Tap15
Tim was discharged from the hospital two days after that fateful, yet strange conversation with Gibbs. Pete had done the duties of the doting boyfriend and driven Tim home, having taken a day of emergency family leave to care for Tim.
Once Tim was safely in his own home, Pete offered to go out and get some basic supplies, seeing the bare fridge. "Tobias has been here." Tim told him, amused. Tobias must have come in and cleaned out the fridge while he was recovering. He had done the same previously, when Tim had been out of town. Just as Tim had done for him too, on multiple occasions.
"Tobias has a key to your house?" Pete asked, surprised. He knew they were good friends but he didn't know that they were that close. "Just how close are the two of you? Were you and he... Ever?" Pete's voice was green with envy, jealousy colouring it. Tim reined his instinct to laugh, in. Tobias had foolishly mentioned to Pete, that the Admiral had seen he and Tim having coffee in the park and mistakenly assumed it was a date. That key piece of information was swirling around in Pete's head, feeding into his insecurities and his fears, driving his jealousy.
"We've been friends for a long time, Pete. That's it, there is nothing more." Tim gently told him, choosing not to call out the older man's jealousy. "He had a key to my old apartment, too. It's not a big deal. It's for emergencies, only. Tobias knows that and would never use it, otherwise. I trust him."
"I'm just surprised, is all." Pete muttered, as he kissed Tim's lips gently. He was hoping to change the topic now. He knew he sounded jealous and he knew that Tim was perceptive enough to pick up on it. He was also gentlemanly enough not to call him out on it, a fact he was thankful for. "Very few things surprise me, that's all. Let me go grab those supplies from the market and you just relax."
As soon as Pete was gone, Tim grabbed his cell and sent Tobias a text message, telling him thanks for cleaning out the fridge. A ding on his phone three seconds later, confirmed that it had been Tobias. Tim had been surprised to see the little black sporty Camaro that he had hired was locked up in his garage, when he poked his head into the garage from the internal door on his way to the bedroom. Another favour from Tobias.
After being cramped into a small bed in hospital, Tim wanted nothing more than to stretch out on his plush, Californian king bed and relax. He thought about all the things that he and his father had ever disagreed over and of course, the biggest one had been Navy. Once John McGee had realised that his son wouldn't ever join the Navy, he'd stopped seeing his son as his. If someone had told him a year ago, hell, even six months ago that his father was capable of beating him half to death, he wouldn't have believed them. But here they were, and it was all over his choice in his sexuality. His father hadn't even said a word first, just automatically turned to violence.
Tim had been mortified and angry to learn from Tobias that his father had outed him to Gibbs, Vance and whomever the technician was that was on duty that day in the observation room. Even though Vance already knew, not that his father knew that. Knowing what he knew now about the interrogation, Gibbs' strange visit and conversation at the hospital made a lot more sense to Tim. Tim realised it was Gibbs' way of showing Tim that he accepts his sexuality, without prejudice. Accepts him for who he is, regardless of his sexual orientation.
Tim mentally made a note to call Penny tomorrow and let her know what had happened and that he was OK. He hadn't wanted her at the hospital, as he knew he wouldn't have been able to cope with her nervous energy and the pain in his head at the same time. He knew he would need to mentally brace himself for her onslaught of worry. Possibly even an emergency visit back here so she could see that he was OK, for herself. He also knew that telling Penny what had happened, would require confessing everything, including his sexuality.
Pete returned and let himself back into Tim's small home. "You're in bed." He grinned at Tim from the doorway. He was happy to see that Tim had taken the initiative to stretch out on his large bed, rather than on the oversized sofa. "Popped the milk, chicken and fresh vegetables in the fridge. Bread, bagels and cereal in the pantry. Do you need anything else?"
"Yeah." Tim grinned at him, wickedly. Pete was wondering what the heck else he had forgotten. He had made a list and he knew that he hadn't forgotten anything that was on his list. If Tim had of wanted something else, he would have called or sent a text. He knew that much about Tim. "You, laying beside me in this bed."
