Thurs December 21st

Morning found Tim waking more refreshed and rested than he had been in a long time. The conversation with his mother yesterday had been just what he'd needed; what they'd both needed and had gone a long way in repairing the rift between them. Even though it was four days before Christmas, and he'd be spending that special day alone, Tim felt much better about it now than he had before he'd talked to her. Ducky had been right, apparently. His mother expressed her unconditional forgiveness in the same insistent voice that she used when she shared her sorrow for his pain.

Although they didn't talk about anything beyond the loss of the man he'd always thought of as his father, and his admittance of what papers his father had left for him; Tim knew that when the time was right, for both of them, they would be able to talk about the rest of it; somehow he just knew that without a shadow of a doubt.

That assurance and the full night of solid rest put a smile on the young man's face even as he drove into work, that hadn't been there since before his father died. The man would always be "Dad" to Tim and he would probably always remember him as 'my father' and had no qualms about it even as the real answer of his paternity sat like a dead weight in his gut.

So long as he refused to think about that chapter of his life, everything would be fine. Somehow, he'd learn to hear twisted logic such as what Tony had been sprouting yesterday, that hit too close to home for him, without letting it hit him like the sledgehammer it had been yesterday. He'd get there, somehow. Nightmare free nights like last night would certainly help in that direction. The last thing he was willing to do right now, was worry about it. Nope, it was too close to Christmas and even though he didn't have the time from work to go to California to see his mother and try to make amends with his sister, he was okay with that.

When the rest of the team arrived for the start of the work day, they found Tim already engrossed in something on his computer and a fresh coffee and Danish on each of their desks. After exchanging greetings and thanking him for his generosity, the daily grind of getting down to work began. For the most part, the morning was more normal than things had been for the team in a long time, although none of them had the time to stop and even think about it. A calm and soothing quiet settled around them, disturbed only by the sounds of keyboards being hounded and pens scratching on paper.

The afternoon was on its' way to passing by just as quietly when it was disturbed by a call out, which ate up the remainder of the day as they all went out on it and by the time they got back to the yard it was almost seven.

The team was grateful that for once, a missing Navy Petty Officer, wasn't missing due to foul play, but rather, had been missing due to his own stupid choices of trying to ditch the Navy simply because he'd suddenly decided he'd made the wrong choice. After turning him over to his CO, the team was able to beat it back to the yard and dive into the paperwork that had been created from this. They already had reports to write from the other work that had befallen them earlier in the week; after all, cold case investigating required a paper trail too.

Feeling generous, Gibbs sounded the call to call it a day before seven that night. The Team Leader experienced a moment of worry about what Tim would do with the extra time, but the young man had seemed to be almost back to normal since yesterday afternoon and Gibbs wasn't going to take that away from him. The best he could do was remind him that they were there for him. As his team was leaving, Gibbs sent Tim on a last minute run to the break room, with a rare request for the young man to get Gibbs a fresh cup of coffee. When he came back and handed Gibbs the cup, the boss took his shot.

"McGee. You need to talk or anything. Call me or find your way to my basement. Door's always open."

"Thanks, Boss. I will."

"Yeah?"

"I promise."

"Okay."

"G'night, Boss."

"Nite, Tim."

Friday and Saturday - Dec 22 - 23rd

Friday and Saturday fell through with the same sense of normal routine with, thankfully, no additional call-out. This close to Christmas, they weren't looking that particular gift horse in the mouth. In fact, none of them were griping about cold cases during those two days.

Both nights, Tim managed to have a normal routine at home as well, catching sleep with no emotional overload getting in the way. He didn't know how that had happened so quickly after the craziness he'd gone through last Saturday, but he was willing to accept it without digging into the intricate nature of the human way of dealing with things like this.

By Saturday, everything looked and almost felt as if the whole nightmare hadn't even happened. Tim did wonder if this was some kind of delayed shock or weird misfiring brain mechanism that would come back online after the holidays, but again, went about living without digging too deep for the answer.

Another day spent wrapping up case reports on cold cases they hadn't made any progress on and the antsy atmosphere was becoming tangible. Feeling generous, Gibbs let them go home He knew it was earlier than usual but it was close to the holiday and he knew they'd appreciate the extra time off. They could finish everything up tomorrow, even if it was Sunday. Better to wrap it all up then, then to have it undone and waiting for them when they got back.

Sunday, December 24th

As he stepped off the elevator at work on this day before Christmas, and even with no personal plans for the one day they would have off; the holiday itself, Tim was pretty damn satisfied with life right about now. Sure there were a few things that could be better; such as his relationship with his sister; and having his remaining family actually with him for the holiday; but he had so much to be grateful for today; that he hadn't been able to recognize just two days ago, that there wasn't a glimmer of sadness anywhere around him. Even having to work on a Sunday wasn't putting a damper on his spirits.

