Jimmy smiled as he looked over at his sleeping wife. They'd left quite early and she'd fallen asleep as they drove. When he phone rang, he quickly answered it, hoping it didn't wake her.

"Hello?"

Mr. Palmer, tell me how close are you?

There was an undertone of urgency in Ducky's voice so Jimmy didn't waste any time. "We just passed Danville. Is McGee worse? I have the medications you wanted for him."

I'm afraid he is. You're making excellent time, Jimmy, and I'd like you to make a detour to Berwick for me. Timothy's doctor there will have everything ready for you by the time you arrive.

Jimmy glanced back at Breena, who was starting to stir. "Okay, we'll go straight there and then get to Stillwater as quickly as we can."

Thank you, Jimmy. You're quite the lifesaver.

After the call ended, Jimmy realized that he wasn't sure if Dr. Mallard meant in the figurative sense or the literal. Either way, he increased his speed just a touch. If McGee's doctor had everything ready by the time they arrived, they could still be in Stillwater within the hour.

-NCIS-

Gibbs had known Ducky long enough that he could tell something was wrong the second he walked into the house. Just the other man's posture set off his internal alarm. "Duck, what is it?"

"I am hoping it is just my overly cautious nature, but Timothy's pain levels have increased some and I'm hearing some things in his breathing that may be worrisome."

He forced himself to keep his fears in check. "Hospital?"

"Not necessarily, Jethro. Mr. Palmer will be here shortly and we will be able to start Timothy immediately on a high dose steroid along with a different antibiotic and stronger pain medications. Even if we were to take him to the hospital right now, the same exact thing would be done. After that, all we can do it to wait a few hours and see if there's any change. As long as he doesn't get any worse from this point on, we can continue to treat him here where he's more comfortable."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Even the absolute worst case scenario will be covered when Mr. Palmer arrives."

Gibbs wasn't sure what that meant, or if he really wanted to know. "And for now?"

"And for now, he's had the maximum dosage of everything he's currently taking and is resting on the sofa. I'd suggest joining him to make sure he continues to rest."

"Is he running a fever?"

Ducky had checked it twice so far this morning. "His temperature is slightly elevated, however it could be a residual effect of the heat stroke. Again, we will just have to wait and see."

Nodding, Gibbs hung his coat up by the back door and continued on in to the living room in the front of the house. He kicked off his shoes and sat down, shifting them around until Tim was draped over his lap, his head resting on Jethro's shoulder. Gibbs didn't say anything, just hummed softly and rubbed Tim's back as he dozed.

-NCIS-

Even if he hadn't had the address, finding Jackson Gibbs' house would have been easy just by looking at the number of cars surrounding the place. An old pickup was in the driveway, a smaller car with a window sticker from a rental agency right behind it. Out on the street was a familiar Agency sedan and Jimmy carefully took the last spot in front of the house. The others would have to park further away and walk, but since Jimmy had the medical supplies, he figured he had first dibs. The prescriptions he'd filled last night were in his bag, but the extra supplies from Dr. Owens took up several boxes. Determined to make it in one trip, Jimmy handed the bag to Breena and stacked the boxes, the heavier on on the bottom.

Ducky met them at the door and took the top box from Jimmy. "Thank you, Mr. Palmer. Now, Timothy is resting in the living room so we will go straight on in to the kitchen."

Used to following orders from Ducky, Jimmy did exactly what he was told, But Breena stopped for a moment to watch the two men before continuing on.

"I didn't realize that Gibbs and McGee were a couple."

"A couple of what?" Jimmy stared at his wife, no knowing what she meant. Breena smiled and shook her head. "A couple, couple, Honey. They're obviously together and I think it's sweet. How many of the team know about them?"

