Epilogue

Four months later...

They'd been down to three on the team for a few weeks now, but it was time to change that. Finally.

"Let's go," Gibbs said.

"Where are we going, Boss?" Tony asked.

"To get our new team member."

"Is this normal?" Ziva asked. "I did not get a ride to work my first day."

"Not as far as I know," Tony said. "No one picked me up on my first day. I had to get here on my own."

Still, they followed Gibbs, as he had known they would. He smiled to himself. It was a long drive to Norfolk, but he was determined to keep this a secret until they got there.

At first, the drive was silent...but with Tony there, it didn't stay quiet for long.

"Why are we driving to Norfolk to pick up a new agent?"

"He doesn't have a car, yet," Gibbs said.

"So? Can't he figure out how to get to DC on his own? There are ways. He could rent a car."

"Yes, he could. He doesn't know that we're coming."

"Are you sure he will be there, then?" Ziva asked. "What if he does make his own way to DC without us?"

"He doesn't know he's been transferred," Gibbs said.

Gibbs could feel Tony's consternation.

"Uh...why is he being transferred if he doesn't know about it? I would have thought that it was pretty essential that he know. He'll have to make arrangements to move, Boss."

Gibbs didn't answer.

The rest of the drive was mostly silent.

When they got to Norfolk, Gibbs led the way to a tiny, crowded office, full of filing cabinets. He knocked once and walked in. ...or rather, he stepped in. There was barely room for more than one step.

The occupant of the office was currently out of view, hidden behind piles of paper on the desk. Then, there was a familiar voice, although there was a lot missing from that voice that had always been there before.

"Just give me a minute, Cassie. I've almost got this stuff organized. I know I'm a little late with it, but I promise that it'll be what you need. It's more organized than it looks."

Then, there was movement as he stood up and Gibbs could see him, although he was still bent over.

"Agent McGee," Gibbs said, sternly, and suppressed a smile.

Tim stopped moving and straightened. He was clearly hesitating in turning around, but he did. There was an expression of shock on his face.

"A-Agent G-Gibbs," he said in surprise. Then, he noticed Tony and Ziva, who were both as surprised as he was. "Agent DiNozzo. O-Officer David. What are you all doing here? I...I..." He had a pile of papers in his hands. "Agent Yates was... supposed to be getting these files. I hadn't heard that...that...there was a case that you'd...be here."

And if he had, he would probably have tried to be out of sight for it, too, Gibbs could tell.

"How long have you been here, Agent McGee?" Tony asked.

"A month."

"You decided to join NCIS?"

"Obviously."

"Why?"

Tim looked at them all. It was clear that he was still trying to figure out why they were there.

"I thought that...I could... contribute something here. ...and NCIS already knew about me; so I didn't have to try and explain everything. And you all seemed to... to have something I could want. I'm taking some college courses online and I'm going to try to get a degree while I'm working. The hiring board said that, as long as I did get a college degree in a reasonable amount of time, it wouldn't work against me."

"It'd be easier in DC, wouldn't it?" Gibbs asked.

"Well...yeah. Sarah is still there. Maybe she'd stop pestering me to get over there so much. There are more universities there. I mean, Norfolk does have places...and they're fine, but there are some really great programs at the universities in DC. I could even maybe take real classes. I always wanted to go to college." He looked a little wistful at the idea but then remembered who was there. "...but I'm stationed here. I'm a case agent. I've been...just working on whatever needs to be done. I'm not really doing much yet."

Gibbs handed Tim the transfer papers. Tim set down the files and took the papers. His brow furrowed and then his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Not anymore, you're not."

"I'm...transferred... to your team, Agent Gibbs?" Tim asked.

"Can't you read?"

"But...that's...a field agent position."

"Yes, it is."

"I'm...new. I haven't finished my...probationary period yet. They said that... that I shouldn't even expect...that it would be a long time before... I'm new."

"Yes, you are."

Tim was clearly still having trouble grasping the situation. Gibbs had been keeping tabs on his training, and he was doing all right with firearms, although there was a note that he still needed to improve somewhat... hence, the probationary period. Tim was staring at the transfer papers and reading through them again and again. There was silence for a few seconds as he tried to think of something to say.

"Is Dr. Mallard... Is Ducky still there?"

"Of course," Tony said. "Does he know about this?"

Tim looked up.

"I didn't even know about this. I didn't want to bug him. He said that I could call if I needed help. He put in a good word for me when I applied, but after that...I didn't want to bug him. I didn't even tell him that I'd been hired or that I'd moved here."

"He wouldn't have been bugged," Tony said. "He still talks about you, you know."

"He does?"

"Yeah," Gibbs said. "He's been wondering what you ended up choosing. If he really doesn't know, he'll be glad to see where you ended up. You can call him on the way. You ready to go?"

"Are you sure you want me on your team? You know what I'm like," Tim said, with a self-deprecatory tone. "I'm... I was..."

Gibbs smiled. Tim knew that he would be working with the people who had seen him in the worst possible situation, and they had seen him in unpleasant situations and he hadn't always been particularly nice. All in all, Gibbs understood why Tim was worried, but he was, quite frankly, very surprised at how together Tim seemed right now. He hadn't be sure if Tim would be up for this. However, he'd been wrong. Tim was nervous and uncertain, yes, but not on the verge of a breakdown as he had been a year ago. The answer was easy.

"Yes, I do. It was my request."

Tim looked from Gibbs to Tony and Ziva. Tony grinned.

"Hey! A new probie! Excellent!"

"This means we will have someone else to do the computer work," Ziva said. "That is a very good thing. Tony is hopeless."

"Speak for yourself, Miss David. She threatens to kill the computers at least twice a day," Tony said.

There was a moment of silence as Tim tried to digest this sudden turn of events.

"Do you want this, Tim?" Gibbs asked.

Tim looked down at the transfer and then back up.

"Yes," he said, fervently.

"Then, let's go. It's a long drive back to DC. You can worry about moving your stuff later. DiNozzo'll help you. He already offered."

"Only the light stuff," Tony said, with a grin.

Tim stood there for a moment longer and then, started moving around the tiny space very quickly. He wrote a message on a sticky note and stuck it to the files. He closed all the file drawers, shut down his computer and grabbed his bag.

"I'm ready, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded. "Let's go. Welcome to the team, McGee."

Tim finally smiled.

"Thanks."

They walked out of the building and piled into the sedan. As they drove back to DC, Gibbs couldn't help feeling that this was the way things were supposed to be.

FINIS!