Epilogue
Six months later...
Ducky heard the front door close. It was uncanny how punctual Tim was. If things were going well, Tim was out the door to walk Jethro at the same time every morning. There had been some bad mornings when the disorientation Tim still experienced took over. Those were mornings when Ducky was silently grateful that Tim had been willing to move in here.
As it was, today was a normal day. Tim was walking Jethro. That meant that Ducky had better get moving or else Tim would be impatient when he got back.
As he dressed for the day, Ducky thought about how things had changed since Tim's move. Tim himself seemed more settled. He had even used his typewriter a few times and started reading books (slowly because he didn't have the ability to focus on them as much). Jethro was officially Tim's psychiatric service dog, having passed his training with flying colors. With Tim relaxing more, everyone else seemed more at ease as well. It was as if Tim's problems, even when not consciously acknowledged, had added a layer of stress to everyone's lives. Knowing that there was someone who was available to help him if needed had eased that stress.
Ducky started down the stairs just as the front door opened again and Tim came back.
"Good morning, Timothy."
"Good morning, Ducky," Tim said.
"How are you doing?"
"Good."
That was always the question, and it was never an idle one. Ducky genuinely wanted to know, and Tim had always given him a real answer. There had been days when the answer was bad or weird, and it had taken extra time to help Tim settle...but there were more good mornings than bad mornings.
"I'm going to shower."
"Any breakfast requests?"
"No."
"Very well."
Ducky went into the kitchen while Tim showered. They had decided to jump back and forth between what Ducky would prefer and what Tim would prefer. Today, in spite of Tim's lack of requests, it was his turn to get his preference. So, Ducky got his tea ready and put Tim's coffee on. Then, he got out a box of cereal and two bowls. There had been days when they ate breakfast separately, but, in general, they ate together.
Tim came in and smiled when he saw it.
They ate in companionable silence and then, Ducky drove them to NCIS.
"Enjoy your day," Ducky said.
"Thanks."
They went their separate ways.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"It is dinner time," Ziva said, getting to her feet and stretching.
"I'll go!" Ellie said, jumping to her feet.
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Tim's been working on that coding for two weeks now. I want to see how far he's got."
"In that case, you absolutely cannot go," Tony said. "We'd never get to leave. You can quiz him on our way back. I'll go get him."
Tony got up and headed to Tim's office. He knocked.
There was no answer.
He opened the door. Tim was clearly absorbed in his work. As always.
"Hey, Jethro," Tony said. "Can you get him for me?"
Jethro stretched and got up. He yawned noisily and then padded over to Tim and nuzzled him until Tim pulled away from his work and reconnected with the world. Jethro continued to nuzzle and whuffle at him until he actually spoke to him.
"Hey, Jethro. What is it?"
"Dinnertime, Probie," Tony said.
Tim jumped a little and then turned and smiled at Tony.
"Hey, Tony."
"Time to eat, Probie."
Tim turned back, saved his work and turned off the computer. Then, he stood, Jethro by his side, and gave Tony a scrutinizing look.
"Okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. Okay," Tony said.
They both went down and joined the others for dinner.
FINIS!