((Another short chapter, but more to come, I promise!))

Tony popped up at the sound of the front door closing. He immediately regretted it. Pain shot through his left side, making him grind his teeth. His head swiveled around Lexi's living room and he caught sight of everyone's luggage sitting in the corner near the door. Had McGee brought everything up?

Tony stood and let his body stretch. The motion made him realize he had to pee. He knew he had to go through one of the bedrooms to get to the bathroom…

But which one?

The thought of walking in on McGee's girlfriend in a possibly compromising position, was just too much for him. So he sucked it up, and went through the spare room. He rushed though the small room as fast as he could without waking Piper. He wasn't sure he was ready to see her. She would want to talk. When he got to the bathroom, he went about his business. He was about to open the door to leave when the door to Lexi's room swung open. McGee was standing there in nothing but gray sweats.

"Uh…" Tony scratched his head. "Morning."

"Morning." Sleepy McGee greeted him back.

"Uh, did you bring up the bags?"

"No, I just woke up."

"Did Lexi?"

"No, she's still in bed."

"Oh." Damn, that meant Piper was up. Or maybe she left… He wasn't sure why, but that sudden thought really bothered him.

"Tony…"

"Yeah?"

"I kinda gotta…" McGee pointed at the toilet.

"Right." Tony shook his head and quickly left.

Once back in the spare room, he found that the futon was already folded back up. The sheets had been stripped off and shoved into the hamper near the door. Tony sighed and went back into the front room. Piper's big green suitcase was still there.

What the hell? Where was she?

On an impulse, he opened the front door and stepped into the outer hall. As soon as he saw Piper sitting at the top of the carpeted stairs, his heart rate slowed.

"Hi." Her greeting was quiet and apprehensive.

"Hi." He sat beside her, putting his good shoulder closest to her. The narrow stairs caused their thighs to be pushed together. "What are you doing out here?"

"I, um, was waiting for you."

"Out here?"

"I was afraid you were mad at me."

"You thought I'd take off." She nodded. "I thought about it. But then when I didn't find you… I thought you left. It made me kinda mad."

"Does that mean you actually want to talk?"

"I think we need to." He paused for a second. He wanted to take her hand and hold on to it, but another part of him was still angry. "I feel…" He sighed again. "Kinda betrayed." Her eyes shot to his face. "You told me you'd give me a chance. But you didn't really give me one. It's not taking a chance when you're just expecting it to crumble. I'm supposed to be the one with commitment issues, not you."

"I would apologize, but I'm not sure how much bearing that would hold. I'm not sorry for protecting myself. But I never wanted to hurt you. I am sorry for that. But I won't tell you something nice just to make you feel better."

Tony nodded. "I can respect that. And I appreciate the honesty."

"Is this the part where we ask to stay friends?" She was looking away from him again.

"You think I came out here to break up with you?"

"Didn't you?" Her eyes were back on him.

"I don't know." He almost laughed. "I admit, I am still kinda mad that I poured my heart out and let you in, just to find out you were still hiding behind your wall… I still love you, Piper." He brushed his hand across her cheek. "I get that you want to protect yourself. But I can't invest my feelings into a relationship unless you can do the same."

"It's not something I can do overnight."

"I know that. I'm willing to wait until you figure things out for yourself. But until you do, I think we need to back off a little."

"So… What does that mean? Are we breaking up?" Her voice hitched with panic.

"Not really breaking up, just figuring things out. You need to figure out if I'm what you really want. And I need to know you can commit to this."

"Okay." She took a breath. "So, we're just taking time."

"As much as you need. I'm not going anywhere. So, no rush."

Piper leaned back and yelled at Lexi's front door. "Did you catch all that?" Tony shifted just in time to see a flash of gray moving away from the half-open door. He turned back to Piper, still smiling.

"Damn, did we have an audience that whole time?"

"I dunno. You left the door open, not me."

"Was it both of them?"

"I only saw Tim." She paused and swallowed. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Come on." She stood and held her hand out to him. "Let's go get some muffins and coffee from downstairs. Lexi just had an espresso machine put in."

"Have to admire a woman with food on her mind."

They both headed down the stairs. This conversation was far from over, but they knew they were both too exhausted to go into it right now. But Piper knew things had to get better from here.

"Damn it!" Piper stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Tony turned to her, looking confused. "She did it! She did it again! Damn her!"

"Who?"

