CL5 - Sorry for the delay in posting anything new. Spring is a wonderful time of the year here in Australia; the sun is shining; the birds are singing. Except where I live, its La Nina season and we've had unprecedented rain and flooding. AGAIN! It was only seven months ago we last had flooding. This time, the water went away from our house, but we've still been very busy helping our friends and family who were affected. Now our wonderful weather service here in Australia is predicting that we can experience these rain bursts and flooding events, until at least Christmas. Did I mention Spring is wonderful here in Australia?
Enjoy :)
EIGHT WEEKS LATER
"Hey," Tobias whispered to Tim, as Tim boarded the elevator, heading to the back of the crowded metal box. Tim was on a TAD assignment at the Navy yard. His hand grazing his lover's hip as he reached him in the crowded elevator at NCIS HQ. It had been two weeks since they had seen one another in person last. Sure, they'd seen one another a few times, over the last two months and Tim had even spent more time with Emily, but never having gone further than a touch or a small kiss. They'd spoken on the phone a lot too, especially late into the evening.
"Hey, yourself." Tim told him with a wink, wanting nothing more than to haul the FBI agent against him and kiss the man like he was starving. The two of them stood at the back of the elevator, both the picture of professional decorum. "What brings you by?"
"Official FBI business." he replied, giving Tim the once over, twice. "You're looking good, are you staying in town?"
"Navy Lodge, this time." Tim said, he wondered why Tobias didn't seem eager to get together, now he knew he had made it into town. But Tim was happy, he had said that he looked good, and he hadn't missed the appreciative looks that Tobias was giving him.
Stepping out in to the MCRT bull pen, Tim moved first towards his assigned desk and dropped his bag behind it, locking his weapon in the top drawer. Tobias watched his lover walk away from him, enjoying the view of his lover's long legs, hips and his ass.
He was cursing the name Cooper Hoffman III. Cooper was no good kid who made a tonne of money dabbling in illegal activities and was stupid enough to hide his money in his bank account and refuse to pay tax on it. His ex-wife Diane had caught the case and he had threatened her and her family.
"Good morning, Jethro." Tobias greeted his friend, his former nemesis. His tone was clipped, and he was in no mood for pleasantries with Gibbs.
"Tobias? What can I do for you?" Gibbs asked. He had seen his ex-wife's ex-husband get off the elevator with his TAD agent.
"Ever hear of Cooper Hoffman III? Some low life punk who gets kicks from threatening women and children. Except now, he wants to take me on, too." Tobias told him. "A no-good kid who made a tonne of money dabbling in illegal activities and was stupid enough to hide his profits from said illegal activity, in his bank own account and Gibbs, Diane just had to be the one assigned to audit him by the IRS."
"Yeah, I've heard of him. He's an ex-navy, beat his young wife to death with a wrench and got off on a technicality." Gibbs added, wondering why his friend was dredging up ancient history.
"Diane's caught his ire. She audited him and he left this on her car" He handed Gibbs the note in the sealed evidence bag.
"Are you ok? Where's Emily?" He asked, immediately. Rereading the threat again. "I'll have DiNozzo and Kate pick her up and we can put her in protective custody."
"McGee, not DiNozzo." Tobias changed tracks. If he trusted anyone with Emily besides his mother and his ex-wife with his daughter, it was his lover. He knew Tim would protect her, no matter what.
"McGee?" Gibbs asked incredulously. "She's your daughter, Tobias and you want, McGee? He's a rookie."
"Ah thanks, I'll try not to take that personally, Boss." Tim snapped from his desk opposite the boss' desk and Gibbs looked sheepishly at Tobias, not realising Tim was in the room already.
"I trust him." Fornell said and Gibbs was surprised. He didn't know that the FBI had been watching Morrow's recruit that closely.
"Your mom?" Gibbs asked. "Where is she?"
