Not beta'd; standard disclaimer applies.
No Accident, Chapter 14
"Ow!" Tony muttered, as he glared at Ziva and rubbed the back of his head before moving his gaze to Gibbs. "Boss! Aren't you going to do something?"
"Not yet," Gibbs replied, as he looked at the members of his team still in the kitchen, "I was going to slap you myself; she just beat me to it."
"Bu-,"
Gibbs' glare had Tony stopping before he finished the first word. "I can still slap you as well," he offered, meeting the younger man's gaze. "In fact, I still might, depending on why she did it."
Tony frowned, not sure if he should argue with that point. Now he wasn't even sure if he wanted to know Ziva's reason for the assault, but he knew that if he didn't ask, Gibbs would either ask himself or administer his 'corrective' touch. With a sigh, he turned his gaze back to the lone female in the room and demanded to know, "Well? What the hell was that for, Ziva?"
"Because you deserved it."
"What? How?"
"Multiple times tonight you mentioned Tim's issue with his memory, and at each one, Tim retreated into himself a bit."
"What? Like we're supposed to pretend it doesn't exist?"
"No, that is not what I said or what I meant,"
"Good, because obviously he knows that he doesn't remember everything and it only takes a few minutes talking with him to make it clear to the rest of us."
"That!" Ziva crowed gleefully. "That is what I mean. You seem to be greatly amused by it."
Tony shrugged. "Part of it is funny," he unapologetically stated.
"Not to Tim," Gibbs said, joining in on the conversation. "Not to anyone who is in that situation."
"Sorry, boss."
Gibbs shook his head, "It's not me you need to apologize to."
"Yeah, right, Rule 6," Tony replied, nodding his understanding.
"No, Tim."
"What?"
"You need to apologize to Tim."
"But…rule 6."
"He doesn't remember the rules, so you don't get to live by them in regards to him."
"But he does remember them."
"Tony," Gibbs hissed warningly.
"No, he does," Tony insisted. "Or at least that one. We talked about them at the hospital." Gibbs continued to stare at his senior agent. "I mean, he doesn't agree with it, said he never had, but he remembered it."
"All the more reason you need to apologize," Gibbs stated. "He shared with you what he thinks and feels; for you to completely disregard that, in addition to how you acted, could cause him to pull away from you, the team, feeling like he can't trust us."
"But-"
"Tony," Ziva warned, glaring at him.
Tony's gaze flitted between the two. There was no way he could argue, not when both of them were in agreement.
"Fine, I'll apologize," he muttered, not wanting to test Tim's words about her always carrying around a paperclip.
"Good," a pleased Ziva leant back in her chair.
"Now, what was that about Abby, and the brunette?" Gibbs asked.
"Nothing."
"So, something else you need to apologize for," Gibbs confidently stated.
"What...how?" Tony sputtered.
His boss just shook his head, "For a good detective,"
"How good?" A grinning Tony fished.
"You're crap at noticing how your words affects others," Gibbs completed, staring at Tony and ignoring his question as he waited for an answer to his earlier inquiry.
"It's nothing," Tony finally muttered in response, "Just something else we talked about in the hospital."
"Uh-huh," his boss muttered, shaking his head. "Well, you definitely have the annoying, embarrassing, and no sense of privacy part of 'like brothers' down. What we need to know is if you can be the protective, helpful, and caring kind of brother as well."
"I can!"
"Then prove it," Ziva snapped.
"How?"
"Apologize for one," Ziva began.
"I already said I would!" Tony hissed.
"Stop betraying his confidence," Gibbs said before things could get too heated between his teammates.
Tony opened his mouth before closing it and then opening it again, "Technically, I didn't. Betray his confidence, I mean. He never told me not to say anything about it."
"Tony," Ziva hissed.
"Well, he di-"
"Enough!" Gibbs growled, causing both occupants to stare at him. "Don't you know what is at stake here?" Receiving a blank stare, he sighed before asking, "Do you remember what I did when recovering from amnesia?"
Tony paled, as one thing came to mind. "Mexico?" he whispered in horror.
Gibbs simply looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe not Mexico, specifically, but running away? Yeah."
Both Tony and Ziva inhaled sharply at his words.
"Are you giving Tim any reason to stay? Any reason to think he can trust you? Us?"
"But…But it's McGee. He won't leave. He loves this job, has wanted to be a field agent forever."
"And yet, he probably doesn't remember that," Ziva softly murmured, reminding Tony of the root of the problem.
"I…but…" Tony faltered, his eyes taking in the looks on his companions' faces. "Oh, shit," he whispered as he realized what was going on.
"Yep," Gibbs grimly confirmed. "I've been having a hard time getting him to remain in the same room as me, let alone actually talk to me about what's going on. What happened here, right now, might've now made it an impossible task to accomplish."
Ziva closed her eyes before opening and meeting Gibbs's gaze, "He was about to talk with you right before we came in, was he not?"
