Sorry, this is so late ... had a long day at work ... ugh! I won't ramble, too long.
I've had many of you ask if Tim is going to remember the trek through the underworld ... as of right now, no. This is something I didn't exactly spell out, so I will do that now ... Tim didn't even remember his first encounter with Death ... not until Death was standing right in front of him. It was buried in his soul & wasn't needed until that time. So, as of right now, Death doesn't need him to remember ... as of right now... (evil laugh).
Ok, enough torturing you ... enjoy the chapter ... only one more to go!
The next day, Penny brought Sarah. The young woman stared at her brother as if she had never seen him before.
Tim smiled at her. "Hi, Sarah. How are you doing?"
She didn't say a word. She shuffled her feet and slowly made her way to her brother. Unlike Penny, she never gained speed. Although, she sat down on the edge of Tim's bed just like her grandmother had done.
She looked at Tim and then hit him in the chest, then again and again ... until she had worked herself into a frenzy.
Gibbs was the one still keeping watch over Tim. He was instantly angry and took a step to pull Sarah off of her brother.
Penny put her arm in front of him, stopping Gibbs' advance.
When he glared at her, she smiled back. "Just wait."
Tim stoically sat there, letting his sister whump on him. He rode it out, waiting for her to lose steam.
Her strikes slowed down, then stopped. She sat still for just a second, then burst into tears.
Tim reached out and pulled her into a hug and slowly rubbed her back.
She curled her legs up and tried to snuggle as close as she could into her brother. She suddenly look like a small girl. "Don't you ever leave me again, Timothy McGee. Do you hear me?"
"I will do my best."
Sarah pulled away and stared him right in the eyes. "That's not good enough!"
"Sarah ..."
"No!"
Tim pulled her back into a hug. "I will do everything in my power to always be here for you." He looked over to Gibbs for permission before continuing.
He knew what his youngest wanted and nodded towards him.
"And if something was ever to happen to me where I couldn't come back, my team is here for you too. You know that, right?"
"It's not the same. They're not you."
Tim stroked her hair. "No, but they're family." Tim started rocking her.
Sarah grabbed onto the front of his shirt. She took in his feel, his smell, the sound of his heart beat. She allowed herself to relax and be lulled to sleep, something she had not done since she was small.
Penny smiled and looked up at Gibbs. "See."
He stood down and got his rage under control. He looked down to Penny, then nodded. "Fine, but we've got to do something about the hitting."
Penny turned back to her grandchildren. "I will talk to her about it. She's always been ... high strung."
Gibbs snorted. "And then some."
XXXX
Two days later, Tim's father showed up.
Gibbs met him and Penny at the hospital entrance. He stared down the man who had turned his back on Tim time and time again. There was no love lost in the look he gave the Admiral. "Did she tell you the rules?"
"Yes."
"Good. So we're clear?"
"We're clear."
"Fine. Follow me."
The trio walked quietly through the bustling hospital hallways.
Gibbs had told Tony and Ziva to hang back today. Since none of them knew how this was going to go, if it went badly, Gibbs knew he would be in a rage and would need their objectivity to get his head back on straight again.
When they reached Tim's door, he turned to Vic and Penny. "Wait here until I tell you it is okay to come in."
They both nodded their agreement.
Gibbs turned away from them, knocked on the door and entered the hospital room.
Tim looked up as his boss entered and sat up in the bed. "Hey, Boss. What's the plan for today?"
Gibbs came over and sat on the edge of the bed. "There is someone that wants to see you, but I want you to know that you can say no."
Tim looked at him quizzically. "Who is it?"
"It's your father."
The color drain from Tim's face. "He's here?"
"Yup, right outside your door. But, I can and will turn him away. All you have to do is say so."
Tim swallowed and then thought about everything that could possibly happen.
Gibbs saw and felt the internal debate raging. He wasn't going to push, this had to be Tim's decision.
Tim looked up at his team leader. "Will ... will you stay?"
Gibbs smiled at the trust. It was his plan to stay anyway, but to have Tim actually ask, made his heart swell with pride. "Of course."
"Okay, then. He can come in."
Gibbs smiled, patted Tim's knee, then stood and went to the door. He schooled his features before opening it, wanting to wear his best 'don't mess with me' face. "You can come in."
Vic, walked in with purposeful strides, stopping at the foot of his son's bed. "You're looking good."
"Thank you, sir."
"Have they figured out what happened?"
"Not yet."
Vic huffed a laugh. "Doctors. They make you think they know everything, but their as much in the dark as we are."
A small smile tugged at the corners of Tim's mouth. He could tell his father was trying to extend the olive branch. He decided to reach for it too, one last time. "I couldn't agree more."
"How soon before you get out of here?"
