SPECIAL THANKS GOES TO:Keleth, Gottahavemyncis, JazzieG, extraordinary geek,lsmcfan, Maudlin Mush,SumNumb3rs,Debthebee77,68luvcarter, Junee, JackSam, Moonlight Hunter, FOR THEIR REVIEWS!

Thanks to everyone who has read this!

This is just a short chapter today. Not much happening either.

New work week starts tomorrow so I won't be able to update until probably Friday.

DISCLAIMER:I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!

-NCIS-

Tim folded his hunter green comforter and pale green sheets in silence as he wondered uneasily what today would bring when he got to the Navy yard. He debated whether or not to go in, but eventually decided that it would be easier to run damage control if he was actually there and knew what was happening. He deflated his air bed and stored it along with the comforter and linen in the closet in his bedroom, getting his black dress shoes while he was at the closet and picking up a pair of gray dress socks on his way back to the living room.

Tim sat down in his computer chair to put his shoes on, his brilliant mind whirling with the possibilities of how his day would go, considering and discarding different scenarios, examining everything from every possible angle until he was confident that there would be no surprises.

Tim looked up as Sarah walked into the living room, fresh from the shower, dark brown hair pulled tight in a high ponytail, pretty face devoid of makeup. Her long legs were clad in dark wash jeans with strategically placed rips down them. She had opted to wear the pale pink, silk, short sleeve blouse with pearl buttons, that her brother had given her for her birthday just a few weeks ago, instead of her usual T- shirt. It had fast became a favorite of hers. The blouse went well with her light olive complexion, even though it didn't exactly go with her jeans and white sneakers. She just needed the closeness it represented to her brother today.

'She looks so innocent.' Tim thought, smiling softly at his sister. 'And young. So impossibly young.' Tim's heart raced a little when he realized that she was young, having only celebrated her twentieth birthday just recently, but it twisted a little, also, when he realized she was almost grown, too. She would leave with him this time, because she trusted that he knew best and she knew he would never steer her wrong or do anything to hurt her. But what about the next time or the time after that? She had been so young when they had first started hiding-no longer a child, but still just a girl, when he had made his decision to never tell anyone their past. He had decided long ago that he couldn't ever take the chance of telling a woman everything there was to know about him, no one matter how close they became and no woman had ever made him reconsider that decision, not even Abby.

But Sarah wasn't him. She liked being around people, interacting with them. She wouldn't be content to hide behind locked doors. She would want more one day. She would want to share her life one day. One day, she'd want a husband, a family. One day someone else would be responsible for keeping her safe, for doing what was best for her. He wanted that for his sister. Because she deserved it. She deserved to be happy.

But when that day came, where would that leave him? What would he do when he was no longer needed?

He came out of his troubled thoughts to Sarah calling his name. The expression on her face told Tim that it wasn't the first time she had called him.

"Is there anything wrong,Tim?" She asked, concerned.

Tim shook his head to dispel his less than pleasant peak into the future and turned his attention to tying his shoes, so he didn't have to look at his sister.

"No, nothing's wrong."

Sarah could clearly hear the lie in his voice.

"Just..." He hesitated. "...thinking." Tim stood up and opened the desk drawer where he kept his weapon, holstering it.

"What were thinking about, Tim?" Sarah asked worriedly.

He secured his gun in place without answering, then he picked up his wallet and phone, and turned to his sister. "You ready?" He asked, putting his wallet in his back pocket and sliding his phone into the clip on his belt.

"Uh,yeah." She said, staring at her brother. "I just have to get my backpack."

Tim grunted and picked up his own backpack, sliding it onto his shoulder. "Go get it, we need to go. I don't want to be late." 'Especially not today.'. He added silently.

Sarah disappeared into the bedroom and was back within seconds, carrying a bright purple backpack.

"Good." He said, walking to the door. "Let's go." He ushered her ahead of him so he could close and lock the door. "Can you still pick up Jethro from the vet's after your last class?" He asked as they walked down the stairs and out into the early morning sunshine.

"Yeah." She said as they reached the parking space that went with Tim's apartment. "I'll bring him home and make supper. Anything special you want?" Sarah opened the passenger side door and got in.

"Not really." Tim said, sliding into the driver's seat. "Just better make sure it won't be ruined if I have to work over." He warned. "I'll call if I'm going to be late or if I can't make it." Tim backed out of his parking space and pulled out of his apartment driveway, heading toward her college.

