Abby watched as Tim worked his way miserably through her lab helping her process evidence. He had that little furrow in his brow as if he was confused but wasn't sure what to do about it. He sighed almost constantly and didn't seem to realize he was doing it.

It was beginning to grate on Abby's nerves.

"So what has Tony done now?'

Tim's head shot up and he stared at Abby before sighing again.

"Nothing"

"Ok seriously McGee if you do that one more time"

'Do what?" Tim sighed listlessly as he shuffled hunch shouldered across the floor

"That!"

Abby marched over to McGee grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down onto a stool.

"Okay look just spill. Let's get this out of the way while I'm waiting for the next batch of results. What is up with you?"

Tim looked up at Abby with big wounded eyes. "I….I think Tony's breaking up with me…...but he just doesn't have the guts to tell me in person"

"Oh Timmy no…that can't be right? You two just seemed to be getting it together."

"Yeah well that's the thing I just don't know. I'm so confused. He seems to say one thing and then do something else. I mean he tried to kiss me today so why would he do that if he didn't want us to go out?"

"Oh really? Now that you definitely have to tell me about. I bet Tony's a good kisser?" Abby practically clapped her hands in delight at the thought of her two closest male friends locking lips together

Tim hung his head and shook it despondently "It was terrible……like your worst first kiss ever. So embarrassing. We actually managed to bang our heads together."

"Oh Timmy. I'm sure it's not that bad?"

Tim looked at Abby again with big hopeful eyes that made Abby think of a basket of gorgeous wriggling puppies.

"I really hope it's not because…..I'm crazy for him and I don't know what to do about it"

"Oh McGee" Abby pulled him into a big hug as he sagged sadly against her shoulder.

Suddenly Abby's door slid open to reveal Tony holding a large box full of evidence bags. He stopped as he took in the sight of the two of them embracing before lowering his eyes.

"I'll…..I'll just leave these here and get out of your way"

"Oh no you don't Mister. No slinking out of here until you've explained yourself!"

Abby stood her hands on her hips ready to get to the bottom of this mess her friends seemed determined to throw themselves into.

"You! Stay there" Abby pointed imperiously at McGee who was about to sneak out of the lab.

"You! Sit over there!" Abby directed a rather alarmed Tony onto a stool in the opposite corner of her lab to where McGee sat.

"Right now. First things, first. Are you trying to break up with McGee?" Abby was strict and she waived her finger in Tony's face.

"What? No! He's the one going around dating nurses behind my back!"

"McGee!" Abby whirled astonished and stomped over to McGee.

"You never told me you were dating someone else? No wonder Tony doesn't know what's going on."

McGee glared at Tony over Abby's shoulder "It's just a drink after work….besides he told me he would prefer for us to date other people. To help keep the pressure off him so he could deal with the whole 'us' thing"

"Tony!" Abby processed this bit of information as she marched back across to Tony.

"You can't yell at him for doing something you asked him to do!"

Tony stood up from his stool indignant and glared back across the lab at Tim "I did NOT tell you to go date other people. Why on earth would I do that? Especially when I was looking forward to spending some time alone with you and ….." Tony trailed off and looked embarrassed while Abby considered Tony's reaction.

"So what did you tell him then? You must have said something to make McGee think that?"

"I SAID that I would like to take things slowly…between us….not to rush into anything."

"McGee?" Abby walked back over to Tim to see if he could throw any light on the situation.

"He SAID that he would like us to be casual. He didn't say he wanted to take things slowly. He definitely said casual. No commitment"

Tim was firm. He had spent a lot of time thinking about what Tony had said, replaying it over and over in his mind as he lay alone in his hospital bed.

"Ohhhhhh well if he said casual…well ..then yeah that's definitely still seeing other people"

Abby looked thoughtful as she considered the many conversations she had once had with Tim on this very topic while Tim nodded his agreement, glad for her support.

"No its not!" Tony interjected loudly across the room in his own defense "Casual is the same as you know….slow, relaxed, not rushing…….."

Abby turned and frowned at him with her hands back on her hips "Then why didn't you say you just wanted to take it SLOW then Tony? That would have made more sense. Everyone knows slow is a totally different concept to casual"

Tony responded indignantly "Well maybe it's clear to you two but that definition certainly wasn't in my Gay Dating Handbook."

Tony felt himself wilt under Abby's intense defensive glare.

"I suppose I should have been more specific but well… I'm not used to talking about…. Well about how I feel. How I feel about ………well you know. McGee. I didn't really think about it enough I guess. I was nervous…..I didn't want to stuff it up."

Tony smiled embarrassed as he squirmed on his stool, peeking around Abby trying to see the man on the other side of the lab.

Abby smiled somewhat placated by Tony's admission of having feelings. Awwww.

"Well didn't you see that what you said was taken out of context by McGee's reaction? Aren't you supposed to have training in this sort of thing? You know reading suspects body language and expressions?" Abby was being scientific about this, trying to understand how they got so far apart so quickly.

Tony shuffled his feet "Ahhh well you see I …did it over the phone…I couldn't see his reaction and when I asked him…...he just said ….if that's the way I wanted it. Oh"

"Oh? You told him something like that over the phone? While he's on pain killing medication in the hospital? Geez Tony. Maybe keep important conversations to when your partner isn't emotionally vulnerable AND on drugs."

Tony felt embarrassed as Abby shook her head at him and looked across to gauge Tim's reaction to all this. Tim was looking at him, his mouth hanging open and then he suddenly stood up, his eyes wide and shining.

"So you don't want to break up with me? You don't want us to date other people? You want it to be just You and Me?" Tim's joy rang through the open space of Abby's Lab and bounced off all the hard surfaces like an adoring choir.

