AN: I have to admit, I stole a McName in this section from Torakowalski's amazing AU T2 fic Still Time for You because it fit perfectly. If you haven't read her story because you don't like AUs or you don't like high school AUs, stop. Go. Read it. Life will be here when you come back. It might possibly be my favorite big T2 fic out there and I HATE AUs. If you've read it, you'll recognize the McName when you read it. :)
And on another note, got back from vacation to find an NCIS Special Agent T-shirt from FLETC on my chair at work! From a former NCIS agent who — per an NCIS insider who should know — is not who Gibbs was based off of as he says. But it's still cool. Co-worker did a column on the guy when he spoke to a local school; he sent her the shirt, she passed it on to me.
Chapter 26
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Tim blinked awake and smiled as Tony's snores vibrated against his chest. The sun was just coming up, pink light filtering into the room between the curtains. He would have been happy to stay there all morning, but it wasn't long before Jethro came in and whimpered, a sure sign he needed to go outside in the next few minutes if they didn't want to clean up puddles.
Tim reluctantly untangled himself from Tony's arms and pulled on sweats, shoving his feet into the rubber-soled leather slippers he'd bought the first week he owned Jethro for just this reason. He stumbled downstairs and let the dog out, then poured himself a cup of coffee.
Tim knew they had plenty of time before they could head out for his plans for date morning, so he crawled back into bed once Jethro was happily occupied with a new rawhide chew. Tony was still snoring away, but he'd shifted to wrap his arms around Tim's pillow. Tim smiled and filed the image away to remember the next time Tony was driving him crazy with McNames and smart-ass comments at work.
He eased the pillow from Tony's arms, grinning as Tony whined and hung on tighter. Tim decided to distract him a different way and slid his hands around Tony, pulling him close. His husband's sleep-warm body molded to his, and after a few minutes of kissing, Tony was fully awake.
"Mmmm... Like waking up like this." Tony stroked his hands along Tim's body. "Morning, Timmy."
When Tim could speak again, he made a mock-mad face. "What is it with people and calling me Timmy?"
"Can't help it," Tony said. "It's those big puppy-dog eyes. Not to mention if I hadn't seen your mug shot earlier this year, I'd think you were borderline McJailbait. How do you get younger-looking every year I know you? Did Ducky give you his secret?"
Tim snorted. "I think Ducky's been around too much formaldehyde over the years. We really should warn Jimmy. He looks even younger than me."
"Yeah, how did I get to be the old man in the group?" Tony frowned.
Tim kissed him until Tony wasn't thinking about age anymore. With no place to be, they spent a lazy morning in bed, catching up after a couple of weeks where the only thing they had energy for once they got to bed was sleeping.
As they lay sated and dozing, Tim happened to catch sight of the time. "If you want our morning date, we need to get moving," he said.
Tony groaned and rolled off of him. "We probably need to get cleaned up anyway." He smirked. "Joint shower?"
Tim never could resist that grin. "Joint shower."
When they finally emerged after the hot water started to run out, Tony turned to him. "So you know the plans — what should I wear?"
"Casual's fine," Tim said. "I'm wearing jeans and a sweater."
Tony nodded and found a hoodie sweater he occasionally wore to work to pair with his dark jeans. It had been a few weeks since Tim had seen him in anything but suits or the faded jeans Tony usually wore around the house, and he admired the view. He'd thought of suggesting Tony wear the more casual outfits to work more often, but he figured the distraction Tony posed might have Gibbs nixing that idea. Even Ziva and Abby weren't immune when Tony went for the casual look at the office.
"Tim, stop ogling me and get dressed," Tony said. "Otherwise I'm not going to be responsible for us missing whatever McDate you've planned."
Tim rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He pulled on his clothes, and they went down to let Jethro out once more so he'd be set while they were gone.
"So where are we going?" Tony looked at Tim as he backed out of the driveway. "I mean, I'm hoping someplace where we can get food since you didn't let me make toast."
"Brunch, Tony," Tim said. "I figured we could try that place we saw a few weeks ago, the Irish pub. They do brunch, and they're supposed to have music this morning."
