Epilogue
Five months later – Dec. 23, 2011
Two days before Christmas and for once, the work day had ended on time with no new case landing in their lap and no sudden surprise assignments being handed down from upstairs. Gibbs sat back in his chair and looked at his three agents. There was a hum of excitement at actually being able to enjoy Christmas this year and he found himself being swept up with them all in their festive spirit. With more cheer in his voice these days than there used to be on any regular basis, he sounded the call. "Go home!"
"Yes!" Tony rejoiced as he practically jumped from his chair. In super-speed mode, he leaned down to shut his work station down before snapping up and shouldering his backpack, already heading toward the elevator. "Night and a Merry Christmas to one and all!" he hollered over his shoulder at them in general, too much in a hurry to slow down for such nicities. He'd got a date tonight and for once he wouldn't have to cancel or postpone it. Maybe he'd get lucky and be able to hold on to this one for more than this one date after all. Might be that she'd even be making his Christmas wish come true this year.
Ziva was more sedate in her pace as she too closed down her work station and bode Gibbs and Tim both a fond good night; a wish they both returned to her genuinely. It'd been a difficult five months for her and they were both aware of that more keenly than even Tony or Abby realized. Tony has had his own struggles to settle back into what was normal and let whatever was bothering him go for good. But, he, at least, had only needed a month to get through it. He'd been back to his normal self for the past four months and it almost seemed as though the entire shooting incident had never happened.
It had been a different story with Ziva though. Once Tim returned to work in mid-June, a full two weeks after the shooting, their resident Ninja Chick remained cautious around him, almost as if needing to keep her distance while keeping him wrapped in bubble wrap. Even as he remained on desk duty for yet another precautionary two weeks, she'd gone in to hyper-drive where looking out for him was concerned. It had gotten to the point where Gibbs had taken her into his 'office' and called her off the protection mode even as she denied it. He'd simply reminded her quietly that Tim remained unaware of the situation for which she was refusing to stop feeling guilty for. He'd gone further and had allowed his tone to become stern as he reminded her that Tim was a hell of a lot tougher than she was giving him credit for.
Admonishing her to get her head out of the past and back into the present, he'd sent her back to work and that had been the end of it. That seemed to have done the trick and both Gibbs and Tim were able to breathe a sigh of relief when Ziva had begun easing off her near-coddling of the younger agent. They'd already seen Tony have moments where he'd had to work through his feelings on what had taken place, but in true DiNozzo style, he'd done it through jokes and pranks, or silence and jitteriness, nothing so out of character for him that it raised any red flags.
From his desk across the room, Gibbs watched his youngest agent think about things now and cocked his head with interest as he waited to see what would happen next. He saw how Tim watched as Ziva headed out and smiled as he raised his coffee cup up to take a drink. His family had rebounded from a long and bumpy journey. There were still a few unfinished tasks to be taken care of in time for Christmas and he'd been working on one particular project for close to five months now. With a little more work left to be done on it, it was up to him to see that it got done on time so he headed out of the squad room, wishing Tim a good night as over his shoulder as he went out.
Tim returned Gibbs' words in kind and continued to think about Ziva's mood as she headed out, happier than she's been in quite a while. He didn't know what it was that made her that happy, but he was grateful for it; whatever it happened to be; or whoever. He'd always wanted her to be happy because he considered her to be one of his dearest friends and hated to see her unhappy as she was when he first returned to work after the shooting.
Abby had been different since the shooting as well. Tim had yet to understand why that was or what he'd done to push her away as her actions seemed to be showing him he'd done. They rarely spoke to each other now and when they did, it was stilted and uncomfortable unless it was about work. Tim hated that things were like this between himself and Abby but had long ago learned that nothing would be explained until Abby was good and ready to let him in on it.
He knew his sister had come to intensely dislike the lab rat because, as he'd found out, she'd been nosing through his journals while he was sleeping a time or two over the past several years. He'd taken her to task for it when he'd finally figured it just the other day when she'd left them open. But there was little he could do to undo the damage except reassure her that all of that which was hurtful and painful between himself and Abby was in the past and that was exactly where he wanted it to stay. He couldn't imagine that his little sister would go against his wishes and confront Abby about any of what he'd written down in those pages.
