It was no surprise that Tony found Tim sitting in the rocking chair Gibbs had made for Christopher's room, watching his son peacefully sleep after a night of being entertained by a group of adults who put the fun in board games. The only thought that crossed his mind when he found the younger man there, was that he really needed to help Tim get this sorted out and soon.

Even with just four weeks of being the baby's Godfather under his belt, Tony had matured since taking on the role; since being told why he couldn't be given the role two weeks before that really. When Tim had first told the Senior Field Agent why he couldn't ask him to be that for Christopher, it had been obvious that Tim had hated to take that hard line with Tony, but he'd been right to do it. With the older man's reputation and track record of chasing women and partying, it had been likely that he'd be nowhere near a suitable choice, in the eyes of the courts, who at that time, still had the right to deny Tim his son since the mother had placed the boy with an adoption agency from the day he'd been born and Tim was having to prove his readiness before they'd be satisfied he was up to the task of raising his son.

Where Tony used to joke and jibe first and worry about repercussions later, now he thought first and did it twice before opening his mouth, most of the time, anyway and almost always around his little brother who, he now knew thought more of him than he'd sometimes earned. That realization in itself had mellowed Tony almost more than anything else. Now he could be trusted and more often than not, was, to be there for not only the baby but for Tim as well; a fact that Tim was most grateful for.

Now, at the end of a team game night with no more idea of what Tim had on his mind that had him more than a little morose and holding on to his son more than usual, Tony watched him continue to gently rock himself in the chair while staring at the sleeping baby tucked into his crib. Finally, he couldn't stand not knowing any longer since it wasn't helping him help his friend.

"McGee."

The serious tone of Tony's voice penetrated the fog that had surrounded Tim since he'd come in here to watch Christopher sleep a few minutes ago. Blinking, the younger man looked at his teammate with the unspoken question in his eyes.

"Talk to me, man. What's going on with you?"

"Not something I want to dump on you, Tony." Tim replied with a quiet directness Tony hadn't quite been expecting. "In the bigger picture, it's not life threatening, so…"

"So, it's still important to you, so I wanna know." Tony pushed while doing his best to keep his voice down.

Tim must have sensed how hard it was for Tony to rein himself in because he got up and headed out of the nursery and on down the stairs to the backyard where he opened up the porch door and stepped out onto the deck, knowing Tony would follow him outside. Only when the two of them had reached the backyard, did Tim answer his big brother's question.

"Ever had a situation where you just knew everyone you cared about was hurting and you knew it was all your fault but there wasn't a damn thing you could do to change it or make it right? Couldn't even take the hurt away that your actions caused?" Tim's voice couldn't hide the emotion behind his words; emotions he'd fought all night to shove into hiding.

"Yeah, Probie. I think we all have at least once in our lives." Tony tried to empathize.

Tim shook his head. "Not like this, Tony."

"Talk to me, man. Not like what?"

Tim silently stared out into the darkness beyond where his backyard was lit by the porch lights. He hadn't wanted to open up to anyone like this. In fact, he'd wanted to bury and move on before it brought any more pain to his mother by him speaking of it where she could possible overhear it or hear of it.

"McGee?" Tony pushed.

"I'm sorry." Tim replied. "I already said too much. I didn't even mean to say anything about it. I just ca… you're just so much easier to talk to than you used to be and you've changed, ya know. You really do care and it's obvious now."

"Yeah, Tim. I do care. So let me in, buddy."

Tim shuddered as he let out a deep breath. "This stays between us."

"Just between us." Tony promised.

"And Gibbs. He already knows"

"Okay."

"The years of silence from my dad…"

"Because you didn't follow in his footsteps. I remember our conversation about it a few weeks ago." The Senior Field Agent plugged in so Tim wouldn't have to relive that conversation now.

"Yeah. Well, turns out, those years were no different for my family even without me being there. The fighting – between my parents – went on anyway." The younger man admitted with guilt and anger mixed together. " Guess I was wrong – all these years I thought the fighting had to have stopped once I left home. No one ever said a word to me about any of it after I left."

"Maybe they were tryin' to save you the hurt, Probie." Tony suggested wisely.

"And the kicker is – that fighting …arguments every time Dad came home from wherever he'd gone for the Navy. Every episode of it…" The younger man continued on the roll he'd started on and didn't seem to be able to stop.

"Had to be tough to hear about." His teammate offered.

"Was about me." Tim finished as if Tony hadn't spoken because he was lost in his train of thought. Always was and now…"

"Now what, Tim?" The older man asked in hopes of dragging his friend past this hurdle life had thrown him.

"Now Dad's leaving Mom permanently and he blames me for that too. Says she shouldn't have supported me behind his back all this..."

"Oh, man. I'm sorry." Tony breathed out sadly.

"He never wanted to move down here to begin with. Just like he never wanted Mom to support my decisions." Tim's breath caught in his throat and he had to stop for a minute and pull himself together. Thankful that Tony hadn't yet spoken into the silence, he let one more painful truth out into the open. "He told her that supporting me meant that she didn't really love him."

Tony was flabbergasted and speechless but immediately reached out to his friend to offer him some physical grounding as he clapped him on the shoulder, leaving his hand there supportively as a big brother would his little brother when hurting. Keeping his voice quiet and hopefully comforting, he tried to help. "Don't let him kick you like this, Tim."

Tim stayed still under Tony's comforting hand for a long moment, needing to feel that he wasn't alone in this storm, but he soon pulled away, even though a tiny smile graced his lips. "Thanks." He offered quietly before stepping back and turning back to facing the yard. "But, it's my mom I'm worried about, Tony. How can I ever look her in the eye again, knowing the pain I've caused her? I mean, c'mon! Years of fighting with her husband just so her son could make his own choices in life? And now? Now, her marriage is over because my father can't stand living next door to me for another day or spend another day trying to accept that I might be a better person than he believes me to be for having not followed in his footsteps? How can she even stand to look at me after what he admitted to her?"

"Tim, I…"

Tim shook his head again. "I don't know how I can expect her to ever be able to see me again without feeling that I took something precious from her a long time ago but she just today had to begin feeling the worst effects for real. I don't even know how she's done it all this time. And God only knows what Sarah's gonna say when she finds out."

With that sad statement, Tim took the stairs down to the backyard and disappeared into the darkness