Not Beta'd; Standard disclaimer applies.
A/N:
Tim remembering events and giving the team a summary, might not be word for word of the memory (I only bold the line before the memory/flashback and a few words of the italicized memory)
{{ Tim remembering events, but not sharing it with the Team }}
[[ Gibbs's POV memory, Tim was not present at the time. The team is not told about it; whether or not Tim knows will (maybe) be revealed later ]]
Lots of flashbacks in this chapter, which means lots of Tim/Gibbs interaction (all of them just Tim remembering, he isn't sharing them with the team (though might mention a few things). This chapter is all one scene, the only scene breaks are from/during Tim's flashback (there's a sequence of 3 flashbacks that are related and divided by scene break lines.
Chance of TomMorrow, Next of Kin, Chapter 21
"No," Tony said suddenly, staring at Tim as another part of their earlier conversation floated to mind.
Everyone's eyes flickered between Tony and Tim since Tony's posture had changed and he spoken that single word.
"You said, 'no, he didn't'," Tony said, his eyes boring into the junior agent's.
Tim immediately knew what Tony was referring to and nodded but didn't speak, after all, he had said that and it was true.
"What did you mean by that?" Tony finally asked. "How could you be on our team if Gibbs didn't add you?"
"It was actually Tom Morrow who added me to the team,"
"What!" Tony exclaimed. "Gibbs never would've stood for that. He liked to handpick his team members."
"I know that, and so did Morrow," Tim agreed. "And Gibbs had hand-picked me, just for someone else's team."
"Okay, now I'm confused," a bewildered Jimmy admitted. By the nods of head around the table he wasn't the only one.
"Gibbs enjoyed having another protégé," Tim confessed. "He took Tony under his wing years before, and had recently added Kate. He didn't want to stretch himself too far, by adding me, a very green agent to his roster."
"Oh, C'mon," Tony whined, "Both Kate and I already had tons of experience. Cop and Secret Service agent, completely different from you."
Tim nodded, "Yeah. You had street smarts and investigative skills; Kate had profiling and could defend herself and others. I had none of that. I went through FLETC, and worked as a case manager, slowly, very slowly," he wryly admitted, "Getting my feet wet. Each of us would need something different from him, and all of us would need his rules," Tim added, trying to lighten up the mood.
"I still think he could've done it," Tony argued. "And obviously, he did."
"Yeah, but he didn't want to," Tim nodded, everyone looked at him in disbelief.
"No, that can't be true," Abby argued. "He loves you, you're his son."
"I know," Tim said, "But he also didn't want to take the risk and he hated the responsibility."
"Risk? Responsibility?"
Tim hesitated, "We had gotten closer after I, er, rescued," he used Abby's phrase for want of a better word or more concise description, "Him that night. I was worried and, er, I might've called Mike or encouraged Fornell to stop by when Gibbs wouldn't talk to me afterwards."
Tony snickered imagining how that went over with any of the three older men.
"I didn't want to give up on him, and made sure he was okay and had what he needed physically," Tim remembered.
{{
"You don't have to do that," Gibbs stated catching Tim fill his cupboards and place some takeout boxes from Elaine in his fridge, like he had done for a couple of weeks now, ever since he heard about the autopsy SOB.
Tim shrugged, resisting the urge to leave. He had no doubt that if Gibbs didn't want him here, he would say so. But he couldn't but be nervous, it was the first time he and Gibbs had met each other since that February night that wasn't work related. "I'm just the delivery service."
"And the personal shopper, and housekeeping," Gibbs snorted. "Thanks for all that, by the way."
Tim shrugged again, not sure what to make of the older man's words, he was just pleased that he hadn't been asked to leave yet.
"And I'm sorry."
That had Tim's head snapping up in shock as he looked at the older man. "For what? You have nothing to apologize for. I'm the one that-"
"That what? Dragged my drunken ass home? Listened as I rambled on about the tragedies in my life?"
