Tim spat the last of the rusty blood out of his mouth and winced as the hold on his ear tightened further.

Tony held the cuff of his shirt up to his spurting eyebrow in an attempt to stem the blood flow, as he bore an identical wince as the hold on his ear tightened further.

Holding the two apart with an arms width, Gibbs was visibly pulsating with fury.

He opened his mouth, but all that came out was a sort of strangled hiss and both boys looked at the man in intense alarm.

When he did speak, it was in the low, gravelly voice that both agents' instantly recognised.

The "you're going to wish you had never been born" voice.

"Get… in the van, now."

With that, the elder of the three gave both agents' ear a painful tweak before releasing them. He watched them walk, with eyes so narrow they were positively slit like, as fast as they could towards the MCRT transport, not looking at each other, and with a galaxy of space between them.

When the two doors of the van quietly snapped shut obscuring the two from his sight, Gibbs took his first normalised breath of the last five or so minutes.

He quickly re-scanned the amassed police presence at the scene, he could see only one person who appeared to have seen the whole…incident.

Squaring his shoulder, he quickly set back off across the docks.

Damage control was now crucial. One call to Vance about this and both agent's were looking at a two week suspension.

Coming to an abrupt halt in front of what he immediately gathered to be a seasoned, no-nonsense DC detective, Gibbs extended a hand.

Accepting the handshake, the man tilted his head slightly and to the agent's intense relief smiled a small, knowing smile.

"Got two boys myself, I know how it is. You tell me this is going to be dealt with, and I'll tell anyone who asks that both those kids tripped over their own feet."

The look of sheer relief that passed over Gibbs' face made the detective chuckle.

"Thank you detective" he murmured fervently "I can promise you, that those two… won't be tripping over anything again any time soon."

Chuckling, the slightly older of the two nodded and slapping a friendly hand on Gibbs' shoulder, he stepped away to deal with a call from his own team.

Counting his blessings, he strove to get a handle on his temper and made his way towards the van.

Wrenching the driver's door open, he threw himself behind the wheel.

Running another racking gaze over the silent and unwillingly side-by-side DiNozzo and McGee he was once again satisfied that neither of them were injured to the point of worry.

He firmly ignored the wide eyed, horrified looks that were firmly planted on each of the boys' faces.

Kicking the van into action, he pealed out of the docks at a relatively illegal pace and was soon making the way back to the Navy Yard.

His intense attempt to keep his anger in check was unwisely interrupted by Tony as he made a rather severe left turn.

"Boss…look-"

Increasing his grip on the wheel, Gibbs' jaw instantly tightened.

"The next one of you to speak…unless directly spoken to, will be spending the next month riding a desk."

This heinous announcement hung in the air for several moments as both agents' struggled to digest it.

Silence was restored from that moment on, as both Tony and Tim wisely kept their mouths shut, whilst communicating only through scathing and loathsome glances between them when Gibbs couldn't see.

Well, when they thought Gibbs couldn't see.

Several tense minutes passed, and the van eventually squealed into the navy yard.

Killing the engine, the elder of the three agents took a deep breath, and his low voice filled the cab without a glance towards the two younger men.

"Get out. Go in the back entrance. Go the nearest bathroom and clean yourselves up. Anyone asks, you were injured chasing a perp. You have fifteen minutes to wash up, and be at my car. Move."

Tony and Tim's stomachs instantly clenched at the dangerously calm tone, but both had the sense to clamber out of the van immediately and stride round the building to the lesser used service entrance.

Once again, the two exchanged not a syllable as they made their way into the building. Both men spun on their heels as soon as they were inside, and outside the scope of Gibbs' sniper vision. Tony took the stairs, and Tim stormed into the elevator.

Tim got off on second, knowing Tony would be too lazy to take an additional flight.

Within a few moments of each other, both agents' were hastily washing the now dried and crusty blood from their faces, wincing as the warm water made contact with the sensitive areas.

In his chosen bathroom, Tony stared at his burst eyebrow in incredulity.

How the hell did the runt learn to punch like that?

