A/N: Alas, we have returned - with abject apologies - and a request for forgiveness
As you know, life oftentimes steps in between ourselves and our endeavors to bring stories to others. We are truly sorry for the long wait.
We're hoping the long chapter will help make up for this Since the storyline is complicated - we felt rehashing some of it would not work well - even though it has been quite a while since the last chapter was posted.
but do warn that re-reading the previous chapter might prove helpful before reading this one.
Enjoy!
The drive over to Tony's apartment was completely silent as both men sat lost in thought. It was a rarity, that much was a given, but it was something that Tony and Tim were both grateful for. Tony knew Tim needed the space to breathe and think without any pressure and he himself needed to get his brain into gear to make sure he handled this responsibility of watching over Tim a damn sight better than he'd handled it the last time. Truth be told, he was nervous about it and after the last time, he was determined to do better.
"Tony, Stop it." Tim quietly told him. Even with his eyes closed and his head laid back against the seat, he could almost hear the cogs turning in Tony's mind.
"Stop what?" Tony's confused question bought a small smile to Tim's lips and he couldn't help but crack an eye open for a second to see what his friend's body language was like. He wasn't surprised to see Tony's hands reflexively gripping the steering wheel and from where he was sat, he could almost see Tony's heart beating through his jacket. He watched as Tony sigh heavily.
"I scare you?" Tim asked gently.
"What? No, Probie I was just… I was thinking."
"I heard." Tim huffed out a small laugh. "Just stop, okay?" Tony shook his head and wondered when his Probie had become so intuitive. Being startled like that was never a good idea for a driver, Tony thought to himself with a mental frown, and hadn't realized that hadn't answered Tim yet, until Tim's voice penetrated his thoughts.
"Stop thinking so hard. Do we really have to talk about this again? I said I was sorry and I'm pretty sure that I promised you it wasn't your fault that I left your apartment those two nights. If I didn't, then I'm really sorry." Tim patiently explained, still not looking over at Tony.
"Wow, Probie, you pick up those mind reading skills from Gibbs did ya?" Tony snarked warmly with a huge grin on his face.
"Hmm. Yeah, now that you mention it, maybe I did." Tim couldn't help but smile as he closed his eyes once more. He moved slightly so that his head was resting against the window and let the cool window soothe him as he sat there listening to the road whooshing past.
"Thanks, Probie." Tony let out a relieved breath before glancing over briefly at Tim and frowning. "How you doin' for real, Man?"
Silence reined for a minute before Tony's serious question was answered. "Better. Much better." Tim offered honestly.
"Good. Want you to know, McGee, if you need to talk, I'm here. I know I've never shown it much, but you're my little brother, man and I wanna be there for you." Tony couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. He'd felt that protective brotherly feeling strengthening ever since this whole nightmare had started, but he hadn't intended on actually telling Tim in words like this. But, Tony had so desperately wanted Tim to know he could count on him and lean on him if he wanted to and that he no longer cared about the tough as nails mask he'd always worn and knew that Tim had tried to follow him in that lead.
"Thanks, Tony. Really. You have no idea how much that means to me. But, just so you know, I've always known that you've had my six; it's just never been outside work before. Knowing that it is means a hell of a lot to me and I want to thank you." Tim quietly offered as he finally opened his eyes fully and looked over at the older man's profile as Tony drove.
Tony offered a small nod and parked his car at his apartment complex. After a few silent moments, he turned and looked at the man he loved as his younger brother. "I'm sorry I never made sure you knew it was more than work before, Probie. You could have come to me about anything, anytime. I get that you never got that vibe from me; I'm sorry about that, man. All these years and you never felt like you could come to either Gibbs or me? Trust me when I say that we both feel like we had a part to play in this nightmare of yours; in making it a lot worse for you than it needed to be, anyway."
"It's okay, Tony. I probably wouldn't have come to either of you even if I had thought I could. I think, sad as it is, that this had to come to a head before I would have tried to do anything differently, ya know? I spent so many years convinced of what he'd drilled into my head that I would never have thought twice about the way I was dealing with it."
"I hear ya, man. Really, I do. Watching and seeing you go through this and knowing what you went through opened my eyes a lot. It was like a huge reality check for me, McGee. Everything I'd always been pissed at with my own old man for seems pathetic compared to what you'd gone through. I mean, who cares if my father left me alone in a hotel room for two days and never noticed you were missing, or married so many times after my mother died that I lost count and couldn't keep track of all the names, right?"
