A/N: This chapter was my co-writer, Shelbylou's brainchild. She's so awesome!
I can only claim editor's credit for this one.
We hope you enjoy reading the ongoing adventure of our favorite couple.
Gibbs' agitated return to the office didn't go unnoticed by Tony and Ziva. It wasn't exactly an angry agitation, it was more a worried kind that the team soon come to recognise after the many cases they had solved that heavily involved one of his team. The two emotions were pretty closely linked though and it was only through their trained eyes, that they were able to ascertain how their boss was feeling.
Tony stood up and walked over to Tim's desk holding the mug of coffee that he had gotten for him when he decided the caffeine boost was needed all round.
"Hey Probie, thought you could do with a jolt. How're you doing?" The concern in Tony's voice was palpable to everyone on the team and Tim could almost feel everyone looking at him with anticipation of his answer.
"I'm all right, Tony; I just want this day to be over."
"Yeah, it's been a rough one, hasn't it Probie san? But, we're gonna get whoever's behind this, ok?"
Ziva glanced up at Tony's comforting tone and smiled. She loved her two team mates dearly and it was times like this that was guaranteed to pull them closer together.
"Yes, McGee, I believe we will not stop until we find them and tear then apart limb by limb." Ziva's eyes sparkled dangerously, Tim knew she was trying her hardest to soothe him but the Ex Mossad's training scared him sometimes, regardless.
"Thanks Ziva, but do you think we can keep it legal, there's too much paperwork involved if you rip their arms off." Tim's joke relieved the tension in the room slightly and made them all chuckle. Even Gibbs couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"Yeah, we can do that but in the meantime, you know where we are. You got that, Tim?"
Tony's gentle tone did nothing to settle the fear that had taken root in the pit of Tim's stomach, but he had already lost his cool in front of his boss and didn't want to give a repeat performance in front of Tony. Showing emotion to his boss, well that was fine on rare occasions, because Gibbs wouldn't razz him about it, Tony on the other hand was known to take the worst situation and make a joke out of it.
"Thanks Tony. I know we're going to look into this but it doesn't stop me worrying."
"Aww, come on, Probielicious. We catch the guy, you and Abby have ho......Ow, thanks Boss."
Gibbs had known exactly where this conversation was going and decided that the best way forward was to be cutting Tony off the best way he knew how. Looking down he saw a smile briefly ghost Tim's face which lifted his heart slightly. He was about to reply when he heard the elevator ding and heard Tim sighed heavily at the sight of Abby storming across the squad room.
"TIMMY! Sorry I had to see you; I just couldn't stay away for any longer and needed to know you are ok. You are ok? Aren't you?"
Tim stood up and walked over to Abby to pull her in for a tight embrace. He could feel the nervous energy that surrounded her like an aura and bent his head down low to whisper in her ear.
"I'm good, Abbs, don't worry I was just angry and didn't want you to see me like that." It was a lie, or at least half of it was. He really wasn't doing well and the anger and stress he was feeling was starting to make him feel both physically and emotionally drained. Tim desperately hoped Abby, in all her usual perception, didn't pick up on what he was feeling; praying she'd take him at his word instead.
Abby pulled away slightly and kissed him hard; it was the only way in which her mind would be settled at this specific moment in time so she grabbed the opportunity not caring about the guidelines that had been set down by the boss man. Breaking away, she turned to face the team. Tony and Ziva were staring at the pair with their jaws hanging loosely. Gibbs walked over to the both of them and placed his hand under their chin to push their mouths shut.
"Gibbs, the bullet that you found at Anacostia was a 9mm but that's just about all I can tell you. It was too smooshed by whatever it was buried in to get any definitive evidence off it.' Abby reported.
"Abbs, there's gotta be something else you can tell us. What kind of weapon was it fired from?" Tony's incredulous voice sailed across the squad room.
"Tony, I've told you this before. I can tell you what kind of bullet it is, I can tell you where it was manufactured, I can maybe tell you where it was sold, I can tell you about the bullet but What I can't tell you is what weapon fired it!"