"Thought we were taking this slow." Pete chuckled in amusement, as he kicked his shoes off and put them neatly by the edge of the bed. He saw that Tim had thrown back the covers and was patting the empty side of the extra large bed. Pete lay on the other side of Tim's bed, crawling under the covers beside his boyfriend.
"You can slip your jeans off, too." Tim murmured. Pete noticed that Tim had stripped down to his shorts and tee. "It's not comfortable laying in your jeans. Get comfy. We could be here for a while."
Pete gave him a look to gauge his sincerity. Seeing how serious Tim was, he dutifully stood up and slipped himself out of his jeans, he unbuttoned his dress shirt, leaving his under tee on and slipped his socks off too. As he stacked all of his clothes, and shoes neatly folded in a pile, on the arm chair at the end of the bed, leaving his shoes where he'd left them. "Better?" He asked, seeing Tim smiling at him.
As he laid back down, Tim put his arms around the older man and he pulled him closer. "I've finally got you, in my bed." Tim giggled at him. Tim's laughter shaking through Pete's body, they were that close.
"Don't you go thinking we're going to be doing anything. You gave me the fright of my life." Pete chastised Tim. Pete took Tim's top arm and captured Tim's hand in Peter's slightly larger hand. He brought Tim's hand to his lips and let his lips graze his slender fingers, sending shivers down Tim's body. "I thought I was going to lose you, Tim. It made me realise something. I care about you, a lot."
Tim's fingers latched onto Pete's and he pressed his lips to Pete's with gusto, but keeping it brief. "I care for you, too." Tim told him in a rush, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Tim wanted to say more. But for once, words escaped him.
Pete enjoyed the spontaneity of the kiss from Tim. He was feeling touched, that even though he knew that Tim's head was still hurting, Tim would still kiss him. Pete reminded the younger man that he had been due for some more pain meds, before staring at him until he took some more pain relief. "I know that the pain meds make you sleepy, still you need to sleep. It's OK, you're still recovering. I'm not going anywhere." Pete reminded him. "I'll still be here, waiting for you when you're all better. No pressure."
"You're so sweet." Tim cooed, his eyes beginning to feel heavy. "You're too good to me." Tim was finally asleep, he had fought the side effects off for as long as he could.
Pete leaned over and pressed his lips to Tim's forehead. "Just sleep, Baby." He whispered, seeing the medication take its toll on Tim. He pulled Tim closer to him and nestled his head onto Tim's, enjoying the closeness. Pete then pulled back, readjusting them both into a comfortable position, he snuggled him closer, keen to take a nap beside the man he loved. Knowing that once again, he had chickened out and not confessed his love for Tim.
Tobias was listening to Emily and her best friend, Mia, who were camped out in their living room. Mia spending the night and the girls were having a movie night. Mia was Mia Stewart, her father was their colleague at the FBI, Agent Tom Stewart. "Dad's been so busy at work he hasn't been able to see me in the last couple of weeks." She sighed, complaining about her father to Emily. "Dad said the new guy isn't going to work out. Constantly a drama with him. Dad's been doing his job."
"Uncle Tim?" Emily asked, surprised. She knew that the new guy was Uncle Tim. Her Dad and Tim had both told her that Tim was now at the FBI and not at NCIS like Uncle Gibbs. "Uncle Tim's not lazy. He's a hard worker."
Tobias frowned. Tom Stewart shouldn't be telling his daughter anything about his job or about their colleagues. He couldn't believe that Tom had blamed Tim and his trouble for missing his court ordered custody with his daughter and Tobias was livid because he knew that Tom Stewart was lying to his daughter. Tom wasn't even on Tobias' team anymore. He had been promoted. Tim's fill in at the FBI, while he was out on sick leave was Nick Sanchez. Plus, whatever Mia knew, she shouldn't be telling Emily, or anyone else.
