"Boss, that's my mother!"

Before Gibbs could even wrap his mind around what was quickly becoming an out of control situation; he was distracted yet again:

"Gibbs?"

Ziva's strong voice raised in question from behind the woman at the door brought a surge of relief through Gibbs. He quickly regained his mental footing while standing back up from where he'd crouched down to hear Tim's horrified whisper just a moment ago. Immediately, he did what he could to get things back under control.

"Ziva. Tony. Escort our guest to Conference room 6. Make sure you mind your manners and get her a drink. Keep her company till I get there." Gibbs' quiet order was filled with steel as the anger radiated off of him.

With fire in their eyes; Tony because he'd heard Tim's heart-wrenching plea to Gibbs and Ziva because she'd seen the emotions on the faces of her friends and knew this woman wasn't welcome here; gladly did as Gibbs requested. Conference Room Six was on the floor below; meaning Gibbs wanted this woman as far from Tim as he could get her without letting her out of the building. That was fine with them. Keeping her company was fine with them also; they had no intention of letting her out of their sight. Ziva smiled as she thought of Gibbs' order to make sure they give this woman a drink.

Tony was fuming on the inside as he helped Ziva escort the now quiet woman down to the appropriated room. How did this woman find Tim after she'd fallen off the grid? Why would she do that to her own child? Why did he suddenly feel like this rotten turn of events was his fault? As they got her to the room and enclosed her in it; Tony breathed a sigh of relief, while still feeling the anger rising up in him.

He remembered this woman had gone to jail for child endangerment; two counts. Mentally unstable; unable to stand trial for her daughter's death; a direct result of that child endangerment. Her son, their Probie, put in foster care at the tender age of six, almost shoved into an orphanage with no hope for a permanent home because of the pain and suffering he'd been through. It all made Tony's blood boil. He still didn't know the details of what exactly happened in Tim's home to bring all this about; but even without those details, it was clear; this woman did not need to be in Tim's life; especially unexpectedly like this. The horror on Tim's face; the fear in his eyes; said it all. It all made Tony want to just cuff the woman and haul her ass to the brig. Breathing a frustrated sigh, Tony sat and patiently waited for Gibbs to come interrogate this woman. This was something he definitely wanted front row seats for.

Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief as the woman was escorted downstairs and away from his agent. Looking back at Mrs. McGee, it was clear to see she was distraught. Ducky followed where Gibbs was looking and immediately went over to Tim's mother and began talking softly to her, letting her know that everything would be all right.

Turning his attention to his agent; he did not like what he was seeing. The tension and fear still radiated off this young man. Although it was to be expected, given the circumstances; Gibbs still hated to see it in any of his people. With everything this kid had been through this past weekend; this was a giant kick in the teeth for him as well as a huge step backwards in terms of finding a way to put this behind him. The poor kid had been so bogged down in fear, he'd let it out in front of his mother and Gibbs knew his agent well enough to know, he'd be kicking himself severely for that for a long time to come if it wasn't addressed.

Tim's eyes had yet to come up from his lap. Suddenly, unable to bear the sounds of his mother's heartbreak, he bolted. Unwilling to be anywhere near the other woman; he ran for the safety of the stairwell. There was no way in hell Tony and Ziva would have taken her this way. As he got to the stairwell; the knowledge that he'd expressed his fears openly, as if he'd been a child, in front of his mother, was chasing him. He found the corner of the landing and slid his way down to the floor; pulling his knees up once he'd sat down. With his arms resting on his knees, he let his head touch the wall behind him, as tide of emotions he'd held back; washed through him completely; bringing sobs and pain filled tears from the depths of his soul.

Gibbs's voice rang in his head; loud and clear; breaking through his tears. Words he'd spoken to him just this morning, coming back to him in full clarity; along with the strength of Gibbs' integrity

You have nothing to be ashamed of, Tim. Don't you forget that. But, she can't take these monsters away for you. You have to purge them; but you're not in it alone. Your entire team is here to help. Don't forget that either."

"I've got no reason to be pissed at you, so long as you stay in the fight. And let us help you win it."

Don't let this take away anything else from you!"

"Not simple, Tim, just possible. You hang in there."

"But, there's no reason for you to just quit. I would have never asked for you to be assigned to my team if I'd a thought you were a quitter."

"You did ask for help and I'm trying to give it to you. Ducky's trying to give it to you. Tony's trying to give it to you and Abby and Ziva would too, if you let them. You're not alone in this. Your team wants to help you and that should help you want to stay in the fight and come out on top."