Tony grinned. "Eggs, potatoes — and that's one thing the Irish do know how to cook is potatoes. Works for me."
But when they got in and looked at the menu, Tony was torn.
"It's breakfast, not a case, Tony," Tim said. "Just pick something."
"I can't help it — the French toast with strawberries and walnuts sounds too good."
Tim grinned. "That's what I was going to get. Why don't you get your eggs? I'll get the French toast, and we can share."
Tony grinned. "Now why didn't I put that in the vows? Sickness, health, French toast, eggs..."
Tim snorted. "You are the biggest goofball I've ever met, you know that?"
"And that's why you love me." Tony grinned at him, the big smile that never failed to warm Tim's heart.
"Yeah, that's why I love you," Tim said. "You're the only one I know who can make hazing and nicknames part of your seduction plan."
"Hey, it wasn't like I could flirt with you in front of Gibbs," Tony said. "Not to mention Abby and Ziva."
"Yeah, after trying to convince them to tongue kiss after Gibbs was blown up, you would have never heard the end of it if you'd been obvious." Tim frowned. "Of course, neither would I, and I didn't do anything."
"You smirked," Tony said. "And you would have enjoyed it just as much as I would have if they had."
"True." Tim actually did smirk, but he also reached across the table for Tony's hand. "You know, as much as I love living with you — even when you're grumbling about my sneakers piled in the mudroom — I've missed our dates. I'm glad we're back to them."
Tony turned his hand up, so they were palm to palm, and interlaced their fingers. "Me, too. This was a good idea, Tim." He waggled his eyebrows. "Score another one for McBrain!"
Tim snorted and nudged his knee against Tony's under the table. "This definitely calls for a celebration," he said. "We made it through our first fight, through me meeting the in-laws, and through you dealing with my family's angst."
"Oh. I thought that's what we did this morning," Tony said. "Celebrate." He looked at Tim, the picture of innocence, but Tim could see the corners of his lips twitching.
-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-
Jimmy woke up in his bed and blinked, confused. It wasn't until he'd fumbled for his glasses that he realized he was actually in his bed, at his apartment. Not the one he shared with Abby. He lay back and sighed, looking at the cracks in the ceiling. He hadn't been back to Abby's apartment all week. First he left for girls' night, then he just hadn't gone back. Abby hadn't asked him what was going on either, which was bothering him. But he remembered what Ducky had said earlier in the week and knew it was at least partially on him for not bringing it up to her. He'd planned to a couple of times, but first Sarah was there studying, then they'd been busy with case after case.
Frowning, he sat up. He definitely needed to talk to somebody. He thought through the options as he showered, dressed, and ate the last of the box of cereal he'd picked up Monday when he'd realized he was going to be here for more than one night.
The biggest thing was to make a decision about moving out. He had to let his landlord know one way or the other by Wednesday, and right now he really didn't know which option was right. If going to a month-to-month option would work, that would have been his choice, but his landlord wouldn't do anything less than a year lease because of the colleges in the area. He said otherwise he got stuck with nobody in the apartment for three months out of the year. And Jimmy couldn't really argue otherwise, since he himself was still a student.
He sighed as he munched on his cereal. Ducky was probably the best person to talk to. But before he headed all the way out to Reston, he figured he should call. When Ducky's phone went to the answering machine, he frowned and considered his other options. He really didn't want to bother Tim and Tony, even though he thought Tim would probably have the best insights into Abby's quirky brain. But they'd had a long, crazy week, and Jimmy figured they were probably enjoying a chance to just relax. He wasn't about to add to their drama.
He thought briefly about Dwayne, but the newest member of the team really didn't know him or Abby well enough to be much help. If he wasn't going to ask Tim, Gibbs was probably the person who understood Abby the best. He gulped. Could he really ask Gibbs? The team leader wasn't the most approachable, and he was very protective of Abby, more so than anybody else. But he was also the other person who had pushed for them to marry, not just live together, and his track record showed he thought marriage was important. He would probably understand where Jimmy was coming from, even though Abby could rarely do anything wrong in Gibbs' eyes.
