Pam had a tense afternoon, trying her best to stay busy and keep her mind off Tim and the bad news that his traffic ticket had been brought to his boss. What was up with that? She was glad that Agent Gibbs had in turn brought it to the Director, in some ways. On one hand, it left no room for talk of cover-up, but on the other, it left plenty of room for the Director to make things harder on Tim, didn't' it? No, it shouldn't. It was just a speeding ticket for cryin' out loud.

Then there was the problem of how Tim was gonna find out that things had gone this way for him before he even knew it was coming. She had no choice but to keep records of everything the Director's Office sent out in the mail. This kept her from having the temptation to hand it to him herself so it wouldn't hit him out of the blue, out of her hands. Pam was more upset that she couldn't very well call him right now and found herself really beginning to worry about what this was gonna do to him.

As her day ended, Pam headed out to the parking lot. She dug out her phone and started to make a call. As she reached her car, her heart stopped. Agent Gibbs stepped out from behind her car, his expression almost angry. Since, she'd been working here, she'd learned to read him pretty well.

"You've got something to tell me?" He demanded quietly but with steel in his tone.

"Agent Gibbs, I don't know what you're talking about." Pam said honestly.

Gibbs looked at her for a long scrutinizing minute before he spoke again. "Walk with me." He requested quietly. He knew neither of them wanted any reference to anything that might work against Tim to be recorded, and so led the way to the water's edge just a short distance from the retired warship docked there.

"Agent McGee's speeding ticket hit you personally. I need to know why."

"I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs, but why would you need to know this?" Pam stalled as her heart seemed to stop.

"Agent McGee is one of my team. Ms. Cook and if there's something going on with him that I should now about, then, I need to know."

"Look, Agent Gibbs, I respect you and I respect the fact that Agent McGee is dedicated to his job working under you. Tim is a friend."

"That's it?" Gibbs pushed.

"Ah, Jethro! Ms. Cook, how are you both?" Ducky asked as he walked up to them.

"Doctor Mallard, how nice to see you. How are you?" Pam asked as calmly as she could considering the intense relief she felt at the interruption.

"I'm well, young lady. Have I interrupted something? I'm terribly sorry. " Ducky tried to sound truly repentant all the while he sensed he'd been just in time to save someone from

Pam wanted nothing more than to cut and run, but was unwilling to make things worse for Tim or create animosity between herself and Agent Gibbs. So, she looked to Gibbs to answer the question for the both of them.

"No." Gibbs said as he turned toward Ducky. "You need something, Dr. Mallard?"

"Have a good night. " Pam said to both of them in general as she forced herself to calmly walk back to the parking lot. She knew that Ducky had orchestrated her escape and was grateful for it. Pam held no ill will toward Gibbs; well okay, she was pissed at him for the position that Tim was in, but she was responsible enough in her thinking to realize that it wasn't his fault alone. Tim bore some responsibility in it; for the way he'd put up with it all this time. But, hopefully, they'd figure out a way for Tim to get through this and with a better oiled machine of a team, than what there was for him now. She'd love nothing more than to be able to put this behind both of them so they could concentrate on their other big problem; figuring out how to bring their relationship out into the light so they could really enjoy being together.

Ducky's answer was a bit too slow in coming, which told Gibbs what he'd already suspected. The M.E. had deliberately interrupted to give Ms. Cook a way out. Although he was fuming about it, he let it go in the face of needing to hear his friend out.

"No, Jethro. I merely wished to see how you were managing without Timothy and Abigail." Ducky answered as they both watched Ms. Cook walk toward her car.

"The best we can, Duck. Knew it wasn't gonna be easy." Gibbs told the M.E. with a touch of inpatience at having been interrupted for this.

"Have you spoken with either of them since their suspensions began?" Ducky asked

"Been a little busy, Duck." The younger man answered back with the same impatience he'd already shown.

"Yes, Jethro, I am well aware that you have had a lot on your plate this week. Perhaps you are also deliberately avoiding any attempt to speak with either of them?" The M.E. pushed non too delicately.

"Abby created this mess, I'll be damned if I'm gonna coddle her through the consequences, Ducky!" Gibbs replied back in anger.

"I understand your decision, Jethro. However, one must remember that to suddenly completely change the way in which you handle things with someone takes getting used to. It's not something that can be adequately dealt with overnight."

"Aw, hell, Ducky, just spit it out, will ya?" the younger man requested in frustration so thick it was darn near tangible.

"Now, Jethro, I'm simply advising you to perhaps not take such a hard line with Abigail since she's quite used to doing as she pleases while you look the other way and merely did so to an extreme in this case."

"You can't be serious! For God's sake, Ducky, she damn near got all of them taken as hostages by the drug cartel! Are you tellin' me you think that what she did is excusable?" Gibbs demanded in fury.

"Absolutely not, Jethro. I'm simply advising that you should not allow yourself to be too harsh with her, as you yourself set the bar for her behavioral latitude to begin with."

