Enter...the Team.
Deliberately driving separately into work, Tim and Gibbs arrived at their respective normal times, wanting no gossip when they were so determined to follow the rules. By the time Tim arrived in the squad room, Gibbs was just coming down the stairs from the Director's Office, hard copy of the request for Tim's career move in hand.
Tim's heart twisted even as he forced himself to smile. They'd talked about this the night before, following the chain of command and how they agreed on the career oriented reasoning. Although Tim was prepared to just sign the request already, Gibbs had reminded him of the need to be patient and wait on Vance.
As ready as Tim thought he was, it still sent a pang of bittersweet sorrow through his heart at the physical reminder now in front of him of what he was giving up - both in stepping off the team and in leaving Leroy for six months.
Apparently it showed on his face as Gibbs put a hand up, almost touching him, but not quite, stopping him in his tracks, speaking quietly enough that only his lover would hear him. "Not too late to change your mind."
Tim shook his head immediately. "No. Either way, I'd have to at least leave the team and I won't do that without taking steps to better myself while I have the chance."
"There is another way, Tim."
Tim's eyes came up, locking on to his lover's. They hadn't talked about any alternatives to this dilemma. Between the vacation jam-packed with things to do and time spent with Jackson, each other and the passion that flared to uncontrollable heights almost every time either one laid eyes on the other, they'd basically just let this topic rest until last night when they'd put everything Tim had in mind into a plan of action.
Throughout the entire day of rest, relaxation and simply basking in each other's company yesterday, almost no mention had been made of this, with a quiet deliberateness that neither of them had missed or addressed. Now Tim was almost wishing they had talked about it more.
"I can retire now." The older man offered without batting an eye.
Tim shook his head. "You're too good at what you do for that. NCIS needs you. This team needs you. Not to mention, you'd go stir crazy without this job."
"And you're sure this is what you want."
Tim looked at him. "I'm sure it's what I have to do."
For a long silent minute, they looked at each other, fed off each other's strength and determination. Finally, Gibbs gave him his private small smile, his voice quietly soothing, one lover to another. "Trust me, Tim. We'll be fine."
Tim breathed out, as if in relief, nodding silently before heading to his desk; stopping mid stride, as if he had something else on his mind.
Walking right behind him, Gibbs was at his elbow when he stopped. "What is it?"
Turning to the man he loved with all his heart, Tim looked at him with his heart in his eyes, "Promise me you'll start wearing a vest."
Shocked, Gibbs couldn't speak. After a brief moment of thought, he nodded. For Tim, he'd start taking the extra step to ensure his own safety. He owed him that much. Truth be told, they should all have been wearing them long before now. It might take some getting used to, but it was yet another change he was willing to accept without complaint.
Smiling in silent appreciation, Tim turned back around and headed for his desk. He booted up his computer as the Team Leader let out a deep breath and went to his own desk - ready to put his game face on and start the day.
Less than five golden silent moments later, Ziva and Tony arrived together, disrupting the peace and quiet – and heralding the return of the work day in full force.
After they'd exchanged their Monday morning greetings, Tony and Ziva's abridged tales of their vacations and watched the boss stroll out in search of more coffee, Tony teased. "So, McNolife, how was your Christmas Vacation?"
Keeping his focus glued to his computer, Tim huffed in quiet laughter as he answered without hesitation. "Most memorable week of my life, Tony."
"Reee-ly!" Tony squealed as he made his way over to Tim's desk with lightning speed. "Do tell!"
"Nope." Tim replied almost cheerfully. "Not happenin'."
"No, way, Probie! You don't get to drop a bomb like that and not fill us in on the details!" The Senior Field Agent demanded.
Carrying the long-suffering act on a little longer for the sheer fun of it, Tim finally breathed out a long sad sigh. "Oh, alright." Mentally he admonished himself not to play quite so loose with his words - he still wasn't ready to talk about the coming changes, since they hadn't been approved yet. He didn't have a poker face and he might give it away. That was one thing he did not want. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to get serious once more.
"Really? You're gonna tell us the details?" Tony's anticipation was almost child-like and it made it hard to resist him but somehow, Tim held firm.
"Later." He replied seriously.
"Great!" Tony crowed." Wait, not later, Probie, now! Start spillin' those beans…"
****Thwack****
"Ow! Boss? Uhm, Thanks?" Tony sputtered in confusion.
