The next morning, Tim went down to the lab the second he got in. He didn't really want to see Abby after what she, Tony, and Gibbs had done, but he wanted to make sure she kept her mouth shut about what she learned.

Once Tim entered the lab, he shut off the blaring music, causing Abby to turn to him.

"Timmy, you're back!" Abby squealed before rushing over to hug him. She stopped herself at the last minute though. After what she recently learned, she realized that Tim might not like it if she just hurled herself at him. He'd been through a very traumatic experience in the past. He'd never said anything, but he might not like being touched. "Is it okay if I hug you?"

"Since when do you ask?" Tim asked. For as long as he knew her, Abby had never asked if it was okay for her to hug people. Well, once during a case right after they had a workshop about harassment, but she wasn't really asking seriously. She was only asking him now because of what she now knew about him and he hated that. It was one of the reasons he didn't want anyone to know. He knew they would treat him like he was about to break at any minute.

"I just thought…"

"Thought that what? That I'd break if you touched me. You've touched me in some way almost every day for the last six years. I didn't break then, did I?" Tim asked irritably.

Abby was taken slightly aback by her friend's tone. He seemed angry. She'd never seen him angry, at least not at her. He was always so kind and patient with her. "McGee, are you angry with me?"

Tim folded his arms across his chest and put a falsely puzzled look on his face. "Now why would I be angry? I mean you only poked into my private life behind my back, which was against NCIS policy by the way, and shared it with other people. How could that possibly make me angry?"

"Gibbs asked me to. What was I supposed to do?" Abby asked defensively.

"Say no!" Tim practically screamed. "Contrary to popular belief, Gibbs is not God! He doesn't have the right to know everything about all our lives. If I had wanted him to know, I would've told him myself!"

"He was worried about you. He saw that something was wrong with you and he just wanted to help," Abby said.

"And you think this helped? The think having the people I considered friends going behind my back and digging into a very painful part of my life helps at all? Because if you do, you've seriously lost it," Tim said angrily.

"I…I didn't think about…"

"Yeah, clearly," Tim interrupted mid-sentence. "I just need to know one thing. I need to know that you're going to keep this a secret. I don't want anyone knowing who doesn't already. Not Ziva, not Ducky, no one."

"Of course I won't say anything. I already promised Gibbs I wouldn't," Abby said.

"Well, I want to hear that promise for myself," Tim said.

"I won't. I swear, I won't tell anyone," Abby promised.

"Good. Because I will never forgive you if you do," Tim said before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

After his confrontation with Abby, Tim went up to the bullpen to start working. Tony and Ziva were already there when he got there.

"Hey, Probie," Tony said awkwardly.

Tim grunted in response and sat down at his desk.

Ziva glanced between the two men and frowned. Something wasn't right. You could snip the tension between them with a knife. "Is everything alright, McGee?"

"It's fine, Ziva," Tim said as polite as possible. He was quite angry, but it wasn't Ziva's fault and he didn't want to take it out on her, so he tried to stay polite when he spoke to her.

"Are you sure?" Ziva asked skeptically. She got the feeling that things weren't so fine. McGee seemed very angry, despite his trying to mask it when he spoke to her.

"Yeah, I'm positive," Tim said.

Just then, Gibbs came in. He immediately headed for Tim's desk. "McGee, you might want to get in touch with your friend, Sam."

"Why?" Tim asked with a bit of concern in his voice. If Gibbs was telling him to call Sam, there was something wrong, especially since they'd just left him less than twenty-four hours ago.

"I just got word that Callen was involved in a drive by shooting just after we left. They were partners, so he's probably not taking it very well," Gibbs said.

Tim immediately got up and walked away. He walked down the hall and into the conference room before closing the door behind him. He then took out his phone and the card Sam gave him before dialing the number on it. He put the phone up to his ear and then waited.

"Yeah," Sam answered on the second ring. He sounded absolutely exhausted. It was clear to Tim that he hadn't slept well the night before.

"Hey, Sam, it's Tim," he said.

"Is everything okay? Did you get in alright?" Sam asked sounding concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm calling for you. I heard about your partner. Is he okay? Tim asked.

"I don't know. These jackasses won't tell me anything and they won't let me see him. Something about not being family. Mace is trying her hand at getting them talking, but I don't think it's working," Sam said.

"What about finding his family?" Tim asked. That seemed to be the most logical answer at this point.

"He hasn't got any. Look, it's a complicated story and not one I can get into without G's permission," Sam said.

"No, of course not," Tim said. He knew all too well what it was like to have your past exposed. It was all still very fresh in his mind.

"Oh, I gotta go. It looks like Macy might have gotten through after all," Sam said.

"Alright, let me know if you need anything," Tim said.

"I will. Thanks, man," Sam said before hanging up.

Tim shut his phone and immediately went back out to his desk.

"How's your friend?" Tony asked.

"He's hanging in there," Tim said.

Vance suddenly appeared at the stairs. "Agent McGee!"

Tim immediately turned to him.

"I word if you please, Vance said before walking away without even waiting for Tim to follow.

Tim immediately got up and walked upstairs to Vance's office. He immediately closed the door behind him. "Is everything alright, Director? I just got a call from an Agent Brady in California. Do you know who that is?"

Tim frowned. "The name sounds vaguely familiar.

"What about a Jason Taylor?" Vance asked. He of course knew McGee did know him. He'd just received the full story from Brady and it wasn't pretty. That wasn't something anyone could forget easily.

Tim stiffened considerably. That wasn't vaguely familiar. It was very familiar. He could've gone the rest of his life without hearing that name again. "I know who he is. Is he dead?"

Vance was a bit taken aback by the question. McGee seemed to almost hope the answer was yes. That didn't ring right to him because McGee was one of the nicest people he'd ever come across. Although, after the phone conversation he just had, he shouldn't be surprised. Taylor and his friends had done a number on McGee. "No, he's not dead. He's escaped."