A/N: I've moved the break in this chapter from where it was in the orginally posted story on the NFA Site. Nothing else has changed, with the exception of a few minor flaws corrected.
Also, a bit of a warning for this Chapter - There is no intent to slander anyone or make them look bad - we all have moments where we say things without thinking first.
Thank you to each and every one who has read and reviewed. And even to those who read without reviewing. Thank you.
"Hello?"
"Hello, May I speak with Mrs. McGee?" Gibbs asked politely.
"This is Sarah McGee, can I help you?"
"Sarah, this is Agent Gibbs, may I speak with your mother, please?"
"Agent Gibbs? Did something happen to my brother?"
"No, Sarah. Your brother's fine. I just really need to speak with your mother."
"If my brother's fine, then my mother won't want to talk to you, Agent Gibbs. Not if you're calling to talk to her about him."
"Sarah…"
"Agent Gibbs, my brother treated my mom like crap the last time they spoke and he's refused to speak with either of us since. We don't need that! I don't know what's going on with him, but my mother just lost her husband of 30 years, for God's sake! And I just lost my father! Whatever his problem is; doesn't give him the right to treat her like that! I won't let you talk to her!"
"Who's that, Sarah?"
"No one, Mom. Wrong number!"
**Click**
Gibbs and Ducky both immediately looked over at Tim, only to find him sitting stiffly against the back of the couch, his head resting against the wall as well, his eyes closed and his face suspiciously wet. Gibbs got up and went in search of fresh coffee as well as a blanket and pillow for Tim. The kid wasn't going home tonight. There was no doubt about that. Sure enough, as Gibbs returned to the living room, he noticed Ducky repacking his medical bag and Tim now lying full out on the couch, his back facing out.
Shaking his head, at the silent question he saw in Gibbs' eyes, the M.E. silently took the blanket from Gibbs and opened it up and spread it gently over the now sleeping agent. As Gibbs placed the pillow under Tim's head, Ducky took the young man's shoes off and they both then retreated to the kitchen to talk for a moment before Gibbs sent the M.E. home with the promise that he'd be called if he was needed.
Once the M.E. had left, the Team Leader got himself comfortable in the lounge chair near the couch. Sighing in frustration, he settled in as comfortably as he could. It was gonna be a long night.
Wed. December 20th
Morning found Gibbs alone in the house. Tim had apparently woken up quite early and taken himself home leaving the boss a note. As Gibbs found and read the note, his gut told him something was off.
Boss:
Thank you. For everything.
Couldn't sleep
see you at 7.
Tim.
Gibbs wasn't happy about it in the least, but short of calling him to make sure he was okay, there was nothing else the boss could do about it. He hadn't disappeared and if the note was anything to go by, he seemed to be in his right mind. Whipping out his cell phone, Gibbs did just that.
"Boss."Tim greeted quietly.
"Where are you?" Gibbs asked as he took in the background noise that wouldn't be there if his agent was at home getting ready for work. There was too much noise – printer noise, people noise.
"Um, I'm at work."Tim admitted on a breathed out sigh of frustration at what he thought would be Gibbs coming down on him now.
"You eat breakfast?" Gibbs asked as he decided against his normal route of berating the young man for choices he'd made that the boss didn't agree with.
"No, Sir."Tim answered vaguely as his mind attempted to process this very un-Gibbs like response from Gibbs.
"We'll talk when I get in there." Was the boss' only warning before he ended the call.
Tim breathed out a sigh of relief. That had gone better than he'd hoped, but the truth of the matter was, it wasn't over yet. Maybe the worst was yet to come, when the boss actually got in to work. It sure had sounded like a threat. Mentally putting this problem aside, Tim got back to work in an attempt to refocus on something besides impending trouble.
*Ding*
Tim's eyes blinked of their own accord when the elevator announced its' arrival on the floor. Glancing at his watch, he was shocked to see that it was only 6:00 AM. But even more surprising was the fact that the person stepping off the elevator was Gibbs himself and Tim had just spoken with the man, not fifteen minutes ago.
"Yeah, it is kinda early to be here already, isn't' it McGee?" the boss asked with a touch of sarcasm. "Wanna tell me what time you got here?"
"I'm not really sure, Boss. I think it was around 4?"
"Nope – try 3 McGee. Least, that's what time you signed in downstairs."
"Oh, Right."
"What's going on, Tim?"
"I just couldn't sleep."
"What's on your mind?"
