Drifting towards wakefulness, Jethro became aware of the head tucked under his chin and the swell of a belly gently pressing against him. He smiled at the sensory memories as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Have a good sleep?"

At the softly whispered words, Gibbs looked over his shoulder to see the amused face of his father. "Yeah, I did."

It had been the barest of whispers in return, but Jack understood. "He sleeps a lot better with you next to him. That's some pretty powerful trust between you."

"Thanks." He couldn't explain exactly why, but having that level of trust from Tim pleased him on an emotional level. Out in the hallway, he could hear the squeak of a cart being pushed. He tracked the sound as it stopped in front of Kort's room and the muffled clang of silverware could be heard. With dinner approaching, he decided it was time to wake Tim up.

Not wanting McGee to awaken to his face looming over him, Gibbs backed up slightly and raised up, resting his chin on his supported fist. "Tim?"

Running his fingers up Tim's arm, Gibbs repeated his name and waited a moment. Sleepy green eyes opened and Tim smiled at him. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself. Food's coming, you ready to eat?"

"Yeah." Rubbing his face, Tim waited until Gibbs was sitting up on the edge of the bed before raising the bed into an upright position. Once he was sitting up, Gibbs reached across him and pulled the bed table over.

As per Dr. Hughes' orders, the nurse brought in three trays of food, carefully balanced. Jack stood and took one from her and she set the other two down on the bed table. There really wasn't enough room, so Gibbs helped her take the dishes off one of the trays so the trays could be stacked.

The three men ate in relative silence, even though Jack snickered at the sight of his son dutifully eating his vegetables. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at his father. "Got to set a good example."

"Sure, Leroy."

Tim wisely stayed out of it and when dinner was done and his evening medication taken, he eased himself off the bed to use the bathroom. Jack waited until Tim was on the other side of the closed door. "Abby was here earlier, brought you this."

Gibbs took the folder and opened it. A still from the video footage from the restaurant and an autopsy photo of the same man were tucked inside. When Tim returned from the bathroom, Gibbs casually laid it on a side table.

McGee waited until he was back in bed before he said anything. "Is that about the man that tried to kill me today?"

"Tim..."

"I'm pregnant, not helpless. I have a right to know who's after me, Jethro."

Gibbs had been hoping to put this conversation off until morning. "He won't come after you again, Tim."

"Because he's dead, I know." When Gibbs looked surprised that Tim knew about the fatality, despite his best efforts to avoid the subject, Tim explained. "Nobody had to tell me, I could see it on Dorneget's face. Since these aren't the kind of people that like to get their hands dirty, he was a hired gun, so his death hasn't really changed anything."

Jack snorted and thumped the floor with his cane. "I see the hormones haven't shut down his brain, Leroy."

Gibbs shot his father a dirty look before turning his attention to the man in the bed. "You shouldn't be worrying about it right now, Tim. Just concentrate on making sure you and the baby are all right."

"The baby is fine, I'm fine and I'll stop worrying when we get these guys – all of them." He held his hand out and waited.

"When did you get this stubborn?" Gibbs huffed as he handed over the folder.

"Had a good teacher." Tim was smiling, but didn't look up. Instead, he carefully studied the pictures. "I haven't seen this guy before, but there's something about the other one that's kinda familiar."

"Familiar, how?" Gibbs looked closer at the photo, the third man at the table was mostly in shadow, his hand blocking the camera's view of his face.

Clearly frustrated, Tim shook his head. "I don't know."

Gibbs encouraged him to lay down, drawing the blankets up to his shoulders as he did. "Don't push it for now. I'll have Abby see if there's a better shot of him in the video tomorrow."

"Are you leaving?"

"No." Gibbs bent close, cupping Tim's cheek with his hand. "I'm not leaving the unit, just going to talk to Kort for a minute, see if he recognizes our John Doe."

"Kort? He's here?" Something about that struck Tim as odd, but the mild sedative was doing its job and his eyes closed. Gibbs waited, rubbing his thumb against the soft skin until he knew Tim was fully asleep. Straightening, he nodded at his father before leaving with the folder.

-NCIS-

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

Vance looked up as he closed the file he was reading. "Ah, yes, Dorneget, come in and have a seat." He studied the awkward man as he folded himself into a chair. "Quite an exciting day for you."

"Yes, Sir." Ned waited, not knowing how much of a failure his first protection detail was considered.

Any protection detail that ended with all of his people basically all right and the bad guy dead was a success in Vance's book, but he had other concerns. "You came into possession of some very sensitive information today, Ned. Now, I know that I don't have to remind you about classified knowledge, but I do need to know about how you feel towards Agent McGee now that you are aware of his situation."

"Honestly, I think it's cool, Sir." Dorneget shifted in the chair and explained himself. "My family has always been very supportive of me, even when I first came out, but the one thing that broke my mother's heart was the idea that I wasn't going to give her grandchildren. I don't understand the details of how this happened to Agent McGee and I don't understand who these people are that are trying to kill him. I just know that someday, maybe by the time I find the right guy, this could be an option for us. Like I said, I think it's pretty cool, and I consider it an honor to help protect him, even if I didn't really do all that much."

-NCIS-

"You doing okay?" Gibbs stepped into the room, noting that Kort was awake, but had eaten little of his food.