"She's on a cruise with her canasta buddies. They go every year, she is safe, somewhere in the Bahamas." he replied to the questioning his friend was peppering him with.
"Kate, McGee. Go pick up Emily from her school with Tobias. I'll organise a safe house for you." But Tobias shook his head, no.
"Conference room?" Fornell asked and the two men headed over to the elevator and stepped inside the sliding metal doors when they opened.
"Speak, Tobias." Gibbs growled. Tobias had come to him for help, now he didn't want to co-operate.
"McGee has a property, it's remote and it's away from civilisation. Most of all, no one knows where it is, but a very select few individuals. We'll get him to take Emily and hide her away there. He will protect her."
"You want to trust McGee, to be soley responsible for Emily? Are you nuts?" Gibbs asked, seriously. "Look he's a good guy, he's going to be an even better agent, but he's green as hell, right now."
"He can do it, Jethro. You underestimate him." Tobias told him.
"McGee's a stranger to her, Tobias." he argued, passionately. "What do you think you know that I don't know, about McGee? Besides the fact that he seems to be the Director Morrow's golden boy."
"Wonder boy is more like it. He solved a high-profile case, when he was a cadet at FLETC. Got an offer for every agency in the alphabet." Tobias explained to his friend. "As for Emily and Tim, they've met once. We bumped into him at a museum, and I introduced them. She knows he is an agent, and she knows she can trust him. If I tell her, it's ok and to stay with Tim, she will."
Flicking the elevator's emergency switch back on, the two men exited back onto the fourth floor. "New plan; McGee, go with Fornell and get Emily. Take her into your protective custody. You don't let her out of your sight. If something's happens to her McGee, you better run. Kate, you help DiNozzo; background on Hoffman III, then you'll assist McGee on the detail."
As soon as Tim and Fornell were alone in Tobias' SUV, with Tim's go bag on the floor at his feet, laptop stowed in his go bag and his gun on his hip, Tobias waited until they were clear of the Navy Yard before taking Tim's hand in his own. "I am trusting you with her, Tim. Keep her safe for me, babe." he took Tim's hand and pressed it to his lips and kissed them sensually.
Pulling over three blocks before Emily's school, he looked around before switching the car off. He unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over the centre console and pulled Tim in for a kiss. It was full of passion and promise. Tim reciprocated happily, pouring his own feelings into the kiss, which was getting Tobias excited. He introduced his tongue and heard Tim moan before breaking the kiss off. "Everything will be OK, Tobias. I won't let anything happen to Emily; I promise."
"You know where I want you to take her?" he asked, nipping his lips against his lovers. "Somewhere only you and I know about. I've got an agent getting you everything you'll need for her. She's not allergic to anything and don't let her live on chocolate."
"When we get to the yard, put her seat and her things in my SUV and we can start making the drive." Tim told him, pressing his lips to his boyfriend's, trying to pull Tobias closer to him, reassuring the older man that his daughter would be ok.
"I know you will be great with her, Tim. Besides Gibbs, there no agent I trust more than you." he said, kissing Tim again. "Gibbs has his doubts, but he doesn't know you like I do."
"I should hope not." Tim told him with a smile and a wink.
Fornell gave a small grin in return before kissing Tim again. "I've got to stop kissing you, but I don't want to." he muttered tearing his lips away from Tim's. "Pick up a burner, program my number into it. You get into trouble, or you need back up text me the letter E, for Emily."
"E for Emily, if I am in trouble, got it! Send me a T when it's all over, so I can breathe easier." Tim told him, gripping his hand tight.
"I will and when this is over, you and I are going to need some alone time, behind closed doors. Maybe the kind that involves getting into your bedroom at your cabin? " Tobias promised him with a final peck on the lips for Tim. "And not for the view of the natural scenery from your balcony."
"It's a date." Tim grinned at him, and he was looking forward to entertaining his lover, soon.
