Tim peered anxiously over his shoulder at the scene behind him from where he had hastily thrown himself as various bits of building seemed to launch themselves loudly at him. The scene was filled with an acrid burning plastic smell and billowing dark oily smoke poured up from what remained of his brief prison.

Wow. Ok so Ellie hadn't been kidding about blowing up the building. Perhaps he shouldn't make anymore wishes for a while since they seemed to come true in a strange sort of parody of what he was really after.

Heat to warm himself with. Yes. Exploding buildings. No.

Tim sighed as he sucked and slurped his way back up to a standing position. Yech now he was covered in freezing wet mud and leaves. Perfect.

Tony had survived being practically blown up and had stepped off that lift looking like James Bond. He on the other hand must look like a muddy bloody shoeless slightly singed Sasquatch. Perhaps he could scare any attackers away? Maybe there was a knack to it that came with practice?

Now if Ellie was still following her timeframe he should be dead anytime soon.

Blow up school. Check.

Kill NCIS Agent McGee and blame him for explosion. Working on it.

It was enough for Tim to quickly gather his disjointed thoughts and hurry off skirting the still flaming debris still scattered about, his frozen feet protesting the rough ground. And then he stopped at the sight of a kitchen knife wedged into the back of what might have been a child sized craft table. Or a blackened unicorn cut out. Or a large section of floorboards. It was a bit hard to tell.

Rule Nine: Never go anywhere without a knife.

Tim gingerly wiggled the long still warm blade out of its resting place and without any better option slid it under his belt. He might look ridiculous but Tim felt better at least having some sort of weapon on him. He might be a muddy bloody shoeless slightly singed Sasquatch looking thing but he was also a highly trained NCIS agent who was now armed.

Tim quickened his pace and was again thankful for the time Ziva had taken to show him how to throw a knife. When his first attempts had proven to be less than stellar she had taken him aside and arranged to show him one on one. He could remember her warm body curled around his as she tried to show him the correct position for the release, her eyes laughing as he hit the target with the handle causing it to skitter away, yet again.

Tim mentally took stock as he jogged carefully through the small park ducking further tree branches and searching for signs of habitation. It seemed that near death experiences did that to you. Cleared your mind in a way and showed you what was really important. Tim stated making a list.

He must remember to thank Ziva for the knife lessons and all the other things she had taken the time to show him when he was out of this mess. The last time he had seen her she had been sitting on his bed begging him to trust her. Asking him to trust her the way she trusted him. Damn she was beautiful. And then he had gotten scared and pushed away her dangerous questions by telling her he was having an affair with the Director. Tim promised himself he would make sure that Ziva knew that he did trust her. He trusted her with his life.

He knew Abby had been growing suspicious that something was up and he promised himself he would make his gradual withdrawal from their friendship over the last couple of months up to her. He had had to. She could always read him like a book and as things got more complicated he hadn't been able to risk her looking into his eyes and seeing the truth. Because then she would have asked him and he would have been forced to lie to her. And she would have known he had. So now no more secrets. No more lies and he would make it up to her even if it meant enough black roses and headless dolls and Brain Matter CD's and caff pows to send him broke.

And he needed to apologize to Tony for being so weird with him lately when he had only been trying to help. Tim knew with Tony what he could do to show that he cared and trusted him. He would let Tony drive the Porsche. He wouldn't even need to say anything. He would just offer to take Tony out for lunch somewhere nice and flick him the keys. Tony would understand. Tim couldn't keep the smile off his face at the thought of his friend and his joy at being allowed to drive his precious car.

That brought Tim around to Gibbs. Gibbs didn't take apologies so Tim wasn't quite sure what he should do when it came to Gibbs. It was all bound to come out into the open now and he would have to tell Gibbs that he hadn't been the one person he had chosen to trust with his secret. First Tony betrays Gibbs and then he does too? What could he say? That he would take that decision back if he could? Would things have turned out differently if he had? Would he give up the time he had spent with Jenny and the things he had learned about her and himself for the faith of the man who lead him?

Tim felt his own anxiety swirl around him in confusion. It had been Gibbs who had backed him when he had killed Benedict and Gibbs had even forgiven him for protecting Sarah and not bringing her in when she was a murder suspect. Gibbs had been the one to defend him against Jenny as she defended the Agency.

He had shaped his whole career as an Agent on being a man Gibbs would respect. Would Gibbs respect that he needed to do this? Alone? To prove to himself as much as to anyone else that he could handle it. Timothy McGee could handle playing with the Big Boys.

