a/n - I'm catching up with myself, so the updates may not be daily from this point on. That's the downside of posting multiple stories at the same time. I do have it all planned out, though, so I know where I'm going and how to get there. It's just a matter of finishing my rough draft for each chapter. Thank you all, the response has been great.

Gibbs took the stairs two at a time and caught Tim as he was trying to stand up. "Easy, easy, how bad is it?"

Despite the arms around his waist, Tim stood up, supporting his own weight. "I'm all right, where's Tony?"

"Gone. He won't hurt you again." Now that there was no doubt that McGee could stand up on his own, he loosened his grip to better look at the younger man's face. His lip was split and he had the beginnings of a black eye already starting to form. "Let's get you fixed up." Behind him he heard another set of footsteps coming up the stairs at a slow, determined pace.

"Jethro, Jethro, is Tim all right?" Mrs. B came into the bedroom and stopped while Gibbs walked McGee to the bed and sat him down. "Oh, that's going to swell. My Richard always said the best thing for an eye like that was a good steak. I'll just go down and..."

"No." The last thing Tim wanted was a piece of meat plastered against his face, but he needed a reason that wouldn't offend the elderly woman. A wet, cold nose against his knee gave him his answer. "We have a house rule." He glanced at Gibbs, hoping he'd go along with it. "No first aid supplies that the dog finds edible."

She giggled at that and even Gibbs gave a snort before he agreed. "We've got ice packs in the freezer. I'll go grab them." He left the two of them and the dog together and went into the kitchen for the packs and a metal spoon that he always kept in the freezer. When Gibbs returned upstairs, Mrs. B was dabbing at the blood on Tim's lip and Jethro was trying to ooze onto the bed. Gibbs snapped his fingers at Jethro and pointed at his makeshift bed still on the floor before checking under the damp washcloth. The bleeding had almost stopped and the pressure was controlling the swelling. Satisfied with that, Gibbs sat on the bed behind Tim, pulling him back to rest against his chest. Tim was slouched down enough that Gibbs was able to see his face. He pressed the back of the cold spoon against the goose egg that was forming over Tim's eye. The spoon did the trick and a few minutes later, the swelling was almost totally gone.

Gibbs smiled sadly as he replaced the spoon with the ice pack. "That was a little trick I learned when Kelly was learning to walk."

"I bet she wanted to run before she could walk." Tim didn't open his eyes as he leaned back against Gibbs.

"Yeah, she did," His smile grew wistful as he remembered her toddling around at a full run, driving Shannon nuts with worry. He looked up at their visitor. As kind and thoughtful as she was, he wanted privacy as he tended to McGee. "Tim, will you be all right while I walk Mrs. B home?"

He nodded and sat up, taking control of the ice pack on his face. "I'm okay, really. Go ahead and take her home."

Gibbs couldn't really rush the elderly woman, but he didn't waste any time coming back from her house. Tim was on the phone when he got back, just hanging up when Gibbs walked through the door.

"Tim..."

McGee didn't let him say anything further. "We're partially to blame, we should have told him. He trusted us, trusted you, and trust isn't easy for him. You know that." The young man looked heartbroken.

"Yeah, I know. I know." Suddenly exhausted, Gibbs sank down on the bed. "I need to call Vance, figure out what to do."

Tim shivered, but it was more stress than cold. "Not tonight, and nothing official, please. If this tears the team apart... then Sutton wins."

Gibbs wasn't happy, but he didn't argue as he helped Tim lay down and covered him with the blankets. Finally, he laid down on top of the blankets, propped up against the pillows and pulled Tim against him, his uninjured cheek resting on Gibbs' shoulder so Gibbs could keep the ice pack in place. The fact that he was so complacent at being handled told Gibbs he was still in shock. "Who did you call?"

"I called Ziva; I asked her to take care of Tony tonight, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

At first Gibbs didn't know what to say to that as he lay in the semi-dark room, lit by the hall light. His hands were shaking as he brushed Tim's hair back repeatedly, hoping to soothe him to sleep. Tim was almost asleep when the answer finally came from Gibbs.

"Thank you."

---NCIS---

"What are you doin' here, Ziva?" There was only a slight slur, but that was due to intense concentration rather than a low blood alcohol level.

"McGee asked me to come check on you. He sounded worried, apparently he has reason to be."

"Worried, that's a laugh." Tony waved his empty glass at the bartender. "Why should he be worried, he's got everything now. What do they need me for?"

Ziva had no clue what was going on, but she knew that if she kept him talking long enough, he would eventually tell her. When the bartender came back with Tony's drink she ordered two coffees. He nodded in understanding and quietly handed her Tony's car keys.

Tony downed half of his drink in one swallow. "They're together."

"Of course they're together, they're working together on something for Director Vance."

"Not that kind of together." He swirled the amber liquid, watching how the lights caught the droplets on the side of the glass. "Boffing like bunnies kind of together."

Ziva almost choked on her coffee. "How did you decide that?"

Tony slammed his drink down as he stood and faced her. "I caught them in bed together, all right?" His voice was loud enough to catch the attention of several of the patrons, including a bachelorette party in the corner. Embarrassed, he lowered his voice and leaned closer. "I went to Gibbs' house. McGee's television was on the wall, his dog was sleeping in the den."

"Televisions look alike, Tony." Ziva tried to find a reasonable explanation. "Perhaps McGee is keeping Jethro there while they are working. There would be more room and Gibbs has a yard." She moved his glass to the side and replaced it with the coffee cup.

"Then why did Gibbs redo his bedroom with McGee's bed? They were together, Ziva, laughing and talking. They were talking about me. I heard my name, and I just lost it." He flexed his hand and Ziva looked down for the first time. Dried specks of blood were across his knuckles and the back of his hand.

"Why are you so mad at them, Tony?"

"Damn it, Ziva, they lied to us."

"Did they? Neither one of them have told me intimate details of their private lives. Why are you so mad at them?"

"What happened to rule twelve?

"What, and you've never broken a rule? Why are you so mad?"

"We were a team."

"Did Gibbs said anything about breaking us up?"

"I attacked McGee, Ziva, and Gibbs..."

"Gibbs was angry, of course. You walked in on them having sex and you lost your temper, but..."

"They weren't having sex, it was worse."

"Worse?"

Tony thought about what he had seen. "They were sitting together on the bed with McGee's leg draped over Gibbs. Gibbs was rubbing his knee for him. When Gibbs got out of bed, he pulled the covers over McGee. They just looked so..." Tony struggled to find the right word. "They looked so domestic, so cozy."

Ziva understood the problem. "You are not mad, you are jealous." When Tony just shrugged in response, she pulled his arm over her shoulder. "Let me take you home. We will figure something out tomorrow."