"Well, not me." Confused, Jimmy set the box down and walked back far enough to see into the living room. Gibbs was sitting in the corner of the sofa, eyes closed, with Tim draped across his lap, asleep. As he watched, Tim stirred slightly but Gibbs nuzzled against him and lulled him back to sleep without ever opening his own eyes. Jimmy's first thought was that Gibbs was also asleep, but he'd never been convinced that the other man actually slept.

With a touch on the arm, Ducky steered Jimmy back to the kitchen where Breena was waiting for them. "It is a new development and we are the only ones that know about it."

"Wow." Jimmy shrugged and looked back down the hallway. "Well, they look pretty comfortable with each other."

"Yes, they do, don't they?" Ducky opened the first box. "Now, let's make sure we have everything we might need this weekend. We'll wake them in a few minutes."

-NCIS-

Abby stared as yet another exit passed by without them pulling off. She'd been hinting, but Tony had decide he wasn't listening to her today. "Aren't we going to need gas soon?"

"Nope, double tank on this, remember? Besides, it's not that far. We didn't stop at all the last time we drove up here, remember?" His arm ached as he thought about the hours of 'punch buggy' he'd put up with, but he'd take that again over this sullen, snarky version. Trying to lighten her mood he tapped at her arm. "Buggy." She slapped at his arm.

"Stop it, Tony, I'm not in the mood."

Rolling his eyes, Tony let their speed creep up just a bit more. Traffic was actually pretty light and he was hoping to shave at least thirty minutes off the trip.

-NCIS-

"I'm awake." Gibbs hadn't moved or opened his eyes, which made Ducky jump.

"Really, Jethro, a little warning would be nice. How long have you been awake?"

This time Gibbs did open his eyes even though he didn't move. "Palmer needs a new muffler on his car."

"I'll be sure to pass that along. Does this mean you and Timothy are not going to hide your relationship from the rest of the team?"

"Palmer knows when to keep his mouth shut. As for the rest of the team, we'll see. Wasn't going to move him, that's for sure. Not when he's sleeping this peacefully."

"Be that as it may, I do want to get his new medications started as soon as possible."

Gibbs nodded at that, then started kneading Tim's shoulders. "Hey, need you to wake up for a few minutes, okay?"

Tim muttered something as he burrowed his face deeper against Jethro's throat, making the other man chuckle. "Take your pills and you can go right back to sleep, I promise."

They weren't sure if McGee was actually awake, but he did raise up enough to swallow down the pills and the water Ducky put in his hands before settling right back down to sleep. Gibbs looked rather pleased with that and Ducky quietly retreated back to the kitchen, Palmer at his heels.

Back inside the kitchen, Ducky gave Palmer a careful look and Jimmy blushed and shrugged. "Muffler is on order. It should be in on Monday."

That wasn't what Ducky was concerned about, but Breena joined them, wrapping her arm around Jimmy's waist. "They were two of the loneliest people we know. We're really happy for them, Dr. Mallard."

"Yeah, we are." Jimmy kissed his wife, then turned serious. "What about Tony and Abby?"

Ducky looked concerned. "That's a very good question, Mr. Palmer. Jethro will have to make a decision in the next hour or so, I'm afraid."

To have something to do, Jimmy double checked everything he'd brought from the hospital. "I know we left before they did, but they didn't have to go to Berwick. They could be here in the next hour or so, depending on how many times Abby made Tony stop for Caf-Pow."

"We will let Timothy sleep for another half hour, then we will encourage him to go upstairs and stretch out on the bed. That way Jethro can make his decisions based on what's best for he and Timothy, not what Abigail wants."

"Good." Jimmy looked at the assorted large bore needles, tubes and bottles in addition to the vials of local anesthesia, rolls of gauze, bottle of Betadine and various other medical supplies.

-NCIS-

Tony slowed down as he assessed the parking situation. "Guess we're not going to park in front. I'm going to go around the block and park in front of the neighbor's house, Abby."

"Okay, I'll let Gibbs know."

"What?"

Before Tony could react, Abby popped open the passenger side door and hopped out of the still slowly moving truck and ran toward the house. Cursing under his breath, Tony desperately looked for a closer spot.

