The final installment has arrived. First off, I want to thank all of you who reviewed the last chapter, and the story over all. The amount is awesome. I'm not entirely sure why I made this story so short, but oh well. Anyway, enjoy the last chapter! ~Owl

Thursday

Four hours later, Tim McGee was not asleep. He was far from it. He had written the next chapter in his book the previous night after Abby brought him cookies, which still sat on his counter. He played World of Warcraft for an hour or so, then he went on to clean his apartment. Which he had cleaned twice already that week. Quite honestly, Tim was really bored whenever he wasn't occupied with moping. He wanted to go back to work, but he was so unstable. Anything that might remind him of his father could send him over the edge and the last thing McGee wanted was for his team to see his vulnerable side.

Because Tim McGee was no man of stone like Gibbs. He didn't swallow sadness and joke about it like Tony. And he certainly wasn't like Ziva, who regarded pain and sorrow as things one did not need to deal with and didn't let them enter her mind. Tim McGee was vulnerable. Tim McGee cried. There was no first line of defense against emotions.

Whatever he felt, he felt. Tim was normal. He was no hardcore Marine. He was no brilliant minded cop. He was no super secret ninja assassin. He was a kid, essentially, a kid who had a dad that died saving people's lives. A kid with a sister and a mom who loved him. Tim thought about that as he dragged himself to bed, even though he wasn't tired. Tony was right, Probie's do need to sleep at some point.

He turned on his ceiling fan and tried to force himself to sleep. That's all he wanted to do. No more interventions, no more movies and pep talks and awkward conversations. Just sleep. Yet, sadly, sleep was about the only thing that hadn't come to his apartment the whole week. He tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. Some time later, Tim heard a knock at the door. A glance at the clock told him that it was almost three in the morning.

"Ziva I really don't want to anybody right now. Please just go away. It's three in the morning for crying out loud." Tim said, annoyed that she would actually think he would want to talk at three am. And Tim knew it was Ziva because she was the only one who hadn't seen him yet.

"Just wanted to talk." a voice that was not Ziva's said from outside the door. Tim sat bolt upright in his bed.

Five minuets later, Tim had awkwardly welcomed the man into his apartment. They stood there for a few seconds before Tim realized he should do something. He walked over to the couch and sat down, silently inviting the man over to do the same.

"I know how you feel, Tim. I know what you're feeling. It pretty much sucks." Gibbs said, taking a seat on the couch next to him.

"Yeah. I guess I've joined the club now." Tim said. If he had been tired before, the searing pain in the back of his head definitely woke him up.

"Don't you think of this like that. Everybody loves their parents, wether they know it or not." Gibbs said.

"Yeah. I'm finding that out." Tim said. He took a sip of the warm and refreshing beverage. Silence engulfed the room as neither knew what to say next.

"At one point I was so crazy, you know what I did?" Gibbs asked after a short silence, sipping some coffee.

"What?" Tim asked, taking the warm drink from the table.

"I was sitting on a beach where I used to take the girls riding. Kelly, she loved to ride horses. And I sat there, looking at the waves crashing onto shore thinking 'Why? Why did this happen to me?' And you know what I did, Tim?" Gibbs asked, looking at the younger agent. He shook his head, so Gibbs continued.

"I pulled my gun out and I put it right here." Gibbs said, pointing to the middle of his forehead.

"Boss." Tim whispered, tears welling in his eyes. He couldn't believe that his mentor, his boss, his leader was admitting he was suicidal at one point in his life. This was not what he expected from Gibbs.

"And I sat alone on that beach for hours, trying to pull the trigger. But then I realized that Shannon and Kelly would be mad at me for doing that. So I put the gun away, manned up, and joined NCIS." Gibbs said, concluding his sad story. Tim looked at his boss and started to cry. He put his arm around Tim and sat there on the couch, comforting the grieving young man.

"It- It's j- just t- to hard. We were just s- starting to talk to each other and t- then... it was over." Tim said between tears. Gibbs scooted over and put his arms around him, just like he did to Kelly the last time he saw her. Tim looked into his boss' eyes, and for the first time, he saw the pain and hurt he had been keeping from the team all these years showing in the crystal blue pools. Tim felt sorry for him.

Gibbs saw everything that Tim had been keeping to himself for the past ten years. All the times Tony teased him, tricked him, left him out. All the times he was rejected the care and attention he craved. All Tim wanted was to show somebody what he could really do. He just wanted somebody to recognize that he was just as important to the team as Tony or Ziva was. And Gibbs learned this, holding Tim, slightly rocking him back and forth. He didn't seem to mind, in fact, it was calming him down.

He had stopped crying and was just hiccuping.

"It's hard, Tim. I know its the worst feeling in the world to realize you are never going to see someone as important as your father again. But you are strong. You're strong enough to get through this. I know you are because I've seen it. When Kate died, you didn't shed a tear in public. And you what, 27?" Gibbs asked, doing the math in his head. Tim nodded. Gibbs continued.

"If that were me, I would have cried no matter what. But you didn't. You stayed strong because of Tony, no doubt. Am I right?" Gibbs said to his youngest agent.

"I thought Tony would make fun of me, exploit my weakness, y'know? That's all he'd ever done before, so I had no reason to believe he would behave differently. So I didn't do anything at NCIS. I never saw Tony cry. And I thought that if I did, then he would call me weak or wimpy. I just wanted to fit in. I've always wanted to fit in." Tim slowly answered Gibbs' question.

Gibbs nodded and said, "That's what I thought." Tim looked out the window, on to the quiet DC landscape. It was, after all, three thirty in the morning.

"I know you're strong. That's why I wanted you on my team. And I know that you are hurting. But there are these two kittle kids, Jake and Maddie, who really want to see their daddy again." Gibbs said, referring to the case they were working on. He wasn't lying. Jake and Maddie Owens, eight and ten, hadn't seen their dad in three days. They needed their father back, and so far, Tony and Ziva had come up with nothing. Gibbs spoke again.

"We need you, Tim."

Tony sat at his desk, whispering to Ziva.

"I visited his apartment last night." He spoke softly, as not to alert anyone. When he was sure no one heard him, Tony continued to talk.

"Abby said when she talked to him on Tuesday he almost started crying. I've never seen Probie cry! Probie doesn't cry, does he?" Tony said.

"Everybody cries, Tony. It is very sad. He has just lost the man who raised him, I am sure that he has every right to cry. I would if it were my father." Ziva said, countering Tony's statement. All of the sudden, the elevator dinged, and Tony and Ziva made themselves look busy. Tony looked up to say something to his boss, but instead was shocked to see McGee coming in, right behind Gibbs.

"Guys, I have a lead on where Sergeant Owens is." Tim said, going to his desk and putting something up on the plasma. Ziva's eyebrows went up as she and Tony got up and went to the middle of the room. Tony parked himself right next to Tim, who started to talk and click through images.

He went way beyond the bottom line, and was saying words no one had ever heard before, but for once, no one stopped him. Tony looked to Ziva, then to Gibbs, who seemed as though he was clinging onto every word. Ziva glanced at Tony, who also had a very puzzled look on his face. Tim was finished rambling and he looked back at his team.

"Any questions?" Tim asked, sensing they were all completely lost. Tony just looked at him and clapped him on the back.

"Welcome back, McGee."

And that's a wrap! Let me know what you thought of the conclusion. Thanks a million for reading, reviewing, and following everybody! Until the next story, Owl.