While those journals had been his life preserver, allowing him to vent his hurts and frustrations, and his pain and anger in times when he'd been wronged or felt belittled or unneeded or even guilty; he'd never wanted them to be read by anyone. They'd been were his way to make sense of the cruelty and chaos he seemed to be surround with on the job. Writing it down seemed to help him come to terms with it all and get his head back in the game every day. He certainly never meant for them to come back and haunt anyone on the team. What was done was done and there was no room for looking back. What was it Mike Franks had said to Gibbs?
"You really wanna be a cop, you gotta let a lotta old stuff go. Learn a lotta new stuff to take its' place."
Closing down his work station now, he glanced around the squad room to find that only he remained. Tim smiled as he thought back over the past eight months. It'd been a rough roller coaster ride; one he wouldn't have stayed on without the help and support of Gibbs. For someone who rarely spoke, the man had had much to say when it counted and Tim found himself grateful for that every single day since the shooting.
He'd taken the memories that Gibbs had shared with him and mulled them over in his mind, repeatedly, endlessly looped with the 'functional mute' man's' own words intertwined among them. They consistently purged any doubts and highlighted the drive he'd always had to stay in the game so he could pursue justice for the victims and carry on being the agent he'd become.
"…that goes for you, too, McGee."
"The fact is, you're good. …. When you're as good at something as you are, when you can make a difference like you can, you just don't quit."
"I'm proud of you, McGee. You did good. Now you gotta hang in there. You don't have permission to let go. Not for this, Son. You were there to help me hang on. Now I'm gonna be here for you, McGee."
It hadn't taken long for those cherished words of wisdom to become deeply planted in Tim's subconscious staying there like a hidden crown jewel through thick and thin as time marched on. While he'd recovered physically, Tim had oftentimes leaned heavily on those words as he took the time to also recover from the beginnings of job burnout and the return of survivor's guilt, even going so far as to talk to a Psychologist off the record, daily at first, his need for talking through his plethora of emotions that strong.
He knew that Gibbs wouldn't push the issue of it going on his record and for that he'd been grateful. Talking things out had done wonders for him and by the time he'd been cleared to return to desk duty, just two weeks after being shot, Tim had been ready to face the job again. To his surprise, once again, he'd found himself happy to be there, almost as if the feelings of not being good enough had just slithered away, hurried on thier way by the passed on wisdom of those no longer with them.
Nothing else had changed very much between Tim and Gibbs or between Tim and Ducky. Tim thought back over the past five and a half months and couldn't help the smile that graced his face at how everything slowly but surely returned to normal. Well, as much as it could with Abby and Ziva acting a little out of sorts. What change had come, had been positive and reaffirming with less impossible expectations and more appreciation for all as well as more respect for their bodies' limitations; especially in the midst of a case that just couldn't be cracked, here or there.
Tim knew he had much to be grateful for. His recovery had consisted of little more than brain teaser exercises and careful monitoring of non-physical activities for the first month; including driving. To this day, he was grateful that his teammates had stepped up and willingly drove him back and forth to work and always let it be known they could be counted on to run him on any errands. Tim smile didn't waver as he told himself yet again that he had a lot to be thankful for. They all did.
Still he couldn't help but mourn for the family that wasn't what it should be. His family was torn apart all those years ago and the loneliness always came back to him full force on the run up to the festive season; more so on Christmas Eve. He'd tried for seven years now to pick up the phone and call his father for Christmas, just to wish him a happy one. But, every year, he was met with the same delimma.
He would pick up the phone and push the buttons for the numbers very slowly, as if every movement weighs a ton and by the time he reached the last button, his hand would flip the phone shut, his brain screaming at him that he wasn't ready for another round of rejection from the man who's supposed to love him unconditionally but somehow couldn't ever comprehend that part of the definition of parenting.
Every Christmas for the past six years has been a journey through sorrow and regret. He missed his mom and longed for that relationship to be mended so everything could be right once again. But, so long as things are estranged between him and his father, he refused to subject his mother to any emotional ping-pong matches between the two men in the family and so he's left her be content within her marriage, hoping she'd call him when she was ready. He could only hope and pray that she didn't hold him responsible for the rift between himself and his father. After all, he'd never asked for his father to hold such impossible expectations over his head or consider him an outcast for not being able to meet them.
