A/N: I am very grateful for all the condolences you all gave during this difficult time for my family, and I appreciate every single one of them. It is nice to know that I have such a network of support for when I want to run away from the stresses of the world and bury myself in my various fandoms.

The timing of this particular chapter came at an unfortunate time, but I planned this out while I was typing the previous chapter and I won't be convinced to alter the chapter order. It just seems wrong to force out a chapter I didn't plan in the first place.

So, please. Enjoy.

The Funeral

Gibbs sat at his desk in the darkness of morning twilight, looking across the Bull Pen to the empty desk across from his. The lamp on his desk accenting every detail of age on his face in a somewhat cruel reminder of everything he'd lived through. Memories of a greener-than-grass NCIS agent stuttering his way through explanations overlaid themselves on top of each other at a rapid pace in Gibbs' mind, slowly morphing into more recent memories of a slightly cocky agent who could hold his own against anyone and wouldn't hesitate to hack into anything when asked. Gibbs' blinked rapidly to clear up his eyes, which had begun to blur, and turned them to the desk reserved for his Senior Field Agent. The arrogant and lazy tone of a black-haired agent echoed faintly in the memories of a mole hunt that the man ultimately had no reason to be in, giving his life to end it. Gibbs' attention turned one last time to the desk next to his, his own utterance of 'Please' to an irritated Secret Service agent pushing its way to the front of his memories. He continued to look back and forth between all the desks before falling back to the one across from him.

It seemed unfair to Gibbs. He, who once wished he were dead, continued to live on without hindrance while the future of NCIS died around him. Gibbs didn't deny that his ways were old fashioned. Agents like him were a disappearing breed, being replaced by those who put their stock in the technology of evidence rather than the gut reactions of an interrogation. Agents like him were the ones taking the risks in the field. It certainly explained why DiNozzo was getting patched up so often. But they were the ones that seemed to live longer than their technology-prone counterparts. Technology made it easier to bring a murderer to justice, only it looked like it also made it easier to kill the people in the first place.

'McGee died in an accident' Gibbs had to remind himself. He was technically on the job, but it wasn't the job that killed him. The weather did. It was an odd comfort to McGee's parents, knowing that their son's death wasn't malicious. It just seemed like a waste of a life to Gibbs.

"Boss?" Gibbs looked up, barely managing to hide his surprise at the sudden interruption. He hadn't seen or heard DiNozzo come in. "Ziva and Abby are waiting for us out in the car. The McGee's are already at Tim's apartment with Ducky and Palmer."

Now that was a development he should have seen coming. Tony and Ziva. The two of them had been clingy for the past week. Apparently they finally broke down and threw Rule 12 out the window. Not that he could blame them. Having been the closest with Tim, the two of them had to be taking this the hardest. Abby may have been the most expressive, causing Ducky to worry about her the most, but Ducky didn't see the team dynamic in the Bull Pen. He didn't see the three of them trusting each other without hesitation despite the countless pranks they'd done on each other. And Ducky certainly didn't see the reluctance Tim had developed with Abby ever since the Jethro incident.

"Alright. I'm coming." Gibbs got up slowly, wincing when his knees popped from the movement. The grim look on Tony's face matched Gibbs' as both men frowned at Tim's desk for a few moments.

"I don't know if I can continue working in this area, Boss." Tony admitted. Gibbs turned his attention to his Senior Field Agent, trying to figure out exactly what the man meant by that. He had worked too hard to keep DiNozzo on his team just to see the man leave now, of all times. Tony could feel Gibbs' gaze on him and turned to face his boss. "I have a desk in front of me and a desk beside me that both remind me of friends who lost their lives needlessly. It's becoming unbearable. If the team can't get permission to change work areas, Boss, I'm putting in for a transfer. I can't do my job if all I can focus on is dead people."

Gibbs remained silent, his mind irritatingly pointing out that Tony's job was to focus on dead people when all Gibbs wanted to do was address Tony's issue with their working area. When he didn't get a response, Tony thought over what he said in case he said something wrong and realized the flaw in his wording.

"Dead agents." Tony amended quickly. "I can't do my job if all I can focus on is dead agents, wondering who will be next."

"Probably doesn't help having Ziver right across from you." Gibbs finally commented. Tony adopted a deer-in-headlights look and began gaping like a fish as he searched for words to explain himself. Gibbs shook his head in mild amusement before continuing. "I'll ask Vance about it the next time he and I speak. Now come on..."

Gibbs pushed Tony slightly in the direction of the elevator, ignoring the man stuttering over his words in a continued effort to explain himself.

"It was particularly difficult to set all of this into motion, but we thank all of you. Especially with helping us contact all his distant friends." Mr. McGee looked to everyone on Team Gibbs with a grateful face. "It's a dark irony that Tim had already planned most of this for us. But the least we can do is honor our son's last wishes and follow the arrangements he laid out. Tim didn't want any arguments happening over what should be done, and effectively stopped them before they even began. He certainly knew his mother and sister well enough to chide them from beyond the grave."