"Tony." Tim softly said, wanting the older man to stop downplaying his own personal pain in lieu of what he'd been through.
"I can't believe I spent years being pissed at him for that. It's not like he ever laid a hand on me, well except for the Halloween costume incident, but I mean, ya know…" Tony kept going and seemed to be completely deaf to Tim's attempt to stop him.
"Tony!" Tim said louder this time.
"Huh? What?"
"Stop. Please. Look, I don't want you to use what you've found out about my life to start feeling guilty about what you're dad did to you. Just because my dad was physically abusive on top of everything else he did, it doesn't make your own neglect any less important and it doesn't mean that it doesn't need to be dealt with. Okay? So, stop. Please!" Tim begged. "God! I hope no one else is doing that, either!"
"Can't be helped, Probie. It's the way the human brain works. It's instinctive in most people."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Answer me this though, Tony."
"Okay."
"Are you okay, now? Really? With your father?"
Blowing out a sigh of awed frustration because Tim's concern had turned so completely onto him, Tony thought about it for a minute. "Not yet, but I think it's closer to being okay than it's been since he kicked me to the curb as a teenager."
"That's good. I hope it gets better for you. I'm here anytime you need an ear to listen, Tony." Tim offered sincerely. "I know you think I'm lame and would never be of any help, but I'll at least listen if you need to talk."
"Tim. Listen, man…"
"No, Tony, it's okay. I didn't say that to make you feel bad. I know some things between us won't change and in a way that's good. But, I'm hoping this will maybe at least give us the opening to be more human and less oppositional towards each other." Tim quickly told him.
"Wow" was all Tony could say to that and sat there looking dumbstruck.
Tim chuckled softly as he got out of the car and waited for Tony to do the same so they could go up to the older man's apartment. Once inside, Tim walked over to the couch and sank down into it, almost moaning in pleasure as his body called out once more for sleep. Before Tony had come back from his bedroom with a pillow and comforter, Tim was out like a light. He stood there smiling as he watched his Probie with a small smile.
Sitting down in the chair beside the couch, he gently lifted the young man's head and slipped the pillow under it; he gently laid Tim's head down on it before settling the warm blanket over his peaceful form. His mind took him back to the conversations that they'd had in the car. He got where Tim was coming from when the kid thought that Tony would think that he was lame and wouldn't ever be someone to talk to about things. After all, Tony was always quick to shut Tim down anytime the younger man tried to offer anything helpful to say. He'd been doing that to him since the beginning of Tim's tenure on the team.
Why did Tim put up with it? Oh, right, because he was used to putting up with a hell of a lot worse. By all rights, what Tim got from the team was a hell of a lot milder than what he got at home but still, that didn't make it any easier of a pill to swallow. The cold hard truth was that Tony had treated Tim like this for all this time. Well, at least this would be one change that should be fairly easy to fix. One thing this whole nightmare had dredged up was Tim's ability to hide much more hurt and pain than they'd ever imagined. This had been a huge wake up call for Tony, seeing as he'd always assumed that Tim's family were perfect, and that his Probie had come from a home with perfect parents that wrapped Tim up in a silver lined, plastic bubble so that he was protected from harm. The only problem was, that Tony now knew that the silver lined plastic bubble was tarnished and that the people that were supposed to protect him, actually ended up being the people that hurt him the deepest. That thought rankled him more than anything and he found himself feeling more and more wound up by the thoughts that crept through his mind.
Tim's long standing insistence that all people were inherently good until proven guilty, despite what his own father had done to him, was still at the forefront of Tony's mind. Whereas before, this way of thinking had Tony believing Tim was just naïve; now it had him thinking that Tim was more good-natured than he was green. Hell, the kid was more than good-natured; he actually had a heart of gold.
He was kind, and didn't deserve to be treated as carelessly and cruelly as Tony had done to him over the years. But, the others had also taken their own turns at being cruel to Tim. Tony let his memory of several instances when they'd been harsh to Tim in the past run freely through his mind. He came to the decision right then and there that, not only would the incidents be atoned for; no matter how old the situation was; but the guilty party would also be talked to until they saw the light and saw fit to apologize to the young man and promise to treat him with much more respect in the future. Boy, DiNozzo, you're taking this big brother thing to the max, aren't ya? Big Brother. Yeah, I like the sound of that. Now that Probie knows it's how I see it, I can finally do what I should have been all this time and really look out for him. Yup, I like it already.