Whilst downstairs, in his chosen bathroom, Tim was staring at his split lip in anger.

What were the odds that Gibbs would care that it was his beloved DiNozzo who threw the first punch?

Grimacing, he dried off his face.

Even the most addicted of addictive gamblers wouldn't take that bet.

Sighing, Tim saw that he had exactly two minutes to be at Gibbs' car. Throwing down the paper towel, he hightailed it out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

He was already dead, but maybe if he was on time for his execution, it would be slightly less painful.

Striding back out into the yard, his teeth clenched when he saw Tony resting against the back door of Gibbs' car.

Of course he would get there first, Mr "Phys Ed Major."

Tim scoffed internally.

A lot of good Tony's major would do him when he didn't have his adoptive daddy around to protect his inadequacies from Vance.

Nearing the car, McGee smirked again.

Tony might be Gibbs' favourite, but it was obvious which one of them the Director preferred.

Watching the cause of his current situation walk towards him with a stupid smile all over his stupid face, Tony bit his lip in an attempt to keep his hands to himself.

He even walked as if he were the fast man on earth to master the feat.

Mr "Magnifico MIT" had to be the most annoying person he'd ever had the misfortune to meet.

As Tim came closer, Tony bit his lip further.

Gibbs was going to kill him for this, for causing any harm to his sensitive and delicate little favourite.

Didn't matter that the egomaniac had been asking for it, oh no.

Tim could say what he liked and get away with it, but the minute anyone snaps back…all hell breaks loose.

The two exchanged glares that lifelong feuding cobras couldn't manage as Tim reached, and also leant against the car.

The heated silence was tenser than the loudest of interrogation rooms as the two men stood stiff and still, neither of them willing to admit that each of their rigid stances was beginning to take its toll on their respective muscles.

Ten or so minutes passed in complete and utter silence, with each agent maintaining their taut position, and refusing to move an inch.

Their stances were quickly dissolved however, by the eventual arrival of an alarmingly angrier looking Gibbs.

Shooting the two of them a glare that would sour milk, he unlocked the car.

"Get up and get in, that car is not a damn resting post for you two."

The snapping tone sent them scrambling to remove their bodies from the vehicle, and to throw themselves in the back seat.

This was one occasion, where demanding shot gun was high up on either agent's list of priorities. Tempering their loathed proximity, they each sat as close as was physically possible to their respective doors.

Seeing this, Gibbs already intense ire increased further.

Mexico.

He should have stayed in goddamned Mexico.

With this thought rattling around his wearied brain, he inched his car out of the lot and roared it onto the main road.

No one spoke in the near half hour it took to get to Gibbs' home, and neither of the boys' expected to be driven to their homes. Despite this, they each groaned to themselves as the car pulled into their second home of sorts.

Once again killing the engine, Gibbs wasted no time in turning around in the front seat.

"Living room, now."

With that, he swept from the car and into the house before either Tony or Tim could effectively disentangle themselves from their respective seatbelts.

Tony led the way, not bothering to hold the front door open for the younger man behind him, who scowled when it practically rebounded into his face.

They made it into the living room, to the sight of Gibbs standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips.

Jerking his head to the well worn couch, he arched an eyebrow.

Both agents melted to the sofa, and sat down beside each other tentatively.

Tim instantly began to fidget uncomfortably under their boss' piercing gaze, whilst Tony stared resolutely at his feet.

"Eyes up."

Both young men reluctantly levelled their eye contact and winced at the obvious fire dancing in the blue eyes appraising them.

Pinching his nose for just a second, Gibbs returned his hand to his hip and took a deep breath.

"You let me down out there today."

The few simple words, in the restrained tone that dripped with disappointment made both boys' flinch.

"More importantly, and more to the point, you let each other down. Not to mention yourselves."

At this point, Gibbs began to pace back and forth in front of the silent agents.

"I'm going to hear each of you out on this, Tim first. Tony, go to your room."

Without a word or a backwards glance, Tony jumped up from the sofa and within seconds was making short work of the stairs.

