Ziva looked up and smiled when the elevator opened. "They are here." She met Tim's parents at the waiting room door, accepting a hug from his mother before introducing them. "George and Brenda McGee, this is Leon Vance, the Director of NCIS and Jackson Gibbs. His son is our team leader and was injured during Mc... Tim's rescue."

They all shook hands, but it was Brenda that was the family spokesperson. "Thank you so much. We don't know much about our son's work with your agency, but we are so grateful he has a team that was willing to save him despite the risks."

She didn't seem to notice the awkward response, but Bear watched the subtle interplay closely. "I'll want a full briefing of what happened to my boy, but first, his mama and I'd like to see him."

"Of course." Vance stepped away to let the staff know that the McGee's had arrived while Jackson tried to make small talk. "I'm glad to see you here, it'll mean a lot to Tim. He's a good man, I know Leroy considers him a real asset to the team and felt real bad about what happened."

Bear watched him carefully. "You have us at a disadvantage then, sir. So far all we know is that our cub got hurt, but you folks seem pretty uncomfortable for some reason."

"Now, Bear, Timmy wouldn't want you grilling Mr. Gibbs." Brenda patted his arm before turning her attention to Jackson. "Have you met out son?"

"Please call me Jackson, and yes, I have met Tim. Like I said, you've got a fine boy there."

Vance returned with a nurse. "Mr. and Mrs. McGee, Lt. Johnson will take you back to see Tim. Ziva, why don't you take Jackson down to the cafeteria and make sure he eats. I'll be back later, but call my cell if anything changes."

Most of their luggage was left in the waiting room, but Brenda picked up one of her bags that Bear left in the corner.

-NCIS-

Lyle Hopper slammed the phone down in frustration. "Charlie, get in here!" A heavy-set, balding man came in through the door. "That damn fed was rescued alive. Figure out why he stayed behind when the rest of them pulled out. What was he up to?"

"I thought King was supposed to take him out?"

"He was, so find out what happened. No screw-ups this time, you hear me? If they found out more than we wanted them to..."

"I'm on it, Mr. Hopper."

-NCIS-

Before she left, Tim's nurse woke him again. "I know you're tired, Tim, but I need to know how your pain levels are."

His forehead creased in concentration. "Umm, not too bad."

Gibbs was still staring at Tim's blackened leg. "No time to be stoic, McGee. If you're hurting, let them help you."

"Everything just kinda throbs."

She checked one of the machines next to the bed. "You're getting a steady amount of morphine, but if you're hurting, just press the button on the pump. Don't worry, it won't let you have too much." With that she pulled the blankets back into place and left the room, holding the door open for one of her colleagues.

Sarah looked past the new nurse and smiled. "Tim, look who's here."

He smiled for what felt like the first time in weeks. "Mom, Dad, you're here."

"Timmy." His mother came closer, giving Sarah a quick hug before she turned all of her attention to her son. "My poor baby boy." She immediately started fussing with his pillows and blankets. Bear came up to the bed on the other side. Gibbs moved back to give him room when Tim let go of his hand to reach for his father.

"Hey, Cub." Just like when his son was little, Bear cupped the side of his head as he kissed his forehead. Still bent down, he took the opportunity to whisper in his ear. "I'm sorry, son, I should have listened to you." Straightening, he took a better look at Tim before turning to Sarah. "Frostbite? How?"

Sarah found herself tearing up at the expression on their father's face. "He was trapped up on a mountain for two weeks, Daddy, alone."

"Oh, Timmy." Brenda brushed her hand over his hair. "I can't imagine, you must have been so scared, but we're here now and we're going to take such good care of you." She reached down for her bag, and with Sarah's help spread out a faded blue blanket over him.

Tim was barely awake still, but his fingers brushed the worn satin trim as he smiled. "You remembered."

Feeling like an intruder, Gibbs quietly moved back to the other side of the room. With Brenda's entire awareness wrapped up in her son, Bear joined him a moment later. "You must be Gibbs."