"Dinner's ready, girls." Tobias called out, as he dished up the lasagna he had made for dinner. It was still quite early. The girls wanted to go to the video store for more movies. Tobias thought they could make a pit stop at Tim's and drop off some lasagna to Tim, and he assumed Pete would be there too.
The conversation over dinner was centred around the upcoming talent show and what each girl was going to do. Emily had no idea what she wanted to do, claiming that she wasn't talented enough to do anything. But Mr. Berry was making participation, mandatory. Mia was telling them she was going to do some magic tricks her older brother had taught her.
"Maybe Uncle Tim has a cool idea." Emily beamed at her father and smiled. After all, Uncle Tim always helped out with school projects.
Tobias just returned the grin. Any excuse for Emily to visit and spend time with Tim. Sometimes he wondered, just how the hell he made it almost seven years and it had got to a point where his daughter preferred to spend time with her father, over her mother. Then Tobias remembered that Tim had been great with helping Tobias out with visitation ideas, especially in the beginning. He and the young green agent had begun their friendship, just as the divorce and custodial arrangements were finalised.
"Are you OK?" Tim asked, as he arrived at the cafe where they had planned to meet. It was an early Saturday morning and Tobias didn't have work, or have Emily. Essentially, he had a free weekend. During a couple of rounds of poker and a couple of beers, he had invited Tim to grab breakfast before Tim hit the road, on his way to see his sister Sarah and Sarah's mother, Tim's Stepmother for the weekend.
"Yeah, just... It's nothing." Tobias fobbed Tim off. He didn't know Tim all that well yet, they'd only just met six months ago.
"No, tell me." Tim insisted and he didn't even know that the young, green rookie NCIS Agent had a backbone to persist. Let alone, insist. "We are friends and friends help each other out."
"It's my weekend with Emily next weekend and it's Diane's boyfriend's birthday. Rather than send Emily with me, as the custodial orders dictate. She is demanding that she keep Emily so they can spend the time together, as a family." Tobias explained in a sigh of frustration. "When I said I'd need the weekend, she flat our refused."
"I don't know where you stand or what you plan on doing about it." Tim told him, directly. "But you need to stand firm at let hotter heads prevail. Want me to take a crack at Diane? She was sucking up to me the last time we met because of Emily winning the science fair and passing that math test."
True to Tim's offer, Tobias was wordlessly handing him a his cell phone over, which was dialling Diane's number. Once Diane answered, Tim's voice sounded impossibly young and sweet like sugar cane. Having seen Tim in action at both NCIS a couple of times, Tobias knew that Tim could be just as ruthless and he could be. Tim's ruthlessness wasn't loud anger and hostility like his own anger, and it wasn't even like Diane's former husband Gibbs' temper. No, Tim's ruthlessness was much more subtle, more harmful but less threatening and imposing. It was calmer and more passionate, than loud. It was a talent that he had honed and perfected over time and it had always served him well in the interrogation room.
When Tim disconnected the call, he grinned ferally at Tobias. He almost had the glint in his eyes of a mischievous deviant. Tobias knew that grin, it was grin he gave someone right before he'd take them out in laser tag, or on the gauntlet at the FBI Training Facility at Quantico. "You agree to return her at four instead of six, as a once off and your Tuesday and Wednesday night visitations will now finish at seven, instead of, at five."
"You are amazing!" Tobias praised the young genius before him. "How in the heck did do you do it?"
"It's a gift." Tim beamed at him. "My grandmother always wanted me to become a lawyer. She always told me that I had my Uncle Andrew's killer instinct in an argument. That it would serve me well in the court room. Really, it's just about being better than the parent who raised you. The Admiral loved yelling at me, it was almost his favourite past time. He wasn't happy unless he was yelling. At his son, at his sailors. It didn't matter who, as long as he was yelling."
"Sounds like a real piece of work, Tim." Tobias murmured, as he scanned the menu, looking for something to jump out at him. He was hungry and had no idea what he wanted to eat. He was in a good mood now. Now that Tim had gotten Emily to come on Victor's birthday, when Diane had initially refused, plus two extra hours on his week night visitations. "Just be glad that you're nothing like him, Tim."