"I should have-"
"Made sure I had food and coffee and clean laundry the last few weeks while I grumbled, snapped, ignored, and avoided everyone when we couldn't identify the joker who hid inside a body bag? Contacted my closest friends and encourage them to get me to talk so I wouldn't lose my mind due to this situation? No, you didn't have to, but you did. You didn't do a damn thing wrong," Gibbs explained, his tone sincere. "You showed exactly who you are by how you reacted to everything that happened. Yeah, I was a bit uncomfortable once I realized how much you knew about my life, something that I hadn't shared with anyone who hadn't known me at that time, something that I purposely had kept hidden from everyone, and maybe I would've still avoided you for a few days afterwards even without that damn autopsy situation, and maybe that would've been understandable. But I acted like that for a month. You didn't deserve me treating you like that, even if you now know it wasn't because of you. Just like I don't deserve how you have reacted." He paused and shook his head, while Tim continued to look at him flabbergasted.
"Without me even asking, you promised not to tell anyone what you had learned. Made sure I had everything I needed when I developed tunnel vision and got lost in the case. I'm apologizing because even if my actions were unintentional and you now know why, I have no doubt that you were hurt, thought that it was personal. Yet once you heard what had happened, once you learned how I was acting, you didn't hesitate, you pushed that aside and stepped up.
"As I said, that shows a lot about your character. It's a trademark of not just a good man, but a great one, Timothy McGee, and I'm damn proud to say that I know you."
}}
"You really came to care for him," Ducky realized. "He was not just an advisor or mentor to you."
Tim gave a slight inclination of his head instead of commenting and continued on with the story. "I won't share what was said," he warned them, looking directly at Tony as he said it, "Just know that it definitely wasn't like anything that any of us could have imagined, especially given who was involved. I will, however, try to give you an idea of how things changed between us, so bear with me," he pleaded.
"I had expected that our next meeting that didn't involve work to be awkward, uncomfortable, perhaps even tense, and potentially our last meeting, but it wasn't. It was different, though," he admitted, "And it seemed to set the tone for our next interactions. We seemingly picked up right where we were before. Well, actually, we were closer; our conversations became more real, deeper, which is how it was different," he added. "I never asked him why it changed and he never volunteered. I don't know if it was due to the fact that he had recently, even if inadvertently, told me of his family, his brush with mortality after getting shot, a combination of the those two, or had nothing to do with either one. Hell, it could've been because I wasn't really involved in his day-to-day life and thus was separated from things; regardless, he now acted differently around me when away from the job. Where before our conversations mostly focused on some aspect of the job, that was no longer the case."
Tim took a deep breath, grateful that no one had interrupted him. Talking about this was more emotional than he thought it would be. All he could imagine was Gibbs as he was that night he got drunk, which was reminiscent of how he was days ago after he woke from the explosion. That reminded Tim how close he came to losing the man he now called 'dad'. There was also the fact that he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to say. He just wanted them to understand how his friendship with Gibbs evolved, how close they were, even if none of them had previously discovered it.
"Knowing about Shannon and Kelly also seemed to eliminate any boundaries or walls between us." Catching the confused look on the faces around the table, Tim tried to explain it a different way. "He knew that I had knowledge of one of the happiest times in his life, as well as one of the most tragic. I had seen him when he was the most vulnerable and emotional. He also knew that he couldn't change that, couldn't erase that from my mind."
"You can't put the Genie back in the bottle," someone at the table murmured.
"Yeah," Tim agreed, before trying to clarify his point, once more trying to interpret the looks on his coworkers' faces, "I promised not to mention it, and I hadn't, until now, not even to him, unless he mentioned it first," he shared, "But I still knew about it and while I think I did a good job not to act differently towards him, I was always aware of it, we both were. Because of that, our relationship evolved. It wasn't just casual or professional, it became personal, more emotional. We realized that we couldn't go back, so we went forward. We weren't just talking about hobbies or our careers, but our families, our hopes, dreams, fears, and failures. We really got to know one another."
