Chapter 2

It was very quiet in the house. Tommy was sleeping. The twins were sleeping...for the moment. Everything was cleaned up until the room exploded in the morning once Esther and Evelyn got up and got worse when Tommy came back from kindergarten.

Tim walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. He looked up at the ceiling and thought about the fact that his son still was affected by the worst moments in his father's life. That shouldn't have happened.

Why did I let that happen?

It was the question he couldn't stop asking, no matter how long he went to therapy.

"Tim?"

Tim sat up and saw Delilah looking at him with some concern. He tried to smile but it didn't quite feel real.

"Tim, it's not a big deal."

"I know."

"Do you?"

"Yeah. I may not believe it, but I do know it."

"Tim, kids get in trouble. No matter how good Tommy is, he's still a little boy figuring things out and it's expected that he'll make bad choices occasionally. Everyone has moments like that. I did."

Tim smiled. "What did you do?"

"I put glue on my fingernails, let it dry a little bit and then peeled it off," Delilah said, grinning.

"What?"

"It was fun at the time. I can't remember why."

"So why did you get in trouble for it?"

"I think it was something about wasting the glue. We probably dropped it on the floor, too."

"Probably."

"What about you?" Delilah asked.

"What makes you think I got in trouble?"

"Because all kids get in trouble. At least once."

"I got wads of toilet paper wet and threw them up at the ceiling of the restroom at school. Lots of other kids had done it, based on how many wads were up there, but I was the one who got caught."

Delilah smiled. "See? Even good kids get in trouble, Tim. You don't need to make this into something big."

"It's not something big, but it is something that's my fault. I didn't know he'd even remembered that time. He wasn't very old."

"He probably doesn't remember it consciously."

"That doesn't help. I'm going to take him to school tomorrow and talk to his teacher."

"Tim, you don't have to do that. She sent the note home so that we knew and could talk to him. That's all."

"And I've done that and I'm going to talk to his teacher, let her know that Tommy needs to apologize and show Tommy that I'm still there for him, even when he gets in trouble."

"All right. I'll call Laurie and let her know. I'm assuming that you're not going to pick him up after?"

Tim smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not that upset."

Delilah maneuvered herself onto the couch beside him.

"You shouldn't be upset at all, Tim. Tommy will forget this in a few days. He'll probably be playing with Jon again next week. He often does at school."

"Do you know his dad?"

"No. Only his mom."

Tim nodded and sighed.

Then, his phone rang. He looked at it.

"It's Tony."

"I'm surprised he has enough time to breathe, let alone call you. I'm not sure that getting all those kids at once was a good idea," Delilah said.

"They didn't plan on Sam," Tim said and then answered. "Hey, Tony."

"Well, that wasn't very cheery."

Delilah smiled and then got back into her wheelchair, leaving Tim to chat.

"Don't take too long," she said. "I need my massage."

Tim grinned. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Tim?"

"Sorry. Just talking to Delilah for a second. She's surprised you have time to do anything but deal with your full house."

"Don't remind me."

"I don't know if I've ever heard you so happy."

There was a pause while Tony seemed to be genuinely thinking about it.

"You know... If I'd got married when I originally planned on it, I'd probably have kids in college by now. How's that for trippy?"

"So you're that old, huh?"

"Shut up. Now, what's going on with you? You didn't sound particularly upbeat when you answered."

"I said two words, Tony."

"Yeah, and they weren't happy."

"Oh, Tommy just got in trouble at school today."

"And you're confronting the fact that not every child is perfect like you probably were?"

"No, and I wasn't perfect. Tommy shoved one of his classmates down...because the kid said something about cops being bad and Tommy was afraid I'd feel that way."

There was a pause.

"Tim..."

"You don't need to say anything. I've already heard it from Delilah."

"And did you listen to her?"

"Of course. She'd kill me if I ignored her."

"That's not what I mean and you know it."

"She didn't say anything that I don't already say to myself whether I believe it or not."

"And do you believe it?"

"Not at the moment, but give me a few days. I'll get over it."

"Tommy's probably over it already."

"Probably," Tim said easily. "By the way, Weston found out why I don't like being called Boss."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. He followed me out of the building after work today and asked about it. He said that I'm finally acting like a human being around the team but he needs to keep tabs on me so that I don't fall apart again. I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"Be grateful that he cares enough to do that."

"Or annoyed at the implication."

"Ignore the implications, Tim. Half the time, you're making them up anyway."

"Yeah. So what are you calling for? Do you have a court date yet?"

"Not yet, but we're hoping it's coming soon. It'll be better for Grace and Daniel if they at least know when they'll know."

"No second thoughts?"

"I think I'm at hundredth thoughts or more, but I come to the same conclusion every time."

"And that is?"

"That I don't want to lose them."

Tim smiled. Tony wasn't usually so direct in expressing himself.

"So if it wasn't that, why did you call?"

"Can't I just want to chat with my best friend?"

"Yeah, but that's not what you do. You're never just calling to chat. You don't chat."

"Well, it's been two years."

"Since we last talked? I think we've talked a little more frequently than that," Tim said.

"Very funny, McGee. You know what I mean."

Tim started to smile. "School's not out yet."

"Well, we both have to make the request for time off anyway. It might take that long for HR not to start bellyaching."

"And you're okay with Tommy coming along?"