"Amelia! She did it! She made us talk!" Tony cracked up laughing, immediately understanding what Piper meant.

"Now, we really owe her."

"Yes, damn it!"

NCIS

Tim was shaking his head and chuckling when he opened Lexi's bedroom door. His face dropped when he saw Lexi sitting up in bed with her arms curled around her legs. Her face was a mixture of regret and fear.

"You okay?" Tim asked once he sat beside her.

"I messed up bad, didn't I?"

"She'll forgive you." He tried to reassure her by wrapping himself around her.

"She shouldn't. I've never been there for her like she has for me. There's so much you don't know about us. We don't talk about it except with each other. I'd be surprised if she ever spoke to me again."

"Was what you said to her really that bad?"

"You don't understand… It wasn't what I said. It's what I didn't say." Tim pulled back but kept one arm around her shoulders. "She did this for us. She did it to make us happy, to help us. And instead of a thank you, she got a screw you. After everything she's done for me, for all of us, we just gave her the preverbal finger."

"She could have gone about it better. I mean honestly, kidnapping all of us like that…" Lexi broke free of his grip and stood up on the other side of the bed. "What?"

"Can you honestly sit there and tell me that you learned nothing from last night?" She glared down at him.

"Was I supposed to? I figured it was more for Tony and Piper, than us. I mean, you should have heard them talking just now."

"You really think they were the only ones with problems?"

"Yes." He stood up. "There's nothing wrong with our relationship. If anything, they should learn from us!"

"Learn from us? Learn what, how to live in a freaking bubble of denial?"

"What?"

"Tim… Amelia was right. I do let you make all of my decisions. I did the same thing I always do. I let the guy take control."

"I don't control you." Tim crossed his arms.

"Yes you do, but only because I don't give you any other choice. I make you, make every decision about us. I never speak up about what I want. That's my fault." Tim looked away, his face scrunched up in anger. "When we first started dating, I told you about my fear of confrontation. I warned you, everyone did, that I have problems speaking up. All you kept saying was how strong you thought I was."

"You are strong." He faced her again.

"Tim, I would have never had the courage to date you if Amelia hadn't pushed me. It was only after all that mess with Seth happened, that I realized how much you mean to me. If anything had happened to you… But I wouldn't have that, if she didn't drag me off my ass and push me towards you."

"She kinda pushed me too," Tim muttered, almost to himself. "But we make decisions together. I don't control everything."

"I've been so scared of losing you, or saying the wrong thing, that I just go along with whatever you say. When was the last time you heard me tell you, no? " Tim sighed after several seconds of silence. "Exactly, but that's my bad."

"It's my bad for not acknowledging it. You're right, bubble of denial." He shook his head. "But that doesn't give anyone the right to force us into something we didn't ask for. We never asked Amelia, or anyone for help. We could've worked this out by ourselves. Why does she always have to meddle?"

"We wouldn't be having this conversation if it wasn't for her. Don't you get it? We needed to be pushed to be together. Now, we have to be pushed just to have a real conversation. There's something wrong with that."

"Well, what do you want from me?"

"I gotta work things out with my friends. I need to apologize to everyone. I let myself revert back to a scared little girl. I need to fix this."

"There's nothing to fix. There's nothing wrong with you! I hate it when your so called friends say that there is!"

"Do you really like me this way? Do you enjoy having a subservient girlfriend who just gives you the lead in everything?"

Tim's face went pale. "That's not what I meant."

"It's what you said!"

"No." He crossed the room and stood in front of her. "No, Lexi, no." He shook his head. "That's not what I said. I just hate everyone trying to fix something in you. They keep telling you what's wrong with you. No one tells you any of the good things that I see. All they do, is shout negativity at you all day."

"Is that how you feel? Is that really why you refuse to leave me alone with any of my friends? You think they are trying to undermine my self confidence?"

"Yes!"

"Tim, a real friend doesn't pat your head and tell you everything is fine. A real friend calls you out on your BS and doesn't let you settle for 'fine.' And those friends who you think undermine my confidence, are the same friends who have been telling me from the start, how good you are for me. But I'm beginning to wonder about that." Tim's mouth fell open. "My friends are the only reason I didn't end up in a nut house after my dad died. They are the only reason I was able to get away from Derrick. And the only reason I have a successful business." Lexi took a step towards Tim. "And if you think anyone will ever come between me and my friends, after all they've done for me… Maybe you and I need to spend some time apart."