"Wow." Abby mouthed in amazement at what she just heard, everyone else was just as speechless, after all, this was Gibbs Tim was talking about.
"Uh, where does the risk come in?"
Tim blinked at the question, having been caught up in his memories. "Oh, well, there was actually a couple of factors," Tim began, feeling more comfortable about this topic.
"As close as Gibbs was to his team, and he was, is," Tim emphasized, "close, considers you guys like family, he didn't want me on his team because of how he and I became close. You guys were close due to shared experiences, often shared dangerous experiences. Closeness that came from trusting each other in the field, relying on one another. Our relationship didn't have that, well, not just that. He wasn't sure what effect that would have on the team dynamics. Part of him worried that we might not be able to keep the two separate, that one of those relationships would be lost."
"You could be teammates or you could be more," Ducky spoke unhesitantly, believing he understood what Jethro had been thinking. "A balance between the two would be very hard to find."
"Yeah," Tim readily agreed at the same time Tony snorted.
"What?" the senior agent asked when everyone turned to him, most of them trying to vaporize him with their eyes. "C'mon, they didn't have balance," he snickered. "Hell, most of us didn't think he even liked McGee."
"Tony!"
Tony met their gaze resolutely, "Am I wrong?" The immediate silence spoke for itself.
"Not that he didn't like Timmy," Abby finally responded, "Just, well, maybe not as much as he liked others. I mean, Gibbs did add him to his team."
"But he really didn't, did he?" Tony stated rhetorically. "Isn't that what we're discussing right now?" Just like that all gazes switched back to Tim, who surprisingly wasn't showing any signs of discomfort.
Tim rolled his eyes before returning to the topic at hand, which as Tony pointed out was about how he ended up being a part of their team, or rather, why Gibbs didn't jump to have him placed on the MCRT. "As I already mentioned, Gibbs had recently added a new member to his team, he didn't think having two new agents, one of them new to NCIS, the other with very limited field experience, in less than a year would be good for the team, especially given how our friendship had been evolving. I agreed with him," Tim shared before anyone could refute his statement. "Trust me, we talked about it. I enjoyed working with him and most of you," he dryly added, "But preferred the Gibbs I was getting to know outside the orange walls and crime scenes and wanted to continue that. I…it was good to have a someone to help me, guide me when I had questions about work, my career, or life in general.
"Basically, he didn't want to risk something happening to me, of putting me in danger like that, or putting the rest of the team in danger because he had been focused on me."
Ducky smiled, "He was beginning to feel the same," he murmured softly to himself in wonder. "Your informal mentorship had became so much more to both of you, yet I wonder if you were even aware of that fact." He was curious about why he hadn't seen the changes in his friend, and truly wished that he had been aware of the metamorphosis while it had taken place. His quiet mutterings were drowned out by others more vocal protests.
"Gibbs wouldn't play favorites," Abby hissed. "Especially if it meant putting someone else in danger."
"He wouldn't have," Tony argued.
Tim simply shrugged his shoulders at the comments, not saying anything about either one. "He thought he might and that, along with those other factors was enough for him not to request me to be part of his team."
"I…but what happened then?" Jimmy asked in bewilderment. "I mean, months later, after I joined NCIS, you were added to his team, things couldn't have changed that much."
The table fell silent as they once again turned to Tim awaiting his response. Tim, however, was caught up in his memories.
{{
"Still want to be an agent?" Gibbs asked as soon as Tim sat down in the booth across from him at the diner.
Tim gave a wry smile, "Didn't we already have this conversation?" he teased. "I already am an agent. If your memory keeps failing like this, maybe they should promote DiNozzo to team lead of the MCRT."
"You're lucky I can't slap you from here," Gibbs replied rolling his eyes. "Ya know what I meant."
"I do…in both instances."
"Have an idea about that," Gibbs said.
"I…not your team," Tim blurted out. A month ago he would've jumped at the chance to be part of the MCRT, would've done or said anything for the opportunity. Even a few weeks ago, he would've jumped. Now, though, since he and Gibbs talked in the older man's kitchen he wasn't as sure if it would be the best course of action. Oh, for his career, it would be incredible, but personally…that's what Tim wasn't sure of any more.
