Not Beta'd; Standard disclaimer applies.
And now, what you have all been waiting for...The back side of Water!...yeah, sorry (not sorry), apparently I have Disney World on the brain
Science Doesn't Lie, Chapter 17 Twice removed
"Oh, good," Tony sighed in relief, "We beat Gibbs."
"We do not know that," Ziva argued.
"Yeah, we do. He's not here," Tony said twirling around the bullpen, "Therefore, we must've beaten him."
"Or he returned, discovered that we were not here, and left to find us."
Tony scrunched his nose, "If he left, he would leave to find coffee, not us."
Ziva smirked at him, "So, you agree that I am right and that he was probably here?"
"I…no," Tony disagreed. "I stand by what we said, we beat him."
Ziva just shook her head and once more settled in to work.
"Where do you think Abby is?"
Ziva shot a look of disbelief towards him. "Home," she stated firmly. "Or at least, not here."
Tony rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I get that she's not here."
Ziva ignored his comment, "The only thing left to know is if her absence from NCIS is temporary or permanent."
"Well, te-," Tony began only to fall silent as he finally pieced together the clues.
"Oh," he uttered morosely, realizing just how much and how quickly things were changing.
"Jethro?" Ducky asked as Gibbs entered autopsy, given how the younger man had left yesterday, he hadn't expected him to return quite so soon. "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah, Duck," Gibbs replied as he hopped up on a table. "I've just been doing some thinking and need some advice."
"Oh?"
Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, between what you said yesterday and what I heard, I couldn't help but think about things," he admitted.
"And?"
"This whole situation with Tim has opened my eyes."
"Understandable," Ducky nodded. "It is not everyday that you find out that you are related to one of your agents, esp-"
"His kids," Gibbs corrected, cutting off the medical examiner, "I'm related to his kids."
"And Timothy is their father. For all intents and purposes, you are related to him as well," he easily dismissed the agent's words. "Maybe not by blood, but by the bonds of family. It takes a village to raise a child," Ducky quoted. "Do you know that phrase was-"
"Duck," Gibbs patiently called, redirecting the older man's attention.
"Yes, well, we can discuss that fascinating tidbit of information another time. Perhaps over tea," he offered. "However, you said you came down here needing advise on something?"
"Yeah, how to fix this."
"How do you mean?" Ducky asked with a frown. "Just because you and Timothy are related, that is no reason to assume something is wrong or broken," he harshly added.
"Not that," Gibbs responded, not understanding why everyone was so focus on the relationship he had with the twins.
For once, Ducky showed a lack of patience, "I hope you are not referring to Abigail's termination or suspension," he warned. "She brought it on herself by her actions."
Gibbs looked startled, "How did you…"
"She was seen escorted from the Director's office, out of the building, into her car, and then off of the yard by security, who made sure to repossess her parking permit and work badge. She didn't say a word, not even to Dr. Palmer who witnessed part of the scene, so the full story isn't known," Ducky admitted, "Just enough to get tongues wagging."
Gibbs nodded, "Suspended, minimum of four weeks."
Ducky nodded in reply, "She is lucky she was not terminated."
"I know."
"Then I hope that this is not what you are trying to 'fix'."
"No," Gibbs confirmed before explaining what he needed help with. "You were right about my interactions with Tim."
The older man hid his smile, "So what are you going to do about it?"
"That's why I'm here," Gibbs admitted.
"It is your relationship with Timothy that needs to be 'fixed', as you say, so you need to be the one to figure it out," Ducky stated staring at the older man.
Gibbs stared back.
"I don't know how," Gibbs finally confessed. "Tony, Abby, Ziva. All those relationships happened naturally, no planning, no scheduled conversations. They just developed," he shared, his tone relaying his confusion about how to proceed.
Ducky sighed, "Just continue as you have,"
"Duck!" An agitated Gibbs hissed. "That's the problem, I treat him as I had in the past and things seem to get worse. We have nothing in common, just now he was talking about computer technical things and I swear my eyes glazed over."
If the situation wasn't so dire, Ducky would've been quite amused at the image. "I was referring to how you have been with Timothy these last few months," Ducky clarified. "Stopping by to check in on him and the kids, making the rocking chair, bringing food, offering parental advise, or a chance for him to get some sleep or at least time away from the being their only caregiver."
