Kelly didn't say a thing to her Dad in the truck on the way to the funeral home, she's quiet. Gibbs isn't too concerned with the quietness, he likes the shy smile he sees cross her face sometimes when she's thinking. He's never really seen her smile like that before. "Penny for your thoughts there, Kell?" He asks and anyone who knows him will know how much he hates starting conversations, but it's different with the two of them. It's been a revolving door of stepmothers - ex wife's, ex lovers and ex girlfriends. But one thing has never changed, through all the ups and downs, they've always been there for each other.
"Oh Dad," she sighed. "Just thinking that it's funny how much life can change in the course of a day." Gibbs sighed too, he reached out to comfort his daughter wordlessly.
'She's right,' he had thought. 'Yesterday morning I was married, it wasn't perfect, but I still had my wife, by my side, alive.'
"Bet it was strange seeing McGee today, after all those years since MIT." Gibbs started up again, trying to coax out her feelings on the subject. "I honestly didn't put two and two together."
"It was a good kind of strange." Kelly finally answered. "In some ways he's changed so much. In others, it's like no time has passed at all."
"It's only been five years since MIT." Gibbs argued. "Not really that long."
"I saw him for a couple of months after we finished at MIT. He moved to Georgetown U, while he was waiting on FLETC. We saw each other right up until I left for Berkeley." Gibbs let that Information sink in for a moment.
He was never really one hundred percent sure if Tim was a friend, friend-friend or a lover while they were at MIT. He'd remembered thinking friend at the time, but too many things hadn't added up. 'I think back then, I didn't want to know.' He mused to himself silently. Of course he was wrapped up in himself and he'd just met Stephanie.
"What the hell was he doing at Georgetown U? He already had two degrees from Johns Hopkins and two degrees from MIT by then." Gibbs asked, wondering just how many degrees Tim actually had. Gibbs only knew of four. When he'd bought the young man on his team, he hadn't read past his name, age and education background. He hadn't read the qualifications or hobbies pages, the psychology profile or skills pages. He'd been so impressed with what he had read, he hadn't hesitated in having the young, shy genius transferred to his team.
"He was going for his doctorate." Kelly said flippantly, as if Gibbs should know that already.
Ducky met the duo at the funeral home and he was relieved to see Kelly wasn't so exhausted from her travels as when he'd saw her last.
With everything that happened this afternoon, Gibbs watched his daughter intently for any signs that his daughter was uncomfortable with any of the details of the funeral home. He thought it might have bought up some old memories of her Mum. But she was cool as a cucumber.
Gibbs and Ducky confirmed that what Rebecca wanted, was what the funeral home had planned and with that knowledge, they left for the diner.
"Your daughter seems in an exceptionally good mood." Ducky commented. "Did something happen?" He asked, he couldn't believe his eyes. He'd saw her this morning when she arrived and they didn't have the spark that they held now. Kelly was in the bathroom and just the gentlemen were seated in the booth.
"It seems McGee is Kelly's friend from MIT." Gibbs said, amused.
"MIT Tim is our Timothy?" Ducky asked, also amused. Ducky knew all about MIT Tim, he thought he may have actually been told more than Jethro on the matter, but wisely kept that fact to himself.
"When Kell came to the bullpen to collect me, we bumped into him on the way out."
"I've never seen her smile like that before." Ducky mused, watching for the infamously overprotective father to appear.
"Me either, Duck." Gibbs said and Ducky was surprised by Gibbs reaction to his comment. "They're going to grab dinner while she's in town." He relayed the information he'd overheard. Gibbs didn't seem phased by that, which definitely surprised the ME. Gibbs was infamously overprotective of Kelly.
They ordered their coffees and tea for Ducky before settling into chatting about the mundane things. Ducky and Gibbs started talking NCIS again and Kelly's mind wondered.
/FLASHBACK/
They'd agreed to meet in the science quad at six, they'd planned to walk over to the pizza parlour a block off campus and get take out. By then the football team would have finished training and they could set up for a night of stargazing.
"What pizza do you like?" Tim had asked her, they'd just gotten in line for the counter.
"Vegetarian with chicken." Kelly answered and grimaced. She was internally cursing herself. She should have just said damn pepperoni.
"That sounds good, mind if we split an extra large?" He asked with a smile and she didn't feel so stupid for not choosing pepperoni after all.
"Of course." Tim stepped up to the counter and ordered the pizza. He didn't order anything else.
"I'll get the drinks." Kelly offered, thinking back to how poor some students can be. Her Dad always made sure she had extra money.
"There's no need, unless there's something specific you'd like to drink." Tim said shyly. "I have a cooler with drinks, some snacks and a picnic blanket stashed under the bleachers for us."
They made the short walk but on campus, pizza in hand and sure enough, there was a small cooler and picnic blanket stashed in the back corner, underneath the bleachers. "What's going to be the best viewing spot?" Tim asked "We should set up there."