"Absolutely. I'd suggest we take Daniel, but I don't think he's ready for that yet. He has a hard enough time just being in different classes from Grace at school. Maybe in a couple of years."

"And you want to go north?"

"Maine. We have to get to Acadia National Park. I always wanted to go there. Heard about it, but I've never been."

"I've never been, either. What's up there?"

"We could go whale-watching!"

"Is that it?"

"I'm sure there are other things, too."

"You don't even know!"

"It's a road trip, Tim. I don't have to know."

"So you always say, but it's never true."

"I don't have to know everything, then. So?"

"I said this summer was the time for it, but will you be able to leave?"

"Will you?"

"You know how Delilah feels about these things and it's not like we even do it every year. It's been over two years since the last one. Close to three."

"Jo says that it's my guy thing and so I need to do it."

Tim wasn't sure why, but he was getting the feeling that Tony was hiding something, but then, there was always an underlying motive. He figured that Tony would get around to telling him eventually. He didn't think that either of them had major issues to address right now, so it shouldn't be any kind of a big deal. He knew that he didn't. Maybe Tony just needed a break from being a dad.

"So you really want to?"

"Don't start that again, Tim. I called. I asked. Yes, I want to."

"Okay. Then, I'll start looking into times and talk to Delilah. You find out what else there is to do in Acadia besides watch whales."

"Yes, Very Special Agent McGee."

"Ha. Very funny. That's your title, not mine. Now, I'm getting tired."

"Now, who's getting old?"

"Both of us, I'd imagine...since you're older than I am."

"Ouch, Probie."

"You asked for it. Talk to you on the weekend, Tony."

"Okay. G'night."

"Bye."

Tim hung up and smiled. At least now he had something to look forward to.

Tommy would be so excited he probably wouldn't stop talking about it until they actually went.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"You didn't tell him," Jo said.

Tony looked back and raised an eyebrow. "You were eavesdropping."

"Yes, I was. You didn't tell him, Tony."

"No, I didn't. You seem to think it's a big deal. It isn't."

Jo walked over and sat down beside him.

"Yes, it is. We both know it is and you just keep pretending. It's like you think that you're not allowed to have any problems just because Tim has had a lot in the past."

"He still has problems, Jo. Those things don't just go away."

Jo smiled. "And you think you have to make sure he doesn't have any...even though they won't just go away?"

"I'm trying to help him."

"Why not help him by letting him be as much a friend to you as you want to be to him?"

"Meaning?"

"Letting him help you."

"I don't need any help," Tony said.

"Uh-huh," Jo said dubiously. "Well, I'm not going to force you, but we both know that you're making a big mistake, if only because Tim will be hurt that you didn't tell him."

"Not if he never knows."

Jo actually rolled her eyes at him and then got up and walked away.

Tony shook his head. He knew he was right. There was no reason to tell Tim. No reason for him to ask or even to wonder. This would just be a fun trip, and in fact, he figured he'd better have a good idea of what there was to see on the way.

Besides, it would get his mind off things he didn't want to think about anyway. He went to the computer and began to see what there was to see in Maine.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Talking with Mrs. Zilles went fine, and Tommy promised he would apologize to Jon when he got to school. Tim was able to get to work only a little late. He had decided to wait until Saturday to tell Tommy, knowing that he wouldn't have been able to focus on school if he had told him in the morning.

When he walked in, he saw that his team was already back to staring at their computers, trying to break through the ciphers protecting the information...they thought.

"You all already look brain dead," Tim said as he walked in. "I'm only half an hour late."

"Where have you been?" Sarah asked. "Why leave us with the misery?"

Tim grinned. "I was taking my son to school. He got in trouble yesterday and I wanted to talk to his teacher."

"I hope you weren't cussing her out," Maren said, absently. "That's what my dad always hated the most about teaching. Parents who refused to believe that their little darlings could possibly do anything wrong."

Tim chuckled. "No. Tommy admitted it, and we trust his teacher. I just wanted to talk to her about what happened and ask if there was anything she'd like us to do in the future. It's Tommy's first time getting in trouble."

Maren glanced up. "Oh, my dad would love you. Asking how to keep it from happening again? And with a kid that's normally good? You must be golden."

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Well, we're not making any progress at all. If they wanted to stall us, they couldn't have done... a better..."

She stuttered to a stop and they all looked up.

"What if..."

Tim nodded. "Maren, see what you can find out. Get help if you need it. Weston, take Sarah and go back to the scene. This might make sense."

They all jumped into action. While Maren was still working on the cipher, looking for something that was not meant to make sense was a different approach than trying to decipher a genuine message.

Amazingly enough, Sarah's idea panned out. Working with Cybercrimes, Maren was able to figure out that it was just gibberish, but that gave them a whole new angle and they were able to pick up two persons of interest, neither of which were interested in cooperating. So they went into holding. That also meant that Tim could plan on having Saturday off. Vance had encouraged Tim to give Weston more responsibility in the hopes that he might be able to lead a team of his own in the future. So, unless there was something going on needing his presence, Tim had begun taking the occasional Saturday off, leaving Weston in charge of the team with the stipulation that he should absolutely call if he needed Tim to come in. So far, it had been working quite well and with two people in holding, Weston more than capable of conducting an interview, and a suspicion of fraud, Tim could take his Saturday off without any guilt. That meant a free weekend, all things being equal.

It was the perfect opportunity to start thinking about this road trip.