His own plea for the easy way out came back to mind, too. Again, Gibbs had showed him trust and faith.

"Do I still have to stay in the fight?" "I know you want me to, Boss. But, I can't fight her; too, you can't expect that much of me. The nightmares are bad enough!"

"Tim, listen to me. You can do this. Ducky and I are right here with you. Tony's right outside. Your mom's right here. This woman will not get to you. We will get you through this."

Gibbs was right. With the strength of his boss' belief in him and the support of his team; he could handle this.

Wiping his eyes and putting his priorities in order, resolution first, emotions later; isn't that how they handle cases? Why should this be any different? Getting to his feet, he straightened his clothes, wiped his eyes again and headed to the men's room to wash his face. As he headed back to the conference room, he drew in a deep cleansing breath and slowly let it out.

Stepping back into the conference room, he was surprised to find only Ducky and his mother present. "Where's Gibbs?" he asked in concern.

"Timothy, Jethro has gone to talk to our guest. How are you, young man?" the M.E. asked, surprised at how composed Timothy looked. As he scrutinized the young man, it was obvious the lad had allowed himself to cry; well, that's good. Maybe he'd allowed some of Jethro's advice to help him get back in the fight.

"I'm fine,, Ducky. Thanks. How long's he been gone?" Tim pushed.

"He just left, not two minutes ago." Ducky assured him.

""Good. Mom, I'm really sorry about all this. I need you to know that everything'll be fine. Soon. Okay. Please? Don't worry. I'm sorry you had to see me like that. Can you stay here with Ducky till I get back, please? Ducky; that okay with you?" Tim hurriedly pushed.

"Certainly, Timothy. I'll be happy to keep your mother company." Ducky promised.

"Thank you."

"Tim, where are you going?" his mother asked in unhappy fear.

"Relax, Mom. I'll be back." was all Tim would tell her. She'd been through enough.

Racing down to the other Conference Room, he was surprised to find Gibbs standing outside of it, not even attempting to go in. As Tim slowed his approach, Gibbs looked at him in concern and surprise.

"You all right?" he asked the young man.

"Yeah, Boss. Thanks to you. Can we get this over with, please?" Tim asked respectfully.

Gibbs saw the determination in the young man's eyes; the fear was gone, the pain a mere shadow; but how long would it stay that way?

"Are you sure you want in on this?" Gibbs asked him.

"Yes." Tim said with steel in his voice.

"Okay. What about your team?"

"The less I have to explain myself the better, Boss." Tim said philosophically.

Gibbs nodded; yeah, he could understand that.

"Okay. Let's do this. Abby ran her prints off her drink; I'm waiting for the results first.

Abby came running up with the printout in perfect timing to Gibbs' statement.

"Hey, Tim. How you holdin up?" she asked as she handed the paper to Gibbs and turned to kiss Tim on the cheek and hug him.

"Okay, Abby, thanks and thanks for running this for us so fast." Tim offered.

"No sweat, Timmy." she said softly. "You hang in there. Don't forget, we're here for you."

"I know, Abby, thank you." Tim sad as he straightened his shoulders and looked at Gibbs. The boss was patiently waiting and inclined his head in his silent question of Tim's readiness once Tim looked his way. At Tim's nod, Gibbs opened the door and entered the room with Tim and Abby right behind him. As Tim turned to close the door, Gibbs' phone rang.

Flipping his phone open. Gibbs answered it as he stopped in his tracks.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Jethro, Timothy's mother is quite adamant that she be allowed to be there when you talk to this woman." Ducky's distressed voice came through loud enough that Tim froze where he stood, his eyes instantly going to those of his boss.

Silently, Gibbs left it up to Tim. Just as silently, Tim reminded his boss that it was his judgement Tim was relying on. And so, thinking it would make things easier for Tim, give him less to have to recount to his mother later, Gibbs answered the M.E.

"Okay, Ducky, bring her on down, but I don't want her interrupting what we need to do." Gibbs said.

"Understood, Jethro. I'll talk to her. We'll be right down." Ducky promised.

As Gibbs put his phone away, he looked over at the woman who had crashed the meeting upstairs, most unpleasantly.

"Who are you?" he asked, anger vibrating throughout the room.

"I am this young man's mother." The woman said indignantly.

"Name?" Gibbs inquired.

"June Harris."

At that name, Tony's eyes hardened and his temper got the best of him

"Prove it!"

Gibbs sat back, allowing Tony to handle it until he needed to take the controls back.