Gibbs stared at the doctor in surprise, "How did you…"
"Small building," he replied with a smirk, not about to reveal Mr. Palmer as his source, nor that his assistant had mentioned the DNA test Abigail had run.
"You have been quite the support to Tim during this trying time as he adjusts to fatherhood, and life as a single father at that."
Gibbs smiled, "I forgot how good it is to be around little ones, they have a way of worming themselves into your heart."
"You should continue on that route," Ducky continued. "No doubt Timothy could still use the help and support, especially since he is trying to balance work and home life."
Gibbs shrugged, "Then, yeah, but now," another shrug, "Now that everyone knows. I am sure his family and friends will be coming around to help him."
Ducky looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "You do not think he would welcome your help."
Gibbs shrugged, "I'm his boss. I will have his six in any situation and my door is always unlocked, something I have reiterated to them a number of times, but Tim is the only one who never used it. If I hadn't been in the bullpen when he got that initial call about Kelsey being rushed to the hospital, I doubt he would've told me what happened."
Ducky nodded his agreement, "Then we are very fortunate that you were there and able to help him," he calmly stated. "As we have already established, you are family. To the twins and him, regardless of who actually shares your blood. There is no such thing as too much family, thought it sometime may seem that way at the holidays."
"There's family and then there's family," Gibbs argued. "He has his mother, father, sister, and grandmother. He doesn't need some fourth or fifth cousin to his kids, who is also his boss, popping over every five minutes."
Ducky's eyes widened in shock at those words. "Jethro," he began, ready to correct his misconceptions.
"Dr. Mallard," Jimmy called out as he entered the room, "The body is…Agent Gibbs," he said in surprise, seeing the older man talking with his mentor.
"I hope the body isn't Agent Gibbs," Ducky dryly commented.
"Yes, I mean, no, of course not," Jimmy stuttered looking between the two men. "Er, I'll come back later,"
"It's all right," Gibbs stated, hopping down off of the table. "I better return to the bullpen and make sure DiNozzo hasn't gotten out the superglue."
"Jethro," Ducky called, still having some information to share with the younger man.
"It'll keep, Duck," Gibbs called as he exited autopsy, not giving Ducky an opportunity to protest.
"Where's McShotgunWedding?" Tony asked when Gibbs returned to the bullpen alone. "Still in the lab?"
"DiNozzo," the older man warned.
"What? You saying you're not going to force him to marry the girl he got pregnant, the mother of his kids?"
"Not my business."
Tony snorted, "It is if she's related to you."
Gibbs eyebrow rose, "Not that closely related." He still wasn't sure where Kelsey fell on his family tree, but was confident of that fact.
"Uh, yeah, she would be," Tony corrected, jolting Gibbs out of his thoughts. When his boss just stared at him, he continued, "McSon-In-law mentioned that you have to be pretty closely related to the twins for Abby to get the results she did."
Gibbs stared at Tony in disbelief. No one, meaning McGee, had told him that information. His stare changed to a glare. This was an inopportune time for one of Tony's jokes, not to mention a poorly chosen subject.
"He only mentioned it because you asked," Ziva injected, causing Gibbs head to whip around to her. His eyes narrowed. If Ziva was confirming it, that could only mean one thing.
"Regardless, he mentioned it," Tony dismissed her comments before snorting. "Plus, there was the look on his face earlier when I-"
"When you what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked when Tony stopped mid-sentence. Instinctively, Gibbs stepped closer to the younger man.
Tony froze. Tim might be his Probie, but that might not be all he was; he could also be the father of Gibbs's grandchildren. Regardless, McGee's kids are somehow the boss's family, indirectly making Tim family. "When I got him talking about the situation earlier, boss," he concluded.
"Huh, when was this and what did you say?"
Tony shrugged, trying to act casual. "Oh, the conference room after you left. I asked if you guys had found the connection yet and if it was through his ex-girlfriend."
Gibbs stared at Tony suspecting that there was more to the story, but let it slide, he now had more important things to think about. "Nothing confirmed yet. McGee doesn't know much about her past, partly because she doesn't know much," Gibbs admitted. "She was orphaned at a young age and grew up in foster care."
