Some bumps in the road for our couple - oh, but bring that fan!


In the kitchen, they were surprised to find Jackson already up and cooking them a nice breakfast of eggs and sausage with toast. Even the coffee was already brewing.

"Appreciate this, Dad." Leroy offered as he sat down at the table. "You sleep okay?"

"Slept fine, Jethro. Better than I expected to in a cabin in the woods of a State Park."

"You found the brochures I picked up for you. I'll bet you read every one of them." Tim remarked with a smile.

"About this place? Oh, yeah. You picked a great place, Tim. This place has everything from hiking and swimming in a pool to fishing and swimming in the lake!"

"And yet the only thing we're here for is the spacious cabins that have real beds instead of bunk beds." Tim quipped with pure laughter in his expression.

As the Gibb men laughed with him, Tim stored the image of this memory safely away in his treasure chest, knowing that his photographic memory would keep each detail – the smiles, the laughter of both men - fresh in his mind. It felt great.

"Actually, since we'll be here for two days, we're here for whatever else you want to do while we're here." Tim corrected his earlier statement sheepishly as he watched the other two men's eyes light up at that news.

"Coffee's ready." Jackson turned to the coffee maker.

"How was your trip, Dad? We were so tired last night; I didn't get the chance to ask you."

"Oh, it was fine. Even the layover was fine." Jackson answered his son's question calmly as he poured the three of them their coffee.

"How long was it?" Leroy took a swig of his coffee while he waited for the answer.

"The trip?"

"The layover." The younger Gibbs set his cup down and looked pointedly as his father with that correction.

"Doesn't matter, Jethro. I rather enjoyed myself. "Jackson turned back to the stove and served up the three plates of eggs and sausage.

"Dad. How. Long. Was. It?"

"A little over five hours." The almost off-handed answer felt like a sonic boom had been let off around them.

Turning to the youngest man in the room, the one who had made all the arrangements for their travel plans, Gibbs' angry eyes flashed as his growl reinforced the strength of his anger even while his father was setting his breakfast down in front of him. "Five hours?"

"Jethro! Leave him alone! I was fine!" Jackson Gibbs admonished his son as he set Tim's plate down in front of him.

Tim remained calm as he looked not back at his lover, but at Jack. "How'd it go?"

"Well, Tim. Oddly enough there were two security guards who took an active interest in my well-being while I waited for my next flight, almost from the moment I stepped off the plane! In fact, if they hadn't been wearing those uniforms and name tags and such, I would have been worried they were up to no good! "

Tim smiled softly. "They took good care of you then?" He picked up his fork and dug into his breakfast while he waited to hear the older man's answer.

"Oh, did they ever! Wasn't fifteen minutes between one or the other stopping by to check up on me and talk to me; always bringing me something to eat or drink when they did. Heck, they even escorted me to the john, for heaven's sake!" Jackson answered as he joined them at the table with his own plate and sat down to eat. "And they had me sit where they could keep an eye on me from their post!"

"So, in other words, you weren't in any danger from being mugged or mistreated by anyone because those two …" Tim asked quietly after swallowing one more bite of food.

"Made me their pet project or so it seemed from the minute I walked through the door. Have to admit, it was kinda nice to have younger people stopping long enough in their daily lives to concern themselves with an old man like me. But now that I think about it, that wasn't odd at all, it was you, wasn't it Tim?" Jackson asked as he raised his coffee cup up to his mouth and took a drink.

"I wasn't about to let you sit in an airport for that long and not have someone reliable and trustworthy looking out for you, Jack." Tim quietly explained why he'd made those arrangements for the older man. Looking at Gibbs finally, but only for a brief glance, Tim looked back at Jack. "Excuse me. I need to take a shower. We have to leave in 30 minutes. Thank you for breakfast."

As he walked from the room, he could feel the eyes of both older men on him, but still he kept going and he kept his head up. He'd done nothing wrong and if Leroy couldn't trust him more than what he'd just exhibited in front of his father, there was little Tim could do about it. The one thing he wouldn't do was feel guilty for any of it. Tim stripped quickly and jumped in the shower, letting the steaming massage of the water soothe him and his aching muscles.

***NCIS***

"What the hell's the matter with you?" Jackson Gibbs turned on his son, his fork waving in the air for emphasis. "That young man adores you; trusts you with his life and his heart! Don't you know him at all? I barely know him, but in the few times I've met him and talked to him, I know him enough to trust him more than you just did!"

"I know, Dad." Leroy breathed out almost dejectedly.

"You know? Then what the hell was that all about, Jethro? What exactly is it that you know, son?"

"I know he'd have done the same thing if you'd only been laid over for an hour."

"So, you do know him better than that."

"Yeah, Dad. I do."

