Chapter 34

Rachel watched as Tim sat nervously on a chair. He was looking around the room with more than a little trepidation.

"How are you feeling, Tim?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said. "Not right."

"Why not?"

"It doesn't make any sense."

"Tell me," Rachel said, trying to encourage him to open up.

"I don't really...know where I am. I mean...I know. I didn't forget leaving and coming here. I learned geography and all that, but...I feel like..."

Tim sighed as he tried to find words for his feeling. Rachel didn't push him, but she didn't help him, either. She didn't want to manipulate his emotions by saying what she thought he was feeling. There was value in the struggle itself.

"I feel like...I'm nowhere."

Rachel waited to see if he'd say more.

"I'm afraid of being here."

"What scares you?"

"I don't know what to expect," Tim said. "I don't really...know these people. I barely know you. I do appreciate that...that you're all trying to help me, but this is all so different, and what I had before wasn't great, don't get me wrong, but at least, I knew it. I knew what to expect. It was all bad, but I still knew. Now, I don't know, and I don't feel like I can be...confident that anything will be good."

"You shouldn't count on everything being good, but you can count on some things being good."

Tim looked at her.

"You still haven't asked me about what I told Agent Gibbs."

"Do you want me to?"

"I just don't understand why you haven't."

Rachel smiled. "Because you have already had a lot to deal with that has to do with Mary's death. I don't need you to overload yourself unless you think you're ready for it." She paused. "Are you?"

Tim looked down.

"You don't always have to feel overwhelmed, Tim. Most people don't have that feeling all the time. Let yourself accept that some things might get better."

"And when that's wrong?" Tim asked.

"It doesn't have to be."

"What's going to happen?"

"Tonight, you'll be staying with Agent Gibbs."

"Doesn't that seem weird?"

"I can see that it does to you. Why?"

"Because he doesn't know me. Not really. I'm just part of a case. Why would he do all this?"

"Because he thinks it's worth it to try, no matter how awkward it might be."

"For how long, though? How long before he gets tired of it or he decides that it's better to kick me out? How long until he decides that his life would be a lot easier if I wasn't in it?"

Something about the way Tim said that made Rachel think that he was quoting someone.

"Has someone told you that, Tim?"

Tim looked away again, a sure sign that, exact quote or not, Tim was expressing something he believed someone felt about him or something he had heard from someone. Given the attitudes of people in Hazard, she wouldn't be surprised if someone had been callous enough to say that to him.

"How much longer will they be?" he asked.

"I don't know. It could be a while."

"Do I have to talk to you until they're done?"

Rachel suppressed a smile at the question, even if she didn't blame him for not wanting to deal with all this for a long period.

"No. Not at all. Would you like to be done for now?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Do you have...a pencil?"

"I don't, but I'm sure I can find one for you, Tim. I'll be right back. Now, because this is a government building, you're not allowed to wander around on your own. You'll need to stay in here until they're done or let them know that you want to walk around. Otherwise, just relax."

Tim nodded, although she questioned that he'd really be able to relax. Tim was stressed and worried. He wasn't going to be relaxed for days, most likely. Maybe longer.

Rachel found a pencil and brought it back to Tim. He pulled out the two pages he had kept from his sketchpad and turned one over to start a new drawing. Rachel watched him for a moment, wanting to ask what he was drawing this time, but instead, she decided to let him have some time alone.

She went back to the bullpen and saw the team all talking intently.

"What have you figured out?" she asked.

"That the sheriff has no alibi for the night Mary was killed," Kate said. "That he was paying Margaret McGee for sex when she first moved to Hazard."

"And that Mary was afraid the sheriff was going to hurt her," Tony added.

Rachel blinked in surprise. "Wow. How did you get all that?"

"Talking to Stan, a contract in the McGee home, corroboration from Ned Dorneget's mother and Mary's diary."

"So what happens, now?"

"Now, we figure out how to make the sheriff admit it," Kate said. "Everything we learn about him shows someone who has little control over himself. I wouldn't be surprised if he could be goaded into saying something."

"You're probably right, but he's also smart enough to keep everything hidden. He has for years."

"How's Tim?" Tony asked.

