Here's the next Chapter, a few hours early. Thanks again for all the reviews, faves and follows, you all make my day brighter!

I've changed a few things here and there since this was beta'd by the awesome HarmonFreak1, so any errors are mine!

Chapter 10

Giving the young man's shoulder a gentle squeeze, Gibbs left the room and Tim, needing something to do, cleared the table of all the lunch debris. Then he texted Ziva to see if she had time for a walk, he really needed some personal time with his girlfriend. It felt like weeks rather than a day and a half since they had spent any time together.

Tony was upstairs in the conference room with the guests, so Ziva left him a brief note and texted Gibbs to make sure Tim would not be in trouble for leaving the building without him. Gibbs replied that she officially had temporary custody and with that, Ziva reached the lobby where Tim was waiting for her. They quickly walked toward the river, away from curious eyes. As they walked, they decided to talk about everything but the case.

Tim suggested, now that Gibbs knew about them, that after this mess was over, they first tell Tony and then the others about their personal relationship. At first Ziva thought it odd to tell Tony separately until she realized that Tim was right, he was their partner, their friend. Since their first date, they had feared hurting him; both had worried about his reaction and were anxious to ensure their friendship was not damaged.

They were a trio of friends, not just teammates and continuing that friendship was of utmost importance to them both. Continuing on their walk, they chatted about their plans for the upcoming holidays. Reaching their favorite bench on the river, they sat, holding hands, relishing even that little physical connection after the time away from each other. Ziva blushed as Tim told her of his plans for them after everything was done and he was back home.

After replying to Ziva Gibbs stood, partially turned towards the window of the upstairs conference room. Once he saw his two agents heading towards the river, he turned towards the Admiral and Commander, who had been chatting quietly with DiNozzo. Tony, seeing his movement, paused, pulled on a glove, pulled out the cheek swab and gestured towards Commander Hubbard.

"This will only take a couple seconds, Commander and won't hurt." Hubbard gave him a rather sardonic smirk as he opened his mouth for the swab. "Ok, that's it, now I'll turn the floor over to Special Agent Gibbs, and get this to the lab. Thank you again, Commander."

And with a nod to both officers and his boss, the Senior Field Agent bagged the swab and left the room. Tim's sample swab was already bagged and labeled in his pocket, so he headed straight to the lobby where the courier was waiting. Gibbs waited while Hubbard had a sip of coffee, obviously clearing his mouth of the dry cottony texture of the swab.

"Want to add my own thanks, Commander, for doing that. And also for bringing Admiral Crane with you. Very happy to have you both here."

"Now that the DNA has been taken, Agent Gibbs, would appreciate knowing what new information has come to light."

Gibbs had thought about how to approach this. Since he knew the FBI case was bogus and would soon be thrown out, he saw no reason to mention it. He had decided to pick a piece of the truth and go with it.

"At NCIS whenever there's time, field agents work on cold cases, in between current cases and of course the paperwork. The McGees' case came up for review in conjunction with another case, which is not relevant to our discussion. When my agent contacted the original field agent, now retired, he found some of the information from the agent contradicted what we know. That conversation led to Admiral Crane who mentioned you, Commander Hubbard. And all this is important because in our work we deal with facts. We needed to verify what the agent had said; both of you said the same thing, as did others we interviewed. Each of you told us that all three of the McGee children had died as a result of the crash. That was the new information – to us. We know it's not true. We know both Tim and Sarah are alive. They…"

Gibbs was interrupted by loud exclamations from both men.

"What do you mean they're alive? How? Where? That… can't be, she told us – Natalie told us…"

"Tim had massive head trauma, multiple fractures, for God's sake, he was thrown from the car, how could he have survived that, he was in a coma…how would he have survived that? Sarah was so little, how…where are they?"

"What happened to them? Why would she lie like that? Oh my sweet Lord, how can that be, what has she done to them? Where are they?"

Gibbs gave them a moment to get their questions out and their emotions somewhat under control. He saw that, while both men were in shock, the Admiral was absorbing the information faster than the Commander was.

He resumed his explanation, "They survived; actually Sarah wasn't even with them in the car, she was on a play date at a friend's house. I know they're alive because I know both of them. I've known Tim for about 7 years now and I met Sarah a couple of years ago."

"But there was a funeral, caskets, there's a grave-site for the whole family, I moved my sister's remains there so they could all be together. For God's sake, Agent Gibbs, I've been paying for the upkeep for 20 years, no no, I don't care about that, but who is buried there and where are Timmy and Sarah?"

