Chapter 25

The wheels touched down, jolting Tim painfully awake. He was extremely groggy.

"Where are we?"

"We just touched down for the last time, Probie," Tony said.

Tim struggled to get rid of the cobwebs in his head.

"Last time? When was the first time?" he mumbled.

"You were asleep, Timothy."

Tim yawned. "Oh."

"How are you feeling?" Ziva asked.

"Tired...hurt...okay..." Tim felt his eyes slip closed again.

"Just relax, McGee. We're safely landed."

Tim tried to wake up, but he felt himself pulled back toward sleep. That's what relaxation was going to do to him.

"Tired," he said again.

"You can sleep. It'll be fine."

"Okay..." Tim trusted whoever had said that...since he was more than halfway to sleep anyway.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Man, Ducky," Tony said. "What's in those pills?"

Ducky smiled. "Powerful pain relievers which have a side effect of causing drowsiness. Given how worn out Timothy has been, it does not surprise me in the least that he has slept during this trip. He has been in definite need of rest. Real rest. He knows he is safe in the air at least."

Indeed, Tim had remained asleep almost the entire flight, waking only twice. During his brief moments of waking, they had got him to eat and then take more of the pills...after which he had promptly fallen asleep again. The flight from Riyadh to Jackson Hole was long, nearly a full day with layovers and refueling.

"We'll be taxiing for a few minutes. A couple of other private planes just landed and we're not advertising where we're from. Just sit tight."

By the time they were in a position to disembark, Tim was still asleep. Ducky sat beside him and shook him gently.

"Timothy, it's time to go."

Again, they watched as Tim struggled back toward consciousness. This time, he managed to wake up enough to yawn. He looked sleepily at them all.

"I feel like I could sleep forever," he mumbled.

"Well, it's time to get off the plane, McGee," Tony said. "Can you stay awake for that?"

A slight shadow. "If you're going to move me, then I'll be awake."

"Only for a moment and we're in no rush this time," Ducky promised. "I can't guarantee no pain at all, but we have plenty of time to make you as comfortable as possible."

Tim nodded, but he was now more awake...anticipating the pain.

"So...where are we?" he asked, finally.

"Right now, we're in Wyoming," Tony said, "but we'll be in Idaho in a few hours."

"Idaho? Don't think I've been there."

"Neither have I," Ziva said. "Not much call to come to a place like this."

Tim smiled a little. "You never know."

Then, came the moment Tim had been dreading. Movement. Getting him off the plane and into the car.

"Here we go," Tony said as Gibbs carried a wheelchair onto the plane. "Your chariot."

Tim grimaced and nodded. Ducky and Tony helped him out of his seat and to the chair. Then, he was lifted as carefully as possible out of the plane. The pilot and Gibbs helped this time. Tim was jostled painfully once, but after that, it was fairly smooth. They got him into the car, talked to the pilots and then left the airport, heading for the Jackson Hole hospital.

"What are we telling them?" Tim asked.

"Serious injury. Apparently, we've already got one of the doctors to agree to make house calls."

Tim reached out and grabbed Gibbs' arm.

"Boss, how are you doing all this?"

"You'll see. Later."

Tim didn't like the sound of that...but at the moment, he knew that he wasn't being given a choice. He tried not to think about it. The trip to the hospital was uneventful. The doctor gave Tim a thorough examination...and didn't ask any questions about the source of Tim's injuries. Someone had already informed him of what he needed to know. He decided that it would be best to wait for a couple more weeks before deciding on whether or not surgery would be necessary. In the meantime, he'd give Tim physical therapy to help stimulate the healing of his nerves. They scheduled a time for him to come and Gibbs gave the address. Before they left Jackson, they also stopped to see an eye doctor who told them that Tim's eye would have to heal more before they could be sure on what correction he'd need. That was what Dr. Khouri had told them; so they loaded Tim back into the car and they headed over Jackson Pass and into Idaho. It wasn't a long trip, but Tim fell asleep again, in spite of his best efforts. The lingering effects of the pain pills he'd been given meant that he was still feeling extremely groggy.

