Chapter 11

Tim returned to his desk, sans coffee. He hadn't noticed the pep in his step or the smile that had taken place on his lips but his two teammates had. Tony leaned back in his chair and glanced at Ziva before pursing his lips and watching the younger agent. Ziva also had her eye on McGee but didn't say a word. Something had obviously happened on his trip to get coffee and it had lifted the cloud that seemed to encompass McGee's head.

"So, decide you didn't want coffee then, Probie?" Tony asked.

Tim looked up and then back down to his desk. Coffee had been his excuse, they knew it and he knew they knew it. They were his friends and after all the years they'd worked together they knew how to read each other even with no words being said. His descriptions of them had been spot on and he couldn't have thought of a better way to describe each of them.

"Alright, when Alisha came to my house Friday she said something that I can't get out of my head. I knew that this process could take a long time but when I was matched with Lilly it kind of seemed surreal. Don't you remember what you said after I told you that I was adopting?" He looked at Tony.

"I was shocked," Tony said defensively. "And I apologized."

Tim waved off his explanation. "Forget it. The point is, yeah, maybe I am crazy but I don't care. As much as I don't want to be alone in this, I'm adopting a baby."

"You are not alone, McGee." Ziva said. "We are all behind you. Some of us may have been missing some tact in the beginning," Tony cleared his throat. "But we are all behind you. You will not be alone."

McGee smiled. "I called Alisha and told her I wanted to try again."

His teammates smiled. Ziva got to her feet and rushed over to press a kiss to his cheek. It was a rough road but he knew that if he kept a little faith he could make it to the end, especially with his friends right beside him all the way.

The day finally came to a close and McGee declined invitations to go out and celebrate his renewed faith, much to Abby's disappointment. He returned home, shut off the engine and looked up to the house that he'd bought nearly eight-months-ago. Tony had doubled over in laughter when he'd confessed to attempting the adoption process and then quickly changed his mind; when Tim had told them he'd bought a house, once again Tony had asked if he was crazy. A short chuckled emitted from Tim's mouth at the memories. Perhaps he was crazy but he'd decided he didn't care. Everyone was crazy in some form of the word.

Tim got out of the car and walked inside with a short wave to the elderly neighbor who was tending her flowers. Jethro met him at the door, licking his hand hesitantly. Tim pet the dog's head and went to change out of his work attire. Jethro followed, not taking his eyes off of his master.

"It's alright, Jethro." Tim laughed. "Hey, I've got an idea. You wanna go for a run?"

At Tim's suggestion, Jethro got to his feet and started wagging his tail with such force and speed. The smile on Jethro's face was unmistakable and Tim couldn't help but realize that his human friends hadn't been the only one's worried about him. Tim stopped at the door as he walked out of the bedroom. Turning the knob, he opened the door to find the boxes exactly how they'd been left and the musty smell of a room that had been boarded up. He walked across the room and opened the window before turning back to his loyal companion.

"There, should be aired out by the time we get back." He looked around the room again. "Then we need to clean up in here."

A few moments later, canine and master walked out the front door and down the steps of the porch. Jethro stuck close to Tim's legs and never went to far ahead so Tim had stopped clipping the leash to Jethro's collar, instead hanging it around his neck. As they turned to walk down the sidewalk, Jethro took a few steps ahead with another wag of his tail.

"Well hello Jethro," The neighbor said from her seat on the grass. "Evening, Tim."

"Ruth, how are you?" Tim smiled. "Do you need some help up?"

Ruth was somewhere in her seventies and had bad hips from a fall some years before. Though the stiffness she always felt couldn't keep her from tending her azaleas (they were prize winners, after all). The woman pet Jethro's head as he sat calmly in front of her, soaking up all the attention he could receive, as she waved off Tim's question with her other hand.

"Oh, Tim. I just started. These weeds are dreadful and if I don't get them cleared out, who knows how much nutrition they'll steal from my lovelies." She plucked a single flower from one of her bushes and handed it to Tim. "Although, perhaps on your way back-"

Tim chuckled, taking the flower and nodding his head. "Absolutely. Don't move until I come back." He shook his finger at the woman with a smile. "You know, I do some yard work on Saturday mornings. I would have no problem helping you with yours also."

"Oh, Tim, you are a dear."

Tim smiled to her and held up the flower. "Just let me know, anytime. Come on, Jethro. We should be back in about fifteen minutes. Is that enough time?"

"Oh, I should think so, dear."

"Alright, see you soon."

"I must say, Tim." Ruth said as Jethro joined Tim's side once more. "You look much better this evening. I've noticed that you haven't been quite yourself."

Tim nodded his head lightly, thinking of her words. "Well, Ruth- I feel much better today."

The woman chuckled as Tim and Jethro continued on their way. It was true, he did feel better. Somewhere between Ziva's question and Alisha's enthusiastic reaction Tim had started to feel better. Lilly had kept her son and he was happy for her, maybe he'd send her some flowers. The journey he was on wasn't going to be an easy one and he would have to accept the bumps in the road and look beyond them if he was going to make it to his goal with any of his sanity left.