"The caskets were exhumed early this morning and are on their way here. Our ME team will open them; if we're lucky there will be some DNA, but that's doubtful after all these years. But we do need to see who or what is in those caskets, because it surely isn't your niece or nephew."

Hubbard nearly roared, jumping up from his chair, "Then WHERE are they? I want to see them…please, Agent Gibbs. You have no idea how horrible it's been all these years, to just have my family wiped out like that." Gibbs couldn't help it, as much as he prided himself on his emotional control, he knew he'd flinched, thinking of his own lost family. While the Commander missed it, the Admiral did not as he tugged Hubbard back down into his seat. "At ease, Jim. Let the man continue."

"Sarah is a graduate student; she received her Bachelor of Arts degree at Waverly University last year. Tim," and here Gibbs smiled, "Tim is here, at NCIS. He's a member of my team."

There was an immediate uproar from both men, clamoring to see Tim. Holding up his hand in a gesture to wait, Gibbs walked to the window and peered out, spotting his two agents strolling back towards the building, coffee cups in hand. He sent off a quick text and was rewarded with Tim looking in the direction of the window. Tim stopped as Gibbs motioned the two officers to the window.

"He's on his way in now, been out to get some coffee. See, there." He pointed to Tim who had resumed walking while still keeping an eye on the window. His phone buzzed with a text from his agent, asking him to please stop staring at him. He chuckled and told the other two. "He's on his way up, will be here in two minutes."

"Where have they been all these years, Agent Gibbs, I mean before NCIS and Waverly…who raised them? Natalie?"

"No, she abandoned them and that is their story to tell. He gave me permission to tell you that they ended up in Bayopolis, on the streets. And that Tim had, still has, memory loss from that head trauma; to this day, he has no memory of any of your names or that you exist. When he woke from his coma, he remembered his father, Patrick, Sarah and Natalie and not much else as far as names or faces. He remembers quite a bit about where they were stationed, his father bringing Natalie home and her actions. And a very little bit about Puerto Rico, but the names of people are gone. Over the years, he tracked down his mother's name and his birthplace, but didn't pursue any other research."

The jaws of both men had dropped at Gibbs' words. "What happened to Natalie, then? Why would she do that? And you said…." The Admiral's eyes widened. "Did she have anything to do with the wreck, with Dan and Patrick's deaths?"

"We're investigating the wreck as a murder, Admiral. We've accomplished a lot since we heard the new information, but we're not quite there yet. When we get the DNA results…"

He was interrupted by the door opening, to reveal Ziva.

"Gibbs, is now a good time?"

"Yeah, Ziva, send him in."

Tim entered the room, obviously nervous. He stood close to Gibbs as his boss made the introductions, "Tim, this is Commander James Hubbard, your mother's brother and your uncle."

Tim reached over and shook the man's hand. "And this is Admiral David Crane, your godfather." Tim turned slightly and shook the Admiral's hand. He looked back at Gibbs, who grinned at him. "Gentlemen, this is Special Agent Timothy McGee, son of Daniel and Lily McGee, brother of Patrick, Sarah, Rob and Geordie; uh McGee, I didn't tell them about Rob or Geordie."

He paused as Commander Hubbard opened his mouth to speak, his voice still quavering, "Tim, you look just like you did when you were little, only grown up and so tall! Your hair is a little darker but your eyes and your face…" the Commander choked back a sob, "that scar's still there. Oh son, I'm so glad to see you, to know you're alive, you and Sarah…if you weren't right in front of me, I wouldn't believe it."

Tim gave him a small smile, not knowing what to say, he probably should have offered a hug, but he was nowhere near comfortable with that thought.

Gibbs spoke up again, "Go easy on him; he's had a helluva week, dealing with a classified case. And he just found out this morning that he has relatives besides his sister and brothers, so this is new to him too." He looked over at Tim, "I'm going to check with Ducky. I'll let you know if there's any more news. Call me if you need me."

With that, Gibbs gave a small nod and left the room. The two officers stared at him and Tim tried not to obviously stare back, considering which questions he wanted to ask first. But the first question was lobbed by the Admiral and had nothing to do with any of the revelations.

"Ducky?" the Admiral queried.

Tim blinked, "Doctor Mallard, he's our senior Medical Examiner. Did Gibbs tell you about the exhumation?"

"Yeah, he said the caskets were being flown in from California, not sure why the exam couldn't be done there."

"Gibbs has his own way of doing things, very effective, our team has the highest closure rate in the agency. He wouldn't, we wouldn't trust anyone other than our team and our equipment."