"And trust, Leroy?" His father asked, reverting back to the name he used for his son when he was deeply concerned about him- in this case, obviously being worried about how the younger man was feeling.

"With my life." The normally quietly stoic younger man answered without question.

"That makes two of us, son. It was my fault for procrastinating about the trip; the reason his choices in flights for me were limited. You should have known it wasn't anything he had done. Now I think you'd better stop wasting time trying to convince me that you trust him more than this and go make amends to that young man of yours before his heart breaks."

"He's tougher than that." Leroy replied firmly.

"Oh? So, he's immune to feelings then?" Jackson returned dryly.

Leroy glared at his father and turned to leave the room, desperate to fix things with Tim. Stopping, he turned around to make sure the elderly man was going to be okay while he and Tim talked. He had to smile as his father walked toward the front door of the cabin and pulled it open, hat in hand.

Stopping to look back at his son, Jackson spoke. "I'll be outside lookin' around the place. Don't make me have to come back in and get you two!"

With a silent huff of laughter, Leroy stepped inside the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Pausing just inside the door, he gave himself a hard slap to the head for doubting Tim, for even thinking of doubting him. What the hell brought that on in the first place? He hadn't doubted Tim with anything or felt even a twinge of mistrust in him in years, not since his early probie days!

He had to admit, that the reaction had been a knee-jerk one, brought on by the thought of his elderly father being stuck so far from home in a huge airport, vulnerable and alone. He knew Tim would understand and that they'd work through it, but in hindsight, he wished he'd thought before opening his mouth this time and he vowed to think twice before opening his mouth the next time.

***NCIS***

Tim hated that Leroy was angry at him, but he also had faith in the man and his sense of fairness; so much so that he knew the older man would not stay angry at him for long. In fact, knowing him as well as he did now, Tim figured, as he continued to let the massaging heated water soothe his body and his tension, that right about now his lover would be realizing his misjudgment and the hurt it had brought with it. They'd be working through it and coming out on the other side of this before too long.

Getting out of the shower, Tim quickly towel dried himself before wrapping one towel around his waist, tucking it inside at the top and using a second towel to dry his hair. Padding barefoot back to the bedroom, he opened the silent door and stopped in the doorway at the sight in front of him.

The sight of his lover leaning against the window and staring pensively out of it had Tim's heart skipping a beat. He wasn't happy to be right about this at the expense of Leroy's happiness and sense of peace and contentment. Nothing was supposed to have spoiled this Christmas vacation and yet, they were already going through their second conflict. They may be minor skirmishes or even just bumps in the road like last night, but they were still important, especially in terms of the bigger picture of who they were to each other and for each other.

Enough was enough. It was time to put an end to this one and let the happiness back into this trip and this relationship. Walking up to his lover, Tim stopped just inches from him. There was nothing he could do until Leroy verbally let it be known Tim wasn't in the dog house with him anymore. Until that door was opened, the younger man couldn't move things anywhere.

As his lover stepped up beside him, Leroy breathed in deeply, the smell of freshness and coconut shampoo that was all Tim, filling his senses, filling him with a wave of want so deep, he had to catch his breath to hang on. Turning his eyes to his, the older man spoke first. "I know you better than I gave you credit for out there."

Tim smiled, his eyes bright with the light of it as he stepped closer. That was all he'd needed to hear. The door had just been opened wide and this time, nothing was going to stop Tim from stepping inside.

"Tim, I..."

A finger held up to his lips stopped his words and when that finger was replaced with lips that tenderly kissed him, Leroy swallowed hard.

Tim's hands slipped underneath the older man's shirts and blazed a trail all over his chest, working their way down to his navel before slipping free of the man's clothing and moving to the front of his waist and going further south still, ghosting over the prize they sought, through the fabric of his jeans.

As his lover's breath caught, even while still locked in the soul-searing kiss, Tim's hands unzipped the pants and slipped inside, cradling the soft, yet hardening, thickening muscle, pulling a low moan of pleasure from Leroy, muffled through their kiss.

Extracting the now swollen and weeping cock and lavishing it with attention in gentle sweeping caresses mixed in with an occasional stilled cradling along with a thumb stroke across the tip, Tim gently began to withdraw the older man's mouth from the kiss at the same time, until Leroy was left breathless yet so hot from the molten lava Tim had poured into his veins; was still pouring, he felt like he was on fire; his eyes glazed and dark with wanton lust.

Reaching out, Tim took Leroy's hands in his and locked heated gazes with him as he sank to his knees on the floor and swallowed him whole.

"OH! God, Tim!" Leroy felt his knees nearly buckle and he gripped the hands that held his tightly as he did his best to stand still while the rush of pure pleasure washed through him. "Tim!"