"The middle of the field, away from the lights." Kelly answered and Tim knew what her next question would be and answered it before she could ask it.
"The lights go off at seven fifteen."
They sat down in the picnic blanket and Tim handed Kelly a bottle of water and a plate. Their hands brushed lightly with the exchange and they shared a smile together.
"Can you drop me back at the navy yard, Duck?" Gibbs asked, startling Kelly out of her reverie. She finished her untouched, now cool coffee in two mouthfuls.
"Ah sure," he answered as he'd watched Kelly closely.
Ducky was sure that Kelly had been daydreaming and if her smile was anything to go by, he could easily have guessed about who. "Kelly, do you have plans tomorrow evening? I'd love to have the two of you around for dinner."
"I'm hoping to have dinner with Tim." Kelly said shyly and it confirmed what Ducky had thought about her daydreaming. "I'm assuming the case has to be closed first."
"It better be closed by the time I get back." Gibbs said in a growling voice.
"I'm sure it will be, Jethro. Anthony and Timothy always follow your orders. If not, please do remember that while Ziva is visiting her father in Israel, they are a person down on the team." Ducky reminded the team leader.
"Yeah, I know." He grumbled.
Kelly left the duo at the diner, arguing over whether or not their case would be solved by the time they returned. She returned to her home, the one in Alexandria that she shared with her father and called her boss, having forgotten to earlier. She explained that her stepmother had been killed by a drunk driver last night and she had flown to DC to be with her family.
Kelly's boss was a reasonable woman, practical. She'd passed on her condolences to her family and on behalf of the staff. She asked about the funeral details and Kelly told her the details were still being finalised - which was partially true.
She asked if Kelly could sit in on a meeting with the senior team via a video link on Monday morning and Kelly immediately agreed. The women left it that they'd speak again after the meeting on Monday.
She wondered around the house aimlessly, before settling on the sofa, she let her mind wonder.
/FLASHBACK/
The lights on the football field had been switched off at seven fifteen precisely, as Tim had promised. They'd been getting to know each other over the last hour and half. The pizza long eaten and they'd shared a simple piece of cheesecake that Tim had packed.
As the stars emerged, they lay back on the blanket in the dark and took them all in. Kelly began pointing out some of the lesser known constellations and Tim confessed to her, that it was a secret hobby of his.
Tim told her about his family, how his mum died when he was six and his subsequent stepmothers. Kelly told him about her family and her her mother died when she was eight and her stepmothers. They agreed that stepmothers sucked. Tim told her how Penny had raised him, his father either always away at sea or jet setting the globe with whatever wife he was with at the time. Kelly told Tim about Gibbs always being away, first deployed on tour, then in Mexico briefly, before his new job took him all over the place. She explained how Jackson had a huge part in raising her, rather than having her left with a stepmother or her dad's'flavour of the month'.
They'd gotten to know each other fairly well over the next four hours, when Kelly yawned for a third time in the space of five minutes, Tim suggested they call it a night and they immediately made plans to meet for coffee in the morning.
Tim was just finishing up his report when his desk phone rang, which was unusual given the late hour of the evening. "Special Agent McGee," he answered professionally.
"So it dawned on me we didn't exchange cell numbers this afternoon." Kelly's voice came over the line and Tim smiled, leaning back in his desk chair.
"So it seems," Tim murmured in a flirtatious tone, which caught DiNozzo's attention. "We should rectify that immediately."
Kelly immediately told him that she'd changed her cell number last year and rattled off digits, which Tim promptly stored in his phone, knowing better than to write it down in case DiNozzo got his hands on it. "Dinner tomorrow night?" Kelly asked him softly, Tim could hear her biting down on her plump bottom lip.
"It's a date!" Tim exclaimed softly, deliberately keeping his voice low in case Gibbs came back. "I'll call you when I get out of here." Tim said suddenly.
Kelly noticed the change in Tim's tone and took note. "Dads back right?" She asked with a chuckle and teased him a little. "He isn't a scary guy."
"Says you, look I gotta go. I'll call you when I get home."
"Hot date Probie?" DiNozzo asked. He'd noticed Tim slip out of his agent persona when he'd reclined back at his desk a little, stopping work and giving the caller his undivided attention. Tony had never seen that side of Timothy McGee in all the years he'd known him. "Do tell"
"Nothing to tell." Tim said with a blush on his cheeks, keeping his head down, focused on his reports.
"So that wasn't the boss' daughter on the phone then?" The older agent asked, teasingly and his cheeks warmed with a tinge of a blush.
"What do we got?" Gibbs asked, striding back into the bullpen.
"Reports to write." Tim grumbled and the lothario agent smirked at his Probie.
"McGoo got himself a date while you were gone boss" Gibbs raised his eyebrows at this new information, he could have sworn he'd seen a spark between his daughter and his youngest agent.
"Kelly called about dinner." Tim said softly and Gibbs smirked.
"It's not a date, McGee." Gibbs said firmly, trying to be stern.