His mind made up, Jimmy headed to Alexandria. But when he got to Gibbs' house, the man didn't answer his door. His truck and car both were there, and Jimmy wondered if he was just in the basement and didn't hear. He wasn't sure he was feeling brave enough to just walk in, though he knew Gibbs was used to everybody doing just that. While he stood there debating, he heard somebody call his name and looked over to see Sean leaning on the fence between the yards.
"He's not home," Sean said. "He and Eileen are out running."
"Oh." Jimmy frowned. Now what?
"If you want to wait for him, come on over," Sean said. "I've got the kettle on, and there's still coffee in the pot."
"Thanks," Jimmy headed over, circling around until he could follow Sean into the McGees' house.
"So, what's got you looking so worried?" Sean asked. "This have anything to do with Abby?"
Jimmy looked at him. "Have you been taking mind-reading lessons from Gibbs?"
Sean chuckled as he poured himself some tea and put cookies on a plate. "No, when the boys and Sarah came over yesterday to tell us about Josh and all the other fallout, they mentioned something about you and Abby getting caught up in it." He pulled another mug from the cabinet. "Tea? Coffee?"
Jimmy thought for a second. "Tea, I think. At least, that's what Ducky always makes when we have one of these discussions."
Sean grinned, and Jimmy could see his resemblance to Tim. "Tea's always good for talking," he said. "Of course, I still think tea's better than coffee, so I might be a little biased." He handed Jimmy a mug and carried his own tea and the plate of cookies to the table. "So, what's going on with you and Abby? The kids didn't seem to really know what the problem was, just that there was one."
Jimmy sighed. "Yeah, well, Abby doesn't seem to realize what the problem is either, which is most of my problem." He blew across the surface of his mug to cool the tea as he thought about how to explain it. "You know everything that happened this week?"
Sean nodded. "Well, I know the basics. Josh should be shot, Tony blamed himself, he and Tim fought about it, Tony's dad showed up, and Josh has been trying to get Sarah to take him back, which she's shot down, but rattled her so much she failed a couple of exams and had to get Abby's help on the third one to pass."
Jimmy nodded. "Even Gibbs doesn't sum things up that succinctly, but basically, yeah." He sipped his tea. "I kind of ended up in the middle of Tim and Tony's fight, which wasn't really a fight. More mutual frustration. But it was kind of a wake-up call for me because even though they both were really mad, they were sure they were going to work it out."
Sean raised an eyebrow. "This was before Tony's dad got to town, right?"
Jimmy nodded. "Yeah. They both told me they knew they would work it out because the other one wasn't going to walk away from their marriage. Well, Tony also said Tim wouldn't let him walk away, but that was just Tony being Tony. And Abby refuses to get married."
Sean slowly sipped his tea and handed a cookie to Jimmy, who waited for Sean to gather his thoughts.
"Abby refuses to marry you, or anyone?"
"Oh, anyone," Jimmy said. "That's what she said when Gibbs started to give me a hard time about not making an honest woman out of her. For as much as he grumbles about marriage and divorce and alimony and tells all of us never to get married, he's pretty old-fashioned about it. He didn't like that Abby didn't want to go there. Not that he minded that Tim and Tony didn't, at least not right away. I mean, they couldn't anyway, but they're also both guys. Well, yeah, which is why they couldn't but it's also why Gibbs didn't... I mean-"
"I get it Jimmy," Sean said. "And I have to admit, I'm probably just as much a dinosaur as Gibbs. Tim and Tony moving in together was fine. But if Sarah had wanted to move in with Josh, I wouldn't have been very happy."
Jimmy frowned. "At first I didn't really care one way or the other if we got married. I mean, Abby was pretty clear that she was serious about us. But then this happened, and I spent Sunday night at my apartment because Abby had Sarah and Ziva over for a guy-bashing night."
"No, wouldn't be good to be around for that one." Sean chuckled. "I think I would have decided a strategic retreat was in order as well."
Jimmy grinned. "Yeah. So I went back to my place, which has basically been gathering dust, because even though my lease doesn't end until next month, I've pretty much been living with Abby for weeks now."