"Yeah, Gibbs." The Team Leader answered his ringing cell phone and glanced at his watch. He noticed that it was seven in the evening. The team lunch had finally broken up several hours ago. A good hour after, the guys had left to make sure Tim got a decent bout of sleep under his exhausted belt, and the boss had been keeping his mind and hands busy on the new boat in his basement since he'd gotten home. It wasn't something he'd planned to do and was totally unexpected, but he had to admit that the feel of the wood under his hands felt good as he smoothed it to perfection and shaped it into something to be proud of.
"Boss." Tim's hesitant voice reached through the phone and grabbed him by the throat.
"Tim. What's wrong?" Gibbs' immediate response sounded worried after everything this kid had been through and after everything that he'd had heard and seen from him, he knew it was totally justfied. And he hoped it was nothing serious this time.
"Nothing. Sorry. I just wanted to ask you a question."
"I'm listening."
"I know Vance didn't argue with you when you told him to have me hack into Personnel and delete my resignation…"
"Be here in 10. We'll go take care of that now." Gibbs ordered, suddenly pissed at himself for leaving that unfinished business out there when it could potentially sabatoge Tim's career.
"Wow. Okay. Thanks, Boss." Tim answered as he hung up, surprised that Gibbs hadn't ended the call in his usual style.
"What'd he say, McGee?" Tony asked as he came from the kitchen bringing Tim a soda.
"He said to get over to his house in 10 min. He wants us to go take care of it now." Tim answered as he quickly stuffed his feet into his shoes and stopped dead in the doorway. "Tony. I need to borrow your car unless…"
"Nope, I'm coming with. That's what big brother's do, right?"
"C'mon, DiNozzo, you're going a bit extreme here with that, aren't you?" Tim replied with a smirk. "You know I'm okay right?"
"Yes, McMom, I know you're okay…or you will be but I'm entitled. I'm making up for lost time, Probie. Now, c'mon before bossman kills us both." Tony stopped in his tracks and felt the blood drain out of his face at his tasteless remark.
Tim knew where Tony's mind had just taken him and recognized Tony's shock at what he'd just said. He understood why he was looking so ashen faced and that it wasn't funny given the circumstances. He refused to let Tony's guilt eat him alive at it for even one minute. Snatching the keys out of Tony's hand, he grinned mischievously and threw the man a wise crack as he quickly headed for the stairs down to the parking lot. "Thanks. I've been wanting to drive your car since forever!"
Tony caught the grin and shook his head. "McGee! Wait! NO! You are NOT driving my car!" He yelled as he quickly locked his apartment door and bolted down the stairs after the younger man.
The ride to Gibbs' house was short and comfortably silent. Ever since Tim had woken up from his three hour nap to find Tony still staring off into space, things had been somewhat quiet between them. It had only been Tim remembering that he'd tendered his resignation and hadn't officially rescinded it as far as Personnel was concerned; that had sparked any conversation and the phone call to the boss.
As Tony finally pulled up to Gibbs house, he noticed the boss watching him intensely to see what he was doing. Years of working with the man told him that Gibbs' smirk was one of a proud father and if he could hear what the man was actually thinking at the moment, then he would know exactly how proud the boss was.
Oh, yeah, Tony was definitely dealing with Tim the way he should now. One down, the rest of the team to go.
Two hours later, and the guys were enjoying a night of shooting pool and relaxing over a couple of beers. It was something that they'd never done before and Tim found himself feeling more at ease at the normalcy of what they were doing, rather than focusing on how rare of an occasion it was. It hadn't taken Tim very long to purge the Agency's computer system of any trace of his resignation and to reward him, Tony had dared him and Gibbs to a best 2 out of 3 pool tournament at the nearest pool hall. Making sure to keep it a night of safe fun, Gibbs had insisted on choosing where they conducted their little contest and made sure that the place they went to had a decent menu so they could all eat a half decent meal first.
One pool game won by Tony, and one pitcher of brew later had Tim taking a much needed bathroom break. Gibbs glanced over and noticed that Tony was looking like he'd just killed his best friend. The change in demeanor was so sudden, that it left him wondering what was playing on his mind.