"Afraid and uncertain. He doesn't feel any security in his position here. It's completely new and he doesn't have anyone he really knows well. He has no reason to trust any of us, not all the way. The longer he goes without having something going wrong, the more he'll be willing to trust. I think he wants to, but he doesn't know how to let himself after so many disappointments." Rachel looked at Gibbs. "And if you don't have to stay late, I think you should get him out of here because this is so outside his realm of experience that he doesn't know what to do about it."

Gibbs only nodded, not that Rachel expected any more than that from him.

"I've left him drawing in the conference room. If you don't have any other use for me, I'm going to head home."

"Go ahead."

"You want me back tomorrow?"

Another nod.

"Okay."

Rachel left them to their work and drove home, thinking about Tim's situation. It had changed radically in very little time, and she'd be surprised if he managed to remain calm about it. Gibbs was more than capable of helping when needed. It was just a matter of whether or not he'd taken her warning seriously.

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

Stan looked at his list of people. He wasn't looking forward to it. He still had a headache, and there was enough uncertainty in Hazard right now that he little relished upsetting anyone. However, Tim was no longer here. They had already destroyed the only thing of worth he owned. Ducky's home had been damaged and Ducky himself was in the hospital. He still hated all that had happened. Before this, he would never have thought that the people in Hazard would be so violent. One reason for that was their general lack of urgency when it came to anything. They weren't lazy so much as content with what they had.

At the same time, he couldn't forget what Gibbs had said. For some people Hazard had always been wrong.

Really, just one person.

Tim McGee.

Determined now, Stan slid the list of people he wanted to ask about Sheriff Drake to the side. It was important to find out if there was anything to Gibbs' suspicions, but he wanted to let the people of Hazard know just how wrong they had been. Even those who had done nothing were generally complicit. Oh, there were people like Ned and even Stan himself who had not held Tim's strangeness against him, but even they had done nothing to make Tim's life easier, and it probably would have been relatively easy to do. When everything was bad, even the slightest bit of good would have made things better.

He turned to his computer and opened up a word processor. Hazard didn't have a regular newspaper as such. Their newspaper was regional, but it was common to spread news around via flyers, and Stan was going to do that. He'd get Rudy in the post office to distribute it on his route. Everyone would see it. They may not choose to accept it, but he didn't care about that.

I have to do something to make up for what I haven't done.

Tim would likely never come back here. There was nothing to keep him here, and he certainly hadn't enjoyed his time living here. That didn't matter. What mattered was letting people know how bad this had become. They couldn't learn from it unless they acknowledged that it had happened. Nodding to himself, Stan started to type. He wasn't the most eloquent guy, but he knew how to be blunt.

To Whom It May Concern (and that means everyone):

Over the last few days, Hazard has been in a state of upheaval, with the murder of Mary Fields being the catalyst. Many in this town have laid the blame on Tim McGee. A group of you even took it upon yourselves to destroy his home. Another tried to kill him while he was in Ducky's house, leading to Ducky himself being injured and his house damaged. Each of these things is a crime.

This is all wrong, and you all know it. Whether you participated in any of these events or not, you have been complicit in the attitude that led to this being accepted.

All of you know that I am not originally from Hazard. One of the reasons I wanted to be here was because of the people I have come to know. I would never have thought that the good people of this town would be involved so much casual cruelty. It is shocking and disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

I can't completely excuse myself because I am guilty of letting things remain as they were when I came. Tim McGee has done nothing to anyone in this town. His only crime was being different. Perhaps his differences are extreme, but even so, he did not hurt anyone. He never asked for help. He never came where he was not wanted. And yet, he was treated as if he was lower than dirt. This is shameful, something that none of us should have accepted and yet all of us did.

At this point, Sheriff Drake has been arrested for assault. He tried to kill me. He will also be charged with stalking Mary Fields. His son, Alan, has also been arrested for attempting to kill Tim McGee and for assault on Ducky. I have not yet found out who burned down the McGee home, but if I ever do, they will also be charged. Notice the one person who has not committed a crime: Tim McGee. No evidence ties him to any crime. None.

If you haven't already, I encourage you to do some soul-searching. Think about what you did or were willing to let others do. Think about how you have treated a fellow human being. Learn from this terrible situation and don't let it happen again.

