Not beta'd; Standard disclaimer applies.

Stolen Moments (S3)

"DiNozzo, David, get to work," Gibbs called without looking back, instinctively knowing that the two were following.

"Boss," Tony whined, he hated being left out, especially when it involved something so interesting. The fact that it could give him months of teasing material on McGee was just an added benefit.

"Now," Gibbs barked. Causing the two to do an immediate about-face and return to their desks.

Returning to the bullpen the two found Tim standing where they had left him, looking blankly at the wall in front of him. He was muttering something indecipherable, though Tony thought he heard something about resigning. Tony looked at him for a moment before coming up with a plan.

"Poor Probie," Tony tutted. "He's in such shock that his deepest, darkest secrets have been revealed that he can't move. Hmm, ya know, Gibbs is waiting for him in room 3," he commented slyly, turning to Ziva, "I think we should bring him there, you know," he grinned, "Make sure he arrives safely."

Ziva just shook her head, as she returned to her desk. "Do as you will."

Tony grinned before leading Tim own the hall and entering the conference room.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs growled when he caught sight of his senior agent.

"Just bringing Timmy here," he explained, patting Tim on the head. "But since I'm here…"

"You're not staying," Gibbs stated, glaring at Tony, "This doesn't concern you."

Tony frowned at that as he looked between the room's occupants. It involved at least two of his team members plus Abby; surely, he and Ziva were going to find out what was going on eventually.

"Right," he said, moving Tim away from the door before closing it. "If it's that private," he muttered, hurt about being excluded. "I'd best make sure no one interrupts," he finished before leaning on the wall next to the door, suspecting it wouldn't be long before Ziva joined him.

"I…I got it when I was at your apartment that night," Abby admitted to Tim after Tony had closed the door.

Green eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Why?"

Abby snorted, "Why do ya think?"

Tim just stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, come on, Timmy," she taunted. "You seriously expect me to believe that you expected me to believe that you were their biological father without any proof? When you never said a word about them? I mean, they were three months old! I know you said they were premature, but still, that means that you had to have known about them, the possibility of them for almost a year! Yet you never said anything, and you were still keeping it from everyone. Now I know that there was a reason for that," she shot them a telling look as she said that last sentence.

"I know you're not the kind of guy who sleeps with a strange girl and leaves her pregnant. And you never mentioned that you were seeing anyone and there was no sign of a woman living with you. Again, there's a reason for that," she pointedly added.

"I also know that you are the kind of guy who wants a family some day. Everyone knows that, even woman who just meet you, you have 'family guy' written all over you. When, out of the blue, you told me that you were the biological father to three month old twins, of course I thought something was hinky. I admit that I thought that most likely it was a scam of some kind, some girl trapping you into taking care of her and her kids, the kids some other guy fathered. Driving a Porsche, it's obvious that you have money. What kind of friend would I be if I let that happen? I took the DNA to prove that they weren't yours."

Tim bit his tongue as he tried to keep a rein on his temper. He had no idea how to even approach what she just shared. Eventually he let some of it out, unable to keep it locked down. "God, Abby, there are so many things wrong with what you just said, I'm not even sure where to begin. First, I never asked you to prove anything. I told you that I told you as a friend, so you would support me and understand why things had to change. I did not tell you as a coworker and definitely not as a scientist. Second, any kind of friend would have talked to me about their concerns or suspicions. I had no doubts that the kids were mine and would've told you that. Third, that still did not give you the right to steal and run their DNA without my knowledge or consent. Fourth, even if you ignore all of those points, and decided to go ahead anyway, you could have run their DNA against mine, not the whole bloody system!"

"Bloody?" Tony muttered quietly to Ziva who had appeared a few moments before, "When did McGee become British?" He couldn't hear everything that they said, but Tim's voice had slowly increased in decibels until he was shouting the last few words.

"Fifth, I told you about them, in confidence, because you were my friend. That means you do not shout it about for everyone to hear. I did not tell scientist Abby, so she could steal their DNA and run it without my permission."