The Senior Agent shook the offered hand. "Mr. McGee, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances."

"That makes two of us." Gibbs knew he was being studied and just waited. A moment later, George continued. "Jarhead?"

"Yes, sir." On one of the long nights after Tim went missing, Gibbs had done a little checking on the senior McGee. George "Bear" McGee retired as a Lieutenant Commander after a long and extremely colorful career as a naval aviator, ending as CAG aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Apparently satisfied with what he saw, George turned back to watch his wife as she fussed over Tim. "Brenda tells me I was so busy trying to make a man out of the boy, that I missed seeing it happen. Looks like she was right, and I'm pretty sure you had a lot to do with those last few steps."

Gibbs started to object, feeling very uncomfortable with any praise from the senior McGee, but Bear kept talking.

"This may be a civilian operation, but you're still my son's commanding officer and there's a lot of respect that goes with that. Now, I don't know what went wrong that put my boy up on some God-forsaken mountain alone for two weeks before anybody could rescue him, but I have a sneaking hunch that I'm gonna want to kick your ass when I do find out. Before we get to that point, I just want to say thank you for rescuing him."

The offered handshake was a surprise, but Gibbs accepted it, knowing that the volatile man would, indeed, be furious when he learned the details. "I appreciate that, sir. It's been an honor watching Tim mature into a fine agent, but you are right, the failures that lead to his injuries are my responsibility as Team Leader."

Sarah had been quietly talking with one of the nurses and she now joined the two men. "Daddy, Tim's doctor is here. He'd like to talk to the family."

"All right, Cupcake, let's find out what it's going to take to get your big brother back on his feet."

While Bear checked on his son one last time, Sarah and Gibbs exchanged a look. Getting Tim back on his feet would require first saving his leg.

-NCIS-

Arriving just in time to use his restored proxy to join the discussion with Tim's doctors, Ducky left Tony and Abby in the waiting room. After asking which room Gibbs was now in, Abby rushed through the door, Tony trying to slow her down. "Abs, I'm not sure this is a good idea. Last night McGee didn't want any visitors."

"Well, yeah, but now the Bossman is with him. Even if he's still upset with us, he wouldn't stop us from seeing Gibbs, now would he?"

Unconvinced, Tony followed her down the hall. Ducky had warned them both last night that accepting what they had done and forgiving them would be two separate issues for McGee. Apparently Abby had decided to ignore all of Ducky's warnings and advice and just bully her way through his defenses. The least he could do for his teammate was to pull her back if needed, and he was pretty sure it was going to be needed.

-NCIS-

Once the McGees left, Gibbs returned to his post next to his sleeping agent. Even asleep he looked pained and restless, clutching at the blanket his mother had brought. Gibbs rested his hand over Tim's less damaged one and he immediately stilled. "Easy, Tim, you're not alone."

Focused on McGee, Gibbs didn't notice their arriving company until the door opened, startling Tim awake. They both looked up as Abby clomped into the room.

"Hey, look, McGee's awake. I told you, Tony."

For his part, Tony saw the expression on Tim's face and grabbed Abby's arm, preventing her from moving closer to the fragile man. "Abs, cool it. Hey, Boss, we just wanted to see how McGee was doing, but maybe it would be better if we didn't stay."

Gibbs not only saw, but felt Tim's withdrawal. "Yeah, Tony, I think that would be for the best."

Abby twisted free of Tony's grasp. "Okay, then I'll just visit with Gibbs. I won't even talk to McGee, in fact, we'll close the curtain and he won't even have to see us."

Gibbs stood and joined them at the door, but if Abby was expecting to get her way, she was sadly mistaken as he gently pushed her back through the door while Tony pulled from behind. "No, Abs."

"But, Gibbs."

"No."

"Gibbs!"

"Abby, this time it has to be about what McGee needs, not what anyone else wants. Even you." He firmly closed the door, ending the conversation.