a/n - Two updates within days. Shocking, I know. I do want to get the pace picked up on this one. Thank you all for all your wonderful comments, I cherish each one. Just so you know - since the PTB have ignored kosher rules with Ziva, I've quit beating my head against the wall about them.

It was early afternoon when McGee's phone rang. Gibbs glanced up and saw him pale as he continued to listen to the caller. Tim was obviously upset, but trying to not draw attention to himself, so Gibbs watched and waited. The young man said very little to his caller, and when he did speak his voice was too low to be heard in the squad room. Tony and Ziva were hard at work at Tony's desk looking at the surveillance footage, hoping to find someone out of place and didn't notice the developing situation.

After he closed his phone and rubbed at his eyes, Tim looked up and saw Gibbs' worried expression. He shrugged as he gave a cryptic explanation. "Call from my dad."

Knowing the history, the circumstances and the expression on Tim's face, Gibbs didn't take too long to add things together. He stood very casually and began walking towards the stairs. "McGee, Vance wants an update on his pet project."

"Sure, Boss." This was easy, this was familiar and Tim fell in behind Gibbs as the two men made their way up the stairs. They were already gone from sight before it clicked with DiNozzo.

"Wait a minute, Gibbs didn't get a call from Vance, how did he know?"

Ziva frowned as she thought for a moment. "He is Gibbs, Tony. He always knows."

-NCIS-

"We've been outed to McGee's father." Gibbs didn't even wait for an acknowledgment as he strode through the door before Vance's assistant could announce them.

Vance winced, knowing this couldn't be good. "Do you know how he found out, McGee?"

Tim dropped heavily into one of the chairs. "Apparently he got an envelope in the mail today full of pictures and a letter asking him if he knew what his son had become."

"McGee, I am so sorry. Did you explain that those pictures were evidence?"

"He burned everything before he called." Tim could see the question on Gibbs' face and he bounced his heel on the floor as he struggled to reign in his emotions. "He, umm, he told me that I no longer have a family, that as far as he's concerned I am dead to him." His chin dropped to his chest as he took in a shuddering breath.

Gibbs reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "Ah crap, Timmy."

Anything else Gibbs might have said was cut off when Tim raised his head with a forced smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Hey, at least if this goes on long enough we won't have to worry about which side of the family to spend the holidays with."

He didn't have a clue what to say, so Gibbs let his hand slide down from Tim's shoulder to the center of his back and started gently rubbing, giving him time to compose himself. It was Vance that broke the silence.

"Gibbs, it might be a good idea if you called your father."

Still rubbing Tim's back, he nodded and used his other hand to dig his phone out of his pocket. He dialed, his father's number back on speed dial since the case in Stillwater, and put the phone on speaker. Jackson picked up on the third ring.

~Hello?~

"Hey, Dad."

~Jethro, you must be a mind reader. I was just about to call you.~

"About some pictures you got in the mail?" He held his breath, waiting for the reaction.

~Yeah, I figured that someone was trying to use your relationship to blackmail you, so I kept everything and didn't handle it more than necessary. I've got it all wrapped up and Ed even did up a fingerprint card for me so you can exclude my fingerprints. Now, what the quickest way to get it to you?~

Vance stepped in and made arrangements to get the package into the hands of the local FBI office and from there directly to Fornell, all while Gibbs shook his head in amazement. He'd known that his own father's reaction wouldn't be as drastic as Tim's, but the lack of judgment was still a relief and the innate understanding of the reason for the package an added bonus.

Once Vance was finished, Gibbs leaned closer to his phone, laying on the large desk. "Dad, I..." Jackson didn't let him finish.

~The only thing I'm disappointed about, Jethro, is that I had to rely on some damn blackmailer to get a decent picture of my son and his significant other and I want them back when your lab's done with them. You're a good man, son, and if you love Tim, that's good enough for me.~

Gibbs felt himself choking up at the unconditional love his father gave freely. "Thanks, Dad." His rough voice was a dead giveaway to the man that raised him.