"Duck, Abby's a big girl. She's also one of the smartest people I know. If she can't figure out that she has to take responsibilit for her actions there's not a whole lot anyone can say to her that will do any good. She created this mess and she can damn well deal with the consequences."

"Yes, I certainly agree with you there, Jethro, but do not forget it is your doing that has kept her from experiencing or expecting such consequences until now. And so long as you're willing to lay blame, let's not forget that you have allowed her to treat Timothy with little or no serious regard for a very long time now. While she was in Mexico with him, she obviously saw no reason to treat him any differently"

"Doesn't mean she doesn't know better. She's not a child." Gibbs retorted angrily. "I'll tell you the same thing I told her, Ducky. My having her back all this time was never a license to do what she did down there."

"I beg to differ, Jethro. Obviously, Abigail was unable to differentiate between what is acceptable behavior here at work and what is acceptable out in the field ."

"She should have known better!"

"Very well, I can see your mind is made up on the subject of Abigail. And Timothy?"

"I don't know, Duck. You tell me. Didn't you just have him over for dinner last night?" Gibbs asked with aggravation.

"As a matter of fact, Jethro, I did have him over for dinner last night. However, I was referring to your opinion on his situation." Ducky replied calmly, as he allowed Gibbs' snarky attitude to slide off his back

"Since I don't know what's going on with him, I'm not sure. Shouldn't you be telling me how he is?"

"He seems to be doing fine, Jethro, although he is very upset about this." Ducky stopped the conversation from delving any deeper into what Timothy might be thinking, since no one really knew what the young man was thinking.

"That's nothing I didn't already know, Duck"

"Yes, well, I'm afraid if you wish to know anything more, you'll have to take the time to talk to Timothy yourself. He has not been very forthcoming with me."

""He'll talk when he's ready, "

"Jethro. Talk to Timothy. Soon." Ducky requested.

"See ya tomorrow, Duck." Gibbs said as he turned to leave.

"Goodnight, Jethro." Ducky said to the empty air, in a tone of resignation

"Tim McGee."

"Honey, we need to talk. Where are you?" Pam asked as she did her best to sound calm.

"Sweetie, I'm at Ducky's. I asked him if I could talk to him tonight. Why don't you come and sit with me while I talk to him. If you come now, we should have time to talk before he gets here."

"Okay. I'll be right there." Pam answered quickly, almost instantly feeling better. She knew that she still had a chance to warn him about what was coming at him, since he probably wouldn't be getting the mailed tickets until at least tomorrow.

Tim rolled out of bed and got ready to face the day; relieved to finally have this burden he'd been carrying; off his chest. He'd unloaded it to Ducky and Pam last night and even when she had hit him with the news of his traffic ticket getting back to Gibbs and he, in turn taking it to Vance so the cop couldn't accuse the agency of a cover-up; he was okay. He'd heard back from Tony last night and they'd changed the meeting time from lunch to breakfast before work and although he'd told Tony he'd talk to him about everything then; Tim really wanted just to set up a time where they had more time and ability to talk without being rushed or having it screw with Tony's head while he was trying to work for the rest of the day. But, he couldn't walk away from the chance to see for himself that Tony was doing okay. As he got ready, Tim couldn't help but go back over parts of his conversation last night:

"Timothy, are you certain you wish to continue to allow this suspension of yours instead of talking to Director Vance about this?"

"Ducky, I will not do that to Gibbs. I can't. I'd rather live with the consequences and move on without messing up anyone else's life."

"Dear boy, whatever do you imagine will happen if you were to let go of this?"

"I don't know, Ducky. But, I do know that it's not worth messing up the team and it's for sure not worth getting Gibbs into any hot water; doesn't matter how much or how little."

"Oh, dear. Timothy, you have such a brilliant career ahead of you. I do wish you would reconsider your decision."

"With this ticket hanging over my head now, I really don't have a choice, anyway, Ducky. I mean, it's not like Vance is gonna care what my reasons were now."

"Tim, don't make you decision until you talk to Tony. You know Tony knows how to get in Gibbs' head almost as well as Ducky does. You told me that. Run this by Tony first, Then decide, please?" Pam requested.

"Pamela is right, Timothy. Anthony will want to weigh in on this especially since you've promised him that you would tell him what this was about." Ducky chimed in.

"Yeah. You're both right. Okay, I'll talk to Tony first."

"Hey, Probie! You're lookin' good. Stayin in shape, I see." Tony greeted the younger man jovially, genuinely pleased to see him and to see that he did in fact look okay and not sunk down in the dumps.

"Thanks, Tony. You look good, too. And Tony, you need to know that the reason I haven't said anything is because I know this will change the dynamics on the team and that's not something I want to be responsible for.

"Okay. That explains your silence. But, as usual, you've been thinking too hard instead of letting us help you figure it out."

"Yeah. I know. That's why I asked you to give me time to talk to you about it."

"So, Probelicious, talk to me. You gotta know, I've been dying to hear what all this is about."

"What this is about, Tony, is favoritism."

"And Abby. And Gibbs. So that means what it's really about is Gibbs favoritism of Abby." Tony reasoned out.

