A/N This chapter is still about Tim and Tony being in trouble. Lots of Tim angst =( The next one will be Tony in trouble and the one after that the Museum Day where there will be happiness and cuteness =) Thanks for reading!
Oops! Thank you kindly for telling me this was in the wrong story! I hope that is why you were confused "guest", if not, please comment on why further. Don't I feel silly! ;)
^^^NCIS^^^
Just as his father said Tony came home half an hour after he did. Whenever Tim was home alone he cherished his time. Tim was more than mature enough to stay home alone but because of the dangers and unpredictability of Gibb's job he was not given the opportunity much. So when Tony came home and started pestering Tim he was not very happy about it to say the least.
"Have you cleaned your room already?" Tony asked as he hovered above Tim who was laying on the couch play his DS.
"Nope." Tim said not bothering to look up from his game.
"Have you at least started supper?" He asked.
"No." Tim said suspiciously.
"Then put that away. Dad's not gunna be happy if he comes home and sees you've been playing that before you finished your chores." Tony said.
"Why do you care? I'll get to it before he comes home." Tim asked as he paused his game and glared at his older brother.
"It's my butt on the line too Tim. You know I'll get in trouble if you don't do what you're supposed to. Dad's rule, not mine." Tony told him impatiently.
"Screw you, I'm going upstairs." Tim said insolently. He stood from the couch and was about to head upstairs but before he could take a step Tony's hand laid a heavy swat on Tim's backside.
"What the hell Tony! You hit me!" He cried in outrage.
"I gave you a well-deserved swat. I suggest you go upstairs before I decide you need more." Tony ordered much more confidently than he felt. He had no idea how his father would react to that. He had explicit instructions to call him if Tim was acting up, and even had the authority to send him upstairs, but Tony had never smacked him like that.
The unpredictability of what Tony might do had Tim running up the stairs as quickly as he could. There was no way he wanted more of that. He slammed his door before throwing himself on his bed with a sob.
Tim was having a no-good, very bad day. Mr. Taft told him what he and his father had talked about and it upset him that his father could not trust him. And then Michael was being mean to him again and then to top it off he had forgotten his homework on his desk in his room. And even though his math teacher knew he completed it, he was not willing to accept late work because this was the third time this month that had happened.
But worst of all was knowing that his father was going to come home and be upset with him, not Tony. Tim knew the rule was no electronics before his chores were done but Tim had plenty of time until their dad was supposed to come home. And who was Tony to come and tell him what to do? He was always breaking rules and Tim never ratted him out. With these angry thoughts running through his mind he did not hear the garage door opening as his father parked the car.
^^^NCIS^^^
"Hey Dad." Tony said nervously as his father entered the house. Immediately Gibbs was on high alert with how tense his oldest was.
"What's wrong Tony?" Gibbs asked gently but with firmness behind it.
Tony looked at his feet before answering with a quiet, "I gave Tim a smack".
Gibbs took the three steps towards Tony and firmly lifted his chin with his finger. "You hit your brother?" Gibbs asked angrily.
"What?!" Tony yelled. "No! I spanked him!" Tony backpedaled.
Gibbs anger turned into a mixture of confusion and amusement at Tony's reaction.
"Why?" His father asked.
Tony hesitated. He knew his father expected him to tell him the truth but no matter how annoying Tim was being, he was still his brother and did not want to rat him out.
"Tony?"
"I came home and he was on his DS and didn't want to do his chores. I told him to put it away and he wouldn't listen and then he swore at me…And then it just kinda happened. I am sorry Dad! I feel really bad and won't do it again, I promise!" Tony said earnestly hoping to prevent his own punishment.
Gibbs sighed before answering. "Tony, you aren't in trouble. I don't blame you for what you did. Tim knows the rules and that they apply even when I am not home. More than that though, he knows you are in charge when I am gone. He sure as hell would have got more than that if it were me. Next time give me a call though, okay?"
"Yes sir" Tony said with a sigh of relief.