A single eyebrow rose, "Something wrong with my team?"
"Other than DiNozzo?" A tongue-in-cheek Tim asked.
"Weren't you the one who just suggested that he be made lead agent?" came the amused reply.
"Only if your memory fails you," Tim reminded him. "That's the only way I can see it happening," he laughed. "And that was when I wasn't a member, er, a potential member?" he nervously queried, suddenly unsure about where Gibbs had been going with his statement. Maybe he wasn't actively recruiting him. "It's just…well…" he hesitated.
"Talk to me, Tim."
"It would be good to be closer to the yard,"
Gibbs nodded knowingly, "And Abby," he injected with a grin.
"And you," Tim corrected. "I'm learning a lot just talking with you about cases, I imagine I would learn even more working at your side."
"But?"
"But," Tim agreed, drawing out the word, "I, well, I like this," he softly admitted, waving his hand around to encompass their surroundings. "I don't think we could do this if we worked on the same team, not without others knowing. Tony strikes me as the type who needs to know everything."
Gibbs snorted, "He is, and he won't stop until he does. It's part of what makes him a great investigator."
Tim hummed, but didn't say anything else on the subject of Gibbs's Senior Agent. "Things with Abby…I don't think we're on the same page," he finally admitted.
Gibbs frowned, "That's a shame, I think the two of you could be good for one another."
Tim's head snapped up, that almost sounded like approval, he thought, replaying the words in his head. "Could be?" he questioned. "Not are?"
"Abby," Gibbs paused, "Abby means a lot to me," he slowly began. "The moment she started at NCIS, she was this confident, accomplished young woman who knew exactly who she was and what she wanted from life and wouldn't let anyone get in her way. It was how I imagined Kelly to be, wanted her to be," Gibbs admitted. "Without the coffin bed," he wryly added. "She wedged her way into my life. It started with seeking advice and asking for help with things that were outside of her area of expertise. It continued as she always greeted me with a smile; she was like a ray of sunshine in my otherwise gray and gloomy life. It was done deal because sometimes she wouldn't take no for an answer, wouldn't let me not be a part of her NCIS life. As strong as she is, she needed me, even if it is mostly just to bring her caff-pows or confirm her brilliance.
"But it's many years later now and Abby, in numerous ways, is still the young woman she was when I first met her. Despite her age, she hasn't really grown up yet, nor does she want too, and until she does, I don't think she can be what you need and want her to be, and for that, I am sorry."
Tim paused as he took in the older man's words. He wanted to say that she wasn't his daughter, that he wasn't responsible for her attitude or maturity level, but he couldn't. Partly because the knowledge he had and the change in their relationship was too new, but mostly because of a promised he made. Instead, he settled for, "You know it's not your fault."
"Maybe not, but I am sorry. As I said, I think the two of you could be great for each other. You seem to understand each other better than anyone else, and not just intellectually," he concluded, leaving the two men to fall into silence.
"Maybe someday."
"Maybe," Gibbs echoed, doubt tinging his words. If being around death and tragedy everyday didn't make one mature, he couldn't imagine what would, nor would he actually want something like that to happen to one of the few people he really cared about.
"It would make my life easier," Gibbs joked, trying to dissipate the heavy atmosphere their conversation had left behind. "Everyone knows how close I am to Abby, if the two of you remain close, it wouldn't be a surprise if I established a relationship with you because of it, even if it was just to make sure you were treating her right."
"Well, as long as your life is easier," Tim snorted as he teased back. "Perhaps you should tell Abby that, she would do anything for you."
"In this case, I think it would have the opposite effect," the older man debated, giving him a grin. "Abby's strikes me as the type to do the exact opposite when it comes to unsolicited parental advice."
"Speaking of parental advice," Tim hesitantly began.