At the school, Emily was curious to be getting out of class in the middle of the day and the FBI agent was relieved to go back to his regular duties. Tim and Tobias waited patiently for Emily. As soon as she saw her dad, she started running towards him, but she diverted as soon as she saw Tim. "Tim!" she called out, excited to see him and ran to him, instead. Tim scooped her up, in his arms and cuddled her tightly against his chest, pressing a kiss to her hair. Her little fingers latched into one another around his neck, and she snuggled into him. Tim held her tighter and pressed another gentle kiss into her hair. "Hey Em." he whispered to her. Tobias thought his heart could just burst at the sight of Tim holding his daughter and kissing her hair. His heart was fluttering and beating really fast. He wasn't looking forward to saying goodbye to either of them, but he knew Tim would protect Em with his life, if need be.
"Let's go, you two." Tobias encouraged as he took the backpack from Emily's teacher and waved her off. He put his hand on the small of Tim's back, under the guise of ushering the younger man out the door, using it as an excuse to touch him, one more time.
At the car, Tobias showed Tim how to strap her into her seat, correctly. Once they were under way, they pulled back over near where he and Tim had exchanged a couple of steamy kisses, only twenty minutes beforehand. "Em honey, I have to go away for work, and you know mommy's already away for work and Nonna is on her trip? I -"
"Can I stay with Tim? Please, Daddy, please?" she begged in her sweet and innocent voice.
"That makes that easy." Tobias muttered to his lover under his breath. He started the car back up and merged into traffic, headed back to the Navy Yard.
"Pretty please, Daddy?" she begged again, and Tim smiled at that. He was glad that Emily liked him so much. He liked Emily too; she was a good kid.
"If I say yes, will you be good? On your best behaviour?" Tobias asked, trying to stay stern.
"Of course, Daddy." she promised him and gave him an angelic look.
"We are going to meet a friend of mine first and she's going to come with us. Help us get settled in, OK?" Tim asked. "Is that OK? Her name is Kate and she's a special agent like Daddy and me."
"She sounds pretty." Emily replied and Tim grinned at her father.
"She's very pretty." Tim answered, staring directly at his lover, enjoying the flash of jealousy that crossed Tobias' face.
"Uncle Gibbs will introduce you to Kate. She works with Tim and Uncle Gibbs, but Daddy trusts her, too. So, listen to whatever Kate says, as well as Tim. Ok, Sweetheart?" Tobias added.
"Is Uncle Gibbs coming with us, too?" Emily asked excitedly. "We could let him meet Mack and Tuck, Daddy."
"Sorry honey, Uncle Gibbs..." Tobias didn't know what to say. He didn't want to say her uncle didn't offer to babysit. He'd babysat her a time or two before. He had thought Gibbs would offer his house. But he hadn't.
"Uncle Gibbs will be working with Daddy, sweetheart. But you, me and Kate, are gonna have the best time together. There are heaps of cool things to do at my place and I have tonnes of games. And we'll have lots of time to get to know our new friend Kate." Tim offered, hoping he didn't overstep with Tobias.
"Can we please see Mack again, too?" she asked excitedly. "I miss him."
"Maybe, how about we talk to Kate about it?" Tim offered. He really wasn't too keen on having her out in the open like that Not while there was still a threat hanging over her. But maybe it would be possible, once Hoffman was in custody, to take the morning and go to the Discovery Centre.
"Daddy and Uncle Gibbs will come up and get us, just as soon as they get back from work." he promised.
Their arrival at the Navy Yard was swift. The MP on the base gate instructed them to head to the motor pool. When they arrived at the motor pool, they were ushered into a garage and the door was promptly closed behind them. The car seat was quickly installed in Tim's car, as well as the groceries, Emily's suitcase and toys were loaded, also. As well as Tim's gear and Kate's overnight bag, go bag and laptop bag.