Both men nodded back at him, still staring at him, although the looks of disbelief had disappeared. Tim swallowed, he really wished someone else, someone familiar, preferably Gibbs or Ziva, had stayed in the room with him.

He stood straight and addressed the two officers, "I'm sure you have questions, I know Boss, uh, Agent Gibbs, was planning on just giving you the basics."

"Yes," from the Admiral, "I have questions about the case, but I'd really rather know more about you and Sarah and those other two names mentioned by your boss."

His uncle nodded, still trying to blink away tears, "Yes, Tim, please, tell us about you and Sarah and whoever Rob and Geordie are."

Sighing internally, Tim gestured to the men to resume their seats as he sat across from them. He was trying very hard not to freak out; on some level, he was happy to know these men had obviously cared about them, but he still had no memories popping up about either of them and the whole thing was surreal.

Taking a deep breath, he started, "The day of the wreck, Father picked Patrick and me up from school in the old station wagon, told us Sarah was at a play date and we were going to pick her up and go camping. He told us he'd made a big mistake and that he was proud of us…"

Unnoticed by any of the room's occupants, Gibbs left the door slightly ajar when he exited the room. Standing just outside as instructed, Tony listened as his teammate spoke of the wreck, waking up alone from a coma and Sarah and his subsequent misery. After a few minutes, he slipped away, nodding to the security agent positioned in the hallway. Having heard the growing confidence in his friend's voice, he knew Tim would be fine with his newly found relatives and it wouldn't be necessary for him to barge in on some fictional errand to give Tim a break or even an out. His Probie would be fine, they would all be fine, as long as the team also proved Tim was Tim and things looked very good for that.

As he walked downstairs, he mentally reviewed his task list. He had confirmed the independent lab had received both DNA samples and was processing them. His new buddies in Cybercrimes were doing a Vance approved covert search, to prevent the FBI's detection, for Svetlana Stacevyko's present whereabouts and a warrant was being prepared for her arrest on two counts of murder, child endangerment, abandonment and assorted other charges. His phone tweeped, interrupting his thoughts as he read the text ordering him to join Gibbs and Ziva in Autopsy. The remains of Tim's family had arrived.

Gibbs and Ziva stood aside as the five caskets were rolled into the Autopsy suite. Two adult sized, two smaller, one quite small. Gibbs pointed to the three obviously child-sized caskets.

"Duck, can you…"

"Yes of course, Jethro, I quite agree those three should be opened first. Are you sure you want to be here?"

"Hold that thought, Duck, just a sec." Raising his phone, Gibbs quickly called Vance and informed him that the caskets had arrived and that their ME team was preparing to open them.

"Had a thought, Leon, that Fornell and Sacks should be here, one of them at least, to witness the openings, so there's no possible charge of funny business."

Vance sighed, "You're right, Gibbs. Much as I hate inviting them back in, I'll call Fornell. Better make sure our boy is under protection again."

Gibbs snarled, "GOD I hate this, Leon! Every step forward, we have to take two steps back to accommodate those bastards."

"I'm with you, Jethro, feel the same way. I'll make the call, find out their ETA and then you or I will join Tim in the conference room or wherever he is by then."

While he was talking to Vance, Tony joined them. Ending his call, Gibbs turned to face the group. "Ok, new plan. Vance agrees the FBI should at least be invited to this…" interrupted by groans and a catcall from Tony, he shook his head, "Yeah, I hate it too. But we've crossed every single "T" and dotted every "I" so far, now is not the time to relax. This could be over with today if we keep following the damn protocol. Think about how that would help Tim."

He saw reluctant agreement on everyone's faces, they were happy to help Tim but very unhappy with the FBI agents bringing their nasty accusatory selves back to NCIS.

"Ok, Duck, we leave the caskets sealed until one or both of them arrive. Vance will let me know their ETA. DiNozzo, David, to the bullpen, back to the case. I'm going back up to the conference room to make sure that particular "T" is crossed. "

At Ziva's puzzled look, he clarified, "Need to make sure Tim is in my 'cusTody' when they arrive."

Ziva nodded her understanding and left with DiNozzo. Rolling his eyes at the absurdity of this whole FBI generated nightmare, Gibbs followed his agents to his desk. Grabbing a notebook, he turned to leave, only to be intercepted by the Director.

"Gibbs, they'll be here in 10 minutes, they were on their way back from Bayopolis when I called."

"Ok, I'm just heading up to the conference room now, Leon, come on up if you want to meet the uncle and godfather."

