a/n - No, I haven't forgetten or abandoned this story. Hopefully you haven't either.
Pretending to be asleep, Gibbs didn't open his eyes when he felt his leg being shifted., at least not until a warm, moist breath tickle his ankle. "Jett, go lay down."
Jett ignored him, pulling first one and then the other leg down onto the floor before burrowing under Gibbs' shoulder. Before he knew what was happening, Gibbs was sitting up on the sofa, shaking his head at the dog. "Are you this bossy with Tim?"
"Nope." The man in question was leaning on the doorjam, his arms crossed over his chest. "But I don't think you're going to win this one. It's late, Jethro, come to bed."
Before Gibbs could come up with a rational sounding reason to be sleeping on the sofa, Jett wedged his head behind Gibbs' back and pushed. He had a choice between landing on the floor or standing up and Tim gave a soft laugh as they were suddenly face to face. Letting himself be pulled up the stairs, Gibbs ignored the whine in his voice. "You know, I used to be the boss of my own house."
Tim wisely didn't say a word as he climbed onto his side of the bed, closing his eyes and relaxing when he felt the covers shift on the other side. He waited until Gibbs was settled. "My problems with Abby started a long time ago and have nothing to do with you. She reacts badly every time I even go out on a date, has for years."
Gibbs reached out and stroked his fingertips down Tim's arm. "Do you want me to talk to her?"
"Nah, until she's ready to see, it won't do any good and I don't want to be the cause of any problems between you."
Gibbs didn't object, but he made a silent promise to himself to not send Tim alone to the lab until the Goth was ready to be civil to him, undercover op or not. Decision made, he ghosted his hand down the side of Tim's face before closing his own eyes and following him into sleep.
-NCIS-
Traffic was heavy the next morning thanks to construction, but that didn't stop Tony from grinning at them when they arrived in the parking lot of the coffee shop. Gibbs paid for the drinks that morning, rolling his eyes at Tony's hot chocolate, but remembering Tim's order perfectly. Ziva's tea was easy and within minutes they were sitting at a picnic table in the park, tearing into homemade cinnamon rolls.
"I know you didn't make these last night."
Tim grinned back at Gibbs. "No, the other day. I hid them from Vance and froze them. Thought they'd be a nice treat this morning."
A realization hit Gibbs. "Is this why you insisted on taking separate cars this morning? You didn't trust me to stay out of them?"
No verbal comment, but Tim's raised eyebrow said it all.
Their two companions didn't comment, but Tony watched the banter closely, a slight smile on his face.
Once the elevator arrived on their floor, the four agents separated to their desks and the air was filled with the sounds of computers powering up. Tim was sitting at his desk, sorting out the cold case files he was working on when the hum of one of his monitors changed pitch.
The change in sound caught Gibbs' attention and he looked up just in time to see a blue flash arc across the back of the older CRT monitor as it exploded, sending a shower of glass outward. Tim just managed to throw his arms up over his face as he fell backwards.
"Tim!"
"Probie."
"McGee."
Ziva grabbed a fire extinguisher as Tony went for Tim's desk, pulling it away from his fallen teammate. Gibbs went straight for Tim, moaning in horror at the damage. "Don't move, Tim. My God, don't move."
He didn't know where he could touch the younger man. He lay flat on his back, his arms still crossed over his face. His leather jacket had luckily taken the worst of the damage, the large pieces of glass and insides of the monitor that had punctured the leather told quite vividly how bad it could have been. Even with that bit of protection, glass covered the top of his head, dozens of the wounds deep enough to draw blood that was already crisscrossing his forehead and soaking into his hair. More frightening were the shards scattered and imbedded in his neck and upper chest.
Gibbs dropped to his knees by Tim's head, ignoring the crunch of glass beneath him. He could hear the fire extinguisher, the sounds of Tony on the phone calling for Ducky, calling for an ambulance, but they were only vague awareness's as he touched the backs of Tim's elbows. "Help's coming, Tim. You're going to be okay, just don't move and don't try to talk. I don't think many of the cuts are very deep, but let's let Ducky decide."
After nearly hanging up on the SecNav, Vance arrived almost the same time as Dr. Mallard. Gibbs refused to budge, still murmuring to Tim as Ducky climbed over them to start his exam. Vance went straight to Tony, who gave a quick breakdown of what had happened. There was no mistaking the fury in Tony's voice as he informed the Director that he and Ziva would be handling the investigation as he didn't trust anyone else to do it properly.
Vance looked at Tony carefully to see if there was any of the residual anger and jealousy left over from the night he'd discovered his boss and his best friend in bed together. What he saw instead was determination and indignation. The decision was easy. "I want it done by the book, DiNozzo. If this was sabotage, we arrest the culprit, not use them for target practice. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir." Behind him, Tony could hear Ziva muttering to herself in Hebrew until she, too, finally agreed.
"Twice a day updates, I'll handle any warrants needed personally. Airtight case, DiNozzo, I won't accept anything less."
"By the book, sir, understood."
Ducky patted Gibbs on the arm before standing and joining Vance and the two teammates. Vance didn't waste any time on pleasantries. "Well, doctor?"
"Timothy's coat took the brunt of the damage, luckily. However, there are still quite a number of shards imbedded in his exposed skin. I don't believe that many of them are very deep, but the locations will make some of them dangerous if they are. With the various veins, arteries and nerves located in his neck and wrists, it will be much safer for him if removal is done in a hospital setting."
Vance knew how dangerous McGee's injuries could potentially be, but hearing it made it even worse. Luckily the ambulance crew was efficient and careful in loading the injured man onto a gurney and didn't argue with Gibbs when he insisted on riding along.
