Chapter 4
Gibbs awoke as Sykes walked in carrying their drinks, two bourbon's, a Caf-Pow and a Hairy ogre hangover.
Sykes smiled as he looked over to find Tim curled up on his bed, mouth slightly open and more relaxed than the team had seen him in ages.
"He always sleeps well when he is home." Sykes says smiling lovingly at his charge.
"He lives here?" Gibbs asked quietly so as not to wake the others.
Sykes nodded and climbed up onto a chair next to Gibbs. "His father is Death, he is not equipped to raise a child, when Time was born, Gaia was livid, the Ne'er shook for days. His mother was ordered to hand him over; she sought me out and asked me to raise him." He told the other man.
"Why couldn't his mother raise him?"
"She is an elemental, the bringer of life, falling in love with Death, the collector of souls, created an anomaly, Time. He's always been a good boy; he has the kindness of his mother and the intuitiveness of his father. He's never been emotion led like his brothers. Gaia made a decree no more souls were to be born to the Ne'er until Time had done penance on earth to redress the balance that his life had broken."
"But Tim's not evil?" Gibbs said.
"No he's not, stroppy sometimes, but then what teenager isn't."
Gibbs smiled at the thought of his junior agent being a teenager.
"Is there any word on Tim's father?" Gibbs said not really wanting to call him Death.
"He should be here soon, Time's best friend has arrived though, he also the best at waking him up…He's fast and Time tends to be hard to wake."
Sykes opened the door and at first Gibbs saw nothing then a light flashed around his head.
Gibbs swiped his hand, "What is that?" he asked.
Sykes smiled, "Time's best friend."
The light moved over to Tim and started flitting around his head, a tiny body pulling his hair and Gibbs watched as it stopped, it was a tiny person with wings.
"A fairy?" Gibbs asked.
The small being stopped and flew to Gibbs' face stuck her tongue out and resumed her mini attack of Tim.
Sykes laughed, "No…Her name is Pixel, she's a sprite, she was the last born before the ban, she's a month older than Time."
Abby and Tony awoke and looked over at the tiny sprite attacking Tim.
"Gibbs, that thing is hurting him!" Abby exclaimed.
"It's ok Abbs." Gibbs said laughing at the tiny beings antics.
Tim groaned in his sleep, waving his arm around his head he groaned, "Get off Pix!"
There was a high tiny noise. "No….later pix let me sleep!" Tim groaned.
The noise came again.
"What human?" Tim said, he was still asleep. He knew he was home and couldn't understand why his best friend was complaining about a grouchy stinky human man, who smelled like tree death and something strange.
"oh, that's just my boss," Tim turned over pulling the fur blanket over him.
Gibbs grinned waiting for the next explosion, and he wasn't disappointed.
Tim sat bolt upright his eyes wide. "BOSS!" he practically screamed in shock.
"Morning, Elf-lord." Gibbs grinned back.
Pix stopped and laid down laughing on Tim's head, He squeaked and Tim glared at him.
"It's not funny." Tim said.
Abby laughed at the sight of the small sprite laughing on her friends head.
"What is that?" she asked.
"This is my best friend, Pixel." Tim said lifting the tiny sprite off his head and placing her in Abby's hands, "Pix, this is Abby and that's Tony and this is Gibbs, I work with them."
Pix made a noise and Tim listened intently, he smiled, "Fine." He said,
"Pixel?" Abby asked, "Like a computer Pixel?"
"That's who I named them after." Tim said tiredly and reaching into a footlocker by his bed and grabbing a shirt out of it. "I'm gonna hit the head." He said scratching at his lopsided hair.
Just as he went into the bathroom Pix followed him and whispered something into his ear. Tim stopped dead, "When?" He asked.
He waited as Pixel answered him, "OK…that gives us time….Oh I don't know go bug him or something, give me an hour." Tim slammed the door for the bathroom.
Gibbs looked at Sykes, "Do you know what that thing just said to him?" he asked.
Sykes shrugged clearing away the glasses, "Nope, Time is the only one who can speak to all the races, we think it is because of his heritage, most folk speak Faye to each other but Time is the only one to be able to speak to understand them all in their language, it is something he was born with." He shrugged off the annoying sprite that was on his shoulder and walked out of the room.
"I hope Tim lets us use the bathroom." Abby said.
"Of course I will, I er…just needed to clean it up first." Tim said with a smile, handing Abby a towel, "Don't worry, I have normal toiletries in there." He smiled. He waited until Abby had gone in and then he turned to Gibbs.
"Pix has seen my brother, he's on his way here, he'll be about half an hour." Tim said.
Tony took his gun out of his back and checked it. "Just in case." He said looking at Tim.
"Tony, my brother is loud and threatening, but he wouldn't hurt anyone in here. The fear of the null is too great."
"OK," Tony said not sounding too convinced,
"And Tony if you start something…We may end up in the null, more me than you as I am responsible for your behavior while you're here."
"He'll behave." Gibbs nodded knowing that although he hadn't said anything, the human Jeans, and the Faye tunic shirt Tim was now sporting made him look more like a teenager than he ever had working for him.
