THE DISTANCE BETWEEN- CHAPTER THREE
I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR THE CHARACTERS ON THE SHOW
The guilt was eating Gibbs up inside; the case had been a difficult one involving a more than usual need of McGee's specialty. So much of finding the guilty party had rested on McGee's shoulders and Gibbs was not a patient man, especially when it came to things he didn't understand to begin with. He had brow-beat McGee mercilessly to move faster, get answers to catch the killer. McGee had come through as usual but Gibbs had made the whole case harder on him than he should have. Always in the back of his mind he had planned on talking to Tim and telling him how much his hard work had meant to solving the case and now it may be too late. Damn it! It would not be too late. He still had time, McGee would be fine and Gibbs would have the chance to give him the pat on the back he deserved. Tim would be fine, he had no choice; Gibbs did not give him permission to be otherwise.
Seeing Gibbs so quiet was making Tony nervous. Tony knew Gibbs had to be feeling guilty for the way he had pushed McGee all week but it was part of the job. They all knew how Gibbs got when a case involved a kid but Tony had to admit that Gibbs had pushed Tim especially hard on this one. But McGee had taken everything Gibbs threw at him and did the job without complaint; they would have never caught the guy without him. Tony had been proud of his Probie but his stubborn need to pick on McGee had kept him from saying the words out loud. He had quietly left a 'Nutter Butter' on the edge of his desk but never actually told him how impressed he had been at McGee's calm, unwavering determination to get the job done. He only hoped he would get the chance.
Ziva focused on getting them all safely to the hospital but could not stop the furtive glances at both Gibbs and Tony. She was upset but her Mossad training helped her to remain calm. It was however, proving to be difficult. McGee was her first real friend when she came to town. She did not give McGee a hard time this week as Gibbs and Tony did but she also did not come to his aid. The many times that he came to her defense were running through her mind; she found herself wishing she had returned the favor and came to his as well. She knew the guilt would be hard on them all especially Gibbs just as she knew she needed to push it down and focus on being the strong one for the team right now. They needed her and she would not let another team member down.
Ducky was worried; he was worried not only for Timothy but for the remainder of the team as well. He had observed the toll this last case had taken on the entire team, especially both Gibbs and Timothy. He was aware of the guilt that each team member would be experiencing over Timothy's injuries; he sincerely hoped that he could convince each of them to let go of the guilt and just be there to support Timothy.
Palmer felt like he was on edge. Abby had been near hysterical when Ducky had led her to the vehicle and her emotional roller-coaster had filled him with tension. His grip on the steering wheel had turned his fingers white as he followed Ducky's lead and tried to hide his worry from the lab rat. He was never as grateful for Ducky's calming presence as he was at this moment. It was so easy to forget sometimes what a strong presence the older man evoked over the entire team and Jimmy vowed to thank him when this was over. When they were sure that McGee was okay; he had to be okay. He really liked McGee; he had been so kind to him when he had become a witness a few months back. McGee had tried to ease Jimmy's worry that he had failed by not trying to catch the shooter and he had appreciated his kindness ever since. McGee didn't deserve to be hurt and the team didn't deserve to lose him. Jimmy took a deep breath and said a silent prayer that everything would be okay.
It was all he could do and he sincerely hoped it would be enough.
Abby felt like her heart was in a million pieces. Timmy had to be okay; she needed him. Timmy was her best friend, he understood her like no one else ever could not even Gibbs. She knew she sometimes took advantage of his feelings for her to get what she wanted; he always gave in to her. She loved him; maybe not like he would have wanted her to years ago but she did love him. She hurt him back then. She knew that she had hurt him a lot in the years she's known him and each of those moments seem to be running like a film reel through her brain. Jethro the dog attacking him, nearly getting him kidnapped by Paloma Reynosa, refusing to listen to him when Michael was after her; each of those times her behavior had caused him pain. Each of those times he forgave her even though she never apologized. Timmy was so sweet to her, always. Drying the tears from her face, she took a deep breath and a vow that she would make things right. Timmy would be fine because he deserved to be fine, he deserved to be happy, healthy and loved.
He deserved to live.