"What?" A wary Gibbs prodded, while he was aware that their relationship had evolved from that of a mentor to friendship and was becoming more along the lines of something paternal, neither one had spoken of it, at least not out loud with each other.
"Fornell is asking me about adoption again…"
Gibbs snorted, "That," he emphasized "is entirely up to you. As long as he doesn't try to recruit you for his team on the FBI."
Tim raised an eyebrow, "Wouldn't that also be up to me?"
"You need all the facts before you can make that decision," Gibbs argued before listing all the reasons why NCIS was better as well as why any team was better than Fornell's.
Tim shook his head, "You said you had a plan," Tim reminded him, "Was it your team?"
"No," Gibbs confessed. "I think you would be good and you're definitely a waste as a case agent, something Mike agrees with," he added, trying to soften the fact that he didn't want Tim on his team. "But no, not my team, for a couple of reasons.
"First, I agree with you that this," his hands made the same gesture Tim's had while talking about the two of them, "while not impossible, would be most improbable to continue if we were part of the same team. Because of the time we have spent together, we know each other better than I know almost anyone else, including Tony, who has worked with me for years. Hopefully a room full of investigators would be able to pick up on that," he dryly added.
"Second, you've…well, I worry about you," the older man admitted, unwilling to say more than that at this time. "I would worry even more if you were in the field, and I'm not sure if my being there would make me worry more or less," he shared. "Again, not being able to hide things from the rest of the team could lead to big risks. There's also the fact that if you ever were injured, I would feel like it was my fault for putting you in danger in the first place.
"Third, the probationary time for an agent is one year, minimum, unless they quit and give up before that. Kate was added to my team last fall. It wouldn't be fair to either you or her for me to add another teammate and divide my time and attention, especially since I am not sure if I could treat you both equally.
"Fourth, it's practically unheard of for someone with such little field experience to be placed as part of the MCRT as the first team they are a part of, most start out elsewhere and work their way up. Tony was a detective for years; Kate, while not overly familiar with investigative work, had some field experience as a secret service agent. If you want to be a field agent, whether it's part of MCRT, that is where you ultimately want to end up or not, you'll need more experience.
"Because of all that, I was thinking of another area, another department for you to gain some experience in,"
"Not Cyber Crimes," Tim pleadingly injected.
"No," he agreed, "I wouldn't do that to you. I'm thinking somewhere you could get some field experience, but not be constantly in the thick of things so to speak. Gain some experience, use your skills, develop new ones, make a difference, and still be close," Gibbs promised. "How does that sound?"
"Perfect," Tim replied without hesitation.
"Good," Gibbs stated smugly as he smirked at the younger man, "'Cause it's already in the works. Expect a call any day now."
}}
"Pacci," Tim finally said, his voice soft as if speaking in a whisper. "Gibbs brought me to his attention. Told Chris that I might be a good fit for his team, to get to know me, evaluate my skills and potential."
"That's why you were helping him with the Voss case," Tony stated.
Tim nodded, "That and the fact that I was closer, since I was in Norfolk, but yeah. It wasn't the first case I helped him with either," he admitted. In actuality, he had helped Chris out numerous times during the first few weeks of April, the two had also had multiple phone conversations, not all of them about the cases he was helping with. "But most of those involved things I could do remotely."
"So, when Pacci was killed," Tony began, before trailing off since he expected Tim to pick up his story. Only Tim didn't seem to hear him.
"You okay?" Gibbs asked the moment Tim exited the men's room.
"Fine," Tim firmly replied, trying hard not to meet the older man's gaze lest his expression belayed his words.
"McGee," Gibbs began before taking a look around and stopping. Twitching his head, he ducked into a conference room, Tim reluctantly following.
"What's going on?"
Tim shook his head, "We don't have time for this," he hissed. "The guy who killed Pacci is still out there. We should be working on that."
"We are," came the firm reply.
"Good," Tim stated, placing his hand on the door, ready to leave.
Gibbs pushed the door closed, "After you tell me what's going on."
Tim glared at him, "A dead agent isn't enough?"
