Finally, after what seemed like forever, Tim felt the grief and the pain subside and was able to pull himself back together. Withdrawing silently from the anchor that had held him through the storm, he offered up a weak smile of thanks before silently slipping away and heading into the shower. He'd been given the outlet to get the overwhelming pain and sorrow out and now he could go back to normal life. He had to. It was the only way to get past this.

Gibbs watched the young man's determination take huge strides toward getting back to normal and felt a wash of pride and respect for him. Taking himself to the kitchen, he refreshed his cup of coffee and set Tim's down on the counter by the stove in case he wanted to refresh it when he'd gotten out of the shower. Standing there, letting the sink hold him up, he thought over what he'd just learned; what Tim had apparently just found out about his life; his true parentage. Gibbs couldn't help but wonder with concern if this was going to change what Tim thought of himself and of his family; especially, his mother.

Whatever thoughts were running though the young man's mind, he'd managed to put them away by the time he came out of the shower. Fully dressed and armed with his gear bag and his weapon and id, he stopped at the counter and grabbed a quick refreshed couple of sips of his coffee. Putting the cup down, he turned to his boss.

"Thank you. I'm ready now." Tim's quiet words came out just a touch shaky.

"You sure you're ready to go back to work?" Gibbs double-checked, not wanting Tim to do this because he felt like he had to, but because he wanted to.

"Yes. I have to. I Need to. And I want to." The young man vowed intently.

"Need you to tell me something first," the boss quietly pushed.

"Okay."

"Need you to tell me why you moved without telling anyone or even asking for anyone's help."

"Because of him." Tim said quietly. "I don't want him to be able to ever find me. If no one knows where I live, he can't use them to get to me."

"He's on death row. Scheduled for his 'government sanctioned dirt nap' as Tony puts it, in less than a month. You really think that's something you need to worry about, Tim?" Gibbs asked in surprise.

"I can't help it, Boss. I won't be able to breathe easy until …"

"Okay, want you to promise me that if you ever have a problem with this, you'll let me know."

Tim looked away as he pulled his emotions back under control. Finally, he looked back his boss and nodded as he spoke. "Thanks, Boss."

Patting the younger man on the arm, he moved things along with a touch of compassion. C'mon, let's get going."

The trip down to the car was a quiet one but when they'd gotten in the car and buckled up, without even so much as a question of Tim taking his own car to work, Gibbs started the car and asked Tim the important question.

"McGee. Do you want Ducky to know what's on that video?" Gibbs quietly put out there.

"Yeah. The young man admitted just as quietly. "I just don't wanna have to talk about it."

"Is it on the flash drive?"

"Yeah. Boss, I don't want him to see it while he's at work. Too many chances of it being seen by others or worse, hacked or something."

"Anything else on your mind about this?"

When silence settled between them, Gibbs knew the young man had probably reached the far reaches of his comfort zone. He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get an answer to his question.

"My mom." Tim answered so quietly, Gibbs almost didn't hear it.

"You talked to her lately?" the older man asked gently, hoping to give Tim the room to let out whatever he needed to about the situation.

"No. Not since the day I went home to sign for all these papers and found that letter from my…. It's been over two weeks." Tim admitted with guilt.

"That why you've been so withdrawn since then?" came the reasoned out question.

"I guess. Didn't mean to be." The younger man apologized.

"Yeah, kinda figured that, McGee. This must have hit you pretty hard when you first read what was in the letter. I can guess that it put a real strain on things between you and your mother." The understanding tone didn't ease Tim's tension like Gibbs had hoped it would,

"Yeah. You could say that. Boss, I can't talk about it right now, please?" Tim was suddenly practically begging.

"Okay. If you find that you do wanna talk, whenever you need to, my door's always open, Tim." Gibbs reminded him with compassion.

"Thanks, Boss. That means a lot to me." Tim offered his own brand of gratitude for the rare verbalized offer.

"You all right now? With putting it away enough to work?"

"I'm okay. Thank you. Really." Tim promised.

"Yeah?" Gibbs double checked.

"Yeah." The young man vowed.

"Okay."

Arriving at work, Tim headed straight for his desk as he greeted his co-workers and started up his computer. Taking a minute to smile at Ziva, he noticed she appeared to be less than happy with him. He had broken a dinner arrangement with her, hadn't he? Yeah, he needed to fix that. Getting up from his chair he walked over to her desk.

"Ziva. I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you, please? Can we have dinner tonight?" Tim offered with genuine remorse and hope.

"I forgive you, McGee. Unfortunately, I have plans for tonight. Maybe some other time?" Ziva assured him even though she had to refuse his idea.

"Yeah, Okay. Thanks for forgiving me." Tim felt somewhat deflated and not quite sure of her acceptance of his apology.

