Chapter 21

Tim hoped that Tony's acceptance of what he said lasted. He wasn't sure it would, but he was happy to take it for what it was and hope for an improvement.

Right now, with Tony driving them back over the bridges, Tim was ostensibly looking at what there was to do in the Everglades, but his mind was mostly on what had happened in Key West. If there was one thing he definitely agreed with Tony on, it was that yesterday had been terrible. Even the small moments of enjoyment had not managed to make it good. At least not as far as Tim was concerned. A small part of him wanted to ask Tony what he had talked to Gibbs about, but most of him was happy to avoid any mention of him.

But as he continued to stare at his phone and the atlas, his mind kept going back to what Tony might have talked about with Gibbs. Had they talked about Tim? Had they kept it to neutral topics? Did Tony regret leaving Gibbs in Key West when he was obviously miserable? Tim could see it. He knew it. He knew that Gibbs was trying to make up for what he'd done before, but even though Tim knew he was expending effort that he didn't normally use when it came to Tim, it just wasn't enough.

"Tim?"

Tim didn't know what it would take for him to think it was enough, but he knew that he hadn't seen it yet.

"Yo, Tim!"

Tim jumped and looked up.

"What?"

"Tell me how much longer it will take to get off these bridges," Tony said, with a tone that told Tim he was trying not to ask about what Tim was thinking. "I'm ready to be done with them, no matter how cool it is."

Tim checked where they were.

"It's about sixteen miles to Key Largo and that will mean we're almost back to mainland Florida."

"Good."

The silence that followed was a little awkward, but Tim really didn't want to share what was occupying his thoughts because a big part of the problem was whether or not he wanted to know what Tony had talked to Gibbs about and telling Tony would kind of defeat the purpose.

And today was supposed to be easy.

"So, what is there to see in the Everglades? Alligators?"

"Maybe, but I was thinking we could do an airboat tour, if you didn't mind. It takes you through the Everglades and you can see a lot of it that you can't see by car."

"People do that?"

Tim nodded. "There are a lot of different companies that do these tours. All of them are close to the park and some are inside the park, right off the main highway."

"Nice. Which one looks best of the ones inside?"

"Well, I don't know, but the Coopertown one does have a restaurant onsite and a gift shop," Tim said, smiling a little, knowing how Tony would feel about that.

"Sounds great. How much are the tours?"

"Uh... twenty-three bucks for the shortest trip."

"A little pricy, but okay. I've never been on an airboat."

"Neither have I."

"Good. Then, it'll be a new experience all around...and a gift shop."

Tim found that he could laugh.

"Is that enough to get you off the bridges?" he asked.

"Maybe," Tony said, but he smiled, too.

Both of them were slowly relaxing. Maybe this would work out after all.

However, as they neared the mainland, Tim prepared to do battle. He'd put Tony through a lot of stressful situations in the last couple of days, not the least of which was driving over the bridges between Key West and mainland Florida. Tony would definitely be needing a break from driving, and Tim knew he could do it. He wasn't tired. He wasn't sick. He could drive the car.

"We should gas up once we get back to the mainland," Tim said. "I'm sure there aren't a lot of gas stations in the park."

"Sounds good. I could use some time out of the car, actually."

"Okay."

Inside, Tim was celebrating because with Tony out of the driver's seat, it would be easy enough to argue for the switch. He hoped it wouldn't be a big deal, but Tony would still likely be feeling far too protective.

After they got back to the mainland, Tony breathed a sigh of relief and they drove to Homestead to get gas.

"There's a station," Tim said, pointing to one on the right side of the road.

Tony nodded and turned off.

"I'll get this one," Tim said.

"Okay." Tony parked at a pump and then went into the gas station to use the restroom, leaving the keys in the car in case Tim needed to move it after filling up. Tim filled up as quickly as he could and then moved the car and took the keys with him. He went into the gas station and used the restroom himself and then he came out and found Tony looking at the treats.

"Have you had enough chocolate licorice?" Tim asked.

Tony looked up, a little startled, and smiled.

"Yeah. I was thinking we could branch out a little bit."

Tim grabbed a package of Oreos and then got some water. Tony got some chips and fruit snacks of all things. Tim saw it and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, they're actually pretty good. Sam loves them," Tony said. "And I need some water, too."

Tim laughed and pointed to the display. Tony ignored the laughter and grabbed his own water. Then, they went to the counter to pay for their treats and back out to the car.

"Okay, Tony," Tim said. "My turn to drive."

"I can go further. It wasn't really that far, you know," Tony said.

Tim sighed inwardly, but he was also determined to keep it light and not serious.

"Not far, but it was over the bridges, and you did them both directions. I told you I'd drive once we got back over to the mainland. Here we are. I'm driving. I'm not sick. Even if I was, driving is not strenuous activity. I'm driving." Then, Tim grinned and held up the keys. "Besides, I've got the keys and the car is locked."

"Tim, you're being childish."