I am not the sheriff. I am only a deputy. You will have the chance to choose your next sheriff, but until that happens, I will do my best to uphold the law in and around Hazard. I will not look the other way if anyone tries to take the law into their own hands again.

Deputy Stan Burley

Stan sat back and looked at the message. Was it enough? Probably not. However, it was a start and a start had to be made. He printed a copy of it and then turned back to his list.

He'd drop it off for photocopying while he went around to talk to people in town.

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

"Okay. Go home," Gibbs said. "We're back at this tomorrow."

"Early?" Tony asked.

Gibbs thought about it for a moment. Then, he shook his head.

"No. On time."

Tony grinned. "Sounds good."

He packed up his stuff and headed out. Abby dashed off to grab her things, but Kate lingered for a few seconds.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her.

"Gibbs, what's coming next? Where are we focusing our attention?"

"We get as much as we can and then we confront Sheriff Drake. Not until then. He needs to see that we're onto him, but we aren't unless we have everything we can get."

Kate nodded, but she was somewhat reluctant. She wanted to get moving because she hated knowing that someone wasn't getting what he deserved, especially someone like Sheriff Drake who had used his position to harm others.

"He's not getting away with it," Gibbs said.

Another nod and Kate left.

Now, it was time to take on the next challenge. He knew Rachel suspected he wouldn't be taking this seriously, but he was. After what Tim had told him, Gibbs was taking it very seriously. He wasn't sure exactly what would be best to do, but he was taking on this responsibility because he was not letting Tim get left behind yet again.

He didn't know how hard it would be, but he didn't care. Under no circumstances was Tim going to be allowed to be lost. He didn't care how much effort it took. He didn't care how long. If he had to have Tim moving into his home permanently, he would. With every hit that Tim had taken in his life, it was going to take real determination to keep him from falling. While Gibbs knew he couldn't change the way things had been in the past, all the times that Tim had been let down or been traumatized by something awful, but he could make sure that Tim's present and future were as good as they could possibly be.

Anything to remove that haunted look in Tim's eyes.

He walked over to the conference room and knocked to keep from startling Tim too much. Then, he opened the door.

...and he smiled. Tim was asleep, his head pillowed in his arms. He was even snoring. While he knew that this didn't mean things were good, it was almost a relief to see that Tim could calm down enough to fall asleep in a foreign place. It was shame to wake him, but he couldn't sleep here.

He walked over to the table and shook Tim gently. He sat up with a start and looked around, blearily.

"Tim?"

Then, it seemed to dawn on him that he wasn't in Hazard and he looked at Gibbs with something akin to fear. It lasted for just too long and then, it was gone. Hidden as so many of Tim's emotions were.

"Agent Gibbs," he said softly.

"You ready to go?"

Tim nodded, but he was wary. Nothing to be done about that yet. It would take time.

"Let's go, then."

"Okay."

Tim picked up a couple of pieces of paper with drawings on them and followed him, but whenever Gibbs glanced at him, he could see Tim's eyes moving around constantly, taking in the sights around him, unsure of where he was or what he should do.

Gibbs led him out to his car. Tim said nothing, but very little was escaping his notice. Gibbs gestured and Tim got in.

Gibbs debated trying to talk but decided that, for now, silence was better. He stopped and picked up something quick for dinner, but they didn't linger. Gibbs just drove them to his house out in the suburbs. He could have sold it. He didn't need the space, but he didn't want to give up his basement.

"This is it," he said as he pulled into the driveway.

"You live here?" Tim asked, his eyes wide.

"Yeah."

"Just you?"

"Yeah."

"It's...huge."

Gibbs smiled a little. It wasn't really very large, but compared to most of the houses in Hazard, it was probably a little bigger. Certainly, it was a lot bigger than Tim's house had been.

"Bigger than where you lived."

"Yeah. Are you sure you want me here?"

"Yes."

They got out of the car and Gibbs led Tim inside.

"You want the couch?" he asked.

Tim glanced over at Gibbs, clearly wondering if he was going to force him to take a bedroom.

"You can have it," Gibbs said. "I have a spare room."

"No."

"Okay. Couch is yours."

"Okay."

Gibbs left Tim to adjust to this new situation. He wasn't sure what would cause the most problems for Tim right now, but he guessed that he'd find out.