Tim sat in Gibbs' living room feeling sick and totally miserable, it was enough to make him heavily regret letting Tony ply him with beer though he had to admit, it felt good being able to talk the way they did. He sat staring at his hands and was startled when a mug of steaming hot coffee, prepared the way he liked it, appeared in front of him. He looked up and saw Gibbs standing there with his offering and accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks, Boss." He tried to inject as much enthusiasm as he could into his answer but it just wasn't there.

"No problem. Here." Gibbs held out the small bottle of Tylenol again and smiled at the relieved, grateful look on Tim's face. It had been a couple of hours since Tim had taken anything for his hang over but that pained, pinched look remained, signaling one hell of a headache.

"That bad huh?"

"Hmm. I swear I'm never drinking again."

"Yeah? Ya said that last time, but don't worry about it. Might wanna call Abbs though." Gibbs smiled knowingly at Tim and almost laughed out loud at the look of horror and fear that shot through those big green eyes.

"Wha...Boss what did I do?"

"You don't remember?" Ok, he was teasing now, but after last night and the rough conversation this morning he guessed he'd earned it.

"Come on, Boss, what happened?" Tim was panicking now, he wanted to stay strong and show Gibbs that he could really face up to whatever was thrown at him, but the prospect of screwing up because he was drunk really tore at him.

"Hey, calm down, McGee! You didn't do anything. I'm just yanking your chain, if anything she found your slurred conversation funny."

"Aww crap, I'm gonna go call her." He made to get up but was held fast by Gibbs' hand on his arm.

"Look, go shower, get changed and we'll go pick Jethro up from the vets. We'll go see Abby afterwards, ok?"

Tim nodded and stood up to move towards the stairs. He paused when he realised he had no idea where Gibbs had dumped his pack....If Gibbs had picked up his pack.

"Er, Boss..."

"Guest bedroom, you know where it is. You're gear's in there and there are clean towels in the bathroom. For the record, you need to make yourself comfortable because you're gonna be here till this is sorted out, you got that?"

Tim nodded slowly.

"Thanks, Boss." His gratitude was sincere and he was eternally grateful to his boss at this very moment. He felt safe and secure in the knowledge that his boss didn't hold last night against him and would help him through. He just hoped he could live up to Gibbs' expectations that he could really make Abby happy. With that thought, he moved up stairs thinking about his amazing time with Abbs, silently vowing along the way, that no matter what he would make her happy; even if he had to wait until this psycho was caught and dealt with first.

Gibbs walked with Tim into the vet's office silently. The older man was on high alert as he walked and kept his hand close to his weapon. He knew for a fact his Agent felt uncomfortable walking into the Veterinary hospital wearing a Kevlar vest, but it provided him with a modicum of security that if they were to be gunned down, then at least Tim had a fighting chance. He remembered the conversation this morning and smiled ruefully at how overly optimistic and young Tim could appear sometimes, even after all these years on the team.

Flashback..........

Tim walked down the stairs wearing a pair of jeans and a black shirt, even Gibbs had to admit, that the man had been taking care of himself and had managed quite well to maintain his slimmed down weight. He grinned broadly when Tim walked into the kitchen and poured them both a mug of coffee, though he waited until the young man was settled before handing over the vest.

"Boss? You can't be serious!"

"Oh yeah, McGee, dead serious." The underlying meaning to that word stung and Tim cursed his stupidity.

"Ok, I'll wear it, but only if you do too, Boss. This guy is after me and seems hell bent on taking whoever I'm with down alongside me." Tim didn't mean to undermine his boss, but the fact that he was a walking target made him uneasy.

"You're not gonna back down from that one are you, McGee?" Gibbs was eyeing Tim warily as he tried to gauge the man's expressions.

"No. You really think I could live with myself if something happened to you because this guy's gunning for me but he gets you instead?."

Gibbs moved over to Tim. The younger man flinched when he realised he was in danger of receiving a head slap and was relieved when Gibbs ruffled his hair affectionately like a father, instead.

"Atta boy." Gibbs turned to grab the second vest he knew he'd need and put it on. It wasn't long before he was ready to leave. "What are you waiting for, McGee, get a move on."

Tim hustled and was ready in record time, it wasn't long before the two of them were in Gibbs' car on their way to pick Jethro up.