Tim sighed and hoped that when the time came Gibbs would understand. And forgive him.

Jenny. Director Shepard. Once this was all over he wouldn't have a reason to talk to her late into the night or feel his pulse race at the thought of slipping off for a secret meeting with her. To catch that odd secret smile as he left MTAC that seemed just for him. Could it ever go back to the way it was before when she was just Director Sheppard? Professional, distant, unapproachable? Could he clear his mind of the image of her mouth when she laughed or of how she smelled in the morning when she leaned close and brushed his arm with hers?

Did he care for her or was it really an exciting infatuation with a woman beautiful, dangerous and in a way forbidden to him? Did he love her enough to throw everything away and exist in her shadow? He had only just started to step out into the light and forge his own path through life could he now freely abandon it to follow hers? Would she let him?

Tim's anxious, jumbled thoughts were swept away by a realization as he saw a large shape loom up in the dark.

A house! Finally.

Tim hurried up the driveway and stepped up onto the porch. With a self conscious brush down of his ruined clothes and a smoothing down of his currently wild silky fringe Tim knocked firmly on the door.

Suddenly the door was flung open by a pretty woman dressed in a silk robe and slippers "Danny Oh my God did you hear that explosion! I knew you would come ove….."

With a frightened glance the woman took in Tim and his bedraggled state, who obviously wasn't the Danny she was expecting and with a terrified scream she slammed the door in his face.

Obviously the brush down to make himself presentable wasn't enough.

With a tired sigh Tim knocked politely on the door again and tried to look as non threatening as he could as he loomed over the doorway with the large kitchen knife sticking out of his belt and the blood drying on his wrists and cheek.

"Whoever you are go away! I will call the Police!" The woman shouted through the now solidly locked door.

"Actually that's exactly what I would like you to do…. Ah Miss. My name in Timothy McGee and I'm an NCIS agent. That's Navel Criminal Investigative Service. I was being … ahhhh held hostage and managed to escape the explosion you obviously heard a few minutes ago. If you could just call NCIS or get the police to I'm sure they would be grateful."

It felt strange to actually say to someone that he had been taken hostage. It made it seem more real somehow as if by sharing that knowledge it became a truth. As Tim stood in the cold darkness of early dawn in front of this very ordinary looking house hearing himself say words like hostage and explosion to a stranger he felt like he was in some sort of strange surreal play.

Ding Dong. Avon calling.

"If you're a Federal Agent where is your Identification?" The woman asked suspiciously from behind the door.

Tim tried not to roll his eyes as his patience began to wear thin. It wasn't her fault that he was hurting, cold, tired and hungry. And cold.

"I was drugged and taken from my apartment. My badge, wallet and gun are all still there. If you could please just call the police and let them know that I'm here. My name is Timothy McGee. N.C.I.S. I will step away from the door and just sit down over here for a minute."

Tim stepped away and sat on the steps sagging tiredly against the porch rail and ran his hands over his face, rubbing his itching eyes.

A nice hot shower. That's what he wanted to do first. Clean clothes. And then a nice hot meal. And then a nice warm bed. His bed. When all this was over and everyone was safe that's what he wanted to do.

The woman obviously considered her strange visitors story as she peered through the curtained glass beside the door before she disappeared, hopefully to call the police.

Thunk

Tim looked up with surprise at the sound and saw a mobile phone being pushed through a small window to land on the floor at the other end of the porch. He scrambled gratefully for it and grinning like an idiot thanked her profusely.

He could almost hear her shrug as she shouted at him from the other side of the door. "If you are who you say you are, then you need help…. And if you aren't then I have only lost a phone. And I already have a hell of a story to tell at Book Club next week."

"Thank you!" Tim called again before he sat back down and with trembling fingers called the first number he could think of.

It was busy. With a sigh Tim left Gibbs cell a message.

"Ahh Hi Boss! It's me. McGee. In case you didn't know I was taken from my apartment last night and… ok too much to explain now but I'm ok. I'm outside a house near the school that blew up. You probably have heard about that by now? I don't know the address and I… I'm using a cell that was leant to me so I don't know the number. Sorry not being very helpful so I will try and call someone else or will call back with more information"

"Um Excuse me?" Tim called tentatively

"Yes?" Responded the muffled voice

"Where am I? I need to know so they can come get me."

"218 Shenton Ave West. Make sure you tell them the West otherwise they could be driving around for ages" the disembodied voice helpfully replied

"Uh Ok thanks"

Tim tried Tony's cell. Also busy.