"Makes sense." Sean sipped his tea.
"Except I haven't spent the night at our place since then," Jimmy said. "And Abby hasn't really asked why, which bothers me. I mean, it's been a busy week with all the cases, but still."
"Have you tried talking to Abby?" Sean looked over the mug at him before sipping.
Jimmy nodded, then shook his head.
"It can't be both answers."
"I haven't. I mean, I started to a couple of times, but it was busy and I knew it wasn't the right time to get into a big discussion, so I haven't. But I also haven't gone to our place to find a right time." Jimmy slumped down. "Ducky told me I should only be worried if Abby wouldn't talk when I tried or if I wasn't able to start the discussion. And I think this is me not able to start it, which is bad. But then I think about everything that was going on and how she was helping Sarah study, and I wonder if it's less that I haven't been able to start it and more that there hasn't been the right time."
Sean put his mug down, and Jimmy hoped his friend's dad would have some advice. These were the times he really wished he had a dad of his own. Not that he hadn't, but Jimmy didn't remember him, not really. He had died when Jimmy was so small that all he really remembered were little bits and pieces, snapshots. And he knew his dad probably had issues, just based on his mom's problems over the years. He'd gotten that much out of all the therapy he'd done. And that led him to voice the thing he'd been worrying over all week. "How do I know if this is the right move? Not just two people with complementary issues finding somebody who lets them avoid dealing with their own?"
Sean's eyebrow went up at that, and Jimmy again was reminded of Tim. "Is that how you think of Tim and Tony?"
"No. Well, yes. I mean, kind of." Jimmy stammered. "I mean, Tim's really good at helping Tony deal with his issues, but I think they both realized this week that Tony needs to get more help so it isn't all on Tim when things get crazy." He sipped his tea, then said, voice quiet, "I gave Tony the name of the guy I talk to."
"Do you think they should have waited to get married?" Sean's tone made it impossible for Jimmy to guess what he though the right answer was, so he forced himself to think it out.
"No," he said finally. "I mean, yeah, Tony's still got enough baggage for an entire modeling troupe, but he's way better since he and Tim got together. I don't think he ever would have made it this far if it wasn't for Tim. If his dad had shown up last year, it might have actually broken Tony." He frowned at the thought. "Huh."
Sean smiled. "We've all got issues, Jimmy. Eileen and I have been married for getting on 40 years now, and we definitely have areas where one of us deals better than the other. And we definitely have what you called complementary issues. We've just learned over the years which things we have to deal with and which we don't." He smiled. "We're still learning. After everything that happened at the beginning of the year, she keeps a lot closer eye on my health. I try not to be in denial about things, but it's hard. She keeps me honest."
Jimmy nodded. "I get it, I think. I mean, Abby and I fit together pretty well." He thought back. "Tim said something when we first started dating, or right before it." He tried to remember exactly how his friend had put it. "Something about the areas he and I were similar were the ones where he and Abby had worked as a couple, and the areas where he and Abby hadn't worked were the ones where he and I were different. He didn't really explain, but he seemed to think that was a good thing."
Sean nodded. "That makes some sense, even just from what I know of you, Abby, and Tony. Well, and Tim, but that's different. I've always understood what makes him tick. Learning about the rest of you has taken some time."
Jimmy set his tea down and looked Sean in the eye. "So with what you know, what do you think? I mean about me and Abby?"
Sean cupped his mug in his hands and quirked his lips as he thought. Finally he said, "I think Tim's probably right in his assessment. People skills aren't usually his strong point — he's more at home with computers — but he understands what makes all of you tick pretty well." He sighed. "Take the rest of today. Give yourself a chance to think about what you really want and what you're willing to risk. But I think you should go back to Abby's apartment tonight. Whether you two reach a decision or not today, you at least need to start talking." He looked at Jimmy, who couldn't help but look back. "You two are young. I've heard enough comments to get the sense you're talking about having kids. Wait on those until you're sure about this, but don't think you have to have this settled today, or even this week or this month. If this is right, it'll be right in a week or a month or a year."
