A/N: Thanks to all those who read the last chapter and an extra thank you to those who take the time to review. :) They are very much appreciated.

On another note, the most exciting thing happened to me this weekend. I found a license plate with my initals on it! :O

Anyway, on to the story. :)

Chapter Three

"Wake up McGee."

"Come on Timmy, open those eyes for me."

"Probie, wake up already."

"Wha?" Tim rolled over, glancing at the clock. He had to hurry; he was going to be late-

Wait a minute…

Tim shot out of bed, hurrying towards his office and quickly looking at his calendar.

"I don't understand," Tim spoke out loud. Today was Monday. But yesterday had been Monday, yesterday he had found Tony and had then proceeded to get extremely drunk, watching old movies. But today was Monday and yesterday was Monday and Tim knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was not hungover.

"Crazy crazy dreams," Tony strolled in, a smile on his face, "Hmm….That sounds like a song," Tony moved his head to some unknown rhythm before starting to hum.

"You!" Tim said, "You, I-I found-Abby found you! Why are you still here?"

Tony stopped humming, tilting his head to the side slightly, "What are you talking about Probie-wan-kanobe?"

"Yesterday," McGee said, "I went to work and Abby had a lead. She had searched for Anthony DiNardo and found you living in a beach house in California. I called them and they said that you were working at the surf shop, that you had been there for three years-"

"Me?" Tony said, a smirk on his face and his eye holding a great amount of mischief, "Not much of the surfer type. Too old for that."

"But I called!" Tim said, totally flustered, "Your boss answered-"

"How did Abby find me again Probie?" Tony asked, cutting off McGee mid-rant, "What did she say?"

"That she had gone in that morning and finished her work so she searched for your alias."

"Uhuh," Tony said, nodding, a smile still on his face, "Now, I know I'm not the smartest one on the team but really Timmy, if I know something sounds hinky, I know for sure so do you."

McGee squinted in thought, trying to clear his head of any cobwebs.

Tony rolled his eyes, chuckling good naturedly, "Think McBrains. What is wrong with that statement?"

Tim thought and sighed in relief moments later, sitting down on the couch when he realized just what was wrong with Abby's statement, "It would have taken days for the search engine to find you in California. And even then, the second you used that alias for anything it would have been red-flagged back to us. We would have known years ago. It would have come up when we first started looking for you."

Tony nodded, "Nice job Probie. Always knew your brain would take you far."

"So it was a dream?" Tim asked, rubbing his face, "'Cause that was more like a nightmare."

Tony walked closer to Tim, avoiding Probie, the dog, and his toys, "Why Tim? You had found me. Isn't that what you want?"

"Not like that," Tim shook his head, scratching his head, "That - it felt like you had betrayed us all."

"But I was okay," Tony sat down, a mournful look on his face, "And I was found. Why weren't you okay with that?"

"Because!" Tim said, throwing his arms up in frustration, "You left us without a word edgewise! You were living the life in some beach city or another selling surf boards and relaxing in the sun all day while all of us were here, not knowing…You didn't even care to send us a note, send us something to tell us where you were!"

"So you don't want me to be happy?" Tony asked, tilting his head again. Tim tried to remember if the real Tony had ever done that or if that was simply a quirk Tim had given his Ghost version of Tony.

"No - I," Tim said but stopped. He realized that he had never thought about it. Did he want Tony to be happy and living somewhere else, but happy nonetheless? Or did he want Tony to be miserable and hurt or worse - dead?

"I want you to be happy Tony," Tim finally sad, "But the Tony I knew wouldn't put his happiness in front of his friendship with me, Abby and the rest of the team."

"Really?" Tony smirked, "We are still talking about me right? The guy who loved teasing you every moment and who never let you live anything down? Or the guy who always loved giving you the short end of the stick, just so he could laugh about it in front of you? We still talking about that guy McGee?"

"You sound like a jerk if you talk about yourself that way Tony," Tim responded. Tony had done all those things, many times, but that wasn't who Tony was. Tony didn't-

"If the shoe fits Probie," Tony huffed, rolling his eyes, "Come on McBrain, I know I didn't train a retard."

"That's just it," McGee took another step towards DiNozzo, "That's why you did all those things. You poked and prodded and pushed and shoved because if you hadn't, someone else who have done it instead and they might not have been as nice or non-criminal as you were."

Tony smiled, a coy smile that usually meant he was about to do something that made him uncomfortable, "Don't know what you're talking about McGee."

Tim smiled, knowing that the real Tony rarely ever got truly embarrassed. Even though this wasn't the real Tony, a fact that Tim had to keep reminding himself, it was still fun to see.

"Whatever Tony," McGee laughed. Just then, Probie walked in, looking at his owner as if he had seriously lost it.

And considering he was having a conversation with someone who was technically not there, maybe Tim had a screw or two lose.

"You might want to get dressed Probie," Tony said, breaking Tim out of his thoughts, "It is after all, a Monday."

"Crap!" Tim turned quickly, tripping over Probie and barely catching himself before he busted his face open.

Probie let out a surprise yelp, tucking his tail in and retreating over to fit his large body under the coffee table.

"Sorry boy, sorry!" Tim called out, still trying to find his cell phone so he could see what time it was.

Probie let out a small whine, deciding to stay nice and safe until his owner stopped acting weird.

"Ah!" Tim yelled out fumbling with his phone as it vibrated, mildly scaring him.

"AHHH!" Tim yelled even louder, seeing the time and realizing that the reason his phone was vibrating was due to the fact his Boss was calling him.

Knowing that if his death wasn't already sealed it would be if he didn't answer the phone, McGee hit the accept button and cringed in anticipation.

"Where the hell are you McGee?" Gibbs yelled over the phone.

"I-" McGee tried to answer but Gibbs just cut him off.

"No, don't tell me McGee," Gibbs continued to yell, "Just get your ass here in the next ten minutes or I will kill you. Understood?"

"Yes Boss," McGee said, setting his phone down before hurrying to his room.

Exactly five minutes later, McGee was putting on his last shoe on his way to the counter to grab his phone and keys. He pulled up short however, when he saw Tony still seated in his living room.

"Thought you left," McGee called out, knowing that if he didn't leave in the next minute he would never make it to the office in time. But he would risk that, to listen to the last thing Tony had to say.

Tony smiled at the comment, shrugged and relaxed into the chair, "Not for long Probie."

And McGee just huffed before giving Probie a quick goodbye pat and walking out the door.

A/N2: :) Please review.