It was almost as if Time was stagnant here.
The sun barely moved in its decent towards the horizon and Tim had to stop several times in order to remind himself that, yes, he really was back in his nightmare.
He watched as a brown lizard slid across the sand into the safety of a cactus' shade.
Why, in the name-
"McGee!"
Tim jumped at Gibbs yell. "Boss!"
He thought Gibbs was going to reprimand for the abrupt stop to stare at wildlife. He was even expecting it.
Instead, Gibbs studied him up and down and then frowned. "Have some water, McGee."
At his boss' command, Tim suddenly realized just how dry his mouth felt as he looked down to the half full water bottle in his hand. He tried hard to swallow through that dryness he felt settle in his throat and down to his stomach.
"I'll be fine."
Gibbs sighed and grabbed the water bottle from Tim's grasp. He twisted the cap off and held it up in between them.
"Drink."
"I'm fine."
"McGee."
"I'm not even sweating, G-"
With one hand, Gibbs grabbed Tim's shirt and pulled him a step closer to the bottle. "We both know that's not a good thing, McGee, so don't even try that with me," he growled.
"What about you? I've seen you drink less than I have."
"Marine. Came with the job."
Tim carefully took the bottle from Gibbs' hand. "We really should conserve the water."
"More people die out here with a full container of water than without. If you want to survive, take the drink, McGee."
The water felt hot as it went down his throat.