Jimmy nodded. He thought about mentioning Abby's ticking biological clock, but decided against it. That was probably sharing a little too much. "Thanks, Commander McGee," he said instead.
"It's Sean, Jimmy. You kids are all adults, no need for the titles."
Jimmy stood up and picked up his mug to carry it to the kitchen. "Sean, then. Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"Anytime, Jimmy. Especially since I know Gibbs thinks of Abby like a daughter. If you ever need somebody to talk to who isn't your future father-in-law, I'll be here." He stood and clapped Jimmy on the shoulder.
As Jimmy helped Sean clean up, he realized just how lucky Tim was, and Tony too. He needed to tell them that sometime.
-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-
Abby waited until almost noon, then called Sarah.
"What's up, Abby?"
"Everything OK? Just wanted to make sure Josh the Jerk was leaving you alone." She sat on the bed, frowning at the unrumpled side.
"He hasn't said anything to me lately."
But Abby could tell Sarah was holding something back. She'd done it herself too many times not to recognize it. "You doing anything today? We could hang out."
"I was going to try and do some writing today, but I can do that later if you want to meet up."
"Sure!" Abby smiled. "How about I meet you at the coffee shop." She looked at her phone. "In an hour?"
"Um, sure."
Now Abby knew Sarah was keeping something to herself, but she decided it could wait until they met up to find out what it was. "Great! See you in an hour."
Abby had thought Jimmy might finally come home, but by the time she headed out, he hadn't. She wasn't sure what was up with him this week. She'd thought at first he was just giving her space in case Sarah wanted to stay with her for a few days, but then he'd been really snarky in the lab when he brought Sarah up. Almost McGee-level snarky. Like when Tim got ticked about something and wasn't willing to talk about it. She hadn't felt like dealing with a snark attack, so she'd just let it go, but he still hadn't come home. If he didn't show up soon, she was going to go over to his apartment and drag the answers out of him.
She pushed that thought to the back of her mind as she got to the coffee shop. One problem at a time. Sure she loved having lots of evidence going at once, but she couldn't exactly run Sarah or Jimmy through Major Mass Spec and get a result. When she walked in, Sarah was sitting in the corner by the fireplace. Abby ordered her tea and then joined her friend. She raised an eyebrow at the tea bag in Sarah's mug. "Weren't you the one who was giving me a hard time about going to herbal tea a week ago?"
Sarah looked sheepish. "Yeah, well, that was before Josh decided not to leave me alone."
Abby's eyes widened, and she reached out and grabbed Sarah's hands. "Wait, what's he been doing? Why didn't you tell Timmy? Or did you tell him, and he didn't tell me? What's Josh been doing? Do I have to kill him?"
Sarah smiled. "Relax, Abby. It's not what he's doing. Well, it is." She sighed. "He came up to me a few times at the beginning of the week, tried to get me to take him back."
"Yeah, and that has about as much chance of happening as Gibbs taking up tap-dancing." Abby snorted.
Sarah giggled. "Now that I want to see a picture of." She sobered. "No, I know better. He manipulated me once; I'm not letting it happen again. But now he's taken to coming around and hanging out here during my shifts, sitting right where I can't miss seeing him." She wrinkled her nose. "I've already used up most of my tea because of those two."
"Again with the tea," Abby said. "I'm lost."
"The beginning of the week, he had me so upset, I made myself sick," Sarah said. "One of the women who works here suggested I try this new ginger-lemon tea we're carrying, said it would help. And it did. So now I keep a cup handy all during my shift and carry a travel mug around campus. He still makes me feel sick when I have to watch him flirt and everything right in front of my face, but I haven't actually gotten sick in a few days — I just drink some tea, and it quiets things down."
"That's good. Or not." Abby frowned. "I mean, the efficacy of herbal teas is really well-documented to help with certain things. But there's got to be something we can do about Josh. Trust me, you do not want a stalker." She shuddered at the memory. "And if he does go that route, don't drink and use Gibbs' hand tools. I almost killed his boat that way."
Sarah looked up at her. "You said something about a stalker last weekend. The one that broke into Tim's place?"