"I think so," Gibbs solemnly agreed. "Not sure, though."
Tony paled, and swore under his breath. No wonder why Gibbs hadn't looked pleased. It wasn't Tim that he was upset or frustrated by, but rather their untimely arrival.
"What can we do?" Tony asked, pleading for answers. "Other than apologize, I mean, which I will…I promise," he vowed again.
Gibbs shrugged and shook his head, "I really don't know."
The three fell into an uncomfortable silence.
"For now, should one of us check on Tim?" Ziva asked. "Make sure he is okay?"
"Don't know," Gibbs repeated, causing the other two to exchanged worried looks. Gibbs always had an idea of what to do. "Would you want someone to follow you up after something like this?"
Tony huffed and leaned back, his posture indicating what his answer would be.
Ziva, however, nodded her head, "Perhaps I would," she admitted. When the two men looked at her, she continued, "Maybe not Tony," she added, stalling the senior agent's rising movement, "But having someone go up would let him know that we care."
Gibbs tilted his head as he considered her words. After a few minutes he nodded in agreement.
"So, you'll go check on him?" Tony asked, looking at their boss. "I mean, it is your house and all, and you're his, our boss, it should be you."
Gibbs shook his head, "Ziva, go," he ordered firmly. He knew that both members of his team wanted to check on Tim, but as Ziva had said, it shouldn't be Tony right now, and much as he would like to check on Tim, the reasons Tony gave why he should, were the exact reasons why he shouldn't.
"But boss," Tony began to complain, as Ziva quickly left the room.
Gibbs's glare silenced him. Waiting a few minutes to make sure Ziva was out of earshot, he once again asked, "The brunette?"
"Just something he mentioned in the hospital," he repeated.
Gibbs's stare was unrelenting. As usual, Tony began talking to fill in the silence. "It wasn't anything. Really. Tim just mentioned seeing a brunette when he closed his eyes."
"And?"
Tony shrugged, continuing under his boss's unrelenting gaze, "Just…I believe his exact words were 'a dark-haired angel'."
"One that he didn't remember," Gibbs dryly stated, Tony's slight nod confirming the suspicion.
"So, you teased him about it, then and now."
"I thought he was talking about Abby!" he protested. "Tim mentioned that he thought he moved up here from Norfolk for her."
Gibbs frowned, "But he didn't recognize Abby."
"I know!" Tony threw his hands up in frustration. "But he's totally hung up on some nameless brunette, believing he's moved up here to be with her and it's driving me crazy not knowing who she is!"
Gibbs stared at his Senior Agent, fighting the urge to snicker. It's driving him crazy not knowing who it was? How did he think McGee felt?
"What?" Tony asked, sensing the older man's amusement and exasperation. He was just glad that it hadn't warranted a head slap.
Jethro shook his head, not wanting to go into that, "Still, you had to tease him about it?"
"In my defense, I thought he was faking the amnesia."
"What?!" Gibbs hissed, angrier than Tony had seen him in a long time. "Still?!"
"What? No!" Tony defended himself. "Not now, then, I mean, in the hospital."
Gibbs calmed down slightly at his words. "But you brought it up again."
"You know I don't always think before I open my mouth."
"Yeah, I do," Gibbs readily agreed, pausing a moment for effect, "But does Tim?" Those words had Tony blinking his eyes before the younger man groaned and banged his head against the table in realization of exactly how much he had messed up.
"Tim?" Ziva called, knocking a second time on the opened door.
At the sound of his name, Tim startled, automatically locking his phone and putting it face down on the bed. "Ziva?" He questioned, seeing the woman in question in the doorway. "Is everything okay?"
She smiled at him, "That is what I came up here to ask you."
"Me? I'm fine."
Ziva raised an eyebrow in doubt of his words as she stepped further into the room.
"Really. It's just been a long day." At her penetrating stare, Tim continued, "I never realized how exhausting doing nothing can be."
Moving to take a seat at the end of the bed, she commented, "You know I am here if you need to talk."
"Not much to say," Tim replied with a shrug. "And I doubt you changed your mind about telling me about my life."
"I…" Ziva hesitated.
"It's okay," Tim hastened to reassure her.
"Just give it the weekend, okay?" she bargained. "If you still have questions you need the answers to, you can ask me some of them then."
"Some?"
Ziva smiled at him. "Some," she repeated. "If you have not regained all your memories, I doubt Ducky would want me to tell you everything." She frowned for a moment, "There is also the fact that I do not think I will know the answers to everything you want to know. Not to mention that I am sure others would like the opportunity to help you as well.
"As long as you are sure," Tim softly muttered, glaring slightly at his phone again.
"Tim?"
He shook his head, "After the weekend," he agreed.
"That was only for questions," she reminded him. "If something is on your mind or bothering you, we can talk about it."
Tim continued to shake his head.
"If this is about Tony…" she paused, given her companion a chance to confirm or deny her words, something he didn't do. "Well, he often acts and speaks before he thinks. I am sure he did not mean to make light of your situation, it is just, well, he…" she trailed off, not wanting to speak too negatively of her teammate, especially when Tim might not have remembered much about him.