Gibbs sighed once more before walking up the stairs to deal with his youngest.
^^^NCIS^^^
Gibbs knocked on Tim's door twice.
"Go away!" Tim yelled from his bed thinking it was Tony.
"Not going to happen Tim" Gibbs said as he walked into his sons room. He saw Tim was laying on his bed with his back to the door.
"I don't want to talk to you" Tim told his father angrily. He just wanted to be alone. Apparently no one cared what he wanted though.
"To bad. We're going to talk. Look at me Tim." Gibbs ordered.
Realizing his backside was in the line of fire the way he was facing Tim flopped over so he was looking at his dad but he did not sit up. Gibbs was surprised to see Tim had been crying. Clearly it was not out of remorse.
"Are you not going to sit up?" Gibbs asked as he sat on Tim's desk chair. Tim shook his head in the negative.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Gibbs asked. Again Tim shook his head.
"Okay." Gibbs said as he stood up. "Then this." Gibbs held up the DS "is mine until this time tomorrow." He gave Tim a moment to comment but he didn't. "You can stay up here until you are ready to talk Tim. This is not how I hoped my night would have gone Timmy. I was hoping I could have spent the night with my two boys but that decision is up to you." And with that Gibbs left and shut the door behind him.
The minute his father shut the door hot tears rolled down Tim's cheek. This is not how Tim thought his night was going to go either. He wanted to go downstairs and talk to his dad so he could put this whole thing behind him, but the truth was that he was still so incredibly angry.
Once his tears dried so did his sadness. It was instead replaced with fiery resentment. His dad had no right to take his DS. He had not even given him a reason for it! With that thought in mind he ran down the stairs to find his father. Gibbs was in the kitchen making supper. He turned from the stove once he heard Tim's footsteps.
"I want to talk." Tim said irritably. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at the tone, but Tim ignored it. "I want my DS." He continued in the same petulant tone.
"I told you that you will get it back tomorrow Tim. Now if you don't want to talk nicely you can head back upstairs." With that said Gibbs turned back to the stove thinking Tim would do as ordered.
Tim's gaze looked up to the top of the fridge where confiscated toys were put since he was a toddler. Tim eyed the prize and he grabbed the stepstool from the door and used it to grab the game. Gibbs tuned back around at the scrapping noise and saw Tim standing on the stool with a smug look on his face as he eagerly held the DS. The expression quickly dropped when he saw Gibbs face.
Gibbs easily scooped Tim off the stool and carried him to the dining room and sat down and pulled Tim over his lap. Tim didn't even try to fight it. He knew exactly what he had done to warrant this. Thirteen heavy swats later and Tim was a crying mess. Gibbs who was still angry at the blatant disrespect had no words of sympathy for his youngest son.
"That's strike two Timothy. One more and we will be staying home tomorrow. Oh, your DS is now mine until this time next Friday. Now go upstairs and I will call you for supper." Gibbs said as he stood up and returned the chair to its rightful place.
"I HATE YOU! And I hate Tony! I am NEVER talking to either of you ever again!" Tim screamed as tears continued to stream down his face. He ran up the stairs still muttering angry words before he slammed his door. Gibbs sighed. He had no idea why Tim was behaving like this. He was not going to punish Tim for the door slamming because Tim had clearly reached a point of complete loss of control. It worried the father as Tim was always so level headed and very rarely lost control. Instead Gibbs continued to cook supper and allowed time for Tim to cool off. Once the roast was back in the oven Gibbs went down to the basement to clear his head.
^^^NCIS^^^
For the first ten minutes Tim was in his room he allowed his anger to consume him. He ripped his homework from the previous night up and when that did not calm him any he started throwing books on the floor. When he threw his photo album on the floor it opened to a page with a picture of him, Tony and his dad fishing when they had went to visit their grandfather. Tim took the photo out and ripped it in two.
Once his mind connected with the actions he just committed Tim's anger left him as quickly as it had come. As he held the two halves of the photos the words he had yelled at his dad ran through his mind. He had been so furious at his dad and Tony, and he still was, but the guilt he felt for yelling those hurtful words caused a physical ache in his stomach. He knew he had to fix this now.