Tim moved around quickly tidying up his room, filling a huge dog bowl with what looked like blue chicken legs, "Kibble." He explained and filling a bowl with water. The huge, Invisible to him, Dog was heard panting and Tim stood on tiptoe to stroke behind the dog's ears, "Father's coming so I have to let you out." He said sadly as the dog finished its food, the dog gave a loud bark and it's panting receded as Tim opened a door in the back of the room.
Abby came out of the bathroom and Tony filled her in on what was going on, "Abbs, I want you to go to the bar with Sykes, I can't go," Tim told her.
"I know you need to be here for your father and brother." Abby said.
Tim nodded, "yeah…that's it, and Sykes'll set you up somewhere out of the way, listen, in, maybe you'll hear something useful."
"Ok." Abby said, trying not to get too excited at the thought of being able to sit in the back and quietly watch the people of this strange realm.
The floor started to shake outside, and in The Inn, the patrons moved giving space to the large man with the hulking body that walked into the tavern.
"SYKES!" a deep booming voice called, "Where is the little toad?"
Sykes ran to the door, "Master Rage, welcome to my establishment, your brother and his esteemed guest are in his rooms." He gestured to the man and bowed as he passed as did any of the patrons that were between him and the back rooms.
Gibbs and Tony jumped as the door slammed open, "Little one…where are you? Come on midget…" Rage bellowed as he walked in.
"Rage, I'm over here. Come and sit down…Really?!" he exclaimed, looking at his brother towering twice his natural size over him.
Rage's face broke into a grin as he picked Tim up and ruffled his hair. "Baby brother…You brought Mortals to the Ne'er?!"
"I have permission, now please, meet my boss and my co-worker, Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Anthony DiNozzo Junior." Tim said.
Both Tony and Gibbs blinked as Rage shrank two sizes until he was the size of a tall, normal man.
Rage broke into an easy grin, "Gibbs and DiNozzo yes?"
Gibbs nodded, "Rage."
Rage looked at Tony and his gaze darkened, "You are the one playing those practical jokes on my brother?"
Tony gulped and nodded.
"GOOD!" Rage bellowed, "You need to meet our cousin, he would enjoy getting to know you.
"NO!" Tim said quickly, "There is no way that you are getting Tony together with Loki,"
Rage mock sighed as he sank into the oversized chair that accommodated his tall frame. "So why am I here?" he asked. "Father said it was important that you had been given permission by the council no less."
Gibbs could hear the derision in his voice when he mentioned the council.
"Judson Stillwell…You were with him when or before he died?" Tim asked.
"Yes, we were both surprised, Jud and I were friends, oh a least a thousand years before you were born squirt. You know I never go onto the water, we don't go into Mab's domain, and the only one allowed is father…for….you know…." Rage said gratefully accepting the drink Sykes had placed in front of him.
Tim nodded, "So you didn't go to seek him out?"
"No, we meet as usual when he gets into port, he goes to 'Dead Man's park, where we meet before we travel to the Ne'er."
"Dead man's park?" Gibbs asked.
"Rock Creek park Boss; the place is cursed, even for us. People have been dying there for centuries, mostly sailors." Tim informed him.
"Oh." Gibbs said glaring at Tony who had opened his mouth to say 'See!' but thought better of it and closed his mouth again.
"So what happened then?" Tim asked.
Rage sighed, "I was with…someone," He stopped as Tim raised an eyebrow. "No, I wasn't cheating on Jud." He said not realizing what he had just admitted.
"I was with a girl…Lust has a new flame, I was checking her out…just talking you know, she wants to marry him, but you know how flighty he is and well, since you were born…and no one is allowed to have children…." Rage stopped.
"I know so, what happened next?"
"Next I felt the summoning ritual, not one of the new age pagan wanna be's but a real summoning ritual…There's been nothing felt that powerful since you were born."
Tim ducked his head hoping that his boss wouldn't pick up on that. "Then the next thing I know I'm sitting on Jud's bunk on a boat in the flippin ocean!" he said surprised.
"Did you feel anything?" Tim asked.
Rage looked at Tim like her was stupid. "Time…are you crazy….of course I felt something…Rage, that's all I feel…"
Tim sighed, "Did you have anything else."
"Yeah…" Rage growled rolling up the sleeve on his tunic, "These!"
"Wow!" both Tim and Tony said at the same time, looking at bright red Celtic designs on his arms.
Tim looked at those and blanched. "Those are…"
"You don't have to tell me whose they are…question is, what the hell are we going to do about it?" Tim asked as the other two looked confused. "Boss, this is big…huge, I don't think I can deal with this, we will need Vance." He said
"Your case your lead Tim, you get whoever you think we will need."
Tim sighed, "That's good, because we will need my father too." He admitted.
Even Rage paled at that statement, "You're going to bring her in with him…at the same time?"
"I will prove you innocent brother, now I know you've been set up, I just need to get her to admit it without destroying the Ne'er."