The three of them made their way back into the bull pen, as three agents that Gibbs trusted, stood guard over Tim's SUV. Gibbs' eyebrows just about flew off his face at the sight of his beloved niece Emily, holding one of his agent's hands and her fathers in the other. "Uncle Gibbs!" she called out, letting go of both their hands as she shot off like a pocket rocket towards him.
"Hey Em!" he said with a big grin for her, as he lifted her up onto his lap and hugged the strawberry blonde-haired beauty to him. "Are you excited?" he asked, looking over at Tim and Tobias having a conversation in low whispers by the bullpen window.
"I sure am. Did you know Tim knows everything?" she asked, bragging about Tim. "He's really smart. We see'd him at the museum and I gots to pats the otters and feed them. I touched the turtles and Daddy held the snake. Tim said that the turtle was really old, that he had been there since he was a little boy and he got me a hot chocolate too. We couldn't go to the park, 'cause it was time to go, but daddy said another time but ..."
Kate had been watching the ball of strawberry blonde energy closely. It was clear to Kate that Emily liked Tim. "Em, honey!" Tim called her over to him and she ran to him, and he scooped her up. "Remember I told you about my friend Kate? I told you she's going to stay with us. This is Kate. Kate, this is Emily Fornell." Tim told her, as he introduced Kate to Emily.
"Hi Emily, it's nice to meet you. We're going to have lots of fun with Tim, aren't we?" Kate asked and she cuddled into Tim, shyly.
"Don't take it personally, Agent Todd. Em's a little shy, but once she warms up to you, you'll be wishing for ear plugs." Tobias added, he was enjoying watching Tim and Emily and couldn't help but feel a small smile grace his lips.
"You're not bad, sweetheart." Tim told her, cuddling her tighter. "You're always good, when I'm around."
Gibbs watched with fascination. He has known Emily Fornell for a long time, and the shy girl was the girl that he knew too. The girl Tim knew, who was giggling and laughing, and snuggling into his agent wasn't the Emily he knew. "Time to go." Gibbs said softly to his friend, as Tim handed Emily to her dad to say goodbye.
Tim gave them a moment, double checking his desk, as did Kate, before stepping up to take Emily into their protective custody. "Em honey, do whatever Tim and Kate tell you to. Be good, I love you." Tobias reminded her as they headed to the elevator.
Tobias watched as his lover boarded the elevator with his daughter in tow and his heart ached.
Out at Tim's car, Kate was suitably impressed that Tim drove such a nice SUV for his young age. She watched in awe as Tim buckled Emily in like a pro, double checked they had everything before climbing up into the SUV. "Tim?" her little voice from the back seat asked, startling Kate. "Where's Mack? I can't find him."
"Here he is, honey." Tim reassured her, handing over the beloved stuffed otter he had bought her when they first met. "He was keeping Kate company in the front seat."
"Thanks, I can't forget him. He's, my favourite." she told him as they headed off the base towards Tim's cabin. "Will we see Aunt May?" she asked, enthusiastically. "I liked her, she gave me a show bag and a book."
"Not on this trip honey. Aunt May is visiting my sister Sarah, in Norfolk." Tim told her.
"You're actually good with kids, McGee. " Kate commented, quite surprised. The man looked like he was still a kid himself.
"Not usually, but Em likes me." Tim replied to her, keeping his voice low. "My sister loves to hate me and hates to love me. If you ask her, she will tell you."
"Ah, yes. I have three brothers like that. So what? You're the oldest?" she asked, slightly profiling him.
"Yeah, older than her by nine years."
They travelled for almost ninety minutes before anything else was said between the two agents. Kate had noticed Tim kept checking his rear-view mirrors and was impressed he was constantly looking to see if they were being followed. He looked up again, this time focusing his eyes on Emily, who had just dozed off. She had been happily reading her book about otters, occasionally throwing out a question about otters to Tim. Her endless questions about everything and Tim's endless patience with her had also surprised Kate.