"Well then tell us where it was sold at least." Tony's 'dur' kind of tone elicited another firm smack to the back of his head.
*Thwack*
"Thanks, Boss!"
"I would Tony, but the problem is the fact that the markings on it are unreadable and can't be traced. Don't you listen?"
"Well yeah ,Abbs but...."
"But nothing, DiNozzo. Abbs, what about the photo?" Gibbs' couldn't hold his impatience any longer.
A cloud seemed to descend on the team instantly at the mention of the photo as Abby pulled it out of her lab coat pocket.
"I've checked for prints but it's clean. I can tell you it's been printed and not developed which makes sense seeing as it's been photo shopped."
"In English Abbs." Came Gibbs' quiet response.
"Sorry Gibbs, it's been doctored on a computer. You see how they've paled out the background leaving me and Tim in the foreground....Oh."
Tim wrapped his arm around her shoulders for support, though even he had to admit that this conversation was knocking him for a loop as well.
"Ok Abbs, I think you've done what you can and it's getting late. We're gonna call it day but you two are taking a protection detail; so McGee, you're with Tony. Abb's you go with Ziva. You two," Gibbs pointed to Tony and Ziva with a look on his face that told them he meant business. "Stay on your game. Keep your weapons with you at all times and don't let these two out of your sights. Clear?"
"Crystal, Boss."
"Of course, Gibbs."
The two responses that seemed to overlap slightly were just as serious and Gibbs watched as his team bustled about to grab their gear and coats
"And Abby? Let's not have a repeat of the last time you were under protection, hmm?"
"Gibbs!"
"Abby! I seriously doubt you really wanna piss Ziva off. She's already half-way there as it is."
"Oh, all right. I promise I'll behave!"
"Good girl. Now, get. All of you!"
"Not you Abbs, I'll walk you down to the lab. Ziva, Tony, McGee, meet us at the car park in 10."
They all nodded at their boss and watched as he walked Abby to the elevator knowing damn well that there was going to be one of his conferences involved. Tony turned to Tim and flashed his best grin.
"So McGoo, just me and you tonight, I'm thinking movie night with Pizza and beer, what do you think."
Tim groaned loudly, all he wanted to do was try to relax after the day he'd had but knew that there was no chance of that now. Looking up at tony, he tried to pull his facade back in place.
"Sounds good Tony, I need to pick up a few things first ok?"
"Sure. You ready?"
"Yeah."
The three team mates all walked towards the elevator, this is going to be a long night was Tim's last thought before the doors slid shut.
Tim stopped off on the way to Tony's to pack a bag for the long night ahead. He decided to only pack a few things, enough for a couple of nights, hoping that they would catch a break and he'd soon be able to go back to the private confines of his own little apartment. He sat in his car waiting for Tony to pull up behind him before stepping out.
"What the hell, McGee? I lost you back there because you decided to break every speed law in the book." Tony saw the look of confusion flit across Tim's face. "McGoo, It's my job to protect you! You can't just speed off like that right now." The confused look soon changed to one of realisation and horror at what he had done before Tony could even continue on his rant.
"Sorry, Tony. I just wanted to get home."
"Yeah well, I can understand that but I don't want to have to explain to Gibbs, how it was that you killed yourself driving home ok."
Tim nodded and walked towards his apartment block to pick up some stuff. It didn't take long before they were walking down the hall towards the door to Tim's place and as they neared, they could see that the door had been left ajar. Pulling out their weapons, Tim and Tony started to edge forward but Tim was stopped by Tony's arm shooting out to stop him.
"Probie! Don't even think about it! Use your head!" He hissed angrily.
"Tony, if there is someone there...."
"MCGEE! They have named and shamed you in their little quest to do whatever it is they do. If they're in there then I'm not gonna let you just walk in like the damn target they've painted on your ass! Just wait here!" Tony looked sternly at Tim before moving towards the door and pushing it open slightly.
He was standing just off to the side and glanced in sweeping his weapon around the room before moving in. A couple of minutes later, Tim heard his friend shout "Clear."