Tony caught Gibbs' arm as they were preparing to leave. "Call, keep us posted, okay?"
Gibbs gave a short nod. "You find the bastard that did this."
"We will." But Gibbs was already in the elevator.
-NCIS-
Removing each piece of glass was a slow and painful process. Tim was heavily sedated, but Gibbs suffered with each wound as it was cleaned. After the first hour, Ducky physically removed him and the two men sat in the waiting room.
"Jethro, suffering along with him will not help, especially if he's not awake enough to be aware. Mr. Palmer will monitor him and come get us if anything changes."
Gibbs stared at his own hands. "Damn it, Duck, this shouldn't have happened. If I couldn't keep him safe in the bullpen, then how..."
"You stop it right there, Jethro. You know perfectly well, this was beyond your control. If this was sabotage, then Tony and Ziva will find the responsible party. You just concentrate on how lucky Timothy was."
"Lucky? You call this lucky?"
"Yes, I do." Ducky made sure Gibbs was listening. "All those pieces of glass that were in his sleeves could have been imbedded in his eyes if he hadn't gotten his arms up in time. A nerve in his wrists could have been damaged, destroying his career as a field agent."
He watched at Gibbs grew paler, and tapped his knee to keep him focused. "They've managed to remove all the large pieces without any damage to an artery or major vein. That in itself is a small miracle. As frightening as this has been, there shouldn't even be any permanent scarring, so yes, I'd call this very lucky indeed."
-NCIS-
"How did this happen, Tony? McGee... McGee could have been killed."
"I know, Abs. How do you feel about that?" Tony watched her reaction very closely. He didn't want to believe that she could have done anything to hurt McGee, but he couldn't ignore the simple fact that she had motive, means and opportunity.
"How do I feel? What kind of a question is that?" Abby punched him in the arm just as Ziva walked into the lab.
"Unfortunately, a very valid question under the circumstances. We know how angry you were at Gibbs and McGee when you were told of their relationship." Ziva stood next to Tony. "We also know that Gibbs was worried and did not want McGee to be alone with you."
The two agents watched as a myriad of emotions crossed her face. When Gibbs had pulled them aside that morning in the park and made the request, they never dreamed it would come to this.
Tears welled up as she shook her head. "Yeah, I was mad, and I was probably mean, but I would never hurt him. Give me the evidence, Tony, and I'll find the person who did."
"You know I can't do that, Abby. Under the circumstances, you can't be the one to work the evidence. Vance has already called Fornell."
"Then what do I do?"
"Same thing I had to do. You're going to have to do some hard thinking and make some decisions. What's more important to you, their happiness or being right?"
-NCIS-
Gibbs tossed his keys to Ducky as he and Palmer guided Tim up the walkway. Ducky found the new key and opened the door in time to let the other three men into the house. Palmer and Gibbs continued on up the stairs with Tim while Ducky went into the kitchen for a glass of water.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Tim accepted the water from Ducky and the pain pill from Palmer before Gibbs helped him strip down and crawl under the covers. Palmer smiled at the couple as he and Ducky left the room, closing the door behind them.
"They're really good for each other, aren't they?"
Ducky smiled at the understanding that Gibbs would probably be the last one to realize that simple fact. "Yes, I believe they are. Now, I'm going to let Jett out for a moment before we head on back to the Yard."
Jimmy followed the older man out into the yard, both of them watching Jett dash to his corner. Ducky laid his hand on Jimmy's shoulder. "Are you all right, Mr. Palmer?"
"Yeah, sure, I mean it was kinda scary to think that someone did this to McGee just because of who he loves." Jimmy shrugged as he gave Ducky a crooked smile. "Makes you wonder which friends you can trust."
It was a casual comment, but it said so much. Ducky patted Jimmy on the back. "Promise me, lad, if someone threatens you or makes you at all uncomfortable you come to me or to Jethro immediately. No being shy about it."
-NCIS-
It was strange waiting at the door, but Tony and Ziva had called ahead so Gibbs was quick to answer.
"Hey, Boss, how's he doing?"
A voice floated down the stairs. "He is hoping you brought food."
Gibbs just grinned and opened the door the rest of the way. "Woke up hungry about an hour ago and mad that I wouldn't let him cook."
Ziva called up the stairs. "Do not worry, we have dinner for all of us."
They followed Gibbs up the stairs and within a few minutes Tony and Ziva were sitting at the foot of the bed, each with a carton of Chinese food, trying not to smile at the other half of their team. Gibbs was sitting in back of McGee, the younger man resting against him as they shared their food.
"What?"
Tony just smiled at his partner and his boss, while Ziva answered. "You look much better than we expected, McGee. We were worried."
"I'm okay, guys, and I'm going to work tomorrow. If somebody did this, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of knocking me out of the game." Behind him, Gibbs didn't look pleased with the plan, but he didn't argue.
Ziva studied him closely. Butterfly bandages and a few visible stitches peppered his skin, but he was moving easily. She decided to make a joke rather than press the subject. "At least you will no longer have one of those ancient monitors taking up room on your desk. Director Vance is having it replaced with a second flat screen."
"Great, more room for paperwork." Even Gibbs laughed and then silently agreed with Tim.
Seeing Tim flagging, Tony and Ziva didn't stay long. Out on the sidewalk, she turned to him with a concerned look. "We are not very good investigators if we did not see how suited they are to each other."
"Yeah, and here we were always saying Probie wasn't cut out for undercover work. Hiding that all this time, he's better than the rest of us. Come on, let's go bug Fornell for some results."