"Hey, guys. What's the occasion?" Tim asked quietly as he stepped back to let them in.
Abby immediately reached for the baby as Tony answered the question. 'Thought we'd come bother you for a couple of hours, steal your kid from ya, ya know, that kind of mundane stuff."
Tim let go of Christopher but immediately felt his loss as the baby happily settled into the Lab Rat's arms. Deliberately stomping down on that emotion, he failed to successfully hide his suspicion from his expression as he voiced what he was thinking. "What's this really about? After the week from hell we've all just had, why would you give up your chosen ways to decompress to come here?"
Tony had seen the flicker of sorrow that crossed Tim's eyes when Abby had scooped Junior away from Daddy McGee and he didn't miss the disbelief in his partner's tone now. Deliberately ignoring the question, he held up the pizzas and jovially shouted out: "Pizza! Who wants pizza?"
Happily settled into the easy chair with her little cuddle buddy, Abby made no effort to join the group as they went about digging out paper plates and napkins so they could enjoy the pizza without making a mess for Tim to have to clean up. Tim hadn't moved from the living room doorway, himself, watching almost forlornly as his former girlfriend enjoyed some bonding time with his son. Tony watched with a frown as Tim became more and more unhappy, judging by the look on his face, at the time Abby was spending with Christopher.
Knowing this wasn't normal for his teammate, Tony refused to let his attention stray from his friend, now determined to find out what was going on with him. "Hey, Probie. Want a beer?"
The quietly asked question coming from Tony who'd come to stand beside him in the doorway, surprised Tim. He managed to stow away his surprise and answer his teammate calmly. "No. Thank you, Tony."
"You okay, man?" Tony took the opportunity to ask.
"I'll be fine. Why? Did Gibbs call you? My mother?" Suddenly, Tim's expression was daring Tony to do anything but answer the question honestly.
Tony's eyes narrowed as he interpreted his little brother's sudden need to know why they were here. "Gibbs. He was worried about you being alone tonight. Wanna tell me why that is?"
Tim blinked in an effort to clear his eyes before he softly shook his head. "Like I said, Tony. I'll be fine. I really appreciate you all coming over here, though. Why don't you drag out some of those board games Abby and Ziva snuck into their shopping trip with my credit cards last month? We can make a game night of it."
Not sure what to make of the way Tim had turned the conversation completely away from what was wrong, Tony stood there speechless for a minute before mentally head slapping himself into moving, all the while his eyes took in his probie currently taking Christopher back from Abby and disappearing from the room with him, headed in the direction of the stairs leading up to the second floor of the house.
***NCIS***
A short ten minutes later and the group had eaten their fill of pizzas and were now setting up the first board game, chosen by vote – Life – as if they all wanted to get away from the real one for a minute and enjoy the one depicted in the game. Abby and Ziva helped Jimmy set up while Tony went in search of the still wayward Tim.
It wasn't but a moment before he found him sitting on the bottom step of the stairs with his back against the railing, playing quietly with Christopher as they blew raspberries at each other and played peek-a-boo through their connected hands. Smiling at the picture they presented while the baby chortled and wriggled in Tim's arms, Tony stood and silently watched for a minute. Knowing Tim needed the interaction with his team to help pull him over whatever this hurdle was, the Senior Field Agent forced himself to interrupt the playtime as he approached the pair.
"Hey, First game's getting' started. We need you in there."
Looking away from his son for a moment, Tim sighed. "Okay, I'm coming."
"What's goin' on Probie? You hidin' out from us just to play with him? You don't have to do that."
Tim was quick to shake his head. "No. This has nothing to do with you guys. I'm sorry. Guess I'm not thinkin' too clearly tonight."
"Yeah? Well, I'm not buyin' that nuthin's wrong. But, we'll let it slide for now. C'mon. Let's go play before they come hunt you down. AND you need to eat some of that pizza!"
"Okay. Let me just change Christopher first, then we'll be right in."