Tony suddenly felt the rug pulled out from underneath him as he suddenly faced the sharp jaws of an emotional commitment he had avoided for decades standing in front of him in the shape of a green eyed computer genius/Federal Agent by the name of Timothy McGee.

Tony paused for a split second and considered the joy he felt wash over him as he read Tim's declaration of love in the letter to him. And the despair that pierced his heart as he tore through city traffic on the way to the hospital dreading the idea that he may never get the chance to hold Tim in his arms.

"Uh well yeah" Tony shrugged, embarrassed.

Tim literally bounded across the lab over to Tony and a second later Tony felt himself swept up in a warm strong embrace as Tim pulled him into his arms and held him tight, tucking his head into his shoulder and running one hand through his hair. Tim held him for a moment and ran his hand down Tony's strong back soothing him and Tony found himself closing his eyes and surrendering without hesitation to Tim's warm embrace.

Tim turned his head and whispered gently into his ear just for him to hear "And I love you too Tony"

Tim pulled back and lovingly cradled Tony's face in his hands just gently stroking his cheeks with his thumbs before he leaned in and softly, gently, devastatingly kissed Tony.

Tony had never been swept off his feet before. He had figured it to be a simple expression of speech but as Tim held him and kissed him, gently tasting him with his tongue Tony found himself clutching wildly at the lapels of Tim's new jacket just to stop himself falling over as his knees decided they no longer had the capacity to hold him upright.

Strawberry.

Tim's soft lips and slow endless kiss tasted of strawberries and warm sunshine.

Tim pulled back regretfully in order to breathe, a slight smile gracing his lips as he panted slightly, his lips open and wet and his big eyes dazed with wonder. He, Timothy McGee has just kissed Tony DiNozzo!

Tony could feel his heart racing at a million miles a minute and then realized that it wasn't actually his own heart but Tim's that he could feel through the fine silkiness of his shirt under his hands. He stared into the warm loving eyes directly across from him and smiled his delight. He made Timmy's heart race.

Tim watched Tony's face break into a smile as he held him in his arms and thought he might just die right then and there. Tony was so beautiful anyway but when he smiled with a rare joy that lit up his face he was more than Tim could fathom. Among all the many words Tim knew there were none which could describe his beauty at that instant.

"Rowllllllll"

Abby's eyes were warm and approving and she made a sort of growling sound in the back of her throat as she leaned closer to the two men engrossed in each other.

"Abby! Can you just uh..back off there a bit. You are kinda cramping my style here" Tony glanced sideways to find Abby leaning in towards them licking her lips

"Oh sorry……just Wow! Grrr you two together like that. HOT! Do you think I could maybe record you….for me to watch later?"

"Abby! No" Tim turned appalled and glared at Abby before returning with a smirk to Tony

"Besides he's all mine"

Tony laughed and tightened his hold around Tim's trim waist as they stood together. Why had he fought this for so long? This felt phenomenal. It was like he loved a friend…which in a way he suppose he did. And wasn't that the way it was supposed to be?

Tony found himself idly running his hand up and down Tim's chest enjoying the sensation of Tim's warm firm flesh under the fine black silk.

"Damn I love this shirt, Timmy"

Tim smiled, surprised. "I thought you didn't like it?"

"Oh no I love it. I just couldn't work out why you were dressing to attract the ladies all of a sudden…and then when you said you were going for that drink with the nurse I just kind of freaked out I guess."

Tim smiled "Oh no I wasn't dressing to attract a date. I wanted you to like it. You said I was boring and dressed without any sort of flair and…… I didn't want to embarrass you"

"Embarrass me?"

Tim shrugged a little sadly "Yeah well …. You're gorgeous, everyone wants you…and I'm the team Geek. The one no one really looks at. I figured if I dressed a little flashier then you might not be so embarrassed about dating me"

Tim looked at Tony and he could sense the vulnerability in his eyes. Tim's recent confidence washed away to reveal an awkward young teenager who had been stuffed into a locker one to many times to forget about the pain of climbing out.

Tony sucked in his breath "Oh Timmy no…don't think that. You're already great looking and I think you're gorgeous. Those eyes of yours, they just slay me and you have the most amazing hands and…oh just come here"

Tony slid his hand up Tim's neck knowing he needed to show Tim how he felt rather than telling him and pulled him in for a kiss. This time it was Tony who controlled the kiss, deepening it and he felt Tim sag helpless against him, a tiny whimper escaping Tim's throat as Tony swept his tongue into his mouth.

"Rowllllllll"

"Abby! Can you please stop that" Tony pulled away panting slightly and frowned at Abby who had managed to come even closer.

"Well if you two could stop fulfilling my sexual fantasies in front of me it would sure help!" Abby complained loudly with mischievous eyes.

"I don't want to see anyone's sexual fantasy's being fulfilled in this lab and especially not now when we're in the middle of a case. Got that?" Gibbs strode into the room with a smirk and Tony and Tim guiltily shot apart, knocking over the stool in the process with a loud clatter.

Abby grinned "Hello Gibbs" while Tony and Tim blushed and stuttered and smoothed hair and adjusted trousers and managed to look tremendously guilty about not much at all.

"So Abby you got these two sorted out finally?"

Abby looked across at the two men now standing behind Gibbs as they eyed each other with guilty smiles.

"Yup, I reckon so."

"Good. Well if the three of you don't mind I would really like for some work to be done around here"

BING!

"Oh Gibbs Look you made the results come through. You know you're just like a Fairy Godmother…."

"I'm not going to wear a tutu for you Abb's"

"But Gibbs!"

(

(I hope this gives some satisfaction to those paitently waiting for these two to get their acts together. Still a little bit more to come. Precious)