The woman produced her driver's license and as Tony looked at it, he noticed it was dated just that day. No damn wonder he hadn't been able to locate her!

As the door to the conference room opened, admitting Ducky and Mrs. McGee; who immediately took up the nearest chairs they could find; Tony let his anger for his Probie rip:

"Where've you been for the last 20 plus years?" Tony demanded, completely forgetting that they knew where she'd been for the first six months of those years.

"Trying to get my life straight." The woman threw back at Tony with complete unrepentance; it was obvious she felt like she had done nothing wrong.

"That's…"

"Tony." Tim's quiet call for Tony to back off didn't go unnoticed. As the Senior Field Agent looked to the younger man, he was astounded to find him looking steadily at this woman who was claiming to be his mother. As the rest of his team watched also, Tim rose from his chair and looked at all of them in turn for a second before turning to look at Gibbs.

Gibbs had steadily kept his eyes going from June Harris to Tim and back. He felt a rush of pride at how together his agent had pulled himself. Maybe he had been able to hang on to some of Gibbs' attempt to encourage him earlier. What he was seeing now was a damn sight better than the fear filled agent asking to quit, he'd seen a little while ago. Good Job, Tim!

June Harris, however; was a different story. The very fact that she was taking on a righteous attitude spelled trouble; especially for Tim. Gibbs spared a glance for Mrs. McGee to see how she was dealing with this; to find she was almost smoking with anger; but with Ducky's help, staying out of the mix. Gibbs was grateful. Tim was obviously to take control of this; and Gibbs didn't want anyone to get in his way.

As Gibbs watched, Tim addressed the room. "Guys, thank you; all of you. I appreciate that you're here for me and you wanna help. But, right now, I need to talk to her. Alone."

As the group all began to sputter their objections, Tim threw he hand up in such an uncharacteristic move for him; they all froze, leaving whatever words had been on their tongues, unsaid.

"I'll be fine. I know you won't be far." Tim said in quiet faith. "Please. Let me do this." Tim's words were spoken to the group at large, but the request was directed with all earnestness toward both Gibbs and Mrs. McGee.

Mrs. McGee silently got up and approached her son. Whispering in his ear for a minute, she then kissed his cheek and left the room first. Tim's team followed out behind her. After all, if his mother saw fit to do this his way; who were they not to?

Taking a deep breath, Tim fought back the tears his mother's words wrought from him.

As Gibbs kept his eye on the chaos around him; he was grateful that it was becoming more controlled. Seeing Tim once again fighting back emotions and tears, Gibbs was not happy that unintentionally as it was, Tim had just been thrown off his game once again. Once the room had emptied out, Gibbs pulled Tim aside and looked him in the eye as he spoke to him quietly.

"You can do this. But, I won't leave you alone with her."

"Boss!" Tim whispered.

"No! McGee, we don't know anything about who she is! We don't know if she's stable! You let me have her searched again and then I'll leave you alone with her; and then I'm only giving you 5 minutes alone with her. Got it?" Gibbs demanded.

"Yeah. Thanks Boss." Tim conceded; eternally grateful that Gibbs had thought of it when he hadn't.

Opening up the door, Gibbs beckoned Tim out into the hallway and beckoned Tony and Ziva back into the room. As his agents did as he bid; even though they were confused, Tim went to his mother, curently standing along the wall in tears next to Abby and hugged her.

"I want her searched again and her purse confiscated." Gibbs quietly told Tony and Ziva with iron in his voice.

"On it, Boss." Tony said with relief.

"Yes, Gibbs." Ziva said with a smile.

Turning to June Harris, he told her the truth." I will let Tim do this his way; as long as you don't prove to be a danger to him. My agents will search you; make sure you're not carrying a weapon or anything harmful. You've got one shot to do this right. You won't get another. Hurt him and you will answer to me."

"Hhmmm." Tony cleared his throat meaningfully. Gibbs looked at him thoughtfully. Nodding slightly, he turned back to June:

"Right. You'll be answering to all of us." Gibbs angrily left the room without waiting for her to answer him.

Out in the hall, he found Tim comforting his mother, all traces of his own tears gone. Still unhappy at the roller coaster his agent was currently stuck on, he took the situation back in had for the moment.

"Ducky, have Ziva and Tony stay with Mrs. Harris while McGee and I get some coffee. Mrs. McGee would you like me to bring you back a cup?" Gibbs asked, deliberately letting it be understood that he wanted a minute with his agent, alone.