"No, it's plenty," Gibbs softly stated, looking at Tim and waiting for him to crack.
"I just talked with him," Tim muttered, finally breaking under that gaze.
Gibbs nodded in empathy, "First time losing an agent is one of the hardest things ever," he sympathized.
"It's not just that," Tim shook his head. "He called the other day asking me to look into something for him. He called back yesterday, but I didn't have it yet," Tim added softly. "If I had, he might still be alive."
"Maybe, maybe not," Gibbs replied. "Pacci asked for your help because he believed you could do, because he believed in you. There's no way to know if the information he asked for, the information you found would've helped him in time."
"But-"
"We don't know," he firmly repeated, looking Tim in the eye. "There is no way to know. Pacci had enough information to make himself dangerous. The killer probably had Chris in his sights before he even called you."
Tim sighed, knowing that Gibbs was probably right, and that most likely they would never know.
"Now, get moving, you're going to help us solve this,"
"Me?"
"Yep," Gibbs nodded. "You up for it?"
Steeling himself, Tim nodded, "Yeah, bring it on."
}}
{{
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Tim tiredly replied, relieved that they had not only caught the person who killed Pacci, but solved the case he had been working on and died because of. "You?"
"Tim, talk to me,"
Tim shrugged, "Not sure what to say."
"Whatever you need to," Gibbs advised.
Tim looked around the stairwell, "Not here," he finally responded.
"Understood," Gibbs said, reaching over to grasp Tim's shoulder before taking a step back. "You did good. See ya at my house at 1900."
"Bu-"
"Nope, no buts. Be there," the older man ordered, gently but firmly.
}}
{{
"You never said how you were doing," Tim said after the two men made a toast to Pacci before falling into a comfortable silence.
"I'm okay."
Tim snorted, "You wouldn't let me get away with that, what makes you think that I'd accept it?"
Gibbs gave a wry smile, maybe he taught the younger man too well.
"Sad. he wasn't just a coworker he was a friend. Angry at the unfairness of it all. He was a damn good agent and friend," Gibbs finally replied. "I hate that good men like Pacci die every day, cut down in their prime, but killers and rapists seem to live forever."
"At least we caught his killer."
"Yeah, and solved the last case he worked on," Gibbs agreed, taking another sip of his bourbon. "You?"
"Sad, wish I could've known him better," Tim finally answered. "It's only the last month that I even knew he existed. We talked a few times, got along well, but I didn't really know him that well. He told me that you mentioned me," Tim added, glancing sideways at the older man. "I know it was you that pointed him in my direction as a possible recruit for his team. Thank you."
"Too bad I didn't think of it sooner…or later," Gibbs replied, taking a larger sip of his drink. He wasn't sure what to say, but felt that it had to be addressed. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's going to happen now, with Chr-"
"I don't either," Tim admitted, looking down at his glass, "And that's okay. There'll be more opportunities for me. It's okay, I can wait. I'm just glad that you believed in me enough to do that, it meant a lot."
Gibbs gave a slight smile, "I might've turned him towards you, but the rest, that was you."
Tim blushed and moved to change the subject off of himself. "Knowing what I do about the few other men you call friend, I have no doubt that I missed out on getting to know someone great. I think it shocked Tony when you called Pacci a friend," Tim added with a grin, hoping to set a lighter tone to the conversation.
Gibbs frowned before emptying the glass in his hand. "Ya know, I don't think I ever called Chris a friend, that I never told him. That's something I will always regret, that he didn't know that."
"I think he probably knew," Tim quietly stated. "And if not then, well, he just might now."
"Maybe," Gibbs hesitantly agreed, running a finger over the rim of his empty glass.
"Here," Tim said, nudging his glass that he hadn't touched except for the initial toast, towards the older man.
"Thanks."
Tim shrugged, "I wasn't drinking it, not really my taste."
"Not just for the glass," Gibbs said, raising his head to meet Tim's eyes, "But for being a friend as well."
