A/N: A very special "Thank You" goes out to chelsea1234 for her help and advice with this chapter! You Rock!

That night, after he left work, Tim went home and did as Gibbs had suggested. Going much deeper than simply thinking things through, Tim actually went digging, serious soul searching even. Did he really want to date Abby again? Would it be possible for them to be happy together? His biggest concern was whether or not Abby even realized things she said and did really affected people around her.

Thinking back over the last six years, Tim couldn't help but recall times where Abby had treated him like he wasn't even there. There had been numerous times when he only seemed to register on her radar when she wanted something from him or was jealous of a woman they'd brought in on the case from an outside agency or even a witness or victim. He remembered the times she'd emotionally tripped him up to get her way when he'd tried to remind her of the rules she was asking him to break. When she'd asked him to do things she knew she shouldn't have. She knew if she couldn't go to Gibbs with her request than she shouldn't be going to anyone else either. A good example of that had been when she had verbally backed him into a corner, in front of her friend for the satellite time at Christmas for her friend's nephew. That alone could have could have gotten him fired. Then again, he had swallowed the bait, made the decision, and then acted on it. The final culpability in that had been in his own hands. Still, the fact remained; she had once again taken advantage of his unfailing willingness to make her happy.

Abby knew he was putty in her hands, would never be rude or mean to her; hated to say no to her, and she had a habit of taking advantage of that, no matter the cost. Tim knew he carried his fate in a lot of that. After all, he was an adult, too and had made his own choices. However, the term 'mitigating circumstances' was created to explain a lot in life that was otherwise unexplainable. Abby, as everyone on the team knew, was Tim's 'mitigating circumstance' and in that he was emotionally glued. But, he loved her, so he gave her what she wanted, took the heat, and ridden out the aftershocks. And he had forgiven her.

There were times, however, that the way she treated Tim had been downright cruel and uncalled for. Abby turning on him in favor of Jethro, the day the German shepherd had attacked him, had cut deeply. Her ruining his jacket and calling him "bad McGee: the way she had, had twisted the knife. He'd done what he'd had no choice but to do, bury it and go on. It wasn't like he could do anything different. It was him against the masses, so to speak. So, he'd bit his tongue, buried the feelings, and carried on. Eventually, the pain had dissipated and he had been able to forgive her, making room in his heart once more, for the love he always carried for her. He loved her. And when you felt love this deeply, you can tolerate and put up with almost anything. It wasn't in his nature to not forgive, especially Abby.

But, Tim was a different person now, than he had been when he'd first fell in love with her; different than he was even a few months ago, even. Almost getting killed had changed him in lots of ways, some that weren't easy to see unless you were looking deep inside. Skittish, unsure, burnt and no longer willing to lay down and play dead for anyone, Tim was definitely scarred from the events of the last attempt at falling in love and he wasn't quiet so ready to fall again.

If he and Abby stood a chance of making a go of a relationship, none of this could be in the way. The new him didn't need or want any emotional baggage in a relationship, especially in a relationship with someone who had helped create the baggage to begin with. Was there a way to put this all away once and for all? That would be the easy part, actually. Even so, it would be hard to do unless they talked things out, cleared the air completely.

There was no forgetting Abby was Gibbs' favorite, either. He had too many battles scars to forget that. All the times he'd gotten his ass handed to him on a platter because she'd done things her way, leaving him holding the bag, left a bitter taste in his mouth even now. What the hell's wrong with me, anyway?

With all these things once again flooding his brain, he had to stop and wonder if he'd ever actually forgiven her at all, or if he'd simply convinced himself that he had and learned to accept being treated like that and learning to live with it, as if he didn't deserve any better? One thing was for sure, he was no where near ready to make a decision.

He hadn't lied to Gibbs tonight; not intentionally, anyway. There was a part of him that did want to date Abby again. But, if there was the slightest chance that he was setting himself up for anything like what he'd already been through, either with her or any of the other women he'd attempted to form a relationship with, then he was much better off and a damn sight safer alone. And to be honest, Gibbs hadn't given him much chance to elaborate on his answer, to clue him in to the battle he'd have to wage within himself to actually come to o decision.

He may have Gibbs' okay, but he had miles to go before he was ready to even open the door to this journey yet. Abby would need to be given a chance to let him in on where she stood with everything past and present. There would be no room for secrets, unsolved tensions or unexpressed emotions in the way. Tim would have to start out with some help, too. There had been too many times his own judgment had screwed him over, cost him dearly, hell, had almost gotten him killed. It was no secret that he had blind spots where Abby was concerned, or at least, he'd had blind spots. No, this time, he wouldn't go on his judgment alone. He'd need the advice of someone who could help charter the waters all the way around. It would have to be someone who could help him handle Gibbs' in this, too.

