A/N: for CRed1988: as per request.
This is an AU story. Kelly lives. She was supposed to be in the car with Shannon when the NIS agent was killed, but at last minute Jackson had invited her to spend the summer with him in Stillwater.
Small chronological changes. My AU character changes.
Set early season 4 - there is no Sarah!
Timothy McGee was born in 1980, not 1977. He is an only child and has a double degree in Biology and biomedical engineering from John Hopkins, a double degree in computer science and computer forensics from MIT and a doctorate from Georgetown U in Justice and Criminology.
Kelly Gibbs was born in 1980, not 1984. She's an orderly and in her first year, studying midwifery.
Abby is thirty five, ten years older than Tim, there was no sexual relations, just a few dates. Tim saw Abby's true colours of use and abuse and broke it off. Her and Gibbs have a complex relationship where she believes she's like a daughter to him, and as such tries ( ) on multiple occasions to come between Kelly and Gibbs.
Kate is, as canon. Killed by a sniper.
Tony is, as canon, SFA, teaser, tormentor, sometimes friend.
Ziva, she's older than Tim. She's twenty nine and former Mossad as canon.
Gibbs, single father, still has 3 ex wives, all of whom Kelly didn't get along with. Except, she sorta liked Diane and has a good friendship with Emily. (BFF's due to their father's friendship) everything with Jenny in Paris still happened but Jenny didn't want anything Gibbs offered because she didn't want an instant family or Kelly.
Ducky, is uncle Ducky to Kelly and like an uncle to Tim - who he took under his wing after Tim was attacked on the navy yard by thugs, because they thought he was gay from Tony's rumours.
Jimmy - as canon.
Tim pulled up out the front of the old, craftsman style home. The sun was long set and he sat in the car in the driveway of the home, he felt numb. His boss lived here. He'd never sought his boss out for help before, despite his open door policy. He knew not to knock, because quite often his boss was building a boat in his basement.
Tim finally managed to find the strength from within and get himself to the front porch. He was surprised when the door suddenly opened. "Oh McGee?!" Gibbs said surprised. "Everything ok?" Gibbs asked, suddenly concerned. His youngest agent never sought him out in just over three years since he'd bought Tim onto the team. But he'd began to see a different side of Agent McGee since Kate's death and Director Shepard came on board, Gibbs' old flame.
"Feeling bit low and numb, right now." Tim admitted quietly. This put Gibbs in a tough spot. He had been on his way out to door, Tony had called and Abby needed his help.
"I'm here for ya', McGee." Gibbs said softly, "come in and grab a seat. Gotta dart out for twenty minutes. Abby's car needs a jump start and I'll be right back."
"I'll just come back another time, then." Tim said softly.
"McGee, just stay. Twenty minutes tops."Gibbs promised.
Tim had no desire to wait, as soon as Gibbs was gone, he planned to leave too. He knew from his past experiences with Abby, Gibbs would be tied up for the rest of the night. That didn't take Tony's presence into account either.
This was the third time he'd attempted to approach Gibbs for help. Abby had told him, not go to him for help that first night because she and Tony needed him more, because they knew Kate better than him. That was the night before Kate's funeral. The second time, they were in the bullpen, it was late and as he'd approached Gibbs, the Director had summoned him upstairs from the mezzanine above. Neither man mentioned it again.
However , he decided to give Gibbs the benefit of the doubt, he waited the whole twenty minutes and an additional hour and a half. With no word from Gibbs, Tim prepared to leave. "Dad!" A voice called from the front door.
"He's not here." Tim said softly as he was heading out and came face to face with a beautiful young woman. She was tall and had beautiful golden auburn hair that flowed down her back, beautiful crystal blue eyes. She was dressed in workout tights and a tee bearing the name of 'Berkeley' which must be her alma mater.
"You must be Agent McGee?" She asked, offering her hand hello. "I'm Kelly, Kelly Gibbs."
"Call me Tim." Tim offered, shaking her hand.
"So where is he?" Kelly asked, wondering why his agent was here and he wasn't.
"He went to help Abby, he said he'd be back in twenty minutes."
"Let me guess, Tim" Kelly began "it's been at least an hour since he was due back." She looked fed up too. "Abby" was all she said in a huff.
"Well, I'm going to head out." Tim said, gesturing towards the door. "Nice to meet you."
"Or I can make coffee and we can talk.. you look like you could use a friend." Kelly offered. Tim was considering Kelly's offer. "I'm a good listener." She smiles at him.
"Sure." Tim smiled in return. He had nothing to lose.
It was a warm night, starry night. Kelly had ushered Tim onto the back deck. They sat in a comfortable silence at first. "I'm sorry about Kate," She whispered. "She was a nice woman, met her twice. Today's the anniversary of her murder, right?"
"Yeah, it is. Thanks." Tim said. "She was like a big sister to me. She looked out for me, teased me, but she was my mentor."
"Must be hard to lose someone like that." Kelly whispered in to the dark. "The way she died was awful. How are you coping ? Feeling lost without her?"
"Yeah, that's why I came to see your Dad. Needed help."
"Should have come earlier." Kelly chastised him gently. "Let me guess, Abby said you couldn't because she needed Dad more." Kelly argued and a look told Kelly everything she needed to know. "She's been trying to wedge herself into our family for three years now."
"Abby and I used to date, not seriously, before I worked for your father. It's complicated with Abby." Tim explained.
"Abby is complicated." Kelly declared.
Waiting another two hours longer, turned into an additional three hours as Tim and Kelly got to know one another. Tim told Kelly about growing up as a child genius, his schooling and his life as a navy brat. The sudden death of his mother and how his father was never around and his grandmother raised him. He told Kelly about his book and how it'd just been published and would be launched in all stores next week. He'd promised to get her an advanced copy and sign it as a thank you for listening.
Kelly told Tim all about growing up Gibbs. About her mother's tragic death when she was eight, her subsequent uninterested stepmother's. About spending every summer with her Grandfather Jackson and his store. About her Uncle Mike in Mexico and her and Gibbs building boats and sailing them. She told him about her work and her studies. She was working as an orderly in emergency medicine at Georgetown Medical while studying in her first year to become a midwife.
"I knew Abby would have Dad occupied all night." Kelly said sadly. "Sorry Dad wasn't there for you."
"Have you met Abby? It's Abby." Tim sighed. Truth was, he was disappointed in Gibbs.
"I know her." Kelly confirmed. "I met Kate twice and now I've met you. Dad said I'm not allowed to meet Tony. Of course, I know Ducky very well."