His sister had been a hard enough situation to handle since that difficult day in the hospital. Ever since he'd been overwhelmed with grief and guilt and had turned away from her unable to talk, she'd become angry and bitter, never having anything to say without reminding him of his moments of callousness when he'd been at his darkest moments, when he truly thought he'd killed his boss.
It was yet another relationship he hadn't been able to mend completely but still continued to try. Sarah had yet to be willing to hear him out long enough to get the whole story to see what was going through his mind that day when he'd shut out the world for those moments, too buried under guilt and worthlessness to hear her cries to be let in so she could help him.
Shrugging his shoulder now in order to raise the strap on his backpack higher, Tim sighed. There was nothing he could do to fix any of this now. It was too close to Christmas and no one, not even God could arrange travel plans on the second busiest travel day of the year with that kind of short notice.
Easing himself behind the wheel of his economy car, he relished the freedom that being back on complete active duty has brought back with it. He could still remember the day his primary physician signed off on the official report that he was cleared for field duty again. Out of respect for Ducky, he'd taken the report down to the M.E. first, allowing him to double check behind the first doctor. With Ducky's intimate knowledge of what kind of work and physical exertion this job entailed, Tim had actually been relieved to get his second opinion and hoped for his concurrance that he was fighting fit and ready to return to the fold.
Ducky had raised his eyebrows in a strangely Gibbs-like move as he'd pondered Tim's request, but had soon smiled and done as Tim asked. It hadn't taken him long to cover everything he wanted to check and in the end, found himself agreeing with the first assessment. With a smile and a genuine thank you for the M.E., Tim had nearly flown from Autopsy and just barely managing to force himself to take the elevator back to the squad room.
Marching up to Gibbs' desk, paper in hand, Tim hadn't been able to help but smile broadly, unable to hide his pleasure at being completely back at his job, no longer tied to his desk for medical reasons. Thinking back on it now, Tim could still recall the look on Gibbs' face as he read the paper, set it in his desk drawer and got up from his chair, beckoning Tim to follow him as he walked to his 'office.'
He chuckled now as he drove off the Navy Yard, remembering how scared he felt at the possibility of having pissed the man off since the expression on his face was unreadable. He remembered Gibbs scrutinizing him for a long silent minute after stopping the elevator in his typical fashion. Finally, after an intense silence which had only served to increase Tim's nervousness, Gibbs had spoken.
**Flashback**
"You change your mind?" the question blindsided Tim because he'd completely forgotten his plan to quit. In fact, he hadn't even thought of that mindset or those statements he'd made, in months.
"Yes, Boss." Tim answered with complete seriousness as he kept his eyes on those of his boss.
"Woulda been nice to hear that before now, McGee."
"I know, Boss. I'm sorry. It's, just…" Tim faltered, knowing Gibbs didn't always appreciate an explanation for unacceptable behavior.
"Go on." Gibbs encouraged. Since Tim was actually trying to fix the problem.
"I'd forgotten."
The boss' eyebrows marched up to his hairline in unmistakable disbelief.
"After I got to talking things out and getting a fresh perspective, I got so wrapped up in concentrating on doing what I had to so I could come back to work that I completely forgot."
"There a reason you didn't come talk to me about it before you forgot?"
"Boss, I thought long and hard about what you told me; what you shared with me. It's all I thought about for a long time, when I wasn't at work. When you shared with me what Director Shepard and Mike Franks said to you that made a difference for you; it was like everything else just washed away."
"McGee…" Gibbs objected.
"I know, I know, that's not realistic, but it's the truth."
"What happens then next time one of us gets shot? Or the next time someone involved with the case gets killed?" Gibbs pushed relentlessly, stepping closer to Tim's personal space.
Tim swallowed hard but didn't back down. His eyes remained locked on Gibbs'. "I'm not walkin' away."
"Not havin' this conversation again."
"I know."
"Tell me why you're so sure now that this is what you want."
Tim blinked to clear his vision and swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. Finally, he spoke. "Because if you still believe in me enough to want me on your team, then I must be doing something right. And as long as that's the case, I can't walk away."
Gibbs stepped back in surprise, a grin playing on his face. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Tim smiled softly.
"Don't ever forget it." The boss growled.
Putting his smile away, Tim replied seriously. "I won't forget, Boss.
"Told you years ago you belong to me, McGee. Don't know why you think that's changed." The boss complained almost petulantly. "Kinda young to be having memory problems, don'tcha think?
