A/N: I forgot to mention last chapter that two people reminded me that the Navy Yard is not on the ocean. I did locate up a map before I wrote the scene, and saw water, but didn't pay attention to the fact it was a river and not the ocean. I appreciate all of your comments. A couple of people are hoping McGee doesn't have to suffer too much. I am sorry to say that there will be significant trauma for McGee, but, like the last story, I'll find ways for his strength to shine through. Next chapter won't be until Thursday. Your reviews mean everything to me. Keep them coming, please. Sheila

Surviving Winter

Chapter 3

McGee sat in the back of the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle as it navigated the bumpy roads of Northern Afghanistan. His fatigues and helmut were too big and his boots were too small. It was hot in the vehicle and almost pitch black inside. His opportunity to 'learn' the equipment had been shut down since the sun set. The Lieutenant in charge made it clear that flashlights could give away the vehicle's position.

McGee was pretty sure that the Taliban would most probably be alerted first by the loud grinding sounds of the huge armored vehicle as it navigated obstacles. There were six other men in the MRAP. Most of them were in their early 20's. There were initial attempts at cheerfulness and bravado, but the Lieutenant's anxiety was infecting all of them. McGee hoped he did a better job of masking his fears. Lieutenant Jemmings was at least a couple years older than he was, but he reminded McGee of himself in his earlier probie days.

Most of the drive was silent, soldiers anxiously looking out viewports into a dark Afghan night. It was six in the morning when they finally stopped at an American held outpost for a briefing. McGee dragged out as much equipment as he could. He set up in a tent, grabbed the communications specialist, a 21 year-old kid named Farmer, and started working on the equipment. The specialist was good, and knew the equipment inside and out, but he knew only radio gear and he'd never tried to hack anything so McGee knew he had his work cut out for him.

It didn't take long to locate two different independent networks. Using the laptop he'd been given as well as some of his personal equipment, he was able to break into both networks within minutes. He walked Farmer through the steps and had him work on breaking in with the outpost's equipment. He was rather deep into his tutorial when Jemmings called him in for a mission's briefing. McGee left the kid to practice and followed Jemmings into another tent.

A Captain was there with a map showing the location where they last heard from the twelve soldiers and two missing humvees. McGee absorbed as much of the map as he could while the Captain then pointed out particular Taliban hotspots. The plan was to monitor Taliban communications through the web until there were enough clues to pinpoint the location of the missing men or a target for bombing.

Soon, McGee was back in the smaller tent using snooper programs to try and pinpoint communications. The kid left and came back with an Afghani translator. McGee used all the software he carried, and he had to write code to keep up. The translator read for him all of the Arabic on the screen. The equipment he used was not nearly what he had at his disposal back at the Navy Yard. It took him an hour to pinpoint locations of IP addresses. The work it took with the equipment available told him that simple training modules were not going to suffice for these communications specialists. He had been naïve to imagine he could bring these radio operators up to speed in the time he'd been given, and it certainly wasn't going to happen in the field.

Without authorization, McGee contacted MTAC. While he couldn't get a clear transmission, he got enough of a signal to get Special Agent Brown, Chief MTAC officer, on visual. McGee had been working with Brownie since his first days at NCIS. Brownie, close to retirement, had been mentoring him patiently since his beginning days as a special agent.

Brownie grinned at him. "Damn, Tim, this is a surprise. We didn't have a sit rep scheduled for you."

McGee nodded. "This is a little off protocol. I'm working these signals in Afghanistan, and I have coordinates. I want to know if you can throw a satellite feed at it."

"That's pretty random, Tim. We really need authorization for that."

"I forgot what time it is. Is the director there? We've got twelve Marines missing. If I could get a visual on them, we can attempt a rescue."

"Director doesn't come in on Sundays. I thought you were teaching classes."

"Brownie, please."

The older man nodded. "12 Marines, huh? You convinced me, kid."

McGee turned to the Corporal Farmer next to him. "Can you go get the Lieutenant and the Captain?"

Farmer got up and ran out of the tent. McGee stayed glued to the screen while satellite images flashed in and out. Then the feed cleared, and the satellite was focused on a small village. McGee nodded, "Good job, Brownie. Let's keep the feed scanning the area."

"I can only do another 7 minutes before I got to justify the time for Sec Nav."

McGee nodded. He studied the feed carefully, taping it so that better informed Marines could study the environment as well. The two officers rushed in. McGee looked up, "I pinpointed the signal, and I have a satellite feed on the location."

"Satellite feed? You gotta' be kidding me. Geez, where did you get this guy?"