"I…your welcome, and thank you," Tim sincerely replied.
Gibbs gave a mischievous grin before asking, "What do you think Tony's reaction would be if he heard me call you a friend?"
Tim couldn't help that laugh that bubbled up from his stomach and burst out of his throat. "Oh, god. Speechless? Fainting?" he suggested. "If for some reason you say that when I'm not around, video tape it. Oh hell," Tim muttered, remembering who he was talking to, "Yeah, don't say it unless I'm there."
}}
"Timothy?" Ducky softly inquired, "Are you okay? We do not have to do this,"
"Bu-" A look from the older man silenced the others' protests.
"It's okay," Tim gave them a sad smile, "Chris had already submitted the request to add me to his team permanently."
"Oh, Timmy," Abby cried, she knew how much being an investigative agent had meant to him. To have the opportunity so close, only to be snatched away like that seemed beyond cruel.
Tim smiled at her, "It's okay," he hastened to reassure her.
"That doesn't explain how Morrow decided to add you to Gibbs's team, months later," Tony observed.
Tim tilted his head, "It kinda does," he argued before continuing his tale. "Morrow knew that I had worked with you guys before and had asked Gibbs his opinion of me. Gibbs told him that I had potential and was wasted in Norfolk."
"Rule 5," Tony, Ziva, and Abby recited in unison.
"Don't waste good," Tony clarified when Jimmy shot them an inquiring look.
"He also noticed that I worked with you guys on Pacci's case, and that I was often up at the yard working on discovering who Ari was. As you know, for months after Pacci died, I was brought in as a TAD on the yard. Mostly I worked with you guys, occasionally helping out Cyber Crimes," the others couldn't help but laugh at the face he made while saying that department, "MTAC, Cold Cases, and a few other teams. By the end of the summer, he thought that I fit in well with the MCRT, and since Gibbs thought I was wasted in Norfolk, Morrow argued for me to join his team since the director didn't think it would be beneficial to either of us if he added me to a team with a newly promoted agent, even if it was mostly on cold cases." Of course, what Tim wasn't going to mention was that the director had fielded some inquiries about Tim's status from the FBI, compliments of Fornell who never seemed to lose an opportunity to torment Gibbs.
Tony nodded, lost in his own thoughts.
"What?" Abby asked, staring at Tony.
"Nothing, just, well, thinking about something Gibbs said to me and Kate before Probie joined the team," he admitted.
Tim smile unto himself, he could imagine what Tony was remembering, it was probably similar to the conversation he and Gibbs had.
{{
"You're wasted as a Case Agent."
"Hello to you as well," Tim snickered, as he took a seat in the booth across from the older man. "And I believe you've mentioned that before…memory failing again?"
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "You sick of Norfolk yet?"
This time it was Tim who rolled his eyes. "How can I be? I've barely been there since the spring. I think I forget what my apartment looks like."
Gibbs nodded, "Ready to make the move permanent?"
"What? Where? When?" Tim asked, all joking set aside.
"You, move, here. My team. By the end of next month."
"I…" Tim faltered, "Um, what about those reasons you gave me."
Gibbs grimaced slightly, "Still a concern," he admitted. "But we're smart men, we can figure it out."
Tim snickered, "You can barely figure out your voicemail."
"Hey! Watch it, kid," Gibbs growled, jokingly reaching over to slap the back of his head.
Tim smiled as he leaned back in his seat. "You sure? They were all valid points."
"I know. And I am," the older man promised.
Tim frowned, still unsure. "What made you change your mind?"
"Other than Fornell trying to poach you?" Tim rolled his eyes, wondering why Gibbs seemed to take his friend's actions seriously. "Morrow. He knows that I think you're wasted in Norfolk. He also wants to make things right with you since another assignment didn't happen."
"That wasn't his fault," Tim argued.
"He knows," Gibbs reassured the younger man. "He also knows that it wasn't yours either. It wasn't anyone's, it's just is what it is," Gibbs said before relaying more of his conversation with Morrow and finishing with, "You deserve a chance,"
Tim started to shake his head, "No one deserves anything, and even if I did, you don't have to be the one to give me that chance."