When they were twenty minutes out from the cabin, Tim pulled over to side of the road. "Kate, I'll need you to stay with Emily in the car while I clear the house. If I'm not back in 5 minutes or anything tells you I need help. I need you to drive to this address and ask for George. Tell him, I'm in trouble. You and Emily will be safe there, so stay there and call Gibbs or Fornell." Tim told her, seriously. "The address is pre-programmed, and this button here will tell you how to get there. We're not too far away, now."
Kate could only nod at him, as he pulled back out on the highway. She had never seen McGee that assertive and confident before. She liked it. She wondered where he hid it when he was at work. It gave her the glimpse of Tim in big brother mode and thought maybe Tim's little sister had missed the mark on him.
Pulling back onto his property, he parked the car back from the garage, a bit. "Ready?" he asked with a smile. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Kate. I was only here last weekend."
Kate unholstered her weapon too, for easy access. She didn't like sending McGee in alone to the house, but it made sense. He didn't want to risk Emily. She had spent the majority of the trip profiling the relationship between Emily and Tim and she could see that Tim thought the world of the strawberry blonde little girl. Just as she thought highly of him, too.
"It's clear." Tim told her as he climbed back into his SUV and prepared to park it in the garage, as opposed to the car port where he usually parked it. Parking and closing the electronic door, Kate immediately began unloading the car while Tim carried a sleeping Emily, inside. He lay her down on the bed in the room that his sister used when she was younger. Once he had her settled, he pulled the throw blanket over her and showed Kate into her room, which was his dear Penny's old bedroom.
"I'm in the room on the other side of Emily." Tim said to her. "Help yourself to the kitchen. But I do ask, please don't enter the library on the ground floor. My grandmother is a woman's studies professor on the college lecture circuit, and she hates people touching her things. She's got her stuff in there while she's away on the lecturing circuit."
"That's fine, Tim." Kate told him as they unpacked the groceries into the kitchen cupboard. Tim pulled out some ground beef from the bag and popped it aside. Before an onion, carrot, zucchini, a can of tomatoes and some dry spaghetti joined the meat. "You cook?" Kate asked, as she witnessed McGee start expertly dicing the onion, carrot and zucchini up, into small pieces. He pulled a pan off the shelf and heated it, adding olive oil.
"Well yeah, I have to eat, so, of course I cook." Tim told her, as he tossed the vegetables in the pan to cook evenly. "As he added the ground beef and began breaking it up again, he asked Kate for the beef stock and the chilli, pouring a small amount of the beef stock in and a pinch of chilli, he rendered it in before he spoke to her again. "What made you think I couldn't cook?"
"Just a vibe I had about you; I was clearly wrong." She answered vaguely. She struggled to comprehend that Tim was so different to what she had thought. To what Tony had theorised about the young genius.
"Tim?" A little voice called out, coming into the kitchen after her nap. "I'm hungry."
"Hey honey," Tim greeted his littlest guest. "Dinner's almost ready, we're having ziti, your favourite." Kate was amused as she watched the little girl scamper off to wash up for dinner.
"Clean as a whistle." Emilly grinned at him when she returned. "May I please have some milk with my dinner?"
"You can." Tim answered, nodding to Kate who was holding the carton in her hand. "A glass is fine, Kate. That's what she has at home." He mused out loud and he missed as Kate's eyebrows reached up to her hairline in surprise.
After dinner, Kate was tidying up and loading the dishwasher, while Tim cleaned up Emily's face and encouraged her to pop her pyjamas on. She watched Tim in fascination, as he quickly showered and washed Emily's hair, before drying her off and getting her dressed for bed. She could see that Emily trusted Tim and she wondered exactly what the relationship was between Emily and Tim, despite her earlier profiling attempt.
After Kate had the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, she bought in a cup of tea for her and a coffee for Tim, into the living room. She found Emily on Tim's lap in his armchair reading a book together before sending Tim was planning to send her off to bed. "Tim, can we please go see Mack tomorrow?" She asked, softly and Kate shook her head no. She didn't want to leave the safety of the cabin.