"Mr. McGee. I just need you to sign here and we'll get Jethro ready for you. Did you bring his leash with you?" The Nurse in the reception area was chipper as she handed Tim the paperwork for him to sign.

"Err, crap! It's in my car which is at a friend's apartment at the moment."

"There a problem McGee?" Gibbs came up to the desk thinking Tim had forgotten his wallet or something and laughed at how sheepish his agent looked right now.

"Yeah, I left Jethro's leash in my car."

Gibbs pulled a long, thick black leather leash out of his pocket.

"This what your lookin' for?" He watched as Tim's lips stuttered silently as if trying to find the right words. "Figured you'd need it so grabbed whatever was in your car."

"Well gentlemen, I'll take that and will go get Jethro for you." The nurse left with the leash leaving Tim standing there gaping like a fish.

"How....wha..Er, Boss? When did you grab that."

"When you were sleeping against my car window last night, McGee. Here's the nurse now."

The nurse appeared with an extremely wobbly looking German Shepherd. Jethro looked doleful and sorry for himself as he was led out on the leash that Gibbs had provided.

"Ok, here he is. Be careful of the wound and don't let him lick. We've put a collar on him but he doesn't really need it at all times as long as he leaves that area well alone. Here's his medications, he's got some antibiotics and some pain meds which will probably knock him out. He's a sweet dog, you're lucky."

Tim remembered his first meeting with his beloved dog and cringed slightly before answering.

"Yeah he is. Thanks for your help." He crouched down to stroke Jethro and let his dog nuzzle in close. "Hey boy, did you miss me?"

"McGee, we've gotta get out here." Gibbs reminded his agent quietly with the no nonsense tone he needed to get his point across.

"Right, Boss. Sorry." Tim said as he wasted no more time leading his pet out to the truck. . Can you take me over to Tony's so I can pick my car up?"

"McGee, you're car's fine where it is, we'll pick it up tomorrow because there is no way I'm lettin' you drive after drinking that much." There was no way in hell he wanted Tim driving right now given the amount of beer he had drank the night before knowing damn well his Agent would still be way over the limit.

"Fair enough. Can I at least stop off at a florist on the way to Ziva's because I want to pick Abby some flowers up?"

"Feelin' guilty McGee?"

"You have no idea." Tim chuckled loudly "What can I say, I'd like to try to limit the damage and I know for a fact Abb's loves getting flowers."

The two men settled Jethro into the backseat of Gibbs' truck. Apparently, there was one thing to be said about his boss, and that was the fact that he still trusted Tim to do the right thing by Abby.

As they headed toward Ziva's apartment to visit with Abby for a minute, Tim became noticibly withdrawn, almost to the point where Gibbs could have sworn the kid was now completely stressed out about something. Considering his computer brain was in all likelihood, coming back online by now, it was no surprise that he was beginning to process everything more clearly and in its' entirety.

"Something on your mind?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"I'm okay, Boss. Thanks, though." Tim answered with his head laid back against the seat and his eyes closed.

"You do realize that you're still a terrible liar?" Gibbs asked his agent dryly.

"I don't.. I can't... It's just..." Tim couldn't wrap his mouth around what he couldn't completely sort out in his head. There was just too much; fear, worry, anger, and other emotions, he couldn't even name; all running freely in his head.

"Relax, Tim. I get it. If and when you decide you're ready to talk..." Gibbs offered as he let him off the preverbial hook.

"Thanks, Boss." Tim replied as he respectfully looked into the older man's eyes.

For the remainder of the ride, the two were comfortably silent

Abby was sat next to Ziva on the couch drinking a large, hot mug of much needed Java, the blend was perfect and Ziva grinned at the purrs of sheer enjoyment coming from her friend.

"Do you like the coffee, Abby"

"Mmm, it's perfect Zee, where'd you get this?" Abby thought back to Gibbs and wondered whether she could get him some for his birthday.

"Israel. My father sends it over for me on a regular basis. It's good yes?"

Abby smiled at Ziva and nodded her head happily, making her black pigtails bob merrily.

"Oooh, yeah. Do you think he could send you extra next time because Gibbs would love this."