The park was thinning out with children being hauled off by their parents for chores, homework and dinner. There were a few teenagers riding skateboards and other stragglers when Tim and Jethro entered a open area in which the dog could run and chase the birds. Tim sat down on a park bench and threw a stick he'd found on the ground. It wasn't much but it gave Jethro something else to chase down.

"Whoa, cool dog, dude."

Tim looked up to see a few of the teenagers coming closer on their boards. Jethro sat down briefly as the boys stopped. Before any other words could be said, Jethro started sniffing at the pockets of one of the boys. Tim heard the low rumble of a growl from his dog as he continued to push his muzzle into the kids leg.

"What is he doing?" The boy asked, standing still.

Tim looked the boy over. He couldn't have been more that fourteen. His hair had been dyed green and was sticking out in several directions, his shorts hung low and his shoes didn't have any laces. Tim shook his head at the boys appearance.

"He seems to have found something rather interesting in your pocket." Tim commented. "Perhaps something you shouldn't have."

"Like what?" The kid asked defensively.

"Could be anything, really." Tim got to his feet and called Jethro off the boy. "Jethro is a retired drug dog."

The boys froze and looked at one another with silent question on what they should do. The two boys who hadn't alerted Jethro took off in the opposite direction, pumping their skateboards as fast as they were able. The green-haired boy remained and was looking at Jethro with fear in his eyes. "No shit?"

"No shit." Tim said, straight-faced. "Now, I see two possible scenarios. You can take whatever is in your pocket to your parents, accept their punishment and go back to being the son they respect; or you could keep doing that stuff, get kicked out of school and your home, live on the street and eat trash for the rest of your life. Which sounds more appealing?"

Without his friends to back him up, the boy's face fell and he reached out and pat Jethro's head. "I think I'm gonna go home."

"Good man," Tim said and watched as the boy continued past him, carrying his skateboard under his arm.

Tim and Jethro returned home, after helping Ruth to her feet and carrying her gardening supplies back to the garage. After warming up the last of the casserole Ziva had brought, he sat down to eat his dinner before tending to Jethro and walking back upstairs. It didn't take long for Tim to pile the smaller boxes into the closet and vacuum the room. The room had aired out nicely and Tim knocked down the cobwebs from the corners before shutting the window, turning off the light and leaving the room.

Jethro walked into the open doorway before turning and following Tim into the master bedroom. He watched as the nightly ritual began. The dog waited patiently on the bed while Tim showered. Jethro's head perked up as the door opened and McGee crossed his arms over his chest, smiling in return to the one on Jethro's lips.

"You know the drill," Tim spoke.

It wasn't an angry voice, more of an amused one, and the dog jumped down from the bed and walked out of the room with Tim following closely behind. After a quick trip to the backyard, Tim closed the dog door and locked it. Jethro followed as Tim checked each door to make sure it was locked before turning the lights off and returning upstairs. They stopped again at the open door of the nursery and Tim leaned against the doorway. Jethro whined and nudged Tim's hand in worry.

"It's alright, Jethro. There'll be a baby in there sometime." Tim looked down to the dog. "Come on, bedtime."

The world had come to an end, she was sure of it. Nothing was gonna save her now. Her parents would disown her, her GPA would plummet and she'd never see the future she'd always dreamed of. It was touchy, what brought her to this point. He hadn't exactly forced her but she hadn't been completely ready either. She could only be grateful that it was over before she knew it. High School was tough and peer pressure was even worse. None of it had been perfect and she wasn't surprised when he came to her a few days later and said that he was breaking up with her. It happened all the time, some jerk would get what he wanted and then that was it- time to move on to another girl.

That had been two months ago and she was fine with how her life had gone back to normal. Pep-rallies and football games, weekend parties and late night cram sessions for her French test. Now it had all changed. She stared at the front door of her house with a mixture of guilt, fear and embarrassment. She was 16, a junior in High School and on the track of being Salutatorian of her graduating class. Now, what would she be?

Entering the door she could hear her mother in the kitchen, the radio playing in the background. She held her breath and walked forward. She prayed silently that what she was about to do wouldn't ruin everything she knew. Her father sat at the counter chopping peppers and placing them into a bowl; her mother was behind the stove with a frying pan in her hands.

"Mom, Dad?"

The two parents looked up with smiles at the sight of their daughter. "Hey Grace, how was practice? Did you land any of those triple flippy deals you've been working on?"

Grace was silent, tears filling her eyes. She was about to disappoint them and she felt horrible. "I need to tell you something."

The crackle in her voice got her parents full attention. Her mother turned off the burner and came to her daughter's shoulder immediately. She lead the girl to a stool next to her father and sat her down.

"Gracie, honey, what's wrong? Is it that boy again?" Her father asked.

"I guess you could say that." Grace sniffled.

"Is he spreading rumors again?" Grace's mother asked.

Grace let the tears fall and felt her father's hand stroke her back. Her heart was pounding and her stomach was churning. She had to fight the urge to run upstairs and hiding. No, she'd started to tell them and if she ran away, they'd only follow her to make sure she was alright.

"They aren't rumors." She whispered.

Her father sighed heavily but continued to rub her back. They were such loving people and now she'd betrayed their trust; even more, she was about to break their hearts.

Grace inhaled deeply, her voice shook audibly as she confessed, "I'm pregnant."