"Nothing?" Ziva inquired.
Gibbs shrugged, "Has vague memories of her Dad until she was about 8. Believes he abandoned her and her mother at that point. Her mother died a few years later. If there were any relatives on either side, no one came forward to claim her when she was orphaned and she doesn't remember anyone."
"Damn, that's sad," Tony felt for her. He too lost his mother at a young age. His father wasn't around much, especially once his mother was gone, but it was better than foster care. Plus, he was lucky enough to have had his grandparents and other extended family.
"Could be why she left her kids with McGee," Ziva observed.
"Or perhaps it could be because he's their father," Tony drawled sarcastically.
Ziva shook her head, "I meant because with such an unstable home life, perhaps she thought she could not raise them properly, especially since McGee mentioned that this was not a planned pregnancy."
Gibbs nodded, "Good point," he said, thinking for a moment. "Ziva, Tony, quietly look into the twins' mom. See if there is anything of note, anything suspicious about any of the foster homes she's been in. Also, see if you can track down her family, her mother's family, an ID on her father, anything that might help us figure this out."
Tony and Ziva nodded eagerly, ready to help. "Do you have a place for us to start?"
Gibbs gave them her name and other pertinent information that Tim had revealed to him before stating that he was going for coffee.
"McGee,"
"Hey, Gibbs," Tim greeted in reply, not bothering to look up. "She still hasn't attempted to use her remote login, nor have my programs noticed someone attempting to hack into the system."
Gibbs nodded not really caring about that right now. He was more concerned about confirming what Tony had divulged.
When no response was forthcoming, and Gibbs hadn't left after receiving that information, Tim looked at and froze at the expression on his boss's face
"Abby's theory," Gibbs began, noticing that Tim's gaze moved back down to his keyboard after he spoke. "There was a reason she thought as she did, wasn't there?"
"Because she lives in a fantasy world where she thinks everything is as she wants it with no conflicts, difficulties, or hardships," Tim offered.
Gibbs just looked at him, noticing that Tim refused to meet his eyes. In fact, the younger man wouldn't even look at him.
He decided to broach the topic from a different direction. "Do you have a large extended family? My grandfather was one of eight children and the only boy. Not sure where all his sisters ended up."
Tim looked at his boss as he wondered what he was thinking. He seriously doubted that the older man was just making small talk, he was up to something.
Gibbs snorted as he continued, "Don't even know the married name for most of them, or even their first names now that I think of it," he admitted.
Tim nodded absently as he tried to figure out where Gibbs was headed with this conversation. He knew both of his paternal grandparents were only children, but he wasn't sure about their parents. He knew even less about his maternal grandparents, he realized. Probably because they didn't like the Admiral that much and seldom visited, even when he was on float.
"McGee," Gibbs called, breaking into his thoughts.
Tim sighed. He had too much to think about to play games, "Just ask what you want to know."
"Tony mentioned"
"Tony, of course," Tim muttered.
"That the DNA test indicated a rather close family connection. I figured we," Gibbs waved a hand between the two of them, "or Kelsey and I were fourth cousins, twice removed or something like that."
Tim remained silent
"McGee, answer the question," he ordered.
Tim looked at him briefly before looking away. "Didn't hear a question in there to answer," he commented.
Gibbs sighed as he once again wondered what was going on with his agent. "How closely am I related to your kids?"
When Tim opened his mouth to reply, Gibbs commanded, "And don't say you don't know."
Tim looked at him, "I don't know," he said, ignoring Gibbs order and the look of anger that passed over the older man's face. "But," he reluctantly began, "It would have to be much closer than fourth cousins twice removed," he said with a slight smile, "for you to be listed as a DNA match to my children. DNA is measured by centimorgans, as I tried to explain earlier. I am not sure Abby defined the parameters on her search, but-"
"How much closer are we talking about?" Gibbs interrupted.
Tim hesitated.
"McGee,"
With a sigh, Tim replied, "I would say within two steps," he reluctantly admitted.
Get stared at him in silence "And that would be?"