"Later. When you all come to dinner at my place after work. Get back to work!" Gibbs ordered without heat.
"At dinner? We're having dinner? Together? Wait, you know about these details already?" Tony's draw dropped but quickly reconnected itself with the help of the angry glare from the boss. "Right. He'll tell us at dinner, which we're going to boss's house for. Tonight. Together." Tony mumbled to himself in exaggerated confusion as he turned his attention back to his work.
****NCIS****
After a boring first hour to the morning, a call-out came in, rousing the troops. As they stood to gear up, Gibbs looked over at his youngest agent. "McGee. Want you to stay here and start building the case. Richard Michaels, Petty Officer, First Class. Want everything you have on him by the time we get there."
"On it, Boss." Tim replied as he looked up at him, watching him gear up.
As the older man rounded his desk, he felt his lover's eyes on him. Looking over at him, he found Tim glaring at him angrily. Was he pissed at being left behind? Not the first time so why would that piss him off? "Something wrong, McGee?"
"You forgot something." Was all Tim offered although he remained glaring at him, as if he wasn't budging on the issue until it was resolved to his liking.
"Promise me you'll start wearing a vest."
His lover's heart-felt request came back to Gibbs now. Nodding, he smiled softly in apology before turning to his Senior Field Agent. "DiNozzo, requisition vests for the team, double time. Meet us in the car."
Picking up the phone, Tony quickly placed the order and set the phone down, but instead of following after the Team Leader, he took himself over to the probie's desk. "What the hell's goin' on, Probie? Even when Ari was targeting him, the boss hated wearing a vest. Now, what - suddenly, he just decides to make us all wear one?"
"You'd better get goin', Tony. They're liable to leave without ya." Tim reminded him coolly.
"Aw, hell! They would, wouldn't they?" Tony griped as he turned and headed for the stairs.
"Yeah, where do you think you learned it from?" Tim laughed, happy to have avoided that vest conversation but even happier that Leroy was serious about wearing one. Tim just prayed this last time out without them, would be a safe time.
***NCIS***
Three hours later and the case was already closed, another drunken sailor missing curfew but nonetheless alive and well, put them back on cold cases before the morning was over. The call for lunch brought sighs of relief from all three of the younger agents.
The afternoon passed quickly in a haze of cold case fact re-visiting, the vests were delivered for the team and when they had completed their paper work for the morning's case, the Team Leader let them go at an early hour. Agreeing to meet at Gibbs' home in an hour and a half, Tony and Ziva left.
Gibbs turned to his youngest agent, who'd stubbornly refused to look at him since that moment the team had started to leave out earlier in the morning. "Vance wants to see you."
Tim swallowed hard and nodded in understanding.
"C'mon, let's go."
"Both of us?" Tim asked in surprise, finally looking his way, only to find him already heading out of the squad room, obviously expecting Tim to be on his heels.
"Yup. Recommendation came from me, but it's crazy enough – he has to hear it from you that you're seriously willing to go through with it." Gibbs reminded him as he led the way up the stairs.
"Hell of a surprise to come back to." Vance complained as soon as they stepped inside his office and shut the door, the toothpick clenched between his teeth as he glared at both his agents. "Can't say I was happy to find this request on my desk when I got back from my day of meetings. There was a time you couldn't wait for me to put your team back together, Gibbs. Now you want me to tear it apart again."
"It is a big change." Gibbs admitted without missing a beat.
"Change isn't what bothers me, Gibbs!" The Director argued. "It's this coming out of left field that bothers me. You never once said anything to me about making changes in Agent McGee's career. Now, all of a sudden, you want me to ship him off to go afloat? Have you forgotten we're talking about your agent who can't step foot on a dock without getting seasick?"
"Not anymore." Gibbs replied as he looked Vance straight on. "McGee's taken care of that problem."
"So, he knew about this?"
"We talked about it."
"Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why now? Why did you talk about it with him when you never said a word to me about it?"
"It's time, Leon. McGee's career needs to move forward. This is a step in that direction."
"Oh, it's a step, alright. A big one. But, I'm not buyin' it. There something goin' on between you two?"
Gibbs kept his eyes on Vance. "Are you gonna agree to this or not, Leon?"
"Just so happens I do have a spot opening up on the USS Sea Hawk." The Director hedged.