"Hey Tony this is McGee. I'm at 218 Shenton Ave WEST. Can you come and get me or if you're tied up can you send someone over? Long story. Hope to see you soon"

Tim considered the message and furrowed his brow. Stupid. Hope to see you soon? What was that? But what should he say? Hey you may or may not know but I was drugged and taken hostage last night. I managed to escape and now I'm God knows where and all I really want is to go home.

Maybe the team was busy searching for him? It was very early for both Tony and Gibbs to be on their phones. Tim punched in another number.

Abby sat and stared at the phone willing it to ring. Gibbs would ring any minute and tell her they found McGee safe and well. Any minute now. The hours had rolled past and Abby's eyes were red and swollen from the tears of anxiety that she had shed and impatiently wiped away. She sat on the ground in her lab leaning against the cupboards her arms wrapped around her bent knees with the phone on the floor beside her.

Ring!

Gibbs. Come on she needed to know!

Ring!

Abby glared at the phone as it refused to do her bidding. Gibbs would find him. She was his favorite and Timmy was hers (everyone knew that) so Gibbs would bring him to her. She knew it.

Ring Gibbs ring! Come on Gibbs!

When the phone suddenly rang and jumped across the hard floor Abby pounced on it as her adrenaline surged. Yeah! Come on Gibbs!

"Gibbs?"

"Hey Abby's it me"

Abby growled in frustration "Get off the phone McGee I'm waiting to hear from Gibbs and I have to keep the line free"

Abby shut the phone with an angry snap and then suddenly stared at the phone.

"Wait! McGee?"

Tim pouted in confusion as Abby hung up on him. An instant later the phone suddenly shrilled into life and Tim cautiously answered it.

"Hello?"

"McGee? McGee!!" Abby screamed in his ear and as he yanked the phone way to save his hearing he couldn't stop the smile on his face.

"Yeah hey Abb's" Tim tried to play it cool even as he grinned.

"Oh my God Timothy Don't you ever do that to me again! You were undercover? And working with the Director? She turned up to your apartment and they had already taken you and there is this joint FBI/NCIS thing and Fornell took them to some garden place but you weren't there but you probably know that already and then they went to some school and when they got there your whack job rogue CIA girlfriend, I knew something wasn't right with her the instant I met her, I mean my leather is cute what's with that? Anyway she blew the school up and it's being announced on the news already Agent Sacks had his leg broken and Tony had to carry him isn't that sweet and Tony said the Director is knocked out but should be ok I hope she is but I mean what would Tony know right and Tony well he was on the other phone before and they are getting ambulances and Ducky and Palmer are headed over and Ellie got away I was so worried don't you ever do that to me again do you hear me?"

Tim's head spun as Abby poured out her news in a rush.

"Uh Ok"

"That's all you have to say to me? Uh Ok?" Abby quickly turned from delighted to rather ticked off as the initial relief of finding Tim safe disappeared and left her exhausted.

"Sorry Abby. I'm just sort of absorbing it all. That's all. It's been a really weird morning"

"Oh my God your right. Are you ok?" Abby was back to being delighted he was alive and Tim was grateful.

Tim considered his aching stomach, his torn wrists, possible concussion and frozen extremities.

"Yeah Abby I'm fine. I'm going to go now though. If everyone is at the scene that means that I'm just across the park from them. So I'll see you soon Ok?"

Tim closed the phone and shook his head. Suck it up Princess. So it sounded like it might be a little while until they were able to come and rescue him. In fact it sounded like they were busy with their own injuries and problems. People who had come to rescue him now were hurt, Jenny was knocked out, they had a crime scene to secure, a fire to put out and a neighborhood to reassure for starters. And what had Abby said about Ellie?

So should he just wait for them? Tim considered that for a moment and then he straightened his back, sitting taller. No screw that. NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee could rescue himself.

And with that thought Tim waived to the woman still locked in her house, slid the phone across to the door and gingerly rather painfully started the walk back across to the smoking school to see his friends.

What should his first line be? Hi guys did you miss me? I just happened to be in the neighborhood? He wanted it to be something really cool like this sort of thing happened everyday. A funny thing happened on the way into work this morning?

Tim followed his own footsteps back through the light snow fall and grinned to himself knowing it would all soon be over.

(

(Again a big thank you to those reviewing and for hanging in there with me for holy cow 26 chapters! Can't believe it myself. Still more coming. Thank you. Precious)