It was Tony's exclamation of surprise that woke him up as they reached the house.

"Whoa...Boss, this is...nice."

Tim opened his eyes and struggled to sit up. He looked out the window as the car came around a last curve. There was only one house up there...on top of a hill, with a picture-perfect view of the mountains on one side and the valley spreading out below them on the other.

"It is quite lovely," Ducky agreed. "A beautiful place for healing."

Tim's view was slightly blurry because of his eye, but even he could see that this was a crazy nice house. Unless this farming valley suddenly became a home for high rise apartment buildings (unlikely in the next century or more), no one would ever be able to block the perfect view this house had.

"How did you...get this house?" Tim asked.

"I've got connections," Gibbs said. "Let's get you inside."

Tim didn't like the feeling he was getting from Gibbs' continual evasions, but he nodded.

"Okay." He gritted his teeth as they lifted him out of the car and back into the wheelchair. He looked to the east as they rolled him toward the door. There was an amazing vista...after the sandy browns and oranges and yellows of Saudi Arabia, it was lovely to see the blue and greens...and the gray, rocky heights of the mountains. It was almost enough to distract him from the throbbing in his feet, the dull ache in his arm, and the weird feeling in his face from the surgical repairs.

As they came into the house, his mind was distracted from the amazing view by the lovely decor and tasteful furnishings. It wasn't gaudy, nor spartan. It was meant to be comfortable.

"Wow. I'm sold," Tony said. "I'll definitely stay here."

"Not for now, you won't," Gibbs said.

"Huh?"

Gibbs smiled. "If you're the one sticking around here, you're the one people are going to see. Go and find someplace to get groceries. We passed through a couple of towns on our way."

Tony opened his mouth to protest but then closed it quickly and nodded.

"On it, Boss. Any preferences, Probie?"

Tim shook his head but didn't speak. He was really worried about how in the world they were able to stay here.

"All right. Be back in a flash."

He maintained a light tone, but Tim could see that he was a bit uncomfortable. So was he, to tell the truth. The prospect of weeks and weeks in this house...with only Tony? That could end badly. Neither of them had ever spent so much time in each other's company...and with Tony feeling like he had to make up for things still? This could be bad.

There was a long silence after Tony left. Tim was facing one of the many many windows in the house. It seemed like there wasn't a room in the house that didn't have an amazing view. He sensed someone coming up behind him and he stiffened until he felt Ziva's hand on his arm.

"It is beautiful here," she said softly.

"Yeah."

"Will you be all right?"

Tim thought about that question. It was more complicated than it seemed at first. Living in this house? He'd probably be fine for as long as he stayed here. Even his well-developed paranoia had to give way to the fact that it was highly unlikely that anyone would think to look for him here...in Idaho. All right in general terms? In terms of his future life? He couldn't imagine that he would be. He could no longer fathom a world in which he'd ever feel safe. Just hearing Ziva walk up behind him had frightened him for a moment...and logically, he knew it was impossible that someone could be coming after him at that moment. Beside which...would the world itself be all right with Tim McGee living in it? ...and again, he couldn't fathom a positive answer to that question. Would he be all right?

"I don't know," he said softly. "I really don't know."

Ziva leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "We will be staying here for a few days while you get settled in here, but then we will have to leave. We will not even tell Director Shephard where you are."

"You could get in trouble for it."

"That does not matter." Ziva came around and crouched down in front of him. "You have lost a lot, McGee. You have given up so much for people who will never know what you have done. You have given up a lot for me...for Tony. Any trouble we might face will be worth facing if it keeps you safe."

"Will it?" Tim asked. "Will it really?"

"Forever? Probably not," Ziva said. "But speaking from my own experience, you will likely be safe here for quite some time."

