a/n - Wow, thanks for all the great reviews. You've made my day and a happy author is a posting author. Yes, under normal circumstances, Gibbs never pays attention to the computer work McGee does, but he's realizing that these are not normal circumstances and trying to be more observant in every way possible. Not going to help, but at least he tried.

Tony waited for the elevator to close behind Gibbs before he turned his attention to Ziva. "So, when do you think Probie's torrid little affair started oh observant one?"

She shook her head as she moved closer. "I do not believe they are…"

"Oh come on, Ziva, what else could it be?" Tony leaned back and put his feet up on his desk. "Although I would have thought he'd go for some geek like himself, and not such a big fish like Fornell..."

"Tony…"

"…Then again, maybe I should be calling him the Prober rather than the Probie. What do you think, Ziva?"

"I think you are not listening to me. McGee is in trouble."

"Well, yeah, Gibbs is going to kill him when he finds out he's dating an FBI agent."

Ziva slammed her hands down on DiNozzo's desk. "That is not what I meant. He has gotten himself into some kind of trouble and we need figure out what it is. Are you going to help me or not?"

---NCIS---

This time when Gibbs stormed into autopsy, Palmer didn't wait to be dismissed. He stood and started out the door before Gibbs had a chance to say a word. When Gibbs did yell at him, he almost misunderstood, stopping finally just outside the doors.

"Stay here Palmer, I need you to track down a doctor for me."

"Umm… okay… Agent Gibbs… what do you… I mean…"

Frustrated, Gibbs shoved the paper at Palmer. "Here. Last name of Charbonneau at this phone number."

"Victor Charbonneau?"

Ducky's question almost threw Gibbs. "You know him?"

"Well, I know a Dr. Charbonneau; I can't imagine there are too many doctors with that last name."

"It is him." By now Palmer had run a reverse phone directory search. "The medical offices attached to that phone number belong to Dr. Victor Charbonneau. He's a neurologist."

Before Gibbs could ask anything else, Ducky turned to his assistant. "Thank you Mr. Palmer, you may go check out the van now." Recognizing the dismissal, Jimmy scrambled to comply.

"A neurologist, Ducky, he's seeing an out of state neurologist. What do you know about this doctor?"

Ducky came over and leaned against the table next to Gibbs, not liking what he was about to say. "I saw him lecture a few years ago, he's quite brilliant. There's no easy way to say this Jethro, but he specializes in rare neurological disorders." An uncomfortable silence hung between the two men.

"There's more, isn't there?" Gibbs waited for the answer.

"I'm afraid so." Ducky looked uncomfortable as he glanced around to see if they were still alone. "After our last conversation, I decided to access Timothy's detailed medical records. Part of his records were sealed by Director Shepard a few weeks before she died."

"Sealed? Why?"

"I don't know."

---NCIS---

The argument between Ziva and Tony came to a sudden halt when McGee returned from cybercrimes. He snagged the note before dropping his stack of papers on his desk. As he stuffed the handwritten note in his pocked, Tony bounced over and perched on the corner of his desk. "So, you having dinner with Toby tonight?"

"I didn't know I had to clear my social calendar with you, DiNozzo."

Gibbs arrived just in time to hear the last of their exchange. His glare quickly shut up DiNozzo as the younger man scurried back to his own desk. "Is anyone actually working?"

"Boss, I have something." McGee stood back up and approached Gibbs' desk with the printouts he had brought up from cybercrimes. He handed over the papers as he brought up the same information on the plasma. Gibbs looked through the papers as he repeatedly glanced up at the screen on the wall.

"You put all this together in this amount of time? With the new program you developed? This would have taken days before."

McGee blushed under the rare praise from his boss. "Thanks, Boss."

DiNozzo came up to stand behind him "I have to admit, it's pretty impressive Probie. When'd you come up with this?"

He just shrugged. "When I was stuck in cybercrimes, I never got used to the idea of working nine to five, had to do something to keep busy. Anyway, I traced his increase in funds to a woman, Yasmeen Haddad. I'm running a background search on her and her known associates. Her father is a diplomat here in this country, so it's going to take a little bit longer."

"How long?"

"I should have everything for you by midnight at the latest."

It didn't take Gibbs long to decide. "Let your search run, we'll pick it up again in the morning."

"Boss?"

"Go home people."

"Wow, is the Boss going to make this a habit?" Feeling brave, Tony grinned at Ziva as he picked up his backpack before Gibbs could move towards him. Ziva didn't pay any attention to him as she was watching McGee send a text message. She tried to see the screen on his phone, but he turned away from her with a frown. Gibbs gave her a hard look and jerked his head towards the door. Understanding, Ziva snagged Tony's sleeve and towed him out behind her.