"Ducky is cool, he's been so great to me." Tim said. "He's been like a cool uncle to me, since the day we met."
"Uncle Duck is awesome. Known him almost my whole life." Kelly agreed.
Before either of them knew it, it was almost dawn and Tim was thankful that they weren't due at work and weren't on call.
"I better head home." Tim conceded. He didn't really want to give up the fantastic company. "You were right, you are a good listener." He smiled at her, then winked at her.
"Thanks, it's been a great night." Kelly agreed. "You're easy to talk to." She agreed. "We should do it again sometime?"
"Sure," Tim agreed. "What about tonight? I know Saturday is like a date night, but I'm free" Tim finished lamely.
"It's a date." Kelly agreed. "It's probably too late to get a reservation somewhere, but you could always come by my place for dinner." She offered, unsure of herself. She'd never asked a guy for a date and never invited them to her house on a 'first date', especially a guy she just met. Which was a new feeling and new experience for her. 'But he couldn't be too bad of a guy, Dad personally hired him and dad doesn't hire people he doesn't like' Kelly had thought.
Tim looked really worried, he really didn't want to come back to Gibbs house to see Kelly, especially while his boss may potentially be there. "Oh," Kelly realised Tim's worry. "I don't live here. I've got my own place in Georgetown."
"Phew!" Tim sighed in relief. "Not that there's anything wrong with coming here …"
"Yeah, Dad's never been crazy about me dating." Kelly admitted and Tim groaned. "Relax, it'll be cool, I promise." Kelly promised.
They exchanged numbers and addresses, as Kelly walked him out to his car and they said 'good night' although given the dawn was breaking "good morning" would have been more appropriate.
Feeling bold, Tim kissed Kelly on the cheek, softly, as he got in the car and drove home with a huge smile on his face.
Gibbs was frustrated. Abby's car wouldn't start and he couldn't work out why. He'd ended up having to driving her across the state to a club she wanted to check out. He'd tried calling Tim but his phone was dead again. He'd tried to get hold of Kelly too, but again his stupid phone didn't work. He'd asked Abby to borrow her phone but she didn't have hers as her outfit didn't allow her to carry one. She was dressed in a blood red corset, black leather short shorts, fishnet stockings and her big clunker boots.
He'd finally talked Abby into leaving just before dawn. His head was thumping from the music. He pulled up in the driveway to see Kelly standing in the street, she was waving off a car that had left his house in the opposite direction.
"Hey Kell" Gibbs greeted, hugging his daughter. She went stiff in his arms. "What's wrong?" He asked, concerned. He and Kelly had been close always and had very few arguments.
"Did you forget something?" Kelly asked her Dad angrily.
"Sorry Kell, that stupid phone died again. Abby needed me." Gibbs tried to explain, but Kelly cut him off.
"We had dinner plans and you left Tim waiting for you here. My father taught me it's common courtesy to call and cancel, if plans change." Kelly was getting herself worked up. "You could of used Abby's phone, or a pay phone. Tim was here waiting for you, you knew that, too!"
"I know." He lowered his head in shame. "Was he ok?" Gibbs asked, feeling guilty. He knew Tim had never sought him out for help before and the one time he did, he'd left Tim sitting in his living room, alone to run help someone else.
"Now you care?!" She yelled. "I get Abby is important to you, but is she above everyone else?"
Gibbs didn't answer the question directly. "Sorry Kell, can we reschedule dinner to tonight?" He asked, avoiding the topic completely.
"Can't. I have to go." Kelly said as she prepared her stuff to leave. "I have a date."
"With who?" Her father asked, but Kelly just glared at him. "Kelly Anne, answer the question."
"With a man I just met!" She answered firmly. "You won't get any more information until I know where it's going. You're not scaring this guy off, I really like him!"
They glared at one another, fiercely! Kelly was angry at her father and Gibbs was angry at Kelly about withholding details about the man she just met. "I'm not one of your agents, you can't glare me into submission." She threatened and grabbed her gear. "When you decide you're done being an ass and putting Abby above everyone else, including your own daughter, call me." Kelly left her father's house, her family home, slamming the front door and scorching her tyres as she took off. Gibbs groaned in anger, this time at himself.
Kelly hadn't planned on leaving straight away, but something inside her snapped. She knew, her temper could be described as volatile. Unfortunately, she was both blessed and cursed with her Father's temper. Her mother was so soft-spoken and never angry. She remembers when she was like that too, until her Mother died.
Kelly had texted Tim a few times through the day, for various things and at four she'd invited him over early for some pre-dinner drinks, to get to know each other better. Her mind had been on Tim all day. She'd never just 'clicked' like that before with anyone.
She couldn't believe they had so much in common, both military brats, both loved coffee and drank it the same - black and strong, both lost their mothers at a young age, both have close relationships with their grandparent, both love reading, both tech savvy, both have awful experiences with stepmothers and both are very smart and intelligent people. Kelly works in medicine and is studying midwifery. Tim has a double degree in Biology and biomedical engineering from John Hopkins, a double degree in computer science and computer forensics from MIT and a doctorate from Georgetown U in Justice and Criminology. Both love to travel and love the outdoors too.
"Hey," he said as she opened the door handing her a bouquet of sunflowers and as promised, an advance copy of his book. "Saw these and thought of you." She greeted him with a megawatt smile and kiss on the cheek.
"Hey," she said. "Come on in."
Gibbs was angry at himself still and hadn't calmed down one iota. He knew he had to apologise to McGee, despite his rules. It was just common manners. Kelly had been right, he would be appalled if she'd treated someone like that.
Making his way to McGee's, he drove via Georgetown, and passed Kelly's townhouse hoping to spy a glimpse of her dates car, as he picked her up. He wondered who he was and where they met, he hoped she hadn't invited him over to his house while he was out last night. She'd definitely been waving to a car when he'd pulled up, he couldn't remember for the life of him what car was driving down the street and that irked him even more.
Arriving at McGee's apartment in Silver Spring, he made his way to his agent's apartment. He'd never actually been inside there before, but he'd dropped him off once in his early days. Knocking on the door, there was no answer. He was getting more frustrated at the ever-growing silence from within the confines. According to his SFA DiNozzo, McGee had no love life and was always home playing video games. So, stands to reason, he should be home.
"Sir?," a young blonde girl opened the apartment door across the hall. "Please be quiet, I'm trying to sleep." She hissed.
"Sorry, have you seen McGee?" He asked, the young woman can't have been more than eighteen.
"Who?" She asked annoyed she was losing her precious sleep. "Look I've got to get up for an all night shift In three hours. Stop banging on the door. Tim's not home!" She said.
