CHAPTER 7
He stared down at the kill before turning and exiting the room, out of the apartment and out of the building. It was just way too easy and the only thrill he got out of it was knowing that it was all for Timothy McGee. If it hadn't been for that, he sure as hell wouldn't be killing these way too easy targets.
Thankfully he was getting along on the plan. Now, he just had to get to the meeting.
He drove to the restaurant and walked in, giving the hostess a charming smile that she returned. She really was a looker. Maybe he could indulge in some pleasure afterwards, but first the meeting.
"If you need anything else, let me know," she—Barbara—said with a mischievous smile. "Anything."
"I will," he grinned back. And he sure will. Watching her walk away with a little swing to her hips, he finally went back to the menu as he waited for the other person to show. Thankfully it wasn't long before Barbara came back with his guest. "Here you are."
"Thank you Barbara," he winked before standing and turning to his guest. "Al Wood," he greeted with a smile and handshake.
"Pleased to meet you Mr. Wood. Bob Jones."
Uh huh. "Shall we sit?"
They each sat and ordered their drinks and food before getting to business. "So you require my services."
"Yes. I'm an…entrepreneur if you will and someone is digging around my business."
"And you would like them gone," he stated straight forward. Something that hasn't changed. He knew "Bob" from years ago and he hadn't changed a bit. He hadn't changed that much either for that matter but a few extra muscular pounds, dyed hair, colored contacts, and fake glasses, he wasn't surprised "Bob" didn't recognize him. That and "Bob" had been above obnoxious and pompous back then to recognize him and definitely not now. And that was fine for him.
"Al" nodded, smiling to the waitress when she brought their food. Once they were alone again "Bob" continued. "Not that I'm one to tolerate competition, but why not higher someone else?"
"This isn't just some nerd. He's an agent."
"…For who?"
"NCIS."
"Bob" raised an eyebrow at that, no doubt briefly wondering about what he was doing to gain their attention. But that wasn't part of his job, so he moved on and asked, "Name?"
"Agent Timothy McGee. I've found evidence on my computer that someone was snooping around my system, and eventually I found out who it was. I don't know if he's just hacking to see if he can or if he's really searching for something for either himself or NCIS, but I don't care. Either way is bad for business and I want him gone."
He pulled the folder he had out of his briefcase and handed it over to "Bob". It was a file full of information on Tim, surveillance photos and information on job, place he lived, even on the fact that he had a dog.
"I see you've already done some surveillance," he observed.
"Al" shrugged. "I needed to know everything I can on this guy before deciding to come to you." And it had been way too easy to find him. It was a wonder how the law enforcement hadn't found him yet.
"Bob" nodded as he went through the file, flipping through the information and photos. "Of course I'm going to need to do my own surveillance, but I'll take the job. Now," he said, closing the file and setting it aside, "for the cost."
He smiled as he was again completed a step.
Tony looked on to his partner as he napped. It had been a few days and Tim was being released in a few hours from the hospital. He hadn't been able to talk to Tim much since everything happened. One minute he was dragging Tim down to see Ducky, and the next Tim was in the hospital and he couldn't talk to him.
It wasn't that he wasn't allowed, but he was gone with work, and when he was visiting, everyone else was there or Gibbs and Victor was—two dads looking over their son. That was something he didn't want to intrude on. And then on the off chance he could get alone with Tim, he was asleep.
Tim's body was recovered, though there were times he got tired in the middle of the day, but mentally… His "rebooting" phase was over; he wasn't emotionless when he talked to them. But he also wasn't the Tim they knew. He was a little all over the place. One minute he'd be in the conversation the whole gang was having and the next he'd start talking about something scientific and something so complex Abby sometimes couldn't follow. There have been occasions when he came to visit and found Tim writing in some notebook that Gibbs had bought him after an incident. He didn't know what the incident was, but Tony could tell Victor was thankful for Gibbs supplying a notebook.
Tony had taken a peak at it once while Tim slept and saw it was filled with math and science. And Tony couldn't help but remember Lieutenant Thorson's space.