The sounds of his and Tim's bedroom door snapping shut drifted downstairs.

Sitting down on the foot rest in front of the sofa, Gibbs eyed McGee appraisingly.

The kid looked terrified.

Rubbing a wearied hand over his eyes, the elder man sighed.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm absolutely furious, but… I'm calm. I'll be fair, you understand?"

His youngest boy nodded slowly, fidgeting and squirming in his seat.

"Explain."

The short order was simple, to the point, and a four year old could have followed it. Tim however floundered, badly.

He opened his mouth, then he closed it. Then he half opened it, before firmly closing it again.

Gibbs waited with patience that none of his ex wives would have believed him capable of.

Eventually, the young man's voice began to reverberate around the room.

Though it was very short lived.

"Tony…he's…he's different, with me anyway."

Gibbs nodded, and felt a slight pang of guilt.

He should have intervened sooner.

His "boys will be boys" and "let them sort it out amongst themselves" approach had backfired.

Badly.

Tim hesitated, but opened his mouth again under the expectant gaze.

"Ever since uhh…well since…see, since the…"

The kid snapped his mouth shut again, and looked up despondently. Despite how angry Gibbs was he smiled a small smile to himself that was tinged with sadness. He knew the young man was trying to tell him that Tony had changed since the Sacks fiasco, but he didn't want to bring it up in case it hurt him.

"Since I messed up with him…and not with you?" he supplied quietly, arching his famous brow.

Tim shot him a deeply apologetic look, but nodded in the affirmative.

"Yes boss."

Gibbs nodded, feeling the familiar bout of misery that accompanied that incident stir inside him.

"Go on" he instructed.

Biting his lip, Tim fidgeted some more before obeying.

"It's like he hates me…he blames me because you didn't believe him. At first…at first I was uhh…upset you know, but then…after a while, I just got mad. I mean, how is it my fault that erm…that that happened? It's not like I set the thing up, it was Sacks!"

The elder of the two watched quietly as Tim took a deep breath before continuing.

"So anyway, it's been pretty rough between us for the last couple of weeks. I guess tension's just been building and building, and today…it just exploded I guess."

Looking up in the clear hope that his explanation time was over, Tim groaned when he accurately gauged from his boss' face that this was not the case.

"What was said today, what set this off?" Gibbs asked quietly, knowing it must have been pretty bad for the two to descend into fisticuffs, and therefore he needed to know.

The instant flush that crossed his youngest boy's face confirmed this need to know.

When he didn't reply, and his fidgeting increased tenfold, Gibbs sighed.

"Answer me."

The fidgeting stopped for a moment.

"It wasn't just me! It was him too!" Tim all but exploded, looking angrily into the elder man's face.

Gibbs rubbed a hand across his face.

"I didn't say it was just you."

Tim snorted.

"Yeah, well you didn't need to. We both know damn well who you're going to blame."

A moment passed, where even a pin wouldn't dare to drop for fear of being heard throughout the whole house.

Gibbs positively gaped.

Of the two boys and the two girls, Tim was always the faultlessly polite and restrained one.

To hear him say what he just and in the way he just said it left the older man speechless for a moment.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he spluttered.

There seemed to be a sudden and not so subtle change in the way the kid was looking at him, not to mention his stiffening posture.

Was it coldness he saw in those bright eyes?

When he spoke again, it was in a scathing tone so unlike his own that Gibbs was in danger of losing his jaw to the ground once more.

"I think it's pretty obvious" Tim replied, managing to sound cool and heated at the same time.

The elder agent stared.

"You think what's pretty obvious?"

Tim stared right back, incredulity etched on every line of his face.

"Are you serious?"

Gibbs blinked again.

"Watch the tone Tim, you're in enough trouble" he warned, feeling completely bewildered.

Laughing coldly, the young man merely shook his head in derision.

"Naturally."

Gibbs' head was beginning to ache with the strain of keeping up with whatever the hell was going on.

"Tim" he began, forcing his voice to stay level, "tell me what the hell you're talking about, and lose the attitude while you're at it."