Gibbs had reasoned out with them that if they finished all paperwork today and tidying up of tedious things like supply orders and handing in time sheets, they could enjoy tomorrow off even more, since none of this would be hanging over their heads.

Tim was still reasoning through his current state of mind even as he sat down to get started on the day. His NCIS team had all stepped up to the plate when he'd fallen apart and needed them. Even before he'd realized just how far he'd fallen because he hadn't been able to ask for help before it.

Words would never be able to express the appreciation and admiration he now felt for his Team Leader and even Ducky. They'd gone so far above and beyond the call of duty for him; he was clueless as to how to even come close to adequately thanking them; breakfast and coffee for a month? That might help.

The last four nights had been the longest stretch in a long time that had been completely nightmare free and peaceful. It had helped him find his mental footing tremendously. Combined with the normal work days that Friday and Saturday had been, Tim was confident that everything would work out, so long as he continued to keep his recent discoveries buried and locked up tight. He could live his life and not worry about any of it. With that silent declaration made to himself, he was more than ready to face the day and the lonely Christmas Day that was looming on the horizon.

Whistling as he sat down at his desk and fired up his work station, he looked around him at his home away from home and felt a jolt of satisfaction at being at home where he loved to be, doing what he enjoyed. Even as Tony and Ziva arrived amidst their already endless bantering and taking jabs at each other, Tim settled into his comfort zone after greeting both of them and returned to his whistling as he worked.

While Tony and Ziva exchanged looks of surprise, they both received a tap on the back of the head.

"Mornin' Boss!" Tony offered loudly in return.
"Gibbs?" Ziva questioned the head tap.

"That's for standing there with your mouths open. Not the best way to catch flies!" Gibbs quipped.

Tim chuckled softly even as he kept his eyes on his work and his back to the team. Tony and Ziva had to smile and they both got settled in and got started going back over where they'd stopped in their cold case work last night.

Abby arrived straight off her flight, having gotten a ride compliments of the Director in an unusually generous move, and after she greeted everyone, she too headed down to her office and into the fray of whatever awaited her. It was nice to have her back and Tim was in a better mood for it.

The day flew by and after a paperwork filled day, it was looking like they might actually get to call it a night earlier than usual. Conversation drifted around to holiday plans. Ziva, it seemed, was spending Christmas Day with Abby and Ducky. Tony too had committed to joining them since he had no plans to the contrary. Not having thought anything about what he was doing for the holiday, Gibbs realized Ducky had probably envisioned almost the entire team joining him for the day and he had no problem with that. After all, if the situation his youngest agent had just found himself going through, had shown the Team Leader anything, it had been that you seldom get a second chance in life to treat family right. And this team was his family, of that there was no doubt. He'd be there at Ducky's tomorrow.

All that was left to figure out was if Tim would be there. Ducky hadn't been very public in his invites this year, like he'd been in the past. Gibbs didn't know if the older man had thought to invite Tim or if he'd just assumed the youngest of the team would be going home to his mother's for the occasion; banking on Tim realizing he'd be welcomed home by his mother no matter what had happened between them. As he headed out to get a fresh cup of coffee, these thoughts ran through his mind until his cell phone rang , jarring his brain enough to halt his thoughts

"Yeah. Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs, I need your help."

"Hey, either of you two know where Gibbs went?" Tony demanded when their fearless leader had been gone on his last coffee run for over two hours. "It's almost quitting time! If he's gone out on a lead and didn't tell us…"

"Go home!" Gibbs threw out at them from the space between his and Tim's desk.

All three of his Agents glanced his way. All three of them looked again at the beautiful woman standing at his elbow with a smile that lit up the room. Whoever she was; she looked startlingly familiar to Tony but he couldn't quite figure out why. While Tony and Ziva looked at each other and wondered who she was; Tim remained staring at the woman and wondered if he was dreaming.

Gibbs watched the flow of emotion that crossed his youngest agent's face with a smile and stepped aside so he wouldn't be in the way. In shock, Tim slowly dropped his backpack with a thud and almost trancelike, came around his desk.

"Mom? You're here? Really?" his voice broke with the strain from the emotional rollercoaster he'd been on since his father's death and obviously still felt stuck on.

"I'm here, Son. No place else I'd rather be for Christmas." Mrs. McGee replied with tears in her eyes as the love for her son shone so brightly, it erased every last doubt from Tim's heart and mind, that she hadn't ever truly loved him and replaced it with the certainty he felt all the way down to his soul, that she had given birth to him and kept him and raised him because she loved him unconditionally. His ties to his mother were unbroken after all.

Gibbs' smile deepened as he read in his agent's eyes exactly what was going through Tim's mind. It was obvious that seeing his mother now and seeing the hard evidence for himself that she really did love him unconditionally, despite how she'd come to have him in her life, was exactly what the young man had needed above all else. Tim wrapped his mother in the biggest hug he'd ever given her in his life; everything else around him fading into the background.