Without looking away or letting go of him, the younger man continued to show his lover just how much he treasured him and what they had. This newer level of intimacy was one he deeply cherished as he poured into it all that he felt for Leroy. Tim lavished the man now with everything he had to give as he sent him higher and higher up the heights of ecstasy until the ultimate release was upon him, and the older man couldn't hold back, his body trembling though his spine tingling orgasm, only the strength of Tim's hands locked in his, holding him up. "NGGHH!"

Licking his lover clean, Tim stood up and kissed the man gently once more before pulling back. "We're gonna be late."

"Late is good." Leroy offered weakly as he tried to steal a kiss.

"Not this time." Tim argued back seriously. Kissing his lover one last time, he retreated to the bathroom to freshen up, leaving the older man to finish getting ready.

***NCIS****

Ten minutes later, the three of them were on their way, once again, going somewhere only Tim knew about.

"This Jeep is a real nice rental car, Tim. Must have cost a pretty penny." Jackson pointed out from the backseat as Tim drove them out of the state park.

"It's a Grand Cherokee and it wasn't that expensive to rent. Only have it until we go back to the airport." Tim offered, deliberately leaving them wanting for more. "Whenever that might be."

"Tim." Leroy growled.

The young man smiled. "Sorry, Leroy – not gonna get me to give anything away. Besides, I already let it slip that we're here for two days, so let's just enjoy our day - it is Christmas Eve, after all."

"Christmas at Lake Bastrop?" Jackson asked he noticed the sign for the place as Tim turned in at the Lake's South Shore Park. "And not even five minutes from the State Park we're staying at?"

"Yup. Lake Bastrop is a reservoir. Best hot springs fishing in the country – or so I've heard. Power plant lakes like Bastrop can turn winter fishing into good bass fishing."

"I'm guessing you can even tell us what kind of fish we can expect to find here?" The Senior Gibbs joked.

"It's been said that you can find a variety of fish including bluegill, redear sunfish, blue catfish, largemouth bass, channel catfish, crappie and flathead catfish. The lake is 906 acres in size and 450 feet deep." Tim replied with a straight face."

"Go on." The now smirking middle-aged man requested, knowing his lover wasn't finished by a long shot.

With a smirk of his own, Tim shared what he knew. "The crappie are said to love wax worms, the redear sunfish - frogs and the copper nose- maggots." He couldn't help but shudder at that last piece of information.

"Now, can you tell us what we're doin' today?" Leroy teased. "Except not catching copper-noses."

With a look of relief, Tim smiled as he gave in. "Oh, alright. You've been really good about letting me keep my secrets. Guess I can reward you this time! You and Jack have, for the next 8 hours and another 8 tomorrow if you want, the licenses to fish here and the boat to fish from anywhere on the lake or in the springs you want, though you might want to try the hot water discharge canal, first."

"Tim!" Jackson was not expecting that. "Wait a minute, young man, what are you going to be doing?"

"I'll be on board with you – later. When you come back in for lunch. But, for this morning, I'll be working at getting better at fishing from the shore. Don't get me wrong, I know how to fish already, I just want more practice with different lures and their weights and casting; that kind of stuff, before I actually go after the good catches."He grinned.

"I don't understand."The elderly man admitted.

"I thought it would be nice for you and Leroy to have some fishing time alone together – father and son – on Christmas Day? Isn't that what you told me you'd love to be able to do, Jack? I know this is a day early, but it's still Christmas, right?"

"You remembered that? We had that conversation back in May!" Jackson asked in awe.

"When I was planning the details of this trip – for Leroy."

"You mean to tell me that the original plans didn't include you?"

"We weren't building a relationship then, Jack. The original plans I made, were for three people because I figured Leroy would have someone in mind to go with him, an old friend, maybe, as well as you."

"I see." The elder Gibbs commented.

"You said you were coming out with us after lunch." Leroy looked him directly on, his eyes searching for what Tim wasn't sharing.

"Unless you'd rather spend all day with just your dad. That'd be fine with me. But, yeah, I was planning on going out on the boat with you then." The younger man replied without any sign of disappointment at the idea. He wanted father and son to enjoy this Christmas Eve day together – as much as they could.

"Why would you do that?" Leroy's question went straight to Tim's heart while it obviously irked the older Gibbs, who didn't understand where it was coming from.

"Jethro!"

"You get seasick just looking at boats." Leroy reminded him with concern, ignoring his father's response. "And don't think I didn't notice that extra vitamin you took this morning or that extra piece of luggage you slipped into the jeep. "What's going on?"

"Merry Christmas, gentlemen! Thank you for coming to Lake Bastrop! Your boat is ready for you." The park attendant greeted them , a battery operated lantern lighting the air around them as they stepped from the car at the parking for the boat users in the pre-dawn darkness.