Vance twitched, but realized it would be a good thing; his wife Jackie was always urging him to get to know his agents on a more personal level. This would make her very happy and, he scolded himself, Agent McGee certainly deserved the positive attention. He joined Gibbs and the two men headed back upstairs.

"You don't have to stay, Leon, I'm just going to sit at the table and go over my notes."

Vance blinked, "And what reason are you going to give for barging in on their private conversation, Gibbs? National security? Monitoring your agent?"

"Thought I'd just tell them I need peace and quiet and the conference room is the best bet, to just ignore me."

Vance huffed a laugh, "Only you, Gibbs, only you!"

As they entered the room, they found both visitors exchanging hugs and phone numbers with their reclaimed nephew and godson, in preparation for leaving. Tim quickly introduced Director Vance, who belatedly welcomed them to NCIS, sang his agent's praises to the extent Tim's ears were bright red and thanked the Commander, again, for his assistance.

The Commander's response was a chuckle at Tim's red ears and a warm pat on his shoulder, "Nice to see that hasn't changed either, Tim. Still embarrassed by any praise." Turning to Gibbs and Vance, the Commander continued, "I can't thank you enough for reuniting my family, for giving us a miracle we never even considered possible. And thanks for what you've done for my nephew; Tim tells me you've taught him a great deal and not just about investigating…so proud of him!"

The Admiral chimed in, "Yes; that goes for my wife and me too, Director Vance, Agent Gibbs. This is truly a miracle and even more blessed to see how well Timmy, er I mean, Tim has done, raising his sister, adopting young Rob, getting the education he has and finding a career here at NCIS. His father would be so proud!" Leaning forward, the Admiral continued, "Tim tells us the McGee family case is not yet closed; do keep both the Commander and I in the loop!"

Vance smiled tightly and unknowingly echoed Gibbs' earlier words, "We've made a great deal of progress this week."

The Commander swallowed, then holding onto his nephew's shoulder, asked, "And what of the caskets? Have they arrived, have they been opened yet?"

Vance blinked, not having anticipated the question. "They have arrived, we will be opening them this evening. Please understand that must be done with just our ME team and agents present. It's not something attended by family members."

"I understand, I don't think I want to be there anyway – and I hope Tim won't be!"

Gibbs shook his head, "No, he won't be, Commander. For one thing, it's against protocol but more to the point, Tim's one of mine…" he saw the blink from Vance, "one of ours and we protect our own."

The Admiral caught his slip and quirked his lips at him in approval. Tim tucked his bottom lip in, reining in his emotions. He was back on that emotional roller coaster again, from the high of spending time with Ziva, meeting his uncle and godfather to the crash back to the reality of his supposed death and, worse, knowing his parents' and brother's remains were in the building. He was trying to swallow discreetly past the large lump in his throat when he felt his boss's hand gently squeezing the back of his neck. The man had given him more support this week than he'd felt from him in all the previous years he'd been on Gibbs' team. Aside from the days following Kate's death and he really wished he had not just thought of that. Somehow, he managed to hold it together as the Director, his uncle and godfather left the room, the two naval officers being escorted from the building.

Plans had already been made for a reunion with Tim's grandmother and the rest of the Commander's family, tentatively for Tim's next free weekend, when Sarah and Rob would also be available. Tim knew they would be happy to acquire more family after the four of them had been so alone as children and now as adults. He resolved to write Geordie that evening, knowing it would eventually catch up with their older brother. Turning, he gave his boss a shy smile. "Thanks Boss. I really appreciate all the support and you letting me make up my own mind about meeting them - and also encouraging me to really think about it."

"Haven't always been there for you, Tim, I regret that. Tell you the truth, I never thought you needed me. Never bothered to really get to know you, knew I needed your skill sets, amazed at how well you responded to training but never got beyond the electronic stuff. If I had just read your file, I would have known there was more… would have done better. That's on me, won't happen again. Hope you'll stick with me, give me another chance."

Eyes wide at his boss's candor and at his own audacity, Tim stuck out his hand, "Don't really know who you are right now, Special Agent, but I'm Timothy McGee, very happy to meet you." That netted him a soft version of the 'Gibbs-slap' ending with his boss ruffling his hair as both men chuckled.

"A little sass, McGee, goes a very long way."

"Got it, Boss" Tim said with a grin.

"You mention this to DiNozzo, your ass is grass, got that?"

"Absolutely, Boss, not in my best interests anyway, never hear the end of it."

"Reminds me, I thought of something that might help when he gets too much, turn the tables on him, it will only hurt a little bit…" and the two men quietly discussed the imaginative plan as they walked down to the bullpen.