"That is what friends do, yes?" she answered him with complete seriousness.

"I still appreciate it a lot, Ziva. Thanks." He answered with a genuine smile of relief and gratitude.

Ziva smiled at him and returned her attention to her work, hoping he'd drop the issue before he made it any bigger and return to his own desk.

Tim did just that, turning to go back to his own desk, only to be brought up short when he found Tony blocking his path.

"McGoo, you all right?"

"Yeah, Tony. I'm okay. Thanks." Tim offered genuinely as he took in the Senior Field Agent's concern.

"Hey, let's go have a drink after work tonight!" Tony threw out the suggestion with enthusiasm.

Tim looked at him for a long silent minute, wondering if he was seriously asking as a friend or pulling his leg as a prankster. Remembering that both he and Ziva had been legitimately worried about him over the weekend, Tim relished the invitation. "Sure, Tony, that would actually be kinda nice. Thanks,"

"Sure thing McGoo. You're buyin' right?" Tony goaded with a grin.

"Yeah, Tony, I'm buyin'." Tim gave back with a smile of his own, happy to pay this small price for the company and friendship.

As they all three got busy into their work, Gibbs returned to the squad room and found himself relishing the sights and sounds of his full team at work like any other normal day. He knew normal wasn't in the cards for Tim where his personal life was concerned, at least, not for the moment, but at least the kid was doing his damnedest to find normal where he could; in this case, at work.

Apparently, all he'd needed was someone lead him out of the fog and give him the okay to let it all out. Being there for that and watching him pull himself back together was not something Gibbs would likely forget anytime soon. If anything, it raised the young man up in Gibbs' sights. Still, he planned on keeping an eye on him, in case he needed more help that he wasn't comfortable asking for, like he'd needed today. Hell, he should have had the help this past weekend, but had been so hell bent on protecting everyone else around him, he'd let his own needs be ignored, almost to the point where his mind had gone into shock, it had seemed.

Oddly enough, the day passed quickly, as they progressed slowly through leads and theories with the cold cases they were each going through. Before they even realized it, night had fallen and it was already almost seven. Gibbs looked around at his still working team and smiled to himself, quick to hide it behind his coffee cup. Suddenly feeling generous, he sounded the call.

"Go home!"

Sighs of relief filled the air followed closely by the sounds of computers being keyed into quiet for the night, drawers being closed after supplies had been tucked away; and zippers being pulled after belongings had been stashed back inside the backpacks. Almost in tandem, his three agents rounded their desks and bid Gibbs goodnight before heading to the elevator.

Gibbs couldn't hold back the smile at that sight, after the horrendous start to the day, Tim had had. That smile, though, was quickly followed by a sense of alarm that what had plagued the young man earlier would most likely haunt his dreams tonight, but there was little Gibbs could do about it. Or was there?

By the time, Gibbs had that thought; the elevator had swallowed the team and taken them down toward their destination of the parking garage. Gibbs decided to try to meet them before they left and actually succeeded in getting to the bottom of the stairs and out into the parking garage in time to meet up with his baffled team. The looks on their faces almost made the trip worth it just for that.

"Boss?"
"Boss?"
"Gibbs?"

"Heard you were gonna go grab a drink?"

"Well, uhm, yeah. We were. That a problem, Boss?" Tony asked in surprise.

"Nope. Just want you to promise me somethin'."

"Not to get wasted, I know, Boss. I promise, we're just gonna get 1 drink." Tony vowed.

"Tony. Just call me if you need a ride home. Got it?" Gibbs directed.

"Boss?" Tony asked in shock.

"You do have me on speed dial?" Gibbs asked pointedly.

"Um, yeah. Boss. Of course I do. We all do." His Senior Field Agent reminded him.

"Right. Hell of a lot easier to hit a speed dial number when you're not thinkin' straight than to have to call for a cab, don'tcha think, DiNozzo?"

"Oh, right!" Tony exclaimed as if that slice of common sense had already occurred to him.

"On second thought, since you're gonna go drinkin' on a week night and you have to actually work tomorrow; get your asses over to my house when you're ready to call it a night. That way I don't have to worry about whether or not you wrapped yourselves around a tree or if you're gonna show up to work in the morning."

Tim couldn't help but grin at Gibbs' attempt to safeguard his flock even while letting them go out and have a little fun. "Thanks, Boss." He answered for him and Tony both.

"Um, yeah, Thanks, Boss." Tony finally found his voice and remembered his manners. "C'mon, Probster, Let's blow this pop-stand!"

Tim chuckled as he got into Tony's car and fastened his seat belt. Maybe this would be an okay night after all.

"So, Probie-wan Kenobi, spill the beans! What happened to you this morning?" Tony asked with his best puppy-dog expression, usually guaranteed to get him the answer he sought from whomever the helpless victim of his charm happened to be when he used it.