"Do you know where he went?" He questioned her. Thinking he'd either wait the young man's return or show up wherever he went.
"Assuming he had a date, left with flowers and a huge smile on his face. I don't know, I'm not his keeper." She slammed the door closed.
The thought that McGee had a date, actually made him smile. He knew the agent had broken things off with Abby and although he'd been heartbroken at the time, he mostly seemed over it. Perhaps he realised that Abby was no good for him. Maybe Tony didn't know everything about McGee as he claimed he did. That made him smile more.
He got in his truck and left, thinking about his agents as he drove home. There were going to be changes coming. Tony would need to ease up on McGee, as did Abby. Ducky had warned him less than forty-eight hours ago that McGee was fed up with the hazing and was considering bullying charges with HR.
"How did you know sunflowers were my favourite?" Kelly asked, surprised by Tim's gesture.
"I didn't." He confessed. "They were a spur of the moment idea. It was all the florist had left before closing." Tim admitted and blushed in embarrassment at his confession.
"Then it was meant to be." Kelly declared, handing Tim a beer with a lime wedge in it. "Hope Nacho's are ok for dinner."
"Perfect, but please no guacamole. I'm allergic to avocado." He pleaded.
"Hah! Me too." Kelly laughed at the coincidence. "What a coincidence?!" She exclaimed.
"What happened to 'rule 39, there's no such thing as coincidences'" Tim quoted Gibbs, mimicking his booming voice.
"That's Dad's rules, not mine." Kelly argued. "Want to know a secret?" She asked as she took a step closer to him as they stood in her kitchen, leaning against her island bench. "Dad's not always right. He isn't magic, he isn't all knowing. He's just a man, like you." Tim laughed out loud.
"I know, but he's not like me." Tim argued.
"Actually, I can see two similarities so far and we just met yesterday." Kelly admitted, not knowing if Tim would see this as an insult or a compliment. "One, you're both men of very few words, and two, you both like to tinker. Dad with timber, you with electronics and computers." Tim didn't actually say anything back, just filed the information away.
Dinner was served and eaten, with nothing slowing down the conversation. Turned out they had talked a lot and somewhere through dinner two bottles of wine was opened and consumed in addition to the beers earlier.
Dessert was a simple mint chocolate mousse and Tim confessed it to be his favourite dessert. He'd switched to water at the mention of dessert, knowing he was already over the limit. He had caught a cab here, just in case they had a drink, but he knew he didn't want, nor need a hangover for tomorrow.
Before he knew it, they were saying good night again and Kelly leant up and kissed Tim on the lips, softly brushing herself against his body.
"We should do this again soon?" She asked.
"This time, come to my apartment, I'll cook for you." Tim promised. "Breakfast tomorrow?" Tim offered sweetly. "I know a great diner not far from here."
"Can't, Dad and I have a standing date, no matter how mad we are at each other and then I have work in the afternoon."
"That's ok." Tim was happy they had a standing date, no matter what. He wished he had that kind of relationship with his father, but he didn't. "Can I call you?" Tim asked with hope.
"I'll be offended if you didn't." She chuckled. "And yes, to another date soon."
His cab pulled up and again they said good night, he kissed her cheek and drove off.
"Are you still mad?" Gibbs asked as he joined Kelly at their usual booth.
"Are you still an ass?" She retorted. She wasn't trying to be sullen, she was trying to hide the huge smile that hadn't left her face since Tim had left last night.
"Hey, I'll have you know, I went to McGee's last night to apologise to him. He wasn't there, but I will apologise to him, as soon as I see him next." Gibbs declared vehemently, knowing his daughter was right. Her phone chimed unexpectedly, signalling an incoming text. She glanced at it and smiled widely. 'Had a great time last night, can't wait for my turn to dazzle you with my culinary skills. X'
It melted Gibbs' heart to see that smile on his daughter's face. All father's know that smile, they dread that smile. The smile that the little girl they helped bring into the world and raise has found a new love. "I take it the date went well last night. Judging by that smile." Gibbs teased his daughter.
"Ever meet someone that you just 'click' with?" Kelly asked before she could stop herself. She hadn't planned on talking to her father about this, or about Tim. She wanted to see where it went first. Her dad and Tim worked together. It could be potentially very awkward and very dangerous if it didn't work out.
"Yeah, your mum." Gibbs confessed. "We just clicked. We had so much in common thinking it was frightening."
"I know that feeling." Kelly smiled as their regular orders arrived. "We're the same age … no. I'm not talking about this with you." Kelly clammed up. She'd temporarily forgotten that her Dad was Tim's boss.
"Afraid of jinxing it? Jinxes are like coincidences, there's no such thing!" Gibbs said which made Kelly laugh.
"We're both allergic to avocado." Kelly laughed. "Kind of blows your no coincidences rule right out the window."
Gibbs felt odd after his weekly breakfast with Kelly. He knew that she liked this new boy a lot, but it irked him that she was keeping the details so close to the chest. She'd only ever done this one other time, with Michael Ohara. That relationship was her longest at just over a year, he ultimately, ended up breaking her heart, but he knew that his daughter had loved that boy. She'd never gushed about just clicking with anyone before, though. That was new. He thought about listening to his gut, but it was quiet, which was worse. If it was pinging, it'd give him cause to investigate. The silence irked him more.
"Hello Jethro." Ducky greets him as he entered the Gibbs home. "How are you my friend?" He asked, surprised to find his friend relaxing on the sofa with a book.
"Hey Duck," he greeted his friend. "Tea?"
"No thank you. I've just left Mother and she's been feeding me tea all morning." Ducky explained. "What are you reading?"
"Kelly left it behind this morning. It's a damn good novel."
"See the blue tab in the corner?" Ducky asked spying a clue. "That means it's an advanced author's copy. The author owns this copies. She must know Thom E. Gemcity." He explained to his friend.
"Oh no, Duck." Gibbs realised, connecting the dots. "He must be Kelly's new boyfriend."
"Kelly's new what?! When did that happen?" Ducky asked surprised. His dear friend's daughter, who is like a niece in every way didn't date all that often recently. So he was definitely shocked, delighted for her, but shocked by the news, nonetheless.
"She says they just met. Apparently they just clicked. She won't tell me anything about him."
"I wonder why Jethro, you ran the last two gents off."
"That's my job." Gibbs declared. "But she's gah-gah over him. Big smiles and she actually stopped herself from telling me about him."
"Well, I do hope to meet the young man soon. If it is, indeed, this Gemcity fellow, I may have to read his book too." Ducky laughed.