"They can only hold the feed for a few more minutes."

The two officers crowded around the small screen. The feed followed the narrow streets of a small village. One side of the village was filled with women and children, but the Northwest corner was of the village was strangely quiet. Two men emerged out of a building, both of them heavily armed.

"Taliban!"

Then the feed wandered over a courtyard, and McGee spotted forms huddled in the hot sun. "Brownie," he shouted. "Stay there. Can we get a closer look?"

The satellite focused in on the courtyard. The figures were people sitting against a wall, their heads bowed. The resolution settled, and McGee could make out the camouflage fatigues he was wearing. Then he spotted a sergeant's patch. He looked at the Captain. "Are those your Marines?"

The Captain squeezed McGee's shoulder. "Those are my Marines! Damn!"

McGee smiled. "Hey Brownie! We did it!"

The older man nodded and gave him a thumbs up. "Good work, Tim!"

"Gotta' go, Brownie. Write the report. No need to hide this from Vance or Gibbs."

"Take care, kid. See you back here in a couple of months."

The feed dissolved. McGee looked up, "I have coordinates, and I taped the entire feed. It has an aerial view of most of the village."

The Captain took him by the shoulders. "I don't know who you are, but damn, if you aren't going to save some lives today."

McGee didn't say anything, but he felt something very special growing in his gut.

"Hey you! Miracle worker! Grab your stuff! We're going to do a briefing in the large tent in ten minutes. Let's see if we can't get your video on the big screen."

…

"What do you mean McGee isn't there?"

Dunham shrugged. "Winter's people took him a couple of days ago. He sent me a note. It says, Thanks for your help. Met with Winter. All issues are resolved. I will be bunking on base. Won't see you for a few days. Winter wants me on site with trainees in Kandahar. Please tell Gibbs I'm fine. Also tell him to not complain to Winter anymore. Please! Everything is fine. McGee."

Gibbs winced. "Bastard took it out on McGee."

Dunham nodded. "Sounds like Winter."

"I don't trust that guy."

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure that trust is the most important attribute of a successful Colonel."

"Dunham, can you find him?"

"Now Gibbs, I'm doing the best I can, but I got my own work. When I hear something, I'll let you know."

"Thanks Dunham." Gibbs turned and signaled for the feed to be cut. Arms folded, he turned to Vance. "I don't like this."

"Well, complaining to Winter about it clearly doesn't do McGee any good. I want to show you something." Vance handed him a report.

Gibbs looked it over. "McGee accessed MTAC yesterday?"

"He had Brownie satellite a location. He was searching for 12 missing Marines. News out of Afghanistan today says that 10 of those 12 were rescued alive. The other two were dead before the rescue."

"What does he have McGee doing?"

Vance shook his head. "I don't know, but I bet you $50 McGee isn't teaching communications specialists in Kandahar."

"I gotta' get him out of there."

"Gibbs, he helped orchestrate the rescue of 12 Marines. Sec Nav is not going to be sympathetic to removing him. We gotta' take this slow. We complain to Winter, and we make it harder for McGee. We need more solid intel before we do anything. You know how Sec Nav would side if he got pulled into this right now."

"You gonna' let him use MTAC?"

"Brownie booked him 30 random minutes a week."

"Once Winter gets wind of this, he's going to want much more than 30 minutes."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Leon, l'm not losing McGee to some dilettante Colonel in Afghanistan. You hear me? I know he's doing good things, but Winter isn't going to watch after him. He's going to use him until there's nothing left. I've seen it happen."

"I get it. You care. McGee is special. I see that. But there's only so much we can do."

Gibbs shook his head and marched out of MTAC.

…

DiNozzo frowned as he stepped out of the elevator and looked at Ziva. She shrugged in response. The sounds of Blues music came wafting out of Abby's lab.

"I believe that is Robert Johnson. He was a musical genius."

Tony frowned. "Abby listening to the Blues? This is worse than I thought."

They walked in to see a rather morose Abs perched on a chair, her head setting in her palms. She gave them a half smile as greeting. Behind her, she'd turned part of the wall into a shrine for McGee. There was pictures of him, notes he'd written to her, old ID cards, and excerpts from computer code glued onto a collage. The number 9 was placed in the center. On a shelf below the collage, she had a row of candles burning.

Ziva pointed at the number on the collage. "You are counting the days he has been gone."

She sighed heavily and nodded.

Tony rubbed her back softly. "We came down to check on you, and we're here to tell you that he's going to be just fine."

"I miss him," she said sadly.

"We all do," Ziva replied.