Finally alone in their section of the squad room, Gibbs crossed to stand between McGee and the elevator. "Are you feeling any better, McGee? Honest answer."

Tim wasn't quite sure how to handle this version of Gibbs. "It's just a cold, Boss, really. It would have been nice to try Mrs. Sacks' secret formula, but I'm sure the orange juice and soup were just as effective." He smiled as he finished altering his searches to continue running overnight.

"That was my fault, Abby shouldn't have taken so long with it." He moved back to his desk to shut down his computer while McGee shouldered his backpack and started for the elevator.

"I'm not Abby's favorite person right now; don't worry about it Boss. See you in the morning."

Gibbs waited a few minutes to allow McGee the privacy of riding alone in the elevator before he, also, left for the night.

Once he passed through the gate, McGee spotted the black sedan parked along the curb, engine running. He nodded to Sacks through the open window as he passed, slowing slightly to allow the other man time to pull out and escort him to the safe house.

Several cars back, Gibbs watched McGee leave the Yard and noticed a strange car pull in back of him. Although there were few other cars on the road, the sedan carefully matched McGee's speed and direction. Worried, he pulled out his cell and hit the speed dial for McGee. The other man sounded tired and distracted when he answered.

~What's up, Boss?~

"McGee, you've picked up a tail. I want you to stay on this road until I can get more back-up out here to help intercept it." McGee almost seemed alarmed by Gibbs' concern.

~No, Boss. It's a friend, we're going to dinner. I'm fine.~

When McGee and the other car turned down the next street, Gibbs let them go.

Once at the apartment, a quick round of introductions were made. While Myers and Thompson were getting to know the new member of the task force Sacks pulled Fornell off to the side to tell him about the temporary third car in their convoy. "We may have to bring NCIS in so they don't accidentally get the kid killed."

"Do you really want DiNozzo underfoot?"

Sacks shuddered at the thought. "Well, no."

Fornell had to grin at his expression before looking over at McGee. The kid had his sleeves rolled up and was already hard at work, with the two other agents roped in as assistants. He figured it would keep them busy for at least a few hours. "We'll wait as long as we can. Right now, I'm going to pick up dinner and get the dog."

---NCIS---

Having witnessed Myers tackle food, Fornell called ahead and ordered the family dinner for eight and added extra egg rolls, potstickers and soup. The hostess packed the entire feast in a large box that barely fit through the restaurant door. He started to load it in the back seat before realizing his problem. He'd learned quickly that Jethro was a well behaved dog, but there were limits to even the best trained mutt. Instead, he opened the trunk and wedged the box between the spare tire and his emergency kit. It took some sweet talking of his little girl to convince her Jethro should go back to Uncle Tim, but he used the hostage negotiations techniques he'd learned when at Quantico. Eventually Emily was distracted enough and back hard at work practicing her science presentation with her grandmother.

Well trained or not, Jethro spent the trip with his nose buried between the seat cushion and the backrest of the back seat. Fornell decided not to think about all the dog snot being left behind.

By the time Fornell walked back through the door to the apartment, McGee not only had the computers up and running, he was busy programming them. It was a bark from Jethro that got the young man's attention.

"Hey, boy." Tim hit one last keystroke before standing up. Each member of the taskforce was introduced and received a canine handshake. Sacks laughed as he watched Jethro sit patiently waiting for something to fall off the table. "He's got better manners than DiNozzo."

By the time the work session broke up the first computer search had yielded results and they had a list of potential victims to start exhumations for testing. Many of the bodies had been cremated as there was no family to claim them, but even the ones McGee had located would be helpful in determining a pattern.

After the other three left, Fornell closed and locked the door before retrieving what he had gathered from McGee's mailbox. He set it all on the table except for the one from the lawyer. That he held in his hand as he sat next to McGee. "I assume this is something about your father's estate?"

Tim slowly took the offered envelope as he shook his head. "When Dad… after his diagnosis, and he knew what was in store for him… he wrote a series of letters for us. One for each milestone in our lives, and one for… one for when he died."

Fornell rested his hand on Tim's arm after giving him the envelope. "I'll give you some privacy." He moved over to the computers and watched the numbers and symbols flash across the screens. Unable to resist, he kept glancing over his shoulder as McGee's hands started to tremble and his breath hitched. Fingers pressed against the young man's lips before moving up to pinch the bridge of his nose. As the head bowed, Fornell could no longer resist and sat next to him. He rested his hand on the back of Tim's head for a moment, before sliding it down to wrap his arm around the shaking shoulders, pulling him close. "Let it out, kid."

Once the storm had passed, Tobias steered Tim into the bedroom, wincing slightly as Jethro joined his owner on the bed. Wanting to stay close, Fornell stretched out on the couch and hoped the hum of the computers would lull him to sleep.