"Oh? Already?" Jackson asked in surprise.

"Yes, sir. It's that one there," The man pointed to the red Nitro 640XLTournament Style Bass Boat, docked nearby. "Fishing gear is already on board. It's got a 16', single console, 50HP with trolling motor and fish finder. If you need a few minutes to look it over and make sure there isn't something else you'd like to take with you, that'd be fine. Boat's yours for the next 8 hours."

"Lake fishing for the day in the middle of winter." Jack marveled. "Whoever would have thought of it?"

"Tim." Leroy smirked.

The young man smiled in return as he turned back to the attendant who looked like he had more to say.

"Mr. McGee, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. As you requested, the second boat will be ready at eight this morning. The driver of the boat staying close to shore for you will be already on board when you get back here."

"Thank you. And thank you for being willing to have all of this ready for us." Tim offered as he shook the older man's hand.

"No, sir. Thank you! It's a pleasure to see people such as yourselves enjoying Mother Nature here in our great park – especially on a holiday such as this one. Enjoy yourselves!

If you need anything, just call the number on the business card we sent you with your reservation confirmation back in May. In the meantime, I'll be in the little office right there if you need anything before you head out for your fishing."

"We will. Thanks." Tim offered before the man turned and walked away.

"Tim." Leroy turned to his lover.

"Mmm?"

"Talk to me." That concerned tone that always went straight to Tim's heart did so now, too and it had him realizing it wasn't fair to keep things a secret any longer – just as it wasn't something he wanted to risk ruining the trip over. He'd just have to trust Leroy to handle it with his usual calm – and that the older man would wait and play investigator later when they were alone.

With a deep sigh, Tim stepped closer to his lover, for the moment not giving a damn who saw them this close. "I need to be able to do my job better."

"Where the hell'd you get an idea like that?"

"When we have a case onboard a ship or a boat or even a sub." Tim pushed through to his point. "I don't want to have to keep worrying about it anymore. It slows us down and gets in the way of me doing the best job I can do. Thought I'd use this trip to try out some new things that supposedly work without making me sick to my stomach or make me fall asleep like Dramamine does."

"And the extra vitamin?"

"Ginger."

"A natural remedy for seasickness." Jackson piped in quietly as he heard the conversation from just over Tim's shoulder.

"Right."

"And the extra piece of luggage in the car?" Leroy pushed for answers, wanting Tim to have everything out in the open.

"Sea Bands." Tim answered without looking away. "Wrist bands that are supposed to do the same thing. I thought if I tried them out, see if they got in the way of anything I have to do with my hands or possibly get caught on something I'd be able to rule them out as an option."

"There a reason, you couldn't tell me about this before now?" Leroy asked with a touch of disappointment that Tim hadn't talked to him about it.

"Didn't want it to be anything we focused on until absolutely necessary, Leroy." Tim replied quietly. "This trip isn't about my winning the war on my seasickness."

Letting out a sigh, Leroy smiled softly. "Okay." Turning to his father, he asked the older man. "You ready to go check out this boat?"

"Time's a wastin', Jethro." Jackson sniped as he led the way to the boat.

Turning back to his lover, Leroy issued one request. "Keep your phone on."

Tim nodded. "I will. Have fun with your dad."

The wistful tone in his lover's well-wishes tore at Leroy's heart. Since Tim had told him last May about his parents' deaths, he'd realized it was too late for Tim and the senior McGee to mend their fences, so there was no good reason to let this go there now.

"Thanks to you, I will. Can't thank you enough, Tim." His own throat closed with the emotion he couldn't quite express.

"Oh, yes you can – tonight when we get back." Tim smiled slyly; deeply appreciating the real Leroy he was seeing, while not wanting them to get sidetracked.

With a smirk aimed at Tim's thinking, Leroy turned back to his father. "C'mon, Dad. Like you said, "Time's a wastin'."

***NCIS****

Two hours later found Tim feeling better about his ability as a novice fisherman as he packed up his rented gear and headed for the boat he was going to use to see if the ginger root supplement would work for him. Before he stepped foot on the boat, he took another tablet and washed it down with water. Giving himself a few minutes, he took stock of what little fishing gear he was taking with him. With the tackle box containing his bobbers and weights, a hand-held net and plenty of fishing line - he was ready to go. He wasn't going far from land anyway, so whatever he had would be enough to keep him busy enough that the next two hours would fly by.

As he stepped on board the boat, he noticed the queasy feeling that usually overtook his stomach until he hurled, wasn't there. He didn't feel sick - at all. He wished he could share this moment with Leroy, but he'd savor the victory with him later tonight. For now, he'd spend the next two hours finally being able to be comfortable on a boat. He was going fishing – out on a lake.