The sudden silence had Tony opening an eye just in time to see Ziva sitting up. She stretched and twisted like a cat, smiling when she saw him watching her. "Good morning, Tony, did you sleep well? I must admit I slept much better than I was expecting."

"I noticed." Ignoring her questioning expression, he ran his fingers through his hair as he climbed off the longer of the two sofas. The advantage of using his car last night was that he had his go bag with him. Grateful for the clean clothes, he took the first shower while the ladies started breakfast.

Still drying his hair, Tony didn't pay much attention to the car squeezed into the driveway before he opened the door. "Oh, good morning, Director Vance."

"DiNozzo." If Vance was expecting an invitation inside, he was sorely mistaken and Tony joined him on the front porch and closed the door behind him.

"They're both still asleep, Sir. Unless Rebecca has escaped or Sutton is making another move, I'd rather not wake them."

"No, nothing like that." Vance sighed as he realized that he wasn't going to be able to discuss options with Gibbs without raising suspicions. Dr. Mallard had warned him, of course, but he owed it to McGee to try to find a way to end the charade. "I just wanted to see how Agent McGee was doing."

There was something in Vance's tone that set off alarms in Tony's head and made him more determined to protect his partner and boss. "Much better now that he's home. I'll let him know you were asking about him, but he'll probably sleep most of the day."

"Very well." Vance checked his watch and realized he didn't have any more time to find a way past the couple's self-proclaimed guard. "Let Gibbs know that I was here and that custody of Rebecca Warren will be transferred later today."

Upstairs, through the open window, Gibbs listened to the conversation taking place on his front porch. Tim was still silent, but the deeper breaths he felt against his chest told him that the other man was awake also. Once Vance was gone and they heard the front door close, Tim slowly pulled away.

"I'm going to take a shower."

"You feel steady enough?"

"Yeah, I'm all right." Despite his confident words, Tim stood slowly and waited a moment before he moved to the bathroom door. Gibbs waited, and once he heard the shower running he went downstairs to grab them each a cup of coffee. Now alone on the king sized bed, Jett stretched out.

-NCIS-

"Morning, Boss." Tony belated remembered that he had been talking to Vance directly under the bedroom window. "Vance was here, did we wake you guys?"

They had, but Gibbs wasn't about to let Tony feel bad about defending them. "Heard the car pull in, but appreciate you not letting him barge in." The look of pride on the younger man's face was unmistakable and Gibbs busied himself with the coffee to allow DiNozzo to have the moment. After he'd poured two cups, Gibbs picked one up and took a swallow. He couldn't quite stop the shudder when he tasted the bitter brew.

Ziva saw the reaction. "I am not much of a coffee person, did I make it too strong? It seemed to take a long time to drip down."

Holding the carafe up to the window, Gibbs could barely see through the black liquid, just enough to see the grounds settling on the bottom. Suspicious, he opened the filter basket to see it was filled almost to the top, enough to allow the grounds to float up and over the filter when the water didn't drain fast enough. "Yeah, just a bit." Shaking his head, he poured out the coffee, dumped the filter and grounds and started over, counting out loud the scoops of coffee for Ziva's benefit and ignoring DiNozzo's snicker.

By the time the second round of coffee was done, Tim was making his way downstairs, dressed for work. "I'm going with you."

Gibbs leaned against the counter, eyebrow raised. "Who said I was going anywhere?"

"Custody is being transferred today, there's no way you're going to sit here and not make sure you're satisfied with the plea bargain that gets signed."

"Busted."

Glaring at Tony, Gibbs answered Tim. "Just want to make sure she doesn't have another chance to hurt you." Stepping closer to him, Jethro smoothed the lapels of his jacket. "And that means not letting her near you again."

"I need to see her."

"Tim..."

"No, actually I need her to see me. I need her to see that after everything she did, she didn't touch anything important. Jett's fine, I'm fine," McGee leaned closer and rested his hands on Gibbs' chest, mirroring the hands still fingering his jacket. "We're all fine."

Their foreheads now touching, Gibbs laughed softly. "I'm not going to win this one, am I?"

"Nope, besides Ducky needs to run the tests he promised Dr. Silbey and I'm sure Tony would rather not have to take those samples in his car."

"Well..." The two men looked over at Tony, who had a sheepish look on his face. "Yeah, Boss, he's got a point. Besides, we don't have any evidence cups for him to pee in."

He couldn't give in too quickly. "Breakfast first." Considering that Ziva was dishing up the scrambled eggs while Abby was seasoning the potatoes, Gibbs didn't get any argument.

-NCIS-

Vance looked up at the group as they came out of the elevator. McGee was still pale, but he looked determined as he walked arm in arm with Gibbs. Tony, Ziva and Abby were a step behind them. "Why am I not surprised?"

"We won't be here long, Director." Tim smiled before looking over at Gibbs. "I promised Jethro that I wouldn't overdo it, but I want to see this finished before I make our reservations for this weekend."

There was still some defiance on Rebecca's face as she was lead into the interrogation room, stopping the conversations in the hallway. Vance just rolled his eyes when Gibbs, McGee and Abby took up residence in the observation room, but he was surprised when DiNozzo made to join he and Ziva in the interrogation room. Remembering Tony's need to stay away from Rebecca when she was first arrested, he carefully studied the other man. "Are you sure, DiNozzo?"

"I'm sure, Sir."