Tobias grinned at that memory, that was the first time that he had gotten to see what Tim would really be like interrogation. Sure, he had seen Tim interrogate before that. But being the probie on the MCRT team, he never knew if that was Gibbs and his team feeding him cues and prompts. Ducky's suggestions on how to get at their suspect, psychologically. Or if it was all Tim and his talents. After that fateful day, he knew; it was all Tim.
The girls were giggling in the back seat, talking in hushed whispers. He figured at thirteen years old, if he didn't know what they were talking about, he was safe. He could hazard a guess and he would probably be right. Boys.
As he took the last right hand turn that would lead him down Tim's street, he spoke up. "Em honey, Mia. I'll go let myself in and put the tray in the fridge. I am going to check on him and we can go. Five minutes tops. Are you two coming in or waiting in the car?"
"We'll wait in the car, but if Uncle Tim comes out to the car ..." She grinned up at him in the rear view mirror. Tobias had expected her to say that. She wouldn't want to go in, if she had her friend over. If it had of been just Tobias and her, she would have been storming Tim's place. When Emily found out Tim was injured, she had insisted they visit him, then for good measure, she had made her mother take her to visit Tim in the hospital, too.
"Right, I'll be right back." Tobias said, as he parked his green twin cab truck in Tim's drive behind Pete's white Mazda CX5 and switched off the engine. Tobias took the tray of lasagna in one smooth flowing motion. A motion that was so ingrained in him, it was flawless. He knocked on the door and rang the bell, as he dug his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door with ease. He prepared to input his security code in to Tim's enhanced security system, only to be met by Tim and Pete coming down the hallway together, the hallway that lead down to the bedrooms. Both men were dressed in sweats and he had to admit, they both looked rested.
"Good evening, am I interrupting something?" Tobias teased with a light chuckle and grin at him. He had never teased the couple so openly before. Usually any playful and light-hearted teasing he had done had been to Tim only, not in Pete's presence too. Then again, he had never come over before and seen them anywhere but the living room or kitchen. "Em and I bring you dinner."
"Nothing to interrupt, but sleeping and lots of sleeping." Pete grinned at Tobias. He had been waiting for Tim to react. But Tim had just smiled and zeroed in on his beloved coffee maker in his kitchen. "Tim's going to be kid-gloved until we know it's safe for him to leave the house again. His punishment for giving us both such a fright."
Pete frowned at Tobias, seeing Tim leave them both for his coffee maker. "Oh, relax Pete." Tobias laughed as he followed Tim into the kitchen. "Tim's more addicted to coffee than Gibbs."
"Hey!" Tim protested loudly, looking up from his beloved machine as the brew entered his beloved MIT mug. In the past Tobias had joked that the oversized mug, was more like a bucket than a mug, which would set Tim off on a tangent about how hard the MIT students work for their degrees. Which always lead the to the explanation that it was why MIT alum drank so much coffee.
"See, addicted." Tobias grinned at Pete and saw the man's frown soften at that. "Lasagna goes in at 400 for thirty minutes. Remove aluminium foil but leave parchment paper. Cook for another ten minutes, remove paper and cook until the cheese is golden brown on top."
"Thanks Tobias." Tim said, genuinely thankful for the lasagna tray. He loved Tobias' lasagna. He made it with his grandmother's sauce recipe, beef, egg, ham and made his own pasta from scratch. Tim thought that it gave it an a more authentic taste. He thought it almost tasted identical to the lasagna he had eaten when he'd travelled through Italy for a month, six years ago.
"You're welcome, Timmo." Tobias winked. Seeing that Pete was popping the lasagna in the oven. "The girls are in the car, so I have to run. Coffee tomorrow afternoon, text me if you need anything and I will bring in when I stop by. "
"Oh Em's in the car, let me go say hi." Tim smiled, as he followed Tobias out to the car. Pete opted to stay in the kitchen. He felt that they had been outed enough recently. He was trying to progress his relationship with the man and still had to stay in the closet, so to speak. He hadn't come out to his family and he was OK with that. He had no plans to come out to them, yet. They never visited him, his sister occasionally did, but only on layovers between flights for her flight attendant job. Not that Tobias' daughter would say anything to anyone, but he couldn't risk it.