After all, with Abby being Gibbs' favorite, Tim would always be worried about how the relationship would fare with him as the third party always scrutinizing him and looking over his shoulder. Thinking about that part of the situation brought only one possible confidant to mind. Tim needed to talk to Ducky.

But, first, he needed to let Abby know he was doing as she'd asked. He was thinking about things. He would leave it at that, though. There was no reason to give her false hope. And since he didn't want to start a conversation he couldn't finish, he opted to email her instead of calling her. Logging on to his computer, he typed her out a quick email message.

Abby:

Just wanted to let you know that I am doing what I promised you I would do.
I'll talk to you about it as soon as I figure some things out. - But not at work!
Going to bed now. You need to get some sleep, too.

Tim.

***

Getting a good night sleep seemed to add some bounce to Tim's step the next morning. Actually, it seemed to help get his entire day off to a good start. He managed to make it into the office a full hour early. Stowing his gear, he headed down to find Ducky. The M.E. might not be in yet, but it was worth a shot. If nothing else, he could leave him a note. No, wait, there was no reason to risk Jimmy coming across the situation and he might if he found Tim's note, better just call Ducky. Better yet, Tim decided to stick with email to avoid accidentally getting Jimmy involved or clued in at all. Logging on to his work station, he quickly typed up an email to the M.E.

Ducky.

If you don't have plans for lunch today, can I interest you in going to lunch with me?
I need to talk to you about something important, and confidential.
If you would rather not get involved, please don't be afraid to tell me no.

Thanks.
Tim.

After sending the email, Tim logged back off and went for coffee. When he got back to his desk, it was still thirty minutes before the official start of the day. Gibbs still wasn't in which actually made things easier. Enjoying the peace and quiet, Tim logged back into his computer and dug into a cold case file. He needed something to occupy his time and the justification for being already at work. All too soon, Gibbs was strolling in, actually stopping in surprise at Tim's desk.

"McGee?" The boss asked quietly.

"Hey, Boss." Tim greeted as calmly as he could. as he stopped working and looked up at his boss.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Thanks.." Tim answered. He would do as Gibbs had instructed and keep all mention of dating Abby away from work. Even though he hadn't yet decided he would or could date her again, Tim wasn't about to get this off to the wrong start. Giving Gibbs a small smile, Tim waited to see what Gibbs would do next.

Gibbs silently nodded and headed to his own desk. He was a little startled that Tim didn't appear to be as happy as he had when he'd left here the night before. Had something happened? Oh, well, if the young man wasn't gonna talk to him, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Changing mental gears, Gibbs got busy with things he needed to take care of and the day got going.

It wasn't long before Tim got his answer from Ducky, in the form of an email.

"Timothy:

I would be happy to help
looking forward to lunch with you.
Why don't we meet at the Cafe on the corner by the park at 12?

Ducky.

Tim tired not to smile, as he read Ducky's response, sent him a thank you message in response and put it all out of his mind, determined to concentrate on work. The day continued slowly, but surely and with no new case coming in, cold cases were the name of the game for now. Tim was actually glad there was no new case. He was tired of people killing and hurting each other. It was nice to find a day where that hadn't happened or at least hadn't been reported or discovered.

Halfway through the morning, while Tim was knee deep in case work, he got an email from Abby.

Timmy:

Are you okay? You haven't been down to see me yet today. You always come to see me!"
Abby

Tim knew Abby's propensity for thinking the worst if someone she cared about didn't talk to her on a normal day, would get out of control real fast if he didn't nip it in the bud, so he sent her a reply that would hopefully do that without hurting her feelings.

Abby:

I didn't mean to let you think anything was wrong. Busy with work
Tim.

Thankfully, it must have done the trick because she didn't send any more and before he knew it, lunch time had rolled around. Tony and Ziva headed out, with the typical "Can we get you anything?" being tossed in Tim's direction. At Tim's refusal, Tony's eyes lit up and his eyebrows went through his hairline. Great, already, the guy's radar was going off. Tim thought. Before they even got to the elevator, Ziva's phone rang. With an apology and a change of direction, Ziva was begging off her plans with Tony, to head off in a new direction of her own for lunch.

Gibbs sat watching with silent amusement mixed with concern. Tim still looked like a troubled soul even though he'd looked like a happy camper last night when Gibbs had given him permission to break Rule #12. Why the sudden turn around? But, at the same time, watching Tony's reaction to Tim's lunch refusal as well as Ziva's sudden change in her own lunch plans added a spark to the day. Gibbs had a pretty good idea who had just called Ziva for a last minute lunch meeting. The fact that everyone's favorite lab rat hadn't been up in the squad room all moring said a lot, too.

Yes, siree, Things had just gotten very interesting around here.