"Tony. Talk to me." Gibbs quietly ordered.
"I just remembered something I said to him earlier that I never should have said." Tony instantly answered, more than ready for help out of the mess that he just remembered making. "I didn't think."
"Spit it out."
"I can't believe I spent years being pissed at him for that. It's not like he ever laid a hand on me, well except for the Halloween costume incident, but I mean, ya know…"
"Okay." Gibbs answered calmly even as he hid his moment of anger at Tony's admitted callousness. "What was Tim's reaction?"
"Nothin. Boss, he kept the conversation moving, as if I hadn't said it in the first place." Tony admitted with a heavy dose of awe in his tone.
"There's your answer, DiNozzo." Gibbs' reply was direct and to the point. Something that he'd learned years ago, had told him that skirting over things wasn't the best way and that Tony would feel more relieved at having someone being direct.
"I don't understand." Obviously, Tony's mind wasn't as sharp as it usually was, and Gibbs knew that it was the half pitcher of the brew they were drinking that had dulled his mind. He took pity on him, wanting and needing this to be nipped right here and now so it didn't come back up at all. "Tony. McGee's trying to move past it so don't stop him by trying to atone for slip-ups like that. Follow his lead. Don't make a bigger deal out of anything than he's willing to do."
"Oh, Right! Got it, Bossman." Tony answered glibly and slipped his joker mask back into place.
**Smack**
"Ow! Boss?"
"Hear me, DiNozzo! If he doesn't say anything about it, don't you either!" Gibbs growled quietly as he saw Tim making his way back to their table, a small grin playing on his face.
"Tony? I'm not gone five minutes and you earn a head slap? What'd you do?" Tim asked with a chuckle.
"Just being me." Tony answered with a grin of his own. "Okay, Probie. Your match against the boss. My money's on Gibbs!"
Taking up the pool stick he'd chosen earlier and turning toward the table, Tim muttered, "Mine too."
*Smack*
"Ow! Boss?" Tim asked in shock.
"Stop counting yourself out before you even try, McGee!" Gibbs ordered just quietly enough for Tim to hear. The boss' eyes silently conveying the message that he wasn't just talking about the pool game as he glared at his youngest agent.
"Thanks, Boss." Tim answered earnestly as he got the message loud and clear and let Gibbs' words sink in fully.
Gibbs had to admit that the night of fun was not only a rare occasion, but was also a joy and seeing both young men kicking back and completely relaxing enough to be themselves was perfect. Papa Gibbs nearly beamed with pride the entire night as both his boys just did what came naturally to them; something which built their relationship, and made the bond between them even stronger. He couldn't help but feel happy about his role in it, after all, what are two brothers without their guiding force, right?
The guys had decided that it would be best to spend the night at Gibbs' house after the copious amount of beer that they had all drank. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea given the hangovers that they all seemed to be suffering from that morning, but the thought of the fun they had last night was enough to make it worth feeling like crap. Thankfully, the Boss had taken it upon himself to ring Vance, and after a brief and interesting call to the Director, they were given the morning to get themselves together and get to work by the start of the afternoon. Luckily for them, they managed to do it after a few mugs of coffee and the three of them slid silently behind their desks before the allotted hour had arrived.
Vance glared down at Gibbs from the Mezzanine level of the stairs and it was clear that he wasn't happy with the Team Leader's decision to let his agents tie one on the night before. He watched them all briefly as they settled in and decided that calling Gibbs now would be the best bet before his team leader got too comfortable. He strode back to his office and picked up his phone.
"Gibbs! My office. Now!"
Vance was angry enough that his voice traveled through the phone and his voice seemed to bounce off the walls, and echo around the squad room. Gibbs winced briefly as the loud voice reverberated through his already aching head and after a brief glance at his team, he knew that they had heard the director's summons as well.
Tony's response was his typical silly grin, but it was Tim's that had concerned him. He noticed that the kids face was shadowed by guilt and worry and that was something that he had hoped last night had eliminated once and for all.
Gibbs glanced at both his boys and knew that there was only one response that would set both of them back on an even keel. "I'll deal with Vance. You two get busy…And no playin' around, DiNozzo!"