"Not tomorrow honey, we have other plans." Tim told her, not liking the look she was giving him and how his heart hurt at disappointing her. "Em, do you remember where to go and hide if you're scared, or a stranger comes that you don't know?" On the last visit they had made to Tim's cabin, Tim showed Emily a secret room and told her a story of how he used to hide in there as a small boy. At her nod, Tim asked her to show Kate where it was.
"You've been here before?" Kate asked, surprised as Emily took her by the hand and led her out of the room towards the special hiding spot. She was finally alone with Fornell's daughter and everything she had learnt so far, had surprised her.
"Yep." She answered Kate. "Once Daddy let me stay in the car 'cause I was sleepy and the next time, I played on the swings out the back and the last time, we went fishing."
"Fishing?" she asked, making conversation. She knew now, her and Tim would need to talk as soon as Emily was asleep. She recalled Fornell saying they'd only met once before.
"Found it, Tim." Emily asked, crawling back into his lap. "Now Kate knows your secret, too."
"Good, now listen to me very carefully." At her nod, he looked into her eyes, making sure she was paying attention. "If either myself or Kate tells you to go there, you go and hide there. If you see a stranger, you tell one of us immediately and you go and hide there. Be extra quiet and one of us will come and get you. Don't come out unless it's me, Kate, Uncle Gibbs or your Daddy, ok?"
"What about DiTony?" her little voice asked, she remembered Tony DiNozzo from Uncle Gibbs' birthday party last month. Tim had enjoyed himself immensely, that night. He had been cornered by Tobias in the dark corner of the backyard, against the house and they'd thoroughly enjoyed their make-out session, like horny teenagers. That night, Tobias had been called into work an hour later, blowing the plans they'd made to spend the night together, to smithereens.
"Or DiTony, honey, he can get you too. But no one else." she was nodding in understanding, and he looked up to see Kate nodding along with him too. He asked her to repeat what he had told her, so he knew she understood. "You're safe here though, this is just in case."
As soon as she was down for the count, Tim returned to his armchair and let out a large sigh. "She's finally asleep." He announced, taking a long swig of his now, lukewarm coffee. "Have you checked in with Gibbs, yet?" he asked. He noticed that Kate had her feet tucked under her legs on the sofa and had made herself at home.
"No, I was waiting for you." She said with a smile. "But first, we're going to talk because there's no way that, what Fornell told Gibbs was the truth about you only meeting Emily once."
She watched him, carefully, she scrutinised his facial features. "We've met a couple of times." Tim admitted softly.
"At least three times, she has been here before." Kate announced and Tim didn't look surprised. He and Tobias both knew that there was always a chance that Emily might tell someone that they spent time together, they just prayed it wasn't Diane. They had agreed to be truthful, if ever caught out or confronted, rather than have people think the little girl was telling tall stories. "You're friends...with Fornell?"
"Yeah." he answered quickly, grasping onto the assumption with both hands. Tim knew he couldn't lie to save himself.
"No, you're not." Kate answered, scrutinising him closer. "She's more open with you, than Gibbs, so don't lie to me, McGee. I used to be a profiler for the secret service, I can tell when I'm being lied to. Plus, you're not very good at it."
"We're ...together." Tim admitted in a whisper. "Emily doesn't know. She thinks we're just friends. You can't tell anyone, Kate."
At the look on the younger man's face, Kate felt sorry for him. They were trapped in a world where, although they were a civilian agency, they answered to the Navy and USMC and Don't ask, don't tell was still in effect. "Of course, I won't tell anyone, but for real? Like you're not having me on because I didn't offer to shower Emily for you."
"Four and a half months now." Tim smiled at her, warmly. "We met at FLETC, almost a year ago and we just clicked. He was a guest lecturer and when Director Morrow sent me to undertake some specialised training, we bumped into each other again. This time, we had coffee."