-NCIS-

"Thank you so much for taking care of this so quickly." Ellie signed the receipt and handed it back to the mechanic. Her spare was back in its spot and the repaired tire was back on her truck.

"Glad we could help."

Ellie hit the vending machine in the waiting area one more time before leaving the tire shop. She'd left fairly early and with any luck this would be her only stop of the trip so she shouldn't be too far behind the rest of them.

-NCIS-

Hearing his truck coming down the street, Gibbs nudged Tim's shoulder. "Hey, the invasion from DC is arriving."

"M'kay." Tim straightened up and Gibbs helped him to sit up better.

Letting him move at his own pace, Gibbs frowned as Tim rubbed his chest, breathing shallowly and wincing in pain. The new medications couldn't work fast enough as far as he was concerned. They both stood as the truck moved further down the street, obviously looking for a parking space and Gibbs pulled Tim close for a final kiss. "I'm not ashamed at all, but I want to wait until I know how Abby and Tony are going to treat you before we tell them, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Tim melted into the strong arms, wrapping his own arms around Jethro's neck as he returned the kiss. The loud slamming of the door made them both jump.

"What the hell! What are you doing to Gibbs? I knew it, I knew you were up to something, McGee. You faked all this just to get your hands on Gibbs, didn't you? I bet you didn't even try to save Jackson."

Tim froze at the accusation, but Gibbs was already on the move, intercepting Abby before she could get to McGee.

"Have you gone stark raving mad, Abby? What in the hell has gotten into you?"

"Me? It's McGee you should be questioning. He's always wanted you and now he's orchestrated this whole thing to get his hands on you."

Gibbs grabbed her upper arms and tried to shake some sense into her. "Listen to yourself. Just listen to yourself, Abby."

"He's always wanted you, I could see it in his eyes."

Gibbs pushed her away. "Good, because I always wanted him."

"No. No, no, no. You guys can't do that. Stop it, stop it right now." The sound of a hand striking flesh echoed through the room.

-NCIS-

The second they heard Abby's voice, Ducky ran for the living room. Jimmy was right behind him but stopped the moment he saw the expression on Tim's face. He watched as surprise then shock and finally pain showed on Tim's face. It took a few moments, but Jimmy realized that the pain wasn't entirely emotional. He moved closer to McGee, trying to ignore the shouting match that was going on a few feet away.

He heard Abby slap Gibbs and in the sudden quiet he could tell that Tim was struggling to breathe. "Tim, what's going on?"

-NCIS-

Ducky had suspected that Abby would be the one to struggle with the new relationship the most, but he never dreamed she'd react that harshly. Her outburst surprised even her as she stood with her hands over his mouth staring at the red mark on Gibbs' cheek.

Before Ducky could figure out how to defuse the situation, Jimmy called out from behind him. When Ducky turned, Jimmy was supporting McGee, who was very obviously in trouble. "Timothy!"

Within seconds all three men were around McGee, but it was Gibbs he reached for. "Can't... can't catch... my breath."

"It's going to be all right, lad." Ducky looked up at Gibbs, seeing the near panicked expression. "We need him in the kitchen, Jethro, where I have better light."

Gibbs nodded. Anyone could see that he wanted to scoop Tim up and carry him. Jimmy stepped even closer and lifted one of McGee's arms to drape it over his shoulder and Gibbs mirrored his actions on the other side. Before they could move, the front door opened again and Tony was standing in the front hallway.

"Abby, what is going on, I could hear you all the way out on the street." Tony looked past Abby and saw Gibbs and Jimmy practically carrying Tim. "Oh, my God, what happened?"

Jimmy didn't waste any time. "Tony, come help Gibbs so I can help Dr. Mallard set up the equipment."

Tony rushed to do what he was told and as soon as he could let go of McGee Jimmy sprinted to the kitchen.