Tim breathed a sigh of relief at Gibbs' normal, barked response and dove back into his work; scrolling through his emails and opening the first cold case in the stack. It was impressive and when he glanced at Tony's computer, he knew that he'd managed all that before Tony had even finished logging into his computer.
"Tony, you alright?"
"Why yes Probie, I'm fine. I just need to stop the lemming with the jackhammer driving into my skull and I'll be peachy." Tony shook his head and reached into his top drawer so that he could pull out the ingredients for his favorite hangover cure. "Sorry, McGee. I'm just tired. You want some?"
Tim grinned and shook his head. "Nah, I'm going to stick with good old Tylenol and coffee for now. That stuff will rot your gut."
"Urgh…I'll take that over the hangover right now." He replied and put the finishing touches to his drink. "Where's Ziva?"
Ziva chose that moment to stride off the elevator carrying a file that she needed to finish what she was doing. She'd been battling with someone up in legal to get it and after an hour, she'd finally manage to coerce the young snip of a kid to part with the information.
"Good mor…afternoon. Why don't you two look…disgusting! What were you doing last night?" She asked and breezed to her desk.
"Pool and Beer." Tony replied dryly and downed his drink. Ziva's nose wrinkled slightly.
"I see. McGee, did you enjoy yourself?" Tim nodded and Tony noticed the way in which Ziva's smile grew at what she was being told. It was then, that he realized the need for the whole team to bond and decided to take matters into his own hands. It was easily done and given the fact that the afternoon was still early, he set his plan into motion.
"You two are up for making the lunch run today. Since it's still early enough in the afternoon to be considered lunch; you should go do it now before Vance has something for us to do. Go. Shoo. Move it." He sat back and grinned, knowing that his other team mates needed to be able to talk things through. Hopefully, this would give them this chance away from him and Gibbs.
Tim and Ziva looked at each other with a silent agreement that Tony had lost his mind. It was funny though, because even though Tim knew that Tony was crazy, there was a huge part of him that took an instant liking to the idea and he reacted instinctively by gesturing for Ziva to go ahead of him as he headed toward the elevator.
Once they'd disappeared, Tony sat back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk with his hands clasped behind his head. He hadn't sat like this since Kate had drawn him this way, but right now it felt good.
"DiNozzo! What the hell are you doin?" Gibbs barked at him as he came down the stairs. Not waiting for an answer, the boss high tailed it back to his squad room with his ears still ringing from the conversation he'd had in Vance's office just now.
"What the hell are you doing, Gibbs? This your idea of team bonding? Letting them get drunk and calling in requesting the morning off? I thought you ran a tighter ship than that, Agent Gibbs? This better not happen again! Next time, I won't be anywhere near as understanding as I am now about it!"
"Leon, they needed it. Relax, will ya? You really think I'd let anything happen to my team? Yeah, it's been an unusual couple of weeks and you've had to cut us a lot of slack. We all appreciate that. I can promise you now that it's been worth it and the rough ride's almost over. Won't be long now before things are back to normal. All right? Besides, if you'd just gone ahead and given them the entire day off, this wouldn't even be an issue."
Vance glared at Gibbs for a minute as he took the time to process what the older man was saying. He knew Gibbs was right. The MCRT had been through a really rough couple of weeks and they'd needed all the slack he could afford to give them. But the fact was, the team, or at least the male side of the team had overstepped his generosity with that slack this time and he was feeling no qualms about reaming them in for it now. Then again, Gibbs did have a point. The man never did consciously let anything bad happen to his team and he'd been doing his damnedest to do right by the one in trouble and still not lose sight of the others along the way. The man was to be commended for the hell of a job he'd done; despite the lapse in judgment that he'd shown the other day; a lapse for which he'd paid dearly.
"All right. I'll let it go this time. Go on, tell them to take the rest of the day." Vance finally offered.
"Nah, they're here and ready to work now."
"How's McGee?"
"He's fine, Leon. Ready to move on."
"Seems like he thought he was ready to move on when he first got back here not even three days after his father died." Vance reminded him.
"He thought he was ready then. I know he's ready now. Trust me. I haven't let him out of our sights long enough to not know what I'm talking about. I know he's ready." Gibbs told him calmly.
"Fine. I'll go with your judgment. Still gonna need another assessment from the Psychologist."
"Yeah, I figured. Sure hope you're gonna let him do it another day, Leon. Let him have just one day without a reminder of that mess, huh?" Gibbs requested.