Walking in tentatively, he stopped just inside the door. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat and he felt as though he was paralyzed to the spot he stood.
"McGee, close the door, you're a sitting duck in the doorway." Tony could see Tim's eyes clear as realisation hit him.
"Oh crap. Tony." Tim was in shock; his apartment had been completely demolished and he could see nothing but total destruction wherever he looked. There wasn't one thing in this living room that had escaped the damage. His computers had been reduced to nothing but shattered circuitry and exposed wires. Even his precious record and book collections had been trashed; torn pages and broken vinyl littered the living room floor and furniture. Tony was concerned and walked over to Tim to get his friend to move quickly. He placed his hand on Tim's shoulder to offer comfort.
"McGee. Tim, look at me."
Tony waited for the shocked young agent to turn his attention to him.
"Grab your bag and I'll call Gibbs. There's nothing we can do here, so come on, Probie, shake those tail feathers and grab your gear. Hey, you with me, buddy?" Tony was concerned; Tim's face had drained of all color, leaving him looking ashen. Tim nodded and slowly moved to the bedroom to grab what he needed.
Tony could see Tim surveying the damage on the way, but had to admire the fact that his Probie had remembered his training and was being careful not to touch anything in case he disturbed any evidence. Tim was only gone a short 5 minutes and walked out as Tony snapped his phone shut as Tim walked out.
"Gibbs said to take you straight to my place; he's gonna get another team to come here with him. Come on, Probie." He ushered Tim out closed the door thanking his lucky stars that the mechanism hadn't been damaged.
Tim was sitting on Tony's large comfortable leather couch feeling more than a little bit dejected about the events that led up to this precise moment in time. Tony was being fantastic and had guided Tim to the spare bedroom to dump his stuff in there before showing him where the shower was.
"How was the shower Probie, you feelin' any better?"
Tim nodded and accepted the beer that Tony handed out to him.
"Yeah, thanks for this, Tony, I really appreciate it." Tim's monotone voice gave evidence to the shock he was still feeling.
"Hey, what are friends for?" Tony's head snapped round at the knock on the door and he grabbed his gun before walking over to look through the peephole. He turned to look at Tim who had shot bolt upright and had palmed his own weapon ready. Tony held out his hand and shook his head. "It's just the pizza, Probie. It's safe; this guy delivers here all the time."
Tony put the gun back in its holster and opened the door with his 100 kilowatt smile. "Hi Frankie, here you go, keep the change." He paid for the food and stopped off at the kitchen to grab some plates and more bottles of beer.
Tim leaned forward and snagged a slice of the pizza out of the box, 10 minutes later, that very same slice was still sitting untouched.
"You've gotta eat, McGee. Come on, don't do this to yourself." He watched as Tim took another swig of beer before setting it aside.
"I'm not very hungry right now, Tony, sorry."
"Huh, can't argue with that, but what I can do is listen. Talk to me." Tony reached over and pulled the empty bottle out of Tim's hands before replacing it with another full one.
"Thanks. I don't know what to say Tony." Tim looked forlorn but his deep sincerity cut through.
"It'll help to talk."
"You know Gibbs gave his permission for me and Abby to see other. We had a really good time going out last night and today at the park was nice, just the two of us. Finally, after all the crap I've been through, I was actually enjoying the idea of building this relationship."
Tony nodded; he really didn't want to interrupt Tim now, not once he'd finally started to open up to him.
"It just all went to crap. I never noticed the little things that kept happening because they were so damn minor, but they're all linked Tony, every single one of them. None of us believe in coincidence, but even if we did; there's no way these aren't linked."
"It sounds that way, but maybe some of them were coincidental?"
Tim raised the bottle to his lips and took a long, hard swig. Tony could almost see the thought processes that were swirling around in Tim's mind though didn't like the fact that he seemed to lock them away the way he did. No matter what, Tony was going to get Probie to talk tonight.
"Go on."
"Why does it always happen to me Tony? Seriously, what is so wrong with me that things like this keep happening?" The question was innocent enough; it was raw and was now, finally out there.
