a/n - Loved, loved, loved the episode this week. I knew McGee's father was a hard-*ss. It fits perfectly with how I saw the relationship, so I'm thrilled and have plot bunnies up the wazoo.

This chapter got to be too big, so I've split it in half. That means a chapter tomorrow for sure, cause it's done and I'm working on chapter 6. This story wants to be as long as Backfired, but it's for a challenge due in less than a week. Let's see which side wins out.

"So, one of the ex-wives painted this white?" McGee was bent over, removing the light switch covers, and saw the remains of a rich yellow ochre.

Gibbs was on a ladder, taping off the window mouldings. "Yep, came home from an assignment and my walls were white, most of my hardwood floors were covered with beige carpet, all the original light fixtures were down and my oak kitchen cabinets were all replaced with those white ones."

"Boy, she didn't like color, did she? You're lucky she didn't paint over the wainscoting."

"She didn't like much of anything, including me."

Tim replaced the screws so they wouldn't get lost before turning around. "So why'd you marry her?"

If he were honest with himself, Gibbs had asked himself the same question many times, starting on their wedding day. "Damned if I know, sounded like a good idea at the time."

McGee could think of a lot of come backs, but decided to keep those thoughts to himself. "So, what colors are you going with now?"

Gibbs looked surprised at the question. "I guess the white's fine."

"But do you like it?"

"Not really, hate the carpet more." He continued before McGee could say anything. "I'm no designer, Tim, I wouldn't have the first idea where to start."

Walking over to join Gibbs, who was now leaning against the back of the sofa, Tim thought carefully about what to say, wanting to make his point without insulting him. "From the outside, this is a beautifully original, classic Craftsman home, and the bones are still here on the inside."

"Yeah."

"Was it Diane or Stephanie?"

"Diane."

"So, she's moved on through husband number two and now she's latched onto number three, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"She probably likes the fact that you come home every night to the changes she made to your home."

Gibbs bit back a snort as he realized how much that sounded like Diane. "Probably, so what do you suggest?"

"It's kind of like dealing with bullies. Sometimes the best revenge is moving on and doing it well. If we're going to paint anyway, why not go ahead and use colors you like?" Tim watched as Gibbs slowly nodded his head as he came to a decision.

"All right, let's do it. Come on." Much to McGee's surprise, he headed for the basement stairs instead of the front door. Down in the basement, Gibbs was opening boxes, finding whatever he was looking for in the third one. "Down but not gone, take a look."

Tim leaned close, peering into the box where an assortment of traditional bronze lights with stained glass or mica shades were waiting to be restored to the original glory. "There's your colors, Gibbs."

Gibbs brushed some of the dust off to show the swirls of blues and greens in the hand made glass. "The minute she saw these lights, Shannon fell in love with this house."

There was a softness in his expression that Tim had never seen. "You and I can rewire them easily enough and one of the ladies at the art studio restores stained glass. I've seen her work, she's good."

"Okay." Gibbs nodded again, more to himself. "Let's do this."

Once upstairs, Gibbs identified the original location of each of the fixtures as Tim cleaned them enough to photograph the colors of the glass, giving them something to match at the paint store after they dropped the glass shades off at the studio.

Much to Gibbs' surprise, the store carried a line of colors based on the traditional paint choices of the Craftsman era. Comparing those to the pictures on McGee's phone, the choices were easy and they were back at the house in under two hours with paint for each room downstairs.

"You know, the dining room isn't that bad." Gibbs wasn't sure exactly when the dining room, kitchen, bathroom and hallways were added into the painting plan.

"But what will it look like next to a freshly painted living room?"

Gibbs looked around. Painting the hallways meant painting the wall of the stairway. "We're going to end up painting this whole damn house."

"We can probably get away with not painting the basement." Tim held back his laughter until he felt the hand smack against the back of his head.

"Funny, McGee." Gibbs started to spread out a drop cloth, then froze. "I hate this beige carpet, so why am I protecting it?"

"What condition is the hardwood in?"

"I refinished the floors myself about six months before she put in this damn carpet."

"Let's take a look."

Gibbs carefully pried off a section of baseboard nearest the most worn area of carpet, knowing that was where the most damage to the original floor would be found. The pad had done its job and, once the tack strips were removed, the floor would only need a good cleaning and a fresh coat of wax.

The ceilings were first to be painted. Gibbs wasn't convinced the different cans for each room were totally necessary until they started on the walls of the living room after lunch. The pale blue on the ceiling next to the deeper blue on the walls gave the room a richness he hadn't been expecting. The dining room came alive with a mossy green, slightly darker and more dramatic than the living room. Once the buckskin color went up in the hallway Gibbs could imagine how those walls would glow under the amber mica light shades.

Pulling it all together, McGee used the buckskin color to paint the insides of the various archways between the rooms and Gibbs could see why the artist had steered him to those particular shades. "These look really good together, Tim. I never could have picked all of these colors on my own."

"Guess all the years of Maggie beating color theory into my head is paying off. Do you want to start painting the kitchen tonight, or start fresh in the morning when we'll have better light?"

Gibbs looked around. The entry, the hallways, the living room and the dining room were finished. The bathroom was too small for both of them to work in, and the kitchen was going to take a lot of precise brush work to trim in around the cabinetry. McGee was right, they'd need good light while they painted. "I think we can call this a good day's work. Let's grab some dinner, you got some clean clothes with you?"

"My go bag is out in the car."

"Great, you ever been to Fratelli's? I think we've earned a nice meal."

Showered and changed, Jethro watered and fed, the two men drove the short distance to the nearby Italian restaurant. Even though it was a Saturday night, a table was quickly found for their regular customer and his guest. A waitress brought drinks and a basket of bread sticks along with the menus.

Tim scanned the menu. "So, what's good here?"

"Everything, I usually get the steak, though."

Normally, McGee would have been nervous having dinner alone with his boss, but between a hard day working together and a glass of wine, he was getting quite relaxed. "Why am I not surprised? I've heard about your cowboy style steaks."

Inwardly, Gibbs cringed at the realization that he'd never invited McGee over for anything except work, both on and off the job. "Tomorrow, when we untape everything, you'll get to see for yourself."

"That sounds really good, Gibbs, thanks."

Gibbs decided he liked seeing that smile on Tim's face and silently vowed to make it appear more often.

As promised, Gibbs ordered their signature New York steak with fresh basil, garlic and red crusted peppers in a light tomato sauce, swapping out the side of spaghetti with a half order of lasagna. McGee went with the seafood, opting for their Scampi Margarita in a cream sauce along with the fire roasted vegetables. When Gibbs told him that he'd never tried the shrimp, Tim immediately offered a piece and received a chunk of the steak in exchange. Over the course of the evening, Gibbs laughed harder than he'd done in ages as he heard about Tim's first few weekends in rural Alabama with Preston's family while on college break, and then shared a few stories of his own about stunts while in boot camp. Both men claimed to be too full for dessert with their coffee, but when the hostess set down one order of tiramisu for them to split, neither argued.

By the end of the evening, Tim almost dreaded leaving, afraid that the friendship that was developing would wither overnight, but Gibbs readily accepted his offer to return in the morning to continue working.