Silence filled the room, a silence borne of sympathy for Tim and anger at the man who would emotionally damage an innocent child this way. No child deserved that kind of pain. Tony and Gibbs both knew there was nothing they could say to make Tim feel better, instant pain relief wasn't possible in this situation. The younger man had held this pain, this parental mental abuse, in for so long, it wasn't possible to make it just go away.

Tony couldn't stand the silence or the hurt that they were letting Tim simmer in right now by not moving the conversation forward. He knew there was more to be said. He took it upon himself to be the one to get the ball rolling again.

"So, Sara…?"

"Is my step-sister. My father remarried four years after my mother died. Even though she wanted children of her own with him, she wasted no time in joining with him in hating me. No one ever told Sara that we didn't share the same mother. She just grew up believing she was the favorite because she was the baby of the family." Tim explained, grateful to move off the more painful part of the story.

"Tim, anything happen at home that belongs in a police report?" Gibbs asked carefully. He had a bad feeling that his agent had suffered through more than he was letting on.

"They never hit me, if that's what you're asking, Boss. They just constantly shoveled me off to boarding schools and other family members, none of whom thought any better of the kid who'd killed his own mother than they did." Tim's tone had taken on a resigned quality. He'd lived his childhood as the hated end result of a pregnancy gone horribly tragically wrong. A child raised in a world without love or understanding; without compassion or support and continued to suffer from it even now.

"And high school?" Tony asked in confusion. It had been the only part of his teenage years that Tim'd talked about before.

"I was finally allowed to go to public school. Tim answered with an ironic laugh that held no humor. "Home life became the reason I learned to live in the computers, books and video games. It kept me off their radar and busy enough that I wasn't bored; didn't get into any trouble at home; just school. I had joined the public sector just in time to become the main target for the school bullies.

"You talked to your father about them?" Gibbs asked, already fearing what the answer had been for this young man.

"I tried. Only made that mistake once. I hadn't thought he possessed any more hatred for me; until I tried to talk to him about them. He literally pushed me up to my room and made me watch as he threw all my clothes in boxes. I had to load up the car. He dumped me on my maternal grandfather's doorstep. Apparently, now, I was not only a killer, but a weak and useless one at that."

"Only reason I ever got to see Sara was because she would sneak over while both Dad and Grandpa were at work. Grandma was already dead by then. It was a good thing, too; because she hated me too. After all, I had killed her only child."

"You said your father bought you that smokin' hot car when you turned 16." Tony reminded him, wanting to move the explaination to along, knowing every bit of this had to be tearing Tim up inside..

"Yeah, I guess he thought I'd get in it and drive away and never come back. "I can't explain why he did it. I look back on it now and wonder if he wasn't hoping that fast car would get me killed." Tim said with more bitterness than they'd ever heard from him before. "He almost got his wish. I don't think even he expected it to happen the first time I got behind the wheel."

"Tim. You believe what he drummed into you head?" Gibbs asked. "That what's been driving you to hold everything in for so long, not try to get help to deal with it? I'm not talking about the stuff that happens at work."

"I don't know if I believe it or not. I guess a part of me does and a part of me doesn't. It seems to depend on what else is going on with me, whether that colors it or not. I really thought I'd buried it for good. Guess I was wrong about that, too.

"And the professional help?" Gibbs asked.

"Tried talking to shrinks before, Boss. It didn't work out real well."

"This time can be different, Tim. You're in control now. I'm guessing you weren't back then?" Gibbs suggested.

"No, I definitely wasn't." Tim admitted with more bitterness.

Gibbs squeezed his hand on Tim's shoulder one more time in support again and looked Tim in the eye. "You did good, McGee. Real good. Letting things out into the light of day is pretty tough; but not near as tough as holding it all inside and suffering in silence. Trust me on that." Letting go, he turned and headed back to the coffee table and picked up his cup, grimacing at the now cold brew.

Tim silently nodded his acceptance of Gibbs' praise before he turned hesitant eyes toward his big brother.

"You won't get any argument from me, Probie. I'm proud of you, too." Tony let go of him too and headed over to the coffee table to pick up his own coffee. Like I said before, you're a stronger man than I am. I need a fresh cup, you?"

Tim nodded but stayed where he was as Tony and Gibbs went back to the kitchen to refresh the coffee. He felt so much lighter now, like the world had been lifted off his shoulders. That world still hurt; a lot, but he no longer lived with the full weight of it or felt alone. The idea of talking to a shrink still scared the hell out of him and was currently the biggest thing keeping him from feeling things were gonna be okay.

Gibbs was relieved that Tim already understood he needed professional help to purge these things; or at the very least; be able to put them in perspective enough to be able to live a healthier, happier life. There wasn't anything more the boss could do for this young man and Gibbs was smart enough to know that. He'd done all he could, pushing him to get it out, keeping an eye on him so he wouldn't give in to the compulsions he'd been experiencing, and finally, apologizing from the heart, when Tim had needed it most.

Tony felt a wave of relief wash through him that they'd gotten Tim to let it all out. They hadn't lost him to the depths of it all. He'd gotten to be the big brother Tim needed him to be and what's more, he enjoyed the responsibility and relished being able to help Probie when he'd needed it. He could definitely handle this big brother job.

Tim was still worrying about a few things. Gibbs had ordered him to talk to a professional. What if he couldn't do it? What if he froze up or couldn't handle talking everything out with a stranger? Would Gibbs really be forced to fire him? For the first time in longer than he could remember, he felt no inkling of desire to take drastic steps to escape. No, everything had been aired and there was nothing left to escape from.

Sure there were situations at work that still bugged him, mainly because he feared he'd be treated the same indifferent way the next time something less than good happened on the job. His main concern with this was Abby. Even though it had been a long time since it had happened; the way she'd treated him with Jethro attacking him; the way she'd carelessly destroyed his jacket with such malice in her attitude in both situations, still sat on the broken landscape of their relationship, genuinely affecting his ability to be completely comfortable around her.

Maybe Gibbs and Tony could help him work these troubling pieces of his future out.

His future.

Yeah, at long last, Tim McGee could look forward to the future.