Kort barely moved, just turned his head enough to see his guest. "They tell me I'll live, haven't decided if that's a good thing or not. How is McGee doing?"

"Sore, banged up a bit, but the internal injuries were minor and the baby is fine. I'll be able to take him home in a few days." Gibbs held up the folder. "You up to looking at a picture?"

"Yeah." Kort reached for the controls to turn on the overhead light and Gibbs could see the trembling in his hands. Not bringing attention to the other man's weakness, Gibbs held the photos so he could study them.

"He's a ghost and he met with Anderson, so we're figuring he's CIA." Gibbs waited as Kort studied the face.

"I might have seen him in Columbia a few years ago." Kort frowned as he tried to recall the details. "If I remember correctly, he was driving a truck for a group of insurgents."

Gibbs thought back to his own missions to Columbia. "He was training them?"

"I assume so, at least I can't imagine that they sent him down there just to drive a truck. Our missions didn't overlap, so we never spoke. He and his group provided us transport across the border."

It wasn't an absolute, but it was enough for Gibbs right now. "What about the other guy, do you recognize him?"

Kort squinted as he stared at the security image from the restaurant. "I wouldn't recognize myself in this picture, Gibbs. Tell me you've got a better shot."

"Nope, he knew where the cameras were. DiNozzo and David are still looking through the footage, but right now that's as good as we've got."

"You need to understand something, Gibbs. We're not like NCIS, our agency is huge and the men in charge of some of our more clandestine divisions are never seen by us mere mortals."

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of." Gibbs took back the folder as he turned to leave. "Get some rest, and – nice duds."

The ill man glared, knowing that the pink gown totally destroyed the effect. As soon as Gibbs left, a cheerful nurse bounced in with a new nursing gown, this one a pale lavender. "Hello, Mr. Kort, why don't I help you to the potty and then we can get you changed."

"Potty?" Out in the hallway, he could hear laughter. "I hate you, Gibbs."

-NCIS-

Gibbs woke bright and early, slipping into the bathroom without waking McGee. Once he was finished, he went to the nurse's station for a cup of coffee. Abby arrived just as he was taking his first sip. After a quick update on the lack of progress on the case and a promise that she would be back during her lunch to visit with Tim, Abby handed Gibbs a package for Kort.

"They poisoned him because he was trying to help McGee, Gibbs, this is the least we could do." A kiss to his cheek and she was out the door to finish processing their car so the repairs could begin.

Chuckling at the contents, Gibbs went into Kort's room to lay the bag on the table, using the light from the hallway to see. Despite his best intentions, Kort startled awake.

"Gibbs, that you?"

"Yeah, didn't mean to wake you." He held up the bag. "Just dropping this off. Abby picked up some pajama pants for you."

Now wide awake, Kort reached for the bag. "Miss Sciuto? Can I assume they're not navy blue flannel?"

A snort was his only answer.

"Let me guess, skulls?"

"Oh, no." Gibbs pulled them out of the bag with a grin. "Zombies." He tossed them to Kort, being careful not to tangle his IV line.

Kort shook his head. "You've got a strange crew, Gibbs." He waited until Gibbs was to the door. "Tell her thanks for me, okay?"

-NCIS-

"Hey, guys, why are we here so early?" Dorneget arrived in the bullpen and looked at Tony and Ziva.

She was packing a variety of weaponry into a duffel bag, so Tony explained. "FLETC only teaches you the basics. If you're going to be part of the protection detail for McGee, then it's time for some advanced training, starting with getting proficient using your off hand."

-NCIS-

Gibbs and his father went down to the cafeteria for breakfast, hoping to find a quiet corner so they could talk. Jack looked worried to be away from the secure unit. "You sure Tim's going to be all right on his own?"

"He's calling his mom this morning and Ducky stopping by on his way to the Yard."

Jack studied the hash browns and put them back for an order of pancakes. "How are his folks handling all this?"

Gibbs struggled to explain it without the details. "They're coming to terms with it. Slowly, very slowly."

"Not quite ready to be doting grandparents?" Jack had spent quite a few hours laying on a cot in the staff room, thinking about things.

"His mom's not too bad as long as she stands up to the old man." Gibbs waited until they had finished with the cashier and were sitting down. "His dad, well let's just say that he's more worried about what he's going to tell people than anything else. He was pleased that it's a boy, was already planning on his admittance to the Naval Academy. Wasn't real happy when Tim announced that he might grow up to be a jarhead like me. Also wasn't too happy when Tim told him that the baby would have my last name."

"Really?" Jack grinned at that. "So, he'll be a Gibbs. Any ideas on his first name yet?"

"He won't be a Leroy, I can tell you that."

Jack laughed, then turned serious. "I got an offer last week on the store. They're interested in buying the house, too. I was going to turn them down, but now... I've missed being a grandpa, son. This time around, I want to be around for him and for you. So, you figure out how close together we can be without killing each other and that's where I'm gonna settle."

Gibbs stared at his father for a long time, as if coming to some sort of decision. He'd never imagined his father giving up his home and a lifetime of friends to be close to him. Just as Jack was getting nervous, he nodded. "Next door neighbor is looking to sell and move to Florida. We could tear out the fence, make one big, joint, back yard."

A wide grin slowly spread across Jack's face as the offer sunk in. "Yeah? I'd like that, Leroy, I'd like that a lot."