Tim walked into the house at around one. He'd gone for a really long drive to just try to clear his head from that damned article. It didn't work all that well. All he could think about was his father pretending to give a damn about him. It was all fake. His father didn't care about him. He never did. Tim very much doubted he cared now that he was 'dead'.

Shannon was sitting on the couch waiting when Tim walked in. "Hey. How was your drive."

"It was good. Where are Gibbs and Kelly?" Tim asked.

"They went out for lunch. Jethro wanted some father/daughter time with her," Shannon said.

Tim groaned. He knew a set up when he saw one, at least with Shannon anyway. "If I said I was fine, what are the chances that you'd leave it at that?"

Shannon pretended to ponder that for a minute. "They don't seem pretty good."

Tim sighed. "Shannon, I'm okay, really."

"See, I love that about you, Tim. I tell you that won't work, but you try anyway. Come sit. Talk to me for a bit," Shannon said as she patted the space next to her.

Tim reluctantly walked over and sat down next to his mother-in-law. "We should just drop it. Nothing you say is going to change anything."

"Well, it won't change the fact that your father's a disgrace to the term, no, but talking about it could help you," Shannon said.

"What does it matter at this point. I'll never see him again. Not that it's likely that I would've seen him again even if I wasn't on the run from drug dealers," Tim said.

"When's the last time you did see him?" Shannon asked.

"I went to see him once after you and Kelly left. He told me once again what a failure I was and kicked me out, told me that unless I did what he wanted and suddenly signed up for the Navy, I was no longer his son," Tim said. The pain of being abandoned by Shannon and Kelly caused him to seek out some kind of support. He'd lost his wife and the only parental figure in his life that ever showed she gave a damned. He guessed he was just looking for someone to fill that void and hoped his parents would. It was of course a naive thought. "I called once too right after I became an NCIS agent. That was the last time I spoke to him."

"You didn't get what you were hoping from that call, did you?" Shannon asked.

Tim shook his head. "I knew it wasn't the same as the Navy, but I thought maybe he'd be proud that I was at least working for an agency the helped the Navy. He wasn't. In fact, he told me it was a slap to the face and told me again how worthless I was."

Shannon put an arm around his shoulders as comfort.

"Clearly I'm a glutton for punishment, right? It was stupid for me to even think they would accept me," Tim said as he looked down at the floor.

"No, Tim. Expecting your parents to love you and be there for you is not stupid. It's their damn job! You had every right to expect them to love you no matter what," Shannon said.

"But I knew better. I knew I was just a disappointment to them. The thing is, when I went over there the last time, I didn't want them. I wanted you. I went there because I couldn't have you," Tim said.

Shannon sighed. The decision to walk away from her son in everything but blood was going to haunt her for the rest of her life. She had been trying to save his life, but in doing so, she had destroyed everything else. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I know that my leaving hit you hard, more so even than Kelly doing it. I destroyed every bit of self-esteem you had, didn't I?"

Tim shrugged. "I felt like everything you told me was a lie. I thought that I really was this worthless person that my father always told me I was. Your leaving hurt worse than every time he'd belittle me and my mother would do nothing. I expected it from them, not you."

"I made the worst decision I've ever made in my life by doing that. I told myself you'd be better off, even if you were hurt. I was very wrong," Shannon said.

Tim managed a small smile despite the conversation. "I don't think I've ever heard you say that."

Shannon smiled back. "Don't expect to hear it often. I'm not wrong very often."

Tim chuckled.

Shannon's smile faded after a second. "Tim, you'll never know how sorry I am for hurting you. I hope you can forgive me and allow me to help you regain the confidence in me that I took from you."

"You swear you'll never leave me behind again, right?" Tim asked. He knew he sounded a bit childlike, but he needed her. He needed the only parent he ever really had.

"It will never happen again. You are a part of my family. You will go where we go. Hell, even if you don't want to you will," Shannon told him.

"It's going to take me some time to believe you, but I'm going to try. And I do forgive you. I forgive both of you. It's just going to take me some time to trust again," Tim said.

"I understand. I will do whatever it takes. Now back onto the subject of those people that call themselves your parents, I've told you this before, but try to put them out of your head. You don't need either of them," Shannon said.

"I've tried. It's just not so easy," Tim said.

"I'm sure it's not. It can't be easy to know you have parents that don't care. But the fact that they don't care is their problem, not yours. I really need you to get that," Shannon said.

"It's hard to see how the way they feel isn't on me. I mean, their my parents. If they can't even love me, it feels like their must be a reason," Tim said.

"You have so many other people that do care about you though. Your sister, Kelly, me, Jethro, and from what I've heard, your old coworkers. I think all those people outweigh the two morons who can't see what they've thrown away," Shannon said.

Tim nodded. "I guess."

"I'm going to keep saying it until you see it yourself, sweetheart," Shannon told him.

"Thanks," Tim said gratefully.

"There's something I think you should consider. Tell Kelly about your parents," Shannon suggested.

Tim immediately shook his head. "No, I don't want her to know about that."

"Why? Are you afraid that if she knows how they will she'll see you the same way. Because I promise you that won't happen. She loves you. That's not going to change because she finds out how horribly you were treated. In fact, I see her being angry that you were treated that way.

"I can't, Shannon. I couldn't face her knowing she knows that. I don't even want you and Gibbs knowing. I never wanted anyone to know," Tim said with a shameful look on his face.

Shannon saw the look and realized what the problem was. "You're ashamed. I guess I should expect that. Abused children are often ashamed of themselves because of it, and make no mistake, Tim, you were abused."

"They never touched me," Tim said quietly.

"They didn't have to. Abuse is more than just physically striking someone. If you don't take care of your kid or you hurt him in any way, it's abuse in my book," Shannon said.

Tim shuddered a little. He'd never called what his parents did abuse and he honestly didn't like the label. He didn't want to be thought of as an abuse victim. "That... I don't like that."

Shannon squeezed his shoulder. "You're not supposed to. I know it's an upsetting notion to think about, but it's fact. You were abused, and like everyone else who's been abused, you have issues dealing with it. That's why you don't want anyone to know and that's why you have so little self-esteem."

"What am I supposed to do?" Tim asked. With the new label, he felt like he had to do something about it, make it not true anymore.

"Just let the people who love you show you how much we do. Let us prove to you that you don't deserve the way you were treated. Part of that means confiding in your wife. She'd want to know," Shannon said.

"I don't know. I don't think I'm ready to tell her," Tim said. To be honest, he wasn't sure he'd ever be ready. At best, she'd look at him with pity. He didn't want that.

"Okay, that's fair enough. At least consider it," Shannon urged.

Tim nodded. That much he could agree to. "Okay, I will. Right now, I need some time alone though.

Shannon nodded and watched him stand up and go upstairs.