Tim shook his head slightly, unwilling to go down that road while here at work. The fact that they'd already gone down the very same road last night; and in great personal detail, was another reason he didn't want to bring it up now. "I'm fine, Boss. Really." He finally offered instead.
"Okay. Put your coat on. We're going on a run for coffee and breakfast." The boss ordered, taking his cues from the young man who obviously didn't want to have this conversation again or at least here in the squad room.
Tim put his shocked reaction away and locked his computer before putting on his coat and following Gibbs to the elevator. The trip to the coffee shop in the bitter cold was a quiet one. Neither man had anything to say.
While Gibbs wanted to get Tim to let him in on what had him awake before 3 AM; Tim wanted desperately to not let his mind go back to where it had gone last night. Waking up at 2:30 in the morning because he couldn't get that maniacal laughter or the gloating admission of what had been done to his mother, out of his head, was the last thing he'd expected to be going through, simply because he'd wanted to fix things with his mother. His sister's screaming bitterness had found its' way into his head amidst the other crap as well; driving home the point that he'd well and truly screwed things up again; only this time, it had cost him the only family he had left.
Even after they'd reached the coffee shop and both of them had placed their orders, the silence between them remained. When the orders were ready, including drinks for the rest of the team, they trudged their way back, this time, into the face of the wind that had formally been at their backs. Huddled into their coats and carrying hot drinks left little room for conversation and so no words were spoken still.
"Hey! So that's where you two went off to!" Tony greeted Gibbs and Tim as they came back into the squad room.
Tim silently passed out the hot drinks and breakfast sandwiches after Gibbs set his tray down next to Tim's tray on Ziva's desk. She hadn't arrived yet and hopefully wouldn't mind the use of her desk for the moment. Gibbs remained silent as well and a now completely unnerved Tony DiNozzo was concerned.
"Boss? Probie? Everything all right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, Tony. Everything's fine." Tim answered as if he'd just been brought out of a mind fog.
Tony watched as Gibbs immediately sent his eyes to check Tim's expression at the spoken reassurance. Yeah, something was up, that was for certain. Whatever it is, sure hope it's not bad news for anyone.
The morning moved forward and they each dug back into the cold cases before them. Hours of almost silent perusing of files, facts and figures went by with none of them getting any closer to the answers they sought. Suddenly, Tony sprung up out of his chair and announced to the room at large; "I got it!"
"Got what? DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he put his pen down and looked over at his Senior Agent.
"Boss! This case? It's the last in a long line of murders with the same m.o, right? But, this one is a good 15 years after the last one that fits that of the others."
"Yeah. Okay? Doesn't explain what it is 'you got' DiNozzo." The boss reminded him.
"Classic case of the copycat, Boss. Only this time, it's the son copycatting his serial killer of a father! That's why the DNA seemed hinky. What I wanna know is what kind of woman would sleep with a serial killer and have his kid? I mean, who would want to have offspring from a guy like that? Haven't these women ever heard of 'like father, like son?" Tony ranted on as he stood in front of the plasma screen at the edge of the squad room. "I can't imagine what it would be like to be the son of a serial killer. Probably never able to look yourself in the mirror just from the shame and the guilt alone! Ugh!"
Tim's heart stopped and his legs damn near gave out on him as he quickly took his seat and waited for the jokes and jibes to come his way along with the rhetorical questions about whether or not Tim knew this or not. He really wished Tony would just shut up. Silently, he stood back up and walked around his desk, and headed out of the squad room, the long way so he wouldn't have to bump into Tony or even become a blip on his radar while continuing to verbally think his way through his ideas and theories about the case he was looking into.
Gibbs forced himself to keep his eyes off Tim so he wouldn't immediately draw extra attention to his youngest agent, even as he could see out of the corner of his eye that the young man had indeed reacted like he'd been sucker punched. Still, he had to ignore his reaction for Tim's own sake of keeping things private. Instead the boss looked over at his ranting agent before stepping up to him and asking him:
"You done?"
"Boss?"
"You're done."
"But…"
"Enough, DiNozzo. Stick to the facts and quit the judgmental B.S. that doesn't solve the case!" Gibbs hissed at him.
"Huh? Oh, right! Okay, sorry, Boss." Tony gave back flippantly and quickly moved back to the point. "I'll stake my next paycheck on it, Boss. This is the work of the son, trying to be his father's copycat."
"Yeah, heard you the first time, DiNozzo. Until you bring me facts to back that up, how about you get back to looking into the facts of the case?"
