When McGee had started, he was the probie, and Gibbs remembered just how hard Tony and Kate had been on him, but it was the right of passage of more experienced agents. To be fair, Gibbs himself had gotten in on the fun of harassing probies sometimes, even the neewer ones. But, to Tim's credit, Tim had gotten softer on some of the newer probies and newer members of the team. He was a very respectful agent, and was more like a brother to all of the agents he worked with, and even Jimmy and Kasie.
Gibbs had a soft spot for McGee since he was always looking to impress Gibbs and make his proud, hell, he backtracked to avoid getting involved in office gossip about Gibbs. He really was such a sweet kid.
Gibbs often remembers the day that Delilah gave birth to the two babies, Tim had left his wife alone with Abby, choosing to go help his team downstairs. Gibbs cherished the moment he saw The family of four and realized that he was definitely going to be a grandfather to those kids. But that day had been crazy, and Gibbs often hopes that Tim can safely return to those two kids daily, even though he loves his job.
Early December, not long after Johnny and Morgan turned two, Gibbs found time to visit Delilah, Tim, and their kiddos. He had been invited to dinner at their place, and when he arrived, he truly enjoyed watching the way Tim doted on his kids, he was naturally kind and fun. As Gibbs slipped two boxes to Delilah, he made sure to give her a hug.
After dinner, Delilah gave the twins the gift boxes from Grandpa Gibbs, two wooden cars and boats, and one wooden puzzle with their family picture on it. While Delilah was playing with the kids, Gibbs sat down on the couch next to Tim, watching the look of pure joy on his face as he enjoyed the sight of happy kids.
"So Tim, what's your plan for the holidays?" Gibbs was hesitant to ask.
"Well, Delilah and the kids are going to go visit family, and I bet we'll have a few cases before I join them. We are hoping that we can get them to enjoy the snow this year though." Tim knew that Gibbs wasn't much for celebrating holidays, although last Christmas had been more joyful with that little baby around, even if Gibbs didn't admit to enjoying it.
"Good luck with that Tim." He grinned just slightly, his eyes focused on little Morgan as she crawled up into Tim's lap. "Hey, Morgan, are you getting sleepy?" The tiny girl nodded and snuggled further into Tim, who then got up to get Morgan's blanky and laid her on the couch next to him. She yawned and sleep was clearly going to win this fight.
"Boss, thanks for coming for dinner, we really love having you over." Tim's eyes, bright and direct, made contact with Gibbs'.
"Tim, thank you for the invite." He patted the younger man's shoulder affectionately. "You're doing a great job with these kids. You and Delilah are doing great." He then turned his attention to the little girl on the couch, "Morgan, you're such a strong little girl. But you need sleep." Gibbs picked her up for a hug before passing her to McGee. "I'll see you in the office." He whispered as McGee got up.
"Night, dad," Tim responded and then went pink, realizing his error. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry." The younger man's bashfulness in the situation was certainly funny.
"Hey Tim, night, son." He once again clapped Tim's shoulder and left a surprised agent in his wake.
These little surprise moments might've caught both men off guard, but honestly, Gibbs did love the agent and viewed him as one of his older sons, one he was definitely fond of. He smiled to himself as he left, a true smile and he felt content.