"I can do that. In fact; so long as he remains on desk duty, I'll let you decide when you want him re-evaluated." Vance offered.
"Not necessary, Leon. Don't want this dragged out for him. Just give him a day or two." The Team Leader requested.
"Fair enough. "
Gibbs nodded his silent agreement and headed back to his desk.
"Where's McGee and Da'vid?" Gibbs barked at Tony now.
"I sent them on the lunch run, Boss." Tony replied quickly knowing that the boss' mood was hanging on a shoe string because of the hangover and the visit to the Director's office.
"Why would you do that when we just got here and haven't put in a lick of work yet?" Gibbs demanded.
"Boss, they need to talk. We need to eat." Tony explained and felt his stomach rumble in agreement.
"What?" Gibbs was lost at the 'they need to talk' section of Tony's answer and missed the gurgling sound coming from his agent's never satisfied stomach.
"Boss, Ziva took what happened to you the other night hard. She blames herself for not listening to you, Abby and Ducky. We never talked about McGee's decision to bottle it all back up and she's thinking the three of you are completely pissed at her for helping the situation get where it did. Add that to the fact that she thinks that McGee's never gonna forgive her for it backfiring on him the way it did and it stands to reason that they need to have that chat." Tony explained.
Gibbs felt like he'd been sucker-punched again. He'd been so wrapped up in getting Tim through this without losing him that he'd completely ignored Ziva and how all of this must be affecting her. Hearing Tony's explanation now sent shivers of unease down his spine because the last thing Ziva needed was to think that any of them blamed her for what had happened. It had been Gibbs' fault pure and simple.
Standing back up from his chair, he looked over at Tony. "I'll be in Autopsy. Send Ziva to me there when they get back." He requested and headed out.
"Ziva." Tim said quietly as he drove. She hadn't argued about it or even spoken when he'd gravitated toward his car in the parking garage and unlocked the passenger door so he could hold it open for her. As he'd closed it after she'd gotten in and walked around and got in the driver's seat, she'd been remarkably quiet. Too quiet. "What's on your mind?"
"I have a lot on my mind, McGee." She admitted quietly.
"Is it something I've done? Are you pissed at me for what I did to Gibbs? Is that it? Because you have to know, I feel really really bad about that…"
"No! McGee! Please!" Ziva begged. "Stop. No one blames you for what happened. You have to know that. Accept it. It is the only way for you to move past it."
"Yeah. I know. That's what the Psychologist told me. Gibbs said I should have blamed him even though I didn't. I don't want to get stuck in this blame game, Ziva. I wanna move on. But, it's obvious something's got you upset. You haven't said a word since we've left the squad room." Tim worried.
"Myself. I am upset with myself, McGee. You asked me to help you learn how to bury everything. I did. You buried it and when it finally came to the surface, it did so in a very bad way."
"So you think you're to blame for what happened at Gibbs'?" Tim asked incredulously as he cruised to a stop at a traffic light. He looked over at her and was surprised to find her wiping at her eyes.
"Yes, I do." She answered and Tim frowned at the choked voice that came from Ziva. It was unusual that she let things get to her like this and the fact that she was bordering on tears, upset him.
"Ziva. Don't. Please! None of us blame you, anymore than they blame me or even Gibbs. Well, except Gibbs blames himself, of course. But, I'm begging you; stop. We need to move past this. Please? Let's get back to where things should be?"
Ziva swallowed hard and wiped her hand across her face one more time before turning to smile at him. "I would like that. We need to do that. Thank you."
A horn blared behind them and Tim's eyes returned to the road and the green light he was sitting through. As he resumed driving he smiled. "I want to thank you, Ziva. I wouldn't have gotten through this without all of you."
There was a new glint in Tim's eye and she noticed a new wattage to his smile that hadn't been there before all this craziness had broken out. Not knowing what was going on or if she was imagining things, she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she just sat back and enjoyed the newly returned companionable peace and quiet between them.
Tim took the lunch that he'd bought Abby down to the lab while Ziva made her way back to the squad room. She handed Tony's lunch over to him and quietly made her way over to Gibbs' desk to put his down. What she didn't miss, was Tony watching her intently as he looked her over for signs of problems.
"Tony. Why are you watching me?" she asked him suspiciously.
"I'm just wondering if everything's okay between you two now." He told her honestly.