Tim smiled. "I won't forget again, Boss."
A blaring horn bought Tim back to the present and he found himself taking a strangely familiar exit off the beltway. He was drawn to a place he'd begun coming to several years back, in a particularly vulnerable moment, when he'd needed to pause and take stock of his life. Now he drove to his destination almost on autopilot and parked on the side of the road in front of a community park. He got out feeling the need for the solitude that the unmarred landscape provided, and walked down to the pond where the ducks stubbornly remained through the winter months.
Drawing his own coat around him tighter to ward off the frigid temperature, He gasped at the gently falling snowflakes and the unkind wind that battered him. Tim turned away from the water and walked over to the nearest picnic table and sat down, feeling the beginning of the annual Christmas depression he'd just been thinking about.
Until now, it hadn't been a problem since work had always seemed to pop up at the last minute or Ducky'd managed to corral them all at his home for dinner. Nevertheless, in the lonely moments of the days surrounding Christmas, Tim had always been battered around by a full dose of depression, even if it has been just for an evening or an hour. He missed his parents, both of them, and was so, so tired of feeling like an orphan. It sucked, it really did. His grandmother, Penny, God bless her, was always off doing something or another, but never failed to send him her love, from afar. This year, being at odds with Sarah only compounded the feelings that crashed down on him now.
Absently, he wiped at the solitary tear from his face and frowned. He had been so lost in his thoughts, that he hadn't even realized they'd filled his eyes and begun to escape. Letting out a huge sigh of pain and frustration, Tim looked at his phone to check the time only to find he'd been sitting here lost in his thoughts for well over an hour now. No wonder he was feeling so damn cold. His coat was warm, but the lack of gloves and the frigid weather seemed to penetrate his clothing and left him completely chilled to the bones.
Getting up, he quickly got back to his car and headed out, being sure to crank up the heat first. Traffic had gotten worse and was now ostensibly crawling, so by the time he made it home it was a good two hours after he'd been told he could leave for the night. In his distracted state, he didn't even notice the set of familiar cars in his apartment complex parking lot or the all too familiar people behind the wheels of them, even as one of them got out and approached him.
"McGee!"
"Abby?" Tim frowned at the sight of the resident Goth standing there with the snow fluttering around her. After everything that had happened this past few months, he was surprised to see her and found himself unable to move.
***NCIS***
From inside the semi-warmth of his car parked where he could see both of them clearly, Gibbs watched Abby and Tim as they began to talk. Abby must have told Tim it would only take a minute, or his polite to a fault agent surely would have been walking their lab rat inside to his warm apartment by now. Looking at them now, it was hard to imagine how they could have ever broken up, they looked so happy together and Tim had never completely allowed the flame in his heart for her to go out, at least not that the bossman knew of. Gibbs hoped this was Abby's effort to fix whatever had broken between them because he missed that cohesiveness on the team and wanted it back and he knew that it had been hard on McGee as well.
The young man had never allowed himself to talk about his inadvertant admissions of long borne guilt and pain he kept locked away. While there had never been an obvious 'right moment' to bring it up, Gibbs had not forgotten the need he felt to help Tim deal with what he was keeping inside. He vowed, even now, that one day soon, that was a conversation they would have, even if Tim had managed to put it all back under wraps when he came back to work after the shooting. The fact remained that it wasn't something that could be swept under the rug indefinately. Gibbs promised himself he'd keep looking for the right moment to bring it up.
Letting out a sigh, he thought back to the reason he was here. It had taken a while and actually a lot of stubbornness and work on his part but the end result had been completely worth it. Now all he needed to do was get Tim to cooperate and everything would work out just fine. Gibbs noticed Abby hug his agent as if she was saying goodbye and knew the time had come for him to make his presence known before Tim bolted for the warmth of his apartment and crashed for the night.
The young man did look exhausted, but more than that he looked a little lost, although whatever Abby had said to him had helped ease that look from his face enough to make a difference that could be seen.
Climbing out of his car, he stood and waited until Abby turned away from Tim and waved at him. Smirking, he realized he should have known that she would have seen him sitting there even when Tim hadn't. The troubled, far-off look that had been in the younger man's eyes when he pulled in earlier was another reason Gibbs was determined to do this tonight. Smiling back at Abby, he remained rooted to the spot while she got in her car and drove off into the night.