It made him wonder if this was what Tim was really like or if this was a combination of the case and what happened. He worried about him and silently prayed to have his partner back.
"That's not a good look for you."
Blinking out of his thoughts, he looked down to find Tim waking up. "What isn't?"
"That face."
"I'm not making a face."
"Sure, DiNozzo," he chuckled while sitting up. "What's up?"
Pasting on his signature grin, he gave a small bow. "I am to be your escort for today, my friend."
He looked to Tim and felt his smile slipping at the way he was staring at him. It almost rivaled with Gibbs' observing stare and Tony suddenly felt the need to look away before Tim found anything.
"What's wrong, Tony?"
"Nothing's wrong," he grinned, or tried to.
"You haven't called me Probie or any McNickname once since I've woken. You call me something of that affect an average of 30 times a month, that's once a day. The fact that you haven't said it once in the four days I've been here is worrisome and calls for questioning."
Tony stared.
The Tim he knew would have just said "You do it all the time, why haven't you called me anything yet?" It just continued to worry him as the days went and the more this Tim talked. And he didn't like thinking about it, but he even missed the faces Tim would pull sometimes. Sometimes it was just the way he raised his eyebrows, or the way he looked at him exasperated when Tony talked way too much, or even the little smirk he had when he knew whatever Tony said was about to get him a headslap from Gibbs or threat from Ziva. Or even just the smile he had when he was happy.
Sure this Tim smiled but it usually never reached his eyes and made them bright. Sure this Tim mouthed the words to whatever he was writing in his notebook, but it wasn't the same as if he was typing on his computer, trying to break his record.
And he wouldn't admit it, but he missed Tim at work. He missed coming into work late, Tim at his desk already at work or surfing the internet. He missed being able to look over at his desk and see him and just know that he was there to talk to, to banter with, or even there to prank on. Tim was the one constant in his life and him not being there both physically and sometimes mentally, it threw him off kilter. He didn't like being off kilter.
The fact that he even missed him that much pushed him even more off kilter. It was an unpleasant feeling, not understanding something and not knowing what was going to happen. He just hoped that in the three weeks Tim was away that things would get better and he would get his Probie back.
"Tony."
"Sorry. Thought I'd save it for when you get back to work, I guess."
"Oh…" His head tilted as he thought and it brought an involuntary smile to Tony's lips as he watched. That was something that didn't change. Tim's curiosity and some of his little quirks. Like the fact that he still continued to huff on his tea or coffee. Nurses were against it but they caved eventually. And when Tony first heard that huff, his head had snapped up and he had beamed in relief that Tim was still somewhat the same. For now.
"So, you excited to get out of here?" he asked.
"Yes," Tim nodded with a small smile of his own. "Could you step outside? I'd like to change."
"Sure man."
Tim watched Tony step out of the room before turning to his clothes. Tony had been acting a bit strange the past few days he was in the hospital and he had immediately picked up on the difference. Tony did in fact call him Probie or a McNickname an average of 30 times a month. So given that he hadn't called him any of that once Tim had picked up on it.
He knew his hospitalization and the…discovery of his past had shocked his teammates. They had believed he had the perfect childhood with a loving mother, father, and little sister, was smart on the geeky side with computer games and comic books. And that was the truth for the most part. Except…he wasn't just smart but a genius. He saw things differently. And he definitely had his quirks as average people would call it.
Routine was something that he needed. His mind was chaotic without it. With a routine, he was able to focus his mind on what it needed to be focused on. Doctors tried to say he was ADD, but that was ridiculous. He just had a lot of information and things going on in his head that without order and routine, he could get distracted by a new idea or something new.
Like the incident that happened only two days ago. He had been talking to his dad when the older man suddenly needed to go to the bathroom and mentioned he would get lunch while he was at it. When he had been gone, his nurse had come in and as he watched her check him over, he had had a sudden idea. He asked for a pen, she gave him one before she left, and he had been left with a dilemma. He didn't have paper. And Tim needed paper to write it down. So, he had taken the bed sheet, spread it out in the floor, slowly slipped down to the floor in front of it, and started working out the math of the problem.