"Sibling, either half or full, parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle," Tim replied. "Er, obviously you wouldn't be their aunt," he clarified. "Er, a double first cousin would be included in that as well," he added.
"Definitely closer than fourth cousins twice removed," he muttered to himself under his breath.
"Yeah, that it definitely is," Tim agreed before trying to focus on the work in front of him.
Gibbs opened his mouth before slowly closing it again. He truly did not know what to say.
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" he finally asked.
"I thought you knew," Tim admitted.
"Damn it, Tim, if I knew it was that close, I wouldn't have been so dismissive about the whole thing," Gibbs growled.
Tim snorted, "When I mentioned it indirectly, you denied that it was even a possibility."
Gibbs frowned, "About Kelsey possibly being my daughter," he realized. "And I still deny it," he stated. "Thirty years ago was around the time I started getting serious about Shannon," he began. "We had met a few years previously, right before I shipped out, but we were so young. I thought about her, but I figured it wasn't possible to develop a serious relationship with her. Oh, I still dated," he admitted, catching Tim's questioning glance, "but nothing too serious, most of those relationships only lasted a few months."
Tim snorted, "And probably all redheads," he commented before he could censor himself. "I-"
Gibbs smiled, "It's okay. And actually, none of them were," he stated. "I actually stayed away from redheads since I didn't want to be reminded of Shannon," he admitted.
Tim nodded, "Is that why you are convinced Kelsey isn't yours? Because her mother was a redhead?"
Gibbs shook his head, "No, hair color can be changed," he reminded his young agent. "But the reason why I am so steadfast in my belief that I'm not her father is because of her age."
Tim looked at him, puzzled by that.
"Shannon and I married in 1982, have been together since the holidays of '78. After we started to date, I didn't date or sleep with another woman until after she died," he admitted.
"Oh," Tim said, not sure what else to say and really surprised that Gibbs had shared so much personal information with him.
Gibbs shrugged, "It is possible that Kelsey lied about her age," he added. "If she is older than she led you to believe, well, that's something that we'll address after the DNA test."
"Okay," Tim replied, nodding his head. "Um, I'm meeting Kelsey tonight, after work. I'm gonna tell her everything that happened and ask for a DNA sample, we can run the test tomorrow."
Gibbs nodded before leaving the lab.
"Get to work, Ziva," Tony called a few minutes after Gibbs had left and Ziva was still sitting at her desk, blankly staring at her computer, kneading her hands folded in front of her.
"Tony," Ziva looked at him, "Do you not think that there is one coincidence too many?"
"No such thing as coincidence, Rule 19," Tony returned.
"Exactly!"
"Huh? What coincidences are you talking about?"
"Gibbs is related to Tim's kids. Tim knows his family history and there is no known connection to Gibbs, so it has to be through the twins' mother."
"Yeah, that's why we're looking into her," he reminded her. "Now stop gabbing and get to work."
"Tony," Ziva said impatiently. "Kelsey Gibson, whose mother had red hair and green eyes, not quite 30 years old. Closely related to Gibbs, possibly his daughter."
Tony smiled at that thought, "Probie's really gonna be in for it this time," he smirked.
"Tony! Focus."
"Ziva, you're just repeating things that we already knew," he stated with a sigh of impatience.
"Kelsey Gibson grew up on the West Coat, she lived in California in the early '90's. Kelly Gibbs was believed to have died in California in 1991, was 8 years old at the time. Kelsey Gibson doesn't have any memories of her father after the age of 8. Kelly Gibbs would be 28 years old, her mother had red hair. Kelly Gibbs, daughter to Leroy Jethro Gibbs."
Tony's mouth opened in shock, "You think…"
"I don't know," Ziva replied awkwardly. "Many pieces fit," she added with a shrug.
"But Gibbs would know if his daughter hadn't died, right?" Tony questioned.
Ziva shrugged, "Gibbs was in Kuwait in a hospital bed. The services were closed casket due to the extent of her injuries, the car and its occupants were burnt," she answered Tony's questioning look. "The identity of the bodies were confirmed by the government."
"So what? Conspiracy?"
"Witness protection," Ziva retorted.
"I…no," Tony denied. "Gibbs would've been told."
"Maybe, maybe not," she argued. "He was in a coma during that time," she reminded him.