The kid looked at him steadily for a moment, before reacting.

Explosively.

"It's hardly a secret that you prefer your golden boy up there over me. You…you take him on camping trips, invite him to work on your dumb boat, to go to games…and me? Oh yeah, you invite me to fix your computer when you've busted it with a bat."

Gibbs stared, and stared, before attempting to open his mouth, but he was cut off.

"Are you really going to pretend that you didn't know that he was making my life hell for the past two months? I mean you two have spent all that extra time together, and he never once mentioned that he hates my guts? Is that why you let him treat me like dirt, because he cried to you about me one night over steak and sawdust?"

Gibbs was positively gagging on the air that was whistling through his tonsils as he continued to gawp at his younger boy.

"I don't know why I'm surprised. I mean, you two always leave me out. I'm great if you need an additional tax return, or if you need your cell updated, but other than its..Tim? Tim who? And then you wonder why I didn't come to you, and tell you what was going on. I'm assuming that was going to be your next question anyways. Well, long story short, what would be the point?"

The former marine blinked through his whirling thoughts manically in an attempt to address that question, but he needn't have bothered.

"There would be no point, that's what. I mean you alreadycame to me and basically told me to put up with his nonstop toddler tantrums. That your poor, precious Tony was just going through a rough patch, and that I ought to just suck it up and take one for the team basically. Well, change of plan, I punched him ok? He punched me first, but that probably won't matter to you."

Silence then descended, as Tim's chest heaved with the effort of his outburst and as he sat with his fists clenched in his lap, and his face heavily flushed.

It wasn't often in life that LJ Gibbs was completely stunned, but damnit to hell if this wasn't one of those times.

As he looked at the emotionally wrought state of the kid in front of him, he began to feel mildly nauseous.

The kid was right.

He didn't ask him to do the things that he asked Tony to do, but not for the reasons he thought.

As for his handling of how Tony had been treating the younger man, he felt his own face flush.

He'd gotten it as wrong as it would possible to be.

He'd let Tim be treated like a punching bag, and he'd failed to step in and resolve the undue anger Tony was harbouring against the kid.

He grit his teeth in despair as he realised how much hurt Tim would have had to take before he would blow up like he had just done.

A hell of a lot, that was how much.

All of a sudden, Tim was talking again.

"Look, can we just get whatever it is you're going to do to me over and done with, so I can go home. You probably want the house free anyway so you can assure your little prince that I got what I deserved, and nothing bad will ever happen to his pretty little face again."

The bitterness in the kid's voice tore at Gibbs' heart, and before he knew what he was doing he was on his feet.

Tim looked up apprehensively at his approach, clearly expecting a head slap or worse.

He was more than a little surprised, and perhaps that was why he didn't put up that much of a fight, when he found himself being pulled up from the couch by his elbow, and into his boss' arms.

Breathing in the familiar smell of sawdust, he relaxed instinctively for a moment, before regaining control of himself and beginning to struggle.

Gibbs' response to this was to merely hold the kid tighter to him, wrapping his arms around the slender frame.

He knew enough of his younger boy to know that this was the quickest way to get him to calm down.

And sure enough, after a few more moments of squirming and muffled "let go of me's", Tim's torso began to relax and his fighting stopped.

Gibbs held the boy to him for what seemed like an hour before he was ready to let him go.

When he did, he was pained to see the look of absolute confusion in his eyes.

Draping an arm around his shoulder, he gently steered him back to the couch and he himself returned to his original perch.

Closing his eyes briefly, he pulled himself together.

"Tim…have I ever lied to you?"

The junior agent was so surprised by this question, he forgot to be angry as he answered truthfully.

"No boss."

Nodding thankfully, Gibbs reached out and placed a hand on the young man's knee, and to his intense relief it wasn't shaken off, though it was shot an indeterminable look.

"I need you to listen to me, can you do that? Just for a minute, and then I promise you can say whatever it is you want to say, ok?"

The jerky nodding of the sandy brown head let him know that it was ok.

Just about.