Abby rubbed at her eyes. "But Tony knows. He remembers what it was like with McGee went to L.A. for two weeks with Gibbs. You were in Israel then."

Tony nodded. "Abs decorated McGee's desk. Looked like a Tiki bar. Had palm trees, banners, homemade signs, and cupcakes. She came and sat at his desk every day. Sorry, Abs, I should have realized what three months away from the McGeek would be like for you."

"I need him," she lamented.

Ziva wagged her finger. "Ah, but when you get him back, you will treat him like yesterday's leftovers."

"I won't!"

"I have seen it with my eyes, Abby. You take him for granted."

"Ziva!"

Ziva grabbed her face. "Abby, you love him. Not like a puppy. You love him because he is the man for you. He is your soulmate."

Abby cocked her head at her. "I know that."

Ziva threw her hands up. "Then why do you treat him as you do?"

"I don't know. Why do you treat Tony like you do? Soulmates are scary, Ziva."

Ziva froze.

Tony blinked. "What? What was that? There was an explosion in my head. I'm seeing stars. I may need to lie down."

Ziva rolled her eyes. She pulled on his arm. "Come on, you poor thing. We've got work to do."

Abby smiled at him. "You're so cute when you're freaked out, Tony."

They started to leave when Abby jumped up. "Hey! Next week is McGee's birthday. We should celebrate!"

Tony frowned. "His birthday is in November, Abs."

"It'll be his 6 month birthday. I mean, that's pretty important, isn't it? We should at least go out or something, don't you think?"

"Sounds good. We'll make a night of it." Ziva said as she pushed Tony toward the elevator.

….

McGee was exhausted. He sat in Winter's conference room in the same fatigues he'd been wearing for a straight week. There was sand everywhere on his body, in his ears, nose, hair, fingernails. Food had been mysterious chunks of things from MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) that held little flavor. He was often dizzy before he remembered to force himself to eat more. They'd kept him at that outpost for most of a week while he and Corporal Farmer located different signals. A couple of raids were successful, but one of them was a nightmare where three Marines were lost. McGee agonized over that one; worried that his intel was to blame. Then one day, he was unceremoniously dumped back into an MRAP and driven back to Kabul. Winter wanted to see him immediately.

The Colonel burst in, all smiles. "McGee, you come as advertised. Wonderful work! Lives were saved and you were the one to do it!"

McGee frowned. "I participated in no raids. Didn't save anyone."

"Nonsense! They had no idea where to look. You found those Marines. It was the most important thing!"

"You should really advocate for an MTAC here in Kabul."

"We have one," The Colonel snorted. "No one knows how to use it for anything other than communiques. It takes forever for anyone to pull in a satellite feed."

"You need better skilled technicians."

"Tell me something I don't know!"

McGee sighed and looked down at his grimy arms. He'd give a month's pay to be allowed a shower right now.

"CIA spooks been around sniffing after you. Didn't know you were involved with that bunch." The Colonel stared at him with icy blue eyes.

"Chad Dunham is a friend."

Winter frowned. "Probably reporting back to Gibbs!"

McGee kept his face as impassive as possible.

Winter glared at him for another minute. "I suppose you're due some rest. Report to your billet. Take a shower. Put on some fresh clothes and get back here. We gotta' do a song and dance for those pansies back at NCIS. Gibbs has been asking after his little girl."

McGee blushed deeply, suddenly wishing that there would be no contact with Gibbs at all.

"Hope you have enough goddamn good sense not to give out details on the mission you were just on. Let me do the talking on that."

McGee got to his feet wearily.

"Be back here in 45 minutes, soldier!"

McGee knew better than to remind him that he was a civilian so he grabbed his gear and headed out.

…..

McGee was too tired for drama so he did the best he could in the time he had. He had thoroughly scrubbed himself, but nothing could be done about the bug bites everywhere and sunburn cutting deeply into his forehead and neck. With his sensitive skin, every bite looked like a welt. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the weight loss he'd been so proud of was starting to look like malnutrition on him.

Still he stood up straight and smiled when the Colonel's screen opened on NCIS. Gibbs was there as well as Tony, Ziva, Ducky, and Vance. He saw Abby in the background, but kept his eyes off her. He couldn't afford any vulnerability right now.

"McGee, how are you?" The Boss looked stressed on the screen.

Tim nodded. "Just fine, Boss."

"You look like hell." Gibbs responded.

McGee nodded. "The climate here and the food take a little getting used to."

Gibbs turned his head. "Duck, he looks like death warmed over."