Not only did his dad return, but he had returned with Gibbs. They had not been happy that he was out of bed. Nurse heard the commotion, came in and saw what he was doing. She hadn't been happy—it was her own fault for leaving him with a pen and no paper—and tried to take his work.
Suffice to say that Nurse Jacky was happy he was leaving. And Gibbs had gone out and brought back a notebook for him which he was grateful for.
No, he just needed to get his mind back to focusing on what he needed it to and he would be fine. He would be back to the Tim that his family and friends knew.
Tim saw. It wasn't hard to see, and he was a genius and investigator after all. Tim knew that this version of himself wasn't what they were comfortable with, they didn't know how to approach him. And he tried, but being in a hospital didn't give him order so it left him out of sorts and he did not like that.
He needed order to control the chaos in his head. And in doing so give his family the Tim they wanted.
Jimmy pulled up to Jethro's house and Ducky couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Victor and Jethro finish putting up the fence. Jethro didn't make friends but Ducky had watched him make a friend in Victor; Timothy's care the obvious factor.
The two took turns watching over Timothy in the hospital, watching him together at other points. Jethro had even allowed Victor to crash at his home and Ducky nearly had the shock of his life when Jethro asked the team to come over and help him and Victor move a few things around so Timothy could recover at his house instead of alone in his small apartment. Only to find that Jethro had put away Kelly's things and they were remaking her room into a guest room.
"Jethro…"
"What Duck?"
"…Are you sure?"
Jethro nodded as his hand absently traced the last box of Kelly's belongings. "Kelly would have wanted Tim to use her room, insisted really," he chuckled. "And besides, if anything, I'm just changing this room from one kid's room to another."
Granted these kids were grown adults, but Ducky understood what it was. Ducky knew that Timothy's situation had opened his eyes a bit and he wasn't only trying to make up for it and show Timothy that he did in fact love him like his own, like he did the others, but he was also showing Victor that Timothy was indeed in good hands.
He had worried briefly for the others, wondered if they felt any resentment to Timothy for having all of Gibbs' attention, especially Abby.
He walked into the lab and found Tony, Abby, and Ziva talking and he heard they were talking about what Gibbs had asked them. Advice on a television and what food to have in the house in case he was allergic or didn't like something. And who better to go to than his friends.
"Hello all."
"Hey Ducky," they smiled.
"What's up Doc?" Tony asked with a grin.
"Well I just wanted to stop by and talk to you all for a bit."
They all frowned in confusion before Ziva spoke. "About?"
"How you are feeling. About Timothy and Jethro."
They looked at each other confused before Abby figured it out. "Oh, you're worried we're upset that Gibbs' focus is on Timmy and not us."
"Precisely."
"Oh, no, we're fine," Abby said, as if was just that simple. "We sorta already talked about it."
"Yes," Ziva said with a small smile. "I will admit that Gibbs' sudden behavior confused me, but after talking we realized what was happening."
"And we like it," Abby grinned. "Timmy deserves a little attention and deserves to know that Gibbs loves him just like he loves us."
Ducky looked to Tony who shrugged. "McGenius is who's important right now."
Turned out he didn't need to talk to them. He was just glad that they didn't feel left out or left behind by Jethro's sudden attention on Timothy.
Victor and Jethro looked over after they finished the fence and Ducky shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Well, come along Jethro, let's go see where you're going to be staying for a while." He let the German shepherd hop out of the backseat and automatically stick his nose to the ground to explore. "Mr. Palmer, help me get his things would you?"
"Of course Doctor," Jimmy replied as he popped the trunk and they grabbed his things.
"Hey Ducky," Jethro greeted, reaching down to pet his namesake. "Hey mutt."
Victor shook his head as they all started making their way inside. "I still can't believe that dog is named Jethro."
"Abby," they all said in answer, laughing.
