Just how do you think the Admiral is going to feel?"

"Shit."

"Yeah." Gibbs turned the elevator back on and looked at DiNozzo. "You and Bishop work this just like a case. I want to know exactly when she talked to her father. How many times. How long. Deep history on the Colonel. If he's got any kind of history of violence and she knew and provoked that kind of reaction..."

"Got it, Boss." They were on the first floor and Tony called out as Gibbs stepped off the elevator. "Keep us posted, okay?" Gibbs waved as he went out the main doors.