Abby snorted, "How else was I to discover that Gibbs is the other parent?"

"Abby!" he groaned, "Will you stop saying that," Tim ordered before once more bringing out his phone and holding it up, "This is the twin's mother, she is not a surrogate. She became pregnant the natural way about ten months ago." He looked at his phone again and brought a different picture up on the screen, "This picture was taken about one year ago," another swipe of his fingers on the screen, "and here we are five months ago at a baby shower. Yes, her pregnancy wasn't planned and she did not feel ready to become a mom, especially once we discovered that she was carrying twins, nor did she feel right having an abortion. We talked and agreed that I would have custody of the kids once they were born. As you stated, I am financially stable and can afford to hire help or place them in daycare as needed. And now that that's settled and, thanks to you, everyone now knows more about my less than private life, can we please forget about this and get back to work?"

"If he's not the other father, how can you explain the fact that Gibbs knows, that he spent a lot of time making you that custom chair, is at your apartment more in the last few weeks then he had been in previous years combined, and that Kiva has his eyes?"

Tim rolled his eyes. "Many babies have blue eyes when they are young and their mother has blue eyes. Gibbs has been very supportive since I mentioned this to him about nine months ago. He has allowed me the time off I needed, has occasionally called or stopped by to check up on the kids, and to make sure I was doing well, as well as anything else I needed."

"Gibbs," Abby turned her pleading gaze to the older man.

"Abby, I'm not the other parent," he spoke quietly. "As McGee said, I first learned about the twins nine months ago when he first learned about the situation. He later informed me that he would be obtaining custody of them once they were born. The only reason I was told was because as his supervisor I needed to know that he would be leaving when she went into labor or if something happened that affected his work or schedule."

Tim snorted, in truth he had told Gibbs because he was in such shock when he first found out he was afraid that he would be preoccupied by the news and unable to focus on the tasks he had been assigned. When those tasks included having your partner's six in the field, he knew he couldn't keep it from his supervisor.

"And the chair?"

Gibbs sighed and looked at Tim, "A few weeks after the twins were born I noticed that McGee seemed to be in pain. When I told him to see Ducky to get checked out, he told me that he was fine, just stiff from the damn chairs in the nursery. I suggested that when he moves and does the nursery, that he gets a rocking chair. He explained that that was the reason for most of his discomfort. That the hospital had some, but that they were too short for his frame, causing his legs to cramp up and keeping the babies up. Since rocking Kelly was one of happiest things I ever remember doing, I decided to make sure McGee got the opportunity to do so with his children, so I made him the chair."

"That is so sweet, Gibbs!" Abby cried before gushing, "Timmy, you are so lucky!"

Tony and Ziva exchanged looks. Gibbs was being sweet? Something unusual really had to be going on between them.

"Now are we done?" Gibbs asked gruffly.

"But you've been so different lately," Abby persisted. "One might even say happy, especially these last few weeks, you know," she added knowingly, "Since the twins have been home."

Gibbs rolled his eyes but knew he couldn't really deny that charge. "It's been kinda fun playing house," he admitted. "Not like that," he snapped when Abby's eyes brightened and she looked back and forth between the two men. "Never really thought I would get a chance to be around kids this much again. Being able to watch them grow has brought back some memories of happier times," he explained.

"I…But…you…his apartment…"

"Abby, you know my door is always open whenever one of you needs something," Gibbs reminded her. "In this situation, Tim needed something, and it was easier for me to go to him than for him to bring three month old babies to me. He was a new father of twins. There was so much to learn and a very short time he had to do so. Being home with one baby is tough enough, but two? As one of the few people who knew about his situation and had experience with babies, I helped out where I could."

"But science doesn't lie," Abby stated firmly.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but maybe science made a mistake," Gibbs offered.

"It didn't. And I don't make mistakes either," Abby retorted, waving the paper in her hand. "I ran the kids DNA through the system looking for a match. Two matches came up," she said, handing the paper to Tim. "Timothy McGee and Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

Tim hesitated as he reached for her offering, "Could the kids' sample be contaminated?"