Once inside, Vance droned on about the charges and the prison term she'd agreed to in exchange for not being charged for domestic terrorism, while Rebecca stared over his shoulder. Tony didn't pretend to not know what Rebecca was trying to see through the two-way mirror. "He's healthy and happy, they both are. You destroyed your own future, but you weren't more than a blip on their radar."

"How long can you pretend, Agent DiNozzo?" Getting some of her nerve back, she smirked at Tony. "We all know how you feel about Agent Gibbs. I guess that makes Tim your new step-mom. How soon before Daddy doesn't have any time for you? Maybe this weekend? After all, Tim's taking him away for a romantic getaway."

Tony glared at her, but those that knew him could hear the faint thread of uncertainty in his voice. "I'm a big boy, I don't need to tag along on the honeymoon."

Vance decided to step in before it got ugly. "Guess you'll never know, Miss Warren, since you'll be your prison cell before they have time to pack." He looked up at the fourth member of the MCRT, watching from her post by the door. "The Judge has already signed off, so Officer David will escort you out to the prison transport. You're on your way to Carswell."

Rebecca looked over at Ziva for a second before turning back to Vance. "But Carswell is maximum security and it's half way across the country."

"I don't recall offering you a choice of prisons."

Before the Director could add anything else, Ziva leaned close with a reminder. "It is still better than where you would have gone if the choice had been mine."

-NCIS-

Abby sat on the corner of Ziva's desk, waiting for her next errand. She was thrilled with Tim's plans for Gibbs' birthday weekend and happily looking forward to staying at the house and taking care of Jett. Jackie Vance had arrived earlier and was helping Tim plan out the details of his and Jethro's weekend in Chicago, her old hometown.

Despite his argument that he was all right, McGee was looking tired and pale, so the women had forbidden him from moving other than trips to the head. Another reservation confirmation was being printed out so Abby bounced over to the printer to wait for it just as McGee's phone rang.

The rest of the group came into the bullpen just as Tim set his phone down. "My publisher came through."

Jackie smiled as the last piece fell into place. "That's wonderful, did she get you guys good seats?"

"Better than that, she got us a private box."

Unnoticed by the planners, Vance grinned as he leaned closer to Gibbs. "Box seats in Chicago, looks like you're going to the opera. Jackie's been trying to get me to take her for months."

Behind them Tony snickered while Ziva tried to put it in a positive light. "I am sure it will be a wonderful performance."

Gibbs ignored the amused faces, squared his shoulders and walked over to Tim's desk. "How are the plans coming?"

"Just made the final reservations." Tim looked pleased, but tired, as he leaned back.

"So, do I need a tuxedo?" As Gibbs asked, Tony and Ziva returned to their desks and Vance leaned against a file cabinet, the three of them eagerly anticipating the show while Tim frowned in confusion.

"Why would you need a tuxedo?"

"For the opera." When he was met with a blank expression, Gibbs tried again. "The box seats?"

Tim rubbed his mouth, trying to conceal his grin. "Well, you can wear a tux if you want, but I think you'd be a little overdressed. Our box is on the fifty yard line."

"Fifty yard line?" Gibbs started to smile as he put it together. Tony might not have been quicker, but he was much more vocal.

"Chicago? Fifty yard line? That's Soldier Field, and this weekend that means the Bears vs the Redskins on Friday night. Damn, that's a heck of a birthday present, Boss."

Vance shook his head. "You lucky dog." Listening to DiNozzo list off facts about the two teams, he missed the adoring look on Gibbs' face as he watched McGee send the last of the confirmations to the printer.

By the time Tony had run out of stats he was sitting at his desk with a wistful look on his face. Rebecca's words had hurt more than he'd ever admit as he thought back to all the times his father would dump him in a boarding school to set sail with the most current Mrs. DiNozzo. "So, are you going to bring me back a souvenir from Soldier Field?"

It was a reasonable request, but before Gibbs could offer a sweatshirt, McGee spoke up as he stood. "Nope." In the stunned silence, Tim crossed over and sat on the corner of Tony's desk. "That was kinda a low blow from Rebecca today, you didn't deserve it. I'm sorry that you got caught up in her obsessive need to hurt me."

Tony didn't know what to say so he just shrugged, not knowing where McGee was going with it.

"You know," Tim picked up Tony's stapler and started playing with it. "When you watch your dad start a new life with a new wife and the first thing they do is shove you off on some relative so they can go have a great honeymoon, it really sucks. I only had to do it once, but that was bad enough."

"Had a lot of step-moms over the years, you get used to it." The flip tone didn't quite match the look on Tony's face. "Besides, like I told her, I'm a big boy now."

"Yeah, you are." Tim set the stapler down and tapped Tony on the chest. "That means you're going to pay me back for the plane ticket and you and Ziva are getting your own hotel rooms on a different floor."

"Really?" The surprise on Tony's face quickly changed to a joyful smile.

"Yep, the football game on Friday and a jazz club Saturday night for Jethro's birthday, but the rest of the weekend, you two do your own sightseeing, alright?"

Tony stood and pulled Tim into an awkward hug across the desk. "Yeah, that's more than alright. Thanks, man, this means... this means a lot."

Smiling softly, Tim clapped him on the back as he whispered in his ear. "I know how important he is to you, Tony, and I'll never try to take that away from either of you. I promise."

If anyone else had heard him, they would have been surprised at how rough Tony's voice sounded as he whispered back. "For someone with no boobs, you're a pretty cool step-mom, McGee."

Tim had to smile at the comment and out of the corner of his eye he saw the approval on Gibbs' face and knew he'd done the right thing.