They both jumped when they heard the front door swing open.

"Hello?" Piper's voice called out. "We have breakfast."

Tim turned back to Lexi. "Wait, please." But she was already pushing past him, headed for the front room. "Lexi…" He winced when she shut her bedroom door, leaving him in there alone.

When Tim finally came out of Lexi's room, he was fully dressed. Everyone was gathered around the small kitchen table. The only seat was between Lexi and Piper. His gut clenched and unclenched several times as he made his way over to the empty chair.

"Morning, McGee." Tony gave him a garbled greeting. His mouth was full of blueberry muffin bites. "Coffee?" He set a paper cup in front of Tim.

"Thanks." Tim grabbed a muffin out of the box in the middle of the table.

Breakfast went on for several more minutes without conversation. Piper kept shooting looks at Lexi. She knew something had gone horribly wrong in the short time she and Tony were downstairs. But Lexi just gave her a blank look in return. Tim was looking everywhere but at Lexi. Piper finally nudged Tony and brought his attention away from the food.

A knock at the front door brought Lexi to her feet. Before she made it half-way to the door, it opened.

"Mitch?" Lexi stood in the middle of her living room, looking at the hard set face of her friend. "You okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. But I'd sure like to know what the hell you guys did to upset Amelia."

"What did she tell you?" Lexi's shoulders slumped.

"Nothing." Mitch came all the way in and shut the door behind him. "Gavin called." Lexi heard someone choke on their food, from the table. "He asked me to come over and stay with Amelia. He wanted to stay home with her, but she shoved him out the door to go do his Marine thing. But he's so worried about her, cause she's not speaking, that he wants me to go over and make sure she's okay." Mitch threw his hands up. "What the hell happened, guys?"

"Grab a muffin and let me get dressed." Lexi turned towards her room. "I'll tell you everything on the way there."

"You're going to Amelia's?" Tony still had his mouth full. "Is that safe, right now?"

"We're all going." Lexi sent a short glare to the table before going into her room.

"What's the matter?" Mitch asked playfully, looking at Tony. "Afraid she'll put your other arm in a sling?"

"Would you put it past her?" Tony asked.

"Good point."

NCIS

Lexi knocked on the door, half expecting no one to answer. Her heart thumped furiously until the door was slowly opened. The quiet creaking of the hinges reminded her of all those scary movies she had been dumb enough to watch as a kid. It really wouldn't surprise her if Amelia was on the other side of the door holding a knife. A quick glance behind her let her know everyone was still with her.

"Well come in, if you're coming." Amelia sounded both weary and annoyed. Lexi stepped into the small front room and then stopped in her tracks. She sniffed the air and it only confirmed her fear.

"She baked." Lexi whispered as she whipped her head around to look at Piper. "I smell baked chocolate."

"Ooh, food." Tony remarked brightly.

"No, not ooh, bad, very bad." Lexi had finally walked all the way inside, allowing the others to catch the sweet scent.

"Chocolate is bad?"

"Tony," Piper nudged him. "She only bakes to relieve either severe depression or pent up anger."

"Oh… It's dark in here. Kinda creepy…" Lexi nodded at Tony in agreement. Maybe this was a scary movie.

Amelia cleared her throat making everyone face her. She was curled up in a blue recliner. Her left hand was playing with random strands of her hair.

"Hey…" Lexi didn't bother trying to sound cheerful. Amelia just nodded at them. Mitch quickly went into the small dinning room that separated the front room from the kitchen. There was cake in there, and he didn't come here to spill his guts.

"We, uh…" Piper started. "We thought you might want some company." Amelia just cocked an eyebrow at them.

"Silent treatment, ouch," Tony muttered. He snapped his mouth shut when Amelia directed her gaze at him.

"Okay, we know we screwed up." Lexi rushed out. "I know, I did. I should never have accused you of sabotaging my relationship with Tim. I was doing that just fine by myself, I didn't need help. I just… I didn't want to admit that you were right, again. Sometimes it's annoying when you're friends know you better than you know yourself. I know you wanted to help. It's all you've ever tried to do. And I'm so sorry that I couldn't just say that to you last night." Lexi waited twelve agonizing seconds (yes, she counted them) for Amelia to say something. When Amelia just continued to stare at her, not even her usual glare, Lexi caved. "I do let Tim influence me too much." She heard someone shuffle their feet behind her. "And I've told him that we need time apart so I can get things right with my friends." Finally she got a reaction. It was so tiny that if you didn't know Amelia, you would never notice it.