"You should read it anyway. It's a damn good story."
Kelly was almost in an absolute tizzy. Tim had given her his book, an advance copy and she'd lost it.
"Dad," she panted into the cellphone. She'd ran to her car and back searching for the book. "Did you pick up a book at breakfast?"
"Breathe, Kell." Gibbs instructed. "Yeah, it fellfrom your bag."
"Thank god," she breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll come by and grab it on my way home tonight."
"No rush," Gibbs said. "I'm almost through with it. It's a damn good book, Kell."
"A friend wrote it." She rushed out.
"The friend you just clicked with." He asked his daughter with a smile.
"Yeah," she admitted. She knew it was pretty safe to admit that. Tim was a ghost writer and used a pseudonym name.
"He's talented, that's for sure. I'll try to be done by the time you get here."
"Gotta go, Dad. Love you." She disconnected the call before he could say he loved her too.
'Thom E Gemcity, now, I know your name.' Gibbs thought, as he mentally remembered the name, vowing to find out all he could about him.
As he strode into the bullpen, the following morning, he was surprised to see Tim working away on cold case files. Looked like he'd been here for a while, judging by the empty coffee cups. Gibbs was relieved to see the young man. He knew he could apologise and have no witnesses, reputation to remain in tact. "McGee?" Gibbs said softly as he perched himself on the edge of the young agents desk.
"Oh, hey boss?" Tim greeted, barely looking up at his boss, mostly in fear of his growing feelings for Kelly being written all over his face.
"Sorry about last night." Gibbs began. "Everything got all messed up and then this thing died." He was waving his cellphone around. "Then when I realised, I asked Abs for her cell -"
"It's ok Gibbs." Tim interrupted him. "I get it. It's Abby." Gibbs didn't understand why Tim just explained it like that. It was the same way Kelly had explained it too. That worried him.
"I went by your place last night to apologise, see if you wanted to talk. Neighbour told me you were on a date." Tim actually caught Gibbs eye and smiled at this. It was ironic to Tim and the fact that his neighbour blabbed unknowingly was a little amusing.
"Ah, yeah." Tim confirmed, hesitating a little. He could feel his ears turning red, his cheeks flushing. "It's new." He confessed.
"Good for you," Gibbs patted him on the back. "Good for you."
— SIX WEEKS LATER —
They worked through the morning in silence, Tim's phone vibrated a few times and when he finally looked at it, he grinned a goofy smile that made him look even younger. Gibbs caught the noise and looked up caught the goofy grin, it reminded him of his daughter's the morning after their big blow up.
DiNozzo had been on fire this morning, carrying on in his usual way and the fact that Tim was ignoring him only annoyed Tony further. Ziva was engrossed in her own paperwork, ignoring him too.
Gibbs was debating what to do with the identity of Kelly's boyfriend, who she was still seeing and he still hadn't any more details than six weeks ago. He was almost tempted to ask McGee for help. He knew Abby would help him, but she'd want something from him in return. His headache returned at the thought of owing his goth friend a favour like that. Ultimately, he decided against it. He knew he had issues about overstepping the mark when it came to Kelly and her relationships. This time she hadn't shared the details and he felt if he overstepped, it may damage the trust they share.
When lunch rolled around, they all headed off in separate directions. Tim watched as Gibbs headed for the coffee cart, for his precious liquid caffeine, Tony headed for the pizza parlour, Ziva to the bookshop down the street to collect the book she had on order. After they left, Tim was headed to his favourite cafe on base for a much needed coffee and some fresh air.
Tim called Kelly to 'officially' ask her out for a proper date. "Let me take you out?" Tim said into his cell. "Dinner in an actual restaurant, maybe a movie?" He asked, nodding to his barista when he mouthed 'usual'. He listened to the reasons she was against a movie date. Laughing at her reasons, he agreed. "Ok then, we could go dancing instead?" He offered.
Gibbs sat off to the side of the cafe, not stopping at the usual cart today, close enough to hear his agent, but far enough way not to be caught obviously listening in. From where he sat he could clearly see his young agent's face and body language. His face looked so young, relaxed and carefree. Almost giddy.
"I won't check in until after work." He heard Tim tell the person on the other end of the phone line.
"Well, from what I've heard so far, it's been positive." He watched with interest as McGee laughed again. Gibbs felt robbed, he'd never met this carefree man. Only the buttoned up, professional man that he'd hired.
"Very funny. You're only saying that because I'm taking you out for dinner…. And dancing." He watched that goofy grin appear again. His expressive green eyes glazed a little with what Gibbs guessed was desire. He watched Tim pick up his coffee and take a long sip.
"Whoa! Maybe we should find a bad foreign film instead ." Tim licked his lips and bit his bottom lip. Which made Gibbs smile. All men knew why you went and saw a bad foreign film and it reminded him of when he and Shannon used to do that.
"It's a date. Gotta go." He said as he spied Gibbs watching him. "I'll call you tonight."
"Another date, McGee?" He asked lightly. Keeping his tone playful, but not teasing.
"Yeah." He blushed red immediately. 'Dancing's good' Kelly had told him. 'Nice and close, body's grinding.'
"Bad movie date?" Gibbs enquired, raising his eyebrows. Letting Tim know that his voice carried when he was on the phone.
"Yeah, boss." He said, not quite meeting his eyes. Kelly had liked that idea too. 'Even better, but we both live alone. We could just as easily make out on the sofa instead.'
"Have a great time." Gibbs smirked at him. "Good on you!" He pat his back and they returned to the bullpen.
"Cancel your evening plans and grab your gear." Gibbs said, hanging up the phone. "Dead naval Admiral in Norfolk. Tony and Ziva, grab the truck. McGee, you're with me." Tim quickly texted Kelly that they'd caught a case and that he was sorry.
In the car, it was silent. The occasional vibrate of Tim's phone was the only noise could be heard. Glancing at the clock on the dash, Gibbs calculated the travel time to Norfolk and how long it'd take to process the scene. He knew they'd need somewhere to stay.
"Better find us some rooms, McGee." He instructed.
"You're kidding me, right? Three days out from July 4." Tim asked without thinking. "Right, calling the base now."
McGee had been making phone calls for over an hour. As predicted, there wasn't any rooms available. All booked with families wanting to celebrate July 4 at the beach. Or Navy families that have come in to celebrate."
"Ah, boss?" He asked. "I have an idea." He said hesitantly. "My grandmother has a house about 10 minutes off base near Virginia Beach. We could stay there."
