It wasn't exactly fun, Tim decided, but it was not as appallingly dreadful as he'd expected, either.

Despite his reputation for impatience, Gibbs was actually a really good teacher. And he was pointing out all kinds of details about the woods around them, not just how to find his way through them.

Tim had been a bit embarrassed when Gibbs had taken him by the shoulders and bodily steered him away from a patch of poison ivy, suggesting that, given how severely he reacted to the stuff, he really should learn how to identify it himself.

And the 'don't ever eat those' a few minutes later had seemed a bit patronising to Tim's ears, especially since he had no intention of ever eating any berry that didn't come from a supermarket. Well, he could probably pick wild raspberries out of a line-up, since their domesticated cousins had grown in his childhood back yard, but even so, he wasn't that likely to be looking for dessert in the middle of a forest, was he?

But overall, it was actually kinda nice being able to spend some time with Gibbs, without Tony and without the stress of a case to solve.

Gibbs had asked him about his latest book, and whether he'd found a new publisher after the fiasco with the fake threatening letters that his old one had arranged. And he'd asked about his sister, and seemed genuinely concerned about how she was coping with having been drugged and framed for murder.

Tim had decided against asking about Lt.-Col. Mann. But, to his delight, Gibbs had told him a few amusing stories about his days in the Corps, including one about a group of young Marines who had sewed their Gunny's tent flap shut one night, after the man had tried to forbid them to drink coffee, declaring it to be bad for their health. The idea of his boss being involved in youthful mischief was a bit surreal, but he enjoyed the sense of camaraderie he got from the fact that Gibbs was sharing snippets of his past with him.

And Gibbs had asked how he'd ended up as a Youth Ranger leader in the first place. After all, the outdoorsy stuff usually associated with such organisations wasn't exactly Tim's thing. So Tim had explained that a lot had changed since Lord Baden-Powell wrote Scouting for Boys, and science and technology and basic civic values were emphasised more than the traditional wilderness survival stuff. He'd stopped himself before adding that it was no longer meant as a sort of pre-basic training for boys destined for military careers; one of his fellow leaders had a habit of calling 'old-fashioned' scouting-type groups 'Marines Lite', but Tim didn't think Gibbs would appreciate the sentiment. Instead, he'd talked about how much he enjoyed spending time with his Rangers, and how nervous it made him, sometimes, knowing that these kids looked up to him as a role model. Gibbs had nodded knowingly, and told him that he should only worry if he stopped being nervous about letting them down.

Now, Gibbs was telling him about his ongoing battle with a persistent raccoon who apparently hadn't been briefed that the fact that Gibbs's trash can was 'guaranteed raccoon-proof' meant that he wasn't supposed to be able to treat it as a buffet. Tim chuckled, visualising one of the cartoon raccoons from some animated TV show his sister used to watch, then ducked reflexively when Gibbs shot him an 'it's not funny!' look.

They reached the top of a rather steep incline, and Tim stopped to rest for a moment, panting slightly. He took a sip of water, then screwed the cap back onto the bottle and returned it to its place on his hip. I feel like I should be going through the Stargate or something, with all this gear, he thought.

'Star-what?'

'Huh? Oh, did I say that out loud? I was just thinking that, with the pack and the belt and the water bottle and, well, everything, I must look like one of the characters in 'Stargate'. It's a TV show about... uh... Ancient Egypt... and... uh... outer space... it's kinda hard to explain. You wouldn't like it. They're Air Force.'

Oh, God... I did NOT just say that... did I? Gibbs is going to KILL me...

It took Gibbs a moment to realise that Tim had actually made a joke. He grinned, then laughed out loud, clapping the younger man on the shoulder. It's about damn time he stops being scared of me and lightens up a bit, he thought, delighted.