With the thoughts of guilt running through his mind Tim walked to the top of the basement stairs and called down to his father.
"Dad?" He asked hesitantly not sure if his dad would want to talk to him.
"Yeah Tim?" His dad returned with no trace of anger in his voice.
"May I come down please? I would like to talk" Tim told him much more politely than he had earlier. He did not dare go down without his dad's permission. Even Tony who was older than Tim was not allowed down there by himself. It was a rule that both Tim and Tony learned not to break at a young age. It was a rule they only had to break once to realize not to do it again.
"Give me a minute and I will be right up. I need to check on the roast anyways." Gibbs called from the bottom of the steps. Tim nodded before going to stand next to the island. Tim blushed as he put the step stool back. He looked up and saw the DS was not on top of the fridge anymore. That meant his dad must have hid it in the basement where Tim could not get to it.
"Tim?" Gibbs questioned as Tim continued to stand in the middle of the kitchen.
"Oh" Tim said realizing what he was doing. He then took a step back and allowed his father to work in the kitchen. Once he was done Gibbs gently lead Tim to the living room. Gibbs took a seat on the couch and motioned for Tim to do the same. Tim shook his head and instead opted for standing in front of front of his father.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier." Tim whispered quietly to Gibbs knee.
His father placed a gentle finger under the boys chin before lifting it to look him in the eyes.
"I know" Gibbs said gently.
"I am really sorry! I don't hate you!" He repeated earnestly.
"Timmy, I know. I know you didn't mean it." Gibbs reassured him.
"Daddy, I'm sorry!" He said once more as tears trickled down his cheek. Seeing words weren't getting through to Tim Gibbs enveloped him in a hug. Tim didn't resist. He allowed the strong embrace to soothe him.
"What's gotten into you today Tim?" Gibbs asked not letting Tim go. Tim tensed. He was willing to apologize but did not want to talk about the earlier events.
"Tim, we need to talk about this" Gibbs said as he pulled Tim away from him.
"It's Tony's fault!" Tim shouted.
Gibbs shook his head. "Tell me why you think this is your brother's fault?"
"He never gets in trouble." Tim pouted.
"So because Tony wasn't causing trouble you thought you would?" Gibbs asked with disbelief.
"No" Tim shook his head. "But he shoved me this morning and you didn't even say anything!" He cried out in hurt.
Gibbs thought back on the morning and had no recollection of Tony doing such a thing. It must have happened when he wasn't looking.
"Tim, I have no idea what you are talking about. When did he shove you?"
"As I was coming down the stairs. He ran into me and then called me a pipsqueak." Tim said clearly not having any reservations about ratting out his brother. "And then he didn't even get scolded! But when I kicked the seat I got yelled at." Tim pouted.
"If you would have come to me at the time I would have said something Tim. I can't do anything about it if I don't know it happened." His father told him.
"Well you didn't say anything to him in the car. He said mean things then too." Tim argued as he crossed his arms. His dad might have had a point about the stair happenings but he wouldn't be able to refute what happened in the car.
"Tim, if you recall, I told you both to knock it off. Tony chose to listen and you didn't which is why you got scolded and he didn't" Gibbs said, unwilling to let Tim keep up with sulking over his own actions that warranted reprimand.
"He called me short and was making fun of me before you got to the car about it."
Gibbs sighed and placed a tender hand on his son's cheek in sympathy before replying.
"Tim, you are short for your age kiddo. That's not something anyone should be making fun of you for and I will talk to Tony about it. And I know he takes his teasing to far sometimes but you need to bring it up to me. We've been over this before Timmy, you don't have to do everything yourself." Gibbs said softly. "And I know you want to sit in the front Tim, but until you are tall enough and heavy enough that is not going to happen. I won't risk you getting hurt just because of your wants. You can hate me for it all you want but it won't change my mind Tim."