"I'm sorry Tim" Gibbs started simply, noting the look of shock that passed over the young man's face.

"What you said…about me doing things with Tony, games and working on the boat…that's true, I've never asked you along."

The eyes across from his darkened as he spoke, but he ploughed on resiliently.

"But I swear Tim, it is not because I wouldn't enjoy hanging out with you. It's just…I know you don't like those kinds of things, and-"

He was cut off.

"Still would have been nice if you acknowledged I was you know…alive."

Gibbs carried on, feeling another little stab in his heart.

"Tim…I really am sorry, I never meant for you to feel like I was excluding you…it's just, well…it's just you're so clever son, and I don't know what kind of things you could enjoy doing with me."

It was true. As much as he cared for Tony and Tim equally, he just had more in common with DiNozzo. Half of the stuff McGee came out with, he had zero clue as to its' meaning. It was like having a genius kid in the house that you couldn't help with their homework after the third grade.

The younger man gaped for a moment.

"You have no problem hanging out with Abby, and she's clever" he spat.

Gibbs nodded sadly.

"I know that Tim, it's just…well, I guess I didn't think you'd have fun with me, and you've never really asked to come along on camping trips, and I know how you react to poison ivy and…aw hell, son, I'm sorry. I handled all of this badly, I had no idea you felt how you do, I promise you that."

Tim stared back miserably.

"You prefer Tony" he replied simply, and Gibbs felt the déjà vu of the same words Tony had spoken about Tim hit him full force in the chest.

Deciding to answer now, as he did then, he increased his hold on the kid's knee.

"Tim…are you listening to me?"

The boy nodded, slowly.

"You know hard it is for me to you know…talk about things and stuff like that…?"

Gibbs tried not to think about the fact that it had been easier to do this with Tony, because he'd been mildly lubricated with beer.

The kid rolled his eyes despite himself.

The whole world knew how hard it was for Gibbs to acknowledge he was human.

The older agent nodded, and took a deep breath.

"Good, then I'm going to tell you the exact same thing I told Tony, ok?"

The head bobbed up and down yet again.

"I…I love you and Tony the exact same."

It was McGee's turn to stare

And stare.

And stare some more.

"Wh…what?" he eventually stammered, looking at the silver haired man in shock.

Gibbs smiled a small smile.

"Come on son, use that brain of yours…I've had literally over a hundred agents in my command over the years. There's only ever been four that I don't really think of as agents."

Tim continued to gape.

Using this silence, Gibbs continued.

"I didn't realise how it must have seemed to you Tim. I thought that dragging you to things you didn't like would be unfair, and like I said, I don't know if there's anything you like that I could understand…but I'd be happy to tag along to one of your uhh…commicordians if you'd have me."

McGee stared for another moment, his eyes full of surprise, before answering.

"Comic Con" he corrected quietly.

Gibbs held up his free hand apologetically.

"Comic Con then" he murmured gently.

Tim nodded, more to himself than anything.

"You mean that?" he asked suddenly, his eyes brimming with uncertainty, "that me and Tony… are the same?"

Gibbs smiled internally.

They were more alike than they could ever know.

"I don't say things I don't mean Tim" he said simply.

McGee nodded once more, and then a new flush flashed across his face.

"I'm sorry" he muttered, looking up anxiously, "I was…out of line."

Gibbs reached out, and gently rapped the kid upside the head.

"No. You weren't, you were upset, and I should have seen it. I'm the one who's sorry Tim, but next time…if there's something that I'm doing or not doing that's bothering you, you're going to tell me. Yes?"

Tim smiled a "Tim" smile, and Gibbs' heart began to return to a normal beat at the sight of it.

"Yes boss."

Ruffling his hair, the older agent smiled. It would take a bit of time and TLC to get his youngest back on track with his insecurities, but he knew that deep down the kid knew he without doubt that he was one of the four.

"Good."

The kid smiled again, with bounding enthusiasm, and shot his boss a hopeful look.

"Next weekend there's a convention on downtown…we could go?"