***NCIS***
Three hours and four board games later, Abby was declared the winner of three out of the four and Tim still hadn't relinquished his hold on his son or eaten a single bite of food. To Tony's consternation, he hadn't even shown the slightest interest in letting someone else hold Christopher so he could eat or throw back a beer or two with the others. He'd put his game face on and played with them without any sign of there being anything wrong.
None of them missed the unusual relentlessness about Tim's holding on to the baby or the way he hadn't even glanced at the food or beer. While he was usually very willing to let the team share in holding and changing Christopher when they were together like this, tonight, no one even asked for the privilege after having seen the way he'd taken the baby back from Abby and hung on to him since then.
Exchanging concerned glances, the team said their good nights, pleading the need for sleep and headed out, as a group, minus Tony. Tim thanked them all with a quiet genuine graciousness as they left, extending the invitation to make it a more regular happenstance if they wanted and promising to be better company the next time. As the door closed behind the group, Tony slipped back into the kitchen to start the cleanup from the impromptu pizza party, not wanting to leave Tim with it.
While that was something new for Tony, he knew if he left the mess, Tim's mom would rip him open about it, albeit privately. Since the Senior McGee's had moved in next door, the team had gotten the opportunity to get to know Tim's mother and sister better, although McGee Senior had been a tough nut to pin down for a visit; much less crack open for a talk or two. Tony often wondered why Tim's father never seemed to be around when they went over there with Tim for a visit or a dinner, which was becoming a once a week thing now.
Everyone on the team came to the dinners, including Gibbs and that in itself had opened the door for the fabric that knit their team together becoming even stronger than before, although any mention of the absent Commander seemed to invite an aura of stress and discomfort for the McGee clan; that was, until someone dispelled it, usually Abby or Sarah with a joke or a anecdote. After it happened a second time, the team seemed to realize that it was permanently taboo and no longer mentioned it.
Once that uncomfortable goof had been overcome, Mrs. McGee had even begun talking of having a second weekly dinner, without the M.E. or the boss, to give the younger set a chance to unwind without the pressure of having to be quite so careful of what they said or did. The suggestion had brought a look of shock on Tim's face, while bringing smiles to everyone else's. Overall, it had been a priceless moment and Tony found himself liking his probie's mother and looking forward to those nights.
But for now, his thoughts were focusing once again on his probie. It bothered Tony that the younger man had been so obviously upset about something that his outlet had only been to hang on to his son as if the child was the life preserver Tim needed him to be. Hearing the shuffle of feet as they came his way now, the Senior Field Agent looked up to see the man in question appear in the doorway, his arms empty for the first time that night. "Thanks for helping with the cleanup, Tony. You didn't have to do that."
"No sweat, man. Better to do this, than get your mom pissed for leaving you with it."
"What, you really think I'd rat on you?" Tim asked in shock.
"You wouldn't have to, man." Tony smirked as he tied up the trash bag and turned his attention to wiping down the now empty counters. "Moms just know these things. We all know that."
Tim laughed softly. "Yeah. That's the truth." His eyes grew sad and his expression serious. Turning away, he spoke over his shoulder to his friend and teammate. "I'm gonna go check on Christopher."
"Probie, you finally put him down just ten minutes go. He's fine." Tony tried to reassure his retreating friend to no avail. Frowning, he dug out his phone, knowing the boss would want an update and needing a little guidance himself.
"How'd it go, DiNozzo?" Gibbs got straight to the point he wanted answered.
"Something's definitely going on with him, Boss."
"Talk to me."
"He wouldn't eat and he wouldn't put the baby down all night. Even took him back from Abby after just a few minutes of her playin' with him. Once we noticed that, Ziva didn't even attempt to hold him. 'cause she didn't want to upset him by having him refuse. And Boss, you know there's something wrong there. Tim always lets the girls take care of Christopher when they're around him."
A deep sigh could be heard over the phone line. "You headin' out now?"
"Maybe in a few. He's checkin' on Christopher now, even though he only let go of him like ten minutes ago. I don't wanna just disappear on him."
"Appreciate the update." The phone line went dead and Tony quickly stowed his phone away, tossed the dish towel down on the counter and went in search of his friend.