"That a yes?"
"That's an 'I'll think about it', Gibbs." Vance bit out testily as he glared at the Team Leader. "First, let's talk about how it is Agent McGee's managed to fix the problem of his acute seasickness."
****NCIS****
Twenty minutes later found Leon Vance finally convinced the two agents in front of him hadn't lost their minds – and were actually dead serious in their request for the younger one to be reassigned off the MCRT and sent to serve afloat for the next six months. Still, something about this seemed 'off' to him. He needed answers, and his gut was telling him that the one he was looking for lay in the question they deliberately avoided answering earlier. Wanting to have all the pieces to the puzzle, he pushed for it again. "Still waitin' for the answer to my question."
"There is now." Gibbs told him quietly, answering the question he hadn't forgotten, but wasn't about to repeat or lie about.
"So, the reason you've come up with this idea is because Agent McGee needs to be moved off your team before any rules get broken." To his credit, Leon didn't even blink at this unexpected turn of events.
"Not the only reason, Leon." Gibbs spoke again, not willing for Tim to step into the firing line until Vance had gotten all of his initial disbelief and anger, if that's what it was, out of his system. He didn't want his agent taking the heat on this.
"Thought you preferred agents that were more like DiNozzo?" Vance reminded him of a long ago conversation he'd had with him.
"While you preferred the Agency's Agents be more like McGee. " Gibbs replied without bite as he clarified the statement. "People change, Leon. Nothing wrong with either one. Nothing wrong with changin' either. "
"Mmm. Alright., Consider it approved. "Agent McGee, you'll leave in two weeks. In the meantime, you move to second shift – keep your desk – while you do whatever it is you need to do to back up your files, shore up the back-up of all your case-work - I expect a completely clean hard-drive by the time you ship out." The Director offered dismissively. "And a MCRT that can electronically survive without you better than they've done in the past. I'm leaving that up to you to solve as well."
Gibbs nodded his understanding and willingness to comply as Tim verbally offered the expected. "Yes, Sir. Thank you Sir."
"Hmm. Mmm." The Director remarked. "Let's see if you're still thanking me in sixmonths when you're still puking every day, trying to do your job with no sleep."
Tim held his smile in place. It didn't matter what the man said, he'd gotten his wish – he now had his chance for forever with Leroy without damaging either career. That was what counted. Together, the two agents silently left the man's office, both breathing a sigh of relief.
Walking away from Vance's office, Leroy pulled Tim by his sleeve back against the wall and tried to speak to what he knew must be on his lover's mind. The days before he'd learned to appreciate Tim as much as he had Tony and gotten to know him, had been back when Leroy had been admittedly more narrow minded and hadn't been as nice a person as he'd become since then.
He needed Tim to understand that he'd told Vance the truth. There was nothing wrong with Tim's ability to be an agent. He was a damned good one and nothing Gibbs said a few years ago would erase that. Still, he felt he needed to explain.
"Tim.…"
Tim shook his head as he glanced at him momentarily. "The others will be at the house soon." Without another word, the young man led the way to the elevator – and the ensuing silence as they stepped onto the box and the doors closed, and it was just the two of them alone again was so thick, Leroy was at a loss as to how to break through it.
Still, not one to give up just because the going got a little tough, Leroy tried again. "Tim."
"Leroy, there's nothing to worry about." Tim offered quietly as he looked at him without any hint of trouble. "Honest."
"Awfully quiet." Leroy worried.
"Meeting up with the firing squad tends to bring that out in me." Tim quipped with the straightest of faces as the elevator opened up and let others on.
***NCIS***
The ride to Gibbs' house was quiet, no words spoken between them. Never much of a talker, the silence did not bother Leroy near as much as the realization that Tim was keeping him at a distance right now. The older man sighed deeply, he hated it when these moments came up between them, but, then again, they'd worked through every one of them – and quite passionately in the end.
Reminding himself of that fact and of his faith in Tim's trust in him, the Team Leader schooled his features, put his game face back in place as he parked the car and headed inside; knowing Tim would want to come in a bit later. Still it bothered him that his lover wouldn't even look at him right now. Even worse, was the knowledge that he was having to stay out of the mix when Tim was ready to talk to the team; stand back and listen while they gave him hell.
