Tim made it to the top of the stairs before sinking down to sit on the top step. The hushed voices from downstairs were still clearly audible and he closed his eyes as the discussion became apparent. He wasn't even aware that Kort had left before he felt a hand touch his face.

-NCIS-

Gibbs leaned heavily on the door after he locked it, reviewing their options. Vance's reaction to Tim's statement meant that he'd have the needed support on that end, all he needed was a plan to keep McGee out of the CIA's clutches. It wasn't until the flash of headlights that bounced against the front door that Gibbs straightened and watched Kort's car go down the street.

Having lost all desire to work in the basement, Gibbs turned off the lights and made his way to the stairs, only to see the hunched figure of Tim McGee sitting on the top step.

"Tim?" Gibbs reached out and gently cupped Tim's cheek. Terrified green eyes flew open. Gibbs expected him to scurry backwards, but after a second, he saw recognition just as Tim launched himself forward. Gibbs grabbed the handrail in time to prevent them both from tumbling down the stairs.

Gibbs slowly started to move them. "Easy, easy, I won't let them anywhere near you. You're safe, Tim." Once they were seated several steps lower than where they'd started, Gibbs began rubbing his hand up and down Tim's back, pressing his other head against the back of Tim's scalp. Tucked against him, he could feel the panicked breaths against his neck. "They won't touch you. I won't let them."

"I don't... I don't think we have a choice." Unconsciously mirroring the words Kort has used, Tim reluctantly pulled back for enough to look Gibbs in the eye. "I heard them talking about the weapons, Gibbs. It they fall into the hands of terrorists..."

Gibbs gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile, but it felt forced and hollow. "We'll find another way to stop them."

Tugging Tim close, Gibbs stood and walked him to the bedroom. Much like in the beginning, Tim was placid as Gibbs undressed him and put him to bed. Unlike in the beginning, after he stripped down, Gibbs crawled under the blankets with him.

Exhausted and overwhelmed, Tim instinctively burrowed down against Gibbs, settling as Gibbs pulled him close. Once he'd stilled, Gibbs enjoyed the weight against him as he felt the soft brush of air against his chest and the press of leg between his thighs.

-NCIS-

"Good morning."

"Morning." Tim gave a lazy smile and kissed the warm flesh under his mouth before he realized what he was doing and froze.

Gibbs felt the reaction and tenderly kissed the top of his head to let him know it was okay. "It's still early, let's go back to sleep for a while." He ran his fingertips up and down Tim's arm until he felt the younger man relax. Despite what he said, Gibbs stayed awake, listening to the cars as they drove by.

He waited until it was past when Vance would have arrived in the office and slowly slid out from under Tim, soothing him back to sleep as he moved. Once Gibbs was out of the bed he pulled the blankets up and smoothed them over Tim before brushing his hand over the fine hair. Adjusting the waistband of his boxers, Gibbs picked up his phone and slipped out the door.

-NCIS-

Vance leaned back and closed his eyes as he waited for his computer to boot up. Despite Gibbs' assurances, he had serious doubts about McGee being able to bounce back, especially after reading the statement he'd written while locked away in the lab. Just reading the details had given him nightmares, he couldn't imagine living with the memories on a daily basis.

A vibration against his hip told of an incoming call. Tempted to ignore it, he checked the display out of habit, then answered.

"Gibbs? How's McGee, has something happened?"

Yeah, you could say that. Kort was here. His undercover OP now needs McGee to make it work.

"He wants to take McGee back into that club? Is he nuts?" Vance fell back into his seat, stunned. "I assume you have a plan?"

Workin' on it.

Deadly serious, Vance tipped his chair forward to rest his elbows on the desk, his head in his hand. "Whatever you think is necessary, I'll back you, Gibbs."

Appreciate that, Leon. I'll keep you posted.

Once the call ended, Vance closed his phone and got to work. If Gibbs was going on the run with the kid, he was going to need help.

-NCIS-

It was still quiet upstairs when the coffee was finished, so Gibbs poured two cups and took them with him. He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for the reaction. Tim's nose twitched and without ever waking up, he began to ooze toward Gibbs.

The chuckle finally woke McGee and he opened his eyes to find Gibbs sitting next to him, holding out a cup. Tim didn't even bother to sit up, just raised up on his elbow and held his hand out.

"You got it?" Gibbs openly laughed at the blissful expression on the other man's face.

"Mmm, coffee." McGee finished more than half the cup before he handed it back over so that he could sit up properly. Gibbs quickly set both cups on the nightstand and helped him to sit up and scoot back. Once he was settled, Gibbs handed back his coffee before joining him on the bed.

The two men enjoyed their coffee in silence, Gibbs waiting until Tim was done before bringing up the elephant in the room. "You're not responsible for the success or failure of Kort's mission."

Tim stared down into the empty cup. "That's easy to say in theory, but what happens if those weapons end up in the hands of terrorist?"

"What did you hear about them?" Gibbs tried to keep the conversation focused on the facts, what little they knew.

Just trying to remember had Tim on the verge of hyperventilating as the memory of the overheard conversation came with many more, unwanted, memories. "They... they... were talking about... about getting a million dollars for each one."

"Damn." Gibbs pulled Tim close as they rode out the flashback. After a moment, Tim took a shaky breath as he forced himself to calm down. Gibbs spoke before McGee could. "Don't apologize, you're doing fine. They were hurting you while they talked?"