"What about your Grandmother?" Gibbs asked. He really didn't want to deal with a Grandmother and a case at the same time.
"She's in Nepal, trekking through the Himalayas, finding her inner peace or something like that." Tim said flippantly which made Gibbs laugh.
"That'd be great, McGee." Gibbs said "We'll keep track of everything we use, NCIS will reimburse her."
Arriving on scene, Gibbs went to meet the base security and NCIS case agent who had secured the scene for them. McGee grabbed the camera, leaving the other two, to wrestle it out.
Tim was snapping away, the Admiral had been stabbed from behind three times, the killer leaving the knife in one of the wounds.
"Got an ID Ducky?" Gibbs asked as he approached them.
"Admiral John McGee." Ducky announced, not looking up. Tim dropped the camera, luckily it was hanging from the neck strap. He was shocked.
"McGee?" Gibbs asked, getting worried. He'd never seen his agent freeze at a scene like that. All the colour drained from his face. "McGee!" Gibbs shouted and Ducky looked up from the liver probe.
"Oh no," Ducky realised the surname he'd just said. "Is he one of your McGee's my dear boy?" Jimmy and Ducky continued working silently, turning the body over, face up. Gibbs took the camera and handed it off to Ziva and took Tim to the sedan, just in time for Tim to bring up everything he'd eaten that day.
"Tim? Is he related to you?" Gibbs asked softly. Handing the younger man a water bottle from his personal pack.
"D..Dad." Tim whispered.
"Oh Tim!" Gibbs leant forward and took McGee into his arms. "I'm sorry."
"I thought he was stationed in California still." Tim said confused. "What was he doing here?"
"We'll find who did this." Gibbs promised. "Is there anyone I can call for you? You shouldn't be here."
"Drop me at Penny's, boss. Ah, that's my grandmother's name." Tim explained. "I'll get the house ready and cook some dinner for all of us."
"Under the circumstances, we can't stay there. Your Dad was probably there. It's possibly a crime scene."
"Of course, I'm so stupid." Tim said, hitting his forehead. "Go back to work boss, I'll sort myself out." Tim offered.
"Yell out if you need something. I'll come and check on you in thirty."
Tim knew he had to try to call Penny. There wasn't anyone else to call. Everyone had either moved on or passed away. His team kept sending worried glances his way. He turned his back to them to hide his tears and his hurt. 'Why was his father on the east coast?' He thought.
"Hey Kell, now's not the best time." Tim said answering his cell.
"Tim, what's the matter?" She worried, instantly alert.
"The case we caught, the one in Norfolk." Tim said softly, closing his eyes. "The Navy Admiral killed was my father." His voice quivered. He was trying to hold it together.
"Oh Tim. Let me come and get you." She immediately offered. "I can be there in two hours, I'm in Fredericksburg at a lecture. It just let out."
"If it's not too much trouble. I don't want to ride with Ducky and his body back to DC."
"Perfectly understandable." Kelly sympathised with him. "I'll call you when I'm thirty minutes away, you're at the naval base right."
"At this stage, I'll see if I can get to Penny's from here. I need to get into her office at her house."
"Penny's?" She asked.
"My grandmother's. She likes me to call her Penny." Tim explained the story behind that.
"Two hours, Tim." She promised. "Luckily you loaned me your SUV because my car was running rough. Don't think my little ford would have made it here and back."
"I'll see you then." Tim promised, catching Gibbs' eye.
"Boss" he greeted as Gibbs came back over to cheek on him. "I need to access my grandmother's office. Her itinerary details are there."
"I'll take you over as soon as we're done here. Want me to call Abby to come get you?" Gibbs offered. "They found rooms for us at the navy lodge."
"Not necessary, Gibbs. My girlfriend is on her way. Less than two hours away." Tim then realised his dilemma. He hadn't been thinking straight when he accepted Kelly's offer.
"Hey," Gibbs put his hand on Tim's forearm in a comforting manner, seeing his agent panic. "I don't have to meet her yet, none of us do." Gibbs said reassuringly. "Hopefully we meet her one day, but on your terms."
"Thank you." Tim was relieved.
"When she meets you at the base entrance, just jump in the car and drive off."
Wrapping up the scene took longer than expected and any wisecracks Tony had for McGee died on his lips when he heard the victim's name and saw Gibbs ushering a shocked McGee away from the scene.
"This is your Penny's house?" Gibbs asked pulling up on a gorgeous colonial mansion, directly opposite the beach.
"One of her homes. This is her main home. The one I grew up in."
McGee opened the door and let Gibbs inside. There was no sign the Admiral had been here and that made Tim happy. He spoke with Tess, his grandmother's housekeeper who actually had the itinerary in the kitchen. Tim called his grandmother immediately. Gibbs stood behind him and put a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder.
"Penny?" He asked as it finally connected after being transferred eleven times. "It's me."
"Timothy, my darling. What's the matter?" Penny asked. Tim gripped the phone and bench top tight. His knuckles turning white from the pressure.
Without a word Gibbs took Tim's cell from his hand and spoke to Penny.
"I am Jethro Gibbs', Tim's boss. He is ok, uninjured. We arrived at a crime scene today. The victim was your son. I am very sorry for your loss." He said.
"I see, thank you Mr Gibbs." She said curtly, void of all emotion. "Please Tell Timothy to contact his father's lawyer. Everything is prearranged and I'll see him in the new year as planned." The connection was severed and he just stared at his agent's face.
"I heard her." Tim said dejectedly. "Thank you Tess, that will be all." Tim dismissed the housekeeper away.
"That's Penny for you. Just as self-involved as the Admiral."
"Your girlfriend shouldn't be too far away, is there anything you want from here?" Tim shook his head No at first but then headed into the informal lounge with Gibbs on his heals. He gathered a large armful of photo albums.
"If Penny hits rock bottom she'll have Tess burn them again." Gibbs took the pile and deposited them into the boot of the sedan along with a frame from the wall.
"This you?" Gibbs asked. He saw the murdered man, when he was captain and a beautiful woman dressed in a gorgeous pantsuit, in front of them was a blonde little boy.
"Yeah, me, Dad and Penny. We were at my mother's funeral." Gibbs could see his agent was probably only six or seven years old. Dressed in a black suit, tears unshed and a firm hand on his shoulder.
Hearing a horn toot in the driveway, Tim wiped his eyes , trying to clear his unshed tears.
"She's here Tim, it's time to go." Gibbs recognised his young agent's SUV in the driveway. The MCRT truck had pulled into the horseshoe shaped driveway, behind Tim's black, tinted Lexus SUV. Ziva went to comfort him, but he waved them off as he locked the door, setting the security alarm and climbed up in the front of the SUV.
