Cahpter 10

Present...

Tim was able to pretend that he didn't know what the team was doing for a day. Gibbs had him on the phones and credit cards of their victims while Ziva made arrangements for a quick delivery of the case file from the murder of Tim's parents. When the box appeared, Tim steadfastly ignored it and soon, it vanished into some other place in the building. Still, he couldn't get what he had said out of his head and his mind kept returning to what they had suggested, that someone might have been either copying his parents' murders or else that the same person who had killed his parents was the killer here. He hated the thought and he tried not to think about it, but it wasn't working very well.

"Hey, Tim?"

Tim jumped and looked up at Abby who had materialized in front of his desk.

"Hey, Abbs. Long time, no see."

"Yeah...we were looking through the stuff from your... Tony told me."

"Yeah, I know. He said he was going to."

"You never said anything, not even to me."

"I know. I didn't want to, not even to you."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"It's from your parents' case...but it's not really about the case. Is that okay?"

"Yeah."

"Then, will you come down to my lab?"

"Sure." Tim set a search running, which hopefully would isolate any out of character behavior both in phone calls and credit statements. He didn't have much hope of anything turning up, but it was something to try at any rate.

"Thanks."

Abby seemed strange and withdrawn. Tim wondered what could be going on. He figured that the file didn't make for pleasant reading, but Abby had most definitely seen worse.

When they got down to the lab, Abby turned around and looked at him intently.

"Tim, did you ever look at this stuff?"

"No. When I was younger, there's no way they would have shown me. When I got older, even when I started working here and could conceivably make a request to see the file, I didn't want to. It's all in the past, and in some ways, not knowing, not remembering what I saw is a good thing. ...only in some ways, though...since there's obviously a part of me that does remember."

"You never told me about your parents."

"No, I didn't. We already established that."

"No, I mean...can I show you a picture...of them?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

Tim smiled. "Abby, I've been drawing pictures of my parents for the last twenty years. I can handle seeing the real thing. I did once before. ...just because I don't remember..."

Abby brought up one of the photos taken of his parents. Tim stared...he'd said he didn't mind, and in truth, he didn't, but this was worse than drawing it. Seeing the real thing...made it more real somehow.

"Are you okay, Tim?"

"Yeah," Tim said, unable to tear his eyes away.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"You never told me that your parents were Goth."

Tim blinked and looked at Abby. "What?"

"Your parents. They were Goth."

"No, they weren't."

"But look, Tim! Look at what they were wearing, look at their hair!"

Tim looked again, but he shook his head.

"Abby, my parents weren't Goths. Not ever. My dad taught at a snooty private school. The neighborhood we lived in was...I don't know...but I didn't even know what Goths were until much later."

Abby now looked almost distressed. "Tim...was that why you were interested in me? Because you remembered your parents like this?"

"What?" Tim actually laughed because it seemed so incredible that Abby was making this association. "What are you talking about? Abby, I told you that I don't remember this. I might as well have been seeing it for the first time...right now."

"But you said yourself that part of you remembers."

Tim put his hands on Abby's shoulders, gratefully turning away from the photo.

"Abby, if I was drawn to you because of anything it was because you are a very nice person and you're intriguing...and rather good-looking, too." Tim smiled. "It wasn't because I associated you with my dead parents."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Abby. I'm sure."

"And you're sure your parents weren't Goth?"

"I'm positive. This...is just weird. Mom and Dad never wore anything like that, and never dyed their hair."

"That means that someone did it for them." Abby looked at Tim, thinking hard. "Our victims had recently-dyed hair as well. It was black, and there was no sign of exposed roots...and it wasn't done very well."

"We could actually smell it in the bedroom a little."

Abby turned and flashed through a number of photos. Tim watched them fly by, seeing bits and pieces of a time he couldn't remember. It made him feel disoriented...a little dizzy...and just for a second, he felt as though he had been flung back in time.

"Tim? Tim? You're scaring me!"

Tim felt as though he was spinning around in circles and he grabbed at something to steady him.

It turned out to be Abby, her expression worried.

"Tim, you totally spaced out! I couldn't get you to say anything. Were you...remembering?"

Tim tried to think, tried to grasp what it was that had just happened, but it all faded away as if it had never been there in the first place, leaving the same empty space. In fact, the photo Abby had shown him only moments ago had faded almost to nothing in his memory. All he could remember was that there was dyed hair and Goth-type clothing. He couldn't bring the image to mind at all.

"No...No, Abby. I didn't remember." For some reason, that statement made him feel incredibly sad, as if he had lost his parents again by losing the memory. "I didn't remember."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dumped all this on you. I was being selfish." Abby turned off the monitor, the images of his parents vanished and Tim found they had made no impact on his mind. None at all.

"No, Abby. It was okay. It's not your fault that I can't remember. Why can't I remember? I can't even remember that photo you just showed me. It's like...like it doesn't even exist in my head! Why?"

Abby hugged Tim and he let his head rest on her shoulder.

"Why, Abby?"

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Eighteen years ago...

Dan and Maria exchanged disbelieving glances and then they turned the same expression on the high school counselor.

"Excuse me? Could you say that again?"

"Tim's SAT scores are very high. I think he should apply to MIT. He went to the recruiting session they held last week and I actually had one of the organizers ask me for some information about him."

"You're kidding," Dan said.

The counselor smiled. "No. Not at all. I was surprised myself, not being aware that Tim had any ambitions in that respect. I take that you had no idea either?"

Maria shook her head, still in a bit of shock. "He's never said anything about what he wanted to do. We were just thinking that we should sit down with him and talk about it. I didn't even know he'd gone to that. Did you, Dan?"