"Exactly." Tim said quietly.

"Okay. You're gonna have to explain because I don't quite have all the dots connected, Probie." Tony admitted. "Gibbs' favoritism of Abby and you and Mexico. What's missing?"

"Tony, Vance wants to know why I didn't call Gibbs right away when the whole near-hostage taking thing happened. What was I supposed to do; let him blame me even over the phone? I never would have been able to live that down. Hell, he'd a probably fired me right then and there!"

"Whoa! Hostage taking? Spill it McSecret! What the hell happened down there?" Tony asked incredulously. "Gibbs never told us the specifics."

And so, Tim found himself recounting the entire story for Tony, drawn by the big brother he now had listening to what he needed to get out; he began the tale back at Pam's desk, with Abby's less than pleasant attitude towards him supposedly behind his back. He didn't even realize he'd have to explain how he'd gained that knowledge later. It all just came pouring out. When he was finished telling his tale, he desperately needed a shot of caffeine and the space to let Tony digest it all and to let himself regain his regular breathing. Telling your 'big brother' your boatload of aggravation and trouble tended to have one thinking all hell was gonna fall down on your head afterwards.

As Tim finished fixing his fresh cup of coffee and returned to the table where he'd left Tony digesting everything he'd been told, Tim couldn't help but worry what Tony's reaction would be. Still, this was what he'd needed to do and he was more than relieved that he'd actually done it. Pam and Ducky were right on that score.

"McGee. Relax. I get it. Actually, I more than get it. I completely agree with your thinking Gibbs would have blamed first and asked questions never. Even though I've never found myself in the same position with Gibbs as you seem to always be in and don't ask me why that is, by the way. I have no idea why he treats you so differently. And before you ask, yeah, Ziva and I both see it."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one that does." Tim admitted almost to himself.

"You know Ducky's seen it. There isn't much that ole bird misses." Tony said as a reminder to Tim that more people knew than he'd realized.

"We'd be lost without him, Tony. He keeps Gibbs straight more than anyone else can even come close to doing." Tim reminded him.

"Yeah. I know. Now. About this. What are you planning on doing? And by the way, what happened when you told Gibbs about the ticket?"

"I didn't."

"You didn't tell him?"

"He didn't give me the chance. As soon as I said I got stopped for speeding, he yelled at me for wasting his time and hung up on me." Tim said dejectedly.

"Oh, jeez! McGoo, I guess I underestimated his ability to be dense. I'm sorry, man."

"Not your fault. I guess I should have let you tell him for me after all. You always find a way to make him listen to you." Tim said with even more dejection in his voice than before.

"Yeah. I can't explain it, McGee. But I get where you're coming from. Let me talk to Ziva and we'll see what we can figure out about what we should do. I hear you on not wanting to stir anything up against the Boss on this. But you can't sacrifice your job for the sake of keeping the peace, Probie. There's gotta be something we can do to fix this." Tony said earnestly.

"Thanks Tony." Tim said with loads of genuine gratitude. He got up to leave, knowing Tony had to get to work.

"Gotta question for you, Probie." Tony said as he got up from the table and walked toward the door with Tim.

"Okay."

"How did you find out what Abby said about you going with her before you got to Vance's Assistant's office?"

Tim blushed and even his ears turned red as he looked as far away from Tony as he could.

"What aren't you telling me, Probie?"

"Tony, I can't. I can't ask you to keep any secrets for me. It wouldn't be fair." Tim said finally as he looked Tony straight on.

"You're dating Ms Cook!" No way! Oh, Ho! Probie! Way to go, man! Wait? How the hell long's this been goin' on and why haven't you said anything to yours truly?"

"Tony! I just told you! It's a secret, damn it! You think I want Vance threatening her job because she's dating me? I'll quit first."

"NO, Probie, you won't! But, don't worry. I'll keep your secret. I promise. I get it. I think you're overthinking things again, but I'll go with you on this one."

"What about Ziva?"

"What about her?"

"Tony, I'm not keeping this from her now that you know. Not when you both can be trusted to keep your mouths shut when it counts. I don't want either of you having any reason to not trust me! We've had enough distrust thrown at us through manipulation of others. I won't be a party to it or the cause of it."

"Okay, Probie. I hear ya. I'll tell her. I'm guessing Ducky knows?"

"Yeah, he overheard me talking to her over the phone the other night at his house."

"Well, then the only person you have to worry about is Gibbs."

"And Abby."

"Right. Abby. Does our resident heart breaker know?"

"No."

"What are you gonna do about having to work with Abby after this, McGee?"

"I haven't thought about it yet. Although, I pretty sure Gibbs is gonna expect me to just suck it up and carry on like nothing happened."

"Yeah. You're probably right. Okay. I gotta go, McGee. I'll talk to Ziva and get back to you. You ever gonna let us go out with you and your girl?"

"I'll ask her. I'd like that, Tony. Thank you. For everything."

"Sure thing, kid. Listen. Don't go sweatin' any of this, all right? We'll sort it out."

"Thanks."