Tim nodded. He guessed he could see his father's side of it. He knew it was unsafe to sit in the front with how light he was but it didn't stop him from being mad about it. He had already skipped a grade and it was bad enough being the youngest in his class, but adding on that he was short for his age just brought it to a whole other level. Ducky had promised he would hit a growth spurt eventually but eventually was too far away for Tim's liking.
But the mention of Tim needing to ask for help brought up the whole issue of art class again. Gibbs could see the anger rising in Tim and knew something was up.
"Something else on your mind Tim?" Gibbs asked neutrally.
"Nope." Tim said clamming up.
The hand again returned softly to Tim cheek and gave a gentle rub.
"None of this now Timmy. We have been having a very nice conversation and I want to get everything on the table now so we can move on." Gibbs said as his hand moved to run up and down Tim's arms in a soothing manner.
"I thought we had!" Tim yelled as traitorous tears fell down his face. He wiped at them angrily.
"Timothy, there is no need to yell at me. If that's how this conversation is going to go you can just go upstairs now." His father warned softly.
"That's what you want isn't it!" Tim said loudly but not yelling this time. "That's why you've been threatening to take the trip away tomorrow. You don't want to go to the museum and you are coming up with reasons not to go!" Tim responded and by the end of his tirade he was all out bawling.
Recognizing a redirection when he saw it Gibbs didn't let Tim get off course.
"Tim, what's really bothering you?" He said sternly.
"You punished me already last night but you are still going to check in with Mr. Taft. You don't trust me!" Tim blubbered out.
Gibbs once again swooped Tim into a hug and allowed his son to cry as he felt his shirt becoming wet. So many tears had been shed in the last two days but now that got to the root of the matter Gibbs was hopeful for a better weekend.
"Oh Tim, that's not true at all. I know you will turn your assignments in. I trust you to do that. What I don't think you will do is ask for help. Timmy, I know you this is a punishment, but it's not. I want for you to be able to ask for help when you need it. Tim, you don't have to be perfect. That's why I am checking in with Mr. Taft. It is my duty as a parent to make sure you are learning how to become the best person you can be and part of that for you Timmy is learning to accept you aren't perfect." Gibbs said and the hand running up and down the boy's back never stopped.
He felt Tim nod and hoped Tim would let the issue drop. He knew Tim wouldn't accept his advice overnight but was hopeful the boy would learn. If nothing else he hoped that since they addressed the issue that Tim would no longer be so angry about it.
"And about not wanting to go to the museum tomorrow Tim" Gibbs said as he pulled Tim from his grasp "You are correct. I don't want to spend my Saturday off at a Science Museum. But I want to spend it with you. I know how much you love it and I want to go because you want to go." Gibbs said looking his son in the eye.
Tim beamed in response. He loved the fact that his dad was willing to do this for him. He knew Gibbs and Tony were not much into museums but he loved that they would set that aside for him. Now that Tim was no longer angry with his father he initiated a hug and sat in his lap.
"Thank you Daddy" Tim said as he wrapped his arms around his father's neck. Gibbs smiled back. He was enjoying the fact that his son was no longer upset. He meant what he had told Tim and he was looking forward to their trip the next day.
After several minutes of snuggling together the kitchen timer went off indicating the roast was ready.
"Time to get up Tim" Gibbs said as he patted Tim's hip. His youngest son just shook his head. "No?" Again Tim shook his head. "So we should just let supper burn then?" Gibbs asked playfully. A nod. "That won't do" He replied as his fingers brushed against Tim's sensitive sides eliciting squeals of laughter. Gibbs continued to tickle his son until he was pleading with him to stop as he was barely able to breathe. Gibbs laughed at the sound of Tim's laughter that had been absent for so many days. Relenting at last, Gibbs stood and went to finish dinner before ordering Tim to set the table.
^^^NCIS^^^
A/N I don't know if I made this clear or not but Tim has been struggling for a while now with his emotions. Yay! Timmy is a happy boy again! The museum trip should be fun! Up next, Tony in Trouble =)