"And you thought that staring at me would provide you with that answer?"
"Well, yeah. I can tell you're not worried about anything anymore and you're definitely happier now than you were when you left."
"Ah. I see. Well. I appreciate your concern. And I thank you for presenting us with the opportunity to talk. And to set your mind at ease, yes. McGee and I have talked and everything is fine. Thank you." She caught the small smile that graced Tony's face as she made her way back to her desk.
"You're welcome. Gibbs wants the same update. He's waiting for you in Autopsy." Tony informed her.
"You told Gibbs?" Ziva shot back with narrowed eyes. It wasn't what she'd been expecting and felt shocked that he'd done that without her knowledge.
"Ziva. He asked where you two went and he needed to know that Probie wasn't the only one he needed to be worried about." He told her calmly.
"You want him to be worried about me?"
"Not necessarily worried. Definitely aware of your worries, yeah." Tony defended himself.
"Thank you. Tony. But, I am fine now."
"I can see that. That's great. But, now the boss needs to see it too."
"Very well. I will be in Autopsy." She replied as she left the squad room.
"Hey, Abby. I brought you your favorite for lunch." Tim offered and set her bagged lunch down on her work table. He shook his head when he noticed that it was unsually clear and glanced around to see where she was.
"Timmy! How are you? I haven't seen you in days!" Abby chortled and flew at him so she could wrap her arms around him in a hugs that had her squeezing in her normal bone breaking manner.
Grinning widely, he hugged her back waited for her emotional wave to pass so she'd let go of him and he could breathe freely again.
"I'm fine. Thanks. Sorry I haven't talked to you or seen you in a while. Things have been kinda crazy you know?" He offered apologetically.
"No, Timmy, you do NOT have to apologize. I know it's been rough for you. Are you okay? You're not doing anything stupid like blaming yourself, are you?" She demanded.
"Not anymore, Abbs. Not anymore. I'm fine. Thanks to everyone here. I'm really okay."
"That's good! Any more monsters hiding in your closet? She demanded and fixed him with a glare that told him to tell her the truth. The look of pain that crossed his eyes had her back pedaling on the question that had been meant to get him to open up to her. "Oh, God, I'm so…"
"No, Abby. It's okay." Tim answered and with a glance at the glass door to her office, he walked over to it and sat down in her desk chair slowly. Abby watched him walk away from her and sighed when he sank down in to her chair.
"Timmy, what is it?" she asked and followed him to her desk.
"I guess it just hit me that none of this…any of it, would have happened if I'd just told someone."
"Timmy, you didn't think you could tell anyone. We understand that. No one's blaming you."
"You're missing the point, Abby. NONE of this would have happened." Tim said miserably as he got up out of her chair and mindlessly left her lab without stopping until he hit the stairs so that he could descend to the parking garage. He strode past the parked cars feeling the need to sit somewhere and think; it was that need, that had him walking over to the bench overlooking the river.
Ziva entered Autopsy feeling both awe and relief wash through her. She finally felt the weight of the burden that lay on her shoulders lift because she's finally sorted things out with Tim, but then she'd arrived back only to be blown away by Tony making sure that Gibbs knew how much she had been troubled by recent events.
"Ah, Ziva, my dear. How are you?" Ducky greeted her while Gibbs stood quietly by one of the autopsy tables looking her over. She smiled at the action knowing that he was quietly looking her over to assess how she was doing.
"I am fine. Thank you, Ducky. McGee and I had a chance to talk and everything is as it should be; back to normal." Ziva answered calmly with a smile.
"I'm afraid things aren't back to normal just yet, guys." Abby's sorrowful voice jumped at them through the webcam that fed from her office to Ducky's autopsy suite.
"What's goin' on, Abbs?" Gibbs asked and moved to stand in front of the camera. He stood silently listening as Abby explained what had happened with Tim and bolted from the room like a bat out of hell so that he could find his agent. Ducky and Ziva watched him go, but stayed linked to Abby so that they could try and convince her that she'd done nothing wrong. They reminded her that this was simply a case of Timothy's innate characteristics coming back to bite him and that he would need a firm hand to help him let go of this fresh wave of guilt that had obviously just hit him.
From the sounds of it, this wave had come with the help of hurricane force winds. Could they weather this storm as successfully as they'd made it through the ones that had come before now?