He knew that he and Tim needed to have the tough discussion. How out were they going to be?
"Uncle Tim?!" Emily exclaimed, seeing the butterfly stitches over his forehead, holding the wound closed. "Are you OK?" She asked, as she flung her self from the car and gently made her way to her father's best friend's arms.
"I am OK, Em." he said softly, kissing the thirteen year old's head softly. He could feel her shake and he didn't need to look at her face to know she was only a few tears away from a good cry. "I promise, I am OK. I didn't lose any of my brain power."
"Em, honey?" Tobias said, trying to pry his daughter off Tim. The young man might have looked rested in comparison, but he still looked like a good blow of wind could knock him over. "He might be out of hospital, but we still need to be careful with Tim."
"Maybe you should come and stay with us, Uncle Tim." Emily offered, using that forceful tone that both Tim and Tobias loved and hated about her; the one she inherited from her mother. "Let us take care of you."
"Sorry honey," Tim replied. "I have a friend staying with me at my house, already. That's how your dad knew I was hurt. My friend raised the alarm when I didn't come home."
"Well then, you owe me a movie night." She grinned at her Uncle Tim. "None of that Star Wars crap either. I want something good. I want ..."
"Pretty Woman." Mia suggested from the back seat of Tobias' car. Her sister had let her watch it recently and she had just finished telling Emily all about it and Emily was keen to watch it too, but Mia knew her mother wouldn't approve of Emily watching it. She was friend's with Emily's mom and Diane would never approve.
"Absolutely not." Tim argued. He liked the film himself, but his idea of fun was not showing it to an impressionable thirteen year old girl and answering the one million and one questions, that he knew that she would have. "What about My Girl?"
"Uncle Tim, we've watched it a thousand times." Emily argued. It was her Uncle's go to movie when he babysat. But that was OK because she loved it and it was a film that both of her parents approved of.
"There is a sequel, you know?" Tim grinned at her. Tobias rolled his eyes at their antics. This was a common theme between Tim and Emily. Emily always wanted something that was above her appropriate age and Tim always defaulted back to his go to movie, before they mutually agreed on a different, age appropriate film. "What do you think?"
"I think I love you." Emily gushed, hugging her Uncle Tim tightly. "You are the best."
Pete watched Tim from the opening in the curtains, from the front room window's. He saw how loving and caring he was with Tobias' daughter and how much the young teen loved his man. He hoped that one day, he and Tim would be in a place where Tim would be open to sharing the Uncle status he held for Emily, with him too. He hoped that the young girl wouldn't hold his relationship with her Uncle, against Tim or himself. But Tobias had been surprisingly OK with their relationship and Pete had expected some push-back from the older man. Especially since Tobias seemed to be very protective of Tim, almost paternal on occasion.
There had been a time when Tobias had pulled Pete aside and given him a verbal warning of how to treat Tim and as Tim's best friend, what he expected from Pete. How Tobias expected that he would treat Tim with respect and he wouldn't hurt Tim. It had been clear to Pete that Tim had been protective of Tim from the get go. But that was also the only time that Tobias had ever come remotely close to interfering in their relationship.
Coming back inside, Tim saw a look he couldn't quite identify on his boyfriend's face. He was sitting in Tim's favourite armchair and Tim wondered if Pete didn't want to be alone with his thoughts. "It's OK, Tim. You can stay." Pete told him.
"What's going on?" Tim asked, concerned but trying not to pry too much. "Is everything OK?"
"Everything is fine, Tim." Pete said, reaching out for Tim, to take a step closer to him, so he could touch his boyfriend. "I was just watching you with Tobias' daughter. You're good with her. Wondering if, in the future ... do you think that she would ever be like that me? As welcoming into your life as Tobias was."