Of course, it didn't hurt that, three hours later, he'd somehow gotten Tim to drink enough beer that he was now about two and a half sheets to the wind, while, Tony, himself , had had almost none. After all, tonight hadn't been about having a drinking contest; no, it had been, for Tony, at least, about getting Tim to loosen up and let some fun into his life; as well as let his big brother and friend into what was going on with him. He watched as Tim tried to focus on him and reached out to steady his Probie as he swayed slightly in the sear.

"Wha...wut...wutt…" Tim frowned as his mouth struggled to enunciate his slurred, tripped words. He raised his hand slightly and gestured as he tried again. "Wha…t r u…u… tal...talkn 'bout?"

"C'mon, Probie. You were late comin' to work today and you only came in when Gibbs went to get you. So, spill it, what's goin' on with you?"

"d...n't w…wwanna tal...lk bout…it…" The younger man answered with a frown on his face.

"Talk about what, Tim?" Tony asked gently.

"No! Not. Ta...talkn...bout...dad...dyn…T...ny"

Tony frowned at his friend and realized that he'd probably made a mistake letting Tim get this drunk and pushing him to talk like this. He was barely coherent and the fact that he was swaying where he sat made the Senior Field Agent cringe.

"Okay, man. You don't have to." Tony was quick to reassure his friend even as he hid his shock at what Tim had just said without realizing it. "You ready to call it a night?"

"go…ta… talk...to mom…T...ony...nt...talk...er...in...2 ...eeks." Tim slurred as he slid out of the chair and almost landed in the floor when his knees buckled.

Tony hurried over to him and pulled Tim's arm over his shoulder to hold him up so that he could start helping him to the door. It was hard though and Tony ended up practically carrying his friend as the alcohol took hold more and more; it was worse once the fresh air hit though, and he felt Tim's head loll onto his shoulder as he soon started to feel like dead weight.

The two of them somehow managed to make it out to Tony's car and after loading Tim into the passenger seat and buckling him in, the Senior Field Agent quickly got in the driver's side and started up the engine, determined more than ever to get his teammate home to the boss. Gibbs is so gonna kill me for this. One drink, huh? Great, just great!

"Can't….." Tim started to say but stopped and groaned.

"Can't what, McGee. You feel sick?" Tony started to pull over to the side but once look at Tim told him that he wasn't quite at the puking your toenails stage just yet.

"Huh? N...no. Can't b…leve…Dad….not...my…fathr…eally…urts." Tim mumbled as his head lolled against the back of the seat and his eyes finally closed.

Tony's gut clenched. Oh shit. He was in some serious hot water now. With his luck, Tim would remember every bit of this night and this conversation and never speak to him again. Jeez, DiNozzo, you and your macho plans to sneak your way in to what's going on with him when he won't let you in on his own. You should have listened to Gibbs on this, man! He took a deep breath and slowly let it out and then found himself doing that for the entire drive over to Gibbs' house. Man, Gibbs' is gonna be pissed when he sees Tim like this!

Sure enough, the boss was at the car almost before Tony had put it in park. As he bent down and peered inside, catching sight of his greatly inebriated agent in the passenger seat, Gibbs' eyes nearly snapped with anger as he glared at Tony. "This is what you call one drink, DiNozzo? How the hell's he supposed to function at work in the morning?"

"I'm sorry, Boss. I just wanted him to loosen up a bit."

"Yeah? Well, I'd say 'mission accomplished, there, DiNozzo, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah." Tony said meekly as he came around the car and helped the boss get Tim inside and over to the couch. The lingering silence between the two that were sober now fraught with anger and disappointment as well as regret.

"Settle him in, DiNozzo. Blanket and pillow are in the chair. Make sure you leave the lamp on. Don't want him breakin' his neck if he gets up in the middle of the night. Oh, and don't forget the aspirin and the glass of water. Put it where he'll be sure to see it. Same thing with the garbage can by the table." Gibbs ordered before heading back downstairs to the basement.

Smirking at being able to order Tony into taking care of the now passed out McGee, the boss waited silently to listen for Tony's next move.

"Right. Thanks, Boss." Tony answered to the now empty air between himself and the boss. Smooth, DiNozzo, real smooth. Now, they're both gonna be pissed at ya in the morning! Ha! Who am I kidding? A blind man can tell Gibbs is super pissed with me now, the hell with in the morning!

Tony took Tim's shoes off and maneuvered his legs onto the couch. He was surprised at how heavy Tim really was now that the alcohol had taken hold, something that wasn't helped by the fact that the kid had passed out cold, leaving his limbs leaden and difficult to move. After lifting his friend's head and stuffing the pillow under it, Tony laid the light blanket over him, and set things up so that Tim had easy access to the things that he might need if he woke up. Once the water was sitting on the table where Tim could see it, Tony let out a sigh of frustration.