"It doesn't keep happening McGee, not this anyway. Hey, it's not like I've ever settled down is it."
"No, but at least you haven't had girlfriends who want to kill you or as soon as things look up, something; someone decides to knock you back down again. All my relationships have gone to crap Tony, you can't deny that. Hell, you've had more than your fair share of making fun of me with it! I bet even you've lost count by now! I know I sure as hell have!"
Tony didn't know what to say, Tim had a point and all his relationships had gone to pot over years but this thing with Abby was different. I mean sure, he'd been pissed that Gibbs could give his permission for them to date and not to him and Ziva, but ultimately he'd known since the first time they'd dated, that they were meant to be together. And he'd had to admit that Gibbs' reasoning made sense. That had served to dull his anger about it.
"This is different Probie, you and Abby are meant to be together." He frowned at Tim's harsh, sarcastic laugh.
"That a fact Tony? If I carry on this way, then I'm going to get her hurt or worst, Killed. I've got a huge target on my back and I can't afford for Abby to be part of that."
"So what? You just back away from her? You leave her hanging? You said yourself, how much you enjoyed your time with her, so don't screw it up over some whack job." He didn't mean to be sharp but knew that it was quite possibly the only way to get through to his friend.
"I know that Tony, don't you think I haven't thought about the fact that either way I work it I'm going to either hurt her or get her hurt. It's killing me Tony and I don't know what to do!"
Tony looked over at Tim and passed him another beer. Tim accepted it and took a large swig.
"I'll tell you what you are going to do. You're going to carry on as normal, Probelicious, and you are going to let us deal with the creep that is after you. You concentrate on you and Abbs, ok?"
"You don't understand, Tony." Tim said morosely.
"What don't I understand, Probie?"
"Gibbs' will never trust me with her again after this."
"You're worryin' too much, Probie."
Tim sat still for a silent minute before he settled back. There was a lot more he wanted to talk about, but for now, knowing that his team had his six and gave him and Abby their blessing lifted some of that heavy weight that had settled on his shoulders.
"Tony?" Tim settled back and glanced over at Tony.
"Hmm."
"Thanks, I appreciate it." The sincerity hit Tony like a sledgehammer. McGee had soon become more than his colleague and currently ran as his best friend and the kid brother he never had. He looked back at Tim and smiled.
"Anytime."
They both settled down to watch a film, it was a sure fire way to make Tim relax and give him a semblance of normality that was desperately needed after the day he'd had. Heck, Tony even let him pick the film and wasn't surprised when Tim chose Lord of the Rings. Sitting back, he propped his feet up on the coffee table and sat back to enjoy the film.
Even Tony had to admit, that despite seeing the film a grand total of 4 times, he had really enjoyed it. Once the credits started to roll, he looked around him and scowled at the sheer number of empty bottles that littered the small space around the two men. Damn, did we really drink that much? His question was answered when he stood to hit the head and felt the familiar feeling of drunken wooziness wash over him knowing that if he was in this state, his Probie was guaranteed to be a hell of a lot worse off. Glancing down at Tim, he chuckled at what he saw. Tim was sprawled out on the couch snoring loudly. His bladder protested so he tried to pull himself together and staggered to the bathroom to take care of business.
Tim woke up to hear a loud thumping on the front door and tried to stand. It took him a couple of attempts but he finally made it to his feet and swayed perilously before Tony's voice cut through the alcohol induced haze.
"Probie! You're up. Stay there, I'll get the door." Tim glanced up to see Tony staggering out of the kitchen holding a bottle of Tabasco sauce and a lemon.
"DiNo..DiNozzo Defrabu....Defri...De." Tim just couldn't say the word, he could think it, but saying it eluded him.
"Got it in one, McGoo, DiNozzo Defibrillator, guaranteed to knock the hangover we're gonna have in the morning on its ass." He opened the door without even looking and turned to look into the face of a very pissed off Ducky.
"TONY! For heaven's sake you are supposed to look before opening the door! Have you got no common sense, young man?"
