Tony smiled and joked when he got nervous or afraid or felt uncomfortable. Hell he smiled anytime he really felt most things – except anger.
He had learnt early that people would like him, often ease up on him or even join in with his banter when he smiled. His smile had saved him from many things over the years, including thinking about his real feelings most of the time. So now as he stood alongside Gibbs and Ziva watching the poor quality black and white security footage of his friend pounding on the front door of the house they had shared, he smiled awkwardly even as his stomach burned from shame and anxiety.
Any concept of the joke being funny was long gone as Tony watched McGee shiver violently in the cold wind, his hand running through his hair trying to get rid of the water from his shower. Even though the tape was rough, they had zoomed in from a camera in place at the end of the street, Tony swore he could see the goose pimples on Tim's pale smooth skin.
Even though there was no sound, the body language was clear. You could see the quiet despair rolling off McGee's hunched shoulders, his entire body tense as he tried to shelter in the doorway, his left hand clutching the totally inadequate towel around his waist.
The thought of McGee lost in a towel had held firm in Ziva's imagination far too long that now faced with the reality she couldn't help but stare. She knew he was taller than her by quite some margin but she hadn't realised just how long limbed he was. He was always wearing layers of clothes, a tee shirt even underneath his business shirt, a jacket or sports coat and even his trench sometimes over that. It bulked him up so that even after he had lost weight and with his boyish features he seemed almost stocky. But stripped down practically naked she could see how defined he really was. His arms seemed so long she could imagine they could easily wrap around her small waist twice over. And his legs……... She shook her head. Someone else had him now and she had to concentrate!
Ziva turned and gave Tony a look that quickly wiped the smile right off his face and set his guts churning again. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. They were a close team. They had to be to trust their lives to each other. That they were now watching their friend suffering as a result not of a Bad Guy but from the actions of a supposed friend seemed like the worst sort of betrayal. The fact that it was the most gentle, patient member of the team, someone who would never consider such cruelties in return twisted the knife deeper into Tony's guts almost as if Ziva had done it herself.
The three of them watched silently as Tim stood back from the door, appraising the situation. Gibbs almost smiled as he watched McGee turn and assess the front yard, the neighbours and then stepping back further any access via the roof. Some people wore their hearts on their sleeve, well McGee wore this thoughts on his face. You could see even from this distance how he discounted any attempt in his current semi naked condition climbing onto the roof. Gibbs felt strangely proud of Tim that after a few minutes in an admittedly embarrassing situation he had simply done what a good agent did and just got on with it- that being to gain access to the house and get on with his job.
He remembered the first time they had meet and how he could hardly see McGee's face as it was so covered up with the white mask as he tried not to retch from the sight and smell of the white bubbling submariners body soaked in acid at Norfolk. He had certainly travelled a long way since then and had become an invaluable member of the team. Gibbs fists clenched as he swore to himself that he would make sure that Timothy McGee would be back with his team and his family save and sound.
They watched as McGee seemed to make a decision and walked further from the house, his head turning left and right to apparently view the road beyond the edge of the camera screen. He then turned and started to head to his right towards the large tree in the front yard when suddenly he froze, the alarm etched through every ridged muscle in his body.
Here it comes! Tony felt like he was going to be sick as he watched the reason his team mate and friend was missing.
Tim slowly turned and stood still on the edge of the screen. Gibbs narrowed his eyes trying to read as much as he could from the poor footage. McGee was taking deep breathes trying to calm himself and was he talking to someone??
'Zoom out!' Gibbs ordered the deeply stressed security technician who had spent the previous hour searching out and pulling up the camera footage from the remote almost obsolete camera. As the footage zoomed out Gibbs could just make out the side of a large black tinted SUV of some kind, most of which seemed to be covered by the rolling foliage of the large tree tossing in the chill evening wind.
Gibbs looked hard back at the now faint figure of McGee. Not for the first time did Gibbs curse his failing eyesight as he squinted at the screen. It was hard to tell as only part of his face was visible to the camera and the trees foliage were casting deep shadows across his face but it did look like he was talking to someone off screen and it was someone he didn't appear to be happy to see.
The conversation, if it was such and not just McGee mumbling to himself went on for a minute with some pronounced silences in between. Gibbs cursed again as it appeared the interaction had come to a conclusion and the three of them watched as McGee renewing his clutch on the towel, straightened his shoulders, stood tall and strode off disappearing underneath the tree branches apparently towards the SUV. The next minute McGee appeared to have gone and the SUV smoothly drove off .
'Don't you have any more footage?!!! 'Gibbs turned to the security technician who paled. 'I'm sorry sir but there isn't another camera on the other side of the road. There is almost no one living in that section of housing anymore. Its scheduled for some work and it wasn't deemed essential to have security cameras cover every inch. That is all I have.'
'Damn it! That barely gives us anymore information than we had before! I couldn't tell who it was he was talking to. Could you?' He turned to Tony and Ziva who shook their heads.
'Um Boss what do you think friend or foe?' Gibbs could see the anxiety in the tension around Tony's eyes and he knew that for all his supposed relaxed atmosphere he was worried and it was worse than any punishment Gibbs could think of right now.
Gibbs allowed himself to let out a sigh. ' I don't know. He didn't seem pleased. At first surprised, shocked even but then he did appear to volunteer to get into the SVU so I don't know. He could have been threatened of course and in the position he was in he would have had little choice but to comply. They could have rushed him before he made it back to the house and for all he knew he couldn't get in anyway. I have to think Foe at this stage otherwise why hasn't he reported in?'
Tony knew this was a dig at him but he took it and savoured the hurt it caused him.
Tony's eyes strayed to the screen again as he watched the front door open a crack and he knew that he would now be streaking up the stairs waiting for a furious McGee to burst in. It had all been over and done with in a few minutes but still minutes too long. McGee had already gone by the time he had pushed the door open. Why hadn't he checked? Why had he fallen asleep? They could be hours ahead of the search if he had just looked when Tim hadn't come inside!!! Tony squeezed his eyes shut and promise, not for the first time to be a better friend to McGee when they found him.
'Ziva?' Gibbs turned to Ziva who was staring at the image of Tim shoulders wide, head held tall, face determined as he seemed to stride off screen. 'Well what do you think?'
' I think we need to get this footage to Abby. We need to get more information. Maybe she can clean up the footage and get a better idea of what he are saying and also some more information on the vehicle would help. At this stage we can't even put out a BOLO as every second vehicle on base looks like that. We don't know how many people are in the car and I couldn't see the plates either so she might need to work one of her miracles.'
Gibbs turned to Tony. A grim smile on his face. 'I just thought of a suitable punishment for you Tony.' Tony smiled nervously and stepped back anticipating a head slap. 'Errr What Boss?'
Gibbs advanced slowly towards Tony. 'You are going to tell Abby that her precious Timmy is currently MIA and that it appears to be your fault!' Tony paled at the though of the impending conversation and was suddenly glad that Abby was still back in Washington. 'Do it DiNozzo!' Gibbs glared and handed Tony his phone, which was already ringing, 'And don't forget to tell her about getting to work on the footage.'
'Hi yah Gibbs! Watch up to over there?' Tony heard Abby pick up the call in her lab. He gulped 'Um Abbs I have something to tell you…'
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Ok what do you think? Please review. It really does help me go faster. To those that have been reading Thanks for your patience. To those just picking it up welcome and review! Taking on life of its own and not sure completely how its going to end so actual plot suggestions are great. Gets me thinking. Discovering that what I think will be one chapter becomes two so this story could be longer than I first thought.