Friends

Tony walked the hallways, searching in a half-assed effort to track down Tim.

Gibbs had tried to stop him, an unfamiliar gentleness in his voice. "He needs time by himself, Tony. Let him be, for once."

But Tony had boldly insisted that Tim needed a friend right now, and he was nothing if not Italian, and Italians were famous for being fiercely loyal towards the people they cared about.

Tony passed by the chapel, peering in. He was somewhat surprised to see the back of a familiar head, as a lone figure sat quietly in one of the pews, in a more darkened corner of the chapel.

Tony entered quietly. He approached, unnoticed, then sat down on the pew, next to Tim.

"I didn't know you were a God-fearing man, McGee," he said, lightly.

Tim didn't look at him right away, instead, simply saying, "There's a lot you don't know about me, Tony."

Tony sighed sadly. "You're right about that. That's my own fault. I do know that one day you showed up on our doorsteps, on loan from Norfolk, and before you'd turned around and blinked twice, you'd found your destiny."

Tim smiled slightly. "In the lab. You had absolutely no faith at first, did you?"

"None at all, Probie. Then you found it with us, as well. With me, and Kate, and Gibbs. Not to mention Ducky, and even Palmer."

Tony grinned carefully. He reached over and draped an arm around Tim's shoulders.

"I can't lose her, Tony. She's a part of me now."

Tony nodded, then stared off at the various paintings adorning the walls. "You aren't gonna lose her, Tim. She's stronger than this. So are you."

Tony removed his arm from Tim's shoulders, then rested his clasped hands in his lap, as he sat back. "Remember when you finally went down to autopsy, to see Kate? You freely admitted you were too scared to do it until that point. It takes a real man to admit fear, Tim. You're a lot stronger than I ever gave you credit for. Stronger than you're giving yourself credit for right now."

Tim looked over at Tony, and blinked a few times. "Thanks." He sighed, and got up. "I should probably be with Abs right now." Tony nodded, getting up as well. "Probably."

The two men turned around and left the chapel.

………………………………………………………………………

"Tim," Gibbs said gently. "I know you really don't need to hear this, but I'm gonna need you in the lab in the morning. You're gonna have to pinch-hit for Abby. Can you handle that?"

Tim looked tired. Slowly, he nodded. "I think so. I mean, yeah, I can. Understand, I won't be as fast as Abs. The lab isn't exactly my territory."

Tony shrugged, and tried to sound encouraging. "McGee, half the time you've been with us, you've spent in the lab. You know your way around it with your eyes closed."

Yeah, with Abby's help, he thought, but wisely didn't vocalize.

"I'll be there in the morning, first thing," he said. Gibbs clapped him on the back. "You let us know if there's any change, got it?"

Tim nodded, and smiled weakly. "Got it, Boss." Tony tried to grin. "She'll be fine, Probie." Tim hadn't actually been probationary since he'd been promoted to Gibbs' team, but the nickname had stuck nevertheless, gradually morphing into something entirely different than what it had started out as. "You know Abby, she's always gotta do things her way - the hard way. She's yankin' your chain. I bet the first thing she says when she wakes up will be "gotcha, McGee."

Tim smiled briefly, grateful for the reassurances. They weren't working, but he was still grateful for the gestures. He watched briefly as Gibbs and Tony smiled at him one last time, then turned around and left.