"No, thank you, Agent Gibbs. I'm fine." Tim's mother quietly responded. She didn't miss the anger burning in those eyes. The man was obviously upset with her about something.

As her son left the hallway with his boss, Mrs. McGee turned to the M.E. "Doctor Mallard, why is Agent Gibbs angry at me?"

"Mrs. McGee, Agent Gibbs is simply reacting to the chaos that Timothy seems to be mired in at the moment. He noticed that Timothy seemed to be struggling once again after you spoke to him." Ducky explained as tactfully as he could.

Mrs. McGee nodded her head as she silently contemplated the M.E.'s words, Agent Gibbs' anger and what she'd said to her son.

As Gibbs walked Tim to the break room for coffee and the chance to breathe, Tim remained quiet. Gibbs left him to his thoughts, only wanting to give the young man the chance to calm down, not looking to start him in any conversation while he still had this to get through.

"Thank you." Tim suddenly offered with a wealth of gratitude included in the tone.

"For what?" Gibbs asked in surprise.

"Everything. I've been a wreck ever since Friday and you've pulled me out of it. Kept me going. Gave me a reason to fight back." Tim said with determination.

"No, Tim. You gave yourself a reason to fight back. I just reminded you of what it was." Gibbs told him with a small smile. "But, you're welcome. You sure you're gonna be okay in there?"

"Yeah, Boss, I'll be fine. I know you and the team'll be right outside the door. I just don't want my mother nearby." Tim answered.

"Why not? She's concerned about you." Gibbs reminded him.

"I know. But, I don't want her to get mad at me." Tim answered sounding like a kid in trouble.

"Why would she get mad at you?" Gibbs asked in shock

"Cause I'm not plannin on being nice to this woman." Tim said honestly and with feeling.

"Wait a second! You're worried about how your mother's gonna react if you don't play nice, here?" Gibbs asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah!" Tim sputtered. Everybody knew he was polite to a fault.

*smack*

"Thanks, Boss. What was that for?" Tim asked as he looked at Gibbs in surprise.

"For worrying bout stupid stuff! Focus!" Gibbs told him with a touch of command in his voice.

"Okay, Boss. I got it. I am focused, really."

As they turned to go back to the conference room, Gibbs put a hand on his arm and stopped him as he asked him carefully. "You wanna tell me what it was your mother told you that had you so upset?"

Tim took a steadying breath and looked away from his boss.

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me." Gibbs reassured him.

"It's not that." Tim answered quickly. "She told me not to let that woman take me away from her. Said I was a son that any mother would be proud to have but that woman didn't deserve to have a son like me" his voice had dropped to a near whisper.

"Your mother's right, Tim. Why was that so hard for you to hear?"

"Can we talk about this later, please?" Tim's voice was breaking and he quickly cleared his throat to win the battle.

"Yeah. Sure." Gibbs promised with a pat on the shoulder. In comfortable silence, they made their way back to the conference room. With a look, Gibbs told Tim to stay in the hallway as he, himself went in.

Looking at Tony and Ziva in turn, Gibbs speared them both with his patented silent question.

"She is clean, Gibbs." Ziva told him.

"Her purse is with security, Boss." Tony told him.

"Ok. Good Job, both of you, send McGee in." Gibbs directed them as he kept his eyes trained on Mrs. Harris.

As Tim came in, he exchanged smiles with Gibbs and took a seat as Gibbs turned to the woman and had one last word to say to her:

"You just remember my warning."

As the door closed behind his boss, Tim turned to the woman, who was supposed to be his mother and asked her.

"What was that about?"

"Oh, that cranky person warned me that if I did anything to hurt you, I'd have to answer to him. Can you believe that?"

Tim swallowed hard. Wow! Gibbs said that? Damn, I am glad I got back in this fight. All right, let's get this over with. I can't let Gibbs down. Gotta stand up on my own two feet here. If he thinks I can do this; I must be able to, somehow.

"Okay. First of all, that 'cranky person; is my boss. So, show some respect! He's watched out for me more than you'll ever know. Second of all, I wanna know why you're here. Have you been contacting my mother?"

"You're my son! Yes, I have contacted her. I wanted her to know that I want you back. June exclaimed.

"Let me set the record straight for you…"

Two minutes later, the conference door flew open and June Harris stormed out with tears in her eyes. As she attempted to get past Gibbs; he unexpectedly stepped into her path; bringing her to a halt.

"I'm finished here!" she spat; hoping that would get him to move out of her way.

With eyes hard as steel and the quiet tone to match, Gibbs responded to her declaration: "No. No, you're not."