Tony stepped back to let Ducky in and staggered hard into the wall dropping his hangover cure ingredients.
"Are you drunk? Young man, you are on protection detail and I'm deeply disappointed in you! Where's young Timothy." He looked up into Tony's totally abashed face and frowned when Tony pointed towards the couch. The floor and coffee table were littered with numerous empty bottles of beer and he could just make out Tim's head as it hung forward towards the man's chest. Ducky made his way over and prodded some of the bottles out of the way with his foot to make room for him to crouch down in front of Tim.
"Timothy, oh dear, what have you done to yourself, my dear boy." Ducky reached over and gently patted Tim's cheek.
"Come now Timothy, I've come to see how you are doing so can you wake up for me." He frowned when Tim groaned but didn't wake up; his young friend had moved beyond drunk right now and had gone all the way to passing out completely. Sighing, Ducky pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial to his dear friend.
"Ahh Jethro, I'm at Anthony's right now and think you may need to come over and relieve Tony of his protection detail."
"Duck, why what's happened. They all right?" Ducky cringed at the concern that dripped off of the simple statement. What he had to say was not going to go down well at all.
"Of a fashion. They may have indulged in a drink or two....."
"WHAT! Duck, are you telling me they're DRUNK?" Ducky pulled his phone away from his ear at the yelled words and glanced over towards the kitchen where Tony was swaying whilst trying to make his cure.
"It would appear that way Jet....." The phone went dead leaving no doubt in the Ducky's mind that the small apartment would soon be joined by an angry Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Tony staggered in and sank down heavily on the couch. He lazily motioned towards the kitchen and mumbled something that sounded like 'S'done.'.
Jethro opened the door to Tony's apartment and surveyed the damage, Ducky was sitting on the small coffee table trying to rouse Tim in order to get him to sip at a bottle of water. Tony was sitting on the other side of the couch and looked like he was asleep until Gibbs watched him turn his head unsteadily to look at him and wave.
"Gibbs! Come to join the party?"
"Damn it, DiNozzo, how the hell are you going to protect McGee like this? Why Tony?" Gibbs was angry, but most of all he was disappointed. He thought Tony had more sense than this.
"I got hiiimmm to talkkk, Boss, he needed to talkkk." The words were heavily slurred as Tony tried to explain. "He relaxshed and we wached a moviee!"
"And now he's comatose on the couch."
"Jethro, would you help me please, I need Timothy to drink some water because he's going to be severely dehydrated when he manages to sleep it off."
Gibbs sat to the side of Tim and roughly pulled him upright; the forward motion seemed to rouse Tim enough for the M.E. to get him to drink some water. No sooner had Tim had the water did he start to squirm.
"Crap, Duck get me a bowl would ya?" Ducky stood and practically ran to the kitchen to grab a bowl. He had barely made it back in time when Tim started to empty the meagre contents of his stomach. The lack of anything solid made Ducky frown heavily.
"Oh Timothy, you obviously haven't eaten much at all today. Jethro that would explain the state he is in."
"The beer would explain the state he's in Duck. Food didn't get him drunk."
"No, but the lack of didn't help. Anthony has already had a bottle of water and needs to go to bed. Can you do the honors?"
"He can stay out here, there's no way I'm carrying his sorry ass to the bedroom, Duck."
"Ok, but he does need to lie down and sleep it off, can you help me."
Between the two of them, they managed to get Tim situated in the chair whilst they removed Tony's shoes and trousers. It wasn't long before Tony was prone on the couch and snoring loud enough to wake the dead.
"Jethro, we can't leave Timothy here, he's a sitting duck."
"Not plannin' on it, Duck. He's coming with me. I'll need help getting him to the car, though."
They managed to get Tim to the car and a mere 30 minutes later saw Gibbs stripping his agent down and putting him to bed. He set out a bottle of water and some Tylenol on the bed side cabinet before moving towards the door and turning off the lights.
"Nothing's ever easy with you boys is it, McGee?" He threw the question out into the darkness and flipped the light switch off. He took on more look at Tim before closing the door and making his way downstairs to his living room to keep watch.