Tim nodded and pointed out the bite marks on his right shoulder. "The guy that did that was bragging about how he was going to buy his own personal slave with his cut of the money. He said if I survived the night, maybe he'd buy me from Stephenson. I told him..."

Gibbs gave a proud smile to his boy. "What did you tell him?"

Pleased at this one memory, Tim glanced up with a smile of his own. "I told him he'd be the first one my Master would kill."

"Good boy."

-NCIS-

"You don't have to do this, you know." Instead of being lulled back to sleep, Tim was climbing out of bed.

The flashback had taken more out of him than he wanted to admit and once he was on his feet, Tim had to hang onto the bedframe. "I'm done hiding."

"All right." Recognizing a losing battle, Gibbs brushed his hand down the side of Tim's face. "Just don't overdo it." He and Tim took turns in the bathroom before sharing the shower. Settling into their now familiar routine, Tim rested his hands on Gibbs' waist and tilted his head back as Gibbs washed his hair for him. For his part, Gibbs enjoyed running his hands through Tim's hair as he watched the peaceful expression on his face.

Tim's eyes opened and he carefully watched Gibbs' face as the older man continued to wash him. This time there was no embarrassment as he thickened in Gibbs' hand.

-NCIS-

"Hey, Boss, Tim." Tony gave his friend a soft smile as he carefully watched McGee walk across to his desk. "You up to working, Buddy?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Gibbs. "Boss?"

"A few hours, Tony. He's got some research to do." Gibbs moved closer and lowered his voice. "I'm going upstairs. Make sure one of you is with him at all times, understood?"

Tony looked at his friend. Tim still looked fragile, the dark turtleneck highlighting his pallor. "On it, Boss."

Gibbs gave him an approving nod before leaning over to talk quietly to McGee. Tim nodded and smiled before booting up his computer as Gibbs went upstairs. Once the search was running, Tim looked up to see Tony still watching him.

"What?"

Tony seemed slightly embarrassed to be caught. "Nothing, it's just... it's good to see you back, man. It's not the same around here without you."

"Thanks, man."

-NCIS-

"I heard that McGee came in with you." Vance didn't even bother complaining when Gibbs walked through the door. "Is he up to it?"

"He needs to be a part of stopping these guys. Rather have him here doing his magic on the computer than letting Kort talk him into doing something stupid."

"Is Kort going to push him into something?"

Gibbs stood, staring out the window. "McGee's got an overwhelming need to do the right thing. All the years on the job, and he's never lost that. I'd rather we found another way to track down these weapons they claim to have."

"Any idea what they're trying to sell?" Vance rested his chin on his folded hands as he watched Gibbs.

"Nope. Gotta think they're military grade for the prices they're expecting to get. Be nice to know if anyone missing something that they haven't mentioned yet."

Vance reached for a toothpick before stopping himself. It was going to be a long day. "I'll rattle some cages, see if anything shakes loose."

"Appreciate it." Gibbs moved to leave, but Vance waved him back and tossed a stuffed envelope onto his desk.

"If it comes to it, I want you to have this."

Gibbs opened the manila envelope and looked inside. Fake identification, credit cards and a burn phone would make it easier if they had to run to keep McGee safe from his attackers – or the CIA. He nodded in understanding and appreciation.

-NCIS-

Gibbs' next stop was the lab. "Need my list of suspects, Abs."

She'd been waiting for this moment and nervously turned the list over to Gibbs. "I know I said I wanted them to resist arrest, but you're going to be careful, right?"

Ignoring the question, Gibbs looked over the print-out. "Tell me who did what." When she looked at him blankly, he clarified. "Where did each DNA sample come from?"

"You mean you want me to, like, map it out on his body?"

"Exactly."

Abby chewed on her lip. She had all the documentation, of course, but she'd tried hard to not look at it that way. "It'll take me a couple of hours, Gibbs."

"I'll be back." With a kiss to her cheek he was gone and Abby quickly sent an email to Tony before starting the new list.

-NCIS-

"Hey, McGee, where you been?" Larry Adams came around the corner, surprised to see Tim at his desk. He took in the bruises and the dual wrist braces. "What you do, wreck your car?"

Tim leaned back as Adams got into his personal space. "Yeah, something like that."

"Oh, man, not the Porsche. You got an estimate on the repairs, yet? My cousin knows a guy..."

"Larry, it's a Porsche, not the kind of car you take to a backyard mechanic." Tony tried to steer the nosy man away from his partner.

"Doesn't your own team have enough work to do, Adams?" Gibbs came around the other corner, glaring at the intruder. "Thought you guys had a murder to solve?"

"Umm, yeah." Larry stumbled through his answer as Tony latched onto his arm and steered him back to his side of the squad room. "Say, why did we catch that case and not your team?"

"I don't know, Larry." Tony reached over and straightened the other man's tie. "Why don't you tell the Director that he needs to clear his staffing decisions with you from now on."

"Agent Balboa was looking for you." Ziva arrived with four bags of food in a flat box and set them down on a nearby desk before picking up a stapler. "Are you lost, Larry?"

Deciding that satisfying his curiosity wasn't worth the risk, Adams backed up a few steps before scurrying away.

a/n - Maybe you guys will like this chapter better than the last one. Yeah, I'm setting up for the main thrust of the story. Going to get wild. Tommorow I'll start posting Laboring to Love, but I'll be working on this one, too, in between.