"We're taking time, too." Piper spoke up. Again, Lexi saw the minute reaction. "That nuke you dropped, needed to be set off. Just because we don't talk about our problems, doesn't mean they don't exist. Not your fault none of us had the balls to do what needed to be done. We owe you for that. And I'm sorry too. I should have never turned on you, like that. And I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you."

"So will I." Lexi and Piper both turned to Tony in surprise. "What? I can be a man and admit when I've screwed up. Don't look so surprised." He stepped in front of Lexi and looked right at Amelia. "I should've stepped up for you last night. I just sat there and let everyone make our mess, your fault. I should've thanked you. So… Thank you. Thanks for being a better friend to me than I've ever been to you. I don't even think we deserve you."

Finally, Amelia moved. She held out her left palm as if to give Tony something.

"Nice speech." Her sarcastic tone wiped the almost smile off Tony's face. "Would you like to thank the academy?"

Piper winced. She knew Tony had probably been rehearsing that, the whole way here. She had long ago confided in Amelia that Tony did in fact rehearse lines before he said them. Piper knew Tony only did it to avoid sounding like an idiot. But now was really the wrong time.

"Okay, so I practiced that a little." He shrugged. "I wanted to get it right. It's not easy being seen as the asshole all the time." Amelia's eyes flickered to Tim, then back to Tony. "Is there any way to cheer you up? This is freaking me out?"

"Well, watching you freak out is kinda funny."

"I'm glad I amuse you." He smiled.

"If you didn't, what other use would I have for you?" She quirked an eyebrow at him. "For the record, getting you all to that cabin really was for your own good, not just my amusement."

"We know." Lexi spoke up. "And Tony's right."

"I am?"

"Yes." Lexi rolled her eyes. "We do owe you and thank you."

"Well, I think you owed me way before this whole debacle. But you guys are idiots for separating. How are you supposed to work through anything if you're not together?" Amelia paused. "God, I really am too good to you guys. You should be on my shit list, but here I am, advising you all, again."

"We love you for it." Lexi jumped in.

"I love you, too. It's why I already forgave you before you even got here. But that's not to say you are off the hook. Trusting you again is gonna be the hard part." Lexi cringed. She knew this was coming, but it still stabbed at her.

"Do you wanna be left alone now?"

"Well, it's been close to two days since I had sleep and I did some pretty extensive calisthenics last night." She smirked, remembering smashing her kidnapper's face with her foot.

After a stilted and awkward goodbye, everyone but Tim, found themselves outside of Amelia's house. Tim had been pulled back as everyone filed out. He just raised his eyebrows at the arm that Amelia was still holding. She released her grip and let out a frustrated sigh.

"You do realize why you were the first one I yelled at last night, right?" Tim just looked down at her, refusing to admit to anything. "Look, I do like you." Tim scrunched his eyebrows together. "I think you're good for Lexi. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have picked you for her."

"You picked me?"

"Yes. You may not have realized it, but I did. As soon as I saw the two of you at that convention together, I knew you were the one she should be with. Why do you think I've kept pushing her towards you? Remember all that advice I gave you? Would I have done that for someone I didn't want my best friend around?" Tim's face relaxed. "I know she's trying to prove herself by standing up to you, but she's kind of being an idiot about it. If you really want her back, I suggest you reevaluate your opinion of the people she loves, get off your own pedestal, and stop smothering her."

"I didn't realize I was smothering her." Tim looked down.

"One more thing…" Tim looked back up. "You owe Tony an apology."

"I know." Amelia grinned and cocked her head towards the door, giving him permission to leave.

Tim was quiet when he got to Lexi's Xterra. He climbed into the passenger seat and buckled himself in. No one asked him where he had been. Just as Lexi put the jeep in gear and started backing out, Tim turned in his seat to face Tony.

"I'm sorry, man. I've been an ass. And I'm sorry." Tony blinked several times before replying.

"It's cool. We're good." Tim smiled and turned back around. He barely caught Lexi's eyes on him before she set her gaze on the road.

"So, um…" Tony spoke up again. "No cake?" Piper brought her hand up and smacked the back of Tony's head with such ferocity that Amelia had seen it, she'd be proud.

((Hope you enjoyed! More to come!))