Raising his head and looking over at his agent, he was surprised to find the young man staring back at him with a wary look in his eyes. Tim shook his head and silently walked over to Gibbs and waited, knowing that the boss would explain his presence in his own time and in his own unique way.
"Could use your help with somethin'. Think you'd mind giving me a hand?" Gibbs offered the best explanation he'd thought of and even then he thought it sounded weak to his own ears.
Tim offered a small smile in return. "Sure, Boss." Without any further ado, the younger man walked to the passenger side of Gibbs' car and got in, buckling himself in and fixing his eyes onto the outside world as he recalled the short but important conversation he'd just had with Abby.
***Flashback***
"Abby, what are you doing here, it's almost nine and we didn't have any plans that I recall."
"I just wanted to talk to you for a minute. It's important."
"Okay. C'mon up." Tim offered as he rubbed his hands together to try and get a bit of warmth into them.
"No, I can't. Like I said, this will just take a minute. I came to say I'm sorry, Tim."
"Sorry for what, Abby?"
"For giving you the cold shoulder all this time. I know it hasn't been easy for you to work with me while I've practically acted like you didn't exist anymore. The fact is, I was angry. No, I was pissed. Super pissed."
"About what? What did I do?"
"That's just it, McGee. You didn't do anything. At least not directly. You see, Sarah was crying on Ziva's shoulder when you got shot and Ziva looked to me for help. You know Ziva doesn't do crying. But, when I tried to hug Sarah to make her feel better, she pulled away from me and got really, really angry. You know me; I had to know what the hell that was all about, so I cornered her the next day as she was coming to visit you. In short, by the time she was done tearing into me, it was pretty clear that she knew about every single thing you've ever gotten upset or pissed at me about since day one. I've been so angry that you would squeal like that, that I never stopped to realize that you're not like that; that there had to be more to it than that."
"Wow. All that and I never even knew about any of it. Sarah has a key to my apartment."
"I know. She told me. Tonight. I ran into her at the store and she asked me how you doing. I was so shocked that she had to ask that I just blurted it right out, how I had no idea because we weren't speaking and why weren't the two of you speaking."
Tim chuckled softly, the accompanying grin remaining on his handsome face for a minute.
Abby smiled back. "I had no idea Tim. I didn't know that your sister hadn't realized you woke up thinking Gibbs was dead and that it was your fault. I let that cat out of the bag tonight. I hope you don't mind."
"It's okay, Abby. It wasn't really a secret. She just never gave me the chance to explain. What did she say when you told her?"
"She cried, Tim."
"Oh, God." Tim breathed out softly. He hated it when his little sister got upset like this. But, he knew that in this case, there was nothing he could have done different after the events in the hospital. Sarah had held all the cards and he'd had to play it by her rules. Actually, he felt grateful and relieved that this was out in the open now. "Not your fault, Abby. I appreciate you talking to her and coming here to talk to me too."
"You're welcome, Tim. It was the least I could do. You could have knocked me over with a feather when Sarah calmed down and asked me why you and I weren't talking. And when she told me how she'd come to know all that she did about me, I was speechless. I am so sorry, Timmy."
"It's okay, Abby. Its over. I forgive you. But, please do me a favor and don't jump to conclusions next time without talking to me about it first?"
"I won't. I promise. Thanks, Timmy. Look, I gotta go, Besides, Gibbs has been waiting here to talk to you for longer than I've been here."
She ignored his shocked reaction to her news about Gibbs and kissed him on the cheek before she turned to go, waving at the boss as she did. Tim smiled at her infectious energy and good mood. Realizing that he'd just had the only real conversation with Abby that he'd probably ever have, the smile soon faded and the depression approached once more. It was still only two days until Christmas and Tim was still without a family to celebrate it with, except now, at least, he might be able to have his sister back in time.
"You okay?" The need to offer Tim the option to talk about whatever it was, twisted Gibbs' heart enough that he'd voiced the concern. It was obvious that something was bugging his agent and the boss hoped that this now familiar question of concern was just what the young man needed to open up.
Pulled from his thoughts, Tim glanced at Gibbs, only to find the man was already scrutinizing him carefully, even though he'd already started the car and buckled himself in.
"I'm fine. Thanks." Tim offered and turned his attention back to the outside world.