Kelly leaned over, kissing his lips softly. Not just to block her face from her fathers view, but mostly to comfort Tim who looked like he'd been ran over by a truck. He kissed her back this time and buried his head on her shoulder.
"When all this is over, we have to tell him." Tim whispered. "It's time! But for now, you better drive before someone comes over here."
Standing on the stoop of Tim's Grandmother's house, Gibbs stood and watched his youngest agent climb into a black SUV. Gibbs saw the couple kiss before taking off. From where he stood he didn't see very much of the girlfriend, but he thought they must be pretty serious to let her drive his car.
"Boss?" Tony asked. "What's going on?"
"McGee's going back to DC. The Admiral was John McGee." Gibbs explained, as if Tony should understand.
"So what, is it like a long lost relative of McGeek's?" Tony asked and Gibbs slapped them man hard before glaring at him.
"His father, DiNozzo!" Gibbs snapped. Tony instantly felt like an A grade asshole. "Crap,"
"Ya think?!" Gibbs asked. "Gets worse. He called his Grandmother and she isn't coming home."
"That's cold, Gibbs." Ziva added. "We will be there for him, yes?"
"Of course we will and he has his girlfriend with him while we work the case." Gibbs said, reassuring the Israeli, that her friend would be ok.
"Probie has a girlfriend?" Tony asked, surprised and a bit hurt his teammate never said a thing. "When did that happen?"
"About six weeks ago, DiNozzo!" Gibbs snapped. "It was obvious and you're an investigator …."
"She's beautiful." Ziva added. "I saw them together in the market last weekend. They're heals over head."
"Head over heals, Ziva." Gibbs corrected, smiling at the thought of Tim finding someone.
Gibbs called into HQ, directly to the Director's private line.
"Hey Jen,"
"Gibbs, making progress down there?"
"Ducky and Palmer have the body and the evidence for Abby, they're on route to DC." Gibbs explained. "I need you to have Human Resources put Agent McGee on bereavement leave."
"What's happened, Jethro? "
"The victim is Admiral John McGee." Gibbs said as a matter of fact. "Would have been nice to know before we left the office. Could of had him sit this one out."
"Who is he? Uncle?" Jenny asked. Gibbs knew she didn't think much of McGee. He knew she looked down upon him because he was so smart and had all those degrees. He wasn't the kind of agent she had time for.
"His father, Director!" Gibbs snapped. "I, certainly hope you weren't aware before sending us down here."
"I don't like what you're implying Jethro." Jen warned. She didn't express remorse for McGee's loss and Gibbs noted that!
"Not implying anything, Director. Just that it seems to be a huge lapse in communication."
"I'll look into it." Jen said uncaring.
"And Agent McGee?" Gibbs asked.
"I'll take care of it, but really Jethro, you need to face the facts. He isn't cut out to be an agent if he has to take leave to deal with the case you've been given. My father was killed when we were in assignment. I didn't leave. I did my job, then dealt with it later." Jen reasoned.
Gibbs disconnected the call from her. He was angry at her, 'didn't she realise she was being a stone cold bitch?!' He thought as he slammed his cell phone closed.
Jenny sat in her office, stunned. She hadn't mentioned the victims name when she delegated the task because McGee is a fairly common name. She had no idea that the victim could be Agent McGee's father. She didn't even know that Agent McGee's father was an Admiral. Admittedly, she had never read his file. She knew everything she needed to know about the man, by looking at the geek.
"Ma'am," Cynthia, her assistant interrupted her. "SECDEF- Phillip Davenport and SECNAV-Jarvis Clayton are online waiting for you in MTAC.
'What else could go wrong today?' She thought as she made her way down the hallway.
"Gentlemen, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, using her schmoozing voice and charming smile. The one she bought out for the political games.
"Madam Director, I understand Admiral McGee has been murdered?" Jarvis Clayton, the current SECNAV asked.
"Sadly yes, I have just been informed myself." Jenny said, sounding sincere. "On behalf of NCIS our condolences are with you both. I imagine you both have worked closely with the Admiral over the years."
"Tell me," Phillip Davenport finally spoke. "Has his next of kin been notified?"
"I am unaware of the particulars. I believe Agent McGee is aware."
"Where is my nephew?" Clayton Jarvis asked. "I wish to speak with him at once." He requested.
"I am sorry, who is your nephew?" Jenny asked, she was unsure what was happening.
"Agent McGee is Clayton's nephew," Phillip Davenport answered. "And my godson. Now where is he? We need to speak with him, immediately."
"I believe he is still on scene with his team."
"You sent him to investigate his Father's murder?" Davenport seethed. "How cold are you?"
"I was not aware the Admiral was his father. McGee is a common name."
"Not in Naval circles," Jarvis answered. "The name McGee is synonymous with the navy. A long line of McGee's have served our country proudly in our navy. All with the exception of one, has served as an Admiral of the Navy."
Jenny visibly gulped, she hadn't known that the geeky agent McGee had family in high places.
"If you have any other pertinent information, now would be the time to come clean, madam Director." Jarvis began. "I will be launching a formal investigation into your dealings of this case and your treatment of special agent McGee regarding this case."
"I trust our relationship's with the young agent McGee will remain top secret."
"Of course, Sir's. You have my word." Jenny said schmoozing again.
"We will be at the navy yard at 0800 tomorrow morning. We expect Agent McGee to be present."
Jenny physically relaxed in the seat behind her, closing her eyes in frustration and pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Gibbs, leave Tony and Ziva there to work the case from that end. This case just got extra complicated for me." Jenny instructed harshly. "Get on a helo and get back to DC and pray like hell you can get hold of Agent McGee."
"Jen, what's going on?" Gibbs asked.
"For once, just do what I damn say!" She ordered, hanging up on him.
Kelly had driven straight through from collecting Tim, he'd barely woken up from when he fell asleep between Hampton and Newport. Choosing to take Tim to his apartment, he'd truly be most comfortable there in his grief.
She managed to coax him upstairs and into his bedroom. She settled Tim in, making him some toast. She stripped off her clothes and slipped into his MIT tee while he had a quick shower.
In the darkness of his bedroom, he safely let his tear flow as Kelly rocked and cuddled the man, who a mere six weeks ago was a stranger.
Gibbs did as instructed, sensing her mood was not to be trifled with. Arriving at the airfield, Joint Base Andrew's, Agent's Balboa and Callahan met his helo, as planned. "GPS is programmed to Agent McGee's apartment Gibbs." Balboa said. "McGee's girlfriend has confirmed that they will be there for rest of the night."