"Never said it was boss!"
Tim sent text Kelly when he was leaving the navy yard and she invited him to meet her for a drink at a bar she knew. Tim came by Gibbs place in Alexandria to pick her up. They ended up sharing two drinks and a gourmet pizza from the bar's kitchen. The two of them caught up until Tim started yawning. "Sorry Kell, my day started at 3am." Tim apologised, looking at his watch, seeing it was 2300 hours.
"Look, come over for a late lunch tomorrow afternoon. We can catch up and get dinner too." Kelly offered, as he paid their tab and began walking towards the parking garage where he'd left his car.
"I'd love to." Tim said, kissing her cheek softly.
The drive back to Alexandria was filled with conversation, before turning serious once they arrived in the driveway of the Gibbs family home. "Have you seen anyone, you know, since me?" Kelly asked, really wanting to know but dreading the answer.
"Kinda. I saw a girl from work for a while, I offered her commitment and she showed me the door." Tim said sadly, referring to Abby. "It was pretty much all over before it began. But no one's touched me in here," He said softly, tapping his hand over his heart "except you."
"I had this boyfriend, Mike, last year. We were together about four months or so, it ended with a restraining order and a new phone number. Apparently, he's now doing twenty years in Sing Sing for murder." Kelly confessed.
"Well he's an idiot, Kell." Tim said, brushing a stray strand of her hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear. "He clearly didn't know how lucky he was to have you."
Pulling up out the front of the Gibbs' family home. McGee switched his Porsche off. "Tomorrow, I want you tell me how you got your car." Kelly requested.
"Absolutely." Tim said softly, taking her hand in his. "I never thought I'd bump into you at NCIS."
"Me either." Kelly admitted. Her stomach had a kaleidoscope of butterflies take up residence inside. It had been a long time since any man had made her feel like that. Ironically, that last person was Tim. "Good night Tim." She wished sweetly, kissing his cheek.
"Good night Kell." He whispered, kissing the side of her mouth softly. "See you for lunch tomorrow."
Gibbs was in his kitchen, having showered and changed into his sweats. He'd only been home an hour or so and settled in to make his final pot of coffee before turning in when he heard the roar of the German engine pull up in his driveway. He poured his mug and made his way into his living room where he had a good view of the driveway. He didn't plan on spying on her, he simply wanted to verify that it was Tim that she'd grabbed a drink with. He looked up in time to see her kiss Tim's cheek and he in turn, kiss the side of her mouth. His lip reading skills had improved drastically over the years and he easily deciphered what his young agent had said. It made him smile to see them together and he saw it again, there was the spark.
He made his way back into the kitchen and poured her a mug too. "You could have invited Tim in, I wouldn't have bitten him." Gibbs chastised her in friendly banter as she came through the door into the kitchen.
"He's tired, Dad. But you'll get the chance again soon, I invited Tim for lunch tomorrow." Kelly replied, her eyes held that starry look still, the one he'd seen earlier today at the navy yard.
"Tomorrow at lunch we'll be finalising the last of Rebecca's service details for Tuesday." Gibbs reminded her.
"I know." She told him. "I know you don't want your agents knowing that she died, but Tim's going to find out anyway. You can't ask me to hide it from him. I won't lie to him."
"Tim's ok knowing, as long as he doesn't tell Abby and DiNozzo." Gibbs agreed. "I can't handle them knowing right now, they're too much." They sat in a companionable silence for a while before they both headed down stairs to work in the boat.
"Hey Dad?" She asked, breaking their working rhythm. "Was it serious between Tim and the girl from NCIS?"
"McGee was more invested in it than Abs. He got messed up from her pretty bad." Gibbs told his daughter.
"She's a fool then." Kelly muttered. "Giving up Tim was the hardest decision I ever made."
"Why did you? It's obvious you had something with him." Gibbs asked genuinely. He'd known, even back then that his daughter liked the boy. Not that he'd ever met 'MIT Tim' back in the day, but he'd heard a lot about the young man.
"I went on my grad year, at school in California and he was going on to FLETC and doing his doctorate in his spare time. Life was taking us in different directions." Kelly admitted. "I saw how you and Stephanie struggled with your long distance relationship and I saw how bitter it was becoming. I didn't want that for Tim and I. He understood and we parted on good terms."
Gibbs heart broke, right there, in his basement at 2345 hours, Kelly had given up, what was her first love, all because of him. Because he failed Stephanie and they couldn't keep the spark alive while he was stationed in Russia.
"Oh Kell, Stephanie and I were having problems long before Russia. We were hanging on by a thread practically our entire marriage." Gibbs admitted.
"Dad, it's ok." Kelly said, putting the sander down, preparing to head upstairs to bed. "Besides, because of you, I got to see him again."
"Night baby." He said, kissing her forehead gently.
Watching Kelly leave the basement, he reflected on her admission. He'd never thought he'd had that much influence on her thoughts and actions. Now he wished he'd dealt with things differently.