Ducky nodded and stepped forward. "Timothy, make sure you use the insect repellent and sunscreen every hour. We can't have you getting sick. Drink plenty of fluids and eat what's in front of you. I know you're a fussy eater but-"

"Enough!" McGee was surprised at his own tone, but he could feel the Colonel's eyes on him cynically soaking up every little bit of nurturing he was getting. "Sorry, Ducky. I'm doing those things, but you are right about the bug spray and the sunscreen. I'm not applying those things nearly enough. And as for food, I am eating everything in front of me."

Ducky nodded. "Good to hear, Timothy."

Tony jumped in. "How are your classes going?" He wasn't playing the clown this time. Seeing McGee look so battered had taken the fun out of whatever he was planning.

"Good, Tony. I am doing a lot of one on one work with technicians." McGee glanced nervously at Winter.

"Timmy!"

He closed his eyes at the voice.

"I'm counting the days, Timmy. I love you so much."

McGee forced his eyes open, and he nodded at her. "Thanks Abs, I miss all of you like crazy."

Gibbs gently pushed her aside. "Have you been spending time out in the field, McGee?"

McGee looked down. Then Winter was there. "He sure has!"

Gibbs frowned. "We had an agreement!"

"Gunny, let's stop kidding ourselves. This entire country is a combat zone. You know that."

Vance jumped in. "Our agreement is the only reason we allowed McGee to take this mission. We expect him back and in good shape."

"Heard you loud and clear. We are treating the precious boy with care. I know he's worth more than the regular jarhead. Can't do much about the eating and the sun and the bites. That's his territory. Can't make the kid take care of himself."

McGee felt like he was inches from exploding. He could feel the trembling in his hands and arms.

The Colonel pulled out a folder. "Good news though! I waited until he was among friends to share this with you. During his time…training, he pinpointed a location that helped us recover 10 live Marines and two bodies. It was an amazing morale boost for everyone in country. We owe this young man a debt. I wrote an email to the families of the Marines, gave them your name, and let them know about your contribution and how their loved ones wouldn't be alive without you." He pulled out a sheaf of papers. "Here are their replies. Brought a tear to my eye. McGee, I want you to have these, and read them so you can understand just how important your work is here. There's a pregnant wife, and I have it on good authority she's going to name her baby after you."

The trembling in McGee's limbs intensified. It was all he could do to take the offered papers from the Colonel. He reddened deeply. On one hand, he felt honored, but on the other, he felt that a terrible manipulation had just occurred. He had solely been responsible for saving no one.

"Are you okay, McGee?"

He could hear Boss' voice, but he couldn't look at him.

"Tell them how proud you are, Son."

McGee swallowed. "I'm…proud to serve my country."

The Colonel stood tall. "God willing, McGee here will save more lives in his time here in Afghanistan. He might be a little too busy for more of these online social gatherings. Others don't get this luxury. I myself haven't had my family on the feed for a month of Sundays."

"Colonel, I demand that I be allowed to speak with my agent in private!" Gibbs was almost shaking with anger.

"Sorry Gunny, the boy is a bit overwhelmed right now. He'll email you when he can."

The screen went blank. McGee sighed with relief. The Colonel put a hand on his shoulder. "Better get some sleep, McGee. You still got plenty of lives to save."

….

Gibbs threw his coffee at the screen. Brownie jumped up. The equipment was sensitive. He wouldn't make a deal of it while they were still in the room, but he was going to have to take care of that screen when they were gone.

"Careful, Gibbs, we didn't buy this stuff down at Walmart." Vance growled.

"I'm going to have to go over there and get McGee. I don't see any other way. I don't like Winter. I don't trust him, and I know he's not going to take care of McGee!" Gibbs was shaking.

"Clear the room!" Vance barked at the rest of them, but no one moved.

Ducky stepped forward. "We're a family, Director. Timothy doesn't look good physically nor does he look emotionally well. We're all worried. I can see it on your face as well."

"There is nothing we can do. McGee has taken on a mission. He has not asked to be relieved. I wouldn't expect him to look healthy physically or emotionally. He is in a war zone. When I watched that screen, the only time I saw him flinch was when you were treating him like a thirteen year old who couldn't take care of himself. Have you ever thought that he wants to prove himself?"

"There's no need." Gibbs mumbled.

"Oh, really. I bet you that hearing about those early evals stung quite a bit. Let me ask you something, Gibbs. Is Tim ever first through the door? Answer me that."

Gibbs shook his head. He couldn't look at Vance. He couldn't look at any of them. He left them all without saying another word.

….

TBC