Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own NCIS. But my birthday is coming up (hint, hint.) Just kidding.
Here Goes Nothing.
Tim ran his hand over his face. Currently he was standing in the men's restroom of the restaurant he was eating dinner in. He was debating on how to tell his parents about Emma. He had imagined at least a few hundred ways of telling them, but now that it was time, he was absolutely clueless.
He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked slightly stressed and a little pale. Of course he looked pale! He was just about to tell his parents that he has a 17 year old daughter.
After a few minutes of pacing, he decided it was finally time to face the music. He was nervous as heck, and didn't exactly have a good plan in his head, but he thought he would just let this one play out.
"About time," Abby commented jokingly, "We were about to send in the fire department to see if you fell in."
Tim smiled wryly.
"Tim, do you feel ok? You look sickly." Susan noted, narrowing her eyes at her son.
"Yes, Mom, I'm fine." Tim answered. Though she didn't believe it, Susan didn't want to push him any farther.
The rest of dinner went by quickly. Tim, still unsure about telling his parents, didn't really eat. He mostly just pushed his food around his plate to make it seem like he ate. It was something he (like most other children) had learned at a young age and put it into good use.
"Something wrong, Tim?" Jack questioned. While his eyesight wasn't as good as it was a few years ago, he had noticed Tim becoming nervous.
"Can I tell you guys something?" Tim responded quietly.
"Anything," Susan replied.
Tim looked for Abby for support. She smiled softly and nodded. Tim looked back at his parents and sat up a little straighter.
"I have a daughter." Tim mumbled.
Jack and Susan glanced at each other.
"Excuse me?" Jack was sure he had misunderstood.
"I have a daughter." Tim repeated cautiously.
"When did this happen?" Jack wondered.
"I was in M.I.T., so a while ago…" Tim trailed off nervously.
"Oh, Timmy. Why didn't you tell us?" Susan sniffled slightly. Abby offered her a black tissue from her bag, which Susan accepted gratefully.
"I was a teen; I was scared." Tim told them.
"So she's been around this whole time?" Jack asked, his eyes watering.
"Well, not exactly. Michelle, that's her mom, left me because she felt having a baby would weigh me down. I just recently got back in touch with Emma." Tim explained slowly.
"Do you have a picture?" Susan hoped.
"Oh, I have good one." Abby snickered, pulling out her phone. Tim raised his eyebrow but Abby just shook her head. "Here it is."
The picture was one of Emma and Tim at the diner. They were sitting side by side. Neither one knew they were getting their picture taken, for they were looking an app on Emma's phone. Emma was smiling slightly while Tim just looked plain confused.
"She's so beautiful." Jack observed. Tim smiled.
"I know she is." Tim answered laughingly.
"What's her name?" Susan wondered.
"Emmalynn Savannah. But she likes being called 'Emma'." Tim said.
"How old is she?" Jack inquired.
"Seventeen," Abby replied quickly.
"Is she in school? What is going to go to college for?" Susan was no longer crying; instead she just wanted to know about her granddaughter.
"Do you want to meet her? The diner where she works is just a few blocks from here." Tim offered. He couldn't even get the full sentence out before his parents were ready to leave.
"I think that's a yes." Abby smiled.
"I'd say." Tim joked.
/NCIS/
"This is it." Tim stated. They stood outside the diner. Inside, they could see Brynn drying dishes.
"What are we waiting for? Let's move, people." Abby decided.
Tim led them into the nearly empty diner. Brynn looked up and smiled.
"Hello Agent McGee. Emma is on her break so she's grabbing her guitar. She should be back any second. Have a seat; I'll get you some menus." Brynn insisted, walking away.
"I didn't know she could play guitar." Abby murmured.
"Neither did I." Tim shrugged.
"Ok, so I love you Brynn, you're like my sister, but have you lost your mind? There is no way on this green earth I am going to go sing in front of everyone." Emma announced, coming out of the kitchen.
"That's her." Tim whispered to his parents as he pointed at Emma.
Her long hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she was wearing jeans and an M.I.T. shirt under her apron.
"Please?" Tim pleaded, sneaking up on her. Emma screamed slightly and swirled around.
"When did you get here?" Emma asked.
"Not long ago." Tim said.
"Well you scared the crap out of me." Emma informed him.
Tim smiled, "I know."
"I thought you were having dinner with your parents?" Emma remembered.
"I was, but now I'm here." Tim answered.
"Oh," Emma said absentmindedly. She pulled her guitar out of the case and sat on the counter, strumming a little.
"They know about you." Tim said.
Emma stiffened slightly, "You told them about me?"
Tim nodded.
"How did they take it?" Emma asked. She was rather scared of the answer. They could've taken it just fine or, on the other hand, they could have totally freaked out.
"Well, they're sitting right over there." Tim motioned to the table where his parents and Abby sat, smiling at them. Emma laughed and waved.
"So it went well, I take it?" Emma replied matter-of-factly.
"Yes. They want to meet you, Ems. That's why we're here." Tim told her.
"Hmm, it is my break. I think I can manage that." Emma joked, hopping off the counter.
"This is Emma." Tim said to his parents.
"Hello." Emma squeaked shyly.
Jack and Susan both got to their feet and before Emma knew it, she was engulfed in a hug. She could hear Susan crying slightly and felt herself tear up. Jack, too, was fighting back tears.
Tim glanced at Abby, both smiling. Yes, this was a good day indeed.
A/N: Wow, it's been a while. Sorry about that. A lot has happened in my family. My sister-in-law miscarried, my brother got his car repossessed, my parents and I won't stop fighting … Things have not been going well.
Anyway, I hope you like the chapter. I promise to try and write more often. The next chapter is basically a continuation of this.
Love,
Sarah