They drove in silence for a few minutes until Sarah worked up her courage to ask again, " Tim, what were you thinking back in the apartment?"

Tim was silent so long that she didn't think he was going to answer. "I was thinking about where to go to next." He said finally. "Any preferences?"

Sarah looked at her brother for a minute before answering. "No, not really." She answered, willing to let her brother put away whatever was worrying him for now. "Where do you want to go?" Sooner or later Tim would tell her what was bothering him. She'd make sure of that.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I was thinking about New Mexico. See Roswell. Search for area 51." He grinned when he saw Sarah roll her eyes out of the corner of his eyes.

"Oh, come on, Tim!" She exclaimed exasperatedly. "Are you back on that again?"

"I'm telling you, life on other planets does exist." He said starting one of their favorite arguments. "We are not alone."

"And I'm telling you, if aliens existed, they wouldn't come all the way here to make circles in some farmers' fields!"

They argued back and forth good-naturedly until they parted ways at Sarah's school. Tim was in high spirits as he drove to the Navy yard, his disturbing thoughts from that morning temporarily forgotten.

His good mood plummeted again when he walked into the bullpen and saw Abby already there, waiting at his desk.

"I want to talk to you, Timmy."

Tim unholstered his sig sauer and locked it in his desk drawer, then dropped his bag under his desk. "But I don't want to talk to you, Abby." He refused to look at her as he sat down in his desk chair and turned his computer on.

"Please, Timmy. I feel really awful and I want to apologize." She said, wringing her hands.

Tim ignored her for a minute while he pulled up the office e-mail program and fired off a request for an appointment to see the Director as soon as possible.

"Please, Tim..."

Tim looked her in the eye. "I don't want to hear you say you're sorry for something we both know you're not sorry for." He said softly, well aware that there were two sets of interested ears listening to their conversation. "And I don't want to hear some lame ass excuse about why you did it. I don't want to hear anything you have to say."

"But I really am sorry!" She insisted tearfully.

Guilt swamped him but he pushed it away, knowing that this had to be done, and looked at her coldly. "Why do I have the feeling that you're only sorry about getting caught?"

A hurt look crossed Abby's face and she opened her mouth but nothing would come out. She swallowed and tried again but was interrupted by the ringing of Tim's desk phone.

"Agent McGee." Tim said picking it up.

"Agent McGee, Director Vance has a few minutes free now, if you would like to come up." The voice of the Director's assistant said.

"I'll be right there." He told her and hung up the phone. He went to push past her but Abby stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Tim..." She said pleadingly.

He flinched away from her almost violently. "Don't. O.K.? Just-Don't!" He said not wanting to hurt anymore than he already had. He walked on without giving her a chance to say anything and went up the stairs to the Director's office.

Abby watched him go with trepidation. She could hear Sarah's voice as clearly as she would if Sarah was in the bullpen. 'he no longer feels comfortable working with you...'

The elevator dinged then and the doors opened, emitting Gibbs. The second she saw him, Abby started to wail. "Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" She met him at his desk, throwing herself into his arms. "He's leaving, Gibbs!" She sobbed into his chest. "He's leaving and it's all my fault!"

Startled ice blue eyes met moss green ones, silently asking what was going on.

Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo met his boss's eyes and shrugged. He wasn't quite sure what was going on his self. All he knew was it probably had something to do with the Probie, since it was obvious to anyone who had been in the bullpen a few minutes ago that he was extremely angry with their mistress of the dark.

"Abs." Gibbs said, trying to cut through her loud sobs. "Abs! Calm down and tell me what's wrong!"

Abby lifted her face from his brown polo shirt covered chest. "It's Timmy, Gibbs!" She said tears welling in her big hazel eyes. "He's leaving us! He's quitting NCIS!"

A pin could have been heard dropping in the silence that followed that tearful statement.

Abby started to sob again and buried her face in Gibbs chest again.

-NCIS-

Tim was ushered into the Director's office as soon as he walked into the reception area. He walked in and stood in front his desk until Director Vance waved him into a chair.

"What can I do for you, Agent McGee?" Leon Vance asked, seeing no reason to observe any of the normal pleasantries.

Tim leaned froward slightly, opened his mouth, prepared to say what he and Sarah talked about this morning, and..

Nothing came out! He couldn't do it. He couldn't quit. Not yet. Not like this. Not until Tim knew that there was no other way. He just wasn't ready to give up on Gibbs yet. He couldn't give up; not as long as there was hope that, one day, Gibbs might see Tim differently.