"How?" Abby questioned.

"I…" Tim hesitated, not having an answer for that question.

"Because Gibbs, as their other father, is often over there to help you?"

"Abby," Gibbs growled, while Tim was preoccupied with the printout.

"And the chances that both samples are contaminated?" Abby asked, staring at Tim.

Tim gulped as he mentally calculated those odds. "I…it has to be."

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked suspiciously, when Tim remained clutching the paper in his hand, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"McGee, report," Gibbs ordered, knowing his agent wouldn't ignore that command.

"I…according to these results, the DNA that Abby got from my kids show a match to you and me. It doesn't specify what type of match, just that it's a match."

"And…?" Gibbs impatiently asked.

"And," Tim stressed, looking at his boss, unsure of what was going on, "my kids are somehow related to you."

Gibbs remained silent, Tim couldn't tell if he was surprised or upset with this latest piece of information.

"Gibbs has a family!" Abby happily burst out, giving the older man a hug. She was glad that she could finally make that announcement.

Tony and Ziva exchanged looks after hearing Abby's announcement. No wonder why Gibbs said it was private. No doubt the two of them wanted to keep it all a secret and were upset when Abby broke the news. Anyone else Tim and Gibbs would've blown off. But neither man could keep anything from Abby. The older man hated laying to her or disappointing the young woman he often treated like a daughter and McGee always gave in to her when Abby put the pressure on.

"Abby, you can't tell anyone about this," Gibbs stated firmly, as he finally overcame his surprise at Tim's words, his voice carrying into the hallway.

"We gotta move," Tony hissed to Ziva, suspecting that the private conference was wrapping up. The duo scurried back to their desks, where they tried to look like they had been the entire time.

Silence reigned on the floor as everyone watched Tim, Gibbs, and Abby return to the bullpen. Abby was more effervescent than usual, causing many to believe that she had been vindicated, making many wonder if she had been right about Tim and Gibbs. As they processed this, their gazes couldn't help but flicker between the two men.

Tim groaned, why wouldn't Gibbs let them talk about what was going on? By keeping it private, they were only fueling everyone's imagination. Tim suspected that he was going to have to dodge questions, sly looks, and innuendos all day.

"Enough," Gibbs finally announced, "Nothing to see here, everyone back to work," he ordered, glaring everyone into submission.

"Ziva," he said looking at said agent, "Share what we learned with DiNozzo and McGee, see if they can find out more," he ordered before taking the stairs up to the director's office.

Left in the bullpen, Ziva glanced between the two men. Both appeared to still be in mild shock, or at least preoccupied so she waited for them to acknowledge her. She did not want to waste her breath or time talking about the case if they weren't listening.

Finally, they both seemed to regain their senses and looked at her. She quickly brought them up to date on what she and Gibbs learned and the three agents developed a plan of attack for discovering more, each one of them momentarily ignoring the proverbial elephant in the room.

Tony spent the next few minutes watching McGee, wondering if what Abby had said was true when the younger agent's head shot up. At first, Tony thought McGee could feel his gaze and was going to make a comment, however, the younger man didn't even look at Tony. Following where his eyes went, Tony noticed their boss standing on the catwalk looking at their team, more specifically, looking at Tim before Gibbs turned away. As Gibbs headed back to his desk, Tim's eyes tracked him, something Tony couldn't help but notice. Had the two always been connected like that, he wondered. As far as Tony knew, no sound was made to indicate that Gibbs had exited the Director's office and was watching them, yet somehow Tim knew.

Was it really possible? And if it was, what did it mean for the team? He definitely needed more information, Tony realized.

7-17-19

Well, here is another chapter, hope you enjoy it. Might have another chapter this week, if not next (As said, I hope to update every week). Currently have a sprained wrist, so we'll have to see how it goes.

Would love to hear from you. Thanks to everyone who has favorited/followed this story or the author and especially to those who reviewed. I love seeing them and learning what you guys are thinking/feeling.