Abby nodded. "The worst mistake I made was not telling anybody about him." She frowned. "I didn't want the guys to kill him, especially Gibbs, and I told myself I could handle him. But he was nuts. I mean really nuts, like a straitjacket was just the first step nuts. And he almost did kill me. Or at least the hit man who was trying to kill me was able to use him for camouflage, which pretty much came to the same thing. I spent an entire day in the elevator at NCIS, huddled in a corner with pepper spray, brass knuckles, and a taser."
"The elevator?"
Abby grinned. "Trust me, it made sense at the time. After he'd broken into Timmy's, I figured that was the safest place to be. That was before he came aboard the Yard and was standing outside my lab windows watching me. That's when I went home with Gibbs. I mean, who would attack me with Gibbs around?"
Sarah grinned. "Good point." She frowned. "Of course, Josh knows you guys are all federal agents, and he's still playing his games."
Abby moved around the table to stand behind Sarah and hug her, the way she'd hugged Tim a million times. "We'll stop him." She felt Sarah relax into the hug.
"OK, Tim's right. There is something special about Abby-hugs," she finally said.
Abby grinned and released Sarah, moving back to her own chair. "Well of course there is." She sipped her own tea. "So, let's figure out what to do about Josh."
"I don't think we can," Sarah said. "I mean, he's not saying anything to me. And it's not like he doesn't come here all the time anyway. That's how we met in the first place. If I went to the cops with this, they'd think I was just a drama queen."
Abby frowned. "I'd like to disagree with you, but I've met too many Metro cops." She thought for a second. "I know! The rest of us can help." She pulled out her phone and dialed Ziva's number.
"Do we have a case, Abby?"
"Yeah, the case of the creepy ex," Abby said. "Sarah and I are at the coffee shop trying to figure out how to deal with Josh. Can you meet us?"
"I will be there in 15 minutes." Ziva hung up, and Abby had to smile. "Gibbs is rubbing off on her the longer she's at NCIS," she said. "She'll be here in a few minutes."
"Thanks, Abby." Sarah smiled. "I mean, you guys have gone above and beyond for me this week."
"You're family," Abby said. "This is what family does; we help each other."
They were sitting there, sipping their tea, when Ziva arrived, her hair down and windblown. As she settled down, her own tea in hand, she tried to tame her hair back into a ponytail. "So, what is the game plan?"
Abby explained what was going on, assisted by Sarah, and she could see the anger in Ziva's eyes.
"This is unacceptable," Ziva said. "And if we do not stop him before Gibbs and Tony and McGee find out, they are liable to get themselves in trouble dealing with him."
Sarah laughed. "Tony's already told Tim that they can't do anything because the director can't cover for them on a Metro case."
"That has never stopped Gibbs before," Ziva said. "Nor would Tim and Tony stop if they could figure out a way to deal with him that wouldn't get any of us in trouble."
"So what do we do?" Abby asked. "I mean, we can't go to Sarah's classes with her."
"He's not giving me too much trouble on campus," Sarah said. "I mean, I see him, but it's just in passing. It's the hanging out here that's really getting to me."
"We could do what we're doing now," Ziva said.
"OK," Abby said. "Wait, what are we doing now?" She looked around.
"Being here," Ziva said. "I do not think that if Josh walked into the coffee shop now, he would try anything up back."
"Up front," Abby corrected. "But you're right."
Sarah nodded. "That's how I got him to back off in the first place, by reminding him about you guys. So seeing you would scare him."
"I think I will be enjoying a relaxing cup of tea here in the evenings," Ziva said. She turned to Sarah. "That is when you mostly work, correct?"
She nodded. "Every night but Saturday and Wednesday," she said. "When I graduate and they make me a manager, I'll be working in the mornings to open, but he'll be off on his summer internship by then. I just have to make it through..." She counted on her fingers. "About six more weeks, then he'll be gone."
Abby grinned and looked at Ziva. "We can do that. I'm sure Jimmy will help. Would Damon?"
"I believe he would," she said, nodding. "After all, he is a Marine. Semper Fi, yes?"
Abby nodded. "Yes. So, who takes the first shift?"