Gibbs turned in his seat to wait for the truth to come out. He knew Tim hated lying, even little white lies like the one he'd just told and it wouldn't be long before the young man felt the guilt about it and would blurt out the truth.
Tim sighed knowing that Gibbs was taking the time to talk while the car was running. The fact that they were still in the same place, meant that the man wouldn't be dropping this until Tim talked to him. Tim dropped his gaze to look down at his lap and offered the truth.
"I will be. Christmas is always hard for me, that's all." He admitted quietly. He knew that this holiday had always been particularly hard on Gibbs as well and didn't want this to become any more painful for either of them by talking about what can't be fixed or undone.
"Understandable." Gibbs offered as he put the car in drive and almost offhandedly changed the subject. "You ready to help me out?"
"Sure." Tim smiled softly again as he glanced at the boss, thankful the man didn't make a big deal out of what he'd just admitted.
Gibbs nodded as he drove them away from Tim's apartment. The silence that descended between them actually felt comfortable as the world transformed into a white beauty that was reminiscent of a Christmas card. The Team Leader looked over and noticed Tim began to nod off and smiled to himself.
It was hard to believe that peace and normalcy had returned to his team with all that had gone on these last eight months; most especially the overwhelming guilt that plagued Tony and Ziva for so long immediately following the shooting. He recalled harnessing the strong urge he had after only a few weeks of watching them try to work through it, to send them to the agency shrink.
He had known then that his two capable agents would work through it in their own way and he hadn't wanted to force his way through their barriers just to have things done his way. He never asked them if it was gone or when it had been dealt with since they'd taken great pains to keep all things normal at work. He'd merely watched as little by little, the guilt disappeared from their eyes and their cushioning of any interaction they had with Tim became more relaxed.
With a half smile now, he remembered being grateful beyond measure that although Tony had inadvertantly told the others about Tim almost being killed in the warehouse that dreadful day,somehow, that emotionally heart-wrenching piece of information, despite being included in the official reports, had remained the most closely guarded secret and would forever remain a measure of pain they would not dump on Tim.
Gibbs knew that in keeping it locked away, the team had been able to mend that much quicker and with a much stronger bond. He'd been damn proud of Tony and Ziva for having the personal fortitude within themselves and respect for Tim and had known that they'd both been scared enough in that one incident, to keep it that way. He'd been impressed that Abby had never even attempted to discuss it either. He hoped that she'd gotten past it, for all thier sakes. Gibbs couldn't help but wonder what had happened to send Abby on this cold shoulder tail spin towards Tim since that day, but he also had faith in her that she'd work through it and find her way back to relying on the stregnth of her long-standing friendship with Tim to get things back on an even keel.
***NCIS***
Twenty minutes later, Tim roused from the cat nap he hadn't realized he'd fallen into. As he looked around blearily, Gibbs parked the car and turned off the engine. Looking around at the world outside the car, he realized where they were. Well, it made sense that they'd come to the boss' house if the boss needed help with something.
"Ready? How bout we go warm up with coffee before we get started." Gibbs got out of the car and headed towards his house without another word or a backward glance. Tim was mildly amused by the way Gibbs was acting and got out of the car.
As he caught up with the Boss, he threw out the question that had just flashed through his mind. "Uh. Boss? What exactly do you need my help with?"
Gibbs turned and smiled at him without answering, choosing instead to nod his head towards the inside of the house where it was warm.
Sighing in frustration, Tim hurried inside and quickly shed his snow dusted coat, hanging it up on the coat rack by the door. Slipping his wet shoes off, he followed Gibbs into his kitchen and sat when the man points him to the empty chair at the table. He vaguely wondered why Gibbs hadn't taken off his own coat or shoes but chased the thought away at the arrival of the blissfully hot cup of coffee that the older man is setting in front of him. "Thanks, Boss."
Sitting down at the table, Gibbs ventured down the untraveled road of a personal conversation with this young man; at least in terms of Tim's personal life as he watched him savor his coffee. "Took you a long time to get home tonight. Did something happen?"
Tim set his cup down and answered truthfully, his eyes cast on his coffee. "I just stopped off to do some thinking. I'm sorry you had to wait on me like that. If I'd known…"
"Not your fault. You didn't know. Just glad you're alright." Gibbs replied feeling relieved that his agent hadn't come to any harm.