"I…how do we check that?" Tony asked.
"Very carefully," Ziva advised. "And we say nothing about it right now and we check and check everything again before we even think about telling Gibbs."
"I…" Tony paused. "I don't know if I want that to be the truth or not," he finally admitted. Ziva understood his feelings and agreed with him 100 percent.
"McGee?" Gibbs called as he entered the lab only to be met by silence. After leaving the lab earlier, he returned to his desk to work on cold cases. It soon became clear that once more, he could not focus on the file in front of him, not with the most recent information he learned. Instead he started thinking about ways he could be related to Kelsey.
Sibling was the only alternative. If that was the case, he was sure that his father never learned that he had another child. He groaned as he thought about how sharing that news with Jackson would affect their relationship. There was also the fact that he really did not want to contact his father and ask the older man about any relationship he had 30 years ago.
Gibbs paled as the possibility settled into his mind. A sister. He might have a sister. If they had grown up together, he probably would've been pissed that some guy had gotten her pregnant and didn't marry her. Of course, even then, he wouldn't have the right to force her to marry anyone, and there was no way he could advise a stranger to do so. Of course, the guy in question was McGee. Gibbs was confident that he knew Tim well enough to know that he would be a devoted husband and father, and that any father, or brother would be pleased to welcome him into their family. Then again, according to Tim, it was Kelsey that didn't feel ready to raise a family. Or get married. Gibbs knew enough about marriage to know that if your heart wasn't in it, it definitely wouldn't last, so an unplanned pregnancy was not a reason to get married.
Frustrated at the thought that were now in his head, Gibbs went to get a coffee and take a walk to think some more about it. He soon realized a couple of things, first, that he had more questions than answers, and second, that he didn't want to wait to find out how he was related to Kelsey. He decided to return to the lab to ask Tim some additional questions, as well as see if he could move his meeting up, explain things to his ex, get a sample, and return to the lab so they could run it this evening. Perhaps he'll even ask to take another look at the picture of Kelsey, to see if she had any features in common with his father.
"McGee?" he repeated, wondering where his agent had gone to. He better not have left the lab unsecure, especially with those test things still running.
Gibbs froze before looking back at the computer. The screen was back to the regular desktop, no more lines and lines of text running across it. Frowning, he took a closer look. Cautiously, he moved the mouse, trying to see if anything popped up. Nothing.
Still not sure what had happened, he walked over to the other equipment that was running their DNA. Nothing there either. No whines, or whirls, or hums, just silence.
Did it finish or did Tim decide to stop it? There where only two reasons Gibbs could think about why Tim would stop it, the first because he decided Abby couldn't be to trusted to run a clean test, the second to prevent her from accessing the results. If, however, the test had finished, why hadn't his agent contacted him? Unless he went to do so in person, Gibbs thought, taking another look around the lab. Surely, he wouldn't leave without locking the doors as procedure required.
"McGee?" he called again before heading to Ab-the lab office.
There was his agent, sitting in the chair at the desk, phone vibrating in front of him, eyes closed, cheeks and eyes red, head propped up in hands.
"McGee?" he called softly, fighting his instincts to yell at the younger man. You didn't have to be a seasoned investigator to realize that something was wrong. Instead of his usual head slap, Gibbs brought his hand around and placed it on Tim's shoulder.
Tim startled, opening his eyes at the unexpected touch. "Bo-Gi-" Tim began cutting himself off, unable to finish either moniker.
"What happened?"
Tim snorted, "Then or now?" he questioned.
Gibbs raised an eyebrow, not sure what 'then' referred to. "Then when?" he asked, grimacing at the rhyme.
"Over 34 years ago," Tim supplied, causing Gibbs to frown.
Before he could say anything, Tim's phone began vibrating again with an incoming call. Picking it up, Tim declined the call before Gibbs could say anything.
He cradled the phone in his hands for a few minutes, staring at it. "Have you ever met my mom? She never made it to Washington while you were here, did she?"
"I don't believe so," Gibbs confirmed, surprised by the topic of conversation.
Tim paused an unlocked his phone, browsing through some screens. "Her name-"
"McGee,"
"is Colleen," Tim continued. "She's a brunette with-"
"McGee," the older man tried again.