"He's the class clown," Tim offered.
Ziva's brow furrowed, "Class clown?" she repeated in confusion. "What class? Because I often believe that he has none, which is surprising considering the circles he supposedly grew up in."
Tim snickered, "I don't know anything about his upbringing, but class clown refers to someone who often makes jokes, plays pranks, or pokes fun at others; someone who calls attention to themselves. Sometimes it is done because they want everyone to like them, but often it is to distract from a serious issue."
"Yes! That sounds very much like our Tony," Ziva agreed, emphatically nodding her head. "But where does the class fit in?"
"It doesn't," Tim dryly replied, "As you said, Tony doesn't have any." While Ziva snickered, Tim continued, "Originally, the term referred to a student who often caused trouble or distractions in the classroom. For instance, a kid who has a difficult time reading might make fun of someone else and distract the teacher, causing him to be reprimanded for that, allowing his turn at reading to be skipped over. But it evolved to mean the jokester of any group."
"Ah, I see," Ziva commented. "Well, it seems that memory or no memory, you have Tony figured out." She paused, hoping for a response from her friend. While none were forthcoming, she did notice the pensive look on his face, attributing it to Tony, she once more tried to reassure him, "As you said, he is the class clown. He often jokes to lighten things up at work, and, as I said, he often does not think before he speaks. I am sure he did not intend to be hurtful with his teasing words."
Tim absently nodded.
"Well," she finally began when it became clear that Tim wasn't going to say anything else, "I should probably head back downstairs so Tony and I can leave. Even with working on cold cases, we need to be at work on time tomorrow."
Once more, Tim just nodded. Ziva stood, and after looking at him once more, left the room to return to the kitchen.
Ziva smirked as she entered the kitchen and noticed Tony banging his head against the table. "He no longer waits for you to slap him, he now does it himself?"
Gibbs snickered, but didn't verbally respond to her comment. "How's Tim?"
"I know that people, usually teens, spend a lot of time staring at their phones, I just did not know that Timothy was one of them."
"Teen?" Tony questioned. "He's young, but not that young."
Rolling her eyes, Ziva continued, "The door was ajar and when I knocked, it opened even more, allowing me to notice him sitting on the bed staring at his phone."
"But how is he?" Tony impatiently asked.
"Quiet."
"He's always quiet," Tony groaned, "Boss, you should've sent me up there to check on him. One, I could've apologized, and two, I probably would've gotten him to talk."
"No," Ziva corrected, "Two, you probably would have gotten him so mad that he would have yelled."
"Well, you said he was quiet, with me he wouldn't have been," Tony argued.
She rolled her eyes, "Quiet as in non-communicative. He insisted everything was fine, but…" she hesitated, not sure if she wanted to mention her observations, especially in front of their other teammate.
"But what?" Tony prodded, "You didn't believe him? Not that I can blame you, I mean this is Probie; he never admits when things aren't fine, mostly because he's trying to save face."
"Save face?" Ziva questioned. "Why would he want to save his face and couldn't he just take a photo if he wanted to do so?"
Tony snickered, "No-"
Gibbs whistled, causing both agents to fall silent and turn to him. "Not the time," he said, once he knew he had their attention. "Ziva? Anything else you want to add?"
Ziva hesitated a moment before finally replying, "No."
Gibbs eyed her shrewdly for a few moments before turning to address both his subordinates. He knew that if Ziva knew something that he needed to know, she would find a way to get that information to him. "I'm thinking it best if you two don't come over tomorrow, or at least call me before you do."
"What? Why?" Tony asked in surprise at the same time that Ziva murmured her agreement.
"Better make that the rule for this weekend," Gibbs added after further thought. He wouldn't be surprised if it took him some time to get Tim comfortable talking with him again after what happened tonight.
"The entire weekend?" The senior agent questioned, "Not just tomorrow?"
"The entire weekend," the homeowner confirmed.
"But your door is always open."
"Consider it locked for now, until further notice, unless it is a matter of life and death," Gibbs dryly stated.
"Because it could be," Ziva explained before Tony could offer up more protests. "For Tim," she clarified at her teammate's puzzled look. "He wants the time to talk with Tim and does not want to chance us interrupting at the wrong moment, again."
Gibbs gave a half smile, not surprised that she figured out his reasoning. "I won't answer my phone if we are talking. If it is okay for someone to come over, I'll either answer or call you back."
"But-"
"This temporary rule is not just you, it's for everyone," he stated firmly, interrupting another protest. "I'll talk to Ducky, make sure that he knows to call first. Tony, I need you to talk to Abby. Make sure she knows the new set up. If you call and I don't answer, don't come over," he added.
"Will do," he grudgingly agreed.
"Good. Now, go. You both have to be at work on time tomorrow," he smirked, "I'll know if you weren't."
11-1-2021