a/n - It's hitting the fan today on both of my profiles. Didn't play it that way, but... Anyway, don't panic if you don't like the end of this chapter, I have a plan. For those of you who read my other profile's stories, you should know I always have a plan.

Once Jethro was sleeping soundly, McGee went upstairs for a shower. Gibbs continued to watch the late news as he listened to the dog snore. He heard McGee come back downstairs just as the news ended. Needing coffee, Gibbs followed McGee into the kitchen, but detoured to see what he was checking on in the refrigerator. Hearing his footsteps, Tim smiled without turning around. "It's cinnamon rolls for tomorrow. I'll bake them in the morning."

"Sounds good." Pleased with what awaited him for tomorrow, Gibbs moved off to the coffee maker to discover that what was left was pretty strong, even for him. He scowled at the carafe as he swirled it. "It's probably too late to make another pot."

"How about an Irish Coffee?" McGee moved from the refrigerator to the cabinet where he'd seen the bottle of good Irish whiskey. "You need good, strong coffee for that."

"I haven't had one of those in years." Gibbs was pleased to see that Tim had made himself at home in the kitchen. He wanted the young man to feel as comfortable as possible while he was there. Not wanting to remind him of the abuse he'd suffered as a child, Gibbs had made it a point to be obvious when he came up behind him since this had started. So far it appeared to be working. Now, wearing boxers and a faded t-shirt, with his hair still damp, Tim looked at home as he rooted around the kitchen for what he needed. A car in the driveway pulled him back from his thoughts. "If it's Vance again, I'm not letting him in, we've fed him enough today. Why don't you take our coffee upstairs and I'll meet you up there?"

Tim turned his face so Gibbs couldn't see his grin. The battle of wills over food between Vance and Gibbs had amused him more than he would ever admit to either man. "Sure, besides there's not enough of the coffee for all three of us."

---NCIS---

His date hadn't held his attention so he was on his way home. It wasn't often that Anthony DiNozzo struck out, but his heart wasn't in it tonight. Whatever Gibbs was working on involved McGee and not him. He couldn't imagine what his boss could be doing that needed the skills of a geek instead of him. Unconsciously, he turned left instead of right and found himself only blocks from Gibbs' home. Since he was in the neighborhood, he'd stop by and offer his help.

Pleased with his line of logic, DiNozzo swung his car into the driveway, noting that Gibbs' truck was out and his Charger was in the garage. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his boss drive the truck since he brought the car back from Stillwater. Dismissing the question, and noticing lights and movement through the front door window, he climbed out of the car and walked up the steps, whistling.

"DiNozzo, it's late, what are you doing here?"

Anyone else would have taken the hint when Gibbs only opened the door partway and braced it with his body. Tony just grinned and bounced up onto the porch. "Hey, Boss, just wanted to know if you needed any help."

"Help? With what?"

A little flustered with the question, Tony waved his arms around. "Well, with whatever Vance has you working on. I mean, I'm your Senior Agent, not McGeek. It should be me helping you."

"McGee," Gibbs put the emphasis on the correct version of the younger man's name, "is more than capable of what we've asked him to do, DiNozzo. You concentrate on what is on your desk until we get back."

"But, Boss..."

"Good night, DiNozzo." Ending the discussion, Gibbs closed the door on the persistent man, but not before Tony got an eyeful of a freshly showered Timothy McGee climbing the stairs in his boxers, two cups in his hands.

DiNozzo made it back to his car more by instinct than any planned action. "McGee and Gibbs? What the hell, McGee and Gibbs?" Talking to himself, he circled the block and came back, watching as the downstairs lights turned off.

Gibbs went through the house, turning off the lights as he went. He was half way up the stairs before he returned and switched on a small table lamp in the den. He was pretty sure Jethro would sleep through the night, but if not, he didn't want him tripping over his own feet. As an afterthought he went into the kitchen and retrieved Jethro's water bowl and placed it near the doggie bed. Once all that was done, he joined McGee upstairs.

He paused at the door and just looked. The oversized bed with the thick comforter pulled back looked inviting, the steaming Irish Coffee on his bedside table was icing on the cake. Tim was sitting on what Gibbs already thought of as 'his' side of the bed, his own drink in his hand.

"Was Vance disappointed?"