"natural red highlights and green eyes," he added.
"Your eyes?" Gibbs asked. He wasn't sure what was going on, but after looking at Tim again, it was pretty clear that the man was extremely distraught, barely keeping it together.
"No, not quite the same shade," Tim admitted.
"Okay," Gibbs replied with a nod, still wondering what the point of this was. After a few moments of silence while McGee fiddled with his phone, Gibbs felt the little bit of patience he had fading away. "McGee,"
"Here. This is my mother," Tim turned his phone so Gibbs could see the picture of an older, attractive woman.
"She's a redhead," Gibbs replied, saying the first thing that came to his mind.
Tim snorted, trust this man to notice and comment on that first. "She is now. Her red highlights went white while she was in her mid-twenties and when the rest of her hair started graying, rather than have what looked like a lot of gray hair, she decided to dye all of it red. Said she enjoyed the excuse to let her temper fly."
Gibbs snorted, sounds like quite the woman, he thought, and a bit like the twin's mother, he absently thought.
"McGee,"
"Of course, this was taken a few years ago. Obviously, she looked different 30 something years ago," Tim stated, staring at Gibbs.
"McGee,"
"I talked to her earlier today. Asked her about her life before I was born, conceived," Tim added. "I specifically asked about old boyfriends or as her mother would say, old flames."
"McGee,"
"She said that only one really stood out. Someone whose memory she carried with her. A newly enlisted marine she met from Pennsylvania," Tim paused, looking at Gibbs. "From Stillwater, PA."
Gibbs froze and looked back at Tim. Wordlessly Tim handed over the results before finishing his story about his mother and her marine, his monotone voice not showing a hint of what he was thinking or feeling.
"Why didn't she tell me?" A perplexed, and perhaps still disbelieving Gibbs finally asked.
Tim snorted, "I asked her that same question. She said she tried."
"Bull-"
"Hey!" Tim angrily shouted, cutting him off and standing up so he was towering over Gibbs. "That is my mother you're talking about, she doesn't lie."
Gibbs gave him a skeptical look but didn't say a word.
"She went to Stillwater, in the spring of '78. Some guys followed her around, asked her out, she told them that she was looking for someone. One of them joked that she needn't look any further, that he was the answer to her prayers. After rebuffing him again, he said it was a small town, if they told her who she was looking for, they could help. After all, everyone knows everyone else's business, knows where they are at almost any given time."
Gibbs snorted, they had that right, it was one of the reasons he had been so eager to leave.
"She gave them your name. She told me that the man she had been talking to froze before apologizing. She waved away the apology, thinking that he didn't know where you were, which, since you were overseas, was a logical conclusion. He stopped her from walking away, telling her that your unit had shipped out and that they had just recently received word that you had died."
Gibbs stared at Tim in disbelief.
"He then offered to bring her to your father, but she said she didn't want to intrude while the family was in mourning.
"She left and never returned to Stillwater, believing that you were dead. She later married Captain McGee and had a second child, a daughter."
"I...Mc…Tim," Gibbs paused, gathering his thoughts together. "Do you know who she spoke to?"
Tim nodded, "Yes, she told me, but I'm not going to tell you."
"Dammit, McGee!"
Tim snorted, "Knowing won't change anything."
"No, but beating the hell out of them would make me feel better," Gibbs snapped in reply.
"Doubtful," Tim replied. "If it does, you're not the man I thought you were," Tim said, as he walked back to the desk and picked up the test results, he hesitated for a moment before also grabbing his phone and exiting the lab before Gibbs could say another word.
3-1-2020
Well, there you have it...Tim is the twins' father. Oh yeah, he's also Gibbs' son...
Was it evil of me to end the chapter there? If yes, well, it could've been worse, I could've kept that part for the next chapter and made you wait even longer :)
I do want to know what you guys think...while editing this chapter, I did think about what would happen if Kelsey was Gibbs' sister, and if she had married Tim...that would be interesting...
I am curious to know how you think they will react.
Where did Tim go?
What is Gibbs going to do?
Does he really believe it's the truth?
How will Tony react?
Vance? And everyone else at NCIS?