"I'm alright, Boss. I just needed to clear my head and I have a place I go to when I need to do that."
Gibbs nodded his head, understanding fully what Tim had told him. He had his basement to run to, so it stood to reason that Tim had a place too. "You ready to help me now?" Gibbs got up and took a couple of steps towards the hallway.
"Sure." Tim put his cup down and followed the boss out of the room and down the hall into the living room.
When he got there, he was met with a sight that made his jaw drop with shock. He felt small tremors start to roll through his body, but he stood firm as he gaped at what was going on.
"Mom?...Dad?...Sarah?" Tim said incredulously. "What?...how?..."
Before he could say more, he was pulled into an embrace by his mom and sister and automatically wrapped his arms around them. His father restlessly stood behind him waiting for the hubbub to die down so he could greet his son for the first time in seven years.
Gibbs smiled softly and watched for a minute feeling the waves of emotion roll through him. This was something that he could never have a second chance at, but Tim's family weren't dead; they weren't lost forever. And Tim deserved to have the love of his family., especially at Christmas.
He turned and left the room to give the family privacy for the long overdue reunion they so desperately needed. He had toys to deliver anyway.
****NCIS****
Tim's father was the first to withdraw from the melee, retreating to Gibbs' kitchen. He was slightly alarmed to find his son's boss sitting there reading while drinking a cup of coffee because he thought the man had gone out a while ago. Now, he felt embarrassed at all that hugging and crying and carrying on by his womenfolk, and he worried that it had irritated this Marine to no ends, especially since it's been going on for almost two hours now.
"Coffee?" Gibbs offered the Commander standing lost in his thoughts where he'd halted in the kitchen doorway.
"Yes, Thank you. I heard from Director Vance that you've saved my son's life several times since he's been on this job, Agent Gibbs. Words can never express gratitude enough for something like that."
"You talked to Vance?" Gibbs couldn't help but ask in surprise.
"Absolutely. Once you'd convinced me of the huge mistake I was making, I wanted to get the full picture of the part of my son's life I've spent so long looking down on him for. I had to see for myself just how much I had to be proud of as his father." Tim's father replied without hesitation.
"His work is only part of who he is Commander." The Team Leader gruffly reminded the older man. Tim's a damn fine young man in his own right. Even I saw that much in him, the first time I laid eyes on him!"
"I know. Still, I can't help but keep thinking on the fact that you've saved his life and if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have this chance to make things right with him or his mother and sister. In more ways than one, it would seem." The younger father admitted.
"He's part of my team, Commander. Has been ever since I pulled him from that tiny office in Norfolk. In the seven years he's worked under me, I've seen your son grow into the man he is now and trust me when I say, it wasn't easy for him; we didn't make it easy for him. He was green when I got him but now…" Gibbs trailed off and chuckled. "Now he's earned the right to be proud of who he is and the job he does, every day."
"I'm impressed with what I've seen so far, Agent. Gibbs. Can't be easy having to look out for your team every day and still get your job done.
"My team always has each other's backs out there." The Team Leader stated unequivocally.
"So I've heard. No wonder Tim thinks so highly of you. Hell of a leader." Tim's father praised.
Gibbs nodded in silent appreciation as he drank more of his coffee.
"I'm grateful more than words can say that' you've done it, Agent Gibbs and helped him become who is his. I've only been around him for an hour and I'm proud of who he's become."
"I'm not the one that needs to hear this."
"I disagree, as Team Leader, Agent Gibbs. You do need to hear it, just as much as Tim does."
Gibbs let that remark go unanswered so the words already spoken would be taken in and actually remembered. After a minute, he felt the need to change the subject. "Sounds like you figured it out." Gibbs surmised causually, knowing the man knew exactly what the Team Leader is referring to.
"That you were right when you said I should be proud of him? Without a doubt. I can't thank you enough Agent Gibbs."
"He's a good man and a damn fine agent." The Team Leader stressed again, a rare occurance for him, but he felt the need to make sure this father in front of him never lost sight of these facts again. Commander McGee had hurt his son too much already. Gibbs wasn't about to let this go lightly.
"And a son that any man would be damn proud to have. I remember what you said. I'll say it again, you were right. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't insisted on showing me the work he does for you. I probably would have gone on indefinitely, believing …"
"Wasn't worth tearing your family apart, Commander. They deserved better." Gibbs drove his point home, parent to parent, just as he'd done with Tony's dad all some time ago when that man had needed a similar wake up call.