"Em will love you, honey." Tim told him truthfully, kissing Pete's lips. "You should have come out and met her. Trust me, Emily is an amazing kid, Pete. Sure, they're a little protective of me, but I am a protective Uncle to her, too. I can be pretty protective of Tobias too, just ask his ex-wife."
"Next time, Babe." Pete murmured, capturing Tim's lips and giving him a very passionate kiss. The kind that they had rarely shared, since they were taking their relationship slow. Breaking off the heated kiss, before it could progress too far, Pete leaned his forehead against Tim's and let his breathing and heart rate calm down. Tim always got his heart racing and kissing Tim was unlike anything else Pete had ever felt before in his life. "Movie?"
Tim groaned out loud at Pete's sudden change in mood. he knew that Pete wanted to move their relationship along further and Tim was all for it too, but he was treating Tim with kid gloves because of his head injury.
Pete was back on active duty the following day from 1300 hours and Tobias had reassured Pete that he would stay with Tim, as his discharge instructions had been clear. He was not to be left alone for the next forty-eight hours. With Emily dropped at school and her mom picking her up, for her own time with their daughter, Tobias arrived precisely at midday, to ensure that Pete had enough time to make it to the Pentagon before work.
As soon as Pete had left, Tobias took a good look at his friend. "Are you OK?" He asked Tim. "Trouble in paradise?" He knew in the past that he had been perfectly clear in not wanting to know anything about their relationship, but Tim looked troubled and something was bothering the younger man. Tobias knew from multiple past experiences that it would continue to haunt the younger man until he had talked his thoughts through, out loud.
"No, we aren't having problems." Tim sighed, as he handed Tobias his coffee mug. "At least not the kind I can talk to you about."
"Tim?" Tobias began. "I am going to be honest with you. In the beginning I was a little bit uncomfortable. Not with you, or with Pete. But with your relationship because I didn't know how to be friends with a man who is in a relationship with another man. I didn't know what it was going to do to our friendship or to the relationship that you and Emily share. But we have all found our groove and we are getting along great. Even if Emily doesn't know yet."
That made Tim chuckle a bit. "Pete actually asked me if Emily knew about him and whether or not, in the future, once she knows about him, would I will be willing to let him be an Uncle to Emily too."
"I hope you said yes." Tobias grinned at his friend. "Pete's a great guy and once Emily gets to meet him, they're going to get along great."
"I did, but that's not what is bothering me." Tim sighed as he took a lengthy mouthful of his hot brew.
"Talk to me, Tim." Tobias urged him. "We talk about most things, please let me in."
"So you've changed your mind about knowing details of our relationship, then?" Tim asked, amused. He couldn't believe that Tobias had done a back-flip like this. He had been adamant that the last four months he know nothing. Tim wondered what had changed the older man's mind.
"Of course." He reassured his friend. He would never tell Tim but the realisation that Pete Kennedy wasn't walking away from Tim any time soon made Tobias realise something. He was Tim's best friend. He needed to step up and support the young man more and in all areas of his life. He needed to be there for Tim.
"I think I am in love with Pete." Tim breathed out loud and Tobias chuckled at him. "I don't know how to tell him and get our relationship moving forward. I've never gotten to the point of actually being in love with a guy before. Usually it's just casual hook-ups or mutual lust. I don't even know if he feels the same way. I mean, I hope he does."
Tobias refrained from reassuring his friend that Pete was just as head over heels in love with Tim, as Tim was with Pete. Not because there was a flicker of doubt, but because he had once told Tim that he was sure that Tim would have a love story to last the ages. At the time, Tobias hadn't known that it would be with a man, but it still applied. Plus, Tim deserved to hear about Pete's feelings from Pete, not Tobias. "Blind Freddy can see that you're in love with Pete and that's OK. Not that you need it, but you always have my support." Tobias took a deep breath and reminded his friend. "Relationships aren't that different, no matter which sex you're having them with Tim. Just talk to the man. You won't know unless you do."