Gibbs kept looking at his watch as they drove. They'd been in the car now all night. It was nearly seven in the morning. His didn't like this. He was in a car with a stranger with a gun going God knows where to meet more strangers. This went against every instinct in him. The only reason he'd even agreed was because McGee was gonna go no matter what he did and there was no way he was letting him go alone.
Gibbs looked over at Tim. The younger man looked almost as anxious as him, but it was likely for other reasons. He wasn't afraid. He believed he was perfectly safe right now. He was just anxious to see his family again. Gibbs supposed he couldn't blame him for that, though he wished the young agent would exercise a little more caution right now. They were walking into an unknown situation.
Tim looked over at his Boss. He could tell the man did not like the position they were in right now. He couldn't blame him. From an agent's perspective, it wasn't exactly the best idea. "Boss, I know you don't like this, but it's the right choice."
"If these people are telling the truth, maybe, but what if they're not. What if this guy is the threat and he intimidated your mother-in-law into getting you to go with him?" Gibbs asked. The thought had occurred to him multiple times since they left. This could all just be a ruse to get them away somewhere.
Tim chuckled. "Trust me, Boss, the only intimidation going on was on her part. She's in charge here, not him," he said as he nodded towards Nick up front.
"If you're so sure this is the right call, why'd you say no at first," Gibbs said. He'd heard the phone call from Tim's side. He'd told his mother-in-law no in the beginning.
"Because I was angry. I hadn't spoken to Sharon in nine years. When I finally hear from her, she tells me to go off with someone who had just put a gun to my head. I wanted an explanation," Tim said.
Gibbs narrowed his eyes at Tim. "He put a gun to your head?!"
Tim looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh, I didn't mention that, did I?" There was a reason he hadn't mentioned it too. Gibbs would never have agreed to this if he'd told him that. It was just that in his sleep deprived state, he'd forgotten that he hadn't mentioned it.
"You agreed to get into a car with a man who put a gun to your head? Are you crazy?" Gibbs asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe the stupidity. McGee was smarter than this. He was an agent for God's sake. Though he shouldn't have to be an agent to know not to trust someone who held you at gunpoint.
"It was only for a minute, Boss, and if he wanted to kill me, he could've done it right then and there without a problem. He wanted to disarm me, he didn't want me dead," Tim said.
Before Gibbs had a chance to respond, the car was pulled into a driveway at the end of the street they were driving on.
Nick stopped the car and turned to Tim and Gibbs. "Let's go."
Tim and Gibbs immediately got out of the car. Gibbs had his hands on his gun as they walked into the house. He was going to be prepared in case this got bad.
Tim looked around. He was in a spacious living room that held a dark blue couch, a matching loveseat across from it, a glass coffee table in the middle, and TV stationed in front. There were no signs of Sharon or Kelly though. "Where are they?"
"Hopefully upstairs packing," Nick said.
"Packing?" Tim asked.
"Yeah, you've all gotta be moved to a new location. You didn't really think this was it, did you, kid? What'd you think that one meeting and the danger surrounding all of you would go away? Sorry to tell you, but you said goodbye to your life last night," Nick said.
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Gibbs demanded to know.
"I'm going to find out," Tim said before taking a step towards the stairs to go find his wife and mother.
Gibbs grabbed ahold of Tim's arm to stop him. "Hey. You're not going anywhere alone."
"Boss, I'll be fine. I need to find out what's going on. I need to talk to Sharon, and I need to do it alone," Tim said. He knew if Gibbs came up with him, he'd just start barking orders. Sharon wouldn't take well to that. She was a very understanding woman most of the time, but she could also be very fierce, especially when it came to her family. If Gibbs accused her of trying to hurt him, she wouldn't respond well. "Look, I'll only be upstairs. You'll hear if anything happens."
"McGee, I swear to God, if anything happens, the head slap I give you will compare to none other you've ever had," Gibbs growled. He didn't like this. He downright hated this, all of it, but McGee felt he knew what he was doing and he would trust that for now. Besides, he wasn't all that crazy about leaving this Nick guy alone down here. He wanted to keep an eye on him.
"Yes, Boss," Tim said with a slight smile before heading upstairs. He started calling out as soon as he got to the top. "Sharon? Kelly?"
The door to one of the bedrooms opened and a young woman with long, light brown hair and piercing blue eyes stepped out. She smiled as soon as she laid eyes on Tim. "Tim."
"Kelly," Tim said as he stared at his wife intently. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, maybe even more so. God, he'd missed her so much. He couldn't believe that after so long, he was finally with her again. He'd given up hope a long time ago that this would ever happen.
After a few moments, Kelly walked forward and wrapped her arms around her husband. "I've missed you so much, Tim."
Tim hugged her back fiercely. He felt tears stream down his eyes almost immediately. He was so happy right now. No matter how angry he had been over the years, and still was, he loved this woman more than anything in the world. He was glad to have her back in his life, back in his arms.
Kelly pulled away after a minute. "I know I'm a day late, but happy anniversary."
Tim chuckled a little. "You too. Where's your mother?"
"She'll be back soon. She just went to pick up some supplies," Kelly said.
"Supplies for what? What's going on? The guy that brought us here said that life as I knew it was over."
"Yeah, Nick can be kind of an ass. His job is to ensure our safety though and he does that very well," Kelly said.
"Who's after you, Kelly? Why would anyone wanna hurt you? I can't think of anything you guys could do to anybody that would make them want to hurt you," Tim said.
"Come on," Kelly said before grabbing her husband's hand and leading them into her bedroom. She brought him over to the bed and they sat down. "It's not about what we did, it's about what we saw. Or more accurately, it's about what my mother saw. I was a kid at the time. My mother saw a murder and she decided to testify against the killer. She wanted to do the right thing. She didn't know how much it would change her life or mine."
"So the people that are after you are the people she testified against?" Tim asked.
"She didn't get the chance to testify. They tried to kill us first. The only reason we're alive is because of Nick. He saved our lives. We've been hiding ever since. The guy that Mom was going to testify is dead, but the people he worked for want us dead on principal. They're not going to stop until we're dead." Kelly said.
"Why not go to the police? They'll stop them," Tim said.
"It's not that simple. The cops can't stop all of these guys. They're too powerful. One of them is stopped and another just takes his place. The danger will never go away. That's just something we've come to accept over the years," Kelly said.
"So these people came after me to try to get to you guys. They were hoping to lure you out of hiding. What does this have to do with my boss though?" Tim asked. That part was still very unclear. What was Gibbs' role in this?
Kelly frowned in confusion. "Your Boss? What are you talking about?"
"My Boss was being targeted too. He's downstairs right now. The guy that was following me was following him. Hard to believe anyone being stupid enough to follow Gibbs, but he was," Tim said.
Kelly stared at her husband in astonishment. "Did you just say Gibbs?"
"Yeah, my Boss. His name's Gibbs," Tim said.
"What's his full name?" Kelly asked. Her heart was beating about a mile a minute as she anticipated her husband's answer. It couldn't be, could it? No, it couldn't. He'd died over twenty years ago in battle.
"Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Why, what's wrong?" Tim asked. His wife had become more and more pale the more he spoke. Something was definitely off and it had something to do with Gibbs.
Kelly jumped up raced out of the room.
Tim immediately chased after her. "Kelly, what's wrong?!"
Kelly ran downstairs. She stopped at the landing and stared. He was there just a few feet away from her. Her blue eyes met his. She recognized him immediately. It didn't matter how many years had passed or how much either of them had changed. She knew him. "Dad."