"I agree. And I'll never forget that I have you to thank for having my son back in my life." Commander McGee offered with obvious gratitude in his tone. "I made mistakes and still will, but hopefully my boy will forgive me for what I have done. Tim might not think so, but I've missed him. I just didn't want to be the first to break. Now all I feel is regret that I let that stubborn pride rule my decisions all these years."
"Boss? Dad? Everything okay?" Tim's worried question reached them from the doorway, a frown resting firmly on his face.
"Coffee, McGee?" Gibbs asked as he stood from the table and moved to fix the young man a cup before he even heard the answer.
"Thanks, Boss. Boss, what does Dad mean he has you to thank? How did ….?"
"Wasn't anything that a few phone calls couldn't take care of, McGee." Gibbs replied offhandedly.
"I wouldn't call a shouting match over live video feed and hand delivered reading assignment, a few phone calls, Agent Gibbs." Commander McGee objected wryly. "We both know that those 'few phone calls' numbered in the double digits, at least. But, again, my deepest gratitude for your intervention. Son, he's done a lot."
Gibbs smirked at Tim's rush of embarrsment when he noticed the young man's face had turned red. For the first time in years, Tim started to stutter. "W…what? W…why?"
Suddenly, Gibbs became serious and he looked his agent square on as he answered him. "Something else, Mike taught me."
Tim looked at him with all the same seriousness that they've had between them on that night after Mike's funeral and again during their talk in Tim's hospital room five months ago, as he waited to hear what Gibbs needed him to hear, knowing the man deliberately paused so Tim would indeed impart this with that sane importance.
"The unspoken rule." Gibbs finally spoke, his voice quiet in rememberance.
"I didn't know there was another one of those." Tim admitted quietly, licking his lips in nervousness.
Gibbs smiled softly. "Ya gotta do what you can for family. "
"But…?" Tim stumbled with his confusion. He'd always known that Abby and Tony were like the boss' kids but he'd always felt that connection had never fully been established between him and Gibbs; although the months since Mike's death had been the closest they'd come to having that amended.
**Thawak**
"Boss?"
"McGee, you belong to me, remember? That makes you family." Gibbs glared at him, daring him to argue against what he was telling Tim to accept as truth.
"Oh." With a wealth of gratitude and acceptance of what the boss was telling him beneath the lines, Tim smiled softly. "Thanks, Boss."
"You're welcome, Tim."
"Boss, it's getting late, so I'm gonna..." Tim started to explain his plans to get out of Gibbs' way.
"Go on up and get your parents settled in my room. Let Sarah have the guest room and you crash on the couch." Gibbs interrrupted with a short litany of instructions.
"Boss?" Tim questioned in surprise.
"You're all staying here for the next couple of days for Christmas."
Tim frowned with confusion. "Here?"
"Yup. The team are coming over tomorrow night for Christmas eve and Christmas day, Ducky's gonna cook the dinner. We'll be going to his place for a late lunch. I'll even bring already made rolls this time." Gibbs' joked with a smirk.
Tim laughed at the inside joke as his father silently sat through the experience of watching his son have a real conversation with the man he'd worked for and obviously come to respect a great deal in the last 7 years. Mrs. McGee and Sarah had come to stand silently in the kitchen doorway as the conversation continued, having been drawn in by the rare sound of Tim's genuine laughter.
Glancing around the room at Tim's family, Gibbs smiled before turning his attention back to his agent, still sitting at the table drinking his coffee. "After that, the week is yours for you and your family. Already cleared it with Vance and I don't wanna see you in the office until that week is up."
"Boss, I …" Tim was dumbstruck. Not only had Gibbs bought them all back together again, he was giving the McGee's a chance to put the past seven years behind him and make it right with his father..
Gibbs stepped closer to Tim and pulled him into a rare fatherly hug. "Merry Christmas, Tim."
During this rare moment, Tim held onto the man that had silently been there for him for the past seven years while the rift with his father had kept him in need of the extra support. It wasn't but a moment later that Tim returned the sentiment. "Merry Christmas, Boss. I don't know how to thank you." He admitted quietly.
"No need, Tim. It's what families are supposed to do. And this team is family."
**FINIS**