Dan also shook his head. "No, I had no idea. Are you sure it's a good idea for him to...to do something so... MIT. That's...that's the big leagues. I mean, the pressure alone would be...intense. Do you really think that Tim could handle it? It's only been in the last few months that he's started...acting normal."

The counselor nodded in understanding. "It's a definite concern, I agree, but the very fact that Tim showed the initiative in going to that meeting. Not only going, but speaking to someone there. I've never, not in the years I've known him, seen him show that kind of enthusiasm. It speaks to something that should be encouraged."

"But MIT is so far away...and he's only going to be sixteen when he graduates. He's doing better now, but he still goes through stages when he...he has to be with us all the time. We can't move and neither Dan nor I can go to MIT and stay there while he gets used to it. I'm just afraid that...that if he goes, if he gets accepted and goes, that he'll fall apart and then feel like he can't do anything. I don't want that for him."

"You want my recommendation?"

"Yes, please," Dan said, fervently.

"From an academic point of view, Tim is the perfect candidate to get admitted to MIT with a scholarship. He knows more about computers than the computer teacher does. He excels in the sciences. His work ethic is excellent...so long as he feels challenged. Computer skills are becoming not just an asset but essential for the rising generation. Tim's way ahead of the game in that department. He not only knows software, but he knows hardware. He knows programming languages. He's certified in repairing both hardware and software. He's A+ certified. He's no genius in the arts and humanities but he's still an A student there. Academically, he'll succeed. I have no doubt about that. ...but I know that's not what worries you. What I suggest is that you sit down with him as you'd planned and have a serious talk with him about his ability to cope with being so far away, with the social pressures he'll face and what steps you can take to keep him successful in school. ...because if and when he applies to MIT, he'll get in."

"What do you think? Could he do it? All of it?" Maria asked.

"I think he has the potential...and I think that if he can make there, Tim will develop in ways you've never imagined possible. I think he'll really come alive if he has the chance to get out there and...and live. It won't be easy, and it will take a lot of effort on his part and on yours. Now, this is not precisely my business, but are his therapy sessions still aiming at getting him to remember what happened?"

"Some of them."

"I think that if he goes to MIT, the goals should be changed. He won't have you there to get him through those times when he's trying to force his mind to remember something so horrifying that he's not only forgotten it but been affected by it for years. He'll need therapy still there, especially in the beginning, and it shouldn't be focused on tapping into horrific memories."

"We've been considering asking about that already."

"I think Tim needs a chance to get away from that. That's my personal opinion."

"I wish he could," Dan said.

The counselor leaned forward. "I really think he can."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Present...

"McGee, what did you get out of the phone records?" Gibbs asked.

No response from the agent across the bullpen. Tim was sitting, resting his chin on his hand, fingers absently tapping his lips as he stared blankly at the screen in front of him.

"McGee!"

Tim looked over at him, startled.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Phone records?"

"Oh. Right." Tim took a breath, obviously collecting himself. He tapped a few keys and then shook his head. "No, Boss. There's nothing out of the ordinary here. No secret phone calls, no surprise numbers. No unexpected debits from the credit cards." He shook his head again. "There's nothing to indicate that they were involved in something strange, underhanded, sneaky or illegal."

"No sign of infidelity...in either one of them," Tony put in. "They seemed to be enjoying a healthy relationship...according to their friends."

"They were not complaining of noticing something wrong either, Gibbs," Ziva said. "It seems as though this is random."

"But it can't be simply random," Tim said. "There's too much attention paid to posing them and dyeing their hair. There would have to be some intent behind picking these people. I don't know what it is, but there has to be something. ...doesn't there?"

"It does look that way, but I do not know what it is."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

One year ago...

"What do you think, Jill?" Aaron asked.

"Aaron, it's beautiful! Such nice property and the neighborhood looks so lovely. How long has this house been on the market?" Jill asked their realtor.

"About a year. The housing market has been in a slump lately, and that's been affecting house listings. The owner had to move for a job and couldn't wait for it to sell. Would you like to take a look inside?"

"Absolutely."

The three walked into the house. It wasn't large, but it was located in a nice suburb of Baltimore and since there was only the two of them, they didn't need the extra space just yet. As they walked around the ground floor, Jill felt more and more that this was a wonderful house, a lucky find for them.

"Why don't we go have a look upstairs?" the realtor suggested.

Aaron nodded and smiled, holding out his hand to Jill as they walked up the stairs. They paused on the landing and looked around and then continued up to the top.

"Three bedrooms?"

"Yes. Two smaller bedrooms, plus the master bedroom. There's only one bathroom up here, attached to the master bedroom, but with an extra door to the hallway as you see here."

They walked into the bedroom.

"It looks renovated."

"Yes, the previous owner renovated the entire bedroom and bathroom when he bought the place. You can see that he put in new tile, new shower and bathtub. All new fixtures."

"I like it. Room for two in the bathtub, Jill," Aaron said suggestively.

Jill laughed. "What about the backyard?"

"Space for a garden and there's a small patio. Let's go look."

After touring the house, Jill and Aaron were both sold on the house, but they were worried about the price.

"What's the asking price?"

"The price it's listed at is $300,000, but the owner is also realistic and needs to sell the house more than he needs to turn a profit; so he's willing to negotiate."

Aaron and Jill decided to take a few days to think about it...not that there was much to think about, really. They both loved the house. It was in a good neighborhood, in a good area, and convenient to both their jobs. It was perfect. They were able to negotiate down nearly $50,000 dollars in the asking price and after a safety inspector went through the house making sure there were no defects, they signed.