He knew Tim could handle it, but it didn't feel good. Leroy hoped they'd get over their initial reactions and rally around their teammate in the way he deserved to be rallied around. If they didn't support his decisions – both to take the job he'd asked for and to love Leroy instead of a woman he hadn't yet found and wouldn't love him the way he deserved to be loved; then the Team Leader would be tempted to knock some heads together. But, for now, he'd have to play it by ear and let Tim handle it.
Walking in to the kitchen, he greeted his father. "Hey, Dad. Okay here by yourself all day?"
"How was your day, Son?" Jackson asked without answering the question.
The senior Gibbs' day had been fine and the peace and quiet had been great. He had discovered some interesting signs in his son's home that his boy truly was happy. This gave him comfort, combined with what he had seen of Leroy's relationship with Tim on their vacation and all day at home yesterday. The pictures of Shannon and Kelly were again hanging on the walls and the photo albums were sitting out where people could look through them.
The windows now had curtains, the fireplace had been redone and the furniture had been replaced with newer, more comfortable furniture. The only thing he hadn't seen was anything that clearly belonged to Tim. Jackson had shrugged it off as the couple just not being ready to let anyone in yet. He figured that's what tonight's dinner was for; well, that and to drop the bomb of Tim's leaving. It was gonna be a hell of a night. He was glad he had a ride back to Stillwater coming for him at eight.
"Complicated." Leroy's answer broke into the older man's musings.
"That a vest making your shirt fit too tight, Jethro?" His father asked in surprise.
"Tim's idea." Gibbs supplied as he stepped up to the coffee maker to pour himself a fresh cup. "Appreciate the coffee."
"Good for Tim and you're welcome for the coffee." His father replied with approval.
Seeing the serious look on his son's face as the younger man turned from the coffee maker with his cup filled, he couldn't stop the question from coming out. "What's wrong?"
"Team'll be here shortly."
"I know. You told me. Ducky called, too. He said he and Jimmy, is it? Will be a little late. No, wait. He said, Jimmy won't be here but he will even though he would be a little late."
"You order take out with the money I left here for you? Save the trouble of cookin'?"
"Of course not! I enjoy cooking, Jethro, you know that! Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes. "Where's Tim?"
"Probably gone for a walk."
"Oh? Why's that?" Jackson asked with concern.
"I dunno. Somethin' about havin' dinner in front of a firing squad."
***NCIS***
Dinner was a lively affair, with a cacophony of questions and answers with everyone happy to see Jackson and hear him tell tales of his and Gibbs' fishing on Christmas in Texas, Louisiana and all the other places they saw on their vacation.
With a well-aimed question, all conversation turned completely away from their vacation, onto the week-long experiences of the others. As Jackson's pot roast and roasted vegetable dinner was completely consumed, the team camaraderie came out in full force, with laughter and lively discussion all the way around.
While the younger four joked and talked with Jackson, Ducky and Gibbs quietly cleared away the table, silently glaring Tim into his seat when he attempted to get up and help. When the last of the dishes were cleared away, Jackson took that as his cue. Standing to his feet, he thanked them, told them he was happy to see them all and retreated to help in the kitchen.
Joining his son and his son's long-time friend in the kitchen, Jackson inadvertently found himself a silent eavesdropper in a conversation between his son and the team's Medical Examiner, on site physician, confidante and friend.
"…been friends a long time, Duck."
"Yes, Jethro. We have. And in all the years we've been friends, I've come to notice you always begin our talks with that reminder, when you have something extremely personal and troubling you wish to tell me."
"Tim's leaving."
"Our Timothy?"
Gibbs huffed out a small laugh. "Yeah."
"Whatever for?" Ducky asked in shock.
"For me."
"You're asking him to leave your team?" The complete shock the older man was feeling was written all over his face.
"Hell, no, Ducky. I'd never do that. You know me better than that. This is his call. His decision."
"Then I'm afraid I don't understand."
Gibbs dropped the dishtowel on the counter in front of him and leveled a look at his friend.
"Ah. It is for love that Timothy is making such a monumental sacrifice. I take it the two of you have come to this relationship rather suddenly?"
"C'mon, Duck. You know that wouldn't have happened. Neither one of us are talkers." Gibbs replied as he stepped over to the coffee maker and poured himself another cup – suddenly desperate for the jolt of caffeine.
"Well, I'm afraid you are right on that account. So, then this relationship developed slowly? Might I ask when it was you first realized your feelings for him had changed?"
