A/N: Warning for minor season 9 spoilers

Chapter 6: Aftershocks

It wasn't until he was back at his desk at NCIS that the reality of having a spitting image of himself roaming this planet, hit him.

He'd already been slightly more absent than usually on the ride back to HQ, but now he numbly made a beeline for his desk without sparing the others even a glance.

Tony and Ziva, whilst they had a fair idea what was on their friend's mind, cast a questioning look at the team leader who merely shrugged and sat down behind his own desk.

By now, everyone on the team had seen McGee's double and their thoughts had taken various directions since then.

Ziva sat, resting her head in her hands and elbows firmly planted on the top of her desk. She was staring vacantly ahead. She wasn't exactly having her eyes focused on Tony who occupied the opposite desk. No. Instead, she was seeing another man. Two other men. Was this a mere coincidence? Who was this man really and what was the relation to her friend and coworker? What was his character like? Was he as soft and gentle as their own McGee?

Tony oozed indifference, but he was intrigued nonetheless. He was reclined as best he could in his desk chair, legs crossed at the ankles on his desk and hands interlaced behind his head as he was making a study of the ceiling as if seeing the two men that were on his mind hovering there. Was the world ready for two McGees? What if there were more? Maybe they were even results of some dark, secret experiment? Some evil mind, like one straight from a James Bond movie, raising an army of super geeks! With guns! This English one even had big guns. Very very big guns! This British version of his Probie seemed pretty no-nonsense to him. Pranks would be totally lost on this man. In fact, one wouldn't even try! No, he had to admit, after this first impression, that his Probie was more fun...for a clone... Good grief! They could very well be aliens!

Gibbs sat at his desk with his chin resting contemplatively on his right hand, gaze fixed on his youngest team member. Were both McGees related? Why wasn't there any mention in McGee's personnel file? And why this attack on the other McGee? Was Tomas McGee mistaken for Timothy McGee? Quite possibly, Tim was the real target. He would need to be watched. That much was certain.

Tim let his fingers play with the keyboard as he ran a search on his double's background.

He sat back in shock – yes, even after having met the man live, a mere picture of his double could still overwhelm him.

His eyes roamed the screens as they popped up. Every bit of new information shed more light on this man's life.

Tim was used to burrowing into people's private lives on his quest for information; anything that could turn out to be crucial to help solve a crime.

This time, though, it had become rather personal. Not that this was anything new. In fact, two members of his family had so far been directly involved in murder cases. Of course they weren't guilty of any crime...other than obstructing the investigations. Even he, himself, had been guilty of that when his sister had turned up on his doorstep, crying.

He sighed as he thought of that latest case. His paternal grandmother had been that other member of his family involved.

Shaking his brooding, he clicked the printing commands and got up to collect the papers from the printer.

He sat down and rested his chin in his hands as he started reading the documents.

Born in Bethesda...same date as his own birthday. November 15, 1978.
Green eyes. Same as his.
Flaxen hair. Lighter than his current color. The man's lighter shade was undoubtedly the result of his life at sea.
Father: Stuart McGee, MD
Mother (maiden name): Majella D'Arcy
He had a brother, Akil, and a younger sister Wenna; both adopted...just like Tomas. Akil's adoption had been a complicated one, judging from the extra files on it. What with the Shari'a it wasn't really a surprise!

Reading on, Tim gave a derisive snort. My father would be so proud if he learnt he had at least one son serving the navy, albeit the British!

All of a sudden, his heart sped up and he felt a clutching sensation in the pit of his stomach as jealousy kindled inside him. It scared him.

A couple of deep breaths and a lot of willpower calmed him enough to push the threatening and bitter sensation to the background. For the time being. With a sinking feeling, he continued reading; unaware of the concerned looks he got.

After a while, he let his thoughts wander off again to the man who'd thrown his previously organized life topsy-turvy. It had been quite the shock for him. Am I in danger? What if it was me they were actually after? Why else would the attack have taken place here and now and not in England or any port the HMS Devon had visited? Who is he? Could he be my twin brother? In that case, why hadn't mom and dad told me this little fact? Surely they must've known?

A chilling thought occurred to him. Suppose – just suppose his parents were not his biological parents, either? They surely wouldn't wait 30 odd years to tell him they'd adopted him as an infant? Would they? And if they'd really kept this a secret all along, they'd surely given Gibbs' famous rules, notably Rule #4, a new meaning! Wasn't this one secret they should've shared with him in the least?

He simply couldn't believe they'd keep such an important matter to themselves.

He jumped up so suddenly that his chair bounced backwards against the partition wall, causing all heads to turn his way.

The notion of this idea made him dizzy and, ignoring the many curious glances, he made a bee line to the men's room.

Leaning heavily on the sink, he stared at the familiar face in the mirror.

Who am I really? Who are my real parents? Is Sarah really my sibling sister? She didn't resemble him and, while more siblings didn't share the same looks, it might explain why they were different. He'd been told before how much they differed in looks.

"Children begin by loving their parents. After a time, they judge them. Rarely, if ever, do they forgive them." This quote by Oscar Wilde encompassed everything he was thinking, right now.

He loved his parents. It stood to reason Tomas McGee loved his', too. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced they were twins. Question remained who was the adopted one. How could he judge his parents? What if they were not his biological parents? And, suppose they were: could he forgive them? His true mom and dad? Or just mom?

What a way to meet his...brother. Yeah, brother. What else could he possibly be?

All of a sudden he found his world disrupted. He'd been numb with shock the moment he set eyes on Lt. Cmdr. McGee and saw himself...no matter if the other man's face was marred by multiple injuries.

He broke out in a cold sweat and started breathing rapidly and uncontrolled until he saw little stars darting in his vision.

Turning on the faucet, he quickly splashed some water to his face. Drying his face with a paper towel, he leaned against the far wall and forced himself to calm down and take slow, regular breaths.

He was so concentrated on composing himself, eyes tightly shut, that he hadn't noticed Gibbs had followed him into the men's room.

Standing in the doorway, Gibbs took in his young agent's obvious confusion and felt a twinge of guilt, remembering how he'd enjoyed keeping the victim's identity from McGee, though he'd been quick to share this little detail with the others as soon as he got the case-file. But then, how could he have known the Lt. Cmdr. would turn out to be a dead-ringer of the NCIS agent. Such a surprise would floor anyone!

Gibbs patiently waited until the younger man would notice him in his own time.

But Tim didn't as much as move, too sucked in by his own thoughts.

The team leader was going to say something, when his cell phone broke the silence.

With a look of annoyance at being disturbed, he barked: "Gibbs."

"Boss. We have a situation."

After that, there was only a prolonged silence. "Spill, DiNozzo."

"Lt. Cmdr. McGee's missing." Then, before Gibbs could disconnect, Tony hastened to add. "Boss?"

"What?" Gibbs sighed. Frankly, this wasn't the time to play games. What more could go wrong?

"That's not all there is."

"DiNozzo...?" Gibbs grumbled warningly, keeping his eyes on McGee who had roused at the ring tone and was now staring straight at him, listening in on everything he said.

"Admiral McGee's here and the S..." He was speaking to thin air, since Gibbs had already hung up.

Not a particularly long chapter but it's better than nothing.