"Crap, Probie. You're gonna feel this in the morning. Sorry, Man." Tony offered even though his apology no doubt, fell on deaf ears.

Suddenly, sleep seemed like an alien concept, one that seemed to have taken a hike to somewhere out in the galaxy beyond here, not to be found tonight. Kicking off his shoes, he slipped down the basement stairs and sat himself down on the fifth step from the top so that he could watch as Gibbs planed a piece of wood to perfection.

Watching Gibbs build things, slowly and with purpose with complete calm and precision, was strangely soothing and Tony couldn't help but envy the guy; not for the pain he'd lived through; but for the ability to find peace of mind amidst the chaos around him in something as simple as woodwork.

"Somethin' on your mind, DiNozzo?" Gibbs' calm yet obviously still unhappy voice broke through his reverie and Tony nodded.

"Boss, I'm sorry. I know I told you we were only gonna have 1 drink… but then I got to thinkin' and…"

"And you wanted McGee to talk about what's goin' on with him and the only way he was gonna do that was if he was sloshed and plied with the right questions."

"Well, yeah. It sounds so not nice when you put it like that, Boss."

"Well, Tony, it wasn't nice. Did it get ya what you wanted?" The Boss' voice was neutral, calm and collected which served Tony with another dose of shame. Somehow, the underlying disappointment was so much worse than being reamed out by the man he had long ago adopted as a father figure.

"Kinda." Tony admitted with shame.

Gibbs' eyes snapped over to his agent, concerned for what Tim might have let slip out while inebriated and not in complete control of his thoughts or what came out of his mouth. The boss knew that Tim would be devastated if any of his private hell came out while he was unable to think clearly for himself. Taking a deliberately deep breath, he let it out slowly; determined to calm himself down before he gave away more than he needed to, himself.

"Just spit it out, DiNozzo. If you got what you wanted, what's the problem?"

"Boss, did you know Probie's father died?"

"That what you managed to get out of him tonight?" Gibbs asked in as neutral a voice as he could manage as he deliberately dodged the question. What he did or didn't know did not need to become ammunition for Tony to use against Tim. Egos were funny that way. The last thing McGee needed was for Tony to get pissed at him for not being let in on something so huge in his personal life.

"Yeah. From the way he said it, it must have been recently. He said something about his father not being his dad, too." Tony shared with sadness "Apparently, it was a shock to him. I think he's might have just found that out or something. He's definitely still hurting from that revelation."

"Sounds like you got a lot out of him, DiNozzo. You get enough food for your jokes at his expense now?" Gibbs couldn't help but push to make sure he could see exactly where Tony's head was at with this new information.

"No, Boss! I wouldn't… won't!" Tony objected to the boss even thinking he'd do something like that.

"Yeah?" the boss couldn't keep the tinge of disbelief out of his voice. He wasn't convinced just yet. Joking and jibing at McGee's expense was a mainstay of Tony's daily existence and no one could expect him to change overnight, especially someone like Gibbs; who was as stubborn and resistant to change as they came.

"Honest, Boss." The younger man promised.

"You manage to stop yourself, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as a way of turning the conversational tide where he wanted it to go.

"Stop myself?" Tony was confused enough that he couldn't hide it.

"From digging any deeper after you heard what you did?" Came the clarification Tony needed.

"Um, yeah, but Probie kept talkin' on his own after that." Tony admitted regretfully.

"I'm sure that didn't surprise you. And?" Gibbs pushed, unwilling to drop this until he heard everything that had been said by his struggling agent.

"And what, Boss?" Tony asked, confused once again.

"And what else did he say that's buggin' you? Somethin' is or you wouldn't've brought it up."

"Yeah, you're right. He said he needed to talk to his mom 'cause he hasn't talked to her in two weeks. Boss, that's how long he's been acting like something's wrong. You don't think…?"

"No, Tony. Don't think. It's not your place to play 20 questions with whatever's going on his private life. If he'd wanted you to know, he'd have told you himself. His privacy gets invaded enough at work as it is." Gibbs reminded his senior field agent of that fact since they both knew Tony; himself was the biggest culprit of violating Tim's privacy at work.

"I know, Boss. I promise, I'll try to stop."

"You'll do more than that, DiNozzo. Unless he specifically asks you what he said tonight; you don't repeat a word of it! Understand?"

"Yeah. Sure, Boss. No, I wouldn't. I promise, I won't."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna hold you to it so don't you forget it. Now, go on, hit the hay. It's late."

"Okay. Night, Boss. And I really am sorry."

"I know, DiNozzo, I know."