"She suspicious?" Gibbs asked, not really knowing what to expect. Especially with a girlfriend he'd never met.
"Told her I was calling on behalf of the boss." Balboa answered. "Making sure they got back safely."
"Thanks" Gibbs said, throwing his go bag on the passenger seat, before jumping into the Agency sedan and making his way to Agent McGee's.
Somewhere, in the middle of his grief he kissed her. They'd began to make out, Tim had rolled her under him as he kissed her softly. They hadn't gone any further than some light kissing and light petting.
Tim's hand's found the hem of the tee she was wearing and began exploring the exposed flesh on the back of her legs. He pulled it over her head and continued exploring her with his mouth and his tongue.
Kelly found her hands at the waist band of his boxer shorts. She'd ghosted her hand over his cock, feeling how hard he was. His cock twitched under her hand. She pulled it out of his shorts, for better access.
He hooked a finger inside her black satin boy-shorts and slid them down her long legs, as he rolled them on the side to face each other.
Banging on the apartment door brought them back to reality. "To be continued. Let me get the door." She picked up his MIT tee and padded through the apartment to the door. Checking the peephole, she spied her Dad, Tim's boss on the other side of the door. She quickly rushes back to Tim's room as quiet as possible.
"It's Dad!" Tim throws on his boxers and tee in a hurry.
"Don't make a sound. Hopefully he'll leave us alone. Pretend you're not here." Tim instructed.
"Gibbs" Tim greets his boss, trying to sound surprised.
"Tim, you ok?" He asked, gently forcing his way into the apartment. "I've been trying to call you. We've got a meeting 0800 at the navy yard."
"Ok, I'll see you there." Tim said, trying to usher Gibbs out of the apartment.
"Not so fast, I'm your protection detail." Gibbs said. Finally he takes a look at his young agent properly. His eyes are red, possibly from crying. His hair is sticking up in all different directions, lips swollen and Gibbs can smell a woman's perfume. "Oh shit, you're not alone, are you?"
"No I'm not." Tim admits, shaking his head no.
"Guess I get to meet the girlfriend then, coz I'm not leaving." Gibbs said firmly. "I know what I said earlier and I meant it then, but the situation has changed."
"Gibbs!" Tim snapped, he was running out of options. "Go wait in my study while I see my girlfriend out. I don't want her to meet you like this."
"McGee, this is serious!" Gibbs tried to reason. Tim just implored him with a look. "Fine, two minutes!"
Quickly entering his room , he sees Kelly is dressed and ready to leave. She's holding the spare blanket and pillow from his closet. Hearing the study door close, Tim quickly ushers Kelly to the door, dropping the pillow and blanket on the sofa on the way through. Kissing her gently they say goodbye.
Both equally devastated that she can't spend the night. But she's the daughter of a field agent and understands that sometimes situations change so quickly.
"Times up." Gibbs said coming out, just as Tim was re-latching the lock on his door. "Sorry Tim, she's probably better company than me right now."
"I'm going back to bed. Pillow and blanket are there, coffee is in the kitchen." Tim said sullenly.
Tim went back to bed, alone as his mind wonders what tomorrow will bring.
Arriving at the office, with time to spare seemed like a good idea at the time. Gibbs had sent Tim down to the lab for an update. "Timmy, you should be with Ziva and Tony, not slacking off here." Abby chastised him. "Grow a pair next time, the scene can't have been that bloody. We've had worse."
"Abby, results?" Tim reminds her.
"Tim you chose this career, you can't pick and choose the cases you want to work. If anyone should have got to come back to DC it should be Tony or Ziva. You're still too inept in the field, you need the practice."
"Abby, please. I have a meeting in five minutes with the Director and I need your update." Tim pleaded.
"No," she argued. "Tell Gibbs I'm mad at him. I'll be keeping my update to myself until he comes to see me."
"Abby." Tim growled. "I need that update for the case."
"Well you should have thought of that, before you abandoned your teammates and left them with all the work." Tim rolled his eyes.
"You don't know what you're talking about." Tim argued. "One more time I'm going to ask for the update."
"I said No. Get out! " Abby screamed. "You're not a team player, McGee. You can't be trusted. I'll give them to Gibbs, personally."
"Update Tim?" Gibbs asked, slipping up and calling him Tim in the office.
"Negative Gibbs," Tim said sadly, hating to disappoint him. " Direct quote: you're not a team player, McGee. You can't be trusted. I'll give them to Gibbs personally." Gibbs rolled his shoulders to try and rid the tension from them. Abby picked the wrong day to mess with McGee.
"Fine, I'll call Abby myself when we're done!" Gibbs snapped.
Gibbs and McGee met the Director in conference room one, as directed. Director Shepard was waiting for them, along with both SECDEF Davenport and SecNav Jarvis. "Tim!" Jarvis said, jumping up to his feet, hugging him, as soon as he walked in the door. "You ok?" His Mother's brother asked him.
"Getting there Uncle Clay." He said wearily.
"Tim!" Phillip Davenport exclaimed, hugging his godson tightly. "I'm sorry Tim. Claire, Sam, Lucy and I are here for you, anything you need, you call me."
"Thanks Uncle Phil!"
Gibbs and Jenny stood off to the side, while the three men continued chatting. "Uncle Phil and Uncle Clay?" Gibbs asked Jenny in surprise.
"It appears so," she smirked. "I was unaware myself until I recalled you to DC."
"Jen, why am I here?" Gibbs asked exasperated. "You could handle this yourself."
"Gibbs, do you have an update?" Clayton asked. "We have to be on the hill in an hour. I'd like to have some answers for them."
"Negative, our lab tech is still sifting through evidence."
"Not good enough!" Phillip said. "She obviously needs an assistant. Director, you will assign one. I've never agreed with only one lab tech. Now I am in a position to do so, it will be done."
"Of course." She smiled.
Flipping the switch in the elevator is a daily occurrence for Gibbs, but he's never had to do it to question McGee. "Uncle Clay?" Gibbs asked.
"Clay, ah, Clayton Jarvis is my uncle. He was my Mum's brother." The way Tim said it tore at his heart. "Phil, Phillip Davenport, his wife Claire was my Mum's sister." The explanation was simple enough, they were related to him through his mother.
"What happened to her?" Gibbs asked, curiously.
"Never got a real answer, Dad just said she was sick."
"Do your Uncle's know?" Gibbs asked.
"No, the death certificate doesn't have a cause of death on it either. It's blank."