"You and Fornell?" She asked, she was trying to picture it. Tim opened his cell phone and scrolled through it to five weeks ago when Tobias and he had taken a selfie of themselves, fishing together. "You two actually look good together." She murmured; she could see an attraction between them and the look of joy they were sharing. "I take it Gibbs doesn't know." She surmised and Tim groaned.
"Not that I am aware of, but Tobias might have told him in the elevator. He was rather vocal about my inability to care for and protect Emily, after all."
"I think we've all underestimated you at one point, Tim. Gibbs perhaps the most." Kate told him. "As long as you're happy."
"I am happ, Kate. Very happy." Tim told her, with a goofy grin.
Kate made the call and checked in with Gibbs, they hadn't found any solid evidence it was their suspect that had left the threatening note on Diane's car, but they were watching him, waiting for him to slip up. She couldn't help but smile as Tobias asked to speak to Tim about Emily. She watched and observed Tim as he spoke to Tobias and from her side of the conversation, it seemed it was about Emily, until she watched her partner blush red and turn away from her before leaving the room. She smiled to herself as she guessed that Fornell had said something intimate to Tim.
Coming back into the room a minute later, you would have never known that Tim was blushing. "I take it Fornell had something to say to you in private."
"Yeah, he wanted me to show you something too." Tim led her down the hallway to closet at the end of the hall. She watched as he opened the closet and typed in a numerical code. "The code is 1184, then slide this bolt over. This is my grandfather's gun collection. They're all in pristine condition, recently cleaned and ready to be fired if need be. If anyone comes here wanting a war, they're going to get one."
"This is impressive." Kate said in awe. She loved guns and she had a few, but nothing like this collection. "Your grandfather?"
"Admiral Nelson McGee." Tim supplied. "When I inherited this place, I inherited his guns, too. Penny told the family that the guns were sold and told me to keep it a secret."
"Penny?" she asked, confused who Penny was.
"Penny is my grandmother, the Admiral's wife. Ah... Admiral Nelson McGee, not I be confused with Admiral John McGee, who is my father. Penny hates the word, 'grandmother' and makes us call her Penny." Tim explained. Closing the armoury back up, Tim ushered Kate back down the hallway.
'Something's off.' Tim thought as his mind slowly came online. He felt an unnatural weight on his chest and his nose was being tickled. He opened his eyes and could not see anything except for a mass of something that was hairy and strawberry blonde, in colour. "Em?" he asked, it was barely daylight now. "Em, honey?"
Tim managed to slide out from beneath her, leaving her in his warm spot in the bed. Once he had her re-settled, he tiptoed out into the kitchen to start the coffee pot. "Morning." Kate greeted him cheerfully and with a wide smile. "Look at you all cute and sleep ruffled." she teased her friend, playfully.
"Morning." Tim told her. "Coffee?" he offered as he poured her a cup too.
"Did you know that from the balcony of my room you can almost see the entire river? It's such a beautiful place, gorgeous sunrise, too." Kate gushed, as she took the offered coffee from Tim.
She watched him with ease as he began pulling out the ingredients for breakfast. In no time at all, Tim had the batter already made for banana pancakes and some bacon on the side. He was rinsing the blueberries when a little voice at the door greeted them.
"Hey honey, come and sit at the breakfast bar and I'll get you, your breakfast." Kate poured her a cup of juice and set it down for her.
"Thanks Kate." she smiled warmly at her. This morning she wasn't as shy as she was the day before with Kate and that pleased her. All kids loved her instantly and she'd been a little put off that Emily hadn't. But she didn't blame Emily. Her father was FBI, her mother was IRS and the man married to her mother was Homeland Security. Tim and Gibbs were NCIS, also. She was right to be wary of new people.
"A banana pancake, with a blueberry smiley face and a side of bacon for the little lady and one for the other lady." Tim flourished, holding out the two plates for the girls, which Kate smiled at Tim for. She hadn't expected breakfast. She would have been happy with just her coffee, but she didn't want to offend Tim.