"I will stay," Ziva said. "You have been busy this week, and I imagine Jimmy wants to spend some time with you before tomorrow starts and we have a case to solve."
-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-
Jimmy hadn't been gone long when Eileen came in, her clothes damp with sweat from her run.
"Gibbs give you a challenge?" Sean looked up from the chair where he was reading the book he'd started last night.
"I know he says he has a bad knee, but he doesn't run like it." Eileen pushed back the strands that had come loose from her ponytail. "I'm going to shower."
Sean nodded. "I'm headed over to see Gibbs, but not until he's had a chance to clean up."
When he did head over half an hour later, he found Gibbs in the basement. Sean put on the respirator mask Gibbs had started keeping there for his and Tony's visits as he walked down the stairs.
"Hear you out-ran my wife," he said to Gibbs.
"Really? Felt like she outran me." He stretched out one leg, then the other. "Haven't had that good a challenge in a while, now that Tony's had to cut back. Tim's got stamina, but not the speed."
"No, he definitely takes after me in that area," Sean said. "You had a visitor while you were gone."
Gibbs turned to look at him. "One of the boys?"
"No. And yes." Sean pulled out a sawhorse and sat down. "Jimmy came by, looking for advice on Abby. He was willing to take me as a pinch-hitter, though."
Gibbs rubbed a hand across his forehead. "I'd forgotten about those two with everything else going on. Ducky said something about them, but they kind of got lost in the shuffle." He cursed. "I don't even know what's going on."
Sean explained what Jimmy had told him. "I don't know Abby all that well. Is he right?"
Gibbs leaned back against the workbench. "Aw, hell. I don't know." He frowned. "I think she should marry him if he's serious, but you're right, I'm a dinosaur. I'm always telling the team not to get married, just leads to alimony checks, but when it comes right down to it, I think if the girls are serious about somebody, they should marry him."
Sean chuckled. "Somehow, I don't think any of them would like it if you put it that way."
Gibbs shook his head. "No, they'd let me have it." He reached for his coffee mug and sipped. "I haven't seen Abby this content with anybody else, even Tim. Jimmy's good for her. Guess the question is whether she's good for Jimmy." He sipped more. "Not sure I know the answer to that."
"I told him he should really get this sorted out before they think about having kids, since even I've picked up on those comments," Sean said. He raised his eyebrows as Gibbs cursed. "Gibbs?"
"Just better hope it isn't too late," he said. "They passed the thinking stage..." He looked like he was thinking. "Almost a month ago."
Sean shook his head. "I don't want to know how you know that."
"Abs gave up caffeine," Gibbs said.
"She's not...?" Sean hesitated against saying it out loud.
Gibbs shook his head. "She said it was because they were trying, not because they had succeeded. That's the night I was pushing them about getting married. Figured if they were going to have kids, they should, but she talked me around. She always has a way of making me change my mind about things."
"Daughters can do that," Sean said, smiling. "Eileen's always tougher on Sarah than I am, and I'm tougher on Tim than she is."
"Yeah." Gibbs sipped more coffee.
"So if Abby is pregnant and she and Jimmy can't work it out?" Sean couldn't imagine how something like that would affect the close-knit team.
"Hell if I know," Gibbs said. "I had Rule 12 for a reason. I'm starting to remember why."
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When Abby walked in the apartment, she could see Jimmy's head over the back of the couch.
"Hey," she said. "I was wondering if I'd see you today." She dropped her bag and hung up her cape, unzipping her boots and padding over to see him. "I've missed you this week." She leaned in to kiss him.
"I've missed you too, Abs." He put his textbook down.
She curled up on the couch next to him. "I was just out with Sarah and Ziva." She made a face. "We've got a plan, to deal with Josh. It was Ziva's idea, but we don't want to tell Tony and Timmy, or Gibbs. They've got enough going on."
"Yeah, Abs, about that." He pulled away and turned so he was facing her. "You know how Tony and Tim were fighting?"
She nodded. "I'm glad they worked things out," she said. "Tony's dad coming to town was really bad timing." She made a face at the thought of Tony's father.
"This whole week was bad timing," Jimmy said. "Well, most of it. It got me thinking, though."