"Rule 5," Gibbs reminded him before continuing with his earlier thought, "And maybe you were always meant to be on my team."
Tim hesitated, "Will this change things?"
Gibbs didn't bother pretending not to know what Tim was really asking. "Yes and no. We'll have to keep work separate from the other parts of our lives. Act professional, be professional. I'll have to treat you the same as everyone else, or rather, like any other probational agent who's on my team. As team lead, you'll have to listen to me and follow directions."
At each statement he made, Tim nodded in head. "Are we going to tell them that we're friends outside of work?"
Gibbs shrugged, "If you want, doesn't matter to me."
"You're the team lead, it's your call, I just follow directions," Tim replied, smirking good-naturedly.
Gibbs gave a small chuckle before nodding as he thought about it. After weighing the situation, he came up with what he hoped was a suitable plan. "How about we don't, at least right away," he suggested.
"You really think they won't figure it out?" Tim questioned. "They are investigators. Or maybe you're hoping that they will?"
Gibbs shrugged, "If they figure it out, I'll call it a training exercise and it'll give them something to gloat about."
"And if they don't?"
"We'll wait to tell them. Give everyone time to get to know each other, to meld as a team. After the first of the year, if they don't know, we'll tell them then."
Tim nodded slowly, "Really think we can keep them from realizing the truth?"
Another shrug, "It could be good practice for undercover work."
Tim snorted, "Undercover as a secret friend? Sure, why not?"
"I've had crazier assignments," Gibbs admitted, continuing before Tim could ask. "Can't tell ya, classified."
Tim rolled his eyes.
"There might be one or two other stipulations," Gibbs hesitantly added.
"Like what?" Tim asked before taking a guess. "Rule 12? No worries, Abby and I officially called it quits as far as the two of us and dating are concerned."
"I know," Gibbs commiserated, still upset that Abby hadn't grown up to see what she had before her. "But no, although it is a good rule to keep in mind," he added, narrowing his eyes.
"Kate's year as a probational agent is almost up, will be up right around the time you are added to the team," Gibbs noted.
"Was that planned?" Tim couldn't help but ask.
"Officially you will be under the direction of Tony," Gibbs said, first ignoring Tim's question then his subsequent groan at his words. "He will be in charge of your training, your evaluations, your reviews. Not only does this make me more 'hands off', given the friendship the two of us have, but it is a good opportunity for him. Tony is my second in command by default, being the person on my team the longest and with the most experience, but for many of those years, it was just the two of us on the team," he pointed out. "This last year, we've had Kate, and sometimes you or someone else as a TAD. I was responsible for training Kate, now I'll get to see if Tony had been paying any attention this last year.
"As Tony's supervisor, everything will still go by me," he continued his explanation, easing some of Tim's worries, "but I won't step in unless it is deemed necessary. You can and should still come to me if you have any problems."
}}
11-6-2022
I really hoped you liked it. Any questions, comments, observations, et cetera, feel free to review. Thank you to all you read/reviewed the previous chapters, glad that readers are still out there
I know, Gibbs might be a bit OOC during the kitchen conversation, but I wanted to show a bit that he had/was changing, at least when in a more private setting. And, as Tim said, it could've been because of Gibbs's actions while drunk, the situation with Ari, Tim's remoteness to Gibbs's life, all of them, a combo of them, or none. Can't imagine someone wouldn't change after the first two (of course, the change might not last, but still...)
Took some creative license with Chris Pacci, had him a supervisor of a Cold Case Team that has agent's underneath him that he supervises. Tim was going to 'get his feet wet' there, at least he was until Chris died before he actually made the move (he received notification of promotion/transfer, but it hadn't gone into effect yet), how sad :(
Oh, yeah, I think this might be my longest chapter to date for any of my stories (even without a/n)
So, 21 Chapters, does that mean this story is old enough to drink now (in the US)