"Thanks Tim, you're the best." Emily crowed at him. "Kate, did you know Tim's a better cooker than daddy and mommy? Daddy said we can't tell mommy that, though."
"Really?" she asked, amused as she took her mug over to the coffeepot to refill it. "So, you're not out yet, that's OK."
"Kate." Tim warned, his voice low and grumbly.
After breakfast, Tim, Emily and Kate dressed in their jeans and flannels as Emily started digging in the compost to get the worms. "Fornell is going to kill you." Kate muttered in a sing-song voice, as soon as she saw Emily digging out a worm with her bare hands.
"Don't pin that one on me. Allegedly, Uncle Gibbs taught her that." Tim retorted, remembering the story that Tobias had told him about the time Gibbs babysat Emily and he came back to them digging up worms in the garden.
They made their way down to the river for some fishing. All they managed to catch was a snag or two. Kate had bought her book with her, blatantly refusing to fish or touch the worms. The trio made their way back up to the house, to get cleaned up for lunch and after lunch, Tim told Emily it was quiet time, as he and Kate needed to do some work. So, he had Emily do some colouring in her books. Tim had started the slow cooker that morning, making a one pot casserole. The weather was expected to turn in the evening and Tim wanted Emily to have a warm belly full of food before bed.
"Em honey, stay with Kate. I'm just going downstairs to get some firewood." Tim told her, making sure Kate heard him.
She could feel the chill in the air now and Tim had showed her the weather forecast and the storm that was forecasted. Suddenly Tim came back in without the firewood. "Em, remember what I told you to do if strangers come?" he asked, with a glance to Kate. "Go now."
"We've got company?" she asked, surprised as soon as she returned from getting Emily hidden. Kate made sure she had her stuffed otter Mack and a book to read.
They were really isolated here, and the next house was a good three miles away. They hadn't even seen a car since they turned off the main road. There weren't any unexpected tyre tracks when they had arrived at the house. Both Kate and Tim had no cell phones switched on and hadn't turned their laptops on, yet. Tim's burner phone he had purchased didn't even have GPS capabilities, neither did the SatNav of his SUV.
"Third floor, attic dormer, let's go." he said, ushering Kate up the stairs first. The dorm in the attic gave them a 360-degree view of the property.
"White corvette, fancy." Kate commented in a low voice. "License plate 5XG6AF. One mile back from the fence line. Run the trace, now."
"Oh no." Tim swore as soon as the trace was completed. "Corvette is registered to Cooper Hoffman III. I need my burner phone."
"Tim?" Kate asked, confused.
"Tobias and I set up a series of codes and a back-up plan. We're going to put our back up plan in motion." Tim told her. "They're guarding the front gate. Go and get Emily, both of you dress warmly and pack some spare clothes. We're going to get wet."
Tim rugged up in his jacket, then he went down to the storage level. He prepared what his sister always called the rubber ducky. Emily and Kate appeared on the staircase, Kate had Emily rugged up and had grabbed a couple of folded woollen blankets from the closet. She had packed a backpack with a couple of things to occupy the little girl, too. At Tim's firm look, Kate went back into the house and bought back two rifles and all the ammo she could find for them, as well as their sigs. "Here." she said, loading each of the rifles, before passing them to Tim to put in the rubber ducky.
"Tim, I'm scared." Emily whispered, as she clung to his side.
"Em, remember when you and I played commando, and we crawled on the ground to the river to scare your dad? We're going to do that again but Kate's going to go with you, instead of me." she nodded her head at him. "Kate, wait for me. Rule 35, Always watch the watchers. They know I live here. It'll look odd if I'm not seen by them, but they don't know I'm not alone."
"What's the plan, McGee? You make it look like you're going fishing, load us in the boat and take off?"
"Not exactly, how good of a swimmer are you?" Tim asked with a grin.