Tim swallowed hard and nodded. He was suddenly possessed of a strong desire to start sobbing. He took a breath and let it out quickly. The exhalation was accompanied a soft whimper he couldn't suppress. Ziva said nothing, but she leaned forward and hugged him. Tim didn't cry, but a few tears escaped his control, leaving wet spots on Ziva's shoulder. When he had mastered the desire, he pulled back and turned his head, looking for Gibbs.

"Boss?" he said, knowing that his voice sounded shaky at best.

"Yeah?"

Gibbs walked over so that Tim didn't have to crane his neck to see him.

"How is this possible? How is it that you can get this house, that I can stay here indefinitely, that there's a doctor willing to drive over the mountain to make a house call? How?"

Gibbs met his gaze without flinching.

"McGee...I'm not going to tell you right now."

"But..."

Gibbs raised his hand. "I'm not going to lie to you, but for now, you don't need to know how I did this."

"What did you have to give up?" Tim asked, now really afraid.

"Nothing...except maybe a bit of my pride," Gibbs said with a slight smile. "I promise, McGee. I gave up nothing. I promised nothing to anyone. I didn't sacrifice anything to get this for you. I swear."

"Then, why won't you tell me?"

"Because it doesn't matter right now. Later, I'll tell you, but not now."

"Why?"

Gibbs leaned over. "Trust me, McGee. Just this once. Trust me."

Tim looked Gibbs in the eye, searching for any sign, no matter how slight, that would show something more going on. He saw nothing. He had asked Gibbs to trust him before. Now, it looked as though he would have to return the favor.

"Okay, Boss. I'll trust you."

"Good. Now, let's get you settled in here...and see what there is in this monstrosity."

Tim allowed himself to be directed to other things, but he couldn't forget what Gibbs had so carefully not said. Ducky knew. Tim could tell by how the M.E. kept glancing at Gibbs while they toured the house. Did Tony and Ziva know? Tim couldn't tell because they weren't getting involved in the discussion at all. It could easily be that they'd already asked Gibbs and got no answer. ...or they could know and agreed with the need for secrecy.

Tim took a deep breath and tried to relax. He did trust them all to a certain extent. He did believe that they wanted him to be safe. It was all a matter of whether or not they actually could do that. Could they?

As they wheeled him carefully out onto the deck which faced the Rocky Mountains, Tim tried to stop worrying about it, tried to stop looking around for someone watching him, for someone who would hurt him again. He tried to focus on what he could see.

The mountains were beautiful.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Now, I want to make one thing absolutely clear. There can be no trace of your surveillance. None."

Carew didn't often brief the CIA teams that went out. He had a lot of people to manage and there was a reason he had subordinates...but he had a personal interest in this and so he had to make sure that they understood that a screw up would not be tolerated.

"You will not be watching an expert spy. Your target is a lot more observant. You will be watching over a man who fears and loathes being watched more than anything else in the world. You will be protecting a man who has no interest in being protected by us. He will be constantly searching, even without knowing it, for someone watching him. If you are discovered, if I receive even one call of complaint about you, you'll be fired."

"Why is this man so important?"

"Because others have made him that way. His importance would be negligible if it wasn't for the fact that other people think he must be important. We have the responsibility to make sure that no one, and that includes our sister agencies, no one finds him and takes him away. You have the list of people who are to be passed through, and you will find that locals will probably make a few trips up that way. I am leaving it to your discretion to discern who is allowed and who is not...but do not make a mistake. Understood?"

A nod. Nothing more. Whether they really understood or not, whether they agreed with his priorities or not, they would obey. He had learned his lesson in relying on records...a lesson that had led to the murder of his own son. These were people he knew he could trust...and in his world, trust was only reluctantly given.

As they walked out, Carew smiled to himself. Tim wouldn't appreciate it, but he was getting the absolute best protection that could be offered by the CIA. No one in the world, perhaps not even the President, was safer than he would be.

No, Tim wouldn't care about that, but Carew did and he would sleep more easily knowing that this team was watching over him.