"Another couple of weeks."
"Then you'll be home ... alone?"
Tim shook his head. "Not quiet ready to be on my own yet."
"Do you have someone lined up to help you?"
Tim looked over to Gibbs and smiled. "Yes, sir. All the arrangements have been made."
Vic followed his son's gaze to Gibbs, then turned back. "Good, that's good." Then he couldn't figure out anything else to say. He had tons of subjects he wanted to discuss, he just didn't know how to start.
Tim seemed to be hit by the same feeling, not sure how to proceed. The room feel into an uncomfortable silence.
Vic was the one who decided it was time to end the visit. "Well, I've been told that you've had your PT for the day, so I'm guessing your pretty tired."
Tim sagged and suddenly felt as if he was being crushed. "Yeah, I guess I am."
"That's okay, son. I'll take my leave. See you soon." The last sentence was made as a statement, but the tone was that of a question.
"Yeah, I'd like that, sir."
Vic nodded, turned and left.
Penny smiled, but didn't say anything to her grandson. Instead, she winked at him, then quickly followed her son out the door.
Gibbs went back over to Tim and once again sat on the edge of his bed. "You okay?"
Tim melted into the bed and closed his eyes. "I ... I think so. I was just so wound tight ... thinking he would start a fight or something. I've never seen him so ... emotional."
"That's emotional?"
Tim laughed and opened his eyes. He turned his head to look at Gibbs. "For him it is." He smiled wider. "Thanks Boss."
"For what?"
"For not letting me going through that alone."
Gibbs leaned forward and put his hand on Tim's shoulder. "You're never alone."
With the exhaustion from the physical therapy and the emotional stress, Tim quickly fell asleep.
Gibbs smiled at his youngest boy and leaned in close, his mouth nearly touching Tim's ear. "You will never have to go through anything alone ever again. I swear on my life."
XXXX
Tim's father showed up everyday. He stayed only a few minutes each time ... and Gibbs was always there. He never interfered with the visits, but he was always ready to step in if needed.
Also, everyday Tim pleaded his case to be allowed to be discharged early. However, if it wasn't a doctor telling him no, it was Gibbs.
The doctors were afraid of a relapse.
Gibbs just didn't want Tim to push too hard, feeling that the kid had more than earned the right to take things easy.
The entire team had pulled together to get Gibbs' house ready to be Tim's temporary home. Each adding their own unique idea to the place. For Gibbs, the place finally felt like a home again ... a feeling he hadn't truly had since he lost his wife and child.
XXXX
Finally the day had arrived, Gibbs strode into the hospital with a bounce in his step, ready to bring his boy home.
As he got closer to Tim's room, he noticed the door was open and he could hear voices. He was immediately angry. He was ready to charge into the room and throw out the offender. However, he could tell that Tim wasn't stressed or upset, so he decided not to burst in like a grizzly bear ... but he would listen. He drew close and stayed out of sight.
"I'm glad you came by today."
"Well, son, I'm glad you asked. Although, I don't know if your handler is going to be happy about this."
Tim laughed again. "Don't worry, I'll explain it to Gibbs. Rule number eighteen."
"What?"
"It's better to seek forgiveness than ask for permission." Gibbs smiled and mouthed it as Tim spoke it out loud.
There was an awkward pause. "I'm glad that he is there for you in a way that I haven't been."
"Why?"
"That's a loaded question."
"Why weren't you ... I mean you could have ... did you want ..."
"To be a father? At the time, no, I wasn't ready for a family ... had my eyes on my career. That's all I cared about."
"For a long time."
The Admiral sighed. "Yes, for far too long. It wasn't until we almost lost you in that car accident that I realized ... Anyway, by that time, you'd decided that my opinion of you didn't really matter ... and I just didn't know how to bridge that gap."
"Sir, will all due respect, you could have come to my graduation ... any one of the four of them. You could have wished me luck becoming part of NCIS, could have offered advise on how to deal with combat situations ... something, anything." Tim's voice was strained with emotion by the time he finished.
Gibbs was ready to go in, but something held him back.
Vic sighed. "You're right. I found reason after reason that I shouldn't be there."
"Do you remember the last time we talked?"
Vic softly chucked. "I wouldn't really call it talking. You told us you were being stationed in DC. As I remember, Penny and Sarah were ecstatic and it's what made Sarah's mind up about where she wanted to go to college."
"And I remember you didn't say anything. Not good, not bad, just nothing. What did you feel Dad?"
"Tim ..."
"Please. I need to know."
The room was silent again. Gibbs started to move to break up the awkward moment, but stopped again when Vic started speaking.
"I wanted to be happy for you, but I thought you deserved better. Thought you should be in Naval R and D."