"Signed by a navy doctor, no doubt." Tim just tapped his nose as if to say 'precisely'. Tim's phone buzzed again, he'd heard it go off a few times during the meeting too. "Go on, get out of here. Go see that girlfriend of yours, let her help you find that smile of yours."
"Thanks boss." Tim gave his boss a brief look of gratitude.
"Abby." Gibbs greeted sternly. "Do you have those results for me?"
"Gibbs, you need to fire McGee. You know he left Tony in Norfolk, alone with that … assassin?" Abby asked.
"Abs, case!"
"No Gibbs, I'm serious. That's treason." She argued.
"Abby, Ziva is part of the team. Accept it." Gibbs took a deep breath, knowing she wasn't going to like what he had to say next. "McGee can't be involved in the investigation of this case. The victim is his father. You should be more sympathetic."
"Then why was he sniffing around here for results then?" Abby asked. She was angry at McGee still for leaving Tony with Ziva.
"Because I sent him. You shouldn't sit on results. If a member of our team asks for them, you give them over. I had to cover for you with the Director, SECNAV and SECDEF too."
"Why would they want to know what happened?"
"Let's see Abs, a high ranking, well respected Admiral has been murdered. Why do you think?" He could see she was angry at McGee still and couldn't work out why. He needed to talk to McGee again.
"Right …" she proceeded to give Gibbs the ID of the man who murdered Admiral McGee from a DNA and fingerprint match.
Relieved it was an open and shut case he'd let Ziva and Tony head out as soon as they got back with the promise they'd do their reports in the morning. He'd swung back to McGee's again, but he wasn't home. He hoped McGee was with that girlfriend of his, finding his smile.
Eating a sandwich, he headed for the basement to sand off some frustration before bed. If this didn't work, he was considering the gun range or the punching bag in the gym. He'd never met a family more remiss than the McGee's. Sure Clayton and Phillip were there for him, but not one other member had sought McGee out. The man had lost his father and no other family members had even cared.
"Hey Boss, got a minute?" Tim asked, disrupting his thoughts.
"Sure Tim, sit." He offered his young agent a bourbon but McGee surprised him with a coffee from his favourite diner.
"Dad's funeral is Saturday at Arlington." Tim explained. "He had it all organised, I just had to sign off on it."
"We'll all be there." Gibbs promised having already discussed it with the team.
"Thanks … umm… my girlfriend will be there too." Tim paused, taking a breath. "I think you two should meet beforehand."
"Really?" Gibbs smiled. At least he was making way with meeting McGee's mystery girl, which was more progress than he'd made meeting Kelly's new guy. "I'd be honoured." Gibbs said, finding he meant what he said. He was honoured that Tim trusted him like this.
"Breakfast tomorrow?" Tim asked. "She gets off work at six. There's this diner, not too far between here and Georgetown we like 'Elaine's Way!' We can meet you there."
"I know the place." Gibbs laughed. "It's my favourite diner."
"See you then.
"Hey McGee," Gibbs stopped him as he left the basement stairs. "Thanks for trusting me."
"Don't let me down, Gibbs."
The morning found Gibbs happily greeting it, he'd never admit, but he was actually very excited to meet McGee's girl. He arrived at the diner ten minutes earlier in anticipation of capturing a glimpse of her. He saw McGee's black Lexus SUV pull up. As he jumped out Gibbs noticed he was dressed casually in jeans and a shirt and realised that except for the night at his apartment he'd never seen McGee dressed in such relaxed attire. He saw him open the door for his girl. He saw her long golden auburn hair, before they stopped. He watched her say something, then they kissed before heading in here. He was slightly miffed, he never saw her face.
"Morning Boss." Tim said sliding into the booth. "Kel, won't be long."
"Kel?" Gibbs asked, amused at the love he heard in his young agents voice when he said her name.
"Hey Dad," she greeted as she hugged and kissed him hello. Taking a seat next to Tim. "Let's eat, I'm starving."
Gibbs imitation of a fish out of water was dead accurate. "Say something." Kelly demanded.
"You?" He said pointing at his daughter. "Tim?" Gibbs asked. He was in shock.
"Dad, Tim wanted to tell you sooner. But I wouldn't let him. I needed to know it was going somewhere first."Kelly explained. It was true. Tim had wanted to tell Gibbs a lot sooner.
"My daughter is the one you took to the bad foreign film?!" He finally exploded, glaring at Tim.
"No." Tim confirmed, looking him in the eye. "We caught the Admiral's case instead." Gibbs was surprised, the bumbling agent he knew didn't sit before him, the man who put that giddy smile on his daughter's face did.
"Wait?" Gibbs said, holding up his hand "before we get to the how. I thought you were dating that Gemcity guy."
"That's me." Tim admitted sheepishly.
"Your name is Timothy. Not Thom." Gibbs said firmly, not believing him.
"Thom is a pseudonym. Rearrange the letters." Tim explained.
"Timothy McGee." Kelly finished for him.
Throughout breakfast, Tim and Kelly were sharing looks, smiles, silly inside joke and laughter as they told Gibbs the story of that fateful night he'd abandoned Tim to help Abby. They told him about the follow up dinner dates, lunch dates, stolen moments, quick coffees, walks in the park, hiking and the one movie they attempted to see which ended ten minutes in by Kelly getting called into work. Which made Gibbs laugh because he now knew Tim had been with Kelly when he'd called Tim in for a case too.
"Dad?" Kelly asked, after they'd eaten and had their coffee was refilled. "What do ya think?" She asked, taking her Dads hand across the table, as the other one was tangled with Tim's fingers and resting in his lap.
"Just tell me you haven't slept together yet?" Gibbs begged, exasperated. He couldn't believe the turn his morning had taken.
"No, we haven't." Tim said, looking directly at Gibbs and he knew it was the truth. McGee doesn't lie!
"That night?" He asked. "The night —"
"No." Kelly interrupted him. "I wanted to. We were about to, but somebody interrupted." Kelly snapped playfully, glaring directly at him.
Both Gibbs and McGee looked away from each other, neither meeting each other's eyes. Both red in embarrassment. Gibbs couldn't believe he had asked that and Tim couldn't believe Kelly answered that. He remembered back to how he found Tim, the night in question.
"You and I are going to have words tonight, McGee!" Gibbs finally said.
"Yes boss." Tim replied automatically.
"No," Kelly said. "Outside of work, call him Gibbs. Or Jethro. He isn't your boss outside of work. He's my father."
"She's got a point, McGee."
"Then you better call me, Tim."