They stepped inside and Ducky hid his smile when he saw that Jethro had gone all out to make sure Tim was comfortable during his stay. He got a new television with the help of Tony and Abby. And as Jimmy and Victor took Jethro's things up to the new bedroom, Ducky went to the kitchen to grab a drink, only to open the refrigerator to see it fully stocked. Ziva's doing.
"Stocked for an army, Jethro?" he asked with smile that he didn't even bother to hide this time.
"Tim will be staying here for the next two and a half weeks during his probation, and kids need variety. I wanted him to have options on what to eat while he's here."
Ducky looked to his long time friend and wondered if the man knew what he had just said. He chose not to bring it to his attention if he didn't and moved on. "The television?"
"If he wants to watch tv obviously."
"Of course," he said smiling as he just decided to grab a glass and have some water. "When is Timothy arriving?"
"Shouldn't be long actually," Jethro said as he looked at his watch. "Tony is with him and is gonna bring him over and then the girls should be over soon after that. I'm gonna fire up the grill."
He hid his smile behind his glass as he drank and slightly shook his head. If this didn't show what Jethro would do for his family, for his kids, then he didn't know what would.
Gibbs decided to ignore the doctor and went about seasoning the steaks. He and Victor finished putting up the fence for his namesake to run around. After Tim's poisoning he wanted him close to reassure himself that his son was alright, not to mention that he just didn't feel right having him alone recovering while also being on probation and seeing a psychiatrist. The kid may be a genius and the most patient in their team, but there was no way he was going to be able to handle all of that without having a breakdown or two. Especially with the whole routine thing.
Victor said Tim needed a routine to help him, and he had a feeling that their job was in fact in that routine. They may not have set hours, but coming to work seemed like something on his list of things he needs to do. It explained why he didn't go on vacations. The one he had been on when Thorson's case came was his first in years. And he had only been on it because he and Vance demanded.
Gibbs was a bit nervous, he wasn't above admitting that. At least to himself. Tim crashing at his place to recover was supposed to be a surprise, he wanted to show Tim that he did care and trust him outside of work. He hoped it worked.
Tim frowned in confusion as they headed in the wrong direction. "Tony…"
"Don't worry Probie, I know where I'm going."
He couldn't help but smile a bit at that, feeling relief. Though he acted annoyed and hated all the nicknames, he actually found relief in it. Like when the team had been broken up. His routine had uprooted in the blink of an eye and it had taken close to a week before he adjusted though never really recovered. There had been moments down in cybercrimes that he zoned out completely and worked on something that the others didn't know about.
But one video call with Tony on the ship and him calling him Probie, he had felt a calm wash over him for a while. Or even when he entered MTAC and Gibbs was talking to Tony and he had called him McGoo.
Most saw it as picking and degrading to his status as an agent, but it wasn't that at all. It was what they did as friends, it was an endearment. Now if anyone else did it then it would be degrading and from what he knew of Tony, he wouldn't take too well to that. The only person Tim knew who could get away with calling him Probie or Elford was Gibbs.
Speaking of… "This is the way to Gibbs' place."
"Yep."
"Why?" he asked. He'd only been the man's house once and that had been for a case where he had to use the oldest computer he had seen. But it had been a bit of fun he had to admit. It had challenged him to get that thing to work after not being used since who knew when. And the printer…
"What are you smiling about McGee?" Tony's question broke through his thoughts.
"About the one time I was at Gibbs' house."
Tony glanced at him surprised before looking back to the rode. "Once."
"Yes. It was when Agent Fornell shutdown NCIS to investigate us."
"…That was years ago Probie. Hell, Jenny was still alive."
Tim looked out the window at that. "Yes."
Tony again glanced at Tim before looking to the rode and driving. Now he was really excited to get to Boss' house and let the man tell Tim what was happening. The thought that Tim had only been to Boss' house once, and to work on a case, was mindboggling. He himself had been there tons of times for both a case and to just go there and talk. Ziva and Abby too. And in eight years, Tim had been there once.
Hopefully this would change that.
It wasn't long before they pulled into the neighborhood and up to the house. Tony shut off the car and went to go grab the bag of Tim's stuff that he had packed earlier that day. Tim frowned at the bag but Tony just shook his head.