"Oh, sure, Boss." Tony answered as he turned away from the Plasma TV and headed back to his desk. "Hey, where'd Probie go? Wait a minute! Both of them are missing!" Tony objected as he looked around him and finally noticed he and Gibbs were the only two in the squad room.
"They're not missing, DiNozzo, get to work!" Gibbs told him quietly; making sure to lace his voice with enough steel that the younger man would know he was playing with fire.
Ziva had seen Tim's reaction to Tony's words. It had been quick and serious. When the younger man had silently retreated from the squad room, taking the long route past Tony's desk and back around the stairs to the Director's Office, the newest member to the team knew something was seriously wrong and wanted to be there for her friend. She'd slid a glance over to the boss who, in turn, had nodded his head in the direction of Tim's retreating figure. Thankful that Gibbs seemed to agree with her, she'd quickly hurried after Tim; trailing him to the break room.
Now, she took a seat at the same table he was sitting at. "McGee. Are you all right?"
"Yeah, Ziva. I'm okay, just needed some fresh coffee. You?"
"I am fine. And you are being less than completely honest with me and with yourself. I saw your reaction to what Tony said, McGee. That kind of reaction does not come from being okay. In fact, you have not been 'okay' for some time now. I find myself wishing I had not had other plans the other night when you wanted to have dinner with me. When Tony told me what did happen after work that night, I could not help but feel that had you and I had dinner then, you would not be so 'not okay' now?"
"No, Ziva. It's not like that. I'm okay. Honest. C'mon, let's get back to work." Tim encouraged as he deliberately stomped down on the pain that Tony's callous remarks had reaped upon his heart. The questions he'd put forth to Gibbs and Ducky just last night now came back to clarity, seeming to smack up upside the head with Tony's version of the very truth Tim had been searching for. What if Tony was right this time, instead of Gibbs? Was he like his biological father? What did his mother think about her son, the offspring of a serial killer?
"Relax, McGee. Gibbs knows we are taking this break. We should enjoy this while we have the chance, yes?" Ziva asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"Ha. Yeah. You're right about that." Tim answered with a small smile as he sat back down and allowed himself to relax.
Watching Tim walk out of the squad room; letting him go, knowing the pain that had to be hitting him right between the eyes, at the careless remarks from his Senior Field Agent; had been one of the hardest things that Gibbs had had to do recently. But as the Team Leader answered his now ringing cell phone, he quickly realized what he had to do now, was just as difficult.
"Agent Gibbs. I finally got Sarah to tell me what went on when you called here last night. Please tell me Tim didn't hear what she said!"
As the timid voice of his agent's mother once again reached out to him through the phone line, Gibbs got up from his desk and headed out to the break room he was sure his other two agents had gone to
"Mrs. McGee, I had my phone on speaker. He heard her. I am sorry."
"Oh, No! Is he okay?"
"He will be when he's had a chance to talk to you."
"Can I talk to him, please?"
"He'd like that. Call me back in about 10 minutes and he'll be all yours."
"All right. Thank you so much, Agent Gibbs."
"Not a problem, Mrs. McGee." Gibbs snapped his phone shut and kept going toward the break room.
Sure enough, he found both Tim and Ziva in the midst of what looked like a very serious discussion. Not wanting to interfere or eavesdrop, he stopped in the doorway of the otherwise empty break room. Wanting to get things as back to normal as possible, he got their attention. "Hey!"
Both of his agents instantly looked over to him even as they stood up, ready to react to whatever it was he wanted from them.
"C'mon. Ziva head back to work. McGee, you're with me." He requested,
Ziva nodded and did as Gibbs had asked and headed back to the squad room as Gibbs led Tim away from their work area and into a conference room. As they both took a seat, Gibbs looked the young man square on and explained to him what was going on.
"McGee, your mother just called me. She's really worried about you. Said she finally got your sister to tell her what happened in that phone call last night and needs to talk to you."
"Is she…?" Tim asked hesitantly.
"Upset that you heard what your sister said." Gibbs reassured him.
"Oh."
"Are you up for this?'
"Boss?"
"She'll be calling back in a minute."
"Okay."
"You don't sound like you want to talk to her."
"I'm just not sure if I can."
"McGee. She's your mother and she loves you. Go with that."
"Okay. Thanks, Boss."