"Yeah, me too," Abby said. She thought about everything Sarah had said. "Josh has been hanging around the coffee shop getting in Sarah's way. We're trying to find a way to stop him before he gets stalker-like."
"He's not actually doing anything, though, is he?" Jimmy frowned.
Abby shook her head, her pigtails smacking her face. "Making Sarah sick with worrying about what he might do, which is totally not cool. She said she'd told Tony about it, but he said Metro couldn't do anything about it."
"Yeah, about Tony." Jimmy frowned. "Abs, you know how he and Tim were fighting last week?"
"What? They're not fighting again, are they? Because Josh has enough to answer for with all the stuff he's doing to Sarah and her failing her exams and getting sick and feeling like she can't be at work without him there is bad enough, but if he's got them fighting again after they finally got back on track, I might have to tell Gibbs about him so Gibbs can scare him because Gibbs can scare anybody and Josh hasn't met him yet, so Gibbs will be twice as scary." She stopped to take a breath.
"Abs, no, they're not fighting again. But-"
"Oh, good, because this was a bad week for them, and now that Tony's dad's gone and Sarah's still having Josh issues, they can't be fighting too because that's just too much going on and something's got to give and it can't be Tim and Tony, not after everything else, and-"
"Abby! Would you stop talking for a minute and listen to me?" Jimmy got up and shoved his hands in his pockets, pacing around the room. "I've been trying to talk to you all week, and you're not listening."
Abby stared at him. Jimmy, mad? Jimmy didn't get mad, not ever. "Jimmy?"
"Look, I know you're worried about Tony and Tim and Sarah and everybody else, but for once could you worry about us?" He stopped pacing and stood there, arms crossed. "Abby, I love your big heart and how you try and take care of everybody, but if you can't find time to listen to me, maybe I should just tell my landlord I'm renewing my lease."
Abby just stared. Where had this... "Jimmy, what are you talking about? You haven't been home all week, and now you're talking about not moving in. If you want to break up, just say it."
Jimmy cursed. "No, I don't want to break up. I'm just trying to get you to listen to me."
"So what, this is shock tactics? You've been watching Gibbs in interrogation? Whatever you have to say, I'm listening." She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them close. How had she missed what was going on?
Jimmy sank down on the arm of the couch and ran a hand through his hair, making the curls on top stick out. "I'm not even sure I know where to start." He sighed. "It's not a something, really. It's more a not-something."
"Jimmy, I know Gibbs has ESP, but I don't. Whatever it is, you're going to have to explain it." She hugged her legs tighter, feeling an ache in her heart like it would just fall out and shatter into pieces so small even McGee and all his experience rebuilding tiny circuit boards wouldn't be able to fix.
"When Tim and Tony were fighting, they both knew they were going to work it out because they each knew the other one wasn't going to give up on their marriage." He sighed. "And I wondered if we could say the same if we started fighting. And I wanted to ask, but I couldn't and then you were busy and you didn't seem to care that I wasn't staying here." He pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes. "Abby, I don't want to break up with you, but I do need to know that you're not going to walk away if things get rough, and I just... We haven't been together long enough. We can't know that yet."
Abby felt tears fill her eyes, and she struggled to keep them from spilling. She didn't want to guilt Jimmy into saying things were OK when they really weren't, and she knew if she started crying, he might say what she wanted to hear just to get her to stop. She swallowed, hard. When she thought she could speak without her voice shaking, she said, "Jimmy, I'm not going to leave. And I don't want you to leave." She swallowed. "But I don't want you to feel stuck either." She forced the words out of her mouth. "If you don't want to move in yet, I understand." She wrapped her arms as tight as they would go, hoping he would say yes, he wanted to move in, but knowing she couldn't ask that.
He stood and walked across the room, looking out the window. She wanted to go over, but wasn't sure she trusted herself to stand up. Finally he spoke. "I don't know, Abs. I really don't."
That night, as he lay sleeping next to her, his bleak tone replayed in her head, a loop that had her praying to all the saints she could think of that she hadn't just ruined the best thing that had happened to her in a long time.