THE DISTANCE BETWEEN-CHAPTER FIVE
I DO NOT OWN NCIS OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS ON THE SHOW.
Sarah left to call her dad about Tim. When she returned Abby asked when he would be here only to find that he would not be coming. Sarah didn't seem surprised by this but Gibbs and the team was. Sarah had explained that she and Tim had lost their mom a few months earlier and that Tim and their dad hadn't spoke in years. Gibbs was shocked and judging everyone's faces he wasn't the only one. No one knew about Tim's mom and no one had a clue that he and his dad were estranged.
The longer Gibbs waited to see Tim the angrier he became. How could McGee's dad not drop everything and run to his son? If it had been Kelly, nothing would have kept him away. Sarah had told them their dad did not approve of Tim's job and nothing Tim had done had been successful in mending the rift. After about three years Tim had stopped trying and both he and his dad had moved on without each other. Tim had kept in touch with his mom and she and Sarah had given him updates on his dad but no contact was made between them.
Gibbs had never made an effort to be a parental figure for McGee because he thought Tim was close to his family. Gibbs had been like a father for years to Tony and Abby then later to Ziva but all the times Tim should have had that support Gibbs had taken a step back. He had left that role to a man that refused to even show up when his only son was lying in a hospital bed recovering from what could have been a devastating accident. The feeling of failure that washed over Gibbs on top of the guilt he felt over his actions the last several days was almost more than he could bear.
Gibbs knew he was not a traditional father figure to his young teammates but they knew they could count on him, could come to him when they needed to. Over the years, each of them had come to him. Except for McGee; Tim had never willingly come to him for anything. Hell, Gibbs could only remember McGee coming to his house when the kid was determined to drive him everywhere after Gibbs had been hit by a car aiming for McGee. When Sarah had been in trouble, when Tim's grandmother had been in trouble, when he shot the undercover cop, never once did he ask Gibbs for help.
This time would be different; Gibbs was not about to wait for Tim to ask for help. Gibbs was not good with words. From this point on, you can bet your ass, that kid would know he could come to Gibbs no matter what. McGee was part of this odd little family and it was about time he knew it. McGee's dad might be willing to throw away a relationship with this amazing, brilliant young man but Gibbs was not about to do the same.
If Admiral McGee wanted to give up his son, Gibbs was willing to take him.