"Not sure. Guess when I found him sittin' in the rain after the Forrest Case."
"The woman we had to rush to the hospital when we found her?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, dear. We were all rather harsh with Timothy on that case, weren't we?"
"Yeah, well, not as harsh as he was with himself. Guy was sittin' in the rain for so long, I thought I was gonna have to call you to treat him for hypothermia."
"And from there this relationship blossomed, I presume?"
"Came about real slow. He asked me to help him build his sister a Hope chest for Christmas. Took us two months to get it done. By that time…"
"The feelings had begun to grow."
"Yeah."
"Well, I for one am most happy for you, Jethro. However, I must advise you to tread carefully. Timothy has also been through quite the wringer where his heart is concerned and I do not wish to see either of you get hurt."
"Thanks Duck. I know he has and I promise I'll do my best not to hurt him."
"I know. But I do wonder if you are truly certain what you feel for him."
"I know I haven't felt like this in a very long time, Duck."
"Sounds like you are certain, after all."
"As certain as I was with Shannon." Gibbs poured himself a mug of coffee.
"But haven't been since." Ducky recollected seriously.
"Until now." Gibbs offered, looking directly at his friend. "We're both still workin' on getting comfortable with changing."
"Because you were both heterosexual until now. May I remind you, Jethro, that there is nothing wrong with change."
"Tim's not my first, Duck. Although it has been a very long time." The younger man hid behind his coffee mug as he took a long drink of the fresh brew.
"I see. Understandably, this is a much bigger change for Timothy than for you. Well in that case, I propose that I keep an eye on the both of you with a periodic dinner at my house or at least a chat over coffee."
"That'd be great, Duck. Not likely anytime soon though, since Tim's leavin'." Gibbs reminded him as he drank more of his coffee.
"Ah, yes. We've come back to Timothy's sacrifice." Ducky commented smoothly as he went on to quote something fitting.
"If you love someone you would be willing to give up everything for them, but if they loved you back they'd never ask you to."
Gibbs smiled softly as his friend quoted from something he'd obviously read, before finally looking at his father as he set his empty mug in the sink. "Hey, Dad, gonna stand there all day or join in? I need to go see how the team's doin'. Need to make sure they don't give Tim too much of a hard time when he tells them." He headed back to the dining room, hoping all was well.
****NCIS*****
As Tim fell silent where he sat next to Abby, he waited until they'd wound down their discussions and turned their curiosity on him – and his obvious absentia from talking about his own vacation. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the group fell silent, all turning in his direction like a pack of vultures ready to strike.
"Alright, McSecretive. Start talkin'!" Tony demanded. "We've shared all our details. Now it's your turn."
Tim looked at each one of them in turn and then looked back at Tony before he answered him. "Like I said, it was the most memorable vacation of my life."
"I recall you've never taken a vacation before, Probie." Tony sniped. "At least, not for purely fun reasons so try again."
"Okay, then. It was the most memorable experience of my entire life." Tim clarified in a calm voice.
The flood of exclamations was like a tidal wave crashing down on his ears.
"Details, Probie! Details!"
"McGee, that does not tell us anything."
"C'mon, Timmy, you can do better than that!"
Blowing out a frustrated sigh, he remained silent, letting them all get it out. He knew they would be chomping at the bit for more information than that – but he had nothing to say until they'd finished expressing their disbelief and blowing off steam.
From out of nowhere, the revelation hit Abby like a ton of bricks as she nearly exploded with the force of her announcement. "Oh, my God! You've fallen in love!" "Timmy! That's awesome! Give us details!"
"No." Tim shook his head in adamant refusal.
"What? No way, McGee! You're not denying it so it must be true. Now that we know that you've fallen in love, you know you gotta spill the details." Tony demanded.
"No."
"McGee!"
"Why not, Probie?" Tony's tone had surprisingly enough turned serious. "Afraid this one's another loser or thief or would-be assassin and we'll figure it out before you do?"
Tim shook his head. "No, Tony. That's not it. Okay. I'll tell you all about it. But first, I have something more important to tell you."
"More important? More important than you finding love? Alright, go for it. Whatever it is must be huge if it's more important than love."
Looking at each of them in turn, Tim let out a breath and just told them straight. "Tony. Abby, Ziva, I'm leaving the team."