"It wasn't Vance, it was DiNozzo, and he was very disappointed when I didn't let him in." Gibbs picked up his cup and took a deep breath. He'd forgotten how good whiskey and coffee smelled together. Add in the brown sugar and the layer of cream on top and it was the perfect way to end the evening.

McGee, for his part, was enjoying the opportunity to cook for someone who so obviously appreciated it. Cooking for one was no fun and when he had been with Abby it was too domestic for her tastes. "We don't have enough food to feed both Vance and Tony." He turned serious after a moment. "How do you think Tony will react when we go in on Monday?"

"He'll deal with it, don't worry about it." Not wanting Tim to get worked up about something he was sure would be fine, he decided to distract him and lifted his cup slightly. "How do you get the cream to sit on top?"

"You pour it over the back of a spoon." Tim groaned slightly as he swung his legs up onto the bed. "If you pour it slow enough, it creates its own layer." Gibbs automatically looked him over when he heard the groan. Tim's right knee was bruised and slightly swollen.

"What happened to your leg?"

"It's no biggie." If anything, McGee sounded a little embarrassed. "I banged it when I was fixing her stove this morning, then I twisted it when we were running, and then I tweaked it again when we were bringing the mattress upstairs."

Gibbs carefully poked and prodded at the swollen tissue. "You should have said something. Do you want to ice it for a while?"

"Nah, it's fine. Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." Tim finished his coffee and set the cup on his nightstand.

Wanting McGee to rest, Gibbs set his own cup down and moved to the bathroom to get ready for bed. "All right, but you're going to take it easy tomorrow and let me walk Jethro." The last of his words were slightly muffled by the closed bathroom door. Tim smiled as he leaned his head back against the pillows and closed his eyes. It was nice to have someone pamper him for a change, even if it was part of the job.

---NCIS---

Tony pulled away from the curb and circled the neighborhood one more time before parking in front of the house next to Gibbs'. He quietly opened the door and slipped inside, surprised to see a light on in the den. That was his first destination and he stood, stunned in the entryway. A large flat screen television that looked suspiciously like McGee's was now mounted on wall. Curtains hung over the large window, giving privacy to the once open room. The most glaring change was the large dog bed in the corner with McGee's mutt sleeping soundly in it.

Not knowing exactly what he was feeling, Tony crept up the stairs. He'd been here enough to know which steps to avoid to make his journey as silent as possible. Once on the upstairs landing, he waited and listened. Their voices were too soft to hear more than a few words, but he heard laughter and he heard his name. When Gibbs climbed off the bed – McGee's bed – and pulled the covers up over McGee, he felt his anger explode. Only seconds after the bathroom door closed behind Gibbs, Tony charged into the room and grabbed McGee, dragging him out of bed and slugging him before slamming him face first into the wall.

Eyes closed, half asleep, Tim didn't see the attack coming. Before he knew what was happening, he was being thrown across the room and it felt like his head was exploding. Just as suddenly, it was over and he was falling to the floor.

Gibbs had only managed to unbutton his shirt when he heard the shouts; one of anger one of pain. By the time he had rounded the bed, Tim was sliding down the wall and Tony was pulling his fist back for another strike. He never gave DiNozzo the chance to hit Tim again, as he grabbed the moving arm and twisted it behind Tony's back and pressed him against the wall. He heard DiNozzo grunt when he impacted the wall, and twisted his arm higher, making sure he didn't get away from him.

"Touch him again and I'll kill you, you got that?" Without waiting for an answer, he started to frog march DiNozzo out of the room. In the hall they met up with Jethro, who was dragging himself up the stairs to protect his master. Not trusting DiNozzo at that moment, he yanked him hard to the side to give Jethro plenty of room. Gibbs barely slowed down enough to get the front door open before shoving him through. He didn't let go until they were at Tony's car and he opened the door and threw Tony into the driver's seat. "Get out of here before I change my mind and have Metro throw your sorry ass in jail." He slammed the door shut and glared at Tony, breathing hard, until the other man got his car started and pulled away.

"Jethro, what on Earth..." Mrs. B came out of her home, tying her robe around her waist. "What happened?"

Gibbs was still gasping for breath. "He attacked Tim. He just walked into our bedroom and attacked him."

Over the years, she'd seen all of Gibbs' agents come and go from his home and had recognized the brash agent he'd just thrown out. "Oh, Jethro, I thought he was your friend."

Choking on his words, Gibbs turned towards his house, towards Tim. "So did I."