Chapter 9
Notes : Chronology changes : Gibbs married Shannon in 1982 and they had Kelly the same year, not in 1984. Shannon and Kelly died in February 1987.
In this story, Tim is born in May 1981, instead of 1977. He's four years younger.
The story starts in the timeline of season four, before "Cover Story" Episode, so in 2007.
N/A: Third part of the "Cover Story Arc". Still a lot of Nico and Tim before the dreadful flashback. Gibbs is gonna have to answer for a lot before the healing can even being possible.
N/A #: Thanks to my beta jerseybelle for her work.
Nico's mind had frozen upon hearing Tim's words, and she realized that his painful exclamation was, maybe, more the real problem here than the events of the day. He was a rational man, and he must have known that what happened wasn't his fault. But if his team had reacted like it did, how could he feel anything other than guilty. She didn't waste any time in wrapping her arms around him, her hand soothingly caressing his hair and his back. She felt her own tears fall and wasn't surprised by it. Even if Tim hadn't been able to cry tonight, she would have cried for him.
She was in love with him.
They stayed in each other embrace for a very long time. The silence of the loft lulled both of them to peacefulness and after a while, Tim started to rock Nico softly, as he took in the wet trails in her cheeks. She just smiled and proceeded to erase the tears on his face. A few minutes passed as they sat there and looked at each other. Tim's gaze was holding an intensity that she never saw in another man. His green eyes felt like they were looking inside her soul, but she wasn't afraid of it. She wanted him to see, to know, everything.
When Tim spoke again, his voice was deep and low.
"I can't believe I was lucky enough that you found me."
Nico looked at him steadily.
"And why is that?" she asked evenly.
"Can't really say; I don't believe in a soul mate anymore."
Her hand on his hair froze and when she looked at him, Tim was stricken by the raw and powerful emotions her gaze held. She took a deep breath and replied genuinely, "I didn't find you. You found me. I'm the lucky one."
His grip tightened around her, and he brought her more deeply onto his lap, letting her tighten her thighs around his legs. The hand he had on her back was now traveling down until it reached her backside. She buried her head in his neck when Tim linked his two hands under her ass and stood up, lifting her with him. She wrapped her legs around him as Tim headed for her bedroom, while trailing a series of kisses down her neck.
She sighed. "We are not doing that, until you spill about what happened with your team, Moth."
Tim let out a wry chuckle and carried her inside the bedroom. He laid her down on the sheets, settled himself against the headboard and encircled her in his arms. Her body, warm and comforting, was molding against his front.
They stayed silent for a few minutes while the young man trailed his fingertips against Nico's collarbone. She let him gather his thoughts and courage.
Tim started talking in a low and tense voice.
"You… you remember when I told you about my argument with Ziva and DiNozzo and… the fight I had with Gibbs… in the elevator?"
It was Nico's turn to tense. Oh, yes, she remembered alright. Tim had come to her with a very disturbed look on his face and had anxiously told her about what happened that day. Like him, she had cursed his two jerks of teammates but like him she had been… torn about his boss's attitude towards him. Nico had a hard time figuring out if that Gibbs person cared about Tim or not. And by Tim's description of the event that day, he had a hard time doing it too.
"I remember. You also said that neither you nor your boss brought it up again," Nico replied hesitantly.
"Yeah… but to be honest… since then, things between Gibbs and I have been… tense. It's been so hard, Nico… I mean, since I told Ziva and Tony off, they made a point of completely ignoring me. I think Ziva wanted to confront me but she followed Tony's lead and just left me alone. I didn't really mind, I mean it's so much better than DiNozzo constant cruel jokes and hurtful remarks, you know?"
Tim swallowed and Nico buried herself closer to him.
"But, since the fight... Gibbs has been… distant towards me. I think cold would bethe most appropriate word. Outside of ordering me around during cases, he hadn't said a word to me, he couldn't even stay in the room alone with me, and he kept sending me those glares and… I don't know…"
"God, Tim, it's been a week since you stood up to him! He's been like this to you this whole week? Why didn't you confront him?" Nico asked outraged on his behalf.
"Because I've been uneasy around him and I couldn't trust myself not to blow up again. I still want to keep my job, Nico." Tim immediately replied with utter honesty.
The young woman paused at that, her next question was hesitant. "Do you think that maybe he's been uneasy around you as well? That maybe he was trying to figure things out like you were?"
Tim seemed surprised by her question and looked at her with searching eyes. Nico looked back with steady eyes and waited.
Finally Tim replied. "No… I don't think so. I sincerely doubt that Gibbs was feeling anything other than anger and disappointment towards me. I disrespected him a great deal in that elevator and I never did that before, no matter how much I wanted to sometimes. I questioned his leadership and his objectivity, I yelled at him and basically threw a tantrum or that is the way he saw it, I'm sure," Tim finished somewhat bitterly. He sighed and rested his chin on the top of Nico's head.
"Honestly, I don't think that man had ever cared about me enough to maybe, just maybe, start questioning himself, and if anything, today proved it." He finished and Nico could feel tremors racked his frame.
She bit her lips and murmured, "Tim? Tell me what happened."
Tim's hold around her tightened and he finally started talking.
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