Mrs. McGee threw her husband a dark look for joking around like that while Sarah gave all of Team Gibbs a put-out expression at their chuckling.

"Tim pass up a chance to chide Sarah? I did not think older brothers would do such a thing." Ziva commented, giving the younger woman a smile in support.

"He certainly wouldn't." Mr. Gee agreed. "Now, we've brought back the pictures and movies you all have borrowed us to create the remembrance video. Thank you, again, for all the help you have given us. We managed to create a three hour video that we'll be playing on repeat until the service begins."

"I had Mom create a request form for people to sign in case they wanted a copy of the video." Sarah spoke up, comfortable enough with Team Gibbs to ignore the formality her father was using. "I put your guy's names at the top of the list already."

"Thanks, McSister." Tony gave Sarah a small smirk, letting her know he noticed her bluntness.

"Yes. Thank you, Sarah." Ziva nodded towards her in thanks. The others all nodded towards Sarah as well, but none spoke up. They hadn't had as much time to get to know Sarah like Tony and Ziva had. Not even Abby.

"We've also gotten a few offers from guys from multiple agencies to record the service." Sarah continued, taking over the conversation from her father. "We're going to be getting a copy of the one being recorded by Agent Sacks, since he's the one who knew Tim the most out of all those who offered, but a few guys will be coming with cameras and you can ask for copies from any of them. Tim seemed pretty popular, and not just with you guys at NCIS."

"Your brother is one of the few agents who tended to ignore NCIS' rivalry with other agencies, my dear. He made an effort to get along with everyone. It led to him making quite a few friends." Ducky explained.

"Yeah. Timmy got along with everyone. Even Ziva's dad..." Abby whispered, tears welling up in her eyes as she hugged herself. Gibbs quietly handed Abby one of the many boxes of Kleenex that were set out in the apartment. Another quiet moment fell upon the whole group, no one really knowing how to continue after that.

"Did you guys need any help with Tim's apartment?" Jimmy blurted out, ever the one to end awkward silences.

"Tim's landlord was kind enough to give us until the end of the month to move everything into storage. You are more than welcome to assist if you wish." Mrs. McGee answered with a small smile.

"Take an item or two, if you want. Just say something." Sarah added, staring at the floor. That the offer came from Sarah instead of either of her parents didn't surprise any of them. They all had read Tim's will when it was retrieved from his safe. Except for a few things, like Tim's personal weapons, everything he had owned went to her.

"I'll keep Jethro." Gibbs said. "He's comfortable at my house. Has already set up a patrol in the back yard to keep the other animals out and everything."

"Are you sure? We wouldn't want to put a burden on you, Agent Gibbs." Mr. McGee started to say.

"I'm sure. It's not a problem. The only thing I'm going to have to do is to install a doggie door." Gibbs insisted. Jethro had a set schedule he was used to, thanks to Tim, and that schedule was created around the work schedule of a federal agent. Jethro staying with someone on the team was only fitting.

"I'm sure Tim would appreciate that, Gibbs. Thank you." Sarah finally looked up again. Gibbs gave her a small nod of acknowledgment, knowing Sarah really meant that Tim would have wanted Jethro to go to somebody the dog knew.

"I do hope we all can stay in contact in one way or another after today." Mr. McGee took over the conversation. "Tim viewed you all as his second family. You were all he'd talk about whenever he was asked about work at family events. I'm sure Agent DiNozzo can confirm this."

Tony blushed slightly as Mr. and Mrs. McGee gave him small smirks. Tim had dragged Tony along when he and Sarah went home for Christmas, declaring that Tony was going to learn that Christmas wasn't just about a seemingly endless movie marathon the whole month of December and awkward office parties with coworkers. Ziva threw Tony a smirk as well, the glint in her eye promising an interrogation in the future.

"Yes. Tim was a McChatter Box about us all this last Christmas. Learned quite a few new things about everyone." Tony commented, slouching slightly in his seat. Taking pity on him, Mrs. McGee stood up and collected their pictures and DVDs off the computer desk before returning them to their respective owners.

"Thank you, again, for letting us borrow these." She said to the group, overall. "As much as my husband loves to talk and embarrass people, though, we all must be going if we wish to meet with the memorial coordinator before the ceremony starts."

Mrs. McGee was including the team in that statement, giving each of them a stern look that said she expected them to come just as she did Sarah. Letting out a small smile at the 'Mom' look his team was getting, Gibbs stood up and collected his coat from the back of the chair he was sitting on.

"We will meet you there, Mrs. McGee." He replied. Jerking his head at the door, he let Tony, Ziva, and Abby know that he'd be waiting in the car for them. The three of them gave their various signs of recognition of what he meant as they stood up, slowly getting themselves ready to leave. Letting them dawdle, knowing they'd each want to say something to Mr. and Mrs. McGee, Gibbs followed Ducky and Jimmy out the door after the two of them bade the McGee's a temporary fairwell.