"And you're being stupid. I'm not saying I'll drive the whole rest of the trip, but I can drive. I said I would. It's time. So get in the car on the passenger side and we can get going."

Tim walked over to the driver's side and unlocked the doors.

"Are you coming?"

Tony rolled his eyes, and he seemed to be just a little irritated. Still, he did get into the car on the passenger side and they pulled out.

But the awkwardness was back, and Tim hated it being there.

"Tony, I'm just trying to do my part and I knew you'd try to keep it up. If you need a break, it's fine." Then, Tim smiled. "You don't have to do everything yourself, you know."

Now, Tony raised his eyebrows.

"Speaking from experience?" he asked.

"Yep," Tim said, determined not to get angry this time. "Since I know it so well, you should listen to me."

"Uh-huh."

"Now, do you want to go to the visitor center first or the air boat?" Tim asked, trying to move on.

"Which is closer to us right now?" Tony asked, seeming to agree to drop the matter for the moment.

"I think the visitor center," Tim said. "But you might want to check."

"You said Coopertown?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Well, it's further north. There's a road that goes through the park from one visitor center to another one. If we go there first, we can drive through the parts that the road reaches and then do the airboat later. What do you think?" Tony asked.

"Sounds fine with me. Directions?"

"Watch for a right turn so you can stay on highway 9336."

"Okay."

There was some awkward silence in the car again. So it would be better to acknowledge it.

"I can't do much for you, Tony," Tim said. "But I can give you a break from the driving that I know made you tense. Let me do that much. I want to make something easier." He didn't bring up the other stress since that was not easy stress, not in any sense of the word, but he could mention the driving stress.

There was a sigh. Tim glanced over and saw Tony looking a little sheepish.

"Yeah, I know. You know me. When I'm not trying to make things as easy as I can, I'm trying to make them as hard as I can."

"You wanted today to be easy, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Then, let it be," Tim said. "It'll probably work better."

"Probably. Well, let's see what the visitor center has to tell us."

"Sounds good."

Tim got them into the park where they paid for the entrance and then they headed for the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center. There a lot of people there and they didn't get a parking spot close to the building, but that was okay as far as Tim was concerned. It wasn't that far.

They got out of the car and started for the building.

"We should have come earlier," Tony said.

"It's the summer. Everyone is on vacation right now. It would always be busy except when it's closed," Tim said.

Tony smiled. "Why did we choose to go on a vacation to a popular destination at the height of summer travel?"

"Because I was deathly ill and asked you to," Tim said, trying to see if Tony would accept a joke about his illness. "You should have known better than to listen to me."

There was a moment when Tim was sure that Tony was going to lecture him about being too flippant (which was weird for Tim to contemplate), but then, he gave a lopsided smile.

"Yeah, what was I thinking that the first time I ever listened to you would lead to this?"

"I don't know," Tim said, "but I'm disappointed in you, Tony."

Tony laughed and pushed Tim forward.

"Whatever. Get inside the building, Probie."

Tim grinned, feeling relieved. "Yes, sir."

They went into the visitor center and navigated through all the crowds, reading about the establishment of the park, picking up maps of the park, looking at the displays. Then, of course, into the gift shop. It wasn't huge, but it had some things to look at. Tony didn't even seem interested in buying anything. Tim wanted to wait and see what else there was. They'd be coming back this way. If the Flamingo Visitor Center didn't have a gift shop, they could always come back.

"Oh, look. Insect repellant," Tony said, looking at a large display of it. "You think we need some?"

"Yes, you do."

Tim turned at the voice and saw one of the park rangers smiling at them.

"If you have to ask the question, then, yes. It's the middle of the summer and the bugs can get pretty bad. You're asking to be eaten alive if you don't have some mosquito repellant."

"Then, we'll get some," Tim said.

"Good idea."

"Hey, any good short walks in the park?" Tim asked.

"How short?" the ranger asked.

"Tim's just getting over a serious illness," Tony said, jumping in.

"A month ago," Tim added, with a sideways glance at Tony.

"Under a mile?"

"Yeah," Tim said.

"There are a few. You should stop at the Mahogany Hammock. It's only about half a mile, round trip, and there's a boardwalk the entire way."

"What's the hammock?" Tony asked.

"It's just a densely-wooded area, but it's a beautiful look at what the Everglades has. You'll likely have quite a few people on it at this time of day, but it's worth a stop."

"Thanks," Tim said.

"You should also take a look at the West Lake Trail. It's about half a mile and the boardwalk goes out over the water so you can look at the mangroves that are so common around here."

"Sounds cool," Tony said. "Thanks. I won't even complain about buying bug spray."

The ranger laughed and left them to their purchase.

"You want to buy anything else here?" Tim asked.

"Nah. For now, let's just go with the bug stuff."

They waited in a long line to pay for it and then headed back to the car. Tim got in the driver's seat and was impressed that Tony didn't say anything against it. Then, they began driving west, following the road that led to the Flamingo Visitor Center.

Tim hoped that they would be able to have fun here.