~Let me guess, Tim's family got the same package and they didn't take it so well?~

"Yeah." Gibbs let his hand travel up Tim's back to cup the back of his neck as he repeated the words Tim had said only a few minutes earlier. "He, he no longer has a family, Dad." Jackson didn't hesitate.

~Sure he does, right here. You come home for a visit, you two, anytime.~

-NCIS-

"Everything okay, Boss?" Tony looked at Gibbs and McGee in concern as they came down the stairs, both wearing drawn expressions. Gibbs didn't say anything, just jerked his head towards the elevator. Understanding the silent command, Tony and Ziva fell in behind them.

Gibbs didn't say anything until they were seated at a picnic table in the middle of Willard park. Once he finally started, he didn't beat around the bush. "Sutton is trying to blackmail us, apparently it's a last ditch effort to stop the trial."

"Because I outed you guys?"

"No, Tony." Tim rubbed his forehead, being careful to stay away from the stitches. "We were going to out ourselves Monday, you just moved the schedule up a few days. We thought by going public, we could nip this in the bud."

"So what went wrong?"

"The one thing we weren't planning on," Gibbs reached out and took Tim's hand, "was Sutton's people sending photos to our families."

Tony glanced over at Ziva before continuing to question his teammates. "How bad?"

Tim laughed softly as he shook his head. "Nothing graphic, I think the only thing Jackson's upset about is that he doesn't get to frame the pictures right away."

Tony shared the laugh with his friend before turning serious. "And your dad?" When Tim's face fell, he had his answer. "Damn, Probie, I'm sorry."

"Is he angry enough to be dangerous?" It was the first time Ziva had spoken since they sat down. Tim shrugged as he looked up at her.

"Let's just say I'm glad he doesn't live close."

Even with the understanding that they would have come out of the closet without his interference, Tony still felt bad. "What do you want us to do, Boss?"

"I want you to narrow down the field of who's gunning for us. Find out who sabotaged that monitor. Stay on those tapes, there has to be something."

"We will, Gibbs. We also have another plan." When Gibbs just raised an eyebrow, Ziva continued. "We're going to turn the bed on them. Vance is going to have to squad room cameras taken offline to be examined. While the system is dark, Tony and I will install an extra camera that is independent from the system. The recorder will be locked in my desk. If they try something again, we will have the evidence."

"Table, Ziva, it's turn the table on them." Tony wasn't sure if it was a mistaken idiom or a Freudian slip, but he let it go after the briefest of corrections.

-NCIS-

It was a quiet ride back to the house that night for the two men, Gibbs wasn't surprised to see McGee head down to his typewriter as soon as they were done eating. Gibbs let him work through his anger and hurt, waiting for the pounding on the keys to soften and slow before taking two beers down to the basement.

"Here." He handed over one of the bottles as he hitched one hip up on a sawhorse.

Tim downed almost half the bottle as he watched Gibbs. "This isn't your fault, you know." Gibbs tilted his bottle in Tim's direction in acknowledgment.

"Doesn't make it any easier to see you taking the brunt of it. You deserve better."

Their purpose finished, Tim started feeding the pages into the shredder. "We both agreed to stand up to Sutton, and whoever was involved with damaging my car and the monitor needs to be found and removed from the agency before they really hurt someone."

"And your dad?"

Tim thought about his words carefully. "I won't lie, when he called me it hurt, it hurt a lot but at the same time it's a relief."

Gibbs had a sneaking hunch he understood. "A relief?"

"My whole life, it's been like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nothing I ever did, nothing I accomplished ever made his proud of me, ever made him happy to be my father. It took me awhile to work through it, but it's like this weight that's been hanging over my head my whole life is suddenly gone."

"What about Sarah?"

The forced smile dropped away. "I don't know. I tried to call her, but just got her voice mail. I left a message for her to call me back. If I can talk to her before Dad does, it should be all right."