Gibbs patted Tim's shoulder and left him alone in the room, closing the door behind him. He knew that the young man was probably still reeling from the emotions that had been dredged up with the comments made just a short while ago; but the kid had to be able to have this conversation with his mother if he was ever gonna be able to fix things with his family. It was the first step he needed to make in order to find the answers he needed as well. Babysitting him through it, now that he'd been informed of how his mother felt; wouldn't help him in the least.
Thirty minutes later, Tim returned to the squad room and silently walked up to Gibbs' desk and handed the man back his phone. The boss gave Tim that silent patented "You okay?" questioning look and the younger man nodded in silent affirmation before turning and heading back to his desk; back to work.
Without further ado, work was once again, the call of the day and no further interruptions were made or tolerated. When Tony opened his mouth to speak or began to get up out of his seat, he received the glare from Gibbs that never failed to stop him in his tracks. Enough was enough, and Gibbs wanted peace and quiet as well as productivity and results. He most definitely did not want any more incidents like there had been earlier. Better to come across as earning the second "B" in his name, than risk that happening again.
By the end of the day, the team seemed to have been stretched to the breaking point with the tension filled silence and no real lead to take them out of the squad room for a breath of fresh air away from it. It felt stifling, even to Gibbs, who looked at his watch in hope it was late enough to cut them loose. He could feel a headache comin' on and was more than ready to head it off. Sure enough, it had come on six in the evening and that was plenty late enough.
"Go home!" he barked out as he snatched up his coffee cup and headed out in search for more caffeine and fresh air – no matter how bitterly cold it was out. Winter was always such a pain in the rear, with its' biting cold wind, icy roads and all its' other fine attributes. Settling into his coat further in order to ward off the wind, he couldn't help but shake his head a little at the strange place his head had just gone. The weather? Really?
Frustrations were at an all-time high as Gibbs left the squad room after telling the team to go home. Tony was gone so fast; lightening couldn't have stopped him even if it had tried. Ziva lingered long enough to look over at Tim to see how he was doing. She wasn't happy that her conversation with him had been interrupted earlier, but she was also worried about him since he'd been carted off to places unknown by Gibbs earlier and had been gone every bit of 30 minutes longer than the boss himself had been.
Feeling her eyes on him, Tim looked over at her and offered her a smile and some reassurance. "I'm fine, Ziva. Really. Thank you for your concern. I'm just gonna go home and get a good night's sleep. You go ahead. Enjoy your evening."
"Are you not leaving now?"
"Not yet. I won't be staying much longer though, don't worry."
"All right, McGee. If you need to talk, you will call me, yes?"
"Yes, Ziva. I will. Thank you."
"That is what friends do."
"You're right. They do." Tim smiled at her as he lifted his coffee cup off the desk and gestured that he was going after more, before disappearing out of the squad room in the direction of the break room.
Ziva headed out, confident that McGee was not lying to her and that if he needed to talk, he would call. She could only hope he would be able to get a good night's sleep tonight. It had become obvious that sleep was becoming hard for him to find. She'd seen it in his eyes and his body posture lately and was beginning to worry about him; especially after seeing his reaction to Tony's statements about his cold case earlier in the day.
Tim waited a good fifteen minutes before returning to the squad room and packing it in for the day. As he headed out, he remembered that his car had been here for a few days and he hoped no one had messed with it. Thankfully, no one had done anything to his prized possession and he was able to drive himself home, even if traffic was a royal pain in the behind.
Once at home, he took himself off to bed, more than ready to escape the need to think or do anything for at least a couple of hours. Thankfully, he didn't experience any mental skirmishes or stubborn roadblocks in his attempts to relax. At this point, he couldn't even bring up the conversation he'd had with his mother this afternoon. Hi mind had gone blank with the need for total relaxation and sleep. It wasn't long before sleep came out of hiding and claimed this willing victim.
Gibbs was mentally head slapping himself for leaving the squad room without first making sure Tim was ready to face the night and the possible nightmares that would come with it; alone. When he got back to his desk, he found a note from the agent currently at the center of his concern.
Boss:
I'm going home to get some sleep.
McGee.
The boss had to smile. Leave it to McGee to know that Gibbs would want to keep tabs on him for a bit longer. Knowing where McGee was spending the night and that the young man felt ready and able to face the possibility of a rough night, alone, bolstered the former Marine's ability to breathe easier on the subject of his youngest agent.
Closing down his work station, he could finally see hope looming on the horizon for McGee. Even without knowing what was said in the conversation between the young man and his mother; Gibbs had a sense that everything would work out for the best; for McGee and his mother and sister. This close to Christmas that thought did the Team Leader's heart good.