Reminiscing Over Awkward Times

McGee and Palmer looked to the sky as they heard the chopper lift off and fly away into the distance. They glanced at each other, relief evident in their faces, and sat down in the wreck of the plane to wait for their own ride to arrive.

They were silent for a few moments, until McGee said, "I meant what I said earlier, Jimmy. About being proud of you." Palmer looked at him with a reflective expression, and a small smile began to play over his face.

"Thanks, Tim. You know it still feels weird calling you that."

"It sounds weird to be called that. Good weird, though. You know, there was a time when Kate was the only one who ever called me Tim… I mean, Ducky calls me Timothy, but everyone else… " He paused a moment, to get himself back on subject. "Anyway, the way you handled things out here today… I have a whole new respect for you now. Any doubts I might have had left about you seeing Jazzy are pretty much gone now."

Jimmy said nothing at first, simply nodding in acknowledgement. "That means a lot, it really does… wait a minute… you had doubts?" His eyes glittered mischievously as McGee grinned at this and chuckled softly. Finally, after a moment, Palmer continued, "We've had some rough moments… I don't think I'll ever forget that day Abby and I got glued together. You know, I still think you really could have used a bit more acetone to separate us."

McGee chuckled softly. "Yeah, well… I was agitated. And Abby was giving me that look. Anyway, it's good we can laugh about that stuff now."

Jimmy nodded, still chuckling. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? I was a bit nervous when Jaz and I started seeing each other seriously. But you've been really cool about it. I really really appreciate your trusting me."

McGee shrugged. "You've never given me any reason not to trust you. Even after that, er…" he said, then leaned over and whispered secretively, "Poison ivy incident." He leaned back again and grinned warmly, as Jimmy blushed slightly at the memory of catching Tim with his pants literally down. "Anyway, the only tears I've seen my sister shed over you have been happy ones, believe me. She's had more than her fair share of jerks for boyfriends over the years, so I can tell the difference."

"I hope Dr. Mallard is okay," Jimmy suddenly said. McGee looked off into the distance for a moment. "I'm sure he's fine. He's got Gibbs, and Abby. And Jaz, it turns out, too. I'm more worried about Ziva."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine. I don't know if she'll need surgery on that leg or not. I hope I didn't damage anything when I reset it. But honestly, Tim… other than some cuts and scrapes, I didn't see anything seriously wrong. We managed to prevent her from going into shock, there were no obvious signs of internal injury. I don't think she even whacked her head like we did."

"Yeah, well… we're probably the only ones hard-headed enough to withstand it." McGee chuckled as Palmer grinned in agreement. "Seriously, you think she'll be fine?" McGee asked, still sounding slightly apprehensive.

"Oh, yeah. She didn't survive falling out of the sky with the likes of us only to take a bad turn after being rescued. Relax, Tim. She's fine. I'm almost certain of it. Anyway, she can handle it. You were right earlier, Officer David is one of the strongest women I know, too."

"Hey, you hear that?" McGee asked, his eyes turned skyward. Palmer smiled slightly. "Sounds like we're about to blow this pop stand too,"he said.

The two men waited until they heard the sound grow louder, and then settle, then waited for Jasmine to reappear through the trees, hands extended, to take them home.

……………………………………………………………………………

Abby had been at the hospital, waiting with Gibbs and Ducky, when Tony and Ziva arrived.

Tony was nearly bowled over when she launched herself at him, clinging to him like she thought she might never see him again.

Which, she wasn't entirely sure, up until that point, that she would.

"Abs," he laughed softly. "Abs, I'm fine, really. Ziva's just got a broken leg." She buried her face in his shoulder as she tried to regain her composure.

"Tim?" she finally asked, unable to hide the fear in her voice.

Tony pulled her away from him, enough to look her in the eyes. "Tim is fine. He's got some bumps and scrapes, like me, but he's just fine." He noticed Ducky's expectant face gazing at over at him.

"Jimmy's fine too, Ducky," Tony called over to the older man. "You would have been proud of him. He was a real pro. We were lucky to have him there."

Ducky nodded, somewhat relieved, and a little proud, too. "How is he?" he asked, still slightly apprehensive.

"Well, he's got some bumps and scrapes too. But he was well enough to take control of the situation when we found Ziva, set her leg, crack a few jokes to make us feel better, help us move her back to the plane." Ducky smiled and closed his eyes. Tony was sure he was saying a silent prayer of thanks. Tony laughed softly. "He's got a great bedside manner, Duck. Too bad it's wasted in autopsy."

"Where are they?" Abby suddenly asked, as Jasmine walked into the waiting room.

"Tim and Jimmy are still at the crash site. I'll be leaving in a few minutes with the chopper to go get them. Tony, you're wanted in the ER. The docs want to check you out thoroughly."

"How is Ziva?" Gibbs asked, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. The tone gave Tony a start - when Gibbs sounded like that, he knew the older man was feeling shaken. Jethro Gibbs just did not get shaken.

Jasmine smiled at him and touched his arm. "Her leg is broken, she's in x-ray right now to assess how bad the break is. The doctor was impressed with how it looked when she got here though. Naturally I had to brag my boyfriend up, tell him how he and his two companions had taken care of her."

"Does she have any other injuries, besides her leg?" Gibbs asked. Jasmine turned to take Tony's arm, to steer him towards the E.R. "Doesn't look like it. Minor abrasions and such. Nothing some time and neosporin won't cure."

"How long will Tim and Jimmy be?" Abby asked, sounding impatient. Jasmine moved over to her friend and hugged her. "Leaving right now to get them." Gibbs reached out and grasped Tony's arm. "DiNozzo," he said quietly, his voice catching slightly, "if you ever pull a stunt like this again, I will fire your ass so fast…" Tony smiled sheepishly. "Got it Boss. I'm sorry we gave you such a scare." Gibbs nodded, "Welcome back, Tony. I really didn't need the prospect of burying my team."

"I understand... I guess today just wasn't a good day to die, Boss," Tony said softly, as Jasmine gave him a gentle shove towards the door, as she herself turned once again to leave.

Gibbs, Ducky and Abby watched as she headed out the doors, and towards the awaiting helicopter on the landing pad.