"I'm sure he will Abby...." She was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. She picked up her gun and walked cautiously towards the door and halted briefly to peek through the peep hole.

"It is Gibbs and McGee." She pulled away slightly to open the door.

"Hi Ziva, Abby in?" Grinning broadly she pointed to the couch and watched as Tim moved across the room holding a dozen long stemmed red roses behind his back. It was a romantic gesture that sent a pang of jealousy shooting through her.

"Ziva. That coffee I smell?" Gibbs pushed past her and made his way to the living room to sink down heavily in one of the chairs. He watched with amusement as Abby jumped up and wrapped her arms tightly around Tim in a bone crushing hug.

"Timmy. I missed you, how's the head feel?"

"It's fine Abbs, and I missed you too. Here, these are for you." He pulled the roses from behind his back and passed them over.

"Ooh, another gift, you know you really don't have to don't you. Not that I'm complaining or anything but this has got to be costing you a fortune." She sniffed at the roses and turned to carry them into the kitchen to grab another vase out of Ziva's cupboard.

Tim turned to his boss feeling totally lost and confused at Abby's comment. He hadn't bought her any more gifts, not since the date anyway.

Gibbs looked back at his agent, silently trying to reassuring him with his normal calming steady gaze, locking eyes with him until the younger man calmed down enough to breathe normally and continue asking questions.

"Abby, what other gifts?" Tim asked as he followed her into the kitchen and gaped at the two other large bouquets of flowers sitting on the table. "Where did these come from?"

He turned to the flowers and felt his gut clench when he spotted a bunch of black roses, each rose was adorned with a black ribbon, he thought back to the conversation he'd had with Gibbs about his apartment.

"What aren't you telling me, Boss?"
"There was a bullet sitting next to your typewriter. It was wrapped in a black ribbon."

"Where did you get these, Abbs?" He was starting to sound panicked but knew for a fact he hadn't ordered the flowers, even if he had, it would have been a bunch of red ones despite her favouring the black, somehow it was more romantic.

"You sent them to me." She saw the look of fear that flashed across Tim's face and moved towards him. "You did send them, didn't you? Along with the other flowers and the chocolates?"

"Abb's, I didn't send these." He reached over and grabbed the card out of the flowers; being careful to grab only on the edge. Reading it made his gut broil.

Abby

Black roses for a very special person

That was it, the entire message laid out in one sentence. They were the words that he wanted to say, the words that he was holding back until things got better, but most of all, those words summed up exactly how he felt about his Goth...........Very special person.

"BOSS! ZIVA!" He waited for them to join him "I didn't send these! Boss, is this the same kind of ribbon that was found in my apartment?"

"Crap, Abby, where did you get these?"

"They were delivered about an hour ago, Gibbs. Is there a problem? We thought they were from McGee." Ziva moved over to Abby and placed her small hand on her shoulder.

"I didn't send them, Ziva, I've been sick all day. We just picked Jethro and these flowers up not 30 minutes ago." Tim motioned to the red roses sitting in the vase. "You didn't eat any of the chocolates did you?"

"No. Timmy, I'm scared, where did they come from?" Abby moved away from Ziva and buried herself in Tim's tight hug.

"I don't know Abbs, but it's going to be all right. We'll figure it out."

"Ziva, get the flowers and the other gifts together because we need to take them in. Abbs, I'm going to need you at work processing everything, can you do that?" Gibbs tone softened when he addressed Abby, he knew damn well that she was on the verge of crumbling right now.

Abby nodded into Tim's shoulder and pulled back when Ziva sprang into action gathering the evidence.

"Gibbs, they knew I was here! How did they know that?"

"I don't know, Abbs but I intend to find out."

Once the flowers and the chocolates had all been gathered, the worried looking group headed out to the navy yard to try to make sense of the whole torrid situation. They were all walking towards Gibbs' car when a loud crack echoed through the buildings.

"Shot fired, get down!"

Gibbs pushed Abby down on the floor harshly and pulled out his sig sauer, he didn't have a clue as to the direction of the shot and brandished it sharply for a second. Another shot rang out loudly and Gibbs turned his defensive body slightly to shout out his orders, he was brought up short when he saw Tim collapse in a heap on the floor to the left of him.

"Tim!"
"McGee!"
"Timmy!"