Gibbs grimaced inwardly.

"No Tim, I'm afraid we can't, not next weekend anyway."

Predictably, the boy's face fell.

"But…but you just said-"

"I know what I just said son, but you are not going to any convention for the foreseeable future. Just like Tony isn't going to any movie theatre for the foreseeable future. Regardless of the circumstances, your behaviour today, both of you, was completely out of line. I know you were upset and there were…other factors involved, but that doesn't mean you're not going to be punished. Is that clear?"

Tim groaned.

In the midst of all the emotional upheaval, he'd forgotten he was in trouble.

Deep trouble.

"I asked you if that was clear Tim?"

McGee sighed.

"Yes boss."

Nodding, Gibbs forced himself to remember the fright he'd got when he looked up to see both his boy's brawling with each other, in broad daylight, at a crime scene.

"Now do you want to tell me, what the two of you said to each other, that made you think it was perfectly ok to have a fist fight in the middle of a crime scene?"

Tim blanched.

Taking a reassuring breath, he decided to tell the truth off the bat.

Gibbs would find out eventually anyway.

He always did.

"We…we uhh…insulted each other about our uhm…dads. Tony said that…my father basically didn't care about me because I…don't see him that often. Then I said that the only time Tony's dad wants to see him is when he wants money or he's being arrested for…murder."

Gibbs closed his eyes.

Tim continued, shakily.

"Uhh…then I said the reason Tony must…cling onto…onto you so much is that he abandonment issues."

With that, the younger man dropped his head into his hands and felt his face heat up.

There was silence for a moment, before Gibbs broke it.

"Look at me."

The order was again simple, but he struggled to obey.

Eventually he peeled his face out from his hands, and peeked at the older man.

"That was very cruel Tim, do you see that?"

A pained look flashed across McGee's face as he nodded immediately.

"Yes boss. I didn't mean it, I swear I didn't…I just…I just wanted to hurt him."

Gibbs sighed.

"I know you didn't mean it Tim, but you can't take words like that back once you've said them, right?"

The head bobbed up and down again, miserably.

Gibbs stood, and pulled the kid up gently by the elbow.

"OK Tim, I need to talk to Tony now. Go to your room, and tell him I want him down here."

McGee looked at him with large, sad eyes that tinged with alarm.

"Are you going to…punish him?"

Gibbs smiled to himself, he instantly detected the ingrained feeling of protectiveness for DiNozzo in the kid's voice, that despite their current state of warfare, he couldn't suppress.

Schooling his features into his trademark expression of firmness, he nodded his head.

"Yes, I am. You too. Make no mistake about it, you two are in serious trouble. But no, I'm not going to punish him right now…I want to talk to him first, and then I want to talk to both of you, ok?"

Tim nodded for what felt like the fiftieth time that night.

He turned to walk towards the stairs, before turning back with a pained expression.

"I don't think…" he trailed off, looking away in obvious embarrassment.

"You don't think what Tim?"

The kid took a deep breath.

"I don't think things can go back to the way they were…between me and him."

Gibbs shook his head.

"Answer me honestly, and I know you're still angry at him, but try ok?"

Tim looked confused, but nodded nonetheless.

Do you miss him?"

McGee bit his lip for a minute, whilst Gibbs waited patiently.

"Yeah… I miss him" he admitted quietly, "though I could still choke him."

The elder man chuckled slightly despite himself.

"Then, things will go back to the way they were, in time."

Tim looked up uncertainly.

"How can you know that?"

Despite his current anger at the kid, Gibbs reached out and squeezed his shoulder.

"Because sometimes brothers fight."

…

TBC

…...

A/N: Ok, so this chapter went way longer than I had anticipated, so my apologies, I just wanted to give Tim time to vent! Planning a similar chapter to get Tony's view across next, and a more creative punishment from Gibbs!

The ending, too cheesy?

A/N(2): Do any of you guys watch Blue Bloods? It's my current fix (shameless Tom Selleck fan). I was thinking of giving a fic based on it a go, let me know if guys know the show!

As always, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.