"You didn't think I belonged out in the field with the real investigators." Tim said it as a statement, with very little emotion.
"Well ... yes and no."
"What does that mean?"
Vic sighed. "I had come to realize that you could do anything that you wanted, but your real talent is you mind ..."
"Dad ..."
"No, no ... hear me out. I don't mean that as a put down. I just thought there were places where your talent would be better appreciated. You can look at something differently and it puts your team on the right track, you know just where to look to find hidden information. You're a wonderful addition to any team."
Gibbs stood shocked and he could feel how shocked Tim was as well.
"How do you know what I contribute to my team?" A trace of amusement played in Tim's voice.
"I'm an Admiral ... I have my ways." Vic's tone matched Tim's. There was another long pause. "Listen, I know that it's too late be your father ... but I'd like it if we weren't strangers anymore."
"Yeah, I'd like that too."
Gibbs decided it was time to peek into the room. He saw Vic shaking hands with Tim. Tim was wearing a huge, bright smile. As he watched, Tim started to get the outline of glowing light. It became focused at their combined hands and then transferred to the Admiral. It was just like when Tim had transferred his light to Tony.
Vic didn't react at all ... so Gibbs figured the Admiral couldn't see it, and that the only reason Gibbs could was because of the journey he had experienced.
When the two released hands, Vic backed up a couple of steps. "Well, I better get going. You make sure to stay in touch."
"You too."
The Admiral nodded, turn around and walked out. He was almost to the elevators when he felt a presence behind him. He took a deep breath and turned around. "Gibbs."
Gibbs eyed Vic warily. "I thought I told you that I had to be present."
"Talk to my son. It was his idea."
Gibbs didn't break eye contact but took a step closer to Vic. "That's why I'm gonna let it slide, this time."
Instead of being intimidated, Vic mouth quirked into a small smile. "I'm glad he has someone like you in his corner." It was his turn to study Gibbs. "You were right, you know ... about not pulling the plug on him ... you ..."
Gibbs understood exactly what the Admiral was trying to say. "Why didn't you fill that roll? I'd be proud to call him my son."
Vic shrugged. "I don't know. Just wasn't ready, I guess."
"That's not good enough. He could have ended up any which way of bad, but he didn't. He stayed a decent person and became one hell of an agent."
Vic sagged and looked past Gibbs, lost in his own thoughts for a moment before speaking. "I resented him. When I say I wasn't ready to be a father, I mean I wasn't even ready to be a husband. Barb and I were only casually dating, one day she shows up and tells me she's pregnant. I wanted to deny it, but I was worried what would happen if any type of rumor got out, so I married her quickly and quietly. I ended up missing a very important deployment, which made me even angrier. I felt like I was losing everything I had worked so hard for."
He became silent again, trying to work out everything he was feeling: shame, remorse, loss. "As soon as I could, I ran. Took every deployment I could and didn't look back. I couldn't have cared less what happened to Barb or Tim ... all I wanted was my career back. The few times I was home, Tim was this sickly, geeky child ... not the kind of kid I wanted at all, which made me resent him even more." He paused, then in a quieter voice, he continued. "Then he had his accident and it finally dawned on me what I could have lost, but by then, he wasn't really interested ... not that I blame him."
Gibbs was fuming, clenching his fists. "What, you finally decide that you want to be 'Daddy' and he's just supposed to respond!"
"No! It ... I just ... I don't know, it was like some veil had lifted, or a floodgate had opened and all the feelings I had denied threatened to overwhelm me! I didn't know how to cope or how to fix what I had broken ..."
"If you feel that way, why where you so insistent that we pull the plug?"
Vic visibly deflated. "I just couldn't imagine my son ... watch him waste away ..."
"You were scared?"
"Yes." Vic answered in a breathy whisper.
Gibbs took a step back, his eyes still icy. "So why try now?"
"I know that I can't be his father, he found someone to fill that roll ... I just don't want to be a stranger to him any more." He found his fire again and lifted his eyes to once again met Gibbs'. "And if that's okay with him, then it should be okay with you."
Gibbs let his voice drop so that only Victor could hear him. "For his sake, I will let you to be a part of his life. But, don't get me wrong, if you ever hurt him, not only will you be answering to me, it will be the last time you ever lay eyes on him."
The two men just stared at each other, until finally the Admiral nodded. Behind him, the elevator opened. Without another word, he turned from Gibbs and enter it. He turned back and kept eye contact until the closing of the doors severed it for them.
Now don't everyone get up in arms about Gibbs not laying the smack-down on senior McGee ... there are clues throughout as why he didn't ... even if he doesn't realize it on a conscious level yet. Go back and reread before any of you ream me out (in a loving way! lol).