"Come on," he said and they made their way up to the porch and through the front door.
"Dad?"
"Hey Tim," Victor grinned and greeted Tim with a hug. "How ya feeling?"
"I'm okay," he said with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Tony couldn't help but smile a bit. "Uh…"
"Don't worry Tim," Victor said with a clap to his back.
"Great," Gibbs said as he walked in, "you're in. I'll show you your room."
"My…room?"
Gibbs gave his usually half smirk half smile before taking the suitcase from Tony and jerking to the stairs. "Come on."
Tim looked at the others before walking over to Gibbs and walking with him. "Boss?"
"You're going to be staying with me during your probation."
He frowned in confusion but continued walking until they came to a room that was nice. He looked around until he saw the picture frame by the bed. Tim walked over to pick it up and saw that it was a picture the team took together at Ducky's thanksgiving dinner. "Boss?"
Gibbs watched Tim stare at the photo Abby had added to the room after setting Tim's bag down. He watched him and realized he should have done this years ago. His agents came over to his house all the time and he usually gave them the couch, but they were family. They deserved more. Trust it to be Tim that made him realize.
"Thought you could stay here during your probation."
Those big green eyes stared in surprise before he shook his head. "No, no, I couldn't. I'll be fine at home."
He shrugged. "Plenty of room, food, tv, yard for the mutt, neighborhood for a walk, even a park about half a mile away."
The younger man just blinked at him with his head tilted, a sure sign that his mind was running, calculating. It wasn't long before he asked, "You sure?"
Gibbs smirked before patting Tim's shoulder. "Yeah. Come on, I gotta go put on the steaks, Ziva and Abby will be here soon. Besides, you may want to get to the remote before DiNozzo does. He's been eyeing it since they hooked it up."
And at Tim's smile, he knew Tim was agreeing to stay.
Dinner was pleasant before they went out back for some drinks and relaxing. Abby kept asking questions about his childhood while Tony kept throwing out math problems that he put in one of those Texas Instruments calculators to see if it was right while Tim did it in his head.
Gibbs shook his head as he watched Tim answer another right question. It had started off with simple math which they all kept up with but then when decimals came up, only Abby and Ducky were able to keep up with Tim. Once the powers and square roots came, they watched as Tim kept going even when the number was now to the negative something power.
"That's awesome McCalculator," Tony grinned and Gibbs watched his youngest agent blush a bit with a bashful smile and shrug.
"It's just my mind."
Victor smiled proudly before he took a drink of his beer and said, "You should show them the crossword trick someday."
"What trick?" Abby, Ziva, Palmer, and Tony asked together while Ducky and Gibbs just looked at each other with a smile. They couldn't really remember the last time everyone had been like this. It was probably at Ducky's thanksgiving.
"Dad."
"Come on, Probie, tell us," Tony begged, practically bouncing in his seat.
Gibbs watched his senior field agent. Tony too liked routine, he didn't like change. And the fact that they were learning about a whole new Tim, someone who was more of a constant than he himself was, had rattled him. He saw it though Tony hid it. He was going to have to watch him to make sure he handled this change well.
"He can look at the crossword puzzle once and memorize the pattern, and then solve it with someone reading the clues."
Ducky practically glowed at the idea and Gibbs didn't need to be a genius to know that the doctor was going to test that pretty soon. And glancing at Tim, he saw that Tim saw it too. When Tim looked his way Gibbs gave a wink before drinking some more of his beer.
A/N: Got the crossword idea from Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker. I LOVE that book. If anyone thought to do a McGiva AU fic, it should definitely be based off of that book. ;)
PLEASE REVIEW! They're appreciated.
I swear these last two episodes of season 9 are going to kill me. Seriously. With all the suspense, Sean Murray's tweet, and the crazy question that someone posted on tumblr... "What if they brought in Dornegat to replace McGee as the Probie?"
I'm freaking out a little bit...ALOT actually! I swear if they kill off McGee...
Just no. They better not.
